[illustration: the music at cancuc] in indian mexico a narrative of travel and labor by frederick starr chicago forbes & company library of congress cataloging in publication data starr, frederick, - . in indian mexico. reprint of the ed. published by forbes, chicago. . indians of mexico. . mexico--description and travel. . starr, frederick, - . i. title. f .s '. ' - isbn - - - first ams edition published in . reprinted from the edition of , chicago. [trim size of the original has been slightly altered in this edition. original trim size: . x . cm. text area of the original has been maintained in this edition.] in indian mexico is affectionately dedicated to a.a. robinson to whom all my work in mexico is due and whose interest has been continuous and unfailing preface the reading public may well ask, why another travel book on mexico? few countries have been so frequently written up by the traveler. many books, good, bad, and indifferent, but chiefly bad, have been perpetrated. most of these books, however, cover the same ground, and ground which has been traversed by many people. indian mexico is practically unknown. the only travel-book regarding it, in english, is lumholtz's "unknown mexico." the indians among whom lumholtz worked lived in northwestern mexico; those among whom i have studied are in southern mexico. the only district where his work and mine overlap is the tarascan area. in fact, then, i write upon an almost unknown and untouched subject. lumholtz studied life and customs; my study has been the physical type of south mexican indians. within the area covered by lumholtz, the physical characteristics of the tribes have been studied by hrdlicka. his studies and my own are practically the only investigations within the field. there are two mexicos. northern mexico to the latitude of the capital city is a _mestizo_ country; the indians of pure blood within that area occupy limited and circumscribed regions. southern mexico is indian country; there are large regions, where the _mestizos_, not the indians, are the exception. from the time of my first contact with mexican indians, i was impressed with the notable differences between tribes, and desired to make a serious study of their types. in , the accidental meeting with a priest from guatemala led to my making a journey to central america. it was on that journey that i saw how the work in question might be done. while the government of mexico is modeled upon the same pattern as our own, it is far more paternal in its nature. the republic is a confederation of sovereign states, each of which has its elected governor. the states are subdivided into districts somewhat corresponding to our counties, over each of which is a _jefe politico_ appointed by the governor; he has no responsibility to those below him, but is directly responsible to the man who names him, and who can at will remove him; he is not expected to trouble the state government unnecessarily, and as long as he turns over the taxes which are due the state he is given a free hand. within the districts are the cities and towns, each with its local, independent, elected town government. the work i planned to do among these indian towns was threefold: . the measurement of one hundred men and twenty-five women in each population, fourteen measurements being taken upon each subject; . the making of pictures,--portraits, dress, occupations, customs, buildings, and landscapes; . the making of plaster busts of five individuals in each tribe. to do such work, of course, involved difficulty, as the indians of mexico are ignorant, timid, and suspicious. much time would be necessary, in each village, if one depended upon establishing friendly and personal relations with the people. but with government assistance, all might be done promptly and easily. such assistance was readily secured. before starting upon any given journey, i secured letters from the department of fomento, one of the executive departments of the federal government. these letters were directed to the governors of the states; they were courteously worded introductions. from the governors, i received letters of a more vigorous character to the _jefes_ of the districts to be visited. from the _jefes_, i received stringent orders upon the local governments; these orders entered into no detail, but stated that i had come, recommended by the superior authorities, for scientific investigations; that the local authorities should furnish the necessaries of life at just prices, and that they should supply such help as was necessary for my investigations. in addition to the orders from the _jefes_ to the town authorities, i carried a general letter from the governor of the state to officials of every grade within its limits. this was done in case i should at any time reach towns in districts where i had been unable to see the _jefe politico_. it was desirable, when possible, that the _jefe_ should be seen before serious work was undertaken. as governor gonzales of oaxaca once remarked, when furnishing me a general letter: "you should always see the _jefe politico_ of the district first. these indians know nothing of me, and often will not recognize my name; but the _jefe_ of their district they know, and his orders they will obey." in using these official orders, i adopted whatever methods were best calculated to gain my ends; success depended largely on my taking matters into my own hands. each official practically unloaded me upon the next below him, with the expectation that i should gain my ends, if possible, but at the same time he felt, and i knew, that his responsibility had ended. in case of serious difficulty, i could not actually count upon the backing of any one above the official with whom i then was dealing. upon the guatemala expedition, which took place in january-march, , my only companion was mr. ernst lux, whose knowledge of the language, the country, and the people was of the utmost value. as the result of that journey, my vacations through a period of four years were devoted to this field of research. the first field expedition covered the period from november, , to the end of march, ; the plan of work included the visiting of a dozen or more tribes, with interpreter, photographer, and plaster-worker; the success of the plan depended upon others. dr. w.d. powell was to serve as interpreter, mr. bedros tatarian as photographer; at the last moment the plans regarding the plaster-worker failed; arrived in the field, dr. powell was unable to carry out his contract; the photographic work disintegrated, and failure stared us in the face. reorganization took place. rev. d.a. wilson was secured as interpreter, two mexican plaster-workers, anselmo pacheco of puebla and ramon godinez of guadalajara, were discovered, and work was actually carried through upon four tribes. the second field expedition covered the period of january-march, ; eight tribes were visited, and a most successful season's work was done; charles b. lang was photographer, anselmo pacheco plaster-worker, and manuel gonzales general helper. the third field season, january-march, , was in every way successful, six populations being visited; my force consisted of louis grabic photographer, ramon godinez plaster-worker, and manuel gonzales general assistant. the work was brought to a conclusion in january-march, , during which period six tribes were visited; the party was the same as the preceding year. "in indian mexico" claims to be only a narrative of travel and of work. it is intended for the general public. the scientific results of our expeditions have been published under the following titles: . the indians of southern mexico: an ethnographic album. chicago, . cloth; oblong to; pp. . full-page plates. . notes upon the ethnography of southern mexico. . vo, pp. . cuts, maps, etc. proc. dav. acad. nat. sci., vol. viii. . notes on the ethnography of southern mexico, part ii. . vo, pp. . cuts, map, etc. proc. dav. acad. nat. sci., vol. ix. . the physical characters of the indians of southern mexico. to, pp. sketch map, color diagram, and double cuts. decennial publications, university of chicago, . . the mapa de cuauhtlantzinco or codice campos. . vo, pp. . engravings. university of chicago press. . recent mexican study of the native languages of mexico. . vo, pp. . portraits. . picture of otomi woman beating bark paper. printed on sheet of the original paper; mounted. . the mapa of huilotepec. reproduction; single sheet, mounted. . the mapa of huauhtla. reproduction; single sheet, mounted. . survivals of paganism in mexico. the open court. . . mexican paper. american antiquarian. . . the sacral spot in maya indians. science. . naturally, in a work of such extent we have been under obligation to many parties. it is impossible to acknowledge, in detail, such obligations. we must, however, express our indebtedness, for assistance rendered, to the mexican central railroad, the mexican railway, the mexican national railroad, the tehuantepec railroad, the mexican southern railroad, and the interoceanic railroad; also to the ward line of steamers. among individuals, it is no unfair discrimination to express especial thanks to mr. a.a. robinson and mr. a.l. van antwerp. president diaz has ever shown a friendly interest in my plans of work and the results obtained. señor manuel fernandez leal, minister of the department of fomento, more than any other official, lent us every aid and assistance in his power; his successor, señor leandro fernandez, continued the kindness shown by minister leal. and to all the governors of the states and to the _jefes_ of the districts we are under many obligations, and express to each and all our appreciation of their kind assistance. those personal friends who have been helpful in this specific work in indian mexico are mentioned in the appropriate places in the text. to those companions and assistants who accompanied us upon the journeys a large part of the results of this work are due. chicago, january, . contents chapter page i. priestly archaeology ii. we start for guatemala iii. the land of the mixes iv. through chiapas v. at huixquilucan vi. lake patzcuaro vii. to uruapan before the railroad viii. tlaxcala ix. zamora and the once pueblos x. the boy with the smile xi. in the mixteca alta xii. the mixes revisited xiii. about tehuantepec xiv. on the main high-road xv. cuicatlan xvi. in tlaxcalan towns xvii. in the chinantla xviii. to coixtlahuaca xix. huauhtla and the mazatecs xx. tepehuas and totonacs xxi. in the huaxteca xxii. in maya land xxiii. ox-cart experiences xxiv. at tuxtla gutierrez xxv. tzotzils and tzendals xxvi. chols xxvii. conclusion glossary appendix in indian mexico chapter i priestly archaeology ( ) while we stood in the puebla station, waiting for the train to be made ready, we noticed a priest, who was buying his ticket at the office. on boarding the train, we saw nothing of him, as he had entered another car. soon after we started, herman made his usual trip of inspection through the train, and on his return told me that a learned priest was in the second-class coach, and that i ought to know him. as i paid no great attention to his suggestion, he soon deserted me for his priestly friend, but presently returned and renewed his advice. he told me this priest was no common man; that he was an ardent archaeologist; that he not only collected relics, but made full notes and diagrams of all his investigations; that he cared for live indians also, and had made a great collection of dress, weapons, and tools, among guatemalan tribes. when i even yet showed no intention of hurrying in to visit his new acquaintance, the boy said: "you must come in to see him, for i promised him you would, and you ought not to prove me to be a liar." this appeal proved effectual and i soon called upon the priestly archaeologist in the other car. he was an interesting man. by birth a german, he spoke excellent english; born of protestant parents and reared in their faith, in early manhood be became a catholic; renounced by his parents and left without support, he was befriended by jesuits and determined to become a priest. entering the ministry at twenty-nine years of age, he was sent as mission priest to foreign lands. he had lived in california, utah, and nevada; he had labored in ecuador, panama, and guatemala. his interest in archaeology, kindled in the southwest, continued in his later fields of labor. waxing confidential he said: "i am a priest first, because i must live, but it does not interfere much with my archaeology." for years past the padre has lived in guatemala, where he had charge of one of the largest parishes in that republic, with some eighteen thousand full-blood indians in his charge. like most germans a linguist, the padre spoke german, french, spanish, english, and quiche, the most important indian speech of guatemala. in his parish, he so arranged his work as to leave most of his time free for investigation. twice a week he had baptisms, on thursday and sunday; these duties on thursday took but a couple of hours, leaving the rest of the day free; sundays, of course, were lost, but not completely, for the indians often then told him of new localities, where diggings might be undertaken. always when digging into ancient mounds and graves, he had his horse near by ready for mounting, and his oil and other necessaries at hand, in case he should be summoned to the bedside of the dying. as the indians always knew where to look for him, no time was lost. not only was the padre an archaeologist: he also gathered plants, birds, and insects. when he was leaving germany, his nephew, the ten-year-old child of his sister, wished to accompany him. the parents refused their permission, but the uncle gave the boy some money, and they met each other in frankfort and started on their journey. they have been together ever since. the padre depends completely on the younger man, whom he has fashioned to his mind. the plants, birdskins, and insects have supplied a steady income. the plants cost labor; insects were easier to get. all the indian boys in the parish were supplied with poison-bottles and set to work; a stock of prints of saints, beads, medals, and crucifixes was doled out to the little collectors, according to the value of their trophies. to allay the suspicions of his parishioners, the padre announced that he used the insects in making medicines. one sunday a pious old indian woman brought to church a great beetle, which she had caught in her corn field four days before; during that time it had been tied by a string to her bed's leg; she received a medal. one day a man brought a bag containing some five hundred living insects; on opening it, they all escaped into the house, causing a lively time for their recapture. the nephew, ernst, had made a collection of eleven hundred skins of guatemalan birds. the padre and he have supplied specimens to many of the great museums of the world, but the choicest things have never been permitted to leave their hands. the padre is a great success at getting into trouble. he fled from ecuador on account of political difficulties; his stay in guatemala is the longest he has ever made in one place. during his eight years there he was successful; but he finally antagonized the government, was arrested, and thrown into jail. he succeeded in escaping, fled to salvador, and from there made his way to the united states, where, for a little time, he worked, unhappily, at san antonio, texas. a short time since, the archbishop of oaxaca was in texas, met the padre, and promised him an appointment in his diocese. the padre was now on his way to oaxaca to see the prelate and receive his charge. he was full of hope for a happy future. when he learned that we were bound for the ruins of mitla, he was fired with a desire to accompany us. at oaxaca we separated, going to different hotels. my party was counting upon the company of mr. lucius smith, as interpreter and companion, to the ruins, but we were behind our appointment and he had gone upon another expedition. this delighted the padre, who saw a new light upon the path of duty. the archbishop had received him cordially, and had given him a parish, although less than a day had passed since his arrival. when the padre knew of our disappointment, he hastened to his prelate, told him that an eminent american archaeologist, with a party of four, wished to visit mitla, but had no interpreter; might he not accompany these worthy gentlemen, in some way serving mother church by doing so? so strong was his appeal, that he was deputed to say mass at mitla sunday, starting for his new parish of chila on the monday following. in the heavy, lumbering coach we left next morning, saturday, for mitla. the road, usually deep with dust, was in fair condition on account of recent rains. we arrived in the early afternoon and at once betook ourselves to the ruins. at the curacy, we presented the archbishop's letter to the indian cura, who turned it over once or twice, then asked the padre to read it, as his eyes were bad. while the reading proceeded, the old man listened with wonder, and then exclaimed, "what a learned man you are to read like that!" as we left, the padre expressed his feelings at the comeliness of the old priest's indian housekeeper, at the number of her children, at the suspicious wideness of his bed, and at his ignorance, in wearing a ring, for all the world just like a bishop's. but he soon forgot his pious irritation amid those marvelous ruins of past grandeur. in our early ramble he lost no opportunity to tell the indians that he would repeat mass on the morrow at seven, and that they should make a special effort to be present. [illustration: with the padre in mitla ruins] [illustration: the padre, ernst and the dogs] but as we wandered from one to another of the ancient buildings, the thought of the morrow's duty lost its sweetness. he several times remarked that it was a great pity to lose any of our precious morning hours in saying mass, when there were ruins of such interest to be seen. these complaints gained in force and frequency as evening approached, until finally, as we sat at supper, he announced his decision to say mass before daybreak; he would call me at five o'clock, we would go directly to the church, we would be through service before six, would take our morning's coffee immediately after, and then would have quite a piece of the morning left for the ruins, before the coach should leave for oaxaca. the plan was carried out in detail. at five we were called from our beds by the anxious padre. herman and i were the only members of the party who were sufficiently devout to care to hear mass so early. with the padre, we stumbled in the darkness up to the church, where we roused the old woman who kept the key and the boy who rang the bell. the vestments were produced, the padre hastily robed, and the bell rung; the padre was evidently irritated at the absence of a congregation, as he showed by the rapid and careless way in which he repeated the first part of the service. when, however, at the _credo_, he turned and saw that several poor indians had quietly crept in, a change came over him; his tone became fuller, his manner more dignified, and the service itself more impressive and decorous. still, we were through long before six, and throwing off his vestments, which he left the boy to put away, the padre seized me by the arm, and we hastened down the hill to our morning's coffee. on the way we met a number of indians on their way to mass, whom the padre sternly rebuked for their laziness and want of devotion. immediately after coffee, we were among the ruins. the padre had kindly arranged for my presentation to his grace, archbishop gillow. reaching oaxaca late on sunday afternoon, we called at the palace. his grace is a man of good presence, with a face of some strength and a courteous and gracious manner. he appeared to be about fifty-five years of age. after the padre had knelt and kissed the ring, the archbishop invited us to be seated, expressed an interest in our trip to mitla, hoping that it had proved successful. he then spoke at some length in regard to his diocese. he emphasized its diversity in climate and productions, the wide range of its plant life, the great number of indian tribes which occupied it, the babel of tongues within it, its vast mineral wealth. a mexican by birth, the archbishop is, in part, of english blood and was educated, as a boy, in england. he speaks english easily and well. he showed us many curious and interesting things. among these was a cylindrical, box-like figure of a rain-god, which was found by a priest upon his arrival at the mixe indian village of mixistlan.[a] it was in the village church, at the high altar where it shared worship with the virgin and the crucifix. the archbishop himself, in his description of the incident, used the word _latria_. we were also shown a little cross, which stood upon the archbishop's writing-table, made in part from a fragment of that miraculous cross, which was found by sir francis drake, upon the west coast. that "terrible fanatic" tried to destroy it, according to a well-known story. the cross was found standing when the spaniards first arrived and is commonly attributed to st. thomas. sir francis upon seeing this emblem of a hated faith, first gave orders to hew it down with axes; but axes were not sharp enough to harm it. fires were then kindled to burn it, but had no effect. ropes were attached to it and many men were set to drag it from the sand; but all their efforts could not move it. so it was left standing, and from that time became an object of especial veneration. time, however, destroys all things. people were constantly breaking off bits of the sacred emblem for relics until so little was left of the trunk near the ground that it was deemed necessary to remove the cross. the diggers were surprised to find that it had never set more than a foot into the sand. this shows the greatness of the miracle. [a] survivals of paganism in mexico. the open court. . the padre had been assigned to the parish of chila, a great indian town, near tehuacan. early the next morning he left for his new home. not only did the padre, while in oaxaca, urge us to call upon him in his new parish; after he was settled, he renewed his invitation. so we started for chila. we had been in the _tierra caliente_, at cordoba. from there we went by rail to esperanza, from which uninteresting town we took a street-car line, forty-two miles long, to tehuacan. this saved us time, distance, and money, and gave us a brand-new experience. there were three coaches on our train, first-, second-, and third-class. when buying tickets we struck acquaintance with a syrian peddler. three of these were travelling together; one of them spoke a little english, being proficient in profanity. he likes the united states, _per se_, and does not like mexico; but he says the latter is the better for trade. "in the united states, you sell maybe fifteen, twenty-five, fifty cents a day; here ten, fifteen, twenty-five dollars." the trip lasted three hours and involved three changes of mules at stations, where we found all the excitement and bustle of a true railroad station. the country was, at first, rolling, with a sparse growth of yuccas, many of which were exceptionally large and fine. on the hills were occasional _haciendas_. this broken district was succeeded by a genuine desert, covered with fine dust, which rose, as we rode, in suffocating clouds. here the valley began to close in upon us and its slopes were sprinkled with great cushion cactuses in strange and grotesque forms. after this desert gorge, we came out into a more open and more fertile district extending to tehuacan. even this, however, was dry and sunburned. our party numbered four. we had written and telegraphed to the padre and expected that he, or ernst, would meet us in tehuacan. neither was there. no one seemed to know just how far it was to chila. replies to our inquiries ranged from five to ten leagues.[b] looking for some mode of conveyance, we refused a coach, offered at fifteen pesos, as the price seemed high. hunting horses, we found four, which with a foot _mozo_ to bring them back, would cost twenty pesos. telling the owner that we were not buying horses, but merely renting, we returned to the proprietor of the coach and stated that we would take it, though his price was high, and that he should send it without delay to the railroad station, where our companions were waiting. upon this the owner of the coach pretended that he had not understood that there were four of us (though we had plainly so informed him); his price was for two. if we were four, he must have forty pesos. a fair price here might be eight pesos for the coach, or four for horses. so we told the coach owner that we would walk to chila, rather than submit to such extortion. this amused him greatly and he made some facetious observations, which determined me to actually perform the trip on foot. returning to the railroad station, where two of the party were waiting, i announced my intention of walking to chila; as the way was long and the sand heavy and the padre's silence and non-appearance boded no great hospitality in welcome, i directed the rest to remain comfortably at tehuacan until my return on the next day. herman, however, refused the proposition; my scheme was dangerous; for me to go alone, at night, over a strange road, to chila was foolhardy; he should accompany me to protect me. consenting that he should accompany, we began to seek a _mozo_, as guide to chila. with difficulty, and some loss of time, one was found who would undertake the business for two pesos. in vain a jew peddler standing by and the station agent remonstrated with the man; two pesos was a full week's wages; it was ridiculous to demand such a price for guiding two foot travellers to chila. he admitted that two pesos might be a week's wages; but he did not have to go to chila and if we wanted him to do so we must pay his price. we capitulated, the station agent loaned us a revolver, we left our friends behind us and started on our journey. it was now dark. in a mysterious voice, our guide said we must go first to his house; there he secured his _serape_ and a heavy club. as we left his house he feared we must be hungry and indicated a bread-shop; we purchased and all three ate as we walked; a moment later he suggested that we would need _cigarros_ of course, and a stock of these were added, at our expense. then, at last, we came down to business. [b] the mexican league is . miles. plainly our guide did not enjoy his task. shortly after we started, the moon rose and, from its shining full on the light sand, it was almost as bright as day. we were in single file, our guide, herman, and i. at sight of every bush or indistinct object, our guide clutched his club and crossed himself, as he mumbled a prayer. when we met anyone, we kept strictly to our side of the road, they to theirs, and, in passing, barely exchanged a word of greeting. the timidity and terror of our guide increased as we advanced, until i concluded to be prepared for any emergency and carried the revolver in my hand, instead of in my pocket. mile after mile we trudged along through the heavy sand, into which we sunk so far that our low shoes repeatedly became filled and we had to stop to take them off and empty them. we passed through san pablo, left the hacienda of san andres to one hand, and, finally, at : found ourselves in the great indian town of san gabriel de chila. it was much larger than we had anticipated and almost purely indian. we walked through a considerable portion of the town before we reached the plaza, the church, and the _curato_. our journey had probably been one of fifteen miles. all was dark at the _curato_; an indian was sleeping in the corridor, but he was a traveller and gave us no information on being awakened. at our third or fourth pounding upon the door, ernst appeared at the window; on learning who we were he hastened to let us in. he reported trouble in the camp; the padre had gone hastily to oaxaca to see the archbishop; our telegram had not been received; our letter came that morning. we found that things were packed ready for removal. a good supper was soon ready, but while it was being prepared we took a cool bath, by moonlight, in the trough bath-tub out in the _patio_. in the morning we heard the full story. formerly there was here a priest, who devoted his whole life to this parish, growing old in its service; in his old age he was pensioned, with sixty pesos monthly from the parish receipts. the priest who succeeded him, coming something over three years ago, was a much younger man. during his three years of service, he was continually grumbling; the work was hard, his health was bad at chila, the heat was intolerable; he wished another parish. the archbishop finally took him at his word; without warning he transferred him to another parish, and sent our friend, the archaeologist here, in his place. this did not suit the man relieved; chila itself was much to his liking; what he really wanted was to be relieved from the support of his superannuated predecessor. no sooner was he transferred than he began to look with longing on his former charge and to make a vigorous effort to regain it. accusations were hurried to oaxaca; the new priest was pursuing agriculture as a means of profit; he had not paid the dues to the aged priest; he had himself admitted to parishioners that his object in coming to chila was more to study antiquities and natural history than to preach the gospel. it is claimed that, immediately on receiving this communication, the archbishop sent a peremptory letter to the padre demanding an explanation; this letter, ernst said, never was delivered, hence no explanation was sent. the prelate acted promptly; orders were sent to our friend to give up the parish to the former priest, who appeared on the scene to receive his charge. then, and then only, it is said the delayed letter came to light. the padre had left, at once, for oaxaca and his archbishop. from there he sent messages by telegraph: "pack up, and come to tehuacan;" "wait until you hear further." a third came the morning we were there: "pack up; meet me at tehuacan, ready to go to a new parish." it was really sad to look about the new home, to which he had come with such buoyant hopes and of which he had been so soon dispossessed. when he arrived, the place was neglected and filthy; two whole days were necessary to clean it. it had contained practically no furniture; he had made it look like a place in which to live. he had improved and beautified its surroundings. he had planted a little corn and set out some young banana trees; he had gathered many species of cactus from the neighboring hills and had built up a fine bed of the strange plants in his _patio_. passionately fond of pets, he had two magnificent greyhounds and a pug--all brought from guatemala--a black collie, doves, hens and turkeys on the place. and now, he was again without a home and his time, money, and labor were lost. ernst accompanied us to tehuacan. we rented three horses and a man on foot went with us to bring them back to the village. and for the whole we paid the regular price of eighty-seven centavos--twenty-five each for the animals, and twelve centavos for the man--something less than the twenty pesos demanded the day before at tehuacan. chapter ii we start for guatemala ( ) the evening we were at mitla, señor quiero came hurrying to our room and urged us to step out to the corridor before the house to see some mixes. it was our first glimpse of representatives of this little known mountain people. some thirty of them, men and women, loaded with fruit, coffee, and charcoal, were on their way to the great fair and market, at tlacolula. they had now stopped for the night and had piled their burdens against the wall. wrapping themselves in their tattered and dirty blankets, they laid themselves down on the stone floor, so close together that they reminded me of sardines in a box. with a blazing splinter of fat pine for torch, we made our inspection. their broad dark faces, wide flat noses, thick lips and projecting jaws, their coarse clothing, their filthiness, their harsh and guttural speech, profoundly impressed me and i resolved to penetrate into their country and see them in their homes, at the first opportunity. our friend the padre never tired of telling how much more interesting guatemala was than mexico; he could not understand why any man of sense should waste his time in mexico, a land so large that a dozen students could not begin to solve its problems, while guatemala, full of interesting ruins and crowded with attractive indians, was of such size that one man's lifetime could count for something. his tales of indian towns, life, dress, customs, kindled enthusiasm; but it was only after thinking over the mixes, that i decided to make a journey to guatemala. the padre, himself, could not accompany me, being a political refugee, but he had told me ernst should go with me. after three months' consideration my plan was made. we would start from oaxaca overland via the mixes country; we would everywhere keep in the mountains; in chiapas we would completely avoid the usual highway, hot and dusty, near the coast; in guatemala itself, we would go by nenton, huehuetenango and nibaj. this did not suit the padre: he had had in mind a journey all rail and steamer; and friends, long resident in mexico, shook their heads and spoke of fatigues and dangers. but i was adamant; the mixes drew me; we would go overland, on horse, or not at all. when the padre left chila, he took a letter of recommendation from the archbishop of oaxaca to the bishop of vera cruz at jalapa. by him, the padre was located at medellin, a few miles from vera cruz itself. thither i journeyed to join ernst and make the final preparations for the journey. ernst met me at the station at : in the evening and we stayed the night in the hot, mosquito-tortured, plague-stricken city. leaving at eight o'clock in the morning we were at medellin in an hour. our journey was through low, swampy ground on which the chief growth was of palm. the padre, whom we had not seen since we parted at oaxaca, met us at the station and took us at once to his house. the town is small, the population a miserable mixture of black, white, and indian elements. few of the couples living there have been legally married. the parish is one of the worst in the whole diocese. the bishop warned the padre that it was an undesirable field, but it was the only one then unoccupied. but the padre was working wonders and the church was then undergoing repairs and decorations. the actual _curato_ was long ago seized by the government and is now used as a schoolhouse. the priest lived in a rented house close by the river bank. the house is a double one and the priest occupied but half of it; those in the other half were hostile to him and he was anxious to rent the whole place. his neighbors, however, did not care to leave and threatened vengeance; they were behind a mass of accusations filed against him with the bishop. his friends rallied to his support, sent in a strong endorsement, and he remained. the padre had been industrious while here. behind his house is the little river, with a bath-house built over it; crossing in a dugout canoe we found his garden flourishing, filled with fresh vegetables. the family of pets had grown; baldur, freia, votan, doxil--the dogs--were here as at chila, but he also had fantail and capuchin pigeons, hens and chicks, ducks and geese, canary birds, and native birds in cages. here also were archaeological relics, plants, beetles and birds for gathering. and here too, for the first time, i had the opportunity of examining his great collection of ecuadorean humming-birds and a magnificent lot of guatemalan quetzal skins, among them probably the finest ever collected. [illustration: the padre's house; medellin] [illustration: the church; medellin] we left medellin on january th; went by rail to puebla, then to oaxaca. here we found our friend doctor hyde, of silao, who was nursing lucius smith, in what proved to be a final illness. he aided us in finding animals and completing preparations for our journey. we secured a large bay horse for myself, a roan for ernst, a little mule for baggage. for my own part, i dislike mules; ernst and the doctor, however, were loud in their praise of such a beast; both asserted that a good mule should sell for double its cost on our arrival at guatemala city. when, finally, after inspecting a variety of animals we found one lively, young one, the doctor was delighted. taking me to one side, he informed me that such an opportunity was unlikely to occur again. i yielded and the little mule was ours. we named the three animals mixe, zapotec, and chontal, from three tribes through whose country we expected to pass. the doctor's helpfulness was not confined to advice regarding mules. he insisted upon our buying various supplies, such as boxes of sardines, sago, coffee, etc., the utility of which appeared neither at the time nor later. also at his suggestion a quart of whiskey was purchased and carefully divided into two flasks, one for each saddlebag. most useful of all the doctor's suggestions, and one for which we had reason many times to thank him, was the securing from the governor of a letter to all local authorities in the state, directing them to supply us with the necessities of life, at just prices. we had hoped to start from oaxaca in the early morning, but it was well on in the afternoon before all arrangements were completed. the doctor and his mexican friend rode with us to tule to see us well started. it was out over the old road to mitla. the afternoon was hot, dust was deep, and a heavy wind blew it up into our faces in clouds. the sun was already setting when we rode into santa maria tule, and we went at once to see the famous cypress tree, which no one in the party, save myself, had seen. it seems now to be a single tree, but was perhaps, originally, three; at present it displays a single, vast trunk, buttressed with heavy irregular projecting columns. so irregular is this enormous mass that no two persons taking its girth exactly agree. we measured it four feet above the ground and made the circumference one hundred and sixty feet. the mass of delicate green foliage above was compact, vigorous, and beautiful. many years ago humboldt cut a rectangular piece of bark from the old trunk and on the smooth surface thus exposed carved an inscription with his name. [illustration] [illustration] bark has since grown over the sides and corners of this tablet, but much of the inscription may still be read. since humboldt's visit many lesser men have gashed the old tree to leave their mark. as it was now darkening we hurried to the _meson_ of the village. the old lady in charge received us with suspicion; she could not feed us and refused to receive us into the house for the night; she would permit us to sleep outside, in the corridor--which we might have done without asking permission. at this moment, the doctor's friend remembered that he knew a man here and went out to reconnoitre; he soon returned and led us to his friend's house, where we were well received. a supper of eggs, _tortillas_, and chocolate was soon served. before we had finished the moon had risen and by its light the doctor and his friend started on their return to town. we slept on beds, made of boards laid upon sawhorses, in a grain store-room, where rats were running around all night long. the next day, we were again at mitla. it was a festival day, that of the conversion of st. paul the apostle. in the evening there were rockets, the band played, and a company of drummers and _chirimiya_ blowers went through the town. señor quiero had fires of blazing pine knots at the door. when the procession passed we noted its elements. in front was the band of ten boys; men with curious standards mounted on poles followed. the first of these standards was a figure, in strips of white and pink tissue paper, of a long-legged, long-necked, long-billed bird, perhaps a heron; next stars of colored paper, with lights inside; then were large globes, also illuminated, three of white paper and three in the national colors--red, white, and green. grandest of all, however, was a globular banner of cloth on which was painted a startling picture of the saint's conversion. all of these were carried high in the air and kept rotating. behind the standard bearers came a drummer and the player on the shrill pipe or _pito--chirimiya_. the procession stopped at señor quiero's _tienda_, and the old man opened both his heart and his bottles; spirits flowed freely to all who could crowd into the little shop and bottles and packs of _cigarros_ were sent out to the standard-bearers. as a result we were given a vigorous explosion of rockets, and several pieces by the band, the drummer, and the _pitero_. beyond mitla the valley narrows and the road rises onto a gently sloping terrace; when it strikes the mountains it soon becomes a bridle-path zigzagging up the cliffside. as we mounted by it, the valley behind expanded magnificently under our view. we passed through a belt of little oak trees, the foliage of which was purple-red, like the autumnal coloring of our own forests. higher up we reached the pine timber. as soon as we reached the summit, the lovely valley view was lost and we plunged downward, even more abruptly than we had mounted, along the side of a rapidly deepening gorge. at the very mouth of this, on a pretty terrace, we came abruptly on the little town of san lorenzo with palm-thatched huts of brush or cane and well grown hedges of _organo_ cactus. here we ate _tortillas_ and fried-eggs with chili. immediately on setting out from here we rode over hills, the rock of which was deeply stained with rust and streaked with veins of quartz, up to a crest of limestone covered with a crust of stalagmite. [illustration: the start from oaxaca] [illustration: the celebration at mitla] the road up to this summit was not good, but that down the other side was _bad_. the irregular, great blocks of limestone, covered with the smooth, dry, slippery coating, caused constant stumbling to our poor animals. from this valley we rose onto a yet grander range. here we had our first mixe experience. at the very summit, where the road became for a little time level, before plunging down into the profound valley beyond, we met two indians, plainly mixes. both were bareheaded, and both wore the usual dirty garments--a cotton shirt over a pair of cotton trousers, the legs of which were rolled up to the knees or higher. the younger of the men bore a double load, as he had relieved his companion. the old man's face was scratched and torn, his hands were smeared with blood and blood stained his shirt. we cried an "_adios_" and the old man kissed my hand, while the younger, pointing to his friend said "_sangre, señor, sangre_" (blood, sir, blood.) vigorously they told the story of the old man's misfortune, but in incomprehensible spanish. while they spoke three others like them, each bent under his burden came up onto the ridge. these kissed my hand and then, excitedly pointing to the old man, all talking at once, tried to tell his story. having expressed our sympathy, we left the five looking after us, the old man, with his torn and bleeding face, being well in the foreground. down in the valley, across a little stream, we struck into a pleasant meadow road leading to the hacienda of san bartolo. suddenly, before us, in the road, we saw a man lying. we thought he was dead. he was a young man, an indian in the usual dress, apparently a zapotec. his face was bloody and his shirt was soaked in front with blood, which had trickled down upon the ground forming a pool in which he lay. we could see no deep wound, but, as he lay upon his side, there may have been such. near him in the road there lay a knife, the blade covered with blood. the man lay perfectly still, but we fancied we could see a slight movement of the chest. in mexico, it is best not to investigate too closely, because the last to touch a murdered man may be held responsible for his death. so we hurried on toward the _hacienda_ but, before reaching it, met two girls about nineteen years of age and a little lad all zapotecs. we told them what we had seen and bade them notify the authorities. one of the girls cried, "_si, señor, es mi hermano_" ("yes, sir, it is my brother"), and they ran down the road. as for us, we hurried onward, without stopping at the _hacienda_, in order not to be delayed or held as witnesses. there is no love between the zapotecs and mixes. we never learned the actual story, but imagined it somewhat as follows. the old mixe, carrying his burden, had probably encountered the young zapotec and had words with him. probably there had been blows, and the old man was having the worst of it when his companions came along and turned the tide of battle. the road, after passing the _hacienda_, ascended almost constantly for many miles. we passed clumps of yuccas. as we mounted we faced a strong and cutting wind, and were glad when any turn in the road gave us a moment's relief. the final ascent was sharp and difficult, up a hill of red or purple slate, which splintered into bits that were both slippery and sharp to the feet of our poor animals. just as the sun was setting and dusk fell, we reached the miserable pueblo of santa maria albarradas. it was situated on a terrace or shelf, and its little houses were made of red or purple adobe bricks, and thatched with grass. little garden patches and groups of cultivated trees surrounded the houses. the church was little larger than the dwellings, and was constructed of the same clay, thatched with the same grass. near it was the town-house. we summoned the _presidente_, and while we waited for him, the men, women, and children of the town thronged around us and watched our every movement, commenting the while on our actions and words. when the _presidente_ came, we made known our wants and soon had supper for ourselves, food for our animals, a shelter for the night, and a _mozo_ as guide for the morrow. the town-house was put at our disposition; it was sadly in need of repairs, and consisted of two rooms, one larger than the other. in the larger room there was a long and heavy table, a bench or two, and some wooden chairs. we slept upon the ground, and long before we rolled ourselves up in our blankets the wind was blowing squarely from the north. the sky was half covered with a heavy black cloud; as the night advanced, it became colder and colder, the wind cutting like a knife, and while we shivered in our blankets, it seemed as if we had been born to freeze there in the tropics. chapter iii the land of the mixes ( ) santa maria was the last zapotec town; we were on the border of the country of the mixes. starting at seven next morning, we followed a dizzy trail up the mountain side to the summit. beyond that the road went down and up many a slope. a norther was on; cold wind swept over the crest, penetrating and piercing; cloud masses hung upon the higher summits; and now and again sheets of fine, thin mist were swept down upon us by the wind; this mist was too thin to darken the air, but on the surface of the driving sheets rainbows floated. the ridge, which for a time we followed, was covered with a thicket of purple-leaved oaks, which were completely overgrown with bromelias and other air-plants. from here, we passed into a mountain country that beggars description. i know and love the carolina mountains--their graceful forms, their sparkling streams and springs, the lovely sky stretched above them; but the millionaires are welcome to their "land of the sky"; we have our land of the mixes, and to it they will never come. the mountains here are like those of carolina, but far grander and bolder; here the sky is more amply extended. there, the slopes are clad with rhododendrons and azaleas, with the flowering shrub, with strawberries gleaming amid grass; here we have rhododendrons also, in clusters that scent the air with the odor of cloves, and display sheets of pink and purple bloom; here we have magnificent tree-ferns, with trunks that rise twenty feet into the air and unroll from their summits fronds ten feet in length; fifty kinds of delicate terrestrial ferns display themselves in a single morning ride; here are palms with graceful foliage; here are orchids stretching forth sprays--three or four feet long--toward the hand for plucking; here are pine-trees covering slopes with fragrant fallen needles. a striking feature is the different flora on the different slopes of a single ridge. here, too, are bubbling springs, purling brooks, dashing cascades, the equals of any in the world. and hither the tourist, with his destroying touch, will never come. we had thought to find our wild mixes living in miserable huts among the rocks, dressed in scanty native garb, leading half wild lives. we found good clearings on the hillside; fair fields of maize and peas, gourds and calabashes; cattle grazed in the meadows; fowls and turkeys were kept; the homes were log-houses, substantially built, in good condition, in neat enclosures; men and women, the latter in european dress, were busied with the duties of their little farms. clearing after clearing in the forest told the same story of industry, thrift, and moderate comfort. after more than five hours of hard travel we reached the mixe town of ayutla, and rode at once to the _curato_. the priest was not at home. it was market-day, and people were in town from all the country round. the men, surprised at sight of strangers, crowded about us; some gazed at us with angry glances, others eyed us with dark suspicion, some examined us with curious and even friendly interest. many of them spoke little or no spanish. thronging about us they felt our clothing, touched our skins, saddles, baggage, and exhibited childish curiosity. the women at the _curato_ spoke spanish, of course; we told them we should stay there for a day or two, and sent out for the _presidente_. on his coming, we explained to him our business and asked leave to occupy the _curato_ in the absence of the priest. ayutla is situated on a high terrace, before which opens a lovely valley and behind which rises a fine mountain slope. the village church, while large, is roofless; the town-house lies below the village, and by it are two jails for men and women. the houses of the village are small, rectangular structures of a red-brown-ochre adobe brick; the roofs slope from in front backward, and are covered with red tiles they project in front so as to cover a little space before the house. by evening most of the indians in the town were drunk. at sunset a miserable procession started from the church, passed through the village, and then returned to the church; composed mostly of women, it was preceded by a band of music and the men who carried the _santito_. later, we heard most disconsolate strains, and, on examination, found four musicians playing in front of the old church; three of them had curious, extremely long, old-fashioned horns of brass, while the fourth had a drum or _tambour_. the _tambour_ was continuously played, while the other instruments were alternated in the most curious fashion. the music was strange and weird, unlike any that we had ever heard before. however, we became thoroughly familiar with it before we had traversed the whole mixe country, as we heard it twice daily, at sunrise and after sunset. it was the music of the candelaria, played during the nine days preceding february d. as we sat listening to the music the _presidente_ of the town appeared. his spanish, at no time adequate, was now at its worst, as he was sadly intoxicated. we tried to carry on a conversation with him, but soon seeing that naught but disaster could be expected, if we continued, we discreetly withdrew to our room. [illustration: a street in san lorenzo] [illustration: ayutla] there we found the _fiscal_, and i have rarely seen so drunk an official. when drunk, he is violent and abusive, and it was plain that the women at the _curato_ were afraid of him. more than one hundred and fifty years ago padre quintana, who was the mission priest at juquila, translated the _doctrina_ into mixe and wrote a _gramatica_ of the language, both of which were then printed. we wished to secure copies of these old and rare books, and asked the _fiscal_ if there were any here. he promptly replied that he had one at his house, and invited us to go there with him to see it. we at once started, and on our way had to pass the drunken _presidente_ and the musicians. as we drew near them the _presidente_, with drunken dignity, rose and said: "where are you going, señores?" the _fiscal_ was for going directly onward without giving answer; we hesitated and began a reply. our delay was fatal; staggering up to us, his honor said: "i shall not permit you to go; this man is drunk; he will be dangerous. i am responsible for your safety." the _fiscal_, standing at a little distance, cried: "señores! shall we go?" we started toward him; the _presidente_ interfered: "no, señores, you shall not go to-night; the man is drunk; return to your house." "_vámonos_," (let us go) hiccoughed the _fiscal. "mañana_," (to-morrow) hiccoughed the _presidente_. the _fiscal_ stormed; the _presidente_ threatened him with jail, ordered him home, and with a body-guard for our protection led us to our room. scarcely able to totter, the _presidente_ assured us that drunken men were dangerous and ought not to be trusted; at the same time he produced his bottle and offered us a drop to warm us. it required tact and time to get rid of him and his corps of protectors. early the next morning both of these worthy officials, _presidente_ and _fiscal_, still drunk, called upon us with the book--a _doctrina_ of . with the _presidente_ were two stalwart fellows, intended, as he whispered to us audibly, to handle the _fiscal_ in case he became dangerous. the audience ended, and the party dismissed, the _presidente_ stood in the road until the _fiscal_ had started for home, when he left for the town-house. the _fiscal's_ home-going, however, was mere pretense. no sooner was the _presidente_ gone than he came staggering into the _patio_ of the _curato_. the women ran into our room, in terror: "the _fiscal_ comes; bar the door; do not let him in." a moment later a feeble rap at the door, a call and a mournful request for admission; the barricaded door gave no encouragement. at intervals through the morning there came the flying maids: "he comes! don't let him in." again and again the barricade; again and again, the vain appeal for entrance. we left ayutla at noon. we had scarcely well started when we heard some one calling behind us. turning, we saw the _fiscal_, running unsteadily toward us. we waited; he came up out of breath. "_ya se va_?" (now you are leaving?) "_si, señor_," (yes, sir.) with a look of despair he removed his hat, and fumbling in its depths produced two cigarettes; presenting one to each of us, he waved his hand as we rode away and cried: "_adios! señores_." for some distance our road led up a cañon. reaching its head, we gained the pass at two o'clock. a wonderful sight here presented itself. above us was a brilliant blue sky--cloudless; every detail of the rock crest upon which we stood was clear. forested to its summit, the ridge formed the half of a magnificent amphitheatre, whose slopes had been vertically furrowed at a hundred points by torrents; to the left a spur projected, the crest of which sloped gently downward, forming an enclosing wall upon that side. before us, beyond the valley, was a boundary line of mountain masses, sharply outlined against the sky. lower ridges, nearer to us, paralleled this distant rampart. the only apparent outlet from this valley was around the spur to our left. looking down upon this magnificent valley, we saw it occupied by a sea of clouds, the level surface of which looked like a lake of water flecked here and there with whitecaps. the higher hills within the valley rose like islands from the water; to the left a mighty river seemed to flow around the spur, out into a boundless sea of cloud beyond. the level surface of this lake, river, and sea of clouds was hundreds of feet below us. from this summit, our trail plunged downward into this sea of mists. when we reached its upper surface, which was plainly defined, little wisps of mist or cloud were streaming up along the furrowed channels of the mountain walls. as we entered the lake of cloud the sunlight became fainter, uprushes of cold mists struck us, gloom settled, denser and denser grew the fog, drops of condensed vapor dripped from the trees under which we passed. at the bottom of the valley, we could scarcely see a dozen yards in any direction. we were passing along meadows, like those of new england, with brakes, sunflowers, and huckleberries; here and there were little fields of wheat or peas. the fog was too dense for us to know whether we lost fine scenery. we saw nothing of the little villages through which we passed. on and on we plunged along the trail, until it began an ascent of a ridge, almost like a knife-edge, with steep slopes on both sides. when we had reached the summit of this ridge, we found the trail level, through a growth of oak trees which were loaded with bromelias and orchids. though still dim, the light had brightened as we rose to higher levels. graceful ferns and sprays of terrestrial orchids overhung our trail at every cutting or slope. one spray, which i plucked as i rode under it, was more than a yard in length, and its curiously colored brown and yellow flowers were strangely like insects in form. at one level summit of our ridge, we came upon a little whitewashed building of adobe, dome-topped, with no windows and but one little door. pushing this open, i entered through a doorway so narrow that i had to remove my hat, and so low that i was forced to bend, and found myself in a little shrine with a cross and pictures of two or three saints, before which were plain vases filled with fresh flowers, the offerings of travelers. we added our spray of orchids before we resumed our journey. for three hours, during which no distant view had delighted our eyes, we had traveled in the mists; we had almost forgotten that the sun could shine. at the end of a long, narrow ridge, where it joined the greater mountain mass, we found a rest-house. here the trail turned abruptly onto the larger ridge, mounted sharply through a dugway, and then to our complete surprise emerged into the fair sunlight. the clear, blue sky was over us, and directly below us, at our horses' feet, was the flat top of the sea of clouds. a moment more and we rose to a point of view from which the grandest view of a lifetime burst upon our vision. opposite, the evening sun was nearing the horizon, before and below us lay the valley; we were upon the very edge of a great mountain slope. to our right lay the cloud mass, which was all in movement, precipitating itself down the slope into the profound valley. it was a river of vapors, more than two miles, perhaps, in width, plunging, perhaps, two thousand feet into the abyss. niagara, which i have often seen, is a pigmy cataract in comparison. the cloud mass tossed and heaved, whirled and poured in one enormous sheet over the precipice, breaking into spray as it struck against projecting rock masses. every movement of whirling and plunging water was there; the rapid above the fall, the plunge, the whirlpool, the wild rush of whirlpool rapids, all were there, but all silent, fearfully and impressively silent. we could have stood there gazing for hours, but night was coming and a stretch of unknown road still lay before us. at the other end of the valley, in the dusk of early evening, we saw a second cataract pouring in. from both ends the cloud rivers were rushing in to fill the valley, along the edge of which we crept. and presently we plunged down again into the mists; night fell; our trail was barely visible, and we had to trust to our horses to find it; the air was cold and penetrating. long after dark, we rode into juquila. [illustration: cloud cataract; near juquila] [illustration: dancers in the danza de la conquista; juquila] the _cura_ had gone to bed; the _meson_ had no room for us and no food for our horses; our case seemed desperate. we heard, however, noisy laughter and the loud voices of men drinking. so i begged ernst to seek the _presidente_ and tell him our needs while i looked after the animals. the official was at the _tienda_, drinking with his friends. ernst made known our wishes, producing our letter from the governor. at this, the _presidente_ became furious: "who is this with orders from the governor? let me kill him," and with that he drew his _machete_ and made at ernst. some of his less-intoxicated friends restrained him, and ernst, concluding that the moment was not propitious, returned to me. after other fruitless efforts to get food for ourselves and animals we resigned ourselves to our fate, and lay down upon the stone floor of the corridor outside the _meson_, with a crowd of sleeping indians as companions. very early in the morning, all the town officials, except the _presidente_, came to apologize for the occurrence of the night. they announced that the _presidente_, realizing what he had done, had taken to the mountains, and asked what they could do for us. we ordered fodder for our hungry beasts, food for ourselves, and a place of shelter. the town-house was offered to us, and we were moved into those quarters with due ceremony. although we stayed several days at juquila, the _presidente_ did not return, during our presence, to resume his duties of office. we were, however, well treated. the _cura_ aided us with advice, information, and helpers. while we were in the village the _danza de la conquista_ took place. it is a popular play, with much dancing and music, and little action or dialogue, which celebrates the conquest of mexico by cortez. it was rendered in the shade of a great tree near the church. in the first act, nine men and two girls took part; in the second act, there were many others. the nine men and two girls represented indians; they wore crowns with plumes of snow-white down; in their hands they carried a rattle, made from the fruit of a tree and a wand of white down, with which they beat time. one man, representing montezuma, had a crown of brilliantly colored plumes. the other eight men were warriors; the two girls were "_malinches_." the first act consisted of a series of dances, including a very pretty maypole dance. the play lasted about three hours, and represented the life of the indians before the conquest--montezuma in his court, with the amusements celebrated for his entertainment. hearing of the arrival of the spaniards, he is filled with sad forebodings, which the amusements fail to dispel. in the second act, hernando cortez appears, with soldiers. while the costumes of the indians were gay, and more or less attractive, those of these european warriors were ludicrously mongrel and unbecoming. the new-comers demanded that montezuma acknowledge the authority of the king of spain and the cross of christ. conversations, demands, replies, tableaus, sword-dances, etc., ensued. finally, montezuma and his warriors yielded, and kissed the crucifix. [illustration: road approaching quezaltepec] while this drama was being enacted under the shade-tree, another amusement, in connection with the _fiesta of_ _san marcos_, was in progress in front of the church. the musicians with the long horns made doleful music; a dozen gayly-costumed dancers took part. they wore dark trousers slitted up the sides; bright kerchiefs, with the point hanging down in front, were tied about the waists; crowns of plumes were on the heads; red vests and kerchiefs, crossed at the neck, completed the costume. one player, who seemed to be a leader, carried a tri-colored flag; another represented a man on horseback, by creeping into a frame of sticks, covered with cloth, in the shape of a horse. they danced in the full sunlight for hours; their movements were varied and pretty, quite different, too, from the figures in the _danza de la conquista_. two outside characters played the clown. one of these was a little lad dressed in a garment representing a tiger-skin, while over his face he wore a heavy, old wooden mask, imitating an animal's head. the other was older, dressed in a leather suit, with a wooden mask like a vacant-looking human face. these two were very popular, and indulged in many acts that bordered on the obscene. we got no satisfactory explanation of this whole performance. the _cura_ said that it represented the conflict between christ and the jews; this we greatly doubted. mixe roads avoid no mountains, and usually go straight up one slope and down the other. the mixe villages are set upon the very crests, or upon little terraces a few hundred feet below the crest, or the summit of some spur that juts out from the great mountain mass, of a long and narrow ridge. the road from juquila, by ocotopec to quezaltepec was beautiful and typical. the ascent, just before quezaltepec, was magnificent. we had a letter of introduction from the _cura_ at juquila to the schoolteacher at quezaltepec, and therefore rode directly to the school. the four boys who were in attendance were promptly dismissed and the _maestro_ was at our disposition. he was a _mestizo_, and possessed the art of lying in a fine degree, like so many of his kind. this man set us an excellent supper, having asked us beforehand what we would like. we replied that we would be glad to have fresh meat, if there was any to be had. he replied, "there is always fresh meat here; someone kills every day." it really appeared in the dinner, but, as we ate it, our host remarked--"gentlemen, it is indeed lucky that you arrived here just now, because to-night we have fresh meat, and like enough a month will pass before anyone in town kills again." our teacher friend fully appreciated his opportunity, and we paid a large price for our meal, with its fresh meat, our beds on the school benches, and the fodder supplied our horses. the next day being saturday, the _maestro_ offered to accompany us to ixcuintepec, where his half-brother, the local teacher, would welcome our coming and arrange for our entertainment. passing camotlan, we entered a magnificent gorge, along one side of which we climbed, passing in front of lovely cascades and having magnificent outlooks. while we were on this trail, we encountered the _maestro_ from ixcuintepec, who was on his way to quezaltepec to spend his holiday. a whispered word with his half-brother, our companion, quickly changed his plan, and he accompanied us. upon this trail we found our first swinging foot-bridges made of _lianas_, or vines, hanging from trees. these are, of course, only suitable for foot-travellers, but are a great convenience, where streams are likely to be swollen. two or three long and slender vines, laid side by side and lashed together, form the footway, which is swung from one tree to another; other _lianas_ are stretched across as side rails, smaller vines being twined in between and around them to hold them in place; long vines, pendant from the high branches of the supporting trees, are fastened to the upper rails to steady and anchor these frail bridges, which swing and yield with every weight. [illustration: tree fern in tropical forest; quezaltepec] [illustration: cascade, near quezaltepec] ixcuintepec is upon one of the most abrupt ridges of this whole district. we went first to the schoolhouse, where our animals were to be guarded in a little open space before it; then we walked over to the _curato_ which was being prepared for us. we had ordered _zacate_ (fodder) for our animals and had divided it suitably between them. we ate our own meal, took a turn around the town, and were about to go to our quarters for the night, when ernst noticed that the fodder, for which we had paid an outrageous price, had completely disappeared from before the two horses, although the pile before the mule had diminished but little. no doubt the two school teachers could have explained this mysterious disappearance; we could not, however, tax them with theft, but we made so much fuss over the matter that the officials brought a new supply. while i went to our room to write up my notes, ernst sat in the gathering darkness watching the animals, as they ate, to prevent further robbery. i was busily writing, listening now and then to the fierce gusts of a gale that was blowing without, when the door burst open and ernst, greatly excited, called me to follow, and we hastened to the place where our animals were tied. there we found that the great tree under which chontal, the little mule, had been feeding, had been torn by the tempest and half of it had fallen upon the animal, bearing it to the ground. the crash had come without a moment's warning. fortunately, the mule was unhurt, though it could not move until the branches which had crushed it to the earth had been cut away with axes. when we had released the beast and were retiring to our quarters, we saw a sight never to be forgotten. looking down from our crest into the valley and across upon the other ridges and mountains beyond, we saw that the camp-fires of charcoal-burners and wayfarers had been fanned by the winds and spread into the forest until a dozen great lines of blazing trees lit up the landscape in every direction. our leaving ixcuintepec in the early morning was not agreeable. the teachers were irritated over the affair of the _zacate_; the town authorities were dissatisfied with our refusal to pay for two lots of it. there was grumbling, and many dark looks followed us. we were rather glad to get away from the town without a serious outbreak. we were now on the road to the last of the mixe towns we should visit, coatlan. the road seemed endless, the ascent interminable; the town itself impressed us as exceptionally mean and squalid, and we stopped only long enough to eat a miserable dinner of eggs with chili and _tortillas_. the women here wore native dress. several were clad as the zapotec women from here to tehuantepec, but a few were dressed in striking _huipilis_ of native weaving, with embroidered patterns, and had their black hair done up in great rings around their heads, bright strips of cloth or ribbon being intermingled in the braiding. literally and figuratively shaking the dust of the mixe towns from our feet, we now descended into the zapotec country. we were oppressed by a cramped, smothered feeling as we descended from the land of forested mountains and beautiful streams. at evening we reached san miguel, the first zapotec settlement, a little group of houses amid coffee plantings. [illustration: fiesta of san marcos; juquila] [illustration: bridge of vines, near ixcuintepec] at the first indian house, we asked if we might have shelter for the night. the owner cordially answered, "_como no? señores_," (why not? sirs). he explained, however, that there was nought to eat. after eating elsewhere, we made our way back to our lodging-place, a typical zapotec hut, a single room, with dirt-floor, walls of canes or poles, and thatch of grass. the house contained a hammock and two beds of poles, comforts we had not known for days. i threw myself into the hammock; ernst lay down upon one of the beds; the man and woman, squatting, were husking corn for our horses; a little girl was feeding a fire of pine splints, built upon the floor, which served for light. as they worked and we rested the man asked that question which ever seems of supreme importance to mexican indians, "_como se llama ud. señor_?" (what is your name, sir?). "ernst," replied our spokesman, to whom the question was addressed. "_y el otro_?" (and the other?), pointing to me. i replied for myself, "_federico_." the man seemed not to catch the word and badly repeated it after me. "_no, no_," said the much quicker woman, "_federico! federico! si, señor, nosotros tenemos un federico, también_," (yes, sir, and we have a frederick, also). "ah, and where is he?" "he will come, sir; we have four boys, luca and pedrito, castolo and federico; federico is the baby; the little girl, here, is between him and castolo; they are working in the coffee-field, but they will soon be here." at nine o'clock the little fellows appeared. they lined up in the order of age, placed their hands behind them, and waited to be addressed. castolo, then about ten years of age, most pleased me, and i asked him, among other things, whether he could read and write. his father answered for him, that he could not read or write; that the opportunities were not good; but that he believed castolo _could_ learn, that he had a good mind. at this point the mother spoke to her husband in zapotec. some argument ensued, in which at last she triumphed. turning to me, the man said: "she says you may have castolo; you may take him to your country and there he can learn to read and write and whatever else you wish." it was not altogether easy to refuse this gift; finally i replied that we had a long journey ahead and that castolo would weary on the road; that he had better wait until some later time. it was now time for the family to dispose of itself for the night. i was already in the hammock and ernst had one of the pole-beds; the man, his wife, and little federico occupied the other bed; the little girl and the three older boys climbed, by a notched log, up to a loft constructed of poles or canes on which they laid themselves down. after all were located, the woman barred the door and we were soon asleep. all rose early. not only did we wish to make an early start, but the boys, too, were to make a journey. our friends had agreed to make us some coffee and _tortillas_. we had made our preparations for starting and were waiting for our breakfast, when a shriveled and wrinkled old woman tottered up to beg the strangers to visit her sick son and prescribe some _remedio_. on our consenting to go with her, she caught up a stick of fat pine, lighted it in the fire, and with this blazing torch to light the way, preceded us to her house. her son had been a strong and robust young man, but four months of lying upon his pole-bed had sadly reduced him. he was thin and pale, coughed sadly, and suffered with fever, chills, and dreadful headaches. he was taking medicines brought from tehuantepec, but these seemed to have no effect and we were begged to suggest treatment. we advised continuance of the remedy she had been using, but also prescribed hot water taken in the morning and at night, hot water applications for the headaches, quinine for the chills and fever, and a digestive for the stomach trouble, and furnished these remedies from our own supplies. having lighted us back to our lodging-place the old lady asked our charge. when we refused to receive payment from the poor creature, we noted an increased activity on the part of our host and hostess; a bit of cheese was promptly found and added to the waiting coffee and _tortillas_, and when we called for our own reckoning, we received the hearty response--"_nada, señor, nada_;" (nothing, sir, nothing) "and when you come this way again, come straight to us, our door is always open to you." [illustration: santiago guevea] we were now ready and found that the three boys, luca, pedrito, and castolo, were waiting to accompany us as far as our roads were the same. they were to go on foot, five leagues, into the mountains to bring back some mules from a camp; they expected to reach their destination that day, to sleep on the mountain, and to bring in the animals the next day. the little fellows, from thirteen to nine or ten years old, seemed to find nothing extraordinary in their undertaking; each carried his little carrying-net, with food, drinking-gourd, and an extra garment for the chilly night, upon his back; pedrito buckled to his belt the great _machete_, which men here regularly carry for clearing the path, cutting firewood, or protection against animals. they were very happy at accompanying us for a distance. we soon rose from the low, malarial, coffee _fincas_ onto a fine mountain, which was the last of its kind that we saw for many days; it was like the mountains of the mixes, with its abundant vegetation of ferns, begonias, and trees loaded with bromelias and orchids. our bodyguard kept up with us bravely until we had made one-half of the ascent, where they fell behind and we saw them no more. reaching the summit, we saw before us a distant line of blue, interrupted here and there by some hill or mountain,--the great pacific. from here on, the beauty of the road disappeared. we descended and then mounted along dry slopes to santiago guevea, then hot and dusty. our friends of san miguel really live in guevea and are at san miguel only when the coffee needs attention. from guevea the road was hard and dry and dusty to santa maria. the mountain mass over which we passed was a peak, the summit of which was covered with masses of chalcedony of brilliant colors, which broke into innumerable splinters, which were lovely to see but hard upon the feet of horses; the surface of this part also gave out a glare or reflection that was almost intolerable. we descended over granite which presented typical spheroidal weathering. we went onward, up and down many little hills, reaching santa maria at noonday. the village sweltered; the air scorched and blistered; there was no sign of life, save a few naked children playing in the shade or rolling upon the hot sand. it was so hot and dusty that we hated to resume our journey and tarried so long that we had to ride after nightfall before we reached the _rancho_ of los cocos, where we lay in the corridor and all night long heard the grinding of sugar-cane at the mill close by. we had just such another hard, hot, and dusty ride the next day, on through auyuga and tlacotepec, where we stopped for noon, until tehuantepec, where we arrived at evening. chapter iv through chiapas ( ) tehuantepec is meanly built; it is hot and dusty, and the almost constant winds drive the dust in clouds through the streets. but its picturesque market is a redeeming feature. every morning it is crowded and presents a brilliant and lively spectacle. all the trade is in the hands of women, and the tehuantepec women have the reputation of being the handsomest in the world. they are large, finely-built, and in their movements exhibit an indescribable freedom and grace. their natural attractions are set off by a characteristic and becoming costume. the _huipilili_ is a little sleeveless waist, loose at the neck and arms, and so short that it rarely reaches to the waist-line, to which, of course, it is supposed to extend; it is of bright cotton--red, brown, purple, with stripes or spots of white--and is stitched at the neck with yellow silk. the _enagua_, or skirt, is a strip of heavy cotton cloth, less than a yard wide, which is simply wrapped around the figure and hangs from the waist, being held in place by a brightly colored belt or girdle. the _enagua_ is usually a rich red, but it is sometimes a fine violet purple. it reaches but little below the knees. it generally fails to meet the _huipilili_ above, so that a broader or narrower band of fine, dark brown separates the two garments. nothing is worn on the feet, which are exposed, as are also the finely shaped and beautifully developed arms. but the most striking article in the tehuantepec woman's costume is her _huipíl_, which travellers usually describe as a head-dress, although it is nothing of the kind. it is in reality a waist-garment with sleeves. it is made of lace or cotton, or linen, and is bordered at the neck, the sleeves, and the lower margin with broad ruffs of pleated lace. only at church or on some important or ceremonial occasion is the _huipíl_ worn as it was meant to be. usually at church the wearer draws the garment over her upper body, but does not put her arms into the sleeves, nor her head through the neck-opening, simply fitting her face into this in such a way that it appears to be framed in a broad, oval, well-starched border of pleated lace. usually, however, the garment is not even worn in this manner, but is turned upside down and carelessly hung upon the head so that the broad lower fringe of lace falls back upon the hair, while the upper part of the garment, with the sleeves, the collar, and cuff-ruffs, hangs down upon the back. the whole effect is that of a fine crest rising from the head, coursing down the back, and moving with the breeze as the woman walks. these zapotec women are fond of decoration, but particularly prize gold coins. in the past, when tehuantepec was more important than now, it was no uncommon thing to see a woman in this market with several hundred dollars in gold coins hanging to her neck chain. in these later days of little trade and harder times, these once prized decorations have been spent, and it is rare to see any woman wearing more than twenty to fifty dollars as display. [illustration: ready for church; tehuantepec] [illustration: the wide road; tehuantepec to juchitan] resuming our journey, we struck out upon the highway which parallels the coast. almost immediately, the road changed from a fair country cart-road to a road remarkable at once for its straightness, breadth and levelness. it was, however, dreadfully hot and dusty, and was bordered on both sides with a tiresome and monotonous growth of low, thorn-bearing trees, with occasional clumps of palms. we ate dinner at juchitan, in a little eating-house conducted by a _japanese_! a little beyond that important indian centre, we saw a puma pace forth from the thicket; with indescribably graceful and slow tread it crossed the dusty road and disappeared in the thicket. in the morning we had startled flocks of parrots, which rose with harsh cries, hovered while we passed, and then resettled on the same trees where they had been before. in the evening we saw pairs of macaws flying high, and as they flew over our heads they looked like black crosses sharp against the evening sky. at evening we reached guviño, a dreadful town, in the population of which there seems to be a negro strain. we stopped with the _presidente_, in whose veins flowed spanish, indian, and negro blood. in his one-roomed house besides ourselves there slept the owner, his wife, two daughters, one with a six-weeks baby, a son, and two young men--friends of the family. turning north the next day, onto the niltepec road, we wandered from our trail, losing five leagues of space and more than three hours of time. the country through which we passed was terribly dry; there were no running streams. we crossed the bed of one dried river after another--streaks of sand and pebbles. the people in the villages near these dried river-beds dug holes a foot or two deep into this sand and gravel and thus got water. at the place where we camped for the night, suspiro ranch, a new house was being palm-thatched. all the men and boys of the neighborhood were helping; the labor was carefully divided; some were bringing in great bundles of the palm leaves; others pitched these up to the thatchers, who were skilfully fitting them under and over the poles of the roof framework and then beating them firmly home. many of the helpers had come considerable distances and spent the night, so that we shared our room with quite a dozen men and boys, while the women and children slept in another house. passing through zanatepec, we stopped for sunday at tanatepec. here we found ourselves again upon the low coast road. it was, however, our last point of low altitude, as from there we struck inland over a higher, cooler, and more interesting mountain road. at zanatepec we first saw the _marimba_ played. this musical instrument, unquestionably african in name and origin, is hardly found north of chiapas, but is extremely common through central america. it consists of a wooden frame supporting keys made of wood and metal, each of which gives forth its own note when struck with small hammers. below the keys of lowest tone are hung tubes, pipes, or gourds, as sounding boxes to increase the sound produced by striking the key. usually four players perform at one time, each using two or more little hammers. the music is rapid and brilliant, somewhat resembling that of the piano. the instrument usually has some fanciful name, which is painted upon it. the one at tanatepec was _la azteca_ (the aztec lady), while our next one was _la reina de las flores_ (the queen of the flowers). at zanatepec, _la azteca_ was an advertising part of a traveling circus. the troupe consisted of three men and three women, the latter of whom seemed to be mulattos. the men were ridiculously garbed and painted to represent wild indians. the real, live indians, who followed these clowns in delighted crowds, enjoyed thrills of terror at their whoops, fierce glances, and wild antics, and assured us that these actors were, if not the real thing, at least wonderfully accurate impersonations of the natives of the _estados unidos_ (united states)--the land of the "apaches." from tanatepec we were in chiapas, the southernmost state of the republic. we struck out over a fine mountain road, _passable for carts_ all the way to tuxtla gutierrez, the capital of the state. our first ascent was over a magnificent mountain mass of syenite, which at some places seemed to be as fine as our own quincy stone. the road, with many short zigzags, made a remarkably abrupt ascent, and, having reached the crest, wound like a vast serpent along the summit. as we descended into the following valley, we encountered a beautiful deer, which stood in the middle of the road, eyeing us with curiosity, until we were almost upon it, when it dashed into the thicket and then stopped to again eye us. upon attaining the second summit we were amid pines. all day we had had a wind in our faces, cold and so strong as to almost blow us from the narrow ridge, yet the sky was cloudless. looking back from our summit, a magnificent view to the ocean was spread before us. below us were the mountains over which we had come, then a valley broken with mountains of a lesser size; beyond, was the dry, coastal plain, and yet beyond it, the sea. the dark green pines, the blue sky, the brown hills, the gray plain, the stretch of blue-green waters, made a wonderful color combination. the next two days were most uninteresting. we were often reminded of the recent threat of war between mexico and guatemala, the disputed border-line between which we were now nearing. we met marching bands of soldiers who were returning to juchitan. officers were on horses, common soldiers on foot, pack-mules were laden with luggage, the women (accompanying their husbands) were weighed down with coffee-pots, bundles of clothes, and babies, all strapped on their backs together. they were a motley crew. at jiquipilas a company was encamped in the plaza. our mule, chontal, took particular delight in running into such bands of marching soldiers as we encountered, causing no end of trouble. on one occasion, as a group approached us, he ran forward at a lively pace into their midst and tangled himself up with a party of prisoners,--apparently soldiers in disgrace,--who, tied together with ropes, were under guard. as we rode up to capture him, i felt a hand at that coat pocket which contained our money-bag and, turning suddenly, found one of the guard trying to draw the bag of money from my pocket. i struck at him with my whip and he slunk away. the last day of travel before reaching tuxtla gutierrez, we passed one of the few pretty places on this dreary road, agua bendita. at this point the road makes a great curve, almost like a horseshoe; at the middle of this curve there rises to the right of the road a wall of limestone rock the plainly defined strata of which are thrown into a gentle anticlinal fold. the upper layers of this arch were covered with shrubs, clinging to its face, while the lower layers were tapestried with a curtain of delicate ferns, which hung down over the open arch below, under which the road passed. water trickled through this limestone mass and dripped and collected in little basins, which had been excavated in the ledge close by the roadside. some grateful passer had set up little crosses by the water pools, and they were gay that day with purple orchids plucked from a near-by tree. in this tree, amid the brilliant clumps of yet unplucked blossoms of the orchids, were a number of toucans with their enormous, brightly colored bills--the _picos de canoa_ (canoe beaks) of the people. tuxtla gutierrez is a town of some thousands population, with a central plaza where the local band plays almost every evening, and a market place of exceptional interest. here, as nowhere else, we saw crowds of the purest indians in native dress. chiapas is the home of at least thirteen tribes, each with its own language. among the most interesting indians we saw in the market were the tzotzils, from chamula, who wore heavy, black woolen garments. the indians of the town and its immediate vicinity are zoques. few mexican governors possess the breadth of view and the intelligent enterprise of governor leon, whom we encountered here. a man of middle age, of fair stature though slight in build, with dark complexion, iron-gray hair, beard and whiskers carefully trimmed after the french fashion, his appearance creates a favorable impression. he did everything in his power for our comfort and assistance, and supplied us with letters to the _jefes politicos_ of the districts through which we were to pass. we congratulated him upon the cart-road over which we had come from zanatepec, an important public work for this part of the world; he told us he began it three years ago with a force of but nine men; that it would be extended to san cristobal and san bartolome; that he was no engineer, but that he could tell quite well when a road was passable for a cart. we found him greatly interested in a congress which he had called of persons interested in labor questions. among the questions which he hoped to see considered was the abolition of the system of _peonage,_ which still exists in full development in the state. less than three leagues from tuxtla gutierrez is chiapa, famous for the brightly painted gourds and calabash vessels there manufactured and sent out to all parts of the republic. toys, rattles, cups, and great bowl-basins are among the forms produced. we visited a house where five women were making pretty rattles from little crook-necked gourds. the workers sat upon the floor, with their materials and tools before them. the first one rubbed the body of the dry gourds over with an oil paint. these paints are bought in bulk and mixed upon a flat slab, with a fine-grained, smooth, hard pebble as a grinder, with _aje_ and a white earth dug near the road between chiapa and tuxtla gutierrez. the _aje_ is a yellow, putty-like mass which gives a brilliant, lacquer-like lustre; the white earth causes the color to adhere to the surface to which it is applied. the second woman rubbed the neck of the gourd with green paint; the third painted the line of junction of the two colors with white, using a brush; the fourth brought out the lustre of the before dull object by rubbing it upon a pad of cotton cloth upon her knee, giving a final touch by careful rubbing with a tuft of cotton-wool; with a brush, the final worker rapidly painted on the lustrous surface delicate floral or geometric decoration. though representing so much delicate and ingenious labor, these pretty toys were sold at the price of two for a _medio_ (three cents in united states currency). the _aje_ which gives the brilliant lustre to this work deserves more than a passing notice. it is made chiefly at san bartolome and is secured from an insect, a sort of plant-louse, which lives upon the blackthorn and related trees. the insect is found only in the wet season, is small, though growing rapidly, and is of a fiery-red color, though it coats itself over with a white secretion. it lives in swarms, which form conspicuous masses. these are gathered in vessels, washed to remove the white secretion, boiled, crushed, and strained through a cloth; an oily matter, mixed with blood (?) and water passes out, which is boiled to drive off the water and to concentrate the oily mass. this is then washed in trays, to rid it of the blood, and made up into balls, which are sold at ten or twelve _centavos_ (five or six cents) a pound. it is a putty-like substance, with a handsome yellow color. we have already stated that it is ground up with dry paints to be rubbed on the object which is to be adorned, and that the brilliant lustre is developed by gentle and rapid friction. [illustration: zapotec woman; san blas] [illustration: case of white pinto; tuxita gutierrez] _pinto_, a spotting or discoloring of the skin, is a common disease in many parts of mexico. three varieties are recognized--white, red, and blue or purple. the disease is particularly frequent in the states of guerrero and chiapas, and we had heard that it was very common in chiapa. perhaps twenty per cent of the population really has the disease; at san bartolome perhaps seventy-five per cent are affected; in some towns an even larger proportion is reported. the white form appears the commonest. one subject examined at tuxtla gutierrez was a woman some sixty years of age. at birth she showed no symptom of the trouble, but spots began to appear when she was seven or eight years old. she was naturally dark, and the white spots were in notable contrast to her normal color; the spots increased in number and in size until her face and arms looked as if they had been white and become brown-spotted, instead of _vice versa_. after she was forty years of age her spots varied but little. the cause of this disease is still obscure, although several treatises have been written upon it. authorities do not even agree as to the sequence of the forms of the disease, if there be such sequence. some assert that the white form is the early stage and that the disease may never progress beyond it; others assert that the white spots are merely the permanent scars, left after the disappearance of the disease itself. maps of distribution seem to show a distinct relation of the disease to altitude and character of water-supply. the common herd attribute it to an insect sting, to drinking of certain water, or to bathing in certain pools. usually, there is no pain or danger connected with the trouble, except in the red form, but if the person affected changes residence, itching and some discomfort may temporarily ensue. the _presidente_ at chiapa took us to the jail, where the prisoners were filed before us and made to hold out hands and feet for our inspection. such cases of _pinto_ as were found were somewhat carefully examined. all we encountered there were of the white variety. later, at private houses, we saw some dreadful cases of the purple form. very often, those whose faces were purple-blotched had white-spotted hands and feet. we had not planned to stop at acala, but after a hard ride over a dreary road and a ferrying across a wide and deep river in a great dugout canoe thirty feet or more in length--our animals swimming alongside--we found our beasts too tired for further progress. and it was a sad town. how strange, that beautifully clear and sparkling mountain water often produces actual misery among an ignorant population! scarcely had we dismounted at our lodging place, when a man of forty, an idiot and goitrous, came to the door and with sadly imperfectly co-ordinated movements, gestured a message which he could not speak. almost as soon as he had gone a deaf-mute boy passed. as we sat at our doorway, we saw a half-witted child at play before the next house. goitre, deaf-mutism, and imbecility, all are fearfully common, and all are relatedly due to the drinking water. to us, sitting at the door near dusk, a song was borne upon the evening breeze. nearer and nearer it came, until we saw a group of twelve or fifteen persons, women in front, men and children behind, who sang as they walked. some aided themselves with long staves; all carried burdens of clothing, food, utensils; all were wearied and footsore with the long journey, but full of joy and enthusiasm, as they were nearing their destination--a famous shrine. passing us, they journeyed onward to an open space at the end of town, where, with many others who had reached there sooner, they camped for the night. the next day we constantly passed such parties of pilgrims; coming or going to this shrine which lay a little off the road between acala and san bartolome. in one group, we counted ninety pilgrims. [illustration: river between chiapa and acala] [illustration: the indian government at san bartolome] we had been told that san bartolome was full of goitre, and we really found no lack of cases. it is said that forty years ago it was far more common than now, and that the decrease has followed the selection of a new water source and the careful piping of the water to the town. in the population of two thousand, it was estimated that there might be two hundred cases, fifty of which were notable. none, however, was so extraordinary as that of which several told us, the late _secretario_ of the town, who had a goitre of such size that, when he sat at the table to write, he had to lift the swelling with both hands and place it on the table before he began work. the former prevalence of the disease is abundantly suggested by the frequency of deaf-mutes, a score or more of whom live here--all children of goitrous parents. bad as was san bartolome, it seemed to us surpassed by san antonio, where we found the disease in an aggravated form, while at nenton, our first point in guatemala, every one appeared affected, although we saw no dreadful cases. san bartolome is an almost purely indian town, where for the first time our attention was called to the two sets of town officials--indian and _ladino_. the indian town government consisted of four indians of pure blood, who wore the native costume. this, here, is characteristic, both for men and women. the men wore wide-legged trousers of native woven cotton, and an upper jacket-shirt, square at the bottom, made of the same stuff, with designs--rosettes, flowers, geometrical figures, birds, animals, or men--wrought in them in red, green, or yellow wools; about the waist was a handsome brilliant native belt, while a bright kerchief was twisted about the head. the men were well-built, but the _alcalde_ was a white _pinto_. women wore _huipilis_, waist-garments, sometimes thick and heavy, at others thin and open, in texture, but in both cases decorated with lines of brightly colored designs. their _enaguas_, skirts, were of heavy indigo-blue stuff or of plain white cotton, of two narrow pieces sewed together and quite plain except for a line of bright stitching along the line of juncture. as among other indian tribes, this cloth was simply wrapped around the figure and held in place by a belt. the town is famous for its weaving and dyeing; the loom is the simple, primitive device used all through mexico long before the conquest. we were surprised to find that the designs in colored wools are not embroidered upon the finished fabric, but are worked in with bits of worsted during the weaving. from san bartolome to comitan, the road passes over a curious lime deposit, apparently formed by ancient hot waters; it is a porous tufa which gave back a hollow sound under the hoofs of our horses. it contains moss, leaves, and branches, crusted with lime, and often forms basin terraces, which, while beautiful to see, were peculiarly harsh and rough for our animals. but the hard, and far more ancient, limestone, onto which we then passed, was quite as bad. at the very summit of one hill of this we found a cave close by the road; entering it, we penetrated to a distance of perhaps seventy-five feet, finding the roof hung with stalactites and the walls sheeted with stalagmite. just after leaving this cave, we met a tramp on foot, ragged, weary, and dusty, and with a little bundle slung upon a stick over his shoulder. he accosted me in spanish, asking whence we had come; on my reply, probably catching my foreign accent, he winked and said in plain english,--"yes? and where are you going, pard?" after a hard day's ride, over a shut-in road, destitute of fine views, we reached the crest overlooking comitan. the descent was almost precipitous. the town, better built and more compact than most, was situated near the foot of the hill; near it, on a terrace, was the cemetery. on the level road, stretching to a long distance from the town, we saw lines of hundreds of pack-mules, dwarfed by distance. south from the town stretched a grassy plain, bordered here and there with pine trees. back of this plain rose round-topped hills, and beyond them were again the blue mountains; far in the distance, behind these, towered the mighty crests of the guatemalan sierra madre. the town was crowded, as the annual _feria_ (fair) was in progress, and it was with difficulty that we found a room to sleep in, going for our meals to one of the many temporary eating-places in the plaza. comitan is the last town of consequence in mexico, and has wide fame on account of its spirits, known at _comiteco_. this drink, of enormous strength, distilled from coarse, brown sugar (_panela,_) is a favorite in guatemala, and its smuggling across the border, though risky, is a lucrative business. there are scores of little distilleries in the town, many of them belonging to and conducted by women. mexican paper money is useless between tuxtla gutierrez and comitan. at the latter city it may be exchanged for silver, but with difficulty. from here on we found no copper in circulation, and before reaching comitan we had begun to receive guatemalan silver in our change. fully thirty leagues from the border we ceased to receive mexican silver from anyone. this notable displacement of mexican currency seems curious, because guatemalan money is at a heavy discount in comparison with it. at san bartolome we sent a soldier-police to buy _zacate_, giving him mexican money. he brought back two guatemalan pieces in change, and on our objecting to receive it, assured me, not only that the money was good, but also that here the people were guatemalans. "here," said he, "not mexico: here we are all carrera's people." this, of course, was sheer treason. carrera, the pure-blood indian who in the stirring days of seized the power in guatemala, a strange and wild being who had a real love for his country, has left a profound impression. at times an exile, he had lived at comitan, where his name was familiar to all the indians around. his coins are much prized by the indians for necklaces and earrings, and even at tehuantepec we had seen women wearing his little gold pieces in their ears. it should have been an easy matter to go from comitan to nenton (in guatemala) in a single day. as it was, we made it with great difficulty in two, our mule chontal apparently being completely worn out. we crossed the _llano_, passed through patches of pines, and then came out upon a terrible country of limestone hills. in our last day's journey we had to coax, threaten, beat, drag, and push that mule until our voices were gone and our arms were tired. immediately on passing the line into guatemala, we found the telegraph wires cut and poles down, a result of the late unpleasantness with mexico. the mountain mass before us, which had been in view for two days past, loomed up frightfully before us. would our little mule be able to pass it? we remembered what an american tramp, whom we had met at tuxtla gutierrez and who had walked on foot from guatemala city, had said: "between nenton and huehuetenango you will pass over a mountain that will make your heart sick; may god help you." just at dusk we looked down upon nenton in a little valley, with a fine stream crossed by a pretty bridge, where mountains rose steeply on every side. having been registered by the custom officials, we slept that night, our first in the new republic, in the municipal house. next morning we started bravely, the whole town having assembled to see us off. we safely reached the foot of the mountain, where the mule stopped and braced himself. we spoke kindly, coaxed, dragged, but all to no effect. finally he started, but three times within the next few minutes, he and we went through the same procedure. patience had ceased to be a virtue; we held a serious consultation. ernst asserted that by placing the rope over the nostrils of the animal and then leading, he must move. we tried the experiment. the beast gave a snort, a groan, lurched, fell over, kicked convulsively, closed his eyes, and lay to all appearance dead. the town below, which had been watching progress, came running up. we removed the halter; the animal lay quiet. the pity of the by-standers was maddening; their remarks exasperating. "poor little mule, he dies;" they pointed to his rubbed sides,--"ah, poor creature! what a heavy load! how thin he is." it is certain that the best mule in the town was in far worse condition, and as for food, chontal had eaten more the night before than our two horses put together. having exhausted their vocabulary of sympathy, our friends left us, as the "poor little animal" showed signs of coming to. we concluded to engage a man on foot to carry the burden across the mountains and to lead chontal. after some delay a man was found, who readily agreed to carry the burden and pack-saddle, but when he found he was to lead the mule besides, he defied the town authorities and refused to go. unfortunately, he was a carpenter and, by law, could not be made to go against his will. hours passed, while another carrier was sought. declaring that i would not return to town, i waited on the road with the mule, while ernst rode back and forth. as soon as he had left, the beast began to mend; he coughed, raised his head, and, opening one eye, gravely winked. taking his halter and encouraging him to rise, i led him a few yards up the hill, when he again braced himself and i desisted. there he ate _zacate_. presently we took another turn, mounted a little higher up the hill, where he stopped again. a little later we made another journey, and again halted. just then i heard an indian boy of fourteen years calling from the cliff above me in great excitement, "_señor, un animal_" (an animal, sir). clambering over rocks, i came up to the boy, with his _machete_ in his hand, standing at the foot of a tree upon the leafless branches of which was a fine iguana (lizard) two feet or more in length. visions of iguana steak, which i had long desired to try, rose in fancy. the boy was disgusted when he found i had no pistol with which to shoot his animal, but grunted, "if we but had a cord." i directed him where to find a cord among our luggage and on his return he made a slip-noose, cut a long and slender pole to which he tied his snare, then handing me his _machete_ he raised his pole and tried to slip the noose over the lizard's head. the iguana gave a leap, and as it shot by me i struck at it with the _machete_, which hit it and threw it on the rocks below. however, before we could reach it, it had made good its escape. returning to the mule i found it eating grass contentedly by the roadside. it was three o'clock in the afternoon when our human beast of burden finally arrived, took up his burden and was ready to start. then, suddenly, i took a new resolve. before us rose the appalling mass of the sierra madre; to get that mule across it would wear us out in mind and body; i regretted that he had not died, and determined to have no further trouble with him. quickly, we sent back word to nenton that a mule and saddle were for sale; the crowd gathered. we demanded fifteen dollars for the mule, ten for the saddle; and were offered ten and five respectively. but we declared we would kill the mule and burn the saddle before we would take less; we triumphed. our account stood: cost of mule $ . cost of saddle . ------ . selling price of mule . selling price of saddle . ------ $ . ------ loss--paid for experience in mules $ . chapter v at huixquilucan ( ) our serious work was to begin with one of the most conservative and reserved of mexican indian populations. if we could do what we planned to do with the otomis, we were likely to have but little greater trouble with any tribe. in ancient times the name of otomi was synonymous with stupidity. when an aztec was particularly stupid or clumsy, his fellows in derision called him an otomi. they still are ignorant, suspicious, and unprogressive. huixquilucan, which we had chosen as our field for labor, is situated on a high ridge within sight of the national railroad, at a distance of perhaps a mile and a half from the station of dos rios. a crowd of indian women and children are always at the station when trains pass, to sell _tortillas, chalupas_, and _pulque_ to passengers; few travellers from the united states, passing over this road, have failed to notice the dark and ugly faces of these sellers, and have received their first impression of the indians of mexico from seeing them. our party, three in number, reached dos rios in the morning and began work at the station with the women who were selling there. dr. powell, as our interpreter, undertook the personal dealings, and our material, as was to be expected, was chiefly women. when we came to record the names of our subjects, we found that every woman's first name was maria, the differentiation between them being first found in the middle name. they were little creatures, scarcely larger than well grown girls of eleven or twelve among ourselves. some old women, with grey hair and wrinkled faces who piously kissed our hands when they met us, were among the smallest. now and then some young woman or girl was attractive, but usually their faces were suspicious, sad, and old before their time. the skin was a rich brown; the eyebrows heavily haired, often meeting above the nose; the hair grew low upon the forehead, and in young women the forehead itself was covered with a fine downy black growth. the nose was flat, broad, and depressed at the roots, while its tip was flat and wide. the eyes were dark brown and the hair was black and coarse. if we were to judge the population by the women only, we might call the otomis true pygmies. the average stature of subjects was , millimeters--while sir william flower's limit for pygmy peoples is , millimeters. [illustration: otomi indian girls; huixquilucan] [illustration: the moon-stone, at dos rios station] many of the women whom we measured and photographed carried babies; the disposition of the children while the mothers were being examined was something of a problem. when given to another woman they usually cried lustily, and so conducted themselves as to distract the attention of their mothers and interfere seriously with our work. in the crowd of lookers-on there chanced to be a little girl, surely not more than ten years old, who seemed to be a born caretaker. upon her back, supported by her _ayate_, she carried her own baby brother. we quickly found that really refractory babies were best committed to her charge. no matter how loudly they might have been crying beforehand, when transferred to the arms of this little creature they became instantly quiet. the poor little thing was kept busily employed the greater part of the afternoon with the two babies, one upon her back, the other in her arms. almost all the women wear the ancient costume, which consists of the _huipíl, enagua, faja_, and _ayate_. the _huipíl_ is a cotton blanket, with a slit through which the head passes. on each side of the slit are bands of patterns embroidered in bright colors. much of the remaining surface of the garment may be similarly decorated; sometimes it becomes one mass of designs. the patterns are usually geometrical figures, but may be representations of animals, birds, or human beings. they may be regularly arranged, or jumbled together haphazard. the _enagua_, skirt, consists of two strips of cloth of different kinds and colors, sewn together side by side and then wrapped horizontally about the body. the strips of cloth are native spun, native dyed, and native woven. the favorite colors are dark blue, brownish purple, or indian red, horizontally banded with narrow black stripes. the two strips are usually joined by a line of colored stitching. the _enagua_ is simply wrapped about the body, sometimes thrown into pleatings in front, and held in place by a broad cotton belt of bright color, into which are woven birds, animals, human figures, and geometrical forms. these belts are called by the spanish name, _faja_. both men and women carry _ayates_. these are square or rectangular blankets made of _ixtli_, the strong fibre of the maguéy. like the _enaguas_, they usually consist of two pieces, side by side, stitched together with some bright color. the fibre, which is gotten from the leaves partly by maceration, partly by beating, is spun in a primitive fashion. almost every woman one meets upon the road, no matter what burden of babies or goods she carries, has a hank of the fibre thrown over her shoulder, and keeps her little spindle whirling, spinning the strong thread as she walks. her spindle consists of a slender stick thrust through a whorl of baked pottery. such whorls are no longer made, but the ancient ones, called by the aztec name _malacates_, are picked up in the fields and reapplied to their old use. usually the _ixtli_ thread is left of its original grey or white color, but sometimes the fibre is dyed, a fine shade of orange being favored. the _ixtli_ thread is woven into _ayates_, which are used for carrying burdens. vegetables, charcoal, babies--anything--are put into them. two ends are tied together to hold the burden in place, and the other two are passed across the breast and tied in front. these blankets are astonishingly strong and unyielding. at evening, after a fair day's work, we made our way on foot across the valley and up the long slope to the summit of the ridge on which lay huixquilucan, the official centre of a municipality of , persons. of these, , live in the village, while the remainder are clustered together in hamlets like san bartolito, san francisco, agua bendita, or are scattered in single-house settlements over the mountains. of the , persons, more than three-fourths claim to be full otomis. there are no truly poor in the whole town. every family has its field, its house, its bit of woodland. all the people still speak the native tongue, and many speak no other. the town is picturesquely situated upon the crest and flank of a long, narrow ridge, which is enclosed by a grand sweeping curve of lofty mountains. the flanks of the enclosed ridge and the whole slope of the surrounding mountains are occupied by the little fields of the indians, long narrow patches separated by lines of _maguéy_ or century-plants. the houses are built of adobe bricks with thick and solid walls, which are usually plastered on the outside and tinted white or pink. the roofs are pitched, but with a gentle slope. they consist of frameworks of poles upon which long narrow shingles are laid, and pegged in place with wooden pegs which project both above and below for several inches in a formidable, bristling way. sometimes the shingles, instead of being pegged in place, are held by stones, which in some cases weigh several pounds, and are laid in regular horizontal lines. when we were there, great stacks of corn-husks were to be seen in almost every yard; these were placed on floorings, raised by posts some distance above the ground to keep them from animals. a long ladder usually leaned against one side of the stack and a light cross of sticks stuck into the top of the stack kept off evil influences. sometimes this cross was cut in relief on the smooth, carefully trimmed end of the stack itself. more striking than these stacks, and quite characteristic of the otomi country, were the queer corn-bins or granaries called by the aztec name _cincalote_. they rose in all directions like great square columns. the floor of boards was slightly raised from the ground by stones, and measured some or feet on a side; from its corners rose poles, sometimes to the height of feet; these were connected at the top and held firm by ropes. the sides of the bin were built up of a cobwork of slender staves laid horizontally. the vertical bin thus formed was filled with ears of corn roofed about with a light thatch or shingled roof. later in the season, as the corn was taken from these bins, the sides would have been removed piecemeal to keep progress with the diminishing hoard. when the time of planting should be near, the whole structure but the floor and upright poles would have disappeared. next to maize the chief culture among the otomis is _maguéy_. this forms division lines between the corn-fields and the village yards, and is sometimes, though not commonly here, planted in fields. the _maguéy_ is an agave very close to the century-plant. manifold are its uses, but to the otomi its value is chiefly in two directions. it furnishes _ixtli_ fibre for _ayates_, and it yields _pulque_. for a dozen years the _maguéy_ plant stores away starchy food in its long, thick, sharp-pointed leaves. it is the intended nourishment for a great shaft of flowers. finally, the flower-bud forms amid the cluster of leaves. left to itself the plant now sends all its reserve of food into this bud, and the great flower-stalk shoots upward at the rate of several inches daily; then the great pyramid of flowers develops. but man interferes. the flower-bud is cut out, and a neat, deep cup is fashioned amid the bases of the cluster of leaves. the sap which should produce that wonderful growth is poured into this cup. the _pulque_ gatherer, with his long gourd collecting-tube, and skin carrying-bottle, goes from plant to plant and gathers the _agua miel_--honey-water. fermented, it becomes the whitish, dirty, ropy, sour-tasting, bad-smelling stuff so dear to the indians. and the otomi are fond of _pulque_. we were compelled to do our work in the mornings; in the afternoons everyone was drunk and limp and useless in the operator's hands. we slept and ate at the house of the _presidente_, an old _mestizo_ of rather forbidding manners but kindly spirit. our cases came rather slowly and a deal of coaxing, argument, and bribes were necessary to secure them. here we gave a trifle, a few _centavos_, to each subject. the policy was bad, and we abandoned it with reference to all subsequent populations. naturally the natives were hostile to our work. they thought that we were measuring them for their coffins; that they would be forced into the army; that disease would result; that an uncanny influence was laid upon them; that witchcraft might be worked against them. after having had a lot of trouble with many of our subjects, we were surprised one day to have the oldest man of the village, antonio calistro, born in , still so hale and hearty that he works his own fields, come in for measurement and photographing. he still wears the old style of dress: a loose jacket with wide sleeves made of dark blue woolen cloth, gathered around the waist by a closely-woven cotton belt; short, wide-legged trousers of buckskin. he is the only man left in the village who wears his hair after the old fashion; that on top of his head in front was combed together and braided into a little tail, while that on the sides and back of the head was made into a longer braid. when we asked him how it was that he was not afraid to undergo our measurement and photographing, we learned that someone had told him that the purport of the work was to send information to the pope in rome as to how his otomi children looked, and from respect for the holy father the old man of eighty years had walked in from his distant farm to be measured and photographed. a curious fact in respect to the otomis resulted from our study. the men, apparently of pure blood, presented two quite different types. there are many who are as little as the women; these present almost the type already given as that of the women, but are a little lighter in color. the second type is tall, sometimes over , millimeters. it is lighter in color, presenting at times a light brownish-yellow shade. some indians of this large type have white skins, blotched with disagreeable red or purple. the eyes of these large men are usually widely-spaced, and the face appears rounder than in their smaller brethren. all the otomis of both types, men and women, have astonishingly big heads, and many dwarfish individuals would require a - / hat. [illustration: the church; huixquilucan] [illustration: otomi indian; huixquilucan] one night during our stay we had a grand illumination. it was st. martin's eve. during the afternoon the men and boys planted dead trees in the plaza and streets, and filled the branches with bunches of dry brush. at dusk we walked up to the crest before the church. all through the valley the men and boys had been busy, and as darkness settled down, blaze after blaze sprung forth until every hillside was dotted with flaming heaps. on every church and farm-house of large size, straight lines of little bonfires were built along the edges of the roof. there must have been many hundreds of fires in sight at once. meanwhile, all the churches of the little hamlets around clanged their bells discordantly. then the church close by us burst into illumination, and its bells joined in the clangor as we started down the hill. the villagers were putting torches to the piles, and children were dancing in the glare, shooting off their little rockets and adding their full share to the general confusion. in the olden time huixquilucan had a bad reputation for highway robberies. a great hill overlooking the town is called the hill of crosses, and here a cross by the wayside usually signifies a place of murder. many a traveller in the not distant past found his way from here as best he could to the capital city minus burden and money, minus hat and shoes, and sometimes minus clothing. they used to say that from toluca to the city a man was robbed three times; the first time they took his money, the second his watch and valuables, the third, his clothes. we were told that the church here, the chief church of our otomi friends, is called "the church of the thieves," and that it was even lately a favorite resort of _ladrones_, who prayed for blessing upon their thieving expeditions and for release in case they should be taken captive. and not so long ago, among the little silver votive offerings,--eyes, legs, arms, hands,--all given in fulfillment of promises for the cure of ailing members,--one might see little chains and manacles, visible evidence that saint or virgin had kindly released some fellow, taken in his misdeeds, from a well deserved punishment, in answer to his pious prayers. below the station of dos rios a little ravine borders the main valley. there, within sight of the track on one side of the ravine lies the stone which long ago "fell from the moon." it is a great boulder, with flat lower surface, and round upper surface, sufficiently large for a considerable party to camp on. the earth is washed away somewhat from below it, and on its under side are rude figures painted in imitation of suns and circles and symbolic designs. it is said that the indians throughout the country around respect this rock, making prayers and offerings to it. one of huixquilucan's pretty hamlets is agua bendita,--blessed water,--near the upper, narrowing end of the valley. a dozen or so houses compose the settlement. near it, upon a little side gorge, two lovely springs burst forth from the rock. from them a babbling stream of sparkling water flows, in which, in the bright sunshine, women wash clothes, and lay them out on bushes or grassy banks to dry; little naked children play about while the mothers labor; hither dusky maidens come to perform their toilets; here women fill their _ollas_ with water; here _pulque_-gatherers wash and scrape their skin bottles. in the little tank below, where the water lies so clear that everything is visible upon its bottom, one may see axolotls creeping. they are water-salamanders, but they have a strange history. like frogs, they pass through a series of changes, and the larval is very different from the adult form. in some mexican lakes of genial temperature, the little creature goes through its full history from the larva to the adult; but in cold mountain lakes, the adult form is never attained, and the larva (elsewhere immature) lays eggs that hatch its like. our last evening at huixquilucan, i went out to purchase native garments. we rode from house to house, and were quite away from the town in a district where houses were few and far between. it was nearly dusk and our search must end. we were at the last house on a slope near the bottom of a valley, on whose opposite slope were but a few houses. the people were primitive in appearance, dress and language. they could not understand all we said, but were anxious to please the "_padrecito_," whose hand they kissed. having no clothing to sell us, they tried to help us procure some. orders were given to a shy and wild girl, with deep-set, shining jet-black eyes, raven hair and dark brown skin, dressed in rags. stepping to a little out-jutting mass of rock, she gave a wild cry, looking across the valley to the nearest house on the opposite slope, fully half a mile away. we could see the people of the house turn out to hear. then, in a high, clear voice, strangely penetrating, but without harshness or a break or pause for breath, with rising and falling intonation, she cried her message. there was a moment's pause, and then we saw the answering crier take her place, and in the same clear, penetrating, unbroken, up-and-down voice, came back the reply. it was not favorable, and the old man apologized for the failure, as he kissed the _padrecito's_ hand in parting. some weeks later we were again at huixquilucan, this time to secure some busts. having reached the house of the _presidente_, we sent out our drunken friend augustin, who had been useful to us during our measuring experiences, to find subjects. he finally appeared with a man who agreed to submit to the operation for one _peso_. everything went well until the moulds were removed; it is true that in the removal a good deal of hair was pulled out, but no serious damage was done. when the _peso_ agreed upon was offered, the subject indignantly refused to receive it, demanding five. i replied that he well understood our agreement: there was his _peso_; if he cared to take it, good; if not, i would keep it; but that to pay five _pesos_ was out of the question. he thereupon grew angry and boisterously demanded the increased sum. several of his friends gathered and backed him in his demand. the noise they made attracted a still greater crowd until at last we were surrounded by forty or fifty angry indians. the man continued to demand his five _pesos_, the other crying, "pay him five _pesos_." i was firm, declaring that the man should receive no more than had been promised. again the _peso_ was offered, again to be rejected. at that moment some brilliant genius cried, "if you do not pay five _pesos_ we will break your moulds." and the cry was caught up by the angry crowd: "yes, we will break the moulds unless you pay five _pesos_." at this threat i told my two companions to stand back out of the way, and then, speaking to him who had suggested the breaking of the moulds, said, pointing to them, "yes, break the moulds." his ardor cooled. turning to another, i said to him, "come, break the moulds." he began to back away. turning to the cause of the disturbance, who had joined in the cry about destroying the moulds, i said to him, "come, come, we are waiting for you to break the moulds." no one made a move toward destroying our plaster-work, so i said, "no, you know quite well you will not break the moulds; if you did, you know what would happen; i should take you all as prisoners to toluca." at that moment, catching sight of the old _presidente_ who was passing on the road, i clapped my hands and beckoned him. when the old man came i laid the matter fairly before him, telling him the agreement that had been made, the time taken for the work, and the fact i had offered the man the _peso_ promised; that he now demanded five _pesos_, refusing to take the proffered money. the old man looked a moment at me, then at the angry indian; then at me, and again at the indian; then, stepping up to him, he patted him on the back as a father might a spoiled child, saying, "come, come, son; don't be a fool; three good days' wages for an hour's time; take your _peso_ and be gone." we had feared the incident would cast a damper on our work and hinder other subjects. far from it. we were supplied as rapidly as our men could work at the same price we paid our first subject. chapter vi lake patzcuaro ( ) mexico has few large lakes, the largest, chapala, having an area of only , square kilometers. patzcuaro is much smaller, but far more picturesque. the form is something like a fat horseshoe; fine hills rise around it on all sides, behind which are mountain heights, with jagged outlines; pretty islands dot its waters, and twenty-two villages or towns of tarascan indians are situated on its borders. the indians of these villages rarely use the land roads in going from town to town, commonly journeying by canoes, of a somewhat peculiar type. these are "dug outs," made from single tree trunks, and range in size from those intended for a single hunter to those which will carry ten or twelve persons. at the stern they are cut almost squarely across; at the bow they are trimmed to a slope; they are flat-bottomed and considerably wider at the bottom than above; they are dug out in such fashion that the walls are thin and almost vertical on the inner side. buttressing pieces are left at the bottom, at two or three places, extending across the canoe and no doubt strengthening the sides; they also serve as squatting places for the passengers. the prow narrows as well as slopes upward, and a buttressing piece left in it serves as a foot-rest for the steersman, who sits in the bow, instead of in the stern. he steers by means of a long-handled paddle thrust through a loop of wood fastened to one side of the canoe. the paddles used for propulsion have handles three or four feet long, with round blades. the paddlers sometimes make their stroke on but one side of the canoe, sometimes on both. when they paddle over one side only, the stroke of the oar through the water is oblique, maintaining a steady course. [illustration: santa fe de la laguna] in such canoes the tarascans of the lake villages go from place to place; in such a canoe, we started one morning before six o'clock, for santa fe de la laguna. our force consisted of three persons, an old man named felipe, his wife, and a young man. all three had paddles, but only two really paddled, the third one steering. the sun rose shortly after we started, and the light effects of early morning on the water and surrounding mountains were fine. though we had made an early start, many had started earlier, and in the first part of our journey we met scores of canoes, the paddlers of which were on their way to patzcuaro. it was a beautiful sight to see six or eight paddlers in some great canoe keeping exact time in their movements, singing as they went. sometimes two canoes were raced, and laughter and excited cries accompanied the contest. here and there along the shores we saw little huts of fishermen, with nets hung out to dry, or groups of men seining or dropping dip-nets; upon many slopes were little terrace garden spots, where modest crops were cultivated; here and there were mats lately finished or heaps of fresh-cut rushes for their fabrication. five hours of good paddling brought us to santa fe de la laguna, just opposite the far more famous tzintzuntzan, and but a little distance from the much larger town, quiroga. santa fe is quite a town, stretching for a considerable distance along a terrace, but little elevated above the water level. the houses are built of rather large, dark-brown, adobe bricks; the walls are usually white plastered; the roofs of all the houses are tiled, and the supporting rafters of the roof extend out far beyond the front wall of the house, so that the passer on the footpath is sheltered against rain and the noonday sun. the outer ends of these rafters are cut to give an ornamental effect. all the houses are surrounded by fruit trees--orange, lemon, lime, _ahuacate_ and _chirimoya_. each little property is surrounded by a stone wall of some height; the gate-way through this, giving entrance to the yard, is surmounted by a pretty little double-pitched roofing of thatch. a crowd of pure indians had gathered at the landing, by the time we were unloaded. forty or fifty men and women of medium stature, dark-brown skin and broad, expressionless faces, watched our every movement with curiosity, but none was ready to assist us in carrying our luggage to the _curato_. taking it ourselves, as best we could, we found a boy to direct us and made our way to the house. the _cura_, had gone to quiroga and his suspicious household would not receive us until his return, although permitting us to leave our goods. going to the _plaza_, we succeeded in getting bread and cheese at a _tienda_, and after eating loitered until, at half-past-two, the padre ponce made his appearance. we showed him our letters and asked his interest and aid. he at once made us at home in his house, summoned the officials, read the governor's letter aloud to them, and told them it was their duty to assist us in every way. we at once began our work, and before nightfall had measured and photographed a number of cases. the next morning, saturday, all started merrily. after breakfast, however, padre ponce left us, going to quiroga for celebrating christmas. the moment he was gone, work slackened, and it was with difficulty that we could procure subjects. early the next morning the _padre_ appeared to say mass, after which he stirred up the people and we were again at work. but as soon as he left for quiroga, once more, the interest diminished. finally, as no one came and the officials had disappeared, we started out upon a tour of investigation. we found the whole town drunk; the _juez_, the chief of police, the _mayores_, all were too drunk for measurement. we experimented upon two or three subjects, but soon gave up in despair. [illustration: los viejos; santa fe de la laguna] padre ponce need not have gone to quiroga for christmas celebrations; we had them also. for example, we had _los viejos_. one afternoon, we saw a band of half-a-dozen persons singing in the street. all but one of them were men or boys dressed in long robes of brilliant red, purple or green, which were buttoned down the front; their heads were covered with white cloth, over which were fitted little masks of clay. the last one in the company was a woman, dressed quite in the usual fashion, but barefoot and with her _rebozo_ covering her face and a man's _sombrero_ on her head. two of the party had guitars of local manufacture. this company strolled through the streets, singing and dancing; some of the dancing was clog-dance, some the _jarabe_, a man and woman taking part. having noticed this group, we saw that the whole town seemed in movement toward the _corral_ connected with the shrine behind the church. following with the crowd, we found the _corral_ already filled with people. the men were seated on benches or squatting against the walls; women and children were sitting on the ground. we noticed that all the women brought burdens, which proved to be pots full of hot _atole_, bundles of large _tortillas_, trays heaped high with _tamales_, or sacks full of little cups. various bands of dancers made their way around, delighting the crowd with their performances. the group we had already seen was the least interesting. those that really represented _los viejos_ (the old men) were the best. these wore large, comic, wooden masks, many of which showed signs of long-continued use; one represented a long, warty, bearded face and was painted purple; others were painted red or brown, but most of them were of the natural color of the wood; great wigs of corn-husk or of matting were worn over the back of the head; the clothing was ragged and dirty, and in some cases was really of ancient style; some wore roughly made garments of the skin of the _tigre_. each band had its leader, and each tried to outdo the others in the oddity of performance, vigor of dancing and coarseness of jest. much fun and laughter were caused by their antics. meantime, boys and young women were busied as waiters. cups of steaming _atole_, delicious _tortillas_, hot _tamales_ were distributed until everyone, including the strangers, were supplied. no one ate until the whole company had been served, when the town officials set the example and all fell to feasting. dancing, music, laughter and fun followed, and were kept up until some time after nightfall. on the second day after christmas a strolling band of _pastores_, from san geronimo, passed from house to house singing their christmas songs. the company consisted of two or three musicians, a carrier--who was an indian boy about fifteen years old--and half a dozen other youngsters, wearing new palm hats and carrying long staves ending above in a loop from which streamed strips of brilliantly colored tissue paper. the carrier bore a cushion, upon which was stretched a figure of the infant christ. at each house, he passed before the spectators, allowing them to kiss the figure and to deposit gifts of flowers or of money for the little church at san geronimo; the music then struck up, the leader began to sing, and the little shepherds (_pastores_) marched around and around singing in chorus. we lost quite two days on account of the drunkenness of the town. when it was past, by a vigorous indulgence in wheedling and threatening, we got the work again under way, and were just finishing with our one-hundredth man, when padre ponce returned for good and all. we had nearly starved during his absence; his old housekeeper had done her best with the poor materials which we were able to secure, but the best was bad. with padre ponce came another priest, padre torres of patzcuaro, who used to be located at santa fe and was much loved by the natives. with the assistance of the two padres we were able to secure and deal with our female subjects in less than a day, and were ready to bid adieu to the _padrecitos_ and leave for tzintzuntzan. [illustration: churchyard and bells; tzintzuntzan] [illustration: view at janicho; lake patzcuaro] all the tourist world that goes to patzcuaro visits tzintzuntzan to see the titian. padre ponce was anxious to have us see the famous picture and photograph it. it was late when we reached the town, which consists in large part of _mestizos_ and indians who speak little but native tarascan. we found the _cura_ was not in town, but were taken to the _curato_; arrived there, we discovered that the good man had taken his keys with him. we arranged, with some difficulty, for something to eat, and, after supper, were shown into an open room, with an unfinished roof, without a door, and with no hint of bed. here we shared a lumber pile with two or three young men and suffered frightfully from cold all night. we were up early, as sleep was impossible, and filled our time as best we could, until it was light enough to photograph the picture. we had our letter from padre ponce to the _cura_, in which he recommended the priest to have us photograph the painting. this letter and the governor's letter we had shown the town officials the night before, telling them that we should make the picture. they replied that they could not give permission to do so during the _padre's_ absence. after we had breakfasted, and the light had become sufficient, we made our way to the old church, in front of which are some beautifully gnarled and irregular ancient olive trees, amid which the old bells are quaintly hung. entering the church, we soon found the titian, a descent from the cross. the figures are boldly painted and skillfully grouped; the action and lighting concentrate upon the figure of the christ. padre ponce had told us that the proper place from which to photograph was the pulpit, and he was right. the sacristan was looking on with doubt: when he saw us making preparations for the picture, he hurried to us and said it was against all rule for anyone to take a photograph when the _cura_ was not present. we told him our time was short; that we must return to patzcuaro that day to arrange our farther journey; we showed the governor's order and padre ponce's letter, but all in vain. we must wait until the _cura_ came. with this i put some _centavos_ in his hand and told him i was certain his duties called him outside the church and that we would not detain him; that we should stay awhile to gaze upon the picture, which deserved close and pious examination. he at once withdrew, locking the door behind him. the instrument was quickly placed in the pulpit and the picture taken. curiously, the sacristal duties ended just as we were ready to leave the church and the door opened as if we had said "open sesame." by ten-thirty we had secured a canoe and boatmen, two young and vigorous pure-blood indians. though a wind was blowing squarely against us, we made good time. we stopped at the picturesque fishing-village of janicho, on its rock island. its houses cluster on a little terrace near the bottom of the hill, which rises behind it as a fine background. steps of rock lead up the stony slope from the water's edge to the houses. in every yard mattings are laid, upon which little white fish are drying. as they walk through the streets or stand talking together, the men are ever tatting at nets; long lines of net-cord are reeled out for many yards along the wayside; hundreds of feet of seines are hung out in the sun to dry. the houses, with their pretty red tiling, are irregularly clustered along narrow winding streets. the people are purely indian, and wear the characteristic dress. [illustration: tarascan fishermen; janicho] no town in all the region makes so much use of the _tsupakua_, or spear-thrower, a wooden stick cut to fit the hand and support the shaft of a spear or long dart, the end of which rests against a peg near the tip of the thrower. by means of this instrument, the long, light, darts of cane with iron points are thrown more directly and forcibly than by the hand alone. these spears are used in hunting ducks. anciently a spear-throwing stick was widely used through mexico; to-day it lingers in few places, the best known of which is here on lake patzcuaro. chapter vii to uruapan before the railroad ( ) we easily arranged at patzcuaro to leave for uruapan the next morning. although delayed beyond our proposed hour of starting, we were off at six. it was early enough, indeed, for the morning air was cold; heavy frost coated the leaves and grass and lay upon the soil; in spite of our heavy blankets, wrapped closely about us, we shivered as we rode along upon our horses. the ride, however, was a lovely one. at first we seemed to leave the lake behind us; mounting for some time we reached a summit from which it again broke upon our view; descending, we constantly caught glimpses of it, with its sinuous shores, its lovely mountain backgrounds, its islands, and its pretty indian towns. finally, we again left it and rose into a magnificent mountain region, covered chiefly with pines. passing through ajuno, which lies upon a steep slope, we overtook a party of police, mounted on horses, taking a group of prisoners to uruapan. at escondidas, itself a miserable village, we were impressed by the mercantile spirit of these indians. in all these villages the houses are constructed of heavy logs or timbers, closely and neatly joined; the roofs are shingled with long and narrow shingles, and are abruptly four-sloped. at every house there was something for sale--food, drink, or _cigarros_. all these houses were built close to the edge of the road, and in the middle of the front was a little square window, in which the goods were shown. when no trade was solicited, these windows were closed with solid wooden shutters. not only, however, was every house a store, but on the highway between towns, we passed many places where, beneath brush shelters, women offered fruit, food, or drink for sale. usually several such shelters would be near together, and the venders had gay times, chatting, laughing and singing. such houses and roadside-selling are common through the whole tarascan region. [illustration: tarascan women; janicho] soon after passing escondidas, we began a descent, which seemed absolutely endless. time after time we thought we had reached the bottom, only to find that we were on a terrace from which another drop led us still further down. on and on into this bottomless pit we descended to ziracuaretaro, a striking town. banana plantings surrounded the houses; orange-trees covered with their golden spheres reared themselves to the unusual height of thirty feet or more; _maméys_, with their strange nut-brown fruits, and coffee-trees, loaded to breaking, were abundant. amid this luxuriant mass of tropical vegetation, houses were almost invisible until we were directly in front of them. notwithstanding the enormous descent we had made, it appeared to us, when we crossed the stream and began the ascent, that we had not really been to the bottom of the great valley. for a long distance we mounted through a district of sugar-canes; then passed a little settlement of rude huts spread out over a reddish space; then, by a gentle but circuitous ascent, to a rugged trail which brought us to the summit and the edge of the great slope to uruapan. at the further side of the valley and to our left, in a mass of green, we saw smoke rising from the factories of uruapan. crossing one of the characteristic bridges of the district, with a pretty shingled roof--four-sloped like those of the houses--over it, and with benches at the sides, where passers can sit and rest, while looking at the dashing, gurgling, foaming, water below,--we followed a level road between blackberries, wild roses, and other shrubs, to uruapan. no town in mexico is more beautiful. perpetual spring reigns. although several thousand feet above sea level, it is so situated, with reference to mountain slopes and funnel valleys, that it has a genial climate, where plants nourish which are usually found only at lower altitudes. its fruits and "the finest coffee in the world" have rendered the town long famous. the houses, bowered in dense groves of green, are of the picturesque tarascan type. the four-sloped roofs, now covered with long, narrow shingles, now with the dull red tiles, suggest the prettiest pictures in japanese towns. the streets are clean. through the centre of the town dashes a mountain stream of clearest water, with the hue of sapphire. this pretty stream furnishes power for mills, factories and lighting-plant, and is crossed several times by picturesque, roofed bridges, in the shelter of which one may spend hours in watching the dashing water, foaming cascades, curious potholes worn in the rocky banks, and the passing indians. most mexican towns are contented with one _plaza_; this one has three, following each other closely, separated only by single lines of narrow buildings. they are neatly planted, and supplied with bandstand and monuments. the town is electric-lighted and several hotels had been lately put in readiness to receive the crowd of visitors expected with the completion of the railroad, a matter of a few months later. the _prefecto_ of uruapan and _jefe politico_ of the district is the son-in-law of governor mercado, and to him we bore a special letter from his father-in-law. the old gentleman had been insistent that we should return by capacuaro and cheran, indian towns. he said that at the former we should find a _mogote_ (mound or heap of stones and dirt) which every traveler should see, while at the latter lumholtz had secured some skulls of exceptional interest, and that we should do the same. as our time was short, we asked the _prefecto_ to send a messenger to cheran with orders to dig some skulls and have them ready against the time of our arrival. that official expressed delight in doing our bidding, and we saw the messenger summoned and the order placed in his hands, with full direction as to its delivery. [illustration: indian spear-thrower; lake patzcuaro] meantime, there were objects of interest for us in uruapan itself. the town is famous for its lacquer work, made with _aje_, like that of chiapa. gourds are ornamented, fruit-forms are colored after nature, bowls made from fruit shells are elaborately decorated, all quite like the chiapa work. what is characteristic of uruapan are the placques and table-tops of wood, decorated with floral designs in brilliant colors, upon a background of dark-green, pink, blue, yellow, or black. this art is in the hands of a few persons, some pure indians. visiting them, we found the wooden placques and table-tops are brought from one of the mountain villages of the tarascans; they are first covered thickly with the background color; upon this the pattern is pencilled and then cut out in the lacquered surface; the color, mixed with oil and _aje_, as with other substances, is then applied with the finger-tips to fill the cut patterns; the lustre is then brought out by careful rubbing. the work is striking, and is prized throughout the republic. in the same quarter of the town, where this local industry is carried on, are many goitrous persons. the disease seems to be confined to the one district, but there perhaps one-half the people have it, most of them to but a slight degree. occasionally the swelling is notable, and in the families affected we find, as usual, deaf-mutism. on the morning of new year's day, we left for capacuaro and cheran. as we rode out from the city, we were more than ever impressed with its verdant beauty and picturesqueness. the road to capacuaro was unexpectedly level and good, and we reached the town, which is purely indian, by nine o'clock. women, almost without exception, wore the native dress. goitres were common, and some, among the men, were really enormous. riding through the long town, we drew up before the house of the _jefe de policia_ (chief of police), and summoned the village officials. on their appearance we found that all but the _jefe_ himself, were drunk, the _secretario_ in particular being almost useless. when we handed him the letter from the _prefecto_ he was quite unable to make aught of its grandiloquence. having looked it through in a dazed way, he declared that we were "gringos," "like the one who was here last year" (presumably lumholtz). with some severity, i told him he did wrong to call visitors to the town by the opprobrious name of _gringos_, and ordered him to read the letter and make known its contents to the _jefe_. he made another effort and then helplessly said--"who can make anything of such a letter? it is in their _idioma_." sternly pointing to the signature i said--"the letter is from your _prefecto_ and written in his _idioma_; you see the _firma_." helplessly shaking his head, he said, "oh, yes, the _firma_ is that of silvano martinez, but the letter is in your _idioma_." seeing that he was of no earthly use, i took the letter from him, and, turning to the crowd which had gathered, rebuked them for their drunkenness, asserting that it was disgraceful for a whole town government to be intoxicated at the same time; that some one ought always to be sober enough to attend to business; that we had been insulted by being called _gringos_, and that our order had not been read to them because the _secretario_ was too drunk to do his business; that there were two ways of dealing with such town governments, and that, unless something was done promptly, we would see how they would like to go back with us to uruapan, whence we had come. the _jefe_, who was really not drunk, thereupon begged to know what we desired, and the drunken _secretario_ was somewhat frightened; the remainder of the official body expressed a wish to do only what we wanted. i then read the _prefecto's_ letter in my best manner and added that we had come to capacuaro only at the desire of the governor himself, to visit their _mogote_, and that we ought to wait no longer for guidance. at once all was commotion and bustle. bidding the disgraced _secretario_ go to his house and stay there, the _jefe de policia_ summoned the rest of his company about him, seized his staff of office, buckled on his great _machete_, and took the lead; three policemen, with their _machetes_, followed; two others, unarmed, followed, and, with this escort, we started to hunt our ruins on the mountain. they proved to be two heaps of rubbish, from constructions of stone. had we had time for serious investigation they might have proved of interest; as it was, we spent but a few minutes in their inspection, and then, bidding our drunken escort good-bye, we continued our journey. we had planned to go first to nehuatzen, thence to parracho, and, after visiting cheran, back again to nehuatzen. at the _mogote_, however, we were already near the parracho highway and at once struck into it. our journey led through forests, chiefly of pine, with open glades, at intervals; on many of the trees we saw great bunches of a parasite that bore honeysuckle-like, yellow flowers. parracho we found lying at the base of mountains at the very end of a long stretch of level. it is an unattractive town, our only reason for visiting which was to see something of the manufacture of its famous _rebozos_, which differ from others in the wide border of white and azure blue silk, which is attached to a netted foundation to form decorative patterns, representing birds and animals, or geometric figures. the work is curious, and i am inclined to see in it a surviving imitation of the ancient feather-work for which the ancient tarascans were famous. from parracho our road led through aranza to cheran. just beyond aranza we passed over the astonishing wash from some summer torrent. during the wet season a single rain may fill the gorges, sheet the mountain slopes with water, tear great trees from their hold, break off mighty rock fragments and carry them onward, like wooden blocks, with hundreds of tons of finer gravel. at this season there was not a sign of water; not a trickling thread was visible in any of the gorges; but from their now dried mouths there spread fan-shaped deposits many rods in length and breadth, containing quantities of blocks of rock that measured from four to ten feet in diameter, trunks of trees up to two feet in thickness, all in the greatest confusion and at places completely covering our road to a depth of several feet. we could trace the tailing out of the fans of deposit, from their thicker, heavier part at the base of the torrent, to their margin on the plain; from heavy rock masses weighing tons, through smaller masses, into sand and gravel. [illustration: houses at uruapan] the way to cheran seemed endless, but at last we reached that interesting, great indian town, when the afternoon was nearly spent. it was the new year, and the street celebration of _los negritos_ (the negroes--or the little negroes) was in progress. as we rode through the streets, however, we attracted much attention and the performance was neglected. we rode directly to the town-house, entered and asked for the _presidente_. he was slow in appearing and long before he arrived scores of people were crowding around the doors and windows to see us and know our business. when he arrived, we greeted him in a most friendly way and told him that we had come for the skulls. he looked aghast. "the skulls, what skulls, sir?" "the skulls the _prefecto_ ordered you to dig for us." by this time, the crowd outside, which had increased with every minute, showed uneasiness. the _presidente_ declared he knew nothing of any skulls. after we had explained the matter more fully, he assured us that no messenger had come from the _prefecto_; this, which at first we thought to be a lie, was no doubt true. he was plainly scared. he begged us to be careful lest the people, who were ignorant, should overhear us. he told us that a year before don carlos (lumholtz) had been there; that he, too, had wanted skulls, and that the town officials had given him permission to dig some from the graveyard; that this caused so much excitement and so many threats that the permission had to be revoked. he feared the people had already heard our wishes and were even then in an ugly mood--a thing which seemed likely from an inspection of the faces in the doorway and windows. he said, however, that don carlos afterward secured some skulls from an ancient burial-place not distant from the village, and, if we pleased to wait in cheran through the morrow, as it was now too late, five in the evening, to do aught, he would gladly show us the burial place of the ancients, where no doubt abundant skulls could be secured. not yet certain that the man was telling truth, we spoke to him severely, saying that we should report him to the governor for not having obeyed the order of the _prefecto_. at the same time we demanded an official document signed by himself as _presidente_, and by the _secretario_, and duly sealed, stating that no messenger had come to him from the _prefecto_. to our surprise this document was promptly furnished, good evidence that the _prefecto_ had played us false, only pretending to despatch the messenger whom we had seen started. with profuse apologies and expressions of regret from the officials, we left cheran, hurrying on to nehuatzen for the night. our chief reason for doing so was that everyone who knew of our intention to visit cheran had shaken their heads, remarking "ah! there the nights are always cold." certainly, if it is colder there than at nehuatzen, we would prefer the frigid zone outright. nehuatzen is famous as the town where the canoes for lake patzcuaro are made. we had difficulty in securing food and a place to sleep. the room in which we were expected to slumber was hung with an extensive wardrobe of female garments. these we added to the blankets we carried with us, but suffered all night long from the penetrating cold. the two indian boys, who accompanied us as guides and carriers, slept in the corridor outside our door and when day broke they were so cramped and numbed and stiff with cold, that they lighted matches and thrust their cold hands into the flames, before they could move their finger-joints. we had planned to leave at five, but it was too cold to ride until the sun should be an hour high, so finally we left at seven. there was heavy frost on everything; curved frost crystals protruded from the soil, and we broke ice a half inch thick in water-troughs, unfinished canoes, by the roadside. for ten hours we rode, without even stopping for lunch, through sabina and pichataro, san juan tumbio and ajuno, back to comfortable patzcuaro. chapter viii tlaxcala ( ) we have always loved the state of tlaxcala and its quaint little capital city of the same name. for more than a dozen years its governor has been prospero cahuantzi, a pure-blood indian, whose native language is aztec. he is a large, well built man, with full face and little black eyes that are sunken deeply into the flesh. he is a man of some force and energy. the population of his little state, the most densely populated in the republic, is almost entirely indian, and it at once fears, hates, and respects him. having made several previous visits to the city, and having always been graciously received by don prospero, we thought it hardly necessary to carry with us our usual letters of recommendation from the federal authorities. just before we were ready to visit tlaxcala, while we were in the city of mexico, we learned that governor cahuantzi was there, on business. we thought it best to call upon him, explaining our proposed work and asking his interest. so to the hotel sanz, where he always stops when in the capital, we went. we called twice without finding him and our third call appeared to be as unsuccessful, but just as we were leaving, resolved not to try again, we met the governor alighting from his carriage at the door. intercepting him, we asked a moment's interview, which was granted, though with ill grace. it was plain that he was sadly out of humor. apologizing to him for our intrusion at so late an hour and so immediately after his return to his hotel, we told him of our projected visit, described the measurements, photographs and other data we were gathering, reminding him that two years earlier he had heard our plans and promised his assistance. in a somewhat gentler mood, he told us we might visit tlaxcala and that he would aid us, but he must have a little time "for preparing the soil;" that all his people were indians, and that our work would necessarily be considered with suspicion. upon our asking him how much time would be needed "to prepare the soil," we received no definite reply. he, himself, planned to leave for home the following morning, friday; so we suggested that we would go first to puebla, and reach his capital on monday. he plainly considered this somewhat hasty, but grunted his assent, and we left him, somewhat surprised at his unusual gruffness and lack of interest. early monday morning, we appeared upon the scene. after breakfast we betook ourselves to the state palace; the governor was already in his reception room, but, instead of being ushered promptly into his presence, as had always happened in our previous visits, we were left to sit two hours in the outer office. finally, on our displaying some impatience, a message was again taken to his excellency, and a few minutes later, the _jefe politico_ of the district bustled past us into the carefully guarded reception chamber. he did not long remain there, and, on coming out into the office where we were waiting, brusquely asked, "are you the persons who want to measure heads? well, they are waiting for you out there in the corridor; why don't you go to work?" seizing our instruments, blanks and camera, we hurried to the corridor and began operations. three or four were measured in quick succession; then, when i cried, "_otro_" (another), the _jefe's_ eyes began to bulge. that one measured, and another called for, he seemed half-distracted; desperation seized him; as he faintly repeated "_otro_" he looked wildly around in search of subjects and it was plain that he had not begun to realize what demands we planned to make upon him. before the noonday rest, we had measured fourteen subjects, but the _jefe's_ personal interest had ceased, and he had completely disappeared from the scene of action. when we returned at three o'clock to resume work, only the guards were there to help us. one and another subject, invited to be measured, showed no interest in advancing science. so, mr. wilson went to see the _jefe_ in his office; the old man was furious and actually ran out, with the statement that he had plenty of his own work to do. when this scene had been reported, it in no wise increased the readiness of subjects to undergo the operation. finding that we were accomplishing nothing, we decided upon desperate measures. going to the office of the governor's private secretary, we insisted on his telling the chief executive that we were losing time, that no one was assisting us, that subjects were obdurate and stubborn, and that something must be promptly done. we waited but a few minutes. the fiat went forth; the _jefe politico_ appeared, puffing and blowing, and wildly excited. he was closeted a moment with the governor. on his reappearance, we greeted him cordially, and told him that the people present would not be measured and indicated one particularly stubborn subject, who was dealt with, promptly, and without gloves. the _jefe_ remained long enough to reestablish order, though, under his breath, he muttered curses and threats, and expressed his feeling to any official, who chanced to pass. he said the business was driving him clean crazy; that he was doing what he did, not for love of us, but from respect to the orders of his chief. having set the ball to rolling, he left us and there were no more delays. when the labor of the day was over, we stopped at the _jefe's_ office to inform him that we should continue work the following day, and emphasized the fact that we wished one hundred cases, and, as yet, had less than half that number. we suggested that systematic arrangements would not only facilitate _our_ labor, but would lessen his own task. the result was evident; on the following day delegations, ordered by the _jefe_, and consisting of from six to a dozen persons each, began to come in from the outlying villages. this made our work easy, indeed. in one respect, tlaxcala differs from all the other mexican states with which we are acquainted. most of the people live in very little towns, which cluster around the larger places. thus, around the capital city, tlaxcala, there are some seventeen of these small pueblos. working at the palace, we had secured almost no women for measurement. asking the advice of the _cura_, in the matter, he recommended that we should go to some one of the neighboring indian villages; that he would give us a letter to the _juez_ and that, thus, we would secure our subjects easily. he suggested san estevan and wrote the promised letter to the _juez_ of that village. san estevan is a pretty village, near the summit of some low gray hills of tufa, behind which rises a background of higher hills of the same material. the slope is terraced for the houses, which are all built of adobe bricks and have flat roofs. the "three part house," of the ancient aztec type--god-house, kitchen, and granary--is better shown in this state than almost any other part of the republic. the granary, or _cuezcomate_, is particularly characteristic. it is built of clay, in the form of a great vase or urn, open at the top, above which is built a little thatch to shed rain and to protect the contents. the _cuezcomate_ is often ten feet high. one or more of them is found in connection with every house. [illustration: house and cuezcomate; los reyes] the _juez_ lived in a comfortable house of two rooms, half of which is used at present for the boy's school, of which his son is teacher. he received us graciously, and was pleased to receive a letter from the _padre_, though he stated it was not a government order and carried no actual authority; that if the women cared to be measured, well and good, but if not, no force could be employed. the appearance of the camera, however, interested him; plainly, he desired to have a family group photographed; he hinted at this so broadly that, taking him to one side, i whispered that it was, of course, impossible to take family groups for everyone, but if we secured the twenty-five women without delay, notwithstanding the fact that we had no more authoritative document than a _cura's_ letter, the group should be taken. the effect was immediate. the police were summoned and sent through the village to bring in women for measurement and naught was said about their right of refusal. when, toward evening, we returned from san estevan, tired but quite satisfied with the day's work, we found a delegation of more than a dozen men waiting for us in the _plaza_. we did not need so large a number to complete our work, and it was nearly dark; we would gladly have dismissed them and run our chances of securing others the next day. but neither they nor the _jefe politico_ were to be bluffed. so we marched into the corridor, lighted candles and got to work. when those lacking to make our full hundred had been measured, we proposed to let the others go, but they were not to be thus got rid of, and insisted on being measured as such were the orders of the governor. we were not through until long after dark, and we were ravenously hungry. this delegation was one of the most attractive, clean, and intelligent with whom we had dealt. it was from los reyes, a little town at a distance of about half a league. it was headed by the village _juez_. after we had completed the measuring, they stood, shifting their _sombreros_ from hand to hand and plainly wishing to say something further; finally, mustering courage, the _juez_ and _secretario_ advanced and stated that it was the town's desire to have a picture taken of the church, with the saint and people of the village before the door. would it be possible for us to make the picture and on what conditions? we replied that time was precious and that the trip, if it involved a loss of time, was quite impossible; but if they supplied carriers to take the instruments to and from their village, and had all ready before seven in the morning, we would make it. delighted, the officials then inquired what we would wish for breakfast; we answered french bread and red wine. when we looked out of our window, a little before seven, we saw our party ready and waiting. the _juez_, the _secretario_, and two others made the company. a basket, carefully carried by one, was suspected to contain our breakfast. the burdens were shouldered, and we started out in the cool, fresh morning air, for the village, where we arrived in about half an hour. it is a town of less than one hundred people, situated upon a little mountain, hidden, to one looking from tlaxcala, by intervening hills. we were received in the town-house, which is a portion of the old church building; mass was in progress, and we told those who received us, that we had no wish to interfere with their religious duties; that those who wished, might go to service. most went, but two or three were left as a committee of entertainment. they took us to a view-point from which there was a magnificent valley to be seen. and, here, we found one of the finest echoes possible. rockets were exploded and the noise was echoed from hill to hill around the great amphitheatre; it was like a long reverberation of thunder, but it sank and swelled, sank and swelled, repeatedly, until it seemed that it would never stop. service over, the procession formed, and the _santito_ was brought out before the church. the townspeople were arranged and the view taken. we were then invited in to breakfast, which was fine. there were plenty of french rolls and the red wine brought from town, and a great heap of _enchiladas_, fresh lettuce and eggs. after eating, we expressed a wish to hear the village drum, a great _huehuetl_. this musical instrument is a reminder of the olden times; it is not found everywhere, but a number of indian towns possess one, which is kept to be played on festal occasions. the one as los reyes was some three feet or so in height, a hollow cylinder of wood with a membrane stretched across the upper end; it was painted blue. a chair of state was placed for me in the little _patio_. after i was seated the three musicians took their places,--one played the great _huehuetl_, a second beat the _tambour_ or ordinary drum, the third performed upon the _chirimiya_, a shrill wooden pipe. it was the first time we had really heard a _huehuetl_. the player used two sticks with padded heads, beating with great force in excellent time. the booming of the instruments was audible to a great distance. the whole village had gathered, and in a momentary lull in the music, i told the people of the ancient use of the _huehuetl_; that bernal diaz, in his history of the conquest of mexico, tells us what feelings filled the hearts of the spaniards, when they heard the great _huehuetl_, in the temple of the ancient city of tenochtitlan; then it was chiefly beaten when human victims were being sacrificed to the gods, and the soldiers knew that some fellow-countryman, or a tlaxcalan ally, was dying. never have i given a public lecture, that was listened to with more attention or greater appreciation. [illustration: the village and its saint; los reyes] [illustration: cuezcomate, or granary; san nicolas panotla] the day we measured women at san estevan, we found an indian mason there at work, whom we had measured at tlaxcala, and with whom, on one occasion, we had some conversation. he was disgusted at the conduct of the women while undergoing measurement, and at evening said, "sir, it is a pity for you to waste your time in a town like this; these people are little better than animals; in my town there is great enthusiasm over your work, and by going there you might do your will and find people with minds, not beasts." there was really no work left to be done, but we desired to see a town where there was great enthusiasm over our investigations. hence, we arranged with ignacio cempoalteca to visit his pueblo of san nicolas panotla. accordingly, on the afternoon of the day when we visited los reyes, we went across the valley to panotla, ignacio and an older brother, jose, met us at the hotel, where--excusing himself on account of the mason-work at san estevan, which could not wait--ignacio left us, assuring us that jose would do everything for us. this was quite true, and we found panotla all that it had been painted. jose led us directly to their home. the walls were well built of stone set in adobe mortar; they were smoothly coated with a snowy plaster; the supporting walls of the little terrace on which the house was built were also well constructed and it was with some pride that jose told us that the work had all been done by himself and ignacio. jose is married and has a wife and three children; ignacio is a bachelor; a younger brother, carmen, is also unmarried--he has taught himself free-hand and architectural drawing and showed us examples of his work. the old father and mother own the home and received us hospitably. jose guided us through the village, where we photographed whatever took our fancy, entered houses, examined all that interested us, and really found enthusiasm for our work everywhere. before the churchyard stands a quaint old cross of stone, dated , upon which are represented all the symbols of christ's passion; a long inscription in aztec is cut into the base. close by the church, we visited the boy's school, where we found some forty dark-skinned, black-eyed, youngsters, whose mother-speech is aztec. we proposed to photograph them, so they were grouped outside the schoolhouse, but not until a pair of national flags and the portrait of the governor, prospero cahuantzi, were fixed upon the background wall. [illustration: the ancient drum--huehuetl; los reyes] [illustration: fiesta at cholula; day of san antonio abad] after the picture had been taken, we told the _maestro_ we would like to hear the boys sing. it was plain he did not consider singing their strong forte, but our wishes were met. one boy, standing, wielded the baton, beating time. when the singing was done with, the _maestro_ said he would like us to see the class in arithmetic, if we had time. accordingly fourteen or fifteen boys, from ten to fourteen years of age, stepped out upon the dirt floor; we were told that they could work examples in percentage, interest, bonds and mortgages, discount, alligation--which did we prefer? truth to say, it was so long since we had studied alligation, that we had really forgotten what it was, and so expressed a preference for it. "very good, sir," said the _maestro_. "will you not propound a problem?" from this quandary we escaped by stating that we could not think of doing so; that we had every confidence in his fairness and that he had better give it, as the boys were more accustomed to him. we have visited many classes of the same grade and age in the united states and have never seen one that would surpass them in quickness, accuracy, and clearness of explanation. after our trip through san nicolas panotla, jose took us back to his house, where, meantime, a, dinner had been made ready. weeks later, we learned the probable reason of the governor's gruffness, which was in such marked contrast to his previous treatment, that it puzzled us considerably. at about the time of our visit, a number of wealthy _hacienderos,_ of the state of tlaxcala, had been arrested for counterfeiting silver money. they were men whose _maguéy_ fields brought them enormous incomes; one would suppose their legitimate sources of wealth would have contented them! but such was not the case, and they had gone into wholesale counterfeiting. the fraudulent coin had long been known and diligent efforts were made to find the criminals, efforts at last crowned with success. the guilt was fixed without a doubt, the parties were arrested, tried, and sentenced. every attempt was made to secure their pardon, in vain. governor cahuantzi is an old friend of president diaz, believed to have great influence with him. men of wealth, interested in the release and pardon of the criminals, promised cahuantzi ten thousand dollars in case of his successful intercession with the president in the matter. these details, not generally known, we received from a source respectable and trustworthy, and we believe them true. anxious to gain the reward, and probably feeling certain of his influence with diaz, the old man made the journey to mexico. it was the very time when we called upon him. when we had our interview, he had just seen the president, and it is hinted that, not only did don porfirio refuse to pardon the counterfeiters, but showed a dangerous inclination to investigate the reason of the indian governor's intervention. no wonder that the old man was gruff and surly to his visitors, after the loss of ten thousand dollars which he had looked upon as certain, and with uncertainty as to the final outcome of his unlucky business. [illustration: tlaxcalan schoolboys; san nicolas panotla] chapter ix zamora and the once pueblos ( ) the morning train from guadalajara brought us to negrete at about two in the afternoon, and we had soon mounted to the top of the clumsy old coach, which was dragged by six horses. the road to zamora runs through a rich farming district. for the greater part of the distance the road is level and passes amidst great _haciendas_. the corn crop had been abundant and carts were constantly coming and going from and to the fields. these carts were rectangular, with side walls some four or five feet in height, made of corn-stalks set close together and upright. all were drawn by oxen. most of the carts had a light cross, made of corn-stalks, set at the front end, to protect the load from adverse influences. great numbers of men, dressed in leather trousers drawn over their cotton drawers, in single file lined past us, with great baskets full of corn strapped on their backs. here and there, in the corn-fields, groups of such men were cutting the ripened ears from the plants. we now and then met groups of men bringing great timbers from the mountains fifty or sixty miles away. these timbers were many feet in length and trimmed to a foot square; from four to six made a load. the cart upon which they were carried consisted of a pair of wheels and an axle; one end of the timbers was attached to this, and the other was fastened to the yoke of oxen. it was rare that we met with a single timber cart, as four or five usually went together. the drivers who were in charge of them were pure tarascans. for a considerable distance a fine slope rose to our left, strewn with loose rock masses, and covered with a growth which was chiefly _pitahaya_, some of the plants attaining the size of grown trees. many of them presented an appearance which we had not seen elsewhere--the tips and upper part of the upright branches being as white as if intentionally whitewashed; the simple explanation of this strange appearance was that the branches in question had served as buzzards' roosts. our journey of twenty-five miles was made with two relays of horses. after perhaps three hours' riding, we reached the zamora river, which we followed for some distance. from the time when we began to follow this stream, our road was almost a dead level. at many places along the river, we saw a peculiar style of irrigation machine, a great wooden scoop or spoon with long handle swung between supporting poles. the instrument was worked by a single man and scooped up water from the river, throwing it upon the higher land and into canals which carried it through the fields. sometimes two of these scoops were supported side by side upon a single frame, and were worked in unison by two persons. at the only town of any consequence upon the road, we found numbers of interesting hot springs which might really be called geysers. they were scattered at intervals over the flat mud plain for a distance of a half mile or more. we could see jets of steam of more or less vigor rising from a score or so at a time. at some of these the water really boiled, and we saw it bubbling and tossing to a height of a foot or so above the margin of the spring. groups of women, laughing and talking or singing snatches of songs, were washing clothes at several of these hot springs, and the garments were spread out over the bushes and trees to dry. at one little geyser, bubbling up in the very middle of the road, as we passed we saw a boy pelting the water with stones and mud in order to make it mad and see it spout. the plain was sprinkled here and there with thickets of acacia and mesquite. in the early evening the breeze came loaded with the fragrance of the golden balls of the acacia. there was bright moonlight, and we could see the country, even after sunset. the latter portion of the journey was through low swampy ground, much of the time over causeways. there are few towns in central mexico, not on a railroad, to be compared with zamora. it is large, clean, well built, and presents an air of unusual comfort. the main _plaza_ is large, and finely planted with palms, orange-trees, roses and flowering shrubs. the orange-trees were in full bloom and the air was heavy with their odor. the town is electric-lighted and has a good system of waterworks. the great church, with two slender towers, fills up the whole of one side of the _plaza_, while the other three are occupied with business houses. the amount of life in the town at night surprised us. even after ten o'clock, many were on the streets, and the _dulce_ stands, _cafe_ tables and _loto_ hall were doing a large business. few towns in mexico are so completely under priestly influence, but few again appear as prosperous, progressive, and well-behaved. two distinct types of houses predominate, the older and the newer. the old style house is such as is characteristic of many other tarascan towns, but is here more picturesquely developed than in most places. the low-sloped, heavily-tiled roof projects far over the street and is supported below by projecting timbers, which are trimmed at the end to give a pleasing finish. so far do these roofs project over the sidewalk that the water is thrown into the middle of the street and the footpath below is well sheltered. the new style of house, which is required by the recent laws, has an almost flat roof which ends squarely at the sidewalk, and from which long tin pipes project to throw the water into the streets. here, as so frequently, the old fashion is at once more comfortable and more artistic. we spent the morning in efforts to secure horses, but finally secured a man, don nabor, who agreed to accompany us with five animals. the party consisted of myself, my interpreter, my plaster-worker, and don nabor. each of us was mounted, and a fifth horse carried the plaster and other luggage. leaving at noon, we took the long road past jacona, a little town famous for its fruit. having passed there, after a long journey, we looked down from the height almost directly upon the place whence we had started. the scene was of unusual beauty--the wide-spreading, flat valley, with its fields of wheat and clustered trees, presented a mass of rich green coloring, in the midst of which stood the pretty city. after a long climb, we descended into a valley in which lies tangancicuaro, a large town with a _plaza_ full of fine, great trees, where we ate at a quaint little _meson_. from here we pushed on to chilchota, the head town of the once pueblos. from the crest, just above the town, we looked down upon a level valley, green with new wheat. entering the town a little after five, we rode up to the _meson_ of san francisco, near the little _plaza_. it was with difficulty that we secured a room containing a single bed, with mattress, and two mats. there was nothing at all to eat at the _meson_, but on strolling out to the _plaza_ we found some indian women selling _atole_ and bread. with this we were compelled to be content until morning, paying seven _centavos_ for our four suppers. hunting up the _presidente_ of the town, we found him sitting, with his court, on benches in the _plaza_. he was a pleasant, rather dressy young man, but at once took interest in our work, and told us that huancito was the best town for our bust work, as the population there is primitive and purely indian. the once pueblos--eleven towns--are famous through this portion of the republic. several of them are purely indian; chilchota is largely _mestizo_. the towns lie in a long line on the side of the little valley, at the foot of the bordering hills. between some, spaces of considerable extent intervene; others are so close together that, in riding through them, one sees no line of separation. all consist of adobe houses, of a rich brown color, roofed with tiles. some of the churches are of considerable size, but are also built of brown adobe. the once pueblos are famous for their pottery, and in some of them almost every house has its little kiln or oven. fruit is cultivated, and the houses are frequently embowered in trees; in many yards are bee-hives. the valley is abundantly watered with little streams of perfect clearness. the _presidente_ had insisted that the school teacher at huancito would prove invaluable. he gave us a letter of introduction to him, and an order upon the authorities. we were at once given possession of the schoolhouse for our work, and i started out to find a subject. almost the first person encountered was a young man of twenty-three years, who presented the pure tarascan type. i at once told him that he was the very man we wanted; that we planned to make a picture of him in plaster; at the same time, i described the method of work, and while talking, holding him by the arm, drew him over toward the schoolhouse. almost before he realized it, we were ready for the task. as he removed his shirt and prepared for the operation of oiling and the application of the plaster, he looked somewhat sombre. after seeing the work well begun, i stepped outside and sat in the portico until it should be done. the first piece of plaster had been applied, the subject had been turned, and was lying ready for the second application. at this moment, an indian maiden, with dishevelled hair, came rapidly running across the _plaza_ toward the schoolhouse. rushing past me, she entered the school-room, and seeing the subject lying on the floor clasped her hands and cried, "florencito! my florencito, why wait here? stay not with these cruel men; flee with me!" seizing him by the hand, they dislodged the plaster from his shoulders and started for the door, but catching sight of me, cast a glance around, saw the open window, and leaping through it, dashed off home. up to this time the local authorities had shown an interest in our work and a willingness to aid. calling the chief of police, i bade him and the teacher seek our subject and bring him back for the completion of the operation. "but, sir," said the chief of police, "suppose he does not wish to come?" "why are you chief of police?" was my reply. the teacher, who is himself a _mestizo_ and despises the poor indians in his charge, was loud in his complaints. he vigorously declared that what these people needed was a second cortez, that they had never been properly conquered, and, with the chief of police, he started out for the new conquest. after an hour or more of waiting, we saw them reappear with florencito. but humanity is ever loath to admit defeat. as he passed us, he grumbled that he saw no good reason for such a fuss, as he had simply gone to eat his breakfast. having completed the work with this subject, we suggested that others should be brought, but met with a prompt refusal. the judge and the chief of police both declared that the people did not wish to have busts made, and that they would bring no more. in vain i suggested that a meeting of the townspeople should be called together in order that we might address them and explain the purpose of our visit. it was impossible to move the officials. finally i told the judge that i should send a mounted messenger, who had accompanied us from the _presidente_, to chilchota to report the failure of the town officials to do their duty. he promptly declared that he was going to chilchota himself to see the _presidente_ in the matter. sure enough, when my messenger was ready, he had made his preparations, and the two departed together to present the different sides of the question. neither returned until we were through for the day. during the afternoon we secured two more subjects, and by nightfall had three good busts as the result of the day's labor. then we faced new difficulties. carriers could not be had for love nor money. what was wanted were three men, one to carry each bust back to chilchota, where we planned to spend the night. finally, after loss of time and temper, each of us shouldered a bust and rode back on horseback with our trophies. we soon discovered that the eleven towns were in a ferment of excitement. most dreadful tales were rife with regard to us and our work. some asserted that we cut off heads and hung them up to dry; that in drying, they turned white. others reported that with knives, made for the purpose, we sliced off the ears of unfortunate indians, close to their heads. still others reported that we had a frightful instrument which was fitted into the nose, and by means of which we tore strips of flesh and skin from the face of the subject. it was said, and quite likely truly, that they were arming in all the houses; that _machetes_, guns, pistols, and clubs were laid convenient to hand. the next day was sunday, and we made no attempt to continue work. it was market-day, and indians from all the pueblos had gathered in the _plaza_ to buy and sell. all were pure in blood and spoke tarascan. fruits, sugar-cane, corn, _tortillas, atole_, coffee, were the chief staples. stocks of pottery were attractively displayed. two characteristic wares are both pretty. most typical, perhaps, is the black and green ware which is made into bowls, plates, mugs, and pitchers. the clay of which it is baked is local and dark brown in color; a white earth applied to this, on baking, gives rise to a rich metallic green glaze. designs are painted upon this in black. this black and green ware goes far and wide, and everywhere is recognized as coming from the once pueblos. at huancito and some other pueblos, they make little _canteras_ with a red ground and decorative designs in black and white. one thing, offered in the market, was new to us, dishes full of _ucuares_--long, irregular, swollen, dry, brown objects that looked like stewed worms with thick and fleshy skins. one _centavo_ bought far more than any person would be likely to eat; even after having been stewed in sugar, they were bitter, and had a foul smell that was most unpleasant; they appeared to be roots or tubers of some plant. naturally, our work had attracted much attention in chilchota. no one of the many dozen visitors who came to see us at the _meson_ was so profoundly impressed as a boy of fourteen, named ignacio. appearing early in the morning, he remained with us almost all the hours of the twenty-four. thinking that the effect on the villagers might be good, i decided to ride in the afternoon through the pueblos. when the _presidente_ discovered my intention, he insisted upon supplying a mounted and armed escort, and at the same time gave me a general letter to the eleven towns, in which strict orders were given that my wishes should be respected, and dire threats made in case any one should show me aught but the greatest consideration. ignacio accompanied me. riding through the towns, we passed far enough beyond huancito to see the most remote of the eleven pueblos. they are separated somewhat from the rest, and lie rather higher up in a bend of the valley. everywhere i took some pains to talk with the people, to visit their houses, to examine their pottery, their bees and their growing crops, as i felt that such an interest would help us in our work. on our return, ignacio told me that he should stay to dinner with us, as he much preferred to do so to going home. he also told me that it would be a great pity to lose the theatre, which was to take place that evening. accordingly, after dinner was over, we went to see the play. i expected that at that season of the year it would be a _pastorela_--and in fact it had been so announced. it was, however, a true drama, and one of the funniest--unintentionally--imaginable. the stage was set in the middle of the _patio_ of a large house. the boy insisted that we would be late, and so we went at : , although the bill announced the hour as . the spectators brought their own chairs with them. except a few youngsters, no one arrived before , and the curtain at last rose at a quarter before eleven. among the last to arrive was the _presidente_ and his party. he was resplendent in a cape of crimson velvet with brilliant yellow facings. hardly was his party seated, when we were politely invited to sit with them. three acts were rendered, and while waiting for the fourth, one of the party declared that there would be eleven more. this gave the _presidente_ an opportunity to relate an experience of his own. on one occasion, after watching a play from seven in the evening until four in the morning, the stage broke down; the management appeared and apologized regarding the accident, particularly, since some twenty acts were still to have been rendered. our play, however, turned out to have had but eight acts, and one of these was omitted. when it should have been given, the whole troupe appeared upon the platform; the manager announced the reason why the act would not be given, but promised that on the following sunday, in another play, an extra act should be inserted, in order that all might receive the full value of their money. our play ended at one, when the audience dispersed. needing but two more subjects, we looked about chilchota the next day, hoping to find indians from the more remote villages, who might permit their busts to be made. two excellent cases were found. the last was a man from carapan, the most remote of the eleven towns. he was a man of forty years, whose father accompanied him, and both were for a long time dubious about the operation. finally, however, consent was given and the bust was made. as he arose and dressed to go, i said, "did i tell you the truth? did the operation hurt you, or did it not? was there a reason why you should not have your bust made?" he promptly answered, "sir, you told me truth; the operation did not hurt me and there surely is no harm in it; but, sir, you can hardly believe what an excitement this work has caused in our town. yesterday, in the market-place at chilchota, there were more than twenty men from carapan who carried weapons in their clothing. we had selected leaders and arranged signals, and at the first sign of an attack from your party, we were prepared to sell our lives dearly." it was a work of time to fill the moulds and pack the busts. before we were ready to start upon our journey, it was half-past four in the afternoon. true wisdom would have suggested waiting until morning. time, however, was precious, and i hoped to make cheran that night; consequently, though against the advice of many, we started out, with eight leagues to go, over a road with a bad reputation, and at some points difficult to traverse. for a little distance, we followed the familiar trail down through the pueblos, but at tanaquillo we turned up into the mountain. the ascent was steady until we reached the pass, through which an icy wind drove down upon us. we could hope to make the distance in six hours. at first we met many persons, all of whom warned us that we would be late in arriving, and recommended that we should stop at rancho seco. we had no intention of so doing, but knew that we must turn at that point into a new road. between sunset and bright moonlight, there was an interval of darkness, and in that interval we must have passed the turning which led to rancho seco. at all events, we presently found ourselves entirely at a loss, wandering over a rocky hill covered with brush, amid which the trail had entirely disappeared. retracing, as well as we could, our road, we finally found ourselves upon another trail which we followed until : , when we met a little band of indians, the first whom we had seen for a long time. from them we found that we were not upon the road for cheran, but at the edge of a slope at the bottom of which was a little indian town, tanaco. descending to it, we found a house where they agreed to shelter us for the night, and in the _tienda_ near by we bought hard bread and old cheese. we were sheltered in a substantially built room, into which the cold air did not penetrate. the indians with whom we were staying were unusually intelligent; a number of books, including a large dictionary, lay upon the table, and the men, who crowded in upon us, were anxious to learn the english words for common things. this was an experience which rarely happened to us in indian mexico. the people, however, were not quite sure of our intentions, and nabor said that when he went to water the horses, a committee of village folk waited upon him, asking whether we were the party of white men who had been skinning live indians over in the once pueblos. there were four leagues between us and cheran, and many more beyond it to patzcuaro, where we hoped to arrive the next night. accordingly, we made an early start. our host agreed to pilot us over the indistinct and tortuous bridle-path to the high-road. many little mountains, almost artificially regular, arose in the otherwise plain country. as we rode along the trail we saw the church of parracho far behind us in the distance. the latter part of the road, after cheran was once in sight, seemed hopelessly long, but a little before ten o'clock we pulled up at the _meson_. we at once made arangements for food for ourselves and the horses, and determined to rest until noon. our reputation had preceded us. i asked a child at the _meson_ to bring me a mug of water. when he brought it, i noticed that the mug was of the characteristic black and green ware of the once pueblos, but asked the boy where it was made. with a cunning look, he answered, "o yes, that comes from where you people have been,--up at the once pueblos." and yet we had not come over the road from the once pueblos, but by the main highway from parracho. rested and refreshed, we started at : for the long fourteen leagues of journey. we passed pichataro, where the round paddles for patzcuaro canoes are made, and where the applewood, so prized as material for spear-throwers, is procured. we passed sabina, where the canoes themselves are hollowed out, miles from their launching place, to which they must be carried over mountains. each town we passed made me more and more uneasy, as i knew that nabor contemplated revolt. he did not like the idea of too long a journey for his horses. he wished to stop long before the goal that i had fixed. when we left the last of the important towns behind us, i felt for the first time secure. it was now dark, and we found the roads far worse than we remembered them. they were worn into deep gullies, into which our horses fell and over which they stumbled. long before reaching ajuno i felt convinced that we had missed the road, but we floundered on, and never was sight more welcome than the light of fires shining through the cane walls of the wretched huts of that miserable town. here there was a final council regarding resting for the night. the whole party, except myself, considered ajuno as a capital resting-place. all yielded, however, and we continued on our way. it was almost midnight when we rode up to the hotel, upon the _plaza_ in quaint old patzcuaro. all were cross and tired; neither crossness nor weariness were helped when we were told that there was no room for us at the inn. we made such vigorous representations, however, that the doors were finally thrown open. an old store-house was cleaned out and supplied with decent beds, and a good supper was served. chapter x the boy with the smile ( ) it is doubtful whether the common people of any country are so rarely surprised, or taken unaware, as those of mexico. at a moment's notice, the commonest indian, who may have scarcely been outside of his own town in all his life, may start to go across the country. astonishing incidents appear to create no more surprise in their minds than the ordinary affairs of every day. in january, , we revisited cholula. as we alighted from the street-car we noticed a boy, some fourteen years old, whose most striking characteristic was his smile. he wished to serve as guide, to show us the pyramid, the convents, the chapel of the natives. on assuring him that we knew far more about the lions of his town than he, he was in no wise abashed, but joined himself to us for the remainder of the day. he accompanied us to see the blessing of the animals in the great churchyard. he displayed an interesting knowledge of english, answering "yes" quite perfectly to every sort of question, and repeating the two words, which are well known the whole world over as american-english, on all conceivable occasions. when at evening he saw us safely on the street-car he left us with the same smile with which he had received us. on our next visit to cholula much the same thing happened, but learning that we planned to stop at cuauhtlantzinco on our way to puebla, he stole a ride upon the car, for the sake of accompanying us. he was a rather handy boy, good-natured and anxious to please, so that, later in our journey, we hired him for several days and let him do what he could to help us. much later, when at home planning the details of our next extensive journey, the thought struck us that it might be well to make the boy with the smile a member of our party. it seemed as if, in going into districts rarely visited by strangers, it would be well to have the party as largely mexican as possible. if, however, the boy were to accompany us, it was necessary that he should first learn something of our work and needs, and perhaps of english. accordingly, i decided to go to cholula and bring the boy up to the states. the resolution was so hastily taken that there was no time to send word to the boy himself. going straight to cholula, i had some difficulty in finding his abode. i knew that the boy had no father, that his widowed mother had but one other child, a girl younger than the boy himself. i had once seen the mother and the little sister; i also knew the street on which they lived. arriving at the street, however, no one apparently had ever heard of the boy. one and another through the whole length of the street was questioned, but none knew his name or recognized his description. excepting that i knew that trait of mexican character which assists acquaintances to seclusion, when they are sought by strangers, i should have despaired. as it was, i kept on asking, and finally, from a child who could hardly speak on account of youth, i discovered the house which i sought. it was a little hut set back behind a yard of growing corn. i had inquired at the houses on either side and at the house across the road, as also of a man working in the corn in the yard itself. but everyone had been profoundly ignorant of the boy's existence. walking up to the house, i found the door open, and the mother and the little girl within. the moment the woman saw me, she said, "_que milagro, señor_!" (what a miracle, sir!) and rising, gave me a warm embrace. the little girl did the same. "and where is manuel?" i inquired. "ah, sir, he has gone to puebla on an errand for a gentleman; but he will be back on the street-car at half-past ten. pray wait, sir, till he comes." the house consisted, like most of its class, of a single room. the walls were built of sun-dried bricks of adobe. entrance was by a single door. there were no windows. the floor was clay. the flat roof was scarcely six feet above the floor. the furniture, though ample, was scanty. a little earthen brazier for heating and cooking, a stone _metate_, a rubbing-stone for grinding corn-meal, a table heaped with bundles and boxes containing the family clothing, and a chair were all. there were no beds, not even the mats which so frequently, among the poor of mexico, take their place. several pictures of saints and of the virgin were pinned against the wall, and there were signs of tapers which had been burned before them. a bird or two in wooden cages, a rooster and a little dog lived in the house with the family. after answering various questions from the good woman and the little girl, i finally stated that i proposed to take manuel with me to my country. he would stay with me there for six months, after which he would come back and accompany me for three months longer on a journey into southern mexico. "if i have your consent," i said, "we leave to-day." immediately the woman answered, "sir, it is for you to say." just then, however, the little girl, dolores, began to cry. "tut, tut, dolores," said i, "i am sure you want manuel to go away and visit a strange country and have a fine time; and think of the pictures that he can bring you to show what he has seen. and more than that, it is already half-past ten, and you shall go down tothe street-car to meet him, and tell him that he must come straight home, for fear that he will loiter on the way; but do not tell him i am here, nor say anything about his going away, for we wish to surprise him." drying her eyes, and smiling almost as the boy himself, dolores started to run to the street-car line, and presently fetched manuel home in triumph. as he entered and saw me, he said, "_que milagro, señor_" and kissed my hand. having asked, as mexican politeness requires, a variety of questions about his welfare, i finally said, "well, manuel, how would you like to go to puebla with me for the day?" "sir, it is for you to say." "very good," said i. "and if i should conclude that it was best to take you to mexico for a few days, what would you say to that?" "i am entirely in your hands, sir," he replied, "to do your orders." "well," said i, "suppose i took you to my own country and kept you there for six months?" and the boy replied, "sir, you are my owner; it is for you to command." "very well," said i, "get ready, and we will go on the street-car, at twelve o'clock, to puebla." [illustration: the cross; san nicolas panotla] [illustration: the boy with the smile] telling his mother that she should put together the few articles of which there might be need, we started for the noonday car. as we left, i suggested that she and the little girl come to the city, during the afternoon or evening, to bid the boy good-bye, as we should leave on an early train the following morning. they came at nightfall. she had his small possessions tied up in a carrying cloth, and her mind was stored with bits of excellent advice and admonition as to his conduct and behaviour in his new surroundings. after dolores and her brother had given each other a, farewell embrace, the mother said a few words to the boy, who knelt upon the floor of the room and crossed his hands upon his breast. the mother then gave him her parting blessing, and sent him forth into the outside world. chapter xi in the mixteca alta ( ) of all railroad cities in the republic, oaxaca is the most completely indian. it is the capital of a state the population of which is nine-tenths of native blood. fifteen native languages are spoken in the state to-day. while some of these are related to each other, they are distinct languages, not dialects, even those which are related being as unlike as the french, italian, and spanish. the indians commonly seen on the city streets are zapotecs or mixtecs, but at times mixes come from their distant mountain homes with burdens on their backs, or parties of tehuantepecanas attract attention, by their fine forms and striking dress, as they walk through the streets. the market is crowded, even late in the day; ox-carts from the indian towns for miles around are constantly seen in the streets. most of the sellers in the market are indians; they bring fruits and vegetables, dried fish from the pacific, _jícaras_ and strainers of gourds, beautifully painted and polished gourds from ocotopec, honey, sugar--both the crude brown and the refined yellow cakes--and pottery. the indian pottery here sold is famous. three kinds of wares are well known--a dull plain red, an unglazed but highly polished black, and a brilliant glazed green. the black ware is made into useful vessels, and also into a variety of toys, chiefly whistles and bells. pottery would seem to be one of the least suitable materials for bells. here, however, bells of pottery in many shapes are found--little bells, with handles like the upper part of a human figure; larger bells, with curious flat handles set transversely; others, still larger, like cow-bells in size and tone, and curious cross-shaped bells, really a group of four united. among the whistles some are made into the shape of animals and birds and curious human figures; among the latter, some closely resemble ancient whistles from the prehistoric graves. this black ware is made at coyotepec, and when the objects are first taken from the kiln they are almost white; before they are cold, they are exposed to dense smoke, and thus assume their black color. the brilliantly glazed green ware is the most attractive. vessels made from it are thin, and, in the parts which are unglazed, resemble common flower-pot ware. the larger portion of their surfaces, however, is covered with a rich, thick, emerald-green glaze. cups, bowls, saucers, plates, sugar-bowls, tea-pots, flasks, and censers are among the forms commonly made in this ware. the shapes are often graceful and the prices low. most beautiful, however, and relatively expensive, are the miniature vessels made in this ware--scarcely an inch in height, but formed with the greatest care, and in such variety of dainty forms that one may seek some time to duplicate a piece which he has found; these little pieces are completely covered with the rich green glaze both outside and inside. our plan of journey for the year was first to make an expedition from oaxaca to the north-west, into the mixteca alta; returning to oaxaca, to strike eastward by way of mitla, and the land of the mixes, to tehuantepec, from which place we should make a brief trip to the juaves; returning to tehuantepec, we should take the high road, by way of san carlos, back to oaxaca. our first duty in the city of oaxaca was to procure letters and orders from the governor. no governor in mexico more completely realizes his importance and dignity than governor gonzales of oaxaca. it is ever difficult to secure an audience with him; appointment after appointment is made, only to be broken when the inquiring visitor presents himself, and has been kept waiting an undue length of time. we had been through the experience before, and therefore were not surprised that it required four visits, each of them appointed by the governor himself, before we really had our interview. governor gonzales, is, however, an excellent officer. while we were waiting for our letters, after having explained to him our errand and plan of procedure, we had the opportunity to see a somewhat unusual and interesting sight. like all public buildings and better-grade houses in mexican cities, the governor's palace is built about _patios_, or inner courts. a wide balcony surrounds the court at the level of the second story and upon it the rooms of that story open. having given orders that our letters should be prepared, the governor excused himself for a few moments, as he said that certain of his local authorities were ordered to meet him. we were seated where we could watch the reception. as we had entered the palace we had been impressed by the great number of indians, carrying official staves, who were waiting near the door. we now found that they were official delegates from the different towns, and that they had been sent from their homes to give the governor new year's greetings. having carefully arrayed himself for the meeting, the governor took his position in the wide balcony already referred to, with two officials of the palace stationed near, one on either side. the indians represented perhaps twenty-five different towns, the delegation from each town varying from three or four to fifteen or twenty persons. all were dressed in their cleanest garments, and all carried their long staves of office, most of which had ribbons of bright colors streaming from them. the secretary of the governor arranged these delegations in their order, and they were presented one by one to the chief executive. as each delegation was presented, its members scraped and bowed, and the _presidente_ and _secretario_ kissed the governor's hand. a word or two of greeting having been exchanged, the spokesman from the village made a speech, sometimes read from a written copy, after which he presented a bouquet of flowers, real or artificial. the governor received the bouquet with a bow, placed the flowers on a little table near by, or, if the gift were a large bouquet of real flowers, handed it to one of the attendants standing near, and then made a polite speech of response, emphasizing it with vigorous gestures and plainly expressive of much interest and earnestness. the delegation then took its leave, always bowing reverently, and each man kissing the governor's hand as he passed out. as he received this mark of respect, the governor would make a playful remark, or pat the persons on the head, or otherwise treat them as a father might his little children. instantly the flowers were cleared away, the next delegation ushered in, and the same ceremony gone through with. finally, all was ready for our leaving. the party consisted of five persons--myself, as leader, mr. lang, my american photographer, don anselmo, my mexican plaster-worker, manuel, and the _mozo_. all but the _mozo_ were mounted on horses, more or less good or bad. the _mozo_, mariano, a mixtec indian, went on foot, carrying the photographic outfit on his back, and our measuring-rod in his hand. it was well on in the afternoon before we started, and hardly were we outside the town, before mr. lang's horse showed signs of sickness. his suffering was plain, and every person we met volunteered the information that unless something was done promptly, we should have a dead horse on our hands. going to a little shop on the roadside, where strong drinks were sold, we stopped, and after preparing a remedy with the help of a passing indian, threw the horse down, wedged his mouth open, and gave him what seemed to be an unsavory draught. more than an hour was lost out of our already short afternoon by this veterinary practice, and long before we reached etla, where we were compelled to pass the night, it was dark. leaving etla in the morning, looking down as we passed out from the city upon a wonderful group of mounds, we passed rather slowly through the town of huitzo. don anselmo and i loitered, as we found the whole country to be rich in ancient relics, examples of which were to be found in almost every house. as the afternoon passed, we found that we were likely to be completely left by our companions, and were forced to hasten on. the latter part of the daylight ride was up a continuous, and at times steep, ascent. as the sun neared setting, we reached the summit and found ourselves close by the station of las sedas, the highest point upon the mexican southern railway. we had there expected to overtake the others of our party, but found that they had hurried on. it was a serious question whether we should try to overtake them. it had been wisdom to have stayed the night where we were. in this uncertainty, we met an indian boy driving mules toward oaxaca, who volunteered the information that he had met our companions, who were just ahead, and that we would soon overtake them. this decided us, and we started down the trail. a heavy wind was blowing, and the night air was cold and penetrating. in a few minutes we met a half-breed mexican, who, accosting us at once, urged us to go no further. his manner was somewhat sinister and disagreeable. he warned us that, if we attempted to make the descent in the darkness, we would at least lame our animals. he asserted that our comrades were fully three leagues ahead when he had met them, and that we would never overtake them. he also hinted darkly as to other dangers of the road, if we should succeed in making the descent without breaking the legs of our horses. refusing his invitation to stop with him for the night, we pressed onward, and as we did so, he called out derisively after us. the descent would not have been an easy one, even in the daytime, and in the gathering darkness there was really an element of danger in the journey. we left the following of the trail almost entirely to our animals. we were finally down the worst of the descent before night had actually set in. from here on, although the road varied but little from a level trail, we were obliged to go slowly, and it was with a feeling of true relief that, after floundering for a while in a brook in which our road seemed to lose itself, we heard ourselves called by name, from an indian hut situated a little way up the bank. as usual, the house consisted of a single room, of no great size, and was lightly built of cane. two men, three women, a boy, and three little girls were the occupants. our companions were already resting; their horses were unsaddled and were eating contentedly, and we were told that supper was being prepared for us. entering the house, we found the women busy making _tortillas_, and fresh goat's meat, hanging from the rafters, gave promise of a substantial meal. when all was ready, we sat down to the finest of corn-cakes, beans, eggs, and tender kidmeat. we spread our blankets under a little shelter which stood in front of one side of the house. none of us slept well. it was very cold; dogs barked all night long; now and then a sudden outbreak of their barking, and curious signals and whistles, which were repeated in various parts of the mountain, gave us some uneasiness. at three o'clock in the morning, just as we were napping, don anselmo startled us by the statement that our mule was dead. in a moment, all was excitement. mariano examined the animal and reiterated the statement. as for us, we were in the mood to care but little whether the mule was living or dead. half frozen and very weary, our frame of mind was not a cheerful one. just before daybreak we could stand the cold no longer, and gathering some dry wood, we started a fire and crowded around it. the report about the mule proved to be false, and when morning came, there was no sign that anything was the matter with him. it was nine o'clock before we started on our journey in the morning. we had three long hours of clambering up and down heavy slopes, and, much of the way, through a stream the bed of which was filled with slippery boulders and pebbles, over which the horses slipped and stumbled frightfully. our horses slid down small cascades, but, when we came to larger ones, we had to mount the banks by ugly bits of road, descending below the falls. after much labor and weariness, we reached el parian at noon. having rested through the hotter portion of the day, we took the road again at two. we followed up the brook-bed to the point where another stream entered it, at an acute angle. up this stream we turned, and after following it a little, struck suddenly up a steep hill, and then climbed on and on over a good road, cut in the limestone rock, up and up, until we reached the very summit. the vegetation here was a curious assemblage,--palms, cedars, oaks, and a mimosa-like tree, formed the chief types. the limestone rock upon the summit was curiously eroded, as if by rain rills. the masses presented all the appearance and detail of erosion shown by the great mountain mass of the country itself; looking at one of these little models, only a few feet across, and then gazing out upon the great tangle of mountain peaks around us, one could almost imagine that the one was the intentional reproduction of the other, in miniature. for a long time we followed the almost level summit; then a little climb and a slight descent brought us to huaclilla. at the _meson_ we found real rooms and true beds, and decided to stay for the night. the supper was less attractive. a brief walk about the village brought to light two cases of small-pox, and, on returning to the _meson_, we were charmed to find a third one in the building itself. still, we slept well, and were up betimes next morning. the country through which we were passing was mariano's _país_ (native land). assuming that his knowledge was adequate, we left our _meson_ early, with the intention of breakfasting at san pedrito, where we were assured that everything was lovely; we were also told that it was but a short distance. the road thither was through a high open country, planted to wheat and oats and with some _maguéy_. the road was discouragingly long, but after at least three hours of constant riding, we reached precious san pedrito, chiefly notable for the amount of _pulque_ drunk there. it was with the greatest difficulty that we succeeded in getting anything to eat; the breakfast was certainly worse than the supper of the preceding night. with the prevalence of _maguéy_ as a cultivated plant, the appearance of the houses and other buildings changed, as all of them were thatched with the broad, long, sharp-pointed leaves of the famous plant. everyone in the district carries _tinajas_, or little sacks woven from splints of palm. here, for the first time, we noticed that many of these had decorated patterns worked in black splints on the lighter ground. the blackness of these splints is given by exposure to the smoke of burning pine. carrying-straps, also made of palm, are used for adjusting these _tinajas_ to the back. from san pedrito the road is over a soft rock, which produces, when worn, a white glaring trail. the country through which we passed was fertile. everywhere were fields of grain, wheat, oats, and, as we were descending into the lower land, corn. the little watch-houses for guarding the newly-sown fields are a striking feature of the landscape. in the higher districts they were small, conical or dome-shaped structures, made of the leaves of the _maguéy_, and hardly large enough for a man to lie down in. lower down, these were replaced by little rectangular huts, only a few feet across, with thatched roofs, the whole construction being raised on poles ten or twelve feet above the ground. it was scarcely more than noonday when we reached nochixtlan, where the _jefe_ of the district lives. telling him that we desired to visit yodocono and tilantongo, he wrote orders for us, and charged some indians of tidaa to show us the road, so far as they were going. the country through which we passed was a continuation of that preceding nochixtlan. the road was nearly level, with but slight ups and downs, until a little before we reached our destination, when we had an abrupt up-turn to yodocono, a pretty town on the border of a little lake, which has but recently appeared, and which covers an area which a few years ago was occupied by cultivated fields. our letter from the _jefe_ introduced us to don macario espinola, a _mestizo_, owner of the chief store in the village, who showed us gracious hospitality. we were guests of honor. the parlor was surrendered to our use; the chairs were placed in such a way that, when supplied with mattress, sheets, and blankets, they made capital beds. our meals were good. don macario, on hearing the purpose of our visit, placed himself entirely at our disposition. unfortunately, he gained the idea that the people whom we wanted for measurement and photography were old folk, and the most astonishing collection of aged men and women was summoned from every part of the village and surrounding neighborhood, and all had to be measured, although the measurements were afterwards discarded. [illustration: yodocono] leaving yodocono at ten the following morning, we rode to tilantongo. though assured that the road was over a district as level as a floor, we found a good deal of up-hill riding. tilantongo itself, with , inhabitants, is located upon the further slope of a hill, and but few houses were in sight until we were actually in the town. the public buildings surrounded a small open space, in the centre of which is a stone sun-dial. one side of this little _plaza_ is occupied by the schoolhouse; the town-house and jail occupy the rear. the town is built upon a horseshoe-shaped, sloping ridge, and the church is at the edge of the town, at one of the very ends of the horseshoe. riding to the town-house, we presented our documents to the _presidente_, and ordered dinner for ourselves and food for the horses. we had letters to the priest, but he was not in town. the schoolhouse was placed at our disposal, and we moved two long benches close to each other, side by side; rush mats were brought, and these we laid upon the benches, and upon the teacher's table, for beds. mr. lang and don anselmo took the table, manuel and i the benches, and mariano had the floor. the cold was so intense that none of us slept much. we were astonished, in the middle of the night, and at intervals in the early morning, say at two or four o'clock, to hear snatches of songs. at first, we imagined it might be some religious festival, but on inquiring, we found that it was nothing but bands of drunken indians making night hideous. we waited some time in the morning before beginning work, hoping that the _cura_ might come and assist us with his influence. finally, wearying of delay, we explained to the _presidente_ the work we planned to do. we told him we must have subjects for measurement, photographing and modeling. he showed no great enthusiasm in the matter. one and another came to be measured, if they chose, but a number entirely refused. it was plain that something must be done. quitting my work, i sent orders for the _presidente_ to appear, and, after an intolerable delay, he presented himself. i told him that we were losing time; that subjects were not presenting themselves; that some of those who did present themselves refused to be measured; that i wished a _mozo_ at once to carry a report from me to the _jefe_ that my wishes were not regarded by the authorities, and that his orders had no influence; that the _mozo_ must be ready at once, as there was no time to lose, and we should shortly leave his town without accomplishing our work. the effect was instantaneous. the official air of arrogance disappeared; he replied quiet humbly that subjects should be at once supplied, as rapidly as they could be brought in. i replied, "here are two persons now who have refused; why wait while others shall be brought?" the fiat went forth, the two obdurate and not good-humored victims were marched up. as i measured them, they whispered to me that the _presidente_ himself had not been measured, and begged that he be ordered to undergo the operation. the request was reasonable, and when they were through, they waited to see what would happen. great was their delight when, turning to the chief man of the town, i said, "it is best for you to be measured next. it will set a good example to the rest," and without a word, although i knew that he had stated that he would not be measured, he stepped under the rod. from then on there was no lack of material. our subjects were measured, photographed and modeled as rapidly as we could do the work. at noon the priest had come. as he passed where we were working, he gave us an extremely distant greeting and rode on up to the _curato_. from his castle he sent immediate complaint because our horses had been put into his stable without his permission. i went to the good man's house and found him hearing confessions. leaving with him the letters from the archbishop and the _jefe_, i returned to my work, leaving word that the horses would have to stay where they were, as there was no other suitable place for their keeping. after a hard day's work, the night started very cold, and we hurried to bed early. all were sleeping, but myself, when a rap came at the door. it was a message from the _cura_, begging us to come to the _curato_, where we would be more comfortable. sending back a word of thanks, i stated that we would be there for the following night. [illustration: mixtec houses; tilantongo] the _cura_ had been away from home for several days. the result was that, on his return, his parishioners turned out in force to greet him, and hardly was he housed, when a procession bearing gifts marched to the _curato_. in front went one bearing flowers. those who followed carried some kind of food,--great pieces of meat, fowls, eggs, corn, chilis, and other supplies. the following morning we were awakened by a great explosion of fire-crackers and rockets, and by pealing bells, announcing the early mass. after his religious duties were performed, the _padre_ came down to the _plaza_ to watch our work and use his influence in our behalf. when it was dinner-time, he invited us to go with him to that meal. we had thought that the donation party we had witnessed was a generous one; after that dinner, we had no doubt of the matter. hardly had we disposed of the many good things on the table when the _padre_ took us to a large room, the parish schoolhouse, and showed us the arrangements he had made for our comfort. four beds, descending in grade of comfort from the one for myself to the one for manuel, were shown us. never was a party happier to move from one set of quarters to another. called away the next morning by his religious duties, the priest left us in charge of house and household. the work went merrily on in the _plaza_. we quickly found, however, that the town was getting into a condition of intoxication, and long before noon every person in the place was drunk. at noon we were waited upon by a committee, representing the town, who informed us that they appreciated the lofty honor which was conferred on the place by our presence, and stated that, realizing that we had brought with us letters from the president of the republic and from the archbishop of the diocese, they desired not to be lacking in the respect due to such distinguished visitors. accordingly, they said, they had arranged for the brass band to discourse sweet music for us, while we ate our dinner. no sooner was the statement made, than preparations were begun. the band stood around us in a semi-circle, chiefly notable for its unsteadiness on its legs, and regaled us with a series of most doleful pieces. when word came that dinner was ready at the _curato_, the band accompanied us to our stopping-place. the bandmaster announced his intention of personally serving us at the table. at the same time orders were given that the musicians, standing without, should continue to play pieces throughout the repast. [illustration:] [illustration:] the last day of our stay at tilantongo, the _padre_ stated that it must be interesting to see the way in which a parish priest, returning from a visit to a neighboring town, is received by his parish. accordingly, he planned that a picture should be taken of himself on horseback, with all the people gathered around welcoming him. telling us that he would be ready when we should have made our own preparations for this photographic effort, he waited for our summons. we quickly found, however, that the proposition, although hailed at first with joy, did not create great enthusiasm. we recommended to the people that they should get ready; told the musicians that the band should be prepared, and that soon we should send for the _padre_ to be welcomed. when we finally succeeded in getting the matter under way, and were seriously thinking of summoning the reverend gentleman, it was reported that an old woman had been found dead in her lonely hut that morning, and arrangements were at once started for her funeral. in vain we suggested that they should wait until the picture had been made. musicians and parishioners alike disappeared, going down to the house where the dead body lay. the afternoon was passing. it would soon be quite too dark for a picture. meantime, the _cura_, having become anxious in the matter, hastened from his house on foot, to ask why he had not been sent for. on our explaining that a funeral was in progress, he was greatly outraged. we pointed out the house in front of which the funeral procession was now forming. he stood watching, as the line of mourners approached. the person who had died was an aged woman named hilaria. the body was borne upon a stretcher, as coffins are not much used among these people. the procession came winding up the high-road, where we stood. the band in front was playing mournfully; next came the bearers, two of whom, at least, were sadly drunk. the corpse was clad in the daily garments of the woman, and the body sagged down through gaps in the stretcher; a motley crowd of mourners, chiefly women, some with babies in their arms, followed. one man, walking with the band in front, carried a book in his hand and seemed to read the service, as they slowly passed along. when the procession had come near us and was about to pass, the _padre_ stopped it; expressing his dissatisfaction at the failure to arrange for the photograph which he had ordered, he told the bearers to take the corpse out behind the house and leave it there. they did so, returned, and were arranged in a group with the _padre_ in their midst, and photographed, after which the body was picked up again, the procession was reformed, and proceeded as if nothing had happened. the following morning at six o'clock we were again upon the road. we first descended into the valley, passing the miserable hut from whence the dead woman had been borne. in all the yards we noticed peach-trees loaded with their pink blossoms. from the deep and narrow valley, we began to climb steadily upward. we passed along the side of a gorge, the bed of which had all the appearance of a giant stairway. higher and higher we mounted, leaving san juan diusi on our right. great masses of gray clouds hung upon the summits of the highest mountain, their lower line coming very nearly to our level. the wind beginning to blow, the gray mass soon was whirled and spread down like a great veil around us. we were indeed glad when we began to descend and have a little shelter behind us, against the wind, and dry skies instead of damp clouds above us. making a sudden descent, we found ourselves in a cleared district, where the only trees left on the high summits were palms, which bore little round dates with round seeds; these were quite sweet and good. small ranches were scattered, here and there, along the road. after another descent and ascent, we found ourselves in an extensive forest of great gnarled oaks, thickly covered with tufts of air-plants and with orchids. many of the latter were in full bloom, forming masses of brilliant color. in making the descent from here, we found the slope composed of slippery limestone, with sharp, rain-channeled surfaces, where our horses with great difficulty kept their footing. soon after we were down, we reached san bartolo. this purely mixtec town was a delightful spot. it is large, and strung along two or three long straight streets. [illustration: the people receiving their padre; tilantongo] the houses were in yards completely filled with fruit trees--_chirimoyas, limas, granadas de china, ahuacates_ and oranges. garden-beds of spinach, lettuce, and onions were frequent. the houses were of poles set upright, with thick thatchings of palms. bee-hives in quantity were seen at almost every house. at tilantongo we had seen but few women in native dress. here almost every woman was clad in native garments, many of which were beautifully decorated. the men wore brilliant sashes, woven in the town. when we reached the town-house we found the doorway decorated with flowers,--stars and rosettes made of palm. we were well received, and a capital dinner was soon served, after which we were escorted around the town by the authorities, who arranged for photographing everything that seemed to us of interest. but, at three o'clock, we left this pretty spot. again, we climbed much of the way over limestone roads. santo domingo, past which we journeyed, is a mean little town, with houses much like those of tilantongo, but of a gray color instead of reddish-brown. from here we plunged downward, and when we ascended again, followed along the side of a rock-walled cañon with pretty cascades and magnificent masses of fallen rock. the last part of our journey was made by moonlight, along a brook-side over a road which seemed quite endless. with some trouble, we found the dilapidated old church and the municipal house; we took possession of the school, and after a miserable supper, thoroughly tired, lay down to rest upon the benches. the town--magdalena de los comales--is so named from the _comales_, or earthenware griddles, made there. besides this characteristic product, the town makes a good deal of unglazed but polished red pottery. the forms are chiefly candle-sticks, censers and toys. much weaving of palm is here done, and the hats of the place are rather famous. famous, too, are the _mantas_, or women's dresses, of black wool, made in long rectangular pieces. the common grade sells for $ . , and in using it, it is, like indian dresses generally, simply wrapped about the figure and held in place by a sash or belt. nowhere in our journey in southern mexico had we met with the kind of scenery which we encountered between magdalena and tlaxiaco; its whole character was like that of new mexico. directly behind the town was a fine cart-road, worn in red sand pumice; before the town rose a magnificent cliff, which had been a landmark in our journey of the day before. the road running up the mountain, over gray and red pumice strata, was deeply worn, just like the road back of cochiti, new mexico. here, too, were the same noble pines for forest. it was a full hour's climb to the summit, where we found a pretty brook tumbling over ledge after ledge into deep round basins of purest water. a long and rather gentle slope downward led to a valley filled with neat farm-houses and cleared patches. our last ascent brought us to a mass of rounded hills, composed of brilliant clays--yellow, brown, pink, red and white. from among these hillocks tlaxiaco, a magnificent picture, burst into view. it is compactly built; the flat-topped houses are white or blue-tinted; trees are sprinkled through the town; the old convent, with the two towers of its church, dominates the whole place; a pretty stream flows along its border; and a magnificent range of encircling mountains hems it in on all sides. the descent was rapid, and we reached tlaxiaco with the morning but half gone. [illustration: mixtec houses with beehives; san bartolo] the _jefes_ of the districts of mexico are frequently men of ability and force. rarely, however, have we encountered one so prompt and energetic as javier cordova, then _jefe_ of the district of tlaxiaco. when he took possession of this district, not long before, deeds of robbery along the high-road were common. in many portions of the district, acts of violence were quite the rule. perhaps the largest agricultural district in the republic, it possessed few of the conveniences of modern life. under cordova's administration, vast improvements have been made. the roads are secure, deeds of violence are rare, the advantages of the district are being rapidly developed, telephone and telegraph have been introduced, and a railroad is talked of. although we had no letter from the governor addressed to señor cordova, when we showed him the communications for other _jefes_, we were received with the greatest courtesy and everything was done to facilitate our work. we told him that we planned to visit the triquis at chicahuastla. he at once wrote letters to the town authorities and to don guillermo murcio, living at that village. the plaster for our bust-making had not yet been received, but señor cordova promised, in case it came, to forward it after us promptly, and, in case it did not come, to send twenty miles into the mountains for the raw plaster, which he would have prepared and sent on to chicahuastla. it was late in the afternoon, before we started for cuquila, where we planned to pass the night. it was a mistake to make so late a start. for a time, the road was fairly level, but at last we went up a brisk ascent, reaching the summit near sunset. the road down would have been a bad one, even in the daytime. as it was, if we had not had a good moon, we could hardly have made the descent. from the depth of the cañon we ascended to cuquila, thoroughly tired, somewhat before seven. it was with the greatest difficulty that we could find anyone of whom to ask our way to the town-house. our voices were sufficient to plunge any house into instant darkness and silence. after a long search, we found a man who agreed to seek the _presidente_. he and the rest of the town officials finally met us on the road, and, after reading our order, took us to the town-house. it was with difficulty that we got fodder for our horses. it was only after persistent and dire threats, that we secured food for ourselves, and firewood to make the room, in which we were to sleep, endurable. it was long past eleven before we were through our troubles and lay down on mats to sleep. though we had warned the town officials that we should leave at seven, and must have breakfast before we left, when we arose, we found no steps whatever taken for our accommodation. yet the town officials had been up long enough to be thoroughly affected by their early morning drinks. feeling that patience had ceased to be a virtue, we summoned the authorities, and told the _presidente_ that he had paid no attention whatever to his _jefe's_ order; that we had had far too much difficulty in securing the bad accommodations we had been furnished; that their promise to prepare a suitable breakfast had been completely disregarded. we told them that our duty was to send immediate complaint to tlaxiaco; that we would, however, give them one more chance. we should not stop for breakfast, but would proceed upon our journey hungry; if, however, we sent him further orders regarding our return journey, we should expect them obeyed to the very letter. with this we mounted. in vain the _presidente_ and officials begged us to wait, promising that everything should be prepared. time was too precious, and away we rode. soon after leaving cuquila we struck a fifty-minute mountain, the summit of which we made at nine o'clock exactly. here we sat in the shade and lunched on bread and pineapples, bought the day before in tlaxiaco. from the summit, there was a slow and gentle descent around that ridge, and then a slow incline along an endless ravine, until at last we came out upon a crest, from which we looked down upon one of the grandest mountain scenes of the world. a valley of impressive size, surrounded by magnificent mountain masses, lay below us, and just to the right, at our feet, was chicahuastla. few people in mexico are so little known as the triquis. orozco y berra, usually a good authority, locates them near tehuantepec, in the low country. the towns which he calls triqui are chontal; the five true triqui towns are in the high mixteca. the largest is the town which we were now approaching. the triquis are people of small stature, dark-brown color, black eyes, aquiline, but low and rather broad nose; they are among the most conservative, suspicious and superstitious of mexican indians. most of them dress in native clothing, and all speak the triqui and not the spanish language. as a people they are sadly degraded, through being exceptionally addicted to drink. don guillermo murcio is a character. he and his family are almost the only _mestizos_ in the place. he is a hale and hearty blacksmith, and has lived for fifteen years in this purely indian town, where he has gained almost unbounded influence among the simple natives. his word is law, and the town-government trembles before his gaze. he is impetuous in manner, quick-tempered, and on the slightest suggestion of disregard of his commands, freely threatens jail or other punishment. he received us cordially, and we lived at his house, where we were treated to the best that was available. we have already referred to the beautiful location of chicahuastla. its appearance is most picturesque. unlike the indian towns in the mixteca which we had so far visited, it has many houses of circular form with conical roof. it is possible that this style of construction is the result of african influence. at chicahuastla we were on the very summit of the great water-shed, and from it, when the air is clear, one may look down, over a sea of lesser summits and mountain ranges, to the waters of the pacific. along the pacific coast, in the state of guerrero, are whole towns of africans, descendants of slaves, who build their houses after the circular pattern, so common throughout the dark continent. we did not find in the triquis any admixture of african blood, but it is possible the mode of house-building may have been influenced by negro example. our first glimpse of the town suggested a veritable paradise. at eleven the sky was clear, the sun almost tropical, the whole country smiled under its warm beams; but at two there came a change. fogs, so dense as to shut out the view of what was across the road, drifted down from the summit on which we had seen cloud masses forming. deeper and deeper, wetter and wetter, colder and colder grew the mist. all, wrapped in their thickest blankets, were shivering, crouched upon the ground, trying in vain to keep themselves warm. at first we thought this might be a rare occasion, but were assured that it is an every-day occurrence, and from our own experience of four or five days, we can easily believe the statement to be true. how any people can live in such a spot, suffering keenly twenty hours in the day, simply for the four hours of clear sunshine and warmth is inexplicable; and the nights were torments! don guillermo's house is well built of logs and plaster, but no house could keep out that bitter cold night air which chilled us, as we lay in bed, until we could hardly move. [illustration: don guillermo and his family; chicahuastla] [illustration: group of triquis; chicahuastla] we have already stated that the people of chicahuastla are conservative and superstitious. our operations of measuring, photographing and bust-making filled the town with alarm and concern. it was hard enough to get our male subjects; the women were yet more difficult. at first we failed to secure any, but after we had several times told the town officials that twenty-five women must be forthcoming for measurement, and don guillermo had stormed and threatened, the town-government began to plan a mode of carrying out our wishes. close by don guillermo's house was the miserable little village _plaza_, where the women of the town assembled with corn-cakes and other articles for trade. there, they met the travelling peddlers coming from tlaxiaco, from cuquila and the coast, and drove their bargains, mostly a matter of trade, not purchase, with them. waiting at the place where we were working, until one or two women were to be seen in the _plaza_, the town officials separated, going in two directions. in a few minutes an anxious watcher, from our point of view, might have seen a gradually contracting circle of men surrounding the _plaza_. usually at the same time that this circle was evident to the watcher, it became also evident to the women. with cries of terror, the poor creatures would start off as fast as their legs would carry them, over the mountain trails, with the whole town government, sixteen strong, in pursuit, with yells and screams. it was like nothing but the chase of deer by hounds. usually, the women, given strength by terror, escaped; but once out of three times, perhaps, the officials returned in triumph with their prisoner in their midst, who was at once measured and then, if need be, photographed. in course of time these hunts supplied the twenty-five victims desired. it might not be uninteresting to describe the events of a single afternoon in a triqui town. on one occasion, having eaten dinner, we had scarcely begun our work when we heard a great uproar and din upon the road toward santo domingo. looking in that direction, we saw a crowd of men and boys struggling toward us. as they came nearer, we saw that six or eight of the party were carrying some awkward and inconvenient burden. it was a man, sprawling face downward; two or more held his arms, an equal number his legs; about his waist a belt, knotted behind, was tied, and then through the knot was thrust a strong pole, which was being carried by two men, one on either side. struggling against those who carried him, raising his face and snarling and gnashing at the crowd, the prisoner presented a fearful spectacle. it seemed that, being drunk, he had quarreled with his friend, whom he had nearly murdered with his _machete_. about the middle of the afternoon we heard a loud crying in the other direction, toward the church and jail, and, on looking, saw coming toward us a man, whose head was broken open and from it was streaming blood, his head and face were covered, and his white shirt, to the waist and even below, was soaked with the red fluid. he was wringing his hands and crying in a piteous manner. when he came to where we stood, he told his tale of woe. he was the majordomo in charge of the church property. he had expected that the priest would make his visit to the pueblo on that day, and had so announced it to the people; the pious parishioners looked forward, with interest, to the coming of the _padre_. when the day passed, however, and the priest failed to appear, one of the more religious felt so outraged that he had broken open the head of the majordomo with a club, on account of his disappointment. we told the poor fellow to go home and let his wife clean him up and change his clothing, promising that, if he died, his assailant should be punished. that evening there was a little moonlight at chicuhuastla, the only time during our stay. as we sat eating supper, we heard an outcry in the direction of the church and jail. asking don guillermo what might be the cause, he replied that there was probably some trouble at the jail. we insisted on going to see what might be happening. don guillermo, the plaster-worker, mariano, manuel and i, seizing whatever weapons were convenient at hand, started for the jail. we found an excited crowd gathered around the doorway. on a log before the door there sat a creature crazy-drunk. i have never seen a case more horrible. he screamed, yelled, gnashed his teeth, struck and snapped at everyone around. the whole village stood in terror. i addressed the policemen, who seemed quite helpless. "why not thrust him into the jail? quick! seize him! in with him!" encouraged by our words, they seized him, the door was quickly opened, and he was cast into the little room, which already contained more than thirty persons, the harvest of a single afternoon. when the door was locked, we saw for the first time why the policemen had been so timid. one of them came limping up to us, crying, and showed his leg. from its fleshy part a good mouthful of flesh had been cleanly bitten by the madman. the wound was bleeding profusely, and the poor fellow wrung his hands and cried with pain. [illustration: view at chicahuastla] we had finished our measurements and photographs, but there had been no sign as yet of the plaster; concluding that señor cordova had forgotten his promise, we were prepared to leave town early the next morning. after dark two men came from tlaxiaco, one of whom brought sufficient plaster for making two good busts. this plaster had been brought, in a crude state, twenty miles from the mountains to tlaxiaco; had been calcined and ground there, by prisoners in the jail, and then sent fifteen miles to us over the mountains. we were interested in the men who brought it. one of them was a prisoner from the tlaxiaco jail. he had been sentenced to ten days for drinking, and it was he who carried the plaster. the other proudly informed us that he was a policeman, and had come to make sure that the prisoner returned. thoroughly delighted at their coming, we broke our custom and gave the men a trifle. alas, the day! that very night both men, policeman and prisoner, were thrust into the local jail, helplessly drunk. one evening, during our stay at chicahuastla, don guillermo begged me to go into the kitchen to examine a baby, upon whom he was thinking of performing a surgical operation. the creature was a boy some three months old, pure indian. we had heard him crying at night ever since we had come, but had not seen him. a tumor, or some growth, was on his neck, below the chin. don guillermo handed me the razor, in order that i might remove the swelling, but i refused the task. the story of the child is sad. it is the son of a young indian boy and girl, not married. that would not be a serious matter among the triquis. for some reason, however, the mother did not like the child, and scarcely was it born, when she went with it into the forest; there in a lonely place she choked it, as she thought, to death, and buried it in the ground. the town authorities, suspecting something of her purpose, had followed her and were watching at the moment. no sooner had she left the spot than they dug up the child, found it still alive, and brought it to don guillermo, who had kept it at the town's charge. the last night of our stay at chicahuastla, just after supper, a cavalcade came to the door. it was the _jefe_ of the next district--juxtlahuaca--with a guard of six mounted men. apparently a pleasant fellow, he was at the moment excited over a recent disturbance in his district. in an attempt which he had made to adjust a certain difficulty, he and his guard had been fired on and stones thrown from the height above them, by the people of the pueblo. one of his companions died from the effect of the attack. the officer plainly feared an outbreak or uprising, and was nervous and uneasy, though don guillermo assured him that in his house there was absolutely no danger. finally, we quieted down and all went to bed, we with the intention of an early start the next morning. [illustration: at work; measuring] [illustration: at work; bust making] after an uneasy night, i awoke about five o'clock. just as i was thinking of calling my companions, i felt a faint trembling, which rapidly increased to a heavy shaking, of the house in which we slept. there was a moment's pause, and then a second shaking, which began stronger than the other, but which lasted about the same time. it was the most serious earthquake shock we ever experienced in mexico. had the house been made of brick and plaster, considerable damage might have been done. everyone was wide awake in an instant. the whole town was in excitement. the church-bell was rung and the people flocked out into the street. the shock passed at exactly : , and, in other towns, notably in oaxaca, it did considerable damage. two days before, we had sent word to the authorities at cuquila, that we should breakfast with them on our way back to tlaxiaco, and ordered them to be ready for our coming. this was the opportunity which had been promised them for redeeming themselves and avoiding complaint to their _jefe_. arriving at the town at : , we were met at the roadside by some of the officials, who led us at once to the town-house. here the whole town government was gathered to greet us; politely each one, stepping forward, removed his hat and kissed my hand; they then invited us to sit down at the table and breakfast,--whereupon eggs, chicken, _tortillas_ and _frijoles_--the best the town could supply--were set before us. the whole government sat by, looking on as we ate. immediately after breakfast, in accordance with our order previously sent, we were taken to see a potter at work. cuquila is famous for two lines of manufacture, pottery and woolen garments. the pottery here made is skillfully shaped into wonderfully large vessels of different forms. the product goes throughout this whole district, and even down to the pacific coast, a hundred miles distant. along the roads it is a common thing to meet parties of three or four men carrying great loads of water-jars, large bowls, etc., for sale or trade. while we were inspecting the potter's work, a slight shock of earthquake, almost too gentle to be noticed, passed through the place. at cuquila, we found that we should not meet señor cordova at tlaxiaco. he had passed through the town the night before, on his way to juxtlahuaca, with a band of soldiers to assist his neighboring _jefe_ in maintaining order. leaving our cuquila reprobates in friendly and gentle mood, we started for tlaxiaco, where we arrived at half-past two. something after four o'clock, we heard a violent ringing of the church-bell and saw the people flocking out onto the streets; looking up at the church-tower, although we did not feel the shock, we saw that the whole church was being violently shaken, and that the ringing bells, which we had heard, were not moved by human hands. this third shock of the day was more strongly felt in other districts, than with us. in the city of mexico, three hundred miles away, it was the most severe of the day. the whole town was in commotion; people threw themselves upon their knees in the streets and prayed to the virgin for protection. later in the day, we saw a priest and a saint's figure passing through the streets, and as they passed the people paid reverence. surely the little procession, illegal though it was, must have been successful, for there were no further shocks. we found here a most interesting superstition, which we had not met before, but which we heard several times later, in other districts. we were assured that the earthquake was but one of many signs that the world was coming to an end. we discovered that thousands of the people expected the ending of the world in , and when we asked why, were reminded that this was the last year of the century. this is certainly a survival of ancient superstition. the old mexicans did not count their years by hundreds or centuries, as we do, but by cycles of years each. it was believed that the world would come to an end at the close of a cycle, and important ceremonies were conducted to avert such a catastrophe. it is clear that the old idea, of the destruction of the world at the close of a cycle, has been transferred to the new mode of reckoning time. [illustration: view at chicahuastla] from tlaxiaco to teposcolula, there was a cart-road, though it was possible that no _carreta_ ever passed over it. it presented little good scenery. we passed the pueblos of san martin jilmeca, san felipe, and san miguel. just before reaching the first of these towns, the road passes over a coarse rock mass, which weathers into spheroidal shells. at jilmeca and some other points along the day's route the rock over which we passed was a white tufaceous material loaded with streaks of black flint. sometimes this black flint passes into chert and chalcedony of blue and purple tints. here and there, along the mountain sides, we caught glimpses of rock exposures, which looked snow-white in the distance. between jilmeca and san felipe there was a pretty brook, with fine cypresses along the banks, and a suspension bridge of great logs. having passed through san felipe and san miguel, a pleasant road, through a gorge, brought us to the valley in which teposcolula lies. the great convent church, historically interesting, is striking in size and architecture. the priest, an excellent man, is a pure-blooded mixtec indian, talking the language as his mother tongue. with great pride he showed us about the building, which was once a grand dominican monastery. the old carved wooden cupboard for gold and silver articles, used in the church service, is fine work. the gold and silver articles for which it was built have long since disappeared. in the _patio_ are many old paintings, most of which are badly damaged, and some of which have been repaired with pieces cut from other pictures, not at all like the missing piece. among these pictures is a series of scenes from the life of santo domingo. of the figures in the church, two are fairly good; one, which is famous, represents our lady of the rosary. in a little chapel are buried the remains of the old friars; here also is a beautiful old carved confessional. in front of the old church is a great court surrounded by a stone wall, which is surmounted here and there with little, pointed, square pillars. to the right of the church is a mass of masonry, in reddish-brown freestone, consisting of a series of arches, now more or less in ruins. when the convent was at the height of its splendor, the crowd of worshippers was too large for the church itself, and these beautiful arches were erected to receive the overflow. in the church itself, the plaster in the domes of the towers and the coloring on the walls and domes had chipped and fallen, on account of the earthquake, the day before. in the ruins of the upper rooms of the convent proper, stone and mortar, dislodged from the decaying walls by the same shocks, lay in little heaps on the floor. the _cura_ had ten churches in his charge. he says there are , people in teposcolula, few of whom are indians. in his ten churches, he has , parishioners. he seemed a devout man, and emphasized the importance of his preaching to his congregation in their native tongue and his. so convinced is he that the native idiom of the people is the shortest road to their heart and understanding, that he has prepared a catechism and christian doctrine in the modern mixtec, which has been printed. the town itself is desolate; the _plaza_ is much too large, and dwarfs the buildings which surround it, and signs of desolation and decay mark everything. with the fondness which mexicans show for high-sounding and pious inscriptions, the municipality has painted, upon the side of the town-house, in full sight for a long distance, the words, "nations to be great and free must be educated." from here to nochixtlan there was nothing of special interest. for some four leagues the road was through a gorge; from this valley we mounted to the height, just before reaching the town of tiltepec, from which we caught an extensive view down over the great valley in which nochixtlan and this town lie. from tiltepec we had a rather tiresome, hot, and painful ride, passing san juan tillo and santiago tillo. by half past one we were again in the city of nochixtlan. [illustration: triqui children; chicahuastla] [illustration: mixtec potter; cuquila] chapter xii the mixes revisited ( ) after resting at oaxaca, from our trip into the high mixteca, we made preparations for our new journey, leaving at three o'clock in the afternoon for the land of the zapotecs and mixes. our late start compelled stopping at tule for the night. in the morning we went on to tlacolula, where we nooned, in order to see the _jefe_ in regard to our work. he is a competent man, showed great interest in our plan, and gave valuable advice, in addition to the orders to his officials. he warned us that we might meet some difficulty at milta, where we were planning to make our study of the zapotecs, on account of the _fiesta_ then in progress. he told us to notify him at once in case matters did not go well there. the _fiesta_ at milta should have been a three days' affair. this year, however, it began on sunday with the result that it filled four days. reaching there in the afternoon of monday, we found the whole town in great excitement and dissipation. the _plaza_ had been enclosed with a fencing of poles, and _toros_ were the amusement of the afternoon. the country sports with bulls are different from the regular bull-fights of the cities. any one takes part who pleases, and while there is little of trained skill, there is often much of fun, frolic, and daring. the bull is led into the ring from outside by a lasso. it is then lassoed from behind and dragged up to a post or tree, to which it is firmly tied to prevent its moving. a rope is then tightly cinched about its middle and a man mounts upon the back of the beast, fixing his feet firmly in the rope below, between it and the animal, and winding his hands into it above. the ropes which hold the bull are then withdrawn so as to set it loose. dozens of men and big boys, with jackets and _serapes_, then torment the beast, which, plunging and dashing at them, scatters them in every direction. sometimes the angry animal attempts to break through the fence, causing excitement and consternation among the crowds who have been hanging to it and looking over. when, as sometimes happens, he does break through, there is great scattering before him, and closing in behind him, until he is again captured. the man riding on the bull's back clings as long as he can, in spite of the plunging and other frantic efforts of the animal to unseat him; comparatively few stay long in their uncomfortable position, and when they are thrown, much agility is required to escape from the furious animal. [illustration: in tlacolula] [illustration: typical zapotec house; tlacolula] as we rode into town these sports were in full blast; everyone, save the bull-fighters, was drunk. now and then a tube of iron filled with powder was exploded. a band in front of the municipal house was supplying music. a little group of men with _pitos_ and _tambours_ strolled from place to place, playing. much selling was in progress in the booths, the chief articles offered being intoxicating drinks. a cluster of drunken vocalists, sitting flat upon the ground, but almost unable to hold themselves upright, were singing horribly to untuned guitars. in front of the town-house a bench had been dragged out by the authorities for the benefit of the _cura_, who, seated thereon, was watching the sports with maudlin gravity. the _presidente_ and other officials were standing by the _padre_, and all were drinking at frequent intervals. thinking the moment opportune, i approached the party and handed them my documents; but both _presidente_ and priest were far too drunk to realize my needs. surveying the drunken town, i felt that it was necessary to act promptly and firmly if we were to accomplish anything before the _fiesta_ ended. the only member of the government who was not extremely drunk that afternoon was the _sindico_. calling him to me, i addressed him, scorning both priest and _presidente_. i refused to drink with them, saying that they were already too drunk to know their duties, and that both should be ashamed of their condition. at this time the _cura_ asked me if i were a clergyman. on my replying no, he remarked that i looked like one. i told him yes, that i was frequently mistaken for one; that a priest in the mixteca had even thought that i was a bishop. he then drunkenly inquired whether i were married, and on my replying no, made the astonishing observation that then, it was certain that i could not be a priest,--that every priest had one wife, bishops two, and archbishops three. this drunken priest had just been making certain observations to the _presidente_ calculated to interfere with my work, and i felt that i now had my opportunity. so, turning upon him, i gravely reproved him for his remark. i told him that, in his language and his drunkenness, he was setting a bad example to his parish; that he should go at once to the _curato_, and not venture forth during the time that we remained in the town. half-sobered by my order, he arose without a word, went to his house, and did not again appear for four days. having gotten him out of the way, i turned to the drunken officials and told them that, early the next morning, i should begin my work, and that they must make the needful preparations; that i wished to measure, photograph, and make busts of the population. i told them that at present they were too drunk to aid me, but that the following morning things must be different; that enough at least to attend to my orders must be sober. after supper, attracted by the noise and hubbub, we set out to see the _plaza_. torches were flaring in every direction, and considerable business was being done at all the booths. crowds of drunken people were squatting on the ground in all directions; at the town-house the band of music was playing the _jarabe_, and or persons were dancing this lively dance. old and young, men and women, boys and girls, all were taking part; no one paid attention to any other person, but each seemed to be trying to prove himself the most agile of the party. all were drunk, some astonishingly so. occasionally a dancer would bump against such an one, who would fall head over heels. immediately picking himself up, he would go at it again, with even greater vigor; sometimes one fell, of himself, in a helpless heap, and lay where he fell, until kicked out of the way or until the music stopped. all around was pandemonium; yelling, singing, cursing, fighting were in progress; the jail was crowded, but every now and then a new case was dragged up; for an instant the door was opened, and against the crowd, pushing from within, the new prisoner would be crowded into the cell. at one time in the evening a cry arose that a murder was being committed in the jail. the door was opened, the policemen crowded in, and the two men who had clinched and were battling were torn apart. one was dragged outside and thrown into the woman's jail, and for a time the air was blue with the most insulting cries. convinced that no work could be done in the afternoons, we labored with the greatest possible diligence each morning. the first morning, going to the town-house, we ordered subjects to be brought. the _presidente_ was drunk; the _sindico_ also; still, some of the town officials were found in a condition able to do our bidding. having measured a few of the officials, we proposed to take such prisoners as still remained in the jail, from the batch of the preceding day. there were eighteen of these, and with them we made a good beginning. among the prisoners we found our first subject for modelling. oiling him, we began to make the moulds. the back-piece had been applied; the second piece, covering the lower part of the face and upper chest, was hardening, and we were busily engaged in putting on the final application over the upper part of the face. at this moment the _presidente_ staggered into the jail. when his eyes fell upon our subject, he stopped aghast; for a moment he was unable to speak; then he groaned out the words, "o horrible spectacle! to think of seeing a son of this town in such a position!" as i was beginning to laugh and ridicule him, the old mother of the young man came bursting into the jail, weeping and trembling, to see what fate had overtaken her son. wringing her hands, the tears rolled down her face, and her voice was choked with sobs, as she asked pitifully whether he must die; she told me that he was her only support, and that, without him, she was absolutely alone. taking the old woman outside, while the mask should be completed, i chatted with her, and as soon as the pieces of the mould were removed, delivered her precious son, unharmed, into her hands. just as we were ready for a new subject, a young fellow, better dressed than most, passed by. we called him to come in and be measured, but with a somewhat insolent manner, he walked by, paying no attention to our words. sending the policemen for him, they soon returned with the report, "_no quiere_" (he does not care to come). to allow a first refusal was not to be thought of, so we ordered his return. again the policemen came back with no result. thereupon i declared that no more work should be done until he came; that time would be lost thereby, and the _jefe's_ order would be disregarded, but that it was not our fault. upon this the _presidente_ informed us that the order was not explicit; it did not state that people must be measured; he would consult the civil code to see whether anyone but criminals must be measured. "very good," said i, "do as you like; but unless that young man is brought in we shall send complaint to the _jefe_; send for a messenger at once to carry my report." at this stage, the policemen returned, telling me that the young man wanted did not belong to this town; that he could not be found, and probably had gone home. we told them that we did not believe them, but that we would proceed with our work; however, i said, that, if he really were a stranger but appeared again, i should order his immediate arrest and jailing. to this they all agreed; and we continued work until the town was again too drunk for anything to be done. [illustration: organo cactus; tlacolula] [illustration: where tree ferns grow] about the middle of the afternoon, when the bull-fighting was at its height, the young man wanted appeared in the ring as the chief fighter and attraction of the day. stepping at once to the policemen i told them that he must be brought immediately to the town-house,--that the bull-fight must cease while our matters were arranged. with much grumbling and complaint they obeyed. the young man dismounted from his bull and was brought by the policeman before us. here we asked the _sindico_ the name and residence of the young man; and, as we supposed, he belonged in mitla. asking him why he had not come to be measured when he was told to do so, he replied that we had already measured him. telling him that lying would not save him, i commanded him to appear the following morning for measurement,--that otherwise he would be sent a prisoner to oaxaca. in the morning he did not appear until officials were sent to bring him. after he had gone through the ordeal of measurement he swore eternal friendship to me, and at no time afterward was i able to pass him, on the street or in the square, without his begging me to drink _tepache_ with him. mitla is famous for its weaving; fine _mantas_ of wool are made there in two chief styles--one a long strip of black or blue-black cloth, the other a rich red, sometimes banded or striped with black. these mitla _mantas_ are widely sold to zapotecs, in all the district around, and form the characteristic women's dress. the zapotecs of this district wear something on their feet that more nearly resembles true shoes than the footgear of any other indians in southern mexico. the sandal of the man has a projecting heel-flap which is bound around the ankles by means of thongs, and forms a good protection to the hind part of the foot. the women have not only such a flap, even higher than that used by the men, but also a broad strip of leather over the forward part of the foot, leaving the toes peeping out in front; between the heel flap and the toe covering, the foot is quite as well enclosed, excepting for the toes, as in a white man's shoe. it was quite impossible, with the amount of work we had to do, and the difficulties under which we labored, to give the least attention to the ruins. we arranged, however, to make a photograph of the town authorities standing in the great court of one of the fine old buildings--a court the walls of which are covered with beautiful mosaic decorations, betraying taste and skill. the motley crew of half-drunk officials, miserably dressed, degraded, poor, in this scene of past magnificence, called up thoughts of the contrast between the government of old mitla and the present,--of past magnificence and modern squalor. [illustration: the contrast; past and present--mitla] having accomplished all we wished at mitla, we again struck eastward toward the land of the mixes. late in starting, we made no attempt to go further than san lorenzo that afternoon. the old road was familiar, and from there on, through the following day, everything came back to memory. even individual trees, projecting rock masses, and little streams, were precisely as we remembered them from our journey of three years earlier. we reached ayutla in the evening a little before sunset. riding directly to the municipal house we summoned the town government. we had not provided ourselves with orders from the _jefe_ of the district, as villa alta, the _jefatura_, lay far out of our course. we planned to use our general letter from the governor. when the officials assembled we presented our order and explained it; we told them what we needed for the night, and arrangements were at once made for supplying us; we then told the _presidente_ of the work we had before us, and informed him that, because his town was small, we should ask for only thirty-five men for measurement, and that these must be ready, early in the morning, with no trouble to us. the _presidente_ demurred; he doubted whether the people would come to be measured; we told him that they would not come, of course, unless he sent for them. when morning came, although everything had been done for our comfort, there was no sign of subjects. that no time might be lost, we took the _presidente_ and three or four other officials, who were waiting around the house; then, with firmness, we ordered that he should bring other subjects. the officials were gone for upwards of an hour, and when they returned, had some ten or twelve men with them. "ah," said i, "you have brought these, then, for measurement?" "on the contrary, sir," said the _presidente_, "this is a committee of the principal men of the town who have come to tell you that the people do not wish to be measured." "ah," said i, "so you are a committee, are you, come to tell me that you do not wish to be measured?" "yes." waiting a moment, i turned to the officials and asked, "and which one particularly does not wish to be measured of this committee?" immediately, a most conservative-looking individual was pointed out. addressing him, i said, "and so you do not wish to be measured?" "no sir," said he, "i will not be measured." "very good," said i. "what is your name?" he told us. i marked it down upon my blank, and wrote out the description of his person. then, seizing my measuring rod, i said to him quite sharply, "well, well! take off your hat and sandals. we must lose no time!" and before he really realized what we were doing, i had taken his measurements. having finished with him, i turned again to the _presidente_. "and what other member of the committee particularly objects to being measured?" as i spoke, another man was indicated. turning to him, i said, "let us lose no time. take off your hat and sandals while i measure you." in an instant the thing was done. the operation was carried through. before i had finished with the second case, the others began to smile and snicker, and when i was ready for my third subject i simply asked, "who next?" and they came one after another without complaint. having measured all the members of the committee, i soberly addressed them. "now, if there is any harm in this that i have done, you are all as badly off as can be. if i were you, i would try to get as many other people in the same position as i could; go out and bring in others." before noon the work was done, and we were ready to go on to juquila. we rested, however, the balance of the day, and spent a second night at ayutla. the day had been given to drinking, throughout the town. it will be remembered that the village proper lies on a terrace, upon a slope above the town-house. as we sat before the house, in the afternoon and evening, we heard from time to time yells and cries above. some policemen, who were standing up there to keep order, would then appear upon the edge of the slope, and, waving their hands, would loudly cry for help; then the policemen from the town-house would run to their assistance, and in a little time the party would return, dragging one or more victims to the jail. this operation continued from early in the afternoon until late at night; fully fifteen or twenty persons were brought down from the village to the jail during that time. we had hoped to find the valley of clouds, and the great cloud cataract, on the road to juquila, but were doomed to disappointment. when we stood upon the summit, looking down into what before had been the sea of mist, the whole place was clear, and everything, to the very bottom of the valley, was visible. the further journey seemed more tedious than before, and the latter part of the road seemed truly endless. there was not a breath of air; the sun poured its hot rays down mercilessly. long before we reached juquila i felt, for the first time in mexico, that i was suffering from fever. after seven and a half hours on the road, we reached the town at : in the afternoon, and went at once to the town-house, where we were well received, and arrangements were made for our comfort. when they saw that i was suffering, they brought out hammocks, of which i made no use. making myself a bed of blankets upon the floor, i lay down in my misery and covered myself from the world, a blanket over my head. after some hours, i felt that we were losing time, and that we must, at least, make arrangements for the work of the following day. it was now dusk. i sent for the officials, and when they appeared, told them that, notwithstanding my suffering, i could not lose time, and that early in the morning they must bring persons for measurement. there was a good deal of discussion over the matter. the officials were dissatisfied that my order was not signed by the _jefe_ of their district and dated from san carlos. they suggested that we send a messenger to san carlos to inquire whether the order was all right. i replied that four days would be consumed in going and coming; that time was precious, and that it was impossible for us to wait. seeing that they were likely to refuse to do what i wished, i made a little speech, in which i told them they had better do what i asked, and that promptly. no one so far had recognized me as having been there before. i told them that they had never had better friend that i; that this was not the first time i had visited juquila; that when i came before i had had difficulty; that my companion, presenting an order from the governor, had been badly received by their _presidente_, who tried to do him violence; that if i had reported this incident, they knew well what would have happened; that, however, being their good friend, i had never reported it. having jogged their memory regarding the past, i suggested to them that a report of the previous occurrence, with their present disregard of orders, might be serious. i told them that they knew what i desired; that they might at once inform me whether it would be done or not; if they decided in the negative, the _secretario_ and my _mozo_ must start at once on foot to oaxaca, carrying my complaint to the governor; that, as for me, having started them upon their journey, i should leave early the following morning going to some town where the people knew what obedience to the law meant. they at once promised that no time should be lost, and that, the following morning, i should have the subjects for whom i asked, viz., thirty-five men and twenty-five women. nor was it simply promises; having told them that i would begin early in the morning whether i were well or ill, and that i wanted no delay, we found our thirty-five men waiting, at seven o'clock. [illustration: the land of the mixes] at juquila the system of public crying from the _plaza_ is fully developed. the town lies in a valley, and most of the houses are on slopes surrounding the little plain or terrace upon which the _plaza_ is situated on which the government house is built. when aid was needed by the town authorities, whether _zacate_ for our horses, food for ourselves, objects for inspection, or what not, one of the officers, whose business it seemed to be, stepped out upon the _plaza_, and, raising his voice would cry out what was needed by the authorities. whoever had the things desired, coming out before their houses, would cry back the amount, description and variety of the articles they could supply. this we found to be the constant practice. notwithstanding the clearness of the preceding day, our day of working was cold, damp, and foggy. the sea of cloud and cataract of mists must have been in full operation. where we were, a heavy wind was blowing and, before night, rain falling. we had not thought of the possibility of heavy storms or damaged roads at this time of the year, but, before night came, the people of the village expressed surprise that we should talk of leaving the next morning. they assured us that at quezaltepec and ixcuintepec it was surely raining heavily, and that the roads would be wet, slippery and impassable. long before we went to bed, a gale was blowing and we felt doubts regarding further progress. in the morning it was still wet and chilly; all told of terrible roads and risks in proceeding; we delayed. finally, we decided to press on at least to ocotopec. we had tried to send the _mozos_ forward with our baggage, but it was plain they would not move until we did. finally, somewhat after nine, we started. it was still heavy and chilly; we found the road much better than we feared; at some points it was slippery, but not for long distances. until we were on the final descent to ocotopec we were sheltered from the cold wind. to be sure, here and there, where the road passed little funnel openings along the crest, we felt fully the cold wind loaded with mist. we noticed, what on the other trip escaped my attention, the profound difference in vegetation between the two sides of the hill upon the crest of which we were travelling. the one slope, cold and damp, was densely forested with trees, loaded with air-plants and orchids. the other slope, warmer and drier, was far less heavily grown, and in large part, with pines. among the plants noticed by the roadside was a species of pinguicula which was very common on damp clay-cuttings. its leaves form a close, flat rosette upon the ground, from which a slender stalk rises, with a a single crimson flower. when we reached the final descent to the town, we caught the full force of the cold, mist-laden wind, which struck our faces and made us shiver. yet it was on this very slope, so frequently cold and wet, that the oaks, covered with air-plants and blooming orchids, were at their finest. ferns in astonishing variety, from the most delicate, through giant herbaceous forms, to magnificent tree-ferns; lycopods of several species, and selaginellas, in tufts, covered the slopes; and great banks of begonias, in fine bloom, showed themselves. before we reached the village we were forced to dismount, on account of the slippery condition of the road, and entered town on foot. in our other journey ocotopec made no impression on us. it is really one of the most picturesque and interesting of the mixe towns. it is built upon a slope, which is cut and built into a series of little terraced gardens; clusters or groups of houses stand on the terraces. the houses are rectangular, built of adobe brick and heavy thatch, with a thick comb of thatch riding the ridge. unlike most mixe churches, the church at ocotopec is entire, and in good condition. it is built of stone. the town is purely indian, and the type is the best we had seen. had there been light for photographing, we should have stopped there and done our work, instead of passing on to ixcuintepec. as it was, we spent the night, and were well treated. leaving early in the morning, we hurried to quezaltepec for dinner, the road being better than we had anticipated. the town is prettily distributed upon a curved crest; the houses are neat, built of adobe or of poles daubed with mud. much fruit is grown here, and coffee is an important crop. in almost every yard mats were spread out, on which coffee was drying, or being sorted by people squatting on the ground. considerable cotton is woven at this point. leaving at : , the evening ride through the forest was magnificent. the flora was such as we have before described. as we rode through the higher forests, we constantly heard birds, notable among which were the _claríns_, with their fine clear notes. it was dark before we reached camotlan. nowhere had we been better treated. we were shown at once into a clean room, and were soon surrounded by bustle and preparation for our comfort. there are but inhabitants, of whom six--four men and two women--have goitres. we had been previously informed that the whole town was goitrous. there were three deaf-mutes, but no idiots, in the town. inquiring for books printed in the mixe tongue, we were informed that the choir-master had one. on expressing my desire to see it, they sent to bring him. we were astonished at his appearance. the messengers who brought him carried him in their arms, and set him down upon the floor, when we saw that he had been born without legs, and with sadly deformed arms and hands. yet, when once placed upon the floor, he moved about easily, and had a cheery face and sunny temper. he was delighted to show us his book and took the greatest pride in reading from it. it is truly remarkable that he can do this. the book was written in the dialect of juquila of more than years ago. the dialect of juquila was no doubt then different from that of camotlan, and during the years there have been great changes, even in that town itself. as i watched the man read from his book, i noticed that he pronounced parts of words differently from the way in which they were spelled; how he had worked out for himself, unaided, the proper meaning and purport of the words was a mystery. i had intended to purchase the book, but found him so attached to it that i gave up the plan. had he been a normal man, i should have insisted; but then, if he had been a normal man, he would not have had the book nor known how to read it. from camotlan we rode steadily for five hours to reach ixcuintepec. there were considerable stretches of slippery road to be passed. the two gorge rides, the bridges of vines, and the houses along the way, were beautiful as ever, but the magnificent mountain forests were left entirely behind us. the old church at ixcuintepec is visible on the high crest for a considerable distance. as we made the final climb, the boys noticed in the trees structures one and a half feet or two feet in diameter, and somewhat dome-shaped. i should have taken them for wasps' nests, but the party insisted that they saw parrots come out of them, and that no doubt young parrots were in the nests. immediately there was great excitement, for manuel had all along wanted to capture a parrot to take home with him. the party stopped, and stones were thrown to drive out the birds, but with no result. finally mariano climbed the tree, creeping out along the branches almost to the nest; just at that moment an unusually well-aimed stone struck the nest, but instead of parrots, out streamed a great cloud of wasps, which flew straight towards the _mozo_, who lost no time in getting down from his precarious position. [illustration: view in quezaltepec] we found ixcuintepec almost deserted; hardly any of the town officials were there. almost everyone was off, working in the coffee _fincas_. we quickly saw that we had made a great mistake in waiting for our remaining subjects until this town. not only were men conspicuous by their absence, but the women were extremely hostile. they objected to our photographing their houses or themselves. they drove the messenger whom i had sent to measure a house, for the purpose of making a miniature reproduction, off the premises with clubs. the _mozos_, who had accompanied us thus far, had no intention of going farther, and the problem of getting carriers--which had troubled us ever since we had left mitla--assumed serious proportions. it was with great difficulty and much bluster that we secured the food we needed and the _mozos_. when the _mozos_ came, three out of the four whom it was necessary for us to employ, were mere boys, the heartiest and best of whom was scarcely ten years old. in vain we declared that it was impossible for such little fellows to carry the burdens that needed transportation. it was plain that they were our only resource. starting the three boys upon a short cut to san miguel, the oldest _mozo_ and ourselves went by another road to coatlan. it was fortunate for us that the school-teacher at this town was interested in our work. we took possession of the schoolhouse, showed our orders to the officials, and, after much difficulty, obtained our wishes. the town was almost as deserted as had been ixcuintepec, but after infinite difficulty, we succeeded in getting sufficient subjects to complete our work. we had thought ourselves unfortunate at ixcuintepec and coatlan; the worst lay before us. we found san miguel deserted. our three _mozos_ who had been paid, and ordered to go simply to that village, and there to leave our things, had left before we arrived. the man who had come with us, we had dismissed before we realized conditions. the coffee had been gathered for the season; the chief man of the place was in the mountains; there was no town government; neither prayers, threats, nor bribes produced food for ourselves and our horses; two or three men around the place would not be hired as _mozos_. we finally were forced to leave our busts, plaster, photographic outfit and plates on a bench under an open shed, and go on alone to santiago guevea. it was a bitter disappointment, because our previous experience at san miguel had been so pleasant and interesting. when we left coatlan that morning, it had been through clouds and drizzling rain. when we passed through san miguel, conditions were but little better. from there, we went through a gorge road, everywhere passing little plantations of coffee, bananas, and tobacco. finally, we began our last mountain or forest climb. the wind with the rain became colder and more penetrating. at the summit, we found a typical norther raging, and at points our animals and ourselves were almost blown from the crest. in good weather the road is long, but through this it was dreadful. few towns compare in beauty of location, and appearance from a distance, with santiago guevea. it was nearly five when we drew up in front of the crowded town-house. it will be remembered that this town is zapotec, coatlan being the last mixe town. the school-teacher interested himself in our welfare, securing for us a real sleeping-room with cots, putting our horses into the corridor of the schoolhouse, and arranging for our meals. chocolate and bread were at once furnished, and at eight o'clock a good supper was sent to our room. in the _plaza_ outside, the wind was blowing a hurricane and the cold cut like a knife; but the house in which we slept was tight and warm. in the morning, we found the wild weather still continuing. it had been out of the question to send _mozos_ to san miguel the night before, and it seemed wicked to start them out in such a storm of wind, fog, rain and cold. still, our time was precious, and we ordered men sent to the place where our stuff had been left, to fetch it; meanwhile, we decided to wait until they should appear. our animals had had nothing to eat the previous day, except a little corn we had brought with us from coatlan. we therefore ordered _zacate_ brought for them. the night before, i had inquired regarding the acquaintances we had made at san miguel in our previous trip. i learned that the man had died less than a month before, but that the widow, the four boys and the little girl, having finished their work at the coffee _finca_ at san miguel, were in town. accordingly we called at the house. the woman immediately recognized me, and asked after don ernesto. the boys were sleeping, bedded on piles of coffee, but were routed from their slumber to greet us. at first, none of them remembered me, but the little girl did, and soon castolo also. their house was comfortable, and piles of corn, coffee, and bananas were stacked up in the place. they invited us to stop with them, but we were already well housed by the authorities. as we left, the woman went to the corner, and, from a pile of similar objects, took two things neatly wrapped in corn-husks. on opening them, we found that they were eggs, which are frequently wrapped in this way for storage, in all the indian towns. although we had ordered food for the horses, at seven o'clock it had not appeared. we called at the town-house several times, but still no _zacate_. our dinner came, and the afternoon passed, but still no fodder for the horses was produced, and the poor animals had eaten nothing, practically, for two whole days, although subjected to hard work and the pelting storm. we anxiously watched for the coming of the _mozos_ with our equipment. the storm, though still raging, was abating, and we could see well down the road. when, at half past three in the afternoon, there was no sign of either men or fodder, we called the town authorities to account. we told them that we would wait no longer in a town where our animals could only starve; that they must forward our boxes, plaster and busts promptly to tehuantepec; that we should hold them responsible for loss or delay, and that all should be delivered at the office of the _jefe_. paying no attention to their entreaties that we should wait a little longer for the fodder, which they promised, as they had so many times before, would come soon, we saddled our animals, and at : left the town. just as we started, little castolo appeared with two bunches of _zacate_ sent by his mother, as a present to don federico. certainly, there must be a new and better road from guevea to santa maria than the one we traversed in our other journey, and which again, following from memory, we used. it was a fearful trail, neglected and ruined, over slippery rock and rough, sharp-splintered stone. still we pressed on rapidly, making even better time than we had been assured at the town that we might expect to make. never were we more happy than in reaching santa maria, lovely in the moonlight, with its great church, fine municipal-house, cocoa-nut trees and thatched huts. here was no sign either of the norther or the rain. the next day's journey was over the hot dusty road with glimpses now and then of the distant pacific and tlacotepec for destination. the following morning we pressed on toward tehuantepec, through the dust and heat, reaching the city at noonday. to our great surprise, we found the _mozos_, with the plaster, the busts, and the boxes of plates, waiting for us since four o'clock in the morning. chapter xiii about tehuantepec ( ) since our former visit to tehuantepec, that hot and dusty city had suffered terrible misfortune. through a period of several months it was subject to frequent shocks of earthquakes; for a time these were of daily occurrence, and on one occasion there were seventeen in a single day. the town still showed the destruction produced by these earthquake shocks, although for some months past there had been none. houses, stores, churches, all presented great cracks and bare spots from which plaster had fallen. many of the people had left the city permanently; those who remained were completely discouraged and unwilling to spend trouble and money in the repair of their houses. tehuantepec is, of course, a city of considerable size; situated on a railroad, it has lost its importance since that thoroughfare was constructed. it was, formerly, the natural point through which all the produce of the surrounding country passed; the railroad has given similar opportunity to other places, to the loss of tehuantepec. between earthquakes, the damage resulting from the railroad, and the location of the military forces at juchitan, not far distant, the town is declining. it is still, however, the _cabecera_, and the _jefe_ is a man of some force and vigor. shortly after our arrival, i visited his office, delivered the governor's letter, and stated our purpose in visiting his city. he seemed interested, and at once stated that there would be no difficulty in carrying out my plans; that i would find plenty of women for measurement in tehuantepec itself; that the men had better be secured at san blas, which, although independent in government, adjoins tehuantepec. i suggested that it would be well to measure the women in the court-yard of his palace; he, however, replied, "by no means; it will be much better to go directly to the market, where the women are gathered in great numbers; a _regidor_ will accompany you to arrange the matter with your subjects." although convinced that his plan was bad, we arranged to begin work the following morning; with instruments and _regidor_ we presented ourselves in the market, picking out a suitable spot and preparing for work. then i told the _regidor_ to bring a subject. the market-place was crowded, probably two or three hundred women being there gathered. approaching the nearest of them, the _regidor_ politely asked her to step up and be measured. we were not, however, dealing with triquis. the women of tehuantepec are certainly the heads of their houses; the men occupy but an inferior position. possibly, they are really larger than their husbands, but, whether that be true or not, they give that impression to the spectator. the lady indicated lost no time in assuring the _regidor_ that she had no intention of being measured, and he returned crest-fallen to report results. he met with no sympathy. i told him he had been sent to bring the women, that my business was simply to measure them; that if he would do his duty, i would do mine. he made two other efforts, equally futile, and finally returning, said he thought an order would be necessary. i told him, if he had not already an order i did not know what an order was; that the _jefe_ had distinctly told me what he was to do; that he was not doing it. he then said he had better go to the palace a moment; would i kindly wait. i waited. he soon reappeared, and started in bravely with a new subject, but was again repulsed. returning, he said that we had better go up to the palace and interview the _jefe_ again. i replied that i had no time to spare; that we had already lost two hours at the palace, waiting for the _jefe_ to appear, and that i did not propose to lose more time; that he knew what i expected, and must either do it, or i would return to my hotel. he helplessly remarked that we had better see the _jefe_, whereupon i picked up my instruments and departed to the hotel. leaving my instruments at the hotel, i decided, while matters were adjusting themselves--for i had no thought of bothering myself further--to call upon the bishop. sallying from the hotel, i met upon the street the _regidor_ and two other town officials, who were awaiting me. "sir," said he, "will you not measure the women?" "no," said i, "i am going to call upon the bishop. i have no time to waste. we went once to measure the women, but you had no power; your _jefe_ plainly is a man without authority." "no, sir," cried he, "the _jefe_ has issued a strict order that the women must be measured." "no matter," i replied, "i have no time to waste. i shall make my call." with this i entered the bishop's palace, and had an interesting visit with that prelate. when leaving the palace, i found the _regidor_ and four town officials, awaiting my appearance. he at once demanded whether it was not my intention to measure the women. he said that he had been to see the _jefe_, and that the _jefe_ said my wishes must be obeyed. i asked him where it was proposed to measure the women, and he replied that it should be wherever i pleased. "very good," said i. "we will measure them in the court-yard of the _jefe's_ palace; have subjects brought there at once, and send a man to my hotel for my instruments." to the palace we went, and thither shortly four policemen brought a woman from the market. with bad grace, she submitted to be measured, after which the four policemen went again to the market, and soon after reappeared with a second subject. so the work went on, with four policemen to each woman, until our full number was finally secured and the work completed. three years ago, on my return from guatemala, i met in this city an english doctor named castle, who has lived here for many years--a man of scientific tastes and interests, who has employed his leisure in studying the botany, zoology, and indians of the district. he is well-informed, and one of the few persons acquainted with the juaves. i counted on his help in approaching that curious and little-known tribe. the doctor's house is full of pets; eight different kinds of parrots, a red and yellow macaw, a brilliant-billed, dark-plumaged toucan, an angora goat, a raccoon, dogs and cats, are a part of the happy family that prowls at large in his house. a little creature, an indian, no more than eight years old, has adopted the doctor for her father. she had come to him as a patient for a trouble by no means uncommon here--night-blindness; in caring for her, he gained the little creature's heart, and she will hardly hear of leaving him to return home. the doctor accompanied us on our first visit to san blas, and told us many things, not only of the juaves, but of the zapotecs and other indians of the region. from the hotel, in the heart of tehuantepec, to the town-house of san blas, is a walk of only twenty minutes. here for three days we did our work, returning to our hotel for meals and lodging. the work went easily, the men presenting little or no objection to our operations; measurements, busts, portraits--all were taken. on the whole, the tehuantepecanos do not present a simple, pure indian type. the women seemed to be purer than the men. the _secretario_ at san blas has been to school. he is one of the few indians of the district who has taken an interest in the study of his native tongue. he has already published a grammar of the zapotec, as spoken in his village. he has also printed a little tract for lovers, in which high-sounding phrases are translated from the spanish into zapotec. he has also prepared, and holds in manuscript, a dictionary of the dialect containing some , words. the visit to the juaves we considered one of the most important and interesting of our journey. these people are conservative, and among the least known of the native populations of mexico. there are but four towns, with a total population of probably less than three thousand persons. these towns are situated at a few leagues' distance from tehuantepec, near the pacific, upon narrow tongues of land, washed by salt lagoons. the nearest, largest, and according to dr. castle, the most conservative of the four towns, is san mateo del mar. we had hoped that dr. castle might accompany us on our journey. this, however, was impossible, but he suggested that he would go with us part of the way. to avoid the great heat, we travelled by night, as there was moonlight. hiring a _carretero_ at san blas, we loaded our materials and instruments into the cart, and started it upon its way. at about four o'clock in the afternoon, we rode from tehuantepec, taking a roundabout road in order to see the hill which gives name to the town. it was sunday, and many women and girls had been visiting the cemetery, carrying bowls filled with flowers to put upon the graves of friends. we saw numbers of young fellows sitting by the roadside, and learned that they were the lovers of the young women, awaiting their return from the cemetery. the name tehuantepec means the mountain of man-eaters. these man-eaters were not men, but tigers, or ocelots. the story runs that long ago this mountain was infested with wild beasts who destroyed the people of the neighboring villages. fearing extermination, the people of the town decided to consult the juaves, who were famous for their _naguales_, or witches. the oldest and most skilled _naguál_ of the tribe was employed. having performed his incantations, he told them they might expect immediate deliverance; that he had conjured a deliverer from the sea. soon there came forth from the water a gigantic turtle, who made his way slowly inland, until he reached the bottom of the hill, which was the home of the tigers. the dangerous animals were just descending from the mountain in a double line, but the moment they caught sight of the mammoth sea-monster, their bodies froze with terror and they were turned to stone. terrified at the power of the creature he had conjured, the old _naguál_ quickly made use of his most powerful incantation, with the result that the turtle also was transformed into stone. the proof of the truth of the story we saw in the lines of stone tigers on the mountain side and the stone turtle at the foot of the hill, as we rode by. the doctor suggested that it would be well to take a guide with us from san blas as far as huilotepec, as there were many side-roads before we reached that town, and that, from there, we would need no help. we followed his suggestion. the road was almost level. it passed through a district covered with a dense growth of brush and thorny trees, except where the land had been plowed for planting corn. in the early evening we saw many birds. flocks of parrots rose from the trees as we passed by; at one point manuel shot a little eagle, which fell wounded to the ground. our guide concluded to carry it on alive. all went well for some time, but at last, with no warning, the bird made a vicious dash, and with its claws tore through the trousers of the guide, making a great gash in his leg. the man promptly decided it was better, on the whole, to carry it further dead than living. the doctor turned back at sunset. we reached huilotepec something before eight, and found it a large pueblo with houses built of bamboo or cane. here we had a good supper, and dismissing our guide started out, by brilliant moonlight, for the last part of our journey. shortly beyond the town, the road turned, for a moment, into the river, and after passing for a few rods in the river-bed, struck up again onto the bank. at this place we made a fatal blunder. when the road went down into the river, supposing that we were about to ford, we kept straight across the stream. finding a road upon the other side we had no suspicion but what we were going well and travelled onward. for a long time we found trails of varying degree of badness. sometimes the branches formed a complete tangle which, even in the daytime, would have required careful watching. as it was, the faces of the party were well scratched with thorns. sometimes, we seemed to be on a good road; at others, we had hardly found a trail. at one place we passed a ranch--corral de san diego. a host of barking dogs announced our coming, and we cried out to the old man living there to tell us the road. his directions were not clear, but in attempting to follow them, we retraced our trail, and then struck into another road. keeping to it until we really could not follow it further for the tangle, we retraced our steps until we came to a cart-road crossing that on which we were. we started first to the right upon this; then, concluding we were wrong, turned about and went the other way. we soon found ourselves off the road again, and travelling blindly through the brush. coming to a round patch of clear sand, to which the trail on which we were seemed to have led us, we could find no way out. convinced that we were hopelessly lost, we camped out upon the sand for the night. fortunately we had a little corn with us which we gave to the horses, after which we tied them to the trees. as we lay upon the sand in the bright moonlight, we could hear the dashing of the sea waves not far away. the heat was intolerable and the mosquitoes venomous. we secured no rest, and, at the first signs of day, were ready for our start. the two boys went out to hunt a rabbit, but returned with most discouraging reports. while they were absent, don anselmo and myself were left in camp. suddenly he cried out that our horses were running away; such was really the case. the last one was just disappearing in the brush and anselmo started after them, leaving me to keep the camp. when the other two returned, they, too, started in pursuit. after a hard chase, the animals were captured and brought back. by seven we had mounted and were on our way. we retraced our trail of the night before, going back to the cart-road. a little before eight we came upon a ranch, the ranchito del boca del rio. here we asked our way, and found that we were still as far from san mateo, as when we left huilotepec the night before. eating a light breakfast, we secured a guide who took us, by the shortest way across the river, back to the main trail for san mateo, where he left us. the road was long and hot and sandy. our horses could hardly keep up a decent walk. it seemed that we would never reach the town. more than an hour before we arrived at the town, we encountered little ranches belonging to it. everywhere we saw flocks of sheep, cows and horses. curiously, the juaves have always had herds, since our first records of them, but they eat no meat. the country was more tropical than any through which we had passed. clumps of palm trees were to be seen here and there. pools of standing water, where horses and cattle stood cooling themselves, were frequent. the people whom we met wore little clothing. men frequently had nothing but the breech-clout and hat. women wore a skirt, but no upper garment. children up to ten and twelve years of age ran naked. reaching san mateo at twelve o'clock, we found the village excited at our non-appearance. our _carretero_ had arrived long before with our luggage. he had told the _presidente_ of our intended coming, and men from the town had been sent through the by-roads to seek for us. the town lies on a level stretch of sand, and the houses are built of canes and thatched with palm. most of the trees in the village are palms; some, cocoa palms. the _plaza_ is a large open space. on one side of it is the church, of stone and brick; on another side is the town-building made of brick, covered with plaster, and consisting of three portions,--the _presidencia, curato_, and jail. a brick-paved corridor, roofed above, runs before the whole building. we were given the jail and _presidencia_ with the corridor. here hammocks and a bed of palm stalks were prepared for us, and orders issued that eggs and _tortillas_ should be brought us. the juaves raise no crops. they are fishermen, and their food and living come from the sea. their dried fish and shrimps, and the salt, which they make from the brine-soaked bottoms of dried lagoons, go far and wide through the country, and for these they get in trade the corn, coffee, chocolate, and raw cotton which they need. we have already spoken of their cattle, which is a source of income, though, as stated before, the juaves rarely eat meat food. [illustration: juave indians; san mateo del mar] [illustration: juave fisherman: san mateo del mar] the juaves present a well-defined physical type. they are of medium stature or tall. their noses are the largest and most prominent in indian mexico, and are boldly aquiline. the men are rarely idle; even as they walk, they carry with them their netting, or spindle with which they spin cord for making nets. it seems to be law, and is certainly custom, that persons coming to the _plaza_ are expected to be more fully dressed than when travelling on the road or when in their homes. usually white cotton drawers and shirt are worn in the _plaza_; outside, practically nothing but the breech-clout. there is an interesting commerce carried on in juave towns by zapotec traders from juchitan. as might be expected, this is entirely in the hands of women. some women make two journeys weekly between the two towns. they come in ox-carts, with loads of corn, fodder, coffee, chocolate, cotton and the like. these they trade or sell. when they return to juchitan, they carry with them a lot of salted and dried fish, shrimps, salt and eggs. upon these expeditions the whole family accompanies the woman; the traveling is done almost entirely by night. these zapotec women are shrewd at bargaining. they must be doing a paying business. it was interesting to see the primitive devices for weighing. the scales consisted of two tin pans of equal size and weight hung from a balance beam. the only weight was a stone weighing a pound. in case a juave woman wished to buy a quarter-of-a-pound of cotton, the procedure was as follows: the weight was put into one pan of the scales and a pound of cotton weighed out into the other; the weight was then removed and the cotton divided, so as to balance in the two pans; one of the pans was then emptied, and the remaining cotton again divided, with the result that a quarter-of-a-pound of cotton had been weighed. one curious feature, which we had not seen elsewhere, but which dr. castle had warned us we should find, was the nightly guard set upon us. as we lay upon our beds at night, looking out upon the white sand in front of us, we could see, by the moonlight, at some little distance, a circle of eight or ten men who spent the night sleeping within call. another striking feature was the music which we heard in the late evening and early morning. in the early morning, five o'clock or earlier, and at sunset, there was service in the church. later on, at eight, there was again singing in the churchyard, lasting until quite a late hour. one evening, on investigating, we found eight or ten men kneeling on the sand before the church door, singing in the moonlight. they were practicing for the procession and special service of the second friday of lent. the water-life of the juaves is at once picturesque and curiously tame. the men spend much of their time on or in the water. they make great dugout canoes from large tree trunks. there are usually no paddles, but poles are used to propel the craft sluggishly over the waters of the lagoon. few of the men can swim. the fish are chiefly caught with nets, and both seines and throw nets are used. the lagoons are said to abound in alligators, and the men, when fishing, generally carry with them spears with long iron points which are said to be used for protection against attacks of these reptiles. great respect is shown the alligator, and curious superstitions prevail regarding it. between san mateo and the nearest of the great lagoons, the country ceases to be level and is covered with sand dunes. on these dunes there are great numbers of hares of a species peculiar to the locality. they make excellent eating, and manuel kept our larder supplied with fresh meat, which was welcome, and which we could not otherwise have had among these non-meat-eating folk. an old zapotec woman, seventy years of age, with snowy hair and gentle face, was deputed by the town authorities to do our cooking. her relatives live in juchitan, and why she had chosen to live among these people i do not know. she took a motherly interest in all our party. nothing was too good for us. she spent her whole time in hunting supplies and cooking and serving food. not only did she insist on all our purchases being supplied at cheapest rates, but her own charge for help and service was ridiculously small. from early morning until late at night the poor old soul was busy in our behalf. on our leaving, she took my hands between her own, and kissing them, begged that we would send her a picture as a remembrance. the road to tehuantepec at night was one of no adventure. we were impressed with the great number of families travelling in ox-carts over these roads in the cool night air. it was a custom and habit of which we had before no realization. it lacked but ten minutes of one o'clock when finally we rode up to the hotel in tehuantepec. from the hostler we learned that every room was full,--five persons in some cases sleeping in a single room. so we were compelled to lie down upon the porch outside until the morning. chapter xiv on the main high-road ( ) after a day or two of rest, we started from tehuantepec upon our return to oaxaca. for the first time, we were to follow the usually travelled high-road. our hearts failed us, as we thought of thus neglecting the lovely land of the mixes, but it was on our program to see the chontals. starting at seven, we lost a little time in having a photograph of our party taken as we left the city, so that it was really : before we were on our way. our plaster had been sent by _carreta_ to xalapa. we had a hot, hot, hot ride over a heavy, difficult sand road. at least half a dozen times we forded the tehuantepec river, and everywhere at places which would have justified the name, xalapa, "the sandy water." finally, arriving at xalapa at four o'clock, we found it a large town, of the usual hot, dusty zapotec kind. the authorities bestirred themselves vigorously to locate us in comfortable quarters, with an old lady of regal appearance and dignity. from the start, we feared that this royal appearance and dignity would be paid for, but the opportunity for comfort was not to be neglected. one of the houses of her royal domain was vacated for our use, and two good cots and a hammock were put at our disposal. the supper was abundant, and capital in quality, and there was plenty of food for the horses. strolling down to the river after supper we found it broad but very shallow; it did not reach our knees at any point, when we waded across it; the bottom was, as we imagined it would be from the name, moving sand. after a bath in the much too shallow stream for swimming, we returned refreshed to our comfortable beds. as anticipated, we found the bill, when presented in the morning, truly regal; after some demur, our queenly hostess reduced it slightly, but, even so, we were reminded of the summer-resorts of our own country. tequixistlan, perhaps the largest of the chontal towns, we found without an official head. while we were in tehuantepec the _jefe_ received notice of his father's death. this notice had been duly sent to all the villages and towns within the district, and, on a certain day, the _presidente_ and other chief officers of the different pueblos gathered at tehuantepec to express their sympathy by speeches and to present flowers to the official. it was for this errand that the _presidente_ of tequixistlan had gone to the _cabecera_. had he been at home, perhaps we would have had no difficulty, but as it was we found the government disjointed and nerveless. constant nagging and harrying were necessary in carrying out our wishes. the town itself was not bad. it stands upon a sort of terrace, at a little height above the neighboring river. the town-house is a long building, occupying the whole upper end of the large rectangular _plaza_; at the lower end is the fine church and _curato_. along the sides were _tiendas_, school, etc., well built adobes and plastered over with tinted plaster. behind the church beyond the river rises a handsome background of mountains. the long corridor in front of the municipal-house was fine and broad, with a high roof and brick pavement. oleanders bloomed before this corridor. the view from it was fine, and the air cool there even in the middle of the day. we accordingly took possession of it, working and sleeping there. so far as personal comfort was concerned, we were well cared for. we had good meals, comfortable cots, plenty of food for the horses, but, as we have said, the work lagged, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that we could accomplish it. there is little distinctive about the chontals, as we saw them. the women dress much like the zapotec women in the neighboring towns. the men present nothing notable in dress. outside the _plaza_, the houses were built of light materials, and resembled the ordinary cane-walled, thatched huts of the zapotecs. the people appeared to be badly mixed, and this not only with white, but also with negro blood. nevertheless, as we worked upon subject after subject, a fairly defined type seemed to grow upon us. we could see that the chontals are tall, with rather well-shaped faces, though somewhat high cheek-bones, with light complexions, and with wavy or curly hair. when the work was finished, we had great difficulty in securing carriers to bear our burdens to san bartolo. enormous prices were demanded, and at last, angry over the attempted extortion, we threatened to leave all our stuff behind us, and hold the town responsible, reporting them to the authorities when we should reach oaxaca, demanding that damages should be collected. these threats had the desired effect. the _secretario_, who had been the only member of the town government displaying energy in our behalf, promised by all that was sacred that our goods should be delivered promptly at san bartolo; that if they were not already there on our arrival, we might safely arrange for further transportation from that town, convinced that the goods would come before we left. that we might not be too much delayed by this palaver regarding carriers, i had started the balance of the party ahead, and rode on alone after them. they had left at : , and we all had a hot, dry, dusty, thirsty mountain ride until five o'clock in the afternoon, when we reached the ranch, las vacas. it consisted of a dozen houses. we rode to the last one in the place, which consisted of brush and leafy branches, and had an enclosed _corral_ adjoining it, where we asked for lodging. the owner was a young zapotec, who, with his wife, was strikingly neat and clean. a little girl of seven was the only other member of the family. the house had but a single room, but there was a _coro_, or cane platform, and loft. having fed our horses and eaten our own supper, i mounted to the loft, despite the advice of all the members of the party, who predicted smoke, heat, mosquitoes, fleas and other trials. they stayed below. there is no question that they fared worse from all the sources mentioned than myself. the woman worked until midnight, making _tortillas_ and cooking chicken for us to carry as luncheon on the road. we had started by four in the morning, and pushed along over a mountain road. the first portion of the road was well-watered, but afterward it became hot, dry, and stony. having gained the pass looking down upon the valley, we could see, at its further side, lying on a terrace, the pueblo of san bartolo, stretching out in a long line near the front of a mighty mountain, upon which plainly our way would pass. it was almost noon when we reached the municipal-house, and found that our carriers had already arrived, and left the luggage. here things were really quite as bad as at tequixistlan, but here fortunately we had no work to do. the town was zapotec. one might suppose, from its being upon the main high-road, that they would be accustomed to see strangers. we have hardly found a population at once so stupid and timid. it was with great difficulty that we found food to eat. here we had to pay for beds (made of sticks tied together), belonging to the municipality, a thing which we had never done at any other town in mexico. [illustration: view from our corridor; san bartolo] the people wear curious and characteristic garments. all the stuff used for clothing is woven in the town, and not only the women's _camisas_, but the men's _camisas_ and trousers, are decorated with elaborate designs--birds, animals, and geometrical figures--worked in various colors. even in purchasing examples of these clothes, we were compelled to make a vigorous display of our civil and religious orders. after some bickering, we arranged for carriers to san carlos, which is the _cabecera_ of the district. starting by moonlight, at two o'clock in the morning, we struck out over the enormous mountain mass to which we have already referred. roads in the zapotec country do not go directly up the hillside, as in the land of the mixes, but zigzag by gentle diagonals up the slopes. the road was largely composed of jagged rock; two hours and fifteen minutes were necessary for the ascent; the descent was bad enough, but a distinct improvement. at one place, however, we wandered from the main-travelled road, and found ourselves in an abandoned portion of the road, full of great holes which were filled with drifted fallen leaves, so that their presence was not betrayed until our horses fell into them. the latter part of this descent was slippery, being over hard stone, which was worn almost to a glassy smoothness by the passage of many hoofs. a little before reaching manteca, as we looked down from the height, we saw an immense train of pack-mules coming. in the good old days, before there were railroads, such trains as this were frequent. from manteca the road penetrated into contracting valleys, until finally it might, with propriety, be called a cañon road. at half past eight we reached san carlos, a mean town with no _meson_ or other regular stopping-place. we left the horses under the shady trees with the old farrier. while we rested and waited for breakfast, i called upon the _jefe politico_, who had received several communications from me, and had become interested in my work. our luggage was all at his office, and he promptly made arrangements for its further transportation. at breakfast, we received the cheerful news that mr. lang's horse had the lockjaw and showed signs of dying. on inspection, this proved to be quite true; the poor animal was in great pain, and could eat nothing, though making every effort to do so. our first thought was a shot in the head to put it out of misery, but the old farrier wished to try a _remedio_. he did his best, and it looked as if the animal might recover; it was plain, however, that he could not be used again that afternoon. accordingly, an extra horse was rented for mr. lang's use. the remainder of the party was started on the road at : , while i waited to give the _remedio_ a chance to operate and the beast an opportunity to rest. at three i started, leading the sick horse. we had a fine ride in the cool of the evening, over a mountain road past the little ranch el quemado, beyond which we found an immense ascent. when we reached the summit, it was fast darkening, and i pressed on as rapidly as the led horse would permit. finally, i reached escondido at seven. several large parties of packers, with their trains of mules, had already settled for the night; camp-fires were burning. here and there drinking had been going on, and there was noise of loud laughter, singing and dancing. our party was already eating supper when i arrived, and my own meal had been ordered. shelter was supplied us adjoining the house, where we spread our blankets and spent a comfortable night. we were late in starting, and were not upon the road until seven in the morning. we found the high-road most uninteresting. for long distances we descended, passing a ranch and emerging finally into a deep, hot gorge. by the time we reached pichones we were tired, hot and thirsty. there, however, we could get no water, for man or beast, for love or money; suffering with thirst, the road seemed long to the river near totolapa, where we refreshed ourselves with water, but a heavier road than ever had to be traversed. much of the way we followed the stream-bed, fording repeatedly; the remainder was through deep sand and over rolling pebbles. passing juanico, on a high bank overlooking the river, at noonday, we were delighted to strike upon a rock road, high on the river bank. keeping to this trail, passing from plantations of bananas lying at the river level below us and catching many pretty views of valley and of mountain, we at last reached totolapa, completely worn out with the journey and the heat. here we rested until the heat of the day should be past. [illustration: our party leaving tehuantepec] [illustration: zapotec women and girls, tlacolula] we had expected at this town to secure a muleteer, as the one we hired from san carlos had agreed to come only to this town. here, too, we had expected to rent a new horse for mr. lang. our muleteer, however, was much taken with the party, and declared that he should hire himself to continue with us to tlacolula. we quickly arranged with him, and at four o'clock prepared to leave. the sick horse was then at its worst; it had lain down, and for a time we believed it was really dead; it was out of the question for it to go further; so, calling one of the villagers, i told him that he might have the horse, and if there was any possibility of curing, it, he should do what might be necessary. from four to seven it was a tiresome climb, largely through stream-beds to carvajal. it is a large _rancho_, but we stopped at the first house we came to, a miserable place, where, however, we got coffee, bread, beans and eggs, and some mats for beds, which we laid out upon the ground, under the open sky. taking early coffee and _tortillas_, we were again mounted at four and on our way. it was the last ascent. the moon was shining brightly, and we could see that the road followed the edge of a fine gorge. when we once reached the summit, there was no further descent to make. we were on the high, flat, table-land of oaxaca, and from here to the capital city of the state, the road is level, and passes through a rich agricultural district. passing san dionisio at seven, we pressed on as rapidly as possible to tlacolula, where we arrived before noon, ready for the good meals and comfortable quarters which we well knew awaited us there. tlacolula is a large town, in the midst of a dusty valley. its houses are large, rectangular constructions, well built of poles, with fine thatched roofs. they stand in yards, which are enclosed by fences of organ-pipe cactus. the people dress well, and at almost every house they own an ox-cart and a yoke of animals. while photographing there that afternoon, we suggested that we wanted a group of girls and women in native dress. "very well; i will take you to the house, where you can get one." arrived there, the policeman at once led out five women and four children, whom he placed in line. after the picture was taken, we expressed our satisfaction and surprise that so good a group had been so readily secured at a single house. "oh, sir," he replied, "we struck a lucky time; there is a funeral going on there." [illustration: in the hot valley; cuicatlan] chapter xv cuicatlan ( ) between tehuacan and oaxaca the railroad passes through a low, deep valley which is ever hot. few people on the train pass through this valley without feeling its depressing influence. it would seem that travelers would hardly stop at stations within its limits, unless impelled by actual necessity. the most important of the towns in this valley is cuicatlan. little of it is to be seen from the railroad, but in reality it is a notably picturesque village. it is the _cabecera_ of a district in which dwell three most interesting tribes--the cuicatecs, chinantecs, and mazatecs. we had time to visit only the nearest of the cuicatec towns. cuicatlan itself is situated near one side of a valley, through which runs a considerable stream. the distant bank rises in two magnificent mountain masses. the nearer bank, at the very base of which the town nestles on a series of little hills, rises into almost sheer precipices of purple conglomerate. these cliffs are hundreds of feet high, and are, apparently, due to a gigantic landslide. the mass which fell must have measured fully two miles in length, and still lies, broken and heaped up, at the base of the cliffs. the face of the cliffs, and the fallen masses of rock at its base, are cut into narrow gullies and gaps by water. the town consists of several clusters of houses, scaled along the slopes of little hillocks and settled into the spaces between them. gigantic cactuses surround the town, and cocoa palms rise to great heights within it. it is customary for travelers to emphasize the slowness of the mexicans. either we have been exceptionally fortunate, or the reputation is largely undeserved. we have been rarely delayed by sluggish action. here, however, we found a _jefe_ who would surely satisfy the most complaining. he was mild in manner, gentle in speech, fond of brilliant plans and schemes, all of which, however, were to be put in operation to-morrow and not to-day. it was with difficulty that we impressed upon him our necessity. we told him that we wanted animals to carry us to papalo. in reply, he told us that papalo was but a poor town, and he outlined a journey the traveling alone in which would occupy some eight or ten days. when we assured him that we had no time for such an enterprise, he said that it would be much better for the towns to come to us in cuicatlan. he proposed sending to-morrow to those towns, and assured us that, at the end of a week's time, we would have all the subjects we needed. so, when we suggested that this, too, was loss of time, he had other brilliant plans, all quite as useless. with the utmost difficulty we finally succeeded in getting him to arrange for animals to go to papalo. from the very start, the road was up-hill. passing first through a section covered with a magnificent growth of tree cactuses of two species, in fine fruit and flower, we found the vegetation varied as we mounted, and at last came up among the pines. there was a great variety of landscape and geological formation. purple-red conglomerate, with horizontal layers weathered into massive forms; granitic schistose rocks, over which we later passed, gave their peculiar scenic outlines. we climbed steadily for fully four hours, and then looked down, along a gently sloping hill trail, to our town, perched upon a slightly lower hill. just at the edge of the town, we passed a gang of men and boys at work, making a level platform for the new _plaza_ and town-house. we congratulated ourselves that we should have no difficulty, here, in finding subjects. the town claimed three thousand population. many of them were certainly away upon their fields and ranches, scattered through the mountains, and working _fincas_ for wealthy landowners. the town itself is picturesque in the extreme. notable among its features is the ruined church, the roof of which has fallen in; the walls still stand, bare and broken, but the decorations, some richly carved and gilded, are still unmoved within the demolished edifice. the damage was recent, and represented a double catastrophe--lightning and earthquake. [illustration: cactus; cuicatlan] we could not begin work until the _mozo_ came with the instruments. finally, at four o'clock in the afternoon, we began measuring with no great difficulty. before night, fifteen subjects had passed through our hands and one bust had been made. even when we arrived, at midday, it was too cold for us to stay with comfort in the town-house, though it was hot enough outside in the sunshine. when night came, it was bitter cold, and we went to bed early in hope of keeping warm, a hope without foundation. early the next morning, we were ready for our work. every one had disappeared, except those whom we had measured the night before. we requested the town authorities to bring in subjects. a few stragglers were dragged in and measured, and some pictures taken. notwithstanding the poor way in which they had done their work, the policemen struck, declaring that they would not bring others until they had been paid. it was plain the town needed a lesson. we promptly paid the demand made upon us, and, then, calling the _presidente_ and the _secretario_, we told them that we must have a receipt for the payment to show the _jefe_. we said that such a thing was unheard of; that, for town officials to demand pay, before they would agree to obey the order of their chief, was mutiny. at first they flatly refused to give the receipt, but after a little consultation were anxious to return the money, and threats were freely made to throw the whole police-force into jail. we said that this was not our desire; we were surprised at the demand, but, having met it, we insisted upon having our receipt. a meeting of the town authorities being held to consider the matter, our request was again refused, but attention was called to the fact that some subjects were waiting outside to be measured and photographed. i thereupon refused to measure or photograph any person until my demand had been met. i showed them, clearly, the position in which they had placed themselves; i stated that when they had done a wrong, and a stranger demanded an official statement of the case, their duty was simple and clear. by this time my own party was in arms; photographer, plaster-worker, manuel, all were scared. they insisted that our throats would be cut that night. they called attention to the ugly manner and black looks of the town authorities. they declared that we had better flee, while yet there was opportunity; they insisted that they had not left comfortable homes to be murdered in cold blood; they begged that i would, at least, retreat from the position taken, and consent to measure the subjects who were waiting. i assured them that it was far more important to teach the town a lesson regarding their duty to their higher officials, than to measure a few indians. finally, after hours of uncertainty, black looks, mutterings, and refusals, the town capitulated, and the receipt was in my possession. having gained my point, i called the attention of the town officials to the bearings of the case. i emphasized their duty to the _jefe_. they knew, quite well, that it was out of place to demand money for obeying his order; i stated that i appreciated whatever work the policemen might have done, and that, in due season, i might have recognized it by a gift, but that demands were quite another thing. i showed them how important it was, that, when trouble rose between them and a stranger, they should furnish any statement of the case he might, in justice, ask. having stated the matter fully, i consented to receive back the money, and tore up the receipt much to their relief. [illustration:] still the work went slowly. no one was left in town but the officials and some women. the latter locked and barred their doors, at the approach of any of the town authorities, and neither threats to burn their houses above their heads nor bribes would bring them forth. it was only after three days of hard work that eighty men and twenty-five women were secured. by that time, it was plain that the other men were safely out of reach, and we concluded that naught remained but to return to cuicatlan, to complete our work with representatives from other towns. this we did, although we found our _jefe_ still gentle, mild, and slow. once in the hot valley, we concluded that we might as well see more of it. leaving cuicatlan at noon, a few minutes' ride brought us to the station at tecomavaca, perhaps the hottest of the hot valley towns. within it are ruins which have been strangely neglected by all tourists and investigators. probably, the great heat has killed whatever little enthusiasm may have been kindled in those who have seen aught of these ruins. when we reached the station, in the hottest portion of the day, the valley seemed to glow; all looked hot and desolate. there were no _mozos_ to help in carrying baggage, though the town was fully half a mile from the station, behind bare, hot, sandy hills. it is one of the poorest and meanest of the mexican towns. a dreary _plaza_ is surrounded by miserable adobe, or adobe-plastered, buildings. the only edifices that looked clean and neat were the school, jail, and town-house. we found shelter at a sort of a _meson_, where we could get no supper until nine, or possibly till ten. rather than go inside the rooms, we took possession of the corridor, and there, with two cots, a table, and the floor, lay down to rest. but not to sleep! the town, small as it was, had twenty cases of _la grippe_. the woman of the house where we were stopping was one of these. her husband, who came back from the mountains long after dark, appeared to have an affection and solicitude regarding her, which, under other circumstances, might have been quite touching, but which, then, was thoroughly exasperating. while he cooked his own supper, made chocolate for her, and heated hot water for her use, he kept passing back and forth, between the kitchen and the sick chamber, until later than two o'clock in the morning. the noise which he made, and these repeated movements, kept us all awake the whole night long. the night was hot and close, and new and unknown insects troubled us extremely. we were glad to be dressed and mounted, the following morning. riding across the river, we made the ascent to the summit, on which were the ruins of tecomavaca viejo. the ascent was so abrupt that our horses were repeatedly compelled to stop for breath. the trail passed through cactuses, and spiny shrubs and trees, which tore our clothes more than all we had endured during weeks of travel. the ruins are unquestionably old. the hilly slope presents a succession of terraced platforms, one behind the other, at different heights. the rock walls between these are banked up and faced with rock, coated with plaster and mud; there are many pyramids and mounds; there are also curious subterranean, stone-faced, graves. many curious disks of stone were found, a foot or eighteen inches in diameter, and three or four inches thick; these were all reddish grit, and had plainly been piled one upon another to form pillars. along the forward edge of some of the terraced platforms, we found the lower discs of some columns still in place. while the amount of work, represented in these cut terraces, banked rocks, and subterranean constructions, impressed us greatly, it was difficult to get a clear idea of the relationship of the parts. [illustration: cactus near cuicatlan] [illustration: view in a tlaxcalan barranca] when, however, we found ourselves at the station, waiting for the train, we looked back across the river to our three ruin-crowned hills. then, for the first time, having visited the spot, we could clearly make out the relations. three natural mountains or hills, the greater, central one flanked on both sides by lesser, had been utilized by the old builders; the natural rock masses had been cut and walled, until they practically formed masses of construction, rising terrace behind terrace, to the very summit. when the terraces were entire, with their temple-crowned pyramids, and with embankments and walls in full repair, these vast constructions must have been indeed impressive. chapter xvi in tlaxcalan towns ( ) a street-car line, running for most of the distance down hill, connects santa ana with tlaxcala, the towns being separated by seven miles. when making this little journey to tlaxcala in january, , we noticed in the car with us, a stout, purely indian man, who seemed anxious to engage us in conversation. knowing a few words of english, he was particularly anxious to practice them. he called our attention to the various villages, streams, and mountains in the country through which we were passing, and took delight in analyzing the native names and explaining their meanings. when we were returning in the afternoon, we met a gentleman who had been in the same car with us in the morning, and we inquired regarding our indian acquaintance. he told us that he was a full-blooded indian, whose native tongue was aztec, and who lived in santa ana. being the child of poor parents, the state had assisted in his education; he was now studying law in the city of puebla. he was also a musician, and on this occasion had been upon his way to a public appointment, where he was to sing. later, in puebla, we called upon this gentleman, whose name we found was quechol, meaning a bird with a crooked neck, perhaps a flamingo. he was interested in our study, and said we ought some time to visit the indian towns of his people upon the slopes of malintzi. in january, , having been delayed in our plans, we decided to spend a few days in tlaxcala, and secured his company. our preparations were made at santa ana; at the home of his parents we were hospitably welcomed, and chocolate and bread were furnished, before we started on our journey. while this refreshment was preparing, we visited the old church, in front of which stood an aged cypress tree, hung with gray moss and blazing with red flowers. we also entered some of the houses, where, on domestic looms, the _serapes_ for which the town is famous are manufactured. we visited also a private school for girls, established by a señor barela, who is noted as the first to introduce the industry of weaving wool into this community. while the memory of this gentleman is held in high esteem by this people, that of his wife is by no means savory. it seems that she was an avaricious, vain and selfish woman, with no sympathy for his schemes for the betterment of the people. her feeling was well known, and she died heartily hated by all. when the time came for her burial, the grave was prepared, and her body placed within it. but the earth twice refused to receive the corpse. it was then carried to to the sawapa, near by, and thrown into its waters. the stream overflowed its banks, and tossed the body upon the ground; again the effort was made to thus dispose of it, but again it was thrown upon the shore. it was then suggested that it be carried to "the cuezcomate," an extinct geyser-crater, famous through all the country, and popularly believed to be the mouth of hell; when the body was thrown into this opening, it is said the devils were seen to swarm upward to receive it. it was almost noon as our little party started on foot in the direction of malintzi. our indian friend, his brother, a white friend, our photographer, our mexican boy and ourself, made up the party, and we were followed by three _mozos_ on foot carrying supplies of food. we struck out over a sandy plain, where the foot sunk deep into dry sand, until we finally reached a well-built wall of stone, considered in the district a notable piece of engineering. it was constructed to turn the course of a little stream which, in times of flood, has frequently done damage to the town. from here, our trail led us on through the sandy pine-scrub, broken now and then by narrow gullies, called _barrancas_, with almost vertical sides. in every case, we were obliged to descend into these gullies and climb out upon the other side. after one and a half hours of walking we reached the village of san pedro, where we stopped for dinner. the two americans accompanying us lay down upon the ground, completely tired out, and were fast asleep within five minutes. manuel assisted the local cook in preparing dinner, while we talked with visitors until the meal was ready. the houses of san pedro are well constructed of stone, set in adobe, and have well-thatched roofs. the granaries, or _cuezcomates_, are of unusual size and well built. they range from six or eight feet in height to twelve or more, and are shaped like great urns, open at the top, which is protected by a thatch, generally two-pitched. the _temascals_ were also unusually well built of stone, and frequently were neatly covered with white plaster. soon after leaving san pedro, in the afternoon, we came upon two indian boys digging in the ground. inquiring what they were doing, we learned that they were hunting honey-ants, and in a moment our whole party was engaged in the same operation. these ants were found some inches below the surface, either singly, or in roundish holes containing half a dozen or more; the abdomen was swelled until it was as round as a pea and as large as a fair-sized currant, and was filled with honey. to get the sweet liquid, one takes the insect by the head or forward body and pressing the honey bag sucks out the contents. it is sweet and rich, with a little twang, as if fermented, and people in the district call it honey-wine. three quarters of an hour brought us to san francisco, though we had to go down and up two large _barrancas_ before we reached the town. it was almost sunset when we arrived. sitting down before the town-house, we sent for the _agente_. soon after our arrival the church-bell rang furiously, and the din and clangor was kept up a long time. while waiting for the official, supper was prepared, though we had had some difficulty in arranging for it, and were in doubt as to where we were to spend the night. before supper was ready, a motley crowd poured into the room in which we sat. one large fellow carried a great sword strapped at his side, another bore a short sword, another a knife, another a large and ancient gun. probably there were other weapons not in sight. this group of indians was the _agente_ and his _guardia_. we were objects of suspicion, and much argument, and an abundant supply of _huitzatl_--strong drink--were necessary, before we secured permission to spend the night at the house where we were to have supper. no sooner had this company withdrawn and supper been eaten, than we prepared for bed. one wooden bed, with a mat of rushes, served for señor quechol and myself. a second mat, laid on the floor, formed the bed for our four companions. in the morning, we took a walk to akxotla, where we wished to see an ancient painting. here we encountered greater suspicion than before, and, after wasting the greater part of the day, accomplished nothing. it is true an indian made a _camalpa_ for us. this is a stringed musical instrument; though the name is aztec, it is unlikely that it was known before the coming of the spaniards. quechol says the word means mouth-harp, coming from the aztec _cam_, mouth, and the spanish _harpa,_ harp. we returned to san francisco for our dinner, and at four o'clock again started on our journey. it was after five before we reached san bartolome. as we drew near the village, we saw a magnificent double rainbow, brilliantly displayed upon the eastern sky against a cloud of almost inky blackness. looking westward, as we entered the village, we saw the sun setting in a sea of gold, between popocatapetl and ixtaccihuatl. watching this magnificent sunset, we sat down before the old church, and almost instantly a crowd gathered to see what the strangers might want. don romualdo, in wandering through the village, found a _temascal_ in use, and hurrying to us, led us to see the method of its use. it is a dome-shaped structure, with an entrance so low that one must crawl upon his hands and knees in entering; it is a sweat-bath, used for cleanliness and health. a quick fire, built inside, heats it thoroughly, after which water is thrown upon the hot stones to produce steam. four persons, of both sexes, were in the one in question, taking a sweat-bath. when we returned to our companions, sitting before the church, an indian of the village, accosting don romualdo, claimed to know him; he also claimed my acquaintance, and reminded me that he had been one of the subjects i had measured two years before in tlaxcala. a score or more of natives had gathered, in the moonlight, around our party. having heard some indians singing, we tried to get these to sing some native songs. only after louis and frank had sung some english songs, which were well received, were we able to hear aztec songs in exchange. after a long delay, we were taken to the schoolhouse for supper and the night, and spent the balance of the evening in taking down a native song, _the tlaxcalteca_, and witnessing a dance which accompanied it. a bed was made up for the party by putting various benches and tables together. [illustration: tlaxcalan house with temascal.] [illustration: the mapaho in use; san juan zautla] most of the following day was spent in visiting in the village, purchasing idols and in making notes on life and customs; at four o'clock in the afternoon, we set out for ixcotla. near sunset we reached the house of quechol's uncle, old isidro. almost eighty years of age, he was straight and lithe as a man of thirty. his house and all the lesser buildings of his place were excellent and in fine condition. a flight of steps led to the flat roof, from which we watched the sunset. in the yard, were half a dozen hives for bees, made from the stocks of the _maguéy_. the old man was rich, and owned other houses, but he lives alone, his wife being dead and his daughters married. he is a master of the aztec, and uses it in its most poetical and figurative style. he does not speak like common men, but his conversation abounds in metaphor and flowers of speech. when once one spoke to him of his lonely and solitary life, he said, "alone and solitary! no, we are three! there are here myself, my good angel, and my bad angel. i am never alone." isidro knows all the boundaries of the fields, and can trace all the titles, and is frequently appealed to in land disputes, and even in law cases, is summoned to give testimony. he received us heartily, offered cigarettes and ordered supper. to refresh us, he broke fresh leaves from the orange-tree and steeped them in hot water, sweetening with sugar. after supper, good beds were made upon the floor, with plenty of mats and blankets. we had hardly risen in the morning, when the village was thrown into great excitement by the appearance of a band of soldiers. they had come to arrest a young man supposed to be a leader in the local opposition to governor cahuantzi. this opposition was just at fever heat; the election was approaching, and a fierce effort was being made to oust the governor. forty-four towns were in open rebellion, among them, all of those which we had visited. there had been new laws passed regarding land and taxes; these had been resisted. the governor had threatened to send engineers to make new surveys, and to bring land-titles into question. the suspicion and distrust which we had met were doubtless, in large part, due to these measures, and the fear that we were government spies. so great was the discontent, and so openly expressed, that it was said that on the saturday preceding, in the plaza of tlaxcala itself, there was a riot, with cries of derision and contempt, and firing of guns upon the palace. we were told that the nearest _haciendero_, who was friendly to the governor, was marked for assassination and would be killed within the next few days. leaving at ten next morning, we skirted santa ana, and, having passed through san pablo, came out upon the banks of the sawapa. this pretty stream has reputed remedial power, and in may hundreds of people bathe in its waters, to protect themselves against small-pox. as we crossed the great stone bridge, we met a drunken indian who attached himself to our party. between him and the mexican members of our party, there arose hostility and an exchange of angry words. to us, personally, he was maudlinly affectionate and respectful. finally, shaking him off, after climbing a considerable height, we stopped at belen for a noonday rest and lunch. dinner having been ordered, we seated ourselves in the shade, when our drunken friend again appeared upon the scene, and in great excitement, begged me to move, as it was certain death for a heated and perspiring person to sit in the shadow of a peru tree. so persistent was he, that quehcol and manuel lost all patience, and ordered the local officials to arrest him. about the middle of the afternoon we were again upon the road; having passed the bare, fortress-like church of san mateo, and descended a long hill, toward evening we crossed a fine bridge over a gorge of black basaltic rock, and shortly reached santa maria atlihuitzia, where we planned to spend the night. here is a fine old church, with a façade absolutely covered with elaborate carving; a square tower rises at one corner. the great altar is a magnificent piece of carving and gold work; the windows are set with thin slabs of onyx. within, near the church-door, are two paintings representing the scene of mayrtrdom for which the town is famous. these pictures are ancient, and represent some interesting details of indian life at the time of the conquest. the head-dress and mantle of feathers worn by the old chieftain, the dress and hair-dressing of his wife, war weapons and buildings are all shown. here, in , the boy cristoval, child of the great chief acxotecatl and his wife apalxitzin, was killed by his father because he would not renounce christianity. the little lad was only thirteen years of age, and had been trained by spanish priests. he was the proto-martyr of the new world, and the story of his martyrdom and the early church in tlaxcala, have been charmingly narrated by mendieta. close by the church stand the ruined walls of the monastery, impressive for their massive construction and the enormous space which was enclosed. it was dark before we finished the examination of these quaint and interesting old buildings, and we were glad enough to go to the house of the _secretario_, where we found good beds and elaborate furniture. in the room where we were to sleep there was a _nacimiento_, made in connection with the christmas season. the table was covered with little landscapes, scattered over which were figures of many kinds, including a group of san jose, maria, and the infant christ. santa maria is purely _mestizo_. in the morning, finding breakfast somewhat slow, we started for a walk, and passing by the old church, came shortly to the spot where the boy martyr was killed. from here we descended, over a long slope of gray tufa, to a pretty stream flowing through black basalt. the rock is hard and shiny with cells or air-bubbles scattered through its mass. close by the water's edge we were shown some curious impressions, on the nearly level surface of the rock, which were said to be the imprints of the knees of the holy virgin as she knelt here to wash clothes in the brook; there are also grooves made by the virgin's fingers as she scrubbed the clothing on the rock; by the side of these impressions are two hollows, marking the spot where the holy child sat with its mother as she worked. on the rock behind is the impression of a mule's foot. formerly there were two of these impressions, but in a tornado broke away the mass of rock, on which was the other impression. just below this place the stream leaps in a pretty cascade which, with its white foam, contrasts strikingly with the black rock. the trail followed by cortez on his way from vera cruz to tlaxcala was pointed out to us and we were told that atlihuitzia in those days was an important city, numbering five thousand _solteros_ (unmarried men). on the way back to the village, we visited the _arbol huerfano_--orphan tree--a cypress, so called because it is the only tree of its kind in this district. quechol says that a long line of such trees, at a distance of several leagues apart, was planted by the spaniards, and he and the villagers mentioned a number of them in different places. passing once more by the spot of martyrdom, a white _capulin_ was pointed out, as being the very tree represented in the picture of the killing. it was now almost ten o'clock and we found breakfast waiting. at quechol's request, it was a purely mexican meal, consisting of aztec dishes. we had _tamales_, _atole_, and, for the first time, _champurado_. the latter is _atole_--corn gruel--mixed with chocolate, and is really an excellent dish. after breakfast, we left our friends of atlihuitzia and hastened back over the same road past san mateo, belen, san pablo, and santa ana. the way was long and the sun was hot, but the road was beguiled with many stories regarding the places that we passed, for the whole state of tlaxcala abounds in legend. chapter xvii in the chinantla ( ) once more we found ourselves in picturesque cuicatlan. walking up the familiar street, we again found lodging with doña serafina. having settled, and taken a look out over the beautiful landscape visible through our windows, we interviewed the _jefe politico_, whom we we found the same nerveless, well-meaning individual as ever. after grumbling, and insisting that it was impossible to fit us out on such short notice, he finally promised that all should be ready the next morning. it was a sorry outfit that we found; one medium-sized mule for myself, and four small _burros_ for the other members of the party. a boy from the jail was sent with us as _mozo_ to carry our instruments. it was still early when we started through the hot, sandy, flat land, covered with gigantic cactus trees, which swarmed with little birds of many beautiful kinds. we soon began to climb the great, red rock cliffs, up, and up, and up, endlessly. we had forgotten how long the road was; but it was longer than ever on account of the beasts we rode. long before we reached papalo, manuel and louis were on foot, rather than longer submit to the torture of riding their little _burros_. as we neared the town, we were surprised to find a cloud effect almost as fine as that near juquila in the mixe country. had it had clearly defined banks on both sides, its resemblance to a cataract would have been complete. as it was, there was no boundary back of the side towards us, and the clouds plunged over and downward as well as in the direction of the flow of the main mass. no one in the town recognized us. supper and a night's lodging were readily supplied, but when we wished to secure new animals for the onward journey, there was difficulty. they were promised, indeed, for seven o'clock, but it was long after eight before we saw any signs of their appearance. remonstrating, we were told that there was other business to attend to, and that the town officials could not devote themselves to us. with great difficulty, by o'clock all preparations were made, and we started on the journey. the animals were not bad, but we had been told that there were eight leagues of hard road between us and tepanapa, and six more from there to san juan zautla, our destination; we were told that we should spend the night at tepanapa, reaching zautla the second day. as we left the town we overtook a funeral procession on its way to the little hill-crest cemetery which we passed soon after. at first the road was good, gradually ascending. it led us up a rising pine-covered crest, with a little hollow of deciduous trees in the midst. we were again getting into a region where the great hills presented two differing slopes, one dry, pine-clad; the other moist and covered with the dense tropical forest. we soon found ourselves upon the damp slope in a forest, almost the counterpart of those with which we were familiar in the land of the mixes. great oaks were loaded with bromelias and dotted with orchids; ferns of many beautiful kinds grew along the roadside. unlike the forest of the mixes, the trees here were hung with masses of golden-yellow moss, presenting a curious and mysterious aspect. from here, the trail descended rapidly over surfaces of slippery stone and patches of mud; the air was heavier and heavier with moisture. ferns abounded, and presently great tree ferns were to be seen, here and there, in all directions. shortly, our road was through a true gorge, where the footing for the horses was precarious. great masses of lycopods of several species covered the rocks and little round tufts of a dark green plant with feathery foliage dotted the decaying tree trunks. the descent seemed endless, and for more than two hours we descended deeper and deeper into the dampness and darkness. it was six o'clock when we came out upon a slope where the trail was easier and almost level, and it was after dark before we reached the first hut of the miserable _ranchito_ of tepanapa. checking our horses, we called, but received no answer. sending our _mozo_ to the house, we asked for food and shelter, but were refused everything, as they said that they were in bed. a little lad, however, agreed to show us to the next hut, and we followed him as well as we could in the darkness and over the slippery road, some rods further. we found there two empty huts within an enclosure, and, taking possession of one, brought in our things out of the mist, and soon had a fire built and a candle lighted. in vain we urged our _mozo_ to hunt for food. he said that all the houses were empty, and, if perchance one were occupied, no one would turn out so late to supply us. all were extremely hungry, as we had eaten nothing since morning except a _tortilla_ or two with some eggs as we rode along. manuel, louis and frank slept in the loft, ramon and i upon the floor below. the two _mozos_ with the saddles slept in the other hut. the night was cold and the damp air penetrating. we arose early to go upon our way, but unfortunately yielded to the request of louis and ramon, permitting them to go in search of food. two full hours passed before they returned with a few _tortillas_ and two eggs; so that it was half-past-eight when finally we started. [illustration: san juan zautla] the road was slippery and muddy, descending constantly; a large portion of the way was through woods: at the bottom of the slope we found ourselves by a fine brook, which we forded. then began an ascent as precipitous, slippery and unpleasant. the trail followed the bank of the stream. passing through a dense jungle of vegetation, where the air was hot and wet, the flora was characteristic. trees with large, coarse, broad pods enclosing two or three great seeds, trees with acorn-shaped red fruits, quantities of sensitive plants covered with pink flowers, occasional orchids bearing flowers of brilliant flame color, and vines with lovely blue pea-flowers made up the bulk of the tangled growth through which we passed. at two places we crossed pretty streams, with cascades and narrow gorges, opening on to the gorge along the sides of which we were travelling; where these streams crossed our trail there were great masses of caladiums with their leaves of green velvet. we passed two little coffee plantations, the first of which was sadly neglected and overgrown with weeds, the second neatly kept. from this we rose again, and having gained the summit, looked down upon the village of san juan zautla. riding to the town-house, we met the _presidente_ and _secretario_, the latter an intelligent fellow, who told us that the town was dwindling, numbering at present but _contribuentes_. he ordered a capital dinner for us of chicken, fried bananas, eggs, _frijoles, tortillas_ and coffee. though the _secretario_ was intelligent, the _presidente_ was otherwise. he was good-natured, but a fool. with pride he frequently remarked, "_yo soy presidente_" (i am president). then he whispered and mumbled, kissed my hand, assumed an air of great intelligence, and walked off with a peculiar tottering movement. these performances took place not once or twice, but every time the official made his appearance. having fed us, the _secretario_ disappeared, and did no more for us. while waiting for him, our attention was attracted by a curious drumming noise. it was due to women who were beating cotton. at the first house we visited we found three women all busily occupied. an old woman sitting in the doorway was spinning thread; a second, somewhat younger woman with a baby in a blanket on her back, sitting on the ground, was weaving cloth; a third woman sat, with a great cushion of moss in a bag of matting on the ground before her, over which was spread a deer-skin on which was laid raw cotton, which she briskly beat with beaters made of five or six divergent sticks fastened together at one end. such beating sticks are called _mapaho_; one is held in each hand, and the beating is briskly done, alternately with one and the other; the beating is intended to spread the raw cotton into a thin and even sheet before it is spun into thread. returning to the town-house, we began our work, but were soon interrupted. the town is situated on a slope over which the houses are scattered. from the porch of the municipal house where we sat, we could see several huts upon the slope above. groups of women and children gathered on the little terraces before the houses to look down upon us at our work. the _presidente_ and other officials had gone to bring us subjects, when we heard an outcry upon one of these terraces. a man cried out to the officials; struggled, apparently with a woman, then fell. the police rushed up the path. a moment later a surging crowd of a dozen persons were struggling together with cries and shouts. in spite of the commands of the _segundo secretario_, we started for the scene of the disturbance, but long before we reached the spot, met a big _topil_ with his head cut open and blood streaming down his face, soaking his garments. his arm was thrown around another man's neck, whose wrist he held, dragging him thus a prisoner toward the jail. two others followed, holding a bad-looking little man between them. the two had fought, and when the _topil_ tried to take them, the little man, seizing a rock, split open his head. the two persons were thrust into the jail and a guard set. great effort was made to find the stone with which the blow was dealt, in order that it might be used as evidence. the _secretario_ told the _topil_ not to staunch nor wash the wound. with natural curiosity, the _presidente_ and other men were clustered around the jail, looking in at the prisoners, when the _segundo secretario_ ordered them from the door. this man is a strange one. he is a cuicatec, who married a chinatec wife. he is little, but important. he ever carries a queer old sword. when he first appeared before us, he impressively said, "_no tengas cuidado_" (have no care.) he told us that our comfort and our orders should be cared for, even though we were in a pueblo of mere brutes, unreasoning beings; he should charge himself and the officials with our needs. there were scarce three hours of daylight in the afternoon, and night set in chilly and damp. meantime, the _secretario_, the _segundo_, the _presidente_ and the _topils_, all had disappeared. in vain we urged that arrangements should be made for fuel, for beds, and for a _mozo_, whom we had ordered should be supplied to accompany the man from papalo back to that town with the horses. it was now dark and late, with no sign of attention to our wishes. through the darkness, we picked our way over a muddy road, slippery and soaked with water, to the _secretario's_ house, where we forcibly made known our wishes, and said that attention must be paid to them. before we got back to the town-house our shoes were soaked with water and heavy with mud, while our clothing was soaked through with moisture from the air filled with mist and drizzling rain; and this in the midst of the dry season! during the afternoon, we had seen a curious-looking indian, dressed in a red flannel shirt, white drawers and a cap, but with the regular red chinantec neck-cloth. he was a mixtec from san francisco huitzo, who is in charge of the well-kept little coffee _finca_ which we passed upon the road. he showed us a bottle of coffee essence of his manufacture. it was a heavy, oily, clear liquid which i understood he had distilled from a weaker and darker coffee extract. it was exceedingly strong, and was supposed to be used for making coffee, a small quantity of the essence being put into a cup with hot water and sugar. he desired us to test this, but a look at it was quite sufficient. he was a handy fellow, and did much to hasten the fulfillment of our orders. under his direction, sleeping mats were brought, and he, himself, served our supper, when finally it was ready. we were so tired that directly after supper we laid down upon the mats spread on the damp earthen floor. we had hoped to start our man from papalo back with our horses early; the officials had promised that the _mozo_ to accompany him should be ready; but, of course, neither breakfast nor _mozo_ was to be seen. so we again started for the _secretario's_ house. the _secretario_ himself was lying drunk in bed, and the _segundo_ was almost as bad. in vigorous words i made known my dissatisfaction. the _segundo_, with his sword in one hand and _tortillas_ in the other, almost too drunk to walk, led us to the town-house and summoned the people before him. he thundered forth his orders: "you dogs, children of a degraded race! wretched brutes! what do you mean? why are you not bringing in breakfast for these gentlemen? eggs, _tortillas, frijoles_, chicken? why are you not supplying them? obey his order. fulfill your duty. you hear? if you do not fulfill your duty, you shall be punished. hear and obey at once." under this impulse the men started and breakfast was soon disposed of. work being slack, the boys went bird-hunting. manuel fetched in a _rara avis_, a little old man of years, who had an extra thumb on his right hand. notwithstanding the small population of the town, there were three cases of extra digits. in addition to this old man with his extra thumb, two persons in the town each had an extra toe upon one foot. we have already stated that the _presidente_ of the village was a fool. he had plenty of companions. one of the men, who made himself quite useful to us was an imbecile; he crossed himself, kissed our hands, nodded his head, and told us the most surprising things in regard to the subjects whom he brought before us. in connection with each case he cried and carried on at a great rate, and finally insisted that he was going to bring me a raw egg as an offering of friendship, which he did. one of his subjects was his cousin, who was both idiotic and a deaf-mute. my impression was that there were several cases of deaf-mutism in the village. one man, whenever any of our party spoke to him, or in any way turned our attention to him, piously and vigorously crossed himself, grimaced and gesticulated as if in a fit. one man, who seemed exceptionally intelligent, after he had seen us make a plaster bust of one of his townfellows, stated with great delight, that it was an idol, representing jesus christ, and that we were going to use it in the church. unlike any other indian town we have visited, there is not even the pretence of an open school in this place. nowhere else have women and children showed so great a fear of us and our work. from the moment that i showed an interest in the _mapaho_, the beating of cotton ceased, and the village was quiet. at no time during our stay did women or children come to the town-house. shortly after sending back our horses to papalo, we found that there were no animals for riding in san juan zautla. fortunately, our next point, san pedro, was but two leagues distant, and rather than wait until animals could be brought from cuicatlan, we decided to walk. the night before we were to leave, we made arrangements for our carriers. the _secretario_ had set the price at two _reales_ a man; four were ordered, and an early hour set for the departure. when the time came, our men were in open rebellion. they refused to go upon the journey. we told the town officials that, if these men failed us, they themselves must do the work. the men were really scared, and stated that the people of san pedro had threatened to kill us all, if we came to their town. in vain we argued--they were sure that the whole party were going to their doom. for such a paltry sum no man would risk his life. at last, however, the officials decreed obedience, and our party started. at first we led the company and the carriers came behind. the road led straight down the mountain-side to a brook, and then up the opposite side to the summit, just beyond which lay our goal. as we started, he who had recognized the bust of jesus insisted upon accompanying us a way for friendship, and on the journey made various wise remarks regarding the busts. hardly had we started when our men again rebelled; they would not make the journey for the price agreed upon, the risk was too great; they must be paid more, if they went at all. i felt that patience had ceased to be a virtue. telling them that we would no longer go ahead, we ordered them to take up their burdens and precede us, at the same time threatening to shoot them, if they stopped without permission. after marching along in this new order for a time, they indicated a desire to parley. they would carry their burdens to the foot of the hill, where they would leave them by the brook-side. we could then go on to the village of san pedro and send back carriers to bring them. to this proposition we gave no encouragement. the descent was abrupt. at the bottom was a fine brook, with a hanging bridge of vines swinging from tree to tree across it. here we stopped to drink the fresh cool water, cut some sugar-canes, catch butterflies, and take views. one of the trees from which the vines hung was a perfect mass of ferns, orchids and bromelias of many kinds. on the great slope back of us, toward the gap through which the brook had broken, were great cliffs of massive rock; otherwise the whole mountain slope was a sheet of richest green. the ascent was long and difficult, and the party went slowly, with many rests. it was amusing, how, even at this distance, as we mounted the slope, we could hear the constant beating of the _mapaho_ in the village behind us, as if in rejoicing at our departure. as we neared the summit, our carriers again made signals of a desire to converse. they would fulfill their whole duty, and would carry their burdens to the town-house in san pedro, but would we have the kindness, from here on, to take the lead? oh, yes, we answered, we would take the lead, and they should see that nothing would happen. no one would harm us; we were not about to die. to make a favorable impression, we asked for a drink of water at the first house we came to, and passed a greeting with the few men, women and children whom we met on our way into town. the greater part of the population was at church, where we found a service in progress, and we were obliged to wait until it was over before we saw the town officials. i told the _secretario_ to summon the town government to the municipal-house, which was a small affair, no more than or by feet, with walls of lashed poles and a palm roof. a narrow bench ran around the four sides, and two tables, one long and one short one, set at right angles, occupied the greater portion of the open space. a long wide bench was placed alongside of the larger. at one end there was a _santo_, in a little shrine decorated with flowers and leaves. a little fire was built upon the floor, over which wax was melting, in which candles were being dipped. the _secretario_ chanced to be a man whom i had met at cuicatlan the year before. he recalled our work, and taking us to his own house, we soon had an excellent dinner. he seemed to be well-to-do, and had two houses built of slabs lashed vertically together. nets full of _jícaras_, great stacks of corn neatly laid out, good tableware in quantity, and a kerosene-lamp, all were evidences of his wealth. we ate at a good table, in the house, where the corn was stored. the most astonishing thing, however, in the house was an old-fashioned piano, long beyond use. how it was ever brought over the mountains to this village is a wonder. when we asked him, what we were to pay for the dinner, he replied, nothing; that we would begin to pay later. the impression made upon us by san pedro was more agreeable than that produced by zautla. the town government is large and vigorous, comprising a dozen well-built young fellows. on account of the church festival, plenty of subjects had been brought together. we did not understand what the _secretario_ expected, and therefore took up our quarters at the town-house. we paid dearly for our misunderstanding. we waited long for supper, but none came. the _presidente_ and the older men were at church. the _secretario_ was nowhere to be found. while we were waiting, the young fellows who were making candles, and a crowd of boys, crouched about the fire and watched the work. presently they lay down a couple of _serapes_ on the floor, and the whole group, eighteen or twenty in number, dropped down upon them, a perfect mass of humanity, packed close together in the most curiously twisted attitudes, and were fast asleep in no time. they had no covering, but seemed to keep each other warm. after they were fast asleep, some of the other men appeared, and we urged the bringing in of supper. a handful of _tortillas_ and two fried eggs were not a hearty meal for six hungry persons, nor were our sleeping accommodations satisfactory. with difficulty we got some mats, and i lay down upon the smaller table, frank on the larger, louis and manuel rolled up on the ground below the latter, and ramon and the _mozo_ on the long bench. half a dozen of the older men remained sitting about the fire. it can be understood that the room was fairly full. the men made no pretense of sleeping until past ten o'clock, and two or three times during the night they broke out into loud conversation. [illustration: chinantec girl spinning; san juan zautla] [illustration: chinantec weaving; san juan zautla] just outside the town-house, under a thatched shelter, a group of old women were cooking _atole_ in great _ollas_ until a late hour. this gruel they ladled out to those men and boys who had been working, and doled out to them drinks from black bottles. the men and boys, with their red head-cloths or neck-cloths, went forth from time to time in groups upon some public errand. towards evening, eight or ten little fellows came from the forest with bundles of firewood upon their heads and great _machetes_ hanging at their sides. in the morning, the same group of youngsters came in loaded with bunches of green leaves and holly to be used in decorating the church. at eight o'clock there was a procession in the churchyard; the saint, dressed in flowing garments, was carried about, accompanied by banners and a band of music. during the festival, everyone drank; even the little boys of eight or nine years, who brought in their loads of wood, received their spirits, which they drank like old topers. there was no evidence of bad temper as a result of this drinking, but an increasing stupidity. when, in the morning, we found our breakfast to consist of nothing but coffee, we realized our mistake of the night before, and promptly betook ourselves to the house of the _secretario_, where we spent the following day. the demands of the church during the day were so heavy that we did little work. the day itself was dark and dismal. in the late morning the boys brought in great loads of poinsettia, from which they fashioned brilliant rosettes and garlands for the church. at night, a wooden platform was brought in for a bed, upon which louis, manuel and i slept, while the others made a bed of broad boards upon the floor. being behind with his developing, louis set to work as soon as the lights were out, and kept at it until half-past-one. scarcely had he come to bed and promptly fallen asleep, when there was a pounding at the door, which was almost immediately after broken in. rising, i called out to see what was wanted, and four or five indians, all very drunk, came staggering in. the oldest of the party carried a great _machete_, and one of them closely hugged a bottle full of spirits. after begging pardon for disturbing us, they built a smoky fire, near the drying negatives. fearing that their drunken movements and the smoke would work disaster, i made them change their place of rest and fire, moving them to the other end of the room. there they built another fire, and, before morning, they had consumed three bottles of spirits. what with the firelight and smoke, the noisy laughter, the loud talking and constant movement, it was impossible for me to sleep. only for a single hour, when they fell back upon the floor in drunken slumber, and their fire burned down, did i get a bit of rest. if seems that they were an official guard put to watch the town store of grain which was kept in the building, and which was subject to the depredations of animals. during the following day we completed our work upon chinantecs. the type is one of the best marked. in the child, the nose is wide, flat at the tip, with a straight or even concave bridge; the eyes are widely separated and often oblique; the mouth is large, the lips thick and the upper lip projects notably beyond the lower; the face is wide, and flat at the cheek-bones. with age, this type changes, the nose becomes aquiline, and of moderate breadth, the upper lip becomes less prominent, the skin lightens. for two days more, days of darkness, rain and cold that penetrated to the marrow, we remained prisoners in the village, waiting for the horses for which we had sent the day of our arrival. it was impossible to make photographs, nor was it feasible to look around the town, or into the adjoining country. the _secretario_, indeed, showed us the way in which spirits are distilled from the sap of sugar-cane, and we had ample opportunity to examine the dress of the people and the mode of weaving. all the women dress in garments of home-woven cotton, and the red head-cloths, so characteristic a feature of the dress of men and boys, are woven here from thread already dyed, bought in other places. the little figures of animals or birds or geometrical designs worked in them in green or yellow worsted are woven in, at the time of making the cloths, with bright bits of wool. at last our animals appeared. they had been sent from papalo, and we made arrangements, as we supposed, for using them through to cuicatlan. the animals arrived at : in the morning and the _mozo_ with them reported that the roads were bad from the constant rains of the past several days. we decided to leave that afternoon, stopping at zautla for the night, and then, making an early start, to push through in a single day. the _presidente, alcalde_, and other town officials accompanied us to the border of the village, where they bade us adieu, begging for a _real_ for drink. as we left, the sky was clear and the mists were rising from the valleys. for the first time we gained some idea of the beauty of the country all around us. the houses of the town are well built, with walls of poles or narrow slabs neatly corded together in a vertical position. the roofs are thatched with palm; they pitch sharply from a central ridge and the ends pitch also from the ridge in independent slopes. the top is crested with a comb of thatch, neatly applied. off to the right from the village lay a magnificent valley, with massive rock walls clad with green forest. the low masses of clouds and great banks of mist but emphasized the impression made by those parts of the scene that were visible. soon we had passed the ridge and looked down again into the zautla valley. the road was not as bad as we had anticipated. as we made our upward climb, we found that the flame-colored orchids, few when we last passed that way, were out in quantity. they are a terrestrial species, and the colors are a beautiful combination of flame-red with chrome-yellow. the other day only the outer and lower flowers of the racemes were blown, but on this occasion the whole cluster was in bloom. we noticed strikingly, what had before suggested itself to us, that through this district flowers of certain colors mass themselves together. thus, on this slope, the hundreds of bunches of flame-colored orchids were rivalled by clusters of a tubular flower perhaps an inch in length, of almost the same hues. along the glen-road near tepanapa all sorts of flowers seemed to be pink or flesh-colored, while along the jungle-bank, near the coffee plantation, everything was blue or purple. when we reached zautla, neither the _presidente_, the _secretario_ nor the _segundo_ was in town. the big _topil_, whose head was healing, did the honors of the place. we had intended to make an early start, but it was half past six before we mounted and were on our way. going back over the old road, we soon reached the little coffee _finca_ in charge of our mixtec friend, and here we left the familiar trail, for what our guide insisted was a better one. we struck up and up and up the slope to avoid little ravines which he assured us were very bad. at last, when it was certain that he had completely lost his way, we started down into the forest. for a time we followed a bad and disused trail, but soon even this disappeared, and we tore our way through the tropical vegetation as best we could. often the men had to cut the way with their _machetes_; sometimes we slid for yards over the wet mud; frequently our heads were caught by hanging vines, and faces and hands were scratched with brambles. when at last we came out upon a cleared space, we found ourselves at the chinantec village of santa maria. perhaps there were four houses in the village. our appearance caused great excitement. our pack-animals bade fair to destroy the maize and other plantings in the field. in the trail were oxen, which had to be gotten out of our way for fear of being driven to frenzy by our mere passing. they assured us that we were on the road to tepanapa, so we completed the descent to the brooklet and started up a trail which at any time would have been steep, stony, slippery, all at once. we were compelled, finally, to dismount and lead our animals; frank, before he did so, tumbled his horse three times down the bank. at one place two of the horses fell together in a struggling mass, and for a moment things looked serious. all the animals but my own fell, at least once, before we reached the summit. from there, it was an easy ride over a level district until we were in sight of tepanapa, which, by sunlight, presented a most attractive appearance. the houses are spread over a gentle slope, to the very edge of a little _barranca_. each had a little enclosure, with a group of banana plants. butterflies of brilliant hues lazily flew about, and a few birds uttered their characteristic cries. we could not, however, delay. before us lay a tremendous ascent; the first part, which we had passed after dusk, we found rougher than we realized; rock masses here were covered with a thick cushion of brilliant crimson moss, a kind of sphagnum. the gully trail had not been improved by the recent rains, and it taxed our animals severely to reach the summit. arrived in the district of the trees loaded with beards of golden-yellow moss, we caught a magnificent view back over the valley. with one sweep of the eyes, we could almost follow our whole round of wandering. the ridges on which lay san juan zautla and san pedro soochiapan both were in sight, as were the valleys in which santa maria and tepanapa lay. but the only actual feature which we could see and recognize was the little coffee _finca_ this side of zautla. the combination of green mountains, blue ridges and bare rock cliffs was grand. here our road forked, and at this point we had a moment's excitement. we met an old indian man with a baby tied upon his back, and his old wife, carrying a burden, followed after. before them a black bull was calmly walking. the moment the old man saw us, he waved his arms and cried out, in great excitement, "_toro, muy bravo_!" (bull, very fierce!) and hastened forward to catch the lasso wound round the horns of the beast to lead him out of our way. just then the bull took matters into his own control, and, with a snort and plunge, started wildly away, dragging the old fellow at a wild run down the trail, finally whirling him and the baby into a heap by the roadside, while he himself took up the mountain-side. it was after dark before we reached papalo. after much grumbling, supper was prepared and a solemn promise given that we should leave at seven in the morning. when we were ready, no animals were to be seen. the _presidente_ asserted that the price which we had paid was only to that point, and that if we wanted animals for cuicatlan we must make a new arrangement. this was sheer blackmail, because there had been no misunderstanding in the matter, and a liberal price had been paid. after wrangling for an hour, we shook the dust of papalo literally from our feet, and started to walk to cuicatlan, telling the town authorities that our burdens must be taken by _mozos_ to the _cabecera_ before three o'clock, and that we should pay nothing for the service. probably we should not have been so ready to take this heroic action if we had not remembered that the road was down hill all the way, and good walking. still, fifteen miles is fifteen miles, and the sun was hot, and though we left at : , it was two o'clock before we entered cuicatlan. we had no adventures by the way, except the killing of a coral snake which lay in the middle of the road. at three the _mozos_ with their burdens arrived, and felt it very hard that we kept our promise of paying nothing for their service. chapter xviii to coixtlahuaca ( ) for a day we rested at cuicatlan to make arrangements for a trip to the land of the chochos. we complained bitterly to the _jefe politico_ regarding the miserable animals which had been supplied us for our last journey, and demanded something better. frank had had enough of practical anthropology, and left us, so there were but four to be provided. at eight o'clock the following morning, four decent horses and two pack animals were waiting at our door. a mounted _arriero_ was in charge, to accompany us. although he had been inefficient on the preceding journey, the same jail-bird was sent with us, as _mozo_, whom we had had before. at : our party of six persons started; passing the river, which we forded, an excellent road took us, for a league, over the sandy plain, which was fairly grown with trees, supplying a little shade. the great _pitahayas_ were in bloom, and their white flowers looked well against the ugly, stiff green branches. the roadside was bordered with _acacias_ which, in full bloom, presented masses of golden balls and perfumed the air with their delicate odor. passing a considerable sugar _hacienda_, the trail struck into the mountains, and for three hours we made a steady ascent. the road itself was excellent but the sun beat down with fearful force, and the heat was reflected from the bare road and the rock cliffs along which we travelled. at one place the vegetation consisted of a curious mixture of gigantic cactuses, rising as single stalks as high as telegraph poles but larger in diameter, and palms. arriving at the crest, we saw a long plain stretching before us, presenting a mingled growth of palms and pines. at the very border of the ridge stood a hut of poles, where we stopped to drink _tepache_ and to eat broiled chicken which we had brought with us. we found the old woman, an indian--neither cuicatec, chinantec, mixtec, nor zapotec, as we might expect--but a full aztec from cordoba. she was bright and shrewd, and, as we chatted with her, we noticed a little chicken a few days old awkwardly running about with curiously deformed feet. upon my noticing it, the old lady remarked that the moon made it so. i inquired what she meant. she said, "yes, we know it is the moon which shapes the bodies of all young animals." we followed the road a long distance over the hot plain, passing san pedro jocotepec to our left, and shortly after, struck up the mountain side and had another long and steady climb, until, at last, we reached the crest of all the district. here and there, we encountered bits of limestone, which always, in this southern country, makes the worst roads for travel. the rain erodes it into the oddest of forms, leaving projecting ridges almost as sharp as knife-edges, with irregular hollows pitting the surface, so that it forms a most insecure and unpleasant foot-hold for the animals. not only so, but the surface, rough as it is, is frequently as polished as glass, and, whether wet or dry, is slippery to the tread. walking over these jagged surfaces of limestone is destructive to any shoes. a single afternoon of this will do more wear than a month of ordinary use. troublesome as these limestones are, as roads, they are ever interesting, because the masses by the roadside present the most astonishing and beautiful forms of waterwear; upon a mass eight or ten feet across, there will be worn a system of ridges and intervening channels, which, in miniature, seems to reproduce the orographic features of the whole country. [illustration: women with babies; san juan zautla] [illustration: cairn, on road to coixtlahuaca] while we were passing over one of these limestone stretches, a little before reaching the summit, we found a spot of unusual difficulty. the two pack animals were together, one tied to the tail of the other; the second had several times acted badly, but in passing over this bit of road, he jumped and plunged, so that his pack loosened and slid to one side. plunging, kicking, and falling, he dragged down the unfortunate beast to whose tail he was tied; the old rope tugged and creaked, and, for a moment, we expected to see the very tail of the forward animal pulled out, and both packs destroyed by the struggling beasts. fortunately, at this moment, the rope itself broke. the forward animal was loosened and quickly quieted; but the other one kicked and struggled, with our load of plates and developing trays under him. quickly cutting the ropes that held the burden, we tried to release the animal, but it lay exhausted, and, for a moment, we thought it dead. really, however, it was not hurt at all, and the loads themselves appeared undamaged. the burdens having been repacked, we again started on the journey. at several places on this road, we had noticed cairns, or heaps of pebbles. on inquiring from don manuel--the funny little man, who had the animals in charge--we learned that every chocho indian passing the place adds a pebble to the heap, to secure good luck and insure his safe return home. at the summit, we found one of these piles of stone surmounted by a cross, and learned that when the chochos reach this spot, they always stop, repeat a prayer, and dance for good health and fortune before the cross. it was now almost dark. soon we saw the downward slope, at the foot of which huauhtla lay. we hastened down the slope, passing through a grove of oak trees, heavily loaded with bromelias; at the foot of the slope, we crossed a stream of clearest water, bordered with handsome cypress trees, and passing several houses, came to the one where we planned to stop for the night. it was now dark. there was no opportunity for sleeping in the hut, and so we prepared to lie down outside. the people in the house prepared _tortillas_ and beans, and, after eating, we rolled up in our blankets and lay down on some dried corn-husks on the ground. it was a night of suffering; the cold was so great that our blankets furnished no protection, and the place swarmed with fleas innumerable. at last, at four o'clock, two hours before sunrise, we started on our journey in the hope of getting warm. the air was damp and heavy, and, until the sun rose, we had a desolate journey. we were again upon a limestone district, with interesting features of scenery, and with few difficulties in the road. we passed many oblong hills of limestone, the horizontal layers of which upon the slopes present tiers of steps, one behind the other. these hills were astonishingly overgrown with trees, and formed masses of the darkest green. there was a great deal of subterranean water, and sink-holes produced by caving over such streams were frequent. the soil generally was a residual red or brownish clay. flocks of gray pigeons were startled from their roosts by our passing; and little doves were plentiful; great hawks and small eagles were seen in pairs, hovering high in the air. we passed several little ranches, to one of which the name of el zapato is given from a foot-print which is said to be painted on the rocks at that point. finally, we saw before us the hill behind which, don manuel assured us, lay coixtlahuaca. to mount and drop down behind it seemed a simple thing, but we had to traverse the whole length of the rather irregular ridge, which seemed interminable. the road which led up to it was called the rio blanca--white river--an appropriate name, as it was broad and deeply worn into the soft rock of which the ridge consisted. when we reached the crest, we found the ridge extending as a flat plain of light, buff-colored tufa, with many trails worn deeply into it, and giving out, under the bright sunshine, a frightful reflection of light and heat. long before we reached the end of this dreary stretch, we saw coixtlahuaca and its adjoining indian villages, nativitas and san cristobal. as we drew nearer, the view was striking. the town is broad, but of little depth; its streets are laid out with regularity; its great church, with masses of ruin on either side, is conspicuous; the _plaza_ is large for the size of the town. to one side of it are the _portales_ and the town-house and _jefatura_. to the right of the town and behind it is a large, walled cemetery with many gravestones. back of all, rise hills of tufa, such as we had just traversed. the houses, similar to those at huautla, and in the country between there and here, appear to be constructed with a view to cold. at least, two houses usually occur in one inclosure; the one, more important, corresponds to the god-house of the aztecs and the other to the cook-house. the former is better built, and has low, carefully constructed walls, and a high abruptly four-pitched, heavily thatched roof. going to the _jefatura_, the young clerk there was much impressed by the documents we presented, and asked us if we would accompany him to the _jefe's_ house, as thus no time would be lost. upon arriving at the house of the _jefe_, we found that a wedding was about to be celebrated in the church. the _jefe_ received us with magnificent promises; we should room at the palace, arrangements should be made for boarding at a private house, beds and other proper furniture should be brought immediately, and the following day we should journey on horseback through all the indian towns of the vicinity. this was all very fine, but we told him that meantime we were hungry--we had eaten nothing since the night before and then had fared badly--and that we must unload our animals, which we had left with the rest of our company, standing in front of the palace. the unloading was done at once and we were given the schoolhouse for our quarters, at the rear of the _patio_ of the palace. at this moment, however, everything else was neglected for the wedding. this we all attended, and it was, indeed, an occasion. the bride in white, with veil and orange-blossoms, was accompanied by her mother, god-mother, and other female friends. she was really a pretty and wholesome indian girl, and the groom was a decent young _mestizo_, with gray wool sombrero, and linen jacket, cloth trousers, etc. he and his god-father were bustling about attending to all sorts of preliminaries. in the solemn procession which took place to the church, the company of ladies preceded; the _jefe_ and myself led the line of male friends, and, when we filed into the church, the building was fairly filled. the special friends, including our party, moved in procession to the high altar, where the ceremony was performed. the bridal company knelt with candles in their hands. other candles, some of enormous size, were burning in various parts of the church. the priest, with much ceremony, gave the sacrament of the communion to the couple, and then fastened two golden chains, crossing, about both their necks. a scarf of satin was placed upon them so as to cover both, passing over the head of the woman, and the shoulders of the man. from the church, our procession, dwindled to the particular friends and guests of honor, walked through the village to the justice-court, where the civil ceremony was performed. the matter having been accomplished with full respect to the requirements of the law, we thought again of dinner. the _jefe_ told us that to-morrow we should go to our boarding-place, but that to-day we were to dine together in state. time passed, hour after hour lagged by, until the _mozo_ and _arriero_ struck for money, with which to buy themselves something to eat. meantime, we waited. finally, at three o'clock in the afternoon, we were summoned, and the _jefe_, myself, and our companions, started down the hot, dusty, main street. on and on we walked, until, at last, the _jefe_ himself impatiently demanded of our guide how far we had to go. at last, we heard the strains of music, and, shortly, found ourselves in a yard crowded with people, among whom two bands of music were present, one with stringed instruments and the other with brass. it was the house of the bride, and after a moment's waiting in the yard, we were ushered, by the _jefe's_ clerk, into the building. it had been cleared of all its contents and a long table, set in the middle, ran lengthwise of the place. benches were placed beside it. a line of vases, filled with bouquets, occupied the middle of the table and between these were bottles of wine, _catalán, mescal, pulque, tepache_, beer, etc. the ladies were already seated; we took the remaining seats. the company consisted of the bride and groom, their parents, god-parents, families, and particular friends. and then, we had a dinner which amply compensated for the thirty-six hours through which we had been fasting--good bread, soup, stews, broiled meat, _mole, mole prieto_, chicken, beans, sweetmeats, coffee, with the beverages before mentioned. dishes, when they came in, were politely passed across the table to the ladies opposite; no one ate till all were served, and when we were through, the place was cleared, and another room full of friends sat down to the bountiful repast. and then a third, and then a fourth, till everyone had feasted, even to the commonest, and the musicians, to whom abundance was carried after those invited in had eaten. through all this lengthy feasting the bands of music alternated with each other. when all had eaten, the women quickly cleared the house, the tables were moved, and all the chairs of the neighborhood were set stiffly around the walls, after which dancing began, continuing through the night. [illustration] after having eaten, we stepped outside to visit with the crowd. among them, several drunken men showed special friendliness. one of these insisted upon showing us an idol, which, from his description, should have been a rather beautiful piece. it turned out to be a very crudely-made head, wrought in coarse, cellular lava. considering the material, the work was really fine; nor was it a fragment broken from the body, as there had never been more than what we saw. from here, a yet more drunken _dulcero_ insisted on our going to his _dulceria_ and bake-shop, where he told us that he had a much finer piece. we found he really had an enormous head, made of coarse, but rather bright, red stone; it was another example of the same type of separate head, a type which must be characteristic of the district. notwithstanding the fine promises, we found no beds or other furniture when we returned to our room. this was not, perhaps, surprising, in view of the excitement over the wedding, which might drive lesser matters out of the mind of the great official. with difficulty, we secured some mats from the chief of police, and made our beds with these upon the desks and benches of the school room. but, though we remained in coixtlahuaca several days, no beds were forthcoming, though we referred to them often enough; nor did the private boarding-house materialize. we, however, found a little place in the village where we got plenty of good food cheaply. nor did the ride on horseback through the neighboring villages, which had been so pleasantly suggested by the _jefe_, materialize. however, each day of our stay we were assured that all arrangements had been made for it to take place on the morrow. we have already mentioned the _plaza_ as large in proportion to the size of the town. on sunday it was crowded, and while many things were bought and sold, the trade in _sombreros_ surpassed all others. this is a specialty of all the district; throughout the chocho towns, they make an excellent grade of palm-hats and everyone engages in the making. both men and women braid palm, and in every yard there is excavated in the soft, tufaceous rock, a _cueva_, or cave, in which they work. here the palm is left between times, and here two persons generally work together, each braiding at a hat, while a little cross, cut in the rock-wall, looks down upon the work, for good luck. these caves have a narrow opening upward and are scarcely large enough to admit the two persons who sit at their work. the object of the cave is to keep the work moist, as the plaiting cannot be well done, if the palm dries out. the monday we were there, the victory of february th was celebrated. the day began with music by the brass-band, from the roof of the _presidencia_. the band, a large one, consisted almost entirely of boys about fifteen years of age. only the director and one among the players were men grown. at sunrise the national flag was raised, and at seven the church-bells were rung. through the afternoon, games of ball and cock-fights furnished amusement. among the crowd, at the house of the bride, we had met a little, stout man of about twenty-five or thirty years, who considered himself superior to the other people, and who variously attempted to make himself familiar. at several times during our measuring and bust-making, he had hung around, making smart remarks, but we had never invited him to submit to measure, as he did not seem to be a really full-blood indian. he had made a nuisance of himself, but, finally, one day, when he was standing in the crowd, which was looking on, he called my attention to a friend of his, remarking that here was a good subject. on calling this young man to be measured, we met with unexpected resistance. he was purely indian, short, well-dressed, and well-mannered, but he refused to be measured. we had had some little trouble with our subjects that afternoon, and therefore insisted that he should undergo the operation. he refused. of course, the officials were on our side, and the police led him off to jail. when he saw that there was no escape, he consented to be measured, and they brought him back, under guard, until the operation was performed. so much feeling had been raised by the matter, that his foolish friend, to whose jocularity he owed the unpleasant experience, thought best himself to be measured. accordingly measures were taken, although it was after dark, and a candle had to be used in reading. as our day's work was done, we returned to our room, making ready to go to supper. the crowd had departed. to our surprise, we found these foolish fellows at our door awaiting us. "sir," they said, "we would speak with you a moment." going aside with them, i asked their wishes. they then launched out, with weeping and groans and much wringing of hands, into a dreary tale. they were young teachers waiting for appointment; one of them had a little family; it would be a dreadful thing for them to be taken away and forced into the army. it was impossible to convince them that there was no harm in the matter. after long discussion and elaborate explanations, they cheered up somewhat, but insisted that i must go to the house of one of them, the one who had given trouble, to take _pulque_. we went, three abreast, each one of them taking one of my _brazitos queridos_--"beloved little arms;" as we went, they alternately indulged in admiring exclamations--"ah, severo, what a _maestro_! how fine a gentleman! how amiable! say manuelito, was there ever such a one." at the house, which was neat and clean, i met the mother and two little ones, who would be left behind in case severo were forced to go into the army. then the _pulque_ was brought in and sampled. as i was leaving to go to supper, they said, no, i must go to my room; they would accompany me. in vain i reminded them that my companions were waiting for me at the eating-place; i must be seen back to my very door, then i might go where i pleased; but with them i had gone forth, and until they saw me home again, they would be responsible for my person. coixtlahuaca itself is largely a _mestizo_ town. but immediately in its neighborhood, and on its outskirts, are indian villages. all chochos know spanish, and but few talk their own language. there is little of interest in their life and nothing characteristic in their dress, which is that of _mestizos_ in general. but the physical type is well defined. the stature is small; the face is short and broad; the nose is wide and flat, with a fat, flattened tip; the hair is somewhat inclined to curl, especially on top behind. despairing of the promised trip through the villages, we issued orders for our animals to be ready early one morning. only after vigorous complaints and threats were they actually ready. the owner of the beast which i, myself, mounted went with us on foot, and a _mozo_ was supplied for carrying instruments. in spite of fair promises that we would leave at three, it was : before we started, though we had risen at half-past-two. our _arriero_ was the best we ever had; far from sparing his good horse and grumbling at our speed, he was continually complaining at our slowness. "why don't the boys want to go fast?" he would say. "don't you want to get there at a good hour? why do you go so slowly?" and then, striking the horse, he trotted along at wonderful speed. we reached huautla at half-past-eight, stopping an hour to feed our horses and to eat beans and _tortillas_. we then pushed on down the slope, and out over the long ridge, passing the hut of our cordoban aztec woman. it was the hottest hour of the day when we descended the broad road, over the hot rocks, and saw cuicatlan in the distance. thanks to our _arriero_, we drew up at doña serafina's when it was but : in the afternoon, having been upon the road eleven hours. [illustration] chapter xix huauhtla and the mazatecs ( ) a short ride upon the train, through the hot and dusty valley, brought us to the miserable station of san antonio, from which, we had been assured, a coach ran daily to teotitlan del camino; arrived at the station, no stage was in sight, and we were told that it sometimes came and sometimes not. accordingly, leaving my companions at the station in care of the baggage, i walked to the village, half a mile away, to see what arrangements could be made for transportation. it was hot, and it seemed difficult to arouse interest on the part of the town authorities. neither conveyance nor animals were to be had. accordingly, a foot messenger was sent to teotitlan, which is a _cabecera_, asking that some arrangement be made for transporting us. as there was no hurry, and it would be some time before we could receive an answer, i sat under the thatched roof in front of the town-house, resting and enjoying the little breeze which had sprung up. suddenly the belated coach, itself, came into sight, bound for the station. starting to mount, the driver told me it was better for me to remain sitting comfortably in the shade, and that he would pick up my companions, of whom, i told him, there were three, and that i could join the company, as they passed. as arrangements had already been made regarding the transportation of the baggage by mules, the advice seemed good, and i remained where i was. a long time passed, and when, at last, the coach arrived, it contained but one passenger, a dignified _licenciado_. when i asked the driver where my companions were, he answered that they had refused to come because i had sent no written order to that effect. i suggested that we should turn back and get them, but to this proposition he gave refusal. not only so, but the _licenciado_ expressed vexation at the delay which he was suffering, and demanded that we should go on at once. argument, persuasions, threats were all of no avail, and, as it was necessary that i should see the _jefe_ at the earliest possible moment, i was forced to mount the coach and leave my unfortunate and obedient companions to their fate. for an hour and a half the coach lumbered slowly over a hot and dusty road, which passed between small, bare, gray or brown rock hills, rising to a higher level only a little before we reached teotitlan itself. hastening to the _jefatura_, i discovered that the _jefe_ had gone to mexico, leaving the _presidente_ of the town as his lieutenant. this man was neither willing, interested, nor efficient. he had little authority, even with his own policemen and townsmen. i requested that the first thing should be to send for my companions and bring them to town within the briefest time. orders were sent by the policemen to the driver of the coach, that he should return at once to the station; to these orders, he sent the false reply that his coach had broken down, one wheel being completely ruined. after some wrangling and delay, the _presidente_ sent a foot-messenger to san antonio with orders to the authorities of that village to supply three animals for the travellers. the messenger left at five in the evening. meantime, we arranged with difficulty for beasts for our further journey. although we were assured that no animals from the town could accompany us further than the first _ranchito_ in the mountains, named san bernardino, they assured us that fresh animals could be obtained there for the remainder of the journey. going to the regular hotel in the village, we found the prices higher than in oaxaca or puebla, and equal to those of a first-class hotel in mexico itself. as the landlady seemed to have no disposition to do aught for us, we decided to look elsewhere. at a second so-called hotel we found a single bed. at this point, a bystander suggested that don pedro barrios would probably supply us lodging; hastening to his house, i secured a capital room, opening by one door directly onto the main road, and by another, opposite, onto the large _patio_ of his place. the room was large and clean, and four good cots were soon in place. having ordered supper at a little eating-house, for four persons, to be ready at seven o'clock, i spent a little time in looking at relics found in the neighborhood. pottery figures and heads are quite common and frequently painted brilliantly; small heads and ornaments of green-stone are not uncommon; curious clubs of stone for beating bark-paper are also found; objects of gold and silver have been found in ancient graves, near the foot of the mountains, on the outskirts of the village. these were of curious forms and excellent workmanship, and included large ornaments for the ears and pendants for the neck, made of thin sheets of gold; turtles and human skulls cast in a single piece; and most curious of all, odd pieces of filigree where the gold-wire was coiled into strange human heads. one of these was made half of gold and half of silver wire. at seven, no sign of my companions had appeared. a policeman went to tell the keeper of the eating-house that we would eat at eight, and, putting my chair outside the open door, i sat in the cool air and watched the people passing in the moonlight. eight o'clock came, and no companions. the supper hour was postponed to nine. between nine and ten, don pedro and i talked over various matters, and at last, yielding to his solicitation, i went to supper, he promising to send my comrades in case they should arrive during my absence. i had just finished supper, at half-past ten, when my three hungry companions arrived, with big appetites for their own meals, and it was after eleven before the party was through its supper. [illustration] they, themselves, had by no means spent a dull afternoon. the station agent and his lady wife had indulged in a vigorous battle. both were drunk, shot revolvers recklessly, bit one another, tore hair, and clubbed most vigorously. the man finally took $ , in money out of the company's safe and left the station, vowing that he would never be seen again. though the authorities at san antonio had received the order to supply animals at six o'clock, it was after nine before they had the beasts ready for the travellers. after an excellent night's rest we started our pack-animals, and were ourselves ready for the journey at nine, when we found that no arrangements had been made for a foot _mozo_ to carry our instruments. this again caused delay and trouble, but at last we were upon the road, and started out through the little village towards the mountains. my animal appeared a beast of vigor and spirit, and my hope ran high. the moment, however, that we struck the climb, matters changed. he then stopped every few yards, breathing as if it were his last gasp. this he kept up for the whole ascent, and there seemed doubt whether he would ever reach the summit. for a long distance, the road followed the side of a gorge in which a fine brook plunged and dashed. we passed and repassed picturesque groups of mazatec indians with their burdens. the women wore _enaguas_, the lower part of which was brown, the upper white. their _huipilis_ are among the most striking we have seen, being made of native cotton, decorated with elaborate embroidered patterns of large size, in pink or red. the favorite design is the eagle. men wore _cotones_ of black or dark blue wool. we had been riding steadily for two hours before we reached san bernardino, where the _mozos_ and pack animals were changed, and where we rested for a few minutes. we then rode for a long time, gently ascending through forests of pine or oak. here and there the air-plants on the oak trees were notable. finally, we mounted to a road along a narrow ridge, like a knife's edge, and from here on had one of the most remarkable roads that i have ever travelled. keeping continuously upon the crest, we had upon the one side the dry slope, with the pine forest, and on the other the damp slope, densely grown with low oaks, heavily clad with orchids and bromelias and weighted with great bunches of gray moss. the road passed up and down gentle and abrupt slopes separated by level spaces. when we first caught sight of huauhtla it looked so near, and the road to be traversed was so plain, that we expected to reach the town before three o'clock; but the trail proved drearily long. true, the scenery was magnificent. the great mass of mountains; curious ridges extending out from their flanks; the multitude of horizontal, parallel long roads following these; the little towns, san geronimo, san lucas--all were attractive. from the great slope opposite huauhtla, the view of the town was most impressive. before us opened a narrow valley, the depth of which we only realized after we had traversed it. an hour and a half was necessary for making the descent and the up-climb. from the point whence we were looking, the church, town-house, and clustered houses of the village were above us. below stretched a line of _nublina_, and beneath it the whole great mountain flank was checkered with the irregular brown and green fields belonging to the villagers. it was already five o'clock when we began the descent from this fine view-point, and, on our way down the slope and up the opposite slope to the village, we met great numbers of drunken indians,--as it was sunday,--usually a man and woman together. two of the men we met had been fighting, and were covered with blood; the face of one of them was livid with the blows which he had received. many of the parties were noisy and quarrelsome, and some of them showed a tendency to meddle with us, as we passed. [illustration] the greater portion of the journey had been over fine, dry roads; after we reached the knife-edge ridge, however, whenever there was a descent or ascent, we found the road of clay, moist and slippery; in the rainy season these bits would be bad enough. at this time of year they are due to the _nublina_, great masses of which we saw from the time we reached the crest-road, and, at times, we passed through great sheets of it which cut off all view and which soaked our clothing. upon our last descent and ascent, we were almost discouraged, and the last half-hour of our journey was made by the light of the moon, struggling through _nublina_. though it was dark, when we reached the village, we were impressed with the fineness of the municipal-house, the best constructed we have seen in an indian town. its location, near the edge of the mountain slope, giving a magnificent outlook over the great valley, is very fine. the houses of the mazatecs are picturesque. the walls are built of mud, or slabs or posts daubed with mud, while the roofs are thatched with palm. the ridge pole extends, at both ends, in projections which themselves are thatched, forming curious and striking horns. this same mode of thatch, picturesque in the extreme, is also used above the little granaries which are raised, on poles, several feet above the ground, in order to keep the contents from the attacks of animals. huauhtla is a large town. the village and its immediate dependencies have a population of . until lately the town was jealous of visits from outside, and little inclined to hospitality towards travellers. if this were formerly true, it has ceased to be so. we were received most heartily; the large and enthusiastic town government, after learning our errand, expressed their willingness to aid us in every way. they at once cleared a fine large room in the town-house for our occupancy, prepared four beds of boards covered with _petates_, and brought from the priest's house, hard by, blankets, sheets, and pillows for my own use. arrangements were also made for our eating with the priest, padre manzano, with whom we fared in truly regal fashion. in the days we stayed at huauhtla, there were no delays in our work and everything went in orderly fashion. it is true, our subjects for busts were an awkward and trying lot. the first subject broke the back-piece of the mould to fragments, and, when the plaster was being applied to his face, he opened his mouth and talked, opened his eyes, and drew out his nose-tubes, with the result that eyes, nose and mouth were all filled with the soft mixture, and it was all that we could do to clean him without damage. as for trying to take his bust again, that was quite out of the question. the second subject was all right, until the last application had been made, when he turned in the partly hardened mould with truly disastrous results. the third one acted so awkwardly that a piece of mould, which should have come off singly, was taken off in ten fragments. the dress of the mazatec women is elaborate and striking, both _enagua_ and _huipíl_ being made from the cotton woven by themselves. at the base of the _enagua_ is a broad and heavy band of wool, embroidered in geometrical patterns, the color being cochineal. above these bands, there are embroideries in the same colored wool, animal and human figures, and geometrical designs. unfortunately, cochineal, while brilliant, is by no means permanent, a single washing of the garment spreading the color through the white texture. the _huipilis_ are ornamented frequently with red, purple and crimson ribbons, bought in stores in the town, which are sewed to the garment in such a fashion as to divide it into rectangular spaces. these, in turn, are occupied with the elaborate large patterns in pink representing the eagle and other designs already described. it is uncommon among mexican indians to find a native use of silk. here, however, silk-worms are reared and carry-cloths, kerchiefs and belts are woven from their product. these are worn by both men and women. the mode of wearing the hair among the mazatec women is in two broad, flat braids hanging down the back. the women made no demur whatever to being measured, but everyone, who presented herself for the operation, came dressed in her best clothing, with her hair elaborately braided, and showed serious disappointment and dissatisfaction if not invited to be photographed. [illustration: mazatec women; huauhtla] [illustration: heavy braids; mazatec women; huauhtla] the town has a most curious reputation, as devoted to commerce, and not to manual labor. in fact, it is considered disgraceful for a man of huauhtla to indulge in work. the people of san lucas, the nearest town, and a dependency, are, on the other hand, notably industrious, and it is they who carry burdens and do menial work for the lordly huauhtla people. mrs. de butrie told us that she tried in vain to get a cook in the village. the woman was satisfied to cook and found no fault with the wages offered, but refused the job because it involved the carrying of water, and she feared lest she might be seen at such ignoble labor. mr. de butrie a while ago bought a set of shelves from a man who had them in his house. as they were dirty, he suggested that they must be cleaned before he would receive them. the seller said, very well, he would send for a man of san lucas to clean them. it was only lately that they condescended to carry stuff to teotitlan to sell. in the town-house they cherish two much-prized possessions, the _titulo_ and _mapa_ of the town. the former is the grant made by the spanish government to this village, in the year . it is an excellently preserved document in parchment and the old writing is but little faded. as for the _mapa_, it is a strip of native, coarse cotton cloth, seven feet by three feet nine inches in size, with a landscape map of the surrounding country painted upon it in red, yellow, black and brown. it is a quaint piece of painting, with mountains valleys, streams, caves, trees, houses, churches and villages represented on it with fair exactness. it was probably painted at the same time that the _titulo_ was given to the village. the morning after our arrival, we witnessed a quadruple indian wedding in the church at seven. the brides were magnificent in the brilliant _huipilis_, and the godmothers were almost as much so, with their fine embroideries. the ceremony was much like that at coixtlahuaca, already described. the bride put a silver ring upon the groom's finger, and he did the same by her; the priest put money into the man's hands, he transferred this to the woman, and she to the priest; single chains were hung about the neck of each of the party, both men and women; the covering sheet or scarf was stretched over all four couples at once, covering the heads of the women and the shoulders of the men. near the town-house, along the main street, is a series of sheds or shacks used as shops, altogether numerically disproportionate to the population. great was our surprise to find that one of these was kept by a frenchman, who spoke excellent english, and who is married to an english lady. they were the only white people living in this great indian town. monsieur de butrie has a coffee plantation in the valley a few miles away, at chichotla, but he finds the climate bad for himself and lady. accordingly, they had moved up onto the high land, and it is easy for him, when he must give attention to his _finca_, to go to it for the necessary time. they have some pretty children and are doing well. we called at their house, quite like the others of the town, and were hospitably received with chocolate and sweet english cakes. during our stay, this gentleman and his wife did their utmost for our comfort, and gave us many interesting bits of information regarding the people, their customs and their superstitions. we have elsewhere described in detail their witchcraft practices, their belief in transformation into tigers, and their ideas regarding the destiny and condition of persons after death. [illustration] [mazatec from san lucas] [illustration] [mazatec from san lucas] just across the way from the town-house, was a large house of the usual fashion, which we quickly learned was the rendezvous and practice-place of the town band. this consisted entirely of boys, none of them more than twenty years of age, and numbered upwards of thirty pieces. the leader was a man of forty, a capital trainer. the daily practice began at : in the morning, and was kept up until noon; then ensued an hour's rest. at one, they were again practicing, and no break occurred until long after dark. during the days that we were there, a single piece only was being practiced. it was our alarm clock in the morning, beat time for our work throughout the day, and lulled us to sleep when we retired for the night. señor de butrie insists that during the year and more than he has lived in the village, several boys have blown themselves, through consumption, into early graves. our pleasant stay at huauhtla came to an equally pleasant termination. having stated the number of animals and human carriers necessary, and the hour at which we wished to start, we found every preparation made on awaking in the morning, and at : , after an excellent breakfast with padre manzano, we sallied forth. six human carriers bore our busts and baggage, and four capital horses carried us rapidly over the good road. it was a magnificent morning, but later in the day, as the sun rose, it became hot. we arrived at three in the afternoon with our carriers close behind. the following morning we forgave the crabbed _cochero_ at teotitlan sufficiently to take his stage coach for san antonio, where we arrived in fifty minutes, having two hours to wait before the north-bound train took us towards puebla. [illustration] chapter xx tepehuas and totonacs ( ) leaving puebla on the early morning train, and taking the pachuca branch at ometusco, we changed cars at tepa onto the narrow-gauge hidalgo road for tulancingo, which took us by a winding course through a great _maguéy_ country. after two hours of riding, in the latter part of which we were within sight of a pretty lakelet, we reached tulancingo. broad avenues, bordered with handsome trees, connected the station with the town, in the _plaza_ of which we shortly found ourselves. this _plaza_ consists of a large square, planted with trees, with an open space before it, and is surrounded by various shops and the great church. it is pretentious, but desolate. in front of the treed space, were temporary booths erected for the carnival, in which _dulces, aguas frescas_, and _cascarones_ were offered for sale. hawkers on the streets were selling _cascarones_, some of which were quite elaborate. the simplest were egg-shells, dyed and stained in brilliant colors, and filled with bits of cut paper; these were broken upon the heads of persons as they passed, setting loose the bits of paper which became entangled in the hair and scattered over the clothing. some had, pasted over the open ends, little conical caps of colored tissue-paper. others consisted of a lyre-shaped frame, with an eggshell in the center of the open part. some had white birds, single or in pairs, hovering over the upper end. the carnival was on in full force, and we saw frequent bands of maskers. they went in companies of a dozen or so, dressed like clowns, with their clothing spotted and striped with red. their faces were concealed by cloth. they walked rapidly, almost ran, through the streets. they spoke to no one, and did nothing except to keep up a loud and constant trilling of the most ridiculous kind. packs of youngsters chased behind and crowded upon them; they also pelted them with stones, and the head of one of the maskers was bleeding quite profusely, but he still kept up his headlong run and trilling. we had counted upon the assistance of the _jefe_, but found him too dignified to receive us outside of office hours, and therefore we arranged the matter of our transportation to huachinango. the price was high, the coach inconvenient, and the _cochero_ unaccommodating. in vain we tried to have all of our plaster taken in the load with us; only one-half could go, the balance must follow the succeeding day. finally, at about ten in the morning, we lumbered heavily away, and were soon out of the town, passing through a brown, hilly district, at first devoted to _pulque_ plantations, but further along becoming fine pastureland. neat fields, separated by bands of yellow, unplowed stubble, and true farm-houses of good size, were striking features. we passed through quantities of pine groves, and everywhere a cold wind blew strongly in our faces. at one place, we were obliged to dismount and walk, on account of the sharp descent, and found ourselves upon an ugly piece of limestone or sandstone rock, which soon, to our surprise, we found replaced by a solid mass of obsidian. the _cochero_, says that the place is known as _itzlis_--the obsidians, the knives. it was : when we reached aguazotepec, where we called upon the _presidente_, and engaged a _mozo_, for a _peso_, to convey our instruments the balance of the journey, as we were completely tired out with carrying them upon our knees. we also arranged with that official to forward the balance of our stuff to huachinango the following day. we also arranged to pay for horses from aguazotepec to huachinango. having eaten an excellent dinner, when ready for resuming our journey, we discovered, with surprise, that the stage was still our conveyance to venta colorado, only a league from huachinango. there we were to secure the animals for which we had paid, though we were warned that only three could be supplied. manuel and louis at once tossed coins to see which should ride first. although we had paid the full cost of the coach, two other passengers were crowded in upon us, and the man, for whom we had paid the _peso_ to carry our instruments, ran alongside the coach on foot, throwing stones at the mules, while we had again the pleasure of carrying the instruments and boxes on our knees. the country through which we rode was much as before. for some time we passed through a fine pine forest; then we made a deep descent into a valley, at the bottom of which flowed a large stream, which was bridged by a grand old structure of stone and cement. this descent, and the opposite ascent, we were obliged to make on foot, as the approaches were bad. we have been impressed strongly with the fact that everywhere in mexico the worst bits of road are those which, in old spanish days, were handsomely and well paved; and which, during the disturbed period of the early republic, were neglected and allowed to go to decay. it is depressing to see so many evidences of past magnificence and present poverty. it was almost dusk when, after skirting the edge of a deep gorge, we reached a piece of bad road, where the coach with difficulty made its way, with frightful jolts and pitchings, till we drew up at venta colorado. here the coach was finally abandoned. our animals were packed and mounted, and after fussing and quarreling with our ugly _cochero_ as to whether he or we should carry the bulk of our baggage, we started. the distance was not great. it was down hill, and we had to pick our way with great care over the rough road, filled with loosened and separated blocks of ancient paving. this district, in one respect, reminded us of the tarascan country. every house along the road was a sales-place, where drinks, cigarettes, fruit and bread were offered, and each had the little boarded window, open when sales were solicited, and closed when business stopped. the houses, too, were log structures with shingled four-pitched roofs, and the houses in the town were well built, cement-walled, with low-sloped, far projecting tile roofs supported on trimmed beams. one might as well have been in patzcuaro, uruapan, or chilchota. again the _cochero_; we had told him that the stuff should go to the _jefatura_, and not to the hotel; he told us with great insolence that the _jefatura_ was closed, and that it would be impossible to see the _jefe_ and that the stuff would remain at the hotel; he followed us, when we went to the _jefe's_ house, and great was his surprise when he found our order efficacious. we had a long talk with the _jefe_, who told us that few indians lived in the town, and that none of them were totonacs; he assured us that, though there were no totonacs in huachinango, we could find them in abundance at pahuatlan, to which he recommended us to go. the nearest indian town to huachinango is chiconcuauhtla, but it is aztec. the next day was spent in town, waiting for our other baggage, and for the _jefe_ to arrange our orders and lay out our journey. my day of fever was on, and i spent it mostly in bed. there were many indians in the market, most of whom were aztecs, though a few were otomis. the men wore dark brown or black _cotones_; the _enaguas_ of the women were wool and were dark blue or black. many carried on their shoulders carry-pouches, consisting of two rectangular frames of sticks, corded together along the lower side, and kept from opening too widely, above, by a net of cords at the ends. the indians of chiconcuauhtla are easily recognized by their little flat, round caps. late in the afternoon the bands of maskers, here called the _huehuetes_, were out. there were a dozen of them, dressed in absurd costumes; a bewhiskered englishman in loud clothing, a gentleman, a clown, a lady, etc. these all went, by twos, on horseback; a clown and a devil and a boy with a prod, on foot, accompanied them. the duty of the latter, who remotely resembled death, was to prod the unhappy devil. they were accompanied by noisy crowds the several times they made the rounds of the town, keeping up the peculiar trilling, which we had noticed at tulancingo. at dusk, these maskers dismounted and promenaded in couples about the _plaza_. nowhere, as in this region, have we had so much difficulty with regard to animals. the demands were so exorbitant that we insisted upon the _jefe_ making the arrangements. he received us in anything but a pleasant mood, but acceded, and finally we secured four horses and four mules, for which we were to pay for two full days, and a foot _mozo_ to whom we also were to pay two full days' wages. as the _jefe_ himself had made this arrangement, we consented to it, but the man who was outfitting us then demanded pay for the _mozo_ who went to bring back the horses and for the fodder of the animals. at this, even the _jefe_ balked, declaring that he was not in favor of really robbing the gentlemen. paying him the seventeen dollars and twenty-five cents, in order that there might be no further discussion, we started. just as we left, the man who supplied the animals decided that our loads, which before had been so large, were really not too large for three mules, which number was actually sent with us, though we had paid for four. we were ready for starting at seven, but it was ten before we left. meantime, clouds had gathered, and just as we started, rain began. there were first several separate showers, and then a steady downpour, which lasted almost till we reached pahuatlan. all the blankets had been packed away, and we rode through the rain until our clothes were drenched through and through. for three hours this continued, and it was impossible to see anything of the country through which we passed. finally, however, as we reached a great crest, and looked down into the valley beyond, the sky was clear and we could see something of the scene about us. the descent we were to make, and the slope in front, were covered with sugar-cane, broken here and there by great patches of pineapples. with each plantation of sugar-cane there was a little shelter of poles under which was a sap-trough or boiling-tank, while at the side of and behind the shelter was a rude mill, the power for which was furnished by a yoke of oxen. boys fed the fresh cane between the crushing rollers, and the sap, as it ran out, was carried in little troughs to vats. not at all these little shelters was sugar-making in progress, as we passed, but over both slopes many columns of smoke indicated places where the work was going on. the fire in the vat kept the sap boiling, and a man standing near with a great ladle, pierced with holes, kept dipping up and pouring out the hot sap. when we started up the great ascent we had no hint of pahuatlan, and, when we reached the summit, could see nothing of it. but hardly had we begun the descent before we saw the large and handsome town below, but still with a long slope and a sharp ascent to be passed, before we could reach it. from the brook-side, at the bottom of the valley, almost to the village itself, we passed through a dense growth of bananas, which seemed to have suffered some damage, as many were dry and yellow, and individual leaves were curiously tattered and jagged. among them grew other plants, coffee, orange-trees, peaches, and cane. when we reached the town, my heart sank; a church with handsome dome and modern tower, a planted _plaza_ with central fountain, buildings, of two stories with gaudy fronts and _portales_, surrounding three sides of the square, augured better for comfort while we were in the place, than for work on totonacs. we rode up to the _municipio_, where we found the _presidente_, a rather stylish young fellow, who was interested in our work and helpful. the town controls fourteen thousand persons, and its name is derived from that of a large _ahuacate_, the aztec name of which is _pahuatl_. the _presidente_ assured us that there was no totonac town, properly speaking, within the limits of the _municipio_. for all this district, orozco y berra makes many errors. atla, which he lists as totonac, is really aztec. the _presidente_, upon a local map, showed us the interesting way in which natural barriers limit idioms. two little streams, coming together at an acute angle, may divide three languages--one being spoken in the angle and one on either side. in tlaxco, a small village in this _municipio_, four idioms are spoken--aztec, otomi, totonac and tepehua. two years before, just as my work was ending, we were in the great otomi town of huixquilucan, in the state of mexico. while resting at midday, i noticed a neatly-dressed and clean young indian, plainly not otomi, with whom i conversed. he was an aztec, and much interested in the work we were doing. in our conversation, he told me that i would find much of interest in the state of hidalgo, and particularly called my attention to the making of paper from bark, which he had observed in the town of san gregorio, two years before. this particularly interested me, and i then made notes regarding the method of getting to san gregorio. i was advised by him, in case of going to that place, to talk with don pablo leyra, of huehuetla, who was himself an indian and a man of consequence in the district--a sort of _cacique_ among his people. several years ago, i had first learned from señor eurosa, a mexican protestant clergyman, that in the little town of tlacuilotepec, there still survive interesting pagan practices. in planning our present journey, i had arranged to visit san gregorio and tlacuilotepec for the purpose of investigating this manufacture of paper and these pagan customs. inquiring of the _presidente_ of pahuatlan about his indians, i asked regarding paper-beating, and discovered that it was done at the nearest indian village of san pablito, otomi. we were told that bark of several species of trees was used--_jonote_, dragon, and mulberry; that the paper is usually made secretly and in-doors; that the passing traveller can hear the sound of light and rapid pounding as he passes through the village; that it is made in every house, and the proper season is when the sap runs, april to june; san pablito is the only village in the _municipio_ where it is made. it is used in _brujería_ (witchcraft); other paper can be bought much cheaper, but only this kind is serviceable. it is cut into _muñecos_; representing human beings and horses and other animals, and these are used to work injury to human beings and beasts, being buried in front of the house or in the _corral_. the judge, who was sitting by, told us that a prisoner brought before him for trial was found to carry such a paper figure, which was sewed through the body with thread and had its lips sewed also; he learned that this figure represented himself, and that the lips were sewed to prevent him from pronouncing judgment on the prisoner. they assured me that the nearest point for finding totonacs or tepehuas, in sufficient numbers for my purpose, was in the district of tenango del doria, where, at huehuetla, we would find the largest tepehua town, and that in pantepec, which is in the district of huachinango, and near huehuetla, we would find totonacs. we had had such ill success in locating totonacs so far, that, at our suggestion, they telephoned to the _jefe_ at tenango inquiring regarding the populations of huehuetla and pantepec, with the result that we decided to visit those towns. at tulancingo, we had been snubbed by the _jefe_, who would not treat with us outside of office hours. when the _presidente_ of pahuatlan took us to the house where arrangements had been made for our accommodation, we found a garrulous, simple-minded, individual who was set to clear our room and make our beds. to myself, as leader of the company, he was attentive and ceremonious in the highest degree, and on several occasions he took my companions to task for their ignorance regarding the proper deference to display toward me. he inquired whether we were acquainted with señor arroyo, _jefe politico_ of tulancingo, and then informed us, with pride that that gentleman was his "señor padre." "if so, señors, you may well ask why you see me thus dressed in _calzoncillos_. for two reasons: first, i am not a legitimate son, no, señors, my lady mother, who bore me was an otomi indian, but i am the acknowledged illegitimate son of my honored señor padre. second, i had the misfortune to be involved in trouble in the district of del doria, which forced me to flee from that district to escape the _jefe_. but, sir, my señor padre said to me, 'son, i am the _jefe politico_ of tulancingo and the governor of the state is pedro l. rodriguez; i am his intimate friend, and we shall succeed in ousting that _jefe_ in tenango del doria who has ordered your arrest.'" he also told us of one time, when his señor padre and an inspector visited that unfortunate district as an investigating committee, and found the _jefe_ guilty and put him in jail _incomunicado_. he also told us of the band of pahuatlan, justly famous, which made so great an impression in one town it visited, that it determined to go to tulancingo to serenade the _jefe_ of that district, his honored señor padre. "and i was invited, sir, not that i am a musician or know one note from another, but because i am of the family of the gentleman who was to be honored, and as a mark of distinguished favor to both members of the family. the band played so beautifully, that it was not allowed to stop until half-past-eleven at night, when it retired in great triumph." all this was very interesting, the first time it was told us, but the natural son remained while we ate supper, and afterwards, following us to our sleeping-room, kept up the repetition until two were already in bed and asleep and the others wished to be, when, finally, we turned him out and locked the door upon him for the night. we have stated that we paid for four animals to bring our baggage hither, while but three were actually employed; the animals, both pack and passenger, started on their journey for huachinango at half-past-four in the afternoon, though we had paid both beast and man two full days' wages. [illustration] [illustration] tlacuilotepec is a dependency of pahuatlan. we started for our day's trip thither on a good lot of animals, at eight o'clock in the morning, with two foot _mozos_ for carriers. the journey was delightful. for a little, we followed a trail down the left-hand bank of a fine ravine. nearly at the foot we struck to the left, through a little cut, and were surprised to find ourselves upon the right-hand slope of another gulf of immense depth. a few minutes later, we reached the point where the two streams united. and from there on, for a long time, we followed the bottom of a great gorge. the rock walls were bold and often sheer, and the upper line of mountain horizon was graceful and varied. the cliffs were mostly limestone, and presented remarkable examples of folding and dislocation. the long roots of trees, following exposed rock surfaces downward for yards, and twisting and bending to find lodgment in the crevices, were curious. great tufts of a plant with long, narrow, light-green leaves hung down along vertical rock faces. in little caverns, at the foot of cliffs, were damp spots filled with ferns and broad-leaved caladiums, and brilliant clusters of begonias in bloom. at several places, the water of springs or underground streams gushed forth, in natural rock-basins, or from under projecting ledges. at one spot, there was a dainty basin of limestone into which a pretty veil of spring water fell gracefully. we crossed and recrossed the stream many times. everywhere we were within sound of the creaking sugar-mills, and in sight of the ladling of boiled sap; everywhere we met _arrieros_ driving animals loaded with little loaves of native sugar; everywhere the forest was broken with little patches of sugar-cane, growing on the slopes. here and there, we saw cables slung across the streams, for passing cargoes at high water. at one place was a fine display of basaltic columns, the position of which was horizontal, the flow having come up as a sheet injected from below, and not as a surface out-flow, where the jointage would have been vertical. finally, leaving this beautiful ravine, we made a rapid ascent, passing a little village consisting almost wholly of a school, noisy with study, and a church, with a separate square tower. shortly after reaching the summit, and dipping slightly, we found tlacuilotepec. it is not a large town. at its center _mestizo,_ it has charge of several indian villages. we had been referred for information concerning surviving paganism to a señor martinez. we were interested in finding that the _presidente_ of the town was a brother of this gentleman, and that both were protestants. we were received with great cordiality, not only on account of our official introduction, but also because we brought an unofficial introduction from protestant friends. two charming beds were arranged in the little meeting-place in señor martinez's own house, and two others, almost as good, were secured for the others of the party, in the little _meson_ of the village. as we chatted, we were refreshed with a delicious orange-wine, which is made here, and during our days spent with don quirino, we had meals fit for a king. the indians under his charge are otomis, and in one little village, santa maria, totonac. when we came to inquire regarding the pagan practice for which we were searching, we learned that it was peculiar to the otomis, and formed their annual _costumbre_--custom. they believe that montezuma is to come again. meantime, from him come health, crops, and all good things. their _costumbre_ is a feast given in his honor, of which he is believed to partake. a _jacál_--hut--is prepared in a retired spot; a table is constructed full length of the house within, and upon this a feast is spread of which all partake. upon this table they place many _muñecos_ of paper; formerly these were made of the bark paper, but they are now made of ordinary paper bought in the stores. there may be so many of these that they cover the table an inch or two thick. the feasters shove money, usually small pieces of silver, beneath these figures. they then kill turkeys and hens and chickens, and sprinkle the blood from the headless bodies over the _muñecos_. this they do that montezuma may be propitiated, and give them what they desire; the money and the _muñecos_, sprinkled with blood, are left upon the table after the feast, the former being stolen by passing _mestizos_. the _presidente_ stated that, at the _pueblito_ of santa maria, where we should go upon the morrow to see some totonacs, they had just celebrated their annual _costumbre_. he said that it might be somewhat similar, as they had sent him a headless turkey, as a gift. in the morning, we visited this village accompanied by the two brothers. a half hour's ride brought us to the spot, from which one gets one of the most lovely views in all this picturesque country. standing on the end of a little spur upon which the village lies, one sees the handsome river below, which separates this _municipio_ from that of villa juarez. to the left, rise magnificent mountains covered with brilliant green vegetation, broken here and there by bare rock faces, from the base of which gentle slopes, extending down to the river, are covered with little corn-fields. cuauhtepec, a totonac pueblo, where all are said to dress in white, lies upon this stream, and immediately back from it the cultivated fields of the village stretch up to the very crest. to the right, is seen the little ranch tanchitla, with its fields, a strip of green forest separating these from the fields of the next village, tlapajualla. the stream abounds in fish of various kinds, which form an important food supply. they are, however, rapidly being destroyed by the practice of exploding dynamite cartridges in the water, by which not only the adult fish, but the young, of all ages, are killed. unless the practice soon ceases, and there are rigid laws against it, there will soon be no fish left in any of the streams of this whole region. this particular stream bears different names in different portions of its course--thus it is called tanchitla, pahuatlan, san marcos, caxones, xico, etc. having noticed that here, as at pahuatlan, the banana trees were badly injured, we learned that this havoc was the result of two recent hail-storms, which were felt over a wide area, and which were of almost unexampled severity. by the time we had enjoyed the outlook, and learned a little of the village, the messenger who had been sent to call the people together had performed his duty, and a picturesque group of our long-sought totonacs were at hand. the women wear _quichiquemils_ of native cotton cloth, the neck opening of which is over-hemmed with black wool. lines of crosses, rosettes, birds, etc., are worked in various-colored wools upon them. many of them have a broad line of color, in geometrical combinations, running vertically up the middle. the men wear _cotones_ of black and white. twenty-five or thirty of the more important men of the village were now taken to the schoolhouse, where the _presidente_ inquired, for me, in regard to the _costumbre_. at first a little hesitancy was shown, but soon all were interested and talked freely. the _costumbre_ comes at about the same time each year, though not upon a fixed date. its purpose is to secure health, good weather and crops for the coming year, though it may be held on the occasion of pestilence. everyone, even widows and old maids, brings something for the feast. the celebration is held in some large house, and lasts through two days; floral decorations are arranged in the four corners of the room, candles are lighted, and _copal_ is burned. the first day, each person brings a handful of earth from his field, which is placed in a heap upon the floor. fowls and animals are slaughtered for the occasion; their heads are cut off and their blood is sprinkled upon the earth. after feasting and drinking, a dance follows, the dancers wearing crowns and necklaces of yellow arnica flowers, and carry in their hands wands made of pine-splints wrapped with corn-husks, and with a flower of arnica tied to each end. the second day, corn on the ear and beans are brought instead of earth, and these are sprinkled with blood. on both days, blood-sprinkled material is carried home, and the seed and earth are later put into the field. in the feasting-room, two paper lanterns are hung from the ceiling; these are stuck over with gilt and colored paper disks and stars. they represent the sun and stars. upon these lanterns a cross of blood is made, at the time when the earth and seed are sprinkled. after the dance ends on the second day, children shoot at the lanterns with small arrows and try to break them. disappointed that no mention had been made of bark paper in connection with this ceremonial, we asked whether they ever used it. they answered promptly in the affirmative. for what? to wrap _ocotes_. with this, the man who told me hastened out and came back with a little parcel in his hand. this consisted of twelve little sticks of pine about three inches long; they were tied together with a band of thread or bark fibre, and were stained with blood; these were wrapped in a piece of green banana leaf, the upper face of the leaf being placed inside and the base of the leaf kept downward. when it had been thus carefully folded, it was carried to the field and buried in a hole, carefully dug, so that the top of the package was close to the surface of the ground, and the face of the leaf wrapping was directed toward the rising sun. to anyone who has studied american indian religions, these two _costumbres_ suggest much of interest. the young man who had been most interested in our proper understanding of the _costumbre_ was anxious that we should see the village idols. these are kept concealed, apparently in a cave, though it is possible that they are buried in the ground. at all events, they exist, and in considerable number. a lively discussion ensued as to whether it would be proper to show them to us, and it was decided that nothing ought to be done until the old woman, who is at the head of the pagan practices of the village, should be present. it seems that in the _costumbre_, already described, there are four priests or leaders. one of these is the old woman just mentioned, and the other three are men. she was sent for, and while we waited, we were told that, if we desired to see the lanterns that were used in the last _costumbre_, they were still preserved in the _santocalli. santocalli_ is a mongrel word--from spanish _santo_, saint, and the aztec _calli_, house. it was a little structure of adobe and canes, close to the schoolhouse, and fronting with it upon the little _plaza_ of the village. it had a two-pitched thatched roof and a single door in the front. after some demur, it was opened, and we entered. it consisted of a single plain room with two benches made of beams along the wall. at the back was a terrible christ and virgin, and, to the right and behind, another virgin. these virgin figures were both small and unattractive, and both wore _quichiquemils_. in front of the christ and larger virgin was a simple altar built against the wall. in the floor, directly in front of it, were four small hollows. to the right of the altar, a flat stone was set into the floor. in front of the altar stood a small table on which were censers and candle-sticks. underneath this table, the space between the four legs was occupied by a heap of ashes; in front and behind this were ill-defined basin hollows. to beams in front of these were hung the almost globular paper lanterns already mentioned. when we had seen these lanterns, and were about to leave, the old _bruja_ appeared, with her female acolyte. she was furious over the desecration of strangers entering the _santocalli_, without her presence. she was a striking figure; very small, with a wrinkled, shrewd and serious, but not unkind, face; her white hair was almost concealed by her _rebozo_, which was folded square and laid upon her head with a portion flowing behind. the most striking thing was her great devotion, and complete unconcern regarding all around her. entering, she hastened to the altar, knelt,--touched her forehead to the edge--and in a clear but not loud voice crooned an impassioned cry to christ, to san jose and to the virgin. imperiously turning to her acolyte, she seized the censer filled with copal, and, having lighted it, incensed the figures. turning to the _presidente_, she asked whether he were going to placate the saint for invasion by giving _aguardiente_ and candles, both of which appeared, as if by magic, when she was given money. pouring _aguardiente_ from the bottle into a glass, she poured into the four basins in the ground before the altar, before the virgin, before and behind the heaps of ashes under the table, and then placed it to the lips of the virgin and christ, lovingly requesting them to partake. she then compelled each of the three men priests to make the same libation. taking the unlighted candles, she made passes with them, over and across the figures, first to one side and then to the other, brushing the wicks against them. this, too, had to be done by the three assistants, after which the old lady began to make vigorous personal use of the bottle of spirits, though she was not at all selfish, urging, not only her acolytes, but the _presidente_, his brother, and the chief guest, to partake. it was too late to suggest a visit to the idols, but the curious scene we had witnessed gave sufficient food for thought. hurrying back to tlacuilotepec, we ate a last excellent dinner, which had been long waiting, and at three left for pahuatlan. our host, who had been unremitting in his attention, refused all money. at certain indian houses which we passed upon our homeward way, we saw curious pouches made of armadillo-shells, hanging upon posts or on the house walls. we learned that they were used at planting-time for holding seed-corn. when the shell is freshly removed from the animal, it is bent into the required shape, and then packed full with wet ashes, to make it retain its form in drying. though it was half-past three when we left, the way was so cool and delightful that we made the journey in three hours. during our day at pahuatlan, with a guide furnished by the _presidente_, i made the journey on foot to atla, an aztec town, famous for the little cotton sacks with red wool patterns, which are almost universally carried by men throughout this district. white _cotones_, with narrow, dark stripes and a transverse band of red decoration at each end, and white _quichiquemils_, decorated with brilliant designs in red wool, are also made here. our object was not so much to see the village and the garments, as to visit a famous witch's cave, situated in the noble pinnacle of rock, plainly visible from pahuatlan. the whole party started out from pahuatlan, but at the bottom of the great slope, i left my companions to swim, while the guide and i, crossing a pretty covered bridge, scarcely high enough for a man of my height wearing a _sombrero_, went on. it was a long climb to the village, but, when we reached there, my _mozo_ with great glee called my attention to _bruhería_ directly at the side of the church. in front of the building, to the right of the door as one enters, is a hole in the ground, into which a few large stones have been clumsily thrown or laid. here chickens, flowers, eggs, etc., are buried, in order to secure good luck or to restore health. carefully removing some of the stones, we saw ample evidences of such offerings, in bones, bits of egg-shells, and dried flowers. from here, the climb was easy to the crest overlooking the village, and to the curious tower-like mass projecting conspicuously from it. the cave is situated in this mass of rock and faces almost east; it is a shallow cavern, well-sheltered and dry, perhaps fifty feet wide along the cliff's front, though only the eastern third, which is the more completely worn out, is used for ceremonies; it is, perhaps, no more than eight or ten feet deep, and has greater height than depth. within the cave itself we found a little table, a small chair, and two blocks for seats. on either side of the table, a pole was set obliquely against the wall. the upper end of the left-hand pole was tied with a strip of palm which was looped through a hole in the rock wall. at two or three other places, strips of palm had been slipped through natural holes in the wall, behind bars of stone, and then tied. to the left, were a censer and two candle-sticks, behind which, lying obliquely against the wall, were twenty-five or thirty dance-wands. these were sticks wrapped with corn-husks and tufted with clusters of flowers tied about the middle and at each end. the flowers used were mostly the yellow death-flower and purple ever-lastings. two or three of them were made with the yellow death-flower--_cempoalxochil_--alone. a few were made of _xocopa_ leaves. while only twenty-five or thirty were in position, hundreds of old ones lay on the bank to the left. three small crosses of wood were placed near the wands; much white paper, clipped and cut into decorated designs, was lying about, as also wads of cotton, colored wools, long strings of yarn, and bits of half-beaten bark fibre. near the front edge of the cave was a hole with large stones; here, with a little scratching, we found feathers and bits of bone of turkeys and hens, that had been sacrificed, as well as splints of pine tied together with bark string. wooden spoons, probably used in the banquets of the witches, were stowed away in crevices of the rock. chains of the yellow death-flower were looped up against the wall. it is said that the people of the town never enter here, but only _brujas_. nor is it the exclusive property of the witches of atla, of whom there are but two or three, but those of several pueblos make their rendezvous in this cave. in fact, from the crest, we could see two other little towns that are interested in this cave, though located in another valley. [illustration: the pagan priestess and her acolyte; santa maria] [illustration: the witch's cave at atla] don antonio, at whose house we stayed, told us that san pablito is worse for _bruhería_ than atla. he says the people of that town make use of _muñecos_ of wood, of various sizes. for these he makes many little shoes, for which he charges five or six _reales_ a pair; at that time he had orders for three pairs, and showed us the little forms or lasts he employs, and the special leather; they are particular about this, using black for shoes for males and red for females. he says they also use little hats, _serapes, enaguas_ and _quichiquemils_, for their _muñecos_. some of these dolls they place on the altar in the church, and consider them as sacred, though they remove them when they expect the priest. others they take to a lake in the district of tenango, near san pablo el grande, and leave them there as offerings. they also throw money and other offerings into the lake. we started at eight o'clock the following morning, bound for tenango del doria. for a little time, after leaving pahuatlan, we mounted, soon finding ourselves at the top of a magnificent crest. from here the descent was rapid and profound; in front of it rose an equally abrupt slope to an even greater height; toward the left this presented a wonderful knife-edge crest, jagged and toothed astonishingly, and on this great slope, below the level where we were, we saw san pablito, prettily located. as it was sunday, most of the people were on their way to market, and we saw many otomis, whose dark color and broad faces reminded us of those in the state of mexico, though they did not present so marked a type. the _enaguas_ of the women consisted of an upper white strip and a lower striped one, the colors in the latter being blue and white, or white with a broad band of purplish blue, in which were woven white designs. their _quichiquemil_ was usually rather plain; white with a broad band of red, magenta or purple, parallel to the edge. it might, however, be decorated with a number of very small geometrical, floral, and animal figures, worked in brown, purple and blue, which were never so crowded as to destroy the white background. at : we reached the schoolhouse and called out the teacher, to whom we delivered a letter which the _presidente_ of pahuatlan had given us for him. he summoned the town authorities and we made known our wish to see some of the bark paper. at first there was some hesitancy, but, at last, an old woman produced two sheets which, she said, she made the day before. at our wish she then brought out the _tabla_, or board of wood on which the beating is done, and the stone for beating. the latter was smaller than the ancient beating-stone, and not grooved upon the beating surfaces; it had, however, the side notches for convenient holding in the hand. the board on which the beating is done is smooth, and is constantly cleaned and soaped. two kinds of bark are used, _moral_ and _xalama_, the former giving white, the latter a purplish paper. the bark is thoroughly washed with lye-water taken from soaked maize; it is then washed with fresh water and thoroughly boiled; it is split into thin strips which are carefully arranged upon the board. first the border is laid out the size of the sheet to be made; then, within this, strips are laid lengthwise, side by side. all of this is then beaten with the stone until the sheet of paper results. the paper when finished, presents two sides quite different from each other; one, smooth and finished, is the surface that was below in the beating, while the other, rougher, is the one that was beaten with the stone. the sheets are dried in the sun, carefully folded into convenient size, and done up in packages of a dozen, which are sold to the indians in all the country round about. we secured seventeen dozen sheets of this paper, and samples of the bark, and the board and stone used in the beating. while arrangements were being made for showing us these details regarding paper-making, we visited the village church, which was very mean and bare; we were disappointed to find nothing suspicious in the way of _muñecos_. it was suggested that we should visit the _oratorio_, where we found more. here they held their _costumbre_ in june, or thereabouts. saints were arranged in the back of the room on a raised altar; in front of this, running through the middle of the room, was a table on which stood censers and small candle-sticks of rude pottery. upon the wall, over the saints, were decorations of rushes. here the whole village feast and dance. there were no _muñecos_ present, but we found plenty of cut paper, most of which was probably decorative; the most curious was cut into groups of human figures, some of which had crowns and horns, or tufts of hair, upon the top of their heads. these were said to be decorations for montezuma, in whose honor the feast was given. leaving san pablo at eleven, we rapidly made what remained of the great ascent. as we neared the jagged crest of rock, it appeared more irregularly gashed and pinnacled than ever. at the crest, leaving the old road, which passed directly through the fantastic mass of rocks, we reached san nicolas, from which, on looking backward, we gained a magnificent view of the valley and a fine waterfall, which shone like a sheet of polished metal, far up the mountain side. from here our road descended gently, but winding, in and out, through a series of narrow valleys, lying between parallel ridges. as we passed the crest, we saw a level field of green corn, which looked as if we must reach it in a few minutes. but the curves of the road proved frightfully long. it was after two o'clock before we reached the green field, and, just below it, tenango del doria, and made our way to the _jefatura_. when the _jefe_ came, we found, to our surprise, that he was the don pablo leyra of whom xochihua had told us two years before. he is a pure indian, tall, smooth-faced, of gentlemanly manner, and with all the reserve characteristic of his race. he has lived at huehuetla since boyhood, forty-four years, till just now, and has but recently come to take the position of _jefe politico_. he has not yet moved his family from huehuetla, and occupies a single room in his office-building. he secured us a pleasant room, with good beds for the older, and good mattresses for the younger, members of our party, in a house near-by upon the hill. the _jefatura_ fills one side of the little _plaza_; around the other side are _tiendas_, with high-pitched single roofs, and private houses. the town suffers much from _nublina_, and is cold most of the time. [illustration: indians fishing in stream] [illustration: paganism and christianity] we asked don pablo about the lake, concerning which we had heard. he says it is not as much visited as formerly. while used by otomis, and others of this district, it is most favored by the huaxtecs, parties of whom go there from long distances. they visit it when there is drought, for fear that the siren, who lives in it, is annoyed at their neglecting to make gifts; when there is too copious rain, they visit it to beg her to desist from sending more, and, when crops have been destroyed, to placate her anger. sometimes two or three hundred indians are in these companies. they bring _muñecos_ of wood, cloth, clay, or even metal; such are shod, clad and hatted. they leave these upon the shore. they also bring seeds and strew them in the water, and some throw money in. they also make offerings of turkeys and hens. sometimes these bands spend several days on the shore, dancing and eating. we found that don pablo had arranged all our plans. we were to leave at nine, dine at twelve at san bartolo, leave there at one, and reach huehuetla between five and six. it was really only a quarter-past-nine when we did start, and the _jefe_, himself, saw us on our way. the journey was uneventful; the descents were gradual; we saw san bartolo long before we reached it; and, between it and us, there lay a valley, like a narrow gash, down which we had to go, and up the other side of which we had to climb. we passed santa maria, an insignificant town, just before reaching the edge of this gully. from there we saw, in the mountain ahead, above and behind san bartolo, a great cavern which we believe must belong to witches. arriving at san bartolo, we found the market in full progress, and had ample opportunity to see the characteristic dress of the women, with the little black, red and purple designs embroidered upon the white ground. we were impressively received at the town-house, for don pablo had telephoned them to be ready. still, we waited a long time for the promised dinner, but at half-past-one climbed up a steep hill, in the rear of the town-house, to the home of the _presidente's_ father, where a very elaborate meal had been prepared, with wine and luxuries. all payment was refused, and, after we had rested and refreshed ourselves, we left at half-past-two. the road was long; it followed the side of a great gorge, into which it descended abruptly; in this gorge we saw magnificent vegetation. the trees were heavily hung with long vines and ferns; parasitic fig trees, hugging victims whose life sap they were stealing, were abundant. the country was of limestone. on the whole, the road was good, but, here and there, were patches where we traveled over sharp and jagged out-croppings of rock, and near huehuetla we were forced to make some stiff climbs up the cliff sides. flocks of parrots were numerous, especially toward evening. the stream was a handsome one, with clear, deep water; we crossed and recrossed many times. the foot-paths rarely crossed, being cut sometimes, as a narrow trail, in the rock of the cliff. noticeable were numerous silvery lines of water falling over the cliff, several of which must have been hundreds of feet in height; these little threads of water were impregnated with lime, and deposited material in a sheet upon the bank over which they flowed, so that trails of brown tufa marked their location; the lower ends of these deposits expanded into fan-like masses of tufa, over which the water trickled, dripped or fell. where there was not sufficient water to produce a stream and fall, but enough to keep the tufa moist, the growth of ferns, and other delicate vegetation, was brilliant and striking. we passed a number of coffee and sugar ranches on the road. it was dark long before we reached huehuetla, and had it not been for the moonlight struggling through the clouds, we should have had difficulty in traveling the last portion of the road. at : we arrived, and went at once to the large and handsome house of don pablo himself, where we were expected, and where an elaborate supper was being made ready. the largest room in the house was put at our disposal and good beds and cots, beautifully clean and carefully made, were ready. formerly, don pablo was the _presidente_ of the town. his successor was at the house to meet us, within five minutes after our arrival, and took supper with us. it is needless to say that in this town we met with no delays in our work. to our surprise, we found a fellow countryman, a civil engineer named culin, from philadelphia, who has done and is doing much work for the pueblos of this region. huehuetla is a large town, occupying a long valley hemmed in between mountains and bordering a stream. the streets are regular, and the view from the hills about, looking down upon the well-built houses and the intersecting streets, is very pretty. the houses have substantial walls of stone and mud, and many of them are white-plastered outside; all have a thick and heavy thatch. the _plaza_ lies before the house where we stopped, and, to the right, the large church stands on a terrace somewhat above the town. a large school building, finer than many of the best in some large cities, was just being finished; its construction was due to don pablo's influence, and it was soon to be occupied. meantime, the children were given instruction in the church, and at noon and evening, when their lessons were closed, they marched in double file, down the flight of steps in front of the church and across the _plaza_, where they separated and made their way home. during the time that we were working at this town, when the school children filed past, they always removed their hats in the most respectful manner. while there are many _mestizos_ in the town, it may truly be called an indian town, the largest of those belonging to the tepehuas. according to orozco y berra, tepehua is not related to any other language in mexico. we have not studied it sufficiently to be sure that he is right; it is, however, certain that the language has been much affected by the totonac, if it is not related to it, and many words in the two languages are the same. the people of this tribe have a great reputation, more or less deserved, for cleanliness; probably it is comparative, contrasting with the neighboring otomis, rather than positive. however that may be, both men and women are usually dressed in clean white clothing. the _enaguas_ of the women are plain white; their belts have a foundation of white cotton, but raised designs of black wool are so thickly worked upon them that the white is quite inconspicuous. the _camisas_ and _quichiquemils_ are generally white, with a vertical band of red, and with a few animal figures. women wear many necklaces of bright beads, and braid their hair into two braids, which end with tapes of various colors,--brown, red, green, maroon, and black. these braids are brought together over the head and knotted in place. we secured no women for measure until we had practically completed the work with men, when they came with a rush, the whole twenty-five at once, dressed in their best clothing, and insisted that the work must be done inside the schoolhouse, out of sight, instead of on the street, where we had operated on the men. we had no opportunity to see any of the popular _danzas_, in some of which, we were told, songs were sung in the tepehua language, but we did see examples of the little _teponastls_, or drums, used on these occasions; they are made from a round block, perhaps ten inches long and three inches in diameter; these are hollowed out below, so that two thin lips only are left above, which, when struck, give out far more musical tones than one might expect. the two nights that we were at huehuetla, we saw men and women fishing in the stream; carrying blazing torches in their left hands, they waded out into the water and watched to see the dark bodies of the fish against the pebbly bottom of the stream; in the right hand they carried a _machete_, about a foot in length, with which they stabbed the fish, rarely missing. we were now ready for the last tribe of the season, the totonacs of pantepec. pantepec is in the district of huachinango, and we had no order from the _jefe_; don valentino, the _presidente_ of huehuetla, said, however, that the _presidente_ of pantepec was his friend, and that he would give us a letter of introduction, which would serve all purposes. as we were to return by huehuetla, we left the busts which we had made, and all but our most necessary baggage, at don pablo's house. though we started at ten, we took the journey slowly, photographing and hunting birds. the road was a trail in a ravine, with all the beautiful scenery with which we now were so familiar. at one point we saw a curious phenomenon. the cliff rose vertically from the water's edge, at a place where the stream made a right angle; this cliff consisted of almost horizontal strata of varying hardness, so that some of the layers were worn a little more than others, leaving these projecting. in the space between these projecting layers, round river-pebbles, from the size of hen's eggs up to the size of a man's fist, were firmly wedged, so that it was with difficulty that they could be dislodged. not a few, but hundreds of the pebbles, were thus wedged, so regularly and firmly that we could not believe the work to be that of nature, but suspected human hands. we learned, however, that nature really had done the work, on the occasion of a flood, the result of a cloud-burst, which swept into the valley two or three years before. at several places in this stream, we saw groups of from two or three to ten or twelve totonac indians, who were fishing with little nets. our trail led back and forth across this stream many times, and before we reached pantepec we had made thirty-nine crossings. from our last crossing, we climbed a steep ascent, passing the little village of tenasco, and found ourselves at pantepec. we rode at once to the town-house, and were told that the _presidente_ was sleeping; we went then to his house, where we were informed that he could not be disturbed. we left word that we must see him as soon as possible, and that he would find us at the _municipio_. nearly three hours passed before he put in his appearance. inasmuch as we had seen this man's _jefe_, and he knew our errand, we told the _secretario_ to send a message for us to him at huachinango. we carefully wrote out the message for forwarding, in which we told the _jefe_, that we had waited three hours for attention from the town officials, and asked how much longer we should put up with delay. we never heard his answer, but in less than ten minutes, the _presidente_, covered with perspiration, was waiting for our orders and every policeman or the force was ready for our bidding. the message he received from the _jefe_ must have been vigorous, for not only was everything done for our comfort, but work was rushed. during the next day we measured ninety-eight men, photographed twelve subjects, and made moulds for all our five busts--an unparalleled day's labor. we were fortunate in one respect--that the men had been summoned that day for public labor. so far as men were concerned, they gave no difficulty as subjects. with the women it was different, and full half a day was taken in getting together our twenty-five types; not but what there were plenty of them, for our second day at pantepec was market-day, and the _plaza_ was gay with women, but they did not wish to be measured, and the whole town force, from _presidente_ to the meanest _topil_, was afraid to meddle with them; at first, too, we had none but the most wretched cases, women broken down and worn out with years of labor. when nearly half our number had passed through our hands, and all presented this same unsatisfactory type, we were forced to make a sharp remonstrance, and only so did we get fair samples of young and middle-aged women. at pantepec the centre of the town is _mestizo_; the indians consist of otomis, of whom there are thirty households, and totonacs forming the bulk of the population. it is easy to distinguish the women of the two tribes by the difference in dress. the _quichiquemils_ are particularly picturesque. both are more heavily loaded with embroidery than any indian garments we had ever seen, but the styles of the two decorations are completely different. the _quichiquemils_ of the otomis are smaller and completely covered with red and black embroidery; those of the totonacs are much larger, and portions of the white foundations may still be seen, notwithstanding the heavy patterns in brilliant colors--red, green, yellow and blue. mothers put babies onto one side, with their little legs astride a hip, and then tie them firmly in place with an _ayate_, or carry-cloth, of cotton, thus leaving their hands free for work or other burdens. if we had difficulty measuring the totonac women, we had still greater difficulty in photographing satisfactory groups of them. neither pleadings nor bribes on our part, orders nor threats on the part of the officials, had much influence. pantepec is a large town, situated near the edge of the great mountain mass, and looking across a valley, which is backed by what appears to be a flat-topped, straight-edged, table mountain. the houses of the town are scattered over a considerable area upon the slope. the walls are of poles, heavily daubed with mud which is neatly and smoothly laid on. the corners of this mud covering are rounded, instead of angular, as usual elsewhere. the thatch is heavy and firm, and squarely cut along its lower edge, where it projects far beyond the walls. the _plaza_ is above the town-house, and is extremely ugly; a kiosk, which certainly can lay no claim to beauty, stands in the centre; ugly shacks, used as _tiendas_, border a part of it along the main road. striking, at this time, in the village were the _colorín_ trees, some of which occurred in almost every enclosure; they were in bloom, and had long, slender, flaming-red, cigarette-shaped flowers, which appeared before the leaves, from trunks that were gnarled and brown and almost branchless. many popular _danzas_ are celebrated here, but none was taking place during our stay. san gregorio, the town of paper-making, is not far from pantepec, and large quantities of the bark paper are beaten in the little village of ixcoyotla, which belongs to this _municipio_. asking an old otomi whether he knew about this paper, he answered us, with great cunning, that we probably knew as much of it as he did. he finally condescended to state that the _muñecos_ of it were used in curing disease; that anyone who has a disease secures one of these _muñecos_ and applies it to the diseased part. the _presidente_ insisted that this paper was not made from _jonote_, but from _uli_, and that formerly it was much used in making strong and durable belts. [illustration] in starting back the next morning, we went down a different slope from the one by which we had come, with the result that we had to cross the stream five times more than before, making the full forty-four crossings, of which we had been warned by culin while we were at huehuetla. we made our way leisurely, stopped when we pleased, and at one point noticed a cave, which we had not seen before, just across the stream, at a point where it was at its deepest. the cave was so near the water's edge, that it could only be approached from the stream. the boys swam across and entered it to see if perchance they might find some of the paper figures used in _bruhería_. they found little of interest within; the walls and rocks were marked with crosses, and on the floor were hundreds of little sticks cut to various lengths. we were glad, indeed, to reach don pablo's house, to eat his good supper, and to occupy his good beds. before we went to bed, doña panchita suggested that we ought to see certain _muñecos_ kept by a man named diego, and used as idols by the village. accordingly, she sent orders that the man should bring his _muñecos_ to the house for us to see. to this request, he returned the proper reply, that he would not do so; that they would be offended; that they were not toys to be carried about at the nod and beck of everyone. this greatly increased our interest, and we arranged for a trip to his house. we first sent a messenger forward, with word that we were coming, and ordered him to stay there to see that diego did not run away or hide the idols. after supper, doña panchita, our company, mr. and mrs. culin, and one or two others, picked our way by moonlight across the stepping-stones and foot-bridge, up a trail by coffee groves along a purling brook-side. we were soon at the house, and after some hesitation, diego led us to the holy of holies. the _muñecos_ were kept in a little house, which contained an altar built of boards, with fresh flowers for decoration. at the back of the altar, against the wall, were prints of christian saints; on the altar were censers and an open bundle of _copal_. two wooden boxes were at the right end of the altar, against the wall. these contained _muñecos_ which, for some time, diego hesitated to produce. finally he took out an idol of rather fine-grained, brownish-gray stone; the head was large and infantile, with the mongolian cast of countenance; its badly shaped and scrawny arms were raised so as to bring the hands together on the chest; the body was shapeless. this figure was clad in a suit of unbleached cotton, much too long and slender for it, and the arms of the _camisa_, and the legs of the _calzones_ hung limp. when we had duly admired this figure, a second was produced--a pottery female-head, fairly shaped, with no body to speak of; this had glass earrings fastened in the ears. next, a small headless figure was brought out; it was old, though probably made after the conquest, and we agreed that it represented a _padre_. next was a simple pottery head. last was a figure, with small head and pointed cap, made apparently of pottery; the body had been pieced out to disproportionate length with wood, and ended in a pair of wooden feet; this was dressed in black velvet, and wore a black hat. these, diego asserted, were all he had. after having expressed our delight with them, and our regret that we had not known what we were to see, that we might have brought with us some fine white _copal_ as incense for these gods, we set them up in a straight line on the edge of the altar to make a flashlight picture. as we left, we gave diego two _reales_ to spend for the benefit of his gods. after we left, we were assured that he had finer ones of black stone, which he dresses in red, but we were content with the ones we had seen. these figures are particularly used on september th, san miguel's day. they are also used at sowing-time, at harvest, and at the first cutting of sugar-cane. on these occasions, incense and candles are burned, the idols are taken in the hands, and to the sound of music, worshippers move the figures, causing them to dance. pleased with this, they give good rains to the faithful worshippers. when there is too much rain, they go in procession to the river, playing music and dancing dolls; when arrived, they peg down many _ayates_ and sacks, made for the purpose, into the water against the flow. these are dams, to stay the flood. on the other hand, when there is drought, a procession carries the idols to a cave, where a feast is given and a dance, with wands of flowers carried in the hands, indulged in. though the price for animals from huehuetla to las tortugas was exorbitant, we had agreed to pay it--but told the man that, if he left later than six, it should be cut two dollars. it was long after eight before they appeared, and then it was only our own animals that were ready. we were forced to leave the packing to be done by the man himself without direction; we ourselves hurried along the trail, hardly stopping at san bartolo on the way, arriving at tenango at : . our animals were fagged, and we were soaked to the skin, having travelled through _nublina_ most of the afternoon. don pablo received us with his usual courtesy, and had arranged for us to sleep at the same house, where we had been before. at bed-time, our man with the mules had not appeared, and we had received most contradictory and discouraging statements regarding him. he had started at nine with two mules and left half our stuff for another day; he had been seen at the river near san bartolo with two mules heavily loaded, unable to proceed; he had concluded to stop at san bartolo for the night, to push on to tenango the next day, and reach las tortugas on the third. dissatisfied and uncertain, we went to bed; still, we determined to leave at five, and so gave orders to our _mozo_. we rose at : and the horses were ready before five. contradictory stories were again told us regarding our animals. some said the man had passed with them at five o'clock; others that he had not yet come; others that he had spent the night at santa maria. our foot _mozo_ did not come, and sending the rest ahead, i waited for him. hardly had they started, when ramon galloped back to announce that the man was in town, that he had three animals and was nearly ready to leave. as he, himself, had told us that he must leave tenango at three in order to reach las tortugas in time for the train, this was not reassuring. ramon hastened on with the party. at six the _mozo_ appeared and started at once. in a few minutes we passed our _arriero_ who was packing, but not ready to start. i urged him to hasten, but did not wait. mist had settled during the night, but it was now rising, and we could see the scenery, which, in wildness and beauty, was almost the equal of anything in mexico, though with a character quite its own. our trail ran along the side of a precipice; to our left rose great cliffs presenting almost vertical faces of smooth rock; the summits were jagged, and suggested that the mass consisted of stratified rocks tilted up on end. just as we left town, two narrow and lofty parallel rocks suggested a gate-way. further down, a mass was worn out into a sharp column, a little separated from the rock mass behind. on the right, was the precipice, ever abrupt, and sometimes the almost vertical bank of a yawning chasm. after an hour and a half over the fairly good road, we came to a grand ascent. it was magnificent, though difficult. in some spots the road was muddy, and at others it was a series of rough stone steps; at still others, it was the unmodified bed of a mountain torrent. as we followed up this gorge, side-gorges joined it, in which we glimpsed pretty cascades, pits worn by little falls, trees, the trunks of which were covered with thick sheets of green moss, quantities of tree-ferns blighted by the late frost, cliffs, and wild forms of rock, in wonderful variety. at last i reached the summit and overtook manuel, whose horse was completely fagged, and who had been forced to drop behind; for some time we saw the others before us, but somewhere they took a different trail, and we saw them no more. after a considerable descent, we made our final but easy rise. from here we were on a level road, which constantly improved until near mepetec, while beyond it, we came to a true cart-road. from here a fine view presented itself, over a forest of pine trees to the clean brown plain so typical of hidalgo, swept, as we soon found, by the equally typical hidalgo wind. we rode rapidly from the _herrería_ of the trinidad to metepec, and then to las tortugas, where we arrived at : , having been five hours and a half upon the road. to our surprise, louis and ramon were not there. having waited some time, as it was almost the hour for the train, we ordered dinner for two, but before we had begun to eat the others appeared. they had taken a short road, which did not go by metepec, and travelled slowly that we might overtake them. after a good meal, we waited for our man with the pack animals. meantime the train was preparing, and we watched it, realizing that if we missed it, we had a day of dust and scorching sun and heavy wind before us. the train's crew made all ready, the cry of "_vámonos_" was given, and we settled down in desperation to await our tardy man. an hour after the train left, he arrived, received his fee less the two dollars, and started homeward. twenty-three hours later we took the train, and our season's work was done. [illustration] chapter xxi in the huaxteca ( ) the scenery on the tampico branch was at its best, as there had been recent rains, and everything was fresh and green. at tampico, we resisted the attractions of the hotels "where americans always stop," and went to the unpretentious pan cardo. here we were comfortably located, and early the next morning tried to define our plans. we were in uncertainty as to what towns we should visit in order to examine the huaxtecs. the ancient huaxtecs were among the most interesting of mexican tribes. they are a northern offshoot of that great family, of which the maya of yucatan is the type. the linguistic relationship is evident upon the most careless comparison. the ancient area occupied by the huaxtecs was near the gulf of mexico, and on both sides of the panuco river, near the mouth of which some of their important centres were located. to-day mexicans divide the huaxteca into two parts,--the huaxteca veracruzana and the huaxteca potosina--the former in the state of vera cruz, the latter in the state of san luis potosi. at first, we thought to visit the latter, but the difficulty of reaching it was presented so forcibly, and the ease of reaching the huaxteca veracruzana so emphasized, that we determined upon the latter, and selected the town of ozuluama for our central point. we could go by canoes across the river to pueblo viejo, where we could secure horses for the further journey. we were led to believe that it would be easy to make the trip in a single day. we had arranged for a canoe over night. it belonged in pueblo viejo, and it was to come over early in the morning; we were at the wharf at six, ready to start, but no canoe was in sight. not only so, but a norther was blowing, and comforters, lounging on the wharf assured us that no canoe would come from pueblo viejo until the storm ceased, which would not be for twenty-four hours. we were loath to believe this information, and brought all our baggage from the various storing-places, where we had left it, out onto the wharf. time passed; the norther continued, and no canoe from pueblo viejo came. thinking that it might be possible to secure a canoe from here to pueblo viejo, we dickered with a boatman at the wharf. we had agreed to pay for the canoe ordered $ . for the journey, which was something more than the regular price. the man with whom we now were talking declared that he would not take us across for less than $ . . we were on the point of yielding to necessity, when a rival appeared and offered to do the work for $ . . such is human perversity that we now insisted that he must go for $ . , which he finally agreed to do. hurrying away to get his canoe, he soon appeared, and our hearts sank. the man who had demanded $ . had a large, well-built boat, which should stand any wind and water. the man whom we had engaged had a canoe so narrow, low, and small that we doubted his ability to perform his contract; however, he assured us that all would be well, and showed himself so skilful in packing our stuff into his boat, that we ourselves embarked, and started down the little lagoon in his canoe. so long as we remained in this narrow, sheltered stream, all was well; but when he poled from its mouth out to the open river, we found it a different matter. more than this, we saw two or three canoes dancing over the white caps, and managed with great difficulty, although not loaded. the courage of our boatman was a little dashed; he suggested that we leave ramon, louis, and manuel on an old scow standing on the bank and fast going to ruin, while he poled myself and the luggage over, after which he would return for my companions. this seemed good sense, and the boys were left behind. it was interesting to see the skill with which the man handled our rather awkward craft, loaded at it was almost to the water's edge. he had no motive power but his long pole. we did not ship a single drop of water, and at last entered the quiet, broad, canal-like lagoon on the other side of the river. a moment more, and we were unloading our luggage onto the shore. to do this, we were forced to wade through mud up to the knees. but at last all was safe, and with his empty canoe, our boatman started merrily back for his other passengers. when they arrived, only a few minutes were necessary for reloading the canoe, and we started up the lagoon. little side lagoons opened frequently into the one through which we passed. at their mouths were v-shaped weirs of stakes, driven into the bottom and wattled together with flexible twigs. these were open at the mouth, and in the openings were set dip-nets, which could be lowered into the water. just now, with the heavy norther blowing, thousands of _camarón_ (shrimps) were driven into the nets, and at each one we saw fishermen busily occupied. the lagoon abounded in water-birds of many kinds, and hardly had we entered it, when louis shot a pretty, small white heron. believing that the owner of animals to whom we had been referred was demanding too high a price for his horses and mules, we decided to see what the town authorities would do for us, and went to the _municipio_. the _presidente_ told us, with delight, that the _jefe politico_ of ozuluama was there with his family, rusticating, and at once summoned him to meet us. he was a gentlemanly fellow, who told us that the price demanded was regular, but advised us to travel in a different way. "here," he said, "you can get a large canoe; starting now, you can travel all night; reaching la llave in the early morning, you can get horses and go the seven leagues remaining comfortably. take a little something to eat before you start, and carry something for the way." this seemed an opportunity for a new experience, and, though the price was little, if any, less than we were asked to pay for animals, we decided to try it. arrangements were begun at once, breakfast ordered, and a light lunch prepared for carrying. meantime, the _jefe_ told us that there were few indians in ozuluama, but that in citlaltepec we would find abundance. he gave us orders to his _secretario_, who represented him during his absence, and bade us god-speed. we left at one o'clock, in a great canoe, a heavy, timber-framed boat, propelled by long poles, by oars in quiet and deep water, and by a clumsy sail. a framework of poles, covered with matting, roofed over the middle of the boat, and a piece of matting was spread upon the floor. hanging blankets to shelter ourselves from the heavy wind yet blowing, we busied ourselves variously, the boys skinning birds which they had shot, and i making up my various notes. the lagoon which we now entered was a large stretch of open water. we raised our sail, and made easy work. having crossed the large lagoon, we entered the mouth of what probably would be considered a fair-sized river, which at first was closely bordered by a tangle of trees and vines, and presented a truly tropical appearance. palms were abundant, and, here and there, one of unusual size towered high above the rest. the other trees were densely hung with long gray moss. now and then, we disturbed alligators along the banks, and we were told that snakes were abundant in the grass. the quantity of water-birds was astonishing--great and small white herons, large blue herons, little blue herons, the curious, dark wry-necks, and ducks by thousands. the positions and attitudes of these long-necked and long-legged birds, in the water and on the trees, were curious and striking. the boys kept busy shooting and skinning birds all the afternoon. in the evening, the men built a fire with charcoal in a tin-lined box in the end of the canoe, and toasted _tortillas_ and made coffee. the awning was scarcely large enough to cover the whole party comfortably, when we lay down to sleep, but we wrapped up in blankets and spread mats for beds. we suffered intensely with the cold, sleeping little. at five o'clock our boat came to a stop along the bank, and at six it was light enough to disembark and explore. climbing up a little bank of clay, we found ourselves on a flat meadow, covered with grass and weeds, through which narrow trails ran to a few scattered palm-thatched huts. with a letter from the _jefe_, we called at señora mora's house. this lady was a widow, whose husband had but lately died; she was well to do, and promised to supply us with animals after we should have had our breakfast. this was long preparing, but at last good coffee, fine _enchiladas_ and cheese were served, and, after eating heartily, we found six animals ready for us. when we asked for our account, the good lady replied that the bill was $ . . it was plain that she had made no charge for either breakfast or animals, but only something for the boys whom she sent along to bring back the beasts. at about eleven, we started on what was called seven leagues, but what was certainly the longest nine leagues we had travelled for a long time. we had excellent horses that kept up a steady jog. still, it was after five when we reached ozuluama. the journey was for the most part over a _llano_, thicket-covered and sprinkled, here and there, with groves of palm; the soil was dark clay, which in spots, wet by recent rains, was hard travelling for the animals. we caught sight of the town, prettily located upon a hill-slope, about an hour before we reached it. from it, we looked out over an extensive stretch of dark green plains, broken, here and there, by little wooded hillocks, none of them so large as that upon which ozuluama itself is situated. riding to the town-house, the _secretario_ was at once sent for. he ordered supper, and put a comfortable room, behind the office, at our disposal. on the back porch, just at our door, was chained a tiger-cat. it belonged to the _jefe_, and was a favorite with his little children, but since they had been gone, it had been teased until it had developed an ugly disposition. it was a beautiful little creature, graceful in form and elegantly spotted. but it snarled and strove to get at everyone who came near it. the _secretario_ at once told us that citlaltepec was not the point we ought to aim for, as it was purely aztec; our best plan was to go to tamalin, where we would find one congregation of huaxtecs. from there, if we needed further subjects, we might go to tancoco, although it did not belong to this district, but to that of tuxpan. in the course of our conversation, i was reminded that ozuluama is the home of alejandro marcelo, a full-blooded huaxtec, who once published a book upon the huaxtec language. expressing an interest in meeting this man, he was sent for. he is far older than i had realized, celebrating his th birthday that very week. he was a man of unusual intelligence and most gentle manner. at nine o'clock next morning, supplied with new animals, we started for tamalin, said to be thirteen leagues distant. we were well mounted, and the journey was much like that of the preceding day. for three hours we were impressed with the loneliness of the road; no people were to be seen anywhere. here and there, set far back from the road, were country houses. the road itself was an extremely wide one, cut through a woods, which consisted for the most part of low and scrubby trees, with scattered clumps of palm trees here and there. usually the trail was single, but where we came on mud patches, many little trails were distributed over the whole breadth of the road. here and there, where there were particularly bad spots, into which our horses would have sunk knee-deep, we were forced to take trails back among the trees. while the earlier part of the journey was through rolling country, we came at noon into a true plain, though wooded. we found many cross roads, broad and straight, cut through the woods, and were impressed by the great number of dry _barrancas_ into which we had to descend, and out of which we had to climb. most of these were actually dry, but many of them contained a dirty pool of stagnant water. at many places, the road was bordered with plants, the leaves of which somewhat resembled those of the pineapple. they were light green in color, narrow and long-pointed at the upper end, and spiny along the sides. this plant, named _guamara_, bears spikes of yellow fruits which are pointed at the upper end, but in color, size, texture, structure and taste reminded us of podophyllum, though it leaves a prickly sensation in the mouth, much like that produced by fresh pineapples. there were also many trees bearing little limes or lemons, of which we gathered abundance for making lemonade. at two o'clock our man pointed out a ranch-house near the road, in front of which two men sat eating, and told us we could procure food and drink there if we wished, and that we had plenty of time for stopping. we found the men at the table to be the parish priest of tantima and his servant. the priest informed us that tamalin was three and three-fourths leagues away, while tantima was four. the road for the greater part of the distance to the two places was the same. we had an interesting conversation with the good priest, and for the first time we met the curious prejudice, which exists throughout this portion of the huaxteca, against the huaxtecs, and in favor of the aztecs. we were kept waiting some little time for our dinner, but by three o'clock were again upon our way. just as we started, we crossed the first true stream which we had met, but during the balance of the journey we crossed one or two others. soon, leaving the main road, we bore off to the left, and found several bad spots of stiff black mud, into which our poor animals sank frightfully. after five o'clock we saw, from the slope on which we were, for we had left the _llano_ and were again in rolling country, a little village, and higher and further to the left, a second. the first of these was gutierrez zamora, which is huaxtec, with a few mexican families living at one side; the second was our destination, tamalin. we passed through gutierrez at six, and reached tamalin at seven. the _alcalde_ of the village was not there; in fact, we suspect that he but rarely is. the _secretario_, likewise, was absent. we finally prevailed upon his brother to help us to find an indian girl to cook our meals, and a room in the _secretario's_ house. in this room there was but a single bed and our helper thought me very particular in demanding that _petates_ should be brought as beds for my companions. he assured us that, when he traveled, he slept upon the floor, without _petates_. it was long after o'clock before we had supper and secured a resting-place. we had planned to push out from here the following morning; no sign, however, of our baggage had appeared, and we were forced to spend two days at tamalin waiting for its coming. here, too, we found that there were no huaxtecs, the town being, so far as it was indian, purely aztec. we decided, therefore, to try tancoco, returning, if need be, to gutierrez. both gutierrez and tancoco were in the district of tuxpan. fortunately, we still carried our last year's letter from the governor of vera cruz to serve us with the local authorities, as it would be most inconvenient to go to tuxpan for orders. seeing that it was impossible to leave that day, i walked in the afternoon to tantima to visit the priest. between the two towns rises a fine, high rock hill. the ascent from tamalin was in three slopes, with short levels between; the crest was but a few yards wide; the descent to tantima was abrupt and short. from the summit we looked down upon the pretty, level, enclosed valley occupied by a rather regular town, built about a large plaza which, the day being a market day, was gay with booths and people. i met almost the whole population of tamalin on my way over, as they returned from market. all the men were drunk; some were so helpless that they sprawled upon the road, while others were being helped by their more sober comrades. i reached the plaza just thirty-seven minutes after leaving tamalin, and at once telegraphed to ozuluama about the baggage. when i inquired for the priest's house, the telegraph operator informed me that the _padre_ had told him all about us and our errand and that he would accompany me to the _curato_. crossing the square, we found the _padre_ living in a comfortable place, close by the great, pretentious, stone church. we were warmly welcomed, and orders were at once given for coffee. the aztec servant hastened to bring some, piping hot, and was quite abashed at being sharply reproved for offering it directly to me. no, indeed, a gentlemen so distinguished was not to be thus served; the table was moved up before my chair, a clean cloth spread, sweet cakes were sent for, a glass of fresh milk placed, and then the coffee was set upon the table. thus, in solitary grandeur, i sat and ate and drank, while the priest and operator took their cups of coffee in their hands. though we had ordered horses for the following morning, the baggage had not come, and we waited all the day. strolling around the village, we found it a pretty place, through which ran a fine stream, separating the houses into groups or clusters. it is a true aztec town, and the houses are well-constructed. several houses are set irregularly within a single enclosure; the walls are built of poles set upright, but these are so heavily daubed with a mixture of mud and chopped straw that they are strong and durable. in applying this daub, the hand is used, and a simple block of wood of rectangular form, with a projecting edge extending midway of the upper side, is used as a trowel for spreading it, and giving it a smooth finish. the thatchings are thick, and project far beyond the walls; they are of palm, and neatly cut at the edges; a cresting, thin, but evenly placed and firmly pegged down, projects over the ridge, down either slope, and its edges form the only break in the smooth surface. many of the houses had _temascals_, differing considerably from those of puebla and tlaxcala. they are rectangular; the walls are built of poles, set upright, close together, and strengthened by being lashed to a horizontal timber set midway of their height. the roof is a round vault or arch of poles set lengthwise. the whole is neatly plastered over with a mixture of mud and chopped straw, and in the front a cross is worked in the clay mixture, to insure good fortune. the women here wove cotton in the usual indian fashion, but few wore the old dress, and those few were mostly aged. we noticed quantities of pottery here, and throughout the huaxteca, but none of it is local in manufacture. most of it has come from the two towns, huejutla, an aztec town, and panuco. we were forced to spend a third night at tamalin. the _secretario_ had been at home for two days and had fairly done his duty; still, our animals were late when we were ready to start the following morning, and we were not off until : . it was a steady climb, over a long series of ascents, until we reached a crest from which tancoco could be seen. we made a long descent and then a little upward climb to the town, which is notable for its cleanliness and the industry and cleanness of its inhabitants. the town is situated upon a little hill, from which one looks out on a sea of green forests, with little rocky hillocks covered with trees rising from it, here and there, like wooded islands. between us and tamalin rose a semi-circle of ridges, sweeping from us off to the left and forward in the distance. in front, near the top of this curve of ridges, two leagues distant, lay amatlan, clear and impressive, from this point. riding up to the little town-house, which had a portico enclosed by a neat railing and supplied with pine benches, we dismounted, and, with some doubt as to its reception, presented our old letter. the _secretario_ was an intelligent _mestizo_ from tuxpan. he sent at once for the _alcalde_, who was a good-natured, little huaxtec, of pure blood, thoroughly dependent upon his subordinate officer. we were promised everything. the schoolhouse, remarkably clean, was put at our disposal, and a messenger was sent to notify an old woman named guadelupe that she was to prepare our meals. before four o'clock, work was under way, and during the two days that we remained, there were no difficulties. the houses of the town are somewhat like those of tamalin, but less well built. the single industry is the weaving of hats from palm. on the house-roofs, and on the ground before the houses, palm was drying. some of the work was extremely delicate, and the four grades of hats sell for from four pesos upward. men, women and children are all occupied in the manufacture, and as they sit in their houses or at the door of an evening, or as they walk through the village on errands, their hands are ever busily occupied with the plaiting. there is absolutely nothing characteristic in dress, both men and women dressing like _mestizos_ in the important cities of the republic. almost every one wears shoes; women, those with high french heels. a resident tailor makes the bulk of the clothing for the more particular men of the town. in our school-room we were supplied with good kerosene lamps, an experience almost unique. few, if any, of the houses in the village were without the same mode of light. many, if not all, of the women had sewing-machines. [illustration: view at tancoco] we were more than ever impressed with the anomalous condition of these people in their own land. they were the cleanest, most industrious, best dressed and most progressive indians whom we had seen in any part of mexico; but in the huaxteca, the land which bears their name, they are being crowded by the less progressive aztecs. _mestizos_ and aztecs both speak of them with contempt, and treat them like dogs. as for their language, it is neglected and despised; while many of them know both spanish and aztec, neither _mestizo_ nor aztec considers it worth while to know a word of huaxtec. while we had no trouble with the men, we began to feel that the women would fail us. it was after five o'clock, the last day of our stay, before a single one appeared. then they came in a body, accompanied by the full town force, and each with her husband as a guard, to our quarters. they were dressed in their best calico, muslin, silk and satin, with laces and artificial flowers, earrings, necklaces, and with shoes the heels of which measured from thirty to thirty-five millimeters. they were perfumed; their hair was heavily oiled with odorous greases. each shook hands with our whole party, greeted us politely, and sat down on the long school-benches, waiting for her turn for measurement. notwithstanding this rather oppressively lady-like mode of procedure, we were assured by old guadelupe that our errand and work in the town had caused much terror and doubt, the women particularly feeling sure that it boded ill. it was said that they recalled the fact that years ago certain of their old men predicted that strangers would eventually come to the village, who would bewitch the people and destroy the town. it was commonly believed that we were now fulfilling this prediction. the physical type of the huaxtecs seems to be well marked. a peculiar gray tint underlies the brown color of the skin. the head is short, broad, and curiously compressed behind; the eyes are wide apart, and frequently oblique; the mouth is large, with thick but not projecting lips. we had planned to leave about the middle of the afternoon, and at : the best animals we have ever had were ready for our use. a magnificent horse, the special pride of the _alcalde_ himself, was put at my disposal. when we came to settle for the animals, all payment was refused, their use being the voluntary offering of the town officials. the animals made nothing of the journey, and within an hour and a half we had again reached tamalin. we found that aztec town as disagreeable as ever. solemn promises had been made that various _danzas_ should be ready for us, and that there should be no delay regarding animals. of course, we found nothing doing. the only satisfactory memory connected with the town is our cook, porfiria. she was a master hand, and with training, should make a reputation and a fortune. a pure indian, we would rather eat at her table than at that of any half-breed cook in all that section. she always had quantities of food, and no two meals were alike. unless we expressly ordered something we had had before, it is doubtful whether she would have repeated a single dish. her _enchiladas_, seasoned with cheese and onions, were the best we ever had, and after the first experience, we insisted on having them at every meal. her masterpieces were in simple maize. her _tortillas_ were good, but _tortillas_ one finds everywhere; she served _cocoles, chavacanes_, and _pemol. cocoles_ are round, flat biscuits or cakes of maize, a couple of inches across and half an inch in diameter; they contain shortening, and when served hot, are delicious. _chavacanes_ are thin, flat square crackers of corn-meal with shortening and eggs; they are good even when cold, but are best when hot from the griddle. _pemol_ is a corn-cake, crumbly, sweet, and baked; it contains sugar and shortening, and is made up into the form of rather large cakes, shaped like horse-collars. as the result of vigorous remonstrance, the _secretario_ really had the _danza_ of _los negros_ at his house that night. music was furnished by _pito_ and _huehuetl_. the two performers, one representing a spaniard and the other a negro, were masked. the action was lively, and the dialogue vociferous--both players frequently talking at once. the dance was kept up until nearly ten o'clock, after which, as we planned an early start, we were soon in bed. just as we were dropping off to sleep, we heard the whistling and roaring of the norther outside, and the cold air found its way through every crack into our room. from our house the musicians and the dancers had gone to the _syndico's_, where they stayed some time; but, between one and two in the morning, they came back to our house and played in the room next to ours, with the door wide open. our interest was not great enough to lead us forth again. finally they left, but at four o'clock the musicians, now quite drunk, appeared again, and for a long time the _secretario_, his lady, and the school-master, danced in lonely grandeur up and down the room. [illustration: our canoe for sixty hours; the lagoons] [illustration: mangrove roots] don leandro, the _secretario_, had promised to accompany us the following morning as far as san geronimo. we had decided to go on horseback to paso real, a little distance beyond san geronimo, and there take boat for tampico. when morning came, we expressed surprise over don leandro's charging rent, in addition to the rather large price which we had already paid for beds. this seemed to hurt his sensitive feelings, with the result that we started without his company. the ride was monotonous, over a road which made few ascents or descents, and presented little of variety or interest. little green hills bordered the road on either side, and on many of them were ranch-houses, some of rather good construction. in a little stream over which we passed, we saw a great idol's head, of stone, a foot or more across, and well made. san geronimo we found to be the comfortable country-house of the _alcalde_ of tamalin and all the ranches among which we had made our journey. it was a fine old place, with high airy rooms, good verandas, and an old-fashioned tile roof. our journey had been hot, and we found a fine breeze blowing through the house. the _alcalde_ knew all about our errand and was ready to be helpful. he was a tall, slender, mild-mannered and polite _mestizo_. after we had eaten, he rode with us to paso real to arrange about a boat and point out various objects of interest on the way. _chapapote_, from which chewing gum is made, is an important product here, and among those interested in it as a business is an american dentist. we saw many birds, among which doves were conspicuous; the _alcalde_ says that six or eight species occur here, the different kinds singing at different seasons; one of them had a peculiarly sad and mournful song, and is heard in the early morning. another bird, the _primavera_, seems to be like our mockingbird, imitating the notes and cries of many other birds and animals. at two places we passed black lines of foraging ants, and he told us that insects, frogs, toads, and even snakes, encountered by these lines, are helpless, being promptly overcome and devoured. arrived at paso real, the _alcalde_ arranged for our boat. he told us that loaded boats require three days for making the journey to tampico, but that ours, being empty, would probably go through in twenty-four hours. the boat he arranged for had been partly loaded, but its owner had agreed to unload in order to receive us. as a favor to him, we consented to permit five or six not large boxes to go along. having ordered supper for us at the house upon the summit from which the road descended to paso real, the _alcalde_ left us. supper was slow, but at last was over. our baggage had already been carried to the boat, and we strolled down to take our passage. less room was left for us than we had expected the boxes would leave, but it was dark and we raised no question. we waited an impatient hour for our canoemen to take their supper, being almost devoured by mosquitoes, but at last were off at nine o'clock. our force consisted of two men and a little lad. it was with difficulty that two could be accommodated beneath the awning, and manuel and i took our places outside. for my own part, sleep was impossible. now that we were in motion, the mosquitoes ceased to trouble us. the stream was narrow, and on account of the curves, we were forced to move slowly. we floated out under and beneath bamboos, which hung far over the water and outlined themselves like lace-work against the sky. at first, there was moonlight. later, the moon set, but the stars were brilliant. the early morning was cold, and a heavy dew dampened everything outside the awning. during the day our men stopped on every pretext to rest and sleep, and whenever we came to a considerable stretch of water, any sign of storm or cloud was heralded. just before daybreak, we had reached the beginning of the first large lagoon. here our sail was hoisted, though it was of little use, while we poled along near shore, following all the long curves. our first stop, on account of a norther, was exciting; from the anxiety of the men, we expected to be instantly upset. we ran into the mouth of a little stream and lay to, and the men were almost instantly asleep. our party went out exploring; our landing place was a heap of shells, whether artificial or natural i am not sure; the place was a favorite spot with hunters of caimans, or alligators, and we found numbers of almost complete skeletons and skulls lying on the banks. the boys picked up quantities of scales and teeth, and it was interesting to see how the new conical teeth grow up under the hollows of the old ones. we killed a duck or two for supper. one or two large caimans were seen, as we strolled along. finally, i insisted upon the men starting again. we were traversing a system of great lagoons which opened one into another. poling was our only mode of progress. that night manuel and i occupied the shelter. when we rose, we found the great lagoon, through which we were then passing, quite different in its character from those preceding it. thickets of mangroves bordered the shore; the display of aerial roots was interesting, and here we were able to examine the curious smooth tips of the roots which are to penetrate the soft mud bottom. we landed at one place to get wood and to catch a glimpse of the sea, whose roaring we had for hours heard. we left our boat in the lagoon, and walked a short distance over sand dunes, thickly grown with trees, to the beach, which only appeared in sight when we reached the top of the last dune. it was a gently sloping sandy stretch, upon which a fine surf was beating. there were no pebbles save bits of water-worn coral and shell. quantities of sea-gulls were flying about and flocks of little snipe ran down over the retreating surf, catching food, turning and running rapidly in before the coming wave. a single shot into the flock killed thirty-one of the little creatures, which later in the day supplied us an excellent meal. from this lagoon of mangroves, we finally entered the great lagoon of la riviera, which pretty town we passed a little before three o'clock. from here we knew that, by hiring horses, we could reach tampico in two hours; had we really known what lay before us, we would have done so. having passed la riviera, we entered a narrow canal, bordered for the most part with tall, flat rushes and a great grass much like our wild rice. here again we saw large herons and great kingfishers; the boys had repeatedly tried to shoot one of the latter birds, but with no success; finally, one was seen standing on the branch of a tree hanging over the stream; this one was shot, and when we picked it up, we found it to be curiously distorted, the breast being strangely swollen. when skinned, this swelling proved to be due to a fish which the bird had eaten, and which was almost as large as itself. weighted with this heavy burden, it is no wonder that the bird had been shot so easily. at dusk we found ourselves at a landing-place, where we left the boxes, which turned out to be eight in number, each of which weighed one hundred and twenty-five pounds. they contained _chapapote_. our men had talked much of _the_ canal, to which, for some time, we had been looking forward. at this landing, arrangements were made for helping us through the canal, a little canoe being despatched after us, to help unload us. when we reached the canal, narrow, shallow and straight, cut for the most part through the solid rock, the moon was shining brightly. our great canoe was soon aground, and whole party, seven in number, climbed out into the water to push and pull. we dislodged it soon, but shortly came to a complete standstill. here for the first time, we realized the cargo which we carried, which before had been carefully covered so that we really were in ignorance of it. eighty half-dozen cakes of sugar were unloaded into the little canoe, which paddled away. we waited, noting with regret that the falling water, probably due to tide, was fixing our canoe more and more firmly in the mud. finally, the little canoe came back, taking another eighty half-dozen cakes of sugar on board. our canoe having been thus lightened, we made another effort to move it, and, after many struggles and groans, finally found ourselves in deeper water, embarked, and poled off. having reached the place upon the bank where the canoe loads had been left, we stopped to freight again. to our surprise, we found here once more the eight boxes of _chapapote_, which, apparently, had been carted across. we were now able to calculate the load which our "empty" canoe, hired at thirty pesos, in order to take us quickly through to tampico, was carrying: dozen cakes of _panela_, of lbs , lbs. boxes _chapapote_, of lbs , lbs. sacks of beans, of lbs lbs. total , lbs. in other words, we had been crowded and delayed by more than two tons of cargo. perhaps, had we been actually alone in the boat, it might have made its journey in the twenty-four hours promised, instead of the sixty of accomplishment. it was nine o'clock when we were again aboard, and we made the boatman travel all night long. at the stroke of half-past-three we heard the bells of tampico, and drew up along the waterside-landing of that city. for two full hours we lay there, listening to the buyers bartering with the boatmen for their load of maize, _frijol_ and _panela_ until daylight, when we gave orders to unload. chapter xxii in maya land ( ) we had planned to go from tampico to chiapas, and from there to yucatan, where we were to finish our work for the season. we found, however, that there was no certainty in regard to a boat for coatzacoalcos, while the benito juarez was about to sail for progreso the next day. not to lose time, we decided to do our yucatan work first, and to let chiapas wait until later. we were busy that day making arrangements for departure, and in the afternoon hired a canoe to take our stuff from the wharf to the boat, which was standing out in the river, beyond doña cecilia. there was a brisk wind against us, and we almost arrived too late to have our luggage taken aboard. the next morning, we took the first train to doña cecilia, and were on board the boat at nine o'clock. we had been told that the sailing would take place at ten, but, on arrival, found that they were waiting for cattle which were being brought across country. one hundred and twenty head were to make our chief cargo, and they were expected at six a.m. nothing, however, was to be seen of them in any direction. we had taken breakfast, and it was almost twelve o'clock before the first signs of the animals were to be seen. meantime, at eleven, a norther appeared, and we were informed that it would be impossible to leave short of twenty-four hours. besides our company, there were three first-class passengers--a sort of german-austrian baron and his lady, and a contractor, who was taking a force of hands to yucatan for farm labor. eighty-three of these hands were our third-class passengers; they had been picked up all along the line of the tampico branch of the central railway, and few of them realized the hardships and trials which lay before them. we were assured that more than half of them would surely die before the end of their first year in yucatan. as we could not leave until the norther passed, it was decided not to take the cattle on board until next day. thus we spent a day as prisoners on the boat, standing in the river. in the morning the water was still rough and the wind heavy, but at : the loading of the animals began. they were brought out on a barge, about one-half of the whole number to a load; tackle was rigged and the creatures were lifted by ropes looped around their horns. the first few were lifted singly, but after that, two at once. while it sounds brutal, it is really a most convenient method, and the animals, though startled, do not seem to be injured in the least, nor indulge in much kicking. by : all were loaded and we were ready for our start. we had to wait until the customs-house inspector should come on board to discharge us, and this was not done until half-past one. we sailed out, between the jetties, at two o'clock, and found the gulf rough, and a high wind, which continued through most of our voyage. the smell from the cattle was disagreeable, and between it and the roughness, all were seasick before the first afternoon was over. captain irvine is the youngest captain of the ward line, being but twenty-six years of age. he has followed the sea since he was thirteen years old. a nova scotian by birth, he has sailed this coast for some little time, and is a competent official, doing his utmost for the pleasure and convenience of his passengers. the journey was uneventful. there was some excitement among the third-class passengers, many of whom were drunk and quarrelsome. the first evening, two of them were fighting, with the result that the head of one was split open and had to be dressed by the captain. when we had been some forty-eight or fifty hours at sea, we found ourselves off the campeche banks, in quieter water. those who had suffered from sickness were again quite themselves. it was : sunday morning, february , after we had been almost three days and three nights at sea, and four days on the boat, that the progreso light was sighted, and not long after we came to anchor. we waited from six o'clock until almost ten for lighters and the doctor. after he had made his inspection, we piled off with all our baggage onto a little steamer, which charged three dollars, each passenger, for taking us to the pier, which was close by, and to which our own boat could easily have run. this, however, was but the beginning of yucatecan troubles. when we found ourselves on the wharf, the customs officials insisted upon our going to the general office for inspection, on account of the character and amount of our luggage. arrived there, we found that we had no clearing papers for our stuff, and forty dollars duty was required for material which had already paid duty in entering mexico, and which had only gone from one mexican port to another, as baggage. in vain we argued and attempted to explain matters. the officials advised us to bring the american consul and have him straighten matters; but his office was shut, as it was sunday. meantime, we saw the train, which we had expected to take at : , leave for mérida, and at twelve o'clock the customs-house offices were closed, and we were forced to leave the business for another day. fortunately, there are two railroads from progreso to mérida, and we were able to take an afternoon train over the narrow-gauge line for the capital city. the station was an enormous, wooden, barn-like structure; the cars were weather-beaten and dilapidated to a degree--except the first-class car, which was in fair condition. passengers were gathering, but no particular signs of the starting of a train were evident. boys at the station were selling slabs of pudding, squares of sponge cake soaked with red liquor, pieces of _papaya_, cups of sweetened boiled rice, and oranges. the oranges were unexpectedly high in price, two selling for a _medio_; the seller pares off the yellow skins and cuts them squarely in two before selling; the buyer eats merely the pulp, throwing the white skin away. as train-time neared, interesting incidents occurred. the ticket-agent was drunk and picked a quarrel with a decent, harmless-looking indian; the conductor dressed in the waiting-room, putting on a clean shirt and taking off his old one, at the same time talking to us about our baggage-checks. a fine horse, frisky and active, was loaded into the same baggage-freight car with our goods. the bells were rung as signals, and the station locked; the whole management--ticket-agent, conductor and baggagemen--then got upon the train and we were off. at one of the stations the ticket-agent took his horse out from the car, and riding off into the country, we saw no more of him. [illustration: loading cattle; doÑa cecilia] [illustration: mayas, returning from work; santa maria] the country through which we were running was just as i had imagined it. though it was supposed to be the cold season, the day was frightfully hot, and everyone was suffering. the country was level and covered with a growth of scrub. there was, however, more color in the gray landscape than i had expected. besides the grays of many shades--dusty trees, foliage, bark and branches--there were greens and yellows, both of foliage and flowers, and here and there, a little red. but everywhere there was the flat land, the gray limestone, the low scrub, the dust and dryness, and the blazing sun. there were many palm trees--chiefly cocoa-nut--on the country-places, and there were fields of hennequín, though neither so extensive nor well-kept as i had anticipated. it resembles the maguéy, though the leaves are not so broad, nor do they grow from the ground; the hennequín leaves are long, narrow, sharp-pointed, and rather thickly set upon a woody stalk that grows upright to a height of several feet. the leaves are trimmed off, from season to season, leaving the bare stalk, showing the leaf-scar. the upper leaves continue to grow. in places we noticed a curious mode of protecting trees by rings of limestone rock built around them; many of these trees appear to grow from an elevated, circular earth mass. at conkal, the great stone church magnificently represented the olden time, but it bore two lightning rods and was accompanied by two wind-mills of american manufacture. everywhere, in fact, the american wind-mill is in evidence. one can but wish that the poor users of the old _cenotes_ might come to life, and, for a little time, enjoy the work of the winds in their behalf. everywhere we saw plenty of maya indians and heard something of the old language. all travellers to yucatan comment on the universal cleanness of the population; notable in the indians, this marks equally well the _mestizos_, whites and negroes. they are not only clean, but all are well dressed. men wear low, round-crowned, broad-brimmed palm hats; trousers are rarely of the tight-fitting mexican kind; indians who work at heavy labor protect their clean white shirts and drawers with a strip of stuff, like ticking, wrapped about them. women wear two white garments, both ample, hanging from the neck, bordered with black or colored bands. they generally wear long necklaces or rosaries, the beads of which are spaced with gold coins, and a cross of gold or a medal of the same material hangs at the bottom. women of middle age are usually stout, and march with quite a stately tread. mérida itself is much larger and better built than we had expected. many of the houses, especially on the outskirts, are elliptical in section, and have walls of small stones closely set in mud plaster. in the center of the town the houses are covered with painted plaster and are in the usual latin-american style. great numbers of quaint little coaches, with a single horse, were waiting at the station. as we walked up to the center of the town, we found but few places open, practically nothing but barber-shops and drug-stores. of both of these, however, there were a surprising number. having been directed to the hotel concordia, we were disappointed when the old lady in charge stated that she had no rooms, and directed us across the way to the hotel de mexico. as we had arranged for the delivery of our stuff, we did not care to look elsewhere, and therefore inspected the rooms in this hotel. to reach them, we went through a barber-shop into a narrow _patio_, and, mounting some rickety stairs, found our quarters, which were filthy, vile-smelling, hot and uncared for. yet for these choice quarters, with two beds in each of two rooms, leaving no space practically between, we were expected to pay four dollars. upon remonstrating with the proprietor at the price demanded, he cooly said, "oh, yes, everything here costs high; but there is money to pay it with." this really stated the fact. conditions in mérida are the most abnormal of any place which i have visited. owing to the war in the philippines, and interference with the trade in hemp, the fiber of the hennequín is in great demand, and money is plentiful. at good restaurants each plate costs thirty cents, instead of ten or twelve, as in the city of mexico itself. no coach will cross the street for less than fifty cents; for a cooling drink, such as in the capital city would cost three cents, one here pays twelve. the shortest street-car line charges ten cents; and everything else is in proportion. what the hotel-keeper said, about there being money to pay these frightful prices, was equally true. we paid _cargadors_ four times, draymen three times, more than we have ever done in any other part of mexico. in the restaurants we saw _cargadors_ calling for plates at thirty cents, boot-blacks eating ices at one _real_, newsboys riding in coaches, and other astonishing sights. in the plaza, good music is played on sunday nights, and every one is out in all his finery; fruits, sweetmeats, refreshing drinks, are hawked everywhere, and are much indulged in; under the corridors are little tables, where ices, iced milk and drinks are served. at the hotel we passed a night of horror, suffering from the heat, dust, ill-placed lights, mosquitoes and other insects. leaving my companions i went the following morning to progreso to attend to the unlucky baggage. for variety, i took the broad-gauge road, but found little difference in the country through which we passed. the number of wind-mills was astonishing, and most of them were chicago aeromotors. at one station a great crowd of pure indians got off and on the train. the american consul at progreso is too much interested in archaeology to be found at his office, but his mexican vice-consul was present. to him our difficulty was explained, and on his advice we deposited the forty dollars demanded for duty, and signed various documents of remonstrance, upon which we paid almost four dollars more for stamps. we were then permitted to take out enough plates for immediate use, leaving the balance in progreso until we should be ready for our return journey. acting on the advice of the vice-consul, we changed quarters in mérida from the hotel de mexico, to the moromuzo, kept by an american who had been many years in the country, and where, though we paid even more for rooms, we had some comfort. by industrious search, we found a chinese restaurant, where prices were not high and service quite as good as in the aristocratic place where we had dined before. the day before we called at the palace, hoping to see the governor, though it was sunday. he was out of town, and we were asked to call the following day. accordingly, in the afternoon, after returning from progreso, i repeated my call but was told that the governor had gone out of town again and that i should come the following day. the third day, again presenting myself at the office, i learned that it was a holiday and that the governor would not be at the palace; the secretary recommended that i try to see him at his house. to his house i went, and sending in my card and my letters from the federal authorities was surprised, after having been kept waiting in the corridor, to be informed that the governor would not see me, and that i should call at the palace, the next day, in the afternoon, at two o'clock. sending back a polite message that we had waited three whole days to see his excellency, and that our time was limited, my surprise was still greater at receiving the tart reply that he had stated when he would see me. we spent the balance of day and all the morning of the next, looking about the town. having failed in my visit to governor canton, i took a street-car to itzimna to see the bishop, to ask him for a letter to his clergy. the well-known bishop ancona had lately died, and the new incumbent was a young man from the interior of mexico, who had been here but a few months. he had been ill through the whole period of his residence, and seemed frail and weak. he received me in the kindest way, and after reading the letters i presented, asked whether i had not been in puebla at a certain time two years before; on my replying in the affirmative, he remarked that he had met me at the palace of the bishop of puebla and had then learned of my work and studies. he gave me an excellent letter to his clergy, and as i left, with much feeling, he urged me to be careful of my health and that of my companions while we were in the country. when he came from puebla, only a few months before, he brought three companions with him, all of whom had died of yellow fever. he told me that, though this was not the season for that dread disease, cases of it had already broken out in the city; at the same time he stated that more than eight hundred cases of small-pox were reported in mérida, and that many of them were of the most virulent. sunday we had walked through dust ankle-deep upon the roads; tuesday and wednesday it was with difficulty that we could cross the streets, which were filled with mud, and, part of the time, with muddy water a foot and more in depth. this is a frequent occurrence, and foot-passengers who desire to cross the street are often forced to hire a coach for that purpose. as one walks the street, he runs constant risk of being splashed with mud and water from passing vehicles and street-cars. during the four days we spent in mérida we met several persons interested in literary lines, and visited a number of institutions, among which the most interesting was the museo yucateco, of which señor gamboa guzman is in charge. it is by no means what it should be, or what, with but small outlay, it might be. but it contains interesting things in archaeology, in local history, and in zoology. it is of special interest to americans because le plongeon was interested in its foundation and early development. an old gentleman, clerk in the diocesan offices, advised us to visit tekax and peto for our study. the governor had set the hour of two for our reception. merely to see when he would come, we seated ourselves in the garden of the plaza, so that we could watch the entrance to the palace. two came, but no governor. at : several gentlemen were waiting near the office door. at three no governor had arrived. at five minutes past three, we noticed that hum of excitement and expectation which usually heralds some great event, and looking down the street, saw the governor pompously approaching. as he passed, hats were removed and profound salutations given. waiting until he had entered the office, we walked up to the reception room, where we found ten or twelve gentlemen waiting audience. the great man himself had disappeared into an office which opened onto this reception-room, but the door of which was not closed. all waited patiently; from time to time the usher-secretary crept noiselessly to the office door and peeked through the key-hole to see whether the executive was ready. finally, at : the word was given, and the privilege of the first audience was granted to myself. during these days of waiting--something which has never occurred with any of the many governors of states in mexico upon whom i have called--i had expressed my surprise to a gentleman of wealth and prominence in the city, at the governor's compelling me to wait for audience. with some feeling, this gentleman replied, "but, sir, you are fortunate; you are a stranger, and bring letters from cabinet officials; many of the best gentlemen in this city have been kept waiting months in order to see governor canton in regard to business of the highest consequence to themselves and to the public." i will do the governor justice by saying that he listened with apparent interest to my statement, and that he gave orders that the letters which i wished, to local authorities, should be prepared without delay. thanking him, i withdrew, and by five o'clock the secretary handed me the desired documents; we had lost four days. early the following morning, as no _cargadors_ were at hand, our little company resolved itself into a band of carriers and we took our baggage and equipment to the peto station. the securing of tickets and the checking of baggage was quite an undertaking, and if the train had started at the time announced, we should have missed it; however, we were in good season, and left something less than an hour late. the country through which we passed was an improvement upon what we had seen before. the trees were greener, and many flowers were in bloom. from the train, we saw a group of pyramids at one point, and an isolated pyramid at another. some of the indian towns through which we passed, with curious maya names, were interesting. so, too, were the vendors at the station. hot tamales, "_pura masa_" (pure dough), as manuel said, slippery and soapy in feeling and consistency, done up in banana leaves and carefully tied, seemed to be the favorite goods; far better were split _tortillas_ with beans inside and cheese outside; beautiful red bananas and plump smooth yellow ones were offered in quantity. we lost an hour at the station where trains met, reaching tekax at eleven. we walked up to the hot _plaza_, where we found the town offices closed, and had difficulty in even leaving our stuff with the police. at a restaurant we had a fair breakfast, for which we paid a peso each person. as there were no signs of the town officials, we dropped into the _curato_ to see the priest, to whom we presented the bishop's letter. he was a spaniard, who had been in this country only a few months, and despises it heartily. he was sitting at table with two young men, who had accompanied him from spain, and who love yucatan no better than he. he greeted us most heartily, and was interested in our plan of work. he sent at once for the judge of the _registro civil_, who could tell us many curious things about the indians, and, as soon as the old man came, the good priest ordered chocolate to be served. we chatted for some time, when, seeing that the _jefe's_ office was open, i suggested that i had better go to present my letters. the _cura_ and the judge at once began to abuse that official roundly for his sins of commission, and particularly for those of omission, and told me that i should have him summoned; that it was much better than to trouble myself by going to his office, where i had already been twice in vain; it was but right that he should attend to business; he ought to be in his office when visitors came to see him. accordingly a messenger was sent and the _jefe_ summoned. he seemed a rather nice young fellow, and was much impressed by the letter from his governor; he expressed himself as ready and anxious to serve us in every way, and made arrangements for us to begin work in the town-house, where, before dark, we had taken fifteen sets of measurements. this was a capital beginning, but the next two days our work fell flat. it was necessary to keep constantly at the _jefe_, and it soon became plain that he was making no great effort to secure subjects for us, on the assumption that we had better wait until sunday, when there would be plenty of people without trouble to the police. it was useless to urge effort, and we spent the time talking with the old judge in regard to the habits and superstitions of the indians and in walking with the judge of _primera instancia_ up to the ridge which overlooked the town, and which was crowned by a little _hermita_. the population of yucatan is still, for the most part, pure indian of maya blood and speech. the former importance of this people is well known; they had made the greatest progress of any north american population, and the ruins of their old towns have often been described. they built temples and public buildings of stone and with elaborate carved decorations; they ornamented walls with stucco, often worked into remarkable figures; they cast copper and gold; they hived bees, and used both wax and honey in religious ceremonial. they spun and wove cotton, which they dyed with brilliant colors; they had a system of writing which, while largely pictorial, contained some phonetic elements. they are still a vital people, more than holding their own in the present population, and forcing their native language upon the white invaders. nominally good catholics, a great deal of old superstition still survives, and they have many interesting practices and beliefs. the cura presented me a _ke'esh_ of gold, which he took from the church, where it had been left by a worshipper. it is a little votive figure crudely made, commonly of silver; the word means "exchange," and such figures are given by the indians to their saint or to the virgin in exchange for themselves, after some sickness or danger. the ridge overlooking the town is of limestone, and is covered with a handsome growth of trees and grass. the terrace on which the _hermita_ is built is flat and cleared; it is reached by a gently graded ascent, with a flight of wide and easy steps, now much neglected. the little building is dismantled, though there is some talk of reconstructing it. behind it is a well of vile and stagnant water, which is reputed to cure disease. from the ridge a pretty view of tekax is to be had, bedded in a green sheet of trees. the town is regularly laid out, and presents little of interest, though the two-storied _portales_ and the odd three-storied house of señor duarte attract attention. there are also many high, square, ventilated shafts, or towers, of distilleries. from the terrace where we stood, in the days of the last great insurrection, the indians swept down upon the town and are said to have killed , of the people, including men, women and children. the school-teacher of the town is a man of varied attainments, being also a photographer, watch-maker, medical-adviser, chemist, and so forth. his house is full of scientific instruments--a really good camera, a fine aneroid barometer, several thermometers, including self-registering maximum and minimum, etc., etc. all seem excellent in quality, but i could not learn that he makes any use of them, except the camera. the _cura_, and the judge deride his possession of the instruments, doubting whether he knows how to use them. they assert that he has an apparatus for projection, for which he paid , pesos, which has never yet been unpacked. when we called on him he showed us, by his hygrometer, that the air was very humid, though the temperature was at ° fahr., and told us, what probably is true, that in this heavy, hot weather, every wound and bruise, however trifling, is likely to become serious. in illustration of this fact, the _cura_ mentioned that his spanish carpenter, who merely bruised his leg against the table, has suffered frightfully for three months, having now an ugly sore several inches across, that makes walking difficult. great care is necessary with any injury that breaks or bruises the skin. we ourselves had already experienced the fact that insect-bites became ugly open sores that showed no signs of healing; as a fact, none of us succeeded in curing such for several weeks after leaving yucatan. in the afternoon, the priest, the judge of _primera instancia_ and myself took a coach to ride out to a neighboring _hacienda_, where there was a great sugar-mill, louis accompanying us on horseback. our road ran alongside the ridge and consisted of red limestone-clay. it was fairly good, though dry and dusty, and closely bordered with the usual yucatecan scrub. the ridge, along which we were coursing, is the single elevation in the peninsula; beginning in northeastern yucatan, it runs diagonally toward the southwest, ending near campeche. it is generally covered with a dense growth of forest, unless artificial clearings have been made. covies of birds, like quail, were seen here and there, along the road, and at one point a handsome green snake, a yard or more in length, glided across the way. snakes are said to be common, and among them several are venomous--the rattlesnake, the coral-snake, and most dreaded of all, a little dark serpent a foot or so in length, with an enormous head, whose bite is said to be immediately fatal. there are also many tree-snakes, as thick as a man's arm. in the forest, mountain-lions are rare, but "tigers" are common. we found santa maria to be an extensive _hacienda_, and the sugar-mill was a large structure, well supplied with modern machinery, and turning out a large amount of product. we saw a few of the indian hands, went through the factory, and were shown through the owner's house, which has beautiful running water and baths, though there is little furniture, and nothing of what we would consider decoration. it was after dark before we started to town, and when we got there we found two wedding parties waiting for the padre's services. the promised crowd filled the market sunday, and our work went finely. between the town officials and the priest, subjects were constantly supplied. among the indians who presented themselves for measurement was old manuel, sacristan from xaya; he is a _h'men_, and we had hoped that he would show us the method of using the _sastun_, or divining crystal. he is a full-blood, and neither in face nor manner shows the least emotion. automatic in movement, he is quiet and phlegmatic in manner; having assumed the usual indian pose for rest, a squat position in which no part of the body except the feet rests upon the ground, or any support, he sat quietly, with the movement of scarcely a muscle, for hours at a time. he sang for us the invocation to the winds of the four quarters, which they use in the ceremony of planting time. though he is frequently employed to say the "milpa mass" and to conjure, he claims that he never learned how to use the _sastun_, but told us that another _h'men_ in his village knew it well. one of the _padre's_ companions has been ill ever since he came to yucatan; sunday he suffered so greatly that a doctor was sent for in haste. nothing was told us as to what his trouble might be, but personally i suspected that he had the small-pox. in connection with his illness, we learned for the first time that another companion of the priest, brought from spain, died in the room i was occupying, less than two weeks before, from yellow fever. we had known that one of his companions had died of yellow fever, but supposed it was some months earlier. toward evening the priest was sent for by a neighbor, who needed the last service. on the _padre's_ return, we learned that this person was believed to be dying from _vomito_. for a moment we were in doubt what was best to do, especially as the police had told us that the _padre_ had permitted no fumigation of his premises after his comrade's death, simply sprinkling holy water about the place. that night the young man in the next room suffered greatly, and i could not help but wonder what ailed him. however, i decided that what danger there might be from the disease we had already risked, and as we expected to remain but one or two more days, it seemed hardly worth while to make a change. monday we planned a visit to san juan and xaya. the horses had been ordered for five o'clock, but mass had been said, chocolate taken, and all was ready, long before they appeared. six, seven, eight all passed, and at last, at nine, only three animals appeared. this decided us to leave ramon behind to pack the busts which we had made, while the others of the party, with the _padre_, mounted on his own horse, should make the journey. a foot _mozo_ carried the camera. the road was of the usual kind, and was marked at every quarter league with a little cross of wood set into a pile of stones and bearing the words, de tekax----l. as we passed la trinidad we noticed great tanks of water for irrigation before the house, and tall trees with their bare, gray roots running over and enveloping the piles of stones on which they had been planted. there were no other plantations or villages until just before the ninth cross--two and a quarter leagues--we came to the hennequín plantation of san juan. the mayor domo was delighted to see the _padre_ and greeted us warmly, taking us at once to the great house. we rode between long lines of orange trees, loaded with sweet and juicy fruits, and were soon sitting in the cool and delightful hallway. it is impossible to say how many dozens of those oranges four of us ate, but we were urged to make away with all we could, as the daily gathering is something more than five thousand. soon an elaborate breakfast was ready for us, but before we ate we took a drink of fresh milk from cocoanuts cut expressly for us. we had salmon, eggs, meat-stew, beans, tortillas, and wine. but the mayor domo expressed his regret that he did not know we were coming, as he would gladly have killed a little pig for us. as dessert a great dish of fresh _papaya_ cut up into squares and soaking in its own juice, was served. sitting in the cool corridor, after a good breakfast, and looking out over a beautiful country, with promises that all the subjects necessary for measurement should be supplied, the idea of riding on to xaya lost attractiveness, and we sent a foot-messenger with an order to the town authorities to send the _h'men_ with his _sastuns_ without delay to see us. [illustration: maya dance; san juan] [illustration: the h'men with his sastun; san juan] this was our first opportunity to see the industry of hennequín, which is the chief product of this _hacienda_. the leaves, after cutting, are brought from the field tied up in bundles. these are opened, and the leaves are fed into a revolving, endless double chain, which carries them on iron arms upward and dumps them onto a table, where three men receive them and feed them into the stripper. this consists of a round table, into the inner, excavated, circular face of which a round knife with dull edge fits closely, though at only one place at once; the leaves, fed between the table and knife, are held firmly by them at about one-third their length. the projecting two-thirds of the leaves hang downward; as the table revolves the leaves thus held are carried to a vertical revolving rasp which strips out the flesh, leaving the fibre masses hanging. these taken out from between the table and the knife are fed again to a second revolving table which holds the masses of fibre, leaving the unstripped portion of the leaves exposed to a second rasp, which strips it. the hanks of fibre are dropped from the second table onto a horizontal wooden bar, where they are rapidly sorted over by a man who throws inferior and spotted bunches to one side. the whole operation is rapid and beautiful. the fresh fibre is then hung over bars, in the southern wind, to dry, after which it is baled in presses for shipment. [illustration: maya house; san juan] we had no trouble in completing the measurement of subjects from the indian hands on the place, and made portraits and photographs of native dancers. in the afternoon the _h'men_ appeared. he was an extremely clean and neat indian of forty-five, and carried at his side a little sack, within which, carefully wrapped up in a handkerchief, were his _sastuns_. there were five in all; three were small round balls of glass, broken from the stoppers of perfume bottles; one was somewhat barrel-shaped and of bluish color, while the other, the largest of all, was rather long, fancifully formed, and with facets ground out upon it; it was yellowish in tint. the two latter were apparently from toilet bottles. telling him that i was anxious to learn about something which had been stolen from me, i asked what was necessary in the way of preparation. he demanded a candle and _aguardiente_. a great taper of yellow wax and a bottle of spirits were supplied. taking these in his hand, he entered the little chapel of the _hacienda_, considering it a good place for conjuring. he piously kissed the altar tables and the bases of the crucifixes and saints; then picking out a dark corner he opened his cloth, took out his glasses, lighted the candle and squatted for his operation. taking one of the crystal balls between his fingers, he held it between the flame and his eye and looked intently into it, as if seeking something. one after another, the five crystals were carefully examined. finally, laying the last aside, he shook his head. he could see nothing, nothing whatever, that interested the gentleman, unless indeed sickness; this he pointed out in one of the little balls; redness, fever. being urged to try again, after an interval he got down to real business; he took the _aguardiente_, dipped the crystals into the liquor, repeating formulas as he did so, and again made the test, but with no better result. he could see nothing, absolutely nothing, of stolen property; there was nothing in the crystal of interest to the gentleman, except fever; that there was, he was certain. this practice of divining by means of crystals is a survival from the old pagan days. it is probable that there is no indian town of any size in yucatan where some _h'men_ does not make use of it. we had now finished our work with maya indians, except the measurement of a few women and the making of a single bust. upon rather strong representation to the _jefe_, a desperate effort was made by the policemen and the women were secured. among the village police-force, one man had attracted our particular attention, as representing a type of face, quite common among the mayas, which we have called the serpent-face. it is round and broad, with retreating chin and receding forehead, and with curious, widely-separated, expressionless eyes. we had already measured and photographed the subject, but, because he was a policeman and had been useful, we thought we would not subject him to the operation of bust-making. seeing, however, that no other equally good subject had presented itself, we decided to make his bust, and told him so. to our surprise he refused. the _jefe_, for once, acted promptly and without hesitation issued an absolute order that the man's bust should be made. the order had no effect. the officials scolded, threatened, but modesto kan was immovable. the _jefe_ ordered that he should be thrown into jail, which order was promptly obeyed, but all to no purpose. our subject said we might whip him, fine him, keep him in jail, or kill him, but he would not have his bust made. hours passed, and neither remonstrance nor threats on the part of the _jefe_ or ourselves were of the least avail. on my last interview with him, i found him lying on a mat with so high a fever that i dared not urge the matter further, and we desisted from our efforts to secure him. it was the only subject among , indians, with whom we failed to carry out our work. a story which the old judge had told us had its influence in my permitting this subject to escape. these mayas often die for spite, or because they have made up their mind to do so. don manuel at one time was summoned by a rich indian with whom he was well acquainted. the man was not old, and had land, good houses, many head of cattle, much maize, and many fowls. he had three children, and owned the houses near his own in which they lived. everything was prospering with him. yet the message to the judge was that he should come at once to hear this indian's last words. with a companion he hastened to the house, and found the man in his hammock, dressed in his best clothes, waiting for them. he seemed in perfect health. when they accosted him, he told them he was about to make his will, and say his last words. they told him that a man in health had a perfect right to make his will, but remonstrated with him for saying that he was about to speak his last words. he insisted, however, that he was about to die. in vain they argued with him; he had had his dream. he gave to one child, house, animals, corn, poultry; to the second, similar gifts; to the third, the same. then, having bidden them all farewell, he lay down in his hammock, took no food or drink, spoke to no one, and in six days was dead. such cases are not uncommon among maya indians of pure blood. when we reached home that night we found ramon unwell. next day, the last of our stay at tekax he was suffering with fever. he had done no work while we were absent the day before, and all the packing and doing-up of plaster fell upon the others of the party. as for him, he collapsed so completely that it scared me. the ordinary _mestizo_ has no power of resistance; no matter how trifling the disease, he suffers frightfully and looks for momentary dissolution. it was plain from the first moment that ramon believed that he had the yellow fever; instead of trying to keep at work or occupying himself with something which would distract his attention, he withdrew into the least-aired corner of a hot room and threw himself onto heap of rugs and blankets, in which he almost smothered himself, cut off from every breath of fresh air. in vain we urged him to exert himself; in the middle of the afternoon we took him to the doctor, who assured us that the case was in no way serious--at the worst nothing more than a light attack of malaria. in the afternoon the _jefe_, neglecting the _padre_, invited the judge of _primera instancia_ and myself to accompany him upon a little expedition to the neighboring cave of the fifth of may. we went in a coach, taking louis, who sat with the driver, as photographer; on the way, we visited the town cemetery, which we found a dreary place, with no effort at adornment and with an air of general neglect. we passed a number of places where they were boiling sugar, and at one we stopped to see the mode of dipping calabashes for _dulces_; the fruits are gourd-like, but have considerable soft pulp within the thin, hard crust; several holes are bored through the external shell and the calabashes, slung by strings into groups at the end of a pole, are dipped into the boiling sap or syrup; the dipping is done two or even three times, and the clusters are removed and allowed to drip and dry between dips. the loose flesh is soaked through with the syrup, making a rich, sweet mass, much used for desserts. finally, we turned into another place where sugar was being made, and found it the cleanest and neatest of its kind. here we sampled little cakes of clean brown sugar, and were treated with similar cakes in which peanuts and squash-pips were embedded, making a delicious confection. we were here supplied with a clean, fresh _jícara_ cup, and, walking along the path a few rods, ascended slightly to the mouth of the cave, which was far handsomer than we had expected. the limestone of yucatan abounds in caves and subterranean water-courses, especially near the base of the ridge already mentioned. the mouth of the cavern was fringed with ferns and other vegetation. a flight of rustic steps led down to the nearly level floor of red cave-earth. the light from outside entered sufficiently to show the greater portion of the cave. the rock walls, opposite the opening, were brilliantly green with some minute growth; from the floor rose a heap of stone upon the top of which was set an _olla_ of large size to catch the water dripping from the roof; it was full of most beautifully clear, cool water, which we dipped out with our _jícara_ and drank. at two or three other places on the floor, and on projections from the side walls of the cave, were other _ollas_, or broken water-troughs of stone, for catching water. lighting our candles we went behind a pendant veil of thick stalagmite. at some spots hummocks of snow-white crystalline matter, with a reticulated surface, had been deposited by dripping water. a few great masses of stalagmite rose from the floor, and there were some columns of the same material. on returning from the cavern, nothing would do but we must breakfast with the _jefe_, which we did, in state, though at our usual boarding-house. [illustration: freshly-dipped calabashes, near tekax] [illustration: the coach that carried us to the station; tekax] the three great industries about tekax are sugar, hennequín, and liquor. father juan insisted that we should visit one of the local distilleries, of which there are fourteen in tekax. sugar, ground with water into a thick syrup, is drawn off from the mill into great vats, where it is permitted to ferment; it is then taken into the still, where it is heated and vaporized, and the vapor carried up into high towers for condensation. these three-storied, square, wooden towers, with ventilator-shafts, are one of the characteristic features of the town. padre juan insisted on supplying a coach for our leaving, in the morning. this coach, like those at mérida, was an extremely small affair, for a single horse. under any circumstances it would scarcely carry three persons, without luggage, besides the driver. when it is remembered that our party, (consisting of four), the stout _padre_, four satchels, measuring-rod, tin pan and blankets, made up the load, it can be easily appreciated that the little coach was full. we rode slowly, and the poor, creaking vehicle threatened to fall to pieces every moment, but we reached the station safely. it was scarcely ten when we arrived at mérida and took our old quarters at the moromuzo. our invalid at once lay down, and neither threats nor bribes would move him; he looked as if he suffered, but he insisted on doing so; going to the nearest drug store we described his symptoms to the apothecary, who assured us that the case could not be serious, and supplied a remedy which was rapid and energetic in its action, though our sick man insisted that he was not improved. we were now but waiting for notice of a vessel sailing from progreso for coatzacoalcos. writing, errands, visits, filled up the time, but it was dreary waiting. the muddy streets, the heavy, moist, fetid air, the outrageous prices, the mosquitoes--all combined to make a disagreeable experience. we worried through three days, and still no announcement of a boat. in a visit made to the bishop, to tell him of our kind reception in tekax and to make inquiry regarding books printed in the maya, we were again warned by the prelate to be most careful of our health; that day, he told us, two of our countrymen, working at the electric-light plant, had been stricken with yellow fever and would surely die. the second day we were in town the boys met don poncio, one of the spanish comrades of the _padre_ at tekax, who, with another of the household, had run away, leaving the good priest alone, as the young fellow who had been ill in the room next ours developed a full case of yellow fever the day we left, and was dead before night. one day we went to a _cenote_ for a bath. passing through a house into a rather pretty garden, we came to a stairway, partly natural and partly cut in the solid rock, which we descended; we found ourselves in a natural cave, with a pool of blue, transparent water. a paved platform surrounded one side of the cave, and near its rear edge was a bench of masonry, which was continued along the side of the pool by a similar bench, cut partly from the living rock. the water was so clear that we could see, by the light coming from above, to its very bottom, and could detect little black fishes, like bull-heads, against the sand and pebbles. the pool was irregular in shape, so that a portion of it was out of sight behind the rock-wall, beyond which we found that there was a paved floor and benching similar to that in the portion which we had entered. we had a delightful and refreshing swim in this underground pool, but it was noticeable that, after we came out into the air, there was no evaporation of water from the body, and towels were absolutely necessary for drying. such _cenotes_ are found in many parts of yucatan, and form the regular bathing-places, and are often the only natural supplies of drinking-water. of streams above ground there are practically none in the whole peninsula. the last day of our stay in mérida we saw the _xtoles_. these are bands of indian dancers who go from house to house during the carnival season; they are dressed in costumes which reproduce some features of the ancient indian dress. in the little company which we saw were fifteen dancers, including the standard-bearer; all were males, but half of them were dressed like females and took the part of such. the male dancers wore the usual white _camisa_ and drawers, but these had a red stripe down the side of the leg; jingling hawk-bells of tin or brass were attached to various parts of their dress; a red belt encircled the waist; all wore sandals. the "female" dancers wore white dresses of the usual sort, with decorated borders at the arm and neck; also necklaces of gold beads and gold chains with pendants. two of the dancers were little children, but the rest appeared to be young men up to about thirty-five years of age. all wore crowns upon the head; these consisted of a circlet of tin, from which rose two curved strips, which intersected over the middle of the head; from the circlet rose four feathers--either natural or made of tin. two of the crowns of special size, with real feathers, marked the king and queen. under the crowns, covering the top of the head and hanging down from the shoulders, were gay handkerchiefs of red or blue. all the dancers were masked. the men wore bandoliers of cotton, worked with bright designs representing animals, birds and geometrical forms; the square ends of these were hung with marine shells. in their hands, the dancers carried curious rattles and fans, which they used in making graceful movements as they danced. the handle of the fan consisted of the leg and foot of a turkey, while the body was composed of the brilliant and beautifully spotted feathers of the ocellated turkey, a bird peculiar to yucatan and the adjacent country. there were two musicians, one with a long _pito_, or fife, and the other with a _huehuetl_ or drum, which he struck with his hand. hanging to the side of the drum near the top was a turtle-shell, upon which the drummer beat, from time to time, with a deer's horn. a standard was carried by the company, which bore a representation of the sun, with dancers and a serpent; the pole by which it was carried was surmounted with a tin disk representing the sun's face. the music was apparently of indian origin and the words of the song were maya. the dancing itself was graceful and accompanied by many curious movements. mr. thompson, our american consul to yucatan, believes this dance is ancient, and thinks he has found representations of it painted on the walls of ancient ruins at chichen itza. [illustration: the xtoles; mérida] [illustration: the xtoles; mérida] mérida prides itself upon its carnival, which, it claims, ranks third,--venice and new orleans alone surpassing it. it was admitted that the celebration of this year was far below that of others. the cause of this dullness was generally stated to be the great amount of sickness prevalent in the city. however that may be, it certainly was a tame affair. on the th two processions took place, one in the morning, the other in the afternoon; these were arranged by two clubs of young people, and each desired to surpass the other. we saw that of the afternoon, and found it not particularly interesting. a number of private carriages, drawn up in line, passed through the streets; within were gentlemen, ladies and children, but few of them wore masks, or were otherwise notable; besides these, in the procession, were five allegorical cars. one represented a gilded boat containing pretty girls; it was arranged to seem to rise and fall upon a billowy sea. a second float represented the well-known ancient statue, the chacmool; an indian, in the attitude of the figure mentioned, held an _olla_ upon his breast, while one or two others stood near him as guards or companions. the most attractive float was loaded with the products of yucatan, and a group of figures symbolizing its industries and interests. upon the fourth, a female figure stood erect in a chariot drawn by lions. the fifth was comic, and represented marriage in public and private--a vulgar couple indulging in affectionate display before a partition, and in a conjugal quarrel behind it. these floats were scattered at intervals through the procession, which was of no great length. by this time ramon had suffered violent agonies, and had become so weak that assistance was needed when he walked. the second day in mérida we had sent for a competent physician, who assured us that nothing was the matter excepting an unimportant attack of bilious fever, and that with a day or two of treatment he should be entirely recovered. on his second visit he was much irritated, as the young man had not made the promised improvement, and assured us that there was no cause for his collapse. during our first visit to mérida, in hunting through the city for protestants--a practice in which he invariably indulged whenever we reached a town of consequence--ramon had happened on an interesting little man who represents the american bible society in this district. by name fernandez, this gentleman was born in argentina, educated in spain, and has served as colporteur in the states of chiapas, tabasco and yucatan for upwards of a dozen years. he was stout, active, and vivacious; he claimed to have been in every town in chiapas, and gave us much advice regarding our journey to that state; he called upon us several times during our stay, and shared the general disgust over our sick man, who, he assured us, had nothing serious the matter, and only needed to arouse himself to throw off the bilious attack from which he suffered. on the streets we met the baron who had been with us on our voyage from tampico. he told us that after one day in mérida, he and his lady decided that they preferred progreso, and were stopping there, going down upon the day-train when they wished to visit mérida. he also warned us that we need never expect to see the forty dollars which we had advanced through the vice-consul, as whatever disposition should be made of our complaint regarding customs charges by the government, no such money was ever known to leave his hands. following events entirely confirmed this gentleman's dire prophecy; neither mr. thompson nor señor solis have paid the least attention to communications regarding the matter sent after our return to our own country. it is little likely that the mexican government refused to refund the payment; but we shall probably never know. the remarks of the baron suggested a new line of action. why longer wait in mérida for our boat? progreso is cleaner, cooler, enjoys a sea breeze, and gives as good living for less than half the price we were paying. for comfort, for the benefit of our sick man, for the advantage of our pocket, we would be better off at progreso than in mérida. while there were cases of small-pox in the little seaport, there were none of yellow fever. in every way it looked attractive, and on monday morning we left, and found ourselves, before noon, comfortably located in the curious little hotel, la estrella de oro, in progreso. to be sure, our rooms were mere stalls, being separated from each other by board partitions scarcely eight feet in height, and without ceiling, so that it was impossible to escape the conversation in neighboring rooms at night. the table, however, was excellent, and the price, compared with what we had been paying, economy itself. having seen my companions comfortably located, i returned to mérida, where there was still some business demanding attention. this time i found a room in the hotel concordia, which was the most comfortable i enjoyed in mérida, although the price of $ for the mere room was high. the day before, we had seen the battle of flowers of the carnival. no flowers figured in it; it consisted of a long procession of carriages, mostly private and mostly good; they were filled with well-dressed young people, of whom few were masked; all were supplied with confetti, which was thrown in handfuls by those in the carriages upon those in carriages going in the other direction, for the procession was double. usually, girls and ladies threw at men and boys, who reciprocated the compliment; the ladies had their hair loose and flowing, and wore no hats; so that in a little time it was filled with the brilliant bits of paper. everyone, also, had long strips of colored paper, rolled up like ribbons, which were now and then launched, either with no direct aim or at some person; as these strips unrolled they trailed prettily in the air, and everyone caught at the trailing streamers. crowds of poor children chased along, beside and behind the carriages, catching at the showers of bits of paper, and at the long streamers, which they kept, or, in turn, hurled at passers. the balconies of all the better houses were filled with people, as were the seats and raised platform fronting the town-house, and those in the balconies and on the seats rained down paper upon those in the carriages. many children in the balconies were masked, and wore grotesque costumes, but few grown persons were so decked out. while pretty and characteristic, the battle of flowers disappointed us, lacking the life and "abandon" which one usually associates with the idea of carnival. it was all reserved, and respectable, and unenthusiastic. the only persons who really seemed to enjoy it were the poor children, with their loads of bright paper and long streamers. monday afternoon, the most striking function of the carnival, so far seen, took place. this was an enormous procession of vehicles; private carriages, with elaborate equipment, were filled with finely-dressed gentlemen and ladies; common rented coaches were in line, and some of them were loaded to their full capacity with common people--four, five, or even six, in one; in one were four brawny, young _cargadors_; in another an old grandmother, her two daughters, and some grandchildren, pure indians, rode complacently, enjoying the admiration which they knew their best clothes must attract; in some of the fine private coaches, no one but indian nurses or favored servants rode. even here, few of the parties were really dashing, lively or beautiful. the whole thing was constrained, artificial and sedate. an occasional group seemed to really enjoy the occasion. one bony horse dragged an ancient buggy or cart, which might well be that of some country doctor, and in it was the gentleman himself, commonly dressed, but with a whole family of little people, who were bubbling over with enjoyment. another happy party was that of a common carter, who had his own dray in the line, with his children, neatly but commonly dressed, as its only occupants; in two or three carriages were maskers, though none of them appeared funny; one drayman's cart had been hired by a crowd of loud and boisterous youngsters, who performed all kinds of pranks and bawled nonsensical remarks to the crowd. [illustration: carnival at progreso] [illustration: carnival at progreso] my chief errand was to see the leader of the _xtoles_, to purchase from him some of the objects which they had used in their dance. just as i was starting, at evening, for the address he had given me, i met señor fernandez in the plaza, and he agreed to accompany me to the place. we went some little distance on the street-car, and, dismounting at the corner of a narrow lane, were about to start through it, when someone touched my companion on the arm, and greeted him. he recognized the owner of the little shop before which we stood. heartily invited to enter the _tienda_, we did so and stated the object of our quest. the shopkeeper at once said that we must have a lantern, as the road was dark, and ordered his clerk to accompany us with one, for which we were truly thankful. we came, finally, to the house where don gregorio, the leader of the dancers, lived. fernandez was friendly and voluble, greeting every company of girls and women that we met, or who were at the house, as "_lindas_," and passing compliments. he was, however, uneasy, continually glancing around and asking repeatedly when don gregorio would appear. the dancers were still absent, but expected every moment; in fact, we could hear their music in the distance. when, finally, they did appear, their leader, who was very drunk, insisted that he could not treat in the matter until after the next day, which would be the culmination of the carnival, and their chief day for dancing. the instant that we received this answer, fernandez seized the lantern, which the clerk had left, and, grasping me by the arm, we started off at breakneck pace. as we almost rushed down the stony road, he looked furtively to right and left, and told me that there were, no doubt, persons in the neighborhood who had recognized him, and said that, more than once, in this very neighborhood, he had been stoned when selling bibles, and that any moment we ran our chances of a night attack. apparently, however, people were too much excited over carnival to waste their time in baiting protestants, and we heard no whizzing missiles, and soon, reaching the corner shop, left the lantern, and went home. there had been doubt as to whether trains would run the following day, tuesday, on account of carnival. i found, however, that the train on which i had counted, leaving at seven in the morning, went as usual, though it was the only train of the day for progreso. my companions were delighted to see me, and i found our sick man sure that death was imminent; to tell the truth, he was constantly spitting black blood, which oozed from his gums, and which gave me more concern than any of his previous symptoms. we found the carnival at progreso more natural and unpretentious, but also far more lively and amusing, than anything in mérida. to be sure, some of the performances bordered on the indecent, but on the whole, it was jolly, and scarcely gave cause for manuel's pious ejaculation that there were many _abusos_. groups of men and boys went through the streets decked with ribbons and flowers, and with their faces painted or daubed; many carried handfuls of flour, or of blue paint, which they dashed into the faces or over the clean clothes of those they met; bands of maskers danced through the streets; companies of almost naked boys, daubed with colors, played _toro_ with one who was inside a frame of wood. one man, completely naked, painted grotesquely, pranced through the streets on all fours; young fellows, dressed in women's clothes, with faces masked or painted, wandered about singly, addressing persons on the street in a high falsetto voice with all sorts of woeful stories or absurd questions. very pretty was a company of trained dancers,--with a standard, leader, music, and fancy costume,--each of whom carried two staves in his hands; these performed a variety of graceful movements, and sung a song in spanish; this was interestingly like the song of the _xtoles_, and the movements were almost precisely theirs. in the evening, we attended the _baile de los mestizos_--dance of the _mestizos_, where the elite of the little city was gathered, and the place was crowded. very little of it was enough, for while the music and dancing were all right, the heat, the tobacco-smoke, and the perfume, were overpowering. to our joy, on wednesday, the "hidalgo" appeared, bound for coatzacoalcos. all day thursday we waited for it to unload its cargo, and on friday morning, we loaded into a little sail-boat at the wharf, which we hired for a price far below what the regular steamer would have charged to take us to our vessel. the luggage had been weighed and valued, and an imposing bill of lading, and an official document, had been made out, to prevent our paying duty a third time when we should reach our port. at : we were on the "hidalgo," ready for leaving. it is the crankiest steamer on the ward line, and dirty in the extreme. the table is incomparably bad. the one redeeming feature is that the first-class cabins are good, and on the upper deck, where they receive abundance of fresh air; there were plenty of seats for everyone to sit upon the deck, a thing which was not true of the "benito juarez." of other first-class passengers, there were two harmless yucatecan gentlemen--one of whom was seasick all the voyage,--and two americans, brothers, one from st. louis, mo., and the other from springfield, ill. the captain of our vessel was a norwegian, the first officer was a mexican, the chief engineer an american, the purser a low-german, the chief steward an oaxaca indian, and the cook a filipino. never was i so glad to reach a resting-place, never so relieved, as when we got our baggage and our sick man safely on board. as to the latter, he at once lay down, and, practically, was not on his feet during the voyage. we had expected to make the run in thirty hours, but were hindered by rough weather, catching portions of two northers; the second was so bad that, when almost in sight of our destination, we were forced to put to sea again, and lost many hours of time and miles of distance. on the morning of the third day, however, we had dropped anchor, and on looking from the cabins at five, caught sight of coatzacoalcos; but it was not the coatzacoalcos of . prodigious changes had taken place. the pearson company, having taken possession of the railroad, had made great improvements; their pretentious general-offices, located at the wharf, had recently been completed; the railroad station had been improved; the old shack, where we slept in , had been torn down, and a construction track occupied its place; on the little rise behind, a pretty and large hotel had been erected; on the higher land, to the right, a line of well-built houses, making some pretension to architectural effect, had been constructed. it was only after landing, and walking through the older portions of the town, that any familiar scenes were recognized. though we were ready to land at five, and wished to catch the train at seven, we were forced to wait for the official inspection, and saw the longed-for train--and there would be no other for two days--pull out before our eyes. finally, at nine o'clock, we were permitted to land. to my surprise, my shipping document was called for, but, being produced, we were subjected to no difficulty. the balance of the day was spent in wandering about the village, meeting former acquaintances, attending to odds and ends of shipment, and strolling on the familiar beach, which was still covered with scurrying crabs and sprinkled with white "sand dollars." during the night, a terrific norther blew, and the next day, cold, dull gray, rainy, kept us in-doors. by this time, the purser of the "hidalgo," who had himself had yellow fever, and said he was familiar with it, had convinced us that ramon really had had a slight touch of that dread disease, but having passed his tenth day of sickness, was destined to recover, and would be no serious menace to other people. chapter xxiii ox-cart experiences ( ) on the following morning, at seven, we took the railroad train, and at five at night had reached tehuantepec, and were pleasantly located in our old hotel, the europa. on february , we visited the market, called at the house of the _jefe politico_ for a letter to the town authorities of huilotepec, and visited dr. castle, whom we found much the same as ever. we failed to find the _jefe_ at his office, though we went there several times, but found him sitting in a _tienda_ much the worse for drinking. he was charmed to see us, embraced us warmly, and told us that his thoughts had frequently been with us since our former sojourn in his district. new supplies of wine, and, on the appearance of certain ladies, of champagne, were ordered in witness of his satisfaction. in regard to our desires, he was delighted to learn that louis was shooting birds, declaring that we were just in time; that he had a damnable order from mexico to send on skins of all the birds of his district for the national museum, and that he had not known what to do in the matter; we must prepare them; if we did so, willingly, we should be handsomely paid; but if not, he would be compelled to force us. the jail was ready, and men die easily in southern mexico. with this, he made some suggestions that it was easy for a person to be officially reported as accidentally killed, or dead from _vomito_. he insisted that we should not go alone to huilotepec, but that he himself would accompany us and make sure that everything was done according to our wishes. all these dire threats and great promises were completely forgotten on the following day, when we sallied forth alone. [illustration: manuel and an iguana; tehuantepec] [illustration: market women; san blas] in the _jefe's_ office we learned that during the past year not only coatzacoalcos, but tehuantepec, had suffered frightfully from yellow fever. of course, the disease is no rarity on the gulf coast, though it was never worse than in the last season; but in tehuantepec, and on the pacific coast, it is a thing so rare as to be almost unknown. so true is this, that, when it was first reported from this district, the federal government did not believe the story, and sent a commission to investigate. we learned that the commission arrived at evening, and, finding two persons dead in their black vomit on the street, made no further investigation, but started for mexico on the following train. the spread of the disease to the west coast is generally attributed, and no doubt correctly, to the railroad. the disease was particularly fatal, in both places, to americans and englishmen, and it was whispered that per cent of the employes of the new railroad management succumbed. the chief clerk in the _jefe's_ office told us that, while many cases occurred here, no pure indians were taken, and that none of the _mestizos_ who were affected died--the mortality being confined to the foreigners. dr. castle had moved, but his place was as interesting as ever. for pets, he had three hairless dogs, a _mapachtl_, two macaws, two parrots, and a lot of doves, one of which he had taught tricks. he was much interested in cactuses, and had established a garden in which he planned to have all the species of the district. we had purchased some iguanas in the market, and louis had been skinning them. the doctor said that there were three species of iguanas in the district, the largest being green, changing to orange or gray, and its flesh not being eaten, as it is too sweet; the second species is of medium size, and gray or black in color; the third is rarer, smaller, and is striped lengthwise; it lives among the rocks near the coast. the two last species are both eaten, and are often sold in market. here we learned, by a casual remark which manuel dropped on seeing the ugliest of the hairless dogs, that these are believed, not only here, but in puebla, and no doubt elsewhere through the republic, to cure rheumatism. in order to effect a cure, the dog must sleep for three nights with the patient, and the uglier the dog the more certain the cure. through dr. castle, we also learned that the zapotec indians hereabouts, have many songs, of which the _sandunga_ is a great favorite. questioning an indian friend of mine, we afterwards learned that there are many of these pieces of music which are held to be truly indian. the words are largely zapotec; spanish words are scattered through the song, and the sentiment is largely borrowed. most of the songs are love-songs, and they abound in metaphorical expressions. our little trip to huilotepec was for the purpose of photographing the curious and interesting _mapa_ belonging to the village. we rode out over the hot and dusty river-bed road, arriving at noon. sending for the _agente_ and _secretario_, we ordered breakfast and made known our errand. though it plainly was not to their taste, the _mapa_ was brought out for our inspection. it is painted on a piece of coarse cotton cloth, of native weaving, in three colors--blue, red and black. the places around huilotepec are indicated by their ancient hieroglyphs. several personages of the ancient time are represented in the conventional manner commonly used in zapotec writings before the conquest. after eating, we placed the _mapa_ against the wall, wrote out a description of it, and photographed it. dismay now filled the soul of the _agente_, and the one _principal_ whom he had summoned for advice. they talked long and earnestly with me about the _mapa_, and begged me to assure the _jefe_ that it was no good; that it was not _autorizado_; that it was _mudo_. to quiet their fears, i was compelled to write a letter to that effect to be delivered to the _jefe_; if it ever came to hand, he certainly found it incomprehensible. mrs. seler, in her book, describes the trouble that they had in seeing this _mapa_, and the interest which their examination of it aroused. dr. castle told us that, several years ago, he accompanied a mr. werner and a priest to huilotepec to see the _mapa_, and, if possible, to secure a picture of it. for a long time they were unable to secure a glimpse of the old document, and it was only when the priest assured the indians that the doctor was an american engineer, who had been commissioned to survey the line in dispute between the village and the juaves, that they were allowed to see it. before permission was then given, a general meeting of the _principales_ was held, and none of the guests were permitted to touch the document. mr. werner made an exposure, which he sent to the states for development; it was lost or destroyed. it is thus possible that ours is the only picture of it in existence. we had been told that a coach went regularly from san geronimo to tuxtla gutierrez, making the journey in two days. this seemed too good to be true, and no one at tehuantepec knew anything of such an arrangement, but we took the train the following morning for san geronimo, hoping to get off without delay. all that the traveller sees upon descending from the train is the station, the place of señor espindola, and the little hotel europa. to our surprise, we found that our baggage had not yet come from coatzacoalcos, although we had seen it loaded on the train ourselves. still worse, we were informed that frequently fifteen days were consumed in transportation of freight from that point hither, and that we had no right to expect it so promptly. inquiry regarding the coach revealed the fact that no such vehicle existed. six hard days of horseback riding would be necessary for the journey, and, though ramon admitted himself to be much better, he was too weak for such an undertaking. this had had its influence in determining us to go by coach in the first place. when in doubt as to what we should do, señor espindola suggested that the journey could be made by ox-cart in ten or eleven days. though this seemed slow, it was better than to run risks with our invalid, and we determined to journey in that fashion as soon as our luggage should appear. the station is situated on a somewhat elevated plain, constantly swept by heavy winds. while we were there, this wind was hot, and loaded with dust. in the afternoon, we walked through the indian town, which extends over a considerable area. the houses are rectangular, with adobe walls, mostly whitewashed, and with steep, pitched roofs. we met a funeral procession in the road, with the usual band in front. the coffin open, so as to show the child, was carried on the shoulders of several men. the mother, in contortions of real or simulated grief, was supported by two women, and the mourners brought up the rear, wailing now and then. among the mourners was a woman who suffered from black _pinto_, notably developed. the principal industry of the town is pottery. the clay, which is of a greyish-black color, is stiff and hard, and is first broken up with a mallet. when worked into a stiff paste, it is built by hand into great _ollas_ and plates, one and a half or two feet in diameter. these _ollas_ we saw at many houses, and sometimes they were lashed to carts, plainly for bringing water from the stream. a single _olla_ thus lashed, practically filled a fair-sized cart. [illustration: drying pottery; san geronimo] [illustration: cart and olla; san geronimo] the little hotel at the station is a new venture, and deserves complete success. at few places in mexico have we found meals so good and cheap. in the evening, more from curiosity than expectation, we watched the train come from the east, and to our surprise and satisfaction, found our luggage. we had really made up our minds that we must spend some days in waiting; on the whole, the quiet and comfort of the little tavern would not have been unpleasant; but we hastened at once to señor espindola, and urged him to make instant arrangements for our leaving in the morning. to this he replied that no _carretero_ would be likely to start on sunday, and that we would have to wait until the following day. matters turned out better than anticipated, and before nine, the following morning, our arrangements had been made. two _carretas_ were hired, at twenty-eight pesos each, to make the journey; our driver agreed that, without counting that day, he could get us to tuxtla in eight days; in order to encourage him, we promised to pay five pesos extra for each _carreta_, in case we reached the city of tuxtla on monday the th. his name was eustasio; he was a good-natured little zapotec, from juchitan originally, but living now at guviño, union hidalgo. he warned us that, for the first day, we would have to put up with some discomfort, but that, upon reaching his home, he would fit us out magnificently. he promised to start at four that afternoon, and we were ready; of course, he was not, nor was he at five; so we went back to the hotel for a last good supper, and finally at : started. there were four teams and carts in the company, loaded with freight for hidalgo. the night was clear, with a fine moon. the road was over heavy sand. sometimes we walked in the moonlight, passing ixtaltepec at : , and reaching espinal at ten, where we lost three-quarters of an hour in loading freight. from there all went well, until a-quarter-of-two in the morning, when we were passing through a country covered with scrub timber. here we constantly met many carts heavily loaded; the road was narrow, and several times collisions, due to the falling asleep of one or other of the _carreteros_, were narrowly escaped. finally, one really did take place, between our second cart and a heavily loaded one going in the other direction. the axle of our cart was broken, and the vehicle totally disabled. two hours and a quarter were consumed in making repairs and in reloading. here, for the first time, we were impressed with two characteristics in our driver: first, his ability to swear, surpassing anything that we had ever heard; second, his astonishing skill and ingenuity in repairing any accident or break, which happened on the road. before our journey was over, we learned that both these qualities are common to his profession. it was four o'clock in the morning before we were again upon our way. all hope of reaching union hidalgo at the promised hour disappeared. before sunrise, we had turned into the hot, dusty, broad, straight high-road, which, after my journey of , i had devoutly hoped never to see again. just as the sun rose, we took quite a walk, killing some parrots, _calandrias_, and _chacalaccas_ as we walked. they said that _javali_--peccaries,--were common there. the day was blisteringly hot, long before we reached union hidalgo; hot, hungry and sleepy, we reached our carter's home, a little before ten in the morning. the _carreta_ in which we were travelling was here far ahead, and after we had rested half-an-hour or more, manuel, hot and perspiring, appeared, and reported that the disabled cart had broken down again, and that the other two were delayed by a sick animal. all came straggling in later. we had planned to leave here toward evening, travelling all monday night; but hardly had we rested a little, and eaten dinner, when eustasio announced that we should spend the night here, and not leave until the following afternoon. he said the animals were hot and tired from travelling in the daytime, and that to push on would defeat our plans. he swore that, unless god decreed otherwise, we should reach tuxtla gutierrez by the promised date. there was nothing for it but submission, though we would gladly have chosen a more interesting town than union hidalgo for a stay of almost two days. when evening came, i took my bed of poles out into the open air, into the space between two houses; ramon lay down upon a loaded _carreta_, also out of doors, while louis and manuel took possession of hammocks in one of the houses. it was a cloudless night, with brilliant moon. the air soon grew cool. after midnight, i was aroused by the most frightful yelling, and opening my eyes, i saw a barefooted, bareheaded indian yelling out the most frightful imprecations and oaths. at first i thought that he was insulting some one in the house, but both the houses were fast closed. ramon, completely wrapped in his blanket, could attract no notice, and i did not believe that i had been observed, nor that i was addressed. for quite ten minutes the crazy drunkard stood there in the moonlight, bawling out a frightful torrent of abuse, invective, and profanity, with an occasional "_viva mexico! muere guatemala_!" patriotically thrown in. [illustration: the drunkard's exchange; union hidalgo] [illustration: before reaching union hidalgo] at last he disappeared, but for a long time could be heard howling, as he went from house to house. believing that it might be well to be prepared for intruders, i arose and pulled a stake from one of the carts, and laid it at my side, upon the bed. but i was soon fast asleep again. awaking at five, i found myself so cold, and the dew so heavy, that i dressed, and wrapped my blanket around me, and sat up, waiting for daylight. at : our drunken friend passed again, somewhat less voluble, but still vociferous. he was absolutely crazed with drink, and through the day several times made his appearance, and always with a torrent of abuse and profanity which made one's blood run cold. before the day was well begun, a second person, almost as drunk, but far more quiet, a nice-looking old man, began making similar visits about the village. the two drunkards, differing in age and build, differed also in dress, but on the occasion of one of their visits, they were taken with the crazy notion of exchanging clothes, and proceeded to undress, making the exchange, and re-clothing themselves in garments ridiculously non-fitting--all with the utmost gravity and unsteadiness. during the day, our _carretas_ were being prepared. apologizing for the inconvenience of the preceding day, eustasio proposed to fix our cart "as fine as a church." he put a decent cover over it, and laid our sacks of plaster on the floor. upon this, he spread a layer of corn-stalks, and over them, a new and clean _petate_. to be sure, the space left above was low for comfort, and we were horrified when we saw him loading up the second one, not only with the balance of our luggage, but high with maize, fodder, and great nets of ears of corn, to feed the animals. we had supposed that two persons and part of the luggage would go in each of the carts, and never thought of carrying food enough to last four oxen eight days. crowding four people into our _carreta_ made it impossible to lie down in comfort. still, such is the custom of the country, and we submitted. during the day we heard a woman crying in a house. upon investigating, we found that she was the wife of a _carretero_ who had been injured on the road, and for whom a _carreta_ had been sent. shortly afterward, they brought the poor fellow into town, amid weeping and lamenting. when they took him from the _carreta_ in which he had been brought, he was supported by two men and helped into the house, where he was laid upon a hammock. he groaned with pain, and a crowd of curious villagers pressed into the room. it was easy to locate four broken ribs behind, and he complained of great internal bleeding. it seemed that he had started to climb up onto his moving cart in the usual way, and the stake which he had seized broke, letting him fall to the ground under the wheel of the heavily-loaded cart, which passed over his body. finally, all was ready, and at about five in the evening we started. packed like sardines in a box, we were most uncomfortable. personally, i did not try to sleep, neither lying down, nor closing my eyes. shortly after leaving town, we crossed a running stream, and from the other side went over a piece of corduroy, upon which we jounced and jolted. soon after, we descended into a little gully, from which our team had difficulty in drawing us. the baggage-cart had a more serious time; the team made several attempts to drag it up the slope, but failed, even though our whole company, by pushing and bracing, encouraging and howling, aided. there was a real element of danger in such help, the slipping animals and the back-sliding cart constantly threatening to fall upon the pushers. finally, the cart was propped upon the slope, and its own team removed; our team, which was heavier and stronger, was then hitched on, but it was only with a hard tug, and with heavy pushing, that success was gained, and the cart reached the summit of the slope. we crossed a fine marsh of salt water, quite like the lagoon at san mateo del mar, and were told that we were not far from the juave town of san dionisio. from here, the country, was, for a distance, an open plain. with the moonlight, the night was almost as bright as day; cold winds swept sheets of sand and dust over us. at one o'clock, we happened upon a cluster of six or eight carts, drawn up for rest, and the company of travellers were warming themselves at little fires, or cooking a late supper. we learned that this gypsy-like group was a _compania comica_, a comic theatre troupe, who had been playing at tuxtla, and were now on their way to juchitan. we never before realized that such travelling of ox-carts as we were now experiencing was a regular matter, and that the carter's trade is a real business. at two o'clock, we stopped to repack our loads, but were shortly on the way again. after the sun rose, we were in misery; the road was deep with dust, and we were grimy, hot, and choking. when the cross that marks the beginning of the land belonging to ixhuatlan was pointed out, we were delighted, but it was still a long ride before we crossed the little stream and rode into the village. ixhuatlan is like all the zapotec towns of this district, but less clean, on account of its lying in the midst of dust, instead of sand. our carts drew up in a little grove, a regular resting-place for carting companies, where more than fifteen were already taking their daytime rest. having ordered breakfast, we hastened to the stream, where all enjoyed a bath and cleansing. coffee, bread, _tortillas_, eggs, and brandied peaches, made a good impression, and we ordered our buxom young zapotec cook, who was a hustler, to have an equally good dinner ready at : . we set this hour, believing that she would be late, but she was more than prompt, and called us at two to a chicken dinner. it was interesting to watch the _carreteros_ in the grove. the scenes of starting and arriving, packing and unpacking, chaffing and quarreling, were all interesting. in the lagoons of vera cruz, our boatmen applied the term _jornada_ to a straight stretch across a lagoon made at one poling; here among the _carreteros_, the word _jornada_ means the run made from resting-place to resting-place. in neither case is strict attention paid to the original meaning of the word, a day's journey. ixhuatlan is a made town; a paternal government, disturbed over the no progress of the pure juaves in their seaside towns, set aside the ground on which this town now rests, and moved a village of juaves to the spot. high hopes were expressed for the success of the experiment; now, however, the town is not a juave town. it is true, that a few families of that people still remain, but for the most part, the juaves have drifted back to the shore, and resumed their fishing, shrimp-catching and salt-making, while the expansive zapotecs have crowded in, and practically make up the population of the place. between dinner and our starting, we wandered about the village, dropping into the various houses in search of relics. as elsewhere, we were impressed with the independent bearing and freeness of the zapotec woman. she talks with everyone, on any subject, shrewdly. she loves to chaff, and is willing to take sarcasm, as freely as she gives it. in one house we had a specially interesting time, being shown a lot of things. the woman had some broken pottery figures of ancient times, but also produced some interesting crude affairs of modern make from juchitan. these were figures of men and women--the latter generally carrying babies in indian fashion--of horses and other animals. as works of art, they make no pretension, but they are stained with native colors, and are used as gifts at new year's by the common people. here we saw the making of baked _tortillas_, and sampled some hot from the oven. such _tortillas_ are called _tortillas del horno_--oven _tortillas_. flat _tortillas_, about the size of a fruit-plate, are fashioned in the usual way; a great _olla_ is sunk in the ground until its mouth is level with the surface. this is kept covered by a _comal_, or a smaller _olla_, and a good hot fire of coals is kept burning within. when the _tortillas_ have been shaped, they are stuck on the hot _olla_, being pressed against the sides, to which they adhere, and are left to bake. in baking, the edges curl up so that the cake, instead of being flat, is saucer-shaped. they are crisp and good. leaving at four, we continued on the hot, deep, dusty road, but saw interesting plants and animals along the way. there were fine displays of the parasitic fig, from examples where the parasite was just beginning to embrace its victim, through cases where it had surrounded the tree with a fine network of its own material, to those where the original tree-trunk was entirely imbedded in the great continuous gray investing trunk of the parasite, now larger than its host. some trees bore bunches of pale-purple flowers of tubular form, which fell easily from the calyx, and dotted the ground along the roadside. other trees appeared as if covered with veils of little purplish-red flowers hung over them. others were a mass of golden bloom, the flowers being about the size of cherry blossoms. a few trees, yet leafless, showed large, brilliant white flowers at the tips of rather slender branches. at ixhuatlan, we saw the first monkey's comb of the trip. this orange-yellow flower, growing in clusters so curiously shaped as to suggest the name, is among the most characteristic, from this point on through chiapas into guatemala. there were but few birds, but among them were macaws and toucans. eustasio said that in the season, when certain berry-bearing trees are in full fruit, the latter may be seen by hundreds. when night had really fallen, i unwisely sat in front with the driver, to prevent his sleeping, and to keep the animals moving. both drivers had a way of dozing off, utterly regardless of the movements of the animals or the dangers of the road. carts going in opposite directions must often depend absolutely upon the oxen for their chance of escaping collisions or being thrown over precipices. frequently the animals themselves stop, and the whole company is at a standstill until the driver wakes up. in this _jornada_, we had planned to reach la frontera, the border of the state of chiapas, at which place we had been promised we should arrive at : in the morning. everything had gone well, and we were just about to reach the place, where it was planned to repack for the last time; it was just daylight, and eustasio was congratulating us upon our prompt arrival; we drove to the brink of a dry stream, on the other side of which was our resting-place; just at that instant, we heard the other driver cry out; we stopped, and found that the baggage-cart was overturned. this dashed all hopes. there was unhitching, unloading, the making of a new axle, and reloading. it was plain that we could not reach la frontera. while the men were putting things to rights, we strolled up the dry stream-bed to a shanty, where eustasio told us we could breakfast. there was a well there, with fresh water, and the shanty, for the refreshment of travellers, consisted of nothing but a little shelter of poles. here, however, we found baked _tortillas, atole_, and hard meat; the breakfast for four persons, cost twenty-five centavos, equal to ten cents american money. through the day, birds were hunted and skinned, reading and writing carried on, until at half-past-three in the afternoon we were again ready for movement. the road was now sandy, and not dusty, the sand being produced by the decomposition of crystalline rocks. mounting to a high _llano_, we shot a pair of curious birds, which looked like water-birds, but were living in a dry place and were able to run with great speed. they were of the size of a hen, and had a long beak, long legs and four flat though not webbed toes. at the end of this high _llano_, we passed the hacienda of agua blanca, a property belonging to the _jefe_ of juchitan. from here, we descended rapidly over a poor road, coming out at nine onto the straight road from tapanatepec, at this point four leagues behind us. from here on, the whole road was familiar to me. la frontera was just ahead, and, arriving there at o'clock, we spent an hour. before us rose a massive mountain, the ascent of which seemed appalling. we could see a white line of road zigzagging up its side, and well remembered governor leon's pride in having constructed a cart-road against great natural difficulties. thirty or forty ox-teams had gathered here, either ready to make the ascent, or resting, after having come down the mountain. having gotten breath and courage, we started at about eleven. the road had suffered during the five years since i last passed over it, but was still an excellent work of engineering. as we mounted, zigzagging constantly, the magnificent view over the valley widened; each new turn increased its beauty. my companions were asleep, and had had so little rest recently, that i hated to disturb them for the view. when, however, we were two-thirds up the slope, they awakened, and were as delighted as myself. we all got out, and walked for a considerable distance. an astonishing number of little streams and pools of fresh water burst forth from the rocks, and cut across the road or flowed along its sides. finally, we reached the summit, and began the descent. this had made no impression on me when i went over it on horseback, but travelling in an ox-cart was a different matter, and i shall never again forget it. it was less abrupt than the ascent--less of vertical zigzag, and more of long steady windings. it also was excavated in the solid rock. it was badly neglected, and the cart jolted, and threatened every instant to upset us, or leap into the gulf. coming out into a more level district, we passed paraje and dolores, reaching carizal at five, where we stopped for the day. this is a regular resting place for _carreteros_, and there were plenty of carts there for the day. as soon as the oxen were unyoked, i turned out my companions and lay down in the cart, trying to get an hour's sleep before the sun should rise, as i had not closed my eyes since leaving union hidalgo two days before. i was asleep at once, but in less than an hour was awakened by the assaults of swarms of minute black-flies, whose stings were dreadful. the rest of the company suffered in the same way, so we all got up and went to work. a group of _carreteros_ breakfasting, invited me to eat with them--hard _tortillas, atole_ and salted meat, formed a much better breakfast than we got, a little later, at the house upon the hill where travellers eat their meals. at this house they had a little parrot which was very tame, and also a _chacalacca_, which had been hatched by a domestic hen from a captured egg. this bird is more slender and graceful than a hen, but our landlord informed us that its eggs are much larger than those of the common fowl, and much used for food. both this bird and the little parrot regularly fly off with flocks of their wild fellows, but always come back afterward to the house. this was a most interesting example of an intermediate stage between true wildness and domestication. there was little doing throughout the day. heat, black-flies, and sunlight all made it impossible to sleep; but we took a bath in the running brook, and skinned some birds, and tasted _posole_ for the first time. _posole_ is a mixture of pounded or ground corn and sugar, of a yellow or brownish color, much like grape-nuts. it may be eaten dry, but is much more commonly mixed with water. the indian dips up a _jícara_ full of clear spring water, and then, taking a handful of _posole_ from his pouch, kneads it up until a rather thick, light-yellow liquid results, which is drunk, and is refreshing and satisfying. almost all the _carreteros_ at this camp were juchitecos. they were great, strong fellows, and almost all of them wore the old-fashioned indian breech-clout of red cotton under their drawers or trousers. when they were working at their carts, greasing the wheels, or making repairs, they were apt to lay by all their clothing but this simple piece of cloth, and their dark-brown bodies, finely muscled, hard and tough, presented handsome pictures. the little fellows who accompanied them, up to the age of twelve, usually ran about with no article of clothing save their little breech-clouts and white cotton shirts. in the early afternoon, serious work began, and everywhere we saw these men patching coverings, greasing wheels, readjusting cargoes, feeding and watering their animals, harnessing, and making other preparations for leaving. during the idle portion of the day, dice were in evidence, and eustasio was fascinated with the game. the stakes, of course, were small, but he kept at it persistently until he had lost five pesos, when, with forcible words, he gave up. i am sure the dice were loaded, but i am equally sure, from all i know of eustasio, that the next time he makes that journey, he will have some loaded dice himself. setting out at : , we were at the head of a long line of cars, and were soon making another steady zigzag to ever greater heights than those before climbed. according to the official _itinerario_, the distance from dolores to san miguel is five leagues; we had left dolores a league behind in arriving at carizal, and we naturally assumed that four leagues would bring us to san miguel. eustasio, however, who never under-estimated, claimed that it would take constant travelling until eight in the morning to reach los pinos, which is still this side of san miguel. this is a fair example of the inaccuracy of figures published by the government. as i looked behind at the long line of carts, some of which were empty, and able to journey at good speed, the desire took possession of me to hire one, at least for a short distance, in the hope of getting a little sleep. looking over the line, to make my choice, i had just selected one, and was about to broach my plan, when its driver ran the vehicle into the branches of a tree, which projected over the road, and tore away his awning. the idea was unaffected by this accident, however, and picking out a cart, which had a thick layer of corn-husks piled in it, promising a comfortable bed, i arranged my bargain with the owner, and deserted my party, betaking myself to my private car. having no load, we pushed ahead and, stretching myself at full length upon the heap of corn-husks, i was soon asleep. it was my purpose to disembark at los pinos, but we had passed that place long before i awoke, and were in sight of san miguel when i opened my eyes. it was too early for breakfast, so i concluded to ride along to macuilapa, where my carter turned off into another road. it was just eight when we arrived, and i thought of my companions as probably just reaching los pinos. starting from there at three in the afternoon, they should overtake me at seven. so i took possession of the great country house, sitting in the corridor all day long. the house is a long, large, single-storied building, with heavy tiled-roof; the store-houses, sheds and other out-houses, with the adobe huts belonging to the workmen, surround a somewhat regular area. the view, however, in front of the house is uninterrupted, and looks off into a narrow valley, bounded prettily by hills. the house has a wide brick-paved corridor. near it was an interesting ancient stone carving. the rock was coarsely crystalline, and gray, or olive-gray in color. it had been battered into the bold, simple outline of a frog, crouched for leaping; the head had an almost human face, with a single central tooth projecting from the lower jaw. the work was in low relief, and looked as if the ancient workman had taken a natural boulder, and beaten with his hammer-stone only sufficiently to bring out the details. the stone measured perhaps four feet in length, three feet in breadth, and two feet in thickness. it was found in the mountains near, and, from the marks upon it, seems to have been embedded in the soil half way up the legs. probably, when first made, it was placed so that the feet were even with the ground surface, but the accumulation of vegetable soil since has been considerable. the hacienda of macuilapa manufactures sugar and raises indigo, quantities of the seed of which were being cleaned when i was there. the owner of the place is a man of means, but the meals served were of a mean and frugal kind. everyone made dire prophecies about the time of possible arrival of my companions, and the period necessary for our further journey to tuxtla gutierrez. i had not expected my companions before seven, and after these dismal forebodings, gave up that expectation. to my surprise, they appeared, in good health and spirits, at five o'clock, though with exciting tales of peril and suffering. after a meal together, we again mounted in the old fashion, and were on our way. the air was fresh and cool, and at : the moon rose, giving perfect light. the road was high and sandy, with occasional small ascents and descents. at eleven we stopped to rest, i agreeing to wake them all at midnight; at one o'clock i was awakened by our _carretero_ raising the tongue of the wagon! we passed la razon at three. as one of the oxen, which had been somewhat lame, was now in bad condition, we all dismounted, half-a-league before we reached zapote, and walked the rest of the way. the hacienda of zapote is really almost a town. there are two _fincas_, belonging to two brothers. their fine large houses, the out-buildings, and the clusters of adobe huts for the workmen, make an imposing appearance. we stopped at the first group of buildings, which stands a little lower than the other. arriving at six, we spent the whole day at this place; the meals at the great house were excellent and cheap. in the afternoon we heard marimba-playing; the instrument was called _la golondrina_ and cost the owner forty-three pesos. [illustration: a day rest; the carizal] [illustration: marimba-playing; hacienda de zapote] the players were carefully trained, being four brothers. the youngest of them was not more than fourteen years old, but he put much expression and spirit into his playing. it was the first time that any of the party, but myself, had heard this instrument, and all were delighted at its brilliant, quick, and pleasing music. we left at : in the afternoon, but our ailing animal was worse than ever, and eustasio ran ahead, trying to secure others at different ranches. he had had no success when, after a rough ride of several hours, we drew up at jiquipilas, where we waited until the morning. we planned to secure new animals, to leave at dawn, and to reach tuxtla after a twenty-four hour ride. we laid down and slept, waking at five, but finding no sign of animals. we breakfasted at seven, and a little later the new oxen appeared. there were two yokes of rather light animals. leaving our sick beast, and driving the other three along with us, the new animals were put to the loads, and at eight o'clock we started. i failed to recognize rancho disengaño, but having passed it, we found ourselves at the bottom of the much-dreaded, last important climb of the journey. the little team dragging the passenger cart was inefficient and unruly; tiring of them, i dismounted and went ahead on foot. for a time i drove the unyoked cattle, but a stubborn one wandering into the brush, i gave up the job, and left poor louis, who had just overtaken me, to chase him. he had hard work, through tangled brush, here and there, up and down, until at last the animal was once more upon the road. the boy was hot, tired, and loaded with _pinolillos_. these insects had been in evidence for a long time back. they are exceedingly small ticks, which fix their claws firmly in the flesh, and cause intolerable itching. keeping in the road, the traveller is little likely to be troubled by them; but walking through grass, or among leafy plants, is dangerous. having climbed a portion of our great ascent, we found ourselves at agua bendita. it was not as beautiful as on the occasion of my other visit; the projecting ledge of rock had little water dripping, and in the round catch-basins, which formerly were filled with fresh, clear water, there was scarcely any; on account of the unusual dryness, the ferns were wilted, and there was little of that beauty and freshness which so delighted me before. eustasio said that he had never seen the spot so dry in all his many journeys. nor were there orchids blooming on the great tree near; nor any of the little toucans which had been so attractive in . as we stood, seeking for these well-remembered things, we heard curious cries rising from the valley. at first, i thought it was indians wailing for the dead; then, that it was a band of pilgrims singing. but it turned out to be a company of cowboys, bringing cattle up for shipment to tabasco. some rode ahead, and, with loud but not unmusical cries, invited and urged the animals and their drivers to follow. the beasts were divided into three bands, thirty or forty in a band, each of which had its mounted drivers. the animals were lively, and we were warned that they were _muy bravo_. manuel had taken the task of driving our loose cattle, and was fearful that he would be overtaken, asserting that the cowboys had said that he must keep on, as they could not pass him with their animals. when he came up to where we were, we put a quick end to his folly, driving our three oxen to the outer edge of the road, where louis and he stood guard over them, while i crept up on the cliff to avoid scaring the animals that were coming. it took much driving, urging, and coaxing on the part of the cowboys to get the first two or three to pass us, but after they had led the way, the others followed with a rush. [illustration: agua bendita] [illustration: moving the great stone; agua bendita] presently our passenger-cart came along, with both teams of oxen hitched to it; the new animals had proved too light to drag their proper loads, so the freight-cart had been left behind, and the full force employed in dragging the first cart up the hill. just beyond this spot, we found a gang of indians, under a superintendent, prying off an immense rock mass that had fallen from the cliff above onto the road, with the intention of dumping it over the wall into the abyss. it would have been a sight to have seen it plunge, but we had no time to wait, so simply stopped a few minutes to see the method of moving the immense mass with pole pries. our cart had gone ahead, so we finished the ascent on foot, and having gained the summit, walked a short distance on the high plateau to petapa, where the cart and _carretero_, manuel and ramon, were waiting. before we arrived, we met our men going back with the four oxen for the freight-cart. we had supper at the ranch, and waited, until at six o'clock everything was ready. here we sent back the two yokes of animals which we had brought from jiquipilas, and secured a fine, strong beast to make up our number, and started. we did not stop to grease the wheels, for lack of time. it was dark, and the first part of the journey was uncertain and difficult; coming out on to the llano grande, we found things easy, though here and there were stony places, where we jolted fearfully. at : , we had passed la cienega, and our ungreased wheels were not only an annoyance, but, eustasio suggested, a source of danger, as they might take fire. so, at : , we stopped to grease them. as the axles and wheels were then too hot for grease to be safely applied, we lay down while they should cool. probably in less than five minutes, we were all asleep, and no one moved until, waking with a start and looking at my watch, i found it two in the morning. we hastily applied grease, without removing the wheels, and hurried onward, passing sabino perez, yerba santa, and sabinal. here, the errors in our _itinerario_, and in our driver's guessing at distances, were curiously emphasized. we had a rather heavy descent, for some distance, over a limestone hill called santo domingo. nowhere do i know of any road which, under the best of circumstances, seems as long as the last stretch before tuxtla gutierrez. this we had noticed on our earlier journey, when we were mounted on horseback. present conditions were not likely to diminish the impression. at last, at : in the morning of march , we reached the capital city of the state of chiapas, and were taken by our _carretero_ to the little old hotel mexico, kept by paco, where we met a hearty welcome and, for several days, made up for the hardships of our journey in the way of eating. chapter xxiv at tuxtla gutierrez ( ) we knew that governor pimentel was not at home, having met him in coalzacoalcos, where we had presented our official letters, and had received from him a communication to his lieutenant-governor, lopez. having spent the afternoon in settling and cleaning, i called in the evening upon governor lopez and explained my needs. after chatting a little time together, he inquired whether i had not made the steamboat journey from coalzacoalcos to vera cruz in march, , and, upon my answering in the affirmative, told me that we had been fellow-travellers on that occasion. he promised that there should be no delay, and made an appointment with me for the morning. i then called on don conrado palacios, who lived directly opposite our little tavern, and who claimed that he recognized me the moment i dismounted from our cart this morning. he is still photographer, but for three years of the time since last we met has been living in the state of vera cruz, and but lately returned to tuxtla. in the morning, governor lopez supplied the letters for my further journey, and summoned the _jefe politico_ and the _presidente_ of the city and gave them personal orders that they were to assist, in every way, my work at tuxtla, among the zoques. the _jefe_ himself took charge of my arrangements, put his office at my disposition for a workshop, and the work began at once. contrary to my usual experience, we had less difficulty in securing female subjects here than male. the male indians of tuxtla are, in large part, employed in contract labor on _fincas_ at a distance from the town. according to their contract, they are not subject to the order of local authorities, and may not be summoned without permission of their employers, or a pecuniary settlement with them. the first day, more than half the women were measured, and the second day, the rest. as is well known the women of tehuantepec are famous for their beauty. it is not so well known that rivalry exists between them and the women of tuxtla in this matter. this rivalry had been called to our attention on our preceding visit, and we found that it had in no wise abated. personally, we saw no comparison between the two sets of women, the tehuantepecanas being far superior. eustasio, however, ungallantly and unpatriotically declared that he thought the women of tuxtla the handsomer; however, we suspect that eustasio would find the women of any town he might be in, the champions in beauty for the time being. their dress is picturesque. the _enagua_ is made of two strips of dark blue cloth, sewed together, side by side, with a fancy stitching of colored silks. the free borders are also decorated with similar stitching, and the ends of the strip, which is usually more than two yards in length, sewn together with similarly decorative needlework. in fastening this garment about the body, no belt is used. the open bag is gathered in about the waist, the surplus is folded into pleats in front and the overlap, at the upper edge, is so tucked in as to hold the garment tightly in place, and at the same time form a pouch, or pocket, in which small articles are carried. the little _huipíl_, worn upon the upper body, is of thin, white cotton cloth, native-woven, but a neat and pretty stuff; there are no sleeves, and the neck-opening and arm-slits are bordered with pleated strips of cotton, worked with black embroidery. a larger _huipíl_ is regularly carried, but we never saw it in use; practically, it never is worn. if put in place, it would form a garment for the body, with the neck-opening and sleeves bordered with lace, and the lower edge reaching to the knees. the woman carries this garment with her, folding it into a sort of pad, which she places on her head, letting it hang down upon the back and shoulders. upon this cushion, the woman carries a great bowl, made from the rind of a sort of squash or pumpkin, in which she brings her stuff to market. these vessels are a specialty of the neighborhood, being made at chiapa; they are richly decorated with a lacquer finish, of bright color. in carrying a baby, the child is placed against one side of the body, with its little legs astride, one in front and one behind, and then lashed in place by a strip of cloth, which is knotted over the woman's opposite shoulder. almost every zoque woman is asymmetrical, from this mode of carrying babies, one shoulder being much higher than the other. among the subjects measured, was a woman notable in several ways. she was the fattest indian woman we had ever seen; she was the richest of her kind, and not only were her garments beautiful in work and decoration, but she was gorgeous with necklaces, bristling with gold coins and crosses; more than this, she was a capital case of purple _pinta_. the disease is common among the indians of the town, and, while both the red and white forms are found, purple seems to be the common type. sometimes the face looks as if powder-burned, the purple blotch appearing as if in scattered specks; at other times, the purple spots are continuous, and the skin seems raised and pitted. [illustration: zoque mode of carrying babies; tuxtla gutierrez] [illustration: fat, rich, and pixta; tuxtla gutierrez] it appears that the adjusting of family quarrels and disputes between friends are among the duties of the _jefe_. in the office that day, a quarrel was settled involving two young men related by blood and by comradeship; a woman and a man of middle age were also interested; the quarrel had been a serious one, involving assaults, ambushes, and shootings. the _jefe_ first summoned each of the four persons singly, going over the whole matter with each one; the more intelligent of the two combatants was first to be reasoned with; then the woman was called in and he and she were left together in the office. for a long time, they would not even speak to each other. finding this condition, the _jefe_ reasoned with them, and warned them that they must come to some conclusion, after which he left them to themselves again. at first they would not speak, but finally held a conversation, and came to an understanding; the old man was then called in and made to talk the matter over with the two, who had already been in conference. lastly, the more belligerent youth was summoned, the _jefe_ remaining in the room with the whole party. at first he would not speak, but finally his pride and anger gave way, and he shook hands with his cousin, and the whole party left, after promising the _jefe_ that the past should be forgotten. the first afternoon that we were working, a curious couple came to the _jefe's_ office. the woman was not unattractive, though rather bold and hard in bearing. she was dark, pretentiously made-up, and rather elegantly dressed. the gentleman was a quiet, handsome fellow, dressed in sober black. when they sailed in, i supposed they were the _jefe's_ personal friends. sitting down, they showed interest in my work, and the lady in a rather strident voice, but with much composure, addressed us in english. her knowledge of our language, however, proved to be extremely limited, being confined to such expressions as "how are you, sir?" "i am very well," "yes, sir," "no, sir," and "i know new york." she was a mystery to the town, where she was commonly called "the turkish lady." [illustration: zoque women; tuxtla gutierrez] [illustration: the indian alcaldes; tuxtla gutierrez] this nickname, her limited knowledge of english, and her boasted acquaintance with new york, aroused the question, in my mind, whether she might not have been an oriental dancer. she, herself, told us that she was born in south america, and referred to caracas, as if it were a place with which she was familiar. the _jefe_ was extremely polite in his dealings with these people, and, as soon as they were seated, rang his bell for glasses, and we all drank the lady's health in cognac. the fact was, that these two persons were prisoners; they had come here within a few days, and had the city for a prison; as they had made no effort to leave the town, their movements were not interfered with, but if they had attempted to step outside the city limits, they would have been shot without a word of warning. the _jefe_ himself did not know who they were, nor what crime they had committed; nor did he know how long they would remain in his custody; they had come a weary journey, as he put it, "along the cordillera;" they had been passed from hand to hand, from one _jefe_ to another; when the order came, he was to start them on their journey to the _jefe_ of the next district. of the many stories told regarding them, a few will serve as samples. she was said to be the wife of a wealthy merchant of campeche, from whom she had eloped with her companion, carrying away $ , . according to another view, they were connected with an important band of forgers and robbers, who had been carrying on extensive operations. the most minutely detailed story, however, was that she had been the mistress and favorite of francisco canton, governor of the state of yucatan; that, pleased with a younger and handsomer man, she had stolen $ , from his excellency, and attempted an elopement; that, captured, they were being sent as prisoners, nominally to mexico. whether any of these stories had a basis of fact, we cannot say, but from remarks the prisoners themselves made to us, we feel sure that the centre of their trouble was mérida, and that, in some way, they had offended the pompous governor. at all events, it is likely that, long before these words are written, both have met their death upon the road. it is a common thing for prisoners, passing along the cordillera, to be shot "while attempting to escape from their guard." the _jefe politico_ of this district is a man of education, and professional ability; he is a physician, trained in the city of mexico; he is ingenious in mechanics, and has devised a number of instruments and inventions of a scientific kind. he had been but a short time in this district, having come from tonala, where he has a _finca_. he entertained us at his house, while we were there, and showed us every assistance. it is plain, however, that he found us a white elephant upon his hands. not that his willingness was lacking, but where should he find one hundred indian men? we pestered him almost to death for subjects, when at last his _secretario_ suggested the district jail. this was a veritable inspiration. there they were sure we would have no difficulty in finding the remainder of our hundred. to the jail we went, but out of seventy-five prisoners fully half were tzotzils from chamula and not zoques. more than half of the remainder were not indian, but _mestizos_. in fact, out of the total number, only a baker's dozen served our purpose. when we again presented ourselves, the following morning, for subjects, the poor man was in genuine desperation. but again his assistant made a shrewd suggestion. yesterday we were at the jail; to-day we should go to the _cuartel_, and measure the soldiers. there were two hundred there, and this would more than see us through. the _jefe_ himself accompanied us to the barracks and introduced us to the colonel, leaving orders that we should be supplied with every aid, and went off happy, in the sense of a bad job well done. but out of the two hundred soldiers in the barracks, just ten turned out to be zoques of pure blood. and long before the day was over, we were again clamoring at the _jefe's_ house for thirty-six more subjects. to tell the truth, we doubted his ability to secure them, and, in order to lose no time, started our goods and plaster by _carreta_ for san cristobal. still, while it was plain that he did not know where to look for help, the good man assured us that we should have our thirty-six subjects the next morning. meantime, he sent officials with us to visit certain indian houses which we desired to examine, and arranged that we should see a certain characteristic indian dance at his house, at four o'clock that afternoon. tuxtla gutierrez is a capital city. it is also a busy commercial centre. of course, the population is for the most part _mestizo_, and not indian. we had been surprised at finding so many indians in the city as there were. we were yet more surprised to find to what extent the houses of the city, though admirably built, were truly indian in style, presenting many points of interest. the walls of the "god-house" were heavy and substantial, smoothly daubed with mud, neatly plastered and often adorned with colored decorations. the "cook-house," slighter and less well-built, was made of poles daubed with mud, and rough with heavy thatching. the granary was elevated above the ground, and sheltered with its own neat thatching. in the afternoon, at four o'clock, we betook ourselves to the _jefe's_ house to see the dance. at tuxtla, there are two town governments, that of the _mestizos_ and that of the indians. the indian officials--"_alcaldes indios_"--are recognizable by their dress, which is a survival of the ancient indian dress of the district. their _camisa_, broad hat, and leather breeches, are characteristic. around the head, under the hat, they wear a red cloth, and those who have served as indian _alcaldes_ continue to wear this head-cloth after their official service ends. these indian officials had been commissioned to bring together the dancers, and make all necessary arrangements. the colonel, the prisoners of state, and one or two other guests were present. the leader of the dance was gaily dressed, in a pair of wide drawers with lace about the legs below the knee, a pair of overdrawers made of bright-colored handkerchiefs, and a helmet or cap of bright-red stuff from which rose a crest of macaw feathers, tipped with tufts of cotton. on his back, he bore a kind of pouch, the upper edge of which was bordered with a line of macaw feathers. in his hand, he carried a wooden war-axe. a pretty little girl, dressed in a guatemaltec _enagua_, wore a fancy head-dress, and, in her hand, bore a _jícara_, which was filled with pink carnival flowers. these two dancers faced each other and in dancing moved slowly back and forth, and from one foot to the other; the only other dancers were two men, one of whom was dressed as, and took the part of a woman. this couple danced in much the same way, but with greater freedom than the chief persons, and at times circled around them. the music consisted of a violin and native _pito_ or pipe, and a drum of the _huehuetl_ type,--cut from a single cylindrical block, but with skin stretched over both ends instead of one. i was surprised the following morning when thirty-six subjects were produced; we knew that, for the moment, the building operations of the government palace were discontinued, and we suspected that all the work done by indians in tuxtla was likewise temporarily ceased. when the last one had passed under the instruments, the _jefe_ heaved a sigh, rang his bell for glasses, and the event was celebrated by a final draught of cognac. [illustration: zoque dancers; tuxtla gutierrez] [illustration: tzendals from tenejapa; cold hands] the man with whom we had expected to arrange for animals had promised to come to the hotel at seven. he came not then, nor at half-past, nor at eight, nor at nine. when we sent an inquiry, he made the cool reply, that it was now too late to arrange matters; that he would see us at eight the following morning. furious at his failure, we ourselves went with the boy from the hotel at ten o'clock to his house, but could not get him even to open the door. "to-morrow! to-morrow!" was his cry. desperate, we went, although it was now almost midnight, to another _arriero_, who, after some dickering, agreed to leave at eight the following morning, charging a price something more than fifty per cent above the usual rate. of course he was behindhand, but we actually set out at nine. chapter xxv tzotzils and tzendals ( ) we started out over the hot and dusty road, passing here and there through cuts of the white earth, which is used by the women of chiapa in their lacquer-work. we soon reached the river, and, leaving our animals behind, to cool before swimming them across, embarked with a dozen other passengers, and all our baggage, in one of the great canoes, which we by no means filled. landing on the other side, with an hour to wait, we walked down stream, and took a fine bath in the fresh cold, clear, deep water. just below where we were bathing, some indians had exploded a dynamite cartridge, killing a quantity of fish, and the surface was immediately spotted with their white, upturned bellies. a canoe-load of four men put out to gather the fish, as soon as the shot was fired. just as they reached the spot, and were leaning over the boat to catch them, the canoe overturned, and all the men were floundering in the water, up to their necks, and the canoe was rapidly drifting down the stream. the fish they get here are quite large, and seem to be a kind of cat-fish. strolling back to our landing-place, we were interested in the lively scenes there being enacted. under little arbors of leafy boughs, women were washing clothing; crowds of children, of both sexes, were playing on the sand or splashing in the water; half-a-dozen great canoes were dragged up on the bank, and amid these a group of little brown fellows, from ten to fourteen years of age, were swimming; here and there, a man or woman squatted in the shallow water, dipped water over their bare bodies with _jícaras_. now and then the great ferry-boat, loaded with passengers and with animals swimming alongside, made its crossing. presently our seven animals were swum across, and, after a moment's drying, were repacked and saddled, and we were ready for our forward movement. [illustration: zoque compadres greeting; tuxtla gutierrez] [illustration: our ferry-boat; chiapa] chiapa was formerly the great town of the chiapanecs, an indian tribe to whom tradition assigns past splendor, but who, to-day, are represented in three villages, chiapa, suchiapa, and acala. they are much mixed with spanish blood, and have largely forgotten their ancient language. it is, however, from them, that the modern state, chiapas, received its name. chiapa, itself, is a city of some size, situated on a terrace a little way from the river, with a ridge of hills rising behind it. the _plaza_ is large, and in it stands a market-building. near by is a picturesque old gothic fountain, built of brick. market was almost over, but we were interested in seeing the quantities of pineapples and cacao beans there offered. to lose no time waiting for dinner, we bought bread and one or two large pineapples, which we ate under the shade of the trees in the _plaza_. the pineapples were delicious, being tender and exceedingly sweet; our _arriero_ refused to eat any of them, asserting that they were barely fit to eat, lacking sweetness, and being prickly to the taste. the pineapples of simojovel were to his liking; they are sugar-sweet, leaving no prickly sensation, and anyone can eat three whole ones at a sitting. after luncheon, we looked about for examples of lacquer-work. in one house, we found some small objects and wooden trays of indifferent workmanship. an old crone, badly affected with _pinto_, the mother of the young woman artist, showed us the wares. with her was the older sister of the lady-worker, who, after we had bought two of the trays, asked whence we came. upon our telling her that manuel was a native of cordoba, and that i had come from the united states, without a word of warning she raised her hands, turned her eyes upward, and gave vent to a torrent of shrill, impassioned, apostrophe to her absent, artistic sister: "_a dios, hermana mia_, anastasia torres, to think that your art-products should penetrate to those distant lands, to those remote portions of the world, to be the wonder and admiration of foreign eyes. _a dios, hermana mia_, anastasia torres!" this she repeated several times, in a voice high enough to be heard a block or two away. leaving her to continue her exclamations of joy and admiration over the fate of her sister's workmanship, we returned to the _plaza_, where, in a house near by, we found a considerable stock of better work, consisting of decorated bowls, cups, toy _jícaras_, gourd-rattles, etc. this brilliant work, characteristic of the town, is carried hundreds of miles into the states of oaxaca, tabasco, vera cruz, and into the republic of guatemala. at two o'clock we hurried from the town in the midst of terrific heat. as we rode out, over the dry and sandy road, we were impressed by the display of death; not only was there one cemetery, with its whitened walls and monuments, but at least three other burial places capped the little hillocks at the border of the town. one, particularly attracted attention, as it resembled an ancient terraced pyramid, with a flight of steps up one side. from the foothills, we struck up the flank of the great mountain mass itself. mounting higher and higher, a great panorama presented itself behind and below us, including the chiapa valley, with the hills beyond it. it was, however, merely extensive, and not particularly beautiful or picturesque. as we followed the slope towards the crest, into the narrowing valley, the scene became bolder, until we were at the very edge of a mighty chasm, which yawned sheer at our side. following it, we saw the gorge suddenly shallow hundreds of feet by a vast precipice of limestone rock rising from its bottom. having passed this, we journeyed on up the cañon, lessened in grandeur, but still presenting pretty bits of scenery. up to this point, limestone had prevailed, but from here on, we passed over various formations--heavy beds of sand or clay, lying upon conglomerates and shales. the road wound astonishingly, and at one point, coming out upon a hog's-back ridge, we found that we had actually made a loop, and stood directly above where we had been some time before. near sunset, we reached the summit, and looked down upon the little town of ixtapa, upon a high _llano_ below, and seeming to be a half-hour's ride distant. descending on to the _llano_, we found it intersected by deep and narrow gorges; following along the level, narrow ridge, surrounded by ravines on every side, except the one from which we had approached, we presently descended, along its flank, the bank of the deepest of these _barrancas_. the sun had set long before we reached the bottom, and through the darkness, we had to climb up over the steep dugway in the sandy clay to the village, which we reached at seven. the little room supplied us for a sleeping-place was clean and neat, the floor was strewn with fresh and fragrant pine-needles, and the wooden beds were supplied with _petates_. leaving before eight, the following morning, we travelled through a beautiful cañon, with an abundant stream of whitish-blue water, tumbling in fine cascades among the rocks, and dashing now and then into deep pools of inky blackness. having passed through it, our bridle-trail plunged abruptly downward. from it, we looked upon a neighboring slope, cut at three different levels, one above the other, for the cart-road. passing next through a small cañon of little beauty, but where the air was heavy with an odor like vanilla, coming from sheets of pale-purple or violet flowers, on trees of eight or ten feet in height, we reached san sebastian, where we found our _carretero_, whom we supposed to have reached san cristobal the day before. rating him soundly, and threatening dire consequences from his delay, we resumed our journey. we were also worried over our _mozo_, who started from chiapa at noon, the day before, with our photographic instruments, and whom we had not seen since, although there were several places where we would gladly have taken views. from here, for a long distance, the road was a hard, steep climb, over limestone in great variety--solid limestone, tufaceous stuff, concretionary coatings, satin spar, and calcite crystals. having passed a small pueblo, or large _finca_, lying in a little plain below us, we looked down upon zinacantan. the descent was quickly made, and passing through the village, without stopping, we made a long, slow, ascent before catching sight of our destination, san cristobal. it made a fine appearance, lying on a little terrace at the base of hills, at the very end of the valley. its churches and public buildings are so situated as to make the most impression; on account of its length and narrowness, the town appears much larger than it really is. we entered at one end, and then, practically, paralleled our trail through it to the centre, where we stopped at the hotel progreso, at : in the afternoon. we went to the palace, and made arrangements so promptly that we could have begun work immediately, if the _carretero_ and _mozo_ had not been behind. as it was, we waited until next day, and were warned by the _secretario_ at the _jefatura_ that there would not be enough light for work before nine o'clock. in the evening, we called on padre sanchez, well known for his study of the native languages, and the works he had written regarding them. he is a large man, well-built, of attractive appearance, and of genial manner. he has been _cura_ in various indian towns among the chamulas, and he loves the indians, and is regarded as a friend by them. we were prepared for a cold night, and had it, though no heavy frost formed, as had done the night before. in one day's journey, the traveller finds towns, in this neighborhood, with totally different climates. here woolen garments are necessary, and in towns like chamula and cancuc the indians find the heaviest ones comfortable. our rating of the _carretero_ had an effect both prompt and dire; when we left him, he hastened to hire carriers to bring in the more important part of our load; these, he insisted, should travel all night, and at eight o'clock we found them at the hotel. in the darkness they had stumbled, and our loads had fallen. whole boxes of unused plates were wrecked, and, still worse, many of our choicest negatives were broken. at nine o'clock the missing _mozo_ appeared with the instruments; it is customary for our carrier to keep up with the company, as we have frequent need of taking views upon the journey; this was almost the only instance, in the hundreds of leagues that we have travelled on horseback, over mountain roads, where our carrier had failed to keep alongside of the animals, or make the same time in journeying that we mounted travellers did. [illustration: the jail; san cristobal] [illustration: tzotzil musicians in san cristobal jail] though there had been an early mist, there was no lack of sunshine, even before seven. still, we did not go to the palace until nine o'clock, the hour set. san cristobal was formerly the capital of the state, and its public buildings are more pretentious than usual in _cabeceras_. the place in which we did our work was a building of two stories, filling one side of the plaza. we worked in the broad corridor of the second story, outside of the _secretario's_ office, from which our subjects, mostly indians who had come to pay school-taxes, were sent to us for measurement. the market-place of san cristobal is characteristically indian. not only do the two chief tribes which frequent it--tzotzils and tzendals--differ in dress, but even the different villages of each wear characteristic garments. the tzotzil of chamula differs from his brother of huixtan and san bartolome; the tzendal women of tenejapa, cancuc and san andres may be quickly recognized by difference in dress. most interesting are the tzotzils of chamula. though looked upon by the _mestizos_ of san cristobal as mere brutes and savages, they are notably industrious. they weave heavy, woolen blankets and _chamaras_; they are skilled carpenters, making plain furniture of every kind; they are musicians, and manufacture quantities of harps, guitars, and violins; they braid straw, and make hats of palm; they are excellent leather-dressers, and give a black stain and polish to heavy leather, which is unequalled by the work of their white neighbors. men wear lower garments of cotton, and heavy black woolen over-garments, which are gathered at the waist with woolen girdles. they wear broad-brimmed, low-crowned hats, of their own braiding, which they adorn with long, streaming, red and green ribbons. their sandals are supplied with heel-guards of black leather, the height of which indicates the wealth or consequence of the wearer. these indians of chamula have a love of liberty and desire for independence. the most serious outbreak of recent times was theirs in , when, under the influence of the young woman, checheb, they attempted to restore the native government, the indian life, and the old-time religion. temples were erected to the ancient gods, whose inspired priestess the young woman claimed to be; but three hundred years of christianity had accustomed them to the idea of a christ crucified; an indian christ was necessary, not one from the hated invading race; accordingly, a little indian lad, the nephew of the priestess, was crucified, to become a saviour for their race. their plans involved the killing of every white and _mestizo_ in all the country; in reality, more than one hundred men, women, and children, in the _fincas_ and little towns, were killed; san cristobal, then the capital city, suffered a veritable panic, and it took the entire force of the whole state to restore order. [illustration: tzotzils; huixtan] [illustration: tzotzil woman; chamula] the tzendals of tenejapa are picturesque in the extreme. their dark skin, their long black hair, completely covering and concealing the ears, their coarse features, and the black and white striped _chamaras_ of wool--which they buy from the weavers of chamula--form a striking combination. they do but little weaving, their chief industry being the raising and selling of fruits. most of the men carry a little sack, netted from strong fibre, slung at one side. among other trifling possessions in it, is generally a little gourd filled with a green powder, which they call _mai_, or _pelico_. it consists chiefly of tobacco, with a mixture of lime and chili, and is chewed, no doubt, for stimulating properties--to remove the weariness of the road, and "to strengthen the teeth," as some say. when we had exhausted the stock of those who came to pay their taxes, it was suggested that we would find good subjects in the jail. this occupied what was once a fine old convent, built around a large open court, and connected with the church, which, judging from its elaborately carved façade, must have been beautiful. on presenting our credentials to the officials, an order was given, and all the pure-blood indians, one hundred at least, were lined up before us for inspection. there were tzotzils from chamula, and tzendals from tenejapa, and among them many excellent faces, showing the pure types, finely developed. having made our inspection, and indicated those whom we should use, we looked about the prison. the prisoners were housed in the old rooms of the monastery, each of which was large enough for six or eight persons. in these rooms, each prisoner had his personal possessions--good clothing, tools, cherished articles, instruments of music. those who cared to do so, were permitted to work at such things as they could do, and the product of their labor was sold for their benefit. some braided palm into long strips, to make up into hats; others plaited straw into elaborate, decorative cords or bands for hats; some wove _pita_ into pouches; some dressed leather. almost all were busily employed. freedom of conversation and visiting was permitted, and there was no particular hardship in the matter of imprisonment, except the inability to go outside. we were impressed with the fact that, in appearance and manner, few, if any, of these indian prisoners, particularly the chamulas, showed any signs of criminal tendencies. in fact, they were as clean, as frank, as docile, as intelligent, as any persons we might find in mexico. a little curious to know the charges on which they had been committed, we inquired, and discovered that some had fifteen or twenty points against them, among which were such trifling charges as murder, manslaughter, arson, rape, and highway robbery. we thought best not to inquire too closely, but it is doubtful, whether any of the subjects here incarcerated under these long and dreadful lists of charges, are guilty of anything except insurrection--a final struggle for freedom. [illustration: position of rest; tzendals, tenejapa] [illustration: tzotzils from huixtan] there were various signs of the approach of holy week, and the landlady at our hotel, and her various helpers, were busy manufacturing incense for that occasion. this was made in sticks, as thick as the thumb, and six or eight inches in length, of a black color. besides copal, leaves and other materials from various kinds of odorous plants were employed in its fabrication; the incense thus made is really fragrant, and it would be interesting to know whether it is, in part at least, of indian origin. in three days we had completed our examination of the men, but not a woman had been produced for examination. on the fourth day, we reiterated our demands to the authorities, and don murcio, the janitor or messenger, who had been put subject to our order, was almost frantic. he declared that to secure the women we needed would tax every power of the government; that they refused to come; that his mere appearance in the market caused a scattering. finally, we told him, that if he would provide twenty-five chamula women, we would get the tzendals in their villages, as we passed through them. encouraged, by having one-half of our demand abated, he made another visit to the market. soon we heard excited voices, and a moment later don murcio came rushing up the stairs with both arms filled with black _chamaras_. it is the custom of the indian women, when they come to market, and settle down with wares to sell, to fold their heavier garments and lay them on the ground beside them. don murcio had gathered up the first of these he came to, and fled with them to the government palace, while the crowd of angry women, chasing along behind, expressed their feelings vigorously. putting the garments out of reach, the women were told by the officials, that each would receive back her property as soon as the strangers made their desired measurements. while we were dealing with the first cluster, don murcio sallied forth, and returned once more with garments and women. in this way, the work proceeded, until the final lot were in our hands. not to unnecessarily increase their terrors, we had refrained from photographing, until the final company had been secured. we had told the officials of our plan, and as these later ones were measured, they were told that they must wait for their garments until the last one was measured, and until the gentleman had done some other work. when all had been measured, it was explained to the six of seven in the group, that they were to go down into the _patio_, where a picture would be taken of the company. that they might be properly prepared for the picture, their garments were returned. suspecting no treachery, don murcio led the way, and one of two police officers accompanied the forward part of the procession, while louis brought up the rear, in expectation of making the portrait. all went well until the first two or three had entered the _patio_, when the rest suddenly balked, and started to run out onto the street. hearing the confusion, i started down and caught one of the women as she neared the doorway, while louis held another, and each of the police officers, and don murcio, seized a prisoner. so violent, however, were the struggles, and so loud the outcries of the woman whom i held, that i released her, which was the unintended signal for each of the other guards to do the same, and our group vanished and all thought of gathering a second was given up in desperation. [illustration: tzotzil brothers; chamula] [illustration: tzendal father and son; tenejapa] the morning had thus passed; animals for the further journey had been ordered for ten o'clock, and were really ready a little before three. for once, however, _we_ were not prepared. it was our custom to pack the busts in petroleum boxes; these boxes, each holding a five-gallon can of oil, are of just the size to take a single bust, and they are so thin and light, yet at the same time, so well constructed, that they served our purpose admirably. in small indian towns, they are frequently unobtainable, but in the places where _mestizos_ live, it had been always easy to procure them, at prices varying from ten to twenty-five cents each. in a town the size of san cristobal, it should be easy to get them; to our surprise, we found that they had been in such demand, for carrying purposes by public workmen, that the supply was small and the price outrageous. we had left the securing of the boxes and the packing of the busts to our plaster-worker, and, though we knew he had had difficulty, imagined that he had secured all needed, and that the busts would be all ready. diligent search, however, had secured but two boxes, and ridiculous prices had been demanded for those. all of us took to the streets, visiting stores and private houses, and at last five boxes were secured, though they were a dilapidated lot, with bad covers. for these we paid an average of sixty-two cents each. realizing the time and labor necessary for securing boxes, stuff for packing, and for the work of putting up the busts, we dismissed our horsemen, and arranged for leaving the next morning. in fact, night had fallen before our work was done. leaving a little before eight, we had a magnificent mountain ride. for a league or more, we rose steadily over a cart-road; keeping at a high altitude, and, with but little of ups and downs, we journeyed through fine pine forests, with oaks mingled, here and there, among the pines. we met quantities of chamula and tenejapa indians on their way to market. the chamulas carried chairs, loads of well-tanned skins, and sacks full of little, round wooden boxes, well and neatly made, while the tenejapes were loaded with nets of oranges, _limas_, and _ahuacates_. we were sorry to leave the village of chamula to one side, but lack of time forbade our visiting it. it was amusing to note the terror of our _arriero_ on the road. until we passed cancuc, he was constantly expecting attack from the dreadful indians of chamula, tenejapa, and cancuc, telling us that such attacks might be expected at any time, but particularly in the early morning and in the dusk of evening. what indians we met were most gentle, and answered our salutations with apparent kindness. after a long journey on the high, smooth road, we finally began descending into a pretty valley, and soon saw the great town of tenejapa, below us, on a space almost as level as a floor, neatly laid out, and still decked with the arches erected for a recent fiesta. the _agente_ of the town had been warned of our coming, by telephone from the _jefatura_, and received us warmly, a little before one o'clock, giving us a large and comfortable room in the municipal building, supplied with chairs and benches, and a table, though without beds or mats. we were here delayed by the slowness of the old man, who had been furnished at san cristobal for carrying our instruments. by three o'clock, all was ready, and the twenty-five women were summoned. they gave no kind of trouble, and by six o'clock the work was done. women here braid their hair in two braids, which are wrapped about closely with cords, making them look like red ropes; these are then wound around the head and picturesquely fastened. the _huipíls_ of cotton are short, and decorated with scattered designs, worked in color, and loosely arranged in transverse bands. belts are of wool, red in color, and broad, but not long. over their shoulders the women wear, particularly in cool weather, a red and blue striped cotton shawl or wrap. the red worn--whether in belts, wraps, or hair-strings--is all of one shade, a dull crimson-red. as night fell, dozens of little bonfires were lighted in the plaza, made from cobwork piles of fat-pine. people were already gathering from other pueblos for market, and many of them slept through the night in the open market-place. the band played a mournful piece, repeatedly, during the evening, and some rockets were fired--no doubt, the tailing-off of the late fiesta. [illustration: close of market, tenejapa] market had begun in the morning, as we prepared to leave, but the great plaza was not more than half-full, and there was little that was characteristic. noteworthy, however, were the great loaves of salt made at ixtapa; about the size of old-fashioned sugar-loaves, they were shaped in rush-mats, and showed the marks of the matting on their surface; saws were used to cut off pieces for purchasers. the _agente_ said that it was not good, being mixed with earth or sand. he, himself, came from the neighborhood of tapachula, where quantities of salt are made from the lagoon water. the salt-water and the salt-soaked earth from the bottom of the lagoon are put into vats and leached, and the resulting saline is boiled in ovens, each of which contains an _olla_. the industry is conducted by _ladinos_, as well as indians, but the salt is poor. it was : when we started, and almost immediately we began a hard climb over limestone, giving a severe test to our poor animals. at the summit we found a group of indian carriers, who, as usual, stopped at the pass to rest and look upon the landscape. the view was really beautiful, the little town lying in a curious, level valley, which was encircled by an abrupt slope, and which had been excavated from an almost level plateau. for some time, we followed this high level, but finally plunged down into a deep gully, where our road passed away to the left in a dry gorge, while to the right, the valley deepened abruptly by a great vertical wall. when we reached the point of sudden deepening, in the gorge below, we saw water, bursting in volume from the cliff's base. dismounting from our horses, and climbing down, we found a magnificent arch of limestone over the emerging stream, the water of which was fresh and cold, and clear as crystal. the shallow portion of the valley marks the ancient level of the stream. in some past time, the stream had sunk, cutting a subterranean channel under its old bed, which was left high and dry. the deep part of the valley may be due to the falling of the roof of rock above the subterranean stream. following up the ancient valley, we presently turned into one of its old tributary gorges, coming out into a country well-wooded with pines and oaks. the whole country hereabouts is composed of monoclines, all the crests presenting one long, gentle slope, with rocks dipping with the slope, and one abrupt short slope, cutting the strata. the roads, for the most part, follow along the edge of these monoclines, making them unusually long, though easy. the rocks over which we passed were an olive shaly-sandstone, with notable concentric weathering, limestone, and here and there, red sandstone, abundantly green-spotted. indians, everywhere, were burning over fields, preparatory to planting, while the day was clear, the smoke rose in clouds, and at many places we suffered from these field fires. twice we passed a point just as the flames leaped from one side of the road to the other, and rode between two lines of blaze. the fire, burning green branches and stalks, caused thousands of loud explosions, like the rattle of musketry. long before we were near it, we caught sight of cancuc, the beautiful, perched upon its lofty crest. in san cristobal, our journey had been matter of conversation among the _mestizos_ and many and dire predictions had been made. "ah, yes, it is easy for these gentlemen to do this work here in the _cabecera_, but let them get to tenejapa, and cancuc--there it will be another matter; they will be killed upon the journey; if they reach cancuc, they will never leave the town alive." the town is built on the edge of a ridge, which drops in both directions, leaving barely room for the placing of houses. from it, we looked out in every direction over a magnificent landscape. cancuc is famous for the insurrection of . curiously, like the outbreak at chamula in , it was due to the visions and religious influence of a girl. maria candaleria was the centre and impulse of the whole movement. dr. brinton has thrown the incident, which abounded in picturesque details, and which caused the spanish government great difficulty, into a little drama, which bears the name of the inspired priestess. [illustration: tzendal man and wife; tenejapa] [illustration: tzendals; tenejapa] we were now within the district of my friend valencia. two years ago, when we passed through the country of the mixes, he was the _jefe politico_ of the district of yautepec; he had been transferred to this state and this district, with his _cabecera_ at ocosingo. that town lay far from our course, and we had written señor valencia, that we planned to pass through his district, but had not time to visit the _cabecera_. we named the towns through which we planned to pass, and begged him to send orders directly to the local authorities, instead of trying to communicate with us. this he had done promptly, and during our stay in his district, everything was done for us without delay. the _agente_ at cancuc is a new official, but a man of sense, and sympathy for the indians, among whom he lives. we arrived at half-past three and had our _mozo_ been on time, might have done some work. the _agente_ showed us the historic picture in the old church; it is the portrait of a clergyman, whose influence did much to quell the insurrection in . more interesting to us than the old picture, were groups of indians, kneeling and praying. when they knelt, they touched their foreheads and faces to the ground, which they saluted with a kiss. having assumed the attitude of prayer, they were oblivious to all around them, and, curiously, their prayers were in the native language. the town-house was placed at the disposition of our party, but the _agente's_ bed, in his own house, was given to me. as i sat writing at the table in his room, the whole town government--a dozen or so in number--stalked in. most of them wore the heavy black _chamaras_ made by the chamula indians. these were so long that they almost swept the ground. the faces of the men were dark and wild, and their hair hung in great black shocks down upon their shoulders and backs. in their hands they held their long official staves. advancing to the table where i sat, in the order of their rank, they saluted me, kissing my hand; arranging themselves in a half-circle before my table, the _presidente_ placed before me a bowl filled with eggs, each wrapped in corn-husks, while the first _alcalde_ deposited a cloth filled with a high pile of hot _tortillas_; a speech was made in tzendal, which was translated by the second official, in which they told me that they appreciated our visit; it gave them pleasure that such important persons should come from such a distance to investigate the life and manners of their humble town; they trusted that our errand might be entirely to our wishes, and that, in leaving, we might bear with us a pleasant memory. they begged us to accept the poor presents they had brought, while they assured us that, in them, we had our thousand most obedient servants. and this in cancuc--the town where we were to have met our death! at night, the fires on a hundred hills around us made a magnificent display, forming all sorts of fantastic combinations and outlines. in the evening, the son of the _agente_, who had been to tenango with a friend, came home in great excitement. he was a lively young fellow of eighteen years. at the river-crossing, where they arrived at five in the evening, a black cow, standing in the river, scared their horses so that they could not make them cross; the boy emptied his revolver at the animal, but with no effect; it was clearly a _vaca bruja_--witch cow; an hour and a half was lost before they succeeded in getting their horses past with a rush. [illustration: the town government; cancuc] the morning was spent in making pictures. while still in yucatan, we heard about the music of cancuc, and among our views was one of the musicians. these are three in number, and they head processions at fiestas; the drum, like that we saw at tuxtla, is cylindrical, with two heads; the _pito_ is the usual reed whistle; the _tortuga_, a large turtle-shell, was brought from palenque; it is hung by a belt to the player, and is beaten on the lower side with two leg-bones of a deer. the cancuc dress is simple. men wear the breech-clout, and, when they carry burdens, little else; at other times, they wear short, cotton trousers which hardly reach the knees. the chief garment is a _camisa_, of native cotton, with a colored stitching at the neck and along the seam where the two edges join; this _camisa_ is of such length that, when girded, it hangs just to, or a little below, the lower edge of the trouser leg. the belts are home-woven, but are made of cotton which is bought already dyed a brilliant red or yellow. women wear woolen belts made by chamulas; their _enaguas_ are plain, dull blue in color; their _huipíls_ are a dirty white, with a minimum of colored stitching. the chief industry at cancuc is raising pigs for market. at : we started from the town, and rode down the crest of long, gently-sloping ridges, which seemed interminable. the rock over which we passed was red sandstone, mottled and streaked with green, red shale, and occasional patches of conglomerate. crossing a little stream by a pretty bridge, we made an abrupt ascent, and soon saw the little town, cuaquitepec, at the base of the opposite hill. we met many indians carrying great ovoidal jars which were made at tenango, and which are chiefly used for carrying _chicha_. this is a fermented drink, made from the sap of sugar-cane, and is much used throughout this state and the adjoining parts of central america. we inquired of a girl who carried such a vessel, what she had, and asked to try it. she gave us a sip in a wee gourd-vessel, holding less than a wine-glass. knowing nothing of the price of _chicha_, we gave her six centavos, with which she seemed well satisfied. a little later, deciding to test the drink again, we stopped a man, who had a vessel of it, and again were given the little cup. on stating that we wished a centavo's worth, we were much surprised to have him fill a great _jícara_ for the price mentioned. it seems the little vessel is carried only for sampling, and that a sale is made only after the purchaser has approved the quality. reaching cuaquitepec at five, we rode up to the town-house, that the authorities might know that we had passed. the place is small and dwindling; there are relatively many _ladinos_, and few indians. they were expecting us, and seemed disappointed at our refusal to stop. the shell of the old church, almost ready to fall, suggested past magnificence. the little modern structure, at its side, is suited to the present needs. we were vexed at the wanton sacrifice of a great tree, which had stood near the town-house, but whose giant trunk was prostrate, and stripped of its branches. a man on foot showed us the road beyond the town, and it was moonlight before we reached citala, where we planned to sleep. of the town itself, we know nothing. the old church is decaying, but in its best days must have been magnificent. the _presidente_ was absent, but his wife, an active, bustling intelligent _ladino_, expected us, and did everything possible for our comfort. eggs, beans, _tortillas_ and coffee made up the supper. a room, containing a bed for me, and _petates_ on the floor for my companions, was waiting. when a light was struck more than a dozen great cockroaches were seen running over the wall, none of them less than two inches and a half in length, and of the most brilliant orange and dark brown. in the morning, a fine chicken breakfast was promptly ready, and the woman had summoned a _cargador_ to be ready for our starting. she said that in this town there is a considerable indian population, and that these tzendals are tall and strongly-built, in comparison with those of cuaquitepec, and other neighboring towns. she regretted that we could not wait until her husband came, as she had sent him word of our arrival, and was expecting him. we assured her that she had done everything which he could possibly have done, had he been present, and that we should, with pleasure, report our satisfaction to the _jefe_. [illustration: indian carriers resting] [illustration: driving pigs, near cancuc] the _cargador_ whom she supplied, was a comfort, after the wretched sluggards whom we had lately had. with our instruments upon his shoulders, he trotted, like a faithful dog, directly at our side, from start to finish, never showing the least weariness or sense of burden. both foot _mozos_ and _arrieros_ through this district carry a mass of _posole_ with them on a journey. unlike that which eustasio and his zapotec companions carried, the mass here is pure corn, white and moist, being kept wrapped in fresh banana leaves; at every brook-side, a _jícara_ of fresh water is dipped, and a handful of _posole_ is squeezed up in it till thoroughly mixed, when it is drunk. it tastes a little sour, and is refreshing. at : , we passed the bridge over the stream on which chilon is built, and a moment later drew up at the town-house. here we regretted that our serious work with the tzendals was done. we were received royally, and told that our house was ready. this was really so, a pretty little house of three good rooms having been cleaned and prepared for our use. we lay down and napped until the good dinner, which had been started when we had first been seen upon the road, and some time before we reached the village, was ready. sitting on the porch of our little house, and looking out over bushes, full of roses, in the garden before us, we rested until the greatest heat of the day was past, when we started, and pushed on over the three leagues that lay between us and yajalon, where we arrived at near sunset. the town is large, and, in great part, indian. the women dressed more gaily than in any other tzendal town which we have seen; their _huipíls_ were decorated with a mass of bright designs, worked in colored wools or silk. here we saw our first chol, a carrier, passing through the village with his load; in order to make a start upon our final tribe, we had him halted, to take his measurements and picture. at this town, we stopped at a sort of boarding-house, or traveller's-rest, close by the town-house, kept by a widow with several children. we impressed upon this good woman the necessity of having breakfast without fail at five o'clock, as we wished to make an early start, stopping at hidalgo for work during the hotter portion of the day, and pressing on to tumbala at night. the poor creature kept me awake all night, making her preparations for the meal, which was to be a masterpiece of culinary art, and at four o'clock routed us all out with the report that breakfast was waiting on the table. it was a turkey-breakfast, too. chapter xxvi chols ( ) of course, after such a start, we were delayed in getting the animals ready for the journey, and the sun had been up full half an hour when we left. it was a short ride to hidalgo, which lies prettily in a small, flat valley, on a good-sized stream. we were doubtful about our reception, for yajalon was the last town in valencia's district, and we had no documents to present to the town officials, until we should reach el salto, the _cabecera_, except our general letter from governor lopez. it is true that the _presidente_ of yajalon, at our request, had telephoned hidalgo that we came highly recommended, and that everything possible must be done for our assistance. the _agente_ was an old man, suffering from headache, who showed but listless interest in our work. in a general way, he gave us his endorsement, and we, therefore, took the management into our own hands. he had kept the people in town, so that we had subjects, though fewer than we had hoped. we measured twenty-seven men, and there were really no more in the town, the rest being away on _fincas_. the men gave us no trouble, but the women were another matter. several times we issued orders that they be brought to the town-house for measurement, and each time, after an effort to obey our orders, we were told that they would not come. "very good," said i, "if they will not come, it is plain that we must go and measure them in their houses." accompanied by the town government, we started on our rounds. the first house was tightly closed, and no reply was made to our demands for entrance. the second was the same; one might imagine that it had been deserted for weeks. at the third, the door was opened, and within, an aged woman, ugly, bent, decrepit. here we measured. the next house, and the next, and the next, were shut. and then another open house contained another veritable hag. passing several other houses, tightly closed, we found a third old woman, and i saw that we were destined to secure nothing but decrepit hags, as representatives of the fair sex. at the next closed house, i stopped, and turning to an official, who spoke spanish, said, "i am tired of these closed houses; who owns this house?" his name was given, and i wrote it down. "very well," said i, "i shall recommend to the _jefe_ of the district, when i reach el salto, that he be made to pay a fine of five pesos." at this, the town officials gasped, but we walked to the next house, which was also closed. "who owns this house?" and down went a second name. by the time i had three names of owners of closed houses on my paper, the officials held a hasty whispered consultation; then coming to me, they begged me to excuse them for a moment, as the _secretario_ would accompany me upon my round, and they would soon rejoin us. with this, they disappeared, and we entered another old woman's house. when we emerged, a wonderful change had taken place; every house in the village had its door wide open, and in the doorway were to be seen anywhere from one to three or four ladies of all ages. from this time on, there was no lack of women, and the twenty-five were promptly measured. we had picked out our subjects for modeling before we started on our rounds to measure women; and had left ramon in charge of that part of our work, staying only long enough to see him make the mould of the first subject. this was an indian, named juan, the first _alcalde_ of the village. we had carefully explained the operation to our subjects; we had described in detail the sensations and emotions connected with the thing, and thought we had the subjects well prepared. when juan began, he seemed to have good courage, but we told a young fellow, who sat near and understood spanish, that he should tell the man certain encouraging things which we repeated to him. the translation was promptly done, and we were therefore much surprised to see our subject's confidence gradually give way to terror. while we were applying the first mould, he began to sob and cry like a child; this was, however, nothing compared with the abject terror and sorrow which he displayed while we were making the face-mould. the tears flowed from his eyes; he sobbed, cried aloud, and we could see the thumping of his heart against his chest. we had never had a subject who took the matter so hardly. when the operation was completed, we learned the cause of all this trouble. our interpreter turned out to be a joker, and, while we were telling him encouraging remarks, with which to soothe the subject, he was saying, "now you will die; pretty soon you will not be able to breathe any more; you will be dead and buried before to-morrow; your poor widow will no doubt feel badly, but probably she will find another quite as good as you." we had always realized the possibility of such misinterpretations, but, so far as we know, this was the only time that our interpreter ever played us false. on our return from measuring the women, we found that ramon had made no progress. the three subjects, whom we had selected and left in his charge, under strenuous orders, had taken fright at juan's experience and fled. we lost two hours in hunting them and bringing them in; and we should not have succeeded then, had it not been for juan's assistance. he seemed to feel that, having undergone the operation, it might ease his position, and decrease possible danger, if he had companions in misery. finally, at : , long after the hour we had set, we left for tumbala. we secured six _cargadors_--one each for the four moulds, one for the instruments, and one for the remaining plaster,--as our pack-animals had long since passed. five of them were left to follow at their leisure, on condition that they reach tumbala early the next morning, but the sixth, a wee old man, who had helped us woman-hunting, went with us, by his own request, to carry the instruments. he was so small that we did not believe he could carry the burden, but he made no sort of trouble about it, trotting along most happily. we had been told that the road was _pura subida_--pure ascent--and so we found it. we were soon in the tropical forest of the chinantla, and the land of the mixes, with begonias, tree-ferns, bromelias, and orchids. here and there, were bad bits of road, deep mud, slippery stones, irregular limestone masses. it was dark before we reached tumbala, and although there was a moon, the mists were so dense that it did little good. arriving at : , we found the town a wretched place, with a worthless and nerveless _agente_. this was once the largest of the chol towns, and we had thought to do the bulk of our work there. it is fortunate, indeed, that we stopped at hidalgo, because tumbala is now completely ruined by the contract-labor system, which has sent its men all through the country onto _fincas_. the _agente_ would probably have done nothing for us, but his little daughter, much impressed by our letter from the governor, took an active interest in our welfare, promised to prepare a dinner, and decided him to give us sleeping-quarters in a store-room in the building. he thawed a little after we had eaten, but spoke discouragingly regarding the possibility of working there. he said we would do well to go to el triunfo; that it would take two days to find indians and bring them to the town; that there were no animals, nothing to eat, no conveniences in tumbala, in all of which he probably was quite correct. our _arrieros_ had contracted only to this point from san cristobal. we urged them to make the further journey, and offered them a price much above the regular, but they wanted to be back in san cristobal for holy week, and assured us that the roads ahead were the worst that could be imagined, and that they ran the risk of killing all their animals if they went with us. [illustration: the toro; frame and bearer; el triunfo] [illustration: playing toro; el triunfo] as we were on the road, a little before we reached tumbala, we found a company of indian boys making camp for the night. calling to us, they said that don enrique had told them if they saw us on the road, to say that we should keep straight on to el triunfo, as he had a message for us. we had never heard of don enrique, and thought there was some error, but after supper, the _agente_ handed us a letter which had come that afternoon from the gentleman in question. in it we read: "sir: mr. ellsworth, of the rio michol rubber co., salto, asked me by telephone to tell you that he will be waiting for you the th of april in la cruzada, and hopes that you will kindly accompany mrs. ellsworth as far as mexico, and that, in case she would not find a steamer in frontera, he is going to charter one. hoping to see you here in triunfo, and waiting for an answer to la cruzada, i remain, yours truly, h. rau." this was a gleam of light amid our dark affairs. there we were, with all our baggage and instruments, but without carriers, deserted by our _arrieros_, and with no opportunity in tumbala to secure new animals or helpers; it was like the voice of a friend, to receive this english letter from el triunfo, and we felt that, if worst came to worst, don enrique might help us out. the room in which we slept was filled with stored stuff and two tables. on one of these i made my bed, while my companions spread a large _petate_ on the floor, and our little indian carrier put down a small one for himself, as he declared he should not leave us until morning. he had a good supper, and in a fit of generosity, presented louis with what was left of his package of _posole_. with much enthusiasm, he told us of an "animal" which he had seen and tried to catch upon the road. from his description, it appeared to be an armadillo. before he lay down on his _petate_, he kissed my hand, wished me a good night's rest, and asked my good-night blessing. he was happy in possession of a _real's_ worth of _aguardiente_, from which, at intervals during the night, he drank. early in the morning, he opened the door, and, looking out, crossed himself, and repeated his morning prayer. he then came to _tatita_ (little father) to receive his morning's blessing, and hoped that i had passed a good night in slumber. he then brought me a _jícara_ of cool, fresh water, after which he urged me to take a sip from his dear bottle. going outside a little time, he returned with two roses, heavy with dew and very fragrant, and gave them to me as if they were a gift for kings. very soon, however, his potations got the better of him, and bidding us a fond farewell, he started for hidalgo. it was my day of fever, and i spent the greater portion of the morning on my hard bed, getting up from time to time to try to move the _agente_ to procure an animal, on which i might make the journey to el triunfo. finally, in despair, after difficulty in securing a foot-messenger, i sent a letter to don enrique, asking him to send an animal for my use. during the afternoon, a fine mule and a letter came from el triunfo. "sir: the boy brought me your letter, and i send you a good mule for yourself, so we shall talk all the rest when you shall get here. if you need more pack-mules i will send them afterwards, as soon as you tell me how many you need. hoping to see you this afternoon, i remain, yours very truly, henry rau." the road was down hill, and there were but two or three bad spots. i rode through tropical forests, the whole distance, with high trees, bound together with a mass of vines, and loaded with parasitic or aerial plants. here and there, rose the largest tree-ferns i have ever seen. i was not in the best mood, however, for enjoying the journey, and the hour-and-a-quarter seemed like much more. the great coffee _finca_ of el triunfo occupied an irregular valley, the slopes of which were covered with thousands of coffee-trees, with their magnificent dark green leaves and sweet-scented, white flowers. three hundred and fifty thousand trees made up the plantation, which was one of two owned and managed by señor rau. the house was large, and rather pretentious, two stories in height, with buildings for cleaning, packing and storing coffee on the same terrace, and with a veritable village of houses for the indian workmen down below. i received a warm reception from the señor and his household, who have established here a veritable bit of germany in tropical america. not only was i myself cared for, but i was urged to make no haste in going further, as no steamer would go from la cruzada before the th, and it would be easy to reach that place in twenty-four hours. so, for several days the hospitable plantation-house was my home. great lines of mules were constantly going from here, through to el salto and la cruzada, with loads of coffee, and coming back with provisions, and the many supplies necessary for an establishment of this importance. when the next _mulada_ should appear, animals would be sent to tumbala for my companions and the luggage. curiously, none came for two whole days--a very unusual occurrence--and the boys remained prisoners in that dreary town for all that time. for my own part, i was thankful to reach a place where a comfortable bed and certain meals were to be counted on. my fever left me, but the following morning i found myself suffering from swollen jaws; every tooth was loose and sore, and it was difficult to chew even the flesh of bananas; this difficulty i had lately suffered, whenever in the moist mountain district of pennsylvania, and i feared that there would be no relief until i was permanently out of the district of forest-grown mountains. nor was i mistaken, for ten days passed, and we had reached the dry central table-land of mexico, before my suffering ended. one day, while we were on the _finca_, considerable excitement was caused by one of the indians working in the field being bitten by a poisonous serpent. the man was brought at once to the house, and remedies were applied which prevented serious results, although his leg swelled badly. the serpent was killed, and measured about five feet in length, having much the general appearance of a rattlesnake, but with no rattles. don enrique says that the most dangerous snake in this district is a little creature more brightly colored, with a smaller head, which is less markedly flat, and with smaller fangs; he showed us one of these, not more than a foot in length, from whose bite a man on the plantation, a year before, had died. in telling us of this event, he gave us a suggestion of the working of the contract-labor system; the man who died owed one hundred and forty pesos of work--almost three years of labor; the _jefe_, indeed, had sent the son to work out the debt, but the young man soon ran away, and the most diligent effort to recapture him had failed. [illustration: chol women; la trinidad] perhaps two hundred persons lived as workmen on the _finca_ of el triunfo. they were, of course, all indians, and were about evenly divided between tzendals and chols; it was impossible to gather them for measurement till sunday, when they all came to the house and the store. it was a day of amusement and recreation for the laborers, a day when all of them--men, women, children--drank quantities of liquor. it was interesting to watch them as they came up to the store to make their little purchases for the week. all were in their best clothing, and family groups presented many interesting scenes. on sundays and fiestas, they play _toro_--one man creeping into a framework of light canes covered with leather, meant to represent a bull, while others play the part of bull-fighters. the chols present a well-marked type. they are short, broad-headed and dark-skinned; their noses are among the most aquiline in mexico. men, especially those of tumbala, have a characteristic mode of cropping the hair; that on the back of the head is cut close, leaving the hair of the forward third of the head longer. the men are almost immediately recognized, wherever met, by the characteristic _camisa_, made of white cotton, vertically striped with narrow lines of pink, which is woven in the chol towns, and does not appear to be used by other indians. the doors of the hospitable home at el triunfo are ever open, and a day rarely passes without some traveller seeking shelter and entertainment. spaniards, mexicans, germans, englishmen, americans, all are welcome, and during the few days of our stay, the house was never free of other visitors. among these was stanton morrison, famous in yale's football team in ' ; he now lives in this district, and has a coffee _finca_ four hours' ride away. finally, at : tuesday morning, april d, having completed all our work, we started from el triunfo for our last ride of the season. we could easily have gone, starting in the early morning, to el salto before night; as it was, don enrique planned a different method. we had good animals, which he had loaned us, or for which he had arranged for us with the muleteers. at two o'clock we reached la trinidad, where he had promised that we should eat the finest meal in the state of chiapas. we found a complete surprise. trinidad is little more than a _finca_, or _rancho_, but it has an _agente_, and quite a population of chol indians. the _agente_ was a decent-looking fellow, active and ambitious; he talks a little english, and is something of an amateur photographer. his house of poles and mud presented no notable external features, but within, it was supplied with furniture so varied and abundant as is rare in any part of mexico. chairs, rockers, tables, cupboards, washstands, all were there; and beds, real beds, which for cleanness were marvels. as soon as we entered the house, fresh water and clean towels were brought. on the tables were vases of fresh-gathered flowers, in quantities, and beautifully arranged. the visible service for all this elegance, and for the meals, were two little indian girls not more than six or eight years old, neatly dressed, and an indian boy of the same size and cleanness. the invisible helpers were buxom indian girls, well-dressed and clean, but who never came into the room where we were, leaving all carrying, setting of tables, and serving, in the hands of these three little servants. there was, indeed, one other person in the household--a beautiful girl, slender and refined, whose relation to the master i do not know, but who was treated by him as if she were a veritable queen, or some lovely flower in the wilderness. here we rested, ate and slept in comfort, and here, when morning came, we paid a bill which ordinarily would have seemed large; however, if one finds beautiful flowers in the wilderness, he must expect to pay. it was worth while paying to enjoy the best sleep, in the best bed, that one had had for months. [illustration: a chol family; la trinidad] [illustration: chols; la trinidad] the _agente_ rode with us in the morning quite a league upon our road, to a place which he was clearing for a _milpa_. we had heard so much of the horrors of the road to el salto, that we were prepared for the worst. it was not an abrupt descent, as we had expected, but for the most part level, over black mud. there were a few ups and downs, and there was one limestone hill with tree-ferns and begonias, and all that that implies. much of the way we had a drizzling rain, and everywhere the air was hot and heavy. after four hours' riding, we stopped at ten to eat a breakfast which we had brought with us, and then rode through to el salto, where we arrived at : . this is the _cabecera_ of the district, and the _jefe_ could not understand why we should continue on our journey, as the steamer would not leave until the following day. don enrique, however, had urged us not to stop at el salto, where he insisted the risk from yellow fever was great. he advised us to go on to la cruzada, where he had a house and an agent, and where, he told us, we could arrange for sleeping and eating as comfortably, and far more safely, than in the town. the distance was short, but the place, in truth, was dreary. the landing was at the bottom of a little slope, at the upper edge of which stood don enrique's place, the store-house of the steamship company, the house and barnyard of the manager of the mule trains, and one or two unattractive huts. when we arrived, we found that the mayor domo had that day resigned, and left the place, going to el salto; before he left, he quarreled with the cook, and she had gone off in high dudgeon. two young employes, left behind, advised us to return to el salto until the time of embarkation. we, however, had left el salto behind us, and had our luggage with us, and were little inclined to retrace our steps. after some grumbling, we were supplied with beds, but told that the food problem was impossible. after much wheedling, coaxing, bribing, and threatening, a woman in one of the huts promised to cook something for us, and we had nothing more to do but wait, until the steamer should be ready. the chief excitement of the day was when the mule trains were driven in, towards evening. with them came a swarm of mosquitoes, which absolutely darkened the air. fortunately they did not stay, but after an hour and a half of troubling, disappeared as suddenly as they arrived. the river had fallen to that degree that it was impossible for our steamer, the mariscal, to come up to la cruzada, and we learned that it was anchored about a league down the river. a flatboat, poled by indians, came up to the landing, ready to receive cargo and passengers, and to transfer them to the steamer. in the morning, the loading of the flatboat and the getting ready for departure, took all our thought. at ten o'clock mr. and mrs. ellsworth, with their baby and two servants, appeared in small canoes, which had been poled by indians from the plantation, several hours' journey up the michol river. at the last moment, mr. ellsworth had decided to accompany his party to the city. when everything was loaded, quite promptly, at twelve o'clock, the flatboat pushed out from its moorings. mr. ellsworth's little launch was standing at the landing, and he invited me to ride in it, with him and mrs. ellsworth and the baby, to the steamer. we started off right proudly in the miriam, but, alas, pride goes before destruction, and we had hardly left the heavy flatboat a little behind us, when our machinery broke down, and we had to wait until the clumsy scow overtook us, when we became common passengers again, and drifted down the stream to the mariscal, passing the lumeha plantation, an american enterprise. [illustration: chols resting, la trinidad] the mariscal itself was a little steamer, too small for the passengers and freight it had to carry. it had no beds nor cabin; it was dirty and crowded; it had not food enough to feed the first-class passengers, who paid twenty-five pesos each for their short journey. there was, indeed, no other class of passengers, only one grade of tickets being sold. when complaints were made of the accommodations, or lack of all accommodations, the _agente_, who was on the vessel with us, expressed surprise, and seemed profoundly hurt. the stream is full of curves and bends, is broad, and notably uniform in breadth; it has considerable current, and is bordered closely by the tropical forest, except where little clearings have been made for _fincas_. formerly, caimans, or alligators, were common, but they have become rare, through the diligent hunting to which they have been subjected for supplying skins. two days are usually taken in the journey to frontera, though it is not a fifteen hours' run. mr. ellsworth arranged for our going directly through, so that, except one stop at a midway station, we made a continuous journey, and drew up at frontera at : in the morning. it is a mean little town, but far cleaner than coatzacoalcos. real grass grows there, and the little plaza is almost a lawn. last year, when yellow fever was so terrible at coatzacoalcos, and when, even at el salto, there were forty cases, there were none here. the town is hot, and during the two days we spent there, our chief effort was to keep cool. the steamer, mexico, appeared upon the th, planning to leave the same day. a norther came, however, and rendered the bar impassable. in the morning, easter sunday, the wind had fallen somewhat. we saw the little celebration at the church, and, learning that the boat was likely to leave at noon, went aboard. at one we started. sailing down the river, we soon found ourselves between the piers, and the moment of test had come. at the first thump of the keel upon the sand, we doubted whether we should pass the bar; still we kept along with steam full on and the bow headed seaward; nine times we struck the sandy bottom, but then found ourselves in deeper water, and were again upon the gulf. the mexico was just as dirty, the food was just as bad, and the crew just as unaccommodating, as in , when we had our first experience of her. rather than lie in the stuffy cabin, i took my blanket out on deck, and rolled up there for the night. room was plenty, as there were only a score of passengers. when we woke, the boat was standing in the harbor of coatzacoalcos, and we landed to eat a breakfast at the hotel. through the day, we wandered about town, but were again upon the vessel at four o'clock. we now numbered about a hundred passengers, and everything was crowded. in the company was a comic theatre troupe. the day before, a number of the passengers had been seasick; on this occasion, three-fourths were suffering, and the decks were a disgusting spectacle. still, fresh air was there, and again i made my bed on deck. in the middle of the night, having moved slightly, i felt a sharp and sudden pain in my right temple, exactly as if i had rolled upon a sharp, hot tack. i had my jacket for a pillow, and thought at first that there really was a tack in one of the pockets, and sought, but in vain, to find it. lying down to sleep again, i presently moved my hand over the blanket on the deck, and suddenly, again, i felt the sharp, burning prick, this time in my thumb. certain that it could not be a tack this time, i brought my hand down forcibly, and, rising, saw by the moonlight that i had killed a large, black scorpion. for two hours the stings felt like fire, but by morning had ceased to pain me; then i found two or three of the other passengers suffering from similar stings, and reached the conclusion that the mexico was swarming with the creatures. at dawn, we sighted vera cruz, and were soon in the harbor, standing at anchor; at eight o'clock, we stood upon the wharf, and our journeys in indian mexico were ended. [illustration: indian hut; santa anita] [illustration: guadalupe; december ] chapter xxvii conclusion but it was not necessary to go to distant oaxaca and chiapas to find mexican indians. on the border of the capital city lie santa anita, iztacalco, mexicalcingo, ixtapalapa, and a quantity of other villages and towns, where one may still find aztec indians of pure blood, sometimes speaking the old language, sometimes wearing characteristic dress, and maintaining, to the present, many ancient practices and customs. at santa anita, for example, one may eat _juiles_ and _tamales_, catch a glimpse of indian weddings, and delight his eyes with the fresh beauty of the _chinampas_,--wonderful spots of verdure and flowers--the floating gardens of the ancient aztecs. half an hour, or less, in the tram-car takes the traveller to guadalupe, which may be called the heart of indian mexico. there, on the rock of tepeyac, the virgin appeared to juan diego; there, in the churches, dedicated in honor of that apparition, thousands of indians, from leagues around, gather yearly. on december , in the crowded streets of guadalupe, groups, fantastically garbed as indians, dance in the virgin's honor, and in their songs and dances, modern though they be, can be found suggestions of the olden time. now and then, one may witness, what i saw in december, --a group of indian pilgrims from a distant town, singing and dancing to the virgin, within the great church itself. and near the high altar, where thick glass plates are set into the floor, letting a dim light into the crypts below, one may see crowds of indians rubbing the smooth surface with their diseased parts to effect a cure. on the streets of the capital city, one daily sees bands of pure otomis in rags and filth, bringing their loads of charcoal and of corn to market. their ugly dark faces, their strange native dress, their harsh language, make on the stranger an impression not easily forgotten. reliable figures are wanting as to the number of pure mexican indians. if the population of the republic be estimated at fifteen millions, it should be safe to say that five millions of this number are indians of pure blood, speaking their old language, keeping alive much of the ancient life and thought. in some parts of mexico, it almost seems as if what white-blood once existed is now breeding out. the indian of mexico is conservative; he does not want contact with a larger world; his village suffices for his needs; he is ready to pay taxes for the sake of being let alone, to live in peace, after the way his fathers lived. in his bosom there is still hatred of the white man and the _mestizo_, and distrust of every stranger. the chamula outbreak in , and the maya war just ended, are examples of this smouldering hatred. mexico has a serious problem in its indians; the solution of the problem has been attempted in various ways, according to whether the population dealt with was totonac, yaqui, maya: it is no small task, to build a nation out of an indian population. soon after the publication of my "indians of southern mexico," i had the pleasure of presenting a copy of the book to president diaz, and of looking through its pictures with him. when we came to the general view of yodocono, and its little lake, tears stood in the old man's eyes as he said, "sir, that was my mother's birthplace, and in her honor i have established, at my own expense, two schools, one for boys, and one for girls." looking at the round huts of chicahuastla, he shivered, and remarked: "ah, sir, but it is cold in chicahuastla." i replied, "your excellency, i see that you have been in chicahuastla." when he saw the zapotec types, from the district of tehuantepec, he said: "they are fine large fellows; they make good soldiers; when i was governor of oaxaca, i had a body-guard of them." he then told me of the six orphan boys who, in memory of his body-guard, he had adopted and educated; he told me with pride of the success which the five who still live had made, and of the positions they were filling. when he reached the portrait of the little mixtec, carrying a sack of corn, who, with pride, had told me, in answer to my question, that his name was porfirio diaz, the president of the republic looked long and earnestly at the picture, and i noticed that, when we turned the pages, his finger marked the spot where the likeness of his name-sake was, and, when the book was finished, before closing it, he turned back again, and looked at the little fellow's face. at the first otomi portrait, he had said: "ah, sir, but my schools will change the otomis." it would be pleasant to have faith in president diaz' solution of the otomi problem, but to me it seems doubtful. of course, i recall with pleasure my visit to the boys' school at san nicolas panotla. it was interesting to see those little tlaxcalan fellows solve problems in alligation and percentage, in bonds and mortgages; but it is doubtful whether any of them, in actual life, will have to deal with blending coffees, or with selling bonds, and cutting coupons. still, from such indian towns great men have come in the past, and great men will come in the future. benito juarez, who laid the foundations on which diaz has so magnificently built, was a pure-blood zapotec. from the aztecs, the tlaxcalans, mixtecs, zapotecs and mayas, we may hope much in the future. they were races of achievement in the past, and the monuments of their achievement still remain. but that the otomi, the triqui, or the mixe, should be made over by the schools is doubtful. personally, i feel that the prosperity of mexico rests more upon the indian blood than on any other element of national power. that schools will do much to train the more gifted tribes perhaps is true. but there are indians, and indians, in mexico. glossary of spanish and indian words abusos. abuses, disturbances. adios. adieu, good-bye. agente. agent. agua. water. agua bendita. blessed water. agua miel. lit. honey water, the unfermented juice of the maguéy. aguardiente. a spirituous liquor. aguas frescas. refreshing drinks. ahuacate. a fruit, the alligator pear. aje, or axe. an insect; a greasy mass, yielding a lacquer-like lustre. alcalde. a town judge. arbol. tree. arriero. a convoyer of loaded mules or horses. atole. a corn gruel. autorizada. authorized, having authority. axolotl. a water salamander, with peculiar life-history. ayatl, or ayate. a carry-cloth. barranca. a gorge, or gully. bruja. witch. brujería. witchcraft. burro. ass. cabecera. the head-town of a district. cafe. coffee. caiman. a reptile much like an alligator. camarón. shrimp. camisa. shirt. cantera, cantero. a water-jar, or pitcher. cargador. carrier. carreta. cart. carretero. a carter. cascarón. an eggshell filled with bits of cut paper. catalán. a wine, named from a spanish town. cenote. a cave with water. centavo. a coin, the one-hundredth part of a peso; a cent. chac mool. a stone figure, found at chichen itza, yucatan. chalupa. a boat-shaped crust with meat or vegetables in it. chamara. a blanket for wearing. champurrado. a mixture, as of atole and chocolate. chapapote. chewing-gum. chicha. an intoxicant made from sugar-cane. chicle. chewing-gum. chinampa. "floating garden," a garden patch. chirimiya. a shrill musical instrument, somewhat like a fife or flageolet. chirimoya. the custard-apple. cigarro. cigarette. cincalótl, cincalote. granary. clarín. a bird, with clear note. cochero. coachman. colorín. a tree. comiteco. a spirits made at comitan. conquista. conquest. copal. a gum, much used as incense. coro. loft. corral. an enclosure for animals. costumbre. custom. cotón, cotones. a man's upper garment, a sort of poncho. cuartel. barracks. cuezcomátl, cuezcomate. granary. cura. parish priest. curato. parish house. danza. dance. doctrina. doctrine, catechism. don. mr., used only when the christian name of a person is spoken. dulce. sweet, sweetmeat. dulcero. maker or seller of sweets. dulceria. sweetmeat factory. enagua. woman's skirt. enchilada. a fried tortilla with chili and cheese. feria. fair. fiesta. festival. finca. farm, plantation. firma. signature. fiscal. fiscal officer, frijol, frijoles. bean, beans, golondrina. swallow, gramatica. grammar. gringo. somewhat derisive term applied to foreigners, especially americans. guardia. guard. hacienda. a country-place. haciendado, haciendero. the owner of an hacienda. hennequín. a plant producing fibre, sisal hemp. hermita. a retired shrine. herrería. smithy, forge, ironworks. h'men. conjuror. huehuetes. the old ones. huehuetl, huehuete. the ancient upright drum. huerfano. orphan. huipíl, huipili. a woman's waist garment. huipilili. a woman's waist garment, worn under the huipíl. idioma. idiom, language. incomunicado. solitary, not allowed communication. itinerario. itinerary. itztli. obsidian. ixtli. fibre from the maguéy and cactus. jacál. a hut. jarabe. a popular dance. jícara. a gourd-cup, or vessel. jonote. a tree. jornada. a day's march. juez. judge. ke'esh. a votive figure. ladino. a mestizo, a person not indian. ladrón, ladrones. thief, thieves. liana. vine. licenciado. lawyer. lima. a fruit, somewhat like an insipid orange. lindas. pretty (girls). llano. a grassy plain. machete. a large knife. maestro. teacher, a master in any trade. maguéy. a plant, the century plant or agave, yielding pulque. mai, pelico. tobacco, mixed with chili and lime. malacátl, malacate. spindle-whorl. malinche. malinche. maméy. a fruit, orange flesh and brown exterior. manta. cotton-cloth, a woman's dress. mañana. to-morrow. mapachtl. a small animal, perhaps the raccoon or badger. mapaho. beating-sticks, for cleaning cotton. mayores. chiefs, village elders, police. medio. six centavos. meson. a house for travellers. mescal. a spirits, made from an agave. mestizo. a person of mixed blood. metate. stone upon which corn is ground. milagro. miracle. milpa. cornfield. mogote. a mound or tumulus. mole. a stew, highly seasoned with chili. mole prieto. black mole. moral. a tree, mulberry. mozo. a young man, a servant. mudo. mute, dumb. mulada. a mule train. muñeco. doll, figure. municipio. town, town-government, town-house. nacimiento. an arrangement of figures and grotto-work, made at christmastide. nada. nothing. naguál. conjuror. negrito. (diminutive) negro. nublina. mist, fog. ocote. pine-tree, splinter of pine. otro. other. padre. father, priest. padrecito. priest. país. country, esp. one's native town. panela. sugar in cake or loaf. papaya. a fruit. pastorela. a drama relative to the nativity. pastores. shepherds. patio. inside court of house. pelico, mai. tobacco, with chili and lime. peso. a money denomination, one hundred centavos, one dollar. petate. mat. pinolillo. a species of tick. pinto. a disease, spotted skin. pita. a fibre. pitero. a fifer. pito. fife. plaza. town square. portales. a building with corridor in front. posol, posole. corn prepared to carry on journey, for mixing with water. prefecto. prefect. presidente. president. principales. principal men, councillors. pueblito. small pueblo, village. pulque. an intoxicant, made from maguéy sap. quichiquemil. a woman's upper garment. rancho. a country-place. ranchito. a small ranch. rebozo. a woman's garment, a wrap or light shawl. regidor. alderman. remedio. remedy. sangre. blood. santo, santito. saint. señor. sir, gentleman. señora. madam, lady. señorita. miss, young woman. serape. a blanket, for wearing. sindico. recorder. soltero. an unmarried man. sombrero. hat. subida. ascent. tabla. board. tamales. dumplings of corn-meal. tambour. drum. tatita. papa. tepache. a fermented drink. teponastl, teponaste. the ancient horizontal drum. tienda. store, shop. tierra caliente. hot country. tigre. tiger, jaguar. tinaja. water-jar. topil. a messenger or police. toro. bull. tortillas. corn-cakes, cooked on a griddle. tortuga. turtle. tsupakwa. dart-thrower. ule. rubber. vaca. cow. vámonos. come on, we are going. viejos. old. vomito. yellow fever. xalama. a tree. xtól, xtoles. a dancer, or dancers (see mérida, narrative). zacate, sacate. hay, fodder. itinerary the expedition of was preliminary. we went by rail from the city of mexico to oaxaca, capital of the state of the same name. thence, we journeyed by horse through the states of oaxaca and chiapas, to the city of guatemala, entering the republic of guatemala at nenton. the return journey was made by rail to the pacific port of san jose, steamer to salina cruz, rail to coatzacoalcos, steamer to vera cruz, and rail to the city of mexico. only the portion of this journey between oaxaca and nenton is here described, the rest not lying in indian mexico. the city of mexico was headquarters for the work in - . a trip was made by rail from there to dos rios, to measure and photograph the otomis of huixquilucan, in the state of mexico. thence we went to patzcuaro by rail, and studied the tarascans in the villages about lake patzcuaro, visiting these by canoe-trips. we then made a trip on horseback to uruapan (then without rail connection), returning by some important indian towns. after returning to mexico, we visited the states of tlaxcala and puebla. in and around the city of tlaxcala, we secured our tlaxcalan subjects. at cuauhtlantzinco, we worked upon aztecs. our experiences at this large town of puebla are not described, as bandelier has already rendered the place familiar, and we ourselves have written of it elsewhere. with these two peoples, we made our first essays at bust-making. after returning to mexico, we went by rail, on the guadalajara branch of the mexican central, to negrete. from there, by coach (there being then no railroad) to zamora. thence, we struck, on horseback, through the tarascan territory, across to patzcuaro. on the way, we secured our full series of tarascan busts, at the once pueblos. by rail, we went from patzcuaro to dos rios, to secure our lacking busts of otomis at huixquilucan. in the second field expedition, january to march , we worked entirely in the state of oaxaca. at first a trip was made, by horse, from oaxaca into the mixteca alta, where mixtecs and triquis were studied. again starting from oaxaca, we traveled over our old trails of , through the mountains to tehuantepec, returning by the high-road in common use. zapotecs were studied at mitla and tehuantepec, and the mixes, juaves, and chontals in various towns and villages. the season's work closed by our study, at and near cuicatlan, of the cuicatecs. at this town, too, we began to work upon chinantecs. in the third field expedition, during the early months of , we visited seven populations, making our regular study upon six of them. to fill a week that would otherwise have been lost, we made a pedestrian trip through the interesting indian towns on the slopes of malintzi. then, from cuicatlan as a center, we made two journeys--one to san juan zautla and san pedro soochiapan, to examine chinantecs; the other to coixtlahuaca, for seeing chochos. from cuicatlan, we struck north by rail to san antonio, and, by coach to teotitlan del camino and by horse beyond, penetrated to the great mazatec town of huauhtla. chinantecs, chochos, and mazatecs are tribes of oaxaca. leaving that state, we traveled by rail to tulancingo. from there, by coach and on horseback, we visited otomi, aztec, tepehua and totonac towns in the states of puebla and hidalgo. with the field season of , our work in indian mexico ended. it was pursued in three separated areas. from the city of mexico, we went by rail to tampico. from that point, a journey by canoe and horse enabled us to see the huaxtecs of the state of vera cruz. returning to tampico, a trip by steamer across the gulf brought us to yucatan. progreso and mérida were visited, and our work was done upon the mayas living near the town of tekax. a second trip on the gulf brought us to coatzacoalcos, whence the railroad was used to tehuantepec and san geronimo. from the latter point, an ox-cart journey of ten nights, across the states of oaxaca and chiapas, brought us to tuxtla gutierrez. by horse we continued through chiapas to el salto, where we took steamer for frontera. from there, by steamer to vera cruz and then by rail, we traveled to the city of mexico. zoques, tzotzils, tzendals, and chols were studied in this portion of the journey. appendix starr in old mexico oaxaca, mexico, march .--prof. frederick starr, of the university of chicago, is deep in the midst of his savages. he is manipulating primitive town governments, wielding the authority of federal and state governments, county police, and that of the clergy as well. he is threatening, cajoling, clapping in jail, when necessary, and in general conquering his series of strange nations. i found him doing all this, and more, in a little native village fifty miles from the city of oaxaca, feb. nd. the fat little man was complete master of the zapotec town of mitla, far distant from the end of the last of the railroads, a town famous for its ruins. he bustled about like a captain in a war haste, dressed in a massive indian sombrero, from which a white string floated picturesquely behind, a necktie of slim, dusty black, which seemed not to have been unknotted for many a day, a shirt less immaculate than the one he may wear at the entertainment shortly to be given him in london, and no coat. the professor's trousers are not indian. they are farm trousers, of an original type, with double seat for the saddle. the professor's blood was up. a grand native feast--in which drunken dances, bull-fights, and a state of accumulated irresponsibility are the rule--had delayed him three days. the indians could no more be measured and "busted"--as the professor calls the making of plaster casts--than could the liquor they had drunk. after three days of pleading, threatening, and berating, in which orders from every government and church official in the country, from lowest to highest, had failed, prof. starr seized the black-bearded and wiry president of the town council, the chief potentate of the reeling set, called him a drunken scoundrel, threatened in deep seriousness to imprison every man in the town, and finally won his point--but not until the feast was done. when feasts are over, the people are kindly, suave, gracious. then the professor corralled those he wanted. he was to measure for scientific purposes of the indians, in the order in which they chanced to present themselves. after such wheedling as it must have taken infinite practice to acquire--pattings of the zapotec back, hugging of the men, chucking the children, with elaborate explanations--the thing "took" and the people fell into the spirit of it. the jail was the only accessible building, and was strangely empty. it was of adobe, a jail of one room, with a dirt floor. there were no windows, only the single barred door. from every cane-walled, thatched, tropical hut that helps to make the irregular cluster around the central plaza and its adjoining bull ring they came, if not to be measured, to see. they were driven by the highest of the town authorities--for every element of the population waited on the bidding of the little sugar-tongued professor from the north--one by one into the jail, and the rest curiously watched. the measuring was done without undressing, but the "busting" was the point of chief interest. five representative specimens had been carefully selected for this purpose. they were won slowly, by the glitter of cents of mexican silver. in some towns, only cents was required, and in others, $ . the smirking indian, with his wildness hidden away, or only peeping from his eye, entered. he disrobed with no shame. he was put flat on the floor, face down, on a little piece of matting. at this stage some objected. then the anglo-saxon was down on the floor, wheedling, talking such sweetness as can be spoken without silliness only in the spanish tongue. the victim finally consents. then the mexican plaster worker, who has followed the caravan from its start, goes to work. he makes a cast of the back of the head and shoulders, and the indian is turned over, face up. another cast of the breast and neck and chin is made, and yet another of the front half of the head and the face, with little tubes for breathing sticking through it. the indian has grunted, snorted, laughed and squirmed, but he has been made to understand that he must be still. that great cents is held always over him, and the thing is accomplished. during all the process, the crowd of indians about and in the jail was eager-eyed and astonished. the women wear odd woolen, blanket-like skirts of red or black, folded in two great plaits down the front. the dress does not reach the ankles, and the feet are bare. they carry the baby on the back, wound in the rebozo, with its bare legs straddling her and sticking out. the men wear a sandal quite different from the ordinary mexican footgear. of the that were to be measured, jose was one. jose was of a better family, a character in the town, and proud. he rebelled. this breach of the professor's authority could not be allowed. jose was summoned by the president of the town, the honeyed, affable "señor presidente," the same who had been called the drunken scoundrel, now accommodating, a true and emotional friend. jose sent a thousand excuses, and finally defiance. "that man," cried the professor, showing his writ of authority from the _jefe politico_ of the district, "i order to be arrested." jose did not flee. he was found next morning in the bull ring riding a bull. he was arrested by the chicagoan's orders, and taken to jail. he was peremptorily ordered by the professor to appear for the measurement. he escaped, and again defied the powers. he was again caught, and it was explained to him by the president that this man of might from the beyond had sworn to drag jose with him all the way across this wild country slowly to tehuantepec, thence back to the city of oaxaca, where the state authorities would deal most painfully with him. and this, indeed, in mighty manner and impressively, had the "man from the beyond" sworn to do. jose came and was measured, and i afterward saw him calling to the professor to come and take a jolly drink out of the gourd he was shaking at him, in the manner of a comrade. in the afternoon, the work being done, the civilities and sugared conduct must be continued, with a view to future visits. the professor wanted to enter the church, which, though modern, stands in the middle of one of the mysterious ruins. the church was locked, and the mayor-domo not to be found. "but i must photograph a strange picture you have in there." "the mayor-domo is drunk, at your service, my most excellent friend," replied the president, sympathetically. "i am sorry, but he got under the influence three days ago at the beginning of the feast, and he has slept ever since. ah, the mayor-domo is sleeping now, my excellent friend, and he has the keys." "you shall send a boy into the tower to ring the bell and wake the mayor-domo," cried the professor. the crowd sat on the stone steps, the bell was pealed, and at last the church was opened, and the picture photographed. the procession then moved to the top of an ancient pyramid, in which tombs have been opened, and bones and gold ornaments found. the professor dashed through all the tunnels, with the government after him, before mounting to the top. on top a strange conversation was held between the professor and the president and secretary. they appealed to this northern man, who seemed to have all earthly authority back of him, to grant them one longed-for boon. would he not please speak, when he returned to the capital, to the minister of encouragement, that he send them a brass band! they wanted to welcome northern visitors to the ruins with modern music. "you have great power. you need but to ask of those in mexico and the band will come. most beloved friend, oh, most excellent professor from the far north, give to us a brass band!" and the professor promised to speak to minister leal about it. then, too, the beastly state government was dragging some of their precious ruins away to put in a museum. would the professor please have the kindness to stop this? the professor promised to do what he could, and he was hugged and blessed and patted by the simple people. prof. starr began his ethnological studies to westward of oaxaca. mitla is eastward. in the west, he visited two tribes--the mixtecas and the triquis. the latter are a branch of the former, but much different, living in round bamboo huts, surprisingly like those of some african tribes. he secured two excellent casts of the triquis, and three of the mixtecas. he intended to take five of each tribe he visited, but his plaster failed to arrive. he studies the languages, also, as he goes, and finds many varying dialects, from each of which he secures a test vocabulary of words. he is now approaching the mixes, the "cannibals." all the city of mexico papers laugh at the idea of his encountering the slightest danger, and the professor himself scoffs at it. he believes some of the mixes have, within forty years, eaten human flesh, but he says he is certain they are harmless now. charles f. embree. [from _the chicago record_: march , .] the purple spot on maya babies when i was in yucatan in the parish priest of texax told me that it was said that every pure blood maya indian has a violet or purple spot on his back, in the sacral region. he stated that this spot was called by the native name, uits, "bread," and that it was vulgar or insulting to make reference to it. i at once examined three mayas of pure blood--a boy of ten years and two adult males--but found no trace of such a spot. i concluded that the presence of the spot might be an infantile character, as it is among the japanese, but at that time i had no opportunity to examine maya babies. dr. baelz, a german physician, who has spent many years in japan, long ago called attention to the existence of such spots on japanese infants. the spots described by him were of a blue or purple color, were located upon the back (especially in the sacral region), and were variable in form and size. they were temporary, disappearing at from two to eight years of age. the occurrence of these infantile color blotches was so common in japan as to be almost characteristic of the race. in time, other students reported similar spots on other asiatic babies, and on non-asiatic babies of mongolian or mongoloid peoples. chinese, annamese, coreans, greenland eskimos, and some malays are now known to have such spots. sacral spots have also been reported among samoans and hawaiians. practically, all these people belong to the great yellow race, as defined by de quatrefages, and are, if not pure representatives of that race, mixed bloods, in part, of it. baelz and some other writers have, therefore, gone so far as to consider the purple sacral spot a mark peculiar to that race, and to believe its occurrence proof of mongolian origin. they have asked whether the spot occurs among american indians, and would consider its occurrence evidence of an asiatic origin for our native tribes. satisfactory observations had not been made. baelz himself found two cases among vancouver island indians. in my recent trip to mexico i planned to look for this spot among several indian tribes. out of six populations that i expected to visit i really saw but two--the aztecs and the mayas. i do not believe that the sacral spot exists among aztecs. i made no search, because aztec friends, who would be sure to know, all agreed in denying its occurrence. among the mayas, the case is different. in the little maya town of palenque i examined all the pure blood babies. the back of the first little creature bared for my inspection bore a clearly defined, dark blue-purple spot, just where it might be expected. the spot was almost two inches wide and nearly three-fourths of an inch high. the child was a boy of eight months. a brother, two years old, showed no trace of the spot, but the mother says it was formerly well defined. every one of the seven pure maya babies, below ten months old, in the town was purple-spotted. a pair of boy twins, two months old, were marked in precisely the same place with pale blue-purple spots, of the same size and form. in one boy of ten months the spot seemed to be disappearing and was represented by three ill-defined and separated blotches. in the village, there were three babies of suitable age, but of mixed--spanish-maya--blood; no one of these showed any trace of the colored spot. we may say, then, that in palenque every maya baby below ten months of age was sacral spotted, and that no mestizo baby was. does this prove that the mayas are asiatics by ancestry? the daily press asserts that i make that claim; it is mistaken. i am free to say i don't know what to do with my spotted maya babies. i presume that baelz will cousin them with his little japanese. frederick starr. from _the chicago tribune_: january , . index abandoned river course, . acacia, , . acala, , . agua bendita (chiapa), , . agua bendita (mex.), . agua miel, . aguardiente, . aguazotepec, . aje, : insect, ; . ajuno, , , . akxotla, . alcaldes indios, . alligators, , . ancona, bishop, . antiquities, , , , , , . ant--foraging, ; --honey, . apparition of the virgin, . aranza, . arbol huerfano, . arriero--tardy, ; --unreliable, ; --abandons us, . arroyo--jefe, . atla, ; carry-sacks, ; costume, ; witchcraft, . atlihuitzia--santa maria, . axolotl, . ayate, , , . ayutla, , . aztec, , , , , , ; breakfast, . babies--carrying, ; --care of, . bamboo, . band--huauhtla, ; --honors us, . bandolier, . barela, sr. and sra., . bark-paper, , , . baron, , . barranca, , , , , . barrios--pedro, . basalt, , . battle of flowers, . begonia, . belen, . bells--pottery, . benito juarez--steamer, . bernal diaz, . bishop--mérida, . blackflies, . blanco--juan, , . blessing--a mother's, . bloom--trees, , . boca del rio--rancho, . books--mixe, ; --mixtec, ; zapotec, . bowls--calabash, . boxes--scarce, . boy--work of, , ; --and iguana, . breech-clout, . bridge--covered, ; --of vines, , . brinton, . bromelias, , , , , , , , . bruhería, , , . bull met, . burning fields, , . bust-making, , , , , , . de butrie--m. and mme., , , . cactus, , , , , , ; --pitahaya, . cahuantzi--gov. prospero, , , . caimans, . cairn, . calabashes, . caladium, , . calandria, . calistro--antonio, . camalpa, . camarón, . camotlan, , . camp--traveller's, . campeche, , ; --banks, . canal, . cancuc, , , , ; --outbreak, ; --reception, ; --music, ; --dress, . candaleria--maria, . canoes, , , ; --tarascan, ; --travel, ; --empty, . canton--gov. francisco, , , . capacuaro, , . carapan, . carizal, . carnival, , , , , . carrera, . carretero, , , , ; --camping, . carriers, , . --small, but devoted, , ; --trouble, . carry-frame, . carts, , . cart-road, , , , . carvajal, . cascades, . cascarones, . castle, dr., , , , , . castolo--zapotec boy, , . cattle, among juaves, ; --loading, ; driving, . cave, near comitan, ; --witch's, near atla, ; --near pantepec, ; near tekax, , . cave formations, . cave--hat-makers, . celebration--st. martin's eve, . cemetery--visits to, . cempoalteca--family, . cempoalxochil, . cenotes, , . chacalacca, , . chacmool, . chalcedony, , . chamara, , . champurado, . chamula, , , , , ; --outbreak, , . chapapote, , , . chavacanes, . checheb, . cheran, , , . chert, . chiapa, , , , , ; --lacquer, . chiapanecs, . chiapas, , ; --indians, . chicago record, ; --tribune, . chicahuastla, , ; --an afternoon in, . chicha, . chichen-itza, . chila, , . chilchota, . child--deserted, ; --grateful, . chilon, . chinampas, . chinantecs, ; --land of, . chirimiya--mitla, ; --los reyes, . chochos, , ; hats, . chols, , ; --dress, ; --laborers, ; --type, . cholula, . chontals, ; --type, . christmas celebration, . church of the thieves, . la cienega, . cincalote, . circus, . citala, . citlaltepec, , . clays, . cleanliness of person, . climate--results, . cloud-effects, ; --lake, ; --cataract, . coach--unreliable, , ; --well-loaded, ; --fictitious, . coatlan, , . coatzacoalcos, , , , , , . cochero--troublesome, . cockroaches, . cocoa palms, , . cocoles, . coffee, ; --plantation, ; --essence, . coixtlahuaca, , , ; --hat-making, ; --celebration, . color-massing of flowers, . colorín tree, . comales, . comitan, . comiteco, . condolence--visit, . conglomerate, , , . conkal, . contract-labor system, , . convent-church, . cook-house, . cooking, . copal, . cordoba woman, , . cordova--javier, , . corpse rejected, . cortez' trail, . cosmopolitan group, . costumbre-annual,--otomi, ; --totonac, . costume, ; --juave, ; --mazateco, ; --mixtec, ; --otomi, , ; --totonac, ; --tzotzil, ; --zapotec, , . cotones--see costume. cotton--beating, . counterfeiters in tlaxcala, . couple--mysterious, . coyotepec, . crabs, . cristobal martyr boy, . crosses, . crucified child, . la cruzada, , ; --unsettled conditions, . cuaquitepec, , . cuauhtepec, . cuezcomate, , . cuezcomate--the, . cuicatlan, , , , . culin--mr., , . cuquila, , . customs-house, . cycle superstition, . cypress, . dance wands, . dancers, , . danza, , ; --de la conquista, ; --de los negros, ; --de los mestizos, . date palm, . deaf-mutism, , , , . december, , . deer, . deformity, . diaz--president porfirio, ix, , . diego--juan, . disaster to plates, . distance marks, . distilleries, , . disturbance--village, . doña cecilia, . dos rios, . doves, , . dragon-tree, . drinking, . drunken officials, , , , , , , , ; --visitor, . ducks, . dulces, . dynamiting streams, , . eagle, , . earthquake, , ; --tehuantepec, ; papalo, . echo, . eggs, . ellsworth mr., , . embree mr., . enagua, see costume. enchiladas, . esperanza mule-line, . espindola, sr., , , . espinola--macario, . etla, . expeditions, vii. eurosa--sr., . eustasio, our carretero, , , , , , , , , , , . excitement--political, , . exorbitant charges, , ; --ixcuintepec, ; --xalapa, ; --tequixistlan, ; --tulancingo, etc., ; --huachinango, ; --huehuetla, . faja--see costume. fans used in dance, . feather-work, . feb. , celebration, . female beauty, . feria at comitan, . ferns, , , , , , , . fernandez--leandro, x. fernandez--sr., , . fever, , . fiesta--san marcos, . fishes, . fishing--night, ; --handnets, ; dynamite, . flight of the virgin, . floats in procession, . flora, , , , ; --contrast on two slopes, , , , ; --curious assemblage, ; --land of mixes, ; --tropical, . flowering shrubs, . fog, , , . forest fire, . frank, , , , , , . frontera, . frost, , . fugitive jefe, . funeral--an interrupted, ; --timely, ; --procession, , . gillow--archbishop eulogio, , glossary, . god-house, . godinez--ramon, viii, , , , , , , , , , , , , , . goitre, , , , . gold coins worn, , , . gonzales--manuel, viii, - , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . gonzales--gov. martin, vii, . grabic--louis, viii, , , , , , , , , , , , , , . granary, , , . granite, . greetings--new year, . grippe, . guadalupe, . guadalupe, our cook at tancoco, , . guamara, . guatemala, , , ; --money, . gutierrez zamora, . guviño, , . guzman--gamboa, . hairless dog, . hares, . hats, , , . hauling timber, . hennequín, ; --treatment, . herman, , , . herons, , . hidalgo--steamer, . high-road, , . h'men, , . honey-wine, . horse falls, ; --ill, , , . hot springs, . houses--aztec, ; --huaxtec, ; --tarascan, ; --totonac, . hrdlicka--his work, v. huachinango, . huaclilla, . huancito, . huauhtla--view, ; --town, ; --trade, ; --labor ideas, . huautla, . huaxteca verucruzana, ; --potosina, . huaxtecs, , , , ; --character, ; --type, . huehuetes=los viejos, . huehuetl, ; --(wrongly so-called), , , , . huehuetla, , , . huejutla, . huilotepec, , , , . huipíl, huipili, see costume. huitzatl, . huixquilucan, , , ; --thieves, . huixtan, . humboldt--alexander, at tule, . husband--devoted, . husk-stacks, . hyde, dr. george b., . idols, . ignacio--boy at chilchota, . iguana, , . imbecility, , . incense, . indian government, , . indian mexico, v. . injured carter, . interpreter--false, . irrigation, . irvine, captain, . isidro--uncle, . itztlis, . ixcotla, . ixcoyotla (bark paper), . ixcuintepec, , , . ixhuatlan, , . ixtaltepec, . ixtapa, , . ixtli, , . ixtacalco, . ixtapalapa, . jacona, . jail--san cristobal, . janicho, . japanese, . javali, . jefe politico--drunk, ; --inefficient, , , , ; --his relation to his people, vii; --as peacemaker, ; --of tuxtla gutierrez, ; --of tulancingo--natural son of, . jiquipilas, , . jonote, , . jornada, . juanico, . juarez--president benito, . juaves, , , , , , ; --type, ; --night-watch, ; --singing, . juchitan, , , , , ; --trader, . juiles, . juquila (mixe), , . juxtlahuaca--jefe of, . kan--modesto, . ke'esh, . kingfisher, . labor congress, . laborers for yucatan, . lacquer--chiapa, , ; --uruapang. lagoons, , , , . lake chapala, ; --patzcuaro, , . landslide, . lang,--charles b., viii, , , . leaf-water, . leal--manuel, fernandez, ix. leandro, secretario tamalin, . leon--governor francisco, , . leyra--pablo, , , , . libation, . lightning, . limestone, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; --erosion, ; --hills, . llano, , , , . la llave, , . lopez--lieut.-governor, , . lost at night, . lumholtz--charles, v., , , . lux--ernst, vii, , , , . lycopods, , . macaws, , . macuilapa, . magdalena de los comales, . maguéy, , . mai, . malacates, . malintzi, , . mangroves, . mantas, , . manuel, our arriero, , . mapa, , . mapachtli, . mapaho, , . marcelo--alejandro, . maria as a female name, . marimba, , . mariano, our mozo, , , . market--tehuantepec, ; --oaxaca, . martinez--quirino, . martinez--silvano, , , . maskers, , , . mayas, , , , ; --stubbornness, . mazatecs--costume, ; --houses, . measuring--mitla, ; --ayutla, . medellin, . medical practice, . mendieta, . mercado--governor aristeo, . mérida, , , , , ; --expensive living, ; --carnival, , . mesquite, . mexicalcingo, . mexico--steamer, , . miraculous cross, . mist, , . mitla--ruins, ; --mixes seen at, ; --festival, ; --fiesta, ; --work at, ; --ruins, . mixes, , ; --first veiw of, ; --tragedy, ; --land of, ; --life, ; --roads, . mixtec, , ; --boy, ; --language, ; --planter, . mogote, , . mole, . money--guatemalan, . monkey's comb, . montezuma, , . moon influences young, . moonstone, . mora--señora, . moral=mulberry, , . morrison--stanton, . mosquitoes, . moss, ; --crimson, ; --gray, , ; yellow, , . mounds, . moving stone, . mulada, . mule--purchase, ; --accident, ; --trouble by, ; --trouble with, ; --gives out, ; --reported dead, . muleteer--affectionate, . muñecos, , , , , , . murcio--don, . murcio--guillermo, , , . museo yucateco, . music--of the candelaria, ; --at los reyes, . nabor--don, . nacimiento, . naguál, . names of one river, . negrete, . los negritos, . nehuatzen, . nenton, , . new year--celebration, ; --gifts, . night-blindness, . night-travel, . night-watch, . nochixtlan, . norther, , , , , , , , . nublina, , , , . oaxaca, , , , . obsidian, . ocellated turkey, . ocosingo, . ocotopec (mixe), , , --(mixtec), . oleander, . once pueblos, ; --ride through, . operation proposed, . orchids, , , , , , , , , , , . organo cactus, . orozco y berra, , , . otomis, , , , , ; --female type, : --costume, ; --male types, . ox-cart--travel, , , , , ; --accident, . ox played out, . ozuluama, , ; --jefe, of . pacheco--anselmo, viii, , , . pacific, , , , , , ; --coast--yellow fever, . padre--the, his story, ; --at chila, ; --at medellin, . paganism surviving, , , , . pahuatl, . pahuatlan, , . pahuatlan river, . palacios--conrado, . palenque, . palms, , , . pantepec, , ; costume, ; --houses, ; --women, . panuco, . panuco river, . papalo, , , . papaya, . parasitic fig, . el parian, . parracho, . parrots, , , , . paso real, , . pastores, . patzcuaro, , . pea-flower, . pearson company, . pebbles wedged by torrent, . pelico, . pemol, . peonage, . peru tree--belief, . piano, . pichataro, , . pigeons, . pigs, . pilgrimage, . pimentel--governor, . pineapples, . pines, , , . pinguicula, . pinolillos, . los pinos, , . pinto, , , , . pitahaya (cactus), , . pito, , , . plaster prepared, . le plongeon--dr. a., . polydactyly, . ponce; padre, , , , . population of mexico, v. porfiria, aztec cook, . posole, , . pottery, , , , , , . pouch--netted, . powell--william d., viii, . predictions dire, . presidente--sleepy, ; --zautla, . priest--drunken, ; --ignorant, ; active, ; --gifts to, ; --reception of, . priestess--pagan, . prisoners, ; --of state, . private cart, . progress, , , , . puebla, , , . pueblo viejo, , . pulque, , ; --country, . puma, . pumice, . pygmy statue, . pyramid, , . quail, . quarrel adjusted, . quartz, . quechol--romualdo, , , , , , . quezaltepec, , quichiquemil, see costume. quiero--señor, , . quiroga, , . railroad--yucatecan, , . rain ceremonials, . rain-god, . rattle, . rau--enrique, , , . rebozos (parracho), . regidor perplexed, . resting at summit, . los reyes, . rheumatism cure, . rhododendron, . ridge in yucatan, . la riviera, . road ("rio blanca"), ; --dilapidated, . roads--mixe, ; zapotec, . robinson, a.a., ix. robbery, . rock-impressions, . rodriguez; governor pedro l., . round houses, . ruins (tecomavaca), . sabina, , . sacrifice, , . salt, . el salto, , , . san antonio, . san antonio, ; --excitement at, . san bartolo (hacienda), . san bartolo (hidalgo), , ; --market, . san bartolo (mixtec), . san bartolo (zapotec), ; --costume, . san bartolome (tzotzil), , . san bernardino, . san blas, . san carlos, , . san cristobal (chiapas), , , . san estevan, . san francisco, . san geronimo (mazatec), . san geronimo (huaxtec), . san geronimo (zapotec), , . san gregorio, , . san juan (yucatan), , . san lorenzo; , . san lucas, , . san mateo del mar, , . san miguel, , . san miguel (chiapas), , . san nicolas, . san nicolas panotla, , . san pablito, , ; --witchcraft, ; --paper, . san pablo el grande, , . san pedrito, . san pedro, . san pedro soochiapan, ; --town-house, ; --public service, ; houses, . san sebastian, . sanchez--padre, . sandstone, , . sand dollars, . sandunga (song), . santa ana, . santa anita, . santa fe de la laguna, . santa maria, , . santa maria (totonac), . santa maria (yucatan), . santa maria albarradas, . santa maria atlihuitzia, . santiago guevea, , . santocalli, . santo domingo (chiapas), . santo domingo (mixtec), . sastun, , . sawapa, , . schistose rock, . school-teachers, . scientific results of work, viii. school at san nicolas panotla, . scorpion, . sea gulls, . las sedas, . segundo of zautla, , . selaginella, . seler--mrs., . semi-domestication, . sensitive plants, . september , san miguel's day, . shales, . shaly-sandstone, . silk, . singing, , . sister--loyal, . slate, . small-pox, , , , . smith--lucius, , . smuggling, . snakes, , , . snipe, . soldiers, . songs--aztec, ; --zapotec, . spear-thrower, . spinning, , . spot-sacral--on maya babies, . stalagmite, . starr in old mexico, . stations--railroad, . stream-beds dry, . stubbornness, . subterranean streams, . suchiapa, . sugar-making, , , , --mill, sunset, . surviving paganism, , . syenite, . syrian peddlers, . tamalin, , . tampico, . tanaquillo=tanaco, , . tanatepec, . tanchitla, . tancoco, , ; --hats, ; --houses, . tangancicuaro, . tantima, , ; houses, , . tapachula, . tarascans, ; --trading, . tatarian--bedros, viii. tecomavaca, . tecomavaca viejo, . tehuacan, . tehuantepec, , , ; --name story, ; --yellow fever, . tehuantepec river, . tehuantepec women, ; --beauty, ; --versus tuxtla gutierrez, ; --dress, . tekax, , ; --hermita, ; --jefe of, . temascal, , , . tenango (chiapas), ; --pottery, . tenango del doria, , , . tenejapa, , , ; market, . teotitlan del camino, , . tepache, , . tepanapa, , . tepehuas, , ; --costume, . tepeyac, . teponastl, . teposcolula, . tequixistlan, . thatching, . theatre, . tiger=jaguar, or ocelotl, . tiger-cat, . thompson--edward, , . three-part house, . tilantongo, . tinajas, . titian--the, , . titulo, . tlacolula, , . tlacotepec, , . tlacuilotepec, , , . tlaxcala, , , , . tlaxcalans, . tlaxcalteca (song), . tlaxco, . tlaxiaco, . toro play, , . toros, . torrent-wash, . torres--anastasia, . torres--padre, . tortillas, . tortuga, , . las tortugas, . totolapa, . totonacs, , , , , ; --fishing, . toucan, , , . trade, , , . tramp--american, , . tree-ferns, , , , , . trees protected, , . la trinidad, . triquis, , . el triunfo, , , , , . tropical forest, , , . troupe--comedy, . tsupakwa, . tufa, . tufaceous deposits, , , . tulancingo, . tule, , ; --great tree at, . tumbala, , , , ; --boys delayed at, . tuxtla gutierrez, , , , , , , , , et, , . tzendals, , , ; --dress, , ; --hair-dressing, . tzintzuntzan, , . tzotzils, , , ; --dress, ; --industrious, . ucuares, . ule, . union hidalgo=guviño, , , , . united states--ideas regarding, . uruapan, ; --lacquer, ; --goitre, . valencia--jefe, , . valley hot, . van antwerp--a.l., ix. venta colorado, . vera cruz, . vice-consul (solis), , . los viejos, . view-extended, . village crying, , . wasp nests, . watch-houses in fields, . water birds, ; --doubtful, . wayside selling, , . wayside shrine, . weaving, , , , , , . wedding, , . weighing, . werner, mr., . wheels--hot, . whistles--pottery, . wilson, david a., viii. wind-mills, . witchcraft, , , ; --cave, . women difficult subjects, , , , , , , , ; --easy subjects, , , ; --of tuxtla gutierrez beautiful, ; --zapotec, . wool, . work--nature of, vi; --views regarding, ; --methods and difficulties, , , , , , , , , , . wry-necks, . xalama, . xalapa, . xaya, , , . xochihua, sr., , . xtoles, , . yajalon, , . yaqui, . yautepec, . yellow fever, , , , , , , . yodocono, , . yucatan, , ; --aspect of, ; --dress, . zamora, . zanatepec, . el zapato, . zapote (hacienda), . zapotecs, , , , ; --wounded, ; --woman's dress, ; --family, ; --traders, ; --cook, ; --family, ; --songs, ; --painting, ; --expansion, . zautla--san juan, . zinacantan, . ziracuaretaro, . zoques, , ; --beauty of women, ; --dress, ; --baby-carrying, ; --houses, . unknown mexico a record of five years' exploration among the tribes of the western sierra madre; in the tierra caliente of tepic and jalisco; and among the tarascos of michoacan by carl lumholtz, m.a. member of the society of sciences of norway; associé Étranger de la société de l'anthropologie de paris; author of "among cannibals," etc. volume i to morris k. jesup, m.a., ll.d. president of the american museum of natural history of new york the patron and friend of science this work is respectfully dedicated as a token of gratitude and regard preface in the course of my travels in australia, and especially after my arrival at upper herbert river in northern queensland, i soon perceived that it would be impracticable for me to hunt for zoological specimens without first securing the assistance of the natives of the country. thus it came about that for over a year i spent most of my time in the company of the cannibalistic blacks of that region, camping and hunting with them; and during this adventurous period i became so interested in these primitive people that the study of savage and barbaric races has since become my life's work. i first conceived the idea of an expedition to mexico while on a visit to london in . i had, of course, as we all have, heard of the wonderful cliff-dwellings in the southwest of the united states, of entire villages built in caverns on steep mountain-sides, accessible in many cases only with the aid of ladders. within the territory of the united states there were, to be sure, no survivors of the race that had once inhabited those dwellings. but the spaniards, when first discovering and conquering that district, are said to have come upon dwellings then still occupied. might there not, possibly, be descendants of the people yet in existence in the northwestern part of mexico hitherto so little explored? i made up my mind, then and there, that i would answer this question and that i would undertake an expedition into that part of the american continent. but my ideas were not realised until in i visited the united states on a lecturing tour. on broaching the subject of such an expedition to some representative men and women, i met with a surprisingly ready response; and interest in an undertaking of that kind being once aroused, the difficulties and obstacles in its way were soon overcome. most of the money required was raised by private subscription. the principal part of the fund was, however, furnished by a now deceased friend of mine, an american gentleman whose name, in deference to his wishes, i am bound to withhold. the american museum of natural history of new york and the american geographical society of new york contributed, each, $ , , and it was arranged that i should travel under the auspices of these two learned institutions. many scientific societies received me most cordially. the government in washington readily furnished me with the official papers i required. the late mr. james g. blaine, then secretary of state, did everything in his power to pave my way in mexico, even evincing a very strong personal interest in my plans. in the summer of , preparatory to my work, i visited the zuñi, navajo, and moqui indians, and then proceeded to the city of mexico in order to get the necessary credentials from that government. i was received with the utmost courtesy by the president, general porfirio diaz, who gave me an hour's audience at the palacio nacional, and also by several members of his cabinet, whose appreciation of the importance and the scientific value of my proposition was truly gratifying. with everything granted that i wanted for the success of my expedition--free passage for my baggage through the custom house, the privilege of a military escort whenever i deemed one desirable, and numerous letters of introduction to prominent persons in northern mexico who were in a position to further my plans--i hurried back to the united states to organise the undertaking. my plan was to enter, at some convenient point in the state of sonora, mexico, that great and mysterious mountain range called the sierra madre, cross it to the famous ruins of casas grandes in the state of chihuahua, and then to explore the range southward as extensively as my means would permit. the western sierra madre may be considered a continuation of the rocky mountains and stretches through the greater part of mexico into central and south america as a link of the cordilleras, which form a practically uninterrupted chain from bering strait to cape horn. the section occupying northwestern mexico is called sierra madre del norte, and offers a wide field for scientific exploration. to this day it has never been surveyed. the northernmost portion of the sierra madre del norte has from time immemorial been under the dominion of the wild apache tribes whose hand was against every man, and every man against them. not until general crook, in , reduced these dangerous nomads to submission did it become possible to make scientific investigations there; indeed, small bands of the "men of the woods" were still left, and my party had to be strong enough to cope with any difficulty from them. inasmuch as my expedition was the first to take advantage of the comparative security prevailing in that district, i thought that i could best further the aims of science by associating with me a staff of scientists and students. professor w. libbey, of princeton, n. j., took part as the physical geographer, bringing with him his laboratory man; mr. a. m. stephen was the archæologist, assisted by mr. r. abbott; messrs. c. v. hartman and c. e. lloyd were the botanists, mr. f. robinette the zoölogical collector, and mr. h. white the mineralogist of the expedition. all the scientific men were provided with riding animals, while the mexican muleteers generally rode their own mounts. our outfit was as complete as it well could be, comprising all the instruments and tools that might be required, besides tents and an adequate allotment of provisions, etc. all this baggage had to be transported on mule-back. we were, all in all, thirty men, counting the scientific corps, the guides, the cooks, and the muleteers, and we had with us nearly a hundred animals--mules, donkeys, and horses--as we crossed the sierra. it was a winter campaign, and from nacori, in sonora, to casas grandes, in chihuahua, we were to make our own trail, which we did successfully. ancient remains were almost as rare as in the rest of the sierra madre del norte; yet traces of ancient habitations were found in the shape of stone terraces, which had evidently served agricultural purposes, and at some places rude fortifications were seen. in the eastern part we came upon a considerable number of caves containing house croups, the builders of which, generally, rested in separate burial-caves. in the same locality, as well as in the adjacent plains of san diego, chihuahua, we found numerous mounds covering house groups, similar in construction to those in the caves. from underneath their floors we unearthed about five hundred beautifully decorated pieces of pottery. among the further results of the expedition may be mentioned the gathering of large collections of plants, among them twenty-seven species new to science; fifty-five mammals, among which the _siurus apache_ was new to science, and about a thousand birds. a complete record was made of meteorological observations. thus far, although the question regarding surviving cliff-dwellers was answered negatively, the field southward in the sierra was so promising that i was eager to extend my explorations in that direction. the funds of the expedition, however, began to run low, and in april, , i had to return to the united states to obtain more money with which to carry on a work that had opened so auspiciously. i left my camp in san diego in charge of one of my assistants, instructing him to go on with the excavations during my absence. this work was never interrupted, though the force of men was now considerably reduced. the law prohibiting excavations without the special permit of the government of mexico had not yet been promulgated. i was so absolutely confident of the ultimate success of my efforts, in spite of discouragements, that i twice crossed the entire continent of north america, went down to the city of mexico and came north again--a journey of over , miles--seeing prominent people and lecturing to arouse a public interest. finally, the american museum of natural history of new york decided to continue the explorations, the funds being this time supplied mainly through the munificence of the late mr. henry villard, and toward the end of that year i was able to return to my camp, and in january, , lead the expedition further south. my scientific assistants were now: mr. c. v. hartman, botanist; mr. c. h. taylor, civil engineer and photographer, and mr. a. e. meade, mineralogist and zoological collector. this time we came upon cave-dwellers. the tarahumare indians of the sierra madre, one of the least known among the mexican tribes, live in caves to such an extent that they may properly be termed the american cave-dwellers of to-day. i determined to study these interesting people, especially the so-called _gentiles_ [ ] (pagans), and as this was not practical, even with the present reduced size of the expedition, i gradually disbanded the entire company and at last remained alone. by selling most of my animals, and a large part of my outfit, and through the untiring efforts of two american ladies, whose friendship i highly esteem, i was enabled to continue my researches alone until august, , when i took my tarahumare and tepehuane collections to chicago and exhibited them at the world's fair. extensive vocabularies of the tarahumare and tepehuane languages, as well as a vocabulary of the now almost extinct tubares, were among the results of this expedition, besides anthropological measurements, samples of hair and osseous remains. the great possibilities mexico offers to ethnology proved an irresistible incentive to new researches, and seeing the results of my previous expeditions, the american museum of natural history of new york again sent me out on what was to be my third and most extensive mexican expedition, which lasted from march, , to march, . during these three years i again travelled alone, that is, without any scientific assistants, at first with two or three mexicans. soon, however, i found that my best companions were the so-called civilised indians, or even indians in their aboriginal state, who not only helped me by their mere presence to win the confidence of their tribesmen but also served me as subjects of observation. as before, i stopped for months with a tribe, discharging all alien attendants, and roughing it with the indians. in this way i spent in all a year and a half among the tarahumares, and ten months among the coras and huichols. at first the natives persistently opposed me; they are very distrustful of the white man, and no wonder, since he has left them little yet to lose. but i managed to make my entry and gradually to gain their confidence and friendship, mainly through my ability to sing their native songs, and by always treating them justly. thus i gained a knowledge of these peoples which could have been procured in no other way. when after five or six months of such sojourns and travel my stock of "civilised" provisions would give out, i subsisted on what i could procure from the indians. game is hard to get in mexico, and one's larder cannot depend on one's gun. as in australia, my favourite drink was hot water with honey, which, besides being refreshing, gave a relish to a monotonous diet. all along my route i gathered highly valuable material from the tarahumares, the northern and the southern tepehuanes, the coras, the huichols, and the tepecanos, all of which tribes except the last named dwell within the sierra madre del norte; also from the nahuas on the western slopes of the sierra, as well as from those in the states of jalisco and mexico; and, finally, from the tarascos in the state of michoacan. of most of these tribes little more than their names were known, and i brought back large collections illustrating their ethnical and anthropological status, besides extensive information in regard to their customs, religion, traditions, and myths. i also completed my collection of vocabularies and aboriginal melodies. on my journey through the tierra caliente of the territory of tepic, and the states of jalisco and michoacan, i also obtained a number of archaeological objects of great historical value and importance. in i made my last expedition to mexico under the same auspices, staying there for four months. on this trip i was accompanied by dr. ales hrdlicka. i revisited the tarahumares and huichols in order to supplement the material in hand and to settle doubtful points that had come up in working out my notes. sixty melodies from these tribes were recorded on the graphophone. thus from to i spent fully five years in field researches among the natives of northwestern mexico. the material was collected with a view to shedding light upon the relations between the ancient culture of the valley of mexico and the pueblo indians in the southwest of the united states; to give an insight into the ethnical status of the mexican indians now and at the time of the conquest, and to illuminate certain phases in the development of the human race. so far the results of my expeditions to mexico have been made public in the following literature: carl lumholtz: "explorations in mexico," bulletin of the american geographical society, . carl lumholtz: letters to the american geographical society of new york, "mr. carl lumholtz in mexico," bulletin of the american geographical society, vol. iii., . j. a. allen: "list of mammals and birds collected in northeastern sonora and northwestern chihuahua, mexico, on the lumholtz archæological expedition, - ," bulletin of the american museum of natural history, vol. v., art. iii., . b. l. robinson and m. l. fernald: "new plants collected by mr. c. v. hartman and mr. c. e. lloyd upon the archæological expedition to northwestern mexico under the direction of dr. carl lumholtz," proceedings of the american academy of arts and sciences, vol. xxx., . carl lumholtz: "american cave-dwellers; the tarahumares of the sierra madre," bulletin of the american geographical society, vol. iii., . carl lumholtz: "the cave-dwellers of the sierra madre," proceedings of the international congress of anthropology, chicago, . carl lumholtz: four articles in scribner's magazine: "explorations in the sierra madre," november, ; "among the tarahumares, the american cave-dwellers," july, ; "tarahumare life and customs," september, ; "tarahumare dances and plant worship," october, . c. v. hartman: "the indians of northwestern mexico," congrès international des americanistes, dixième session, stockholm, . carl lumholtz: "blandt sierra madres huleboere," norge, norsk kalender, kristiania, . carl lumholtz and ales hrdlicka: "trephining in mexico," american anthropologist, december, . carl lumholtz: "the huichol indians in mexico," bulletin of the american museum of natural history, vol. x., . tarleton h. bean: "notes on mexican fishes obtained by carl lumholtz." bulletin of the american museum of natural history, vol. x., . carl lumholtz and ales hrdlicka: "marked human bones from a prehistoric tarasco indian burial-place in the state of michoacan, mexico," bulletin of the american museum of natural history, vol. x., . ales hrdlicka: "description of an ancient anomalous skeleton from the valley of mexico, with special reference to supernumerary bicipital ribs in man," bulletin of the american museum of natural history, vol. xii., . carl lumholtz: "symbolism of the huichol indians," memoir of the american museum of natural history, vol. iii., may, ; royal quarto pages and coloured plates. in preparation: carl lumholtz: "conventionalism in designs of the huichol indians," memoir of the american museum of natural history. the present volumes give a succinct account of my travels and work among the remote peoples of the sierra madre del norte and the countries adjacent to the south and east as far as the city of mexico. most of what i tell here refers to a part of the republic that is never visited by tourists and is foreign even to most mexicans. primitive people are becoming scarce on the globe. on the american continents there are still some left in their original state. if they are studied before they, too, have lost their individuality or been crushed under the heels of civilisation, much light may be thrown not only upon the early people of this country but upon the first chapters of the history of mankind. in the present rapid development of mexico it cannot be prevented that these primitive people will soon disappear by fusion with the great nation to whom they belong. the vast and magnificent virgin forests and the mineral wealth of the mountains will not much longer remain the exclusive property of my dusky friends; but i hope that i shall have rendered them a service by setting them this modest monument, and that civilised man will be the better for knowing of them. that i have been able to accomplish what i did i owe, in the first place, to the generosity of the people of the united states, to their impartiality and freedom from prejudice, which enables foreigners to work shoulder to shoulder with their own advance guard. i wish to extend my thanks in particular to the american geographical society of new york, and still more especially to the american museum of natural history of new york, with whom i have had the honour of being connected more or less closely for ten years. to its public-spirited and whole-souled president, mr. morris k. jesup, i am under profound obligations. i also take pleasure in acknowledging my indebtedness to mr. andrew carnegie, who initiated my mexican ventures with a subscription of $ , ; furthermore to the hon. cecil baring, mr. frederick a. constable, mr. william e. dodge, mr. james douglass, mrs. joseph w. drexel, mr. george j. gould, miss helen miller gould, mr. archer m. huntington, mr. frederick e. hyde, mr. d. willis james, col. james k. jones, the duke of loubat, mr. peter marié, mr. henry g. marquand, mr. f. o. matthiessen, mr. victor morawetz, mr. j. pierpont morgan, mrs. edwin parsons, mr. archibald rogers, mr. f. augustus schermerhorn, mr. william c. schermerhorn, mr. charles stewart smith, mr. james speyer, mr. george w. vanderbilt, mr. william c. whitney, of new york; to mr. frederick l. ames, mrs. john l. gardner, mrs. e. mason, mr. nathaniel thayer, mr. samuel d. warren, dr. charles g. weld, of boston; to mr. allison d. armour and mr. franklin macveagh, of chicago; to mrs. phoebe hearst, mr. frank g. new. lands, mrs. abby m. parrot, mr. f. w. sharon, of san francisco; to mr. adolphus busch, of st. louis; to mr. theo. w. davis, of newport; and to the late mr. e. l. godkin. much valuable support or assistance i have also received from mrs. morris k. jesup; mrs. elizabeth hobson, of washington, d. c.; miss joanna rotch, of milton, mass.; mrs. henry draper, of new york; mrs. robert w. chapin, of lenox; the late mr. e. l. godkin; professor alexander agassiz; professor f. w. putnam, curator of the american museum of natural history in new york; dr. s. weir mitchell, of philadelphia; professor franz boas, curator of the american museum of natural history in new york; dr. b. l. robinson and dr. m. l. fernald, of harvard university; professor j. a. allen and mr. l. p. gratacap, curators of the american museum of natural history. i am under obligation to mr. marshall h. saville, curator of the american museum of natural history, especially for the placing of the names of the ruins of southern mexico on one of the maps; to miss alice fletcher, of washington, d. c., and mr. edwin s. tracy for transcribing from the graphophone three of the songs rendered in this book, and to mrs. george s. bixby for aid in transcribing the native music. finally i desire to express my appreciation of the untiring services of my private secretary, mrs. h. e. hepner. the upper illustration on page is a reproduction of a photograph kindly furnished me by mr. frank h. chapman, and the illustration in vol. i., pages - , is made from a photograph acquired through the late dr. p. lamborn. the illustration in vol. ii., pages - , i owe to the courtesy of mr. d. gabriel castaños, of guadalajara. the coloured illustrations are represented as the objects appear when the colours have been brought out by the application of water. the maps do not lay claim to an accuracy which, under the circumstances, it was impossible to obtain, but they will, i hope, be found to be an improvement on the existing ones. dr. ales hrdlicka, who has just returned from the hyde expedition, informs me that in visiting the western part of sonora he found pure opata spoken west of rio de sonora and north of ures, _e.g_., in tuape. wherever dollars and cents are given mexican currency is meant. in the indian songs ii., and , i have made an attempt at rendering the native words in english in such a form that the translations could be sung, without, however, deviating from the original. in the native words "x" should be given the sound of the greek chi. contents chapter i preparations for the start--our dry goods relished by the cattle--i become a "compadre"--beautiful northern sonora--mexican muleteers preferable in their own country--apache stories--signs of ancient inhabitants--arrival at upper yaqui river--opata indians now mexicanised--a flourishing medical practice--mexican manners--rock-carvings--how certain cacti propagate, pages - chapter ii a remarkable antique piece--a new species of century plant--arrival at nacori, at the foot of the sierra madre--trincheras--a mammoth tusk secured--climbing the sierra madre--a new squirrel discovered--solitude--apache monuments--arrival at upper bavispe river, pages - chapter iii camping at upper bavispe river--low stone cabins, fortresses, and other remains indicating former habitation--the animals starve on the winter grass of the sierra and begin to give out--a deserted apache camp--comfort at last--the giant woodpecker--we arrive at the mormon settlements of pacheco and cave valley, pages - chapter iv a splendid field prepared for us by the ancient agriculturists of cave valley--house groups in caves along a pretty stream--well-preserved mummies found in caves--more trincheras--our excavations in caves and mounds confirm to the mormons their sacred stories--we move to the plains of san diego--visit to casas grandes and the watch-tower--successful excavations of the mounds near san diego, pages - chapter v second expedition--return to the sierra--parrots in the snow--cave-dwellings at garabato, the most beautiful in northern mexico--a superb view of the sierra madre--the devil's spine ridge--guaynopa, the famous old silver mine--aros river--on old trails--adventures of "el chino"--cure for poison ivy, pages - chapter vi fossils, and one way of utilising them--temosachic--the first tarahumares--ploughs with wooden shares--visit to the southern pimas--aboriginal hat factories--pinos altos--the waterfall near jesus maria--an adventure with ladrones, pages - chapter vii the uncontaminated tarahumares--a tarahumare court in session--the power of the staff--justice has its course--barrancas--excursion to the gentiles--tarahumare costumes simple and inexpensive--trincheras in use among the tarahumares, pages - chapter viii the houses of the tarahumares--american cave-dwellings of to-day--frequent changes of abode by the tarahumare--the patio or dancing place--the original cross of america--tarahumare storehouses, pages - chapter ix arrival at batopilas--ascent from batopilas to the highlands of the sierra--a tarahumare who had been in chicago--an old-timer--flight of our native guide and its disastrous consequences--indians burn the grass all over the country--travelling becomes too difficult for the animals--mr. taylor and i go to zapuri--its surroundings--the pithaya in season, pages - chapter x nice-looking natives--albinos--ancient remains in ohuivo--local traditions, the cocoyomes, etc.--guachochic--don miguel and "the postmaster"--a variety of curious cures--gauchochic becomes my head-quarters--the difficulty of getting an honest interpreter--false truffles--the country suffering from a prolonged drought--a start in a northwesterly direction--arrival at the pueblo of norogachic, pages - chapter xi a priest and his family make the wilderness comfortable for us--ancient remains similar to those seen in sonora--the climate of the sierra--flora and fauna--tarahumare agriculture--ceremonies connected with the planting of corn--deterioration of domestic animals--native dogs of mexico, pages - chapter xii the tarahumares still afraid of me--don andres madrid to the rescue--mexican robbers among the tarahumares--mode of burial in ancient caves--visit to nonoava--the indians change their minds about me, and regard me as a rain-god--what the tarahumares eat--a pretty church in the wilderness--i find at last a reliable interpreter and proceed to live à l'indienne, pages - chapter xiii the tarahumare physique--bodily movements--not as sensitive to pain as white men--their phenomenal endurance--health--honesty--dexterity and ingenuity--good observers of the celestial bodies and weather-forecasters--hunting and shooting--home industries--tesvino, the great national drink of the tribe--other alcoholic drinks, pages - chapter xiv politeness, and the demands of etiquette--the daily life of the tarahumare--the woman's position is high--standard of beauty--women do the courting--love's young dream--marriage ceremonies, primitive and civilised--childbirth--childhood, pages - chapter xv many kinds of games among the tarahumares--betting and gambling--foot-races the national sport--the tarahumares are the greatest runners in the world--divinations for the race--mountains of betting stakes--women's races, pages - chapter xvi religion--mother moon becomes the virgin mary--myths--the creation--the deluge--folk-lore--the crow's story to the parrot--brother coyote--beliefs about animals, pages - chapter xvii the shamans or wise men of the tribe--healers and priests in one--disease caused by looks and thoughts--everybody and everything has to be cured--nobody feels well without his "doctor"--sorcery--the powers of evil are as great as those of good--remarkable cure for snake-bite--trepanning among the ancient tarahumares, pages - chapter xviii relation of man to nature--dancing as a form of worship learned from the animals--tarahumare sacrifices--the rutuburi dance taught by the turkey--the yumari learned from the deer--tarahumare rain songs--greeting the sun--tarahumare oratory--the flowing bowl--the national importance of tesvino--homeward bound, pages - chapter xix plant-worship--hikuli--internal and external effects--hikuli both man and god--how the tarahumares obtain the plant, and where they keep it--the tarahumare hikuli feast--musical instruments--hikuli likes noise--the dance--hikuli's departure in the morning--other kinds of cacti worshipped--"doctor" rubio, the great hikuli expert--the age of hikuli worship, pages - chapter xx the tarahumare's firm belief in a future life--causes of death--the dead are mischievous and want their families to join them--therefore the dead have to be kept away by fair means or foul--three feasts and a chase--burial customs--a funeral sermon, pages - chapter xxi three weeks on foot through the barranca--rio fuerte--i get my camera wet--ancient cave-dwellings ascribed to the tubar indians--the effect of a compliment--various devices for catching fish--poisoning the water--a blanket seine, pages - chapter xxii resumption of the journey southward--_pinus lumholtzii_--cooking with snow--terror-stricken indians--a gentlemanly highwayman and his "shooting-box"--the pernicious effect of civilisation upon the tarahumares--a fine specimen of the tribe--the last of the tarahumares, pages - chapter xxiii cerro de muinora, the highest mountain in chihuahua--the northern tepehuanes--troubles cropping out of the camera--sinister designs on mexico attributed to the author--maizillo--foot-races among the tepehuanes--influence of the mexicans upon the tepehunaes, and _vice versa_--profitable liquor traffic--medicine lodges--cucuduri, the master of the woods--myth of the pleiades, pages - chapter xxiv on to morelos--wild and broken country--the enormous flower-spike of the amole--subtropical vegetation of northwestern mexico--destructive ants--the last of the tubars--a spectral ride--back to the united states--an awful thunder-storm--close quarters--zape--antiquities--when an "angel" dies--mementos of a reign of terror--the great tepehuane revolution of --the fertile plains of durango, pages - chapter xxv winter in the high sierra--mines--pueblo nuevo and its amiable padre--a ball in my honour--_sancta simplicitas_--a fatiguing journey to the pueblo of lajas and the southern tepehuanes--don't travel after nightfall!--five days spent in persuading people to pose before the camera--the regime of old missionary times--strangers carefully excluded--everybody contemplating marriage is arrested--shocking punishments for making love--bad effects of the severity of the laws, pages - chapter xxvi pueblo viejo--three languages spoken here--the aztecs--the musical bow--theories of its origin--dancing mitote--fasting and abstinence--helping president diaz--the importance of tribal restrictions--principles of monogamy--disposition of the dead, pages - chapter xxvii inexperienced help--how to acquire riches from the mountains--sierra del nayarit--the coras--their aversion to "papers"--their part in mexican politics--a déjeuner à la fourchette--la danza, pages - chapter xxviii a glimpse of the pacific from the high sierra--a visionary idyl--the coras do not know fear--an un-indian indian--pueblo of jesus maria--a nice old cora shaman--a padre denounces me as a protestant missionary--trouble ensuing from his mistake--scorpions, pages - chapter xxix a cordial reception at san francisco--mexicans in the employ of indians --the morning star, the great god of the coras--the beginning of the world--how the rain-clouds were first secured--the rabbit and the deer--aphorisms of a cora shaman--an eventful night--hunting for skulls--my progress impeded by padre's ban--final start for the huichol country--a threatened desertion, pages - list of illustrations portrait of the author _frontispiece_ a dasylirion, cottonwood, _cereus greggii_, a small cactus with enormous root, fronteras, remarkable ant-hill, church bells at opoto, also a visitor, a mexican from opoto, rock-carvings near granados, the church in bacadehuachi, aztec vase, found in the church of bacadehuachi, _agave hartmani_, a new species of century plant, ancient pecking on a trachyte boulder one foot square, in the hills of northeastern sonora, adios, señor! view toward the northwest from sierra de huehuerachi, our principal guide leaving us, a mule with its pack of crates, the photographic mule, on the crest of the sierra, apache monument, camp in the high sierra, bringing in deer, the largest woodpecker in the world, distant view of cupola-shaped granary in cave, single wall in cliff, ground plan of house groups in granary cave, cupola-shaped granary in cave, granary in tlaxcala, bases of granaries in cave, ground plan of house groups in cave on east side of the river, sandal plaited from yucca leaves, heel of a sandal, showing plaiting, piece of wood showing drill mark, pendant of wood, implement for throwing, burial caves in cave valley, a mummified body, rock paintings in white on the inside of a burial cave in cave valley, a trinchera in cave valley, ancient cave-dwellings in strawberry valley, interior view of cave-dwellings shown on page , exterior view of cave-dwellings in strawberry valley, objects found in mounds at upper piedras verdes river, painting on rock on piedras verdes river, figures on walls of a cave-house on piedras verdes river, figure on rock on piedras verdes river, hunting antelope in disguise, casas grandes, ceremonial hatchet with mountain sheep's head. from casas grandes. broken, earthenware vessel in shape of a woman. from casas grandes, cerro de montezuma and the watch tower seen from the south, double earthenware vessel, from san diego, with hollow connection at base, extension of designs on plate i., _a_, the horned toad jar, seen from above and below. plate i., _c_, extension of designs on plate i., _d_, extension of designs on plate iii., _e_, extension of designs on plate v., _e_, black ware, highly polished, extension of design on plate iv., _a_, extension of design on plate iv., _b_, extension of designs on plate iv., _c_, extension of designs on plate iv., _f_, extension of designs on plate v., _c_, ancient cave-dwelling at garabato, part of cave-dwellings at garabato, design in red on second-story wall, piece of matting from garabato cave, ancient cave-houses and granaries near aros river, tarahumare, tarahumare plough with wooden share, tarahumare ploughshare made of oak, tarahumare ploughshare of stone, young southern pima, middle-aged southern pima, southern pimas living in a brushwood inclosure, pine cone serving as a comb, southern pima arrow release, small crosses placed in a log in front of southern pima house, the waterfall of basasiachic, tarahumare ploughman, ancient stone hammer seen in the presidente's yard, tarahumare indians from pino gordo, tarahumare court in session at cusarare, barranca de urique, our tarahumare carriers and the gobernador, tarahumare men, tarahumare woman, necklace of seeds of _coix lachryma-jobi_, tarahumare ear-ornament: one seed _coix lachryma-jobi_ at top. natural size, tarahumare ranch near barranca de cobre, showing ploughed fields supported by stone walls, tarahumare ranch near barranca de cobre, showing agriculture on terraces, tarahumare house near barranca de cobre, tarahumare house in the hot country, cappe of sandstone pillar, showing effect of erosion, tarahumare family camping under a tree, inhabited cave, the home of a tarahumare belle, the belle of the cave, side view of cave on page , showing store-houses and inclosure, inhabited cave, showing store-houses, inclosure, and extended floor, cave with wooden ladder leading to a store-room, crosses made from the natural growth of pine-trees in front of tarahumare house, crosses in front of tarahumare house, cross, tarahumare store-house of stones and mud, caves used as store-houses, tarahumare store-houses made of logs, cactus flowers, making larvae ready for the pot, gathering pithaya, in the highlands of the sierra, tarahumare interpreters, indian trail cut in a ridge of tuff, pecking on rock in the neighbourhood of norogachic, tarahumare girl from the neighbourhood of norogachic, pecking on rock in the neighbourhood of norogachic, winter morning in the sierra, dogs of chihuahua, tarahumare girdles, aspect of the tarahumare country in humarisa, taking my baggage down an indian trail in the barranca de san carlos, tarahumare woman, tarahumare man, usual crouching position of the tarahumare, tarahumare man, tarahumares sunning themselves, tarahumare girl. the hair worn in mexican fashion, weaving a girdle, patterns of tarahumare belts, woman pottery maker and some results of her labour, tarahumare pottery from panalachic, basket for straining tesvino, tarahumare blanket, a tarahumare call, tarahumare arrow release, tarahumare baskets, tarahumare girl carrying water, tarahumare, showing mode of wearing blanket, tarahumare blankets, stone disk for playing, sticks used by tepehuanes for playing, value of the different sides of a knuckle-bone, tarahumares playing quinze, cross marking the track of the foot-runners, tarahumares racing by torch-light, making wagers at a foot-race, part of tarahumare rattling belt, tarahumare foot-runners, photographed after the race, tarahumare women crossing a stream in their race, fork and wooden ball used in women's game, stick and ring used in women's game, the coyote, _canis latrans_, tarahumare shaman's rattles, rubio, the shaman, rubio, the shaman, and his wife at home in their cave, shaman rubio's cave, seen from the outside, rubio, the shaman, examining a man accused of sorcery, trepanned tarahumare skull, female, the beginning of the rutuburi and the yumari dance, dancing yumari, sacrificing tesvino after a yumari dance, ready to begin eating and drinking after a night's dancing of rutuburi, _echinocactus_, hikuli or peyote, the principal sacred cacti, dry hikuli, shaman's notched stick, ancient notched sticks, tarahumare women dancing hikuli at guajochic station, _mammilaria fissurata_, shaman rubio and his company at a hikuli feast. photographed after a night's singing and dancing, tarahumare medicine figure, mexico, ancient ritualistic petrograph, arizona, mourning, view from the north across barranca de san carlos, near guachochic, barranca de san carlos, in its upper part, one of my companions in barranca de san carlos, the widow grinding corn in her camp, bow and throwing-stick for the fish-spear, the amole, a species of agave, tarahumares on the rio fuerte fishing with their blankets, _pinus lumholtzii_, civilised tarahumare boy, juan ignacio and his son, pagan tarahumares, a tepehuane family, old log-houses near nabogame, tepehuanes from nabogame, tepehuane medicine lodge near mesa de milpillas, a well-known tepehuane shaman, _salvia elegans_, var. _sonorensis_, the flower-spike of the amole, _cereus cæspitosus_, tubar man, tubar women, beads of burnt clay, from tubar tombs, tepehuane sling made from maguey fibre, tepehuane pouch made from maguey fibre, tepehuane store-house, near lajas, the musical bow of the tepehuanes of the south, and of the aztecs, rattle for ankle, made from empty pods of a palm, cora men and women from santa teresa, cora pouch, of unusual shape, made of wool. patterns represent flying birds and a row of deer, cora indians from mesa del nayarit, the sacred dancing-place of the coras, called towta, the supposed residence of the great taquat of the east of the same name. photographed after the dancing was over, god's eye, made by the cora tribe as a prayer for my health and life, coloured plates plates i., ii., iii., iv. pottery from san diego _at end of volume_ plate v. pottery from san diego and casas grandes _at end of volume_ plate vi. a tarahumare beauty _facing page _ unknown mexico chapter i preparations for the start--our dry goods relished by the cattle--i become a "compadre"--beautiful northern sonora--mexican muleteers preferable in their own country--apache stories--signs of ancient inhabitants--arrival at upper yaqui river--opata indians now mexicanised--a flourishing medical practice--mexican manners--rock-carvings--how certain cacti propagate. heavy floods in the southern part of arizona and new mexico, with consequent wash-outs along the railroads, interfered with my plans and somewhat delayed my arrival at bisbee, arizona, a small but important mining place from which i had decided to start my expedition. it is only some twenty odd miles from the mexican border, and the copper queen company maintains there well-supplied stores, where the necessary outfit, provisions, etc., could be procured. the preparations for the start consumed more than two weeks. animals had to be bought, men selected and hired, provisions purchased and packed. in the meantime i was joined by the various scientific assistants appointed to take part in the expedition. the horses and mules were bought in the neighbourhood. in purchasing animals much caution is required in that part of the country, as even men who pose as gentlemen will try to take advantage of the situation. one such individual not only raised his prices, but delivered unbroken animals. much loss of time and endless annoyance were caused, first in the camp and later on the road, by unruly mules, that persistently threw off their packs and had to be subdued and reloaded. gradually, i had succeeded in finding the necessary men; this was another hard task to accomplish. there are always plenty of fellows, ready for adventures, greedy to earn money, and eager to join such an expedition. but to select the right ones among the cow-boys and miners of the border lands is most difficult. by what appears, furthermore, to be the compensating justice of nature, the treasures of the earth are always hidden in the most unattractive, dismal, and dreary spots. at least all the mining places i ever visited are so located, and bisbee is no exception. to get away from the cramped little village and its unsavoury restaurant, i established my first camp four miles south of it on a commodious and pleasant opening, where we could do our own cooking. but here a new annoyance, and rather a curious one, was met with. the cattle of the region evinced a peculiar predilection for our wearing apparel. especially at night, the cows would come wandering in among our tents, like the party who goes about seeking what he may devour, and on getting hold of some such choice morsel as a sock, shirt, or blanket, mrs. bossie would chew and chew, "gradually," to quote mark twain, "taking it in, all the while opening and closing her eyes in a kind of religious ecstasy, as if she had never tasted anything quite as good as an overcoat before in her life." it is no use arguing about tastes, not even with a cow. in spite of this drawback, it was pleasant to be out in the country, which was growing delightfully green after the rains, and gave us a foretaste of what we might expect. the last thing to do, after all other preparations had been completed, was to get into the camp three small bags containing seven hundred and fifty mexican dollars, since among the mexican country population paper money is hardly of any use. there was some talk about a raid on the camp by some toughs in the neighbourhood, but we made our start unmolested, on september , . thanks to my letters from the mexican government, i had no trouble at the custom-house in san pedro. i stopped a few days there, nevertheless, to buy some mexican pack-saddles, called aparejos, which, roughly speaking, are leather bags stuffed with straw, to be fastened over the mules' backs. through the courtesy of the mexican custom officials i also secured two excellent and reliable mexican packers, to take the place of some americans who had been fighting in the camp and proved themselves unfit for my purpose. as a mark of regard, one of the custom officers invited me to act as godfather to his child. i had to support the baby's head during the ceremony, while an elderly woman held the little body. according to custom, i gave twenty-five cents to every member of the party, and to the child a more adequate present. from now on i was called compadre by most of the people in the village, and that sacred relationship was established between myself and the baby's family, which is deemed of so much importance in the life of the mexicans. during ten years of travel and ethnological activity i have never met the child again, but i hope that he is getting on well. how beautifully fresh the country looked as we travelled southward in northern sonora! the dreary plains of arizona gave way to a more varied landscape, with picturesque hills studded with oaks and mountain cedars. along the rivers cottonwood was especially noticeable. there was also an abundance of wild-grape vines. everywhere near the shady creeks i saw the evening primrose, brilliantly yellow, while the intense, carmine-red flowers of the lobelia peeped out from under the shrubs. but of all the flowers on the banks of the streams, the most remarkable was the exquisitely beautiful _datura meteloides_, with its gorgeous white crown, six inches long and four inches wide. we saw one cluster of this creeper fully fifty feet in circumference. it is well known among the navajo indians that the root of this plant, when eaten, acts as a powerful stimulant; but the better class among the tribe look upon it with disfavour, as its use often leads to madness and death. the effect of the poison is cumulative, and the indians under its influence, like the malays, run amuck and try to kill everybody they meet. there is also found a species of cactus, with a root which looks like an enormous carrot. one small plant had a root four feet long. it is used as soap. among the birds, doves and flycatchers were most commonly seen, one species of the latter frequently dazzling our eyes with its brilliant vermilion plumage. the men i had hired before crossing the border did not work at all well with the mexicans. they generally considered themselves vastly superior to the latter, whom they did not recognise as "white men." personally, i preferred the mexicans, who were obedient, obliging, and less lawless than the rough, mixed-white citizens of the american southwest. as an illustration of the moral status of the frontier population, i may relate that when about sixty miles south of the border, a custom-house official stationed in the neighbourhood insisted upon examining all my baggage, which, of course, would have involved a lot of trouble. he was neither worse nor better than other custom officers, who seem to exist only to annoy people, and by the exertion of a little patience i succeeded in settling the matter satisfactorily. but one of my foremen, who had noticed my annoyance, came up to me and asked if i desired "to get rid" of him; if i did, said he, he knew how he could serve me so that nothing more would be heard from the mexican! i gradually weeded out this unscrupulous element among the men, and replaced most of the american with mexican muleteers, who are far superior in that particular line of business. in hiring them, only one precaution had always to be observed: never to accept one unless he had a good recommendation from his village authorities or some prominent man in the neighbourhood. the first village of any importance we passed was fronteras. it is built on the summit and slopes of an elevated plateau and looks extremely picturesque at a distance. seen close, however, it turns out to be a wretched little cluster of adobe, or sun-dried brick, houses. not only the town itself, but also all the ranches in the neighbourhood are erected on elevations, a precaution from former days against the bloodthirsty apaches. not so very long ago fronteras was quite an important place, numbering, it is said, some , inhabitants. but the apaches, by their incessant attacks, made the life of the villagers so miserable that the place became depopulated. once it was even entirely abandoned. many stories of the constant fights with these savages are related by the survivors of those struggles. never was it safe in those days to venture outside of the town limits. yet the conflicts did not always end in one way, and the mexicans sometimes got the better of the raiders, although it may be doubted whether the methods by which these results were brought about would come under the rules of modern warfare. one bright moonlight night an old man, who had himself taken part in many an apache fight, led me to a deep gorge where seven apaches once met their doom. the story he told was as follows: a large band of warriors came threateningly into the town. they had killed two hawks and, decorated with their feathers, were on the warpath. as they were in such numbers the mexicans realised that it would be useless to attempt resistance, and therefore sued for peace, which was granted. a peace-banquet followed, during which mescal, the mexican brandy, flowed freely, distributed without stint to the warriors by their wily hosts, who were abiding their time. when the apaches were intoxicated the villagers fell upon them and captured seven men; most of the band, however, managed to escape. next day the prisoners were taken to the ravine and speared, charges of powder being deemed too good for them. only el capitan, pointing to his head, requested, as a special favour, to be shot, which was done. their bodies were buried in the ravine where they fell, but too long a time had already elapsed since the event to enable me to secure for my collections the specimens for which i had been on the lookout. yet i was told by the inhabitants that the ground about the town was so full of apache remains that i should have no difficulty in gaining my object in places close by. a number of apaches, men and women, i was informed, had once been dumped into a well. i set to work at the place indicated, and our efforts were rewarded by the exhumation of eight skulls in perfect condition, besides many typical bones. the last raid of the apaches on fronteras was in . passing cochuta about a hundred miles south of bisbee, we came upon a deposit of fossils. it was scarcely more than a mile in extent, but many bones were said to have been taken away from it as curiosities. i had already observed isolated fossil bones along the creeks on several occasions during our travels, but we could find nothing here of value. signs that the country was in former times occupied by another race than its present inhabitants are seen everywhere throughout the region we traversed following the road to the south. here they appear frequently as remarkable groupings of stones firmly embedded in the ground. only the tops of the stones (the total length of which is about one foot) are seen above the surface, much as stones are used in parks and gardens for ornamental purposes. they are arranged in circles or in rectangles. i saw two circles close to each other, each six feet in diameter. one rectangle measured fifty feet in length by half that in width. low walls divided it into three indistinct partitions. there was never any wall built underneath these surface stones, nor were there any traces of charring. among the ruins found on top of the hills we collected a lot of broken pottery and some flint arrowheads. in several places in this district we found gold and coal, but not in paying quantities. some forty miles south of cochuta we turned in a southerly direction, ascending a hilly plateau , feet above sea-level. here we observed the first orchids, yellow in colour and deliciously fragrant, and in the cañon below we met the first palms. the rocks continued to show volcanic and metamorphic formation. about miles south of bisbee we caught the first glimpse of the sierra madre rising above the foot-hills, some forty miles off to the east. its lofty mountain peaks basking in the clear blue ether, beckoned to us inspiringly and raised our expectations of success. this, then, was the region we were to explore! little did i think then that it would shelter me for several years. it looked so near and was yet so far, and as we travelled on southward the sight of it was soon lost again. we gradually descended to the bavispe river, a name here given to the yaqui river, in accordance with the custom which the mexicans have in common with people in other parts of the world of giving different names to one river in its course through different districts. it was a treat to catch the first sight of the magnificent sheet of water the river forms near the town of opoto, as it slowly wends its way through green shrubs. it is the largest river of the west coast of mexico and is here about , feet above the level of the sea. following the river to the south, we soon passed the towns of guasavas and granados. the vegetation along the river banks is in strong contrast to the land in general. here are fields of sugar-cane, and in the orchards, orange, fig, and lime trees grow in abundance. the country, though fertile, is dry, and the heat is great. even at the end of october the thermometer sometimes registered ° f. in the shade. the grass had become dry and scarce, and it was difficult to keep the animals in satisfactory condition. this territory was once in the possession of the large tribe of opata indians, who are now civilised. they have lost their language, religion, and traditions, dress like the mexicans, and in appearance are in no way distinguishable from the labouring class of mexico with which they are thoroughly merged through frequent intermarriages. as we passed the hamlets, our large party and outfit created quite a sensation and aroused the people from the uneventful routine of their daily existence. they used to surround my tent, especially mornings and evenings, as if an auction had been going on inside. some of them wanted to sell things that would come in handy, such as fowls or panoche (brown sugar). one woman offered me three chickens for one dollar. i told her she charged too high a price, as chickens were not worth more than twenty-five cents apiece; but she insisted that she wanted a dollar, because she had promised that amount to the padre for reading a mass for a man who had died in the time of hidalgo at the beginning of the century. but most of the crowd flocked to my tent to consult me about their ailments. it was useless to tell them that i was not a medical man, or that i had not much medicine to spare, carrying only what i expected to use for my own party. if i had given them all they wanted, our little stock would have been exhausted on the first day; but in order to soften my heart they would send me molasses, sugar-cane, and similar delicacies. one poor old woman who was suffering from cancer even offered me her donkey if i would cure her--an offer in a way equivalent to a wall street magnate's millions, for the donkey was her sole possession on earth. they all were anxious to have me feel their pulse, whether there was anything the matter with them or not. they firmly believed that this mysterious touch enabled me to tell whether they were afflicted with any kind of disease and how long they were going to live. a woman in delicate condition wanted me to feel her pulse and to tell her from that when her child was going to be born. i only hope that my practical advice and the little medicine i could give them relieved some of their backaches and sideaches, their felons, croups, and fevers and agues, and above all, their indigestion, which is the prevailing trouble in that section of the country. but i confess that i was nearly tired out with these consultations. in consequence of frequent intermarriages there are many deaf and dumb persons among them, and epilepsy and insanity are by no means rare. on the other hand, i was assured that such a character as a thief was here unknown. however this might be, it was certain that the mexicans of eastern sonora were a nice class of people. they were pleasant to deal with, very active and obedient, and i never wish for better men than those i then had in my camp, nearly all of whom were from these parts. the people were poor, but genuinely hospitable. of course they were ignorant, and might not, for instance, recognise a check unless it was green. in each town, however, i found one or two men comparatively rich, who knew more of the world than the others, and who helped me out in my difficulties by going from house to house, collecting all the available cash in town, or what coffee and sugar could be spared to make up the deficiency. one thing is certain, i should never have gotten on so well had it not been for the friendly and obliging attitude of the mexicans everywhere. as an instance, when the great scarcity of grass began to tell seriously on the animals, i was efficiently helped out by the courtesy of some influential men. without any personal letters of introduction i received many services whenever i showed my letters of recommendation from the governor of the state, and had a hearty welcome. i was so much impressed with the readiness of the people to accommodate and serve me that my notebook contains the remark: "i find the mexicans more obliging than any nation i have ever come in contact with." it has been my lot to travel for years in mexico, and my experience with her people only tended to deepen the pleasant impression i received at the outset. anyone who travels through mexico well recommended and conducts himself in accordance with the standard of a gentleman is sure to be agreeably surprised by the hospitality and helpfulness of the people, high and low, and it is not a meaningless phrase of politeness only by which a mexican "places his house at your disposal." it is of the utmost importance to have as your chief packer a man who thoroughly understands how to take care of the animals. it is not the custom in mexico, as it is everywhere in australia, to wash the backs of the animals as soon as the packs or saddles are taken off--a precaution which is very beneficial, as it strengthens the skin and prevents inflammation and sores. in the southwest they do not wash their beasts of burden until the mischief is done and they have to allay the swelling and heal up the cuts. if not properly cared for from the beginning, the animals will soon be ailing; some grow unfit for service, and much time is lost mornings and evenings curing their sores. through the carelessness of some packers i lost several valuable mules from such wounds. in summer the blue-bottle fly aggravates the annoyance, as it lays its eggs in the open spaces of the skin, and maggots develop in a very short time. of course there are many ways of ridding an animal of this pest, but here, as everywhere, the proverbial ounce of prevention is better than the pound of cure. a curious case of a man whose life was threatened by a blue-bottle fly and its maggots came to nay notice. he was a soldier, and once in a fight he had his nose cut off so that the nostrils became entirely exposed. one night when he was asleep, drunk, a fly laid its eggs in his nose, and when these were hatched it seemed as if the man was to be eaten up alive. i gave him some relief by syringing the parts with a solution of corrosive sublimate. then an intelligent mexican, who had an extensive knowledge of the numberless native medicinal plants (many of which, no doubt, are very valuable), treated the patient, and in two days the poor wretch seemed to be in a fair way to be saved. near granados i heard of some petroglyphs, or rock-carvings, and sent mr. stephen to examine them. the mexicans called them "painted face." they were to be found only two miles and a half to the northwest of the town, and were interesting. the designs were rudely pecked on the moderately smooth felsite cliffs on a nearly perpendicular wall in the foot-hills, about forty feet above the bed of the arroyo, or gulch. all the human figures were drawn in the characteristic style that we find farther north, the hands and feet being defined with three radiating lines, like a bird's track. the size of the figure, carved in something like a frame, is about twenty by twenty-four inches, and each of the three figures in the group close below is about eighteen inches high. some of the drawings evidently represent the deified dragon-fly found almost everywhere among the ruins of arizona and northern mexico. there are also the concentric circles, the conventionalised spiral, and the meander design, so common among the north american indians, and still in use among the moquis. our botanist, mr. hartman, drew my attention to an interesting cactus, which is beautifully shaped like a candelabra, and attains a height of three to five feet. as it grows old, the top joints of the branches become thick and heavy and are easily broken off by the wind. the joints, like all other parts of the plant, are beset with numerous inch-long spines, and many of them fasten in the loose, moist soil and strike root. in this way many new plants are formed, standing in a circle around the mother plant. on sloping ground the young plants form rows, some forty feet long. there was a fruit to be observed, but very scarce in comparison with that of other species of _cereus_ growing in the vicinity. chapter ii a remarkable antique piece--a new species of century plant--arrival at nacori, at the foot of the sierra madre--trincheras--a mammoth tusk secured--climbing the sierra madre--a new squirrel discovered--solitude--apache monuments--arrival at upper bavispe river. from granados we took an easterly course, being at last able to cross the bavispe river, which, owing to heavy rains in the sierra, had for some time been overflowing. starting from this point, the ground gradually rising, we arrived at bacadehuachi, a small village remarkable for its church, a massive adobe structure, the grand style of which looked somewhat out of proportion in these mountains. it had been built by the franciscans more than years ago, on the site of an older jesuit church, remains of which are still in existence, and which in turn had been erected on the ruins of an ancient temple. while inspecting the church professor libbey discovered that one of the holy water fonts or stoups was a piece of great antiquity, and we were informed that it had been dug up from the débris of the ancient temple when the foundations for the present building were laid. its aesthetic value appealed even to the unscientific builders of the church, who deemed the vessel worthy of a place in the new cathedral, where it served as a bénitier. unfortunately, it had been found necessary to engrave on the ancient carving some roman letters dedicating the vessel to its new purpose. though this somewhat mars its general character, the vase is a most valuable relic of prehistoric mexico, not only as a masterpiece of ancient art, but still more as a way-mark or sign-post showing the trend of aztec migrations. it was not possible to obtain it right away, but a few days later i sent a messenger to a gentleman in granados, whose wife had been relieved from illness by some remedy of mine, requesting him to use his influence with the priest, and in due course i had the satisfaction of possessing this valuable relic of history. the vase is made of a soft, unctuous stone resembling steatite (soapstone); it is true agalmatolite, a mineral popularly called pagoda stone. through the mouth of the human head carved out in front passes a copper tube, which once no doubt pierced the thick wall of the vessel and penetrated into its interior. this tube had been stopped up to make the piece available for its new purpose. marching for several days through oaks and mesquites, over hills and rising country, we reached nacori, a poor village in the foot-hills of the sierra madre. it is scarcely forty miles from granados, and lies at an elevation of , feet. our camp, about two miles outside of the village, was permeated with a delicious odour of acacia blossoms, and water in the neighbouring mountains, though strongly impregnated with iron, was quite palatable. in this region mr. hartman found a new form of agave with delicate stripes of white on the lanceolate leaves that constitute the basal rosette of the plant. the flower stalk is only twelve or thirteen inches high, and i should not wonder if this diminutive and beautiful century plant some day became fashionable in greenhouses. it grows in large numbers in the crevices of the rocks, the perpendicular walls of cañons often being studded with the bright little rosettes when the drought has withered all herbaceous vegetation. from here i made an excursion to an ancient pueblo site. as usual, there were traces of small dwellings, huts of undressed stone, and fragments of pottery. we found three mortars and one pestle, a remarkable number of metates (the stone on which corn is ground), and the corresponding grinding stones, showing that a large population must have once lived here, huddled together in a small space. but the most striking feature of antiquity met thus far on our journey were curious stone terraces built across the small gullies. they are called trincheras (trenches). some of them do not appear to be very old, and many present the appearance of tumble-down walls, but the stones of which they are constructed were plainly used in their natural state. although many of the boulders are huge and irregular in shape, they were used just as they were found. the building material always conformed to the surroundings: in places where conglomerate containing water-worn boulders abounded, this was used; where porphyry was prevalent, blocks of that material were employed. there is no trace of dressing or cutting, but in the mason work considerable skill is evident. the walls are not vertical, but incline somewhat toward the slope on which they are erected. the terrace thus formed is often filled with soil to the height of the wall-top for a space of from fifteen to twenty feet. earth taken from them does not show any colours. some of these trincheras measure thirty feet in length by four feet in height, while the smallest ones i saw were only five feet long and three feet high. naturally enough, the largest ones are in the lower part of the gullies; then, some twenty-five feet back and above, others almost as large may be found. as the arroyo rises and narrows, the walls, each placed a little higher up the slope than the preceding one, are necessarily smaller. in the mountains near nacori, especially on their eastern and southeastern sides, trincheras were encountered in every gulch as high up as six thousand feet, though steep crests and the mountain tops bear no traces of them. in one arroyo, which was about a thousand feet in length and of comparatively gentle slope, twenty-nine trincheras were counted from the bed of the main drainage to the summit of the mountain. some of them were quite close together, three being within eighteen feet of one another. these trincheras somewhat resemble the small terrace gardens of the moqui indians, and have undoubtedly been used for agricultural purposes, just as they are used by the tarahumares to this day (page ). it is true that they are built in great numbers, sometimes in localities that would appear unsuitable for farming; but, on the other hand, they are seldom, if ever, found far from the remains of habitations, a fact from which it may also reasonably be inferred that the ruined houses, as well as the trincheras, were originally built by the same race. some of the terraces were, no doubt, erected as a protection of the crop against enemies and wild animals; but it is impossible to think that they were intended for irrigation dams, though we did see water running through some, coming out of a marsh. still less likely is it that they had been used as mining dams. as soon as the plains of northern sonora were left behind, and the country became hilly and broken, these peculiar structures were conspicuous. at first they appeared more like walls built simply along the slopes of the hills, and not crossing gulches. they seem to be more numerous in the western and central part of the sierra, its spurs and foot-hills, than in the eastern part of the great range. as regards their southern extent, they are not found further south than the middle part of the state of chihuahua. captain bourke, in his book, "an apache campaign," mentions that "in every sheltered spot could be discerned ruins, buildings, walls, and dams, erected by an extinct race once possessing these regions." mr. a. f. bandelier, on his journey to the upper yaqui river, in , which took him as far as nacori, also refers to them, and professor w. j. mcgee, on his expedition in , found in northeastern sonora ruins locally known as _las trincheras_, which he considered the most elaborate prehistoric work known to exist in northwestern mexico. they comprise, he says, terraces, stone-walls, and inclosed fortifications, built of loose stones and nearly surrounding two buttes. i must not omit to mention that in a week's exploration in the mountains near nacori, mr. stephen and his party did not find any pottery fragments, nor flint flakes, nor grinding stones. they reported that there was in that region no other trace of an early people than the hundreds of trincheras in the lower portions of the arroyos. noteworthy, however, was the frequent occurrence of old trails across the hills, some quite plainly traceable for three and four hundred yards. old oaks stretched their limbs across many of them quite close to the ground. while at nacori i learned from the inhabitants that at no great distance from their town there were several deposits containing _huesos giganteos_ (giants' bones), a name given to fossils in this part of the world, where the people imagine that the large bones were originally those of giants. i had then neither time nor men to make excavations of any importance; but mr. white, the mineralogist of the expedition, whom i sent to look into the matter, and who devoted a week to the examination of the deposits, reported that one of them, in a valley sixteen miles south of nacori, was a bed of clay thirty feet thick and about a mile and a half long. on the edge of this field he discovered a tusk six feet eight inches long and twenty-six inches at its widest circumference, and having almost the curve of a circle. it was not petrified and had no bone core, but the hole filled in with clay, and its colour was a rich mahogany. it was undoubtedly the tusk of a mammoth. from the beginning it had surprised me how very ignorant the people of sonora were regarding the sierra madre. the most prominent man in opoto, a town hardly forty miles from the sierra, told me that he did not know how far it was to the sierra, nor was he able to say exactly where it was. not even at nacori, so close to this tremendous mountain range, was there much information to be gotten about it. what the mexicans know about that region may be briefly summed up thus: that it is a vast wilderness of mountains most difficult of approach; that it would take eight days to climb some of the high ridges; that it contains immense pine forests alive with deer, bear, and wonderfully large woodpeckers, able to cut down whole trees; and that in its midst there are still existing numerous remains of a people who vanished long ago, but who once tilled the soil, lived in towns and built monuments, and even bridges over some of its cañons. this general ignorance is mainly due to the fact that until very recently this entire part of the sierra, from the border of the united states south about miles, was under the undisputed control of the wild apache indians. from their mountain strongholds these marauders made raiding expeditions into the adjacent states, west and east, sweeping down upon the farms, plundering the villages, driving off horses and herds of cattle, killing men and carrying off women and children into slavery. mines became unworkable; farms had to be deserted; the churches, built by the spaniards, mouldered into decay. the raiders had made themselves absolute masters, and so bold were they that at one time a certain month in the year was set apart for their plundering excursions and called "the moon of the mexicans," a fact which did not prevent them from robbing at other seasons. often troops would follow them far into the mountains, but the "braves" fought so skilfully, and hid so well in the natural fortresses of their native domain, that the pursuit never came to anything, and the mexicans were completely paralysed with fear. the dread of the terrible pillagers was so great that even at the time when i first went into the district, the mexicans did not consider it a crime to shoot an apache at sight. such a scourge did this tribe become that the governor of chihuahua had a law passed through the legislature, which put a certain price upon the head of every apache. but this law had soon to be repealed, as the mexicans, eager to get the reward, took to killing the peaceful tarahumares, whose scalps, of course, could not be distinguished from those of the apaches. it was not even now safe for a small party to cross the sierra madre, as dissatisfied apaches were constantly breaking away from the san carlos reservation in arizona, and no mexican could have been induced to venture singly into that vast unknown domain of rock and forest, about which lingered such painful memories of bloodshed and terror. [ ] in the early part of our journey a mexican officer had called on me to offer, in the name of the governor of the state of sonora, his services as escort and protection against the apaches; but i declined the courtesy, preferring to depend rather upon my own men. i am happy to say that i had no personal encounter with the dreaded "shis inday," or men of the woods, as they call themselves, though on one occasion we came upon fresh tracks near one of our camps, and also upon small bunches of yucca leaves tied together in a peculiar way known to the mexicans as signs intelligible only to the apaches. the only precaution i had taken against possible attacks was to augment my force of trustworthy mexican muleteers. among the new recruits was an honest-looking opata indian, who joined the camp one evening, clad in the national costume of white cotton cloth, and carrying in his hand a small bundle containing his wife's petticoat (probably intended to do duty as a blanket) and a pair of scissors. this was his whole outfit for a winter campaign in the sierra madre. they are hardy people, these indians! this man told me that he was thirty years old; his "señora," he said, was twenty-five; when he married her she was fifteen, and now they had eleven children. finally i succeeded in securing two guides. one of them was a very intelligent man, who had been several times in the sierra; the other one had been only as far as chuhuichupa, and, although he did not remember the way very well, still he thought that with the help of the other man he would be able to make out the route. as we could do no better, we had to take him as the best guide available. after having received some supplementary provisions from granados, i at last, on december , , began the ascent. it was a beautiful day; the air was clear and warm and the sun shone bright, as it always does at this time of the year in this favoured region. the genius of spring seemed to hover about, and snow, frost and scarcity of grass seemed far removed contingencies. everything looked promising. as i left the town, following the pack-train after having made the last settlements with the natives, i passed a little hut, the last homestead on this side of the sierra. in front of it stood a young girl, her hand raised to shade her eyes against the rays of the sinking sun. she had watched the expedition go by, and was much excited by the strange sight of so many men, the wonderful array of animals and great quantity of baggage never before seen in those parts of the world. with her fine dark eyes, her loose wavy hair and graceful figure, she made a strikingly beautiful picture, and as she called out in a sweet, melodious voice, _"adios, señor!"_ i took this kindly greeting from a pretty girl as a good omen for my journey. on the spur of the moment i dismounted and perpetuated the auspicious scene by means of a kodak which i carried fastened to the pommel of my saddle. i wish it had been possible for me to send her that picture as a token of my gratitude for her cheery greeting. she surely would have appreciated it, as all mexicans delight in seeing their photographs. then i turned my face to the east and soon overtook my men. to reach the sierra madre from the bavispe river by way of nacori, two--or, as the mexicans consider it, three--sierras have to be crossed, all running, generally speaking, in a northwesterly to southeasterly direction. the first two ranges are quite easy to climb. the third is the sierra madre proper, which the mexicans here call sierra de nacori, as the upper bavispe river from its source makes a great detour toward the north around it, thereby partly separating it from the main chain. even this range does not really present any unsurmountable difficulties if the weather is fine; in bad weather, i admit, some parts of the trail we made would be all but impracticable. having reached the second range called the sierra de huehuerachi, near its northern terminus, and looking backward, we see the sierra de bacadehuachi lying farthest to the west. on its eastern flank tower steep-tilted broken masses of conglomerate, and the frowning row of hog-backs just north and east of nacori are only a continuation of that range. but looking east from where we were we obtained the first close view of the main range of the sierra madre (sierra de nacori). it rises bold and majestic on the opposite side of the valley, at the bottom of which runs the little river of huehuerachi. in this valley we camped for two days, being delayed by rains. it was early in december, but we found _helianthus_ ten to twelve feet high in bloom everywhere in the cañons. a _salvia_ with a blue corolla, dotted with red glands, was very striking, a new variety, as it proved. we also observed elders with flowers and leaves at the same time, and the _bambusa_ formed a thick light-green undergrowth in beautiful contrast to the darker shades of the oaks, elders, and fan palms. the latter were the last of their kind we saw on this side of the sierra. we then went six miles further to the northeast. at first the trail followed the little river, whose clear and rapid water is about a foot deep and on an average six feet wide. frequently its bed had to be cleared of palm trees to make it passable for the pack train, and big boulders and heavy undergrowth made travel rough. then, ascending a cordon which led directly up to the main range, we followed for a while a dim trail on which the apaches used to drive the herds of cattle they had stolen, and which is said to lead to a place so inaccessible that two indians could keep a whole company at bay. the surface soil we had lately been travelling over was covered with boulders and fragments of conglomerate. the sierra madre was now so close that the tilted masses of its rocks seemed to overhang our tents threateningly where we had pitched them at its foot. from this camp we had about the same splendid view as from the ridge of huehuerachi we had just left behind; and between us and the foot-hills of the sierra de bacadehuachi stretched out a vast mass of barren-looking rocks and hills. the mexicans call them _agua blanca_, a designation also applied to the small water course that runs through them in a northerly and southerly direction, but which from our point of view could not be made out in the chaotic confusion. away off toward the north, at a distance of from fifteen to twenty miles, could be seen a high chain of sharp peaks. i may mention here that i found the water of many streamlets and brooks throughout the western mountains of mexico to have a slightly whitish colour and a dull, opalescent look, like a strong solution of quinine. the mexicans call it _agua blanca_, or _agua zarca_, and consider it the best water they have. many places, especially ranches, are named after it. in the locality where we now found ourselves the water had a slightly bitter taste, owing to a strong admixture of iron and other minerals, but generally it was very palatable. here, only twenty-three miles from nacori, and at an elevation of , feet, we were obliged to make camp for three days. dense fogs and occasional hard showers made travel impossible. besides, our principal guide, agustin rios, became dangerously ill. he was sixty-five years old, and i decided to send him back. when i hired him i had not been aware that he was afflicted with an incurable disease, and that on this account his wife had tried to keep him at home. now he had to be carried on a sort of palanquin constructed for the occasion, and i regret to state that he died before he reached his home in nacori. he had been a reliable man, and his loss was very deplorable. before he left he gave me directions for finding a rather large ancient pueblo, which he had come across once in the sierra, and of which he frequently spoke to us. however, our search for it proved fruitless, and i am inclined to think that it would probably not have differed much from those we found later on bavispe river. from now on i made it a rule to send three or four men about two days ahead of the main body of the expedition, to make a path. occasionally they were guided by apache tracks, but for the most part we cut our own way through the wilderness. instead of adopting the mexican method of going uphill as straight as practicable, i had the trail cut zigzag, and to this i attribute the fact that i was able to pull through at all, as it saved the animals an immense amount of strain. the steepest inclination we ascended was °, while for the most part we climbed at an angle of about °. on some of the ridges, in order to help an animal up, one man had to drag it by a line, while two others pushed it from behind. in many places the mules had to be led one by one along the narrow edge of chasms. to look at these mountains is a soul-inspiring sensation; but to travel over them is exhaustive to muscle and patience. and the possibility of losing at any moment perhaps the most valuable part of your outfit is a constant and severe strain on your mind. nobody except those who have travelled in the mexican mountains can understand and appreciate the difficulties and anxieties attending such a journey. not only the animals themselves, but everything they carry is vital to the success of the expedition, and there is always a danger that, for instance, your camera and photographic outfit, and the priceless collection of negatives already taken, may roll down a precipice. a mule with its bulky pack is, to a certain extent, helpless on these narrow mountain trails. old and experienced animals often manoeuvre their packs with a cleverness that is almost human: yet, whenever a mule runs accidentally against some projection, or its foot slips, the poor beast invariably loses its balance, and over it goes, down the hill with ever-increasing velocity. on one occasion i heard a noise coming from above without being at first able to discern what caused it. a few stones came tumbling down, and were presently followed by a donkey, pack and all, turning over and over with astounding speed. it cleared a perpendicular rock some twenty feet high and landed at its base, rolling over twice. then, to my amazement, it rose to its feet in the midst of its scattered cargo. and do you know what that cargo consisted of?--a case of dynamite and our tool chest! as fast as their legs could carry them, two mexicans were by its side, promptly reloading the donkey and leading it up to the trail as coolly as if nothing had happened. a very fine mule, raised on the plains of arizona, was naturally giddy, and met with such a mishap three times in one day, tumbling down to feet without, however, being seriously hurt. at first i was greatly shocked to see the animals thus rolling over and over with their packs, down the mountain sides, never stopping until checked by some large tree or rock, sometimes feet below. but the mexicans were evidently quite accustomed to such happenings, which seemed to be in the regular line of their travel. i could not help admiring the agility as well as the valour of my mexican packers and muleteers on such occasions. they moved about as sure-footed and quick as sailors on their ship, and always on the alert. whenever one of the poor beasts lost its foothold, the men would instantly run after it, and as soon as some obstacle stopped its downward career they would be by its side and relieve it of its burden. of course, sometimes the animal was badly bruised about the head, and unable to carry a pack for a few days; but, _mira-bile dictu!_ in the majority of cases it rose to its feet. then, after giving it a few moments' respite, the packers would strap the cargo again on its back, unless they deemed it proper to take a part of it upon themselves, so that the beast might more safely climb the declivity. the men really seemed indefatigable. one of them once took upon his head a large case of honey and carried it up the ridge on a run. strange as it may sound, on my first journey across the sierra madre i did not lose one animal by such accidents. climbing, climbing, climbing, one massive cordon after another, at the start through dense oak thickets, and over hills flattened and eroded with countless deep, precipitous gashes seaming the rock in every direction. numerous springs oozed and trickled from the stratified conglomerate along the edges, sides, and bottoms of the ravines. the tops of some of these truncated knolls were quite swampy in the depressions, and covered with a thin-stemmed feathery grass. here and there was a clump of scrub oaks; sparsely scattered about were small pines. we found great numbers of _opuntia missouriensis_, called by the mexicans nopal; small mesquite shrubs, too, are seen everywhere, while the resurrection plant covers great areas, like the heather on the scotch hills. here are also found century plants, or agaves, and many species of small ferns, such as the graceful maidenhair. in the larger water-courses are poplars and maples, now presenting their most brilliant hues, and carrying the thoughts of the americans back to their northern homes. thus we advanced for about six miles and made camp, at an elevation of , feet, on some old trincheras, with a fine view over the vast country we had left below. large flocks of gray pigeons of remarkable size squatted on the pine trees nearby, and two specimens of the gigantic woodpecker we here observed for the first time. here, too, mr. robinette shot a new species of squirrel, _sciurus apache_. it was large, of a pale grayish-yellow color varied with black, and having a long, full and bushy tail. we had now arrived in the pine region of the sierra. the mexican scouts reported that the country ahead of us was still more difficult of access; but the track having been laid out well by professor libbey along the pine-covered slopes, we safely arrived at the crest of the sierra, which here has an elevation of , feet. the steep slopes of the valleys and crevices were covered with slippery pine needles eight to twelve inches long, while the pines rose up to a height of a hundred feet or more. the forest, never touched by a woodman's axe, had a remarkably young and fresh look about it. now and then, however, at exposed places we came upon trees broken off like matches, telling of what terrific storms may rage over these solitary regions that received us calmly enough. not until we had reached the top did we feel the wind blowing pretty hard from the east and encouraging us in our hopes that the fine weather would continue, although the moon appeared hazy. having ascended the sierra, we made a picturesque camp on the top of the cordon, in the midst of forests so dense that we did not get any view of the landscape. while here, mr. stephen discovered, on the summit of a peak, about four hundred and twenty feet above the brow of the ridge, a small, circular structure about four feet in diameter. four or five large fragments of scoria, each about fifteen inches high, were set around in a circle, and the space between them was filled in with small fragments. no nicety was shown in the work, but the arrangement of the stones was not accidental. it was, however, quite old, for in several places the fragments were cemented together with a thick coat of lichen. the purpose of the circle is a matter of conjecture. we were now obliged, as the guide did not seem to know any more of the country, to explore ahead of us before the main body of the expedition could proceed further. several of us went out in different directions, and i happened to strike the right course, which here unexpectedly goes first northward. accompanied by my dog "apache," i walked in the fresh morning air through the sombre pine woods, the tops of which basked in glorious sunshine, and along the high cordon, which ran up to a height of , feet (the highest point reached on my first expedition over the sierra madre), until i came to a point where it suddenly terminated. but i soon ascertained that a spur branching off to the east would lead us in the right direction. i sat down to gaze upon the magnificent panorama of the central part of the sierra madre spread out before me. to the north and northeast were pine-covered plateaus and hills in seemingly infinite successions; on the eastern horizon my eyes met the dark, massive heights of chuhuichupa, followed towards the south by ridge upon ridge of true sierras with sharp, serrated crests, running mainly from northwest to southeast. and between them and me was an expanse of gloomy, pine-hidden cordons, one succeeding close upon another, and running generally in the same direction as the sierras. primeval stillness and solitude reigned all over the woodland landscape. i like the society of man, but how welcome and refreshing are occasional moments of undisturbed communion with nature! on the following day the pack train moved along the path i had walked over. we were pleasantly surprised to find at this season, the middle of december, and at this elevation, a species of violet in bloom, while _lupinus_ and _vicia_ were already in seed. we made our camp at a place , feet above sea level, and here we noticed trincheras close by, with water running through them from a marsh. we also happened to come upon some stone piles made of rough stones laid on top of each other to a height of about three feet. the mexicans called them "apache monuments," and i saw here eight or ten, three at a distance of only twenty yards from each other and lying in a line from east to west. on the next day we found an apache track with similar monuments. some of these piles did not seem to be in places difficult to travel, and therefore could hardly have been intended for guide-posts, though others might have served that purpose; nor is it easy to see how they could have been meant for boundary marks, unless they were erected by some half-castes who kept company with the apaches, to divide off the hunting grounds of various families. it seems to me more likely that they are connected with some religious rite. we had some little difficulty in making our descent to the bavispe river, but at last we discovered, and travelled down, an old but still practicable trail, dropping nearly , feet. a little further northward we came down another , feet, and thus we gradually reached bavispe, which is here a rapid, roaring stream, girth-deep, and in many places deeper. it here flows northward, describing the easterly portion of the curve it forms around the sierra de nacori. i selected as a camping ground a small mesa on the left bank of the river, among pines and oaks and high grass, about forty feet above the water edge. a meadow set park-like with pines extended from here nearly three-quarters of a mile along the river, and was almost half a mile wide. near our camp we found several old and rusty empty tin cans, such as are used for putting up preserved food. one of them was marked "fort bowie." doubtless this spot had been used before as a camping ground, probably by some of general crook's scouts. chapter iii camping at upper bavispe river--low stone cabins, fortresses, and other remains indicating former habitation--the animals starve on the winter grass of the sierra and begin to give out--a deserted apache camp--comfort at last--the giant woodpecker--we arrive at the mormon settlements of pacheco and cave valley. at bavispe river we had to remain for some little time to allow the animals to recuperate, and to get them, as far as possible, in condition for the hard work still ahead. i also had to send back to nacori for fresh provisions. of course, not much was to be gotten there, but we got what there was in the line of food stuffs, panoche (brown sugar) and corn. my messengers had orders to bring the latter in the form of pinole, that is, toasted corn ground by hand into a fine meal. this is the most common, as well as the most handy, ration throughout mexico. a little bag of it is all the provisions a mexican or indian takes with him on a journey of days or weeks. it is simply mixed with water and forms a tasty gruel, rather indigestible for persons not accustomed to it. when boiled into a porridge, however, pinole is very nourishing, and forms a convenient diet for persons camping out. aside from this we still had a supply of wheat flour sufficient to allow the party fifteen pounds a day, and our stock of canned peas and preserved fruit, though reduced, was not yet exhausted. the jerked beef had given out even before we reached the main sierra, and we had to depend on our guns for meat. luckily, the forest was alive with deer, and there were also wild turkeys. thus there was no difficulty about provisions, although the americans sighed for their beloved bacon and hot biscuits. fish seemed scarce in this part of the bavispe river; at least we did not succeed in bringing out any by the use of dynamite. we got only five little fish--one catfish, and four suckers, the largest six inches long. on christmas day the black bulb thermometer rose in the sun to ° f., although that very night the temperature fell to . ° f., a difference of nearly °. the warmth was such that even a rattlesnake was deceived and coaxed out by it. we made every effort to celebrate christmas in a manner worthy of our surroundings. we could not procure fish for our banquet, but one of the mexicans had the good luck to shoot four turkeys; and kee, our chinese cook, surprised us with a plum pudding the merits of which baffle description. it consisted mainly of deer fat and the remnants of dried peaches, raisins, and orange peel, and it was served with a sauce of white sugar and mescal. the appreciation of this delicacy by the mexicans knew no bounds, and from now on they wanted plum pudding every day. on the upper bavispe we again found numerous traces of a by-gone race who had occupied these regions long before the apaches had made their unwelcome appearance. in fact, all along on our journey across the sierra we were struck by the constant occurrence of rude monuments of people now long vanished. they became less numerous in the eastern part, where at last they were replaced by cave dwellings, of which i will speak later. more than ever since we entered the sierra de nacori, we noticed everywhere low stone walls, similar to those we had seen in the foot-hills, and evidently the remains of small cabins. the deeper we penetrated into the mountains, the more common became these hut-walls, which stood about three feet high, and were possibly once surmounted by woodwork, or, perhaps, thatched roofs. all the houses were small, generally only ten or twelve feet square, and they were found in clusters scattered over the summit or down the slopes of a hill. on one summit we found only two ground plans in close proximity to each other. the stones composing the walls were laid with some dexterity. they were angular, but never showed any trace of dressing, except, perhaps, by fracture. the interstices between the main stones were filled in with fragments to make the walls solid. neither here nor in any other stone walls that we saw were there any indications of any mud or other plaster coating on the stones. on top of a knoll in the mountains south of nacori, at an elevation of , feet, well preserved remains of this kind of dwelling were seen. the house, consisting of but one room about ten feet square, was built of large blocks of lava. the largest of these were eighteen inches long, and about half as thick, and as wide. the walls measured about three feet in height and one foot and a half in thickness, and there was a sufficient amount of fallen stone debris near-by to admit of the walls having been once four or five feet high. there were the traces of a doorway in the northwest corner of the building. numerous fragments of coarse pottery were scattered around, some gray and some red, but without any decoration, except a fine slip coating on the red fragments. in the sierra de nacori, on the summit of a steep knoll, and at an elevation of about , feet, we found two huts of such laid-up walls. the rough felsite blocks of which they were composed were surprisingly large, considering the diminutive size of the cabins. we measured the largest block and found it to be two feet long, ten inches wide, and eight inches thick. there were many others almost as large as this one. but there was only one tier of stones left complete in place. although there were well-built trincheras in all the surrounding arroyos, there were no traces of either tools or pottery on that hill. on the western slope of the sierra de nacori, on top of another knoll, and at an elevation of , feet, we found numerous rude ground plans, some of which showed rubble walls fifteen inches thick. they formed groups of four or five apartments, each ten by twelve feet. but on the north side of that summit there was a larger plan, nearly eighteen feet square; however, the outlines of the entire settlement were not distinct enough to enable us to trace its correct outlines. many fragments of pottery lay about, but neither in number nor in interest could they be compared with those found near the ruins in the southwest of the united states, for instance, near the gila river. some of the potsherds were one-third of an inch thick, and large enough to show that they had been parts of a large jar. they were made of coarse paste, either gray or brown in colour. some had a kind of rude finish, the marks of a coarse fibre cloth being clearly discernible on the outside. others were primitively decorated with incisions. one sherd of really fine thin red ware was picked up, but there was no trace of ornamentation on it. we found, besides, a few cores of felsite and some shapeless flakes and several fragments of large metates. in the valley formed between the mountains on the upper bavispe river we met with very many such houses. the clusters which we came across seemed to have been composed of a larger number of houses. parapets, also built of undressed stones and surrounding these villages, now became a constant feature. even within sight of our camp was such a parapet, six feet high, and house ruins were near by. we also discovered an ancient pueblo consisting of thirty houses, all of the usual small dimensions, but not all alike in shape. some were round, others triangular, but most of them were rectangular, measuring eight by ten feet. along two sides of this village ran a double wall, while the other two sides were bound by a single wall constructed on the same principle. evidently these walls were built for the protection of the people in time of war. about five miles south of our camping place the river turns eastward, and again two miles below this point it receives a tributary from the west. one day i followed the broken cordon on its eastern bank, then turned north and ascended an isolated mountain, which rises about fifteen hundred feet high above the river. there is a small level space on top, and on this there has been built, at some time, a fortress with walls of undressed stones from two to six feet high and three feet thick. it was about fifty paces long in one direction, and about half that length in the other. remains of houses could be traced, and inside of the walls themselves the ground plan of three little chambers could be made out. on the bavispe river we photographed a trinchera which was about eight feet high and thirty feet long; and one of the foremen observed one which was at least fifteen feet high. i decided to move the camp one and a half miles down the river, and to its right bank, on a cordon, where mason, one of my mexican foremen, had discovered some ruins. it was very pleasant here after the rather cool bottom of the valley, which in the morning was generally covered with a heavy fog. on this ridge were many traces of former occupancy, parapet walls and rude houses divided into small compartments. the parapets were lying along the north and south faces of the houses, and just on the brink of the narrow ridge. on the south side the ridge was precipitous, but toward the north it ran out in a gentle shallow slope toward the next higher hill. the building material here is a close-grained felsite, and huge fragments of it have been used in the construction of the parapets. these boulders were, on an average, thirty-five inches long, twenty-five inches thick and fifteen inches wide; while the stones used in the house walls measured, on the average, fourteen by nine by seven inches. on the western end of the ridge is a small house group, which, for convenience sake, i will designate as "mason's ruins." they showed a decidedly higher method of construction, and the walls were better preserved, than in any we had seen so far. the ground plans could be readily made out, except in a small part of the southwest corner. these walls stood three to five feet high, and the stones here too were dressed only by fracture. they were laid in gypsiferous clay, a mass of which lay close to the southwest corner. this clay is very similar to the material used by the moquis in whitening their houses. the stones themselves were felsite, which abounds in the locality. the blocks have an average size of twelve inches square by six inches thick. it should be noted that no regard was paid to the tying of the corners and the partition walls; but considerable care had been taken in making the walls vertical, and the angles were fairly true. the walls were almost twelve inches thick, and on the inner side they had evidently never been plastered. being coated with some white plaster, these ruins look white at a distance, and the mexicans therefore called them _casas blancas_. i heard of an extensive group of such buildings near sahuaripa, and there are also some ruins of this category near granados, and in the hills east of opoto. undoubtedly they belong to a more recent period than the rude stone structures described before. most of the ancient remains of the sierra are remnants of tribes that expanded here from the lowlands, and only in comparatively recent times have disappeared. i also perceived that they were built by a tribe of indians different from those which erected the houses in the caves of the eastern and northern sierra madre, and in the country east of it, and may safely be ascribed to opatas. in spite of the rest here, the animals did not seem to improve on the grama and buffalo grass. it was rather perplexing to note that they grew weaker and weaker. the grass of the sierra, which was now gray, did not seem to contain much nourishment, and it became evident that the sooner we proceeded on our journey, the better. to save them as much as possible, we loaded only half the regular weight on the mules and donkeys, and sent them back the next day to fetch the balance of the baggage. in this way, and by strengthening the poor beasts with a judicious use of corn, i managed to pull through and overcome this most serious of all difficulties, which, at one time, threatened to paralyse the entire expedition. on december st we moved up a steep zigzag trail cut out by us, and then went north and east through broken foot-hills. we got into a series of cordon mesas, but the breaks between them were not at all difficult to pass. on the mountain sides grew oaks and, higher up, pines. the country was wild and rugged. everywhere we encountered fallen rocks, and there was a scarcity of water. it was a kind of comfort to see now and then some trincheras in these desolate regions. at four o'clock we camped on a steep place amidst poor grass, and only a trickling of water in the bed of a little rill. here, at last, the men whom i had sent to nacori for provisions overtook us, bringing eighteen dollars' worth of panoche, and two and a quarter fanegas of pinole. measuring by fanegas was then still in vogue in mexico; a fanega equals about sixty-four kilograms. this, the messengers stated, was all that the women would grind for us. twenty of them had been set to work to fill our order, and when they had laboured until their hands were tired, they declared they would grind no more; and if the _caballeros_ in the mountains wanted further quantities, they should come and make mills of themselves. from this we judged that their tempers had risen in proportion to the heaps of pinole they were producing, and that they did not bless the day when we had come into their peaceful valley, since it meant so much hard work for them. though we were now provisioned for some time to come, i was anxiously looking forward to the day when we should reach the eastern side of the sierra. the animals were rapidly giving out, and it was the opinion of the packers that they could not last longer than a week; but what little corn we could spare for them each day worked wonders, and in this way we enabled them to carry us through. the most noticeable among the plants in the valleys was the madroña or strawberry tree (_ardutus texana_) growing singly here and there. its beautiful stem and branches, ash-grey and blood-red, are oddly twisted from the root to the top. now and then, in this world of pine trees, we came upon patches of grama grass. we also observed piñon trees, a variety of pine with edible seeds. apache monuments were plentiful in this part of the sierra, and after four days of travel, on january , , we arrived at an old apache camping place, called by the mexicans "rancheria de los apaches." it was a sheltered place, and we decided to stop again and rest, as now we could not be very far from the mormon colonies in the eastern part of the sierra. we had, on the day before, heard a shot, which had not been fired by anyone of our party, and we had met some short-horn cattle that must have belonged to some settlers. we halted on a bare conglomerate scalp near a little creek, which we called "bonito," and which shortly below our camp joins the gabilan, an affluent of the bavispe river which probably has its origin near chuhuichupa. the elevation of our camp was , feet. the summit of the sierra toward the east appeared to be , feet high, and the first ridge, at the foot of which we camped, rises here almost perpendicularly about a thousand feet. the little stream already mentioned originates in a deep cañon and adjoining it are four large cordons descending from the ridge east of us and spreading themselves out like a gigantic fan, which we had noticed from some distance on the previous day. from our camp led a track eastward, up along one of these cordons, and a reconnoitring party found a mormon settlement ten or twelve miles off. the day after our arrival i went out to take a look at the country. south of us, at no great distance from the camp, i found patches of fertile black soil partly cultivated with corn and turnips that did not appear to be flourishing, and with potatoes which were doing well. an old horse stood there, and i also noticed a small tent. going up closer i found a plough standing outside. this made quite a queer impression in these solitary mountains, but the implement was apparently not out of place, judging from the beautiful black soil near-by. in the tent i saw a heap of bed-clothes piled up on some tin pails, and there were also some pots with potatoes and corn. the owner of all this was not at home; but the atmosphere was american, not mexican. i had evidently come upon an outpost of one of the mormon colonies. throughout january the days continued to be fine, though at times a southerly cold wind was blowing; but at night it was cold and the water in our buckets was often frozen. then we felt what a real comfort a large camp-fire is. before sundown we would gather the fallen trees and such sorts of wood, and roaring fires were built in front of each tent. the smoke, to be sure, blackened our faces, but the fire made the tents wonderfully comfortable, filling them with light and warmth. for beds we used fragrant pine boughs. we also had several falls of snow, the heaviest two and a half inches, and on the coldest night, on january th, the thermometer went down to ° f. as the rays of the sun partly melted the snow in the course of the day, the animals could at least get a meagre meal. on january th a cup of water froze inside of my tent, but during the day we had ° f. we soon found out that in the river gabilan, some four miles south of our camp, there were immense quantities of fish, which had come up to spawn. no one ever interfered with them, and their number was simply overwhelming. as the task of feeding thirty men in these wild regions was by no means a trifling one, i resolved to procure as many fish as possible, and to this end resorted to the cruel but effective device of killing them by dynamite. i trust that the scarcity of provisions in the camp will serve as my excuse to sportsmen for the method i employed. we used a stick of dynamite six inches long, and it raised a column of water twenty feet in the air, while the detonation sounded like a salute, rolling from peak to peak for miles around. in two hours three of us gathered fish from a single pool. most of them were big suckers; but we had also thirty-five large gila trout. all were fat and of delicate flavour, and lasted us quite a long time. never have i been at any place where deer were so plentiful. almost at every turn one of them might be seen, sometimes standing as if studying your method of approach. i sent out five men to go shooting in the northwesterly direction from the camp, and after a day and a half they returned with ten deer. at one time we had fifteen hanging in the kitchen. one morning our best marksman, a mexican named figueroa, brought in three specimens of that superb bird, _campephilus imperialis_, the largest woodpecker in the world. this splendid member of the feathered tribe is two feet long; its plumage is white and black, and the male is ornamented with a gorgeous scarlet crest, which seemed especially brilliant against the winter snow. the birds go in pairs and are not very shy, but are difficult to kill and have to be shot with rifle. one of their peculiarities is that they feed on one tree for as long as a fortnight at a time, at last causing the decayed tree to fall. the birds are exceedingly rare in the museums. they are only found in the sierra madre. on my journeys i saw them as far south as the southernmost point which the sierra madre del norte reaches in the state of jalisco, above the rio de santiago. i frequently observed them also in the eastern part of the range. here, too, a great many specimens of the rare mexican titmouse and some beautiful varieties of the duck tribe were procured. a few days after our arrival at the rancheria de los apaches, professor libbey left our camp, returning to the united states by way of casas grandes. after bidding him good-bye, i made an excursion of a week's duration to the north of our camp, to look for possible antiquities, especially a _casa blanca_, of which i had heard considerable from the people in nacori. the woods, considering that it was midwinter, were quite lively with birds. everywhere i saw bluejays; crested titmice, too, were plentiful, as well as crossbeaks. a large yellowish squirrel also attracted my attention. it was of the same kind as that recently found by our expedition. the country was hilly and full of small cañons, and well watered by springs. outcroppings of solidified volcanic ash looked in the distance like white patches in the landscape. we searched diligently for some twenty-five miles to the north of the main camp, and also toward the east and west, but no trace of former habitation was found except trincheras and house ruins such as we had seen before. near one of the group of houses i saw three metates in an excellent state of preservation. while out on this trip i was one day surprised by the appearance of a mormon in my camp. it was really a pleasure to see someone from the outside world again; and this was a frank and intelligent man, very pleasant to talk to. he told me that he had never been farther north than where he was now; nor had he ever been farther west than the little creek about two miles west of the place where he met me, which he called the "golden gulch." this creek probably originates in the mountains near by; there was still another creek west of us which joined the golden gulch near the mormon's tent, and this he called "north creek." the ranch near our main camp he had taken up only about three years ago, and he considered agriculture in this region successful, especially with potatoes. maize, too, may also ripen. furthermore, he told me of some interesting cave dwellings near the mormon settlement on the eastern edge of the sierra, which i decided to investigate. when the mormons had come to colonise parts of northern mexico, an american called "apache bill," who had lived for a number of years with the apaches, told them of a large, fertile valley showing many evidences of former cultivation. probably he referred to a locality that had once been inhabited by a remnant of the opata indians, who had become christianised and had received fruit trees from the missionaries. the trees, when found, were said to be still bearing fruit, while the people had vanished--having probably been killed off by the apaches. i returned to the main camp, leaving, however, two men behind to search still further for the _casa blanca_. when they returned after a few days, they reported that nothing could be found, and that the country was difficult of access. on my return i found the men who had gone to casas grandes back already, bringing with them some provisions and the first mail for three months. two miles east of our camp obsidian was found _in situ_. it was not in the natural flow, but in round, water-worn pebbles deposited in the conglomerate. many of these had been washed out and had rolled down the hill, where a bushel of them might be collected in a few hours. the outcrop does not extend over a large area, only about two hundred yards on one side of the bank. on january d i started eastward toward the mormon settlement, passing the watershed at a height of , feet. after fifteen miles of travel we arrived at the mormon colony called pacheco, and situated on the piedras verdes river. it consists of small wooden houses lying peacefully on the slope, surrounded by pine forests, at an elevation of seven thousand feet. a saw-mill bore evidence of industry. there were sixteen families living here, and as we arrived some eighty children were just streaming out of school. near by stood a kindly looking old man, possibly their teacher. the children, who ranged in age from seven to eighteen years, were all studying in one class. they showed remarkably varied physiognomies, yet all looked healthy and sturdy, and were demure and well-behaved. we made camp one and a half miles from the village, and in the evening we were visited by my friend from the sierra and another mormon. both expressed their readiness to serve us in every way they could; we bought some potatoes and half a hog. as is the custom with the mormons, they have several colonies outlying from a central one. among these is cave valley, about five miles east to north from pacheco, immediately upon the river already mentioned. on the following day i went there with the scientific corps to examine the cave dwellings of which the mormons had been speaking. the settlement (having an elevation , feet) consisted of eight houses. knocking on the door of one of these i walked in, introduced myself, and stated the purpose of my visit. "how do you do?" said my host; "my name is nelson"--as if he had been accustomed to receive strangers every day. mr. nelson was quite a charming old man, more than seventy years old, but hardy. in spite of the cold, he walked out in his shirt sleeves in the full moonlight to select a camping place for me. the animals, he suggested, might be left in the field for the night; he would see about them in the morning, and he did not think there would be any difficulty about keeping them there. we got a fine camp on top of a hill with a view of the valley in which the caves are. mr. nelson told us of two interesting caves on this side of the river; also, that there were numerous "inscriptions" (petroglyphs), that the country was full of mounds, and that skeletons and mummies had been found but had been buried again. from his statement it was evident that we had a rich field before us, and the results of the following day more than came up to our expectations. the old man, acting as our guide, showed us on the way to the valley a primitive kind of corn-mill driven by water power, and with some pride he pointed out to us an "infant industry," the product of which so far was a dozen wooden chairs with seats of interwoven strips of green hide, instead of cane. a number of caves were found to contain houses. one of them especially made a great impression on us on account of an extraordinary cupola-shaped structure, which from a considerable distance sprang into view from the mouth of the cave. most of the caves were found on the western side of the river; but there were also some on the eastern bank, among them a number of burial caves. in one of the latter a well-preserved mummy was shown to us. it had already been taken up two or three times to be looked at; but our guide intimated that the influential mormons in utah did not want to have the skeletons and caves disturbed. i therefore left it for the present, but thought that in time we might get this, with whatever others might be found there. i was introduced to a mormon in the neighbourhood, who invited me to excavate a large mound close to his house. he would even help to dig, he said, and i was free to take whatever i might find inside of it. he was sure that there would be no difficulty about the mummies i might want to remove from the burial caves. chapter iv a splendid field prepared for us by the ancient agriculturists of cave valley--house groups in caves along a pretty stream--well-preserved mummies found in caves--more trincheras--our excavations in caves and mounds confirm to the mormons their sacred stories--we move to the plains of san diego--visit to casas grandes and the watch-tower--successful excavations of the mounds near san diego. finding the locality so inviting for research, i decided to remain here, returning to pacheco only to despatch the rest of my party to make excavations at the ranch of san diego, thirty miles to the east, down on the plains of chihuahua. the ranch was temporarily leased by an american, mr. galvin, who received my expedition hospitably, and invited the members to remain as long as they pleased and to make excavations wherever they wanted. cave valley is the widening of a long, low-walled cañon through which the piedras verdes river flows. as its name implies, it contains many caves in the felsitic conglomerate overlying the region. it is from one-quarter to half a mile wide, and has a fine, rich, loamy soil. the stream is ten to twenty feet wide and from one to three feet deep. fine forests of pine, oak, cedar, and maple surround it, and make it an ideal dwelling-place for a peaceful, primitive people. the little knoll on which we were encamped rises on the north side of a brook which empties itself in the river. it was in equally close proximity to the dwellings of the living and the dwellings of the dead. up the main stream, on the western wall of the cañon, and about a mile from our camp, is a large cave containing the curious cupola-shaped structure already mentioned. the cave is easy of approach up a sloping bank from its south side, and arriving at it we found it quite commodious and snug. it is about eighty feet wide at its mouth, and about a hundred feet deep. in the central part it is almost eighteen feet high, but the roof gradually slopes down in the rear to half that height. a little village, or cluster of houses, lies at its back and sides. the interior of most of the rooms must have been quite dark, though the light reaches the outside of all the houses. the walls are still standing about six feet high. the compartments, though small, are seldom kennel-like. some of the houses have shallow cellars. the roof of the cave was thickly smoked over its entire surface. from traces of walls still remaining on it, we may infer that a second story had been built toward the centre of the cave, though this could only have been five feet high. these traces of walls on the roof further prove the important fact that this second story had been built in terrace-fashion, receding about four feet back from the front of the ground story. the cave had evidently been occupied for a very long time, the houses showing many alterations and additions, and on the walls i counted as many as twelve coatings of plaster and whitewash. the conventional design of the ear of corn is well preserved in every doorway. rude scrawlings of soot and water cover nearly all the front walls, mixed here and there with a few traces of red ochre. there are meander designs, lightning, and drawings of cows and horses; but the latter were doubtless put on after the walls were demolished, and their general appearance denotes recentness. several of the cyclopean riffles lead from the cave cliff to the stream. the houses here, as well as in all other caves we examined, were built entirely of a powdery substance, the decomposed material of the cave itself. great quantities of it were found on the floors of caves which had not been occupied by man. it is not of a sandy nature, and its colour is light brown, sometimes almost grey, or even white. the ancient builders simply had to mix it with water and mould it into bricks, which, though fairly uniform in thickness, were very irregular in size. there were no marks of implements on the walls; all the work seems to have been done by hand and smoothed over with some wetted fabric. in one cave of this valley the walls show finger-marks on the plaster. occasionally we found a small boulder of hard stone embedded in the wall. the most unique feature of this cave, however, is the cupola-shaped structure which stands in an open space in front of the house group, near the mouth of the cave, but still under its roof. its height, measured inside, is twelve feet, and its widest inside diameter is eleven feet. its walls average eight inches in thickness. it has one aperture three feet wide at the top, another one of the same dimension near the base, and there are several others nearly opposite each other. in the two upper ones are seen distinct impressions of timber in the plaster. the building was made by twisting long grass into a compact cable and laying it up, one round upon another. as the coil proceeded, thick coats of plaster were laid on inside and outside. this plaster, which is the same material as that of which the houses are constructed, got thoroughly mixed with the straw during the process of building, and the entire structure was finished without any opening except the one at the top. the other apertures were undoubtedly cut out afterward. there is no trace of withes or other binding material to hold the straw cables in place. they are kept in position only by the plaster, which here, as in the houses, is almost as hard as the conglomerate of the surrounding rocks. my mexicans from sonora called it _olla_, a jar, and insisted that it was a vessel used for keeping water; but this is entirely improbable, for several reasons, mainly because the river is in close proximity and easy of access. it was without the slightest doubt a granary. similar structures, used for that purpose to the present day, may be seen in the states of vera cruz and tlaxcala. in a cave only a short distance away, the rear portion of which also contained a group of houses, we found between the mouth of the cave and the house walls the remains of five of these peculiar buildings which i call granaries. they, too, were made of straw and plaster, similar to the one described, but the walls here were only two inches thick. the remains showed that they had not been set up in any special arrangement, nor were all five alike. two of them were deeply sunken into the floor of the cave, and inside of them we found, between the rubbish and debris that filled them, several grains of corn and some beans. the other caves which we examined in this valley were of the same general character as these two, although we found no granaries in them. on this page is shown the ground plan of a cave on the east side of the river, and attention is drawn to the singular concrete seats or blocks against the wall in the house on the west side of the cave. a floor of concrete had been made in this cave extending inward and fairly level. evidence of two-storeyed groups of houses was clearly noticeable in many caves; but our investigations were somewhat impeded by the destruction wrought by some mormon relic-hunter, who had carried off almost everything removable. he had even taken away many of the door lintels and hand-grips, in fact, most of the woodwork, from the houses. in the rear of some of the caves it was so dark that we had to light a candle to find our way, crawling from house to house. in one instance we found a stone stairway of three steps. in spite of the tremendous dust which is raised by digging into the ground, and which makes the work very arduous, we searched diligently and succeeded in bringing to light a number of objects which fairly welt illustrate the culture of the ancient people. among them were needles and awls of bone; a complete fire drill with a stick showing drilling, basketry work covered with piñon pith mats and girdles, threads of fibre or hair, and sandals plaited of yucca leaves. wads of cotton and pieces of pottery were found in many places; and an interesting find was a "boomerang" similar to that used to this day by the moqui indians for killing rabbits. the handle is plainly seen, but the top is broken. the implement, which is made of very hard, reddish wood, has but a slight curve. we discovered many smooth pieces of iron ore that had probably been used for ceremonial purposes, and a bow that had been hidden away on a ledge. that the ancient cave-dwellers were agriculturists is evident from the numerous corncobs, as well as grains of corn and beans, that we came upon. datems, a green, sweet fruit still eaten by the mexicans, were identified everywhere in the cave-dwellings. having effectually started the work of investigation here, i went to look after the second section of my expedition, which had been sent to san diego. i covered the thirty-five miles with four pack mules in one day. there is a charming view from the brow of the sierra over the plains of san diego, which are fully ten miles wide; but after descending to them i found a hard, cold wind blowing. the weather here is not at all as pleasant as in the sheltered cave valley up in the mountains. i went to casas grandes, a village of , souls, six miles north of san diego, and succeeded in getting a draft cashed. on learning that mr. moses thatcher, a prominent mormon apostle from utah, was on a tour of inspection of the colonies, i proceeded to colonia juarez, a prosperous mormon settlement on the piedras verdes river, ten miles from casas grandes and six miles from san diego. it was only four years old, but had already a number of well laid-out broad streets, set on both sides with cottonwood trees, and all the houses were surrounded by gardens. i explained to mr. thatcher that i desired to make excavations in cave valley, and he courteously acceded to my wishes, adding that i might take away anything of interest to science. to reduce expenses, i paid off many of my mexican men, who then returned to their homes in sonora, going over the sierra by the trail we had made in coming east. a few months later several of them returned, bringing others with them, and asked to work again in the camp, which remained in san diego for about nine months longer--long enough for us to see quite a little trade in oranges, sugar, tobacco, etc., developing between sonora and chihuahua by way of the road cut out by us, and called, after me, _el camino del doctor_. excavations in cave valley were continued, and the burial caves gave even better results than the cave-dwellings. they were located in the eastern side of the cañon, which is rarely touched by the sun's rays. with one exception the ceilings and sides of these caves were much blackened by smoke. there was not the slightest trace of house walls, and no other sign that the place had ever been inhabited; therefore, a fire here could have had no other purpose than a religious one, just as the tarahumares to this day make a fire in the cave in which they bury their dead. indeed, at first sight there was nothing in the cave to indicate that they had ever been utilised by man; but below the dust we came upon a hard, concrete floor, and after digging through this to a depth of three feet, we fortunately struck a skull, and then came upon the body of a man. after this we disinterred that of a mother holding a child in her arms, and two other bodies, all lying on their left sides, their knees half drawn up, and their faces turned toward the setting sun. all were in a marvellous state of preservation, owing to the presence of saltpetre in the dust. this imparted to the dead a mummy-like appearance, but there was nothing to suggest that embalming or other artificial means of preservation of the bodies had been used. the entire system was simply desiccated intact, merely shrunken, with the skin on most of the bodies almost unbroken. the features, and even the expression of the countenance, were in many cases quite distinct. some had retained their eyebrows and part of their hair, and even their intestines had not all disappeared. the hair of these people was very slightly wavy, and softer than that of the modern indian; in fact, almost silky. the statures were quite low, and in general appearance these ancients bear a curious resemblance to the moqui indians, who have a tradition that their ancestors came from the south, and who, to this day, speak of their "southern brethren"; but it would be very rash to conclude from this that the cave-dwellers of northwestern chihuahua are identical with the moqui ancestors. i afterwards brought to light several other bodies which had been interred under similar conditions. the bottom of the burial caves seems to have always been overlaid with a roughly level, concrete floor. there was no trace here of cysts, or other formal sepulture. none of the remains wore ornaments of metal, but various shell ornaments, anklets and bracelets of beautifully plaited straw, which, however, crumbled into dust when touched. their clothing consisted of three layers of wrappings around the loins. next to the body was placed a coarse cotton cloth; then a piece of matting, and over that another cotton cloth. between the legs was a large wad of cotton mixed with the feathers of the turkey, the large woodpecker, and the bluejay. in a few instances, the cotton cloth was dyed red or indigo. near the head of each body stood a small earthenware jar of simple design; in some cases we also found drinking gourds placed at the head, though in one instance the latter had been put on the breast of the dead. buried with the person we found a bundle of "devil's claws" (_martynia_). these are used by the mexicans of to-day for mending pottery. they drill holes through the fragments to be joined and pass into them one of these claws, just as we would a rivet. the claw is elastic and strong, and answers the purpose very well. my mexicans understood at once to what use they had been put. as already alluded to, trincheras were also found in cave valley, where they were quite numerous. there was one or more in every ravine and gully, and what was a new feature, some were built across shallow drainages on the very summit of a hill. this summit was a bald conglomerate, about feet above the valley. in one place we observed eight trincheras within feet of each other, all built of large stones in the cyclopean style of masonry. the blocks were lava and hard felsite, measuring one and a half to three feet. as a rule, these trincheras had a lateral extent of thirty feet, and in the central part they were fifteen feet high. after all the great labour expended in their construction, the builders of these terraces had secured in each only a space thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide; in other words, these eight terraces yielded together barely , square feet, which means space enough for planting five or six hundred hills of corn. people who do not know the indians would consider this too small a result to favour the theory that these terraces were erected for agricultural purposes. but the indian's farming is, in proportion to his wants, conducted on a small scale, and he never thinks of raising more corn than he actually needs; in fact, many tribes, as for instance the tarahumares, seldom raise enough to last the family all the year through. further groups of cave-dwellings were found some ten miles higher up the river, in what is called the "strawberry valley," probably through the prevalence of the strawberry tree, of which several beautiful specimens were seen. the largest cave there contained fourteen houses. unlike the dwellings in the cave valley, here a gallery ran in front of the houses. the woodwork here was fresher than that of the cave valley houses, and as the walls had only three coats of plaster and whitewash, and the corners did not show much wear, these dwellings were undoubtedly of more recent origin. but the general character of the structures was similar to those we first investigated. no implements were found in these caves. in the same locality were quite a number of smaller caves containing houses in demolition. in one of them the walls were composed of stones and mud, and here we also saw the first circular-shaped house in a cave. by digging below the concrete floor of one of the rooms, we came upon the skeletons of five adults. this was a singular fact, showing that these ancient cave-dwellers observed the custom of burying their dead under the floors of their houses when conditions permitted it. cave-dwellings comprising twenty rooms were also seen by the mormons at the head of bavispe river. my relations with the mormons continued to be friendly, and in my dealings with them i found them honest and business-like. while thriftily providing for the material requirements of this life, they leave all their enjoyment of existence for the future state. their life is hard, but they live up to their convictions, though these, in some points, date from a by-gone stage in the development of the human race. they were much interested in our work, never doubting but that it could only be to their advantage to have light thrown upon the mysteries buried in their caves, as, in their opinion, our researches would only confirm the statements made in the "book of mormon," which mentions the prehistoric races of america. they told me that the book speaks of the arrival of three races in america. the first landing was made at guaymas in sonora, the people being fugitives from the divine wrath that destroyed the tower of babel. they were killed. the second race landed in new england, coming from jerusalem; and the third, also coming from jerusalem, landed in chile. we spent altogether about six weeks in cave valley, and the weather, as far as our experience went, was pleasant enough, although in february, for several days, a strong, cold wind was blowing, so as to interfere with our work in the mounds at daytime and with our sleep at night. in addition to the discomforting feeling that at any moment my tent might be blown down, i was worried by the possibility of its falling on the results of our excavations, the pottery and skeletons, which, for safety's sake, i kept in my tent. the situation was not improved by some indiscreet burro (donkey), who would stray into the camp and get himself entangled in the tent ropes. on january th nearly seven inches of snow fell. one day a flock of twenty-five turkeys was observed near our camp; but our efforts to get within shooting distance proved futile, as these cunning birds, who apparently move about so unconcernedly, always disappeared as if they had vanished into the ground, whenever one of us, no matter how cautiously, tried to approach them. news of apaches was again afloat, and one day a mexican officer called at the camp obviously in pursuit of apaches from whom he had recently taken twelve horses: but unfortunately the men had escaped. the presidente of casas grandes had been advised of the killing of two americans near san bernardino by some apaches, and had also ordered some men to look for the miscreants in the sierra. having thoroughly investigated the caves, we turned our attention to the mounds, which are very numerous in this part of the country. they are always covered with grass, and sometimes even trees grow on them. when excavated they disclosed the remains of houses of a type similar to that of the cave-dwellings. some of the mounds were high enough to justify the supposition that the houses had two stories, each six or seven feet high, and containing a number of rooms. from the locality in which the mounds were found it becomes at once evident that the houses which once stood there were not destroyed by inundations and covered by diluvial deposits. the mounds are composed of gravelly cement and fine debris of house walls, and the rooms left are completely filled with this material. it is easy to imagine how the mounds were formed by the gradual demolition of the ceilings, plastering, and roofs, forming a heap which to-day appears as shapely as if it had been made by man for some definite purpose. the houses were communal dwellings, each consisting of one room, which generally was not quite ten feet square. the walls, eight to nine inches thick, built of a mixture of clay and earth, were fairly well preserved in places. in one house, which had unusually solid compartments, the walls were twenty, and in some places even thirty-three, inches thick. here nothing could be found, either in the rooms or by excavating below the floor. the same conventional doorways were met with in all the mound houses, but there was hardly any trace of woodwork. excavations in one of the mounds near our camp disclosed very interesting composite structures. one part of the walls consisted of large posts set in the ground and plastered over, forming a stuccoed palisade. at right angles with this was a wall of cobble-stones, and among the buried debris were fragments of adobe bricks. in one room of this group, at a depth of less than five feet, we struck a floor of trodden concrete. breaking through we found a huddle of six or seven skeletons, which, however, were not entire. rarely if ever was any object found in these rooms, except, perhaps, some stray axe, or some metates and grinding stones, and in one case a square stone paint pot. but by digging below the concrete floors we came upon skeletons which seemed to have been laid down without regard to any rule, and with them were invariably buried some household utensils, such as earthenware jars and bowls, beautifully decorated; axes and mauls, fairly carved and polished. one very rare object was secured: a doubled-grooved axe. the skeletons were badly preserved, but we were able to gather several skulls and some of the larger bones. the floor material was so hard that only by means of heavy iron bars could we break through it. as it was impracticable for us to make complete excavations, the number of rooms each mound contained cannot be stated. there were in the immediate neighbourhood of cave valley at least ten or twelve separate groups, each of which had from four to eight rooms on the ground floor. the entire district is richly studded with mounds. on an excursion three or four miles down piedras verdes river i saw several groups of mounds, some of which, no doubt, contained many objects of antiquity. on top of one low hill was a large group, and half a mile north of this another, paces long and containing two oblong mounds. some of the mounds were ten or twelve feet high. a very trustworthy mormon informed me that there were no ruins, in caves or otherwise, along the river between this settlement and colonia juarez; nor were there any, he said, for a hundred miles south of pacheco, though mounds could be seen in several places. therefore when i at last departed from cave valley, i took his advice and did not follow the course of the piedras verdes river down to san diego, but led the pack train the safer, though longer, way over the regular road. the country along the river was afterward explored by members of my expedition. they came upon several small caves high up on the side of the cañon, some of which had once been inhabited, to judge from the many potsherds and the smoky roofs; but no cave-houses were found until higher up the river, where some were seen in the sandstone cliffs. i broke camp in cave valley on march th, and arrived on the same day at old juarez, a few miles from my camp at san diego. now the weather was warm; the grass was sprouting, and i noticed a flock of wild geese going northward. the plains of san diego used to swarm with antelopes, and even at the time of my visit herds of them could be seen now and then. one old hunter near casas grandes resorted to an ingenious device for decoying them. he disguised himself as an antelope, by means of a cloak of cotton cloth (manta) painted to resemble the colouring of the animal. this covered his body, arms, and legs. on his head he placed the antlers of a stag, and by creeping on all fours he could approach the antelopes quite closely and thus successfully shoot them. the apaches, according to the mexicans, were experts at hunting antelopes in this manner. we excavated a mound near old juarez and found in it a small basin of black ware. there were twelve or fifteen other mounds, all containing house groups. the largest among them was feet long, fifty feet wide, and ten feet high; others, while covering about the same space, were only three or four to six feet high. they were surrounded, in an irregular way, by numerous stone heaps, some quite small, others large and rectangular, inclosing a space thirty by ten feet. from an archæological point of view, the district we now found ourselves in is exceedingly rich, and i determined to explore it as thoroughly as circumstances permitted. one can easily count, in the vicinity of san diego, over fifty mounds, and there are also rock carvings and paintings in various places. some twenty miles further south there are communal cave-dwellings, resembling those in cave valley, which were examined by members of the expedition at the san miguel river, about eight miles above the point at which the river enters the plains. inside of one large cave numerous houses were found. they had all been destroyed, yet it was plainly evident that some of them had originally been three stories high. but the centre of interest is casas grandes, the famous ruin situated about a mile south of the town which took its name, and we soon went over to investigate it. the venerable pile of fairly well preserved ruins has already been described by john russell bartlett, in , and more recently by a. f. bandelier; a detailed description is therefore here superfluous. suffice it to say that the casas grandes, or great houses, are a mass of ruined houses, huddled together on the western bank of the river. most of the buildings have fallen in and form six or eight large mounds, the highest of which is about twenty feet above the ground. low mesquite bushes have taken root along the mounds and between the ruins. the remaining walls are sufficiently well preserved to give us an idea of the mode of building employed by the ancients. at the outskirts of the ruined village the houses are lower and have only one story, while in its central part they must have been at one time at least four stories high. they were not palaces, but simply dwellings, and the whole village, which probably once housed , or , people, resembles, in its general characteristics, the pueblos in the southwest, and, for that matter, the houses we excavated from the mounds. the only features that distinguish these from either of the other structures are the immense thickness of the walls, which reaches as much as five feet, and the great height of the buildings. the material, too, is different, consisting of enormous bricks made of mud mixed with coarse gravel, and formed in baskets or boxes. a striking fact is that the houses apparently are not arranged in accordance with any laid-out plan or regularity. nevertheless they looked extremely picturesque, viewed from the east as the sun was setting. i camped for a few days on top of the highest mound, between the ruined walls. no circular building, nor any trace of a place of worship, could be found. the mexicans, some of whom have nestled on the eastern part of the ruins, have from time to time come upon beautiful jars and bowls, which they sold to relic hunters or used themselves. such pottery is far superior in quality and decoration to anything now made in mexico. the ancient metates of casas grandes, which are much appreciated by the present inhabitants of the valley, are decidedly the finest i have ever seen. they are square in shape, resting on four legs, and well finished. there have also been taken out some stone axes and arrowheads, which are much like those found in the southwest of the united states. some years ago a large meteorite was unearthed in a small room on the first floor of one of the highest of the buildings. when discovered it was found carefully put away and covered with cotton wrappings. no doubt it once had served some religious purpose. on account of its glittering appearance, the mexicans thought it was silver, and everybody wanted to get a piece of it. but it was taken to chihuahua, and the gentleman who sent it to germany told me that it weighed , pounds. there are still traces of well-constructed irrigation ditches to be seen approaching the ruins from the northwest. there are also several artificial accumulations of stones three to fifteen feet high and of various shapes. one of them has the form of a latin cross measuring nineteen feet along its greatest extent. others are rectangular, and still others circular. about three miles off, toward the west, are found pictures pecked on large stones, one representing a bird, another one the sun. an interesting relic of the population that once prospered in casas grandes valley is a watch tower, plainly visible on a mountain to the southwest, and about five miles, in a straight line, from the ruins. well-defined tracks lead up to it from all directions, especially from the east and west. on the western side three such trails were noticed, and several join at the lower part of the ridge, which runs southward and culminates in the promontory on which the watch tower stands , feet above the plains. the western side of the ridge is in some places quite precipitous, but there is a fairly good track running along its entire extent to the top. sometimes the road is protected with stones, and in other places even with walls, on the outer side. although the ascent is, at times, steep, the top can be reached on horseback. the path strikes a natural terrace, and on this is seen a ruined house group built of undressed stones on the bare rock. some of the walls are twenty-four inches thick. and a little to the south of it is a large mound, from which a mormon has excavated two rooms. a very well-built stone wall runs for more than paces from north to south on the western, or most easily accessible, side of the pueblo. after leaving this ancient little village, we made a pleasant ascent to the top, where a strikingly beautiful panorama opened up before us on all sides. the summit commands a view of the fertile valleys for miles around in every direction. to the west is the valley of the piedras verdes river, and to the east the valley of casas grandes; and in the plains to the south the snakelike windings of the san miguel river glitter in the sun. toward the north the view is immense, and fine mountains form a fitting frame for the landscape all around the horizon. what a pre-eminently fine position for a look-out! as i contemplated the vast stretches of land commanded from this point, i pondered for how many centuries sentinels from this spot may have scanned the horizon with their eagle eyes to warn their people of any enemy approaching to disturb their peaceful occupations. the fort is circular and about forty feet in diameter. the surrounding wall is on one side about eleven feet high and very broad, while in other places it is much lower and narrower. there are four clearly outlined chambers in the centre; but by excavations nothing could be found in them, except that the flooring was one inch thick. it was quite warm here. some birds were about, and there were a few flowers out. wild white currant bushes were growing inside of the fortress, breathing delicious fragrance. but aside from the top, the mountain was all but barren of vegetation. a few days afterward i went on an excursion up the casas grandes valley, as far as the mormon colony dublan. this valley, which is about fifteen miles long and equally as broad, is very fertile where properly irrigated, and maize and wheat fields delight the eye. naturally, the country is well populated, and the mounds which are met with everywhere prove that this was already the case in ancient times. in fact, mounds, in groups or isolated, are numerous as far north as ascension. how richly the apparently poor soil repays the labour which man expends on it may be seen in the flourishing colony the mormons have here. wherever they go, the mormons transform waste land into scenes of prosperity, so much so that the mexicans attribute the success of these indefatigable developers to a gold mine, which they are supposed to work secretly at night. as i found it imperative to return to the united states in the interest of the expedition, i considered it expedient to reduce my scientific corps to three. my camp at san diego i left in charge of mr. h. white, who later on was relieved by mr. c. v. hartman. during my absence they conducted excavations of the mounds along the southern bank of the piedras verdes river, near its junction with san miguel river, and in convenient neighbourhood to the camp. neither the mounds themselves nor the houses inside of them differ much from those already described on the upper part of the river, except that some of the mounds here were somewhat larger. judging from the beams left, they probably contained a few three-story houses. however, in either locality most of the mound houses were only one story high, and where second or third stories were indicated, they were never found intact. in neither place were circular houses observed. the mounds here were located on a rich, alluvial clay soil. here, as on the upper part of the river, the treasures we secured were taken from underneath the floors of the houses, where they had been buried with the dead. here, as there, they consisted of beautifully decorated earthenware jars and bowls, some of them in bizarre representations of animal and human forms, besides stone implements, shell beads, pieces of pyrites and turquoise, all being generally unearthed intact. the things were found alongside of skeletons, which were huddled together in groups of from two to five in one of the corners. the jars, bowls, etc., had generally been deposited close to the body, as a rule near the head. the skulls of the skeletons were mostly crushed, and crumbled to dust when exposed to the air. there was no trace of charring on the bones, although in some cases charcoal was found close to the skeletons. to excavate such mounds is slow and tedious work, requiring much patience. sometimes nothing was found for weeks. small mounds gave results as good as, if not better than, some large ones. in shape they are more or less conical, flattened at the top; some are oblong, a few even rectangular. the highest among them rose to twenty or twenty-five feet, but the majority varied from five to twelve feet. the house walls inside of them were from eight to sixteen inches thick. the pottery which was excavated here may be judged by the accompanying plates. it is superior in quality, as well as in decoration, to that produced by the pueblos of the southwest of the united states. the clay is fine in texture and has often a slight surface gloss, the result of mechanical polishing. though the designs in general remind one of those of the southwestern pueblos, as, for instance, the cloud terraces, scrolls, etc., still most of the decorations in question show more delicacy, taste, and feeling, and are richer in colouring. this kind of pottery is known only from excavations in the valleys of san diego and of piedras verdes river, as well as from casas grandes valley. it forms a transition from the culture of the pueblos of arizona and new mexico to that of the valley of mexico, a thousand miles farther south. in a general way the several hundred specimens of the collection can be divided into four groups: ( ) the clay is quite fine, of white colour, with a slightly grayish-yellow tinge. the decorations are black and red, or black only. this is the predominant type, and may be seen in plates i. and ii.; also plate iii., _a_. ( ) of a very similar character, but somewhat coarser in texture, and heavier. see plate iii., _b_ to _g_, and plate iv., _f_ both these groups include variations in the decorative designs, as may be seen in the rest of plate iv. ( ) brown pottery with black decorations. see plate v., _a, b, c_, and _e_. ( ) black ware. here follows a condensed description of the more important specimens shown in the plates: plate i heights: _a_, . cm; _b_, . cm; _c_, . cm; _d_, . cm; _e_, . cm; _f_, . cm. _a_, particularly graceful in outline and decoration, is a representative type that is often found. _c_, from colonia dublan, is made in the shape of a horned toad, the lizard so familiar to anyone who has visited the southwest of the united states. the head with its spikes, and the tail as well, are well rendered; the thorny prominences of the body are represented by the indentations around the edge. _d_, the principal decoration here is the plumed serpent with a bird's head. _e_, a vase in the shape of a duck. _f_, a bowl decorated only around the edge and in the interior. plate ii height, . cm. here is shown what, in regard both to manufacture and to decoration, is the best specimen in the collection. its principal ornaments are the plumed serpent and two birds, all clearly seen in the extension of the design above and below the vase. the lower section is a continuation of the upper one. the birds are represented as in flight. mr. m. h. saville is probably right in considering them as quetzals, though the habitat of this famous trogon is central america and the southernmost part of mexico. the bird and the serpent form the decoration of other jars of this collection and would indicate that the makers of this pottery were affiliated with the aztecs in their adoration of the great deity quetzalcoatl. plate iii heights: _a_, . cm; _b_, cm; _c_, cm; _d_, cm; _e_, . cm; _f_ . cm; _g_, . cm. _c_, a jar in the shape of a conventionalised owl. _d_, a jar in the shape of a fish. _f_ is a much conventionalised representation of four horned toads. around its upper part it has two serpents, apparently coral snakes, attached in high relief. plate iv heights: _a_, cm; _b_, . cm; _c_, . cm; _d_, . cm; _e_, cm; _f_, . cm. _a_, a very realistic representation of the rain-grub. _c_ has a black slip. _d_ is very strong and highly polished, and differs also in colouring from the rest. plate v heights: _a_, . cm; _b_, . cm; _c_, . cm; _d_, cm; _e_, . cm; _f_, . cm; _g_, . cm. this brown ware is very handsome, and its ornamentation is strikingly artistic in its simplicity. see, for instance, plate v., _e. d, f_, and _g_ represent pottery from casas grandes, distinguished by a certain solidity and a higher polish. chapter v second expedition--return to the sierra--parrots in the snow--cave-dwellings at garabato, the most beautiful in northern mexico--a superb view of the sierra madre--the devil's spine ridge--guaynopa, the famous old silver mine--aros river--on old trails--adventures of "el chino"--cure for poison ivy. when in the middle of january, , i resumed my explorations, my party was only about one-third as large as it had been the year before. in pursuance of my plan, i again entered the sierra madre, returning to it, as far as pacheco, by the road on which we had come down to san diego. we travelled over freshly-fallen snow a few inches deep, and encountered a party of eight revolutionists from ascension, among whom i perceived the hardest looking faces i had ever laid eyes on. all questions regarding their affairs they answered evasively, and i could not help feeling some anxiety for three of the men, who with a mexican guide, had for some weeks been exploring the country around chuhuichupa, a discarded cattle range some forty miles south of pacheco. next day i sent a man ahead to warn them against the political fugitives. the mormons told me that for more than a fortnight they had been keeping track of these suspicious-looking characters who had been camping in the neighbourhood. there were repeated falls of snow, and the sierra assumed a thoroughly northern aspect. only the multitude of green parrots with pretty red and yellow heads, chattering in the tree-tops and feasting on pine cones, reminded us that we were in southern latitudes. as all tracks had been obliterated by the snow, i secured a mormon to guide us southward. about ten miles south of pacheco we passed mound valley, or "los montezumas," so named after the extraordinary number of montezumas, or mounds, found in the locality, probably not far from a thousand. looking at them from a distance, there seemed to be some plan in their arrangement, inasmuch as they formed rows running from north to south. they are small, and nearly all of them are on the south side of a sloping plain which spread itself over about acres in the midst of densely pine-covered highlands. on making camp a few miles south of this plateau we found that one of the mules had strayed off. my dismay over the loss of the animal was not alleviated by the news that the mule was the one that carried my blankets and tent, and that i had a good prospect of passing at least one uncomfortable night on the snow. the american who had been intrusted with keeping count of the animals on the road immediately went back to look for the lost one; but not until next day did a mexican, who had been sent along with him, bring back the pack, which the mule had managed to get rid of. the animal itself and its aparejo were never recovered by us. on my arrival at chuhuichupa i found everything satisfactory. there are extensive grass-lands here, and a few years after our visit the mormons established a colony. the name chuhuichupa is interesting, as it is the first one we came upon that was of undoubted tarahumare origin "chuhui." being the spanish corruption of "chu-i," which means "dead." the name signifies "the place of the dead," possibly alluding to burial caves. here mr. taylor had discovered very interesting cave-dwellings, fifteen miles southeast to east in a straight lilac from the camp, but fully twenty-five miles by the track he had followed. the mexicans called the cave garabato, a spanish word, which in mexico is used in the sense of "decorative designs," and refers here to ancient paintings or scrawlings on the house walls. the cave is situated in a gorge on the northern slope of the arroyo garabato, which drains into the rio chico. it is in conglomerate formation, faces east, and lies about feet above the bottom of the gorge. the ascent is steep and somewhat difficult. at a little distance the high, regular walls of the houses, with their many door and window openings, presented a most striking contrast to their surroundings of snow-covered jagged cliffs, in the lonely wilderness of pine woods. some of the walls had succumbed to the weight of ages, but, on the whole, the ruins are in a good state of preservation, and although i found cave-dwellings as far south as zapuri, chihuahua, none of them were nearly as well preserved nor on such an extensive scale. time would not allow me to visit the cave myself, and the following description is based on notes taken by mr. taylor on the spot, as well as on his photographs and his verbal explanations. the space covered by the houses and fallen walls was feet from side to side, and at the central part the dwellings were thirty-five feet deep. the roof of the cave, or rather, the overhanging cliff, was at the highest point eighty feet above the floor. the houses were arranged in an arc of a circle so large as hardly to deviate from a straight line. the front row seems to have been of but one story, while the adjoining row back of it had two stories. the roof of the houses at no place reached the roof of the cave. each room was about twelve feet square, and the walls, which showed no evidence of blocks or bricks, varied in thickness from fifteen inches at the base to seven inches at the top of the highest. at some places large stones were built into the walls; in another wall wooden posts and horizontal sticks or laths were found. the surface of the walls, which were protected against the weather, was smooth and even, and the interior walls showed seven or eight coatings of plaster. the floors, where they could be examined, were smoothly cemented and so hard as to effectively resist the spade. the pine poles which formed the roof were smooth, but not squared; they were three to four inches in diameter; and some of them were twenty-four feet long. according to all appearances, they had been hewn with a blunt instrument, as they were more hacked than cut. many of them were nicely rounded off at the ends, and several inches from the ends a groove was cut all around the pole. in the centre of the back rooms of the ground floor there was usually a pine pole, about ten inches in diameter, set up like a rude pillar. resting on this and the side walls of the rooms in a slight curve was a similar pole, also rounded, and running parallel to the front of the houses; and crossing it from the front to the rear walls were laid similar poles or rafters about four inches in diameter. the ends of these were set directly into the walls, and covering them was a roofing of mud, some three inches thick, hard, and on the upper surface smooth. the second story, where it had not caved in, was covered in the same manner. none of the lower story rooms had an outlet to the apartments above, and the evidence tended to prove that the second story houses were reached from the bottom of the cave over the roofs of the front row of houses by means of ladders. most of the rooms were well supplied with apertures of the usual conventional form; sometimes there were as many as three in one room, each one large enough to serve as a door. but there were also several small circular openings, which to civilised man might appear to have served as exits for the smoke; but to the indian the house, as everything else, is alive, and must have openings through which it can draw breath, as otherwise it would be choked. these holes were three or four inches in diameter, and many of them were blocked up and plastered over. a large number of what seemed to have been doorways were also found to be blocked up, no doubt from some ulterior religious reason. a peculiar feature of the architecture was a hall not less than forty feet long, and from floor to rafters seven feet high. six beams were used in the roof, laid between the north and south walls. there were rafters of two different lengths, being set in an angle of about ten degrees to each other. the west wall contained twelve pockets, doubtless the cavities in which the rafters had rested. they were, on an average, three inches in diameter, and ran in some six inches, slanting downward in the interior. the east wall was found to contain upright poles and horizontal slats, forming a framework for the building material. the interior was bare, with the exception of a ledge running along the southern side and made from the same material as the house walls. it was squared up in front and formed a convenient settee. at the end of this hall, but in the upper story, was found a house that was distinguished from the others by a peculiar decoration in red, while the space around the door was painted in a delicate shade of lavender. there seems to have been still another hall of nearly the same length as the one described, but which must have been at least one foot and a half higher. it is now almost entirely caved in. no objects of interest were found that could throw any light on the culture of the builders of these dwellings, except the fragment of a stone axe and a piece of matting. the day after my arrival at chuhuichupa i continued my journey, now accompanied by mr. taylor and mr. meeds. we had as a guide an old mexican soldier, who had been recommended to us as a man who knew the sierra madre better than anyone else. he had, no doubt, lived a wild life; had taken part in many a "scrap" with the apaches, as his body showed marks of bullets in several places, and he had prospected for gold and silver, traversing a good deal of ground in the mountains at one time or another. but topographical knowledge _per se_ does not necessarily make a good guide. although "don teodoro," by something like instinct, always knew where he was, it did not take us long to discover that he had not judgment enough to guide a pack-train, and his fatuous recklessness caused us a good deal of annoyance, and even loss. after leaving the grass-lands of chuhuichupa, we passed through extensive pine regions, full of arroyos and cordons, and it struck me how silent the forest was here. no animal life could be seen or heard. about ten miles south we caught sight of the sierra de candelaria, which suddenly loomed up in the southeast, while the arroyo de guaynopa yawned on our left. we slowly ascended a beautiful cordon running toward the southwest. the track we followed, our guide assured us, was _el camino de los antiguos_, but it probably was only an apache trail. the cordon was rather narrow, and from time to time gave us sweeping views of the stupendous landscape in one direction or another, as the animals slowly made their way up and finally reached the summit. a grandly beautiful sight awaited us; we went a little out of our way to gain a promontory, which, our guide said, was designated "punto magnifico." it was at an elevation of , feet, and gave us certainly the most strikingly magnificent view of the sierra madre we yet had enjoyed. an ocean of mountains spread out before and below us. in the midst of it, right in front of us, were imposing pine-clad mesas and two weathered pinnacles of reddish conglomerate, while further on there followed range after range, peak after peak; the most distant ones, toward the south, seeming at least as far as eighty miles away. the course of the rivers, as they flow deep down between the mountains, was pointed out to us. the principal one is the arros river, which from the west embraces most of the mesas, and then, turning south, receives its tributaries, the tutuhuaca and the mulatos, the latter just behind a pinnacle. west of the arros river stretches out the immense mesa de los apaches, once a stronghold of these marauders, reaching as far as the rio bonito. the plateau is also called "the devil's spine mesa," after a high and very narrow ridge, which rises conspicuously from the mesa's western edge and runs in a northerly and southerly direction, like the edge of a gigantic saw. to our amazement, the guide here indicated to us where the camino real from nacori passes east over a gap in the "devil's spine" ridge, and then over several sharp buttes that descend toward the mesa. an odd-looking mesa lay between rio bonito and rio satachi. farthest to the west were the big hogbacks near nacori, standing out ominously, like a perpetuated flash of lightning. the sun was nearing the horizon; the air was translucent, and the entire panorama steeped in a dusky blue. immediately below us, to our left, lay guaynopa. the mountainside looked so steep that it seemed impossible for us to descend from where we were. but we already heard the voices of our muleteers singing out to the animals , feet below, and that reminded us that we also had better reach camp before darkness should overtake us. we descended , feet, and, leaving the pines behind, found ourselves in a warmer climate. it never snows here, according to our guide. that the precipitation took the shape of rain we learned when we were impeded by it for two days. there were yet eighteen miles between us and the deserted mines of guaynopa. it was a laborious journey over the hills, mostly ascent. finally we came to a steep slope covered with oaks, along which there was a continuous descent toward guaynopa. while zigzagging our way down, we caught sight of a large cave with houses and some white cone-shaped structures staring at us across an arroyo midway up the opposite side, which was at least two thousand feet deep. through my field glasses i could make out very distinctly a group of houses of the usual pattern; and the large, white structures could without difficulty be recognised as granaries, similar to those observed in cave valley. it was my intention to go back and examine this cave more closely, as soon as i had found a camping place; but circumstances interfered. several years later the cave was visited by mr. g. p. ramsey, to whom i owe the following brief description. the cave is situated about twenty-five miles in a straight line south of the mormon colony of chuhuichupa. there are indications of a spring in the cave, and there is another one in the arroyo itself. the buildings are in a very bad condition, owing to the action of the elements and animals; but fifty-three rooms could be counted. they were located on a rocky terrace extending from the extreme right to the rear centre of the cave. this extreme right extended slightly beyond the overhanging cliff, and contained groups of two-storied houses. in the central part of the cave were a number of small structures, built of the same material and in a similar manner as those i described as granaries in cave valley. they were still in excellent condition, and, as will be seen at a glance, they are almost identical with the granaries used to the present day in some southern states of mexico. we continued our descent, and, having dropped altogether some , feet, at last found ourselves alongside some lonely and unattractive old adobe houses. they were built by the spaniards and are reputed to have once been the smelter of the now abandoned silver mine of guaynopa. only the naked walls remain standing on a decline, which was too steep to give us sufficient camping ground. so we went still a little further, to the top of a hill near by, where we made a tolerably good camp. this then was the famous locality of guaynopa, credited with hiding such fabulous wealth. there was still another mine here of the same repute, called tayopa, and both of them are said to have been worked once by the jesuits, who before their expulsion from mexico were in possession of nearly all the mines in the country. according to tradition, the apaches killed everybody here, and the mines were forgotten until recent times, when ancient church records and other spanish documents revealed their existence. several expeditions have been sent out, one, i believe, by the government for the purpose of locating them; but being situated in the roughest and most inaccessible part of the sierra madre, they are still awaiting their rediscovery, unless, contrary to my knowledge, they have been found in recent years. there is no doubt that the country carries very rich silver ore, and we ourselves found specimens of that kind; but the region is so difficult of access that it probably would require too great a capital to work the mines. there was now a plain track leading along the hillside down toward the rio aros, which is scarcely two miles off; but the country was so wild and rugged that the greatest care had to be exercised with the animals to prevent them from coming to grief. the path runs along the upper part of a steep slope, which from a perpendicular weathered cliff drops some feet down into a gorge. as the declivity of the slope is about forty-five degrees, and the track in some places only about a foot wide, there is no saving it if an animal loses its foothold, or if its pack slips. all went well, however, until we reached a point where the track commenced to descend, when our villain of a guide tried to drive some burros back on the track, instead of leading each one carefully. the result was that one of the poor beasts tumbled down, making immense bounds, a hundred feet at a time, and, of course, was killed. we had no difficulty in fording the guaynopa creek near its junction with the aros river, and selected a camping place on a terrace feet above it. the stream, which is the one that passes the cave-dwellings, carries a good deal of limpid water, and there are abundant signs that at times it runs very high. the elevation of the ford, which is here about the same as that of aros river, , feet, was the lowest point we reached in our crossing of the sierra madre between chuhuichupa and temosachic. it took us almost the entire day to move the animals the one mile and a half to this camp. on the way we had found some good quartz crystals in the baryte, about four inches high and one inch in width. the country before us looked more forbidding than ever, as if it did not want us to penetrate any further into its mysteries, but our guide seemed to be quite at home here. our march toward rio chico was about thirty miles of ups and downs, ascending to a height of , feet and descending again some , feet. in the beginning it was almost impossible to make out the track; where it did not lead over bare rocks, it was nearly obliterated by overgrown grass. the first ascent was over a mile long in a straight line; then, after a little while, came the most arduous climbing i had until then ever attempted. following the slope of the mountain, the track rose higher and higher in long zigzags, without any chance for the animals to rest, for at least three-quarters of a mile. it was necessary to push them on, as otherwise the train would unavoidably have upset, and one or the other have rolled down the declivity. one large white mule, el chino, after it had almost climbed to the top, turned giddy at the "glory-crowned height" it had reached, and, sinking on its hind legs, fell backward and rolled heels over head down, with its two large canvas-covered boxes, like a big wheel. as luck would have it, it bumped against a low-stemmed old oak that cropped out of the hillside in an obtuse angle to it, some ninety feet below. making one more turn up the stem, the mule was nicely caught between the forked branches, which broke the momentum, loosened the cargo, and caused the animal to fall back into the high grass. one box landed close by, the other, containing our library, pursued its course downward feet further, bursting open on the way and scattering the wisdom of the ages to the winds, while the mule escaped without a scratch. the burros came into camp three hours after us, and the drivers explained how they had succeeded in bringing them up the long slope only by constantly punching them to prevent them from "falling asleep." as we continued our journey toward rio chico the panorama of the sierra changed continuously. we got a side view of the big mesa de los apaches, and many weathered pinnacles of eroded conglomerate were seen standing out like church spires in this desert of rock, varying in colour from red to lead gray. once we caught sight of a stretch of the rio aros deep down in a narrow, desolate valley, some , feet below us. the geological formation of the region is mostly volcanic; then follows conglomerate, and on the high points porphyry appears. we camped on the crest of the eastern side of the rio chico cañon, in an ideal place with bracing air. a fine, sloping meadow afforded quite an arcadian view with the animals peacefully grazing and resting; but looking westward, the eye revelled in the grand panorama of the sierra. the two sides of the rio chico valley rise here evenly from the bottom of the gorge so as to suggest the letter v. in many places its brow is overhung by precipitous cliffs, and further down still more steeply walled chasms yawn up from the river bed. my chief packer now became ill from the effects of poison ivy. he was one of those unfortunate individuals who are specially susceptible to it. according to his own statement it sufficed for him to pass anywhere near the plant, even without touching it, to become afflicted with the disease. in this case he did not even know where he had contracted it, until the cook showed him some specimens of the plant near an oak tree close by the kitchen tent. the poor fellow's lips were badly swollen; he had acute pains in his eyes, and felt unable to move. sometimes, he said, the disease would last ten days, and his skin become so tender that he could not endure the weight or contact of his clothes. but by applying to the afflicted parts of his body a solution of baking soda in water, i was able not only to relieve his suffering, but to enable him, after two days, to continue with us on our journey. in the meantime we had investigated some caves in the conglomerate of the steep cañon side, about feet above the bottom of the gorge, and rather difficult of access. the house group occupied the entire width of a cave, which was eighty feet across, and there was a foundation wall made of stone and timber underneath the front part. the walls were made of stone, with mortar of disintegrated rock that lined parts of the cave and were plastered inside and out with the same material. lintels of wood were seen in the windows, and rows of sticks standing in a perpendicular position were found in two of the walls inside of the plastering. on one side of the cave, some two feet off, was a small tower, also in ruins, measuring inside four feet in diameter, while the walls were about six inches thick. pinnacles of eroded conglomerate are a prominent characteristic of the landscape west of the rio chico; further on, the usual volcanic formation appears again. after fully twenty miles of travel we found ourselves again in pine forests and at an altitude of , feet. here we were overtaken, in the middle of february, by a rain and sleet storm, which was quite severe, although we were sheltered by tall pine trees in a little valley. it turned to snow and grew very cold, and then the storm was over. here a titmouse and a woodpecker were shot, and the bluebirds were singing in the snow. travelling again eleven miles further brought us to the plains of naverachic, where we camped. it was quite a treat to travel again on comparatively level land, but, strange to say, i felt the cold so much that i had to walk on foot a good deal in order to keep warm. the word naverachic is of tarahumare origin; navé means "move," and ráchi refers to the disintegrated trachyte formation in the caves. we had just emerged from a district which at that time was traversed by few people; perhaps only by some illiterate mexican adventurers, though it had once been settled by a thrifty people whose stage of culture was that of the pueblo indians of to-day, and who had vanished, nobody knows how many centuries ago. over it all hovered a distinct atmosphere of antiquity and the solemnity of a graveyard. chapter vi fossils, and one way of utilising them--temosachic--the first tarahumares--ploughs with wooden shares--visit to the southern pimas--aboriginal hat factories--pinos altos--the waterfall near jesus maria--an adventure with ladrones. about thirty miles from the village of temosachic (in the tarahumare tongue remosachic means stone heap) we entered the plain of yepomera, and came upon an entirely different formation, limestone appearing in an almost horizontal layer some thirty feet deep. in this bed the mexicans frequently find fossils, and at one place four large fossil bones have been utilised as the corner posts of a corral or inclosure. we were told that teeth and bones were accidentally found at a depth of from twenty to thirty feet and some bones were crystallised inside. this formation, which stretches itself out toward the east of temosachic, but lies mainly to the north of this place, has an extent of about fifteen miles from north to south, and from three to four miles from east to west. fossils picked up by mr. meeds in the cutting of a creek near yepomera consisted of some fragmentary teeth and pieces of bones from some small animal. they were found in the hard clay that underlies the lime-stone. large fossil bones also are said to have been gathered near the town of guerrero, chihuahua, quite recently. it seems to be a custom with the common people to make a concoction of these "giants' bones" as a strengthening medicine; we heard of a woman who, being weak after childbirth, used it as an invigorating tonic. here in temosachic we were joined by mr. hartman, who had brought part of our baggage from san diego by wagon in order to enable us to travel as unencumbered as possible. from now on, until as far as the southern border of the state of chihuahua, the country is occupied by the large indian tribe of the tarahumares. they are now confined to the sierra madre, but in former times they also occupied the entire plain of chihuahua, as far west as the present capital of that state, and in a narrow strip they may have reached as far as miles north of temosachic. they were the main tribe found in possession of the vast country which is now the state of chihuahua, and although there are still some , left, the greater part of them have become mexicanised, adopting the language and the customs of the whites, together with their dress and religion. father ribas, in the seventeenth century, speaks of them as very docile and easily converted to christianity. the high plateau of the sierra madre for a couple of hundred miles southward is not difficult to follow. most of it is hilly and clad in oaks and pines; but there are also extensive tracts of fine arable land, partly under cultivation, and fairly good tracks connect the solitary villages and ranches scattered over the district. the country of the aborigines has been invaded and most of the descendants of the former sovereigns of the realm have been reduced to earning a precarious living by working for the white and mixed-breed usurpers on their ranches or in their mines. the native language, religious customs, and dress are being modified gradually in accordance with the new régime. only in the less desirable localities have the tarahumares been able to hold their own against the conquerors. there is not much interest attached to the study of half-civilised natives, but the first pure-blooded tarahumares i met on their little ranch about ten miles south of temosachic were distinctly indian and very different from the ordinary mexican family. there was a kind of noble bearing and reserve about them which even the long contact with condescending whites and half-breeds had not been able to destroy. the father of the family, who, by the way, was very deaf, was a man of some importance among the native ranchers here. when i approached the house, mother and daughter were combing each other's hair, and did not allow themselves to be disturbed by my arrival. the younger woman wore her long glossy tresses plaited in mexican fashion. she evidently was in robust health and had well-moulded, shapely arms and an attractive face, with an eagle nose. she was beautiful, but i could not help thinking how much better she would have looked in her native costume. on the road we had several times overtaken donkey-trains carrying corn to the mines of pinos altos. in the small rio verde we caught three kinds of fish: suckers, catfish, and gila trout, which grow from one to three feet long, and, according to tarahumare belief, change into otters when they are old. the name of the village of tosanachic is a spanish corruption of the tarahumare rosanachic, which means "where there is white," and alludes to a number of white rocks or cliffs of solidified volcanic ash, which rise to a height of some fifty feet and give to the little valley quite a striking appearance. there are caves in these rocks, and three poor families of pima indians lived in some of them. in the village we noticed the first tarahumare plough, the share of which was made of a section of oak. in its general appearance it is an imitation of the ordinary mexican plough, in other words, is simply a tree stem with a branch as a handle. but, however primitive in design and construction, the civilised man's implement always has an iron share. of course, such among the tarahumares as can afford iron shares, never fail to get them; but in several parts of their country ploughs made entirely of wood, that is to say, ploughs with wooden shares, are seen. the foremost part of such a plough is cut to a point, and into a groove made for the purpose a section of tough oak is inserted, to serve as a share. it is held in place by the tapering of the groove, and some wedges or plugs. the share has naturally to be renewed quite frequently, but it serves its purpose where the ground is not stony. later on, in cusarare, nararachic and other places, i found ploughshares of stone applied in the same manner as were the wooden ones. here at an elevation of , feet, and at the end of february, i saw the first flowers of the year, some very fresh-looking yellow _ranunculus_. on crossing the ridge to piedras azules, sixty-odd miles south of temosachic, a decided change of climate and vegetation was noticeable. i found another kind of _ranunculus_, as well as various other flowers, and as we passed through a small but gorgeous cañon, with the sun shining against us through the fresh leaves of the trees, everything in nature made the impression of spring. all was green except the ground, which was gray. the road was stony, and bad for the feet of the animals; altogether the country presented a new aspect with its small volcanic hills, many of them forming cones. a few indian hamlets surrounded by peach trees in full bloom were found here. the indians here are pimas, who, in their general characteristics, resemble the tarahumare, although they impress you as being less timid and suspicious, and more energetic, perhaps also more intelligent, than the latter. we had no difficulty in taking some photographs. among those who agreed to have their pictures taken was a dignified, courteous old man, who thought he was a hundred years old, but was probably only eighty. he showed me some scars on his body, which were a souvenir from a fight he once had with a bear. in order to see more of the southern pimas i went to the near-by village of yepachic, which i think is also a tarahumare name, yepá meaning snow. there are, however, more mexicans than pimas in the village, and the presidente was a half-caste tarahumare; he was once a shepherd, but had made money by trading mescal to the natives--six bottles for a cow. although the pimas whom i visited in the neighbourhood, were very reserved, and even more indian-like than the tarahumares i had seen so far, still in their dress they showed more traces of advancing civilisation than the latter tribe. everything here betrays the nearness of the mines, with the characteristic accompaniment of cheap clothes, cheap, tawdry jewelry, and a slight influx of iron cooking utensils. the pimas, like the tarahumares, use pine cones for combs; and we picked up several discarded ones near their houses. i went still fifteen miles further northward, but found that most of the indians there had gone to the pinos altos mines to look for work. that "march comes in like a lion" i realised even here in the sierra, when, on this excursion, on which i had not taken my tent along, i was overtaken by a snow-storm. we had gone to bed with the stars for a canopy, clear and beautiful; we woke up under blankets of snow, which turned to rain, drenching us to the skin and making us shiver with cold. i saw several small, shallow caves, and learned that many of them were utilised by the pimas during the wet season. i also passed a rock-shelter, which served as a permanent home. the housewife was busy making straw hats. she was very shy, as her husband was away; but i elicited the information that she gets two reales ( cents) for each hat. the making of straw hats and mats is quite an industry among the pimas. in the houses they have a cellar-like dug-out outside of the dwelling and covered with a conical roof of dry grass. these cellars, in many cases, serve not only as the work-rooms, but also as store-rooms for their stock in trade. in one or two instances i found pima families living in open inclosures, a kind of corral, made from cut-down brushwood. i noticed two small caves that had been transformed into storehouses, by planting poles along the edge and plastering these over with mud, to make a solid wall, behind which corn was stored. in yepachic i estimated there were about twenty pima families. i had some difficulty in inducing them to pose before the camera; the presidente himself was afraid of the instrument, thinking it was a diabolo (devil). there are probably not more than sixty pima families within the state of chihuahua, unless there are more than i think near dolores. some twenty-odd families of these live in caves during the wet season, and a few of them are permanent cave-dwellers. i understand that the pimas in sonora utilise caves in the same way. i made an excursion from the mine of pinos altos (elevation , feet) to rio moris, about ten miles west, where there are some burial caves; but they had already been much disturbed by treasure seekers, and i could secure only a couple of skulls. an interesting feature of the landscape near rio moris is a row of large reddish pinnacles, which rise perpendicularly from the river-bed up along the hillside, and form a truly imposing spectacle. an excited imagination may see in them so many giants suddenly petrified while walking up the mountain. around pinos altos and jesus maria the rock is of blue porphyry, quite hard in places, and speckled with little white patches. it is in this rock that the gold- and silver-bearing quartz occurs. through the courtesy of the bullion-convoy i was enabled to dispatch some of my collections via chihuahua to the museum at new york, among other things eight fine specimens of the giant woodpecker. then, sending my train ahead, i made with a guide a little detour to visit the beautiful waterfall near jesus maria. it is formed by the river basasiachic, which, except during the wet season, is small and insignificant. before the fall the stream for more than a hundred yards runs in a narrow but deep channel, which in the course of ages it has worn into the hard conglomerate rock. the channel itself is full of erosions and hollowed-out places formed by the constant grinding and milling action of the rapidly rushing water, and the many large pebbles it carries. just at the very brink of the rock, a low natural arch has been eroded, and over this the stream leaps almost perpendicularly into the deep straight-walled cañon below. the height of the cascade has been measured by a mining expert at pinos altos, and found to be feet. set in the most picturesque, noble environments, the fall is certainly worth a visit. i arrived at its head just as the last rays of the setting sun were gilding the tops of the mountains all around. the scenery was beautiful beyond description. above and around towered silent, solemn old pine-trees, while: the chasm deep down was suffused with a purple glow. about midway down the water turns into spray and reaches the bottom as silently as an evening shower, but as it recovers itself forms numerous whirlpools and rapids, rushing through the narrow gorge with an incessant roar. when the river is full, during the wet season, the cascade must present a splendid sight. i wanted to see the fall from below. the guide, an elderly man, reminded me that the sun was setting, and warned me that the distance was greater than it seemed. we should stumble and fall, he said, in the dark. but as i insisted on going, he put me on the track, and i started on a rapid run, jumping from stone to stone, zigzagging my way down the mountainside. the entire scenery, the wild, precipitous rocks, the stony, crooked path, the roaring stream below--everything reminded me of mountains in norway, where i had run along many a _säter_ path through the twilight, alone, just as i was running now. as luck would have it, i met an indian boy coming up from the river, where he had been trout fishing, and i asked him to accompany me, which he did. about half-way down we arrived at a little promontory from which the fall could be seen very well. the rock seemed to be here the same as on top, showing no sign of stratification. a few yards from the point we had reached was a spring, and here we made a fire and waited for the moon to rise. to make him more talkative, i gave the boy a cigarette. he spoke only spanish, and he told me that he had neither father nor mother, and when his uncle died he was quite alone in the world; but a mexican family brought him up, and he seemed to have been treated well. at present he was paying two dollars a month for his board, earning the money by selling grass in pinos altos. at nine o'clock we began to ascend through the moonlit landscape. i had left my mule some hundred yards from the fall, and here i also found the guide. at two o'clock in the morning i arrived at my camp. the road continued through rather monotonous country, the altitude varying from , to , feet. grass began to be scarce, and the animals suffered accordingly. it is the custom with mexican muleteers to select from among themselves a few, whose business throughout the journey it is to guard the animals at night. these men, immediately after having had their supper, drive the animals to a place where suitable pasture is found, never very far from the camp, and bring them back in the morning. they constitute what is called la sabana. comparatively few men suffice for this duty, even with a large herd, as long as they have with them a leader of the mules, a mare, preferably a white one. she may be taken along solely for this purpose, as she is often too old for any other work. the mules not infrequently show something like a fanatic attachment for their yegua, and follow blindly where they hear the tinkling of the bell, which is invariably attached to her neck. she leads the pack-train, and where she stops the mules gather around her while waiting for the men to come and relieve them of their burdens. sometimes a horse may serve as a leader, but a mare is surer of gaining the affection of all the mules in the train. this is an important fact for travellers to bear in mind if they use mules at all. in daytime the train will move smoothly, all the mules, of their own accord, following their leader, and at night keeping close to her. in this way she prevents them from scattering and becomes indispensable to the train. but in spite of the vigilance of the sabana and the advantage of a good yegua, it may happen, under favourable topographical and weather conditions, that robbers succeed in driving animals away. while giving the pack-train a much-needed rest of a day in a grassy spot, we woke next morning to find five of our animals missing. as three of the lot were the property of my men, they were most eagerly looked for. the track led up a steep ridge, over very rough country, which the mexicans followed, however, until it suddenly ran up against a mountain wall; and there the mules were found in something like a natural corral. not until then did our guide inform me that there lived at calaveras (skulls), only three miles from where we were stopping, a band of seven robbers and their chief, pedro chaparro, who was at that time well-known throughout this part of the tarahumare country. i had no further experience with him, but later heard much of this man, who was one of a type now rapidly disappearing in mexico. he did not confine his exploits to the mexicans, but victimised also the indians whenever he got an opportunity, and there are many stories in circulation about him. on one occasion he masqueraded as a padre, a black mackintosh serving as his priestly garb. thus attired he went to the unsophisticated tarahumares in the more remote valleys and made them send out messengers to advise the people that he had come to baptise them, and that they were all to gather at a certain place to receive his blessings. for each baptism he charged one goat, and by the time he thought it wise to retire he had quite a respectable herd to drive home. when the indians found out that they had been swindled, they caught him and put him into jail, intending to kill him; but unfortunately some of his mexican confrères heard of his plight and came to his rescue. however, a few years later, this notorious highwayman, who had several murders to answer for, was caught by the government authorities and shot. on the road, as we travelled on, we met many tarahumares carrying on their backs trays (_huacales_) with apples, which they were taking to market. the price per tray was $ , and the apples were delicious. at night it was very cold, the thermometer falling to ° below the freezing point. i was sorry to learn from my men that the prospects of grass further south were small. at the village of bocoyna (elevation , feet) we were miles from san diego by the track we had made. bocoyna is a corruption of the tarahumare ocoina (ocó = pine; ína = drips; meaning dripping pine, or turpentine). here i had to stop for two days, because no less than six of us, including myself, were suffering from the grippe, which a piercing, dry, cold wind did not tend to alleviate. however, as the worst cases did not last more than five days, we soon were all well again, though the mexicans were almost overcome by the effects of the disease. the presidente here was a powerful-looking half-caste and very original. after i had read to him twice my letter from the governor of the state, in which the people were told, among other things, to promote the success of the expedition in every way, especially by selling us what provisions we needed and not to overcharge us, he, by way of obeying the orders of his superior, immediately ordered that not more than $ should be charged for a fanega of corn. he also had at once four nice, fat hens killed and sold them to us at the market price. after we passed bocoyna, the country for ten miles was flat, but fertile. it was gratifying to observe that here the indians had some ranches with considerable land still left to them. we passed several such homesteads lying close together, and as many as four yokes of oxen were ploughing, each attended by a tarahumare, whose entire clothing consisted of a breech-cloth. the indians here are very numerous and they are still struggling to resist the encroachments of the whites upon their land, though the ultimate result is in all cases the same. chapter vii the uncontaminated tarahumares--a tarahumare court in session--the power of the staff--justice has its course--barrancas--excursion to the gentiles--tarahumare costumes simple and inexpensive--trincheras in use among the tarahumares. we were lucky enough to secure a guide who, spoke the tarahumare language very well, and our next stop was at the pueblo of cusarare (a spanish corruption of usarare, usáka = eagle), an indian village situated in a rather rough country full of weathered porphyry rocks. we made camp a few miles outside of the village and sent the guide to prepare the people for our coming. there had recently been considerable talk among the mexicans of the wild people in the deep gorges, called barrancas, and it was with no little anticipation that i approached the country now immediately before us. there were no mexicans living in cusarare, nor in the country ahead of us; in fact, with the exception of the small mining camp in barranca de cobre, there were none within fifty miles to the south, and almost an equal distance from east to west. indian pueblos throughout mexico are almost abandoned for the greater part of the year. i refer, of course, only to those which have not yet become mexican settlements. the first thing the missionaries in the early times had to do was to force the indians to leave their scattered ranches and form a pueblo. to make a place a pueblo they had to build a church. the indians were pressed into service to erect the building, and kept at work, if necessary, by a troop of soldiers who often accompanied the missionaries and in this way assisted them in spreading the gospel. from the missionaries' point of view this was a very practical arrangement; but the purpose of having the indians remain in the villages has not been accomplished to this day. only the native-chosen authorities, who are obliged to reside there during their term of office, form something like a permanent population in the pueblos. the natives come together only on the occasion of feasts, and on sundays, to worship in the way they understand it. someone who knows the short prayer, generally the gobernador, mumbles it, while the congregation cross themselves from time to time. if no one present knows the prayer, the indians stand for a while silently, then cross themselves, and the service is over. after church they meet outside for the second purpose that brings them to the village, namely, the transaction of whatever judicial business may be on hand, generally the adjustment of a theft, a marriage, etc. i arrived in the pueblo on a sunday, and a great many indians had come in. easter was approaching, and every sunday during lent, according to early missionaries' custom, the so-called "pharisees" make their appearance. these are men who play an important part in the easter festival, which always lasts several days. they paint their faces hideously, tog themselves up with feathers on their sombreros, and carry wooden swords painted with red figures. such ceremonies were a clever device of the jesuits and franciscan missionaries to wean the indians from their native feasts by offering them something equally attractive in the new religion they were teaching. the feasts are still observed, while the teachings are forgotten. i found the people assembled before the old adobe church, where they had just finished their service. the gobernador at once attracted my attention as he stood with his large white blanket wrapped around him, indian fashion, up to his chin--a fine, almost noble personality, with a benign expression on his eagle face. the indian never allows anything to interfere with whatever business he may have on hand, be it public or private. presently all rose, and eight men, the authorities of the pueblo, marched in two rows to the court house, followed by the rest of the people. there is always found near the church a commodious building, called la comunidad, originally intended as city hall, court house, and hotel. in this case it was so dilapidated that the judges and officers of the court about to be held took seats outside on the lawn in front of one of the walls. they were preparing to administer justice to a couple of offenders, and as this is the only occasion on which i have seen the details of indian judicial procedure carried out so minutely as to suggest early missionary times, i am happy to record the affair here in full. the gobernador and four of the judges seated themselves, white man's fashion, on a bench erected for the purpose, where they looked more grand than comfortable. two of them held in their right hands canes of red brazil wood, the symbol of their dignity. the idea of the staff of command, sceptre, or wand, is wide spread among the indians of mexico; therefore, when the spaniards conquered the various tribes, they had little difficulty in introducing their batons (_la vara_), as emblems of authority, which to this day are used by the gobernadors and other officials. they are made much in the same way as the ancient staffs, and of the same material, the heavy, red brazil wood. below the head of these canes there is always a hole bored, and through this a leather thong is passed, by which the staff is hung up on the wall when not in use. those of the highest authorities are ornamented with silver caps; the lesser officers have smaller canes, in proportion to the degrees of their dignity, while the lowest officials have only a thin stick, about a foot and a half long, through the hole of which a red ribbon is passed. the small canes are not carried in the hand, but stuck in the girdle on the left side. nobody summoned before the judges by a messenger carrying a staff of red brazil wood dares to disobey the command. the most desperate criminal meekly goes to his doom, following often a mere boy, if the latter has only a toy vara stuck in his belt with the red ribbons hanging down. it is the vara the indians respect, not the man who carries it. no supreme court in any civilised community is so highly respected and so implicitly obeyed as were the simple, grave men sitting in front of the crumbling adobe wall and holding on to their canes with a solemnity that would have been ridiculous, if it had not been sublime. four "soldiers" formed a line on each side. there was nothing to distinguish them from ordinary civilians, except their "lances," or bamboo sticks to which bayonet points had been fastened. these lances they planted in the ground and seated themselves. presently the two culprits, a man and a woman, came forward, with never a suggestion in their placid faces that they were the chief actors in the drama about to be enacted. they seated themselves in front of the judges, while the witnesses took their places behind them. the mother of the woman sat close by her guilty daughter, but there was no other exhibition of sentiment. the judges did most of the talking, addressing questions to the defendants, who made a few short answers; the rest of the assemblage observed a decorous silence. there were neither clerks nor lawyers. i was, of course, not able to follow the testimony, but it was very short, and it was explained to me that the woman had run away with a married man. they had provided themselves with plenty of corn from the man's former home, and furthermore had stolen some beans, and lived very happy in a cave for a year. the man could not be captured, even though on several occasions he visited his family. but they frequently made native beer, and got drunk, and while in this condition they were caught and brought before this tribunal. while the trial was going on, one of the "soldiers" got up and went some twenty yards off, dug a hole in the ground and planted a thick pole or post in it. no sooner had he completed his task, when the accused man rose with a queer smile on his face, half chagrined, half sarcastic.. dropping his blanket, he walked deliberately up to the pole, flanked by two soldiers, each of whom took hold of his hands, and by putting them crosswise on the further side of the pole, made the culprit hug the pole very tightly. now another man, wrapped closely in his blanket, stepped briskly up, drew as quick as a flash a leather whip from under his garment, and dealt four lashes over the shoulders of the prisoner, who was then released, and stolidly walked back to his seat, as if nothing had happened. now came the woman's turn to be punished for her part in the thefts. they took off her blanket, but left on a little white undergarment. she was marched to the pole and held in the same manner as the man; but another man acted as executioner. she, too, received four lashes, and wept a little when they struck her; but neither she nor her fellow-sufferer made any attempt at, or sign of, revolt against the sentence of the court. while the chastising went on, the audience rose and stood reverently. after returning to her seat, the woman knelt down, and both delinquents shook hands with the chief judge. there still remained the second part of the accusation to be dealt with, the one relating to the marital complications. the man asked permission to leave his first wife, as he wanted to marry the woman with whom he ran away. but no divorce was granted to him. he was ordered to return to his legitimate spouse, who was present at the proceedings with her child in her arms. evidently disappointed, he slowly stepped over to where she was standing and greeting him with a happy smile. but the woman with whom he had been living had now to be provided with another husband. who would take her? the judge addressed the question to a young man, a mere boy, standing near by, and he replied that he would marry her, if she were willing. she said yes, so he sat down beside her. their hands were placed together, the gobernador said a few admonishing words to them, and they rose, man and wife, duly married. how was this for rapid transit to matrimonial bliss? the next day the guide took us up along some higher ridges, and after ten or twelve miles of slow ascent, we arrived at the summit of barranca de cobre, where we made a comfortable camp about half a mile back of the point at which the track descends into the cañon. here we had an inspiring view; deep gorges and ravines, the result of prolonged weathering and erosion, gashing the country and forming high ridges, especially toward the south and west. in other words, here we observed for the first time barrancas, which from now on form an exceedingly characteristic feature of the topography of the sierra madre. these precipitous abysses, which traverse the mighty mass of the sierra like huge cracks, run, as far as sierra madre del norte is concerned, mainly from east to west. in the country of the tarahumare, that is to say, the state of chihuahua, there are three very large barrancas. they are designated as barranca de cobre, barranca de batopilas, and barranca de san carlos. the sierra madre del norte runs at an altitude of from , to , feet, at some points reaching even as high as , feet. it rises so gradually in the east, for instance, when entered from the direction of the city of chihuahua, that one is surprised to be suddenly almost on top of it. the western side, however, falls off more or less abruptly, and presents the appearance of a towering, ragged wall. in accordance with this general trait of the mountain system, the beginnings of the barrancas in the east are generally slight, but they quickly grow deeper, and before they disappear in the lowlands of sinaloa they sometimes reach a depth of from , to , feet. of course, they do not continue equally narrow throughout their entire length, but open up gradually and become wider and less steep. besides these large barrancas, which impede the traveller in the highlands and necessitate a course toward the east, there are innumerable smaller ones, especially in the western part of the range, where large portions of the country are broken up into a mass of stupendous, rock-walled ridges and all but bottomless chasms. a river generally flows in the barrancas between narrow banks, which occasionally disappear alltogether, leaving the water to rush between abruptly ascending mountain sides. as far as the first of the large barrancas was concerned, near the top of which we were standing, we could for some little distance follow its windings toward the west, and its several tributaries could be made out in the landscape by the contours of the ridges. barranca de cobre is known in its course by different names. near the mine of urique (the tarahumare word for barranca), it is called barranca de urique, and here its yawning chasm is over , feet deep. even the intrepid jesuit missionaries at first gave up the idea of descending into it, and the indians told them that only the birds knew how deep it was. the traveller as he stands at the edge of such gaps wonders whether it is possible to get across them. they can in a few places be crossed, even with animals if these are lightly loaded, but it is a task hard upon flesh and blood. it was in these barrancas, that i was to find the gentile (pagan) indians i was so anxious to meet. from where i stood looking at it the country seemed forgotten, lonely, untouched by human hand. shrubs and trees were clinging to the rocky brows of the barrancas, and vegetation, could be seen wherever there was sufficient earth on the mountain and the sides of the ravines; but, on the whole, the country looked rather barren and lifeless. still, it did not take us long to find traces of human beings. our tents were pitched on an old trinchera. cut deep into a rough ledge not far off was the rough carving of a serpent, sixty feet long, that must have been left here by a race antecedent to the tarahumares. and a little further off we came upon the ruins of a modern tarahumare house. it seems as if the indians must extract a living out of the rocks and stones; though when we got down into the barranca and into the ravines we came upon patches of land that could be cultivated; and there were some small areas of pasture, although extremely precipitous. the first thing to do was to despatch the guide into the valleys and gorges below, which from our camping place could not be seen, only surmised, that he might persuade some tarahumares to act as carriers on an excursion i contemplated making through the region. in a couple of days a party was made up, consisting, besides myself, of mr. taylor, the guide, two mexicans, and five tarahumares with their gobernador. bundles weighing from forty to seventy-five pounds were placed on the backs of the indians and the mexicans; even the guide took a small pack, though it would have been beneath the dignity of the gobernador to take a load upon himself. but his company was valuable on account of his great influence with his people. it was an exceedingly interesting excursion of several days' duration. owing to the presence of the gobernador the indians received us well. nobody ran away, though all were extremely shy and bashful, and the women turned their backs towards us. but after a while they would offer us beans from a pot cooking over the fire. they served them in earthenware bowls with a couple of tortillas (corn cakes). in another vessel, which they passed around among us, they offered the flavouring, coarse salt and some small chile (spanish peppers), which vegetable is cultivated and much relished by the tarahumares. but the most interesting dish was iskiate, which i now tasted for the first time. it is made from toasted corn, which is mixed with water while being ground on the metate until it assumes the consistency of a thick soup. owing to certain fresh herbs that are often added to the corn, it may be of a greenish color, but it is always cool and tempting. after having tramped for several days over many miles of exceedingly rough country, i arrived late one afternoon at a cave where a woman was just making this drink. i was very tired and at a loss how to climb the mountain-side to my camp, some , feet above; but after having satisfied my hunger and thirst with some iskiate, offered by the hospitable indians, i at once felt new strength, and, to my own astonishment, climbed the great height without much effort. after this i always found iskiate a friend in need, so strengthening and refreshing that i may almost claim it as a discovery, interesting to mountain climbers and others exposed to great physical exertions. the preparation does not, however, agree with a sedentary life, as it is rather indigestible. the dress of the tarahumare is always very scanty, even where he comes in contact with the whites. one may see the indians in the mining camps, and even in the streets of the city of chihuahua, walking about naked, except for a breech-cloth of coarse, home-spun woollen material, held up around the waist with a girdle woven in characteristic designs. some may supplement this national costume with a tunic, or short poncho; and it is only right to add that most of the men are provided with well-made blankets, which their women weave for them, and in which they wrap themselves when they go to feasts and dances. the hair, when not worn loose, is held together with a home-woven ribbon, or a piece of cotton cloth rolled into a band; or with a strip of palm leaf. often men and women gather the hair in the back of the head, and men may also make a braid of it. the women's toilet is just as simple. a scrimpy woollen skirt is tied around the waist with a girdle, and over the shoulders is worn a short tunic, with which, however, many dispense when at home in the barranca. the women, too, have blankets, though with them they are not so much the rule as with the men. still, mothers with babies always wear blankets, to support the little ones in an upright position on their backs, the blanket being tightly wrapped around mother and child. the women nowadays generally wear sandals of the usual mexican cowhide pattern, like the men; but there is ample evidence to prove that such was not the case in former times. the people are, for indians, not especially fond of ornaments, and it is a peculiar fact that mirrors have no special attraction for them. they do not like to look at themselves. the women often wear ear-ornaments made of triangular pieces of shell attached to bead strings, or deck themselves with strings of glass beads, of which the large red and blue ones are favourites; and necklaces made from the seed of the _coix lachryma-jobi_ are used by both sexes, chiefly for medicinal purposes. the men wear only single strings of these seeds, while the necklaces of the women are wound several times around the neck. the shaman, or medicine-man--a priest and doctor combined--is never without such a necklace when officiating at a feast. the seed is believed to possess many medicinal qualities, and for this reason children, too, often wear it. peasant women in italy and spain use the same seed as a protection against evil, and even american women have been known to put strings of them on teething children as a soothing remedy. an important fact i established is that the indians in the barrancas, in this part of the country, use something like trincheras for the cultivation of their little crops. to obtain arable land on the mountain slopes the stones are cleared from a convenient spot and utilised in the construction of a wall below the field thus made. the soil is apt to be washed away by heavy rains, and the wall not only prevents what little earth there is on the place from being carried off, but also catches what may come from above, and in this way secures sufficient ground to yield a small crop. fields thus made can even be ploughed. on the slopes of one arroyo i counted six such terraces, and in the mountainous country on the rio fuerte, toward the state of sinaloa, chile, beans, squashes, _coix lachryma-jobi_, and bananas are raised on trincheras placed across the arroyos that run down the hills. there they have the form of small terraces, and remind one of similar ones found farther north as ancient ruins, to such an extent that one might suppose that the tarahumares have made use of the relics of antiquity. mr. hartman in one long arroyo thereabouts observed four at some distance from one another. they were from four to ten feet high, and as broad as the little arroyo itself, some eight to sixteen feet. chapter viii the houses of the tarahumares--american cave-dwellings of to-day--frequent changes of abode by the tarahumare--the patio or dancing place--the original cross of america--tarahumare storehouses. the houses we saw on this excursion were of remarkable uniformity, and as the people have had very little, if any, contact with the whites, it is reasonable to infer that these structures are original with them. on a sloping mesa six families were living in such buildings not far from one another. these houses have a frame of four forked poles, planted firmly into the ground, to form a square or rectangle. two joists are laid over them parallel to each other. under one of them, in the front of the house, is the doorway. the joists support the fiat roof of loose pine boards, laid sometimes in a double layer. the rear joist is often a foot or so lower than the front one, which causes the roof to slant towards the back. the boards may simply be logs split in two and with the bark taken off. the walls are made by leaning boards, ends up, against the roof, while the door consists of a number of boards, which are removed or replaced according to convenience. in most instances the doorway is protected from the outside against wind and weather by a lean-to. access to the house is gained sideways, even where a small vestibule is built, extra poles being driven in the ground to support the porch-roof boards. while this style of architecture may be said to be typical throughout the tarahumare country, there are many variations. generally attempts are made to construct a more solid wall, boards or poles being laid lengthwise, one on top of the other, and kept in place by sliding the ends between double uprights at the corners. or they may be placed ends up along the side of the house; or regular stone walls may be built, with or without mud for mortar. even in one and the same house all these kinds of walls may be observed. a type of house seen throughout the tarahumare country, as well as among the pagan tarahumares in the barranca de cobre, is shown in the illustration. it is also quite common to see a frame work of only two upright poles connected with a horizontal beam, against which boards are leaning from both sides, making the house look like a gable roof set on the ground. there are, however, always one or more logs laid horizontally and overhung by the low eaves of the roof, while the front and rear are carelessly filled in with boards or logs, either horizontally or standing on ends. in the hot country this style of house may be seen thatched with palm-leaves, or with grass. the dwelling may also consist only of a roof resting on four uprights (_jacal_); or it may be a mere shed. there are also regular log-cabins encountered with locked corners, especially among the southern tarahumares. finally, when a tarahumare becomes civilised, he builds himself a house of stone and mud, with a roof of boards, or thatch, or earth. it is hardly possible to find within the tarahumare country two houses exactly alike, although the main idea is always easily recognised. the dwellings, though very airy, afford sufficient protection to people who are by no means sensitive to drafts and climatic changes. the tarahumares do not expect their houses to be dry during the wet season, but are content when there is some dry spot inside. if the cold troubles them too much, they move into a cave. many of the people do not build houses at all, but are permanent or transient cave-dwellers. this fact i thoroughly investigated in subsequent researches, extending over a year and a half, and covering the entire width and breadth of the tarahumare country. in this land of weather-worn porphyry and inter-stratified sandstone, natural caves are met with everywhere, in which the people find a convenient and safe shelter. although it may be said that houses are their main habitations, still the tarahumares live in caves to such an extent that they may be fitly called the american cave-dwellers of the present age. caves were man's first abode, and they are found in certain geological formations in all parts of the globe. human imagination always peopled the deep, dark caverns with terrible monsters guarding treasures, and legends and fairy tales still cling about many of them. shallow caves, however, have from the earliest time attracted man to seek shelter in them, just as the animals took refuge in them against the inclemency of the weather. prehistoric man in europe was a cave-dweller, and modern investigations have given us a clear and vivid picture of the life of the ancient race, who existed in france while the mammoth and the reindeer were roaming over the plains of western europe. as civilisation advanced, under changing climatic conditions, and as man began to improve his tools and implements, he deserted the caves and preferred to live in houses of his own building. but a long time after the caves had been abandoned as abodes of the living, they were still used for interring the dead. do we not remember the story told in genesis, how abraham bought for shekels a cave from ephron that he might bury sarah there and have a family tomb? the cave-dwellers of france vanished many thousand years ago; but there are yet in several parts of the globe, for instance, in tunis and in central africa, races who still adhere to the custom of living in caves, although their condition of life is different from that of the antediluvian cave-dwellers. in mexico the cave-dwellers are in a transitory state, most of them having adopted houses and sheds; but many of them are still unable to perceive why they should give up their safe and comfortable natural shelters for rickety abodes of their own making. padre juan fonte, the pioneer missionary to the tarahumares, who penetrated into their country eighteen leagues from san pablo, toward guachochic, speaks of the numerous caves in that country and relates that many of them were divided into small houses. other records, too, allude to the existence of cave-dwellers in that part of the sierra madre. still, the fact of there being cave-dwellers to-day in mexico was until recently known only to the mexicans living in their neighbourhood, who regard this condition of things as a matter of course. while most of the tarahumares live permanently on the highlands, a great many of them move for the winter down into the barranca, on account of its warmer temperature, and, if they have no house, they live wherever they find a convenient shelter, preferably a cave; but for want of better accommodations they content themselves with a rock shelter, or even a spreading tree, this would suit them well enough were it not that, at least in recent years, there has not been rain enough in the barrancas to enable the people to raise there the corn they need. they therefore go back to the highlands in march, because in the higher altitudes rainfall can be depended upon with more certainty. the general custom among the indians living near to a barranca is to plant two crops of corn; one in early march on the crest, and the other one in june, at the beginning of the rainy season, down in the barranca, and after having harvested at both places they retire to their winter quarters to enjoy themselves. sometimes the cave of a family is not more than half a mile from their house, and they live alternately in one or the other abode, because the tarahumares still retain their nomadic instincts, and even those living permanently on the highlands change their domicile very frequently. one reason is that they follow their cattle; another that they improve the land by living on it for a while; but there are still other reasons for moving so much about, which are known only to themselves. in summer many people leave their caves on account of the scorpions, tarantulas, and other pests that infest them. in front of the entrance to the cave there is generally a wall of stone, or of stone and mud, raised to the height of a man's chest, as a protection against wind and weather, wild beasts, etc. the cave is fitted up just like the houses, with grinding stone, earthen jars and bowls, baskets, gourds, etc, the fire is always in the middle, without hearth or chimney, and the jars in which the food is cooked rest on three stones. a portion of the ground is levelled and made smooth for the family to sleep on. as often as not there are skins spread out on the floor. sometimes the floor space is extended by an artificial terrace in front of the cave. in a few cases the floor is plastered with adobe, and i have seen one cave in which the sides, too, were dressed in the same way. generally there are one or two store-houses in the caves, and these constitute the chief improvement. of course, there are a good many caves where there are no storehouses; still they are the striking feature of the cave. a few times i found walls of stone and mud erected inside of the cave, breast high, to partition off one or two rooms for the use of the family, as well as for the goats and sheep. often, inclosures are built of wooden fences for the domesticated animals and occupy the greater part of the cave. the largest inhabited cave i have seen was nearly a hundred feet in width and from twenty to forty feet in depth. if caves are at all deep, the indians live near the mouth. they never excavate caves, nor do they live in dug-outs. i heard of one arroyo, where six inhabited caves, only thirty or fifty yards apart, can be seen at one time; but this is a rare case. generally they are farther apart, maybe a hundred yards to a mile, or more; and that suits the tarahumares very well, each family preferring to live by itself. in one place i saw a cave, or rather a shelter under a big boulder, utilised as a dwelling; and here a kind of parapet had been built of stone gravel, terrace fashion, to enlarge the area of the cave floor. inhabited caves are never found in inaccessible places, as is the case with cliff-dwellings in the southwestern part of the united states. where caves are difficult of access, the indians may place a wooden ladder, or rather, a notched tree trunk, which is the national style of staircase. once i saw steps cut into the soft "rock" (solidified volcanic ash), leading up to a dwelling. there was also a kind of settee cut out of the cave-wall. many of the caves are remarkably symmetrical in shape, and naturally quite comfortable. caves may be found in the arroyos in the highlands, as well as in the barrancas. if i were to designate a region where they are more plentiful than elsewhere, i should mention the country from carichic towards urique, and also to the north and west of norogachic. many caves have within the memory of man been permanently abandoned, owing to the occupancy of the land by the mexicans, as the indians dislike to be near the whites. the tarahumares are not the only tribe still clinging to caves. as we have seen, the pimas, too, are, to a limited extent, cave-dwellers, and the same is the case with the northern tepehuanes, as well as with the allied huarogios in their small area. are these cave-dwellers related to the ancient cliff-dwellers in the southwestern part of the united states and northern mexico? decidedly not. their very aversion to living more than one family in a cave and their lack of sociability mark a strong contrast with the ancient cliff-dwellers, who were by nature gregarious. the fact that the people live in caves is in itself extremely interesting, but this alone does not prove any connection between them and the ancient cliff-dwellers. although the tarahumare is very intelligent, he is backward in the arts and industries. it is true that the women weave admirable designs in girdles and blankets, but this seems to be the utmost limit of their capabilities. in the caves they sometimes draw with ochre clumsy figures of animals and women, and on some rocks may be seen outlines of feet scratched with stone "in order to leave their imprint in this world when they die." tarahumare pottery is exceedingly crude as compared with the work found in the old cliff-dwellings, and its decoration is infantile as contrasted with the cliff-dwellers' work. the cliff-dwellers brought the art of decoration to a comparatively high state, as shown in the relics found in their dwellings. but the cave-dweller of to-day shows no suggestion of such skill. moreover, he is utterly devoid of the architectural gift which resulted in the remarkable rock structures of the early cliff-dwellers. these people as far as concerns their cave-dwelling habits cannot be ranked above troglodytes. the tarahumare never lives all his life in one house or cave; nor will he, on the other hand, leave it forever. he rarely stays away from it for more than two or three years. a family, after inhabiting a house for a time may suddenly decide to move it, even if it is built of stone. the reason is not always easy to tell. one man moved his house because he found that the sun did not strike it enough. after a death has occurred in a dwelling, even though it was that of a distant relative incidentally staying with the family, the house is destroyed, or the cave permanently abandoned; and many other superstitious apprehensions of one kind or another may thus influence the people. very often a man moves for the sake of benefiting the land, and after tearing down his house he immediately plants corn on the spot on which the house stood. a family may thus change its abode several times a year, or once a year, or every other year. the richest man in the tarahumare country, now dead, had five caves, and moved as often as ten times in one year. a never absent feature of the tarahumare habitation, be it house or cave, is a level, smooth place in front of it. this is the dancing place, or patio, on which he performs his religious exercises, and he may have more than one. the formation of the land may even oblige him to build terraces to obtain space enough for his religious dances. on this patio, which measures generally about ten yards in every direction, one, two, or three crosses are planted, as the central object of all ceremonies (except those in the cult of the sacred cactus híkuli [ ]). the cross is generally about a foot high; sometimes it stands two feet above ground. it is made of two sticks of unequal length, preferably sticks of pine wood, tied together in the form of the latin cross. i saw two crosses raised outside of a man's house, which were formed by the natural growth of small pine trees, and these were four feet high. the shamans, for their curing, use small crosses--three or four inches long. it is a well-known fact that on their arrival in america the spaniards to their amazement found indians in possession of the cross. omitting here the cross of palenque, the symbol of a tree, the tree of life, it is safe to say that the original cross of most mexican tribes is the greek cross, though the latin was also used. to them the former is of fundamental religious moment, as indicating the four corners of the world; but a word for cross, or anything corresponding to it, does not occur in the language of any of the tribes known to me. nevertheless the cross (the greek), to the indian the symbol of a cosmic idea, is pecked on the rocks, or drawn on the sand, or made in corresponding strokes with medicine over the patient's body. with the tarahumare the cross is the pivot around which all his ceremonies and festivals move. he always dances to the cross, and on certain occasions he attaches strings of beads, ears of corn, and other offerings to it. it is used by the heathen as well as by the christian tarahumares. the question is whether this tribe has changed its form since its contact with the whites or whether the cross was originally like the one in use to-day. from many of the tarahumares' utterances i incline to think that their cross represents a human figure with arms outstretched, and is an embodiment of father sun, the perfect man. when two crosses are placed on the patio, the smaller stands for the moon. this conception also explains the custom of setting up three crosses at the principal dance, the rutubúri, the third cross representing probably the morning star. among christianised natives the three crosses may come gradually to mean the trinity. on one occasion i saw a cross at least ten feet high with a cross beam only one foot long, raised next to two crosses of ordinary size, all standing on the patio of a well-to-do indian, and the inference was easily drawn that the high cross was meant for father sun. the northern tepehuanes say that the cross _is_ tata dios, the christianised indian's usual designation of god. the impression that the cross represents a human figure gains further probability by the fact that a cross is erected on the special patio of the dead, and i have noticed that this cross is moved in the course of the ceremonies to the principal dancing place "to see the dancing and drink tesvino," as the indians explained it. surely, this cross represented the dead. on this page are seen the front and rear view of a cross which is of great interest, although its shape is evidently an exaggerated imitation of a catholic cross or crucifix. i came upon it in the mountainous country east of morelos, and the tarahumares near the ranch of colorados presented it to me. it had apparently not been made long ago, and was painted with red ochre. the arms have been tied on in the usual fashion with a twine of fibre, the mode of fastening it appearing most distinctly on the back of the cross. seen from the front the designs on the head, or the uppermost part, represent the morning star, the dots being his companions, the other stars. but it is significant that this constellation is also called the "eyes" of the cross. the dots on the other side of the cross are also meant for stars, in order that, as the indian explained to me, tata dios may see the stars where they are dancing; he lives in the stars--a belief evidently arising from catholic influence. the human figures painted on the cross are intended to emphasise its meaning. the most important of these human-like contours are those directly below the junction of the arms with the vertical stem. they are evidently repetitions of the main cross, the arms being expressed in the crude carvings. what the various pairs of curved sidelines mean, i am unable to say. what is of more importance to the tarahumare than his dwelling is his store-house, which he always builds before his domicile. in fact, his personal comfort is made secondary even to that of his domestic animals. as a survival of the time when he had no house at all may be noted the fact that husband and wife, after having been away on a journey for several days or longer, do not on the first night after their return sleep in the house or cave, but at some convenient place near the store-house. these store-houses are always well put together, though many of them are not large enough to accommodate a medium-sized dog, the tarahumares preferring number to size. in them he stores what little property he has beyond that in actual use, chiefly corn and beans, some spare clothing and cotton cloth, hikuli, herbs, etc. the door of the house is made from one or more short boards of pine wood, and is either provided with an ingeniously constructed wooden lock, or the boards are simply plastered up with mud along the four edges. the tarahumare rarely locks his house on leaving it, but he is ever careful to fasten the door of his storehouse securely, and to break open a store-house sealed up in the manner described is considered the most heinous crime known to the tribe. mexicans have committed it and have had to pay for it with their lives. the most common kind of store-house is from four to six feet high, round, and built of stones and mud, with a roof of pine boards, weighed down with earth and stones. other store-houses of similar size are square and built of boards with corners interlocked. they, too, are covered with boards. these diminutive buildings are often seen inside of caves; or else they are erected in places difficult of access, on tops of boulders, for instance. sometimes they are seen in lonely places, more often, however, near the dwellings; and the little round structures make a curious effect when erected on boulders in the vicinity of some hut, looking, as they do, like so many diminutive factory chimneys. they proclaim more clearly than anything else the fact that when the people reach that stage in their development in which they begin to till the soil, they soon become careful of the little property they have, in marked distinction to the savage and nomadic tribes, who are always lavish and improvident. i have seen as many as ten store-houses of the kind described, and once even fourteen near one dwelling, but generally one or two only are found near by. small caves, especially when difficult to reach and hidden from view, may be utilised as store-houses, and are then sealed up in the same way as the other varieties are. sometimes regular log-houses are used. chapter ix arrival at batopilas--ascent from batopilas to the highlands of the sierra--a tarahumare who had been in chicago--an old-timer--flight of our native guide and its disastrous consequences--indians burn the grass all over the country--travelling becomes too difficult for the animals--mr. taylor and i go to zapuri--its surroundings--the pithaya in season. we continued our way toward the south, crossing barranca de cobre where it is , feet deep. the track we followed was fairly good, but led along several dangerous precipices, over which two burros rolled and were killed. the highest point we reached on the track over the highlands south of the barranca was , feet. there seemed to be a divide here, the climate being cool and moist, and the farthest ranges toward the south and west enveloped in mist and fog. although barranca de batopilas is not as narrow and impressive as the barranca we had just left, still the mighty gap, as we looked into its hazy bottom from the highlands, presented an imposing, awe-inspiring sight. following the windings of the well-laid-out road we descended into the cañon and made camp a few miles this side of the town of batopilas. the silver mines here, which are old and famous, were discovered in the seventeenth century. i was cordially received by mr. a. r. shepherd, the well-known mining expert, whose courtesy and kindness were much appreciated by the members of the expedition. my recent experience had convinced me that the only way to study the natives properly was to live among them for a length of time, and as such a thing was out of the question with so large a party as i still had with me, i made up my mind to discharge as soon as possible everybody and to remain alone. the country was now suffering from a relentlessly scorching sun. the heat increased as the wet season approached, and, as the animals were getting weaker and weaker, i disposed here of about half of them, and the number of attendants and the amount of baggage were correspondingly reduced. on continuing the journey with the weak and hungry mules, we found the ascent of the southern side of barranca de batopilas quite laborious; but on the crest we enjoyed the fresh breeze, the more gratefully after the enervating heat in the bottom of the cañon. thus we arrived at the village of yoquibo (yokí = bluebird; ivo = mesa: bluebird on the mesa). here i had to stop for a few days to reconnoitre the road. i was told that the grass had been burned by the indians almost as far as the ranches of guachochic, our main objective point. the indians at that time (may) always burn the grass, and the entire country is wrapped in smoke. this, they think, is necessary to produce rain; smoke-clouds and rain-clouds, in their opinion, bringing about the same ultimate result. but it is exceedingly trying for travellers, man and beast. only by accident is some little spot of grass spared here and there, and progress becomes almost an impossibility. immediately upon our arrival i went to see the gobernador, and, strange to say, i found him engaged in teaching his young wife how to weave. three months ago his first wife had died of smallpox. old bachelors and widowers have a hard time in getting wives, because the tarahumare belles have a decided preference for young men. but the wifeless indian feels very unhappy, as it means that he has to do all the woman's housework, which is very laborious, and therefore thoroughly distasteful to him. by way of fascinating this young girl, the gobernador had to exert himself to the extent of teaching her how to make girdles and wearing apparel. the next day this gentleman returned my call, carrying his bow and arrows. i had already learned in batopilas that the party of indians who, about two years ago, had been exhibited by a now deceased traveller as representative cave-dwellers, had been gathered mainly in the neighbourhood of yoquibo. my visitor had been one of the troupe, and i was eager to find out what impression the civilised world had made on this child of nature, who had never known anything but his woods and his mountains. therefore, almost my first question was, "how did you like chicago?" "it looks very much like here," was the unexpected reply. what most impressed him, it seemed, was neither the size of the city nor its sky-scrapers, though he remembered these, but the big water near which those people dwelt. he had liked riding in the railroad cars, but complained that he had not had enough to eat on the journey. his experience on the trip had familiarised him with the white man and his queer, incomprehensible ways, and made him something of a philosopher. i wanted him to accompany me on my visits to the few houses here, as the people were very shy and timid. although he was very much engaged, as i could see, having to look after his animals as well as his wife, he obligingly went with me to two houses. we saw a woman with twins; one of them a miserable-looking specimen, suffering from lack of food. there were also some cave-dwellings near yoquibo, one or two of which were occupied. in the afternoon, when i went out alone, the people all disappeared the moment they saw me approaching, except one group of strangers who had come to beg and did not pay any attention to me. they were too busily engaged in making ready for the pot a certain kind of larvae, by extracting them from the cocoon, a small white sac of silky texture found on the strawberry tree. the guide told me that indians like these, who beg for food, always return, to those who give them alms, the amount of the gift, as soon as their circumstances allow. here in yoquibo i met one of those mexican adventurers who under one pretext or another manage to get into the indian villages and cannot be routed out again. certain of them ply some little trade, generally that of a blacksmith, others act as "secretaries," writing what few communications the indians may have to send to the government authorities; some conduct a little barter trade, exchanging cheap cotton cloth, beads, etc., for sheep and cattle; but most of them supply the indians with mexican brandy, mescal. the one in yoquibo had established himself in the only room left intact in the old dilapidated vicarage, and eked out a living by selling mescal to the indians. this fellow's appearance, especially his unsteady, lurking eyes, suggested the bandit. no doubt, like most of his class, he was in hiding from the government authorities. he was something of a hypochondriac, and among other ailments he thought he had an animal in his stomach, which he got in there by way of a knife-stab he had received some time ago. when he came to me to get some remedy, he carried a rather fine rifle, and in spite of all his suffering, real or imaginary, the bandit nature asserted itself, when i made some complimentary remark regarding his weapon. his half-closed eyes slurred in a crafty, guileful manner from side to side as he drawled: "_despues de dios, mi rifle!"_ ("next to god, my rifle!") after considerable looking about, i at last found an indian willing to act as guide for the next stage of our journey. he was an elderly man, and at dusk he was quietly sitting near the camp fire, eating his supper, when the tall figure of mr. hartman appeared on the scene, wrapped in a military overcoat. he probably looked to the indian very martial and threatening as he approached through the twilight. at any rate, his appearance had a most unexpected effect on our guide. i suddenly heard a noise behind me, and on looking around, i saw him running as fast as his legs would carry him, leaving his supper, dropping his blanket, splashing through the creek and disappearing in the night, never to be seen again by us. he imagined that a soldier was coming to seize and kill him; that the meat-pot in which he was to be cooked was already on the fire, while the skulls of other unfortunates that had been eaten were lying in a heap near one of the tents. he alluded apparently to four skulls which i had taken out of an ancient burial cave. in explanation i will say that some time ago he had been arrested for some crime and had broken away from jail; soldiers, or rather, the police, were after him, and he mistook mr. hartman for one of his pursuers and ran for safety. the incident proved somewhat unfortunate for us. in consequence of the wild stories he told about us, the indians, of a suspicious nature anyway, sent messengers all over the sierra, warning the people against the man-eaters that were coming. our strange proceedings in cusarare, namely, the photographing, had already been reported and made the indians uneasy. the terrible experience of our runaway guide seemed to confirm their wildest apprehensions, and the alarm spread like wildfire, growing in terror, like an avalanche, the farther it went. we found the ranches deserted on every hand, women and children hiding and screaming whenever they caught a glimpse of us. at every turn our progress was impeded. wherever i came i was abhorred as the man who subsisted on babies and green corn, and the prospect of my ever gaining the confidence of the indians was exceedingly discouraging for the next four or five months. though it was impossible to secure a new guide, i still made a start next day, following a fairly good track which leads south toward guachochic. yet further obstacles presented themselves. the animals began to give out. it was the season of the year when they change their coats, and are in poor condition even under the best circumstances, and mine were exhausted from lack of food. they would not eat the dry grass, and the green pasture was still too scanty to suffice for their maintenance. the information that the natives had burned all the grass proved correct to its fullest extent, so there was nothing for me to do but to establish a camp, scarcely a day's journey off, at tasajisa, where there was some pasture along the ridges that had as yet escaped the fire of the indians. leaving the larger part of my outfit and about half of my mules in charge of my chief packer, mr. taylor and i continued the journey with the best and strongest of the animals, making a circuitous tour to the little mining town of zapuri, in the neighbourhood of which were some caves i wanted to investigate. after a day's journey we turned westward and got beyond the range of the fires. turkeys were seen close to our camp and appeared plentiful; i also saw a giant woodpecker, but just as i got ready to shoot, it flew away with a great whirr of its wings. we soon began to descend, and after a long and fatiguing day's travel over cordons and sierras, and through a wide barranca surrounded by magnificent towering mountains, we arrived, late in the afternoon, at zapuri. the superintendent of the mine, to whom i brought a letter of introduction from the owner of the property, received us with cordial hospitality. here the climate was splendid; the nights were just pleasantly cool, the mornings deliciously calm; they were all the more enjoyed after the windy weather of the sierra. immediately upon my arrival here i had a chance, through the courtesy of the superintendent, to secure a mexican and some strong mules, which took mr. taylor over to parral on his way back to the united states. mr. hartman remained with the expedition two months longer, to join me again the following year for a few months. i also got a guide for myself and made an excursion to the caves in the neighbouring barrancas. after we had gone some ten miles over very bad roads, we came to the home of an old tarahumare woman, who was reputed to be very rich. knowing mexican exaggeration in this regard, i computed that the twelve bushels of pesos she was supposed to have hidden might amount, perhaps, to $ or $ mexican money. whatever her wealth was, she showed it only in a lavish display of glass beads around her scrawny neck; they must have weighed at least six or eight pounds. but then, her homestead was composed mainly of four or five substantial circular store-houses. the wealth of the tarahumare consists in his cattle. he is well off when he has three or four head of cattle and a dozen sheep and goats. there is one instance where a man had as many as forty head of cattle, but this was a rare exception. they rarely keep horses, and never pigs, which destroy their cornfields; and are believed, besides, to be spaniards (_gachupines_). pork, though sometimes eaten, is never sacrificed. no tame turkeys are kept, but occasionally the people have some hens, and in rare cases a family may keep a turtle dove or a tame quail. when a man has oxen, he is able to plough a large piece of land and raise enough corn to sell some. but corn is seldom converted into money. here we packed the most necessary things on our best mule, and with the guide and two indians, who carried bundles, we descended to the river. the road was fairly good, but as we approached the river we came to several bad places. in one of these the mule's aparejo struck a rock, which caused the animal to lose its foothold. unresistingly it slid down the steep slope for about seven yards and came against a tree, forefeet on one side, hindfeet on the other. the boy who led it, eager to do something, managed to get the halter off, so that there was nothing by which to hold the animal except its ears. i held fast to one of these, steadying myself on the loose soil by grabbing a root sticking out of the ground. the intelligent animal lay perfectly still over the trunk. finally i managed to get out my bowie-knife and cut the ropes off the pack, which rolled down the hill, while the mule, relieved of its bulky burden, scrambled to its feet and climbed up. it was born and bred in the barranca, otherwise it would never have been able to accomplish this feat. toward evening we arrived at the section of a barranca called ohuivo (oví = return, or "the place to which they returned") on the rio fuerte. the indians here, although many of them have been affected by the nearness of the mines, are reticent and distrustful, and our guide evidently had not much influence with them. they refused to be photographed, and even the gobernador ran away from the terrible ordeal. during the several days i remained in this valley the heat never varied from °, day and night, which was rather trying and made doing anything an exertion. the country looked scorched, except for the evergreen cacti, the most prominent of which was the towering pithaya. its dark-green branches stand immovable to wind and storm. it has the best wild fruit growing in the north-western part of mexico, and as this was just the season when it ripens, the indians from all around had come to gather it. it is as large as an egg and its flesh soft, sweet, and nourishing. as the plant grows to a height of twenty to thirty-five feet, the indians get the fruit down with a long reed, one end of which has four prongs, and gather it in little crates of split bamboo, which they carry by straps on their backs. it is a sight to see men, women, and children start out gaily at daybreak, armed with slender sticks, climbing rugged heights with grace and agility, to get the pithaya, which tastes better when plucked at dawn, fresh and cool, than when gathered during the heat of the day. the fruit, which lasts about a month, comes when it is most needed, at the height of the dry season (june), when the people have a regular feasting-time of it. mexicans also appreciate the pithaya, and servants frequently abscond at that time, in order to get the fruit. the beautiful white flowers of the plant are never found growing on the north side of the stem. with the indians, the pithaya enters, of course, into religion, and the beautiful macaw (guacamaya), which revels in the fruit, is associated with it in their beliefs. the bird arrives from its migration to southern latitudes when the pithaya is in bloom, and the indians think that it comes to see whether there will be much fruit; then it flies off again to the coast, to return in june, when the fruit is ripe. the following gives the trend of one of the guacamaya songs: "the pithaya is ripe, let us go and get it. cut off the reeds! [ ] the guacamaya comes from the tierra caliente to eat the first fruits. from far away, from the hot country, i come when the men are cutting the reeds, and i eat the first fruits. why do you wish to take the first fruits from me? they are my fruits. i eat the fruit, and i throw away the skin. i get filled with the fruit, and i go home singing. remain behind, little tree, waving as i alight from you! i am going to fly in the wind, and some day i will return and eat your pithayas, little tree!" chapter x nice-looking natives--albinos--ancient remains in ohuivo--local traditions, the cocoyomes, etc.--guachochic--don miguel and "the postmaster"--a variety of curious cures--gauchochic becomes my head-quarters--the difficulty of getting an honest interpreter--false truffles--the country suffering from a prolonged drought--a start in a northwesterly direction--arrival at the pueblo of norogachic. followed the river a day's journey up and noticed some small tobacco plantations on the banks. i met some good-looking people, who had come from tierras verdes, the locality adjoining on, the south. their movements were full of action and energy. their skins showed a tinge of delicate yellow, and as the men wore their hair in a braid, they had a curious, oriental appearance. the women looked well in black woollen skirts and white tunics. the people from that part of the country are known for their pretty, white, home-made blankets, and it was evident that in those inaccessible parts the indians had still something for the white man to take away. the natives of this valley had a curious habit, when they were made to dive for fish, of afterward throwing themselves in a row on the sun-heated sand to warm their stomachs for a minute or two. near ohuivo, in the mountains toward morelos, there used to live a family of ten albinos. when i was there only two survived, smallpox having made havoc among them. their skin was so delicate that even the contact with their clothing irritated it. mr. hartman visited one of them, an old woman who lived in a cave with her husband, a small, dark-skinned fellow, and the two certainly were "mated, but not matched." her features were entirely indian, but her complexion was unique in mexico, even among the white population. she reminded one of a very blond type of scandinavian or irish peasantry. her hair was yellowish-white, but her eye-brows and -lashes were snow-white. the face and body were white, but disfigured with large red spots and small freckles. she kept her eyes more than half shut, and as she was very shy it was not possible to ascertain the color of the iris; but mr. hartman was assured by the husband that it was bluish. most of the indians in ohuivo live in houses. the few caves that are occupied are not improved in any way. one cave contained ancient habitations, and tradition says that there the tubares had once established themselves. the cave is nothing but a nearly horizontal crack in the rock, situated on the southern side of the river, some feet above the bottom of the valley. it runs from south-east to north-west to a length of about feet, interrupted perpendicularly by a crevice. entering the cave at the southernmost end i found twelve low-walled rooms, standing singly, but closely side by side. they were square with rounded corners. the walls were built of stone and mud and one foot thick, and the floors were hard and smooth. a store-room, in a good state of preservation, resembled in every detail the store-houses used by the tarahumares of the present day, being square and built of stone and mud. in none of these rooms was it possible for me to stand upright. apart from this group, a few yards higher up in the cave, were two small houses. the floor of the cave was getting higher and higher. i had to crawl on my stomach for about ten yards and came suddenly to the edge of a precipice; but a track led around it to the other side, where i found the main portion of the houses, eighteen in all, the largest having a side thirteen feet long, though the others were considerably smaller. they were arranged just like those of the first section, in one row, and were made of the same material, except a few, which were built of adobe. in these the walls were only eight inches thick. one of the rooms was still complete, had square openings, and may have been a store-room. the others seem to have had the conventional indian apertures. in two chambers i noticed circular spaces sunk into the floor six inches deep and about fourteen inches in diameter. what i took to be an estufa, nineteen feet in diameter, was found in the lowest section. behind it was only a small cluster of five houses higher up in the cave. though this is the only ancient cave-dwelling i visited in ohuivo, i was assured that there were several others in the neighbourhood. the broken country around zapuri is interesting on account of the various traditions which, still living on the lips of the natives, refer to a mysterious people called the cocoyomes, regarded by some tarahumares as their ancient enemies, by others as their ancestors. they were the first people in the world, were short of stature and did not eat corn. they subsisted mainly on herbs, especially a small agave called tshawí. they were also cannibals, devouring each other as well as the tarahumares. the cocoyomes lived in caves on the high cliffs of the sierra, and in the afternoon came down, like deer, to drink in the rivers. as they had no axes of iron they could not cut any large trees, and were unable to clear much land for the planting of corn. they could only burn the grass in the arroyos in order to get the fields ready. long ago, when the cocoyomes were very bad, the sun came down to the earth and burned nearly all of them; only a few escaped into the big caves. here in zapuri the cocoyomes had four large caves inside of which they had built square houses of very hard adobe; in one of the caves they had a spring. the tarahumares often fought with them, and once, when the cocoyomes were together in the largest cave, which had no spring, the tarahumares besieged them for eight days, until all of the cocoyomes had perished from hunger. from such an event the name of zapuri may have been derived. intelligent mexicans, whom i consulted, agree that it means "fight" or "contest" (spanish, _desafio_). from a place called tuaripa, some thirty miles farther south, near the border of the tepehuane country, and in the same mountainous region, i have the following legend, about the cocoyomes and the serpents: two large serpents used to ascend from the river and go up on the highlands to a little plain between huerachic and tuaripa, and they killed and ate the cocoyomes, returning each time to the river. whenever they were hungry they used to come up again. at last an old man brought together all the people at the place where the serpents used to ascend. here they dug a big hole and filled it with wood and with large stones, and made a fire and heated the stones until they became red hot. when the serpents were seen to make their ascent on the mountain-side, the men took hold of the stones with sticks, and threw them into the big, wide-open mouths of the serpents, until the monsters were so full with stones that they burst and fell dead into the river. even to this day may be seen the marks on the rocks where the serpents used to ascend the mountain-side. once having again ascended to the highlands, i found rather level country as far as guachochic, some forty-five miles off by the track i followed. the name of the place signifies "blue herons," and the fine water-course, which originates in the many springs here, was formerly the abode of many water-birds. the locality thus designated is to-day a cluster of mexican ranches, most of them belonging to one family. there is an old church, but at present no independent indians live in guachochic; the aborigines found about the place are servants of the mexicans. guachochic lies at an elevation of , feet and at the southern end of a mesa, the largest one in the sierra madre del norte, being twelve miles long and three miles wide. except on the southern end this plateau is bordered with stately pine forests. many indians live on the mesa and in the numerous valleys adjoining it, but they are all "civilised"; that is, contaminated with many mexico-christian notions, and have lost their pristine simplicity. i had a letter of introduction to the principal personage in guachochic, don miguel, who enjoys the rare reputation of being just and helpful toward the indians; and, being a large land-owner, he is a man of considerable influence also with his fellow-countrymen. to those in need he lends money on liberal terms out of the pile of silver dollars buried under the floor of his house. robbers know from sad experience that he is not to be trifled with. once, when a band of marauders had taken possession of the old adobe church and were helping themselves to the buried cash of the inhabitants of the ranches, he rallied the terrorised people, gave the robbers battle and routed them effectually. he upholds authority against lawlessness, and wants justice to have its course, except when one of his own relatives has done the shooting--i was sorry to learn that in this regard he was probably not beyond rebuke; but his many good deeds to the needy and oppressed, whether mexican or indian, should make us lenient toward this failing. the indians appeal to him of their own accord. three ruffians once went to the house of a well-to-do indian, recently deceased, and told his mourning relatives that they had come to see to the division of the property among the heirs, and that they must have good things to eat and plenty to drink while thus occupied; calling upon the relatives to brew plenty of beer and kill an ox. their orders were promptly obeyed; but in addition they charged the heirs a fee of three oxen, one fanega of corn, and some silver money. this struck the simple and patient indians as rather excessive, for what would then be left to divide between themselves? so they took their grievance to don miguel to be settled. i do not know of any white man in those parts who would have taken the trouble, as he did, to protect the poor indians' rights against the wily schemers. the old gentleman was not at home when i arrived at his ranch, but i met one of his sons, who lives at guachochic. "i am the postmaster," he said proudly, stepping forward and showing me, at the same time, his credentials, which he evidently always carried in his pocket. the mail from the lowlands to the mining towns passes over this place, and the mail-carrier sleeps in this house. in the course of the year he may also bring a few letters to the inhabitants of this part of the country. we soon entered into a conversation about postal matters, which naturally interested me greatly, as i was anxious to communicate as often as possible with the outside world. in spite of the great pride this man took in his office, his notions regarding his duties were rather vague. being desirous of knowing what was going on among his neighbours, he had no compunction about opening the few letters they got; not that he destroyed them after reading them--he very coolly handed them over opened. the people did not like this, and considered it rather high-handed on his part; but then, what was there for them to do about it? he said he had heard that i could cure people. when a man is called doctor, the mexican peasantry expect him to possess comprehensively all useful knowledge in the world. looking at me for a moment, this healthy, ruddy-cheeked man suddenly, without saying a word, took hold of my hand and pressed it against his forehead for a little while; then, all the time in silence, he carried it backward until my fingers touched a small excrescence on his back. now was the chance to find out whatever was the matter with him! on my next visit to his office he received me with a queer, hesitating expression on his face, and suddenly blurted out, "can you cut out trousers?" for some time he had had a piece of cloth in his house, and he said he would pay me well if i could help him to have it made into trousers. to cure people, mend watches, repair sewing-machines, make applejack, do tailoring, prognosticate the weather--everything is expected from a man who comes from far away. and the good people here are astonished at a confession of ignorance of such matters, and take it rather personally as a lack of good-will toward them. it is the old belief in the medicine man that still survives in the minds of the people, and they therefore look upon doctors with much greater respect than on other persons. people who live outside of civilisation are thrown upon their own resources in cases of sickness. the daughter of my mexican guide was confined and the coming of the afterbirth was delayed. i give here, for curiosity's sake, a list of the various remedies applied in the case: . the carapace of the armadillo, ground and taken in a little water. this is a tarahumare remedy, said to be very effective for the trouble mentioned. . the skunkwort (the herb of the skunk). . the patient to hold her own hair in her mouth for half an hour. . the wood of _palo hediondo_, boiled. . _urina viri_, half a cup. this remedy is also externally used for cuts and bruises. . fresh excrement from a black horse. a small quantity of water is mixed with it, then pressed out through a piece of cloth and taken internally. . perspiration from a black horse. a saddlecloth, after having been used on the horse, is put over the abdomen of the woman. . a decoction of the bark of the elm. . pork fat. after a number of days the patient recovered. whether it was _propter hoc_ or merely _post hoc_ is a matter of conjecture. guachochic served admirably as a central point from which excursions in various directions could be made, as it lies in the very midst of the tarahumare country. it is true that the mexicans have appropriated all the best land round about, and their extensive and fertile ranches lie all around guachochic. toward the east, in the direction of the pueblos of tonachic and lagunitas, the broad strip of good arable and pasture land as far as parral is owned exclusively by mexicans. but in the immediate neighbourhood of guachochic toward the west and south lie the ridges and barrancas that run toward sinaloa, and these are inhabited by pagan tarahumares. toward the north the indians hold undisputed sway over that extensive region of mountains, pine-covered plateaus and well-watered arroyos around the pueblos of norogachic, pamachic and nararachic, and here are found the most independent tarahumares that are left, who still defy the whites to take their land away from them. they are more valiant than the rest and not easily intimidated. the first thing for me to do, after establishing camp near guachochic, was to secure strong mules and the necessary men to bring up the outfit that had been left behind in tasajisa, and after a week's absence they returned with all the animals and goods intact. guachochic is an uninteresting place at its best, and at this season it seemed especially dreary, on account of the crop failure from which the sierra had been suffering for the last two years. there is never much to get here, but now even corn and beans could hardly be bought. it was therefore quite a treat to have a square meal with don miguel, whose wife was a clever cook, and who, considering all circumstances, kept a fair mexican table. he could also give me some general information about the indians; but not only here, but in many other parts of mexico, i was often astonished at the ignorance of the mexican settlers concerning the indians living at their very doors. aside from certain conspicuous practices, even intelligent mexicans know little of the customs, much less of the beliefs, of the aborigines. regarding the pagans in the barrancas, i could get absolutely no information beyond a general depreciation of them as savages, _bravos_ (fierce men) and _broncos_ (wild ones). one mexican whom i interviewed about certain caves thought that the only thing i could be looking for was the silver possibly hidden in them, and therefore told me that there were , , pesos buried in a cave near the mining town guadalupe y calvo, waiting to be recovered. thus it was exceedingly difficult in the beginning to determine just which would be the best way to start my investigations, and all that was left for me to do was to find out for myself where my best field was by making extensive excursions into the domains of the tarahumare in company with an intelligent interpreter. and there was the rub! there are in this part of the sierra a certain number of men who make a living by dealing with the indians, and who, having been born and bred in the country, speak the difficult language of the tarahumares as well as the indians themselves. but as each man operates in a certain district and has a monopoly of the trade with the indians within its confines, the temptation to cheat the unsophisticated natives out of their little property is naturally very great, and by far the greater number of the dealers succumb to it. as soon, however, as one of them is found out, he loses his influence with the indians, and to go with a man of that stamp would have been disastrous to my purpose. the duty of the _lenguaraz_, as the interpreter is called, is to smooth the traveller's way among the distrustful indians with skilful words, to get provisions, make bargains, and explain to the indians the purpose of his visit. last but not least, he must obtain all possible information from them. this may mean one day's hard work, and the trying of his patience with many apparently futile questions which are made to get at the indian's real meaning. thus it may be understood how one is completely at the mercy of one's lenguaraz, and how important it is for the success of an expedition to find the right man. there is nothing else to do but to try and try again, one after another. the indians near guachochic seemed all to be depressed, poor, and hungry. most of their animals had died from lack of food, and the few that had not succumbed to starvation had to be sold in exchange for corn. a couple of indians who were on their way to parral to buy wheat died of starvation before they reached their destination. the indians ascribed the hard times to the presence of the whites, who had deprived them of their lands as well as of their liberty. the gods, as they put it, were angry with the whites and refused to send rain. in the summer, especially in july, a false truffle is found on the highlands of guachochic, which serves as a food to the indians. it grows abundantly a couple of inches below the ground, raising the earth a little; and is found also under the limb of a fallen tree. the dogs help in finding this fungus, and they are so fond of it that they go of their own accord to look for it. pigs grow fat on this food, and coyotes, bears, and grey foxes also eat it. it is considered by professor w. g. farlow as a variety of _melanogaster variegatus_, which he calls _mexicanus_. it tastes like an over-ripe pear, with a flavour of onion when one first bites into it. the ordinary _melanogaster variegatus_ is eaten in europe, and esteemed for its pleasant taste. it was disagreeable to travel during the dry season, on account of the difficulty in getting provisions and finding pastures for the animals. but i made up my mind to start under any circumstances on an excursion toward the north-east, knowing that the fresh grass would come up quickly after a few of the thunder-storms not infrequent at that season. toward the end of june i selected a few of my strongest animals, and, leaving one of my mexicans to take care of the remainder, started out with two. as luck would have it, a heavy storm drenched our first camp, and afterward the rain seemed almost to pursue me, much to the delight of the indians i visited, who had been praying and dancing for rain for a long time. one day i had the imposing spectacle of three thunder-storms coming up from different directions. the one in the south sent flashes of lightning out of its mass of dark clouds over the clear sky; but after all, not much rain resulted. there was no difficulty in finding one's way from guachochic to norogachic. at one place i noticed an indian trail leading up a ridge apparently consisting of volcanic tuff. to facilitate the ascent, steps, now worn and old, had been cut for a distance of a couple of hundred feet. i made my way among the indian ranches to norogachic, the residence of the only priest living at present in the tarahumare country. the name of the place contains an allusion to a certain rock in the vicinity. there is another priest who pays some attention to the tarahumares, but he lives in nonoava, and makes only annual visits to baptise infants or marry their elders who wish for the blessings of the church. chapter xi a priest and his family make the wilderness comfortable for us--ancient remains similar to those seen in sonora--the climate of the sierra--flora and fauna--tarahumare agriculture--ceremonies connected with the planting of corn--deterioration of domestic animals--native dogs of mexico. called on the padre and found him to be a very social, nice, energetic-looking person with a tinge of the "red man" in his veins. he complained to me that the indians were lazy about coming to mass. none of them paid taxes, and there was no way of forcing them. nearly all of them he considered heathens, and only about a thousand came to the feasts. they arrive in the village on the evening before, and hear vespers. then they give themselves up to drinking, and on the feast day proper are not in a condition to go to church. he thinks there are some great men among the tarahumares, but that, their mental faculties being entirely uncultivated, they are, as it were, rough diamonds. in the padre's opinion not only all the indians, but also the mexicans living' among them, will soon relapse into paganism altogether. living under rough conditions as he does, it is a lucky thing for the padre that his physique is equal to emergencies. once at the neighbouring village of tonachic (= where there are pillars) he admonished the people, in a powerful sermon, to mend their ways. as they were coming out of the church, a scoundrel who resented the charges attacked him with a stick, but the padre managed to disarm him and gave him such a sound thrashing with his assailant's own weapon that the latter had to keep his bed for a fortnight. he showed me his stately old adobe church, built in missionary times. the ceiling, however, was infested with myriads of bats, the smell of which was quite sickening, and i was glad to get out again. with him in this uttermost outpost of christendom lived his aged mother and six sisters, and they treated us with all the hospitality their very limited means permitted. we especially enjoyed their home-made macaroni. in the family of the good priest lived a little indian orphan girl, about five years old, as nice and sweet a child as one might wish to see. he was teaching her how to read and write, and she had learned her letters in two months. the padre, good-natured to officiousness, helped me to get indians to be photographed, fie also would insist upon arranging them before the camera. his efforts, however, were directed more toward achieving artistic triumph than scientific truth, and he wanted, for instance, to decorate the indians with peacock feathers. he yielded, however, to my suggestion that turkey feathers would be more appropriate, and straightway ordered one of his turkeys to be caught and deprived of some of its tail feathers. the only way in which i could show my appreciation of the disinterested kindness of the family was by photographing them, too. it was a new sensation to them, and the ladies asked to have it done next day, as they wanted to arrange their hair and prepare themselves properly. after them it was the turn of the presidente of the village "to look pleasant," but at this juncture the camera met with an accident. the ring holding the lens broke and fell out. this happening miles away from civilisation was decidedly annoying. but the sisters proved themselves equal to the occasion. their father having been a tinsmith, they had picked up the trade and had tools; and the ring was soldered on so well that it lasted until i returned to the united states the following year. norogachic is situated in the most populous part of the tarahumare country, and its presidente exercises authority over the large surrounding district. he told me that his municipality counted , souls, among them about mexicans. with the help of a very intelligent mexican i made a rough calculation of the number of indians belonging to tonachic and guachochic, next neighbours of norogachic, and estimated in the former , and in the latter families. counting each family as consisting of eight members, this would give us a population of , . thus the most populous part of the tarahumare country, including the three municipalities of norogachic, tonachic, and guachochic, would contain a population of about , indians, as the presidente of norogachic is an honourable man and speaks the native language, he exercised great influence over them, and on one occasion, when they had gathered in large numbers and threatened to avenge some abuse, he was able to avert disaster. nature had endowed him with the doubtful blessing of bloodshot eyes, a feature generally attributed to powerful sorcerers, and this was perhaps more a point in his favour than otherwise with the indians. one day he took us to the top of a hill where there were some stones set in circles, about one foot above and half a foot under the ground. they reminded us of similar stone arrangements we had come upon in sonora, but these were larger and more primitive. altogether there were nine circles, varying in size from nine to thirteen feet in diameter. one, however, measured only five feet across, and the stones forming it were fully two feet above the ground. close by was another similar small circle, and some little distance off still another. on a small mesa i found a flint arrow-point. there were also some potsherds there, but of the same kind as those used by the people of to-day. the natives rightly count only three seasons--the dry, the rainy, and the winter. the first lasts from march till june, and is very warm and windy. throughout july and august one can generally count on thunder-storms and heavy rains, while the mornings are bright. the rains then rarely extend over a large territory, but are confined to local showers, a circumstance very annoying to the agricultural inhabitants, who often see dark clouds rolling up, apparently full of moisture, yet resulting in nothing but gusts of wind. a ridge may change the course of the clouds. sometimes one valley may be flooded with rain, while not far away the heat is drying up everything. during september and october more constant rains occur, and may last more or less for a week at a time. in the beginning of the wet season (july and august) the rains come from the south-west, but later on north-eastern winds bring rain. in winter there are constant winds from the south-east to the north, somewhat trying until one gets used to them. snow is by no means unknown, and indians have been known to freeze to death when caught out intoxicated. the climate in the sierra, although not so pleasant on account of the constant winds, is extremely salubrious, the heat never exceeding ° f., while the nights are deliciously cool. lung diseases are here unknown. when i asked an old american doctor in guadalupe y calvo about his experience in regard to the health of the people, he said, "well, here in the mountains they are distressingly healthy. despite a complete defiance of every sanitary arrangement, with the graveyards, the sewers, and a tannery at the river's edge, no diseases originate here. when cholera reached the mountains some years ago, nobody died from it. the people simply took a bath in mexican fashion, and recovered." down in the barrancas, however, where the heat often becomes excessive, the climate is far from healthy, and i have seen even indians ill with fever and ague, contracted generally during the rainy season. between these two extremes, on the slopes of the sierra, toward the warm country, at an elevation of , feet, i found the most delightful climate i ever knew. it was like eternal spring, the air pure and the temperature remarkably even. there is a story of a mexican woman, who, settling in this part of the country, broke her thermometer because the mercury never moved and she therefore concluded that it was out of order. the pleasantness of the climate struck me particularly on one occasion, after a prolonged stay in the invigorating though windy climate of the sierra. i had caught a cold the night before, and was not feeling very well as i dozed on the back of my mule while it worked its way down the mountain-side, but the sleep and the delightful balmy air made me soon feel well again. at times a mild zephyr played around us, but invariably died out about sunset. the night was delightfully calm, toward morning turning slightly cooler, and there was nothing to disturb my sleep under a big fig-tree but the bits of figs that were thrown down by the multitudes of bats in its branches. they were gorging themselves on the fruit, just as we had done the afternoon before. journeying on the pine-clad highlands, the traveller finds nothing to remind him that he is in the southern latitudes, except an occasional glimpse of an agave between rocks and the fantastic cacti, which, although so characteristic of mexican vegetation, are comparatively scarce in the high sierra. the nopal cactus, whose juicy fruit, called tuna, and flat leaf-like joints are an important article of food among the indians, is found here and there, and is often planted near the dwellings of the natives. there are also a few species of _echinocactus_ and _mammilaria_, but on the whole the cacti form no conspicuous feature in the higher altitudes of the sierra. along the streamlets which may be found in the numerous small valleys we met with the slender ash trees, beside alders, shrubs, _euonymus_ with brilliant red capsules, willows, etc. conspicuous in the landscape was still the madroña, with its pretty, strawberry-like, edible berries. flowers on the whole are not abundant in the sierra. the modest yellow _mimulus_ along the water-courses is the first to come and the last to go. various forms of columbine (_aquilegia_) and meadow rue (_thalictrum_) should also be remembered. in august and september i have seen the sloping hills of the sierra north-west of the pueblo of panalachic (banalachic; banalá = face, _i. e_., the outline of a prominent rock near by), covered with large crimson flowers, and also certain yellow ones, called _baguis_, making the country appear like a garden. i noticed in the same locality two kinds of lovely lilies, one yellow and one containing a single large red flower. the tarahumare have names for all these plants. before all, however, should be mentioned the carmine-red _amaryllis_. like the crocus and the snowdrops of northern climates it appears before the grass is green. it is a perfect treat to the eye to meet now and then in this dry and sandy country, and at such a chilly elevation, this exquisitely beautiful flower, which is here appreciated only by the humming-birds. edible plants, species of _mentha, chenopodium, cirsium_, for instance, and the common water-cress, are, at a certain time of the year, numerous; but fruits and berries are rare, blackberries being the most common ones. animal life is not particularly plentiful in the sierra. still, deer, bears, and mountain lions are fairly common, and there are many kinds of squirrels and rats. the jaguar (_felis onza_) is found now and then on the summits of the barrancas. eagles, hawks, turkeys, blackbirds, and crows are the most noticeable birds. the turkey is called by the tarahumares, tshiví; by the mexicans of the sierra of chihuahua, _guajolote_; while farther south he is designated _cocono_. now and then the brilliant green trogon is met with. there are many species of woodpeckers, all familiar to and named by the tarahumares. the giant woodpecker is seen in the more remote parts, but it is on the point of being exterminated, because the tarahumares consider his one or two young such a delicacy that they do not hesitate to cut down even large trees to get at the nests. the mexicans shoot them because their plumage is thought to be beneficial to health. it is held close to the ears and the head in order to impart its supposed magnetism and keep out the maleficent effects of the wind. in the pairing season these birds keep up a chattering noise, which to my ears was far from disagreeable, but very irritating to a mexican whom i employed. he used to shoot the birds because they annoyed him. corn is the most important agricultural product of the tarahumares. the average crop of a family may be estimated at six or twelve fanegas. one exceptionally rich tarahumare, now dead, is said to have raised as much as four hundred fanegas a year, but this was a fact unique in the history of the tribe. the people also raise beans, squashes, chile, and tobacco, all on an exceedingly small scale. on the highlands, the primitive plough already described (page ) is still used sometimes, though it is rapidly being superseded by ploughs of mexican pattern. in the arroyos and barrancas, where the condition of the land makes ploughing impossible, the indians use the ancient mode of agriculture, still in vogue among remote natives of mexico and called _coamillar_. they cut down the trees, clear a piece of land from brushwood, and leave it in this condition until just before the wet season sets in. then they burn the wood, which by that time is well dried up, and plant the corn in the ashes. they simply make a hole in the earth with a stick, drop a few grains of corn into it, and close it up with the foot. of the usual number of grains i am not aware. the tepehuanes use four. their hoes are generally bought from the mexicans or else home-made, the natural knotted growths of tree limbs being utilised. women never assist in ploughing, though they may be seen helping in the fields with the weeding and hoeing, and even with the harvesting. in the sierra a piece of land may yield good crops for three years in succession without manure, but in the broad mountain valleys and on the mesas a family can use the same field year after year for twenty or thirty seasons. on the other hand, down in the barrancas, a field cannot be used more than two years in succession, because the corn-plants in that time are already suffocated with weeds. the planting is done from the middle of april to the first week in july, and the harvest begins about the first week in october and lasts until the beginning of december. communal principles prevail in clearing the fields, in ploughing--each furrow in a field is ploughed by a different man--in corn planting, in hoeing, weeding, harvesting, gathering wood for feasts, in fishing and in hunting. if a man wants to have his field attended to, the first thing he has to do is to prepare a good quantity of the national stimulant, a kind of beer called tesvino. the more of this he has, the larger the piece of land he can cultivate, for the only payment his helpers expect and receive is tesvino. the master of the house and his sons always do first one day's work alone, before their friends and neighbours come to help them. then they begin in earnest to clear the field of stones, carrying them in their arms or blankets, and cut down the brushwood. tesvino is brought out into the field, and iskiate, and the men, all very much under the influence of the liquor, work with the animation of a heap of disturbed ants. when the work of hoeing and weeding is finished, the workers seize the master of the field, and, tying his arms crosswise behind him, load all the implements, that is to say, the hoes, upon his back, fastening them with ropes. then they form two single columns, the landlord in the middle between them, and all facing the house. thus they start homeward. simultaneously the two men at the heads of the columns begin to run rapidly forward some thirty yards, cross each other, then turn back, run along the two columns, cross each other again at the rear and take their places each at the end of his row. as they pass each other ahead and ill the rear of the columns they beat their mouths with the hollow of their hands and yell. as soon as they reach their places at the foot, the next pair in front of the columns starts off, running in the same way, and thus pair after pair performs the tour, the procession all the time advancing toward the house. a short distance in front of it they come to a halt, and are met by two young men who carry red handkerchiefs tied to sticks like flags. the father of the family, still tied up and loaded with the hoes, steps forward alone and kneels down in front of his house-door. the flag-bearers wave their banners over him, and the women of the household come out and kneel on their left knees, first toward the east, and after a little while toward each of the other cardinal points, west, south, and north. in conclusion the flags are waved in front of the house. the father then rises and the people untie him, whereupon he first salutes the women with the usual greeting, "kwira!" or "kwirevá!" now they all go into the house, and the man makes a short speech thanking them all for the assistance they have given him, for how could he have gotten through his work without them? they have provided him with a year's life (that is, with the wherewithal to sustain it), and now he is going to give them tesvino. he gives a drinking-gourd full to each one in the assembly, and appoints one man among them to distribute more to all. the same ceremony is performed after the ploughing and after the harvesting. on the first occasion the tied man may be made to carry the yoke of the oxen, on the second he does not carry anything. the southern tarahumares, as well as the northern tepehuanes, at harvest time, tie together some ears of corn by the husks, two and two. the ears are selected from plants which have at least three or four ears, and after a while tesvino is made from them. at the harvesting feast, the stalks of these plants are strewn on the ground, as well as stalks of squash plants, and over them the people dance kuvála. the tarahumare takes good care of his domestic animals and never kills one of them, unless it be for a sacrifice. sheep and goats are kept at night in enclosures or caves. the shepherd follows his flock wherever the animals choose to find their food, and there are no better herdsmen than the tarahumares, who wisely trust to the natural instinct of the beasts. they do not pride themselves on breeds. it is astonishing to notice the number of rams with two pairs of horns among the tribe. in every flock two or three specimens may be observed, one pair bending forward, the other to the side. i have seen some with three pairs of horns. near nonoava, where the indians are much mexicanised, they make butter and cheese, using the rennets from the cow, sheep, and deer, but they do not drink the milk, saying that it makes them stupid, and they are watchful to prevent their children from drinking it. dogs are not much liked except for hunting. a great number of them hang around the houses, but they have to make their own living as best they can. they are of the same mongrel class found everywhere among the indians of to-day. they are generally of a brownish color and not large, but some of them are yellow and with ears erect. the so-called dogs of chihuahua, which command quite a price among dog-fanciers, are found only in the capital of the state. they are small pet dogs and very timid, with large ears and prominent eyes. i understand that the yellowish-brown are considered the purest breed, but they are found in many different colors, from snow-white and black-and-white to dark-brown. they are said to have a small cavity on the top of the head, though according to some authorities this is not an unfailing mark of the breed, which seems to be indigenous. the illiterate mexican, in his tendency to connect everything good with montezuma, thinks that the pure dogs of chihuahua are descendants of those which were left behind by that regent near casas grandes at the time when he started south, which afterward became wild and degenerated into the prairie-dogs of to-day. another dog indigenous to mexico is the hairless dog, also a pet, found throughout the republic among the mexicans. it is credited with possessing curative properties, for which reason people keep them in their beds with them at night. chapter xii the tarahumares still afraid of me--don andres madrid to the rescue--mexican robbers among the tarahumares--mode of burial in ancient caves--visit to nonoava--the indians change their minds about me, and regard me as a rain-god--what the tarahumares eat--a pretty church in the wilderness--i find at last a reliable interpreter and proceed to live à l'indienne. as i travelled along i found the natives unobliging and afraid of me. one man who had hid himself, but was after a while forced to reappear, bluntly asked, "are you not the man who kills the fat girls and the children?" at another time i was taken for pedro chaparro, the famous robber, who had notoriously deceived the indians. the guide took only a half-hearted interest in me, as he feared that by being seen with me he was ruining his trade with the natives, who were especially suspicious about my writing in my note-book, taking it as a proof of my design to take their land away from them. still, i accomplished a good deal and made interesting observations, though the difficulties under which i had to labour were quite exasperating. it was a positive relief, when in the beginning of august, six weeks after my start from guachochic, i arrived at guajochic (guajo = _sancudo_, a small mosquito), one of the stations where the bullion trains stop on their travels between batopilas and carichic. the man then in charge of this rather lonely looking place, andres madrid, turned out to be very interesting. born of tarahumare parents, in the town of carichic, he had received quite a liberal mexican education and was virtually a mexican, though in hearty sympathy with his native tribe. his grandfather had been a noted shaman, or medicine man, whom don andres, as a boy, had accompanied on his travels. he was intelligent, lively and imaginative, of a strong humourous vein, and very entertaining. generous in giving information about the indians, and speaking the native language, he would have made an ideal interpreter, except for the fact that he grew tired too easily. only by piecemeal and when having an abundance of time could an ethnologist expect to take advantage of his accomplishments. as he was honest, and helpful to the indians, and besides was a representative of the mexican authorities, the indians had unlimited respect, nay, adoration, for him. knowing all that happens in the sierra, he had already heard of me some time ago, and laughed at the cannibalistic propensities attributed to me. he immediately sent a messenger to el capitan at nararachic, to advise him of my arrival, and to request him to tell the indians to present themselves to be photographed by a man who came from porfirio diaz, a name to conjure with in mexico, who wanted to know all about the tarahumares. nararachic is an insignificant pueblo, to which the indians of this locality belong. the name means "where one was weeping." being taken under the wing of don andres benefitted me in many ways. when the indians from the hills all around could see my white tent close by his little home, they understood that i could not be so bad, or else the good don andres would not have anything to do with me. the indians in the vicinity had recently gone through the sensation of fighting with four real robbers, who had several times succeeded in plundering store-houses while the owners were off at some feast. at last the indians had caught them. the thieves travelled on foot, but had a pack-horse which carried all the blankets and handkerchiefs stolen, the total value of which ran up to $ . sixty-five tarahumares had banded together in the course of four or five hours, and obliged the robbers to take refuge in a cave, from which they defended themselves with rifles for several hours. the tarahumares first threw stones at them, as they did not want to waste their arrows. finally don andres, who had been sent for, arrived at the place, and induced the robbers to surrender; but only with difficulty could he prevent the tarahumares from attacking them. "what does it matter," they said, "if one or two of us are killed?" cowards as the tarahumares are when few in number, they do not know fear when many of them are together. they are harmless when not interfered with, but neither forget nor forgive an injury. on several occasions they have killed white men who abused their hospitality, and they even threatened once, when exasperated by abuses, to exterminate all the whites in some sections of their domain. the robbers were taken by an escort of indians to the little town of carichic, and from there sent to cusihuiriachic ("where upright pole is") to be tried. this place is about a hundred miles from nararachic, and as the indians during the next weeks were called to be present at the trial as witnesses, it annoyed them not a little. they were sorry they had not killed the evil-doers; and it would even have been better, they said, to have let them go on stealing. in the fight the gobernador had got a bullet through his lung. i saw him a fortnight afterward, smoking a cigarette and on the way to recovery, and after some days he, too, walked to cusihuiriachic. a few months later the robbers managed to dig themselves out of the prison. on an excursion of about ten miles through the picturesque arroyo de las iglesias, i passed seventeen caves, of which only one was at present inhabited. all of them, however, had been utilised as dwellings before the construction of the road to batopilas had driven the indians off. i saw also a few ancient cave-dwellings. of considerable interest were some burial-caves near nararachic, especially one called narajerachic (= where the dead are dancing). a mexican had been for six years engaged there in digging out saltpetre, with which he made powder, and the cave was much spoiled for research when i visited it. but i was able to take away some thirty well-preserved skulls and a few complete skeletons, the bodies having dried up in the saltpetre. some clothing with feathers woven in, and some bits of obsidian and of blue thread were found, but no weapons or utensils. according to the miner, who appeared to be trustworthy, he had excavated more than a hundred corpses. they were generally found two and a half feet below the surface, and sometimes there were others underneath these. with many of them he found ear ornaments made of shells, such as the tarahumares of to-day use, besides some textile made of plant fibre, and a jar with beans. a few months later at aboreachic (tarahumare: aoreachic = where there is mountain cedar) i examined a burial-cave in which the dead were interred in a different manner from that described before. the cave is somewhat difficult of access. the ascent of feet has to be made over a track at some places so steep that holes have been cut for the feet, to enable a person to climb up. on reaching the top i found a spacious cave, which had been used as a kind of cemetery, but unfortunately the peculiarity of the cave had attracted treasure-seekers, whose destructive work was everywhere to be seen. still i could see that the corpses had been placed each by itself in a grave in the floor of the cave. the graves were oblong or circular basins lined with a coating of grass and mud and about three feet deep. apparently no earth had been placed immediately over the body, only boards all around it laid lengthwise in a kind of box. the bodies were bent up and laid on their sides. over the top boards was spread a layer of pine bark about an inch thick, which in turn was covered with earth and rubbish three inches deep, and this was overlaid with the coating of grass and mud so as to form a solid disk four or five inches, thick. the edge of the basin was slightly raised, thus making the disk a little higher than the level of the floor. i secured four skulls from here, besides a piece of excellently woven cloth of plant fibre, another piece interwoven with turkey feathers, and a fragment of a wooden needle. don andres told me that he had observed similar modes of burial in the neighbourhood of nararachic. it may be worth mentioning that the miner who excavated in the burial-cave near nararachic mentioned above, told me of having met with somewhat similar structures in his cave; the material was the same, but they were of different sizes, not larger than two feet, and he found them empty. the ancient modes of burial that i have come upon, in the tarahumare country are either like those in nararachic or in aboreachic. there scarcely seems any doubt that the bodies buried here were tarahumares. the indians of to-day consider the dead in the ancient burial-caves their brethren, and call them ana-yáuli, the ancients. from guajochic i went to nonoava (in tarahumare: nonoa, nonó = father), although this town is outside of the tarahumare country proper. the natives here, as may be expected, are pretty well mexicanised, and losing their customs, religion, and language. the apache raids were well remembered here, as they were in carichic, cusarare, and bocoyna. i came upon a mexican here who had married a tarahumare woman. his predilection for her tribe was also attested by his dress, which was exactly like that worn by the natives. he had a dark, almost swarthy complexion, but otherwise he did not resemble an indian. his big; stomach and short arms and legs betrayed his real race, and contrasted strangely with the slender limbs and graceful movements of the tarahumares. near nonoava i photographed a magnificent fig-tree of the kind called _beyota_, the fruit of which is appreciated even by the mexicans. it was feet across, and the leaves, as in other trees of the species, were very small. there are larger trees of this kind to be found, but they are rare. in the wet season, when the figs are ripe, the tarahumares have a habit of singing under the trees while gathering the fruit. i noticed some beautiful mezquites in the bed of a creek, the bottom of which was clayish. although the season for it was late, indians were gathering the fruit. the proper season is before the rain sets in. the indians throw the seeds away, but boil the fruit, grinding it between stones and mixing it with water. this drink is also used through sonora and chihuahua by the mexicans. on my return i again spent some time in guajochic. the indians came to visit me every day, and following my rule of giving to every visitor something to eat, i was making satisfactory progress in cultivating their friendship. some of them after eating from my plates and cups, went to the river to rinse their mouths and wash their hands carefully, to get rid of any evil that might lurk in the white man's implements. to be generous is the first step toward gaining the confidence of both the indians and the mexicans, and a gift of food is more eloquent than a long speech. the indian, however, before he knows you, always wants to see you eat first. i interviewed many of the shamans, and began to gain some little knowledge of their songs, which helped to bring me nearer to them. shortly after my first arrival here it happened that rain fell, and precipitations continued quite frequently during my stay. the indians, who are intensely interested in rain, to obtain which they make so many exertions and sacrifices, evidently began to connect my presence with it. before my departure they confided to don andres that "it was no good that that man went away; it might happen that he carried the rain with him." they even seemed to delight now in posing before my mysterious camera, which they imagined to be a powerful rain-maker. i heard no more excuses for not wanting to be photographed. they no longer told me that it would cause their death, and that their god would be angry with them; nor was there any more of that unwillingness expressed by one indian who told me that, inasmuch as he did not owe me anything, he did not want to be photographed. thus, almost without knowing it, i established friendly relations with the people. however, it must not be thought that all my troubles were ended yet. the indians are very clannish, and, although my damaged prestige was now almost restored, and, no doubt, favourable rumours heralded me wherever i went, still the good-will of each district had in a way to be won. many months later, when i found myself among the pagans farther south, i was interpellated quite persistently on the subject of the skulls in yoquibo. they wanted to know why i had dug them up. my mexican interpreter, whom they took to task on the subject, advanced an explanation, which was no doubt strictly in accordance with his best knowledge and belief. he declared that my object had been to find out whether those people had been properly baptised--a reason which apparently perfectly satisfied the indians. i travelled in a southeasterly direction, making my way back to guachochic, over the highlands of humarisa (húmashi = to run). this locality is of considerable elevation, with the indian ranches lying about here and there on strips of level land, which run in among the rocky hills like _fjords_. bears are quite common here, and the indians have difficulty in guarding their fields against them. they are not even to be frightened by stones, and at night they will eat corn until they have enough, and then walk away. the time of the year in which it is most difficult for the indians to subsist had passed, and the copious rains of the past months had developed ears of corn. rarely or never do the indians plant corn enough to last them all the year round, and they have, therefore, during the summer to depend for support mainly on herbs, roots, fruits, etc. the leaves and flowers of the ash-tree are cooked and eaten, and the flowers of the pine-tree. they never suffer from hunger when living near a river, where they can fish, but in the highlands they have been known to die of starvation. these natives are fonder of corn than of any other food, and when working for the whites would leave without a word if no more corn or flour were forthcoming. they like, too, to have meat every day, though they cannot always get it. they rarely, if ever, kill any of their domestic animals for food, as, according to their views, man is only the manager for the gods to whom these creatures really belong, and cows, sheep, and the like can be killed only as sacrifices and eaten at the feasts. but any kind of animal in the forest and field, in the air and the water, is acceptable. i once asked a strong and healthy-looking indian how he managed to keep in such good condition, when food was so scarce, and he said that he ate meat, "what kind of meat?" i asked, and he replied, "mice, gophers, and small birds." their favourite meat, however, is deer, mice, and skunks. chunks of meat are simply laid upon the coals to roast, or turned before the fire on a wooden spit, the ends of which rest on stones. this, by the way, is the universal method of cooking meat in mexico. these indians often eat their meat almost raw, nor have they any repugnance to blood, but boil and eat it. fish and frogs are broiled by being placed between two thin sticks tied together at the ends to do duty as a gridiron. the flowers of the maize are dried in the sun, ground and mixed with water; if not required for immediate consumption they are put in jars and kept for the winter. many herbs are very palatable, as, for instance, the makvásari (of the _crucifercæ_), which is also kept for winter use after having been properly dried. in the autumn the indians sometimes eat potatoes, which, when cultivated at all, are planted between the corn, but grow no larger than pigeon eggs. the people eat three kinds of fungi, and they have an extensive knowledge of the poisonous ones. salt and chile are used as relishes. a peculiar delicacy is arí, the secretion of a scale insect, _carteria mexcicana_. in the months of july and august it is gathered from the branches of certain trees in the barrancas, rolled by hand into thick brown sticks, and thus preserved for the winter. a small portion is boiled in water and eaten as a sauce with the corn porridge. its taste is sweetish acid, not particularly pleasant to the palate, but very refreshing in effect, and it is said to be efficacious in allaying fever. the indians prize it highly, and the mexicans also buy it. just a few miles before reaching guachochic, one passes the pueblo of tonachic, from whence the indians have been more or less driven off by the whites. in missionary times the village appears to have been of some importance, to judge from the church, which is quite pretty, considering its location in the middle of the sierra. in the sacristy i saw lying about three empty cases, but the silver crucifixes and chalices they once contained had been carried off by mexican thieves. the man in charge of the building showed me three immense drawers full of gold- and silver-embroidered silken robes of exquisite fineness and great variety. there were at least several dozens of them. the altar-piece was arranged and painted very tastefully in red and gold. several oil paintings were hanging in the church, but so darkened by the hand of time that it was impossible to make out whether they were of any artistic merit. wonderful men those early missionaries, who brought such valuables into this wilderness, over hundreds and thousands of miles, on the backs of mules or indians. it was rather anomalous to see the poor, naked indians outside the door, for whose benefit all this had been done. a woman was sweeping away the dirt from the swarms of bats that nested in the ceiling. the richest and most prominent man in the village enjoyed the reputation of being a great ladron. when i called on him i found him in bed suffering from a tooth-ache. he had his head wrapped up and was completely unnerved, and many people came to sympathise with him in his affliction. when i told him that i liked the tarahumares, he answered, "well, take them with you, every one of them." all he cared for was their land, and he had already acquired a considerable portion of it. his wife was the only person in the village who knew how to recite the prayers in the church. this made the husband feel proud of her, and he evidently considered her piety great enough to suffice for the family. on my return to guachochic i discharged the mexicans who had been with me since my travels through sonora; they were here of little use to me, as they did not know the country. i also disposed of the greater number of my mules, keeping only about half a dozen. with the kind permission of don miguel i installed most of my baggage in one of his houses, and considered his ranch a kind of headquarters from which i made several long excursions in various directions. thanks to my pack and riding mules i could take along, as barter, corn, glass beads, tobacco, and cotton cloth, and bring back collections made on the road. i was accompanied by a couple of mexicans from this part of the country and some indians who acted as carriers. of course, whenever i went down into the barrancas, i had to leave my mules and cargo in some safe place on the highlands and take along only the most necessary stores as we proceeded on foot. on such trips i had to depend entirely on the natives; they secured the food, and selected the cave or rock shelter, or the tree under which we slept. our bill of fare was made up mainly of corn and beans, with an occasional sheep or goat, and some herbs and roots as relishes. corn was prepared in the styles known to the indians, either as corn-cakes (tortillas) or, more often, by simply toasting the grains on a piece of crockery over the fire. the dish is easy enough to prepare and does not taste at all bad, but it is hard work for one's teeth to make a meal of it, as the kernels assume the consistency of little pebbles, and many months of such a diet lengthens your dentist's bill at about the same ratio as that in which it shortens your molars. you will ask why i did not carry provisions along with me. simply because preserved food is, as a rule, heavy to carry, to say nothing of its being next to impossible to secure more when the supply is exhausted. some chocolate and condensed milk which i ordered from chihuahua did not reach me until seven months after the date of the order. besides, the indians are not complaisant carriers, least of all in this exceedingly rough country. for over a year i thus continued to travel around among the tarahumares, visiting them on their ranches and in their caves, on the highlands and in the barrancas. there are few valleys into which i did not go in this central part of the tarahumare country, that is, from the barranca de batopilas and carichic in the north toward the regions of the mining place guadalupe y calvo in the south. by and by i also found a suitable lenguaraz, don nabor, who lived a day's journey from guachochic. he was a tall, lank, healthy-looking fellow, some fifty years old, very poor and blessed with a large family of sons and daughters, some of them full grown. all his life he had been intimate with the indians; he spoke their language as well as he did spanish, and really liked the tarahumares better than his fellow mexicans. being a great hunter but a poor shot he brought home but little game, and made his living chiefly by trading with the indians. he was the picture of good-nature, laughing with the indians at their jokes, and weeping with them at their sorrows. among them he passed as a wit, and being very honest was a general favourite. he never took anything without asking, but was not backward about that. of his teeth he had hardly any but two of his upper incisors left, which was rather hard for a man of his ravenous appetite; but he utilised them with such squirrel-like dexterity as almost to keep pace with others. chapter xiii the tarahumare physique--bodily movements--not as sensitive to pain as white men--their phenomenal endurance--health--honesty--dexterity and ingenuity--good observers of the celestial bodies and weather-forecasters--hunting and shooting--home industries--tesvino, the great national drink of the tribe--other alcoholic drinks. the tarahumare of to-day is of medium size and more muscular than his north american cousin, but his cheek-bones are equally prominent. his colour is light chocolate-brown. i was rather surprised often to find the faces of the people living in the warm barrancas of a lighter colour than the rest of their bodies. the darkest complexions, strange to say, i encountered on the highlands near guachochic. in the higher altitudes the people also develop higher statures and are more muscular than in the lower portions of the country. both men and women wear long, flowing, straight black hair, which in rare cases is a little wavy. when a woman marries, i am told, she cuts her hair once. when the hair is cut because it has grown too long and troublesome, they place it under a stone or hang it in a tree. a shaman once cut his hair short to get new thoughts with the new hair, and while it was growing he kept his head tied up in a piece of cotton cloth to keep his thoughts from escaping. when the people are very old, the hair turns gray; but they never grow bald. beards are rare, and if they appear the indians pull them out. their devil is always represented with a beard, and they call the mexicans derisively shabótshi, "the bearded ones." much as they enjoy tobacco, an indian would not accept some from me, because he feared that coming from a white man it would cause a beard to grow on his face. there are more women in the tribe than men. they are smaller, but generally just as strong as the other sex, and when angered, for instance by jealousy, the wife may be able to beat her husband. hands and feet are small. many of the women have surprisingly small and well-shaped bones, while the men are more powerfully built. the corner teeth differ from the front teeth in that they are thicker, and, in spite of exceptionally fine teeth, tooth-ache is not unknown in the tribe. men, even those who are well nourished, are never stout. the women are more inclined to corpulency. eight people with hair-lip, seven hunchbacks, six men and four women with six toes to their feet, and one or two cases of squint-eyes came under my notice. one boy had a club-foot with toes turned inside, and i saw one man who had only stumps of arms with two or three finger-marks on each. i have observed one case of insanity among these indians. _pediculi_ (lice) from the heads and clothing of the tarahumare are blackish in colour, but the claw is not different from that of the white men's parasites. when at ease, the tarahumare stands on both legs, without stiffness. in micturition he stands, while the tepehuane sits down. the body is well balanced. the gait is energetic. he swings his arm and plants his foot firmly, with the toes generally in, gliding along smoothly with quick steps and without swaying to and fro, the body bent slightly forward. the palm of the hand is turned to the rear. tarahumares climb trees by embracing the tree as we do; but the ascent is made in jumps, the legs accordingly not embracing the tree as, much as is the case with us. in swimming they throw their arms ahead from one side to another. they point with the open hand or by protruding the lips and raising the head at the same time in the desired direction. like the mexicans they beckon with their hands by making downward movements with their fingers. to the casual observer the native appears dull and heavy, so much so that at first it would seem hopeless to get any intelligent information out of him; but on better acquaintance it will be found that their faces, like those of mexican indians in general, have more variety of feature and expression than those of the whites. at the same time it is true that the individual does not show his emotion very perceptibly in his face. one has to look into his eyes for an expression of what passes in his mind, as his face is not mobile; nor does he betray his feelings by involuntary actions. if he blushes, as he sometimes does, the colour extends down the neck and is visible in spite of his dusky skin. laughter is never immoderate enough to bring tears to the eyes. the head is nodded vertically in affirmation and shaken laterally in negation only by the civilised tarahumares. there is a slight though undefinable odour about the tarahumare. he is not aware of it; yet he will tell you that the mexican smells like a pig, and the american like coffee, both offensive odours to tarahumares. they all love to feel warm, and may often be seen lying in the sun on their backs or stomachs. heat never seems to trouble them. young babies sleep on their mothers' backs without any covering on their heads to protect them from the fierce rays of the summer sun. on the other hand, the tarahumare endures cold unflinchingly. on an icy winter morning, when there are six inches of snow on the ground, many a man may be seen with nothing on but his blanket fastened around his waist, pursuing rabbits. while their senses are keen, i do not consider them superior to those of any well-endowed white man. to test eyesight, sir francis galton directs us to cut out a square piece of white paper one and a half inches a side, paste it on a large piece of black paper, and mark how far a person can distinguish whether the square is held straight or diagonally. none of the indians could distinguish the different positions until they were within seven hundred and ten feet. on another occasion, however, when i tested six individuals, four men could tell the position of the square at a distance of nine hundred and five feet. one of these had syphilis. they certainly do not feel pain in the same degree as we do. on this point any collector of hair could have reason to satisfy himself. scientists consider the hair a particularly distinguishing feature among the races of men, not only in regard to its colour, but also as to its texture. in fact, the human race is by some classified according to the character of the hair of the head. compared under the microscope a section of the hair of a chinaman or an american indian is found to be circular, that of a european oval in shape. as a rule, the flatter the hair the more readily it curls, the perfectly cylindrical hair hanging down stiff and straight. a section of the straight hair of a japanese, for instance, forms a perfect circle. so much importance being attached to the structure of the hair, i made a collection from different individuals. they were willing enough to let me have all the samples i wanted for a material consideration, of course, but the indifferent manner in which they pulled the hair from their heads, just as we should tear out hairs from the tail of a horse, convinced me that inferior races feel pain to a less extent than civilised man. i once pulled six hairs at a time from the head of a sleeping child without disturbing it at all; i asked for more, and when twenty-three hairs were pulled out in one stroke, the child only scratched its head a little and slept on. they are not so powerful at lifting as they are in carrying burdens. out of twelve natives, ten of whom were eighteen and twenty years old, while two owned to fifty years, five lifted a burden weighing / pounds ( kilograms). i was able to lift this myself. the same five lifted / pounds ( kilograms), as also did two strong mexicans present, aged respectively eighteen and thirty years. in order to test their carrying capacity, i had them walk for a distance of feet on a pretty even track. one very poor and starved-looking tarahumare carried / pounds ( kilograms) on his back, though tottering along with some difficulty; two others carried it with ease, and might have taken it farther. all three were young men. their endurance is truly phenomenal. a strong young man carried a burden of over pounds from carichic to batopilas, a distance of about miles, in seventy hours. while travelling with such burdens they eat nothing but pinole, a little at frequent intervals. the wonderful health these people enjoy is really their most attractive trait. they are healthy and look it. it could hardly be otherwise in this delightful mountain air, laden with the invigorating odour of the pines combined with the electrifying effect of being close to nature's heart. in the highlands, where the people live longer than in the barrancas, it is not infrequent to meet persons who are at least a hundred years old. long life is what they all pray for. they suffer sometimes from rheumatism, but the most common disease is pleurisy (_dolor de costado_), which generally proves fatal. syphilis rages in some parts of the country. there was at the time of my visit to pino gordo hardly a native there who had not, at one time or another, been afflicted with it; but the victims get quickly over it without special treatment, sometimes within a year. children of syphilitic parents show the symptoms soon after birth. small-pox, too, plays havoc among the population. i have seen some people suffering with cataract in the eyes, and some foot-runners complained that their sight sometimes became impaired during or after a race. the tarahumares have not any cases of tape-worm, although their sheep have it; probably the large quantities of tesvino drunk during the winter may have something to do with this. medicine takes remarkably strong hold of the indians. one man suffered for two weeks from fever and ague, lost his appetite, and seemed a general wreck; but after a two-grain quinine pill became at once himself again, and a few days later was able to take a message for me to a place forty miles off and return the same day. the natives do not bathe except in the wet season. when they go to feasts, they wash their hands and faces, and the women comb their hair. sometimes they may wash their feet, but more frequently they clean their heads. in fact, the regular way of taking a bath is to wash the head. for this purpose they use an agave called soké. occasionally they use a white earth from cusarare, called _javoncillo_; it is very soft and it is also used as white colour in decorating pottery. when the men go into deep water to bathe they smear fat all over their bodies to guard against all kinds of bad animals in the water; women do not usually take this precaution. a tarahumare does not commit homicide unless he is drunk. there are only isolated exceptions. a _jefe politico_ (prefect) told me that in forty years he had heard of only two murders. in both of these cases a drunken husband had killed his wife at a feast, and knew nothing of the crime after he became sober. i have been told that in some rare instances a tarahumare woman will sit on her child right after its birth to crush it, in order to save herself the trouble of bringing it up. the tepehuanes are reputed to do the same thing, and for the same purpose. still with both tribes crimes of this kind are exceedingly rare. suicide is never committed unless a person is drunk and angered by some slight or by jealousy. at one time there was a veritable epidemic of suicides among the indians near guachochic, the men hanging themselves with their girdles; one of them even suspended himself by the feet. but it is doubtful whether a pagan tarahumare ever killed himself. as a rule, the tarahumare is not a thief. only when he thinks himself entirely unobserved, he may appropriate some trifle that particularly strikes his fancy, but the indications are that he learned the art from the mexicans. once on our travels we passed a man who was weeding his field. we tried to induce him to give us some information, but he was too busy to talk, and we went on. soon he noticed that we had accidentally dropped our large axe, and immediately he interrupted his pressing work and came running after us with it. i wanted to compensate him for the trouble he had put himself to, but he would not accept the money i offered, saying that he had not had to go far, and, anyway, he did not bring the axe to get payment for it. as long as he is in his native state, a tarahumare never cheats at bargains. he does not like to sell anything that is in any way defective. he always draws attention to the flaw, and if a jar has any imperfection, it requires much persuasion to make him part with it. he shows honesty also in other ways. often i trusted indians with a silver dollar or two for corn to be delivered a few days later, and never was i disappointed by them. on the other hand, they are chary of selling anything to a stranger. when a mexican wants to buy a sheep, or some corn, or a girdle, the tarahumare will first deny that he has anything to sell. what little he has he likes to keep for himself, and he considers it a favour to part with any of his belongings for money. a purchase, however, establishes a kind of brotherhood between the two negotiants, who afterward call each other "naragua," and a confidence is established between them almost of the same character as that which exists between compadres among the mexicans. from outsiders they accept silver coins, but not paper money, because they have been cheated with wrappers from cigarette boxes, and besides, they have no means of keeping such money safe and sound from mice, moisture, etc. among themselves a little trading goes on, the highlands obtaining from the barrancas in the west copal, chile, ari, ear ornaments made from shells, and goats, in exchange for corn and beans. the indians from nararachic go to rio concho for the shells from which they make their ear pendants. the powder produced in working the shells is saved and mixed with salt to be used as a remedy for eye troubles. the tribe has undeniably a certain gift for mechanics. the people are deft with their fingers and do everything neatly. this shows itself in their ingeniously constructed wooden locks and in the niceness with which they stuff animals. they are also very clever in following tracks, and even recognise the hoof-prints of particular horses among others in the same trail. they will also tell you that a tired deer keeps its toes more closely together than an animal just aroused from its lair. and never do they lose their way in the forest, not even when drunk. they love to sit among their corn plants, and will hide among them when strangers approach. the tarahumares are inquisitive, and will stand for a long time looking at you from a distance, if anything unusual attracts their attention. they are very critical and there is much gossip going on among them. they also laugh at the mexicans, and say that the hair on their faces is like the fur on a bear. squint-eyes also afford them much amusement. they are smart, attentive and patient. they have no qualms of conscience about telling an untruth, but my experience with them shows appreciation and gratitude for benefits received. an indian whom i had occasion to treat to a good meal, many months afterward at a feast came up and said to me, "you were good to me when i was very hungry," and he proved his thankfulness by assisting me in various ways in establishing friendly relations with his people, which otherwise would have been very difficult to bring about. children are bright, and when sent to school learn spanish quickly. they also master reading and writing without difficulty. they are diligent, eager to learn, and very religious, docile, and easily converted to christianity. there is a story about a padre who asked a tarahumare boy, "what is god doing in heaven?" the boy said, "the same as the macaw does in the tree." the padre asked, "what does the macaw do in the tree?" and the boy replied, "he eats the good seeds and lets the bad ones drop." a mexican asked me if god was going to walk on earth again, and my tarahumare attendant remarked, "no, he is now afraid to come, because people have too many rifles." when they learn something their ambition runs high, and the boys always want to become generals and presidents of the republic. the tarahumares are careful observers of the celestial bodies, and know the pleiades, the belt of orion, and the morning and the evening star. the great dipper is of no special interest to them. near guachochic the tarahumares plant corn in accordance with the positions of the stars with reference to the sun. they say if the sun and the stars are not equal the year will be bad; but when the stars last long the year will be good. in , the sun "travelled slowly," and the stars "travelled quickly," and in june they had already "disappeared." therefore the tarahumares predicted that their crops would be below the average, which came true. on june d i asked an indian how much longer the sun would travel on, and he told me that it ought not to be more than fifteen days. the tarahumares are reputed to be good weather prophets among the mexicans, who frequently consult them upon the prospects of rain. the indians judge from the colour of the sun when he rises as to whether there will be rain that day. if the crescent of the moon is lying horizontally, it is carrying much water; but when it stands up straight, it brings nothing. this belief is shared by the mexicans. when the moon is full and has "a ring around," she is dancing on her patio. at the period of the dark moon she is dead, but will return after three days. eclipses are explained as collisions between the sun and the moon on the road, when they fight. the tarahumare men make bows and arrows, and in the central part of the country are great hunters and clever at shooting. the fore-shaft of their arrows is made of palo hediondo, a wood used also in the making of needles. but the people living near the pueblo of panalachic and the barranca de cobre are poor shots, and their favourite weapon is the axe. the boys still play with slings, which not so long ago were used for killing squirrels. a club with a stone (spanish, _macana_) is said to have been formerly in common use. the grandfathers of the present generation of nararachic had flint-tipped arrows. the indians also know how to prepare excellent buckskin. they peg the hide on the ground and leave it for three days, and when it is sufficiently dry the hair is scraped off with a knife. it is then smeared over with the brain of the animal and hung up in the sun for four days. the next step is to wash it well in warm water in a wooden trough. then it is well kneaded, and two people taking hold of it draw it out of the water and stretch it well between them. it is dried again and is then tanned with the crushed bark of the big-leaved oak-tree. a natural cavity in a rock is chosen for a vat, in which the skin is left for two days. after this it is well rinsed and squeezed until no water remains in it. two persons are required for the operation, which is always performed in a place on which the sun beats strongly, while at the same time it is sheltered from the wind by surrounding rocks. deer are caught in snares fastened to a bent tree, so that the animal's foot is held, while the tree when released hoists the quarry up. the indians also chase deer with dogs toward some narrow passage in the track where they have placed sharp-pointed pine sticks, two feet long, against which the deer runs and hurts itself. blackbirds are decoyed by kernels of corn threaded on a snare of pita fibre hidden under the ground. the bird swallows the kernel, which becomes entangled in its oesophagus and is caught. small birds are also shot with bow and arrows, or killed with stones. the tarahumare is ingenious in devising many kinds of traps for birds and animals. into the burrow of the gopher he places a small upright frame cut from a piece of bark. there is a groove inside of the frame, and in this the snare runs; and a string is attached to a bough above ground. another string, on which some grains of corn are threaded, keeps the snare set and obstructs the gopher's passage through the frame. when trying to get at the kernels the gopher cuts the string, the snare is released, and he is caught in his own burrow. squirrels are hunted in the most primitive way--by cutting down the tree on which an animal is discovered. sometimes it will escape when the tree falls, and then the man has to cut down another tree, and thus he may go on felling as many as ten trees before he can bag his game, not a very substantial reward for a whole day's work. the women make girdles and blankets on primitive looms, inserting characteristic designs in the weaving. it takes four days of constant work to make a girdle, but no woman weaves more than one blanket in a year, and it is almost an event when it is finished. the weaving frame consists simply of four sticks--placed on the ground tied together in a rectangle or triangle, and pieces of reed on which the thread is wound, one for each colour, are used as shuttles. textiles from pamachic are especially highly valued. the blankets from that locality are sold all over the tarahumare country and are the finest made by the tribe. the tarahumares are not far advanced in the art of making pottery. their work is crude and not very substantial. the industry is practised only by the women, and the degree of ability varies considerably. the art is often hereditary. the nicest pottery i found in the neighbourhood of panalachic, where it is decorated with certain designs in red and white. one woman in a western barranca cultivated a specialty of making large jars for holding tesvino. the largest jar shown in the illustration was nearly eight feet in circumference. women when making pottery taste a little of the clay before commencing work, ascertaining whether it is the right kind or not. some of the clay is acid and not good. the clay which is serviceable is a little sweet and of a pale yellow colour. the clay is dried and ground, and then mixed with ground pieces of old pottery instead of sand. to make a piece of pottery, a lump of clay is hollowed out in the shape of a cup, and on this foundation the jar is built up, thin layers of clay being placed on successively, and smoothed carefully over with wet hands, making the walls thinner and thinner. the vessel is built up standing on a bowl filled with ashes and covered with a piece of cotton cloth. i saw a clever woman make a medium-sized jar in twenty-seven minutes. she was seated in the sun, and finished four vessels in one afternoon. then, assisted by her husband, she began to even them on the outside with a small, smooth, oblong piece of a gourd. the vessels were then put into the house in order that they might not dry too quickly. after an interval of fifteen minutes, during which she nursed her infant, which had been bothering her all the while, she began work again. first, with the edge of a sharpened stick she removed all irregularities on the outside and on the brim, and then with a stone she polished the vessel. to polish the jars seemed to take the longest time, for each of the workers was engaged on a vessel for over an hour, and even then had not completed the task. they polished outside and a little way inside below the brim. finally they painted decorations with ochre, and polished again for a long time, but only the outside. now the jars were again put into the house to dry a little more before the polishing was finished. to burn the jars, they must first be thoroughly dried, as otherwise the fire would crack them. when the weather is nice the fire may be made outside the house; but usually it is built inside on the ordinary fireplace. each vessel, one at a time, is turned upside down over charcoal, and pieces of pine bark are built up all around and over it like a square little hut, then ignited. care is taken that no piece of bark comes so near to the jar as to touch and injure it. where bark cannot be readily procured, wood is used. the heat first turns the clay dark, and afterward a pretty yellow colour. there is one industry which has a peculiar bearing on the whole life of the tarahumare, namely, the making of native beer. nothing is so close to the heart of the tarahumare as this liquor, called in mexican spanish _tesvino_. it looks like milky water, and has quite an agreeable taste, reminding one of kumyss. to make it, the moist corn is allowed to sprout; then it is boiled and ground, and the seed of a grass resembling wheat is added as a ferment. the liquor is poured into large earthen jars made solely for the purpose, and it should now stand for at least twenty-four hours; but inasmuch as the jars are only poorly made, they are not able to hold it very long, and the people take this responsibility on themselves. a row of beer jars turned upside down in front of a house is a characteristic sight in the tarahumare region. the tesvino forms an integral part of the tarahumare religion. it is used at all its celebrations, dances, and ceremonies. it is given with the mother's milk to the infant to keep it from sickness. in "curing" the new-born babe the shaman sprinkles some over it to make it strong. beer is applied internally and externally as a remedy for all diseases tarahumare flesh is heir to. no man could get his field attended to if he did not at first make ready a good supply of tesvino, because beer is the only remuneration his assistants receive. drinking tesvino at the feast marks the turning-point in a person's life. a boy begins to drink tesvino because now he feels himself a man; and when a girl is seen at feasts, it is a sign that she is looking for a husband. no marriage is legitimate without a liberal consumption of tesvino by all parties present at the wedding. hunting and fishing expeditions are accompanied by beer-drinking to insure luck. no matter how many times the tarahumare changes his abode in the course of his life, he always makes tesvino when moving into a new house or cave. even the dead would not get any rest, but come back and harm the survivors, if a quantity of tesvino were not set aside for them. in fact, there is absolutely no act of importance that is not, in one way or another, connected with the drinking of this beer. never is a jar commenced unless some of the liquor is sacrificed before the cross, for the gods are believed to be as fond of the beer as are mortals. rain cannot be obtained without tesvino; tesvino cannot be made without corn; and corn cannot grow without rain. this, in a nutshell, is the tarahumare's view of life. there are many occasions during the year, especially during the winter time, when regular symposiums are held, generally inside of the house; but the people never drink tesvino unless there is some purpose to be attained, be it luck in some undertaking, or good crops, or the health of the family, or some similar benefit. they may dance yúmari for a little while at any of these functions. it is the custom to appoint one man to distribute the liquor among the guests. in doing this the host offers to the chosen one three drinking-gourds full of tesvino, which the latter empties, and he enters upon his duty by giving to every man present three gourds in succession and to every woman four. the guests, although from politeness hesitating between each gourd-ful, are only too delighted to comply with this inviolable rule, which speaks eloquently for their constitutions. the seat beside the distributer is the most coveted. i, too, was always glad to get it, because it gave me the best chance to observe the behaviour of the indians at the feasts. the dispenser establishes himself close to the big jar, and being immensely popular with everybody he is never left alone. the geniality of the tarahumares, their courteousness and politeness toward each other in the beginning of a feast, is, to say the least, equal to that of many a civilised gentleman. when the cup is offered to anyone, he most urgently protests and insists that the distributer shall drink; often this remonstrance is heeded, but the gourd is never emptied; something is always left in it, and this the guest has to take, and a second gourdful is immediately held out to him. though he again refuses, he generally allows himself to be persuaded to drink it, and this mock refusing and urging goes on as long as they have their wits together. to my knowledge, this beer is not known outside of the tarahumare tribe and their immediate neighbours, the northern tepehuanes, the tubars, and some mexicans in chihuahua who have also adopted it. it must not be confounded with the well-known mexican drink, pulque, to which it is superior in flavour. it is very nourishing, and the indians as well as the mexicans are in the habit of abstaining from food before partaking of the beer, which they assert would otherwise not agree with them. but, food or no food, at all feasts and dances they drink such incredibly large quantities that they are invariably completely overpowered by it, though when taken in moderation tesvino is only mildly stimulating. another national beverage, maguey wine, is made from a favourite sweet food of many indian tribes, which a white man's stomach can hardly digest, namely, the baked stalk of the maguey plant, or that of other agaves. to prepare the liquor, the leaves are cut from the bulb-shaped stalk or heart, which looks like a hard white head of cabbage. these hearts contain a great deal of saccharine matter, and are baked between hot stones in earth mounds, being protected against contact with earth by layers of grass. when the tarahumares want to make maguey wine they leave the baked stalks in water in natural hollows or pockets in rocks, without any covering. the root of a certain plant called frijolillo is added as a ferment, and after two days the juice is wrung out with a blanket. an intoxicating drink is also made from another agave, called tshawí, which, though common on the higher slopes of the barrancas, has only recently become known to science. according to tradition it is the first plant god created, and the liquor made from it is considered by the pagan tarahumares as indispensable to certain ceremonies. the tepehuanes, too, put much importance on this brew, and say that the plant is so sensitive that if one passes a jar in which it is being boiled the liquid will not ferment. finally it should be mentioned that an intoxicating, though extremely distasteful drink is made from the stalk of the maize plant (_caña_), by pounding this material into a pulp, then allowing it to soak in water for three days, when it is fermented, whereupon the liquor is prepared in the same way as the maguey wine. chapter xiv politeness, and the demands of etiquette--the daily life of the tarahumare--the woman's position is high--standard of beauty--women do the courting--love's young dream--marriage ceremonies, primitive and civilised--childbirth--childhood. for a barbarian, the tarahumare is a very polite personage. in his language he even has a word "rekó" which is the equivalent of the english "please," and which he uses constantly. when passing a stranger, or leaving a person, he draws attention to his action by saying, "i am going." as he grows civilised, however, he loses his good manners. in spite of this he is not hospitable; the guest gets food, but there is no room for him in the house of a tarahumare. a visitor never thinks of entering a house without first giving the family ample time to get ready to receive him. when he approaches a friend's home, good manners require him to stop sometimes as far as twenty or thirty yards off. if he is on more intimate terms with the family, he may come nearer, and make his presence known by coughing; then he sits down, selecting generally some little knoll from which he can be readily seen. in order not to embarrass his friends he does not even look at the house, but remains sitting there gazing into vacancy, his back or side turned toward the homestead. should the host be absent the visitor may thus sit for a couple of hours; then he will rise and go slowly away again. but under no circumstances will he enter the home, unless formally invited, "because," he says, "only the dogs enter houses uninvited." never will the lady of the house commit such a gross breach of etiquette as to go out and inform him of her husband's absence, to save the caller the trouble of waiting, nor will she if alone at home, make any statements as to that gentleman's whereabouts. the tarahumare never does anything without due deliberation; therefore he may, for quarter of an our, discuss with his wife the possible purport of the visit, before he goes out to see the man. they peep through the cracks in the wall at him, and if they happen to be eating or doing anything, they may keep the visitor waiting for half an hour. finally the host shakes out the blanket on which he has been sitting, throws it around himself, and, casting a rapid glance to the right and left as he passes through the door, goes to take a seat a few yards distant from the caller. after some meditation on either side, the conversation, as in more civilised society, opens with remarks about the weather and the prospects for rain. when this subject is exhausted, and the host's curiosity as to where the man came from, what he is doing, and where he is going to, is satisfied, the former may go back to the house and fetch some pinole and meat for the traveller. the object of the visit not infrequently is an invitation to take part in some game or foot-race; and as the men are sure to remain undisturbed, they generally reach some understanding. a friend of the family is, of course, finally invited to enter the house, and the customary salutation is "assagá!" ("sit down!") in this connection it may be noted that the tarahumares in conversation look sidewise, or even turn their backs toward the person they speak to. after having eaten, the guest will carefully return every vessel in which food was given to him, and when he rises he hands back the skin on which he was seated. should occasion require, the host will say: "it is getting late, and you cannot return to your home to-night. where are you going to sleep? there is a good cave over yonder." with this he may indicate where the visitor may remain over night. he will also tell him where he may find wood for the fire, and he will bring him food; but not unless the weather is very tempestuous will he invite an outsider to sleep in the house. when at home the tarahumare keeps regular hours, rising and retiring with the sun. having slept on a skin on the floor, rolled up in his blanket, without anything for a pillow except perhaps a stone or a chunk of wood, he sits for a while near the fire, which is kept up most of the year at night in the house or cave. his wife brings him his breakfast of pinole. while combing out his long black hair with a pine cone, he may ask the boys and girls whether they have attended to the traps he told them to set on the night before. they run out and soon they come in with some mice. "here they are," they say, "but they are very poor!" the father, however, may consider them fat and nice, and the mother affably adds: "of course, they are fat, since they have eaten so much corn." they go about to roast them, while the husband looks on. generally the tarahumares have a number of traps set to catch mice. they are so fond of this "game" that, when civilised, they have been known to ask permission from mexican acquaintances to go through their houses to hunt for them. the mice are skinned and threaded on a thin stick, which is stuck through their necks and serves as a spit. having enjoyed the dainty morsel thus set before him, the husband now tells his wife what he is going to do to-day. he will run deer or hunt squirrels, and accordingly takes his bow and arrows or his axe with him. in spring-time he may go to the field. the wife also tells of her plans for the day. the work that engages most of the time of the housewives in mexico is the grinding of the corn, on the metate, for corn-cakes; and if she has any time to spare she boils beans, looks for herbs, or works on her weaving-frame; but she never sits about idle. she looks as conscientiously after her duties as any white woman; she has always something to do, and many things to take care of in her small way. about sunset the husband returns, bringing a squirrel or rabbit, which he carries concealed in his blanket, that no neighbour may see it and expect an invitation to help to eat it. as he goes and comes he never salutes his wife or children. he enters in silence and takes his seat near the fire. the animal he caught he throws toward her where she is kneeling before the metate, so that it falls on her skirt. she ejaculates "sssssssssss!" in approval and admiration, and, picking it up, praises its good points extravagantly: "what a big mouth! what large claws!" etc. he tells her how hard he worked to get that squirrel, how it had run up the tree, and he had to cut down that tree, till finally the dog caught it. "the dog is beginning to be very good at hunting," he says. "and now i am very tired." she spreads before him a generous supper of beans, herbs, and maize porridge, which she has ready for him. and while he eats she goes industriously to work removing the fur from the game, but leaving on the skin, not only because it keeps the meat together while it is boiling, but mainly because she thinks there is a good deal of nourishment in it, which it would be a shame to waste. when the man is at home, and neither sleeping nor eating, he may sit down and make a bow or some arrows; or, stretched out on his back, he may resort to his favourite amusement, playing his home-made violin. like all indians of mexico, the tarahumares are fond of music and have a good ear for it. when the spaniards first came, they found no musical instruments among the tarahumares except the short reed flute, so common to many mexican tribes, the shaman's rattle, and the rasping stick. but they soon introduced the violin and even the guitar, and throughout mexico the indians now make these instruments themselves, using pine wood and other indigenous material in their construction, sometimes with remarkable skill and ingenuity, and for glue the juice of a certain lily root. having no idea of the value of money, they frequently sell a tolerably good instrument for fifty or even twenty-five cents. toward evening the tarahumare father of a family gets more talkative and chats with his wife, and then "the day is done, and the darkness drops from the wings of night as a feather is wafted downward from an eagle in his flight." and as the shadows deepen, he wraps himself closer in his blanket, and before he knows it childlike slumber enfolds him. frequently he grows hungry in the middle of the night, and reaches out for food, as well as for his violin, devoting himself to music for half an hour, before he drops off to sleep again. there are more women in the tribe than men, and they are looked upon as of less importance. there is a saying among the people that one man is as good as five women. her prayers are not of as much value as his, because she prays only to the moon, and her deity is not as big as his, the sun. for this reason her place is behind the man in all dances. yet she occupies a comparatively high position in the family, and no bargain is ever concluded until the husband has consulted his wife in the matter. i am bound to say, however, that on such occasions every member of the household, even the youngest and smallest child, is asked to give an opinion, and, if one of the little tots objects, the sale will not be closed. in such cases there is nothing for the customer to do but to try to influence the young business man who raised the objection, not directly, but through his parents. this accounts for a good deal of the frightful loss of time incurred in dealing with these indians. the purchase of a sheep may require two days, and the negotiations concerning an ox may extend over an entire week. that a woman of intelligence and character is appreciated even among barbarians is proven by the fact that once a woman was made gobernador, or chief, because "she knew more than men." she did not assume the title, but she is said to have ruled with more wisdom and justice than many of her predecessors and successors. husband and wife never show their affection in public except when drunk. parents kiss their little ones on the mouth and on the stomach, and the youngsters express their love for each other in the same way. on some occasions i have seen lovers sitting closely together, she holding on to his forefinger. the women are of a jealous disposition. the tarahumare standard of beauty is not in accordance with the classic ideal as we perceive it, nor is it altogether in conformity with modern views on the subject. large, fat thighs are the first requisite, and a good-looking person is called "a beautiful thigh." erect carriage is another essential to beauty. in the face, the eyes attract more notice than any other feature, and the most admired ones are "the eyes like those of a mouse." this is the highest praise that can be bestowed upon anyone's personal appearance. they all like straight hair, and consider hair very ugly when it has a curl at the end. i once asked a bright young tarahumare how the man must look who is most admired by women, whether his mouth and nose should be large or small, etc., and he replied, "they must be similar to mine!" aside from good looks, the women like best men who work well, just as in civilised countries a woman may look out for a good _parti_. but wealth does not make the possessor more attractive to the girls. in nararachic was an elderly man who owned forty head of cattle and eighteen horses. when he became a widower, he had to live with an elderly woman of bad reputation, as he could not get another woman to marry him. the young women enjoy absolute liberty, except as regards mexicans, against whom they are always warned. they are told that they become sick from contact with such men. never are they forced to contract what would turn out to be a loveless marriage. a beautiful indian girl was much sought for by a mexican. he spoke the tarahumare language very well, and offered to give her a good house and fine clothes and a whole handful of silver dollars. her brother, who was half civilised, and therefore more corrupt than the ordinary indian, also tried to persuade her to accept the rich suitor. but she tossed up her head and exclaimed, "tshíne awláma gátsha negalé" which, freely translated, means: "i do not like that fellow; love goes where it chooses." the custom of the country requires the girl to do all the courting. she is just as bashful as the young swain whom she wishes to fascinate, but she has to take the initiative in love affairs. the young people meet only at the feasts, and after she hag gotten mildly under the influence of the native beer that is liberally consumed by all, she tries to attract his attention by dancing before him in a clumsy way up and down on the same spot. but so bashful is she that she persistently keeps her back turned toward him. she may also sit down near him and pull his blanket and sing to him in a gentle low voice a simple love-song: se-(se)-ma-te re-hoy i-rú se-(se)-ma-te re-hoy i-vá beau-ti-ful man to be sure, beau-ti-ful man to be sure. if occasion requires, the parents of the girl may say to the parents of the boy, "our daughter wants to marry your son." then they send the girl to the boy's home, that the young people may become acquainted. for two or three days, perhaps, they do not speak to each other, but finally she playfully begins to throw pebbles at him. if he does not return them, she understands that he does not care for her. if he throws them back at her, she knows that she has won him. she lets her blanket drop and runs off into the woods, and he is not long in following her. sometimes the boy, when he likes a girl very much, may make the first advances, but even then he has to wait until she throws the first pebbles and drops the blanket, for, among the indians, it is the woman who seeks the man, and the fair who deserve the brave. next day they come home together, and after this they do not hide themselves any more. the parents of the girl are advised to make tesvino, as the young couple should not be separated any more, and word is sent out to a few friends and relatives to come to the wedding. the guests arrive in the afternoon and most of the people remain outside of the house during the ceremony, but the bridegroom and his parents go inside, where they seat themselves on skins spread out on the floor. the mother of the girl has placed a large skin next to a big jar of tesvino, and on this the father of the boy sits down. as soon as he has taken his place, the host offers him three gourds full of the drink and requests him to accept the office of honour, the distribution of tesvino to all present, and he immediately enters upon his duties. he first gives four gourds full to the mother of the bride, as the mistress of the tesvino, and three gourds full to the host, the master; then four gourds full to his own wife. the bridal couple have been called in and told to sit down side by side, and all the rest of the people come in and stand around the pair. there is no special place assigned to anyone; but the father of the boy stands up and his mother sits down, while the girl's father sits down and her mother stands up. the boy's father now makes a speech, telling the bridal couple that they must remain together, and never separate nor fight. he specially tells the young man that he has to kill deer and take care always to bring some animal home to his wife, even if it be only a chipmunk or a mouse. he also has to plough and to sow corn and to raise crops, that he and she may always have enough to eat and not go hungry. the father of the girl next takes the word, addressing himself mostly to the bride. now that she is united to the man of her choice, she should always comply with her wifely duties. she must make blankets for her husband, and be industrious, make tesvino and iskiate, pinole, tortillas, gather herbs, etc., that her husband may always have something to eat and not go hungry. he names all the herbs singly. she must also help him, in her way, with the ploughing and sowing, so that he may raise plenty of corn to make tesvino that others may help him. she never must be lazy. the father of the girl now gives tesvino to his future son-in-law, whose father in turn gives some to the bride. the bridal couple are covered with blankets, and in some cases his and her right hands are tied together. there is no other marriage ceremony. but all the guests partake of the liberally flowing bowl, and the festivities end in general and complete intoxication. about two weeks later, the parents of the bridegroom make a feast exactly the same in character, but now the father of the girl occupies the seat of honour next to the big tesvino jar and acts as distributer. he also makes the first speech. the bridegroom gives to his brother-in-law a flint for striking fire, and six arrows. no matter how many brothers the bride has, they all get this present. it is considered an exchange for the girl. the shamans avail themselves of _jus primæ noctis_. after the marriage the bridal couple separate, each staying in the old home for several weeks, after which the young man comes to live with his father-in-law for half a year or a year, until he has had time to make a house for himself. in the meantime the young couple are fed, but they receive nothing else. the young man has his own animals, which he got when he was small, and now his father gives him a piece of land. among the christian tarahumares the fiscal is advised of any contemplated marriage. this functionary has charge of the church edifice and the teaching of the children. it is his duty to take the young couples to the padre to be married. but the padre is far away and comes around only once a year, and sometimes even less frequently, and then the fiscal, so to say, rounds up all the matrimonially inclined. on account of their innate ardour to comply with all religious requirements the tarahumares are willing to go through the ceremony, though to them it has no significance beyond the payment of one dollar. on this account they do not mind waiting for the padre's blessing for a couple of years, until they get ready to part with the dollar, thereby generally saving an extra trip for baptising. as the padre's visits are so few and far between, the fiscal even considers it incumbent upon himself to make up matches on his own account, telling the people that when the padre comes they should be ready to get married. but so independent are the tarahumare girls that it has happened that when the padre asks the portentous question, they cry, "kæke, kæke" ("no, no"), and run away. in my time there was a padre (now removed) who emulated the example of the shamans and was frequently in his cups. on one occasion he was unable to perform the marriage ceremonies, and the sacristan accompanying him had to take his place. all this man knew about the rite was to ask the man and the woman whether they would have each other. on hearing their "yes" he would say, "where is the dollar?" and pocketing it send the couple off with, "now you are all right." when an addition is expected in the family the chief preparation of the woman is to get ready a quantity of beer, calling on her friends to help her, while the husband goes to look for the shaman. when she feels her time is approaching, she retires to some lonely spot, as she is too bashful to bear her child while others are about. she tightens her girdle around her waist, and bears her child sitting up, holding on to something above her, like the branch of a tree. after the little stranger has arrived the husband may bring her a jar with warm water from which she occasionally drinks. he also digs a hole, in which, after he has gone, she buries the placenta, placing stones on top of the place on account of the dogs. the umbilical cord is cut with a sharp reed or a sharp-edged piece of obsidian, but never with a knife, for in that case the child would become a murderer and could never be a shaman. i once asked a tarahumare where he was born, expecting him to give me the name of some ranch; i was rather amused when he pointed to a big stone a little farther on along the slope. that was his birthplace. the mother may lie down for that day, but the following morning she works as usual, as if nothing had been the matter with her. the husband does not work for three days, because he thinks his axe would break, or the horns of his ox would fall off, or he would break a leg. the third day he takes a bath. when the baby is three days old the shaman comes to cure it. a big fire is made of corn-cobs, the little one is placed on a blanket, and with the father's assistance the shaman carries it, if it is a boy, three times through the smoke to the four cardinal points, making the ceremonial circuit and finally raising it upward. this is done that the child may grow well and be successful in life, that is, in raising corn. then the shaman takes a burning corn-cob from the fire and with the charred end makes three parallel lines lengthwise over the child's head and three across them. he also sprinkles tesvino on the head and other vital parts of the body to make them strong, and cures the umbilical cord. he may, too, anoint the child with the fat of the rattlesnake mixed with herbs, and leave it in the sun, that the light may enter its heart. for his services the shaman gets a little maize, beans, salt, etc. on the fourth day the mother goes down to the river to bathe, and while bathing leaves the little one naked, exposed to the sun for at least an hour, in spite of all its wailings, that father sun may see and know his new child. the baby is not washed until it is a year old. then it is cured again, by the shaman, who on various occasions throughout its life repeats his curing, that the child may grow well and that no sickness or bad accidents may befall it. to protect it still further, pieces of palo hediondo or the chuchupate root, the strong smell of which is supposed to avail against disease, are wrapped in a piece of cloth and tied around the child's neck. the mother nurses the child until it is three years old. in some instances she begins to give it once in a while a little pinole when it is only six months old. when two years of age a child begins to walk and to talk. sometimes when the mother is busy, for instance at the metate, and will not stop to nurse him, the little rascal may take a stick and in his way try to beat her. the tarahumare woman is a faithful mother, and takes good care of her children. she generally has from six to eight, often more. while small the children play with primitive dolls. they dress up corn-cobs with scraps of textiles and put them upright in the sand, saying that they are matachines and drunken women. they also play, like other children, with beans and acorns, or with young chickens with their legs tied together. of course the youngsters maltreat these. sometimes they play, too, with stuffed squirrels, but there are no special children's games. the father makes bows and arrows for the boys, and instructs them in hunting and agricultural work. as the girls grow up, the mother teaches them how to spin yarn and weave blankets, "for," she tells them, "otherwise they will become men." she also warns them not to have children too rapidly in succession, for there is no one to carry them for her. women cannot eat the tenderloin until they are very old, because if they did they could have no children. for the same reason they must not eat the pancreas. the women who fear lest they may have difficulty in giving birth to a child make soup of an opossum and eat it. girls must not touch deer antlers, or their breasts would fall off. a characteristic custom is that the children, no matter how old they get, and even after they are married and have families of their own, never help themselves to anything in the parents' house. the mother has to give all the food, etc., and she gives as long as she has anything. parents never inflict corporal punishment upon the young people. if a boy does not behave himself, he gets scolded, and his father's friends may also remonstrate with him at a feast. otherwise, the children grow up entirely independent, and if angry a boy may even strike his father. a girl will never go so far, but when scolded will pout and weep and complain that she is unjustly treated. how different is this from the way in which, for instance, chinese children treat their parents! it does not favour much the theory that the american indians originally came from asia. chapter xv many kinds of games among the tarahumares--betting and gambling--foot-races the national sport--the tarahumares are the greatest runners in the world--divinations for the race--mountains of betting stakes--women's races. to my knowledge there is no tribe so fond of games as the tarahumares. there are few days in the year when a man has not a game of some kind to play. even when they become civilised and demoralised, in spite of their depression and poverty this passion of theirs still clings to them. while it is true that there is always something of value, however insignificant, put at stake, their gambling spirit is not vicious. they have some curious practices in their play: when going to run a race, or when intending to play _cuatro_ or _quinze_, they do not eat chile. where holes in the ground are required for a game, as in cuatro and quinze, they are generally made in the level space on a rock. very common is it to see two young men amusing themselves with shooting-matches, shooting arrows at an arrow which has been shot out into the ground some fifty yards off as a mark. this arrow, as well as the game itself, is called in mexican spanish _lechuguilla_. in tarahumare the game is called chogírali, and the target-arrow chogira. the arrow coming nearest the chogira counts one point; and if it comes within four fingers' width of the aim, it counts four. the game is for twelve points. the distance is not measured from the points of the arrows, but from the winged parts, one man measuring for all. if a shot arrow strikes so as to form a cross with the chogira, it counts four. if it only touches the point of the latter in the ground it counts two. if two arrows happen to form crosses, neither counts. instead of arrows, three sticks may be employed. one is thrown out at a distance and is the chogira, and the other two sticks are thrown toward it, and count in a similar way as the arrows. often while travelling, the tarahumares play this game, in either form, as they go along the road, perhaps for the entire distance. two and three pairs may play together. there is also a game very similar to quoits, played with stone disks, fiat on one side and convex on the other. it is called rixiwátali (rixíwala = disk), and two and two play against each other. first one stone is moistened with spittle on one side to make it "heads or tails" and tossed up. the player who wins the toss plays first. each has three stones, which are thrown toward a hole in the ground, perhaps twenty yards off. one of each party throws first, then goes to the hole and looks at it, while the other players make their throws. the stone falling nearest to the hole counts one point; if it falls into the hole, it counts four; if the stone of the second player falls on top of the first stone in the hole, it "kills" the first stone. the game is out at twelve. to measure distances, they break off small sticks. lookers-on may stand around and bet which of the players will win. another game is called tákwari, "to beat the ball"; in spanish, _palillo_. it is played only by women. two play at a time. one knocks a small wooden ball toward one goal, while her opponent tries to get it to another. this game is also played by the northern tepehuane women, who sometimes use two short sticks tied together in the middle, instead of the ball. the sticks are thrown ahead from their places on the ground with a kind of quick, prying movement, with the aid of a longer stick. civilised tarahumares, as well as the mexicans, play with knuckle-bones as dice. the game is called _la taba_, and the bones are taken from either the deer, the sheep, or the goat. only one bone is used by the two players. twelve points make a game, and each player has twelve grains of corn with which he keeps count. he makes two rings in the sand, and puts his twelve grains in one ring, and as the game progresses he transfers them into the second ring until the game is out. their greatest gambling game, at which they may play even when tipsy, is quinze; in tarahumare, romavóa. it is played with four sticks of equal length, called romálaka and inscribed with certain marks to indicate their value. practically they serve the same purpose as dice, but they are thrown in a different way. the player grasps them in his left hand, levels their ends carefully, lifts his bundle, and strikes the ends against a flat or square little stone in front of him, from which they rebound toward his opponent. the sticks count in accordance with the way they fall. the point of the game is to pass through a figure outlined by small holes in the ground between the two players. the movements, of course, depend upon the points gained in throwing the sticks, and the count is kept by means of a little stone, which is placed in the respective hole after each throw. many accidents may impede its progress; for instance, it may happen to be in the hole into which the adversary comes from the opposite direction. in this case he is "killed," and he has to begin again from the starting-point. the advance is regulated by a number of ingenious by-laws, which make the game highly intellectual and entertaining. if he has the wherewithal to pay his losses, a tarahumare may go on playing for a fortnight or a month, until he has lost everything he has in this world, except his wife and children; he draws the line at that. he scrupulously pays all his gambling debts. the northern tepehuanes also know this game, and play with sticks eighteen to twenty inches long. as these larger sticks fly quite a distance off when rebounding, the players sit rather far apart. wrestling also may be observed, but what may be termed the national sport, of which the tarahumares are inordinately fond, is foot-racing, which goes on all the year round, even when the people are weakened from scarcity of food. the interest centres almost entirely in the betting that goes with it; in fact, it is only another way of gambling. it is called ralá hípa ("with the foot throw"), the word alluding to a ball used at the race. no doubt the tarahumares are the greatest runners in the world, not in regard to speed, but endurance. a tarahumare will easily run miles without stopping. when an indian is sent out as a messenger, he goes along at a slow trot, running steadily and constantly. a man has been known to carry a letter in five days from guazapares to chihuahua and back, a distance of nearly miles by the road. even considering shortcuts, which he, no doubt, knew, it was quite a feat of endurance; for he must have lived, as the indians always do while travelling, on pinole and water only. where the indians serve the mexicans they are often employed to run wild horses into the corral. it may take them two or three days, but they will bring them in, the horses thoroughly exhausted, while the men, who, of course, economise their strength, and sleep, and eat pinole, are comparatively fresh. in the same way they will run down a deer, following it for days through snow and rain, until the animal is cornered and easily shot with arrows, or until it is overtaken utterly jaded and its hoofs dropping off. this propensity for running is so great that the name of the tribe alludes to it. tarahumare is a spanish corruption of ralámari, the meaning of which, though somewhat obscure, may doubtless best be given as "foot-runners," because ralá certainly means "foot." the race is always between two localities, each side being represented by from four to twenty runners. the two parties show in their apparel some distinctive mark; for instance, all of one troop have red head-bands, while the others may wear white ones. a peculiar feature is that the men toss along a small ball as they run, each party having one of their own. these balls are about two and a half inches in diameter and carved from the root of the oak. the foremost runner kicks it with the toes of his right foot, so as to make it bound along as far as yards, and he and all the men behind him follow in the same trot as before. the first man reaching it again kicks it onward. it must never be touched by the hand, unless it happens to fall in some awkward place, as between stones or in a water-pool, when it is picked up and kicked on. there is never any laid-out track, but the circuit is determined in a general way by crosses cut in trees. there are certain favourite places always used as race-courses. the runners seem to have a preference for the level tops of low ridges lying in a circle, wherever this is possible. if this is not feasible, they may run forward and back on a ridge, starting always near the middle, from some little plane or other convenient place, where the people gather for the occasion. there is a manager for each party, and the two arrange the time and place for the race to be held, also the number and length of the circuits to be made. a circuit may measure from three to twelve miles in extent, and when the circuits are short as many as twenty may be agreed upon. at one race-course near carichic, the circuit is about fourteen miles long, and twelve circuits may be run here without stopping. runners of equal ability are matched against each other, each side being, of course, anxious to secure the best. the managers take care of their men until the race comes off. the training consists mainly in abstinence from tesvino for two or five days before the event. when preparing for a big race the runners may practise; not that they need training in running, for that comes to them as naturally as swimming to the duck; but only that they practise kicking the ball and try the ground. much more important are the magical devices by means of which they endeavour to secure their own success and to defeat their opponents. a daring manager may go to a burial cave, taking two balls with him. he digs out a bone, preferably the tibia from the right leg, and sets it on the floor of the cave in which it has been found. in front of it he places a jar with tesvino and some vessels containing food. on either side of these he lays one of his balls, and in front of all he plants the cross. the food and the beer are the payment to the dead that he may help to win the race by weakening the adversaries. as human bones are supposed to induce fatigue, some may be brought to the race-track and secreted there in such a way that the competing runners have to pass over the spot, while the manager's own crew are advised of the danger, to avoid it. the man uses the utmost care not to touch the bones with his fingers, lest he should dry up; instead, he uses sticks in handling and carrying them. scores of remedies are brought to the scene, either to strengthen friends or to weaken opponents. certain herbs are thrown into the air or shaken before the runners to enervate them. some enterprising mexican may bring a white powder or similar substance, declaring that it is very efficacious, and get a tarahumare to pay a high price for it. but whatever means are employed, one way or the other, there is always a counter-remedy to offset its effect. specially potent is the blood of the turtle and the bat, stirred together, dried, and mixed with a little tobacco, which is then rolled into a cigar and smoked. hikuli and the dried head of an eagle or a crow may be worn under the girdle as a protection. the services of the shaman are indispensable for the foot-runners. he helps the manager, himself often a shaman, to rub the men with herbs and smooth stones to make them strong. he also makes passes over them to guard them against sorcery. on the day before the races he "cures" them. food and remedies are placed on a blanket beneath the cross, together with many magical things. the herbs are very powerful and have to be tied up in bags of buckskin or cotton cloth, as otherwise they might break away. the water for the runners to drink is also placed underneath the cross, and candles are set on either side of the pile. the runners bring their balls and stand in a row around the cross. then the shaman, taking his position in front of the latter, smokes incense of copal over them, and sings of the tail of the grey fox, and other songs. he also makes a speech, warning them not to accept pinole or water in other people's houses. all their food and drink must come from their relatives as a guard against witchcraft and illness. the runners drink three times from the water and the strengthening remedies; then the principal runner leads the others in a ceremonial circuit around the cross, walking as many times around it as there are circuits to be run in the race. the men sleep near the cross, to watch the remedies on the blanket. with them they have some old man, for old men see even when they sleep, and watch against sorcery. after the ceremony the shaman takes each runner aside and subjects him to a rigid examination in regard to his recent food and his relations with women. fat, potatoes, eggs, and anything sweet are prohibited, because all these things make the men heavy; but rabbits, deer, rats, turkeys, and chaparral-cocks are wholesome, and such nourishment enables them to win. an augury as to which side will win is also taken. water is poured into a large wooden tray, and the two balls are started simultaneously and rolled through the water over the tray. the party whose ball first reaches the other end will surely win. this test is gone through as many times as there are to be circuits in the race. a race is never won by natural means. the losers always say that they have been bewitched by the others. once i was taking the temperature of some foot-runners before they started, and their opponents, seeing this, lost heart, thinking that i had made their contestants strong to win the race. often one of the principal runners becomes disheartened, and may simulate illness and declare that their rivals have bewitched him. then the whole affair may come to nothing and the race be declared off. there are stories about injurious herbs that have been given in pinole or water, and actually made some racers sick. it may even happen that some dishonest fellow will pay to the best runner of one party a cow if he lets the other party win. but, as a rule, everything goes on straightforwardly. no one will, however, wonder that there are six watchmen appointed by each side to guard the runners from any possible peradventure, and to see that everything goes on in a proper, formal way. tipsy persons are not admitted, and women in a delicate condition are carefully kept away, as the runners become heavy even by touching such a woman's blanket. on the day of the race the forenoon is spent in making bets, the managers acting as stakeholders. these people, poor as they are, wager their bows and arrows, girdles, head-bands, clothes, blankets, beads, ari, balls of yarn, corn, and even sheep, goats, and cattle. the stakes of whatever nature are tied together--a blanket against so many balls of yarn, a stick of ari against so many arrows, etc. at big races the wagers may amount to considerable heaps of such articles, and the position of manager requires a man of decision and memory, for he has to carry all the bets in his head and makes no written record of them. the total value of the wagers may reach a thousand dollars, and what to the indians are fortunes may change hands in accordance with the result of the race. one man on one occasion had $ worth of property at stake. the scene is one of great animation. as many as two hundred people may assemble, among them women and children. at the gathering-point, which is called in tarahumare "the betting-place," all the bets are made, and here the race is started and concluded. here the managers also place a row of stones, one stone for each circuit to be run, and whenever a circuit is completed one stone is taken away. in this way the count is kept. the runners walk about wrapped in their blankets like the rest of the people. they have had nothing to eat all day but pinole and tepid water, and their legs have been rubbed with warm water in the morning by the managers. when finally all the people have arranged their stakes the gobernador steps forward and makes a speech, in which he specially exhorts the runners not to throw the ball with their hands; if they do, they certainly will go to hell! he also warns them against cheating of any kind. at a given signal, quick as lightning, the runners throw off their blankets, and one man in each party, previously selected, throws his ball as far as he can, and all the runners start after it. a second ball is always kept in reserve, in case the first should be lost. the racers wear rattles of deer-hoofs and bits of reeds tied together on a strip of leather, which they stick in the backs of their girdle or hang over their backs. the magic rattling keeps them from falling asleep while running, so they say; besides, the deer-hoofs lend them the swiftness of the stag. some runners adorn themselves with feathers from various birds, preferably the macaw and the peacock, tying them to short sticks. the few tarahumares who have ever seen a peacock think a good deal of this bird, because it is considered light-footed and mystic, being foreign to their country. some runners may be seen who paint their faces and legs with white chalk, near batopilas, for instance. they do not run at an extraordinary speed, but very steadily, hour after hour, mile after mile. good runners make forty miles in six or eight hours. at one race, when they covered according to calculation twenty-one miles in two hours, i timed the leading runner and found that he made feet in nineteen seconds on the first circuit, and on the next in twenty-four seconds. at a race rehearsal i saw them cover four miles in half an hour. the public follows the race with great enthusiasm from beginning to end, the interest growing with each circuit. many begin to follow the runners, shouting to them and urging them on. they also help them by pointing out the ball so that they can kick it without stopping to look for it. the wives of the contestants heat water and prepare pinole, which they hold out in drinking-gourds to the men as they pass. the latter stop for a few seconds to partake of this their favourite dish; and if this cannot be done, the tepid water is thrown over the shoulders of the runners, by way of refreshing them. as darkness comes on, torches of resinous pine wood are lighted and carried along to illuminate the path for the runners, that they may not stumble, making the scene one of extreme picturesqueness, as these torchbearers, demon-like, hurry through the forest. one contestant after another drops out. the excitement becomes wilder; more and more people join in accompanying the few runners left, their principal motive being to shout encouraging words to the runners and urge them to exert themselves to the utmost. and at last the best man comes in, generally alone, the others having either given up the contest or being far behind. the race usually commences at midday; but often the bets are not finished until late in the afternoon. it may last four hours and even longer. a famous runner, now dead, could run from midday until sunrise. there is no prize for the winner himself, except the golden opinions he earns among the women; and his father may accept presents from lucky bettors. a man who wins a cow is expected to give two pesos to the victorious runner; in case he wins a goat he gives half a real. the race over, the wagers are immediately paid and the indians quickly disperse, soon to arrange for another contest. sometimes there is an old man's race preceding that of the young men, the latter being always the principal event of the day. races are also run by women, and the betting and excitement that prevail on these occasions run as high as at the men's races, though on a smaller scale. instead of tossing the ball with their toes, they use a large wooden fork, with two or three prongs, to pitch it forward. sometimes they have a ring of twisted strips of yucca leaves instead of the ball, but more often two interlocked rings which they throw ahead with a stick curved at the end. this game, which is called rowé-mala (rowé signifies a ring), must be very ancient, for rings of this kind have sometimes been found in ancient cliff-dwellings. it is certainly a strange sight to see these sturdy amazons race heavily along with astonishing perseverance, when creeks and water-holes come in their way, simply lifting their skirts _à la diane_ and making short work of the crossing. chapter xvi religion--mother moon becomes the virgin mary--myths--the creation--the deluge--folk-lore--the crow's story to the parrot--brother coyote--beliefs about animals. the pagans or _gentiles_ in the barrancas say that they have two gods, but no devil. these gods are father sun (nonorúgami) and mother moon (yerúgami). the sun guards the men in the daytime; therefore the tarahumares do not transact business after sunset. he also makes the animals sleep. the moon watches at night, and is the special deity of the women. in her nightly vigils she is assisted by her son, the morning star, who commands all the other stars, because they are his sons and they are tarahumares. the stars advise their brothers on earth when thieves are entering their houses. when the tarahumares affirm anything solemnly, they say, "by those above!" meaning the sun, moon, and the stars. but the greater part of the tarahumares are nominally christians, though all that they know of christianity are the words _señor san josé_ and _maria santissima_. moreover, they have adopted the words _tata_ (father) _dios_ (god) for their father sun; and the virgin mary becomes with them a substitute for mother moon, and in natural sequence the wife of tata dios. they celebrate in their own peculiar way all the christian feasts they know, with as much pleasure and as elaborately as their own native ceremonies. next in importance is the devil, whom they fear even more than their own sorcerers. he is always represented with a big beard, such as the mexicans wear. he is old and has only one eye, and the shamans have seen him often. he plays the guitar, but never the violin, because the bow and the strings form a cross. he would like very much to go to heaven, and the shamans have to work hard to keep him from doing so. there is also a female devil, his wife, who bears many children, always twins, who are the original mexicans. their paradise consists in big ranches, where they will get all the animals which in this life they sacrificed to tara dios. the occupation of tata dios in heaven is to run foot-races with the angels, while the devil vies with the sorcerers in making the lives of the tarahumares uncomfortable, he being the chief sorcerer of all. the tarahumares are the sons of god, and the mexicans the sons of the devil. for this reason the tarahumares say that it is no crime to eat the cows of the mexicans; they think the cows do not really belong to the shabotshi anyway. neither do they tell when a tarahumare steals anything from a mexican, while they are very quick to find out if one tarahumare steals from another. i give here some of the myths and traditions of the tribe. those which christian ideas have entered into will easily be recognised, and it is not necessary to draw special attention to them. creation myths in the beginning there were many worlds before this, but one after the other came to an end. just before the world was destroyed for the last time, all the rivers flowed toward the place where the sun rises. but now the waters also flow toward the other side, where the sun sets. [ ] the bears put the world into shape. before their time it was nothing but a waste of sand. in ancient times there were plenty of lagoons around guachochic; but the land was put in order, when the people came and began to dance yumarí. the rocks were at first soft and small; but they grew until they became large and hard. they have life inside. the people grew up from the soil, while the earth was as level as a field ready for sowing. but in those days they lived to be only one year old, and then they died like the flowers. according to another tradition they descended from heaven with corn and potatoes in their ears, and were led by tata dios into these mountains, the middle of the world, having originally come from the north-east or east. the sun and the moon in the beginning of the world in the beginning the sun and the moon were alone, and they were children. they wore dresses made of palm-leaves, and they lived in a house thatched with palm-leaves. they had neither cattle nor sheep. both the sun and the moon were dark, and the morning star was the only one that shed any light on the earth. the moon was eating lice from the hair of the sun, and the morning star was watching at night. there were tarahumares at that time, and they were much hampered by the darkness. they could not do their work, and they had to hold each other's hands, and they were stumbling all the time. then they cured the sun and the moon by dipping small crosses into tesvino, and touching the sun and the moon on the chest, on the head, and on the back. then the sun and the moon began to shine and to shed light. star legend a man lived with three women. he was making arrows while they went to look for squirrels and woodchucks, and when they could find none they killed their father. then they said: "it is of no use to stop here any longer. let us go away." when the man saw them running away he shot arrows after them. the women were ascending to heaven, holding each other's hands, and he transfixed them to the sky, where they can still be seen just as they rose, as three bright stars in the belt of orion. the three women remained in heaven, but the man remained in the world and was changed into a coyote. deluge legends when the world became full of water, a little girl and a little boy climbed up on a mountain, called laváchi (gourd), which is south of panalachic, and when the waters subsided they came down again. they brought three grains of corn and three beans with them. the rocks were soft after the flood, and the footprints of the little boy and the little girl may still be seen. they planted the corn and went to sleep and had a dream that night; then they harvested, and all the tarahumares are descended from them. the tarahumares were fighting among themselves and tata dios sent much rain, and all the people perished. after the flood he sent three men and three women to people the earth. they planted corn at once, bringing three kinds, the same varieties still found here--soft corn, hard corn, and yellow corn. giants on the heights once lived giants. they were as big as pine-trees and had heads as big as bowlders. they taught the tarahumares how to plant corn, by cutting down trees and burning them, but they ate children. a woman bore a giant in a cave, which was situated very high up on the side of a valley. she died, because the child was so large, and he was taken care of by his grandmother. once when she was asleep, she turned over and crushed him. from wasivori (near cusarare) came giants to nararachic to ask alms. tesvino they liked very much. they worked very fast, and the tarahumares put them to hoe and weed the corn, and gave them food and tesvino. but the giants were fierce, and ravished the women while the latter were under the influence of the moon; therefore the tarahumares got very angry and they mixed a decoction made from the chilicote-tree with the corn that they gave the giants to eat, and the giants died. tata dios and the devil--the sheep and the deer--why the cocks crow in the morning [ ] tata dios came down into the world, and he had in his house many large jars filled with strong tesvino. on the other side of the river huerachic, in the big arroyos, lived the devil. he was very poor, and he had only one small jar with tesvino, and that was bad. the devil and his brother invited tata dios to come and drink tesvino with them. tata dios went to the devil's house, and they gave him the jar and the drinking-gourd, and he sat down to drink; but he did not get intoxicated because there was not enough tesvino. when he had emptied the jar, tata dios said: "now we will go to my house and drink tesvino; i have some, too." they accepted the invitation, and all went away together, and tata dios gave them a large jar full of tesvino and the drinking-gourd. they drank much, and the devil and his brother sang like the mexicans, until they lay down on the ground completely overcome. later in the night the devil rose, and he went to the wife of tata dios. and when she awoke, she was very angry, and roused her husband, and he fought with the devil, until tata dios got killed. but after a while he rose and said to the devil, "now go away, go below." "i am going home to get my weapons," said the devil. but first he went into the house of tata dios and robbed him of his money, and [noticing the reporter's book] of his books and everything. he hid all the things in his house and tara dios came to look for them. tata dios again was very angry, and they fought until he was killed. but this time, too, he rose and said to the devil, "go below," and the devil went below and remained there, and tata dios went home. one day at dawn the people saw the lands full with sheep everywhere. on a flat stone tata dios drew figures like the tracks of the deer, and from them all the deer originated. when tata dios returned to heaven, he carried in his right hand a rooster, which he placed on top of a palm-tree. the cock crowed three times while tata dios ascended to heaven. after this, whenever the sun rises in the morning, the cocks on earth respond when they hear the cocks in heaven crow. after tata dios had gone to heaven he never came back. he is angry with the tarahumares, and he wants to destroy the world, but the virgin says: "let the people alone; i pity the family we left behind." this is the reason why the world stands. when tara dios went away, he said, "i will leave two crosses here." he then put up a cross where the sun sets at the end of the world, and another where the sun rises. the cross in the east he uses when he rises to heaven and when he comes to visit the tarahumares, and the cross in the west is for the tarahumares when they die and go to heaven. between these two crosses the tarahumares live. they would like to go to the crosses and worship before them, but they are prevented from doing so by large bodies of water. they therefore set up small crosses in front of their houses, and before them they hold their dances, and god comes to eat near these crosses. he only eats the soul or substance of the food, and leaves the rest for the people. the giants, the crow, and the blackbird the crow, who is very knowing, told the following story to the parrot, who told it to the pagans: the blackbird and the crow, long, long ago, saw a contest between two giants, who made a bet as to which of them could throw a stone farthest. the stakes were four deer. one giant, called golí, carried a bird in his hand and threw it instead of the stone; so he won; then he returned to where the blackbird and the crow were standing. the blackbird said to the crow, "they will not do us any harm until they stoop to pick up a stone." but the crow replied, "maybe they bring the stone in their hands." so they flew away, and while they were flying the crow said, "i am going to the mountain to look for my wife and my son. they went away and have been lost for six days." the deer, the toad, and the crow the crow set out for the mountain, where the deer and the toad were making a bet. "let us try," they said, "who can see the sun first in the morning." the stakes were twenty-five gadflies, and they asked the crow to be a witness to the contest. in the morning they were ready to watch for the sun. the toad was looking westward from the highest mountain, but the deer looked to the east. the toad said, "look here, brother crow, i have already seen the sun starting," and the crow said to the deer: "brother deer, you have lost. give him the twenty-five gadflies." the deer asked one day's time to catch the gadflies, but the toad thought he was not going to pay him, and said to the deer, "let us have a race, that you may settle your bet." the deer readily consented to this, and a stone was put up as the goal. the toad went away to call many other toads, and placed them at intervals toward the goal, and when the deer arrived at the stone the toad was already sitting on it, and said, "brother deer, you have lost." and the deer went away. then the toad said to the gadflies: "go and sting the deer much, that he may have to run quickly. if you will sting him much, i will never eat you." the gadflies were vexed with the deer, because he had put them up on a bet, therefore they were very willing to sting the deer, and they have been stinging him ever since. story of the coyote the coyote asked permission from tata dios to come into the world, and tara dios asked him what he would do there. the coyote replied that he would steal the animals and the corn from the tarahumares. then tata dios gave him permission to go and make a living in this way, because the coyote did not know how to work. the mountain lion, the coyote, and the grey fox the coyote challenged the mountain lion to a contest, that they might see which of them had the better eyesight and was the smarter. the lion said, "let us see who can first shoot an animal." then he proposed that they should go to a water-hole, and to this the coyote agreed; so they started out on the hunt. the lion climbed up on a tree, but the coyote remained below on the ground, and paid no attention to what the lion was doing. a deer came, and the lion struck it dead. the coyote saw this from where he was hunting, and by and by he found a dead mare. when they met again the lion said to the coyote, "well, how did you get on?" the coyote replied: "very well; i killed a mare." but the mare had been dead so long that she was smelling. therefore the lion said to the coyote, "don't be a liar," and he chased him off, and the coyote was ashamed of himself. the coyote next met the grey fox, and told him to go and challenge the lion. the grey fox went to the lion and said: "how do you do, brother lion? i hear you got the best of brother coyote." the lion replied: "no, brother grey fox; the coyote made a fool of himself." then the grey fox said: "let us see whether you can get the best of me, and which of us can catch a rabbit first." so they went to the mountain to look for rabbits. at sunrise the lion took a position facing the north, and the grey fox faced south, and both of them watched for rabbits. after spying for a while, the lion saw one, but by that time the grey fox was asleep alongside of him. so the lion said to the rabbit: "pass right between us, and then go to the hole in the oak-tree on the rock, and act as if you wanted to go into the hole, but go away to one side." then the lion woke up the grey fox and said: "over there is a rabbit. he went into a small hole into which i cannot follow him; but you are small, and you can catch him." the grey fox just saw the rabbit's tail disappearing behind the rock, but the rabbit hid himself, and did not enter the hole, as the lion had told him. "all right," said the grey fox, "i will go; but, as you saw the rabbit first, you have won the bet." but the lion said: "no; you go into the hole, and fetch the rabbit out and eat him." then the grey fox entered the hole, and the lion made a fire in front of it, and when the grey fox came out again he was burned, and his feet were sore from the fire. that is why the grey fox always walks so lightly. and he reproached the lion, saying that he was very bad, and begged him to let him go and not to kill him. he cried and went to hide himself in a cave, because he was afraid of the lion. then the humming-bird who lived in the cave stung him in the face with his bill and in the eyes, and he went away and never came back again. the hens, the grey fox, and the coyote the woodpecker made a guitar and gave it to the butterfly to play on, and the cock danced a pascual, and the cricket danced with the locust, and the hen was singing. while the dance was going on, the coyote came to see what he could get from the feast, and the grey fox also came, and he brought some tunas (fruit of the nopal cactus). they were very nice and sweet, and he gave one to the coyote and said, "here, brother coyote, take this nice mouthful." he had well rubbed off the spines, and the fruit tasted well to the coyote. it made his heart glad, and he wanted more. the grey fox said to the coyote, "i will give you more tunas, but you must eat them with your eyes shut." he gave him some tunas from which he had not cleaned off the spines, and as the spines hurt the coyote he became very angry and wanted to eat the grey fox. but the fox said to him: "don't be angry, brother coyote: i will give you a drink; and don't howl, because there are dogs around." he went to the cock and to the hen, and asked them for tesvino, and he brought it to the coyote and said, "here, brother coyote, drink this." the coyote drank two gourdsful, and then a third one, and when he had finished this he began to howl, because he was very drunk, and he asked the grey fox, "why are they all dancing?" the grey fox replied: "they dance, because miss cricket married mister locust; therefore the butterfly is playing on the guitar, and the cock dances with delight, and the hen is singing." but the coyote said: "i don't want the hen to sing; i want to eat her." then the grey fox took the coyote into the arroyo and told him to remain there, while he went to fetch the hen. but instead of the hen he got two very fierce dogs and put them in a bag, and carried them into the arroyo, where the coyote was waiting. he was very drunk and very angry, and he said to the grey fox, "why did you keep me waiting so long, you cursed old grey fox t" the grey fox replied: "don't be angry, brother coyote; here i bring you some very nice hens. i was looking for many of them, that is why i remained away so long. now, shall i let them out one by one, or do you want them all at once?" the coyote replied, "let them out all at once, that i may have a good old time with them." then the grey fox opened the bag, and out came the two fierce dogs; and they caught the coyote and bit him and tore him to pieces. the grey fox ran away and hid himself, but afterward he came and got the paws of the coyote and threw them into a water-pool. the mountain lion and the bear the mountain lion killed a deer, and the bear wanted to take it away from him. they fought, and the lion won, and the bear asked his pardon, because the lion is more powerful than the bear. the frog and the coyote the frog and the coyote made a wager as to which of them would gain in a foot-race. they were to run along a ridge, and return to a point close by the starting-point. the coyote lost, because the frog jumped directly over to the finishing-point. this happened twice, and the coyote wanted to kill the frog, but the frog dived into a water-hole, where the coyote could not catch him. the bears, whose skin is of the same color as the tarahumares, are called "grandfathers," amúli, and are so to speak their forebears. in ancient times they danced on top of the mountains, where they have roads yet. often the bears are sorcerers, who, after death, assumed the shape of these animals. in fact, there are two kinds of bears, one that is real, and another one that is a dead tarahumare. the people do not know which is which. only the shamans can make the distinction, and it is useless to try and kill the man-bear, because he has a very hard skin, and arrows cannot pierce it. he is the very devil. the following curious incident happened near nararachic a few years ago: a bear had done much damage to a tarahumare's corn-field. some forty indians with over fifty dogs gathered together to kill the bear. in order to make the dogs ferocious, the indians set them to fight among each other, by way of preparing them for the hunt. the indians now divided themselves into several parties, and presently one lot encountered the bear. they asked the shaman who was with them whether the creature was a bear or something else, and he replied, "let the dogs on and see." as the dogs had never seen a bear, they were timid, and did not bark or attack the beast; therefore the shaman said: "this is not a bear. all is lost. the dogs do not know him, and the bear does not see the dogs with his eyes. he is from hell, and he is a devil, who came here in the shape of a bear, because he wants to eat us. let him alone and let us all go away." and they all retreated. the mountain lion is a good animal and watches over the people. when he sees an animal such as the bear or the coyote approach a man, he roars to warn the man; and if the man pays no attention, the lion attacks the animal to save the man; therefore strips of his skin are worn around the ankles and the neck as a protection. the grey fox is considered an astute animal and is feared. if he passes by a house in which there is a sick person, and calls three times, the patient will die. one of my indian men related the following story: one night he and another man were sleeping in a house when he heard the grey fox whistle. at first he did not know what it was, and he said to his companion, "listen, what is that?" the other one said, "this is a very bad thing, very ugly." he was a man who knew something, and he said, "if this grey fox returns for two nights more and whistles outside of the house of our sick neighbour, that man will die." my informant did not believe this at the time; but the next night the grey fox returned and whistled very uncannily, and on the third night he did it again. and on the following morning a man came and asked the indian to help him to bury the neighbour who had died during the night. they went to the house of the dead man, and "then," the narrator concluded, "i knew that the grey fox had said the truth, for the grey fox never tells a lie." the grey fox and the rabbit in ancient times danced rutubúri. the horned toad holds the world. it says: "don't tread on me! i am the colour of the earth and i hold the world; therefore walk carefully, that you do not tread on me." the master of the deer lives inside of the mountains, in the earth; therefore the tarahumares place small quantities of corn and beans, or three arrows in a jar, on top of the highest mountain to buy the deer from the one below. the brown ground squirrel (chipawíki), which lives among rocks and seldom ascends trees, is thought to become a serpent. this belief is also current among certain classes of mexicans. a mexican told me that a man once smashed the head of a chipawíki in the hollow of a tree, and when he wanted to take his game out, he found that the rest of the animal had the body of a serpent. it cannot be used for sacrifices. rats become bats. the owl is very bad. whenever it comes to a house and screeches, somebody falls ill. if it calls three times, in three consecutive nights, the sick person will die. the owl is also very smart. it knows when the tarahumare's blanket (in which he is wrapped when sleeping along the fire) is going to be burned. when the owl hoots near a home it says, "chu-i, chu-i, chu-i,"--"dead, dead, dead." owls are killed but not eaten. the goat sucker makes darts through the air and calls down rain. it has two nice fat young, which the tarahumares consider a great delicacy. the crow is much in disfavour because it eats the corn. only the young crows are eaten. the large swifts (olamáka) are thought to be witches, who pierce the souls of people and eat them. they are used by the sorcerers, whom they obey like dogs. once a woman was sitting in a corn-field watching it by the side of a fire, and making yarn, when a swift settled on her skirt. she told a girl to bring a large basket, with which she covered the bird up, caught it and had it for many years. every night the bird flew away, and then returned in the morning. once, when the woman was absent at a tesvino feast, the girl killed the bird and roasted it. she could not eat it, however, because it had such a bad smell, and the woman found it on her return in the basket, dead and roasted. the girl ran away and the raccoons ate the corn the woman was watching. the giant woodpecker during the wet season rises high up toward the sun; that is why he gets his tail burned. when the tarahumares handle any kind of fish they take care not to touch their hair, for fear that it may turn grey and they become old. the rattlesnakes are the companions of the sorcerers and watch to meet them and then talk with them. a mexican once killed a rattlesnake, and the indian grew very angry and said that the snake had protected his house; now he had no one to guard it. large serpents, which only the shamans can see, are thought to live in the rivers. they have horns and very big eyes. the dragon-fly has no song; it flies about without making a noise. tata dios put sheep into the world; they are good animals because they give wool from which people can weave blankets, and their meat is good, and they do not weep when they are killed. but goats were put into the world by the devil; their hair is of no use, their meat is bad, and they howl much when they are killed. chapter xvii the shamans or wise men of the tribe--healers and priests in one--disease caused by looks and thoughts--everybody and everything has to be cured--nobody feels well without his "doctor"--sorcery--the powers of evil are as great as those of good--remarkable cure for snake-bite--trepanning among the ancient tarahumares. without his shaman the tarahumare would feel lost, both in this life and after death. the shaman is his priest and physician. he performs all the ceremonies and conducts all the dances and feasts by which the gods are propitiated and evil is averted, doing all the singing, praying, and sacrificing. by this means, and by instructing the people what to do to make it rain and secure other benefits, he maintains good terms for them with their deities, who are jealous of man and bear him ill-will. he is also on the alert to keep those under his care from sorcery, illness, and other evil that may befall them. even when asleep he watches and works just as if his body were awake. though real illness is the exception with him, the tarahumare believes that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, and for this reason he keeps his doctor busy curing him, not only to make his body strong to resist illness, but chiefly to ward off sorcery, the main source of trouble in the indian's life. the demand for shamans is therefore great, but the supply is quite equal to it. for instance, in the little village of nararachic and the neighbouring ranches, where there are about households, twenty-five shamans are living, each of whom takes care of about twenty souls, though only about ten of them enjoy great reputation in the community. before a man is allowed to consider himself a shaman, he is examined by a "board" of recognised members of the profession, who pass upon his fitness to enter their ranks. these priest-doctors have their specialties. some sing only at rutuburi or yumari dances, others only at hikuli-feasts. a few of them do not sing at all, but are merely healers, although far the greater number also sing at the feasts. those who make a specialty of the hikuli cult are considered the greatest healers. they all conscientiously fast and pray, complying with the demands of the gods, which impose restrictions and abstinence, and they are therefore called "righteous men" (owirúami). they are the wise men of the tribe; and as rain-makers, healers, and keepers of the heritage of tribal wisdom and traditions, their influence is powerful. their services are never rendered gratuitously; in fact, what with the payments they receive from singing at feasts and curing the sick, they generally manage to live better than the rest of the people. whenever a shaman is hungry, he goes to the house of some of his well-to-do clients and cures the family, receiving all the food he wants in payment for his efforts, for what would become of the people if the shaman should die? the devil would surely take them away at once. therefore the best parts of the meat from the animal killed for the feast is given to the shamans, and they generally get all the tesvino they can hold. in winter time, when numerous feasts are being held, the shamans are nearly all the time under the influence of their native stimulants. yet this does not seem to harm them, nor does it in the estimation of the people detract from the efficacy of their singing; the curing is no less potent, even though the doctor can hardly keep from falling all over his patient. it is always incumbent on the shamans to be peaceful, and they never fight at the feasts. the singing shamans invariably have a primitive musical instrument, the rattle, with which they beat time to their singing and dancing. ordinarily it is made from a gourd filled with pebbles and mounted on a short stick which serves as a handle. another kind is made from coarse shavings glued together. the latter variety is not infrequently decorated with daubs of red or some similar painting. sometimes at the feast the shaman, even nowadays, may be seen wearing a head-dress made of the plumes of birds. through the plumes the birds are thought to impart all that they know. besides, the plumes are supposed to keep the wind from entering the shaman's body, and thus prevent him from falling ill. when curing, the shamans may sometimes use rational means. there is in existence around norogachic for instance, a kind of sweating-bath, made by placing in a hole in the ground, just large enough for a man to sit in, several hot stones, pouring water on them, and covering them up with branches of the fragrant mountain cedar. the steam passing through the latter is credited with curative power. the indians know several excellent medicinal herbs. palo amarillo is a kind of household remedy used extensively in every family. there are many other highly valued herbs and trees, some of which have a wonderfully refreshing and invigorating aromatic scent. headache is cured by a green herb called pachoco, of which they smell until they begin to sneeze. to cure constipation they boil ari with a grain of salt, or they heat stones and pour water over them and sit over the steam. both the sacred little cactus called híkuli and the maguey have undoubtedly medicinal properties, but the administration of these remedies, especially of the former, is connected with so many rites and ceremonies that their therapeutic value becomes obscured. the curative power of tesvino is absolutely magical, and this is the remedy to which recourse is most commonly had. in administering it the shaman makes his customary passes, and exhales over the patient to blow away the disease. he also dips a small cross into the liquor, and with the wetted end taps the sick man on the head, neck, shoulders, and back, and draws crosses over his arms. finally the patient is given three spoonfuls of the liquor, while all the members of the family stand around and murmur approvingly, "thank you, thank you." occasionally tesvino is exclusively used for curing, with the aid of two small crosses, one of red brazil wood, the other of white pine. if he chooses, a shaman may provoke illness as well as cure it, but he cannot cure the person he made ill. when a shaman is asked to cure a person of any complaint, real or imaginary, his first move is to find the cause of the trouble. according to his opinion illness is brought on either by the wind or by sorcery. from the former kind of disease nobody dies, although the heart, the liver, or the head may be attacked; but the other kind is serious. sorcerers may put snakes into the legs, and such animals as centipedes, toads, larvae, scorpions, or even small bears into the body of some unfortunate person, and these disturbers have to be drawn out at once or else they will eat the sick man's heart. the shaman therefore first feels the patient all over, to find if something--in other words, the disease-bringing animal--is moving underneath the skin. illness may also result from small stones, or the spine of the nopal placed in the body by the same agency. a person suspected of having been bewitched is told to hold his mouth open to the sun, that the shaman may see whether the evil entered the body through this aperture. people become bewitched at night through the openings of the body, and the shaman also examines the nostrils, ears, etc. it is also the shaman's business to find out who caused the trouble, and since he can see more than ordinary people he is able to track the offender. some people by their mere looks or thoughts are liable to make a. person ill. such illness may be brought on in retaliation for some slight or offence, and may even result in death. the first thoughts of a person falling ill are: whom have i offended? what have i taken that i should have left alone, and what have i kept that i should have given? then the shaman may tell him to find the person to whom he had refused to give food, and the sick one and his wife go from house to house asking the people: "was it you whom i refused food? someone has made me ill, and i want him to make me well again." if he can find the person whom he had offended, and arrange matters with him, he will recover. the doctor may find that the person's heart is on the wrong side, and prescribe a liberal allowance of tesvino to get it back to its proper place. but generally the skill of the shaman is taxed more severely and he resorts to the more direct and powerful methods of magic. a common occurrence is that of illness caused by maggots, which the shaman has to extract from the patient by means of a sucking-tube, a short piece of reed about three inches long, cut from a kind of reed different from that of the arrow-shaft. he places it on the afflicted spot, and after sucking vigorously for a minute or so empties from his mouth into his hand or into a corn-leaf, what purports to be the maggots. i never had an opportunity of examining closely the small white bits of something or other that he spit out, but they seemed to me to be tiny pieces of buckskin which the man had secreted in his mouth and which swelled up when saturated with saliva. to the shaman they represent maggots; that is, the embodiment of the disease, and all the people firmly believe that they are maggots. the corn-leaf and its contents are buried; a cross is made on the ground over the spot and a ceremonial circuit run around it. when resting between operations, the shaman places his sucking-tube into a bowl of water in which some herbs are soaking. the mode of curing, however, varies. a common way in use near guachochic is to make the patient stand on all fours and bathe him well with water; then to place him on a blanket and carry him over a fire toward the cross and the four corners of the world. when put down on the ground again he lies or kneels on the blanket, and the shaman places his tube against the afflicted part and begins to suck forcibly, while the rest of the people stand around with sticks, ready to kill the disease so as to prevent it from returning and doing harm to others. presently the shaman produces from his mouth a small stone, which he asserts was the cause of the disease. while the people are furiously beating the air, he proceeds at once to bury it in the earth, or in the bottom of the river, into which he dives. he may suck out as many as eight stones, but generally contents himself with four; and for treating a man in this way he receives four almuds of maize. on one occasion, when i had taken a little cold, i asked a shaman friend whether he could cure me. "certainly i can," was the confident reply. he took from a little basket, in which he kept his hikuli or sacred cacti and probably similar valuables, three black stones and said that he would sell one of these to me; if i put it into warm water it would cure me. this was not quite to my liking, as i wanted him to perform the magical feat of sucking maggots out of the skin. he complied with my request, and told me to go ahead to my camp, whither he would follow me soon. on his arrival i offered him some food, as my case was not urgent, but he declined, and proceeded to cure me. a saddle blanket was spread out for me to kneel on, and my mexican and indian attendants were told to retire, while he made his examination. having ascertained that i had a headache, he took my head between his dirty hands, pressed it, applied his lips to my right ear, and commenced to suck very energetically. this was rather trying to my nerves, though not unendurably so. presently he let go his hold, and spit out quite a lot of blood into a cup an indian boy was holding out to him. he repeated the operation on my left ear with the same result. "more pain?" he asked. "yes," i said, "in my right hand." he immediately grabbed that member in his mouth, biting almost through the skin over the pulse, and after having sucked for a little while, deposited contents, of a similar nature, into the cup from his mouth. it was afterward found that the blood was mixed with a considerable number of grass seeds, which had been the cause of my illness. i had not known that i was so "seedy." the curing is often performed at dances, during the night, as the family who give the feast expect to receive, in return for all their trouble and expense, the benefit of the shaman's magic powers, whether any of them are ill or not. once a man, his wife, and his child had been cured with tesvino, but nevertheless they still anxiously looked to the shaman for more treatment, apparently feeling that they needed more strength against coining evil. the woman said: "yesterday i fell into the water and got wet and felt ill, and in the night i dreamed that i was dead and that you cured me." to this the doctor replied, "yes, that is why i came to cure you." then, yielding to their beseeching glances, he daubed them again, this time holding their hands and with a little cross in his left hand. then he said: "now you need not be afraid; i have cured you well. do not walk about any more like fools and do not get wet again." and they were content. there is a shaman near baqueachic (baká = bamboo reed) who has a great reputation for curing cattle, or rather for keeping them in health. every year he makes a tour of the different ranches, and the indians bring their animals to him to be treated. a large hole is dug in the ground and a fire kindled in it. then some green branches of the mountain cedar and some copal are thrown in and burned, and the animals driven one by one through the smoke. since the veterinary gets one animal for each ceremony, he becomes quite rich. the shamans also undertake to cure the sun and the moon, because these, too, are often ill and have to be righted. not a feast is held in which some spoonfuls from the jars containing the remedies are not thrown up for the benefit of the sun and the moon. occasionally, however, special ceremonies have to be performed to cure the celestial bodies, particularly the moon, because from her all the stars receive their light. at the period of the dark moon she is considered to be sick and tied up by the devil, and the world is sad. then the shamans assemble to consult about her ailment and the means of curing her. an ox may be killed and tesvino made. in killing the animal, care is taken not to injure the heart, which is treated with great ceremony. the people always avoid touching it, and at sacrifices they hang it with the lungs to a stick raised near the cross. the shamans stand near, with small earthenware dishes containing copal incense; while the oldest cuts with his knife four crosses on four diametrically opposite points of the heart, and from the upper part all but slices off a piece, which is left hanging down beside the main part. all the blood the heart contained is sacrificed to the four cardinal points with much singing. then the shaman asks for an earthen bowl which has never been used before, and in this he places the heart and burns it without adding fat or anything else. the ashes he rubs between his fingers until reduced to a fine dust, which he mixes with water and some medicinal herbs. the shamans stand in the middle, and the people around them, and all are unanimous in their prayer that they may see the moon. each shaman takes three spoonfuls of medicine, the rest of which is thrown on the cross, and the shamans watch all night. the christian tarahumares even feel called upon to cure the church when those buried in and around it have been noisily dancing and damaging the building to make the people give them tesvino. the principal shaman heads the procession, carrying a jar of the liquor. his assistant holds in one hand a bowl containing water mixed with the crushed leaves of the maguey, and in the other some fresh maguey leaves. the tesvino, as well as the green water, is liberally thrown upon the walls and the floor of the church to lay the perturbed spirits. how to cure smallpox is beyond the ken of the shamans, but they try to keep off the dread enemy by making fences of thorny branches of different trees across the paths leading to the houses; and snake-skins, the tail of the grey fox, and other powerful protectors or charms, are hung around the doors of their dwellings to frighten the disease away. the same purpose is accomplished through the pungent smell produced by burning in the house the horns of cows, sheep, and goats. the shamans also profess to produce springs by sowing water. they make a hole one yard deep in the rocky ground. water is brought in a gourd and poured into it, together with half an almud of salt. the hole is then covered up with earth, and after three years a spring forms. high as the shamans stand in the estimation of the people, they are by no means exempt from the instability of mundane conditions, and the higher a man rises the less secure is his position. the power to see everything, to guard against evil, and to cure illness issues from the light of his heart, which was given him by tata dios. it enables him to see tata dios himself, to talk to him, to travel through space at will, for the shamans are as bright as the sun. but all this supposed great power to do good may at any moment be turned to evil purposes. there are indeed some shamans whose kindly, sweet-tempered manners and gentle ways enable them to retain their good reputation to the end; but few go through life who can keep themselves always above suspicion, especially when they grow older; and innocent persons have on this account been cruelly persecuted. such a fate is all the more liable to befall them on account of the recognised ability of a shaman to both cure and produce disease. no doubt the great quantity of stimulants taken by shamans in the course of their career causes them to go periodically through a state of excitement, which, combined with the enthusiasm which they work themselves up to, gradually gives to these men, who frequently are richly endowed with animal magnetism, a supernatural appearance. advancing years have their share in making such a man look odd and uncanny, not only on account of his grey hair, wrinkled face, and shaggy eyebrows, but still more by his reserved bearing and distinctive personality. women shamans, too, may turn bad and become witches. much as in cases of heresy among christian ministers, the other shamans hold a consultation regarding a suspected colleague, and may decide that the light of his heart has failed him and that he is no longer one of them. from that time on, good people avoid him; they no longer give him food, and do not tolerate him about their homes; they are afraid of him; and the better a shaman he was before, the more terrible a sorcerer he is now supposed to have become. soon every accident that happens in the locality is laid at the accused man's door. there are, on the other hand, many evil-minded persons who pretend to possess supernatural powers to do harm, and accept payment for services of that kind; in short, who make it a business to be sorcerers. the power of the sorcerer to do evil is as great as the ability of the good shaman to cure it. the sorcerer may rasp on his notched stick, and sing death and destruction to a person or to attain his ends he may use hikuli, smooth stones, the corpse or the foreleg of some highly venerated animal and powerful rain-maker, as the toad, which is never killed except by bad persons. a terrible thing in the hands of a sorcerer is a humming-bird stripped of its feathers, dried, and wrapped in pochote wool. to the tarahumares the brilliant little bird, often mentioned in their songs, is a good and mighty hero-god, but the sorcerer perverts his great power to his own evil purposes. the sorcerer is feared by all; pregnant women, especially, go out of his way, as he may hinder them from giving birth to their children. when tarahumares see a shooting star they think it is a dead sorcerer coming to kill a man who did him harm in life, and they huddle together and scream with terror. when the star has passed, they know that somewhere a man has been killed, and that now the sorcerer is taking out his heart. if a man does any harm to a powerful sorcerer, the latter, after death, enters into a mountain lion or jaguar or bear, and watches by the wayside until the offender comes, when he kills him. sorcerers are also believed to prevent rain from falling, and therefore the people were once much pleased when they saw me photographing a sorcerer. the camera was considered a powerful rain-maker, and was thought to make the bad man clean. the people may chastise a man suspected of sorcery, to frighten him from doing further mischief. a sick person also is supposed to improve when the sorcerer who made him ill is punished; but if accidents and misfortune continue to happen, the accused man may be killed. such extreme measures have been resorted to even in recent years, though rarely. the magical powers of a sorcerer are appalling. when a tarahumare walks with a sorcerer in the forest and they meet a bear, the sorcerer may say: "don't kill him; it is i; don't do him any harm!" or if an owl screeches at night, the sorcerer may say: "don't you hear me? it is i who am calling." the sorcerer dies a terrible death. many dogs bark and run away and come back; they look like fire, but they are not; they are the evil thoughts of the sorcerer. the river, too, makes a greater noise as it flows, as if somebody were dipping up water and pouring it out again. uncanny, weird noises come from every part of the house, and all the people in it are much frightened. hardly anyone goes to talk to the dying man, and no one bids him good-bye. the christian tarahumares do not bury him in the churchyard with other people, but alone in a remote cave, and they bury all his things with him--his machete his axe, and heavy things that other people never take along, but which the sorcerer, because he is very powerful, can carry with him when he goes to heaven. as we have seen, the medical education of the shamans is extremely limited. their rational _materia medica_ is confined to the hikuli cactus and a few roots and plants. aside from this they have a cure for snakebites which is really remarkable. the injured man kills the reptile, cuts out its liver and gall, and smears the latter over the wound; he may also eat a piece of the liver, but it must be taken from the animal that inflicted the injury; then he will be well again in three days. if people die of snake-bites, it is because the reptile escaped. the gall of a rattlesnake has a sickening smell; even my dogs were repulsed by it when i once killed a four-foot rattler. the method may be considered as in accord with the modern theory that the bile of many animals contains strong antitoxins. however, there is nothing new under the sun. in the talmud we find recommended as a cure for hydrophobia to eat the liver of the dog that bites one; and in the apocrypha we read that tobias was cured of blindness by the gall of a fish. most surprising of all is the fact that this tribe, which to-day shows but very slight knowledge of surgery, should in former times have practised trepanning. that the tarahumares understood this art is evident from two skulls which i brought back from their country. the skulls were found under the following circumstances: in i stayed for a fortnight in a remote part of the sierra madre, called pino gordo on account of its magnificent pine-trees. the district is separated on the north from the central part of the tarahumare country by the deep barranca de san carlos, and there are no mexicans living within its confines. the place in which i found one of the skulls is twenty miles north of the mining town of guadalupe y calvo. a lonely trail leads through it on which, only occasionally, perhaps once in the course of a month, a mexican from the ranches at guachochic may journey to guadalupe y calvo. one day the principal man of the locality, who had been very friendly to me, showed me a burial-cave. i had persuaded him that it was better for me to take away the bones contained in it, in order to keep them in a good house, than to let them remain where they were, "killing sheep and making people sick." "but why do you want them?" he asked. having been satisfied on this point, he one day led the way to a wild, steep arroyo, pointed at its head, and having thus indicated where the cave was, at once left me. i made my way as best i could up the steep little gorge, accompanied by one of my men. on arriving at the top i found the entrance to the cave completely covered with stones plastered together with mud. a heap of stones was also piled outside against the wall. the cave i found very small, and, contrary to the exaggerated reports of the indians, it contained only three skeletons. according to the custom prevailing throughout part of the country of the tarahumares, these remains had not been buried. the skeletons were simply lying on their backs, from east to west, as if looking toward the setting sun. a few crudely made clay vessels of the ordinary tarahumare type were found alongside of them. on gathering the three skulls i was at once struck by a circular hole in the right parietal bone of one of them. as they undoubtedly belonged to the tarahumares, the question at once occurred to me: can it be possible that this barbaric tribe, not particularly advanced in the arts, was capable of trepanning? the remoteness of the place entirely negatives the suggestion that a civilised surgeon could have had anything to do with it. the skull, the lower jaw of which is missing, is that of a tarahumare woman over fifty years of age. the age of the specimen itself is impossible to arrive at, on account of the peculiar circumstances in which it was preserved. however, the cranial walls still contained some animal matter, were still somewhat fatty to the touch, and retained some odour. a spindle provided with a whorl made from a piece of pine-bark, which was lying among the bones in the cave, indicates that the body of this female had not been put there in recent times. this variety of whorl, so far as i can ascertain, has not been observed among the tarahumares of the present day. it is, indeed, possible that the skeleton may be pre-columbian. the skull does not present any deformities or fractures, and the singular aperture is almost exactly round, measuring two centimetres in diameter. a careful examination shows that the cut was made a long time, several years in fact, before death. the regularity of the hole indicates beyond doubt that it is artificial. another skull taken from a burial-cave near nararachic is also that of a female, and the opening here, too, is in the parietal bone, and in almost the same place as the opening in the first skull described. in this second specimen the cavity is almost filled in with new bone, and as in this instance the edges are very regular and uniform, and distinctly beveled, they show that the operation was performed by scraping. this cannot be said of the first specimen found; the almost circular form of the opening, and its perpendicular walls, prove conclusively that in this instance the surgeon did not employ the simple method of scraping the bone. i have never found among the tarahumares any implement with which such an operation could have been performed. possibly it was done with a kind of flint wimble with three teeth, much like the instrument used to-day in trepanning by the berbers in l'aurés, who cure even headaches by this method. it is, of course, impossible to say now whether the ancients performed the operation simply to relieve the patient of bone splinters, pus, blood, etc., pressing on the brain, or whether it was done to let out an evil spirit. it is the first time that cases of trepanning have been found in mexico. chapter xviii relation of man to nature--dancing as a form of worship learned from the animals--tarahumare sacrifices--the rutuburi dance taught by the turkey--the yumari learned from the deer--tarahumare rain songs--greeting the sun--tarahumare oratory--the flowing bowl--the national importance of tesvino--homeward bound. since the people obtain their subsistence from the products of the soil, they naturally are deeply concerned in the weather upon which their crops depend. rain, therefore, is the focal point from which all their thoughts radiate. even the plough is dipped into water before it is put to use, in order that it may draw rain. the people may try to force the moon and the sun to give them rain. in times of drought they reproach especially the moon for making the people live on the leaves of the ash-tree and what other poor stuff they can find; on her account they are getting so thin that they can no longer recognise themselves. they scold her, and threaten to denounce her to the sun. the sun himself may be rebuked for lack of rain. at other times they may throw up water to heaven with many ceremonies, that tata dios may replenish his supply. generally, however, their relations with the gods, as with men, are based on the business principle of give and take. sacrifices of food, the meat of domestic animals or of game, and of tesvino, are needed to induce father sun and mother moon to let it rain. the favour of the gods may be won by what for want of a better term may be called dancing, but what in reality is a series of monotonous movements, a kind of rhythmical exercise, kept up sometimes for two nights. by dint of such hard work they think to prevail upon the gods to grant their prayers. the dancing is accompanied by the song of the shaman, in which he communicates his wishes to the unseen world, describing the beautiful effect of the rain, the fog, and the mist on the vegetable world. he invokes the aid of all the animals, mentioning each by name and also calls on them, especially the deer and the rabbit, to multiply that the people may have plenty to eat. as a matter of fact, the tarahumares assert that the dances have been taught them by the animals. like all primitive people, they are close observers of nature. to them the animals are by no means inferior creatures; they understand magic and are possessed of much knowledge, and may assist the tarahumares in making rain. in spring, the singing of the birds, the cooing of the dove, the croaking of the frog, the chirping of the cricket, all the sounds uttered by the denizens of the greensward, are to the indian appeals to the deities for rain. for what other reason should they sing or call? for the strange behaviour of many animals in the early spring the tarahumares can find no other explanation but that these creatures, too, are interested in rain. and as the gods grant the prayers of the deer expressed in its antics and dances, and of the turkey in its curious playing, by sending the rain, they easily infer that to please the gods they, too, must dance as the deer and play as the turkey. from this it will be understood that dance with these people is a very serious and ceremonious matter, a kind of worship and incantation rather than amusement. never do man and woman dance together, as in the waltz and polka of civilised people. the very word for dancing, "nolávoa," means literally "to work." the wise old man may reproach laggard, inexperienced younger ones, saying, "why do you not go to work?" meaning that they should go to the dance and not stand idly about while the feast is going on. if the tarahumares did not comply with the commands of father sun and dance, the latter would come down and burn up the whole world. the indian never asks his god to forgive whatever sin he may have committed; all he asks for is rain, which to him means something to eat, and to be free of evil. the only wrong toward the gods of which he may consider himself guilty is that he does not dance enough. for this offence he asks pardon. whatever bad thoughts or actions toward man he may have on his conscience are settled between himself and the person offended. i once asked a prominent heathen shaman why the people were not baptised, and he said: "because tata dios made us as we are. we have always been as you see us. people do not need to be baptised, because there is no devil here. tara dios is not angry with us; why should he be? only when people do bad things does he get angry. we make much beer and dance much, in order that he may remain content; but when people talk much, and go around fighting, then he gets angry and does not give us rain." dancing not only expresses prayers for rain and life, but also petitions the gods to ward off evil in any shape, as diseases of man, beast, or crops. the people may dance also in case too much rain is falling, or for luck in field work, hunting, despatching the dead, etc.; and in this way they also give thanks for the harvest. by dancing and with tesvino they express all their wants to the gods, or, as a tarahumare told me, "we pray by dancing and the gourd." with the dances is always connected the sacrifice of an animal; the greater portion of the meat is eaten by the people themselves, who, beside, bring forth all kinds of nice food, the best they have. such dancing festivals, as a matter of course, are given either by individuals or by the community. it is thought that tara dios himself comes down each time to make his demands on the tarahumares for dancing and sacrificing. he communicates his wishes in a dream to someone, not necessarily a shaman; and in the dry season, when the indians begin to prepare their fields, most of these notices come and are generally made known to all at a race, where many people always come together. during all these months hardly a day passes without a messenger being sent out from some place in the country to advise one or the other of the principal shamans that god has come down and demanded a feast. sometimes tata dios asks for an ox to be killed; at other times he wants only a sheep. frequently he indicates that the animal must be white; on other occasions he is not particular about the colour. the threat is added that if the sacrifice is not forthcoming, and the people do not dance soon, all the corn will be burned up, and they will have to die of hunger. or, if there has been too much rain, the notice may say that, unless they sacrifice and dance at once, all will be drowned, because it is going to rain tremendously. occasionally it is directed that they dance only a little while, then rest, then dance again; or else they have to keep on dancing for a night and a day, or two nights in succession. when a great many sacrifices have been made and animals begin to be scarce, tara dios may have to content himself with iskiate and tortillas. the people may continue to make feasts and to dance, and yet get no other results but fresh messages, ordering still more sacrifices. then the indians begin to argue with tata dios that he must not be so greedy; he has filled himself up with oxen and sheep and tesvino, and they cannot give him any more. when such revolt seems imminent the shaman may throw out an ominous hint that the sacrifices have to be made; for what would the tarahumares say if tata dios wanted one of them to be killed? among the reasons given by the christian tarahumares for continued dry weather are the following. the devil has made tara dios sick and has tied him up; or the moon (virgin mary) is sick; or the people have not given tara dios enough food and he is very hungry; or the railroad engines of the americans are making so much smoke that tara dios is angry; or, finally, someone at a feast has infringed upon the law of decorum, and thereby annulled its value. at present domestic animals are considered more valuable at sacrifices than the beasts of the field and the forest; yet squirrels (chipawiki), turkeys, deer, rabbits, and fish are still used to some extent, especially by those who do not possess domestic animals. twenty men may go out to hunt a deer, or from six to ten men try to bring in four or five squirrels for a communal feast, to which all contribute the corn necessary for the tesvino, say, half an almud, more or less, according to the means of each householder. never does any one man give all the corn required for a tribal feast, though he may donate all the meat, in the shape of an ox, a cow, or a sheep. goats are sacrificed only at burial functions. if the people do not give the best they have for the sacrifice, they will obtain only poor results. the dances are always held in the open air, that father sun and mother moon may look upon the efforts of their children to please them. they dance on the level space in front of the dwelling, preferably each danced on its own patio. some people have as many as three such dancing-places, but most of them have to content themselves with one. if a tarahumare could afford it, he would have ten patios to accommodate more people and dances near his house. to my knowledge there are six different dances, but of these i will describe only two, the rutuburi and the yumari, as these are the most important and the two almost exclusively used in the central part of the country. the other four i saw only among the southern tarahumares. the rutuburi was taught to the people by the turkey. generally three crosses are put up, and there are three shamans, the principal one being in the middle; his assistants need not be shamans, but the master of the house and his son, or some trusted friend, may officiate. when the dancing is about to begin, these men take a position in a line before the crosses, facing east, and shake their rattles continuously for two or three minutes from side to side, holding the instruments high up in the air, as the rattling is meant to attract the attention of the gods. then, with the singing and shaking of the rattles--now down and up--they move forward in a manner similar to that of a schoolgirl skipping over a rope, passing the crosses to a point as far east as the starting-point was to the west, altogether about eighteen yards. they then turn around and move back to the starting-point. in this way they keep on dancing forward and back three times, always in an easterly and westerly direction, swinging their rattles down and up, while passing from one point to the other, and from side to side whenever they reach it. the down-and-up movement of the rattle is not a simple down and up, but the down stroke is always followed by a short after-clap before the arm rises for the new swing, producing thus a three-part rhythm. they sing the following stanza, repeating it over and over again: ru-tu-bú-ri væ-ye-na ru-tu-bú-ri væ-ye-na rutuburi, from one side to the other moving! rutuburi, from one side to, etc. Ó-ma wæ-ka xá-ru-si. Ó-ma wæ-ka xá-ru-si. all! many! arms crossed! all! many! arms crossed! this is the introduction and prelude to the whole dance. after this formal opening the men take their places in line to the right of the shamans, and the women to the left. they stand for a few minutes while the shamans sing and swing their rattles, the men silently holding their arms folded over their breasts, as described in the song. this crossing of the arms i take to mean a salutation to the gods. while the tarahumares of to-day never salute each other by shaking hands, neither is there any trace at present of their ever having saluted each other by crossing arms over the breast, which form was probably never used except with the gods, at ceremonies. all the people are closely wrapped in their blankets, which they wear throughout the dance. in its general traits, the dance is performed in the same way as the opening ceremony. the shamans, or sometimes only the leader, jumps along as described, but the men just walk to and fro, and have to take long steps in order to keep abreast with the leaders. the women follow the men after the latter have gone several yards ahead, skipping in the same way as the shamans, though less pronounced. they stamp the, hard ground with the right foot and run without regard to time, so that the pattering of their naked feet reminds one of a drove of mules stampeding. they overtake the men, so as to turn around simultaneously with them and wait again for a few seconds for the men to get ahead of them. thus the dance is continued without interruption for hours and hours. this may sound as if the spectacle was monotonous; but such is not the case. on the contrary, there is a certain fascination in the regular, rhythmical movement from side to side--like the double pendulum of some gigantic, unseen clock. the shaman specially captivates the attention of the observer, being the very incarnation of enthusiasm. he swings his rattle with energy and conviction, as if bent on rousing the gods out of their indifference, while he stamps his right foot on the ground to add weight to the words, which he pours forth in a loud, resonant voice from his wide-open mouth. although the tarahumare, as a rule, has a harsh and not very powerful singing voice, still there are some noteworthy exceptions, and the airs of the rutuburi songs are quite pleasing to the ear. these, as all their dancing-songs, are of great antiquity and strangely enchanting. rutuburi dance. vá-sa-ma du-hú(-hu-ru)-si sæ-va-gá wi-li in flowers (is) jaltomate, [ ] in flow-ers stands up, sæ-va-gá wi-lí wú-ka wú-ka. in flowers stands up getting ripe, getting ripe. rutuburi dance. ra-ya-bó va-mí va-mí-(ru) ra-ya-bó (on the) ridge yon-der, yon-der (on the) ridge be-mó-ko ra-ya-bó be-mó-ko. fog (on the) ridge fog. the water is near; fog is resting on the mountain and on the mesa. the bluebird sings and whirs in the trees, and the male woodpecker is calling on the llano, where the fog is rising. the large swift is making his dashes through the evening air; the rains are close at hand. when the swift is darting through the air he makes his whizzing, humming noise. the blue squirrel ascends the tree and whistles, the plants will be growing and the fruit will be ripening, and when it is ripe it falls to the ground. it falls because it is so ripe. the flowers are standing up, waving in the wind. the turkey is playing, and the eagle is calling; therefore, the time of rains will soon set in. in the wet season, when the rabbits are about, the shamans sing of the rabbit. in winter time they sing of the giant woodpecker, and in harvest time, when the people begin to make merry, they sing of the blackbird. the yumari was learned from the deer. according to tradition it is the oldest dance. at the hour appointed, the shaman, facing the cross and the east, here, too, opens the proceedings by shaking his rattle to both sides to notify the gods. then he begins to walk around the cross, humming a song and marching in time to the rattle, which he now swings down and up. he makes the ceremonial circuit, stopping at each cardinal point for a few seconds. after this he begins his dance, and the rest of the assemblage gradually join in. the dance consists in short walks, forward and backward, with lock-step, the men being arrayed in line on both sides of the shaman, their eyes fixed on the ground, their elbows touching. in this way they swing to and fro, generally describing a curve around the cross, or, sometimes, forming a circle against the apparent movement of the sun. the women dance in a similar way, in a course of their own behind the men; but they frequently break ranks, jumping forward and backward with movements wholly devoid of grace. when the dance goes in a circle, the women move with the sun. the tones marked with the accent > in each of the following yumari songs are grunts. the yumari songs tell that the cricket wants to dance; the frog wants to dance and jump; and the blue heron wants to fish; the goatsucker is dancing, so is the turtle, and the grey fox is whistling. but it is characteristic of the yumari songs that they generally consist only of an unintelligible jargon, or, rather, of a mere succession of vocables, which the dancers murmur. unlike the rutuburi, the yumari soon becomes tiresome, in spite of its greater animation. yet the spectacle has something weird in it, especially when seen by the fitful flicker of the fire, which throws a fantastic light upon the grotesque figures, like goblins moving about on the same space. many mothers carry their sleeping infants on their backs. sometimes, the blanket which supports the baby loosens, and the little thing hangs half out of it, following every movement of the parent. at most feasts both these dances are performed, and the indians themselves consider them to have the same general purpose. it is, therefore, not easy to see the relation of the two dances to each other. rutuburi is the more serious dance, and is more efficacious than yumari, though the latter, of course, has its own special value; for instance, it expresses a prayer that the shaman may have strength to cure. in yumari, all sing and dance, and very frequently all the performers are drunk, while during the former dance absolute decorum is observed. both dances are for the sun and the moon--rutuburi, in order to call them down; yumari, to despatch them. therefore, the usual dancing-feasts commence with rutuburi. when the function is about to be concluded, an hour or two before sunrise, yumari is commenced, and leads over to the second part of the festival, the eating and drinking. after this, yumari may be continued throughout the day, while the indians get drunk. rutuburi is also danced at thanksgiving for the harvest, while on such occasions yumari asks for a good year to come. then, again, rutuburi may be danced throughout the day, and yumari at night; but generally the former dance commences soon after sunset. on one occasion, while i was waiting for the performance to begin, the son of the house, in answer to my query, pointed to the sky, and told me that the dance would not commence until the pleiades reached a certain spot in the heavens, which i calculated to mean about eleven o'clock. this indicated that the stars have some connection with the dancing. at the break of dawn busy hands begin to get everything ready for the great ceremony of the sacrifice. for several days the women of the household and their friends have been making tortillas and boiling beans and _tamales_ (small quantities of unsalted ground corn, wrapped and boiled in corn-husks). an animal was killed on the preceding day, and the meat has been boiling (without salt) in large jars all day and all night. tata dios does not like bones, therefore no bones are cooked with this meat. several of the women have been dividing their time between dancing and watching the food-supply, to guard it against mishap from any source: a blanket is spread underneath, just to the west of the cross, or the three crosses, as the case may be, and on it in a line they place the jars of tesvino; behind these are set three small earthenware bowls filled with the stringy mass of the meat; then come three baskets of tortillas; and finally three little jars with wooden spoons in each are brought on and put in their proper places, behind the rest of the food. the latter vessels contain medicines to be taken, for the welfare of the people is looked after from every point of view. in the meantime the dancing goes on with undiminished force. nearly every night during the dry season, for nobody knows how many centuries, the morning star has been looking down upon his sons, the tarahumares, as they dance in the heart of the sierra, casting his last rays upon the weird scene around their dying fires before he flees from the approaching keeper of the day. just before the first beam of the rosy light announces the coming of father sun, the dancing ceases, and the rattles are added to the sacrificial offerings on the blanket. everybody now is ready to do homage to the deity about to appear above the horizon. the shaman greets him with the words, "behold, nonorugami is coming!" and then solemnly proceeds toward the cross, while the people form a line behind him and preserve a respectful silence throughout the ensuing ceremony. he fills a large drinking-gourd with tesvino, and, holding it in his left hand, throws a small dipperful of the liquor with his right hand into the air, three times to each cardinal point, making the ceremonial circuit. then the meat and the tortillas are sacrificed in the following way: the shaman takes up from the ground the vessel in front of him, and lifts it three times toward heaven. then with his fingers he takes up a little meat, offers it to the cross with the word "koá!" (eat), and throws it up into the air. next he breaks off a small piece of tortilla, and repeats the same ceremony. thus he sacrifices to all the cardinal points. the two assistants of the shaman follow their principal in every act he performs. the solemnity of the scene is by no means impaired by the numerous dogs, which are gathering to see what they can snatch up. of course, the people drive them away, but in the end they always get nonorugami's share of the food, while the god is supposed to eat only the nourishing substance. what is left in the jars or bowls after the sacrifice is placed back on the blanket under the cross. the broth of the meat, too, is sacrificed, and so is the blood of the animal that has been killed for the feast. whenever the shaman returns to the people after performing the sacrifice, he says, "this was done on behalf of nonorugami," and all the people respond: "matetravá! matetravá! kalahúpo!" (thank you! thank you! it is all right!) when the gods have had their share of the tesvino and the food, the curing begins. the medicines are cold infusions of different medicinal plants. the shaman standing directly in front of the middle cross, takes up the jar containing the chief medicine, palo hediondo; his assistant to the north takes up the bowl containing a root called ohnoa; and the one on the south maguey water. after having duly sacrificed to the gods, the great shaman himself takes three spoonfuls of the medicine, and gives the same quantity to his assistant to the north, who in turn first takes his remedy and then gives some to the shaman. in the same way the latter exchanges with his assistant to the south, and then the two assistants exchange remedies. the bowls are then handed by the shaman to the owner of the house, who in turn passes them on to the first man in the row, and from him they go from hand to hand to the last man in the line, each man taking three spoonfuls out of each bowl, while each of the women gets four. the man who drinks last gives the bowls back to the owner of the house, who in turn hands them to the shaman, who puts them back on the blanket underneath the cross. meanwhile the incense-burners have been filled with hot coals, on which the shaman now throws some copal, the smoke of which he waves over all the people. he, as well as the other men, open their blankets a little to get the smoke on their bodies. this finishes the curing act, and now a speech is made. at private festivals the shaman is the orator of the occasion, but at communal or tribal festivals the gobernador is expected to, and generally does, perform this part of the proceedings. rhetoric is one of the accomplishments of the tarahumares, though it is not to be judged in accordance with the white man's standard. here is a speech made by the gobernador at the end of one of the feasts i witnessed: listen to me! stand up in a row and listen to what i have to tell you. all of you stand up in line, men, women, and children, because i am going to give you my words, to present to you the words which the one above bids me to tell you. now all is over! we have done something good to tara dios, and he has given you life to dance; and now he is giving you life for another year. all of you will have to make feasts like this. you have no experience; therefore listen to me and hear what i have to tell you. if you do not believe what i am telling you, the devil will carry you off. you all are inexperienced, all of you who are standing here in a row around. be quiet, and do all your business quietly. drink quietly, talk quietly, sing quietly. and do not fight, because if in the fight you kill somebody, what will you have afterward? nothing but sorrow and sadness! the one who is above us bids me to tell you, to say to all of you, men, women, and children, that this water, this tesvino that we are drinking is what makes us lose our heads. you know it all, and the one above knows that this is the truth that i am telling you. don't fight, don't pull each other's hair, don't beat anyone in the face until he bleeds. for the blood and the hair belong to tata dios, and you pull his hair and shed his blood. drink tesvino to your hearts' content, get much drunk, but then lie down and sleep, and in the morning you return to your homes without coming to blows with anyone. all the time the speech is punctuated with expressions of approval, and at the end they all say: "matetrava! matetrava! kalahupo!" (thank you! thank your it is all right!) a speech is also often made in the beginning of the feast, when much the same sentiments are expressed. the orator tells the people to follow the good example of the host, that sacrificing and dancing may go on here, there, and everywhere, so that the gods will get plenty to eat and grant the prayers of the tarahumares. he strongly admonishes them to keep away from women, as otherwise the value of the feast would be lost. this day belongs to tara dios, and nothing else is to be thought of. if anyone transgresses this command, he will have to give an ox or a sheep and tesvino, to make the feast all over again. while the dancing and singing, sacrificing and speechmaking, are going on, the people behave with decorous solemnity and formality. the ceremonies are never interrupted by unseemly conduct; everybody deports himself with grave sobriety, and refrains from loud talking and laughing and from making any disrespectful noise. but after the gods have been given their share, the people go in, no less energetically, for enjoying themselves. food and tesvino are never distributed by the same man, nor are men and women waited on by the same functionary; in other words, one man is appointed for each sex, to dispense the tesvino, and two others to serve the food. they eat but little of the solids, as it is customary for the guests to take home their portions, the women bringing jars and baskets along for the purpose. little or nothing of the tesvino is spared, and it is the avowed intention and aim of everybody to get "a beautiful intoxication." they all like to get drunk. an indian explained to me that the drunken people weep with delight, because they are so perfectly happy. every tarahumare has in his heart a cross which tata dios placed there long, long ago, and this cross they respect. when drunk they remember tata dios better. at their feasts they sit alongside of him and drink with him. the women sit alongside of the moon and remember ancient times. but unfortunately this blissful stage of their intoxication does not last long, and then the animal nature in them manifests itself. under the influence of the liquor, men and women rapidly lose that bashfulness and modesty which in ordinary life are such characteristic traits of their deportment. furthermore, whatever grudge one man may' have against another now crops out, and very likely a fight will ensue, in which the two opponents recklessly pull each other's hair and punch each other's faces. sometimes in such an outbreak of unreasoning animalism one of the combatants will seize a stone and batter the other one's head to crush it. afterward, when sober again, the murderer may deeply deplore his deed--if he remembers it at all. mothers, when overcome by the spirit of the feast, may unawares allow their babies to fall out of the blankets and into the fire. children may frequently be seen with bruises and scars which they carry as mementoes of some tesvino feast. i know one man who had no hair on one side of his head, having when a child been a victim of such an accident. but seldom, if ever, is a child allowed to become fatally injured. taking it all in all, it is a good-natured, jolly, silly crowd, out for a good time and enjoying themselves. all are good friends, and familiarity becomes unlimited. late in the afternoon those still able to walk start on their way home. rarely, however, can they reach their domiciles, if these are any distance off, before nature enforces her rights; and the track is strewn with men and women, who, overcome with the effects of their spree, have lain down wherever they happened to be, to sleep themselves sober. tarahumare society has not yet advanced far enough to see anything disgraceful in debauches of this kind, which, if viewed from their standpoint, are _pro bono publico_; and we ourselves need go back only to our grandfathers' and great-grandfathers' time to find that inebriety was not at all inconsistent with good morals and high standing. moreover, no matter how often the tarahumares indulge in such saturnalia, as soon as they recover their senses they are as decorous and solemn as ever. their native stimulant does not seem to affect either their physical or their mental faculties, and, all scientific theories to the contrary, their children are strong, healthy, and bright. aside from social and religious considerations, the drinking of tesvino is a vital factor in the national life of the tribe. incredible as it may sound, yet, after prolonged and careful research into this interesting psychological problem, i do not hesitate to state that in the ordinary course of his existence the uncivilised tarahumare is too bashful and modest to enforce his matrimonial rights and privileges; and that by means of tesvino chiefly the race is kept alive and increasing. it is especially at the feasts connected with the agricultural work that sexual promiscuity takes place. a large gathering is not necessary in order to pray to the gods by dancing. sometimes the family dances alone, the father teaching the boys. while doing agricultural work, the indians often depute one man to dance yumari near the house, while the others attend to the work in the fields. it is a curious sight to see a lone man taking his devotional exercise to the tune of his rattle in front of an apparently deserted dwelling. the lonely worshipper is doing his share of the general work by bringing down the fructifying rain and by warding off disaster, while the rest of the family and their friends plant, hoe, weed, or harvest. in the evening, when they return from the field, they may join him for a little while; but often he goes on alone, dancing all night, and singing himself hoarse, and the indians told me that this is the very hardest kind of work, and exhausting even to them. solitary worship is also observed by men who go out hunting deer or squirrels for a communal feast. every one of them dances yumari alone in front of his house for two hours to insure success on the hunt; and when putting corn to sprout for the making of tesvino the owner of the house dances for a while, that the corn may sprout well. in certain parts of the country, near aboreachic, for instance, a dance called valixíwami is in vogue. here the line of the women faces that of the men, and the two rows dance backward and forward, following each other all the time. in a dance called cuváli, which is found still further south, the movements are the same as in the dance just mentioned, but the steps are different. it is danced for the same reason as rutuburi is, and it makes the grass and the fungi grow and the deer and the rabbits multiply. this is the only dance known to the tepehuanes. in the winter they dance for snow, a dance called yohé; and finally there is a dance called ayéna, which calls the clouds from the north and south that they may clash and produce rain. i was present at feasts in which four of these dances were performed, and the order in which they followed each other was: rutuburi, yumari, valixiwami, cuvali. according to one version of the tradition, both yumari and rutuburi were once men who taught the tarahumares to dance and sing. they live with father sun. valixiwami and cuvali were also men and companions of the former, but much younger. at certain feasts for the benefit of the moon, three cigarettes are offered under the cross. the shaman takes one of them, gives a puff, raising the cigarette at the same time upward toward the moon and saying: "suá" (rise) "vamí" (yonder) "repá" (upward). this is repeated three times. the master of the house and his wife do the same. the ceremony is performed in order to help the moon to make clouds. now all present may smoke. the tarahumare never smokes in the middle of the day; he would offend the sun by so doing. he indulges in the "weed" mostly at feasts when drunk. when an indian offers another man tobacco and a dry corn-leaf to roll his cigarette it is a sign that everything is well between them. every year between march and may a large performance takes place on a special patio in the woods. its purpose is to cure or prevent disease, and much tesvino is consumed. a straw-man, about two feet high, dressed in cotton drawers, and with a handkerchief tied around its head is set up next to the cross. it represents father sun, and the cross is his wife, the moon. sometimes a stuffed recamúchi (cacomistle, _bassariscus_) is used either in the place of a straw-man or in addition to it. after the feast is over, the manikin is taken to the place from which the straw was obtained, in order to make the grass grow. the christian tarahumares keep it in the sacristy of their church. the latter also celebrate christmas, and on this occasion some of them, the so-called _matachines_, paint their faces and carry on their backs stuffed animals, such as the grey fox, squirrel, or opossum, while dancing to the music of the violin. they jokingly call the skins their _muchachitos_, and hold them as women carry their babies. at present the only object is to make the beholder laugh; but of course the play is a remnant of some ancient custom, the meaning of which is now forgotten through the new associations with which the missionaries of old imbued the ceremonies and rites found among the pagans. a similar suggestion of antiquity is unmistakably embodied in the deer masks, as well as in the heads with antlers attached, which the same men also may wear. during easter week live rattlesnakes are carried about, but the heads of the reptiles are tied together so that they can do no harm. one man may have as many as four serpents with him. chapter xix plant-worship--hikuli--internal and external effects--hikuli both man and god--how the tarahumares obtain the plant, and where they keep it--the tarahumare hikuli feast--musical instruments--hikuli likes noise--the dance--hikuli's departure in the morning--other kinds of cacti worshipped--"doctor" rubio, the great hikuli expert--the age of hikuli worship. to the indian, everything in nature is alive. plants, like human beings, have souls, otherwise they could not live and grow. many are supposed to talk and sing and to feel joy and pain. for instance, when in winter the pine-trees are stiff with cold, they weep and pray to the sun to shine and make them warm. when angered or insulted, the plants take their revenge. those that are supposed to possess curative powers are venerated. this fact, however, does not save them from being cut into pieces and steeped in water, which the people afterward drink or use in washing themselves. the mere fragrance of the lily is supposed to cure sickness and to drive off sorcery. in invoking the lily's help the shaman utters a prayer like this: "sumatí okiliveá sævá rakó cheeneserová "beautiful this morning in bloom lily thou guard me! waminámela ke usugitúami cheeotshéloaya drive them away (those who) make sorcery! thou make me grow old! cheelivéva tesola chapimélava otshéloa thou give me walking-stick (to) take up (in) old age rimivélava matetravá sevaxóa (that i may) find! thanks exhale fragrance wiliróva!" standing!" ("beautiful lily, in bloom this morning, guard me! drive away sorcery! make me grow old! let me reach the age at which i have to take up a walking-stick! i thank thee for exhaling thy fragrance there, where thou art standing!") high mental qualities are ascribed especially to all species of _mammilaria_ and _echinocactus_, small cacti, for which a regular cult is instituted. the tarahumares designate several varieties as hikuli, though the name belongs properly only to the kind most commonly used by them. these plants live for months after they have been rooted up, and the eating of them causes a state of ecstasy. they are therefore considered demi-gods, who have to be treated with great reverence, and to whom sacrifices have to be offered. the principal kinds thus distinguished are known to science as _lophophora williamsii_ and _lophophora williamsii_, var. _lewinii_. in the united states they are called mescal buttons, and in mexico _peyote_. the tarahumares speak of them as the superior hikuli (hikuli wanamé), or simply hikuli, they being the hikuli _par excellence_. the huichol indians, who live many hundred miles south of the tarahumares, also have a hikuli cult, and it is a curious and interesting fact that with them the plant has even the same name, although the two tribes are neither related to nor connected with each other. the cults, too, show many points of resemblance, though with the southern tribe the plant plays a far more important part in the tribal life, and its worship is much more elaborate. on the other hand, the huichols use only the species and variety shown in the illustration, while the tarahumares have several. major j. b. pond, of new york, informs me that in texas, during the civil war, the so-called texas rangers, when taken prisoners and deprived of all other stimulating drinks, used mescal buttons, or "white mule," as they called them. they soaked the plants in water and became intoxicated with the liquid. the plant, when taken, exhilarates the human system, and allays all feeling of hunger and thirst. it also produces colour-visions. when fresh, it has a nauseating, slightly sour taste, but it is wonderfully refreshing when one has been exposed to great fatigue. not only does it do away with all exhaustion, but one feels actually pushed on, as i can testify from personal experience. in this respect it resembles the peruvian coca; but unlike the latter, it leaves a certain depression, as well as a headache. although an indian feels as if drunk after eating a quantity of hikuli, and the trees dance before his eyes, he maintains the balance of his body even better than under normal conditions, and he will walk along the edge of precipices without becoming dizzy. at their nocturnal feasts, when drinking heavily of both tesvino and hikuli, many persons may be seen to weep and laugh alternately. another marked effect of the plant is to take away temporarily all sexual desire. this fact, no doubt, is the reason why the indians, by a curious aboriginal mode of reasoning, impose abstinence from sexual intercourse as a necessary part of the hikuli cult. the effect of the plant is so much enjoyed by the tarahumares that they attribute to it power to give health and long life and to purify body and soul. the little cacti, either fresh or dried, are ground on the metate, while being mixed with water; and this liquor is the usual form in which hikuli is consumed. hikuli is also applied externally for snake-bites, burns, wounds, and rheumatism; for these purposes it is chewed, or merely moistened in the mouth, and applied to the afflicted part. not only does it cure disease, causing it to run off, but it also so strengthens the body that it can resist illness, and is therefore much used in warding off sickness. though not given to the dead, since the dead are no longer in need of remedies, hikuli is always partaken of at the feasts of the dead. moreover, hikuli is a powerful protector of its people under all circumstances, and it gives luck. if a man carries some hikuli in his belt, the bear cannot bite him and the deer cannot run away, but become quite tame and can easily be killed. should he meet apaches, hikuli would prevent them from firing off their guns at him. it gives luck in foot-races and all kinds of games, in climbing trees, etc. hikuli is the great safeguard against witchcraft. it sees even better than the shamans, and it watches that nothing bad is put into the food. the christian tarahumares, when they partake of hikuli, think that the devil runs out of their stomachs. hikuli purifies any man who is willing to sacrifice a sheep and to make native beer. there is, however, no remedy for a murderer; not even hikuli can cure him. the christian tarahumares make the sign of the cross when coming into the presence of the plant, and i was told to lift my hat to it. it is always saluted in the same way as a man, and is supposed to make the customary responses to the salutations. hikuli is not as great as father sun, but sits next to him. it is the brother of tata dios; and the greatest hikuli is his twin brother, and is therefore called uncle. sometimes these plants are dressed up in pieces of blankets, and cigarettes are placed before them. boys must not touch hikuli, and women only when they act as the shaman's assistants and have to grind it. as a matter of fact, only shamans can handle it properly, and even they wash their hands carefully, and sometimes elect not to touch it at all, making use of little sticks instead of their fingers. certain shamans washed their hands and rinsed their mouths immediately after eating from my vessels, because hikuli would be angry with them for eating strange food cooked by strange people. hikuli is not kept in the house, because it is extremely virtuous, and might become offended at the sight of anything immodest. it is placed in a special jar or basket, in a separate store-house, and is never taken out until tesvino and meat have been offered to it. if this were neglected, it would eat the indian's soul. if anything happens to hikuli--for instance, if irreverent mice eat it--the owner fears that he may be made crazy as a punishment for his failure to guard it. if anyone should steal hikuli, he would be sure to go crazy, unless he returned the plant to its original owner. he must also kill an ox and make a big feast, in order to set himself right again with the mighty god and with the people. after four years, hikuli grows old and mouldy, and loses its virtues. it is then buried in a corner of the cave or the house, or taken to the place where it came from, and fresh plants are obtained instead. according to tradition, when tata dios went to heaven in the beginning of the world, he left hikuli behind as the great remedy of the people, hikuli has four faces and sees everything. its power is well shown in the following myth: the bear in a cave said to hikuli, "let us fight and let us first smoke over there." they smoked and they fought, and hikuli was stronger than the bear. when hikuli threw the bear down, all the wind went out of the bear; but the bear said again, "let us smoke and let us fight a few times more." and they did so, and hikuli again threw down the bear, and the bear seated himself on a stone and wept, and went away, and never returned. hikuli is not indigenous to the tarahumare country of to-day. to obtain it long and until recently perilous journeys have to be undertaken every year to the plateaus of eastern chihuahua, in the sierra del almoloy, near the railroad station of ximenez, and to the sierra de margoso, beyond santa rosalia de camarga, crossing the tracks of the mexican central railroad. from two or three to a dozen men start out to get the plants, first purifying themselves with copal incense. it takes a week or ten days to get to the sierra de margoso, where the plants are chiefly found, and about a month is consumed on the entire journey. until they reach the hikuli country, the tarahumares may eat anything; but once there, they must abstain from everything except pinole. upon arriving at the spot, the pilgrims erect a cross, and near it they place the first plants taken up, that these may tell where others may be found in plenty. the second batch of plants gathered is eaten raw, and makes the men drunk. as speech is forbidden, they lie down in silence and sleep. the following day, when perfectly sober again, they begin early in the morning to collect the plants, taking them up with the utmost care, by means of sticks, so as not to touch or injure them, because hikuli would get angry and punish the offender. two days are spent in gathering the plants, each kind being placed in a separate bag, because, if they were mixed together, they would fight. the bags are carefully carried on the backs of the men, as the tarahumares generally have no horses. in the field in which it grows, it sings beautifully, that the tarahumare may find it. it says, "i want to go to your country, that you may sing your songs to me." it also sings in the bag while it is being carried home. one man, who wanted to use his bag as a pillow, could not sleep, he said, because the plants made so much noise. when the hikuli-seekers arrive at their homes, the people turn out to welcome the plants with music, and a festival at which a sheep or a goat is sacrificed is held in their honour. on this occasion the shaman wears necklaces made of the seeds of _coix lachryma-jobi_. in due time he takes them off, and places them in a bowl containing water in which the heart of the maguey has been soaked, and after a while everyone present gets a spoonful of this water. the shaman, too, takes some, and afterward wears the necklaces again. both plants, the _coix lachryma-jobi_ as well as the maguey, are highly esteemed for their curative properties; and in his songs the shaman describes hikuli as standing on top of a gigantic seed of the _coix lachryma-jobi_, as big as a mountain. the night is passed in dancing hikuli and yumari. the pile of fresh plants, perhaps two bushels or more, is placed under the cross, and sprinkled with tesvino, for hikuli wants to drink beer, and if the people should not give it, it would go back to its own country. food is also offered to the plants, and even money is placed before them, perhaps three silver dollars, which the owner, after the feast, takes back again. during the year, feasts may be held especially in honour of hikuli, but generally the hikuli dance is performed simultaneously with, though apart from, the rutuburi or other dances. on such occasions some shamans devote themselves exclusively to the hikuli cult, in order that the health of the dancers may be preserved, and that they may have vigour for their work. the hikuli feast consists mainly in dancing, which, of course, is followed by eating and drinking, after the customary offerings of food and tesvino have been made to the gods. it is not held on the general dancing-place, in front of the tarahumare dwelling, but on a special patio. for the occasion a level piece of ground may be cleared of all stones and rubbish, and carefully swept with the indian broom, which is made of a sheaf of straw tied in the middle. meanwhile some people go into the woods to gather fuel for the large fire which will be needed. the fire is an important feature of the hikuli-feast, a fact indicated by the name, which is napítshi nawlíruga, literally, "moving (_i.e_. dancing) around (nawlíruga) the fire (napítshi)." there seems to be a preference for fallen trees, pines or oaks, but this may be because they are found in plenty everywhere, are drier and burn better, and finally save the men the labour and time of cutting them down. quite a number of such trunks are brought together, and placed parallel to each other in an easterly and westerly direction; but not until after sunset is the fire lighted. the master of the house in which the feast is to be held gives some plants to two or three women appointed to the office of shaman's assistants. at an ordinary gathering, a dozen or two of the plants suffice. the women are called rokoró, which means the stamen of the flower, while the shaman is the pistil the women grind the plants with water on the metate, and then take part in the dance. they must wash their hands most carefully before touching them; and while they are grinding a man stands by with a gourd, to catch any stray drop of liquor that may drip from the metate, and to watch that nothing of the precious fluid is lost. not one drop must be spilled, and even the water with which the metate is afterward washed, is added to the liquid. the drink thus produced is slightly thick and of a dirty brown colour. the shaman (sometimes there are two) takes his seat on the ground to the west of the fire, about two yards off. on the opposite side of the dancing-place, toward the east, the cross is placed. the shaman's male assistants, at least two in number, seat themselves on either side of their principal, while the women helpers take a position to the north of the fire. on one occasion i observed that the men grouped themselves on one side of the shaman, the women on the other. close by the shaman's seat a hole is dug, into which he or his assistants may spit, after having drunk or eaten hikuli, so that nothing may be lost. after this improvised cuspidor has been used, it is always carefully covered with a leaf. as soon as the shaman has seated himself, he takes a round drinking-gourd, and by pressing its rim firmly into the soil and turning the vessel round, makes a circular mark. lifting up the bowl again, he draws two diametrical lines at right angles in the circle, and thus produces a symbol of the world. in the centre he puts a hikuli, right side up; or he may dig a hole in the centre, to the depth of five or six inches, and place the hikuli in this. he then covers it up with the gourd, bottom up, so that the plant stands within a hollow sphere. the gourd may be replaced by a wooden vessel of similar shape; but in any case it is firmly planted in the ground to serve as a resonator for the musical instrument,--the notched stick, which the shaman leans against the vessel, and on which with another stick he rasps an accompaniment to his songs. if he does not plant the gourd carefully in the ground, it will make a discordant sound, which will vex the demi-god, and he will cause someone in the house to die. the noise produced by the rasping is enjoyed by hikuli; that is why he is placed beneath the bowl. he is powerful, and manifests his strength by the noise produced. the notched stick, as well as the rasping-stick, is made from the heavy, hard brazil-wood, brought from the vicinity of san ignacio, the hikuli country. the shaman holds the notched stick in his left hand, a little away from himself, so that it touches the vessel at a point below the middle of its length, the part between the shaman's hand and the point of contact being a little longer than the portion from that point to the end of the stick. the notched sticks which are shown in the illustration, from a tarahumare burial-cave, are apparently of considerable age. the indians to whom i showed them did not know them, but they all affirmed that they were rasping-sticks. on two sides of one of them are slanting lines, which symbolize the road of tata dios; on the intervening sides are transverse lines which represent falling rain. as the implements were found near baborigame, they may possibly have belonged to the tepehuanes, the northern members of whom also have the hikuli cult. when the shaman begins to rasp, he starts from the farther end of the notched stick, though not quite at the point, and runs his rasping-stick quickly and evenly, about twenty-six times, toward himself, and away again; then he makes three long strokes down and outward, each time throwing out his arm at full length, and holding the stick for a second high up toward the east. this is repeated three times, and is the prelude to the ceremony. now he begins to sing, accompanying himself with even strokes on the notched stick, playing regularly, one stroke as long and as fast as the other, always first toward himself, then down again. his songs are short, lasting only about five minutes. presently the shaman's assistants, men and women, rise. they carry censers filled with burning charcoals and copal, and emitting a heavy smoke, and proceed toward the cross, to which they offer the smoking incense, kneeling down, facing east, and crossing themselves. this feature, if not wholly due to catholic influence, is at least strongly affected by it. having offered incense to the cross, they return to the shaman. the women now sit down again in their previous places. the men receive from the shaman rattles (_sonajas_) consisting of deer-hoofs tied with bits of reed to a strap of leather. they are either held in the right hand or slung over the shoulder. when there are not enough rattles for all assistants, a bell may be substituted. finally everything is ready for the dance to commence. the men wear white blankets, in which they keep themselves wrapped up to the chin throughout the night; but they have no sandals. the dance is performed by the shaman's assistants, and consists of a peculiar, quick, jumping march, with short steps, the dancers moving forward one after another, on their toes, and making sharp, jerky movements, without, however, turning around. they dance in the space between the fire and the cross, and move in a direction opposite to the sun's apparent movement. nobody present is allowed to walk in contra-direction to the dancers. after six or eight rounds, they enlarge the circuit so as to include the fire; and whenever a dancer finds himself just between the shaman and the fire, he quickly turns around once, then, dancing as before, moves on to the dancing-place proper. now and then the dancers give vent to what is supposed to be an imitation of the hikuli's talk, which reminded me of the crowing of a cock. beating their mouths quickly three times with the hollow of their hands, they shout in a shrill, falsetto voice, "hikuli vava!" which means, "hikuli over yonder!" the women take their turns separate from the men, though sometimes they dance simultaneously with them. they move around in silence, and their dance is slightly different from that of the other sex. sometimes two and two may be seen dancing toward each other. they all wear freshly washed, clean white skirts and tunics, and the entire scene around the big fire is marvellously picturesque. the dancing may sometimes lag, but the singing and the rhythmical rasping of the shaman are kept up through the night, interrupted only once or twice, when he sees fit. he politely excuses himself to hikuli, and formal salutations are exchanged with the plant under the bowl both when he goes and when he returns. on such occasions he stops his singing and rasping, and notifies hikuli by striking the notched stick several times quickly with the rasping-stick, and finishing off with three slow beats. his songs describe how hikuli walks with his rattles and with his staff of authority; he comes to cure and to guard the people and to grant a "beautiful" intoxication. to bring about the latter result, the brownish liquor is dispensed from a jar standing under the cross. a man serves it in small quantities from agourd, which he first carries around the fire on a rapid run, making three circuits for the shaman, and one for the rest of the assemblage. the spirits of the feasters rise in proportion to their potations. sometimes only the shaman and his assistants indulge in the drinking; on other occasions all the people partake of the liquor. song to the hikuli. hí-ku-li o-ku-lí-va-va ta-mi-sæ-li-va re-gá hikuli, uncle! our authority thus! a-go-ná wi-lí si-næ na-na-já re-gá we-lá yonder standing upright, see! the ancients thus placed him. the secondary effect of the plant, depression and drowsiness, shows itself more plainly on the company when they sit down between the dancing, than on the well-trained shaman, who, besides, is kept awake by his occupation. as one or the other of his assistants succumbs to sleepiness, he has to ask permission of hikuli, through the shaman, to go off and rest for a while, and must properly notify hikuli of his leaving and returning to duty. toward morning all the assistants are struggling hard to overcome somnolence, while the shaman sings and rasps as conscientiously and enthusiastically as ever. but all rouse themselves for the important acts of curing the people by rasping and of despatching hikuli. just at daybreak, as the fire is dying out, the shaman gives the welcome signal that the dance is over, by the three final raps on his notched stick. then the people gather at the eastern end of the dancing-place, near the cross. the shaman rises from his seat, carrying in his hands his rasping implements, and, followed by a boy who carries a gourd with water, he proceeds to confer upon everybody present the benediction. stopping in front of each one, he solemnly dips the point of the rasping-stick into the water, and after touching the notched stick lightly with the wetted end, first in the middle, then on the lower end, and finally on the top, he daubs the head of the person three times with it. then he rests the end of the notched stick against the man's head and rasps three long strokes from end to end, throwing out his hand far into the air after each stroke. the dust produced by the rasping, infinitesimal though it be, is powerful in giving health and life. now he turns toward the rising sun, holding out his implements to him; and, quickly rubbing up and down a few times at the lower end of the notched stick, he makes a long stroke from end to end, passing the hand far out from the stick toward the sun. by this act, three times performed, he waves hikuli home. in the early morning, hikuli had come from san ignacio and from sara-polio, riding on beautiful green doves, to feast with the tarahumares at the end of the dance, when the people sacrifice food, and eat and drink. the greatest hikuli eats with the shaman, who alone is able to see him and his companions. if hikuli should not come to the feasts, there would always be on the tarahumares the breath or stain of sorcery. having bestowed his blessings, hikuli forms himself into a ball, and flies home to his country, accompanied by the owl, who also flies to its shelter at that hour. the dust produced by the rasping of the shaman in the course of the night is carefully gathered up and kept in a buckskin bag as a powerful remedy for future use. after the feast everybody has to wash his face and hands, a duty esteemed most important. besides hikuli wanamé ordinarily used, the tarahumares know and worship the following varieties: . mulato (_mammilaria micromeris_).--this is believed to make the eyes large and clear to see sorcerers, to prolong life and to give speed to the runners. . rosapara.--this is only a more advanced vegetative stage of the preceding species--though it looks quite different, being white and spiny. this, too, must only be touched with very clean hands, in the moral sense, it would seem, as much as in the physical, for only people who are well baptised are allowed to handle it. it is a good christian and keeps a sharp eye on the people around it; and when it sees anyone doing some wrong, it gets very angry, and either drives the offender mad or throws him down precipices. it is therefore very effective in frightening off bad people, especially robbers and apaches. . sunami (_mammilaria fissurata_).--it is rare, but it is believed to be even more powerful than wanamé and is used in the same way as the latter; the drink produced from it is also strongly intoxicating. robbers are powerless to steal anything where sunami calls soldiers to its aid. . hikuli walúla sælíami.--this is the greatest of all, and the name means "hikuli great authority." it is extremely rare among the tarahumares, and i have not seen any specimen of it, but it was described to me as growing in clusters of from eight to twelve inches in diameter, resembling wanamé with many young ones around it. all the other hikuli are his servants. the reason why so few of these plants are brought to the tarahumare country is that he is very greedy, requiring oxen for food, not being satisfied with sheep, goats, or anything else. therefore but few tarahumares can afford to entertain him in their country. if an ox is not killed for him, he will eat the indian. he always holds his head down, because he is listening to all the ceremonies that are being held in the tarahumare land, and he is always full of thoughts of how he may cure his sons, the tarahumares. he never dies. when a person is very ill, and there is no such hikuli in the country, the shaman in his thoughts flies to the hikuli country, where "the great authority" stands looking at his children, the people, and offers him the soul of an ox that has been sacrificed. hikuli accepts the offering, and sends back his blessings by his servants, who are always well dressed and wear straw hats, "like regular americans," as my shaman friend rubio expressed it. only the shamans, however, can see them come, to cure the hearts of the people and to clean their souls. all these various species are considered good, as coming from tata dios, and well-disposed toward the people. but there are some kinds of hikuli believed to come from the devil. one of these, with long white spines, is called ocoyome. it is very rarely used, and only for evil purposes. if anyone should happen to touch it with the foot, it would cause the offending leg to break. once when i pushed one of these globular spiny cacti out of my way with a cane, my indian attendant immediately warned me, "leave it alone, or it will make you fall down precipices." at one of the feasts which i witnessed i wished to taste hikuli, as it was new to me. a lively discussion arose between the shamans, and i was finally told that i might sit with them, as it was known that i had some of the sacred plants in my possession. the condition was made, however, that i should take off my sombrero. it happened to be a cold and windy december night, but i obeyed and put my handkerchief over my head, to which no objection was raised. the man who carried the gourd, first danced in front of the shaman, then around the fire, and finally brought it to me. the liquid tasted somewhat bitter, but not exactly disagreeable; and while i drank, the man looked at me with astonishment, as if he had expected that hikuli would refuse to be taken by me. i drank only a small cupful, but felt the effect in a few minutes. first it made me wide awake, and acted as an excitant to the nerves, similar to coffee, but much more powerful. this sensation lasted for about ten minutes, when it was followed by a depression and a chill such as i have never experienced before. to get warm i almost threw myself into the fire, but not until morning was the feeling of cold conquered. some tarahumares told me that they are similarly affected, and for this reason they do not take it. when i told the shaman about the effect hikuli had on me, he asked whether i had rasped on the notched stick, because, he said, hikuli does not give chills to people who rasp. in other words, according to him, the effect might be warded off by physical exercise. a shaman who agreed to sell me some hikuli took me with him to his house. then he walked over to a store-house of pine boards, and with a long stick undid the lock from within, taking off a few boards from the roof to get at it. after some searching, he produced a small closed basket. holding this in his hand, he rapidly ran around me in one ceremonious circuit, and said in a scarcely audible voice: "thank you for the time you have been with me; now go with him; i will give you food before you go." the smoke of copal was blown over the plants in the basket, that they might eat; and i had to smell of the incense, so that hikuli might find pleasure in being with me. the shaman then opened the basket and asked me to select what i wanted. i picked out twelve plants, but, as he asked $ for them, i contented myself with three. on my way back to civilisation, i spent some time at guajochic, near which place the great hikuli expert, shaman rubio, lives. he is a truly pious man, well-meaning and kind-hearted, living up to his principles, in which christianity and paganism are harmoniously blended. he is highly esteemed by all his countrymen, who consider him the greatest hikuli shaman in that part of the tarahumare country. his profession brings him a very comfortable living, as his services are constantly in demand, and are paid for by fine pieces of the animals sacrificed. for curing the people he even gets money; and what with praying and singing, drinking tesvino and hikuli, fasting and curing the sick, he passes his days in the happy conviction that he keeps the world going. from him i obtained specimens of the various kinds of cacti which the tarahumares worship,--a betrayal of the secrets of the tribe, for which the other shamans punished him by forbidding him ever to go again on a hikuli journey. though in the first year he obeyed the sentence, he did not take it much to heart, feeling himself far superior to his judges, who, he knew, could not get along without him, and in the end would have to come to him; for he is the most virtuous of them all, and therefore knows the commands of tata dios better than anyone else. it is to him that i owe a good deal of what i know about this plant-worship, as well as several songs used in the cult. he came often to see me, and one day told me in confidence that the hikuli in my possession would have to be fed before they started on their long journey to the united states; for it was a long time since they had had food, and they were getting angry. the next time he came he brought some copal tied up in a cotton cloth, and after heating the incense on a piece of crockery he waved the smoke over the plants, which he had placed in front of him. this, he said, would satisfy them; they would now go content with me, and no harm would come to me from sorcerers, robbers, or apaches. this was a comfort, for to reach chihuahua i had to pass through some disturbed country, and there were rumours of a revolution. it seems that at present only the districts around nararachic and baqueachic get hikuli from its native country, and that all the others procure it from these two. until recently the people of guachochic also went to fetch plants, and a few may yet undertake the journey. one old man showed me some hikuli which he had gathered thirty-five years ago. at nararachic they use hikuli all the year round, that is, as long as they have corn, because "hikuli wants tesvino." the people in the barrancas are too timid to go on the expeditions, and they buy the plants at the price of a sheep apiece. the purchaser holds a feast, not only when he brings the demi-god to his home, but also a year after the event. in the eastern section of the country, and in the foothills around rio fuerte, hikuli is not used at all. it is very rarely planted by the tarahumares; the only instance i saw of it was in tierras verdes. a significant light is thrown on the antiquity of the cult, as well as on the age of the tribe itself, by a certain variation in the ceremonial which i observed in the southwestern part of the tarahumare country. there it is the custom of the shaman to draw underneath his resonator-gourd a mystical human figure in the sand, and to place the hikuli in its centre. regarding this mystical figure, my lamented friend, frank hamilton cushing, informed me that similar or almost identical drawings are found depicted on the lava rocks of arizona. in a letter dated october , , he said: the figure you sketch for me is closely allied, for example, to very ancient ritualistic petrographs in the lava regions of arizona. you will see this at a glance by the figure of one of those petrographs, which i reproduce in juxtaposition with yours: others which i have recorded are even more strikingly similar. i have always supposed that these figures were designed for "medicine" ceremonials, but thought of them rather as pertaining to the medicines of the elements, wind, rain, water, etc., used in connection with sacrifices (with which ceremonial rites were terminated) than as connected with actual medicinal ceremonials. i was led to this belief by finding in connection with some of them little cup-shaped concavities pecked into the angles of the figures (as _a, a, a_). you will observe that a line is drawn from the middle and straight portion of my figure and coiled around the concavity at the right side, and that the terminations of the upper cross lines are bifurcated around similar though smaller concavities. this entire figure represents a water-animal god, one only of a number of semi-human mystic monsters. for convenience his heart is drawn out to one side, and within it is placed the cup of the "chief" medicine; while in his left hand is the cup of the "good" medicine, and in his right hand the cup of "bad" (_i.e_., strong) medicine. if in the light of this you re-examine your figure, you will see with me that it represents a man-god sitting, his legs doubled under him and his medicines distributed around and upon him according to his parts, and in accordance also, probably, to their importance and the case in hand. he must always have the chief of all medicines placed on his heart, as the renewer of life. then, strictly with reference to the ailment to be treated, and its location in the body or limbs of the patient (i should say), the other medicines. i throw this out as a suggestion, yet with much confidence in its at least approximate correctness as indicated by my comparative studies. probably a consultation of your notes and the remembrance of variations of the ceremony you have seen, will signify to you whether i am right or not. remember that if these people have this ceremonial in connection with the treatment of disease, they will also have it in the treatment of the weather, etc., when "diseased," so to say. you have opened up a new significance of many outlines among the older lava-remains, and if my record of these in turn has helped to explain your diagram, etc., you can judge of my pleasure and appreciation." chapter xx the tarahumare's firm belief in a future life--causes of death--the dead are mischievous and want their families to join them--therefore the dead have to be kept away by fair means or foul--three feasts and a chase--burial customs--a funeral sermon. the idea of immortality is so strong with the tarahumares that death means to them only a change of form. they certainly believe in a future life, but they are afraid of the dead, and think that they want to harm the survivors. this fear is caused by the supposition that the dead are lonely, and long for the company of their relatives. the dead also make people ill, that they too may die and join the departed. when a man dies in spite of all efforts of the shamans to save his life, the people say that those who have gone before have called him or carried him off. the deceased are also supposed to retain their love for the good things they left behind in this world, and to be trying every way to get at them. so strong is the feeling that the departed still owns whatever property he once possessed, that he is thought to be jealous of his heirs who now enjoy its possession. he may not let them sleep at night, but makes them sit up by the fire and talk. to soothe his discontent, tesvino and all kinds of food are given him, because he needs the same things he needed here. in the course of the year several ceremonies are performed, by which he is actually chased off, and the survivors constantly take precautions against his return to bother them. sometimes the dead are sent by sorcerers to harm people and make them ill, but generally they come of their own accord. they enter the house at night and drink the tesvino and eat the food prepared for a feast, and what they cannot eat they spoil. to protect the beer against such mischief the people place bows and arrows next the jars, and cover the vessels with sprigs of the odorous artemisia. the dead will also kill cattle and sheep, and spit and blow in the faces of the people, to make them ill, and possibly cause their death. sometimes the dead are viewed as spirits, and the shaman sees them flying through the air, like birds. if the spirit of a dead person takes up his abode in a house, the owner of the dwelling will feel a choking sensation, dry up, and die, unless the shaman gives to the dead plenty of tesvino, and drives him away with incantations. the dead are supposed to be about at night; therefore the tarahumares do not like to travel after dark, for fear of meeting the dead, who whistle when they pass the living. only shamans can travel at night, although sometimes even they have to fight with the dead, who come running out of the caves on all fours. in the daytime the tarahumares are not afraid of the dead, though even then they do not dare to visit burial-places, modern or ancient. i found it difficult to get indians to carry bones of skeletons excavated from ancient burial-caves, and even the mexicans would not allow their animals to carry burdens of that kind, for fear that the mules would get tired, that is to say, play out and die. when a person dies, his eyes are closed, his hands crossed over his breast, and the relatives talk to him one by one, and bid him good-bye. the weeping widow tells her husband that, now that he has gone and does not want to stay with her any longer, he must not come back to frighten her or his sons or daughters or anyone else. she implores him not to carry any of them off, or do any mischief, but to leave them all alone. a mother says to her dead infant: "now go away! don't come back any more, now that you are dead. don't come at night to nurse at my breast. go away, and do not come back!" and the father says to the child: "don't come back to ask me to hold your hand, or to do things for you. i shall not know you any more. don't come walking around here, but stay away." the body is wrapped in a blanket almost before it is cold, to be buried later, but food is at once placed around it, and ashes are liberally strewn over and around the corpse, to enable the relatives to discover, by the tracks, into what kind of animal the dead has changed. at night some fox or coyote, polecat or rat, is sure to be attracted by the smell of the food; but the people believe that it was the departed who returned in the form of the animal to get his food. a shaman, without even looking at the tracks, may be able to tell what animal shape the dead assumes. within twenty-four hours the corpse is taken away to be buried. it is tied in three or four places to one or two poles and carried by two men. women never go with them to the funeral. as soon as the undertakers have accomplished their task, they immediately wash their persons well. upon their return, branches of the mountain cedar are burned inside of the house, to "cure" it. the body is laid at rest in a shallow grave inside of a cave or just outside of it, with the head to the east and the feet to the west. in some caves, however, this rule is not adhered to, for i found corpses placed in accordance with the formation of the floor of the cave. the body is covered with an inch of earth, then with a row of pine or palm sticks put on lengthwise, and over this a layer of earth is spread five or six inches deep. on top of all, stones are thrown. the bodies of grown persons are stretched out to their full length, but with children the knees are generally drawn up. this is one way in which the pagan tarahumares bury their dead. another mode, equally common, is to place the body lying on its back, on the surface, without any earth to cover it; in this case the mouth of the cave is walled up with stones, or stones and mud, and several bodies may be found inside. when exhuming skeletons i have frequently found bits of charcoal, which was explained by the fact that during the first night the mourners keep a fire near the grave, which to-day serves the same purpose as candles. this also accounts for the smokiness of the interior of the burial-caves, even of the ancient ones. the dead keeps his buckskin pouch and three small gourds with beans. three ears of corn are placed to the left of his head, as well as a small jar of tesvino. another small jar of tesvino is placed near his feet, as well as his bow and arrows, the stone with which the arrows are stretched, reeds and sinews, his steel for striking fire, the small stick with which paint is put on the arrows, his sucking-tubes when the deceased has been a shaman, in fact all his light-weight belongings, besides balls of gum from the pine-tree, necklaces of _coix lachryma-jobi_ and a hikuli plant. everything heavy, such as his axe, machete, beads, and money, he leaves, as it is thought that the weight would hinder him from rising to heaven. this is the practical view the indians have taken since their contact with the whites, as valuables frequently attract marauders. the dead man's sandals, his violin, and the vessels from which he used to take his food, are kept in a separate place for a year, that is, until after the last function for the dead is over; then at night the shaman and other men take them away and bury them somewhere, but not with the dead. the skins on which he died are treated in the same way, and are never used again, lest a very ugly dog might be born of them. the house is always destroyed, and the me-tare and many jars and baskets are broken. on the third day after the death, the relatives begin to prepare the first feast for the dead, which is held within a fortnight. one or two sheep or goats are killed, and the lungs, the heart, and the windpipe are hung from a stick outside the burial-cave. as soon as the tesvino is ready the feast comes off, although comparatively little of the liquor is used at this first function. the relatives, men and women, visit the grave and leave a jar with pinole, a small jar with tesvino, three tortillas, and three cigarettes with the dead, if he was a man; with a woman, four tortillas, etc., are required. the size of the tortillas varies with the age of the person. for adults the ordinary tortilla is used; to young people over six years old, medium-sized ones are given; and children get small ones, about an inch and a half in diameter. i have seen medium-sized ones made into the shape of a cross. all the mourners talk to the departed, the shaman first. he tells him that he had better take away everything they have given him, and not come and disturb the people he has left behind. he should leave them alone, and some day they, too, will have to go where he is. he should not kill any of the animals belonging to the family, as they have killed a sheep for him and given him the best part, the lungs, that he may eat and be satisfied and not take what now is theirs. at the first feast i have seen worn in the hair by both men and women a peculiar kind of artificial flower. it is made from a short bit of reed in one end of which four incisions are made, with the parts turned outward to stand out like the corolla of a flower. it is stuck under the hair-ribbon at one side of the head. the mourners also make crosses on their foreheads with charcoal. the second feast is given half a year later, and again animals are killed and a large quantity of tesvino is made. three men and three women carry food and tesvino to the grave, the relatives remaining at home. on their return they stop at a distance from the house and throw ashes over each other's heads before entering. for the third function, which is the largest, an animal is selected from among those last acquired by the deceased, and quantities of food and beer are prepared. this feast is the final effort to despatch the dead. a large earthen bowl is made especially for the purpose. it is about two feet in diameter and six inches deep. it is filled with water, and a drinking-gourd placed inside of it, upside down. the shaman beats this gourd with a corn-cob fastened to the end of a little stick. his assistants help him, one by swinging the rattle, the other by singing. after a while the shaman lifts the bowl up and after carrying it about in three ceremonial circuits throws it into the air. it falls to the ground and breaks into many pieces, and the people dance and trample on the shreds and on the drinking-gourd. the young people conclude the function by running a race of some hundred yards. the men have their ball, and as they run they scatter ashes to the four cardinal points to cover the tracks of the dead. they return rejoicing, manifesting their delight by throwing up their blankets, tunics, and hats, because now the dead is at last chased off. if the deceased be a woman, the women run a race with rings and sticks. a very elaborate third function, given by a widow, was described to me as follows: there were five patios. on one, for the dead, was erected one large cross and two small ones, and three gourds with tesvino and a basket with uncooked meat were placed near by. a fire was lighted, and one man had to watch here. on another patio one cross was raised, and a branch from a pine-tree placed next to it. here, too, a jar with tesvino and a basket with uncooked meat were deposited, and one man and two women kept watch, but no ceremonies were performed. a third patio was for the hikuli cult, where the shaman rasped and sang. on the fourth patio, yumari was danced, and one large cross and two smaller ones had been erected. finally, on the fifth patio four torches of resinous pinewood, each a yard high, were placed at the four cardinal points. a peculiar feature was that one man alone danced here between these four torches, cutting with his knife three times through each flame as he danced. this he did in reprises. according to the names which the tarahumares apply to the three functions for the dead, the main idea of the first is to give food; of the second, to replenish the first supply; and of the third to give drink. the three feasts are on an increasing scale of elaborateness, the first being comparatively insignificant. each generally lasts one day and one night, and begins at the hour at which the dead breathed his last. there is always a special patio prepared for the dead, and another one for the hikuli cult, besides the ordinary dancing-place, and much howling and singing goes on, especially at the last. at the feasts, the shaman steeps herbs in water and sprinkles this medicine over the people. hikuli dancing and singing always play a prominent part at all the festivities, for the plant is thought to be very powerful in running off the dead, chasing them to the end of the world, where they join the other dead. yumari is danced at intervals and much tesvino is used, and at all feasts the survivors drink with the dead. there are three feasts for a mall, and four for a woman. she cannot run so fast, and it is therefore harder to chase her off. not until the last function has been made will a widower or a widow marry again, being more afraid of the dead than are other relatives. after the death of a person, anyone who rendered him any service, as, for instance, watching his cattle for a week, claims something of what the dead left. he is satisfied, however, with a girdle or the like. once i was present at the burial-feast for a man who had hanged himself a fortnight before, while under the influence of liquor and angry over some property out of which he considered himself cheated. he had changed into a lion. two men and two women carried food and tesvino; the wife did not go with them, as the deceased had died alone, and she was afraid of being carried off by him. his father-in-law led the procession, carrying a goat-skin with its four feet remaining. the animal had belonged to the deceased and had been sacrificed for him, and the skin was to be given to him that in his new life he might rest on it. the suicide had been buried in a little cave with his feet toward the entrance. having deposited the food near the dead man's head, the women sat down on a stone inside, while the men stood up near the mouth of the cave, all faces turned toward the grave. the father-in-law seated himself on a stone near the feet of the dead. it was a dreary winter evening in the sierra and the scene was singularly impressive. the old man was a strong personality, powerfully built, and a shaman of great reputation, who in his entire bearing showed his determination to keep the dead at bay. he seemed to exercise a reassuring influence over the whole assembly. i shall not easily forget the solemn and convincing way in which he upbraided the dead for his rash act. taking the reed flower from his hair and holding it in his right hand, he waved it down and up, as if swayed by the force of his own thoughts, in accentuating his points, and he talked and argued with the dead for a quarter of an hour. the man was a great orator, and spoke so earnestly that my interpreter nabor was affected almost to tears. the speech was a kind of dialogue with the dead, the speaker supplying the responses himself, and this is the gist of it: why are you there?--because i am dead.--why are you dead?--because i died.--why did you die?--because i chose to.--that is not right. you have no shame. did your mother, who gave you birth, tell you to do this? you are bad. tell me, why did you kill yourself?--because i chose to do it.--now what did you get for it, lying there, as you are, with stones on top of you? were you not just playing the violin in the house with us? why did you hang yourself in the tree? here i leave this tesvino and food for you, the meat and tortillas, that you may eat and not come back. we do not want you any more. you are a fool. now i am going to leave you here. you are not going to drink tesvino in the house with us any more. remain here! do not come to the house, for it would do you no good; we would burn you. good-bye, go now; we do not want you any more! all present then said good-bye to him, and all the women added, "fool!" and then they all ran quickly into a deep water-hole, splashing into it clothes and all, that nothing from the dead might attach itself to them. they changed their wet attire after their arrival at the house. later in the evening a magnificent hikuli feast was held. the indians sat around the big fire, which cast a magical light over the tall old pine-trees around the patio, while the dancers moved about in their fantastic way through the red glow. such a scene makes a deeper impression than any that could be produced on the stage. the christian tarahumares believe that the shaman has to watch the dead throughout the year, or the deceased would be carried away by the devil. if the feasts were not given, the departed would continue to wander about in animal shape. this is the direful fate meted out to people who are too poor to pay the shaman. sometimes, if the dead person has not complied in life with the customary requirements in regard to feasts and sacrifices, the shamans have a hard time in lifting him to heaven. it may take hours of incantations and much tesvino to get his head up, and as much more to redeem his body. sometimes the head falls back, and the shamans have to call for more tesvino to gain strength to lift him up again. the tarahumares had no great scruples about my removing the bodies of their dead, if the latter had died some years before and were supposed to have been properly despatched from this world. where a body had been buried, the bones that were not taken away had to be covered up again. one tarahumare sold me the skeleton of his mother-in-law for one dollar. chapter xxi three weeks on foot through the barranca--rio fuerte--i get my camera wet--ancient cave-dwellings ascribed to the tubar indians--the effect of a compliment--various devices for catching fish--poisoning the water--a blanket seine. on a cold day in the end of october i started from guachochic bound for the upper part of the great barranca de san carlos and the country southward as far as there were tarahumares. everything seemed bleak and dreary. the corn was harvested, the grass looked grey, and there was a wintry feeling in the air. the sere and withered leaves rustled like paper, and as i made camp near an indian ranch i saw loose stubble and dead leaves carried up in a whirlwind, two or three hundred feet up toward a sky as grey and sober as that of northern latitudes at that time of the year. we travelled to the southeast from guachochic over pine-clad hills, coming now and then to a lonely ranch. about seven miles before reaching the barranca i arrived at a point , feet high, from which i could look over this vast expanse of woodland, extending all the way up to the deep gorge and diminishing in breadth toward the northwest. at san carlos, a ranch but recently established in this wilderness, i left my animals, and immediately prepared for an extended excursion on foot into the barranca and its neighbourhood. nearly the whole country of the tarahumares is drained by the river fuerte, which, with its many tributaries, waters as many barrancas. the main one, namely barranca de san carlos, is from , to , feet deep, and sinuous in its course. if there were a passable road along its bottom, the distance from the source of the river to a point a little below the village of santa ana, where rio fuerte emerges from the sierra, could be easily covered in two days; but as it is, a man requires at least a week to travel this distance, so much is he impeded by the roughness of the country. having descended into the barranca, which now felt almost uncomfortably warm, after the piercing winds of the highlands, i first visited the plateaus on the southern side, where the indians have still kept themselves tolerably free from the white man's evil influence and are very jealous of their land. one night, while camping in a deep arroyo with very steep sides frowning down on us, one of the indian carriers woke us with the startling news: "get up! a stone is falling and will strike us!" i heard a noise, and instantly a stone, half the size of a child's head, hit the informant himself, as he sleepily rose. he lost his breath, but soon recovered, and no further damage was done. i secured the necessary carriers and went down again to the river, which i now followed westward from nogal for about twenty-five miles. the elevation at nogal is , feet, about feet higher than the place at which we left the river again. at the outset we came upon two very hot springs, the water of which had a yellow sediment. the gorge was narrow throughout. sometimes its two sides rise almost perpendicularly, leaving but a narrow passage for the river. we then had either to wade in the water or to ascend some thousand feet, in order to continue our way. but generally there was a bank on one side or the other, and now and then the valley widened, yielding sufficient space for some bushes, or even a tree to grow, though it soon narrowed again. in some such spots we found a shrub called baynoro, with long, flexible branches and light-green leaves. its small, yellow berries were as sweet as honey, but they did not agree with the mexicans, who had stomach-aches and lost their appetites after eating them. the indians made the same complaints, but i felt no ill effects from them. along the river we saw the tracks of many raccoons and otters, and there were also ducks and blue herons. the colour of the water in the deep places was greyish green, and as the river rises in the high sierra, it felt icy cold to wade through. one day we had to cross it eight times. on one such occasion, while wading waist-deep, the indian who carried the photographic outfit in a bag on his back, forgot for a moment, on account of the stinging cold, how far his burden hung down, and let it dip into the water. the prospect of being prevented, perhaps for a long time to come, from photographing, was very annoying. six plate-holders were so wet that i could not even draw the shutters out, but luckily i had more elsewhere. we came upon several ancient cave-dwellings, all of which were rather small, and attributed by the tarahumares to the tubar indians. one of them was situated about feet above the bottom of the barranca. a two-storied, rather irregularly shaped building occupied the entire width of the cave, without reaching to the roof. the floor of the house was scarcely two yards broad, but the building widened out very much, following the shape of the cave. the materials used in the construction were stone and mud or, rather, reddish grit; and smaller stones had been put between larger ones in an irregular way. the walls were only five or six inches thick and were plastered with mud. an upright pole supported the ceiling, which was rather pretty, consisting of reeds resting on the rafters, and covered on top with mud. the ceiling of the second story had been made in the same way, but had fallen in. a piece of thick board half covered the entrance. in the first story i found an additional chamber, and in it a skeleton, of which i secured the skull and some typical bones. not far from this, and situated in very rough country, was another cave, that contained ten one-storied chambers of the same material and construction. the cave was fifty feet long and at the mouth seven feet high. the apertures of the chambers were fairly squared, and not of the shape of the conventional ear of corn. one door was a foot and a half broad, and two feet and a half high. i crawled through the chambers, which were miserably small. the floor was plastered, and in some rooms i noticed circular holes sunk into the ground in the way that i had already observed in zapuri. there were also small square holes, the sides being six inches long in the front wall. twenty miles from here, just north of the pueblo of cavorachic, was a third cave which contained thirteen houses in ruins, the material here, too, was the same as before, but the houses were built to the roof of the cave, and were rounded at the corners. peculiar round loop-holes were seen here, too. eight of them formed a horizontal line, and one extra hole was a little higher up. a track could be made out at certain places along the river, but the country was very lonely. in the course of several days only six indian families were encountered, and two of those lived here only temporarily. we also met five stray indians that had come down from the highlands to fetch bamboo reeds for arrows, etc. it was quite pleasant to meet somebody now and then, although, unfortunately, no one had anything to sell, except a few small fish, the people being themselves as hard up for food as we were. we carried our little metate on which we ground corn for our meals, but we found it very difficult on this trip of four weeks' duration to secure from day to day corn enough to satisfy our wants. one item in our menu, new to me, but common throughout northern mexico, was really excellent when we could procure the very simple material from which it was made, namely squash-seeds. these were ground very fine and boiled in a saucepan. this dish, which is of tarahumare origin, is called pipian, and looks like curds. mixed with a little chile it is very palatable, and in this period of considerable privation it was the only food i really enjoyed. but such luxuries were not served every day. far from it. for several days in succession we had nothing but corn-cakes and water. therefore our joy was great when at last we one day espied some sheep on the other side of the river. they belonged to a woman who watched them herself, while wintering among the rocks with her herd of about a dozen sheep and goats. i sent my interpreter over to make a bargain for one of the animals, and as he did not return after a reasonable lapse of time, and as we were all hungry, i went across the river myself to see the dashing widow. i found my man .still bargaining, lying on the ground stretched out on his stomach and resting his head on his hands. she was grinding corn on the metate and seemed to pay little attention to either of us, but her personal attractiveness at once impressed me. she was still in her best years and had fine bright eyes. a ribbon dyed with the native yellow dye from lichens ran through the braids of her hair, and was marvellously becoming to her almost olive complexion. i could not help saying, "how pretty she is!" to which the interpreter, in a dejected mood, replied: "yes, but she will not sell anything, and i have been struggling hard." "of course, she will sell," said i, "handsome as she is!" at which remark of mine i noticed she smiled. though i judged from the way in which she wore her hair, in two braids, hanging in a loop in the neck, that she had been in association with the mexicans, i did not expect that she could understand spanish so well. i immediately returned to my camp to fetch some beads and a red handkerchief to make an impression on my obdurate belle. but on my way back to her i met my interpreter, who brought the glad tidings that she had made up her mind to sell, and that i might send for the animal whenever i wanted it. the price was one mexican silver dollar. so i sent my "extras" along with the money, and in return received a fine sheep with long white wool, when all we had hoped for was only a goat. there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that my felicitous compliment brought about this happy result. during our travels along the river, every day we came upon traps for catching fish. the tarahumares have various modes of fishing. sometimes they manage to catch fish with their hands in crevices between stones, even diving for them. in the shallow parts of the rivers and in the brooks, following the course of the stream, two stone walls a foot or two high are built. these walls converge at the lower end and form a channel, in which is placed horizontally a mat of stalks of the eagle fern (_pteris aquilina_). when the fish attempt to cross this mat, through which the water passes freely, they are intercepted. often the fish caught in this way are only an inch long, but none is too small for a tarahumare to reject. other similar walls form square or oblong corrals, where the fish can easily enter, but not so readily find a way out. after dark the owners come with lighted torches and carefully examine the corrals, turning up every stone. the fish are blinded by the glare of the light and can be caught and thrown into baskets. frogs, tadpoles, larvae, and water-beetles are also welcome. in the central part of the country they use a spear made of a thin reed and tipped with thorns of the nopal. sometimes it is shot from a diminutive bow, like an arrow. but a more interesting way is to hurl it by means of a primitive throwing-stick, which is nothing but a freshly cut twig from a willow (_jaria_) about six inches long, left in its natural state except for the flattening of one end on one side. the spear is held in the left hand, the stick in the right. the flat part of the latter is placed against the end of the spear, which is slightly flattened on two sides, while the end is squarely cut off. by pressing one against the other, the throwing-stick is bent, and sufficient force is produced by its rebound to make the spear pierce small fish. many a tarahumare may be seen standing immovable on the bank of a streamlet, waiting patiently for a fish to come, and as soon as he has hit it throwing himself into the water to grab it. but a more profitable way of catching fish is by poisoning the water. in the highlands a kind of polygonum is used for this purpose. it is pounded with stones and thrown into the small corrals. when the fishing is to be done on a somewhat extensive scale, two species of agave--the amole (the soap-plant) and the soke--are used, and many households join in the sport. first of all maguey plants have to be collected, and wine made, as this is indispensable to the success of the undertaking. at the place selected for the fishing the people assemble, and two managers are appointed, one for each side of the river. it is their duty to see that everything is done in the right and proper way and all the requisite ceremonies are observed. the women are a couple of hundred yards back cooking herbs and making pinole for the men to eat. no pregnant women are allowed to be present, as then the fish would not die. half-circular corrals of stone are built to intercept the fish that drift along, irrespective of any private traps that may be found on the place. fish caught in the latter belong to those who put up the traps. while constructing these corrals, the men catch a few fish with their hands, between the rocks, open them in the back and give them to the women, to broil. when they are done, the men pound the fish to a pulp, mix it with pinole, and roll the mass into a ball two or three inches in diameter. one of the managers then goes down stream, below the corrals, and places the ball in a water pool. it is a sacrifice to the master of the river, a large serpent (walúla), which makes an ugly noise. every river, water-hole, and spring has its serpent that causes the water to come up out of the earth. they are all easily offended; and therefore the tarahumares place their houses some little distance from the water, and when they travel avoid sleeping near it. whenever the tarahumares make pinole while away from home, they sacrifice the first part to the water-serpents, dropping it with the little stick with which the pinole is stirred. they sprinkle it first forward, then to the left, then to the right, and then upward, three times in each direction. if they did not do this, the water-serpents would try to catch them and chase them back to their own land. besides the sacrifice of the fish ball, they offer axes, hats, blankets, girdles, pouches, etc., and especially knives and strings of beads, to the master of the fish, who is considered to be the oldest fish. this is in payment for what they are going to catch, and the donations are either hung to a cross or a horizontal bar specially erected in the middle of the river, and remain hanging there until daybreak, when their respective owners take them back. in the meantime eight or ten men have gathered the amole and soke. they wrap the plants in their blankets and bring them direct to the river, where they are to be used. the leaves are pounded with stones and spread out for a while before sunset. as soon as it is dark the men throw them into the water, and trample on them to make the juice come out. three or four men take turns, standing waist-deep in the water, treading with all their might and howling. the effect of the poison in the course of the night is said to reach down some yards. it stupefies the fish, and although many of them revive, a few are killed and may be eaten, as the poison does not affect the meat. the managers see to it that everybody does his duty and that no one falls asleep during the night, while the women help by watching the mats, that the otters may not eat the fish caught in them. a curious detail is that one man on each side of the river is deputed to heat stones and throw them into the river three or four at a time, every half-hour, possibly to frighten off the serpent. during the night not one fish is taken up, but at daybreak the managers go down the river to investigate the effect of the poison, and upon their return the fish are gathered in, the men often diving into deep water for them. the work is done with great earnestness and almost in silence, the women helping the men in catching the fish. while. the fishing is going on they do not eat any of the fish, for fear of not getting more, but during the day quantities are broiled and eaten, without salt or chile, however, and the bones are invariably thrown into the fire. most of the fish are cut open in the back and placed on rocks or on trees to dry for future use. such fishing may last for two days and nights, and is finished by dancing yumari and drinking maguey wine. on one occasion as much was caught as ten men could carry. expeditions of this kind may be repeated two or three times a year; but when food is plentiful a whole year may pass without one being undertaken. palo de la flecha, too, is used as poisoning material, and seems to be even more powerful than the two plants mentioned. there is a milky juice under the bark of this tree which, when it comes in contact with the human skin, makes it smart like a burn. the water is poisoned by cutting the bark from the trunk and boughs directly into the water, the people taking care to stand to the windward. one man who neglected this precaution got some juice in his eyes and was blinded for three days, though an application of salt water finally cured him. although a single man may poison fish in a small way even in winter, he is hardly likely to do so except in summer-time, when provisions are low. the indians dislike going into cold water; besides, they say that the cold impairs the effect of the poison. in summer-time the indians may also improvise a net with the help of their blankets, and drag the river at suitable places. farther down on the rio fuerte, i once saw them make a large and serviceable net by fastening sixteen blankets together lengthwise with a double row of wooden pins. along the upper edge of this net they made a hem three inches deep, and through this they passed vines securely joined together by means of the fibres of the maguey to do duty as ropes. the opposite edge of the net had a hem four inches deep and this was filled with sand to sink it as it was dragged in. the boys and girls were told to go ahead and splash all they could in the water to prevent the fish in the net from swimming out, and it was funny to see them dive heels over head into the water over and over like porpoises, the girls as well as the boys, with their skirts on. the fishermen advanced slowly, as the net was heavy. when it was brought in toward the shore, the women, even those with babies on their backs, helped to drag it. as the two ends of the net reached the bank, the big fish were picked out and thrown landward, while the remainder were brought up with a dip-net made of three blankets. eighty good-sized suckers were secured, besides a large quantity of "small-fry." chapter xxii resumption of the journey southward--_pinus lumholtzii_--cooking with snow--terror-stricken indians--a gentlemanly highwayman and his "shooting-box"--the pernicious effect of civilisation upon the tarahumares--a fine specimen of the tribe--the last of the tarahumares. from this trip i returned to san carlos, mainly over the highlands south of the barranca, and shortly afterward was able to continue my journey toward the southwest. the cordons here, generally speaking, have a southerly direction, running parallel to each other. reaching at one place an elevation of , feet, i had a fine view of the entire central part of the tarahumare country, seeing as far as cerro grande, at the northern end of the llano of guachochic, in which direction the country, as a matter of course, looked quite flat. nearest to us were wild-looking arroyos and cordons, covered in the lower portions with oak-trees, and higher up with pines. we were in the midst of vast pine forests, and even the country north of us looked like one uninterrupted forest of pines. the tarahumares have names for six kinds of pines. one species, first met with near tutuhuaca, was new to science. though not a large tree, it is very ornate, owing to its slender, whip-like branches, and its hanging needles, from eight to ten inches long. it grows here and there in groups at high altitudes, on decomposed volcanic tuff. the needles are boiled by the indians and the mexicans, and the decoction used as a remedy for stomach troubles. it is not disagreeable to take, the taste resembling that of anise-seed. the tarahumares prefer the wood of this variety of pines for the making of their violins. i found this species as far south as the sierra above pueblo nuevo, in the state of durango. the vegetation of the sierra madre is incomparably stronger and more luxurious than that of the cold north. the pine-trees in higher altitudes, for instance in norway, appear miserably puny and almost stunted when compared with the giants of the south. trees of to feet high and to feet in girth are frequent. we noticed some species of pines the needles of which were over a foot long. the region through which we were passing seemed uninhabited, and there were really but few indians living here. the cordon nearest to the one on which we were standing was covered with snow, and we climbed without difficulty to a point , feet high. there was no water, but snow three inches deep in some places, yielding all the water we required, though it had a slight flavour of the pines. the mexicans did not like it, and said they would not eat food cooked with snow; but after i had shown them that the water obtained in this way was very good, they also took to it. on our arrival at some indian ranches, the people screamed with terror, ran away and hid themselves. there was something so unusual about their fright, that the interpreter and i went out of our way to investigate the matter. i saw two children making their escape among the bushes as best they could, a boy leading a three-year-old girl all the time, never deserting her. we found the children and a young woman on top of a rock. after we had succeeded in allaying their fears, they answered our questions readily. it appeared that two men from this place had recently been hanged by some people from cienega prieta, the ranch for which we were making. one of the victims had been revived, but the other had died. my indian boy patricio knew about the outrage, too. i had at the outset been warned against robbers south of guachochic, and advised never to sleep in houses--a thing i rarely did, anyway, for other reasons. one man especially, teodoro palma, had an unsavoury reputation as a "gentlemanly highwayman." in the desolate region where his residence lies, his father had maintained a band of valiant men, who made regular plundering expeditions, driving cattle away, etc. it was a common tale that travellers who had to pass his place were invited to come in, but never came out again. the bodies of the victims, it was said, were buried at night in the cemetery of the indian village of chinatu, a few miles distant. times had changed since then, and the son was more guarded in his operations, but still sufficiently active. in order to avoid a long detour to the east, i had chosen to follow the track which passes this place, though travellers generally give it a wide berth; besides, i thought best to take the bull by the horns. when i reached the robber's stronghold, i did not find don teodoro at home, though he was expected to return the next day. in the mean time the superintendent showed me around the house and sold me some necessary provisions. the house looked forbidding enough. a wall of adobe, eighteen feet high, ran all around the establishment, shutting it in securely. it was provided with two small towers, which had loop-holes for rifles. in the house was a small chapel, in which don teodoro and his father before him had frequently knelt to pray. the altar was decorated with the pictures of many saints, and in the centre was a painting of the christ-child, a crucifix, and an artificial apple. when the lord of the manor arrived the following day, i immediately went to see him. as i passed through the enclosure he was scolding the superintendent, but on perceiving me he stepped forward to receive me. this modern fra diavolo was about thirty years old, rather short of stature, but unusually well built. he wore an embroidered brown jacker and a blue waistcoat, and around his neck was thrown a many-coloured scarf. on one side of his sombrero was a scarlet rosette. under it gleamed brown, piercing eyes. his hair was cut short. altogether he was quite good-looking, except for a cruel, sensual expression of the features. his entire manner, erect carriage, and quick, decisive movements told me he was a man of violent temper and extreme determination. he led the way into a room, and i handed him my letter of recommendation from the mexican government, and explained what i was doing in the sierra. after he had read the letter, he said that he was my friend. i told him that i had heard there were robbers in the vicinity, and in case i was molested i should apply to him for assistance, since he was a very influential man. of course i knew as long as he did not rob us we were quite safe. i then photographed him and his house, and he evidently felt quite flattered. he accompanied me for a mile down the road, and then, taking me aside, handed me back the paltry sum i had paid for the provisions, saying he did not accept payment from his guests. this was rather embarrassing, but there was no way out of it, and i had to accept it. i afterward sent him a copy of his photograph to even up matters. the guide with whom don teodoro had provided me pointed out to us a place where his master last year killed and robbed a man. "he is a poor shot," he added, "except at close range, and he generally travels at night." in don teodoro palma himself was killed by the indians. if half the rumours about him are true, he certainly deserved his fate. he never dared to go down to the lowlands, because "he owed so many dead," as the saying goes. a few years before my visit, an american had been killed and robbed in the vicinity, and his countrymen in chihuahua offered a reward for the apprehension of the murderer, dead or alive. don teodoro knew that a certain friend of his had perpetrated the crime, and in order to secure the reward he invited him to his house and shot him down in cold blood. i arrived safely in guadalupe y calvo, a once flourishing place, but now quite dead, since the mines have ceased to be worked. there are large mexican ranches southeast of the town, and whatever tarahumares live hereabout are servants of the mexicans and frequently intermarry with the tepehuanes. i thus traversed from north to south the country over which the tarahumares once held sway. to-day we find this tribe, approximately, between guadalupe y calvo and temosachic; roughly speaking, between the twenty-sixth and twenty-ninth degrees northern latitude. civilisation, as brought to the tarahumare, is not fraught with benefits for him. it rudely shakes the columns of the temple of his religion. the mexican central railroad crushes his sacred plants without thought of its anger, which is vented on the poor tarahumare by sending him bad years and ill-luck. while the indians deny themselves the pleasure of smoking tobacco in the daytime for fear of offending the sun with the smoke, the white men's furnaces and engines belch forth black clouds of smoke day after day, keeping the people out of the sight of tara dios, and thus preventing him from guarding them. in the engine itself they see the devil with a long tongue and a big beard. worse than that, the foot of civilisation destroys his home; for the whites draw the boundary line of his country closer and closer. the better class of mexicans keep to themselves, and seldom, if ever, bother about the indians at their doors, whose mode of living and way of thinking are so different from their own. the class of whites on the borderland of such civilisation as the tarahumare comes in contact with is not the kind that will or can improve him, being ignorant and unscrupulous. the indian civilised by them is a very unpleasant person to deal with. he has learned to cheat and to steal, and he no longer carries out his contracts and agreements. having learned the value of money, his greed is awakened, and he begins to look out only for his own profit. the first white men with whom the indian gets acquainted are the traders who speak his language, and whose sole aim is to enrich themselves at his expense and compel him to deal with them. if the indian does not want to sell, the lenguaraz loses his patience, throws a few dollars toward him, takes the ox, and goes off. many will go still further. they force the native to borrow from them, whether he wants the money, the cloth, the mescal, or the use of the horse, or not. many indians would refuse mescal, satisfied with their native stimulants, but see no other way of getting rid of the unwelcome and obtrusive white than by yielding to his demand. the agreement is made that he must return the so-called loan on a certain date, two or three months hence; the indian, of course, having no almanac, easily makes a mistake in his calculation, and the date passes. the dealer has gained his point. he saddles his horse, looks up the indian, and makes a great to-do about all the trouble he is put to in collecting the debt, charging not only enormous interest for overtime, but adding exorbitant travelling expenses and fees. he succeeds by threats and intimidation in getting his damages adjusted in such a way that, in return for the paltry sum he lent the indian, he now drives off two or three oxen. the indians, being honourable in their dealings, do not at first contact with the whites suspect rascality, and many stories are told illustrating the ease with which they have been cheated. once a mexican bought a sheep from a native on credit, and, after killing it, paid for it with the head, the skin, and the entrails. another man did still better. he paid for his sheep with the same valuables, and "spoke so well" that the indian was content to remain in his debt as the final result of the transaction. on another occasion a native was induced to sell eleven oxen, almost his entire stock, to a mexican. it was agreed that the latter should pay two cows for each ox, but not having any cows with him he left his horse and saddle as security. the indian is still waiting for the cows. when i expressed my surprise at the ease with which he allowed himself to be swindled, he replied that the mexican "spoke so well." they are so delighted at hearing their language spoken by a white man, that they lose all precaution and are completely at the mercy of the wily whites, who profit by their weakness. some tough lenguaraz is not ashamed to cheat at games until the indian has lost everything he has. one poor wretch lost several oxen in one game of quinze. other sharpers borrow money from the natives and never pay back the loan, or else impose fines on the indians under the pretext of being authorities. some foist themselves upon the tarahumares at their feasts, which they disturb by getting drunk and violating women. where the indians are still masters of the situation they catch such an offender and take him before the mexican authorities, insisting upon his paying for all the requirements for another feast, as he has spoiled the value of the one on which he intruded. in the central part of the country, near norogachic, they may even kill such a transgressor. it is generally through mescal that the indians become peons. when the indian has once developed a taste for mescal, he will pay anything to get it, first his animals, then his land. when he has nothing more to sell, the whites still give him this brandy and make him work. and there he is. to work himself free is next to impossible, because his wages are not paid in money, but in provisions, which barely suffice to keep him and his family alive. indians are sometimes locked up over night to force them to work. the children of such parents grow up as peons of the mexicans, who deal out miserable wages to the descendants of the owners of the land on which the usurpers grow rich. before the occupancy of the country by the new masters, the tarahumares never knew what poverty was. no wonder that the christian tarahumares believe that hell is peopled so thickly with mexicans that there is not room for all. some have been crowded out, and have come to the tarahumares to trouble them. the indians in some districts have been cheated so much that they no longer believe anything the white men tell them, and they do not offer food any more to a white stranger if he is what they call "deaf," in other words, unable to speak and understand their language and explain what he is about. they make very good servants when treated right, although they often want a change; but they will return to a good master. i once had a tarahumare woman in my employ as cook. she was very industrious and in every way superior to any mexican servant i ever had. when not busy with her kitchen work, she was mending her own or her two children's clothes. while very distrustful, she was good-tempered and honourable, and spoke spanish fairly well, and her eyes indicated unusual intelligence. a white man had deserted her to marry a mexican woman, and she grieved much, but in time she became reconciled to her fate, though she declared she would never marry again, as all men were bad. the tarahumares have made excellent soldiers in fighting for the government. in one of the civil wars, their leader, jesus larrea, from nonoava, a pure-bred tarahumare, distinguished himself, not only by bravery and determination, but also as a commander. in private life he was civil and popular. the majority speak their own language, and in the central and most mountainous part, the heart of the tarahumare country, they are of pure breed. here the women object to unions with outsiders, and until very recently light-coloured children were not liked. mothers may even yet anoint their little ones and leave them in the sun, that they may get dark. the consensus of opinion among the tribe is that half-castes turn out to be bad people and "some day will be fighting at the drinking-feasts." a few instances are known in which women have left their half-caste babies in the woods to perish, and such children are often given away to be adopted by the mexicans. in the border districts, however, the indians have become much mexicanised and intermarry freely with the whites. be it said to the credit of those high in authority in mexico, they do all in their power to protect the indians. but the government is practically powerless to control the scattered population in the remote districts. besides, the indians most preyed upon by the sharpers cannot make themselves understood in the official language, and therefore consider it hopeless to approach the authorities. in accordance with the liberal constitution of mexico, all natives are citizens, but the indians do not know how to take advantage of their rights, although sometimes large bodies have banded together and travelled down to chihuahua to make their complaints, and have always been helped out--for the time being. the efforts of the government to enlighten the indians by establishing schools are baffled by the difficulty in finding honest and intelligent teachers with a knowledge of the indian language. where the indians have had little or nothing to do with the whites, they are obliging, law-abiding, and trustworthy. profit is no inducement to them, as they believe that their gods would be angry with them for charging an undue price. as a matter of fact, they sell corn all the year round, whether it be scarce or plentiful, at the same price, though the mexicans charge them very different prices. the almighty dollar has no devotees among these indians. they have no need of aught that money can buy, and are swayed by persuasion and kind and just treatment more than by gold. if they have a few coins, they place them in a jar and bury them in some remote cave, taking from the horde only a little when they have to buy some necessity of life. among the pagans in pino gordo i met the finest specimen of the tarahumare tribe, a shaman, called juan ignacio. although he had never been as far as guadalupe y calvo, and only twice in his life to babori-game, and had thus spent all his life in the mountains among his own people, he showed a courtesy and tact that would have graced a gentleman. he took splendid care, not only of myself, but of my men and animals as well, giving us plenty to eat, sending his man to chop wood for us, etc. he was possessed of the nicest temper, and was truthful, a rare quality among tarahumares, as well as square in his dealings. his uprightness and urbanity commanded respect even from the lenguarazes, and they did not rob him as much as the other indians of the district; consequently he was quite well-to-do. while living among the heathen, of whom there are vet some three thousand left, i had no fear of being robbed of any part of my outfit. the indians themselves would not touch anything, and there were no strange mexicans about. if they had come, the tarahumares would have immediately warned me. everything was perfectly safe as long as i had an honest interpreter. the tarahumare in his native condition is many times better off, morally, mentally, and economically, than his civilised brother; but the white man will not let him alone as long as he has anything worth taking away. only those who by dear experience have learned to be cautious are able to maintain themselves independently; but such cases are becoming more and more rare. it is the same old story over again, in america, as in africa, and asia, and everywhere. the simpleminded native is made the victim of the progressive white, who, by fair means or foul, deprives him of his country. luckily, withal, the tarahumare has not yet been wiped out of existence. his blood is fused into the working classes of mexico, and he grows a mexican. but it may take a century yet before they will all be made the servants of the whites and disappear like the opatas. their assimilation may benefit mexico, but one may well ask: is it just? must the weaker always be first crushed, before he can be assimilated by the new condition of things? future generations will not find any other record of the tarahumares than what scientists of the present age can elicit from the lips of the people and from the study of their implements and customs. they stand out to-day as an interesting relic of a time long gone by; as a representative of one of the most important stages in the development of the human race; as one of those wonderful primitive tribes that were the founders and makers of the history of mankind. chapter xxiii cerro de muinora, the highest mountain in chihuahua--the northern tepehuanes--troubles cropping out of the camera--sinister designs on mexico attributed to the author--maizillo--foot-races among the tepehuanes--influence of the mexicans upon the tepehunaes, and _vice versa_--profitable liquor traffic--medicine lodges--cucuduri, the master of the woods--myth of the pleiades. on my return from an excursion southward from guadalupe y calvo as far as mesa de san rafael, i ascended on january , , cerro de muinora, probably the highest elevation in northern mexico. i say probably, because i had no opportunity of measuring cerro de candelaria. approached from the north it looked like a long-stretched mountain, covered with pines, and falling off abruptly toward the west. it is conspicuous in the songs and beliefs of the tepehuane indians. we made a camp about , feet below the top, among the pines, with snow lying all around us, and in the night a flock of parrots flew screeching past the tents. i was surprised to find the temperature so mild; there was no ice on the water, not even at night. the aneroid showed the height of the top to be , feet ( . in. at a temperature of ° f., at . p.m.). i noticed more birds between our camping-place and the top than i had ever seen before in pine forests. blackbirds, the brown creepers (_certhia_), and red crossbills were seen on the very top. from guadalupe y calvo i continued my journey to the northwest in order to visit the tepehuanes, about fifteen hundred of whom still exist here in the northernmost outpost of the tribe's former domain. only seventeen miles north of guadalupe y calvo is the tepehuane village nabogame (in tepehuane, navógeri, "where nopals [navó] grow"). the tepehuane region includes some fine agricultural land. there are fields there which have been planted for forty and fifty years in succession, as for instance in mesa de milpillas; but here, too, the whites have appropriated a considerable portion of the country, though the tepehuanes are largely in possession of their land, because they are more valiant than the tarahumares, and can only be deprived of their property through the agency of mescal, for which they have an unfortunate weakness. the tepehuanes are less phlegmatic and more impressionable and impulsive than the tarahumares. one woman laughed so much that she could not be photographed. they are noisy and active, and in the fields they work merrily, chatting and laughing. even when peons of the mexicans they are not so abject-looking as the tarahumares, but retain their proud and independent manners. they behave almost like men of the world in comparison with the unsophisticated tarahumares. in the eyes of some of the tepehuane women i noticed a fire as bright as in those of italians. these indians live in commodious log-cabins, with interlocked corners. the roofs are gabled and often supported by piles of wood. they are covered with shingles, over which are placed rows of stones to keep them in place. the doors are furnished with jambs. the tepehuanes call themselves Ódami, the meaning of which i could not find out. by the tarahumares they are called sæló ("walking-stick" insects (_phasmidæ_), in mexican-spanish _campamoche_). the tepehuane language is not melodious, being full of consonants, and hard like the people themselves. they still speak it among themselves, though there are but few who do not understand spanish. the mexicans frequently enter into marriage with them. so-(só-)da-gi u-ki-(ji-)ru tu-vá-ni-mi. (there is) water (_i.e_., tesvino) in the house; he is coming down (to us). as to their religion they are far more reticent than the tarahumares, and it is difficult to get information on this subject. one reason for this is that they are afraid of being laughed at by the mexicans. they still keep up their dances and secret rites and their ceremonies, customs, and beliefs. although in many points they resemble the tarahumares, in others fundamental differences exist, such as the complex observances of rules in regard to puberty, none of which have been found among the tarahumares. ignorant mexicans, who have but a faint idea as to who is president of their country, more than once have attributed land-grabbing intentions to my expedition. with my three or four mexicans and indians and a dozen pack mules, i have been credited with designs of conquering mexico for the americans. even here in nabogame a mexican settler felt uneasy about his holdings and stirred the indians up, saying that if they allowed "that man to photograph them, the devil would carry off all of them, and it would be better to kill him." i was to meet the people on a sunday, and in the morning i received this discouraging letter written by a mexican for the indian gobernador or "general," who, to affirm or authenticate the letter, had put a cross, as his mark or signature, underneath his name: pueblo de nabogame, january , . dear mr. picturemaker: do me the favour not to come to the pueblo to photograph, which i know is your intention. i believe the best for you to do is to go first to baborigame, because, as far as this pueblo is concerned, i do not give permission. therefore, you will please decide not to pass this day in this pueblo photographing. your obedient servant, josé h. arroyos, general. to mr. picturemaker. taking my mexican attendant with me, i walked over to the place where some twenty indians and several mexicans had assembled. the scheming instigator of the trouble had brought his rifle with him, to give weight to his words; but the mexican judge was on my side, and after he had read my letters from the government, he made a speech in which he convinced the people that they must obey the authorities. the tepehuanes soon saw the force of his argument, and the defeated agitator slunk away. the outcome of the dispute was that the indians expressed their regret that there were not more of them present for me to photograph; if i desired, they would send for more of their tribe to come and pose before the camera. around nabogame grows a plant called _maizillo_, or _maizmillo_. it is more slender than the ordinary corn-plant and the ears are very small. it grows among the corn and has to be weeded out, as it injures the good plants. however, several mexicans assured me that, when cultivated, the ears develop. after three years they grow considerably larger and may be used as food. a man in cerro prieto raises this kind only; others mix it with the ordinary corn. i was told that people from the hot country come to gather it, each taking away about one almud to mix with their seed corn. the combination is said to give splendid results in fertile soil. can this possibly be the original wild plant from which the ordinary indian corn has been cultivated? if the information i received about it in mexquitic, state of jalisco, is correct, then this question must be answered negatively, because my informant there stated that the plant is triennial. in that locality it is called _maiz de pajaro_, and it is cultivated as a substitute for the ordinary corn, or for use in making atole. the huichol indians also know it and raise it; they call it tats. for about a month i stopped at mesa de milpillas, which is a fertile high plateau. the country is now almost open, yet magnificent pines still remain, and cerro de muinora stands guard to the south. this is the stronghold of the northern tepehuanes. i then descended toward the west to the village of cinco llagas, and found the tepehuanes there pure-bred, although speaking spanish. ascending again to the sierra over the mining camp of san josé, i arrived in baborigame (tepehuane, vawúlile = "where there is a large fig-tree"). the pueblo is finely situated on a llano one mile and a half in diameter, and surrounded by pretty hills. i took up my abode in a tepehuane shanty in the neighbourhood of the village. the owner asked for the rent in advance, and for the amount of fifty centavos mr. hartman and i secured the right of occupancy, without time limit. i stayed there from march st to april th. there are a couple of mexican stores at baborigame, and the village is more mexican than indian. the tepehuanes live on their ranches, and come in only on festive occasions, to mingle with their "neighbours," as the mexicans are designated by the indians in all parts of mexico. i was told that native travelling merchants from southern mexico, called aztecs and otomies, pass through baborigame every five years, to sell their goods. they bring articles of silk and wool, wooden spoons, needles and thread, and do nice embroidery work, and make or mend garments. the tepehuanes of the north have much the same games and sports as the tepehuanes, and at easter-time, foot-races _à la_ tarahumare were arranged as part of the general festivities of the season. two hundred and ninety people assembled, among them a few tarahumares. there were several races, the runners being divided into different groups, men and women (married and unmarried), and children. as among the tarahumares, two parties opposed each other in each race, and the men ran with balls, the women with rings. the married women, although fat and heavy, made better time than the young girls. the runners who distinguished themselves most were the married men, ranging in age from eighteen to thirty years, the best of whom made thirteen circuits in three hours and one minute and a half. i measured the circuit, and found it to be , feet long; therefore the total distance run was nearly twenty-three miles. the two men who came in first, one a tepehuane, the other a tarahumare, showed no signs of fatigue. by way of comparison, i will add that the best one among some young mexicans, who raced at the same time, took twelve minutes for the circuit, and all arrived breathless, and would apparently not have been able to continue much longer. i was credibly informed that eight years ago a man who had died but a short time before could make twenty-seven circuits, or more than forty-seven miles, on this race-course. this runner was well known in that part of the sierra. his antagonist made twenty-six circuits, then fell down exhausted, while the victor indulged in a prolonged dance the next day. the race lasted from noon until eight o'clock in the evening. some of the tepehuane customs have been adopted by the mexicans. for instance, after the harvesting is over, the owner or his son is tied on to a horse, and has to carry a cross made from three ears of corn. the horse is led to the house, and is received with rifle shots; and the men tell the women in the house that the man on the horse has stolen the corn, and they will not let him go unless they are given tesvino and a ball. the demand, of course, is acceded to, and drum and violin furnish the music for the dance. the tepehuanes around baborigame now frequently rent their lands to the mexicans for a term of years, but rarely get it back, for the "neighbours" have a powerful agent in mescal. the enormous profit accruing from trading in this brandy with the natives may be judged from the fact that a demijohn of the liquid costing $ contains bottles, for each of which the trader gets from the indians one sack of corn, worth $ . on this quantity he realises elsewhere at least $ . in other words, on an outlay of, say, $ , he earns a gross $ , ; deducting expenses for transportation of the corn, etc., leaves still a net profit of at least $ , . the tepehuanes have medicine lodges in remote places, where they secretly gather once a month, or every other month. the name of the lodge is vakir nuídadu (vakir = the inside of the house; nuídadu = where there is singing; _i.e_., "the house where there is singing inside"). here they sing to call down their god túni, whom they also call their brother-in-law (gunósi). he instructs the shaman how to proceed to get rain, and to avert evil, by making tesvino and by dancing. the gathering at the medicine lodge begins at dusk, three shamans being present. a cross is raised and many kinds of flowers from the barrancas are attached to it. eagle feathers, too, are hung to it, as well as strings of beads. from each arm of the cross is suspended an "eye of the god" (vol. ii, chap. xi), called in tepehuane, yágete. there are three jars with tesvino, and three bowls with meat are placed before the cross. the fire is put out, and the shamans begin to sing different songs with different melodies, continuing until nearly midnight, when a noise is heard on the roof, as if somebody were walking there. the indians sing on, and the walking on the roof is heard three times. at last the roof opens, and behold somebody jumps on the floor three times. the singing stops, and tuni (tata dios) is among the people. he looks like a tepehuane, with a breech-cloth and tunic, but without blanket, and with a bandana around his head. the borders of the breech-cloth and of the tunic are of gold, and so are the ends of his hair. only the shamans see him. he greets them with the usual salutation, "váigase!" and the assemblage responds in the same way. he plays with the indians, and calls them his brothers-in-law. three cigarettes are made and placed near the tesvino. "smoke, brother-in-law!" they say, and all laugh and make merry with tuni. he then makes a speech, telling them to make plenty of tesvino in their houses, in order that the world may not come to an end. he is invited to drink, and to sing three different songs, in which all the men join. he then drinks tesvino, with such a gurgle that all can hear it. "how strong it is," he says; "i may not even be able to get home!" he also sprinkles tesvino over them. anyone who wants to drink simply stretches out his arm, saying nothing, and a full drinking-gourd is placed in his hand. when empty, the gourd vanishes. such a person will remain drunk until morning, for tuni's hand is strong. he remains for about half an hour, and when he leaves he says that he will come back if the people make tesvino for him. he vanishes like a breath, noiselessly. immediately after he has gone, a female deity comes, whom they call santa maria djáda (mother; that is, the moon). the same salutations are exchanged, and the women ask her to sing. she, too, receives tesvino, and makes a speech, the trend of which is that they must go on making the liquor through the year, lest their father should get angry and the world come to an end. afterward the snow and the cold also come to play with the people in a similar way. cúcuduri is the name of the master of the deer and the fish. he also makes rain and he is heard in the thunder. he is a small but thick-set man, and in foggy weather he rides on a deer over the mountain-tops. when there is much fog and rain, a tepehuane may go to a wrestling-contest with cucuduri in the forest. he throws an arrow on the ground, and the little man appears and agrees to put up a deer against the arrow. they wrestle, and often cucuduri is thrown, although he is strong. then the man will find a deer close by, and shoot it. the fisherman hears in the ripple of the flowing water the weeping of cucuduri, and throws three small fish to him. if he should not do this, he would catch nothing. cucuduri would throw stones into the water and drive the fish off, or he would even throw stones at the man himself. the tepehuanes never drink direct from a brook, but scoop up the water with their hands, else in the night the master of the spring might carry them inside of the mountain. they never cut their finger and toe nails, for fear of getting blind. they say that the seat of the soul is between the stomach and the chest, and they never wake up a man who is asleep, as his soul may be wandering about. sometimes a man is ill because his soul is away. the doctors may be unable to make it come back, and still the man lives. soul is breath; and when a man dies, his soul passes through the fontanels of the head, or through the eyes or the nostrils or the mouth. if anyone steps over a man, the latter will not be able to kill another deer in his life. a woman can be passed in this way without such danger. when the wind blows hard, it is because a woman delayed curing herself. the reason the tepehuanes make four feasts to despatch a dead woman from this world, and only three for a man, is their belief that a woman has more ribs than a man. unmarried women are not allowed to eat meat from the spinal column of the deer, as those bones look like arrows. if they ate this meat, their backs would grow curved and they would have back-aches. the tepehuanes do not eat pinole with meat, because their teeth would fall out. after eating pinole they rinse their mouths. one kind of squirrel is thought to change into a bat, another into a parrot. the ground-squirrel changes into a serpent. catfish become otters, and larvae on the madroña-tree are transformed into doves. when a hen crows, an accident is going to happen, unless the hen is immediately killed. the moon sometimes has to fight with the sun. if weather depended only on the moon, it would rain always, for the benefit of the tepehuanes. the pleiades are women, and the women of this world are their sisters. they were living with a man who used to bring them their food. one day he could not find anything, and drew blood from the calf of his leg, and brought it in a leaf from the big-leaved oak-tree. he told the women it was deer-blood, and thus he sustained them. on discovering that it was his blood, they became very angry and ascended to heaven, where they are yet to be seen. when he came home in the afternoon he missed them, and followed their tracks, but could not find them. he slept alone, and in the night he said to the mice, which he took for the women, "come, come to boil the deer-blood!" he continued his search until he reached the place where they had disappeared. the women, seeing from above how he went around looking for them, laughed, and he caught sight of them and called out, "tie your girdles together that i may get up also." he climbed up; but when he had almost reached them, the oldest of the women told the others to let him drop, because he had deceived them. he became a coyote and has remained in that shape ever since. if he had succeeded in getting up, he would have become a star, the same as the women. the three stars in the belt of orion are deer. chapter xxiv on to morelos--wild and broken country--the enormous flower-spike of the amole--subtropical vegetation of northwestern mexico--destructive ants--the last of the tubars--a spectral ride--back to the united states--an awful thunder-storm--close quarters--zape--antiquities--when an "angel" dies--mementos of a reign of terror--the great tepehuane revolution of --the fertile plains of durango. after having at last succeeded in getting men, i continued my journey to the northwest, over the very broken country toward the town of morelos, inhabited almost entirely by pagan tarahumares. there were, of course, no roads, only indian trails, and these in many places were dangerous to travel with beasts of burden. the barrancas during the month of may are all but intolerably hot, and it was a relief to get up now and then on the strips of highland that intersperse the country and look as fine as parks. at the higher altitudes i noticed a great number of eagle ferns, and the indians here plant corn in the small patches between the ferns, merely putting the grains into the gravelly red ground without tilling the soil at all. lower down were groves of big-leaved oak-trees. their leaves are sometimes over ten inches long and of nearly the same breadth, and are frequently utilised by the indians as improvised drinking-vessels. on the summits of the barrancas, and on the slopes over which we descended into the valleys, an astonishing number of parasites and epiphytes was observed, especially on the pines and oaks. the round yellow clusters growing on the branches of the oaks sometimes give the entire forest a yellow hue. in the foot-hills i saw a kind of parasite, whose straight, limber branches of a fresh, dark green colour hang down in bunches over twenty feet in length. some epiphytes, which most of the year look to the casual observer like so many tufts of hay on the branches, produce at certain seasons extremely pretty flowers. in the valleys of the western inclines of the sierra there is nothing suggestive of tropical luxuriance or romance in the landscape, which impresses one chiefly with its towering mountains and vast slopes. grass is plentiful enough among the stones and rocks, and groups of fresh green trees indicate where ground is moist and water to be found. the country is dry, and from january to june there is no rain. yet an aloe, which smells like ham, is so full of juice that it drips when a leaf is broken. this, too, is the home of the agaves, or century-plants, and i know of nothing so astonishing as the gigantic flower-spike that shoots upward from the comparatively small plant called amole. one fine day in may i came upon one, which i measured. it was by no means the largest one to be found, but the spike itself, without the stalk, was feet inches in height, and inches in circumference at its thickest part. it seemed a pity to cut down such a magnificent specimen, but, as i wanted to count the flowers, i had one of my men fell it with a couple of blows of an axe. after counting the flowers on one section, i estimated that the entire spike bore at least , beautiful yellow blossoms, each as large as a tulip. it required two men to carry the spike, and as they walked they were followed by a multitude of humming-birds, which remained fearlessly at work among the flowers of what they evidently considered their own private garden. they might have to fly miles before finding another like this. the flower-stalk of the maguey is eaten before it flowers. it looks like a big bamboo stick, and when roasted in the hot ashes is very palatable, sweet, and tender. below the indian village of coloradas stands an isolated peak to feet high, in regard to which the tarahumares have the following legend: a tepehuane once cut bamboo reeds and tobacco, down on the river, and being followed up by the tubars changed himself into this stone. the man's girdle can still be made out. at the village my interpreter asked me for the cover of a copy of london _truth_, and for the wrapper on my photographic films, that with these pictures he might adorn the altar of the old adobe church. the country is but thinly populated east and north of morelos, and the steepness of the valleys through which the indians are scattered, makes it difficult to reach them. at the time of my visit these indians had absolutely nothing to sell us but the sweet mescal stalks. in the end of may i reached morelos, an old mining place, about , feet above sea-level. the surrounding hills and mountains were covered with the typical mexican vegetation of the warm regions. the many odd-shaped cacti form a strong contrast to the light and pinnate leaves of the numerous leguminous shrubs, acacia, sophronia, etc. the chilicote, or coral-tree (_erythræa_), with scarlet flowers, is seen everywhere; also palo blanco, with a white stem, looking like an apple-tree. the year was an exceedingly dry one throughout northern mexico. my mules, obliged to travel under a scorching sun, sometimes had to be without water for twenty-four hours. still, in those hot barrancas, i saw no difference in the vegetation. the trees and plants did not seem affected by rain or no rain. the only exception i noticed was that the fiat, leaf-like joints of the nopal cactus shrivelled up a little on the surface, but the fleshy inside seemed as juicy as ever. even during the dryest season the trees and shrubs here blossom and bear fruit, and mornings and evenings the air is filled with the perfume of acaciæ, cacti, and other plants. one is at a loss to understand how the cattle can subsist on these shrubs, but they have adapted themselves to circumstances, and are able to chew up the thick stems of the cacti, in fact the whole plant, with the result, however, that their stomachs are so filled with spines that the mexicans cannot utilise the tripe. the frugal indian is the only one who does not reject it, but manages to burn off the biggest spikes while toasting the tripe on cinders. near morelos are ancient house ruins, some round and some square, and also traces of circular fortifications built of loose stones. several of the latter were from sixteen to twenty yards in diameter and located on the top of mountain ridges. the remains are attributed to the cocoyomes. the commonly accepted idea that in southern latitudes anything may be easily cultivated is often proved by actual observation to be fallacious. sometimes there may be too much rain, sometimes not enough. the worst enemies of plant-life in the warm countries are the many pests. one evening my host, don manuel perez, showed me some of the foes he had to combat in order to maintain his garden. certain kinds of ants bite off the flowers and leaves and carry away the pieces. the insects come out at night and may strip a tree of its leaves and fruits before morning. it was an astonishing sight to see the dark stem of an elder looking .as if it were green, on account of the multitude of ants, each of which carried a bit of green leaf half an inch long. every evening a man went around to burn them off with a torch of resinous pine-wood. some tubar indians were induced to come to morelos to be measured and photographed. the few representatives of the tribe i saw had good figures and small hands and feet. they seemed to be shy, but rather kind-hearted, jolly people, resembling the tarahumares in appearance. they are found from the village of san andres, three miles from morelos, as far as the village of tubares. according to tradition their domain extended in former times much higher up on both sides of the river, to where baborigame is now. but they were gradually restricted to the locality on which the remnant of the tribe at present resides. they are said to have been fierce and constantly fighting the tarahumares. there are now not more than a couple of dozen pure-bred tubars left, and only five or six of these know their own language, which is related to the nahuatl. the name of the tribe as pronounced by themselves is tuvalím. most of the tubars are found in the pueblo of san miguel, seventeen miles from morelos, down the river. an old woman told me that she did not know what the tubars had done that they were disappearing from the world. the few remaining members of the tribe were related to one another, and the young people had to marry mexicans. the customs of the tubars evidently resembled much those of their neighbours, the tarahumares, who until recent years invited them to their dances. the tubars danced yohe, and the dancers accompanied their singing by beating two flat sticks, like two machetes. they did not use hikuli. in the sacristy of the church in the old tubar village of san andres, i found a complete tesvino outfit, jars, spoons, etc., the vessels turned bottom up, ready for use. the saints, too, must have tesvino, because they are greedy and exacting, and have to be propitiated. the tubars are said to have worn white girdles. mr. hartman, whom i left in san miguel to conclude some investigations, returned a few weeks later to the united states. on the small plateaus near san miguel, two hundred feet or more above the river, he found interesting old tombs, which were well known to the inhabitants under the name of _bovedas_. the presence of a tomb was indicated on the surface by a circuit of stones from three to five feet in diameter set in the ground. there were groups of ten or twelve circuits, and the tombs underneath were found at a depth of five or six feet. they consisted of small chambers excavated in the clayey soil, and were well preserved, though they contained no masonry work; still at one place a yoke of oxen while dragging the plough had sunk down into the subterranean cavity. the entrance to such a tomb is from one side, where a large slab, placed in a slanting position, protects the inside. nothing was discovered in the four tombs that were opened but some curious slate-coloured beads of burnt clay. people of the district reported, however, that small jars of earthenware had been found in the _bovedas_. no doubt the absence of skeletons was due solely to the length of time that had elapsed, for even in the cemetery of the church mr. hartman found similar tombs that contained several skeletons. these tombs were indicated by the same kind of stone circuits as the rest, but were only about three feet down in the hard clay, and had no slabs in front of the entrance. in one of them mr. hartman found six corpses more or less decomposed, the sepulchre having evidently been used for a long time. in the same cemetery the mexicans buried their dead. i continued my journey down the river through the country once inhabited by the tubars. as the heat was intense, i availed myself of the light of the full moon and travelled at night. now and then the read touched the big river where the croaking of the frogs was intensely doleful and monotonous, but withal so loud that on a quiet night like this they could easily be heard two miles off. warm winds fanned me to sleep, and only when my mule ran me against some spiny branch, did i wake to find myself in a fantastic forest of leafless, towering cacti, that stood motionless, black, and silent in the moonlight, like spectres with numberless arms uplifted. the overwhelming noise of the frogs seemed to voice their thoughts and forbid me to advance farther. but the mule accelerated its pace, the shadows glided quicker and quicker, up and down the stony, slippery path that wound its way through this ghostly forest. in the daytime there was a disagreeably strong, warm wind blowing, making it difficult even to get the saddles on our mules, but the nights were calm. at the pueblo of san ignacio nobody speaks the tubar tongue. blue herons have a permanent breeding-place here on an almost perpendicular rock, four to six hundred feet high, where i counted twenty nests. in travelling down to tierra caliente there is one place at which one must leave the river and ascend to the pine region. this is below the village of tubares. the river narrows here and forms rapids, and it has been calculated that the water in flood-time rises sixty-five feet. alligators do not go above these rapids. in two days' journey from morelos one may reach the undulating country of sinaloa, _la costa_, which is warmer even than the barrancas. at san ignacio i left the river, and turned in a northeasterly direction to batopilas. after five days' pleasant sojourn at mr. shepherd's hospitable home there, i again ascended the sierra, and, after visiting the indians of santa ana and its neighbourhood, arrived at guachochic. leaving my mules here in charge of my friend don carlos garcia, i soon started again toward the northeast on my way back to the united states, passing through the indian ranches, and finally arriving at carichic (in tarahumare garichi, "where there are houses," probably ancient) on july st. at less than an hour's distance from the place i was overtaken by a thunder-storm, the heaviest my mexicans or i had ever experienced. in a few minutes the almost level fields were flooded as far as the eye could see, and the road we followed began to run with brown water. as we advanced through the mud, the small arroyos were rapidly filling. the rain did not abate, and the force of the currents steadily increased. when only three hundred yards from the town we found ourselves at the edge of a muddy stream, running so rapidly that it tore pieces from the bank, and carried small pines and branches of trees with it. as it was impossible to cross it, we had to wait, however impatiently, for the rain to subside sufficiently to allow us to wade through the water. and all the next day was spent in drying my things. one year later i was again in carichic, and from there i made my way to guachochic. one night i had to spend in the house of a civilised indian, as it rained too heavily for us to remain outdoors. the house was made of stone and mud, without windows, and the door had to be closed on account of the dogs. there was no way for air to get in except through the chimney, over the fireplace. there were nine people and one baby in the small room. strange to say, i slept well. my mules and outfit had been well taken care of at guachochic, and i now arranged with don carlos garcia to take most of my belongings to guanazevi, a mining town in the neighbouring state of durango, while with a few of the best mules i crossed barranca de san carlos near guachochic, and pursued my way through regions inhabited by tarahumares and tepehuanes. a stammering tarahumare was observed, the only indian with this defect that has come to my notice. the road i followed to guanazevi from guadalupe y calvo leads through a part of the sierra madre which is from nine to ten thousand feet high and uninhabited, and for two days we met nobody. in winter the region is dreaded on account of the heavy snowfalls that are liable to occur here. several people are said to have perished, and one freighter on one occasion lost twenty-seven mules. in the wet season bears are numerous, and, according to trustworthy information, have attacked and eaten several tarahumares. we camped one night at a place where a man had been killed by robbers some time before, and one of the mexicans shudderingly expressed his fear that we should probably hear the dead man cry at night. this led to a discussion among the men as to whether the dead could cry or not. the consensus of opinion was that the dead could cry, but they could not appear. this, by the way, is the common indian belief. my tepehuane servant took an intense interest in the arguments. his face became suddenly animated with fear, and the thought of the dead changed him from an indolent fellow into a valuable aid to my chief packer in watching the animals at night. his senses became so keen as to be quite reassuring in regard to robbers at night, and from that time on he was really a valuable man, active and alert. there is a small colony of tarahumares living a few miles north of guanazevi, near san pedro. here i excavated some corpses that had been buried several years before on a little plain. the graves were about four feet deep. in guanazevi a silver "bonanza" was in full blast and much activity prevailed. we were now outside of the sierra proper; but on the route south, which i followed for several days, i was never farther away from the mountain range than thirty miles. at zape, about twenty miles to the south, there are some ancient remains. as the principal ones have been described by e. guillemin tarayre, who explored mexico under maximilian, it is not necessary for me to dwell on the subject. suffice it to say that walls constructed of loose stones are commonly seen on the crests of the low hills and are attributed to the cocoyomes. circles and squares made of stones set upright in the ground may also be seen, and nicely polished stone implements are frequently to be found near by. outside of zape are a number of ancient burial-caves, which have been disturbed by treasure-seekers. as a curiosity, i may mention that a mexican once brought to light a big lump of salt that had been buried there. it was given to the cattle. one afternoon a gay little procession of men and women passed my camp, some on horseback, others walking. one of the riders played the violin, another one beat a drum. an old woman who just then stepped up to sell something explained to me that "an angel" was being buried. this is the designation applied to small children in mexico, and i could see an elaborate white bundle on a board carried aloft by a woman. my informant told me that when a child dies the parents always give it joyfully to heaven, set off fireworks and dance and are jolly. they do not weep when an infant dies, as the little one would not enter paradise, but would have to come back and gather all the tears. the way southward led through undulating country devoid of interest. to judge from the clusters of ranches, so numerous as to form villages, the land must be fertile. there were no more indians to be seen, only mexicans. all along the road we observed crosses erected, where people had been killed by robbers, or where the robbers themselves had been shot. a man's body is generally taken to the cemetery for burial, whether he was killed or executed, but a cross is raised on the spot where he fell. the crosses are thus mementos of the reign of terror that prevailed in mexico not long ago. most of the victims were so-called arabs, or travelling peddlers, sometimes syrians or italians, but generally mexicans. the most important place i passed was the town of santiago de papasquiaro, which is of some size, and situated in a rich agricultural country. the name of the place means possibly _"paz quiero"_ ("i want peace"), alluding to the terrible defeat of the indians by the spaniards in the seventeenth century. there is reason to believe that before this central and western part of durango had been traversed and peopled by whites, and that many spaniards had established haciendas in various parts of the valley. they held their own successfully against the tepehuanes until , when these, together with the tarahumares and other tribes, rebelled against them. all the natives rose simultaneously, killed the missionaries, burned the churches, and drove the spaniards away. a force of indians estimated at , marched against the city of durango, carrying fear everywhere, and threatening to exterminate the spanish; but the governor of the province gathered together the whites to the number of , "determined to maintain in peace the province which his catholic majesty had placed under his guardianship." he routed the enemy, leaving on the field more than , dead insurgents, without great loss to his own troops. the indians then sued for peace, and after their leaders had been duly punished, they were dispersed to form pueblos. the insurrection lasted over a year, and many bloody encounters between the natives and their new masters occurred in the course of the following centuries, the result being that the indians in the state of durango have not been able to maintain themselves, except in the extreme northern and southern sections. there was an epidemic of typhoid fever in some of these ranch-villages, and in one place i saw two dogs hung up in a tree near the road, having been killed on account of hydrophobia. a strong wind was blowing day and night on the llanos along the river-course, which annoyed us not a little. it was a real relief to get up again on the sierra, about fourteen miles south of papasquiaro, and find ourselves once more among the quiet pines and madroñas. chapter xxv winter in the high sierra--mines--pueblo nuevo and its amiable padre--a ball in my honour--_sancta simplicitas_--a fatiguing journey to the pueblo of lajas and the southern tepehuanes--don't travel after nightfall!--five days spent in persuading people to pose before the camera--the regime of old missionary times--strangers carefully excluded--everybody contemplating marriage is arrested--shocking punishments for making love--bad effects of the severity of the laws. the sierra for several days' journey southward is about , feet high, and is not inhabited, except in certain seasons by people who bring their cattle here to graze. i doubt whether anyone ever lived here permanently. the now extinct tribes, to whose territory this region belonged, dwelt, no doubt, in the valleys below. the high plateau consists of small hills, and travelling at first is easy, but it becomes more and more rough as one approaches the big, broad barranca de ventanas. having passed for several days through lonely, cold, and silent woods, now and then interspersed with a slumbering snow-field, it was a real pleasure to come suddenly, though only in the beginning of february, upon plants in full bloom on the high crest that faced the undulating lowlands of sinaloa, which spread themselves out below, veiled in mist. the warm air wafted up from the hot country brings about this remarkable change in the flora of the precipitous inclines toward the west. the air was filled with perfume, and it was lovely to be on these high, sunny tops. foliage trees, especially alders, began to appear among the pines, basking in the dazzling sunshine. i also noticed some fine ferns spreading out their graceful fronds. a few miles farther and much lower i made camp above the indian pueblo of san pedro, as far as i could make out the most eastern extension of the northern aztecs (mexicanos or mexicaneros, as they are called here). from here southward i found them in many of the warm valleys of the sierra intermingled with tepehuanes and coras. there is an excellent road zigzagging down to the mining place of ventanas ("windows," from the formation of a rock) for the greater part of the distance; but at the outset the way, at two places, is so narrow that parties coming from opposite directions could neither pass nor turn back, which is not pleasant with a yawning chasm of a couple of thousand feet so close at hand. i was anxious to secure men to go up again into the sierra and farther south; but the people were afraid of the cold, and nobody seemed to know anything about the country except the postmaster, and he only in a vague way. mazatlan is not much more than miles off and durango miles. there are here a great many dykes of porphyry of different ages, but neither slate nor granite in the immediate vicinity, though there is some granite farther up the river. among the mine-owners who lived in ventanas i was surprised to find a swedish gentleman. they all received me hospitably, providing me also with two men, whom i badly needed. we had to ascend on the other side of the barranca as high as we had been north of this place, and for a day we travelled through snow and rain. corn does not grow here. from one point the pacific ocean can be seen. we then descended again a couple of thousand feet to the village of chavaria, which is the only mexican village i have seen where the houses had gable roofs covered with shingles. the walls of the houses were adobe, but i was told that the earth at this place is not suitable for making the usual flat roofs. while camping here i saw, on the th of february, a flock of six giant woodpeckers pass by in the morning. except in the pairing season these birds are not seen in such numbers. the journey over a high part of the sierra madre to the mexican village of pueblo nuevo requires two days. on the second day i obtained a magnificent view toward the east and southeast. the high peak towering in the distance is cerro gordo, very broad at the base and conical in shape. patches of snow were visible on it, and snow lay in the crevices wherever we travelled. i descended through magnificent groves of cedar-trees to pueblo nuevo, making my camp on top of a hill, from which i overlooked the little settlement and the valley in which it nestles. as every house is surrounded by its little garden of orange-trees, aguacates, and guayahas, the landscape presented a mass of verdure of different shades, the ugly, often dilapidated houses being almost lost in the green. lemons grow wild, and therefore there is no sale for them. lemon juice mixed with milk is in many parts of mexico considered a remedy for dysentery. a young priest, who exercised a supreme but judicious authority in this secluded spot, treated me with much consideration. he took an honest pride in the development of his little village, and showed me its sights, first the church, which he was embellishing in many ways, and then the spring which supplied the place with water, and where the women gathered to wash their clothes and gossip. we met many graceful figures carrying jars on their shoulders, as in ancient times. in order to give me an opportunity to see the people, el señor cura allowed them to come and dance on his veranda. his organist was a musical genius, and a composer of no mean ability, and on the cabinet organ the priest had brought from durango on mule-back he played not only hymns, but also excellent dance music. the climate here was delightful, the valley fragrant with the perfume of oranges, and one felt reluctant to leave this restful camp. but i was soon reminded that nothing in this world is perfect, as one night a storm lifted my tent up and carried it several yards off, leaving me to sleep as best i could till morning. the wind was so powerful as to fell trees. the pueblo nuevo was once inhabited by aztecs. the present inhabitants, though amiable, are indolent and lazy, and there is a saying that in durango not even the donkeys work. i therefore had considerable trouble in finding a guide, the difficulty being aggravated by the fact that nobody seemed to know anything about the country toward lajas, the tepehuane village i was making for. the sierra to the south where the tepehuanes live is not frequented by the people here, who maintain communication only toward the east, principally with the city of durango, where they market their garden crops of chile and tomatoes. nevertheless, some of the tepehuane pueblos belong to the cura's parish, and he seemed to be the only one who could give definite information about the country southward. the track leading down to the san diego river runs through an idyllic valley where picturesque brooks trickle down the slopes between groves of semi-tropical vegetation. in one of the limpid streams a couple of pretty girls were bathing and washing their clothes, as is the custom among the poorer classes of mexico, who rarely possess more than the clothing they wear. as we appeared on the scene, they gracefully slipped into a deep pool, leaving nothing but their pretty faces, like water-lilies, floating above the crystal-clear water, and thus nodded a friendly greeting toward us. not more than ten miles' travel brought us to the san diego river. its source is said to be in the sierra, apparently toward the north, and it flows in a southerly direction. it was not very difficult to cross, but in flood-time it must be large. its elevation at this point was about , feet. here began the ascent into the sierra again. although the road on the first day was very good, it required rather hard climbing to get to the top. i was anxious to reach my destination that day, which was saturday, in order to be in time for the gathering of the indians in the pueblo on sunday. i therefore travelled on after nightfall, though the road was much longer than i expected, leading through extensive pine forests, the monotony of which was interrupted only once by the appearance of a couple of beautiful macaos. just as the moon rose, we entered on the "spine of the coyote," as the tepehuanes call a narrow ridge, six to eight yards broad, with yawning abysses on both sides. then we came on grassy slopes covered with trees. what a magnificent view there must be here, by daylight, of this wild country! to the southeast could clearly be seen a sloping table-land among hills; i even could distinguish some small houses on it. that was lajas. it appeared to be but a league off, but in reality it was still three times as far away. we descended among oak-trees, when suddenly the track ran down a precipitous volcanic rock, utterly impracticable for the mules to follow. evidently we had strayed on a side trail; and while we guarded the mules, a man was sent back to look for the main track, which luckily was found after a short time. the worst of it was that the animals had to be led back one by one, along the side of a dangerous precipice, and it was a wonder that none of them rolled down the steep sides. i was glad when we could safely proceed on our way. it is disagreeable to travel with a pack-train after nightfall, even on a moonlight night like this, but particularly when without a guide and on an unfamiliar track. the journey seems interminable. the fear of losing one's road, or having something happen to the animals, or dropping some part of the pack; the uncertainty regarding what camping-place one may find; and the anxiety lest the backs of the animals may become sore, while the men are getting hungry and in as bad a temper as one's self,--all tend to demonstrate the advisability of going into camp when the sun is still well above the horizon. another harassing consideration, which, however, does not apply to this part of the country, is the possibility of arousing a suspicion that pack-trains which travel at night carry treasures. after a continuous journey of ten hours and a half we arrived without further mishaps at lajas at . p.m., the middle of the night in that part of the world. one of my men, who had a habit of singing whenever we entered a village, had been ordered to keep silent, that the people in this lonely place, susceptible as they are, might not become alarmed at the sudden arrival of such a party. a few houses lay scattered about in the dim moonlight, and i with my chief man rode ahead. "ave maria!" called out catalino, knocking at the door of a hut. "god give you a good night," he continued, but there was no response. after having in this way tried several huts, we at last succeeded in getting an answer, and learned where crescencio ruiz lived, to whom the priest in pueblo nuevo had given me a letter of introduction, and who was a kind of secretary to the indians. we now directed our steps toward his house, aroused him from his slumbers, and after some parleying brought him to the door. he was a small-statured, kindly-looking man, a half-caste, who displayed a friendly manner and showed me where i could camp near his house. as he was very talkative, it was late in the night before i could retire. the name of the village is san francisco de lajas, the word _laja_ (flat stone) referring to stones which abound in the neighbourhood. the indian name, "eityam," has the same meaning. the next day many indians came fearlessly and curiously up to see me. they wore the ordinary dress of the working-class of mexico, except that their flat straw hats were trimmed with black and red woollen ribbons and some flowers. the women had flowers and leaves in their hair, which they wore in mexican fashion, in two braids. some of the men had their hair put up in one braid and fastened at the end with a narrow hair-ribbon, but most of them had it cut short. i was surprised to see many baldheaded men, some not over thirty years old. surely it must be more healthy for the hair to be worn long. fortunately for me the indians had just come into the pueblo for a week to repair the old adobe church, in which work don crescencio greatly assisted them. this man, nine years ago, was sent to the place as a teacher by the mexican authorities in durango. on his arrival he was met at the old curato by children, none of whom had ever seen a mexican before, and, of course, they did not understand a word of spanish. they soon went back to their homes, and five days afterward the preceptor was left without a pupil. he induced the parents to make the children return, and came back. out of these, five remained with him for six months. at the close of that period they were able to read and to write their names. of late years, however, teaching has been given up altogether. the fact is that the indians do not want schools, "because," as an intelligent huichol afterward told me, "our sons lose their native tongue and their ancient beliefs. when they go to school, they do not want to worship the sun and the water any more." the white teacher's aim should be to incite the desire for instruction rather than to force his pupils to listen to his teachings; not to destroy the indian's mental world, but to clear it and raise it into the sphere of civilisation. but don crescencio remained with the indians as their "secretary" (escribano), attending to whatever correspondence they had with the authorities, and gradually becoming their factotum and adviser. as he was an honourable and straightforward man, his influence was all for their good. to swell his meagre income, he carries on a small trade, going twice a year to durango to replenish his stores; and so invaluable has he become to the indians that they send, some men along with him to watch that he does not remain with the "neighbours." he has learned the language tolerably well, and has risen to such importance that the gobernador, as i saw myself, visited him every morning, asking his advice in every movement. these indians visited me all day long, accompanied by their wives and children, undauntedly seating themselves in front or outside of my tent. in response to my expressed desire to see and buy articles made by them, they brought me, during my short stay here, girdles and ribbons of wool or cotton, as well as a great variety of bags of all sizes, knotted from twine of maguey fibre. the people here do business on a basis entirely different from that of the "neighbours," inasmuch as they have a fixed price for everything. there is no bargaining with them; when they have once told the price of a thing (and it is always a high one), they adhere to it firmly, and as money is no object to them, they make trading rather difficult. on my tours among the people, i found them hospitable. they always asked me to come in and sit down, and they have good manners. the one thing they strenuously objected to, and which they were deadly afraid of, was the camera, and it took don crescencio's and my own combined efforts for five days to induce them to pose. when at length they consented, they looked like criminals about to be executed. they believed that by photographing a person i should be enabled to carry his soul off to eat it later, at my ease, if i chose. they would die as soon as their pictures arrived in my country, or some other evil would result, anyhow. the women disappeared like frightened quails, when i was about to perform the dreadful operation on the men. however, most of them returned to see how their spouses stood the painful ordeal. when i then asked for some women to pose, they ran away, in spite of the demonstrations of the men; only three sturdy ones with "great souls" remained and were "taken" after having been duly "shaken" with fears. the tepehuanes feel at home only in their ranches. they clear land in the numerous little valleys of which their rugged country consists, and plant corn in places where no plough could ever be used. they always have sufficient corn for their wants. their store-houses are square upright cribs of bamboo sticks held in place with withes on a framework of pine poles. sometimes they stand at considerable distances from the dwellings. the floor is raised about a foot above the ground, and the entrance is made from the top. the ears of corn can plainly be seen behind the bamboo sticks. in march they are taken out and shelled, and the corn is put in home-made sacks and replaced in the store-houses. the tepehuanes make pulque, but not tesvino, and cotton is cultivated on a very small scale. they gather the fibre of the maguey and other plants, and make sacks and ropes of excellent quality, for their own use as well as for sale in durango, to which market they also take any fruit not required for home consumption. their only amusement is to drink mescal and pulque. no games are in use, and to stake money or valuables in any of the "neighbours'" games is forbidden. the commonest disease here, strange to say, is malaria, which sometimes proves fatal. the first thing a tepehuane does in the morning is to wash his head, face, and hands with cold water, letting it dry without wiping it off. he starts to do his work with the water dripping from him. the southern tepehuanes perform a religious dance called by the mexicans _mitote_; it is also found among the aztecs, the coras, and the huichols. in the vicinity of lajas is a circular plain set pleasantly among the oak-trees. this is the dancing-place. at its eastern side is a jacal, a gable-shaped straw-roof resting on four poles, the narrow sides standing east and west. inside of it is found an altar, consisting simply of a matting of large, split bamboo sticks (_tapexte_) resting on a framework of four horizontal poles, which in turn are supported by two pairs of upright forked sticks. on this altar the people put the food used at the dances, and many ceremonial objects are placed here or hung under the roof of the jacal. in regard to their native religion, they are as reticent as their northern brethren, if not more so. "i would rather be hanged than tell anything," said one shaman to me. still, all things come to him who waits. this very man, who was so tragic, became my friend, and when we parted he asked me to write my name on a piece of paper, that he might salute me every morning. a name is a sacred thing, and they never tell their real native names. nowhere else in mexico have the institutions founded by the missionaries of early times remained intact as in lajas. not only so, but the regulations are carried even further than was originally intended, and this in spite of the fact that the indians have not given up their own ancient religion. no priest is now living among them; and only at rare intervals does the cura come from pueblo nuevo to baptise and malry. the native chosen civil authorities are composed of fourteen, the ecclesiastical of seven members. the gobernador has supreme authority with both bodies, and when important matters are at issue the people are brought together and consulted. the decisions or orders are given to the so-called captain, who sees that they are carried into effect. the officers are elected every year, and meet in sessions almost every day, to settle the affairs of the people, and to inflict punishment even on the shamans when necessary. they have recently renovated the prison, and put in a new set of stocks; and the whipping-post is still in constant use, to supplement the laws of the mexican government, which are considered altogether too mild. the punishments which these people inflict are severe and barbarous. i have heard that mexican criminals, who have been caught and punished by them, on complaining of their harsh treatment to the government authorities, did not receive any sympathy, the latter no doubt considering it meritorious rather than otherwise, on the part of the indians, to maintain order so effectually without the aid of soldiers. the captain in lajas is on duty day and night, watching that nothing untoward may happen to man, beast, or property. but few strangers come to this remote pueblo, and no one can pass it unnoticed. the only trail that runs through the place is swept every afternoon with branches of trees, and the next morning it is examined by the captain to ascertain if anyone has gone by. white men are wisely prohibited from settling here; and when a "neighbour" comes, his business is at once inquired into, and sufficient time, perhaps a night and a day, is given him to attend to it, after which he is escorted out of the village. safety to life and property is thus insured among these indians. "i guarantee you that none of your animals will be stolen here," crescencio said to me the first night, and a very short experience convinced me that he was right. theft is practically unknown here, unless some "neighbour" tempts an indian with a promise of a part of the booty. murder is committed only by intoxicated individuals, and then the culprit is chained in the stocks for three or four weeks, and gets a whipping at regular intervals. afterward he is sent to the mexican authorities in the city of durango to be dealt with according to the law. there is no capital punishment for murder in mexico, and when criminals have served their terms and return to their native village the indians may even send them back to durango, saying that they are better off without them. suicide is unknown. when murder or theft has been perpetrated, they do not at once try to apprehend the suspected person, but first call the shaman to ascertain by divination who the culprit may be, by placing ceremonial arrows, smoking tobacco, and waving plumes. i was told that three years ago two travelling mexican peddlers arrived here, and after having done a little trading went away without informing the authorities of their departure. this aroused the suspicion of the indians, who began to look around to see what was missing. two cows, it seemed, had disappeared, and in two days the peddlers were overtaken, brought back, put in the stocks, and held in prison for eight days, and three times a day they received a thrashing. they had very little food. they were finally taken to durango. once two cows and an ox were stolen from crescencio, and the indians followed the tracks of the thieves, their leader frequently touching the earth with his hands to assure himself by the smell that they were going in the right direction. after a while two tepehuanes and their accomplice, the "neighbour" who had put them up to the crime, were caught. the "neighbour," as soon as he arrived in the village, was given twenty-five lashes, and for two hours was subjected to the agonizing torture of having his head and his feet in the stocks at the same time. next day he was given ten lashes, and the following day five, and eight days later they took him to durango. his two indian associates, father and son, were also put in the stocks, and for two weeks each of them got daily four lashes and very little food; besides which their blankets were taken away from them. although the tepehuanes keep up their ancient rites and beliefs along with the new religion, they strictly comply with the external form of christianity, paying due attention to all the christian feasts and observances. every day the bells of the old church are rung, and the saints "are put to bed," as the indians express it. when crescencio first came here he found the people on sundays in the church, the men sitting on benches and the women on the floor. they had gathered there from habit, though nobody knew how to pray, and they sat around talking and laughing all the time. it was their christian worship. crescencio has now taught them to say prayers. the teachings of christianity, however, are for the most part forgotten. no trace of the religion of charity remains among them, but the severity of the early missionaries survives, and their mediæval system of punishment. evidently the tribe always entertained extreme views regarding the relation of the two sexes toward each other, or else the spirit of the new law would never have been imbibed so eagerly. "the slightest want of modesty or exhibition of frivolity is sufficient reason for a husband to leave his wife, and for young women never to marry," says padre juan fonte, of the tepehuane indians. there is no sign of relaxation in their strictness, or of any inclination to adopt more modern views on marital misdemeanour. in the greater number of cases husband and wife live happily together "till death doth them part." if either should prove unfaithful, they immediately separate, the wife leaving the children with the husband and going to her parents. then the guilty one and the correspondent are punished by being put in the stocks and given a public whipping daily for one or two weeks. neither of the parties thus separated is permitted to marry again. if a girl or widow has loved "not wisely, but too well," she is not interfered with until her child is born. a day or two after that she and the baby are put into prison for eight or ten days, and she is compelled to divulge the name of her partner. the man is then arrested and not only put into prison, but in the stocks besides. there are no stocks for women, only two horizontal bars to which their hands are tied, if they refuse to betray their lovers. the two culprits are kept separate, and their families bring them food. twice a day messengers are sent through the village to announce that the punishment is about to be executed, and many people come to witness it. the judges and the parents of the delinquents reprimand the unfortunate couple, then from two to four lashes are on each occasion inflicted, first upon the man and then upon the woman. these are applied to an unmentionable part of the back, which is bared, the poor wretches standing with their hands tied to the pole. the executioner is given mescal that he may be in proper spirit to strike hard. the woman has to look on while the man is being punished, just as he afterward has to witness his sweetheart's chastisement. she opens her eyes "like a cow," as my informant expressed it, while the man generally looks down. many times the judges are ashamed to go through this performance, the character of which is below the standard of propriety of most primitive tribes; but, strange to say, the parents themselves compel them to let the law have its course. afterward the girl is handed over to her lover in order that they may become officially married by the church the next time the priest arrives. this may not happen for two or three years, but the two are meanwhile allowed to live together, the girl going to her lover's home. to avert all the misery in store for her, an unfortunate woman may try to doctor herself by secretly taking a decoction of the leaves of the chalate, a kind of fig-tree. sometimes punishment is dealt out to young people for being found talking together. outside of her home a woman is absolutely forbidden to speak to any man who does not belong to her own immediate family. when fetching water, or out on any other errand, she must under no circumstances dally for a chat with a "gentleman friend." even at the dancing-place it is against the law for her to step aside to exchange a few words with any young man. if discovered in such a compromising position, both offenders are immediately arrested, and their least punishment is two days' imprisonment. if their examination by the judges proves that their conversation was on the forbidden topic of love, they get a whipping and may be compelled to marry. some of the boys and girls who have been punished for talking together in this manner, are so frightened that they never want to marry in lajas, but the more defiant ones deliberately allow themselves to be caught, in order to hasten their union and steal a march on their parents. for these indians are by no means beyond the darts of cupid, and both men and women are known to have arranged with a shaman to influence the objects of their tender thoughts, and have paid him for such service. a woman may give a shaman a wad of cotton, which he manages to put into the hand of the young man for whom it is intended. afterward the shaman keeps the cotton in his house, the affection having been transmitted by it. on the other hand, men and women, to subdue their natural instincts, go into the fields and grasp the branches of certain sensitive plants. as the plant closes its leaves, the girls pray that they may be able to shut themselves up in themselves. there are two kinds of sensitive plants growing in the neighbourhood of lajas (_mimosa florribunda_, var. _albida_, and _mimosa invisa_), and recourse may be had to either of them. many men emigrate to other pueblos, though they may in time return. others remain bachelors all their lives, and the judges in vain offer them wives. "why should we take them?" they say. "you have thrashed us once, and it is not possible to endure it again." the legitimate way of contracting marriage is to let the parents make the match. when the old folks have settled the matter between themselves, they ask the judges to arrest the boy and girl in question, whereupon the young people are put into prison for three days. the final arrangements are made before the authorities, and then the girl goes to the home of the boy to await the arrival of the priest. when the señor cura is expected in lajas, all the couples thus united, as well as all persons suspected of harbouring unsafe tendencies, are arrested. on the priest's arrival, he finds most of the young people of the place in prison, waiting for him to marry them. for each ceremony the indians have to pay $ , and from now on every married couple has to pay $ . per year as subsidy for the priest. no marriage in lajas is contracted outside of the prison. crescencio himself, when about to marry a tepehuane woman, barely escaped arrest. only by threatening to leave them did he avoid punishment; but his bride had to submit to the custom of her tribe. contrary to what one might expect, unhappy unions are rare. probably the young people are glad to rest in the safe harbour of matrimony, after experiencing how much the way in and out of it is beset with indignities and leads through the prison gates. however, imprisonment for love-making does not appear so absurd to the aboriginal mind as it does to us, and the tribe has accommodated itself to it. i learned that some of the boys and girls after a whipping go to their homes laughing. the obligation to denounce young people whom one has found talking together, under penalty of being punished one's self for the omission, does not create the animosity that might be expected. besides, the law on this point is none too strictly obeyed or enforced. according to crescencio, the census taken in enumerated souls belonging to lajas, and there may probably be altogether , tepehuanes here in the south. as far as i was able to ascertain, the following tepehuane pueblos are still in existence: . san francisco de lajas. . tasquaringa, about fifteen leagues from the city of durango. the people here are little affected by civilisation, though a few mexicans live among them. . santiago teneraca, situated in a deep gorge. the inhabitants are as non-communicative as at lajas, and no mexicans are allowed to settle within their precinct. this, as well as the preceding village, belongs to mezquital, and the padre from there visits them. . milpillas chico, where the indians are much mixed with mexicans. . milpillas grande. here the population is composed of tepehuanes, aztecs, and mexicans. . santa maria ocotan, and . san francisco, both little affected by civilisation. . quiviquinta, about fifteen leagues southwest of lajas. the latter three villages belong to the state of jalisco. on the road from durango to mazatlan, passing ventanas, there are no tepehuane pueblos. chapter xxvi pueblo viejo--three languages spoken here--the aztecs--the musical bow--theories of its origin--dancing mitote--fasting and abstinence--helping president diaz--the importance of tribal restrictions--principles of monogamy--disposition of the dead. there are two days journey over rough country to pueblo viejo, my next objective point. again i had great difficulty in finding a guide, as the two villages were at loggerheads about some lands. the guide furnished me by the authorities hid himself when we were about to start. all the other indians had gone back to their ranches, except one, whom i finally persuaded to show me the way at least as far as the ranch of the shaman with whom i had made friends, where i hoped that through him i might get another guide. on our way, we passed los retablos ("pictures drawn on a board"), the rather fantastic name of a magnificent declivity of reddish rock, across which the track led. at this place, tradition says, the tepehuanes of lajas, in the war of independence, vanquished spanish soldiers, who were trying to reach the city of durango from acaponeta. the indians had hidden themselves all around and above the steep slope, and from their ambuscades rolled stones down on the spaniards, every one of whom was killed. having gotten my mules safely over this dangerous track, where they could never have been rescued if they had lost their footing, i arrived after a while at the home of the shaman, near which i camped. when i went up to the house, i found it empty, and was barely in time to see a woman making her escape with a child as best she could. i realised that if the shaman did not return that evening or early next day, i should have to return to lajas. the plaintive trumpet sound of a giant woodpecker about sunset--as far as we could make out, the only living being in the vicinity--did not detract from the gloominess of the prospect. luckily, however, my shaman friend came to my tent at daybreak next morning, and thus relieved my anxiety. though exceedingly busy cutting down trees and shrubs to clear his field, he spared one of his helpers to show me the way to hormigas (ants), charging only three reales for the accommodation, and one real extra (twelve cents in mexican money) to be paid to the man in case i should want him to go farther and show me the way to aguacates. i also improved the opportunity to get from him some ethnological information and a short tepehuane vocabulary. thus with lightened heart i started off through a country that, while it did not present any remarkably steep ascents and descents, was very rough and hard to travel. the main sierra is here very narrow, and the large mountainous mass broken up into irregular ridges and steep valleys. the next day, much of the time we followed a high, rocky ridge, the highest point of which is called mojoneras. here, ten miles north of pueblo viejo, the boundary line of the territory of tepic is said to run. for several miles on the road, and particularly from the last-mentioned ridge, magnificent views of the wild country northward present themselves, over the steep descent into the cañons and gorges of the western part of the sierra madre. only three tepehuane ranches were observed. i arrived without any mishap at pueblo viejo, which is inhabited mainly by aztecs. of late years they have become much mixed with the tepehuanes, who have here taken refuge from drought and the advancing "neighbours." indian settlers who thus come from other pueblos are called poblanos. they receive land from the community in return for the services they render, and the two tribes freely intermarry, although "neighbours" are never allowed to settle within the confines of the village. still the people, who have considerable intercourse with acaponeta, and who also go some distance to work in the mines of sinaloa, speak spanish quite well. indeed, of the three languages spoken here, spanish is the one most generally heard. several nahuatlan words have been forgotten, and in making out my list of collections i had great difficulty in getting designations for some of the objects, for instance the word for "quiver," and for the curious rattling anklets used by dancers. only elderly people speak nahuatl correctly, and the tepehuane influence is strong here, even in the ancient religion of the people. it was curious to note that many people here, as in lajas, eat neither hens nor sheep, while they freely partake of beef. people here are more intelligent and much less reticent than in lajas. women when addressed will answer you, while in lajas the inhabitants are guarded, and suspicious even of other indians, not to speak of "neighbours." another difference is that very few drink mescal. at a meeting i had with the indians, i remarked, in my desire to please them, that the mexican government was interested to know whether they were getting on well or whether they were coming to an end. to this the principal speaker at once laughingly rejoined. "of course, they want to know how soon they can 'finish' us!" the indians here have the usual trouble from "neighbours" trying to encroach upon their territory. once a delegation from this and the neighbouring pueblos undertook a journey to the city of mexico in order to settle the troubles about their land. they stopped eleven days in the capital and were well received by the ministerio del fomento; but their money gave out before they finished their business, and they had to walk all the way back without having accomplished anything. i found these indians law-abiding and obliging, and i had no great difficulty in securing permission to be present at a mitote, which was to be given at a ranch in the neighbourhood. on march th, a little before sunset, we started out on a ride of an hour and a half, ascending some , feet on a winding indian trail up to a high mesa. it was a starlit, beautiful night, but the magnificent view which this mesa commanded could only be surmised. there are a few ranches here owned by people from the pueblo below, a man sometimes living in his ranch here during the wet season, while for the remainder of the year he occupies one in the pueblo. as we entered on the plain we could distinctly hear the beating of the tawitól, the musical instrument of the tepehuanes. at this distance it sounded like a big drum. we passed the ranch which was giving the mitote, and a hundred yards farther on we came upon a picturesque scene. here on a meadow the indians were grouped around the many fires whose lights flickered among the trees. there was just a pause in the dancing, which had begun soon after sunset. i could at once discern a little plain set apart for the dancing. on its eastern side was an altar of the usual description, fenced on two sides with felled trees, on which were hung the paraphernalia of the dancers, their bows, quivers, etc. in the centre of the dancing-place was a large fire, and to the west of it the shaman was seated on a stool. behind him, similar though smaller stools were set for the owner of the ranch and the principal men. strange to say, the shaman was a tepehuane. i learned later that the aztecs consider the shamans of that tribe better than their own. in front of the shaman was the musical instrument on which he had been playing. this was a large, round gourd, on top of which a bow of unusual size was placed with its back down. the shaman's right foot rested on a board which holds the bow in place on the gourd. the bow being made taut, the shaman beats the string with two sticks, in a short, rhythmical measure of one long and two short beats. when heard near by, the sonorousness of the sound reminds one of the cello. this is the musical bow of america, which is here met with for the first time. it is intimately connected with the religious rites of this tribe, as well as with those of the coras and the huichols, the latter playing it with two arrows. the assertion has been made that the musical bow is not indigenous to the western hemisphere, but was introduced by african slaves. without placing undue importance on the fact that negroes are very rarely, if at all, found in the north-western part of mexico, it seems entirely beyond the range of possibility that a foreign implement could have become of such paramount importance in the religious system of several tribes. moreover, this opinion is confirmed by mr. r. b. dixon's discovery, in , of a musical bow among the maidu indians on the western slope of the sierra nevada, northeast of san francisco, california. in the religion of that tribe also this bow plays an important part, and much secrecy is connected with it. the shaman's song sounded very different from the songs i had heard among the tarahumares. as his seat was high, he had to maintain a stooping position all the time he played. the dancers, men and women, made much noise by stamping their fiat soles vigorously on the ground, as they moved in double column around the fire and the shaman, in a kind of two-step-walk forward. they danced in a direction against the apparent movement of the sun, the men leading, the women following. i noticed that the step of the women was slightly different from that of the men, inasmuch as they lifted themselves on their toes at each step. at times the columns would suddenly stop and make the same kind of movements backward for a little while, with the same small jumps or skips as when walking forward. after a few seconds they would again go forward. these movements are directed by the leader, the man who dances first. both men and women wore flowers, the former fastening them to their straw hats, the latter in their hair with the stem behind the ear. the flowers were apparently selected according to individual taste, but the kind i saw most frequently was a white blossom called _corpus_, the delicious fragrance of which i noticed every time the women danced by. two boys had a peculiar kind of white flower fastened with a handkerchief tied around their heads. it is called _clavillinos_, and looks like thick, white hair. the shaman wore a narrow hair-ribbon, but no flower. around their ankles the men had wound strings of dried empty pods of a certain palm, which made a rattling noise during the dancing. five times during the night, ears of corn and plumes were brought from the altar, and then the men always removed their hats. the women wore veils (_rebosos_), but it is considered improper for them to use sandals on such occasions; these are worn only by the men. there were five pauses made in the course of the night, and, to prepare the people for them, the shaman each time began to strike more slowly. the dancers continued until they arrived in front of the altar, where they commenced to jump up and down on the same spot, but with increasing rapidity, until the music stopped, when they separated and lay down. those who did not take any part in the dancing were lying around the various fires, the number of the dancers changing with the different songs, according to the degree of enthusiasm among the people. many went to sleep for a while, but this is not deemed very polite to the owner of the ranch, as the effect of the dancing is much greater upon the gods when everybody takes part. i was told that to keep the people awake a man sometimes goes around spurting cold water over the drowsy and nodding heads. the function had been opened by the owner of the ranch making alone five circuits around the fire, carrying the musical instrument and the two playing-sticks and doing reverence to the sun every time he passed the altar. just before sunrise the mitote concluded with the dramatisation of the killing of the deer. deer-skins were brought from the bower of the altar, and the men put on their bows and quivers, each of which contained twenty-five arrows and had two slings attached to it. the men held the deer-skins in their hands and danced five circuits. two light-footed boys next appeared on the scene to play the part of the deer. they had deer-skins on their backs, and in their hands held deer-heads with antlers. these they showed five times, alternately to the shaman who furnished the music, and to the altar. then they began to run, followed by the dancers, who shouted and shot arrows, also trying to catch the deer by throwing lassos that had been kept in the bower. often they had to flee from the deer, who chased them off the dancing-place. but they returned, and at sunrise the deer were captured on a matting spread before the altar, where the dancers now took positions. starting from here they next made five circuits around the dancing-place in the direction of the apparent movement of the sun, then five circuits in the opposite way. the shaman's beating slowed down, once more all the dancers jumped up quickly, the music stopped, and the dancing was finished. now the feasting began. the food, that had been placed on the altar, pinole and toasted corn, was brought forward, and the host and his wife ate first. after they had thus broken fast, all sat down, and to each one the following dishes were served on little earthenware platters or bowls: a small slice of deer-meat that had been cooked between hot stones in an earth mound, and a handful of toasted corn; a ball made of pinole mixed with unbroken beans; four tamales, and one ball of deer-meat and ground corn boiled together. the last-named course is simply called chueena (deer). the boys who served it had on their backs three bun-dies, each containing three tamales, which the boys afterward ate. the host always asks his guests to submit for four days longer to the restrictions that are necessary to insure the efficiency of the dancing. these refer mainly to abstinence from mescal and women, and are conscientiously observed for five days before and five days after the occasion, by the family who arranges the dance. the shaman, on whom the obligation to observe these formalities is greater than on anyone else, may have to officiate at another mitote before the time limit for the first has expired, therefore much of his time is spent in privations. after the feast, the tapexte, that is to say, the matting, which constituted the top of the altar, is hung up in a tree to be used again the next year. the trees that have formed the bower near the altar are left undisturbed. the ceremonial objects are placed in the trees for four or five days, and then put into a basket which is hung in some cave. at pueblo viejo no more tribal mitotes are given, and it seems that no family anywhere makes more than one a year. when a newly married couple wish to give their first mitote, they go away from the house for a month. both of them bathe and wash their clothes, and impose restrictions upon themselves, sleeping most of the time. when awake they talk little to each other, and think constantly of the gods. only the most necessary work is done; he brings wood and she prepares the food, consisting of tortillas, which must not be toasted so long that they lose their white colour. a thin white gruel, called atole, made from ground corn, is also eaten, but no deer-meat, nor fish with the exception of a small kind called mítshe. neither salt nor beans are allowed. the blankets they wear must also be white. during all this time they must not cut flowers or bathe or smoke; they must not get angry at each other, and at night they must sleep on different sides of the fire. fasting and abstinence form an integral part of the religion of these people. a man who desires to become a shaman must keep strictly to a diet of white tortillas and atole for five years. his drink is water, and that only once a day, in the afternoon. the people here once fasted for two months, in order to aid general porfirio diaz to become president of mexico; and they told me that they were soon going to subject themselves to similar privations in order to help another official whom they wanted to remain in his position. fasting also plays an important part in the curing of diseases. the patient, with his doctor, may go out and live in the woods and fast for many days, the shaman smoking tobacco all the time. an omen as to whether the patient will live or die is taken from the colour of the tobacco smoke. if it is yellow the omen is bad. or if the smoke remains dense the patient will live; but if it disperses he will die. a very interesting ceremony is performed over a child when it is one year old. the parents go with the shaman into the field and fast for five days before the anniversary and for five days afterward. an hour or two after sunset a big fire is made and four arrows and the ceremonial object called god's eye are placed east of it. the parents and those present look east all the time. the shaman first makes four ceremonial circuits, then puffs tobacco-smoke on the god's eye and on the child. he sings incantations and again makes four ceremonial circuits, and smokes as before. next he places his mouth to the child's forehead, and draws out something that is called the cochiste, the sleep or dreams, spitting it out in his hand. he makes a motion with his plumes as if he lifted something up with them from his hand, and holds the plumes over the god's eye for a while. the people now see that two small, white balls are attached to the plumes, and he shows them to all present, to prove that he does not deceive them. then he crushes the balls in his left hand with a sound as if an egg was cracked, and throws them away. in the morning salt is offered to the rasters. the cochiste is taken away from boys twice and four times from girls. a boy cannot get married until the cochiste is taken away. a girl at the age of puberty is pledged to a year of chastity, and the same ceremony is performed on her as in babyhood, to be repeated in the following year. should she transgress during that time the belief is that she or her parents or her lover will die. the principle of monogamy is strictly enforced, and if a woman deviates from it she has to be cured by the shaman, or an accident will befall her--a jaguar or a snake will bite her, or lightning strike her, or a scorpion sting her, etc. she gives the shaman a wad of white cotton, which he places on the god's eye. when he smokes tobacco and talks to the god's eye, information is given to him through the cotton, which reveals to him whether she has more than one husband, and even the name of the unlawful one. he admonishes her to confess, explaining to her how much better the result will be, as he then can cure her with much greater strength. even if she confesses, she is only half through with her trouble, because the shaman exacts heavy payment for the cure, from $ to $ . if she cannot pay now, she has to come back in a month, and continue coming until she can settle her account. by rights, the man should pay for her, but often he runs away and leaves her in the lurch. since the indians have come in contact with the mexicans this happens quite often. when at length the money is paid and she has confessed everything, there is nothing more for the shaman to do but to give an account of it to the god's eye, and she goes to her home absolved. one year afterward she has to come back and report, and, should she in the meantime have made another slip, she has to pay more. from all the cotton wads the shaman gets he may have girdles and hair-ribbons made, which he eventually sells. the custom related above is of interest as showing the forces employed by ancient society to maintain the family intact. fear of accidents, illness or death, more even than the fine or anything else, keeps the people from yielding too freely to the impulses of their senses. the treatment accorded to the dead by these people, and their notions regarding them, are, in the main, the same as those obtaining with the tribes which i visited before them, but there are some new features that are of interest. here, for instance, near the head of the dead, who lies stretched out on the ground in the house, the shaman places a god's eye and three arrows; and at his feet another arrow. he sings an incantation and smokes tobacco, though not on the dead, while the widow makes yarn from some cotton, which she has first handed to the shaman. when she has finished the yarn, she gives it to the shaman, who tears it into two pieces of equal length, which he ties to the arrow standing at the right-hand side of the man. one piece he rubs over with charcoal; this is for the dead, and is tied lower down on the arrow. he winds it in a ball, except the length which reaches from the arrow to the middle of the body, where the ball is placed under the dead man's clothes. the other thread the shaman holds in his left hand, together with his pipe and plumes. after due incantations he divides the white thread into pieces of equal length, as many as there are members of the family, and gives one piece to each. they tie them around their necks and wear them for one year. afterward they are mixed with some other material and from them a ribbon or girdle is made. on the fifth day the dead is despatched from this world. in the small hours of the morning the shaman, with his plumes and pipe, and a jar of water into which some medicinal herbs have been thrown, leads the procession toward the west, while the people, including women and children, carry branches of the zapote-tree. they stop, while it is still dark, and the shaman steps forward and despatches the deceased. he returns very soon, and sprinkles water on the people and toward the west, where the dead has gone. chapter xxvii inexperienced help--how to acquire riches from the mountains--sierra del nayarit--the coras--their aversion to "papers"--their part in mexican politics--a déjeuner à la fourchette--la danza. it is practically impossible to travel from tribe to tribe in mexico without changing muleteers, not only because the men generally object to going so far from their homes, but also because it is not advantageous to employ men who do not know the country through which they are passing. whenever the indians understood something about packing mules, i preferred them to the mexicans, because i could learn much from them on the way. the latter part of my travels i employed none but indians. the unwillingness of desirable men to leave their homes makes a frequent change very embarrassing. my next destination from pueblo viejo was santa teresa, the most northern of the cora pueblos, and everybody thought it was too far away. i had finally to take whatever i could get in the way of carriers. for instance, i had only one man on whom i could depend, a civilised tepehuane, who was bright and knew his business well, but he was hampered by an injured arm. then i obtained another man, somewhat elderly. he, too, became suddenly aware that his right arm was crooked and not strong enough to lift heavy burdens, while the two remaining carriers had never loaded a mule in their lives. the first two directed the other pair how to proceed, and thus i was treated to the ludicrous spectacle of four men engaged in packing one mule. naturally it took all day to load my ten animals, and when this was accomplished, it was too late to start, so that the day's work turned out to be nothing but a dress-rehearsal in the noble art of packing mules. the result was that i had to take a hand myself in putting the aparejos on the animals, shoeing them and curing the sore backs, which, as a matter of course, developed from the inexperience of some of the men. on the second day, by a stupendous effort, we started, but could go only eight miles to a beautiful llano surrounded by oaks and pines. a few ranches are all that remains of the village that once existed here. on one of them lived a rich cora who had married a tepehuane woman. all coras get rich, the indians here assert, because they know better how to appease the gods. they submit to fasting and restrictions for a month, or even a year, and then go "to the richest mountain the ancient people knew." the master of the mountain comes out and the two make a bargain, the cora agreeing to pay for the cattle, deer, corn, and other possessions, with men that he kills. the belief that the mountains are the masters of all riches--of money, cattle, mules, sheep, and shepherds--is common among the tribes of the sierra madre. when it devolves upon a cora to make good his agreement and kill a man, he makes from burnt clay, strips of cloth, etc., a small figure of the victim and then with incantations puts thorns through the head or stomach, to make the original suffer. he may even represent the victim on horseback, and place the figure upside down to give him pain. sometimes a cora makes a figure of the animal he wants, forming it of wax or burned clay, or carving it from tuff, and deposits it in a cave in the mountain. for every cow, deer, dog, or hen wanted, he has to sacrifice a corresponding figure. the next day we followed for some time the camino real, which leads from acaponeta to the towns of mezquital and durango. we then descended without difficulty some , feet into the cañon of civacora, through which flows a river of the same name, said to originate in the state of zacatecas. it passes near the cities of durango and sombrerete, this side of cerro gordo. in this valley, which runs in a northerly and southerly direction, we found some tepehuanes from the pueblo of san francisco. the indians here were defiant and disagreeable, and would not even give us any information about the track we were to follow. they had the reputation of stealing mules and killing travellers for the sake of the corn the latter are likely to carry. i therefore put two men on guard and allowed them to fire off a rifle shot as a warning, something they always like to do. the sound reverberated through the still night with enough force to frighten a whole army of robbers. the next morning i sent for the most important tepehuane, told him the object of my visit, and asked him about the track. he gave me what information he could, but he was unable to procure a guide for a longer time than that day. we were then left to ourselves, with the odds against us. twice we lost our way, the first time passing a mitote dancing-place, and coming to a halt before a steep mountain wall, passable only for agile indians. the second time we landed at the edge of a deep barranca, and there was nothing to do but to turn back to a ranch we had passed some time before. luckily we met there a tepehuane and his wife, who assured us that we were at last on the right track. however, we did not advance farther than the confluence of two arroyos, which the man had pointed out to us deep down in the shrubbery. before leaving us he promised to be at our camp in the morning to show us the road to las botijas, a small aggregation of ranches at the summit. in a straight line we had not gone that day more than three miles. when passing one of our guide's ranches--and he had three within sight--i noticed near the track a small jacal about yards off. the man told me that he was a shaman and that here he kept his musical outfit, ceremonial arrows, etc.; though he appeared to be an open-hearted young man, i could not induce him to show me this private chapel of his, and we had to go on. he parted from us on the summit, but described the road so well that we encountered no difficulty during the remaining two days of our journey. i was glad to be once more up on the highlands, the more so that we succeeded in finding there arroyos with water and grass. on reaching the top of the cordon we had been following, we came upon a camino real running between the villages of san francisco and santa teresa, and now we were in the sierra del nayarit. i was rather surprised to find another barranca close by, parallel with the one we had just left. as far as i could make out, this new gorge begins near the pueblo of santa maria ocotan, high up in the sierra; at least my old mexican informed me that the river which waters it rises at that place and passes the cora pueblos of guasamota and jesus maria. we travelled along the western edge of this barranca, within which there are some aztec, but mainly cora villages. there is still another barranca to the east of and parallel to this, and in this the huichols live. what is called sierra del nayarit is in the beginning a rather level and often narrow cordon, and the track south leads near the edge of the barranca de jesus maria for ten or twelve miles. along this ridge hardly any other kind of tree is to be seen than _pinus lumholtzii_. a variety of pine which resembles this very much, but is much larger, and which i think may also be a new species, was observed after leaving pueblo nuevo. the cordon gradually widens, and open, grass-covered places appear among the pines, which now are of the usual kinds, and throughout the sierra del nayarit are high, but never large. a few coras passed us leading mules loaded with panoche, to be exchanged in santa maria ocotan for mescal. the most conspicuous things in the cora's travelling outfit are his rifle and one or two home-made pouches which he slings over his shoulder. there is an air of manliness and independence about these indians, and this first impression is confirmed by the entire history of the tribe. we passed a few ranches on the road, and at last reached the little llano on which santa teresa is situated. it is always disagreeable to approach a strange indian pueblo, where you have to make your camp, knowing how little the people like to see you, and here i was among a tribe who had never heard of me, and who looked upon me with much suspicion as i made my entry. there were many people in town preparing for the easter festival, practising their parts in certain entertainments in vogue at that season. at last i met a man willing to show me where i could find water. he led me outside of the village to some deep and narrow clefts in the red earth, from which a rivulet was issuing. i selected my camping-place near by, at the foot of some low pine-covered hills, and then returned to the pueblo. "amigo!" shouted a man as he came running toward me from his house. it was the alcalde, a tall, slender indian with a slight beard and a very sympathetic voice. i told him that we were entirely out of corn, to which he replied that we could not get any in the pueblo, only on the ranches in the neighbourhood. i asked him if he wanted us to die from starvation, and then another man offered me half a fanega. i inquired of the judge whether he did not want to see my papers. "we do not understand papers," he replied. still it was agreed that the indians should meet me next morning, and that my chief man, the tepehuane, should read my letters from the government, because the preceptor of the village was away in the city of tepic, and no one else was able to read. santa teresa is called in cora quemalúsi, after the principal one of the five mythical men who in ancient times lived in the sierra del nayarit. reports say an idol now hidden was once found here. a few miles east of santa teresa is a deep volcanic lake, the only remnant of the large flood, the coras say. it is called "mother," or "brother," the last name containing a reference to their great god, the morning star, chulavéte. there are no fish in it, but turtles and ducks. the water is believed to cure the sick and strengthen the well, and there is no ceremony, in the cora religion for which this water is not required. it is not necessary to use it pure; it is generally mixed with ordinary spring water, and in this way sprinkled over the people with a red orchid, or a deer-tail stretched over a stick. early next morning a good-looking young indian on horseback rode up to the tent to pay me a visit. he spoke spanish very well. i treated him with consideration and proffered him some biscuits i happened to have. in the course of the conversation he offered to sell me a fowl, if i would send a man to his ranch for it, which of course i was glad to do. as he was taking leave, i expressed my admiration for the handsome native-made halter on his horse. "do you like it?" he asked, and he immediately removed it from the horse and presented it to me. i wanted to pay for it, but he said, "we are friends now," and rode off. the fowl he sent was the biggest he had in his yard, an old rooster, very strong and tough, could there be food less palatable than a lean old rooster of indian breeding? the broth is worse than that made from a billy-goat. i went to the meeting, and all listened silently while my letters from the government were read. anything coming from mexico impresses these people deeply. yet with the suspicion innate in their nature, the indians could not hear the documents read over often enough. we had meeting after meeting, as the arrival in the pueblo of every man of any importance was a signal that my papers would have to be read over again. the alcalde introduced me to the teacher's wife, a mexican, who apparently took her lot very contentedly among "these people whom no one ever knows," as she expressed it. she liked the climate, and the security of life and property. her husband had been working here for four years. the children, of course, have first to learn spanish, and there is no school from june till september. the youngsters seemed bright and well-behaved, but the coras told me that they had not yet learned to read. most of the cora indians are slightly bearded, especially on the chin. in this respect, however, there was no uniformity, some being absolutely beardless, while others looked rather mexican. they all insisted, nevertheless, that there is among them no intermixture with mexicans, or, for that matter, with the tepehuanes, and the cora women have very strong objections to unions with "neighbours." on the other hand, it should be remembered that during the latter half of the last century the tribe was subjected to a great deal of disturbance, incidental to the revolution of manuel lozada, a civilised aztec from the neighbourhood of tepic, who, about the time of the french intervention, established an independent state comprising the present territory of tepic and the cora country. he had great military talent, and it was said that whenever he liked he could gather thousands of soldiers without cost. he was able to maintain his government for a number of years, thanks chiefly to the coras, who were his principal supporters. at one time they had to leave their country, and to live for five years in an inaccessible part of the sierra madre above san buena. among themselves, the coras use their own language, but all the men and most of the women speak and understand spanish to some extent. though the people now dress like the "neighbours," they are still thoroughly indian, and proud of it. there are about , pure-bred among them. they call themselves nayariti or nayari, and in speech, religion, and customs they are akin to the huichol indians, who, however, do not care very much for their relatives, whom they call hashi (crocodiles). yet some intercourse is maintained between the two tribes, the coras bringing to the huichols red face-paint, wax, and the tail-feathers of the bluejay, while the services of the huichol curing shamans are highly appreciated by the coras. an interesting home industry is the weaving of bags or pouches of cotton and wool, in many beautiful designs. the coras are not good runners; they have neither speed nor endurance, and they run heavily. it is astonishing how small the bones of their limbs are, especially among the females, though this, by the way, is the case with all the indians i have visited. a cora woman made for me a shirt as an ethnological specimen, which i thought she must have made too small at the wrist-bands, as they measured about / inches (barely twelve centimetres); but she showed me how well they fitted her. still they always have well-developed hips and better figures than the mexican women. the teeth of the coras are not always perfect; i have seen several individuals whose front teeth were missing. strange to say, in spite of the high elevation, there is fever and ague here; the alcalde told me that he had an attack every second day. as easter was at hand, there was quite a concourse of people, nearly indians assembling. oxen were killed, and general eating and feasting went on. i attended the communal feast, and dishes of food were brought to me. in accordance with the indian custom not to eat much on the spot, i had my men carry some of the food to the camp, as a welcome addition to our monotonous diet and scanty stores; and we found that, aside from the usual indian dishes, they comprised bananas, salted fish, honey, and squashes. the authorities newly elected for the ensuing year gave a similar entertainment to their predecessors in office. at the home of the "centurion," the principal official of the easter festival, a rustic table and benches had been erected outside of the house. i was invited to sit down among the men of quality, and it was phenomenal to be present at an indian banquet served on a table, the only occasion of the kind in my experience. as the table was small, the diners were served in turns, one set after another. each guest had a man to wait on him, but there was neither table-cloth nor knife, fork nor spoon. it was, if you like, a _déjeuner à la fourchette_, except that you were supposed to handle the solid food with pieces of tortilla, that were broken off, folded over, and used as a fork, or rather, spoon, and were eaten with the meat. after the meat had all been fished out, you drank the soup from your bowl or plate. if you could not manage with the tortilla, you were excused for using your fingers. when a bowl or plate was set before an indian guest, the latter took it up and immediately handed it to his wife, standing behind him, who emptied it into the jars she had brought for that purpose. there was meat with its broth; meat ground on the metate, boiled, and mixed with chile; and atole to drink with it, all fresh and excellent. as i was hungry, i pitched in, although at first i was the only one who ate, which was rather embarrassing. but by and by the others, too, began to eat, perhaps out of politeness. they were pleased, however, that i enjoyed their food, and i did enjoy it, after the poorly assorted diet we had been obliged to maintain. although the variety of dishes of primitive man is exceedingly limited, such of them as they have are well prepared. the dinner was the best i ever had among indians. the party was pleasant and animated, and the banquet-hall extended to the pines and mountains around and the azure sky above. during the night there was dancing on the tarima, a broad plank resting on stumps. dancing on the plank is said to be customary throughout the tierra caliente of the northwest. one man and one woman dance simultaneously, facing though not touching each other. the dancing consists in a rhythmical jumping up and down on the same spot, and is known to all the so-called christian indians wherever the violin is played, although nowhere but among the coras have i seen it executed on the plank. it is called _la danza_, and is distinct from the aboriginal sacred dances, although it may have been a native dance somewhere in mexico. _la danza_ is merely a ventilation of merriment, indulged in when the indians are in high spirits after church feasts, and may sometimes be executed even in church. gradually the people submitted to being photographed, even the women. one evening when i changed plates under two wagon-covers in an old empty house, a curious crowd gathered outside and knocked at the door, wanting to know what was going on and to see the secret rites i was performing. after a few days of deliberation the indians consented to show me their dancing-place, or, as they expressed it, their tunamóti (the musical bow). chapter xxviii a glimpse of the pacific from the high sierra--a visionary idyl--the coras do not know fear--an un-indian indian--pueblo of jesus maria--a nice old cora shaman--a padre denounces me as a protestant missionary--trouble ensuing from his mistake--scorpions. after a fortnight's stay i said good-bye to santa teresa. the alcalde, who had become quite friendly, accompanied me over the llano on which his pueblo lies, extending, interspersed with pine forests, for about three miles west. he begged me not to forget the coras when i came to the governor of the territory of tepic, and to ask the mexican government to let them keep their old customs, which he had heard they were going to prohibit. this fear, i think, was unfounded. he also wanted me to use my influence toward preventing the whites from settling in the vicinity, since they were eager to get at the big forests. i had found a friend in a cora called nuberto, a kind-hearted and frank fellow, sixty years old, who became our guide. the trail leads along the western side of the sierra madre, sometimes only a few yards from where the mountains suddenly give way to the deep and low-lying valleys and foot-hills. as we approached the end of the day's journey, a perfectly open view presented itself of the tierra caliente below, as far as the pacific ocean, which by mules is a week's journey distant. the wide expanse before us unfolded a panorama of hills that sank lower and lower toward the west, where the salt lagoons of the coast could be clearly discerned as silver streaks in the reddish-grey mist of the evening. acaponeta was right in line with the setting sun. here, , feet above the level of the sea, everything was calm and mild; not a breath of air was stirring. a _prunus_ was in flower, and oak-trees were growing on the brink of the ridge toward the sea. in every other direction were to be seen the immense silent pine forests that shelter the coras, but no trace of human life. everything seemed undisturbed, peaceful, quieting, nerve-resting. would it not be delightful to settle down here! life would be so easy! the indians would help me to make a hut. i would marry one of those beautiful cora girls, who would be sure to have a cow or two to supply me the civilised drink of milk. none of the strife and turmoil of the outer world could penetrate into my retreat. one day would pass as peacefully as its predecessor; never would she disturb the tranquillity of my life, for she is like the lagoon, without ever a ripple on its surface. once in a while the spirit of the feasts might inspire her to utter an angry word, but she would not mean much by it, and would soon resume her usual placid rôle, moving along in the even tenor of her daily life. what a splendid chance for studying the people, for knowing them thoroughly, and for familiarising myself with all their ancient beliefs and thoughts! perhaps i might solve some of the mysteries that shroud the workings of the human mind. but--i should have to buy my fame at the price of living on tortillas and pinole and beans! "we may live without poetry, music, and art; we may live without conscience and live without heart; we may live without friends, we may live without books, but civilised man cannot live without cooks." concluding that the eminent authority cited was right, i came back to realities and continued my journey. by and by i arrived at a fertile little slope partly covered with corn stubble. at the farther end of it was a large cora ranch called la cienega, and in front of it grew two or three magnificent oak-trees with light-green stems and equally light-coloured leaves. the people here were well disposed and sold me some necessary supplies, so i stopped with them for a day. while descending to the famous pueblo mesa del nayarit, one gets a magnificent view of the high mountains which form the western border of the huichol country and stretch themselves out on the opposite side of the cañon of jesus maria like a towering wall of a hazy blue colour. the pueblo lies on a plain less than a mile in extent in either direction, on the slope of the sierra, with an open view only toward the east. there is an idol of the setting sun standing on the mesa above the village, "looking toward mexico," as the indians express it. this mesa is the one called tonati by the chroniclers, while by the coras it is called nayariti, and the whole sierra derived its name from it. the same name is given to a cave in that locality, where the coras, as well as the huichols, deposit ceremonial objects and other offerings. the setting-sun god is worshipped equally by the two tribes. the indians jealously guard this cave, which is never shown to outsiders. this is practically the terminus of the sierra del nayarit. the sierra from now on is lower and gradually falls down to rio de alica, or rio grande de santiago, where sierra madre del norte ends. the people here, though friendly, were less sympathetic and much more reserved than those of santa teresa, and i could find no one who would divulge tribal secrets. they had received a message from their sister pueblo telling them they had nothing to fear from me, but the coras are not easily scared, anyhow. a stranger may enter a house without any further ceremony than the customary salutation, "axú!" one day when i approached a dwelling, a nice-looking little girl, scarcely three years of age, came running out with a big knife in her little fist, her mother following after her to catch her. the small children curiously approach you, rather than run away. my two dogs intruded into a house and met in the doorway a little girl, about four years old, who was just coming out. the family dog was inside and began at once to bark at the new-comers, ready to fight, but the little one continued her walk without in the least changing the quiet expression of her face. although the coras here maintain their traditions and customs more completely than in other places, i did not see any of the adults wearing the national dress, buckskin trousers and a very short tunic reaching only below the breast and made of home-woven woollen material dyed with native indigo-blue. only one of the boys was seen with this costume, and his father was said to have it also. yet the coras do not want to be confounded with the "neighbours." when the principal men submitted to be photographed, i wanted a picture to show their physique, and therefore asked them to take off their shirts, which they refused to do. but when i remarked, "you will then look like neighbours," the shirts came off like a flash. the gobernador here was an original and peculiar character. first he wanted me to camp in la comunidad, to which i objected; but he was bent upon having me as closely under his supervision as possible, and i had to agree to establish my camp only half the distance that i had intended from the village. as soon as my tent had been put up, he came, accompanied by one of his friends. he had a passion for talking, which he indulged in for two hours, interrupting himself about every twenty seconds to spit. his companion wrapped himself in his blanket and began to nod, and whenever the gobernador stopped for expectoration, the other one would utter an assenting "hay" ("yes"). the cora language is guttural, but quite musical, and when i heard it at a distance it reminded me in its cadence of one of the dialects of central norway. however, the gobernador's monologue soon became very tiresome, and finally i made my bed and lay down. after a while they retired, but every evening as long as i stayed in the place, his honour came to bore me with his talk. i generally took him out to my men, who entertained him as long as they were able to keep awake. he wanted to hear about other countries, about the bears we had met, and the great war, because he thought there must always be war somewhere. when everybody was asleep after midnight, he would retire. he was a widower, and he was the most un-indian indian i ever met. about five miles east of mesa del nayarit the descent toward the pueblo of jesus maria begins. the valley appears broad and hilly, and the vegetation assumes the aspect of the hot country. specially noticeable were the usual thickets of thorny, dry, and scraggy trees, seen even on the edge of the mesa. they are called _guisachi_, and in the vernacular of the common man the word has been utilised to designate a sharper. a man who "hooks on," as, for instance, a tricky lawyer, is called a _guisachero_. it is the counterpart of the "lawyer palm" among the shrubs of tropical australia. jesus maria looks at a distance quite a town, on a little plain above the river-bank. a fine, grand-looking old church, in moorish style, a large churchyard surrounding it, and the usual big buildings connected with the churches of spanish times, make all extraordinary impression among the pithaya-covered hills. the rest of the houses look humble enough. i went a little beyond the pueblo to the junction of arroyo fraile with the river of jesus maria. as a violent wind, caused by the cooling off of the hot air of the barranca, blows every afternoon, i did not put up my tent, but had my men build an open shed. the wind lasts until midnight, and the mornings are delightfully calm and cool. the coras consider this wind beneficial to the growth of the corn, and sacrifice a tamal of ashes, two feet long, to keep it in the valley. the cora of the cañon, and probably of the entire tierra caliente, is of a milder disposition than his brother of the sierra, but he looks after his own advantage as closely as the rest of them. the houses of the village are built of stone with thatched roofs, and, having no means of ventilation, become dreadfully overheated. i frequently noticed people lying on the floor in these hovels, suffering from colds. in the summer there is also prevalent in the valley a disease of the eyes which makes them red and swollen. although the country is malarial, the indians attain to remarkable longevity, and their women are wonderfully well preserved. all indian women age very late in life, a trait many of their white sisters might be pardonably envious of. there are twenty mexicans living here, counting the children; they are poor, and have no house or lands of their own, but live in the convento and rent lands from the indians. the coras, of course, are all nominally christians, and the padre from san juan peyotan attends to their religious needs. i was told that as recently as forty years ago they had to be driven to church with scourges. some families still put their dead away in caves difficult of access, closing up the entrance, without interring the bodies, and they still dance mitote, although more or less secretly. the indians catch crayfish, and other small fish, with a kind of hand-net of cotton thread, which they hold wide open with their elbows while crawling in the water between the stones. where the river is deep they will even dive with the net held in this way. the day after my arrival i was requested to come to. la comunidad, that the people might hear my letters read. this over, i explained that i wanted them to sell me some corn and beans, a blue tunic of native make, and other objects of interest to me, that i also wanted them to furnish me two reliable men to go to the city of tepic for mail and money; that i wished to photograph them and to be shown their burial-caves, and to have a real, good old shaman visit me, and some men to interpret. the messengers were duly appointed, but it took them two days to prepare the tortillas they had to take along as provisions. my desire to see the burial-caves was looked upon with ill-favour. the old shaman, however, was promptly sent for. he soon arrived at the council-house, and without having seen me he told the indian authorities that "it was all right to tell this man about their ancient beliefs, that the government might know everything." when he came to see me he took my hand to kiss, as if i were a padre, and i had a most interesting interview with the truthful, dear old man, who told me much about the cora myths, traditions, and history. i gathered from what he said that he could not be far from a hundred years old, and he had not a grey hair in his head. his faculties were intact, except his hearing, and while i was interviewing him he was making a fish-net. i had him with me one day and a part of the next, but by that time he was a good deal fatigued mentally, and i had to let him go. there was an indian here, canuto, who could read and write, and, as he took a great interest in church affairs, he acted as a kind of padre. i was told that he ascended the pulpit and delivered sermons in cora, and that he aspired even to bless water, but this the padre had forbidden him. he was very suspicious and intolerant and quite an ardent catholic, the first indian i had met who had entirely relinquished his native belief. he actually did not like mitote dancing, and the other indians did not take kindly to him. all the time i was here he worked against me, because the priest of san juan peyotan, as i learned, had denounced me before the people. two traders from that town, who had been visiting santa teresa while i was there, had reported to the padre the presence of a mysterious gringo (american), who had a fine outfit of boxes and pack-mules, and who gave the coras "precious jewellery" to buy their souls, and visited their dances. the padre, without having ever seen me, concluded that i was a travelling protestant missionary, and one day after mass he warned the people against the bad protestant who was on his way to corrupt their hearts and to disturb this valley in which there had always been peace. "do not accept anything from him, not even his money; do not allow him to enter the church, and do not give him anything, not even a glass of water," he said. this padre, so i was told by reliable authority, made the judges at san juan and at san lucas punish men and women for offences that did not come under their jurisdiction. the men were put into prison, while the women had fastened to their ankles a heavy round board, which they had to drag wherever they went for a week or two. it caused them great difficulty in walking, and they could not kneel down at the metate with it. his speeches about me made a deep impression upon the illiterate mexicans in that remote part of the world, who in consequence of it looked upon me with suspicion and shunned me. not knowing anything better, they invented all kinds of wild charges against me: i was surveying the lands for porfirio diaz, who wanted to sell the cora country to the americans; i appealed only to the indians because they were more confiding and could be more easily led astray, my alleged aim being to make freemasons out of them. a freemason is the one thing of which these people have a superstitious dread and horror. even my letters of recommendation were doubted and considered spurious. however, one old man, whose wife i had cured, told me that protestants are also christians, and in his opinion i was even better than a protestant. fortunately, the indians were less impressionable, and as their brethren in the sierra had not reported to them anything bad about me, they could see no harm in a man who did not cheat anyone and took an interest in their ancient customs and beliefs, while the padres had always made short work of their sacred ceremonial things, breaking and burning them. when at last my messengers returned, after an absence of twelve days, i was surprised to note that they were accompanied by two gendarmes. the commandant-general of the territory of tepic had not only been kind enough to cash my check for about $ , but had deemed it wise to send me the money under the protection of an escort, a precaution which i duly appreciated. as the return of the men was the only thing i had been waiting for, i now prepared to move up the river to the near-by pueblo of san francisco, where the population is freer from mexican influence. when my hut was broken up, i found among my effects ten scorpions. the cañon is noted for its multitude of scorpions, and i was told that a piece of land above san juan peyotan had to be abandoned on account of these creatures. the scorpion's sting is the most common complaint hereabout, and children frequently die from it, though not all kinds of scorpions are dangerous. the consensus of opinion is that the small whitish-yellow variety is the one most to be dreaded. the cura of santa magdalena, state of jalisco, assured me that he had known the sting of such scorpions to cause the death of full-grown people within two hours. the scorpions of mexico seem to have an unaccountable preference for certain localities, where they may be found in great numbers. in the city of durango the hotels advertise, as an attraction, that there are no scorpions ill them. for a number of years, according to the municipal records, something like , scorpions have been annually killed, the city paying one centavo for each. some persons earn a dollar a night by this means. yet some forty victims, mostly children, die every year there from scorpion-stings. the cura quoted above thinks that there is a zone of scorpions extending from the mining-place of bramador, near talpa, territory of tepic, as far north as the city of durango, though he could not outline its lateral extent. at santa magdalena the scorpions are not very dangerous. chapter xxix a cordial reception at san francisco--mexicans in the employ of indians --the morning star, the great god of the coras--the beginning of the world--how the rain-clouds were first secured--the rabbit and the deer--aphorisms of a cora shaman--an eventful night--hunting for skulls--my progress impeded by padre's ban--final start for the huichol country--a threatened desertion. at the pueblo of san francisco, prettily situated at the bend of a river, i was made very welcome. the casa real, another name for the building generally designated as la comunidad, had been swept and looked clean and cool, and i accepted the invitation to lodge there. it was furnished with the unheard-of luxury of a bedstead, or rather the framework of one, made of a network of strong strips of hide. as the room was dark, i moved this contrivance out on the veranda, where i also stored my baggage, while my aparejos and saddles were put into the prison next door. two indians were appointed to sleep near by to guard me. when i objected to this i was informed that two fellows from jesus maria had been talking of killing me as the easiest way of carrying out the padre's orders. i felt quite at home among these friendly, well-meaning people, and paid off my men, who returned to their homes. i thought that whenever i decided to start out again, i could get men here to help me to reach the country of the huichols. a shaman who knew more than all others was deputed to give me the information i wanted about the ancient beliefs and traditions of the coras. the people also agreed to let me see their mitote, which at this time of the year is given every wednesday for five consecutive weeks in order to bring about the rainy season. the fourth of this year's series was to be on may d. as to burial-caves, they at first denied that there were any skulls in the neighbourhood, but finally consented to show me some. later on, how-ever, an important shaman objected to this, strongly advising the people not to do so, because the dead helped to make the rain they were praying for, at least they could be induced not to interfere with the clouds. a few coras here were married to "neighbours," and some cora women had taken "neighbours" for husbands. for the first time, and also the last, in all my travels, i had here the gratification of seeing impecunious mexicans from other parts of the country at work in the fields for the coras, who paid them the customary mexican wages of twenty-five centavos a day. the real owners of the land for once maintained their proper position. i saw hikuli cultivated near some of the houses in san francisco. they were in blossom, producing beautiful large, white flowers. the plant is used at the mitotes, but not generally. on both sides of the steep arroyo near san francisco were a great number of ancient walls of loose stones, one above the other, a kind of fortification. in other localities, sometimes in places where one would least expect them, i found a number of circular figures formed by upright stones firmly embedded in the ground, in the same way as those described earlier in this narrative. the pueblo, _mirabile dictu_, had a huichol teacher, whom the authorities considered, and justly so, to be better than the ordinary mexican teacher. he was one of nine boys whom the bishop of zacatecas, in , while on a missionary tour in the huichol country, had picked out to educate for the priesthood. after an adventurous career, which drove him out of his own country, he managed now to maintain himself here. although his word could not be implicitly trusted, he helped me to get on with the coras, and i am under some obligation to him. a prominent feature in the elaborate ceremonies of the tribe, connected with the coming of age of boys and girls, is the drinking of home-made mescal. the lifting of the cochiste, as described among the aztecs, is also practised, at least among the coras of the sierra, and is always performed at full moon. the people begin to marry when they are fifteen years old, and they may live to be a hundred. the arrangement of marriages by the parents of the boy without consulting him is a custom still largely followed. on five occasions, every eighth day, they go to ask for the bride they have selected. if she consents to marry the man, then all is right. one man of my acquaintance did not know his "affinity" when his parents informed him that they had a bride for him. three weeks later they were married, and, as in the fairy-tale, lived happily ever afterward. his parents and grandparents fasted before the wedding. in san francisco i saw men and women who were married, or engaged to be married, bathing together in the river. fasting is also a notable feature in the religion of the coras, and is considered essential for producing rain and good crops. abstinence from drinking water for two days during droughts is sometimes observed. the principal men on such occasions may undertake to do the fasting for the rest of the people. they then shut themselves up in la comunidad, sit down, smoke, and keep their eyes on the ground. the coras of the cañon are not always in summer in accord with father sun, because he is fierce, producing sickness and killing men and animals. chulavete, the morning star, who is the protecting genius of the coras, has constantly to watch the sun lest he should harm the people. in ancient times, when the sun first appeared, the morning star, who is cool and disliked heat, shot him in the middle of the breast, just as he had journeyed nearly half across the sky. the sun fell down on earth, but an old man brought him to life again, so that he could tramp back and make a fresh start. the morning star is the principal great god of the coras. in the small hours of the morning they frequently go to some spring and wash themselves by his light. he is their brother, a young indian with bow and arrow, who intercedes with the other gods to help the people in their troubles. at their dances they first call him to be present, and tell their wants to him, that he may report them to the sun and the moon and the rest of the gods. a pathetic story of the modern adventures of this their great hero-god graphically sets forth the indian's conception of the condition in which he finds himself after the arrival of the white man. chulavete was poor, and the rich people did not like him. but afterward they took to him, because they found that he was a nice man, and they asked him to come and eat with them. he went to their houses dressed like the "neighbours." but once when they invited him he came like an indian boy, almost naked. he stopped outside of the house, and the host came out with a torch of pinewood to see who it was. he did not recognise chulavete, and called out to him: "get away, you indian pig! what are you doing here?" and with his torch he burned stripes down the arms and legs of the shrinking chulavete. next day chulavete received another invitation to eat with the "neighbours." this time he made himself into a big bearded fellow, with the complexion of a man half white, and he put on the clothes in which they knew him. he came on a good horse, had a nice blanket over his shoulder, wore a sombrero and a good sabre. they met him at the door and led him into the house. "here i am at your service, to see what i can do for you," he said to them. "oh, no!" they said. "we invited you because we like you, not because we want anything of you. sit down and eat." he sat down to the table, which was loaded with all the good things rich people eat. he put a roll of bread on his plate, and then began to make stripes with it on his arms and legs. "why do you do that?" they asked him. "we invited you to eat what we eat." chulavete replied: "you do not wish that my heart may eat, but my dress. look here! last night it was i who was outside of your door. the man who came to see me burned me with his pine torch, and said to me, 'you indian pig, what do you want here?' " "was that you?" they asked. "yes, gentlemen, it was i who came then. as you did not give me anything yesterday, i see that you do not want to give the food to me, but to my clothes. therefore, i had better give it to them." he took the chocolate and the coffee and poured it over himself as if it were water, and he broke the bread into pieces and rubbed it all over his dress. the sweetened rice, and boiled hen with rice, sweet atole, minced meat with chile, rice pudding, and beef soup, all this he poured over himself. the rich people were frightened and said that they had not recognised him. "you burned me yesterday because i was an indian," he said. "god put me in the world as an indian. but you do not care for the indians, because they are naked and ugly." he took the rest of the food, and smeared it over his saddle and his horse, and went away. the coras say they originated in the east, and were big people with broad and handsome faces and long hair. they then spoke another language, and there were no "neighbours." according to another tradition, the men came from the east and the women from the west. in the beginning the earth was fiat and full of water, and therefore the corn rotted. the ancient people had to think and work and fast much to get the world in shape. the birds came together to see what they could do to bring about order in the world, so that it would be possible to plant corn. first they asked the red-headed vulture, the principal of all the birds, to set things right, but he said he could not. they sent for all the birds in the world, one after another, to induce them to perform the deed, but none would undertake it. at last came the bat, very old and much wrinkled. his hair and his beard were white with age, and there was plenty of dirt on his face, as he never bathes. he was supporting himself with a stick, because he was so old he could hardly walk. he also said that he was not equal to the task, but at last he agreed to try what he could do. that same night he darted violently through the air, cutting outlets for the waters; but he made the valleys so deep that it was impossible to walk about, and the principal men reproached him for this. "then i will put everything back as it was before," he said. "no, no!" they all said. "what we want is to make the slopes of a lower incline, and to leave some level land, and do not make all the country mountains." this the bat did, and the principal men thanked him for it. thus the world has remained up to this day. no rain was falling, and the five principal men despatched the humming-bird to the place in the east where the rain-clouds are living, to ask them to come over here. the clouds came very fast and killed the humming-bird, and then returned to their home. after a while the humming-bird came to life, and told the principal men that the clouds had gone back. the people then sent out the frog with his five sons. as he proceeded toward the east he left one of his sons on each mountain. he called the clouds to come, and they followed and overtook him on the road. but he hid himself under a stone, and they passed over him. then the fifth son called them on, and when they overtook him he, too, hid himself under a stone. then the fourth son called the clouds and hid, then the third son called, and then the second, and finally the first, who had been placed on a mountain from which the sea can be seen to the west of the sierra. when the storm-clouds went away again, the frogs began to sing merrily, which they do to this day after rain, and they still hide under stones when rain is coming to the cora country. the rabbit in olden times had hoofs like the deer, and the deer had claws. they met on the road and saluted each other as friends. said the deer: "listen, friend, lend me your sandals, to see how they feel. only for a moment." the rabbit, who was afraid the deer would steal them, refused at first, but at last he agreed, and the deer, putting them on, rose and began to dance. "oh, how beautifully it sounds!" he said. he danced five circuits, and began to dance mitote and sing. the rabbit sat looking on, and was in a dejected mood, fearing that the deer might not give him back his sandals. the deer then asked permission to run five big circuits over the mountains. the rabbit said no, but the deer went away, promising to come back directly. he returned four times, but on the fifth round he ran away. the rabbit climbed up on a mountain and saw the deer already far off. he wanted to follow him, but he could not, because his feet were bare. the deer never returned the hoofs to the rabbit, and hoofless the rabbit has remained to this day. i had many interesting interviews with the old shaman whom the authorities had appointed to serve me. he confided to me that for many years he had faithfully fulfilled his office as the principal singing shaman of the community, but that the people had once suddenly accused him of practising sorcery and wanted to punish him. being very intelligent and upright, he was of great assistance to me, and the more eager to do all he could for the grudge he bore his compatriots for accusing him of sorcery. no doubt he was glad of my coming, as it gave him a chance to rehabilitate himself, since, for the first time in three years, he had been engaged to sing at the dance. be this as it may, i obtained much valuable information from him. he could elucidate the trend of indian thought better than any shaman i had hitherto met, and his talk was full of aphorisms and opinions with reference to indian views of life. referring to the many regulations and observances the indians have to comply with in order to insure food, health, and life, he said: "a man has to do a good deal to live. every tortilla we eat is the result of our work. if we do not work, it does not rain." that the "work" consists in fasting, praying, and dancing does not detract from its hardship. other sayings i picked up are as follows: we do not know how many gods there are. the moon is man and woman combined; men see in her a woman, women see a man. it is better to give a wife to your son before he opens his eyes very much; if not, he will not know whom he wants. illness is like a person; it hears. everything is alive; there is nothing dead in the world. the people say the dead are dead; but they are very much alive. my friend went with me in the afternoon to the place where the mitote was to be given. as the preparations of the principal men consume two days, and i was bent on seeing everything, i went to the place the day before the dance was to come off. it was a few miles away in a remote locality, on top of a hill the upper part of which was composed mainly of huge stones, some of them as regular in shape as if they had been chiselled. here and there in the few open spaces some shrubbery grew. an opening in the midst of the great mass of stones had been prepared to serve as a dancing-place. the big stones looked dead enough, but to the indians they are alive. they are what the coras call táquats or ancient people. once upon a time they went to a mitote, just as we were doing now, when the morning star arose before they arrived at their destination, and all were changed into stone, and ever since have appeared like stones. my companion pointed out the various figures of men, women, and children, with their bundles and baskets, girdles, etc., and in the waning light of day it was not difficult to understand how the indians had come to this conception of the fantastic forms standing all around the place. even a mountain may be a taquat, and all the taquats are gods to whom the coras pray and sacrifice food; but it is bad to talk about them. it had often been a puzzle to me why primitive people should make for themselves stone idols to whom they might sacrifice and pray; but what is to us a rock or stone may be to the indian a man or a god of ancient times, now turned into stone. by carving out features, head, body, or limbs, they only bring before their physical eyes what is in their mind's eye. this peculiar kind of pantheism can never be eradicated from the indian's heart unless he is from infancy estranged from his tribal life. in the centre of the dancing-place stood a magnificent tree not yet in leaf, called _chócote_, and there was some shrubbery growing about and around the place, which is very old. only a few yards higher up among the rocks is a similar spot, with traces of still greater antiquity. the indians had promised me that on this occasion one of their shamans would make a god's eye for me, and i was shown the stone on which he would sit while making it. it was near the tree; and back of it, arranged in a circle around the fire, were six similar stones, in place of the stools i had seen in pueblo viejo. the principal men had swept the place in the morning, and since then had been smoking pipes and talking to the gods. there were also present a female principal, an old woman, with her little granddaughter who represented the moon. these too, it seemed, had to attend to certain religious duties which they perform for five years, the child beginning at the innocent age of three. during her term she lives with the old woman, whether she is related to her or not. the old lady has charge of the large sacred bowl of the community, an office vested only in a woman of undoubted chastity. this bowl is called "mother," and is prayed to. it consists of half of a large round gourd, adorned inside and outside with strings of beads of various colours. it is filled with wads of cotton, under which lie carved stone figures of great antiquity. none but the chief religious authority is allowed to lift up the cotton, the symbol of health and life. the bowl rests also on cotton wads. on festive occasions the woman in charge brings the bowl to the dancing-place and deposits it at the middle of the altar. parrot feathers are stood up along the inner edge, and each person as he arrives places a flower on top of the cotton inside of the bowl. this vessel is really the patron saint of the community. it is like a mother of the tribe, and understands, so the indians say, no language but cora. the christian saints understand cora, spanish, and french; but the virgin mary at guadalupe, the native saint of the mexican indians, understands all indian languages. leaving the principales to prepare themselves further for the dance, my friend and i early next morning went to see a sacred cave where the huichols go to worship. it was situated in the same hill, outside of the country of that tribe. there were a great many caves and cavities between the stones over which we made our way, jumping from one to another. near the lower edge of this accumulation of stones i noticed, down in the dark, deep recesses, ceremonial arrows which the pious pilgrims from beyond the eastern border of the cora land had left. soon after passing this point we came to a cave, the approach of which led downward and was rather narrow. with the aid of a pole or a rope it can easily be entered. i found myself at one of the ancient places of worship of the huichol indians, the cave of their goddess of the western clouds. it was not large, but the many singular ceremonial objects, of all shapes and colours, accumulated within it, made a strange impression upon me. there were great numbers of ceremonial arrows, many with diminutive deer-snares attached, to pray for luck in hunting; as well as votive bowls, gods' eyes, and many other articles by which prayers are expressed. in one corner was a heap of deer-heads, brought for the same purpose. as my companion entered, a rat disappeared in the twilight of the cave. i wanted to take some samples of the articles, but he begged me not to do it, as the poor fellows who had sacrificed the things might be cheated out of the benefits they had expected from them. he had, however, no objection to nay taking a small rectangular piece of textile fabric, with beautifully colored figures on it. "this is a back shield," he said, "and the huichols do not do right by those things. they place them in the trails leading out of their country, to prevent the rain from coming to us. lions and other ferocious animals are often represented on them, and they frighten the rain back." on our return to the dancing-place i found the man who had been deputed to make the god's eye lying in a small cave in quite an exhausted condition, having fasted for many days. the ceremonial object had already been made, under incantations. it was very pretty, white and blue, and had a wad of cotton attached to each corner. its efficacy was, however, lost as far as i was concerned, as i had not been sitting beside the man while he made it, praying for what i wanted. this is a necessary condition if the morning star is to be made to understand clearly what the supplicant needs. on the altar, beside the sacred bowl of the community, had been placed food and many ceremonial objects, not omitting the five ears of seed-corn to be used in raising the corn required for the feasts. in the ground immediately in front of the altar were four bunches of the beautiful tail-feathers of the bluejay. opposite to this, on the west side of the place, was another altar, a smaller one, on which had been put some boiled pinole in potsherds, with tortillas and a basket of cherries. this was for the dead, who if dissatisfied might disturb the feast. afterward the pinole is thrown on the ground, while the people eat the rest of the food. the fasting shaman came forth on our arrival and took his position opposite the main altar, talking to the gods for half an hour. the newly made god's eye had been stuck into the ground in front of him. on his left side stood the little girl, and behind her the old woman, her guardian, and a man, who was smoking tobacco. two young men, one at the right, the other at the left, held in their hands sticks with which they woke up people who fell asleep during the night while the dance was going on. the shaman prayed to the morning star, presented to him the ears of corn that were to be used as seed, and asked him to make them useful for planting. the gods know best how to fructify the grains, since all the corn belongs to them. "and as for this man," he added, speaking of me, "you all knew him before he started from his own country. to us he seems to be good, but you alone know his heart. you give him the god's eye he asked for." a little after dark the singer for the occasion began to play a prelude on the musical bow, which the coras always glue to the gourd, uniting the two parts to form one instrument. the gourd was placed over a small excavation in the ground to increase its resonance. the singer invoked the morning star to come with his brothers, the other stars, to bring with them their pipes and plumes, and arrive dancing with the rain-clouds that emanate from their pipes as they smoke. the morning star was also asked to invite the seven principal taquats to come with their plumes and pipes. the coras-dance like the tepehuanes and the aztecs, but with quicker steps, and every time they pass the altar the dancers turn twice sharply toward it. at regular intervals the old woman and the little girl danced, the former smoking a pipe. the little girl had parrot feathers tied to her forehead and a bunch of plumes from the bluejay stood up from the back of her head. in the middle of the night she danced five circuits, carrying a good-sized drinking-gourd containing water from a near-by brook, which originates in the sacred lagoon. the shaman sang well, but the dancing lacked animation, and but few took part in it. when the little girl began to dance with her grandmother, i seated myself on a small ledge not far from the musician. immediately the shaman stopped playing and the dancing ceased. in an almost harsh voice, and greatly excited, he called to me, "come and sit here, sir!" he was evidently very anxious to get me away from the ledge, and offered me a much better seat on one of the stones placed for the principal men. i had inadvertently sat on a taquat! this sacred rock of the dancing-place had a natural hollow, which the indians think is his votive bowl, and into which they put pinole and other food. "never," my friend told me next day, "had anyone sat there before." later in the evening, when there was a pause in the performance, i noticed that all the men, with the singing shaman, gathered in a corner of the dancing-place, seating themselves on the ground. they were discussing what they should do in regard to the skulls i had asked for. one of the principal men told them that a dream last night had advised him not to deny the "señor" anything he asked for, as he had to have a "head" and would not go without one. "you are daft, and he comes here knowing a good deal," the dream had said. they all became alarmed, especially the man who had steadily opposed their complying with my request, and they agreed that it was better to give the white man what he wanted. the gobernador even raised the question whether it would not be best to let me have the skulls early next morning, together with the other things i was to get; or, if not then, at what other time? my shaman friend diplomatically proposed that i should set the time for this. next morning i got the god's eye as well as a splendid specimen of a musical bow with the gourd attached, the playing-sticks, etc., all of which were taken out of a cave near the dancing-place. there was another cave near by, into which the principal men are accustomed to go to ask permission from the sun and moon and all the other taquats to make their feasts. the morning saw the feast concluded in about the usual way. tobacco was smoked over the seed-corn on the altar, and sacred water was sprinkled from a red orchid over everything on the altar, including the sacred bowl and the flowers on top of it, as well as over the heads of all the people present, to insure health and luck. this is done on behalf of the morning star, because he throws blessed water over the whole earth, and on the corn and the fruit the coras eat. the flowers are afterward taken home, even by the children, and put in cracks in the house walls, where they remain until removed by the hand of time. the people of santa teresa and san francisco, at certain rain-making feasts, fashion a large locust (_chicharra_) out of a paste made of ground corn and beans, and place it on the altar. in the morning, after the dancing of the mitote, it is divided among the participants of the feast, each eating his share. this is considered more efficient even than the dancing itself. it is evident that the religious customs of the cañon of jesus maria are on the wane, mainly because the singing shamans are dying out, though curing shamans will remain for centuries yet. as the indians now have to perform their dances secretly, the growing generation has less inclination and little opportunity to learn them, and the tribe's ritual and comprehensive songs will gradually become lost. my shaman friend in san francisco complained to me that the other shamans did not know the words of the songs well enough. tayop (father sun) and the other gods do not understand them, he said, and therefore these shamans cannot accomplish anything with "los señores." it was like sending a badly written letter: "the gentlemen" pass it from one to another, none of them being able to make out its meaning. in the mean time my efforts to obtain anthropological specimens were more laborious than successful, because it was very difficult to get anyone to show me where they could be found. to make things worse, suddenly another man dreamed that i had enough "heads," and so i was not permitted to search for them any more. but i did not intend to content myself with the few i had secured. i had made arrangements with a cora some time before to show me some skulls he knew of, and after much procrastination on his part i at last got him to accompany me. we rode for fifteen miles in the direction of santa teresa. the country was rough and but sparsely inhabited. in fact, i passed three deserted ranches, and near one of them i killed a gila monster that was just making its burrow. there lay an air of antiquity over the whole landscape. about half a league before reaching the caves we sought, i came upon quite an extensive fortification; i also noticed a number of trincheras in one arroyo; and above it on a mesa, running along the edge, we found a wall built of loose stones. the mesa, by feet in extent, was a natural fortress difficult of access, except at one point where a little cordon, like an isthmus, led to it. here, however, i found no vestige of ancient inhabitants. there were two shallow caves close to each other in the remote valley into which the guide had led me. in the larger one, which was eight feet deep and twelve feet broad, nine skulls were found. in the other were only a few bones, and i noticed indications of partitions, in the shape of upright stones, between the skeletons. the bodies must have been partly buried, with the heads protruding, in spaces a foot square. it was nearing dusk and i had to get back to my camp that evening. on the road my mule gave out, and for the last part of the way i had to walk. i refreshed myself with some zapotes, which were just in season. this native fruit of mexico has the flavour of the pear and the strawberry, and is delicious when picked fresh from the tree; but as soon as it falls to the ground it is infested with insects. contrary to expectation, when i was ready to leave the village, i found it exceedingly difficult to get men. as the coras here do not understand the mule business, i had to resort to the mexicans in the valley, who, however, acting under instructions from the padre, would have nothing to do with me. they even shunned those who were seen in my company. one man who used to carry on some trading with the huichols was more daring than the rest. he declared that he would serve the devil himself if he got paid for it, and tried to make up a party for me, but failed. he was ruining his reputation for my sake, he told me; even his compadre (his child's godfather), on account of his association with me, ran away when he saw him coming. the situation finally became so exasperating that i was compelled to write to the bishop in tepic, and lay the case before him. i stated that the padre, without having seen me, had placed me in a bad light before the people, and had then left the country, making it impossible for me to convince him of his error of judgment; that if it were not for the strong recommendations i had from the government and the commanding general of the territory, it would be impossible for me to stay here, except at great personal risk. to await an answer, however, would have involved too great a loss of time. luckily i found three dare-devil fellows, but recently come into the valley for a living, who were willing to go with me. these, together with the man already mentioned and one cora indian, enabled me to make a start. thus i parted from pretty san francisco, and the nice indians there, who had believed in me in spite of the wickedness the mexicans had attributed to me. the coras are the only primitive race i have met who seem to have acquired the good qualities of the white man and none of his bad ones. on an oppressively hot june morning, when i finally got away, the alcalde rode along with me for a couple of miles. we soon began to ascend the slope of the mountains that form the western barrier of the huichol country, which, among the mexicans, is reputed to be accessible only at four points. next morning, while packing the mules, the father of one of my mexicans ran up to us with a message that seemed quite alarming. immediately after i left san francisco yesterday, the mexican authority at jesus maria had come over to tell me that the huichols were on the warpath and determined not to allow me to enter their pueblos. the messenger impressed upon my men the necessity of turning back and implored them not to run any risk by accompanying me. the chief packer came hastily to me with this news, which i at once declared to be false. but the men, nevertheless, stopped packing, and proposed to go back. they declared that the huichols were bad, that they were assassins, that there were many of them, and that they would kill us all. now, what was i to do? to turn back from the tribe the study of which had been from the outset my principal aim was not to be thought of; even to delay the trip would be impossible, as the wet season was fast approaching, in which one cannot travel for months. i tried to reason with them and to ease their minds by pointing out the great experience i had had with indians in general. i also appealed to their manly pride and courage. "have we not five rifles?" i said. "cannot each one of you fight fifty indians?" still they wavered, and it looked as if they were going to desert me, when the cook courageously exclaimed: _"vámos, vámos!"_ ("let us go on!") they again began to pack, and i managed to keep my troupe together. the real danger for me lay in the evil rumours the mexicans had spread, and in. the fact that the whites were afraid of me. the indians do not follow the "neighbours" in their reasoning; they only think that a white man of whom even the mexicans are afraid must certainly be terrible. the reason why i had chosen this route was that a friend of mine in far-away guadalajara had given me a letter of recommendation to an acquaintance of his, a half-caste, who acted as escribano (secretary) to the pueblo of san andres, or, to give its name in full, san andres coamiata. i had been told that this man was temporarily absent, in which case i should be at the mercy of the strange indians. the immediate prospect looked dark enough to make me consider the advisability of the long detour to the town of mezquitic, to get assistance from the government authorities there and to enter the huichol country from the east by way of santa catarina. against this plan, however, my men urged that they could not be back in their country before the wet season set in, to attend to their fields. finally, i decided to risk going to san andres. if don zeferino was not there, i would come back and then try mezquitic. two days later, after a laborious ascent, i sent my chief packer ahead to san andres, which was still about eight miles off. what a mountainous country all around us! the jesuit father ortega was right when he said of the sierra del nayarit: "it is so wild and frightful to behold that its ruggedness, even more than the arrows of its warlike inhabitants, took away the courage of the conquerors, because not only did the ridges and valleys appear inaccessible, but the extended range of towering mountain peaks confused even the eye." my messenger returned after two days, saying that don zeferino was at home and would be at my disposal. in the meantime it had begun to rain; my men were anxious to return home to the valley, and i started for san andres. end of vol. i. notes [ ] i have used once or twice the expression _gentile_ indians, referring to these tarahumares. [ ] several years after my expedition passed through those regions the apaches on more than one occasion attacked outlying mormon ranches and killed several persons. [ ] see page . [ ] with which the fruit is brought down. [ ] the rio fuerte, the only large water-course in the tarahumare country, empties into the pacific ocean. [ ] as related by an old "christian" tarahumare woman in huerachic, on the upper rio fuerte. [ ] a kind of tomato. transcriber's note: in this text words surrounded by an _underscore_ are underlined. * * * * * a burial cave in baja california the palmer collection, by william c. massey and carolyn m. osborne anthropological records vol. , no. university of california publications anthropological records editors (berkeley): j. h. rowe, r. f. millon, d. m. schneider volume , no. , pp. - , plates - , figures in text, maps submitted by editors may , issued may , price, $ . university of california press berkeley and los angeles california cambridge university press london, england manufactured in the united states of america * * * * * preface in an archaeological collection of material from bahía de los angeles in baja california was deposited in the united states national museum by dr. edward palmer. although the material was duly catalogued, together with dr. palmer's notes, it has gone undescribed until the present. dr. robert f. heizer called this collection to the attention of the senior author in . at that time the archaeology of baja california was receiving emphasis at the university of california because of the interest of the associates in tropical biogeography, under the chairmanship of dr. c. o. sauer. the late professor e. w. gifford, then curator of the museum of anthropology at the university of california, arranged with dr. t. dale stewart of the united states national museum for a temporary study loan of the collection. from the beginning, the division of labor between the authors has been primarily in terms of "hard" and "soft" artifacts. massey has handled the analyses of the imperishable artifacts, their ethnographic and archaeological distributions, and the distributions of all artifacts for baja california. mrs. osborne has dealt with the netting, textiles, and cordage, and the distribution of their techniques outside baja california. dr. lila m. o'neale began the analysis of the textiles and netting and directed it until her untimely death. professor e. w. gifford advised on the initial description of the imperishable artifacts. this presentation has been delayed for many reasons, but the intervening years have added much detailed information to the original data, both in the literature of anthropology and in subsequent field work. we are very grateful to friends, past and present, for their help and encouragement. we wish to acknowledge the support of the department of anthropology, university of california, for the photographs of the imperishable materials. thanks are due bob ormsby, a university of washington student, for the drawings of netting. all other drawings and the maps were done by june m. massey. we acknowledge with thanks the assistance of mrs. gene marquez, whose services as a typist were provided by the department of biological sciences of the university of florida. above all we wish to dedicate this small work to the memories of two tireless teachers and workers in anthropology--and in humanity: dr. lila m. o'neale and professor e. w. gifford. w.c.m. c.m.o. contents page preface iii introduction ethnographic background the site the burials artifacts stone bone shell midden potsherds wood cordage and textiles simplest uses of prepared cord haftings matting netting feathered apron or cape human hair cape tump band cotton cloth summary and conclusions bibliography explanation of plates maps . baja california, showing location of bahía de los angeles . linguistic groups of baja california figures . detail of arrow or dart ( ), showing sting-ray spine point and cuplike depression at butt end . tie-twined matting technique . square-knot technique . method of beginning hairnets and carrying nets . detail of lower, fitted edge of hairnet . detail of lower, gathered edge of carrying net . detail showing insertion of feathers in hitches of carrying net [illustration: map . baja california, showing location of bahía de los angeles.] * * * * * a burial cave in baja california the palmer collection, by william c. massey and carolyn m. osborne introduction in december of dr. edward palmer, the naturalist, set sail from the port of guaymas in sonora, crossed the gulf of california, and landed at bahía de los angeles on the peninsula of baja california. then, as now, there was a modest gold-mining operation at the bay. during his brief stay at the mining station, dr. palmer excavated a small natural cave which had been used by the indians who were then extinct in that part of the peninsula. seven partially disturbed skeletons and a variety of associated artifacts were collected and deposited at the united states national museum. the collection also included some potsherds and shells from a midden on the shores of the bay. all of these items were listed and briefly described in the annual report of the united states national museum for the year (pp. - ). aside from the intrinsic value of presenting archaeological material from the little-known area of baja california, the palmer collection has particular importance because of its immediate geographic source. bahía de los angeles lies in that part of baja california most accessible to the mexican mainland (map ). not only is there a relative physical closeness, but the gulf islands form here a series of "stepping stones" from bahía de los angeles across to tiburon island, home of the seri, and thence to the adjacent mainland coast of sonora. the bay lies in the north-central desert region of the peninsula, where the environment is especially difficult because of extreme aridity, scarcity of surface water, and the consequent dearth of plant and animal life. in view of these conditions, it has been suggested that the seri may be descendants of people who, hard-pressed by the environmental poverty of this section of baja california, may have moved across the gulf to tiburon island and sonora (kroeber, , pp. , - ). this hypothesis has appealed to one california archaeologist, although at present there is insufficient evidence from archaeology or ethnography either to support or to deny it (rogers, , p. ). however, the archaeological collection from bahía de los angeles does indicate trade and some contact across the gulf. in this paper emphasis is placed on the evaluation of the palmer collection with respect to the known archaeology and ethnography of baja california. ethnographic background the indians who inhabited the area surrounding bahía de los angeles spoke the borjeño language of the peninsular yuman group, of the yuman family of languages (map ). they were linguistically and historically related to other yuman-speaking groups of the peninsula and areas to the north (massey, , p. ). at the time of european contact these people--like all other aboriginal groups on the peninsula--were hunters, fishers, and gatherers. the nearest agricultural tribes were on the lower colorado river. culturally, the borjeño were like other peninsular yumans of relatively late prehistoric and historic periods in central baja california. however, they lived in more widely scattered groups because of the greater scarcity of water in this part of the peninsula. immediately to the north of them at bahía de san luis gonzaga--at approximately the th parallel--a decided break with the peninsular yuman tradition occurred. in , during a voyage up the gulf coast from loreto to the mouth of the colorado river, father fernando consag noted that ( ) the spanish and their "cochimí" interpreters could not converse with the natives; ( ) the natives had dogs; and ( ) the indians had pottery vessels (venegas, , iii: - ). the hungarian jesuit was the first to note the southeastern linguistic boundary of the california yuman groups, a boundary which lay immediately north of bahía de los angeles. at the same time he placed the southernmost extent of dogs and the making or use of pottery on the peninsula in the th century. in describing the collection from bahía de los angeles, we have the benefit of ethnographic descriptions from three periods of the spanish occupation of baja california prior to and the expulsion of the jesuit missionaries. some historical data derive from the initial voyages of the spanish along the gulf coast in the th century. later there were occasional contacts with these natives by jesuit explorers during the first half of the th century. finally, there was the period of active missionization, beginning with the foundation of santa gertrudis ( ) and continuing with san borja ( ) and santa maría ( ). [illustration: map . linguistic groups of baja california.] toward the end of the th century there are applicable descriptions of indians immediately to the north by the dominican priest, father luis sales ( ). the ethnographic information contained in the documents bears out the fact that the cave artifacts belong in the cultural tradition of the borjeño who inhabited the region at the time of european contact and conquest. the site bahía de los angeles is a semicircular bay, about four miles in diameter, on the gulf coast of baja california at ° ' n. and ° ' w. (map ). on the northwest it is open to the waters of the gulf of california and to the canal de las ballenas, which runs between the peninsula and isla Ángel de la guarda, some twelve miles distant. (this island and the smaller isla smith obstruct a view of the outer gulf, and from the shore bahía de los angeles appears to be completely landlocked.) within a few hundred feet of the shore, sandy beaches give way to the talus slopes of the mesas and peaks which edge the bay. an arroyo enters the bay from the west. the cave excavated by dr. palmer is situated on a granitic hill to the west of the bay, at an elevation of ft. above sea level. just below the mouth of the narrow fissure is a spring which supplies water to the little mining community. the cave itself measures ft. in depth; it is ft. wide and ft. high at the mouth. before dr. palmer's excavations, miners of the gulf gold mining company had removed some stones--referred to in the report as a "wall"--from the front of the fissure, thus exposing a few bones, which lay sun-bleached on the talus slope (annual report, , p. ). the burials the small cave at bahía de los angeles contained at least seven burials: six adults and "fragments of one or more infants" (annual report, , p. ). these burials were extended with an east-west orientation corresponding to the axis of the fissure; the foot bones were to the west, at the mouth of the cave, and the crania were in the tapered interior. the published report does not indicate whether placement was prone or supine. according to the report the burials had been placed on a layer of sewn rush matting ( [ ]; see "matting"), of which three bundles were collected. [ ] numbers throughout this paper refer to catalogue numbers of the united states national museum unless otherwise specified. the artifacts described here were found in direct association with the skeletons. there are few details as to actual associations. however, three hairnets ( ) were found on three of the crania. to date, the use of small caves for the specific purpose of burial appears to be characteristic only of the extreme south of baja california, in the cape region. interments there were customarily secondary, although primary burials, usually flexed, do occur (massey, ms ). in the extensive area that lies between bahía de los angeles and the cape region, excavations have failed to produce cave cemeteries. to judge from published reports, such a custom was rare elsewhere in western north america. a variety of artifacts accompanied the burials, but while the range of types is large, the number of any one type is small. preservation of all specimens is generally good. we are fortunate in having perishable pieces--netting, matting, cloth, and wood. certain general categories of items, such as household utensils and remains of foodstuffs, are absent and unreported. artifacts stone _tubular stone pipes._--two tubular sandstone pipes were recovered from the cave. they are dissimilar in size, and, in some particulars, in manufacture. the larger specimen ( ; pl. , _e_) is a ground sandstone tube, . cm. long. in shape it tapers very gradually from the broad bowl end to the narrower mouth end. the conical bowl is . cm. deep; the mouth end has a depth of . cm. a small ( mm.) drilled hole connects the two ends. the mouth end is filled by a plug of partially carbonized matted coarse fibers. there is a narrow carbonized strip, slightly in from the bowl end, which runs around the pipe; this appears to be the remnant of a cord that had been tied around it. since the pipe had been broken at that end, it may have been repaired aboriginally with such a cord. the smaller pipe ( ; pl. , _d_) barely tapers from the bowl end to the mouth end. the ends of this pipe are conically drilled and they interconnect; there is no drilled hole connecting the bowl with the mouth end, as in the larger specimen. a partially carbonized plug of matted coarse fibers also fills the mouth end of the smaller pipe. although simple tubular stone pipes occur sporadically in the archaeology of the southwest, they are encountered frequently in central and northern baja california. stone tubes or pipes, called _chacuacos_, are often mentioned in spanish sources as part of the shaman's paraphernalia in this yuman-speaking area of the peninsula (venegas, , i: , ; clavigero, , p. ). in the known areas of archaeological occurrence these pipes appear in two distinct sizes, even as they are represented in the two bahía de los angeles specimens. there is the long type, measuring more than cm., of which several specimens have been found in baja california, at bahía de los angeles, at a site near the rosario mission in the northwest, and throughout the central part of the peninsula (massey, field notes). this type has also been noted from ortiz, sonora (di peso, , p. ), and in a late prehistoric or historic level at ventana cave (haury, , p. ). the shorter type, usually about cm. in length, is known to occur in the general central region around mulegé (massey, ms ) and at bahía de los angeles. in the southwest, the smaller type has been reported from chiricahua-amargosa ii levels at ventana cave (haury, , p. ); la candelaria cave, coahuila (aveleyra _et_ _al._, , pp. - ); san cayetano ruin (di peso, , pp. - ); and from a series of sites, particularly in the mogollon area (martin _et_ _al._, , pp. - , fig. ). similar pipes have also been found in the western great basin at lovelock cave (loud and harrington, , pl. ) on the old shoreline of humboldt lake (ibid., pl. ), and at humboldt cave (heizer and krieger, , p. ; pl. , _e_, _f_). ethnographically, pipes of straight tubular shape are characteristic of california, the great basin, and the west coast of mexico; however, they are usually of pottery where pottery-making was known (driver and massey, , pp. - , map ). in these areas they were used for smoking, frequently in association with religious or curing ceremonies. in mission times tubular stone pipes were used throughout northern and central baja california by shamans; they were smoked and the smoke was blown on injured or diseased parts, or they were used as sucking and blowing tubes for the removal of disease-causing objects. _miscellaneous stone artifacts._--there are few stone artifacts besides the pipes. among these is a worked piece of pumice ( ), cm. by cm., which has a bowl-like concavity ground through from one side to the other (pl. , _c_). there are two fragments of gypsum which have been roughly chipped along one or more edges ( , pl. , _f_; ). bone _bone awls or "daggers."_--two bone awls or "daggers" of identical type are included in the collection ( , a and b; pl. , _a_, _b_). both specimens are made of the sawed and ground metapodials of some large mammal, presumably deer. the shorter of the two ( a) retains vestiges of a black adhesive for half the length of its convex surface. this is probably the result of hafting. nothing precisely comparable to these specimens has been reported so far in the archaeology of the peninsula; however, similar artifacts do occur in near-by regions. they have been reported from southern california (gifford, , p. ), from basketmaker sites in arizona (kidder and guernsey, , p. ), and from ventana cave, where they are concentrated in level (haury, , fig. j, p. , table ). other bone artifacts comprise two parts to flakers ( , ), for which see "wooden artifacts." shell a number of shell ornaments and a piece of coral were recovered from the cave. at the same time unworked specimens were found and collected both from the cave and from the midden which occupies the bay shore just east of the cave. _abalone ornaments._--three abalone shell ornaments ( - ), identified as _haliotis splendens_, were found. two are complete, one ( ) is fragmental. they all appear to be examples of a single type. they are oval to circular, with the following dimensions: (pl. , _c_) is . cm. in diameter; (pl. , _a_) is . by . cm.; and (pl. , _b_) appears to have been . cm. in diameter. thickness varies between and mm. in manufacture the original external surface of the shell has been ground and polished to a nacreous surface. in decoration of the two complete specimens there is a central conically drilled hole from which short incisions radiate, and an additional hole is drilled on one edge, probably for stringing. the fragmental specimen ( ) has these holes, but in addition has three other holes drilled near the original central hole. the original description of the artifacts suggests that these holes may have been intended as repairs (annual report, , p. ). all three shell specimens are edge-incised, and two have punctate designs. until the present, few shell ornaments have been noted in the archaeology of baja california. no specimens identical to those from bahía de los angeles are known; however, all of the decorative elements and techniques recorded here can be duplicated among specimens of oyster (_pinctada mazatlanica_) shell ornaments from the cape region far to the south (massey, ms ). since abalone do not occur in the gulf of california, these shells must have been obtained by the bahía de los angeles people from the pacific coast, either directly or in trade. specific mention of the use of abalone among the historic indians of the peninsula is rare in the documents; however, contemporary kiliwa women use pieces of the shell for ornamentation (meigs, , p. ). abalone shell was commonly used by peoples of adjacent california. both the shell and, probably, the ornaments themselves were widely traded into the southwest. ornaments very similar to the bahía de los angeles specimens have been found in basketmaker caves in arizona (guernsey and kidder, , p. ). _olivella shell._--four broken strings of _olivella_ shell beads (_o_. _biplicata_) ( ) were found with the burials. two types are represented. there are three short strands, totaling beads, in which only the spires have been ground from the shells for stringing (pl. , _e_). the fourth strand held _olivella_ shells, somewhat larger than the others, from which both the spires and bases had been ground (pl. , _d_). in addition to the strings of beads, _olivella_ shell is recorded in use with two other specimens in the collection. fragments of shells are found as inlay on a wooden artifact ( ); for a description see the section on "wooden artifacts." they are also found tied in with bundles of human hair in a garment ( ). the use of _olivella_ shells, with spires, bases, or both removed by grinding in order to make beads, is known throughout baja california archaeologically. similar occurrences are even more frequent in the archaeology of southern and central california (gifford, , p. ). _olivella_ shells inlaid in asphaltum have been found in southern california (ibid., p. ). the inlaid fragments of the shell from bahía de los angeles duplicate this type of decoration. _coral._--there is a piece of coral ( ) which may have been purposefully smoothed into an elongate object, . cm. in length. _unworked shell._--dr. palmer collected sample specimens of unworked shell from the open midden on the bay to the east of the burial site, as well as unworked shell in association with the burials in the cave (annual report, , p. ). these are listed below: cave specimens -_cardium_ _elatum_ sby. -_pecten_ (_vola_) _dentata_ sby. midden specimens -_cardium_ _pentunculus_ -(_aximea_) _gigantea_ -_strombus_ _gracilior_ sby. -_strombus_ _tesselatum_ -_callista_ _chionaea_ -_chione_ _fluctifraga_ -_crucibulum_ _spinosum_ sby. -_chione_ (?) _succinata_ -_neverita_ _reclugiana_ -_dosinia_ _ponderosa_ -_arca_ sp. -_pecten_ (_vola_) _dentata_ -_venus_ _guidia_ -_cardita_ (_lazaria_) _californica_ -_avicula_ sp. -_tapes_ _grata_ sby. and _histrionica_ -_solecurtus_ _californianus_ com. -_spondylus_ _princeps_ -_ostraea_ _palmilla_ cpr. -_liacardium_ _elatium_ -_phyllontus_ sp. -_prinna_ sp. midden potsherds in addition to the unworked shells there are body and rim sherds from at least two pottery vessels which came from a shell midden on the bay. there is a single rim sherd ( a) which comes from a shallow bowl with a direct flat-topped rim. color of both the interior and exterior surfaces is buff. the paste is fairly coarse, with a granitic sand temper which has also some pumice inclusions. there is also evidence of vegetable-fiber inclusions. there is no mica in the paste. the fragment is mm. thick. the second fragment ( b) is a large rim and body sherd from a large bowl which would have been cm. in diameter and cm. high. the rim is direct, with a grooved lip (pl. , _a_, _b_). the surface color is black to dark gray. the paste is coarse, with sand and quartz inclusions, some of which are as large as mm. in diameter. no mica is present. the surface is scarred by burned-away vegetable inclusions. the specimen is about mm. thick. this pottery could have been native-made pottery from the mission period, or it could have been derived from pottery-making indians to the north. neither source has been adequately studied on the peninsula. comparable pieces have been seen, however, from mission ruins in central and northern baja california. wood _flakers._--two compound flakers, made by securing pieces of ground bone to short wooden shafts, were found in the collection. in one specimen ( ) the entire flaker measures cm., and the projecting bone . cm. (pl. , _b_). the other specimen ( ) is . cm. long, with a bone piece . cm. long (pl. , _c_). in both specimens the ground pieces of bone were laid in grooves in the round wooden shafts, and secured to them with -ply z-twist cordage (see "haftings" for details). both of the wood shafts are incised with lines encircling the handle area. these lines may have been decorative, or they may have been intended to supply friction to the grasp. flakers of bone have been reported for the northern part of baja california (sales, , i: ) and must have been known to all peoples on the peninsula despite the absence of direct evidence in the archaeology and most of the historical sources. they were known throughout adjacent regions, although usually in the form of simple antler tines. specimens identical to those from bahía de los angeles, except for the use of sinew lashing in place of the cordage, have been reported from basketmaker caves in arizona (guernsey and kidder, , p. ; fig. c). _cane whistles._--two cane, or _carrizo_, whistles were found in the cave. they are identical in form and mode of construction, but they differ in decorative details. in both the whistle hole is cut into the cane at a node, and is reinforced with a black adhesive, possibly asphaltum. around the whistle hole of the longer of the two specimens ( a; pl. , _h_) are five pits which have been burned in; two are at one end of the hole, three at the other. as added decoration a series of incisions encircles the shaft of the whistle, some of which, at the mouth end, are joined by pairs of cut lines. all of these incisions are blackened, either by carbon or through handling. the shorter whistle ( b; pl. , _g_) has no burned pits at the hole, but the encircling incisions, minus the connecting lines, are present. at the end of the whistle opposite the mouth is the remnant of a hole in which there is a fragment of knotted cordage. no other whistles have been recorded for the archaeology of the peninsula. spanish documentary sources are unrefined in the differentiation of flutes and whistles; either or both were known to the historic tribes of baja california. use was restricted to ceremonial occasions in all recorded instances. directly to the north of bahía de los angeles, in the th century, shamans used whistles in ceremonies performed several days after a death (sales, , i: ), just as the modern kiliwa use a reed flute at the _ñiwey_ ceremony (meigs, , p. ). in neighboring southern california, the use of flutes was nearly universal, while whistles were used infrequently (drucker, , p. ). _bull-roarer_ (?).--one highly polished wooden artifact ( ) may have been used as a bull-roarer. this artifact, with a length of . cm., a diameter of . cm., and a thickness of mm. (pl. , _i_), is made of a very hard dark wood--probably ironwood, _olneva_ _tesota_. it is concave on both faces. at each end, and at a right angle to the main axis of the specimen, is a groove filled with a hardened black substance inlaid with fragments of _olivella_ shell (_o_. _biplicata_). the hole at one end is biconically drilled. this artifact has been tentatively called a "bull-roarer" because no other purpose can be conjectured. it is too large for a net-gauge, which it somewhat resembles because of its concave ends. there is no mention of bull-roarers in the spanish sources for the peninsula; however, one archaeological specimen has been recovered from the surface of a cave in the san julio basin, to the east of comondú. this wooden bull-roarer has a conventional shape; it is a long oval-shaped piece of hardwood which is double-convex or lenticular in cross section and has a length of . cm.[ ] [ ] this specimen ( - ) is in the university of california robert h. lowie museum of anthropology, berkeley. location is from field notes, massey, . the use of bull-roarers for ceremonial purposes was nearly universal in southern california (drucker, , p. ). they have also been reported for the kiliwa of northern baja california, where they were used by shamans in the _ñiwey_ ceremony, and for placating ghosts by anyone in an emergency (meigs, , p. ). _projectiles._--a single compound arrow ( ) or dart is in the palmer collection. although it is broken, there can be no doubt that the two pieces of cane shaft form a single piece, . cm. in length (pl. , _a_). there is no foreshaft. the sting-ray spine, which makes an excellent natural projectile point, was let directly into the split end of the cane, and was secured by cord binding (see "haftings"). instead of the usual nock in the butt end of the shaft for a bowstring, there is a cuplike depression (fig. ). this suggests, of course, that this may have been a dart for use with a thrower or atlatl. although that weapon is unreported in the spanish sources on central and northern baja california, dart-throwers were reported by spanish explorers for the first quarter of the th century for the southern cape region; they are also known archaeologically from the same area (massey, , pp. - ). [illustration: fig. . detail of arrow or dart ( ), showing sting-ray spine point and cuplike depression at butt end.] one smoothed wooden specimen ( ) appears to have been a foreshaft. it is sharply pointed at one end, and has a cuplike depression in the opposite, thicker end. it is straight and tapered, with a length of cm. (pl. , _f_). similar specimens are common in historic levels of caves in the sierra de la giganta (massey and tuohy, ms). _viznaga spines._--a bundle of seven spines of the _viznaga_ cactus (_echinocactus_ _wislizeni_) was found ( ; pl. , _a_). these spines had all been straightened from their natural curved condition. they could have served a variety of piercing purposes. _miscellaneous wooden artifacts._--in addition to the artifacts of vegetable origin that can be identified with certainty, there are several fragments and whole specimens which remain to be considered. there is a round straight piece of wood ( ), measuring . cm. in length and mm. in diameter, which has both ends blunted and rounded, apparently from use in grinding and pounding (pl. , _e_). its exact use is unknown. two sticks, lashed together in two places, were found ( a). together they measure cm. in length (pl. , _c_). the longer pointed stick has a notched end as for an arrow butt (see "haftings" for details of the tying). there is also a round, sharply pointed, and tapered fragment of hardwood with a length of . cm. the shape suggests that it may have been part of a digging stick; however, the specimen is very highly polished on all of its preserved surfaces. two wooden fragments ( ) are listed in the catalogue of the united states national museum as parts of a bow. actually there is little about their shape to suggest such a use (pl. , _b_). both are round in cross section, and they do not fit together. one piece ( a), which is cm. in length, is slightly curved, with a knob carved on the complete end. there are faint indications that there had previously been wrappings at this end. the other specimen ( b), with a length of . cm. and a diameter of . cm., is fragmental at both ends. it has two places in which the shaft has been carved around. incised diagonal lines mark the surface in several places. cordage and textiles in addition to the cordage used in the fabrication of articles of apparel, household utensils, and for the hafting of tools, the cave contained the usual miscellany of prepared fibers and knots ( ) usually of agave fiber. there is also a bundle of unspun hair tied in the center with an overhand knot ( ). the bulk of the miscellaneous cordage is -ply cord--each single s-twisted with a final z-twist. since the spinning is so uniformly of this twisting, it is highly probable that manufacture of the cordage followed that described by kissell for the papago, and noted in many other places. this method of "down movement" followed by an "up movement" to make the -ply gives a preliminary s-twist and a final z-twist (kissell, , p. ). under the microscope, one of the specimens shows a single fiber, used as a tie at a position where a new bundle of fibers is added, weaving in and out of the old and new bundles. this gives the fibers much stronger binding than does twisting together alone. the twist is normally medium-hard to hard with an occasional crêpe twist. fur-wrapped cord, of which only fragments were recovered, consists of strips of hide with fur attached, about cm. wide, wrapped around (s-twist) already prepared -ply _agave_ fiber cord. no articles were found which had been constructed with fur-wrapped cord. since these fragments are undoubtedly bits broken from finished articles or remnants from the construction of articles, it is not surprising that, with one notable exception, they cover the range of prepared cordage for the other specimens. the exception is cotton cord, of which no fragments were recovered. this strengthens the hypothesis that the cotton cloth ( ) was brought to the peninsula in its manufactured state. both human-hair cord and palm-fiber cordage, common to cave collections from the cape region of southern baja california, are missing here at bahía de los angeles. square knots are most common in the collection of miscellaneous cordage. this is to be expected, in view of the square-knot construction of the hairnets and carrying nets found in the cave. identifiable vegetal fibers include those of _apocynum_ sp. (probably _cannabinum_) and _agave_ sp.[ ] [ ] identifications were made by dr. herbert mason and miss annetta carter, university of california herbarium. on a comparative basis the cordage and miscellaneous knots from bahía de los angeles are most like historic-period materials from central baja california. excavated sites and large private collections there contain an overwhelming amount of cordage that is -ply z-twist; both square and overhand knots were found. again like bahía de los angeles, nets were made by the square-knot technique (massey and tuohy, ms). the southern part of the peninsula, on the contrary, exhibits -ply z-twist cordage only in slightly over per cent of collected specimens. both knots were known, but netting was made entirely by lark's-head knotting (massey, ms ). _simplest uses of prepared cord_ _four-warp weaving._--many samples of -warp weaving were found in the miscellaneous fiber collection ( ) and in a group of woven fragments ( ). none was found in connection with the finished articles of the collection, so that their use is purely conjectural. the warp is generally -ply, z-twist, medium- to hard-twist cordage; the weft is the same, but generally lighter in weight than the warp. _cord-wrapped sticks (bobbins?)._--there are two kinds of sticks wrapped with cordage: single short sticks loosely wrapped around the midsection (bobbins?), and pairs of sticks tied together end-to-end tightly in two places. the cord on these specimens is invariably of the common -ply z-twist agave fiber. one of the pairs of sticks ( a), with a total length of cm., consists of a pointed stick with a nocked butt end lashed tightly to the second stick in two places (pl. , _c_). the stick with the nock appears to be the butt end of a projectile shaft. if it were, it would be unusual for baja california, where projectile shafts are usually of cane. the second specimen ( d) consists of two lengths of cane, . and . cm. long, which are loosely bound with a single-strand fiber (pl. , _f_). four specimens of sticks wrapped with cord were recovered. lengths of these specimens are as follows: a, cm. (pl. , _d_); b, . cm. (pl. , _e_); c, . cm. (pl. , _d_); and , cm. _strings for beads._--shell beads were strung on a very fine -ply cord, probably made of agave fiber; each ply consists of about three fibers, probably of agave also ( ; pl. , _d_). both of these groups are fragments, so use is again problematical. _miscellaneous._--there is a piece of hide wrapped with a -ply cord, probably of agave fibers, loosely z-twisted ( ; pl. , _g_). the first end is secured by wrapping-over; the outer end is drawn under some of the cord and pulled tight. noticeably lacking from the cave materials are sections of reed strung on cord, which formed the aprons of women throughout most of the peninsula. specimens of this type are abundantly reported for all of central and southern baja california, and they have been archaeologically found in the central area (massey, ms ). _haftings_ five different types of hafting were found among the bahía de los angeles artifacts. _flakers (see "wooden artifacts")._--one bone flaker ( ; pl. , _b_) is hafted with eight rounds of cord, of -ply z-twist agave, medium- to hard-twist; each single consists of three to five fibers, z-twisted, loose-to-medium. the original end was secured by wrapping-over; the final end is broken and not secured at the present time. an overhand knot with no function occurs in the wrapping. a second bone flaker ( ; pl. , _c_) is hafted with a -ply agave cord, s-twist, medium, which is wrapped three times around the bone and wood. the end is drawn under the three wrappings and twisted to the original end. _darts or arrows._--a third hafted specimen ( ) consists of what appears to be broken parts of two arrows hafted together for greater length, wrapped in two places. the "rear" haftings, obviously the main tying, consist of a cord wrapped twelve times around the two pieces; the first end caught down by the succeeding wrappings and the final end pulled tight under the entire series and cut off. the same type of cord is used for the secondary "front" tie, where it is wrapped around from the middle and tied with a granny knot. the sting-ray spine point of the cane projectile ( ) was simply inserted into the hollow cane shaft which had been split down to a node. the cord securing the point begins at the node on the shaft where the cord end is caught under three wrappings, carried up the split in the cane, wrapped three times around the end of the cane, and broken (fig. ). it may once have been secured by drawing under the final wrappings, as were most of the bahía de los angeles haftings. the cordage used is mm. in diameter of -ply agave (?) with a medium-to-hard z-twist. each single is s-twisted and very loose. _water bags (?)._--there is a cord wrapping around what may have been the neck of a bladder or skin water bag ( ; pl. , _b_). the piece of skin had been folded together very evenly by accordion-pleating and wrapped for a length of cm. with a -ply loosely twisted z-twist cord, and finally secured with a granny knot. skins of animals and fish bladders were in use as water containers in this area in early historic times, as reported by francisco ulloa in (wagner, , pp. , ). farther south on the peninsula similar water bags were reported in use in the th century (baegert, , p. ; w. rogers, , p. ). _matting_ two pieces of matting of distinct types were preserved in the collection. they probably were saved by dr. palmer as samples of the types in the cave. one of the pieces ( ) is sewed, or threaded, rush matting (pl. , _d_). the lengths of rush (_juncus_ _acutus_ var. _phaerocarpus_), which form the warp are pierced at intervals of about cm. by the sewing thread which is a continuous length of cord, probably of _agave_. this sewing element, which serves as the weft, consists of -ply z-twist cord with a medium-to-hard twist. each single ply is z-twisted in medium degree. total size of this well-preserved fragment is about cm. by cm. the one selvage which has been preserved would indicate that the width of the mat at least was set when the worker began the sewing process. apparently threaded or sewed matting was not widely used in neighboring areas to the north. such matting with a decorative selvage was found by cosgrove in a cave in the upper gila region (cosgrove, , p. ). distributions which he gives are confined to early pueblo period cultures in the southwest.[ ] the trait was specifically denied for humboldt cave (heizer and krieger, , p. ). [ ] he lists tularosa cave (hough, , p. , fig. ) and segi canyon (guernsey, , pl. a). the second fragment of matting ( ) consists of bundles of unspun fibers secured by cord with a simple overhand knot which holds the fiber warp closely together (fig. ). in this tie-twined matting the wefts are spaced at intervals of . cm., and they consist of -ply _agave_ (?) cord with a loose to medium z-twist, with each single strand s-twisted. the warp bundles, identified as grass, are not twisted. [illustration: fig. . tie-twined matting technique.] although none of the spanish accounts lists the use of matting by the natives of baja california, archaeological specimens of both the sewed and tie-twined types have been recovered from caves in the central region of the peninsula from mulegé to comondú (massey and tuohy, ms; massey, ms ). the tie-twined matting also occurs in the extreme south of the peninsula (massey, ms ). mats are recorded as part of the household furnishings of most southern californians. mats of _juncus_ sp. are noted for the mountain and desert diegueño. the yuma do not use mats (drucker, , p. ). the use of tie-twined matting appears to be an old trait in the desert area and its cultures. it is known throughout the peninsula, where old traits were retained, and also in archaeological collections from various parts of the great basin and southwest. a sampling of the literature reveals the following occurrences: lovelock cave (loud and harrington, , pp. - ); humboldt cave (heizer and krieger, , p. ); danger cave (jennings _et_ _al._, , pp. - ); promontory point (steward, , p. ); hueco area (cosgrove, , p. ; see also p. for various other southwestern locations); the guadalupe mountain area (ferdon, , pp. - ); and portions of texas (jackson, , p. ). _netting_ _hairnets._--two complete hairnets ( a and b) and one fragment ( c) were found on crania in the cave (pl. , _a_, _c_). all of these were tied with a single-element square-knot technique (fig. ). cordage is of the -ply z-twist type with each single s-twisted. the cord is probably of agave fiber. [illustration: fig. . square-knot technique.] the two complete hairnets are begun with a center circle of discrete tied yarn. ten large loops are cast onto this. in the next round, each of the large loops has three loops tied onto it with the continuous cord, making a total of loops for the circumference of the net (fig. ). the gauge of the succeeding rows of knots is approximately . cm. in order to gather the lower edge of the net for fitting purposes, the cord was doubled and two loops were gathered together and tied with the same square-knot technique (fig. ). the third net (c) has eleven loops cast onto the original circle; the technique of tying is the same, but the mesh gauge of to . cm. is finer. [illustration: fig. . method of beginning hairnets and carrying nets.] [illustration: fig. . detail of lower, fitted edge of hairnet.] [illustration: fig. . detail of lower, gathered edge of carrying net.] among the historic tribes the wearing of hairnets, both plain and decorated, was universal among the women of baja california. such usage among southern californians was denied by all of drucker's informants (drucker, , p. ). there appears to be no mention of them from the adjacent west coast of mexico, but they are known archaeologically from the great basin. loud and harrington picture several from lovelock cave, but give no description of the knotting technique ( , pl. ). however, in their discussion of knots they mention that the "mesh knot" (weaver's knot) was the most common, and the square knot was little used (ibid., pp. - ). actually the nets, as they appear in loud and harrington's plate, are very similar to the baja california specimens in being knotted rather than being made by the more frequently found coil-without-foundation technique. hairnets were also worn in ancient peru. some hairnets described by singer from pachacamac were constructed with square knots, but most of the specimens she describes were made with the sheet-bend (fisherman's) knot (singer, ). hairnets of the square-knot construction from bahía de los angeles pose, at the present time, an unanswerable question of origin and extrapeninsular distribution. _carrying net._--one fragmentary net ( a), the original size of which cannot be determined, is similar to the hairnets in construction, but probably was used for carrying. the bag is tied with the same element square knot; the mesh size is approximately . cm. both ends of this net, however, are gathered together. the net beginning is a small circular piece of cord. four loops are cast onto this; the number of working loops is increased to in the next course by the method illustrated in figure . the square-knot tying begins with the next course. at the lower end, the meshes are gathered together with a hitch (fig. ). this may have been put through the loops at what would have been the top of the bag to hold it shut. this would serve as a supplementary tying cord rather than being part of the structure of the net. this fragmentary net has one notably unique feature. feathers, presumably decorative, were caught, not in the knots themselves, but between them (fig. ). the knot used is identical to the "marline spike hitch" described by graumont and hensel ( , p. ; fig. ; pl. ). this type of knot--more properly called a hitch--has not been reported elsewhere among the methods of attaching feathers. as can be seen in the reconstruction, the feather serves to hold the hitch, yet if the cord were to be pulled tightly around it, the feather could be removed only with difficulty. it remains puzzling that the carrying net, rather than the hairnets, should be so decorated. [illustration: fig. . detail showing insertion of feathers in hitches of carrying net.] turning to other archaeological examples of nets from the peninsula, we learn that specimens of square-knot netting have been found to the south in the central region from mulegé to comondú. caves to the west of mulegé have yielded two fragments of square-knot netting (massey, ms ). other examples derive from caguama and metate caves between comondú and loreto. in metate cave there was a single complete carrying net (massey and tuohy, ms). elsewhere on the peninsula little is known of them except for the southern cape region, where netting was in the distinct technique of lark's-head knotting (massey, ms ). on the ethnographic level, carrying nets were widely used by indians of western north america from canada to mexico, and again in central america. as part of this general distribution they were used throughout the peninsula (driver and massey, , pp. , , map ). among the lower californians nets were used for carrying suitable gathered products, and also, in the central part of the peninsula at least, for carrying infants. for the latter purpose two portage methods were in vogue: the net was suspended over the shoulders from a tump band across the forehead; or from the end of a pole held by one hand across the shoulder, as a "bindle." _feathered "apron" or "cape"_ even though this piece ( b; pl. , _a_) is extremely fragmentary, it is one of the more interesting of the perishable artifacts. at present it measures about cm. by . cm. many of the tying cords and feathers have disappeared or are incomplete. the original bundles of bast fiber actually were probably little longer than in this fragment. the method of making the article has been reconstructed as follows. the heavy "waist belt" cord is a bundle of unspun fibers and spun cord, . cm. in diameter. the origin of the spun cord is lost in the mass of material; it is probable that the cord itself was held by the wrapping cords from the bark units. the hanging bundles of shredded bark were doubled over this "waist belt" and wrapped with unspun fibers to make a rigid, tightly closed bundle. these fibers hold the feathers, which may once have covered the bundles completely for, on some, the wrapping covers the entire length. the length of these bundles varies from to . cm. these bundles are held in place on the heavy cord by a wrapping cord of -ply z-twisted agave, which frequently appears to cross the bundles and the heavy cord in a haphazard manner; feathers are wrapped onto the heavy cord by this means. although now there is considerable rigidity introduced into the fibers by dirt, the mass of ties always prevented this from being a softly hanging piece. to date no like specimens are known from the archaeology of the peninsula. we know of no similar articles in historic times in baja california, nor to the north in southern california. _human hair "cape"_ the human hair "cape" from the palmer collection ( ; also , ) is fragmentary, but sufficiently intact to provide complete information on the technique of its construction and manufacture (pl. , _b_). the hanks of human hair forming this garment are from . cm. to . cm. long with the majority falling in midrange. the hanks are about mm. in diameter. primarily, each bundle of hanks was held together by a light wrapping of single agave (?) fibers and some such adhesive material as pitch. in addition, these bundles are secondarily secured with fine -ply cord, which is mm. in diameter, with a hard z-twist. this fine cord also serves to tie each bundle to the main cord of suspension. the bundles of hair were held together by the same tie-twining as in the matting (fig. ). there is an overhand knot between each of the bundles. the twining cord itself is -ply, z-twisted in a loose twist. this method served to fasten the bundles to the cord, space them, and to hold them closely. this tying consists of a basic cord and a wrapping cord. a third cord, which formed the wrapping of the individual bundles, is carried to the basic cord, wrapped around it, and in turn is wrapped by the whipping cord. this wrapping is not accomplished neatly; the garment--for all of this cord wrapping--is not a very strongly constructed article. in the palmer collection there are broken hanks of human hair, undoubtedly parts of this specimen, which are catalogued separately ( ). among these is a string of _olivella_ beads strung on -ply cord, and wrapped in with the tying cord of a hair bundle. thus shell beads were probably part of the original garment. other tied hanks of human hair ( ) were undoubtedly parts of the specimen. there is no single item of native culture of baja california so diagnostic or characteristic as mantles of human hair used by shamans. few european chroniclers who had a chance to observe them failed to mention this article. however, none have appeared in any other reported archaeological excavations on the peninsula. as part of the paraphernalia of the shaman, the cape or mask of human hair was indispensable from the guaicura north to the kiliwa and western diegueño. in all recorded cases the hair was obtained from relatives mourning the death of a recently deceased member of the family or from the dead themselves. construction of the garments must have been in the hands of the shamans themselves, so secret were most aspects of the medicine-man's lore. although the cultural and tribal identification of masks or capes of human hair with the shaman is general for the peninsular yumans (cochimí), such capes were found as far south as the guaicura in historic times (baegert, , p. ). both of the major sources for the historic ethnography of the yuman-speaking peoples of central baja california attest to the use of this device by native medicine-men (venegas, , i: - , ; clavigero, , p. ). for the area nearest bahía de los angeles, the best description of the use of these garments is that of the th-century dominican, father luis sales, who speaks of the capes as follows ( , pp. - ): when all are gathered, ornamented with charcoal and yellow, the old man places himself in the center of the circle. under his arm he has a doubled mat of rushes in which he hides the rain cape from the _fiesta_.[ ] on another little stick he has the hair of the dead man suspended. he indicates silence, puts on the rain cape of the hair of the dead, and causes as much horror as when a bear appears. he plays a whistle and tells them that the dead man is coming; but, however much they look, they do not see him coming. nevertheless they believe it. then he shows them the little stick with the hair of the dead man, and tells them that he is there, that they see him--and they see nothing. however they give cries, they pull their hair, and make other ridiculous actions. finally, relieved by crying, the old man comforts them. he puts a thousand questions to the head of hair, and he himself answers them to his liking. [ ] sales, . p. . in this, his first reference to the cape of human hair in use at another ceremony, sales says, "the old man makes something like a rain cape from the hair of the dead." this th-century description of indians to the north of bahía de los angeles, on the frontera, has its exact counterpart in a th-century description of the ñiwey ("talking with the dead") ceremony of the kiliwa (meigs, , pp. - ). _tump band_ the tump band ( ) is made with the twining technique used so frequently in such constructions. fragments of both ends are present, but the intervening central portion is missing so the original length of the specimen is not known. the largest section is cm. long and . cm. wide (pl. , _d_). the original warps were three heavy cords which were loosely z-twisted of two plys of -ply cord; each -ply single is s-twisted. the fiber is probably of some species of agave. the outer two of the three heavy cords form the selvage cords. the center cord was split into its two component yarns, and forms the beginning of the inner warp threads. two-ply cords were introduced rapidly to make a maximum of the present at its greatest width. introduction of the warp elements was accomplished very evenly, producing no distortion of the flat surface. twining was done with the pitch up-to-the-right. the weft was also of -ply agave (?) cord. the one peculiar feature of this twined band is the form of the selvage, which gives the appearance of a sewing running-stitch along the heavy outer cords. it is extremely unlikely that this was a sling or belt. the band seems too rigid to have been used for either of these two purposes, and slings are not recorded historically from baja california. the only similar specimen know in the archaeology of the peninsula is a fragment of a tump band from the upper or historic level of metate cave near comondú.[ ] this fragment is identical with the tump band from bahía de los angeles in weave, selvage, and cordage. even the count is similar: warps and wefts per inch for the bahía de los angeles example, and by for the metate cave specimen. either of these is much coarser than basketmaker bands, like those from segi canyon with their warps and wefts per inch (guernsey, , p. ). [ ] university of california. robert h. lowie museum of anthropology, specimen - . the tump band was used for portage with carrying nets among the historic indians of central baja california (see "carrying nets"). the modern kiliwa of the north supported nets on the back by a band which passed across the forehead. at the forehead this band consisted of "parallel cords" (meigs, , p. ; twined or simple cords are not stipulated). woven packstraps were used by all southern california indians (drucker, , p. ). babies and general burdens were carried in nets supported by the forehead tumpline in the central and northern areas of the peninsula (clavigero, , p. ). _cotton cloth_ since woven cotton (_gossypium_ sp.) was unknown in aboriginal baja california at the time of european contact, its provenience must be beyond the peninsula. presumably this specimen is a piece of pre-columbian trade goods from the mainland of mexico, and so belongs in the cultural inventory of the cotton-weaving cultures of the oasis area. the weave of this fragment ( ) is plain (over-one-under-one) (pl. , _c_). the piece, which measures . cm. long (warp) by cm. (weft), consists of one loomstring end and neither selvage. the warp is white cotton cord, mm. in diameter, in a loosely twisted -ply z-twist. the weft of the same material has a diameter of mm. of single ply, very loosely z-twist cord. this weft is about the equivalent of commercial slub with no tensile strength. the thread count of the cloth is virtually square ( x per cm.), although the greater diameter of the tightly beaten weft makes it the predominant feature of the textile. the warp ends carry a decorative strengthening feature known to southwestern textiles, both ancient and modern. two whipping cords that are like the weft secure the end warp loops. they were structural and were probably inserted while the warp was being set up. one side of the cloth has a whipped edge holding irregularly broken weft ends. this rough mending was accomplished with the usual native -ply cordage. depth of the stitch into the material varies considerably--an indication of expedience rather than ornamentation. since cotton cloth and cotton are absent from the pre-columbian archaeology and the historic ethnography of the peninsula, this specimen must have been obtained through trans-gulf trade with mainland mexico. the seri of tiburon island and sonora were probably the intermediary traders. these indians are well aware of the peninsula opposite them to the west (griffen, ). although the weave of this specimen is the simplest of all weaving techniques, it is lacking among other textile materials of baja california, such as basketry and matting. the precise mainland derivation of this specimen must remain in doubt; all the tribes of sonora--except the seri--wove cotton (driver and massey, , p. ). plain cotton cloth was extremely widely distributed in the prehistoric oasis area, and dates at least from pueblo i times in the american southwest (kent, , p. ). summary and conclusions this small collection of archaeological materials has a marked diversity of types, with little duplication. compared to similar artifacts from habitation caves, the specimens of the palmer collection are complete with the exception of the fragile garments and the netting. there are few household goods of any variety. most of the specimens are ornamental or have a ceremonial significance. a number of artifacts, specifically the tubular stone pipes, human hair cape, cane whistles, and the probable bull-roarer, were associated with shamans among the historic peoples of the peninsula. it is most likely that one of the burials was a shaman, who had been interred with his paraphernalia in this burial cave. most of the material from bahía de los angeles can be duplicated from various sites in the desert area; however, a few have been recorded only in the archaeology or ethnography of baja california. these include the human hair cape and the exclusive square-knot netting. the majority of the artifacts and traits occur in the archaeological collections from baja california and are mentioned in the ethnographic accounts for that region and for the north of the peninsula. only the feathered cape and the specific type of bone awl, or "dagger," are not recorded. this material bears little resemblance to the collections or ethnographic descriptions from the extreme south of the peninsula. there is absolutely nothing in this collection and in the affiliation of its artifacts with cultural materials from central baja california to support the contentions of malcolm rogers ( , p. passim). without a doubt the yumans of the peninsula entered long before the advent of pottery-making in the colorado desert region. neither the palmer collection nor identical materials from historic levels in the central part of the peninsula can be explained as being due to a post- invasion of baja california by peoples representing the last phase of the yuman sequence in southern california. * * * * * bibliography aveleyra-arroyo de anda, l., m. maldonado-koerdell, and p. martínez del río . la cueva de la candelaria. tomo i. mexico. baegert, j. (pedro hendrichs, trans.) . noticias de la península americana de california. mexico. clavigero, f. j. (s. e. lake and a. a. gray, trans., eds.) . the history of lower california. stanford. cosgrove, c. b. . caves of the upper gila and hueco areas in new mexico and texas. pap. peabody mus. amer. archaeol. and ethnol., vol. xxiv, no. , cambridge, mass. di peso, c. c. . the upper pima of san cayetano del tumacacori. the amerind foundation inc., no. . dragoon, arizona. . a tubular stone pipe from sonora. amer. antiquity, xxii( ): - . salt lake city. driver, h. e., and w. c. massey . comparative studies of north american indians. trans. amer. philos. soc., (pt. ): - . philadelphia. drucker, p. . culture element distributions: v, southern california. univ. calif. publ. anthro. rec., ( ): - . berkeley. ferdon, jr., e. n. . an excavation of hermit's cave, new mexico. school of american research. monograph no. . univ. new mexico press. albuquerque. gifford, e. w. . californian bone artifacts. univ. calif. anthro. rec., ( ): - . berkeley. . californian shell artifacts. univ. calif. anthro. rec., ( ): - . berkeley. graumont, r., and j. hensel . encyclopedia of knots and fancy rope work. new york. griffen, w. b. . notes on the seri indian culture, sonora, mexico. latin american monographs series, no. . univ. of florida, gainesville. guernsey, s. j. . explorations in northeastern arizona. pap. peabody mus. amer. archaeol. and ethnol., vol. xxii, no. . cambridge, mass. guernsey, s. j., and a. v. kidder . basket-maker caves of northeastern arizona. pap. peabody mus. amer. archaeol. and ethnol., vol. viii. cambridge, mass. haury, e. . the stratigraphy and archaeology of ventana cave, arizona. universities of arizona and new mexico, albuquerque. heizer, r. f., and a. d. krieger . the archaeology of humboldt cave, churchill county, nevada. univ. calif. publ. amer. arch, and ethn., ( ): - . berkeley and los angeles. hough, w. . culture of the ancient pueblos of the upper gila river region, new mexico and arizona. u.s. nat. mus., bull. . washington, d.c. jackson, a. t. . exploration of certain sites in culbertson county, texas. bull. texas archaeol. and paleontol. soc., : - . abilene. jennings, j. d. . danger cave. mem. soc. amer. archaeol., no. . salt lake city. kent, k. p. . the cultivation and weaving of cotton in the prehistoric southwestern united states. trans. amer. philos. soc., vol. , pt. . philadelphia. kidder, a. v., and s. j. guernsey . archaeological explorations in northeastern arizona. bur. amer. ethnol., bull. . washington. kissell, m. l. . basketry of the pima-papago. amer. mus. nat. hist., anthro. pap., no. , pp. - . new york. kroeber, a. l. . the seri. southwest mus. pap., no. . los angeles. loud, l. l., and m. r. harrington . lovelock cave. univ. calif. publ. amer. arch. and ethn., : - . berkeley. martin, p. s., and j. b. rinaldo, e. bluhm, h. c. cutler, r. granger, jr. . mogollon cultural continuity and change. the stratigraphic analysis of tularosa and cordova caves. fieldiana: anthropology, vol. . chicago mus. nat. hist. chicago. massey, w. c. . brief report on archaeological investigations in baja california. southwestern jour. anthro., ( ): - . albuquerque. . tribes and languages of baja california. southwestern jour. anthro., ( ): - . albuquerque. . the dart-thrower in baja california. davidson jour. anthro., ( ): - . seattle. ms . culture history in the cape region of baja california, ph.d. diss. ( ), univ. calif., berkeley. ms . the castaldí archaeological collection, baja california. massey, w. c., and d. tuohy ms. caves of the sierra de la giganta. meigs iii, p. . the kiliwa indians of lower california. univ. calif. ibero-americana: . berkeley. rogers, malcolm . an outline of yuman prehistory. southwestern jour. anthro., ( ): - . albuquerque. rogers, captain woodes . a cruising voyage around the world ( ). new york. sales, l. . noticias de la provincia de california. vols. valencia. singer, e. w. . the techniques of certain peruvian hairnets. revista del museo nacional, v( ): - . lima, peru. steward, j. h. . ancient caves of the great salt lake region. bur. amer. ethnol., bull. . washington, d.c. united states national museum . annual report, . washington. (cited as annual report, .) venegas, m. . noticia de la california y de su conquista ( ). vols. mexico. wagner, h. r. . california voyages: - . san francisco. * * * * * plates explanation of plates plate _a._ bone awl or "dagger" ( b), . cm. long, . cm. maximum width, _b._ bone awl ( a), . cm. long, . cm. maximum width. _c._ worked pumice piece ( ), cm. x cm. _d._ tubular stone pipe ( ), sandstone, . cm. long, . cm. diameter. _e._ tubular stone pipe ( ), sandstone, . cm. long, . cm. diameter. plate _a._ abalone (_haliotis_ sp.) ornament ( ), . cm. long, . cm. wide. _b._ fragmentary abalone (_haliotis_ sp.) ornament ( ), . cm. present length, . cm. wide. _c._ abalone (_haliotis_ sp.) ornament ( ), . cm. x . cm. _d._ _olivella_ shell beads ( ), same scale as ornaments, with bases and spires ground. _e._ _olivella_ shell beads with only spires ground. _f._ fragment of gypsum ( ). plate _a._ spines of _viznaga_ cactus (_echinocactus_ _wislizeni_) ( ), which have been straightened. _b._ bone flaker ( ), over-all length, cm.; wood, . cm. long; bone, . cm. long. _c._ bone flaker ( ), over-all length, . cm.; wood, . cm. long; bone, . cm. long. _d._ cord-wrapped stick ( c), . cm. long. _e._ cord-wrapped stick ( b), . cm. long. _f._ cord-wrapped cane ( d), . cm. and . cm. long. _g._ cord-wrapped hide ( ). plate _a._ cane arrow or dart with sting-ray spine point ( ), total length of two pieces . cm. _b._ two wooden fragments ( ), round in cross section; lengths cm. and . cm. _c._ two sticks lashed together ( a), total length cm. _d._ cord-wrapped stick ( a), length cm. _e._ wooden piece ( ), length . cm., diameter mm. _f._ tapered wooden piece ( ), length cm. _g._ cane whistle ( b), length . cm., maximum diameter . cm. _h._ cane whistle ( a), length cm., maximum diameter . cm. _i._ bull-roarer (?) ( ), length . cm., diameter . cm., thickness mm. plate _a._ side view of hairnet ( a). _b._ cord wrapping on piece of accordion-pleated skin ( ). _c._ top view of hairnet ( a). _d._ fragment of sewed rush matting ( ), about cm. x cm. plate _a._ feathered "apron" or "cape" ( b), cm. x . cm. _b._ human hair "cape" ( ), hanks of hair about mm. in diameter, lengths varying from . cm. to . cm. _c._ cotton cloth ( ), warp . cm., weft cm. _d._ tump band ( ), largest section cm. long, . cm. wide. plate _a._ rim sherd ( b). _b._ reconstruction of pot, diameter cm., height cm., thickness about mm. [illustration: plate . stone and bone artifacts] [illustration: plate . shell and stone artifacts] [illustration: plate . vegetable and bone artifacts] [illustration: plate . wooden artifacts] [illustration: plate . netting, cordage, and matting] [illustration: plate . feathered apron; human hair cape; cotton cloth; tump band] [illustration: plate . midden potsherd artifacts] images of public domain material from the google print project.) the aztec treasure-house by thomas allibone janvier copyright, , by harper & brothers. _all rights reserved._ to c. a. j. departimiento y ha entre los engaños. catales y ha que son buenos, e tales que malos, e buenos son aquellos que los omnes fazen a buena fe e a buena intencion.--alonzo el sabio, setena partida, titulo xvi., ley ii. [illustration: the dying cacique.] contents. prologue i. fray antonio ii. the cacique's secret iii. the monk's manuscript iv. montezuma's messenger v. the engineer and the lost-freight man vi. the king's symbol vii. the fight in the caÑon viii. after the fight ix. the cave of the dead x. the swinging statue xi. the submerged city xii. in the valley of death xiii. up the chac-mool stair xiv. the hanging chain xv. the temple in the clouds xvi. at the barred pass xvii. of our coming into the vally of aztlan xviii. the striking of a match xix. the seeds of revolt xx. the priest captain's summons xxi. the walled city of culhuacon xxii. the outbreak of revolution xxiii. a rescue xxiv. the affair at the water-gate xxv. the gold-miners of huitzilan xxvi. the gathering for war xxvii. an offer of terms xxviii. the surrender of a life xxix. the assault in the night xxx. the fall of the citadel xxxi. defeat xxxii. el sabio's defiance xxxiii. in the aztec treasure-house xxxiv. a martyrdom xxxv. the treasure-chamber xxxvi. the vengeance of the gods xxxvii. through darkness to light xxxviii. king chaltzantzin's treasure epilogue list of illustrations. the dying cacique the letter from the dead packing in the corral the fight in the caÑon the cave of the dead afloat on the lake el sabio's predicament making the peace-sign the fulfilment of the prophecy the striking of a match checking young's outbreak the leap from above the water-gate the tlahuicos and their guards in the gate-way of the citadel the last rally el sabio's defiance fray antonio's appeal young's struggle with the priest captain in the library before the open fire _who'd hear great marvels told-- come listen now! who longs for hidden gold-- come listen now! who joys in well-fought fights, who yearns for wondrous sights, who pants for strange delights-- come listen now!_ _for here are marvels told to listen to! here tales of hidden gold to listen to! here gallant men wage fights, here pass most wondrous sights, here's that which ear delights to listen to!_ the aztec treasure-house prologue. "god sends nuts to them who have no teeth:" which ancient spanish proverb of contrariety comes strongly to mind as i set myself to this writing. by nature am i a studious, book-loving man, having a strong liking for quiet and orderliness. yet in me also is a strain that urges me, even along ways which are both rough and dangerous, to get beyond book-knowledge, and to examine for myself the abstractions of thought and the concretions of men and things out of the consideration whereof books are made. and i hold that it is because i have thus sought for truth in its original sources, instead of resting content with what passes for truth, being detached fragments of fact which other men have found and have cut and polished to suit themselves, that i have gathered to myself more of it, and in its rude yet perfect native crystals, than has come into the possession of any other modern investigator. in making which strong assertion i am not moved by idle vanity, but by a just and reasonable conception of the intrinsic merit of my own achievement: as will be universally admitted when i publish the great work, now almost ready for the press, upon which, in preparatory study and in convincing discovery, i have been for the past ten years engaged. for i speak well within bounds when i declare that a complete revolution in all existing conceptions of american archæology and ethnology will be wrought when _pre-columbian conditions on the continent of north america_, by professor thomas palgrave, ph.d. (leipsic), is given to the world. upon this work i say that i have been engaged for ten years. rather should i say that i have been engaged upon it for forty years; for its germs were implanted in me when i was a child of but six years old. before my intelligence at all could grasp the meaning of what i read, my imagination was fired by reading in the pages of stephens of the wonders which that eminent explorer discovered in yucatan; and my mind then was made up that i would follow in his footsteps, and in the end go far beyond him, until i should reveal the whole history of the marvellous race whose mighty works he found, but of whose genesis he could only feebly surmise. and this resolve of the child became the dominant purpose of the man. in my college life at harvard, and in my university life at leipsic, my studies were directed chiefly to this end. especially did i devote myself to the acquisition of languages, and to gaining a sound knowledge of the principles of those departments of archæology and ethnology which related to the great work that i had in view. later, during the ten years that i occupied (as i believe usefully and acceptably) the chair of topical linguistics in the university of michigan, all the time that i properly could take from my professorial duties was given exclusively to the study of the languages of the indigenous races of mexico, and to what little was to be found in books concerning their social organization and mode of life, and to the broad subject of mexican antiquities. by correspondence i became acquainted with the most eminent mexican archæologists--the lamented orozco y berra, icazbalceta, chavero, and the philologists pimentel and peñafiel; and i had the honor to know personally the american archæologist bandelier, the surpassing scientific value of whose researches among the primitive peoples of mexico places his work above all praise. and by the study of the writings of these great scholars, and of all writings thereto cognate, my own knowledge steadily grew; until at last i felt myself strong enough to begin the investigations on my own account for which i had sought by all these years of patient preparation fittingly to pave the way. but inasmuch as my life until a short time since has been wholly that of a scholar, and wholly has been passed in quiet ways, i truly have had no teeth at all for the proper cracking of the nuts which have come to me in the course of the surprising adventures that i have now set myself to narrate. for in the course of these adventures (necessarily, yet sorely against my will) i have been thrust by force of circumstances into many imminent and prodigious perils; much time that i gladly would have devoted to peaceful, fruitful study i have been compelled to employ in rude and profitless (except that my life was saved by it) battling with savages; and--what most of all has pained me--many curious and interesting skulls that i gladly would have added entire to my collection of crania, i have been driven in self-defence to ruin irreparably with my own hands. all of which diversities of my likings and my happenings will appear in due order, as i tell in the following pages of the strange and wonderful things which befell me--in company with rayburn and young and fray antonio and the boy pablo--in our search after and finding of the great treasure that was hidden, in a curiously secret place among the mexican mountains more than a thousand years ago, by chaltzantzin, the third of the aztec kings. i. fray antonio. my heart was light within me as i stood on the steamer's deck in the cool gray of an october morning and saw out across the dark green sea and the dusky, brownish stretch of coast country the snow-crowned peak of orizaba glinting in the first rays of the rising sun. and presently, as the sun rose higher, all the tropic region of the coast and the brown walls of vera cruz and of its outpost fort of san juan de ulua were flooded with brilliant light--which sudden and glorious outburst of radiant splendor seemed to me to be charged with a bright promise of my own success. and still lighter was my heart, a week later, when i found myself established in the beautiful city of morelia, and ready to begin actively the work for which i had been preparing myself--at first unconsciously, but for ten years past consciously and carefully--almost all my life long. morelia, i had decided, was the best base for the operations that i was about to undertake. my main purpose was to search for the remnants of primitive civilization among the more isolated of the native indian tribes; and out of the fragments thus found, pieced together with what more i could glean from the early ecclesiastical and civil records, to recreate, so far as this was possible, the fabric that was destroyed by the spanish conquerors. nowhere could my investigations be conducted to better advantage than in the state of michoacan (of which state the city of morelia is the capital) and in the adjacent state of jalisco; for in this region tribes still exist which never have been reduced to more than nominal subjection, and which maintain to a great extent their primitive customs and their primitive faith, though curiously mingling with this latter many christian observances. indeed, the independence of the indians of these parts is so notable that the proverb "free as jalisco" is current throughout mexico. moreover, morelia is a city rich in ancient records. the archives of the franciscan province, that has its centre here extend back to the year ; those of the bishopric of michoacan to the year ; and those of the colegio de san nicolás to the year ; while in the recently founded museo michoacano already has been collected a rich store of archæological material. in a word, there was no place in all mexico where my studies and my investigations could be pursued to such advantage as they could be pursued here. from a fellow-archæologist in the city of mexico i brought a letter of introduction to the director of the museo, the learned dr. nicolás leon; and so cordially was this letter worded, and so cordially was it received, that within the day of my coming into that strange city i found myself in the midst of friends. at once their hearts and their houses were opened to me, and they gave me with a warm enthusiasm the benefit of their knowledge and of their active assistance forwarding the work that i had in hand. in the quiet retirement of the museo i opened to that one of its members to whom the director especially had commended me, don rafael moreno, the purposes which i had in view, and the means by which i hoped to accomplish them. "surely," i said, "among the free indians in the mountains hereabouts much may be found--in customs, in tone of thought, in religion--that has remained unchanged since the time of the conquest." don rafael nodded. "fray antonio has said as much," he observed, thoughtfully. "and as your own distinguished countryman, señor orozco y berra, has pointed out," i continued, "many dark places in primitive history may be made clear, many illusions may be dispelled, and many deeply interesting truths may be gathered by one who will go among these indians, lending himself to their mode of life, and will note accurately what he thus learns from sources wholly original." "fray antonio has professed the same belief," don rafael answered. "but that his love is greater for the saving of heathen souls than for the advancement of antiquarian knowledge, he long ago would have done what you now propose to do. he has done much towards gathering a portion of the information that you seek, even as it is." "and who is this fray antonio, señor?" "he is the man who of all men can give you the wisest help in your present need. we see but little of him here at the museo, though he is one of our most honored members, for his time is devoted so wholly to the godly work to which he has given himself that but little remains to him to use in other ways. he is a monk, vowed to the rule of st. francis. as you know, since the promulgation of the laws of the reform, monks are not permitted in our country to live in communities; but, with only a few exceptions, the conventual churches which have not been secularized still are administered by members of the religious orders to which they formerly belonged. fray antonio has the charge of the church of san francisco--over by the market-place, you know--and virtually is a parish priest. he is a religious enthusiast. in god's service he gives himself no rest. the common people here, since his loving labors are among them while the pestilence of small-pox raged, reverently believe him to be a saint; and those of a higher class, who know what heroic work he did in that dreadful time, and who see how perfectly his life conforms to the principles which he professes, and how like is the spirit of holiness that animates him to that of the sainted men who founded the order to which he belongs, are disposed to hold a like opinion. truly, it is by the especial grace of god that men like fray antonio are permitted at times to dwell upon this sinful earth." don rafael spoke with a depth of feeling and a reverence of tone that gave his strong words still greater strength and deeper meaning. after that moment's pause he resumed: "but that which is of most interest to you, señor, is the knowledge that fray antonio has gained of our native indians during his ministrations among them. it is the dearest wish of his heart to carry to these heathen souls the saving grace of christianity, and for the accomplishment of this good purpose he makes many journeys into the mountains; ministering in the chapels which his zeal has founded in the indian towns, and striving earnestly by his preaching of god's word to bring these far-wandered sheep into the christian fold. very often his life has been in most imminent peril, for the idolatrous priests of the mountain tribes hate him with a most bitter hatred because of the inroads which his mild creed is making upon the cruel creed which they uphold. yet is he careless of the danger to which he exposes himself; and there be those who believe, such is the temerity with which he manifests his zeal, that he rather seeks than shuns a martyr's crown." again don rafael paused, and again was it evident that deep feelings moved him as he spoke of the holy life of this most holy man. "you will thus understand, señor," he went on, "that fray antonio of all men is best fitted by his knowledge of the ways of these mountain indians to advise you touching your going among them and studying them. you cannot do better than confer with him at once. it is but a step to the church of san francisco. let us go." what don rafael had said had opened new horizons to me, and i was stirred by strange feelings as we passed out together from the shady silence of the museo into the bright silence of the streets: for morelia is a quiet city, wherein at all times is gentleness and rest. for priests in general, and for mexican priests in particular, i had entertained always a profound contempt; but now, from an impartial source, i had heard of a mexican priest whose life-springs seemed to be the soul-stirring impulses of the thirteenth century; who was devoted in soul and in body to the service of god and of his fellow-men; in whom, in a word, the seraphic spirit of st. francis of assisi seemed to live again. but by this way coming to such tangible evidence of the survival in the present time of forces which were born into the world six hundred years ago, my thoughts took a natural turn to my own especial interests; and, by perhaps not over-strong analogy, i reasoned that if this monk still lived so closely to the letter and to the spirit of the rule that st. francis, six centuries back, gave to his order, most reasonably might i hope to find still quick something of the life that was in full vigor in mexico only a little more than half that many centuries ago. we turned off from the calle principal by the little old church of la cruz, and passed onward across the market-place, where buying and selling went on languidly, and where a drowsy hum of talk made a rhythmic setting to a scene that seemed to my unaccustomed eyes less a bit of real life than a bit lifted bodily from an opera. facing the market-place was the ancient church; and the change was a pleasant one, from the vivid sunlight and warmth of the streets to its cool, shadowy interior: where the only sign of life was a single old woman, her head muffled in her _rebozo_, praying her way along the stations of the cross. for more than two hundred and fifty years had prayer been made and praise been offered here; and as i thought of the many generations who here had ministered and worshipped--though evil hearts in plenty, no doubt, both within and without the chancel there had been--it seemed to me that some portion of the subtle essence of all the soul-longings for heavenly help and guidance that here had been breathed forth, by men and women truly struggling against the sinful forces at work in the world, had entered into the very fabric of that ancient church, and so had sanctified it. we crossed to the eastern end of the church, where was a low door-way, closed by a heavy wooden door that was studded with rough iron nails and ornamented with rudely finished iron-work; pushing which door open briskly, as one having the assured right of entry there, don rafael courteously stood aside and motioned to me to enter the sacristy. from the shadowy church i passed at a step into a small vaulted room brilliant with the sunlight that poured into it through a broad window that faced the south. just where this flood of sunshine fell upon the flagged floor, rising from a base of stone steps built up in a pyramidal form, was a large cross of some dark wood, on which was the life-size figure of the crucified christ; and there, on the bare stone pavement before this emblem of his faith, his face, on which the sunlight fell full, turned upward towards the holy image, and his arms raised in supplication, clad in his franciscan habit, of which the hood had fallen back, knelt fray antonio; and upon his pale, holy face, that the rich sunlight glorified, was an expression so seraphic, so entranced, that it seemed as though to his fervent gaze the very gates of heaven must be open, and all the splendors and glories and majesties of paradise revealed. it is as i thus first saw fray antonio--verily a saint kneeling before the cross--that i strive to think of him always. yet even when that other and darker, but surely more glorious, picture of him rises before my mind i am not disconsolate; for at such times the thought possesses me--coming to me clearly and vehemently, as though from a strongly impelled force without myself--that what he prayed for at the moment when i beheld him was that which god granted to him in the end. some men being thus broken in upon while in the very act of communing with heaven would have been distressed and ill at ease--as i assuredly was because i had so interrupted him. but to fray antonio, as i truly believe, communion with heaven was so entirely a part of his daily life that our sudden entry in nowise ruffled him. after a moment, that he might recall his thoughts within himself and so to earth again, he arose from his knees, and with a grave, simple grace came forward to greet us. he was not more than eight-and-twenty years old, and he was slightly built and thin--not emaciated, but lean with the wholesome leanness of one who strove to keep his body in the careful order of a machine of which much work was required. his face still had in it the soft roundness and tenderness of youth, that accorded well with its expression of gracious sweetness; but there was a firmness about the fine, strong chin, and in the set of the delicate lips, that showed a reserve of masterful strength. and most of all did this strength shine forth from his eyes; which, truly, though at this first sight of him i did not perceive it fully, were the most wonderful eyes that ever i have seen. as i then beheld them i thought them black; but they really were a dark blue, and so were in keeping with his fair skin and hair. yet that which gave them so strong an individuality was less their changing color than the marvellous way in which their expression changed with every change of feeling of the soul that animated them. when i first saw them, turned up towards heaven, they seemed to speak a heavenly language full of love; and when i saw them last, stern, but shining with the exultant light of joy triumphant, they fairly hurled the wrath of outraged heaven against the conquered powers of hell. and i can give no adequate conception of the love that shone forth from them when pitying sympathy for human sorrow, or even for the pain which brute beasts suffered, touched that most tender heart for which they spoke in tones richer and fuller than the tones of words. don rafael, standing without the door that he had opened in order that i might precede him, did not perceive that we had interrupted fray antonio in his prayers; and began, therefore, in the lively manner natural to him, when i had been in due form presented as an american archæologist come to mexico to pursue my studies of its primitive inhabitants, to commend the undertaking that i had in hand, and to ask of fray antonio the aid in prosecuting it that he so well could give. perhaps it was that fray antonio understood how wholly my heart already had gone out to him--assuredly, later, there was such close sympathy between us that our thoughts would go and come to each other without need for words--and so was disposed in some instinctive way to join his purposes with mine; but, be this as it may, before don rafael well could finish the explanation of my wishes, fray antonio had comprehended what i desired, and had promised to give me his aid. "the señor already has a book-knowledge of our native tongues. that is well. the speaking knowledge will come easily. he shall have the boy pablo for his servant. a good boy is pablo. with him he can talk in the nahua dialect--which is the most important, for it is sprung most directly from the ancient stock. and i will arrange that the señor shall live for a time in the mountains--it will be a hard life, i fear--at santa maría and at san andrés, in which villages he can gain a mouth-mastery of both otomí and tarascan. a little time must be given to all this--some months, no doubt. but the señor, who already has studied through ten years, will understand the needfulness of this short discipline. to a true student study in itself is a delight--still more that study which makes the realization of a long-cherished purpose possible. the señor, i know, reads spanish, since so perfectly he speaks it"--this with a gracious movement of the hands and a courteous inclination of the body that enhanced the value of the compliment--"but does the señor read with ease our ancient spanish script?" "i have never attempted it," i answered. "but as i can read easily the old printed spanish, i suppose," i added, a little airily, "that i shall have no great difficulty in reading the old script also." fray antonio smiled a little as he glanced at don rafael, who smiled also, and as he turned out his hands, answered: "perhaps. but it is not quite the same as print, as the señor will know when he tries. but it makes no difference; for what is most interesting in our archives i shall be glad--and so also will be don rafael--to aid him in reading. "you must know, señor," he went on, dropping his formal mode of address as his interest in the subject augmented, and as his feeling towards me grew warmer, "that many precious documents are here preserved. so early as the year this western region was erected into a custodia, distinct from the province of the santo evangelio of mexico; and from that time onward letters and reports relating to the work done by the missionaries of our order among the heathen have been here received. in truth, i doubt not that many historic treasures are hidden here. in modern times, during the last hundred years or more, but little thought has been given to the care of these old papers--which are so precious to such as don rafael and yourself because of their antiquarian value, and which are still more precious to me because they tell of the sowing among the heathen of the seed of god's own word. it is probable that they have not been at all examined into since our learned brothers pablo de beaumont and alonzo de la rea were busy with the writing of their chronicles of this province--and the labors of these brothers ended more than two hundred and fifty years ago. in the little time that i myself can give to such matters i already have found many manuscripts which cast new and curious light upon the strange people who dwelt here in mexico before the spaniards came. some of these i will send for your examination, for they will prepare you for the work you have in contemplation by giving you useful knowledge of primitive modes of life and tones of faith and phases of thought. and while you are in the mountains, at santa maría and san andrés, i will make further searches in our archives, and what i find you shall see upon your return. "with your permission, señores, i must now go about my work. don rafael knows that i am much too ready to forget my work in talk of ancient matters. it is a weakness with me--this love for the study of antiquity--that i struggle against, but that seems rather to increase upon me than to be overcome. this afternoon, señor, i will send a few of the ancient manuscripts to you. and so--until we meet again." ii. the cacique's secret. fray antonio punctually fulfilled his promise in regard to the manuscripts, and i had but to glance at them in order to understand the smile that he had interchanged with don rafael when i so airily had expressed my confidence in my ability to read them. to say that i more easily could read hebrew is not to the purpose, for i can read hebrew very well; but it is precisely to the purpose to say that i could not read them at all! what with the curious, involved formation of the several letters, the extraordinary abbreviations, the antique spelling, the strange forms of expression, and the use of obsolete words i could not make sense of so much as a single line. yet when, being forced into inglorious surrender, i carried the manuscripts to the museo, and appealed to don rafael for assistance, he read to me in fluent spanish all that i had found so utterly incomprehensible. "it is only a knack," he explained. "a little time and patience are required at first, but then all comes easily." but don rafael did here injustice to his own scholarship. more than a little time and patience have i since given to the study of ancient spanish script, and i am even yet very far from being an expert in the reading of it. in regard to the other promise that fray antonio made me--that he would send me a servant who also would serve as a practical instructor in the nahua, or aztec, dialect--he was equally punctual. while i was taking, in my bedroom, my first breakfast of bread and coffee the morning following my visit to the church of san francisco, i heard a faint sound of music; but whether it was loud music at a distance or very soft music near at hand i could not tell. presently i perceived that the musician was feeling about among the notes for the sabre song from _la grande duchesse_--selections from which semi-obsolete opera, as i then remembered, had been played by the military band on the plaza the evening before. gradually the playing grew more assured; until it ended in an accurate and spirited rendering of the air. with this triumph, the volume of the sound increased greatly; and from its tones i inferred that the instrument was a concertina, and that whoever played it was in the inner court-yard of the hotel. suddenly, in the midst of the music, there sounded--and this sound unmistakably came from the hotel court-yard--the prodigious braying of an ass; and accompanying this came the soft sound of bare feet hurrying away down the passage from near my door. i opened the door and looked out, but the passage was empty. the gallery overlooked the court-yard, and stepping to the edge of the low stone railing, i beheld a sight that i never recall without a feeling of warm tenderness. almost directly beneath me stood a small gray ass, a very delicately shaped and perfect little animal, with a coat of most extraordinary length and fuzziness, and with ears of a truly prodigious size. his head was raised, and his great ears were pricked forward in a fashion which indicated that he was most intently listening; and upon his face was an expression of such benevolent sweetness, joined to such thoughtfulness and meditative wisdom, that in my heart (which is very open to affection for his gentle kind) there sprung up in a moment a real love for him. suddenly he lowered his head, and turned eagerly his regard towards the corner of the court-yard where descended the stair-way from the gallery on which i stood; and from this quarter came towards him a smiling, pleasant-faced indian lad of eighteen or twenty years old, whose dress was a cotton shirt and cotton trousers, whose feet were bare, and on whose head was a battered hat of straw. and as the ass saw the boy, he strained at the cord that tethered him and gave another mighty bray. "dost thou call me, wise one?" said the boy, speaking in spanish. "truly this señor americano is a lazy señor, that he rises so late, and keeps us waiting for his coming so long. but patience, wise one. the padre says that he is a good gentleman, in whose service we shall be treated as though we were kings. no doubt i now can buy my rain-coat. and thou, wise one--thou shalt have beans!" and being by this time come to the ass, the boy enfolded in his arms the creature's fuzzy head and gently stroked its preternaturally long ears. and the ass, for its part, responded to the caress by rubbing its head against the boy's breast and by most energetically twitching its scrag of a tail. thus for a little time these friends manifested for each other their affection; and then the boy seated himself on the pavement beside the ass and drew forth from his pocket a large mouth-organ--on which he went to work with such a will that all the court-yard rang with the strains of offenbach's music. it was plain from what he had said that this was the boy whom fray antonio had promised to send to me; and notwithstanding his uncomplimentary comments upon my laziness, i had taken already a strong liking to him. i waited until he had played through the sabre song again--to which, as it seemed to me, the ass listened with a slightly critical yet pleased attention--and then i hailed him. "the lazy señor americano is awake at last, pablo," i called. "come up hither, and we will talk about the buying of thy rain-coat, and about the buying of the wise one's beans." the boy jumped up as though a spring had been let loose beneath him, and his shame and confusion were so great that i was sorry enough that i had made my little joke upon him. "it is all right, my child," i said, quickly, and with all the kindness that i could put into my tones. "thou wert talking to the wise one, not to me--and i have forgotten all that i heard. thou art come from fray antonio?" "yes, señor," he answered; and as he saw by my smiling that no harm had been done, he also smiled; and so honest and kindly was the lad's face that i liked him more and more. "patience for yet a little longer, wise one," he said, turning to the ass, who gravely wagged his ears in answer. and then the boy came up the stair to the gallery, and so we went to my room that i might have talk with him. it was not much that pablo had to tell about himself. he was a guadalajara lad, born in the indian suburb of mexicalcingo--as his musical taste might have told me had i known more of mexico--who had drifted out into the world to seek his fortune. his capital was the ass--so wise an ass that he had named him el sabio. "he knows each word that i speak to him, señor," said pablo, earnestly. "and when he hears, even a long way off, the music that i make upon the little instrument, he knows that it is from me that the music comes, and calls to me. and he loves me, señor, as though he were my brother; and he knows that with the same tenderness i also love him. it was the good padre who gave him to me. god rest and bless him always!" this pious wish, i inferred, related not to the ass but to fray antonio. "and how dost thou live, pablo?" i asked. "by bringing water from the spring of the holy children, señor. it is two leagues away, the ojo de los santos niños, and el sabio and i make thither two journeys daily. we bring back each time four jars of water, which we sell here in the city--for it is very good, sweet water--at three _tlacos_ the jar. you see, i make a great deal of money, señor--three _reales_ a day! if it were not for one single thing, i should soon be rich." that riches could be acquired rapidly on a basis of about twenty-seven cents, in our currency, a day struck me as a novel notion. but i inquired, gravely: "and this one thing that hinders thee from getting rich, pablo, what is it?" "it is that i eat so much, señor," pablo answered, ruefully. "truly it seems as though this belly of mine never could be filled. i try valiantly to eat little and so to save my money; but my belly cries out for more and yet more food--and so my money goes. although i make so much, i can scarcely save a _medio_ in a whole week, when what el sabio must have and what i must have is paid for. and i am trying so hard to save just now, for before the next rainy season comes i want to own a rain-coat. but for a good one i must pay seven _reales_. the price is vast." "what is a rain-coat, pablo?" "the señor does not know? that is strange. it is a coat woven of palm leaves, so that all over one it is as a thatch that the rain cannot come through. what i was saying just now to el sabio--" pablo stopped suddenly, and turned aside from me in a shamefaced way, as he remembered what he also had said to el sabio about my laziness. "--was that out of the wages i am to pay thee thou canst save enough money to buy thy coat with," i said, quickly, wishing to rid him of his confusion. and then we fell to talking of what these wages should be, and of how he was to help me to gain a speaking knowledge of his native tongue--for so far we had spoken spanish together--and of what in general would be his duties as my servant. that el sabio could be anything but a part of the contract seemed never to cross pablo's mind; and so presently our terms were concluded, and i found myself occupying the responsible relation of master to a mouth-organ playing boy and an extraordinarily wise ass. it was arranged that both of these dependants of mine should accompany me in my expedition to the indian villages; and to clinch our bargain i gave pablo the seven _reales_ wherewith to buy his rain-coat on the spot. i was a little surprised, two days later, when we started from morelia on our journey into the mountains to the westward, to find that pablo had not bought his much-desired garment; though, to be sure, as the rainy season still was a long way off, there was no need for it. he hesitated a little when i questioned him about it, and then, in a very apologetic tone, said: "perhaps the señor will forgive me for doing so ill with his money. but indeed i could not help it. there is an old man, his name is juan, señor, who has been very good to me many times. he has given me things to put into this wretchedly big belly of mine; and when i broke one of my jars he lent me the money to buy another with, and would take from me again only what the jar cost and no more. just now this old man is sick--it is rheumatism, señor--and he has no money at all, and he and his wife have not much to eat, and i know what pain that is. and so--and so--will the señor forgive me? i do not need the rain-coat now, the señor understands. and so i gave juan the seven _reales_, which he will pay me when he gets well and works again; and should he die and not pay me--does the señor know what i have been thinking? it is that rain-coats really are not very needful things, after all. without them one gets wet, it is true; but then one soon gets dry again. but truly"--and there was a sudden catching in pablo's throat that was very like a sob--"truly i did want one." when pablo had told this little story i did not wonder at the esteem in which fray antonio held him, and from that time onward he had a very warm place in my heart. and i may say that but for his too great devotion to his mouth-organ--for that boy never could hear a new tune but that he needs must go at once to practising it upon his beloved "instrumentito" until he had mastered it--he was the best servant that man ever had. and within his gentle nature was a core of very gallant fearlessness. in the times of danger which we shared together later, excepting only rayburn, not one of us stood face to face and foot to foot with death with a steadier or a calmer bravery; for in all his composition there did not seem to be one single fibre that could be made to thrill in unison with fear. of his qualities as a servant i had a good trial during the two months that we were together in the mountains--in which time i got enough working knowledge of the indian dialects to make effective the knowledge that i had gained from books--and i was amazed by the quickness that he manifested in apprehending and in supplying my wants and in understanding my ways. as to making any serious study of indian customs--save only those of the most open and well-known sort--in this short time, i soon perceived that the case was quite hopeless. coming from fray antonio, whose benevolent ministrations among them had won their friendship, the indians treated me with a great respect and showed me every kindness. but i presently began to suspect, and this later grew to be conviction, that because my credentials came from a christian priest i was thrust away all the more resolutely from knowledge of their inner life. what i then began to learn, and what i learned more fully later, convinced me that these indians curiously veneered with christian practices their native heathen faith; manifesting a certain superstitious reverence for the christian rites and ceremonies, yet giving sincere worship only to their heathen gods. it was something to have arrived at this odd discovery, but it tended only to show me how difficult was the task that i had set myself of prying into the secrets of the indians' inner life. indeed, but for an accident, i should have returned to morelia no wiser, practically, than when i left it; but by that turn of chance fortune most wonderfully favored me, and with far-reaching consequences. it was on the last afternoon of my stay in the village of santa maría; and the beginning of my good-luck was that i succeeded in walking out upon the mountain-side alone. my walk had a decided purpose in it, for each time that i had tried to go in this direction one or another of the indians had been quickly upon my heels with some civil excuse about the danger of falling among the rocks for leading me another way. how i thus succeeded at last in escaping from so many watchful eyes i cannot say, but luck was with me, and i went on undisturbed. the sharply sloping mountain-side, very wild and rugged, was strewn with great fragments of rock which had fallen from the heights above, and which, lying there for ages beneath the trees, had come to be moss-grown and half hidden by bushes and fallen leaves. in the dim light that filtered through the branches, walking in so uncertain a place was attended with a good deal of danger; for not only was there a likelihood of falls leading to broken legs, but broken necks also were an easy possibility by the chance of a slip upon the mossy edge of one or another of the many ledges, followed by a spin through the air ending suddenly upon the jagged rocks below. indeed, so ticklish did i find my way that i began to think that the indians had spoken no more than the simple truth in warning me against such dangers, and that i had better turn again while light remained to bring me back in safety; and just as i had reached this wise conclusion my feet slid suddenly from under me on the very edge of one of the ledges, and over i went into the depth below. fortunately i fell not more than a dozen feet or so, and my fall was broken by a friendly bed of leaves and moss. when i got to my feet again, in a moment, i found myself in a narrow cleft in the rocks, and i was surprised to see that through this cleft ran a well-worn path. all thought of the danger that i had just escaped from so narrowly was banished form my mind instantly as i made this discovery; and full of the exciting hope that i was about to find something which the indians most earnestly desired to conceal, i went rapidly and easily onward in the direction that i had been pressing towards with so much difficulty along the rocky mountain-side. the course of this sunken path, i soon perceived, was partly natural and partly artificial. it went on through clefts such as the one that i had fallen into, and through devious ways where the fragments of fallen rock, some of them great masses weighing many tons, had been piled upon each other in most natural confusion, so as to leave a narrow passage in their depths. and all this had been done in a long-past time, for the rocks were thickly coated with moss; and in one place, where a watercourse crossed the path, were smoothed by water in a way that only centuries could have accomplished. so cleverly was the concealment effected, the way so narrow and so irregular, that i verily believe an army might have scoured that mountain-side and never found the path at all, save by such accident as had brought me into it. for half a mile or more i went on in the waning light, my heart throbbing with the excitement of it all, and so came out at last upon a vast jutting promontory of rock that was thrust forth from the mountain's face eastwardly. here was an open space of an acre or more, in the centre of which was a low, altar-like structure of stone. at the end of the narrow path, being still within its shelter, i stopped to make a careful survey of the ground before me; for i realized that in what i was doing death stood close at my elbow, and that, unless i acted warily, he surely would have me in his grasp. coming out of the shadows of the woods and the deeper shadows of the sunken path to this wide open space, where the light of the brilliant sunset was reflected strongly from masses of rosy clouds over all the eastern sky, i could see clearly. in the midst of the opening, not far from the edge of the stupendous precipice, where the bare rock dropped sheer down a thousand feet or more, was a huge bowlder that had been cut and squared with ineffective tools into the rude semblance of a mighty altar. the well-worn path along which i had come told the rest of the story. here was the temple, having for its roof the great arch of heaven, in which the indians, whom the gentle fray antonio believed to be such good christians, truly worshipped their true gods; even as here their fathers had worshipped before them in the very dawning of the ancient past. a tremor of joy went through me as i realized what i had found. here was positive proof of what i had strongly but not surely hoped for. the aztec faith truly was still a living faith; and it followed almost certainly that, could i but penetrate the mystery with which it was hedged about so carefully by them still faithful to it, i would find all that i sought--of living customs, of coherent traditions--wherewith to exhibit clearly to the world of the nineteenth century the wonderful social and religious structure that the spaniards of the sixteenth century had blotted out, but had not destroyed. what my fellow-archæologists had accomplished in syria, in egypt, in greece, was nothing to what i could thus accomplish in mexico. at the best, smith, rawlinson, schliemann, had done no more than stir the dust above the surface of dead antiquity; but i was about to bring the past freshly and brightly into the very midst of the present, and to make antiquity once more alive! as i stood there in the dusk of the narrow pathway, while the joy that was in my heart swelled it almost to bursting, there came to my ears the low moaning of one in pain. the faint, uncertain sound seemed to come from the direction of the great stone altar. to discover myself in that place to any of the indians, i knew would end my archæological ambition very summarily; yet was i moved by a natural desire to aid whoever thus was hurting and suffering. i stood irresolute a moment, and then, as the moaning came to me again, i went out boldly into the open space, and crossed it to where the altar was. as i rounded the great stone i saw a very grievous sight: an old man lying upon the bare rock, a great gash in his forehead from which the blood had flowed down over his face and breast, making him a most ghastly object to look upon; and there was about him a certain limpness that told of many broken bones. he turned his head at the sound of my footsteps, but it was plain that the blood flowing into his eyes had blinded him, and that he could not see me. he made a feeble motion to clear his eyes, but dropped his partly raised arm suddenly and with a moan of pain. i recognized him at a glance. he was the cacique, the chief, and also, as i had shrewdly guessed, the priest of the village--the very last person whom i would have desired to meet in that place. "ah, thou art come to me at last, benito!" he said, speaking in a low and broken voice. "i have been praying to our gods that they would send thee to me--for my death has come, and it is needful that the one secret still hidden from thee, my successor, should be told. i was on the altar's top, and thence i fell." i perceived in what the cacique said that there was hope for me. he could not see me, and he evidently believed that i was the second chief of the village, benito--an indian who had talked much with me, and the tones of whose voice i knew well. doubtless my clumsy attempt to simulate the indian's speech would have been detected quickly under other circumstances, but the cacique believed that no other man could have come to him in that place; and his whole body was wrung with torturing pains, and he was in the very article of death. and so it was, my prudence leading me to speak few and simple words, and my good-luck still standing by me, he never guessed whose hands in his last moments ministered to him. as i raised his head a little and rested it upon my knee, he spoke again, very feebly and brokenly: "on my breast is the bag of skin. in it is the priest-captain's token, and the paper that shows the way to where the stronghold of our race remains. only with me abides this secret, for i am of the ancient house, as thou art also, whence sprung of old our priests and kings. only when the sign that i have told thee of--but telling thee not its meaning--comes from heaven, is the token to be sent, and with it the call for aid. once, as thou knowest, that sign came, and the messenger, our own ancestor, departed. but there was anger then against us among the gods, and they suffered not his message to be delivered, and he himself was slain. yet was the token preserved to us, and yet again the sign from heaven will come. and then--thou knowest--" but here a shiver of pain went through him, and his speech gave place to agonizing moans. when he spoke again his words were but a whisper. "lay me--in front of--the altar," he said. "now is the end." "but the sign? what is it? and where is the stronghold?" i cried eagerly; forgetting in the intense excitement of this strange disclosure my need for reticence, and forgetting even to disguise my voice. but my imprudence cost me nothing. even as i spoke another shiver went through the cacique's body; and as there came from his lips, thereafter forever to be silent, a sound, half moan, half gasp, his soul went out from him, and he was at rest. when a little calmness had returned to me, i took from his breast the bag of skin--stained darkly where his blood had flowed upon it--and then tenderly and reverently lifted his poor mangled body and laid it before the altar. and so i came back along the hidden path, safely and unperceived, to the village: leaving the dead cacique there in the solemn solitude of that great mountain-top, whereon the dusk of night was gathering, alone in death before the altar of his gods. iii. the monk's manuscript. when pablo and i started, the day following, upon our return to morelia, the village of santa maría was overcast with mourning. the cacique was dead, they told us; had fallen among the rocks on the mountain-side, being an old man and feeble, and so was killed. and i was expressly charged with a message to the good padre, begging him to hasten to santa maría that the dead man might have christian burial. i confess that i found this request, though i promised faithfully to comply with it, highly amusing; for i knew beyond the possibility of a doubt that if ever a man died a most earnest and devout heathen it was this same cacique for whom christian burial was sought; and i felt an assured conviction that when the services of the church over him were ended--and whatever good was to be had for him from them secured--he would be buried fittingly with all the fulness of his own heathen rites. but this matter, lying in what i already perceived to be the very wide region between the avowed faith and the hidden faith of the indians, was no concern of mine; yet i longed, as only a thoroughly earnest archæologist could long, to be a witness of the funeral ceremony in which fray antonio most conspicuously would not take part. as this was hopelessly impossible--for only by very slow advances, if ever, could i reach again by considerate investigation the point that in a moment i had reached by chance--i came away from santa maría reluctantly, yet greatly elated by the discovery that i had made. so jealous was i in guarding the strange legacy that the cacique had bequeathed to me that not until i was safe back in morelia, in my room at the hotel, with the door locked behind me, did i venture to examine it. the bag, about six inches square, tightly sewed on all four of its sides, was made of snake-skin, and was provided with a loop of snake-skin so that it might be hung from the neck upon the breast like a scapulary. my hands trembled as i cut the delicate stitching of maguey fibre, and then drew forth a mass of several thicknesses of coarse gray-brown paper, also made of the maguey, such as the ancient aztecs used. being unfolded, i had before me a sheet nearly two feet square, on which was painted in dull colors a curious winding procession of figures and symbols. my knowledge of such matters being then but scant, i could tell only that this was a record, at once historical and geographical, of a tribal migration; and i saw at a glance that it was unlike either of the famous picture-writings which record the migration of the aztecs from culhuacan to the valley of mexico, and then about that valley until their final settlement in tenochtitlan. i was reasonably confident, indeed, that this record differed from all existing codices; and i was filled with what i hope will be looked upon as a pardonable pride at having discovered, within three months of my coming to mexico, this unique and inestimable treasure. my natural desire was to carry my precious codex at once to don rafael, that i might have the benefit of his superior knowledge in studying it (for he had continued very intelligently the investigation of aztec picture-writing that was so well begun by the late señor ramirez), and also that i might enjoy his sympathetic enjoyment of my discovery. as i raised the bag, that i might replace in it the refolded paper--which i already saw heralded to the world as the codex palgravius, and reproduced in fac-simile in _pre-columbian conditions on the continent of north america_--some glittering object dropped out of it and fell with a jingling sound upon the stone floor. when i examined eagerly this fresh treasure i found that it was a disk of gold, about the size and thickness of a mexican silver dollar, on which a curious figure was rudely engraved. the engraving obviously represented an aztec name-device, the like of which, in the ancient picture-writings, distinguish one from another the several generations of a line of kings. this name-device was strange to me; but, as i have said, i had not at that time studied carefully the aztec picture-writings, and there were many names of kings which i would not then have recognized. but that the gold disk was the token concerning the meaning of which the dying cacique had given so strange a hint, i felt assured. being still further gladdened by this fresh discovery, i carried my treasures at once to the museo; and don rafael's enthusiasm over them was as hearty as i could desire. being so deeply learned in such matters, he was able in the course of a single afternoon to arrive at much of the meaning of my codex; and his rendering of it showed that it possessed a very extraordinary historical value. in the codex boturini, as is well known, are several important lapses that neither that eminent scholar, nor any other archæologist whose conclusions can be considered trustworthy, has been able to supply. all that reasonably can be imagined concerning these breaks is that the historian of the aztec migration deliberately omitted certain facts from his pictured history. the astonishing discovery that don rafael made in regard to my codex was that it unquestionably supplied the facts concealed in one of the longest of these unaccountable blanks. this was not a mere guess on his part, but a demonstrable certainty. on a fac-simile of the codex boturini he bade me observe attentively the pictures which preceded and which followed the break in question; and then he showed me that these same pictures were the beginning and the ending of my own codex--obviously put there so that this secret record might be inserted accurately into the public record of the wanderings of the aztec tribe. further, the geographical facts set forth in the codex boturini having been very solidly established, it was easy to determine approximately the part of mexico to which the beginning and the end of my codex referred. but the migration here recorded was a very long one, and all that don rafael could say with certainty concerning it was that it told of far journeyings into the west and north. he was much puzzled, moreover, by a picture that occurred about the middle of the codex, and that seemed to be intended to represent a walled city among mountains. to my mind this picture tallied well with what the dying cacique had told me touching the hidden stronghold of his race. but don rafael attached very little importance to the cacique's words; and on archæological grounds maintained that a walled city was an impossibility in primitive mexico--for while walls were built in plenty by the primitive mexicans, and still are to be found in many places, no mention of a walled city is made by the early chroniclers, and of such a city there never has been found the slightest trace. in regard to the engraved disk of gold, don rafael said at once and positively that it represented a name-device which never had been figured in any known aztec writing; and he was of the opinion--being led thereto by consideration of certain delicate peculiarities of the figure which were too subtle for my uninstructed apprehension to grasp--that the name here symbolized was that of a ruler who was both priest and king. that the piece of gold was found associated with picture-writing unquestionably belonging to the theocratic period lent additional color to this assumption. the sum of our conclusions, therefore, was that we had here the name-device of a priest-king who had ruled the aztec tribe during some portion of the first migration. and, assuming that he had lived during the period to which my codex referred, and accepting the system of dates tentatively adopted by señor ramirez, we even fixed the ninth century of our era as the period in which he had lived and ruled. during two whole days don rafael and i worked together over these matters in the museo; and it was not until our investigations were ended--so far, at least, as investigations could be said to be ended while yet no definite conclusions were reached--that my thoughts reverted to fray antonio, and to the requirement of courtesy that i should report to him the result of my course of study in the indian tongues. it is but justice to myself to add that, knowing him to be gone to santa maría to attend to the cacique's burial, i had temporarily dismissed this matter from my mind. but when i was come to the church of san francisco--carrying with me the codex palgravius and the engraved disk of gold, in both of which i knew that he would take a keen interest--i had no immediate opportunity of exhibiting to him my treasures. as i pushed open the sacristy door, when i had knocked upon it and he had called me to enter, he came towards me at once in excitement so eager that his face was all lit up by it; and almost before i could greet him he exclaimed: "you are most happily come, my friend. at this very moment i was about to send for you; for i have found that which will stir your heart even as it has stirred mine. yet perhaps," and he spoke more gravely, "it will not stir your heart in the same way that mine is stirred by it--for if i can but find the key that will unlock the whole of the mystery that here partly is revealed, i see before me such opportunity to garner the lord's vintage as comes but seldom to his servants in these later ages of the world." so strange was fray antonio's manner, and so wayward seemed his speech, that i was half inclined to think his religious enthusiasm fairly had landed him in religious madness; which thought must have found utterance in my look of doubtfulness, for he smiled kindly at me, and in a quieter tone went on: "my wits still are with me, don tomas; though i do not wonder at your thinking that i have lost them. sit down here and listen to the story of my discovery; and when it is ended you will perceive that i very well may be excited by it and still be sane." being assured by this calmer speech that fray antonio had not taken leave of his senses, i made a weak disclaimer, that he smilingly accepted, of my too clearly expressed doubts in that direction; and so seated myself to listen. "you know, señor," he began, "that common report has declared that beneath this church of san francisco is a secret passage that extends under the city and has its exit in the outlying meadow-lands. i may confide in you frankly that this passage does exist, and that i, in common with all members of my order who have dwelt here, know precisely where its entrance is and where its outlet. these matters need not be exposed, for they are not essential to my purpose. but you must know that in the midst of this passage i found on the day preceding your return from the mountains a little room of which the door was so well concealed that my finding it was the merest accident. and in the room, with other things which need not here be named, i found a chest in which are certain ancient papers of which i have been long in search. in the archives are frequent references to these papers--they are of much importance to our order--but as with all my search i never could discover them, i had decided in my mind that in one or another of the troublous periods that our church has passed through they had been destroyed. it is plain to me now that in one of these periods of danger they were hidden in this safe place. "some of these papers, dealing with mere matters of history, you will have pleasure in examining in due time. but that which i shall show you now, and which has so excited me that you not unnaturally thought that i had gone mad over it, has got among the rest, as i verily believe, by simple accident. among the books and papers in the chest was a parchment case on which was written 'mission of santa marta,' and the date ' .' within it were some loose sheets of paper on which were records of indian baptisms, as is evident by the strange mixing of christian and of heathen names. plainly, this was the register of some mission station of our order in that far-back time. but as i pried into the case more closely, i found, within a double fold of the parchment--yet not as though intentionally hidden, but rather as though there placed for temporary safety--a sealed letter directed to the blessed fray juan de zumárraga, who was of our order, and who, as you know, was the first bishop of our holy church in this new spain. as i drew forth the letter, the seal, that time had loosened, fell away and left it open in my hand. that this letter never until now has been read i am altogether confident, for the prodigy of which it tells would have made so great a stir that ample record of it would have been preserved. nor is it difficult to account for the way in which it missed coming to the eye for which it was intended. in that early time many and many of our order, going out to preach god's word among the barbarians, came happily to that end which is the happiest end attainable in god's service: a blessed martyrdom." fray antonio's voice trembled with deep feeling as he spoke, and i remembered that don rafael had told me that this good brother, it was believed, himself longed for a death so glorious. "and being thus slain," fray antonio in a moment continued, "the mission stations which they had established were left desolate, with what they held--save such few things as might be cared for by the savage murderers--remaining there within them. in later times, as the conquering spaniards overspread the land, many of these stations were found, with nothing to tell save nameless bones of those who had died there that god's will might be done. "it is my conjecture, therefore, that this parchment case was found--how many years after the death of him who owned it, who can tell?--in one of the many stations that the savages thus ravaged; that the soldiers, or whoever may have found it, brought it hither, the nearest important abiding-place of our order; and that, being carelessly examined, it was carelessly thrown aside when found to contain, apparently, only the little record of the work which our dead brother accomplished before god granted him his crown of earthly martyrdom and so made quick his way to heaven. had the letter ever reached that 'first hand' for which the writer says he waits to send it by, it assuredly would have come to the knowledge of the gold-loving spanish conquerors, and armies would have gone forth to answer it. but our dead brother, having written it and placed it in this fold of the parchment for safety until the chance to send it southward should come, was cut off from life suddenly; and so, of the prodigious marvel of which knowledge had so strangely come to him, only this mute and hidden record remained." "but the letter itself?" i asked, with more energy than politeness. "what _is_ the story that it contains? what is this mystery? tell me of it first, and then explain as much as you please afterwards." fray antonio smiled at me kindly. "ah, you too are becoming excited," he said. "but, truly, it is not fair that i should thus have kept you waiting. indeed, i am so full of it all that i forgot that as yet you know nothing. come out with me into the court-yard, where the light is stronger--for the writing is very faint and pale--and i will read you this letter in which so wonderful a story is set forth." together we passed out through a little door in the rear of the sacristy into what had been the inner and smaller cloister court-yard of the old convent--a lovely place in which a fountain set in a quaint stone basin sparkled, and where warm sunshine fell upon the rippling water and upon beds of sweet-smelling flowers. and here it was, standing among the flowers in the sunshine, beside the quaint fountain, that fray antonio read to me the letter--that in this strange fashion had come to us from a hand dead for much more than three centuries, and that yet brought to us two a vital message that wholly was to shape our destinies. iv. montezuma's messenger. the letter was without date, but, being addressed to the bishop zumárraga, the phrase that occurred in it--"this new spain, wherein, very reverend father, you have labored in god's service this year and more past"--showed that was the year in which it was written. as to place, there practically was no clew at all. the writer referred repeatedly to "this mission of santa marta, in the chichimeca country"--but the mission had perished utterly but a little while after it was founded; and at that period the term chichimeca country was used by the spaniards in speaking of any part of mexico where wild indians were. being shorn of a portion of its pious verbiage, and somewhat modernized in style, the ancient spanish of this letter contained in effect these english words: [illustration: the letter from the dead.] "very reverend father,--this present letter will be sent forward to you by the first hand by which it may be hence transmitted; and in your wisdom, with god's grace also guiding you, i doubt not that you will take measures for sending missionaries of our order to the great company of the heathen whose whereabouts i am to disclose to you. and also, no doubt--keeping the matter secret from the pestilent oidores of the audiencia--you will communicate this strange matter through safe channels to our lord the king: that with our missionaries an army may go forth, and that so the great treasure of which i give tidings may be wrested from the heathen to be used for god's glory and the enriching of our lord the king. "know, very reverend father, that a month since, i being then abroad from this mission of santa marta, preaching god's word in a certain village of the chichimecas that is five leagues to the northward, was so strengthened by god's grace that many of the heathen professed our holy faith and were baptized. and of these was one who among that tribe was held a captive. which captive, as i found, was of the nation that dwelt in tenochtitlan before our great captain, don fernando cortés, reduced that city to submission. but little of earthly life remained to this poor captive when i, unworthily but happily, opened to him the way to life glorious and eternal; for in the fight that happened when he was captured--of which fight he alone of all his companions had survived--he was sorely wounded; and though in time his wounds had healed he remained but a weakly man, and the service to which his captors forced him was hard. so it was that i had but little more than time to put him in the way leading to heaven before his spirit gladly forsook its weary body and went thence from earth. "that he truly was a convert to our holy faith i am well assured, by the signs of a spirit meet for repentance which he showed in his own person; and still more by his strong longing, most earnestly expressed, that this same glorious faith of freedom should be preached to a certain great company of his people, whereof he most secretly told me, who still remain bound in the bondage of idolatry. and it is what he told me of these, very reverend father, and of the marvellous hidden city wherein they dwell, and of the mighty treasure which there they guard, that i desire now to bring to your private knowledge, before it shall be known of by the oidores, and through you to our lord the king. here now is the whole of the mystery that he recited: "in very ancient times, he said, his people came forth from seven caves which are in the western region of this continent, and wandered long in search of an abiding-place. and in the course of ages it came to pass that a certain wise king ruled over them to whom was given the gift of prophecy. which king, by name chaltzantzin, foretold that in the later ages there should come an army of fair and bearded men from the eastward, who would prevail over the people of his race: slaying many, and making of the remainder slaves. being sorely troubled by thought of what he thus foresaw, he set himself to provide a source of strength whereon his descendants in that later time might draw in the hour of their peril--and so save themselves from cruel death and from yet crueler slavery. to which end, in a certain great valley that lies securely hidden among the mountains of this continent, he caused to be built a walled city; and this city he then peopled with the very bravest and strongest of his race. and he made for those dwelling there a perpetual law that commanded that all such as showed themselves when come to maturity to be weak or malformed in body, or coward of heart, then should be put to death; to the end that their natural increase ever should be of the same stout stuff as themselves, and also that there might be no lack of victims for the sacrifices which are acceptable to their barbarous gods. and thus he provided that in the time of need there should be here a strong army of valiant warriors, ready to come forth to fight against the fair-faced bearded men, and by conquering them to save safe the land. "and yet more provision did king chaltzantzin make for the strengthening and the saving of his race in the later ages. within this walled city of culhuacan he caused to be builded a great treasure-house, wherein he garnered such store of riches as never was gathered together in one place since the beginning of the world. and his order was that if even the power of the army which should go forth from that city sufficed not to conquer the foreign foemen, then should this vast treasure be used to buy his people's ransom, that they might not perish nor be enslaved. "having set all which great matters in order, king chaltzantzin came forth from the valley of aztlan, leaving behind him the noble colony that he had there founded; and so with his people wandered vagrant--even as their gods had commanded that they should go until by a sign from heaven they should be shown where was to be their lasting home. and that the fulfilling of his purpose might be made the more sure, he brought his people forth from that valley by most perilous passes and through strait ways so that they might not return thither; and that they who remained might not follow, he closed the way behind him with mighty bars. "in the fulness of time this wise king died, and others reigned in his stead; and at last the ages of wandering of the aztec tribe were ended by the sign coming from heaven whereby they knew that the valley of anahuac was to be their abiding home. there built they the city of tenochtitlan: which city the valiant captain, don fernando cortés, conquered this short time since--and by conquest of it verified precisely the prophecy that king chaltzantzin uttered in very ancient times. "but the captive indian told me, further, that before the coming of the spaniards there was seen the sign of warning that king chaltzantzin had promised should tell when the danger that he had so well prepared for should be near; which sign was the going out of the sacred fire that the priests guarded on a certain high hill. meantime, all knowledge of their brethren hidden in the valley of aztlan for their help in time of peril was lost to the aztec tribe in dim tradition; for the king had commanded, in order that his people might not fall into weakness through trusting in the strength of others for protection, that no open record of the colony that he had founded should be preserved. therefore was this matter a secret known only to a few priests whose blood was of the royal line; in whose keeping, also, was the token that king chaltzantzin had commanded should be sent to the walled city of culhuacan when its warriors were to be called forth, and a map whereby the way thither was made plain. and so it was that, when the sacred fire ceased burning, the priests were alert for the threatened danger; and when the landing of the spaniards--'fair-faced and bearded men, coming from the eastward'--was known to them, they warned their king, montezuma, that the prophecy was fulfilled, and that the time for sending for the army and the treasure had come. "for the bearer of this message was chosen a priest of the blood royal, with whom went also a younger priest, his son. and with these went a guard, whereof the captive indian was one, that they might be carried in safety through the region where the wild indians were. but the valor of the guard was useless, for the wild indians set upon them in such prodigious numbers--in a place not far from where is this present mission of santa marta--that all of the company, save only this single indian who was wounded and made captive, was overpowered and slain. yet among the slain, the indian said, was not found the body of the priest's son; nor was there found on the priest's body the token that he had been the bearer of, nor the map that showed the way. for a time the indian had hoped that the younger priest had escaped out of the fight alive, and had carried to them who dwelt in the walled city of culhuacan the message of summons; but as the years went onward and nothing came of it, this hope had died within his heart. "this, very reverend father, is the strange story told me by this indian; who spoke with the urgent sincerity of one devout in the christian faith who knew by sensible perception that his death was near at hand. eagerly he begged that to these gentiles, his brethren by blood, might be sent in their secret fastnesses the blessed word whereby they would be delivered from the chains of their idolatry into the freedom of christian grace. and, surely, the treasure that they ward very well may be wrested from these heathen that it may be used in part in this land in god's service, and that in part it may go to the just enriching of our lord the king. "nor is the matter one that is difficult of accomplishment. for a token which shall give us the right of entry into this walled city of culhuacan we need only the word of god and a sufficient force of men well armed with swords and matchlocks. nor is it any bar to our quest that the map showing the way thither has been lost. the indian told me that this way is so plainly marked that one who had found it could not lose it again. for at spaces of not more than a league or two apart, upon flat places of the rock convenient for such purpose, was cut the same figure that the token of summons had engraved upon it; and, with this, an arrow pointing towards where the next carving would be found: and so these signs went onward, the heathen priest had told him, even to the very entrance of the valley of aztlan. and that this matter might be made sure to me, he led me to a spot but a league to the westward of this mission of santa marta and there showed me one of these signs, with the pointing arrow carved also on the rock beside it--of all of which the drawing here made is an indifferent good copy. and by that guiding arrow we went onward to another like carving at a little less than two leagues away to the northward. therefore, very reverend father, i, of my own knowledge, am a witness to a part, at least, of the truth of what that indian told. and with all my heart do i add mine own entreaty to his simple pleadings for the salvation of the souls of his brethren; and also do i venture to entreat that among those who go to carry the word of god to this hidden heathen host i may be one; so that i, though all unworthy of such honor, shall have a part in rendering to god so glorious a service. "the more urgently do i ask this favor because here, in this mission of santa marta, it is but too clear to me that i am laboring in a barren field. some hundreds of the heathen i have indeed baptized; but among all these who have professed our christian faith scarce a score show outward and visible signs of a true regeneration. many, i am sadly sure, still practise in secret their old idolatry--and find little more than mere amusement in the rites of our most holy church. when they tire of this novelty, which, in the case of folk of such light natures no doubt will be in a little while, they will return openly to their idolatry; and it probably may happen that they then will sacrifice me to their heathen gods. that, in one way or another, they do intend to kill me, and that soon, i feel quite sure. i am but twenty-three years old, very reverend father; and that is an early time in life to end it. no doubt, also, in killing me they will use torture. and i long fervently to live, not only for the pleasure of it, but also that i may do good service to god, and to our father saint francis, by saving many heathen souls. therefore i beg that when the army marches to the reduction of this hidden city that i may be one of our brethren who will go with it, to hold by tender preaching of god's goodness and mercy such heathen as may remain alive after our soldiers shall have conquered that city with the sword. "i commend you, very reverend father, to the care of our lord in all things, and pray that he may guard your most illustrious and very reverend person, and protect you in all matters of your temporal and spiritual estate. and i am the least worthy of your servants, francisco de los angeles." "of a truth," said fray antonio, as he ceased reading, "this brother of mine adhered closely to the truth when he subscribed himself the least worthy of the bishop's servants. were it not here in his own hand, i should refuse to believe that one of our order at that time in new spain had any thought of saving his own life when god's work was to be done." for myself, i must own that my heart was deeply touched by the very humanity of this poor brother francisco's cry for help that came up out of the dead depths of the past; and that was the more keen and pitiful because the cruel death at the hands of the barbarous indians that he so dreaded assuredly had overtaken him. his could not have been a strong nature, and it was the weaker because of his youth; but, after all, it was the nature that god had given him, and there must have been a strain of strength in it, else he never would have braved the dangers which overcame him in the end. and he was "but twenty-three years old"! yet when i sought to lead fray antonio's mind to such consideration of the matter he replied, sternly: "this weak brother failed in his duty. to him god gave an opportunity to die gloriously for the faith; but, instead of accepting that noble reward joyfully, his strongest wish was that he might find a way by which he might escape alive. had all professors of the christian creed so conducted themselves, that creed long since would have perished from off the earth. _semen est sanguis christianorum_ is well said of tertullian the carthaginian, and, later, of the blessed saint jerome." as fray antonio thus spoke he so drew up his slight figure, and in his sweet voice was a ring of such commanding sternness, that he was for the moment transformed. here was a man wholly different from the gentle scholar whom i had already learned to love. in the glimpse that i thus had of his underlying character i saw vivified again the spirit of the early christian church; and i understood, as i never had understood before, of what stuff they were made who heard pronounced upon them the sentence, "to the lions!" and joyfully accepted their cruel fate, defiant of what man might do to them because of the perfection of their faith in the merciful forgiveness and upholding steadfastness of their christian god. but in a moment a look of sadness and regret came into fray antonio's face, and he added, sorrowfully: "god forgive me for thus judging my brother, who long since was judged! who can say that when the hour of trial came he did not meet his death as bravely as any martyr of them all? and who can say," he went on, but speaking softly, as one communing with his own soul, "how i myself--but god gives strength." and then he ceased to speak aloud, but his lips moved silently as though in prayer. as i close my eyes i see him again as clearly as i saw him then--standing beside the old stone fountain, amid the flowers, in the gladness of the bright sunshine; in his eyes a strange, far-away look, as though the future for a moment had been opened to him; and on his strong, fine face a sternly resolute expression, which yet was softened by the traits which were so strong within him of holiness and gentleness and love. i cannot know what fray antonio prayed for, there in the old convent garden; but i can guess, and i am well persuaded that his prayer was heard. truly, i think that it was something more than chance that led us thus at first to talk, not of the wonder that was in brother francisco's letter, but of brother francisco himself and of his end. and then the subject-matter in chief of the letter claimed our attention. in itself this was sufficiently marvellous; but what increased the marvel of it was the conviction, strong within us both, that if the hidden city of culhuacan ever had existed at all it existed still. our belief was so entirely logical that, assuming the truth of the story told by the indian captive, it admitted nowhere of a doubt. that the city had been hidden for a long period, through at least several hundreds of years, from the aztecs themselves, and that no knowledge of it had been conveyed to them by wild indians who had come by chance upon the valley wherein it was, was evidence enough of the security of its concealment. there was nothing surprising, consequently, in the fact that the spaniards had not discovered it when they first overran mexico, nor that it had remained unknown to the mexicans of modern times. as is well known, there are to this day prodigious areas in mexico which remain utterly unexplored. in the region west of tampico; in the north-western states of sinaloa, durango, and sonora; or in the far southern states of oajaca and chiapas, a valley as great as that in which the city of mexico now stands might lie utterly hidden and unknown. and if, as the indian's narrative implied, this particular valley had been selected deliberately because it was so hidden and so inaccessible, and if the described precautions had been taken to isolate its inhabitants, it very well might have continued to be lost in its deep concealment through an almost infinite range of years. that it never had been found since the spaniards came into mexico we were absolutely certain, for the outcry over so great a wonder would have echoed throughout the whole of the civilized world. finally, in the name of the city, culhuacan, we had a substantial fact which connected the extraordinary story that had come to us so strangely with matters within our own knowledge. for this name not only is given in the aztec traditions as that of the sacred spot in which their god huitzilopochtli spoke to them, but survives until this present day in the name of the village that lies at the foot of the sacred mountain, in the valley of mexico, called by the aztecs the hill of huitzachtla, and by the spaniards the hill of the star--on which, at the end of each cycle of fifty-two years, the sacred fire was renewed. surely it was no accident that had caused the name culhuacan to be given to this village on this sacred spot; rather must it have been so named by the elect few to whom the secret was known as a perpetual reminder to them of the reserve of men and treasure upon which they could draw should danger threaten their country and their gods. "no doubt," said fray antonio, "what is here told of a secret record, known only to the priests, supplies one of the lapses in the pictured history of the aztec migration; but as we know not which break in the history is thus filled in, we have no clew whatever as to the whereabouts of this hidden place. nor have we any clew as to the whereabouts of the mission of santa marta, whence we might go onward, guided by the carvings upon the rocks, until we found at last the place we sought. the mission of santa marta, where my brother francisco long ago ministered, might have been anywhere in all mexico; and being so small a mission, and enduring for so short a period, it is not likely that any record of it anywhere has been preserved. had we but the map and the token of which my brother writes, our way would be clear; without these guides it well may be a toilsome way and long. yet do i know," fray antonio continued, earnestly, "that i shall find this hidden city. in my soul is a strong and glad conviction that god has called me to the most glorious work of carrying to the heathen dwelling there the message of his saving love. he has worked one miracle already to call me to this duty; in his own good time and way i doubt not that he will work another miracle by which i may be set in the way of its accomplishment." as fray antonio spoke of the map of the aztec migration, a hope came into my heart that, as i considered it, seemed surely to be a certainty. in the excitement of listening to this strange letter--concerning which not the least strange matter was, that between the writing and the reading of it had passed three hundred and fifty years--i had forgotten my own discoveries, and that my purpose was to show him the pictured paper and the curious piece of gold. but as he spoke of the migration this matter was called to my mind suddenly; and then in an instant the conviction thrilled through me that the clew which would lead us to the hidden city was in my possession. "god already has worked that other miracle," i cried, joyfully. "here is the token, and here is the map that shows the way!" and, so speaking, i opened the snake-skin bag that i had taken from the breast of the dead cacique and drew forth its precious contents. for myself, i needed no additional proof that here was all that was needful to guide us to the hidden city. yet was i glad that in so grave a matter we should have added to absolute conviction the weight of absolute proof. and this we had most clearly; for fray antonio, cooler than i, compared the drawing in the letter with the engraving upon the piece of gold, and found the two to be essentially identical, save that the engraving lacked the sign of the arrow pointing the way. "and now," i cried, enthusiastically, "for such discoveries in archæology as the world has never known!" "and now," said fray antonio, speaking slowly and reverently, "for such glorious work in god's service as has been granted but rarely to man to do!" v. the engineer and the lost-freight man. that the weight of a strange destiny was pressing upon us, neither fray antonio nor i for a moment doubted. it was something more than chance, we believed, that had brought us together, and that thereafter, by such extraordinary means, had put into our hands, in places far asunder, yet at almost precisely the same moment, these two ancient papers; either of which, alone, would have been meaningless; but the two of which, together, pointed clearly the way to a discovery so wonderful that the like of it was not to be found in all the history of the world. at the moment that i comprehended how great an adventure was before me, and what honorable fame i was like to get out of it, i determined that i would keep the whole matter secret from my fellow-archæologists until i could tell them, not what i intended doing, but what i actually had done--for i had no desire to divide with any one the honors that fairly would be mine when i published to the world the result of my investigation of this hidden community that had survived, uncontaminated, from prehistoric times. having this strong desire within me, it was with great pleasure that i acceded to fray antonio's request that our project of discovery should not be published abroad. his motive for secrecy, as i presently perceived, was bred of the one single strain of human weakness that ever i found in him. even as i was determined that no other archæologist should share with me the honor of discovering this primitive community, so was fray antonio determined that to him alone should belong the glory of carrying into that region of dense heathen darkness the radiant splendor of the christian faith. if this were sin on his part, it certainly was a sin that he shared with many saints long since in paradise. even the blessed saint francis himself, when, at the council of mats, he portioned out among his followers the heathen world that they might preach everywhere christianity, reserved for himself syria and egypt; in the hope that in one or the other of those countries he might crown his labors by suffering a glorious martyrdom. and perhaps in this matter fray antonio was not unmindful of the example set him by the great founder of the order to which he belonged. but while we were thus firmly decided to keep to ourselves the honors that so great an archæological discovery and so great a christian conquest must bring to us severally, we perceived that it would not be the part of prudence to essay our adventure without any companions at all. some portion of the country through which we were to pass we knew to be frequented by very dangerous tribes of indians, against the assaults of which two lonely men--neither of whom had any knowledge whatever of the art of war--could make but a poor stand. and even should we escape the wild indians, we knew that we might get into many evil straits in which our lives might be ended, yet through which a larger company might pass in safety. and for my own part, i must confess that i had a strong desire to have with me some of my own countrymen. for the gallantry of the mexicans, which gallantry has been proved a thousand times, i have the highest respect; yet is it a natural feeling among anglo-saxons that when it comes to facing dangers in which death looms largely, and especially when it comes to a few men against a company of savages, and standing back to back and fighting to the very last, anglo-saxon hearts are found to be the stanchest, and anglo-saxon backs to be the stoutest which can be thus ranged together. but in our own case i did not at all see whence such an anglo-saxon contingent was to be obtained. we had been talking over this matter of a fighting force one afternoon in fray antonio's sacristy--where our many colloquies were held, for we moved with a thoughtful deliberation in setting agoing our adventure--and we had come almost to the determination of organizing a little force of otomí indians, and calling upon two brave young gentlemen of fray antonio's acquaintance to join us as lieutenants. although i was willing to adopt this plan, since no other was open to us, i was far from fancying it; both for the reason which i have already named, and also for the reason--and this fray antonio admitted was not without foundation in probability--that our young allies would be more than likely, by their indiscreet disclosures, to make our purpose fully known. therefore, it was in no very pleasant frame of mind, our conference being ended, that i returned to my hotel. as i entered the hotel court-yard i heard the sound of pablo's mouth-organ, and with this much laughter and some talk in english; and as i fairly caught sight of the merrymakers, i heard said, in most execrable spanish, "here's a _medio_ for another tune, my boy; and if you'll make the donkey dance again to it, i'll give you a _real_." that i might see what was going forward without interrupting it, i stepped behind one of the stone pillars that upheld the gallery; and for all that my mind was in no mood for laughter just then, i could not but fall to laughing at what i saw. over on the far side of the court-yard, with pablo and el sabio, were two men whose type was so unmistakable that i should have known them for americans had i met them in the moon. one was a tall, wiry fellow, with a vast reach of arm, and a depth of chest and width of shoulders which allowed what powerful engines those long arms of his were when he set them in motion. his face was nearly covered by a heavy black beard, and his projecting forehead and his resolute black eyes under it gave him a look of great energy and force. the other was short and thick-set, with a big round head stockily upheld on a thick neck, and with a good-humored face, which, being clean-shaven, was chiefly notable for the breadth and the squareness of the jaws. he had merry blue eyes, and his crown--he was holding his battered derby hat in his hand--was as bare as a billiard ball. below timber-line, as he himself expressed it, he had a brush of close-cut sandy-red hair. i had encountered both of these men when i first came to morelia, and during two or three weeks i had seen a good deal of them, for we had met daily at our meals; and the more that i had seen of them the better was i disposed to like them. the tall man was rayburn, a civil engineer in charge of construction on the advanced line of the new railway; the other was young, the lost-freight agent of the railroad company--whose duty, for which his keen quickness peculiarly well fitted him, was that of looking up freight which had gone astray in transit. both of those men had lived long in rough and dangerous regions, and both--as i then instinctively believed, and as i came later to know fully--were as true and as stanch and as brave as ever men could be. what they were laughing at, there in the court-yard, was an extraordinary performance in which the performers were pablo and el sabio. with a grin all over the parts of his face not engaged in the operation of his mouth-organ, pablo was rendering on that instrument a highly mexicanized version of one of the airs from _pinafore_ that he had just acquired from hearing young whistle it. to this music, with a most pained yet determined expression, the wise one was lifting his feet and swaying his body and nodding his head in a sort of accompaniment, his movements being directed by the waving of pablo's disengaged hand. the long ears of this unfortunate little donkey wagged in remonstrance against the unreasonable motions demanded of his unlucky legs, and every now and then he would twitch viciously his fuzzy scrap of a tail; but his master was inexorable, and it was not until pablo's own desire to laugh became so strong that he no longer could play the mouth-organ that el sabio was given rest. as he ended his dancing i must say that there was on el sabio's face as fine an expression of contempt as the face of a donkey ever wore. "hello, professor!" young called out, as he caught sight of me, "have you given up antiquities an' gone into th' circus business? this outfit that you've got here will make your fortune when you get it back into th' states. if you don't want to run it yourself, i'll run it for you on th' shares; an' i guess rayburn'll be glad t' go along as clown. he'd make a good clown, rayburn would. you see, we're both of us out of work, an' both lookin' for a job." "what do you mean by being out of work?" i asked, when i had shaken hands with them. "what's become of the railroad?" "oh, th' railroad's got into one of its periodical bust-ups," young answered. "a row among the bondholders, an' construction stopped, an' working expenses reduced, an' pretty much all hands bounced, from th' president down. i guess rayburn an' i can stand th' racket, though, if th' company can. i've been wantin' t' get out of this d----d greaser country for a good while, an' i guess now i've got my chance. i must say, though, i wish it had come a little less sudden, for i haven't anything in particular in sight over in god's country, an' rayburn hasn't either. so if you want to start your circus we're ready for you right away. where did you get that boy-an'-donkey outfit from, anyway? they're just daisies, both of 'em an' no mistake!" "i don't know that you can count on me for a clown, professor," rayburn said, "but i might go along as door-keeper, or something of that sort. but i don't believe that young and i will need to go into the circus business. we are out of work, that's a fact; but the company has done the square thing by us--paid us up in full to the end of next month and fitted us out with passes to st. louis. we're all right. young is heading straight for home, but i rather think that i'll take a turn around the country and see what the civilized parts of it look like. ever since i came down here, nearly, i've been at work in the wilds. i want to see some of the old temples and things too. you can put me up to that, professor. where's a good ruin to begin on?" from the moment that i laid eyes on these two men, as i came into the court-yard, my mind was made up that i would do my best to induce them to join with fray antonio and me in our search for the hidden city; and i had listened very gladly to what they told me, for it showed me that i should not have to ask them to abandon profitable work in order to join in our doubtful enterprise. so we talked lightly about the circus and other indifferent matters for a while; and then we had a lively supper together at la soledad (which always seemed to me a very original name for a restaurant), and then i brought them to my room to smoke their cigars. it was while they were in the comfortable frame of mind that is begotten of a good meal and subsequent good tobacco--over there in morelia we smoked the tepic cigars, which are excellent--that i opened to them the great project that i had in hand. i told them frankly the whole story: of my strange adventure in the indian village, of the paper and the gold token which the cacique unwittingly had given me, of the letter that fray antonio had found, and of how our joint discoveries set us clearly in the way of finding an aztec community that certainly had existed unchanged, save for such changes as had been developed within itself, since a time long anterior to the spanish conquest of mexico. i dwelt with enthusiasm, and i think forcibly, upon the inestimable gain to the science of archæology that would result from the investigations that we intended to make; and i touched also upon the scientific value that would attach to a careful and accurate description of the effect produced upon this primitive community by fray antonio's preaching; for this would be, as i pointed out, the first occasion in the history of the world when a record would be made, from the stand-point of the unprejudiced ethnologist, of the reception accorded by a heathen people to the doctrine of christianity. in a word, i presented the case most glowingly--so glowingly, in fact, that my own heart was quite fired by it--and ended by urging them earnestly to join us in a work that promised so greatly to increase the sum of human knowledge touching the most interesting subjects that can be presented to the consideration of the human mind. and i am pained to state that i discovered, when i finished my appeal, that young was sound asleep! rayburn did not go to sleep, and he did take a certain amount of interest in what i said, but i was discouraged by his very obvious failure to respond to my enthusiasm. "you see, professor," he said, "the fact of the matter is that i can't spare the time. i might take a month or two, but you seem to think that a year is the least time in which any substantial results can he accomplished. i can't give a year, or anything like a year, to what, so far as i am concerned, will be sheer idleness. i've got a mother and sister at home on cape cod who depend on me for a living, and i must get to work again. you see, there is glory enough in all this, and glory that i should like to have a share in; but glory is a luxury that i can't afford. i've got to go to work at something that has money in it." the sound of rayburn's voice had the effect on young of waking him up. he listened, in a sleepily approving way, to rayburn's practical comment, and then, giving a prodigious yawn, added, on his own account: "yes, that's about the size of it. we're neither of us here for our health, professor; what we're after is spot cash. if there was any money in your scheme i'd take a hand in it quick enough; but as there isn't--well, not this evening, professor; some other evening." "no money in it!" i answered. "why, haven't i told you that there is stored in this hidden city the greatest treasure that ever was brought into one place since the world began?" "no, i'll be d----d if you have!" young replied, with great energy and promptness. "not a word, unless it was while i was asleep. what's he said about a treasure, rayburn? i'm awake now, an' i'll keep awake if there's anything like that to be talked about." "you certainly haven't said anything about a treasure so far, professor," rayburn said. "i'd like to hear about it myself. if there is a treasure-hunting expedition mixed up with this scientific expedition of yours, that puts a new face on the whole matter. i can't afford the luxury of scientific investigation pure and simple, but if there is money in it too, that is quite another thing. so tell us about your prospect, professor, and if the surface indications are good you can count on me to go in." i confess that i was a trifle disappointed upon finding how eagerly these young men sought information in regard to a matter that i considered so unimportant that i had forgotten even to mention it. but i reflected that, after all, the motive by which they were induced to join in our adventure was immaterial, while our need for the strength that their joining in it would give us was so pressing that upon gaining them for allies very likely depended our eventual success. being moved by which considerations, i dilated upon the magnitude of the hidden treasure with such vehemence that presently their eyes were flashing, and the blood had so mounted into their brains that their very foreheads were ruddy and their breath came short. and i must confess that my own pulses beat quicker and harder as i talked on. of this treasure i had not before thought at all, being so thoroughly taken up with the scientific side of the discovery that i hoped to accomplish; but now i was moved profoundly by thoughts of what i could do for the advancement of science had i practically limitless wealth at my command. and especially was i thrilled by the thought of the magnificent form in which my own magnificent discoveries could be given to the world. compared with my _pre-columbian conditions on the continent of north america_, lord kingsborough's great work, both in form and in substance, would sink into hopeless insignificance. and in all that i said of the vastness of the hidden treasure i felt certain that i was keeping well within the bounds of truth, for i had the positive assurance that in the aztec treasure-house in that hidden valley the ransom of a nation was stored. "will you go with us?" i asked, when i had brought my glowing description to an end. "well, i should smile, professor," was young's characteristic answer. "you can count me in now, and no mistake!" said rayburn, and added, "by jove, palgrave, i mean to take a part of my share and buy the whole of cape cod!" and so the make-up of our party was decided upon. fray antonio joined it for the love of god; i joined it for the love of science; and young and rayburn joined it for the love of gold. in regard to the boy pablo, he could not strictly be said to have joined it at all. he simply went along. vi. the king's symbol. fray antonio was well pleased when i told him of the stout contingent that i had secured; and when he had seen rayburn and young, and had talked with them--though his talk with young did not amount to much, for young's spanish was abominable--he was as thoroughly satisfied as i was that for our purposes we could not possibly have found two better men. in the course of this conference we made short work of our preparations for departure. rayburn's experience in fitting out engineering parties had given him precisely the knowledge required for putting our own little party promptly and effectively in the field; and in this matter, and in all practical matters connected with the expedition, he took the lead. he and young already possessed the regulation frontier outfit of arms--a winchester rifle and a big revolver--which they increased by another big revolver apiece; and i armed myself similarly with a pair of revolvers and a winchester: concerning the use that i should make of which, in case need for using them arose, i had very grave doubts indeed. fray antonio declined to carry any arms at all; and after he had accidentally discharged one of my pistols, which he had picked up to examine, so that the ball went singing by my ear and actually cut through the brim of young's hat, there was a general disposition to admit that the less this godly man had to do with carnal weapons the safer would it be for all the rest of us. young's hat was a battered derby, and about as unsuitable a hat for wear in mexico as possibly could be found; but for some unknown reason he was very much attached to that hat, and he was so wroth over having a hole shot through it in that unprovoked sort of way that he manifested a decided coolness towards fray antonio for several days. in the matter of armament, the happiest member of our party was pablo. he was a handy boy, and when he had demonstrated his ability to manage a revolver by doing some very creditable shooting with mine (at mark that i had stuck up in the corral, in order that i might gain ease in the use of this unknown weapon), i delighted him inexpressibly by buying him a pistol for his very own. i think that pablo, upon becoming the possessor of that revolver, at once grew two inches taller. the way that he strutted as he wore it, and his eager thrusting forward of his left hip, so that this gallant piece of warlike furniture might be the most conspicuous part of him, were a joy to witness. for a time his mouth-organ was entirely neglected; and coming quietly into the corral one day, i found him engaged in exhibiting the revolver to el sabio; who regarded it with a slightly bored expression that i do not think pablo took in good part. rayburn decided that our expedition could be made more effectively with a small force than with a large one. he argued that unless we took into the indian country a really powerful body of men, we would be safer with a very few: for a few of us would feel keenly the necessity of keeping constantly on guard; could be more easily managed and held together in running away; and in case a fight was forced upon us we would fight more steadily because each of us would know surely that he could rely upon the support of all the rest. which reasoning we perceived to be so sound that we promptly accepted it. rayburn added to our company, therefore, only three men: two otomí indians of whom fray antonio gave a good account, and dennis kearney, who had served as axeman on the recently disbanded engineering corps. he was a merry soul, this dennis, with a stock of irish melodies in his head that would have made the fortune of an old-time minstrel. he and pablo took to each other at once--though, since neither of them spoke a word of the other's language, music was their only channel of communication--and pablo presently presented us with a rendering on his mouth-organ, from a strictly mexican stand-point, of "rory o'more" that quite took our breaths away. while pablo played, dennis would stand by with his head cocked on one side, and with an air of attention as closely critical as that which el sabio himself exhibited; and when pablo went wrong, as he invariably did in his attempted _bravura_ passages, dennis would stop him with a wave of his hand, and an "aisy now, me darlint! that's good enough mexican, but it ain't good irish at all, at all," and then would show him what good irish was by singing "rory o'more" in a fashion which made the old stone arches ring with a volume of music that could have given odds to an entire brass band. poor dennis! only the other day i heard an organ-grinder grinding forth "rory o'more," and the memory of the last time i heard dennis sing that song, and of what heroic stuff that merry-hearted rough fellow then showed himself to be made, came suddenly over me, and there was a choking in my throat, and my eyes were full of tears. well, it was a good thing--or a bad thing, as you please to put it--that we could not see far into the future that morning when we packed our mules in the corral of the hotel, and set out upon the march that was to lead us through such perilous passages before we reached its end. [illustration: packing in the corral] that i might fill to the brim the cup of pablo's happiness--for my conscience pricked me a little that i suffered him to go with us--i had bought him the rain-coat of palm leaves for which his heart so long had pined. what with this and his revolver, and the delight of going upon a journey (for he had very fully developed that love of travel which is so strong in his race), his wits seemed to be completely addled with joy. he insisted upon putting on his absurd rain-coat at once; and he did so many foolish things that even el sabio looked at him reproachfully--this was when he tried to place on that small donkey's back some of the heavy pack-stuff destined for the back of one of the big mules--and we got along much better with his room, as he presently enabled us to do, than we did with his company. when the time for starting came, we had quite a hunt for him; and we might not have found him at all had we not been guided by the sound of music to the sequestered spot to which he had retired in order to give vent to his pent-up feelings by playing on his mouth-organ "pop goes the weasel"--an air that young had been whistling that morning and that had mightily taken pablo's fancy. we made rather an imposing cavalcade as we filed forth from the great gate of the hotel, and took our way along the calle nacional, the principal street of the city, towards the garita del poniente. fray antonio and i rode first; then came rayburn and young, followed by dennis kearney; then the two pack-mules, beside which walked the two otomí indians; and closing the procession came pablo, wearing his rain-coat, with his revolver strapped outside of it, and riding el sabio with a dignity that would have done honor to the viceroy himself. pablo certainly was in the nature of an anti-climax; but i would not have told him so for the world. fray antonio wore the habit of his order, this privilege having been specially granted to him by the governor of the state as a safeguard for all his expeditions among the indians. it was understood, indeed, that he now was going forth on one of his missionary visits among the mountain tribes, and simply rode with us, so far as our ways should lie together, for greater security. i had announced that i was going among the indians again in order to increase my knowledge of their manners and customs; and rayburn--to whom the rest of the party was supposed to belong--had stated that he was taking the field in order to make a new reconnaissance along the line of the projected railway. it was in order to maintain these several fictions that we went out by the western gate, and that we continued for two days our march westward before turning to our true course. of our progress during the ensuing fortnight it is not necessary that i should speak, for beyond the ordinary incidents of travel no adventures befell us. during this period we went forward steadily and rapidly; and at the end of it we had covered more than three hundred miles, and had come close to where--supposing our rendering of the aztec map to be correct, and that we had rightly collated it with the dead monk's letter--the mission of santa marta had stood three centuries and a half before. there was no possibility that any trace of this mission would be found; but every rock that we came to was most eagerly scrutinized, for on any one of them might we find the king's symbol engraved. for two or three days we had been travelling through a region very wild and desolate. far away along the western horizon rose a range of mountains whose bare peaks cut a jagged line along the sky. the country between us and these far-away mountains was made up of many parallel ranges of rocky hills; which ranges were separated by broad, shallow valleys, where cactus and sage-brush covered the dry ground thickly; and the only trees that broke this dreary monotony were pita-palms, the most dismal thing in all created nature to which the name of a tree ever has been given by man. there was no trail, and travelling through this tangle of briers was very difficult. all of rayburn's skill, which long practice had developed to a high degree, was required to enable us to pick a way through so thorny a wilderness. at times the indians with their _machetes_, and dennis with his axe, had to cut a path for us; and despite all our care, our own hands were cut and torn, and the legs of our poor beasts were red with blood. the deadly dryness of this arid waste added to our discomfort. a strong dry wind blew steadily from the north, building up out of fine dust which was over all the surface of the baked ground little whirl-winds--_remolinos_, as the mexicans call them--which went dancing down the valleys as though they were ghostly things; and occasionally, when one of these struck us, we were covered with a prickly dust that fairly burned our skins. what water we got was to be had only by digging in the _arroyos_ which traversed the centre of each valley longitudinally; and although this water always was muddy, and had a strongly alkaline taste, it is the only thing that i remember with pleasure in all that weary land. of animal life there was nothing to be seen, save a-plenty of rattlesnakes; and a few great buzzards which wheeled above us from time to time as though with the intention of keeping track of us until we should fall down and die of thirst and weariness, and they should be able to feast upon us at their ease. at the end of the third day of this dreary travelling we had come close to the great western range of mountains, and our camp that night was made in the mouth of a little valley that opened from among the foot-hills. the night before we had made a dry camp, and for the whole of the twenty-four hours we had had but a pint of water apiece. pablo, i am sure, had given half of his own scant allowance to el sabio. the other animals--it was all that we could do for them--had only their dusty mouths and nostrils wiped out with a wet sponge. they were pitiable objects, with their bleeding legs, their haggard eyes, their out-hanging tongues, and their quivering flanks. as fray antonio unsaddled his horse i saw that there were tears in his eyes; but the rest of us, i fear, were too thoughtful of our own misery to feel much sorrow for the misery of our beasts. i suppose that a man must suffer the lack of it, as we then did, in order to know how precious a thing water is. and to give some notion of its preciousness to those who not only are free at any time to drink their fill of it, but even can fill bath-tubs with it, and feel the joy of it on their bare bodies whenever they are so minded, i will say that when a little digging gave us that night as much water as we wanted, our joy was far greater than it would have been had we there found the hidden city of which we were in search. our well was sunk in the broad sandy bottom of the _arroyo_, in the midst of a narrow and delectably grassy valley between two foot-hills. and the abundance and the sweetness of the water, as well as the presence of grass, showed us that but a little way up this valley there must be an open stream. we drank, and our beasts drank, until all of our skins were nigh to bursting; and the abundance of water was so great that we even could wash the dust at last from our parched faces and necks and arms; and much like raw beef our skins looked when our washing was ended, and the stinging of them was as though we had been whipped with nettles. it was our intention now to leave the plains and to march along the edge of the foot-hills parallel with the main range, otherwise we should not have ventured thus to wash ourselves. in a region where alkali dust is in the air, washing is to be shunned; for each time that the skin is cleaned the new deposit of dust takes a deeper biting hold. it was rather that we might escape the misery of further travel on the arid plains than because we had any strong hopes of thus finding the way of which we were in search that we had decided to change our line of march. young had begun openly to express his contempt for the aztec map, and in the hearts of all of us had sprung up some doubts as to its trustworthiness as a guide. after all, it was not in the least a map in the true meaning of the word; and that it should show us rightly our way depended not only upon our having interpreted correctly its curious symbolism, but also upon the correctness of the interpretation that mexican archæologists had given to the map of the first aztec migration--of which map, as we believed, our map was a reserved and secret part. if either interpretation were wrong, then we might be hundreds of miles distant from the region in which the way marked by gravings of the king's symbol should be sought. four or five hours of daylight still remained to us after we had dug our well, and with the delicious water flowing into it had satisfied our thirst; but we had no intention of going farther that day. we had no need to hobble the animals, for they could be trusted to stay near the water-hole while they feasted on the grass, and we needed food and rest quite as much as they did. young and dennis together got us up a famous meal, and when it was ended we lighted our pipes and held a sort of council of war. that we might talk the more freely, in both english and spanish, we drew away a little from where the two otomí indians and pablo were stretched out upon the grass together; and we bade dennis take a look around the shoulder of the first hill, so that we might know something of what our way would be like when we started in the morning; for we were not as yet ready that the minor members of the expedition should know the purpose that we had in mind. we had decided that when, by the finding of the course indicated by the gravings of the king's symbol, our quest fairly had a beginning, being no longer a matter of mere hope and conjecture, we then would give dennis and pablo and the two indians some notion of what we intended doing; with the option of deciding for themselves whether or not they would have a part in it. and the thought never once occurred to our minds that circumstances might arise of such a nature that neither they nor we would have any choice in the matter at all. as we consulted together we had spread out before us a map of mexico, and with this the map that the cacique had given me, and a copy of the map showing the great aztec march. yet the more that we councilled the less could we come to any reasonable conclusion as to what was best for us to do. as nearly as we could tell from the strange guides that we needs must be led by, we had beaten thoroughly the region where once the mission of santa marta was; and not a trace of the gravings on the rocks had we found. to go over this region again, searching still more minutely, was too great an undertaking even to be thought of; and yet the only alternative to this painful course seemed to be that we should abandon our search altogether; in short, we were completely at sea. "what _i_ think," said young, "is that that old dead monk, an' that old dead cacique, have set up a job on us. they're both of 'em lyin' like fiddlers; that's what's th' matter with _them_. there ain't any hidden city, or hidden treasure, or hidden d----n anything; it's all a fraud from beginnin' t' end. i vote t' pull up stakes an' go home." a cool refreshing wind was beginning to sweep down to us from the mountains; but it was blowing only in puffs as yet, for the night would not be upon us for several hours. borne faintly and fitfully upon this uncertain wind came to us the strains of "rory o'more"; with which melody, as we inferred, dennis was beguiling his solitude while he explored the route that we were to take the next day. pablo, sitting comfortably on the grass, his back propped against the back of el sabio, also caught the sound; and straightway began to play an accompaniment on his mouth-organ to dennis's distant singing. the strains gradually grew louder, showing that dennis was returning; but when they stopped suddenly we thought that he had only tired of the sound of his own voice, or, perhaps, did not think anything about the matter at all. but when a sound of hurried, irregular steps came down the wind to us, we all were on our feet in a moment and had our arms ready, for it was evident that dennis was running from something; and the danger was likely to be a serious one, for running was not at all in dennis's line. we wondered why he did not call out; but the explanation of his silence was plain enough, ten seconds later, as he came around the shoulder of the hill, staggered in among us, and fell on the grass at our feet--with the blood streaming from his mouth and nostrils, and with an arrow clear through his breast. "indians!" he gasped, with an effort that brought a torrent of blood spurting from his mouth; and he added, faintly, "but i've bate 'em, th' divvils, in their hopes of a soorprise!" these triumphant words were the last that dennis kearney uttered on earth. as he spoke, a fresh outburst of blood came from his nostrils and mouth, a quiver went over him--and then he was dead. i do not believe that many men would have done what dennis did: run a good quarter of a mile with an arrow through his lungs, and then die exulting because he had succeeded in warning the camp. rayburn had the situation instantly in hand. "get the packs and saddles on quick!" he cried. "the indians 'll come around that hill and try to scoop us here in the open. they won't close in; they'll keep off, and just lie around for a week till we're played out, and then they'll step in and finish us; they'll do that, likely enough, anyway. but our one chance is to get to a place up the valley here, where they can tackle us only from in front. there's water up there, so we'll be all right, and we may be able to shoot enough of them to make the rest give it up, or they'll close in, and we'll have the comfort of getting the whole thing ended without any useless fooling over it." all the while that he spoke he was working away, and so were we all, at saddling and packing; and, luckily, the animals, although the water and the food and the rest had put new strength into them, still were too tired to give us the trouble that animals give at such times when they are fresh. in a surprisingly short time we were ready to start; and yet not a sign had we had, save the warning that dennis had brought us, that there was an indian within a hundred miles of us. indeed, but for his dead body on the ground beside our camp-fire, we might have imagined that our scare was only a bad dream. that it was a very bad reality was shown just as the last pack went on, when one of our otomí indians gave a howl as an arrow went through his leg, and i felt a sharp little nip on my forehead where an arrow just grazed it, and there was that queer, faint whirring sound in the air that only a flight of a good many arrows together will produce. rayburn took the body of poor dennis before him on his own horse; he'd be d----d if the indians should get dennis yet, he said; and away we went up the sandy bed of the _arroyo_, driving the mules before us, and the otomí indians pelting along on a dead-run. the indian who had been hit coolly broke the arrow off short, and then pulled it out through the wound. suddenly we saw young, who was riding a little ahead of the rest of us, half pull up his horse and look earnestly at a great shoulder of rock that jutted out from the mountain-side. "there's your king's symbol, and be d----d to it!" he shouted; and added, "what's the good of a king's symbol when we're all goin' to lose our hair?" he was under full head-way again in a moment. as we shot past the rock we all turned to look; and there, sure enough, was the long-sought-for sign. vii. the fight in the caÑon. as we fled along the valley, and in a few moments heard the sound of the indians pursuing us, my mind was chiefly occupied with considerations of the quality which we denominate fear. i perceived that this purely occasional passion had a very direct bearing upon my own especial science of archæology. i reflected that had i been engaged in building a city at the moment when that irritating flight of arrows fell among us----the sting of one of which i still felt smarting upon my forehead----i should assuredly have ceased at once the building of that city, and should have moved rapidly away. and thus an excellently well-built city, that would have delighted archæologists of the future, would have been lost to the world. putting the matter yet more closely: here i had just found the sign for which i and my companions had been toilsomely searching for a considerable time; the sign which unquestionably would lead us to the most interesting archæological discovery that ever had been made. and yet, instead of stopping to study this sign earnestly, that i might understand all the meaning of it, i was hastening away from it with all possible speed; and for no better reason than that certain barbarians, whose knowledge of archæology was not even rudimentary, were pursuing me that they might take my life--an imperfectly expressed concept, by-the-way; for life can be taken only in the limited sense of depriving another of it; it cannot be taken in the full sense of deprivation and acquisition combined. these several reflections so stirred my bile against the indians in pursuit of us that i began to have a curiously blood-thirsty longing for our actual battling with them to begin; for i was possessed by a most unscientific desire to balance our account by killing several of them. and i confess that this desire was increased as i looked at the dead body of poor dennis, lying limply across the fore-shoulders of rayburn's horse. it was with real satisfaction, therefore, that i obeyed rayburn's order to halt, that we might make ready for the fight to begin. the valley up which we had been riding had narrowed by this time into a strait way shut in between high and nearly perpendicular walls; and the place that rayburn had chosen for us to make our stand in was the mouth of a cañon setting off from the valley nearly at right angles. the walls of this cañon came almost together above, far overhanging their bases, so that assault from overhead was impossible; some fragments of fallen rock made a natural breastwork for us to fight behind; and a little stream of pure, sweet water flowed at our feet. had this place been made for us expressly it could not better have suited our purposes; and finding it so opportunely put fresh heart into us. there was not, of course, a shadow of resemblance between the two, but, somehow, i fancied that the place where we stood resembled my old class-room at ann arbor; and i actually found myself repeating the opening sentence of the address that i delivered when i was formally inducted into the chair of topical linguistics. i mention this fact not because it is of the slightest importance in this present narrative, but because i think that it well illustrates the tendency towards illogical association that is so curious a characteristic of the human mind. i was not able to observe this phenomenon attentively, for rayburn hustled us all about so sharply that i had no available time just then for abstract thought. the mules and the horses and el sabio were driven into the cañon, and we were ranged behind the fragments of rock almost in a moment. each man had his winchester and revolvers in readiness, and a couple of cases of cartridges had been broken out from the packs and put where we all had easy access to them. while this work was going forward we could hear the indians coming hotly up the valley, and we were barely ready for them when the foremost of their party came in sight. "wait a little," said rayburn, quietly. "they don't know which turn we've taken, and they'll probably get into a bunch to do some talking, and then we can whack away right into the flock." while we were thus making ready i could see that fray antonio was in great distress of mind. he was a very brave man, and i know that his strong desire was to fight with the rest of us. and yet, just as the indians showed themselves, he deliberately turned his back upon them and walked away into the cañon's depths. his very lips were white, and there were beads of sweat upon his brow, and i saw that his fingers twitched convulsively. i know what he wanted to do, and i saw what he did. if ever a man showed the high bravery of moral courage, fray antonio showed it then. even young, in whom i did not look for appreciation of bravery of that sort, said afterwards that it was the pluckiest thing he ever saw. as rayburn had expected, the indians halted--but keeping more under cover than he had counted upon--and held some sort of a council. but it did not seem, from what we could see of their gestures, to relate to the way that we might have taken so much as to the cañon in which we actually were concealed. they pointed towards the mouth of the cañon repeatedly, and it struck me that in their motions there was a curious indication of dread or awe. one old man was especially vehement in gestures of this unaccountable nature; and when at last the younger men in the council seemed to revolt against his orders, this man, and all the older men with him, retired down the valley whence they had come. [illustration: the fight in the caÑon] the young men, left to themselves, hesitated for a moment, and then with a cry--as though for their own encouragement--came charging towards us in a body. as we got a full view of them we perceived with much satisfaction that their only arms were bows and arrows and long spears, and that there were not more than twenty men in the lot. and then rayburn gave the order to fire. i confess that my hand so trembled as i pulled the trigger of my rifle that i was not at all surprised to find that the man whom i had fired at--a very tall, powerful young fellow, who seemed to be in command--was not hit; but a man just behind him dropped, and i had a queer feeling in my throat, and certain odd sensations in my stomach, as i realized that i had shot him. indeed, i was so engrossed with meditations upon the curious ease with which a man's life is let out of him, that i quite forgot for some seconds to continue firing. the others, luckily, conducted themselves in a more practical manner; and the little whirlwind of balls which sped from the winchesters made it wonderful, not that so many of the indians fell dead or wounded, as that any of them remained alive and unhurt. but eight of them did survive their charge in the face of the storm of bullets that we pelted at them; and these--headed by the tall fellow, who seemed bullet-proof--came rushing at us over our breastwork of rocks, shouting and flourishing their long spears. i cannot say very accurately what happened during the next five minutes or so, for one of the indians came directly at me, and before i could at all stop him--for i found that shooting at him with my revolver did him no harm at all; and this struck me as odd, for i had repeatedly hit the mark while practising in the corral--he had prodded his spear through the fleshy part of my left arm. it hurt severely. he had aimed his thrust, doubtless, at my heart, and he certainly would have penetrated that vital organ had i not at that moment slipped, and so disarranged his aim. he pulled the spear out of my arm, which action also gave me great pain, and his manner indicated that he was about to thrust it into some other part of me; which he surely could have done, for i was wholly at a loss as to what measures should be taken to assure my own safety. indeed, i was very well convinced that my life was as good as ended, and a curious flash of thought went through me that i cannot coherently remember, but that was in the nature of a query as to whether or not in a future state the many scientific truths which as yet are but imperfectly understood will be wholly revealed to us. however, the opportunity that i confidently expected would be given to me in a moment to obtain an answer to this interesting question did not then occur. just as the indian was lunging at me--i can see his ugly face now, as i close my eyes and let my thoughts turn backward to that critical moment--there was a flash of some bright object before me, and then the indian's entire head seemed to shut up suddenly, something like an opera-glass, and he went down to the ground like a stone. as i turned, i saw that my deliverance had come from pablo, and even in that very exciting moment i observed with astonishment that the weapon with which he had slain the indian was a great jagged sword--if the _maccuahuitl_ can be called a sword--such as the aztecs used in ancient times. i could not then conveniently stop to question him whence he had obtained that very interesting weapon, for there was another indian already close upon me; and i am pleased to say--for i do not wish the belief to go abroad that scientific men are worse than useless in practical emergencies--that, without assistance from pablo or from anybody else, i managed to pick up my rifle, and with the heavy iron barrel of that weapon, used clubwise, i mashed the head of that indian into a perfect pulp. i know positively that i mashed it into a pulp, for i tried afterwards to measure it, and found that for craniological purposes it was utterly valueless. even had i required pablo's aid in this encounter he could not possibly have given it to me, for he was himself just then very hotly engaged. indeed, but for assistance that come to him from an unexpected quarter his life assuredly would have been lost. he was in the act of hauling back to strike at the fellow facing him, and he did not at all know that he was in imminent danger of a thrust in the back from a wounded wretch who, having struggled upon his knees, was using what little life was left in him to deliver yet another blow. just at this critical instant it was that fray antonio dashed into the thick of the fighting, and covered pablo's body with his own against this assault in the rear; so that, as the indian struck, the knife only cut through the monk's habit and slightly scratched his arm, instead of making a hole between pablo's shoulder-blades that would have let the life out of him. young, who was close beside pablo, saw what was going on, and checked it before further harm was done by turning quickly and shooting off the top of the wounded indian's head; and then fray antonio retired out of the fighting in which, without himself striking a blow, he had taken so gallant a part. so far as i was concerned, the fight was at an end when i had so cleverly mashed the head of my second assailant. no more indians came at me, and as i looked around i perceived that this was for the excellent reason that there were no more to come. two were just advancing on young; who had them covered with his revolver, and dropped them, one after the other, in less time than is required to tell about it. the only other survivor among the enemy--at least the only one able to keep his feet--was the tall young chief, and he and rayburn were just finishing the last round of what probably was as fine a fight as ever was fought. they were well matched in size and in weight; and if the indian was any stronger than rayburn, i can only say that he must have been a most wonderfully strong man. they were fighting on even terms; for the indian was armed only with a short club, that he held in his left hand--and this left-handed method made him all the more awkward to deal with--while rayburn, having emptied his revolver, was using as a club its heavy barrel. as i caught sight of them, the indian was in the act of springing forward and delivering a tremendous blow; but rayburn most skilfully parried this blow by throwing out his rifle, still retained in his left hand, in such a manner and with such force that the indian's arm--at the same time striking and being struck with the iron barrel--was broken just above the wrist. he gave a yell of pain, as he well might; but he was a plucky fellow, and instead of dropping his club he only shifted it to his right hand. he never had a chance to strike again with it; for in that same instant rayburn swung his revolver at arm's-length through the air and brought it down on his head with a sound so muffled and so hollow that i can liken it only to the staving-in of the head of a full cask. for a moment, while rayburn drew back to strike again, the indian's body swayed heavily; and then all his muscles relaxed, and he fell heavily and limply to the ground--while his brains spurted out from the ghastly trench made by that mighty blow from back to front across the entire top of his skull. viii. after the fight. rayburn stood panting for a moment over the indian's body; and then, having satisfied himself by a look around among our fallen enemies that every one of them was either dead or dying, he stooped down beside the stream to drink from it, and then to bathe an ugly gash in his forehead made by a spear thrust that luckily had glanced aside. indeed, we all had wounds or bruises by which we were likely to remember our fight for a good many days to come. in addition to the cut on his forehead, rayburn had an arm badly bruised by a crack from a club; young had a cut in the calf of his leg that must have been made by one of the indians after he had fallen wounded; fray antonio had the slight cut in his arm that he received in rescuing pablo; a blow from a club on my shoulder had completely disabled my left arm, and my head was beginning to ache from the wound in my forehead where the arrow had nipped me; and pablo, by a square knock-down blow on the head that tumbled him among the rocks, had a bad gash in his cheek and was bruised all over. and yet the very first thing that boy did when the fight was ended--being still dazed, no doubt, by the blow on his head--was to play a bit of "rory o'more" on his mouth-organ in order to make sure that his beloved "instrumentito" had not been injured by his fall. the sound of this air gave my heart a wrench, as i thought of poor dennis; whose gallant race with death assuredly had saved all of us from dying without a chance to strike a blow. and both of our otomí indians were dead too. but while we had suffered thus severely we had the satisfaction of knowing that we had inflicted a most signal punishment upon our enemies. of the whole company that had attacked us--eighteen in number, as we found by counting their bodies--only two remained alive when the fight ended; and these two speedily relieved us of all responsibility concerning them by dying of their wounds. as young tersely expressed it, we had "given the whole outfit a through bill of lading to kingdom come!" notwithstanding the pain that i was in, the first thought that came to me after we had achieved peace (by the effective yet somewhat radical process of killing all of our enemies) was concerning the strange weapon with which pablo had been fighting; and by his prompt use of which in my defence my life had been saved. he had laid it upon a rock--while testing the integrity of his mouth-organ--and as i now carefully examined it i found that my glimpse of it as pablo had mashed the indian's head had not deceived me. it truly was a maccuahuitl, the primitive aztec sword, but very unlike any description of that weapon that i had ever seen. the maccuahuitl, as described by the spaniards at the time of the conquest and as shown by the aztec pictures of it preserved in various museums, was a wooden blade from three and a half to four feet long and from four to five inches wide. along its two edges, like great saw teeth, fragments of obsidian, about three inches long and two inches wide, were inserted; and as these were keenly sharp the weapon was a most ferocious one. the sword that i held in my hand was identical in its essential features with this primitive design; but it was shorter, narrower, and thinner. what was still more extraordinary about it was that, while it seemed to be made of brass, it had the bright glitter of gold and the temper and the elasticity of steel. being tested by bending, it instantly sprung straight again; and notwithstanding the vigorous use that pablo had been making of it on the bones of several indians, the thin edges of the projecting teeth were only nicked a little--as the edge of a steel sword would have been nicked under like circumstances--and not one of these teeth was bent out of place, as assuredly would have been the case had the metal been ordinary brass. fray antonio, by this time, had returned to us again--looking rather shamefaced because of the part that he had taken in the fight--and i eagerly showed him this strange weapon that had been so strangely found; for pablo's account of it was simply that, just as his revolver was emptied upon the indians charging towards us, when there was no time to reload, his eyes were caught by the glitter of the sword as it stuck in a cleft in a rock; whereupon he most gladly seized it--and instantly used it to good purpose upon the indian who was so close to ending me with his spear, and subsequently contrived with it to send two more indians to their account. fray antonio's knowledge of the matter having a wider practical range than mine, for he knew well the contents of the several mexican museums in which specimens of the primitive weapons are preserved, i thought it possible that he might be able to match this curious maccuahuitl with an account of another like it which he somewhere had seen. that there was no record in the books of this weapon made of metal i knew very well. but fray antonio's surprise over it was greater than my own; and he certainly found more in it to please him than i did; for this metal maccuahuitl, supposing it to belong to ancient times, settled in his favor a controversy that for some time past we had been amicably but earnestly carrying on. i had adopted the ingenious theory of my friend bandelier that the serrated edge of the aztec sword was accidental; resulting from the breaking away in use of portions of what at first was a continuous edge of obsidian. fray antonio, on the other hand, had held firmly to the ordinarily accepted opinion that the sword was such as i have described above (i must confess regretfully) the primitive weapon to have been. my contention therefore was that the sword that pablo had found was not an antique; and i fortified my position, as i considered impregnably, by the fact that while aztecs, before the spanish conquest, did make some slight use of copper and gold, they assuredly had no knowledge whatever of either brass or steel. and my natural irritation very well may be imagined, by any one familiar with controversies of this nature, when i add that fray antonio endeavored to cut the ground from under me by asserting that, inasmuch as the weapon obviously was not made of brass or steel, my argument was based upon false premises and consequently led to illogical conclusions. i am afraid that i showed a little temper on this occasion; for fray antonio manifested a persistence in his defence of what i regarded as his wholly untenable position that amounted to what i held to be downright pig-headedness. and so, for a considerable length of time, we stood there, among the bodies of the dead indians, and first one of us and then the other handled the sword, and expressed with increasing warmth our views respecting it and each other; and we might have stood there much longer had not young--with the best of intentions, no doubt, but in a way the certainly was not agreeable--taken upon himself to bring our controversy for the time being to an end. "i don't exactly know what you and the padre are jawing about at such a rate, professor," he struck in; "but as well as i can catch on, it's about things which happened three or four hundred years ago. i don't want to interrupt you, of course; but i do want the padre--he knows something about surgery, as i saw the other day when he took that cactus thorn out of pablo--to do something to plug up this hole in my leg. it's bleeding a good deal, and it hurts like the very devil. and i guess rayburn'd be glad to have that slit in his forehead tied up too." to do fray antonio justice, he took this interruption in better part than i did; for i was deeply interested in the argument in which we were engaged, and wished to continue it. but when i explained what young wanted, he turned to him at once, and very tenderly as well as very skilfully dressed his wound; and then bandaged the gash in rayburn's forehead, and the cut in pablo's cheek. pablo decidedly objected to this bandaging, for it put a peremptory stop for a while to his playing on his mouth-organ. for me no surgery was required. fray antonio carefully felt my shoulder while he moved my arm--thereby hurting me most horribly--and as the result of his investigations he assured me that the bones were neither broken nor out of place. rayburn also examined the maccuahuitl with much interest. "of course it is not brass," he said, "and of course it cannot possibly be phosphor-bronze. but, if such a thing were a metallurgical possibility, i should say that it was gold--treated in some manner that gives it as great a hardness as bronze receives when treated with phosphorus, but with some chemical change wrought in its constitution that gives it also the tempered quality of steel. nothing but gold, you see," he added, "could lie around out-of-doors this way and not get tarnished by oxidization." "what's the reason that it's not some queer thing belonging to the folks we're looking for?" young asked; and his question expressed a thought that already had found a lodging in my own mind. for such good-luck as this would be i was quite willing to concede that fray antonio was right in his unpleasantly positive views in regard to the shape of the aztec swords. and what young said also put me sharply in mind of the graving on the rock of the king's symbol, that we had found only in the same moment to lose it again. to this matter i now adverted; and i said some very unpleasant things about the indians who had prevented us from following the trail, that we had sought for so laboriously, when we did find it at last--and who still, for we doubted not that the main body was in wait for us lower down the valley, prevented us from returning to the spot where we had seen the sign and thence systematically continuing our search. "if i was you, professor," said young as i ceased speaking, "i wouldn't be so everlastin'ly down on these poor devils of indians for what they've done. they killed dennis, an' that's a pretty bad business; an' they got away with our two _mozos_, too; an' they've pretty well battered th' rest of us. but i take it that we've about evened things up by killin' eighteen of 'em--or six of their crowd dead for each one dead in ours. i guess we can call that part of th' business about square. but what i'm gettin' at is, if it hadn't been for the indians we'd never have come up this valley; an' so we'd never have struck th' king's symbol trail at all." "but what good did it do us to find it, when we could not follow it?" i asked. "we cannot go back to examine the sign without risking our lives; and unless we do examine it we cannot know where the next one is, and so the trail is lost." "i've just been waitin'," said young, "t' see if i was th' only man in this party that god-a-mighty'd given a pair of eyes to. i guess i am. suppose you just get up, professor, an' turn around, an' take a look at that place where there's a brown mark on th' side of th' rock; an' suppose th' rest of you look there too. if that isn't th' king's symbol, just as plain as th' noses in all your faces, i'll eat every dead indian in this cañon." and young spoke the truth. just above the cleft whence pablo had taken the sword, graven so deeply in the rock that after all the weathering of centuries it still remained distinct and clear, was identically the same figure that fray francisco in the far past time had represented in his letter, and that was repeated also on the far more ancient piece of gold. above it was cut an arrow that pointed directly up the cañon. it was a good thing that something came to cheer us just then; for what with the death of dennis and of our two poor indians, and our own hurts, and the melancholy feeling that must oppress men always--save those of cruel and hardened natures--when a fight is ended in which they have spilled freely human blood, we all were oppressed sensibly by a consuming sadness. but here was cheer indeed. not only had we surely found the trail at last, but we found it leading in precisely the direction that at that moment we desired to go. for us to return down the valley to the open country, we knew was full of most signal danger; for the indians who so unaccountably had declined to take part in attacking us assuredly were lying in wait for us by the way. our only chance to escape them was to strike into the mountains; and the sign that we now had gave promise that we should find some sort of a path along which we might go. therefore it was with good heart that we set about getting as far into the depths of the cañon as possible before night should be wholly upon us; trusting, in regard to possible pursuit, somewhat to the superstition of the indians which so unaccountably yet so obviously had been aroused, and also to the wholesome dread that they must have of us upon finding that every one of their companions had been slain. the bodies of our poor otomís we placed in a deep fissure in the rock, and there heaped stones upon them, while fray antonio said over them the briefer office; but the body of dennis we carried with us, that we might give him a more tender and reverent burial in gratitude for his brave struggle to save our lives when he knew that his own life was lost. as for the eighteen dead indians--who had invited the death that so promptly had come to them--we did not bother ourselves about them at all. we left them to the coyotes. ix. the cave of the dead. very dismal was our procession of faintly seen figures moving cautiously through that wild solitude. at its head went rayburn, leading his horse, on which was dennis's dead body; all of us, being bruised and cut and bleeding, walked slowly and painfully; and behind us, ghastly forms torn by bullets and crushed by blows, lay the slain indians in all manner of unnatural attitudes, made yet more hideous and fantastical by the gathering gloom of night. indeed, night now was so close upon us that had not the cañon in which we were run east and west, we would have been for some time past in darkness. as it was, though shut off from the west by the great range of mountains, a faint light came down into its depths from the still bright eastern sky, where lingered ruddy reflections of the sunset: and so we could see to pick our way, along the edge of the little stream, among the rough masses of rock and trunks of trees which had fallen from above. our march ended sooner than we had counted on. before we had accomplished more than half a mile of this rough travelling, there loomed before us a wall of rock which shut in the end of the cañon, and which rose as high and as sheer as did the cañon's sides. our hearts sank within us, for we perceived that we were in a cul-de-sac; whence escape was possible only along the way by which we had come--and so to return, with the indians still in wait for us, was to walk straight into the jaws of death. and, further, if our course in this direction was cut off, it was evident that the king's symbol graved upon the rock at the entrance of the cañon was a useless and misleading sign. in the hope that we might find a sharp turn, not to be perceived until we were close upon it, we pressed on through the dusk until we came to the very end of the cañon, and the dark wall of rock that barred our way rose directly above our heads. and then we found, not a turn in the cañon, but a narrow opening (through which came forth the little stream) into the body of the mountain itself. yet we hesitated about entering this black gap--for who could tell what depths, unseen in that dense darkness, we might not plunge into headlong? much dry pine wood, branches and whole trees, lay about us in the cañon; and of this apt material rayburn presently constructed a great torch. lighting this in the open cañon was not to be thought of, for while we felt tolerably certain that the main body of our enemies had not followed us, we could not be wholly certain that they were not close upon our heels and ready to open upon us with a volley of arrows and spears. rayburn therefore struck a wax-match--with which excellent article of mexican manufacture we were supplied plentifully--and with this to light his way, entered the narrow pass; and in his wake the rest of us followed. almost in a moment the walls on each side of us spread out beyond the reach of the narrow circle of light, and we perceived that we were come into a cave. but before we could at all discern our surroundings the match was blown out by a sudden suck of wind setting in from the entrance, and we were in thick darkness. the air around us was so sweet and so fresh that we knew that the cave must be large, and with more than one opening--as, indeed, the suck of wind inward through the passage by which we entered clearly showed. while rayburn struck another match, wherewith to light the torch, we all stood still in our places; and certain tremors went through our breasts because of the eeriness of our surroundings. [illustration: the cave of the dead] when the great torch blazed up, and threw everywhere save towards the high roof a flood of light, a real and rational fear took possession of us. the cave was nearly circular, and at its back, directly facing the entrance, was a roughly hewn mass of stone on which rested a huge stone figure--identical with the figures in the mexican national museum to which le plongeon, the discoverer of one of them, at chichen-itza, has given the name of chac-mool. but what filled us with dread was not this impassive stone image. our alarm came from a much more natural cause, as we beheld, squatted on their haunches in long semicircular rows, facing the great stone idol, more than a hundred indians. truly, considering that our rifles were outside the cave and that we had with us only our revolvers, our momentary thrill of terror was highly natural. yet it was only momentary. the indians, undisturbed by our presence and by the sudden blaze of light, remained unmoved in silent worship of their god; and rayburn, the first of us to recover equanimity, set all our fears to flight as he exclaimed: "these are not the fighting kind. every man jack of 'em is as dead as julius cæsar. we've struck an indian bone-yard." here, then, was the reason why a part of the force that had attacked us had drawn off when we made our stand at the mouth of the cañon that led to this home of the dead. yet when, by the light of the torch, we examined our silent fellow-tenants of the cave, it did not seem that they had been placed there in recent times. indeed, the more that fray antonio and i looked closely at their wrappings and noted the way in which their mummied forms had been ranged before this idol--that certainly belonged to a primitive time--the more were we inclined to believe that this weird sepulchre belonged to the very far back past. but for the moment it mattered not to us whence these dead forms came: the essential matter was that while we remained in the cave with them we were in absolute safety. "well," said young, when we had reached this comforting conclusion, "since it's a sure thing that we're all right here, i move that we make ourselves comfortable. let's bring in th' stock, an' get th' packs off; an' then we'll build a fire an' eat another supper. fightin' indians is hungry work, an' i feel as if i hadn't had anything to eat for a week"--which suggestions were so reasonable that we at once proceeded to act upon them. it was hard work for us, wounded and sore and tired as we were, to unfasten the pack-cords; and still harder work to collect the wood for our fire. but we managed to accomplish it all at last; and most comforting and refreshing was our supper amid those extraordinary surroundings. there was even cheerfulness about our meal--and yet over in the shadows at the back of the cave, touched now and then by a brighter flash of firelight, lay before the heathen altar of old the body of our poor dennis; and close beside us were the long rows of dead indians. i sometimes have thought that it was strange that we then had any heart to eat at all, surrounded by so desolate a company. but there is that about killing one's fellow-creatures, and being in imminent peril of being killed one's self, i have found, that blunts for a while the souls of those who survive and makes them careless of death's awful mystery. as the fire crackled and blazed, giving out a plentiful warmth that in that chill place was most grateful to our aching bodies, our spirits seemed to brighten with its brightness; and when the rich smell of strong coffee mingled with the smell of stewing meats told that young's cooking was nearly ended, we sniffed hungrily and eagerly; and when we actually fell to upon our meal i remember that we even laughed over it. yet it is but just to fray antonio to say that his fine spirit did not fall to the level of grossness that ours were brought to by what, as it seems to me, was an instinctive gladness on the part of our fleshly bodies that, for a while longer, they would not return to the dust whereof they were made. through our meal he sat gravely silent, yet with so sweet and so tender an expression upon his gentle face that in his silence there was no suggestion of reproof. and when our meal was ended, and we were for stretching out upon our blankets before the fire and smoking our pipes comfortably, he reminded us, with no touch of harshness in his voice, that a last duty was claimed of us by our dead companion. and, truly, the funeral ceremonies over dennis in that strange place of burial made the most curious ending of a man that ever i saw. in the fine dry sand wherewith the cave was bedded, directly in front of the altar on which was the heathen idol, we dug his grave--toilsomely and with pain, for all of our bodies were hurt and sore. while we labored, two great torches flared upon the altar, propped against the idol; and long, flickering rays of light shot out to us across the mummied bodies of the dead indians--striking across their gleaming teeth, so that they seemed to smile at us--from the huge blaze of the fire. from our stores fray antonio took out a little salt, and from the clear spring that bubbled up within the cave a cup of water, which elements he blessed and mingled as the rites of his church prescribed; and with the water thus consecrated he sprinkled the body lying before the heathen altar, while his strong, sweet voice chanted the _de profundis_ so that all the cave rang with the rich melody of the holy strain, and our own breasts were thrilled by it. gently we bore the body of poor dennis from its resting-place before the altar to its last resting-place in the grave that we had dug there, while fray antonio said the _miserere_; and as with our pack-ropes we lowered the body into the earth, the priest sang the _benedictus_, with its promise of a better life to come; and then a prayer ended all, and we filled in the grave. "i'm congregational, myself," young said, when our work was finished; "at least i was brought up that way; an' i'm down on th' scarlet woman from first t' last. but i go in for lettin' folks believe what they've got a mind to; an' when it comes t' buryin' 'em it's only square t' give 'em th' sort of send-off that they'd really like. for a catholic, i guess dennis was a pretty good one; an' i must say i think it would 'a' done him good to see th' way we've given him a first-class funeral, just in th' shape he'd 'a' fixed things up for himself. but i guess what we've been at would have everlastin'ly shook up these dead fellows here, if they could have come t' life for about five minutes while it was goin' on!" there was an element of grim humor in this suggestion of young's that tickled my fancy; and it was, indeed, allowing for the quaintness of his phrasing of it, but an expression of my own thoughts. but my reflection was upon the curious incongruity of it all, and upon the way in which religious faiths supplant each other; even as the different races of men who formulate them and believe in them supplant each other upon the face of the earth. together in this same cave were now the dead of two faiths and two races. who could tell what dead of other faiths and races yet unborn would lie here also before the end of time should come? when all was ended we were glad enough to lie down to give our battered bodies rest in sleep. we felt sure that no attack would be made upon us; yet we rolled some fragments of rock into the narrow entrance to the cave, arranging them in such a way that they would fall with a crash should any attempt be made to move them from outside. and, this precaution having been taken, we lay down upon our blankets thankfully, and never troubled ourselves to keep any watch at all. it was brilliantly light when we awoke, for the rays of the just-risen sun were striking strongly into the cave through its entrance-way; and much light came also through a crevice higher up, and through a great hole in the vastly high roof. viewed in this clearer light, there was a horrible ghastliness about the mummies ranged in their orderly rows, and presided over by the coarsely carved, coarsely conceived stone figure that in life they had worshipped as their god. on this image the sunshine fell full, and we perceived that its position evidently had been chosen carefully, so that the very first ray of light from the rising sun would strike upon it. no doubt, in ancient times, this cave had been a temple as well as a place of sepulchre. we were well rested by our long and sound sleep; but the pain which was everywhere in our bodies, from our many bruises, and from our wounds, and from the aching stiffness of our muscles, made life for a time almost intolerable. moreover, the languorous reaction following the undue exaltation that came of our battling and escape was upon us; so that our pain of body was accompanied by a most sombre and melancholy cast of mind. yet, again, did the more balanced and delicate temperament of fray antonio shine out by contrast with our coarser make; for while he also suffered pains of the body, his mind was filled with a serene cheerfulness that found expression in kindly, comforting words, by which our flagging spirits were strengthened and upheld. there was in fray antonio's nature, surely, a fund of gentle lovingness the like of which i never knew in any other man. and, in truth, our plight was such that we stood in much need of comforting. not only were we sick with our many hurts, but we were also prisoners. by the full light of day we examined carefully the cave, and found no outlet to it; and we examined carefully, also, the walls of the cañon throughout its full length, and made sure that there was no path leading upward whereby a man could go. and escape down the valley was cut off, for the indians--who knew, no doubt, the manner of place we were caught in--were on guard and watching for us; which fact came sharply to our knowledge with a half-dozen arrows that dropped among us as we went out a little way beyond the mouth of the cañon to see if the way was open to us. had we been whole, we might have made a dash and fought our way through; but even this poor plan was not possible when our bodies were stiff and sore. our one comforting thought was that, as we had an abundance of provisions and an ample supply of water, we could hold out for so long a time that the indians at last would get tired of waiting for us. if they ventured to attack us in the cave, we knew that we could defend ourselves against any number of them successfully. if they simply abandoned the siege, then we would be free without fighting at all. but it was dismal work waiting in that dismal place for one or the other of these two ends to come. and the fact that the king's symbol had proved a false guide also was a source of deep concern to us. by the full strength of daylight we again examined the graving at the entrance to the cañon, and there was no mistaking the way in which the arrow pointed. and, what was even more perplexing and disheartening, we found the graving repeated at the entrance to the cave, and the arrow pointing directly towards the statue of chac-mool. it was impossible that this cave, with mummies only for inhabitants, could be the walled city wherein the reserve force of men and treasure had been hid; and yet here, obviously, was the end of the trail. of this we convinced ourselves by searching the cave exhaustively for another outlet--even sounding the walls in the hope that we might find a passage that had been artificially concealed. as rayburn tersely put it, we were no better than so many rats in a trap with terriers waiting for us outside. x. the swinging statue. four more days went by very wearily. our wounds were healing--for we all were in good condition as the result of our vigorous life in the open air--but they still kept us in constant pain, and so tended to increase our melancholy. out in the valley, beyond the mouth of the cañon, the indians maintained their watchful guard. rayburn tried the experiment of holding a hat and coat out on a pole, standing himself under cover of the rock, and in an instant a pair of arrows went through the dummy; and as one of these came from the right and the other from the left, it was evident that in both directions the valley was picketed. we were safe enough for the time being, of course. even should the indians overcome their superstitious dread and enter the cañon--which was not probable, for they had not even ventured to remove their dead--they could not possibly make a successful attack upon us in the cave. behind the breastwork that we had built in the narrow entrance, and armed with our repeating rifles and revolvers, we were absolutely secure. "it's not a bad thing that we're safe," said young, "an' that we've got plenty of grub an' water, an' even lots of firewood; if we've got t' be shut up here we might as well be comfortable. but what i want is a through ticket for home. this treasure business has gone back on us th' worst kind. that old fray francisco had his eye shut up by th' tall talk of th' fellow who pretended to be converted; and th' cacique just promiscuously lied. that's about the size of it. an' for bein' fools enough to swallow their stuff, here we are, as rayburn says, like rats in a cage." there was so much probability in what young said that i did not attempt to argue with him; yet was i convinced that in what fray francisco had written, and still more in what the dying cacique had said to me, there was a substantial element of truth. finding that nobody replied to him, for all of us were sore at heart and so disposed to silence, young turned to the statue of chac-mool and proceeded to abuse it vigorously, on the ground that it was an idolatrous product of the aztec race that was at the root of all our troubles. for, as he truly said, had there been no aztecs to begin with, our departure on a wild-goose chase after an aztec treasure-house would have been an impossibility. his attention having been thus fixed upon the idol, his habit of investigation got the better of his ill-will towards it, and he mounted the altar to examine it more closely--continuing the while to address it in language that was eminently unparliamentary. "a pretty-looking sort a specimen _you_ are!" he said, in a tone of vast contempt. "but you're about what i'd expect folks like that friend of th' professor's, th' cacique, t' worship. it takes a low sort of a heathen, even in his blindness, t' bow down to a stone like you--with your twisted head, an' your stubby legs, an' your little fryin'-pan over your stomach. why, where i come from they wouldn't have you even for a stone settee in a park. no, you're not fit even t' sit on--unless, maybe, it's on th' flat top of your crooked head;" and by way of testing this possibility, young seated himself on the head of chac-mool. and then a very extraordinary thing happened. the idol, and the great slab of stone on which it rested and of which it was a part, slowly moved; the head sinking, and the other end of the slab, on which the legs were carved, rising in the air! young sprang up with a cry as he felt the stone sinking beneath him; and the figure, relieved of his weight, settled back into its former position with a slight jar. in a moment that the slab was in the air there had come from under it a gleam of light. in the excitement wrought by this strange accident our hurts were forgotten; and we eagerly clambered upon the altar to investigate the matter further, while hope and wonder thrilled our hearts. "now, then, young," said rayburn, "try it again. it looks as though this idol wasn't all the blackguard things you've been calling it, by a long shot." "no, i'll be hanged if i'll try it again," young answered. "try it yourself, if you want to. how do i know what's goin' t' happen with a stone thing that goes tippin' around that way? i don't mind sayin' that i'm a good deal jolted, an' don't feel like foolin' with it any more. try it yourself, if you want to, i say." "all right," rayburn answered. "you and the professor stand here where you can grab me if anything goes wrong. it looks to me as though there was a chance for us of some sort here, and i mean to see what it is." young and i stood on each side of rayburn and held him by the arms as he seated himself on the idol's head. borne down by his weight, the head slowly sank, the whole fore-end of the stone slab falling away into the rock, and the after-end correspondingly rising and disclosing a squared opening, through which came a strong burst of light. when the head was down to the level of the rock, and the slab stood up at an angle of nearly fifty degrees, the movement ceased. looking into the opening we saw a flight of a dozen stone steps. on the bottom step the sun shone brightly, and in our faces blew a draught of fresh, sweet air. on the rock, beside the stair-way was carved the king's symbol, with the arrow pointing downward. "hurrah!" cried young. "here's a way out--an' it looks as if that old monk an' th' cacique weren't such a pair of blasted liars after all!" rayburn jumped up to have a look with the rest of us; but before he could see anything the statue had fallen into place again and the opening was closed. "no matter, we know how to work it, now," he said. "we must prop it up somehow; that's all. i want to have a look at this thing. there's some mighty good engineering shown in the way the centre of gravity of that stone has been calculated; and there's a good mechanism in the way it's hung. here she goes again. just chock it with a bit of rock when i swing it open." "well, what i'm interested in," said young, "is findin' out what sort of a place it'll get us into. it looks to me as if we might be goin' to strike the treasure right smack here." much the same notion was in all of our heads by this time, and we were full of eagerness--the statue having been swung again, and propped in place with a fragment of rock--as we went down the little stair. but what we found was only a continuation of the cañon--as though, by some curious freak of nature, the thin walls of rock enclosing the cave had been left thus in the very middle of it. rayburn drew our attention to the fact that we were on the crest of a divide, for a spring that bubbled up here flowed away from us; and this also was a cheering sign that the cañon had an outlet. how far away the outlet might be we could not tell; for the cañon, half a mile or so from where we stood, bent sharply to the right. but being thus assured that a way of some sort out of our prison was open to us, we turned to examine the work of the skilled mechanics who in some far past time had set this swinging statue in its place. from below, the simple apparatus, that yet for its fitting required so high a grade of scientific knowledge, was plainly disclosed to us. into the great slab of stone, presumably running through it from side to side, was set a round bar of metal--the same bright metal of which the sword was made--more than a foot in diameter; and this worked in two concave metal sockets in much the same manner that the sockets of a gun-carriage hold the trunnions of a gun. what struck rayburn as especially remarkable was the trueness to a circle of both the sockets and the bar; both showing, as he declared, that they had been worked upon a lathe. and he was puzzled, as in the case of the sword, as to the composition of the metal that thus defied oxidization through long periods of time. "gold is the only thing that fills the bill," he said; "but a bar of gold, even of that size, would bend double under such a strain. i'd give ten dollars for a chance to analyze it--for there's a bigger fortune in putting a metal like that on the market than there is in finding this treasure that we're hunting for: especially if it turns out that there isn't any treasure to find." "now, don't you go t' runnin' down that treasure," young struck in. "just now treasure stock is up. me an' that idol have just boomed th' market. i'm sorry i called jack mullins, or whatever his name is, such a lot of cuss-word names. i take 'em all back. he isn't just th' sort of an idol that i'd pick out t' worship myself, at least not as a steady thing; but there are good points about him--especially th' way he tips up. i always did like an idol that tipped up. he's done th' square thing by us in gettin' us out all right from th' worst sort of a hole; an' i guess th' best thing we can do is t' yank our traps out of that cave an' get started again. why, for all we know, th' treasure may be right around that corner." there was no doubt as to the soundness of young's suggestion in regard to resuming our march; but the very serious fact confronted us that we now must do our marching on foot. to get the horses and mules down through the narrow opening was simply impossible, and there was nothing for us but to leave them behind. rayburn looked very grave over this phase of the matter, for leaving the mules meant also that we must leave the greater part of our ammunition and stores. that these things would be abundantly safe in the cave, for any length of time, was not to the purpose; the essential matter was that we would be deprived of them. it was hard, too, to think that our animals would fall into the hands of the indians--for our only course with them must be to turn them loose in the cañon, whence they certainly would go out in search of pasture into the valley, and so be captured; but it was still harder to think that we must go ourselves on foot and with a scant outfit of supplies. it was not very cheerfully, therefore, that we went back into the cave and began to sort out from our packs the articles which would be absolutely necessary to our preservation in the rough work among the mountains that probably was before us; and our shoulders already ached a little in anticipation of the heavy loads which they must bear. it was while we were thus engaged that pablo begged that i would step aside with him for a moment that he might speak to my ear alone. i saw that there were tears upon his cheeks, and as he spoke he scarcely could restrain his sobs. "señor," he said, "you know el sabio?" "surely, pablo." "you know, señor, that he is a very small ass." "it is true." "and you know--you know, señor, how very tenderly we love each other. since i came away from my father and my mother, in guadalajara, and from my little brother and sister there, el sabio is everything in the world to me, señor. i--i cannot leave him, señor. i should die if we were parted; and el sabio would die also. and you say that you have perceived that he is a very small ass. do not ask me to leave him, señor." "but we cannot take him with us, pablo. what would you have?" "that is it, señor; truly, i think that we can take him with us. you see, he is so little; and it is quite wonderful through how small a place el sabio can crawl. he can creep like a kitten, señor, and he can make himself into a very little bunch. and so i think that he can--if we help him, you know, señor--and speak to him so that he will not be alarmed, and will try to do his very best to make a small bunch of himself--i think that we can get him down through the hole, and so take him with us. but if we cannot, señor, then--you must forgive me, señor--i love him so very dearly, you know--then i will stay with him here. it would be better so than that el sabio should think i no longer loved him. and he would think that, señor, were i to go with you and leave him here among these dreadful dead gentlemen alone." it had not occurred to any of us that el sabio might be condensed sufficiently to go through the narrow way; but if he truly were the collapsable donkey that pablo declared him to be, we had a good deal to be thankful for. he was a sturdy little creature, and his small back could bear easily twice as much as any two of ours. with his assistance we certainly would be able to carry with us all of our ammunition and arms--of which defensive stuff we could not well afford to spare the smallest part. and el sabio, after pablo had made a long explanation of the case to him, and had told him precisely what we expected him to do--to all of which he listened gravely and with an astonishing air of comprehending what was said to him--seemed to enter into the spirit of the situation, and to try his very best to meet its requirements. it is a puzzle to me to this day how el sabio managed to shrink himself so that we got him through that narrow hole; but he certainly did manage it--and then went down the stone stair-way backward, as though he had been trained to be a trick donkey from his youth up. when the feat was accomplished, and he stood safely out in the cañon, the expressions of love, and of congratulation upon his cleverness, which pablo lavished upon him were enough to have turned completely a less serious-minded donkey's head. such of our stores as we were compelled to leave behind us, including our saddles, and the pack-saddles, and all the heavier portion of our camp equipage, we heaped in one corner of the cave and piled rocks over; and then we turned our poor horses and the mules loose in the cañon, feeling certain that their instinct would lead them out to the valley in search of food. it went to our hearts to know that these good beasts of ours were doomed to hard service under indian masters to the end of their days. all being thus in readiness for our advance, we went down the stair-way beneath the swinging statue, and from beneath pulled out the piece of rock which propped up the great mass of stone. with a heavy jar it fell and closed the passage-way, and we prepared to start. just then fray antonio remembered that he had left on a ledge in the cave--that we had used as a shelf for the storage of various small matters during our sojourn there--a little volume that he dearly loved: the _meditations of thomas à kempis_. he was full of remorse for his forgetfulness, and did not ask that we should turn back to get his book for him; yet his distress over the loss of it was so evident that we had not the heart to go on. "it will take only ten minutes to go back," said rayburn, and as he spoke he ran up the stair-way and set his shoulders to sway up the stone. in a moment he called: "just come here, young, and help, will you? it don't work as easily from this side." but even with young's help the stone did not move. then the rest of us joined these two, and all five of us together pushed with all our strength--and the stone did not yield by so much as the breadth of a hair! and then rather a queer look came into rayburn's face, and he said: "i think that i understand what is the matter. the point of leverage falls beyond the edge of the hole. from where we have a chance to push, we are working against the whole weight of the stone. we might as well try to lift the mountain itself!" and then he added, "i guess we'd better give this thing up and start." very curious feelings were in our breasts as we picked up our packs and set off along the cañon; for we knew that by that way only could we go, and that, no matter what was ahead of us, our retreat was cut off. xi. the submerged city. a sweet, warm wind blew in our faces as we set off along the cañon; the sun shone joyously upon us, and there was that fresh, tingling quality in the air that is peculiar to regions high above the level of the sea. in spite of the fact that the way behind us was irrevocably barred, and that no matter what dangers were ahead of us we had no option but to face them, our spirits were strong within us, and we went blithely on our way. young, who was in advance, began to whistle "yankee doodle"; and presently, from the rear of our procession, where pablo walked beside the heavily laden el sabio, there broke forth a mouth-organ accompaniment to this spirited melody. the bed of the cañon, through which a little stream ran, fell away before us along a slight down grade; which descent, since we found also a good foot-way beside the stream, made walking comparatively easy notwithstanding our heavy back-loads. now and then our way would be barred by masses of rock fallen from above, and by whole trees blown down from their insecure roothold on the rocky cliffs; and twice we came to steep descents which would have given us trouble had we not brought along the ropes wherewith our packs had been bound. shifting el sabio down these places was our hardest task; but with the ropes, and the intelligent part that he took in the performance, we managed it successfully. so we went on for half a dozen miles or more through the windings of the cañon, but keeping all the while a sharp lookout ahead--for in the mouth of this end of the cañon, supposing it to open as at the other end upon a grassy valley, we well enough might come upon an indian camp. and that we had come upon such a camp we felt quite sure when, late in the afternoon, rayburn signalled us from his advanced position--he having gone to the head of the line in young's place--to stand still until he should reconnoitre a little. being thus halted, we unslung our rifles and loosed our pistols in their holsters, so that we might be ready in case fighting suddenly should begin; and rayburn went on around a turn in the cañon, and for a while we lost sight of him. presently he returned and signalled us to join him, but to move cautiously. when we came up with him he led us to the bend in the cañon, and there a broad view opened to us; for the cañon suddenly widened into a great valley, that was everywhere, so far as we could see, surrounded by walls of rock almost perpendicular and vastly high. in the bottom of the valley was a broad expanse of delectably green meadow-land, broken here and there by groves of trees; and in the valley's middle part, reaching from side to side of it, was a lovely lake, whereof the blue was flecked by white reflections of certain little idly drifting clouds: the sight of all which greenness and fair water and broad range of sky--after being for so long a season pent up in rocky fastnesses and wandering over brown, sun-baked plains--fairly brought tears into my eyes because of its fresh and open loveliness. and in the tender feeling that thus stirred my heart, as i could see in the quick glance that he gave me, fray antonio also keenly sympathized; for his nature was very open at all times to such gentle influences. but rayburn and young, as was evident from their anxious looks, were thinking only of the dangers which this lovely valley might hold in store for us; for the shore of the lake nearest to us had many houses built upon it, and we could see faintly, for the width of the lake was nearly two miles, that there were other houses upon its farther shore. standing hidden behind a rock, rayburn examined the valley carefully through a field-glass for a long while. "i must say this place beats me," he said at last, as he put the glass down from his eyes. "there's no doubt about there being a town down there; but i can't make out a sign of a single living thing. and what is still queerer, the houses seem to go right down into the lake. if you'll take the glass, professor, you'll see that a few of them, on this side, stand all right on dry ground; and then, farther down the sloping bank, are a lot in the water; and beyond these there seem to be some roofs just showing above the level of the lake. and as far as i can make out, things are just the same over on the far shore. it looks as if the lake had risen after the town was built." as i looked through the glass i saw that what rayburn had said was true; and i observed with much interest that many of the houses were large, and that all seemed to be well built of stone. their construction reminded me of the buildings which m. charnay examined at tula, and i was eager to get down to them and examine them closely. young and fray antonio took the glass, in turn, and as none of us saw any signs of life in the valley, we decided to go on. and we were mightily stimulated in this resolve by finding, just at the end of the cañon, where the sharp descent began, a graving of the king's symbol on the rock, with the arrow pointing directly down the steep path. "here's a walled city, for sure," said young; "and if this is where th' treasure-house is, we won't raise a row because th' folks have gone off an' left it. just whoop up that burro of yours, pablo, an' let's be gettin' along. it's a pity we had t' leave th' mules behind. if th' treasure's in silver, we can't get away with much of it with nothin' but el sabio t' pack it on." pablo did not understand this speech, of course, but he recognized his own name and the name of el sabio, and young's gestures helped out the meaning of his words. therefore pablo grinned, and "whooped up" el sabio; and we all set off briskly down the steep decline. presently we found our way much easier than we had been led to expect by its rough beginning. as we advanced along it there was ample evidence that the path had been graded and smoothed by the hand of man. in several places it was carried on a terrace supported by a well-laid retaining wall; a deep crevice was spanned by long slabs of stone, so placed as to form a bridge; and where it turned sharply around a high shoulder of rock, the face of the cliff had been quarried away. yet that this all had been done in a very remote time was shown by the fragments of rock which had fallen into it here and there, and which were blackened by age. "the same fellow who set that statue in place probably was in charge here," was rayburn's comment, "and he was a first-rate engineer. i wish i knew how he managed to swing those stone slabs over that crevice. there's no room there to set up a derrick, and it would puzzle me to set blocks like that without one." and rayburn's admiration for the professional skill of this engineer of a long past age was still further excited when the path came fairly into the valley, and thence was carried downward along the gentle slope towards the lake, by a perfectly even two-per-cent. grade, over a broad way paved smoothly with squared blocks of stone. and fray antonio and i were much interested in this work also, for we both perceived the identity of its structure with the paved way that is found on the east coast of yucatan, and that is continued on the island of cozumel. by this paved avenue we entered the city--for, as we presently found, it was entitled to this more dignified name. the first houses that we came to were but small buildings enclosing a single room--such as are found, inhabited by working-people, on the outskirts of any mexican city at the present day. they were silent and deserted; but they gave, at first sight, the impression of being but momentarily abandoned, for the belongings of their owners still remained in them as though the every-day affairs of life still went on within their walls. in the first that we entered we found an earthen pot still standing on a sort of fireplace, and beside the fireplace a little pile of charcoal. there was a fragment of bone in the pot, and beneath it were some scraps of charcoal which remained unconsumed. it was as though cooking had been going on here but an hour before. rayburn even put his hand into the ashes to feel if they still were warm. but closer investigation gave us a juster notion of the long lapse of time that must have occurred since any fire had burned upon this hearth. in one corner of the room we found a pile of mats, but on touching these they crumbled into fragments in our hands; and the bone in the pot was so dry and so porous that it was light as cork. as in this first house that we examined, so was it in all of them. all, at the first glance, seemed to have been but a moment before deserted; but all had signs about them which showed that they had been abandoned for a very long time. in one we found a loom--in construction very like that which the navajo indians use at the present day--on which hung, partly completed, a sheer filament that once had been some sort of heavy woollen cloth. in another, a cotton garment was lying carelessly upon a shelf, as though but a moment before cast aside; yet, as i tried to pick it up, it crumbled between my fingers into a fine powder. of humanity, the only sign that we found anywhere about this grim and desert place was the dried, shrivelled remnant of a woman that we came upon in an upper room of one of the larger houses farther on. she was lying upon a bed of mats, partly turned upon her side, and one arm was stretched out towards an earthen cup that stood just beyond her reach upon the floor. there was strong pathos in the action of the figure, for it told of the keen thirst of fever--of weakness so extreme that the inch or two between the hand and the cup was a gulf impassable--of a moaning struggle after the water so longed for--and then, at last, of death in that utter and desolate loneliness. and what added to the ghastliness of it all was that a thin ray of sunlight, coming through a crevice in the wall, struck upon the woman's teeth--whence the lips had dried away--and by its gleaming there made on her face a smile. as we came close to the lake, we perceived, as rayburn already had discerned by the aid of the glass, that houses, partially submerged, actually rose from the water, and that houses of which only the roofs were visible were farther on. that this whole valley was the crater of an extinct volcano was sufficiently evident; and we could only surmise that in later times some fresh cataclysm of nature had poured suddenly into it a vast body of water, and so had submerged the city that had been builded here. whatever had brought about the catastrophe, it evidently had come with a most appalling suddenness. everywhere the condition of the houses showed how hastily they had been abandoned; and the wild hurry of flight was shown still more clearly in the case of the woman--whose surroundings gave evidence that she had been a person of consequence--deserted in her age or infirmity and left lonely to die. young's face wore a melancholy expression as we stood upon the shore of the lake, and looked out across it towards the faintly seen western shore. "if this is th' place we're huntin' for," he said, "i guess our treasure stock is pretty badly watered, unless somebody's had th' sense t' keep th' treasure dry over on th' other side. we'd better move over there, i reckon, an' take a look for it, especially as we've got t' go that way anyhow in order t' get out. there ought t' be some sort of a path around th' lake, between th' edge of th' water and th' cliffs." but when we came to examine into this matter we found that there was no path at all. on each side of the valley the walls of rock rose directly from the water, sharp and sheer. "well," said rayburn, when we had finished our inspection, "we've got to get across somehow. i guess we'll have to sail in, the first thing to-morrow morning, and build a raft. these pine-trees down here by the water will cut easy and float well, and there's some comfort in that, anyway. but what i'm after right now is my supper." pablo already had started a fire, having first unpacked el sabio, that he might refresh himself by rolling on the soft, green grass and by eating his fill of it, and young presently had some ham fried and some coffee boiled. we had counted upon having fresh meat for supper that night, for there was everything in the look of the valley to promise that we would find game there; but, so far, not a four-footed thing nor a bird had we seen, nor even signs of fish in the lake. in the morning we got out the axes and went to work at the building of the raft; and, notwithstanding what rayburn had said in regard to the ease of cutting them, i must confess that for my part i found the cutting of pine-trees very wearying and painful. my hands were blistered by it, and the muscles of my back were made extremely sore by it for several days. indeed, the construction of a raft big enough to float us all, and our heavy packs, and el sabio, was a serious undertaking. we spent two days and a half over it, and i never in my life was more thankful for anything than i was when at last that wretched raft was done. as young observed, as he regarded our finished work critically, there was no style about it--for it was only a lot of rough logs, of which the upper and lower layers ran fore and aft and the middle layer transversely, the whole bound together by our pack-ropes--but it was large enough for our purposes, and it was solid and strong. in the late afternoon we carried our belongings on board of it, and pablo succeeded by dint of much entreaty in inducing el sabio to board it also, and we pushed off from shore. for driving the clumsy thing forward we had made four rough paddles, which well enough served our purposes, for there was no current whatever in the lake and the air was still. [illustration: afloat on the lake] as we went onward we discovered how considerable the city was that here lay submerged. through the perfectly clear water we could see to a great depth, and beneath us in every direction were paved streets, lined with houses well built of stone. near the centre of the valley the size of the houses greatly increased, and the fashion of their building was more stately; and fronting upon a great open square in the very centre of the city was a building of such extraordinary size that we took it to be the palace of a king; but here the water was so deep that we could make out but faintly the looming far below us of its mighty walls. never have i been more pained than i then was; for in that place i found myself close to making discoveries of surpassing archæological value, and yet i was as completely cut off from them as though they had no existence. just beyond the palace, as we went onward, our raft almost touched the roof of a noble building that stood upon the top of a vast pyramidal mound, the base of which we could see but dimly far down through the waters of the lake. this, evidently, had been the chief temple of the city; and as we passed over it and came to its eastern side, we had ghastly and certain proof of the terrible suddenness with which the city had been overwhelmed. on the broad terrace before the temple was the sacrificial stone, and upon this dark mass we saw distinctly the gleaming of human bones; and as we peered down into the water we perceived that all the terrace was strewn thickly with human bones also, showing that when the rush of water came many thousands of human beings had here perished miserably. for a little while, no doubt, all the surface of the water round about where we were had been dotted thickly with the bodies of the drowned which had floated upward; and then, one by one, they had sunk again to the place where death first found them--where their flesh wasted away from them until only their gleaming bones remained. i pictured to myself the dreadful scene that once had passed, down there below us, where now was only the calm serenity of ancient death: the great crowd collected to witness the sacrifice, and then the sudden coming of the waters--possibly so quickly that the victim, held down by the neck-yoke upon the sacrificial stone, was drowned ere there was time to slay him. this great mound would be the last of all to be covered, and the wretched people gathered there must have seen their city disappear beneath the waters before death came to them. no doubt they thought themselves safe in that high place, made sacred by the presence of their gods. and when the water did reach them, what a writhing and struggling there must have been for a little while; what a crushing of the weak by the strong in mad efforts to gain even a moment's safety upon some higher standing-place! and then, at last, the water rose triumphant in its swelling majesty over all--and beneath its placid surface were hid the silenced terrors of all that commotion of mortal agony, whereof the outcome was the peaceful and eternal calm of death. xii. in the valley of death. as the raft approached the western shore of the lake we perceived beneath us no longer houses, but large walled enclosures which plainly had been gardens of pleasure--for gaunt trees, symmetrically planted in groves and beside stone-paved path-ways, yet stood in them; and seats of carved stone were placed in what once had been shaded nooks; and in many of the gardens were carved stone fountains of elegant design. between the city and what once had been its charming suburb extended a broad paved way, like that which we had found upon the eastern shore; and this paved way was continued on the dry ground above the present level of the lake towards the cliffs westward. on the high western shore were a few houses, large and handsome, and having walled gardens around them, which evidently had belonged to persons of great wealth and consequence. in these we found shadowy remnants of a past magnificence. on many of the walls were hangings, once rich and heavy, that now were mere films of ghostly stuff held together by the many gold threads which had been woven into their fabric. pottery, wrought into beautiful shapes, yet ornamented with designs that told of but half-redeemed barbarism, was scattered about everywhere, and scarcely a piece was broken. some very handsome weapons we found also--swords and spears and knives--of the same curious metal as the sword which pablo so opportunely had laid hands upon in the cañon, but far more finely finished and more delicate in design. and of this same metal was made a great throne, as it seemed to us to be, that was in the largest room of the finest of all the houses; a house that we believed was once the pleasure palace of the king. the audience-chamber in which this throne stood was of finely wrought stone-work, whereof the whole surface was covered with low-reliefs of men and animals--scenes of battle, of council, and of the chase--surrounded by curious tracery of such orderly design that fray antonio agreed with me in the belief that it was some sort of hieroglyphic writing. but this matter is treated of so fully in my _pre-columbian conditions on the continent of north america_ that i need not enter upon discussion of it here. but in none of these houses, much to the disappointment of rayburn and young, did we find any scrap of the treasure for which they so earnestly longed. and, truly, if treasure remained in this wrecked city, it was less likely to be in these outlying country houses than in some strong building in the city's heart; and so beyond their reach in the depths of the lake. if this were indeed the walled city for which we were searching--as well it might be, for never was a city surrounded by grander walls than the mighty cliffs wherewith the valley was encompassed--our search was like to be a vain one so far as mere treasure was concerned; though i, for my part, felt myself well repaid for all that i had thus far suffered by the discovery of so much that was of archæological value. in this purer pleasure fray antonio shared; yet was he also dissatisfied--for he had come with us that he might preach christianity to living souls: and here were only the bones of countless dead. the paved way still led westward, and we followed it--for to the westward must be the valley's outlet. as it rose to a higher level the way widened; and on each side of it was a stone statue of the god chac-mool. as we came to these statues young proceeded, in a most business-like way, and with no apparent appreciation of the queer figure that he cut, to sit down in turn on each of their heads. and he was mightily disappointed when he found that neither of them stirred. "they're not th' tippin' kind," he said, ruefully, as he got down from the head of the second one and looked at it with an expression of reproach. but his countenance brightened, when we had gone a little farther, as he caught sight of another and much larger statue of the god that was set in a great niche cut in the cliff at the end of the paved way. to prepare here the god's abiding-place very arduous labor had been undertaken. for a space fully one hundred feet high and as many broad the whole face of the cliff had been quarried into; making a deep recess that was rounded above, and that from beneath was approached by a long flight of steps cut from the solid rock. in the centre of the recess, upon the terraced space above the stairs, was a huge squared mass of stone, on which the great stone figure of chac-mool rested. the opening faced directly eastward, and as we approached it the stone figure was seen but indistinctly in the duskiness of the recess, over which, and far beyond which into the valley, fell the shadow of the mighty cliff. from in front of this great altar all the valley was open to us; and hence, before the lake swallowed it, every part of the city must have been clearly visible in ancient times. as we mounted the steps and approached the idol i observed that pablo hung back a little; as though in the depths of his nature some chord had been touched, some ancient instinct in his blood aroused, that filled his soul with awe. certainly there was no suggestion of awe in young's demeanor towards the statue. with a monkey-like quickness, that i would not have given his stout legs and heavy body credit for, he climbed upon the altar and plumped himself down on the head of the figure almost in a moment. but again he was disappointed, for the idol did not stir. as we examined it closely we perceived that its fixedness was not unreasonable; for the figure, and the altar on which it rested, were one solid mass of rock that itself was a part of the cliff--left standing here when the niche around it was hollowed out. a very prodigious piece of stone-cutting all this was, and as i contemplated it i was filled with admiration of the skill of them who had achieved it. but young came down from the idol moodily; and he said that the way these people had of playing tricks on travellers, by making mullinses that didn't tip when they ought to tip, was quite of a piece with their putting their treasure where it couldn't be got at without a diving-bell. behind the altar the niche was cut into the cliff so far that the depths of it in the waning daylight were dusky with heavy shadows; indeed, so dense were these that young came near to breaking his bones by falling into a little hole in the floor, that was the less easily seen because it was hidden behind a jutting mass of rock. but he caught the rock in time to save himself from falling, and eagerly struck a wax-match that he might see if here were a passage-way for us. descending into the rock was a stair-way, the steps whereof were smoothed as though many feet had trodden them; and down these steps he promptly went, holding the lighted match before him--these mexican wax-matches are as good as tapers--and having with him the full box of matches should further light be required. a minute later we heard his voice calling to us, but where it came from we could not tell--for he had descended into the rock below us, and the sound that we heard seemed to come from the air above. while we listened we saw the gleam of the light in the darkness below, and then he came up the stair laughing. "well, that's just th' boss trick," he said. "i guess th' old priests who used t' run this place would be everlastin'ly down on me if they knew that i'd tumbled to it. there's a hole right up into th' idol an' room inside of him for half a dozen men, an' there's a crack in his head that you can see out through while you're lettin' off prophecies an' that sort o' thing. why, if you had a crowd t' work with who really believed in jack mullins, you could set 'em up for almost anything with a rig like that!" but this curious discovery, in which fray antonio and i were deeply interested, did not forward our immediate purpose, which was to find a way out of the valley. we still cherished a faint hope, indeed, that we might find the king's symbol with the arrow pointing the way onward, and so be assured that the city buried in the depths of the lake was not the city of which we were in search. but in any event the need for getting out of the valley pressed upon us; and that we might accomplish our deliverance from this shut-in place, we examined closely the whole circuit of the cliffs at the western end. not an inch of this great expanse of rock, for as far up the wall as our eyes could see clearly, escaped our attentive observation; yet nowhere was there, even by bold climbing, a place where the cliff might be scaled, still less an open path. and so, having walked slowly along the bottom of the cliffs to the edge of the lake on the north, and there turned upon our steps and come slowly back again to where we started from, and having made a like double journey of inspection to and from the edge of the lake to the south, we came at last to our first point of departure, and rested before the statue of chac-mool, disconsolate. one discovery we had made in the course of our explorations which enabled us to understand how the fate that had overtaken the drowned city had fallen upon it. close by the northern border of the valley we saw, high up above us, a vast rift more than a thousand feet wide in the face of the cliff; and below this the ground was torn into a deep wild channel, and everywhere huge fragments of rock were scattered over the ground. here it was, then, that the water had poured in--bursting forth from a lake above--by which the city at one stroke had been overwhelmed. some little notice, by the mighty roaring that must have accompanied so great a crash of rocks and so vast a rush of water, the dwellers in the city must have had; and the gleam of the pouring waters would have shown them the nature of the ruin that was upon them. there would have been time, before the water was waist-deep in the city streets, for them to make their way to the high mound on which their temple stood; and in the appalling horror of it all they might have clamored to their priests that a victim should be sacrificed to stay this terrible outburst of anger on the part of their gods. but it was more than likely that before the sacrifice could be completed they all--people, priests, and he who was to be sacrificed--perished together beneath the flood. "why," said young, "th' mill river disaster wasn't anything to it, an' that was pretty bad. i was runnin' th' way-freight on th' old colony road when that happened, an' i took a day off an' went up an' had a look at it. but this just lays that little horror out cold. it's as big as lettin' loose on boston the whole of massachusetts bay." that we should be prisoners in a place where death had wrought so swiftly such tremendous havoc was quite enough to fill our souls with a brooding melancholy. but in addition to the sombre thoughts which thus were forced upon us, bred of sorrow for the thousands who had here untimely perished, the gloomy dread of a more practical sort assailed us that we also in a little while would join the silent company of the thousands who had died here in a long past time. and the death that seemed to be in store for us was less merciful than that which had come to them. theirs had been a short struggle, and then a gentle ending as the waters closed over them. but our ending was like to be a lingering one and miserable--by starvation. with the loss of our mules and horses we had been compelled to leave behind us the greater portion of our stores; and for our protection against savages, and in the belief that in the mountains we should meet with an abundance of game, we had left almost all of our provisions, and made our lading mainly of ammunition and arms. but in this valley, so smiling and so beautiful, there was no live thing except ourselves. not a beast, not a bird had we seen since we entered it; and in the lake, as we found presently, there were no fish; the only sign that animal life ever had existed here was that dried and withered remnant of a woman that we had found in the deserted house, and the bones which we had seen gleaming below us in the lake. this was, in truth, as we came thus to call it, the valley of death. while we worked at building the raft we had not thought to be sparing in our eating--for building that raft was hungry work--and now that consideration of the matter was forced upon us, we found that we had with us food barely sufficient for three days. we could, of course, eat el sabio--though such was our feeling towards that excellent animal that eating him would be almost like eating one of ourselves; and pablo, we knew, would regard eating this dear friend of his as neither more nor less than sheer cannibalism. and even if we did eat el sabio, the meat of his little body would but prolong our lives for a week, or possibly for two weeks more. and what then? had there been room in our souls for yet more sorrow, we could have had it in the thought that in all that we had set out to do we had completely failed. if this valley of death were indeed the place that we had been seeking, little good came to us from finding it. of the souls which fray antonio had come forth to save, here there were none. of archæological discovery, truly, i had something to make me glad; yet little compared to what was hidden beneath the waters; and even this little, since knowledge of what i had found soon must die with me, was of no avail. as for rayburn and young, the treasure which they sought might or might not be near at hand; but they certainly could no more come at it than, were it heaped up before them, they could carry it away. and most of all was my heart troubled by the fate that was like to overtake pablo because of his love for me. bitterly i blamed myself for permitting the boy to come with me; for i should have foreseen that a hundred chances might intervene to render impossible my intention to give him his free choice to go or to stay when the decisive turning-point in our adventure came. in point of fact, one of these chances had intervened; and the attack upon us that the indians had made, and the closing of the passage in the rock behind us that rendered return impossible, had forced him to remain with us without voice of his own in the matter; and now would bring him, as it would bring the rest of us, to the most horrible death of which a man can die. night was falling as we ended our search along the cliffs for a way of escape, and found none, and so came again in front of the great idol--where our packs had been left heaped up, and where the wise one, happily unmindful of the fate that might soon be in store for him, was energetically cropping the rich grass. we built a fire, for the air in that deep valley, mingling with the mists rising from the lake, was damp and chill; and beside the fire we made our evening meal. there was no good in talking about what was so apparent to all of us; but young, who was our cook, showed his appreciation of the situation practically by serving only half rations and by making our coffee very thin and poor. silently we ate our short allowance of food; and thereafter we smoked our pipes with but little talk for seasoning, and that little of a melancholy sort. of our own plight we did not speak at all, but in what we said there was constantly a reflection of the bitter sorrow with which all our hearts were charged. i remember that young, who truly was as merry a man naturally as ever i knew, told us that night only of dreadful railroad accidents--of wrecks in which men lay crushed among the heaped-up cars, shrieking with the agony of their hurts; and then shrieking with dread, and with yet greater pain as the fire that seized upon the ruin around them came nearer and nearer until they fairly were roasted alive. and rayburn told of a prospecting party besieged by indians upon a mountain peak in colorado; how, one by one, they slowly died in a raving horror of thirst until one man alone was left; and how this one man prolonged his life until rescue came by drinking the blood of his own body, and yet died in raging madness almost at the moment that he was saved. for myself, i had nothing to add to these horrors; yet such was my frame of mind that i found a certain bitter gladness in listening to the telling of them, and in tracing between them and our own case the ghastly parallel. in our talk, which wont on in english, fray antonio took no part; but he could follow well enough the meaning of it in our tones. on his face was an expression of tender melancholy that seemed to me to tell of sorrow for us rather than of dread of what might be in store for himself; and that this truly was his mood was shown when the others paused, sated and appalled by the horrors which they had conjured up, and he spoke at last. it was not a sermon that fray antonio gave us; but out of the abundant store of faith by which he himself was sustained he strove to comfort us with thoughts of better things than life can give. and with the promise of hope that he held out to us with the solemn authority that was vested in him by reason of the service to which he was vowed, he mingled a certain yearning for us, very moving, that came of the love and the tender gentleness that were in his own heart. and yet, though he knew that, excepting pablo, we all were heretics according to his own creed, there was no word of doctrine in all of his discourse. rather was what he said a simple setting forth of that primitive christianity which has its beginning and its ending in a simple faith in an all-pervading, all-protecting love. and of this love, as it seemed to me, he himself was the human embodiment. looking in his gentle face, which yet had such high courage, such noble resolution in it, i felt that in him the spirit of the saints and martyrs of long past ages lived again. with our souls soothed and strengthened by what fray antonio had spoken to us, we lay down at last to sleep; yet was it impossible for us to drive out from our hearts that natural sadness which men must feel who know that they have failed in a strong effort to accomplish a project very dear to them, and who know also that they are standing upon the very threshold of a most tormenting death. xiii. up the chac-mool stair. we awoke the next morning at the very moment that the sun rose above the mountain peaks to the eastward; and our waking was due in part to the sunshine striking upon our faces, but more to the prodigious braying, that echoed thunderously from the cliffs around us, with which el sabio welcomed the advent of the god of day. "it is a good sign, señor," said pablo, "when el sabio brays thus nobly at sunrise. he does not do it often, but when he does i know beyond a doubt that i am to have a lucky day." "an' i must say," young struck in, "that for a man who expects t' have t' eat his boots in th' course of a day or two i'm feelin' this mornin' most uncommonly chipper myself. for one thing, i mean t' have another look around that idol. i'm not at all sure that he's not th' tippin'-up kind. maybe we didn't put enough weight on him yesterday; or he may do his tippin' up from th' other end. anyhow, i'm goin' t' have another whack at him as soon as i've eat my breakfast; an' that's a performance that won't take long t' get through with, considerin' how thunderin' little there is t' eat." truly, the eating of our breakfast did not consume much time; and, so short did young make our rations, i am not sure that we were not hungrier at the end of it than we were at its beginning. when we finished, the sun was still low in the east; and the bright rays struck full upon the statue of chac-mool, on the great stone altar, and into the depths of the niche that had been hollowed behind it in the face of the cliff. we observed that the idol was so placed that the very first rays of the sun, coming through a cleft between two great peaks to the eastward, shone brightly upon it, while yet all the rest of the valley save the cliff above the niche remained in shade. with the strong sunlight deeply penetrating it, the recess behind the altar no longer was filled with the black shadows that had obscured it on the previous afternoon; and even the hole into which young so nearly had fallen was plainly visible. taking advantage of the better light, the lost-freight agent--who certainly had found a fitting berth in that department of railway service, for such a man for hunting for things, and for finding them, i never came across--made a more careful examination of the deeper portion of the recess, and presently he gave a shout that told of a discovery. as we gathered around him he pointed in great excitement to a row of metal pegs, which were fixed in the rock one above the other, diagonally; and then to the point in the roof of the recess towards which these pegs tended. even with the strong light that now aided us it was some time before i could make out among the black shadows of the roof a small opening; but the longer that i looked at it the more distinct it grew. "we've struck th' trail once more," young cried. "we've struck it sure. it don't look promisin', but here it is--for if this ain't th' king's symbol carved right by th' first of these pegs, then you're all at liberty t' kick me right smack over th' top of that idol for a d----n fool! hurrah!" pablo could not understand what young was saying, but it was easy to perceive from his gestures the nature of the happy discovery that he had made. in a tone in which deference and triumph were curiously blended, pablo said to me: "did i not tell you, señor, that a good thing always happens when el sabio brays at the rising sun?" before pablo had ended this short but exultant deliverance, young was half-way up to the roof of the cave, treading gingerly upon the metal bolts and testing each one before he trusted his weight to it. in a couple of minutes he reached the roof and disappeared through the hole; and almost instantly he called down to us: "we're solid--here's a regular staircase. come along!" we followed him promptly enough; while our hearts thrilled, and all our bodies trembled, with the gladness that possessed us as we found this way opening to us from the valley wherein we had thought that surely we must die. in a little chamber, cut in the rock above the opening into which the ladder of bolts led us, young was waiting for us; and from this chamber a spiral stair-way ascended that was dimly lighted by crevices cut from it out to the face of the cliff. with young leading us, up this we went; at first rapidly, but, later, slowly and wearily, for it seemed as though the stair would never end. yet though our bodies were heavy our spirits were very light; for we knew by the wearisome length of it that the stair must lead to the very top of the towering cliffs by which we had believed ourselves to be irrevocably shut in. and at last there was a gleaming of light above us; and this grew stronger and stronger until we came out with a shout of joy into the glad sunlight--and saw far below us the valley that we once more thought beautiful, now that it no longer held us fast. in the depth below us we could discern el sabio, looking no bigger then a rabbit; and he must have caught the sound of our shouting with those long ears of his, for there came up to us faintly from him an answering bray. "it's pretty hard lines on that jackass," said young, "leaving him behind down there. but he might be left in a worse place, after all." i could perceive that pablo was stirred by uneasy thoughts of the separation that now so clearly must take place between him and his dear friend; and he looked wistfully along the path across the mountain to the westward--cut and smoothed so that it was an easy path to go on--and evidently thought how simple a matter it would be for el sabio to travel on with us if only once he were up the stair. but he did not speak, and i hoped that he was nerving himself to bear manfully this sore trial. for the rest of us, we had but one thought: to get our packs up the stair-way as quickly as possible--and at its quickest this work would be slowly and painfully done--and then once more go forward. just as we turned to descend again an eagle came sailing slowly towards us--evidently without fear of us--and rayburn was so fortunate as to bring him down with a pistol-shot. we tossed him over the edge of the cliff; and a famous breakfast we made on him when we returned into the valley again. i can't say that i would have much stomach for so dirty a bird now, but i certainly did think that eagle most delicious eating then. the hearty meal that we made on him strengthened us mightily, and we went to work with a will at getting our traps up the stair. with our pack-ropes we hauled the various articles first into the little room at the stair-foot, and then toilsomely carried them to the heights above. saving only that this work did not blister my hands, it was worse than the building of the raft had been; and all of us, using in climbing and in descending the stair certain muscles which normally are not brought often into play, found our legs so stiff and sore for the next day or two that walking gave us very lively pain. it was as this heavy work went slowly forward that pablo said to me, speaking in an insinuating and deprecating tone: "up a stair such as this is, señior, the wise one would bound like a deer." i did not call in question pablo's simile, for i knew that the boy's heart must be very sad. laying my hand kindly upon his shoulder, i answered in a way to show that i was truly sorry for him: "the wise one will lead a happy life, pablo, in this beautiful valley--where nothing can do him harm, and where he will have an abundance of water and of rich fresh grass. up the stair no doubt he could climb, for he knows wonderfully well how to use those dainty little feet of his; but even the wise one could not climb up the ladder of metal bolts. therefore must thou strengthen thy heart against the bitterness of this parting from him; for even if thou wouldst stay behind with him it is not possible--for thou canst not live, like the wise one, on water and grass." "but he is so little and so light an ass, señor," pablo urged, "that surely, all of us pulling together, we could pull him up by the ropes, even as the other things have been pulled up; surely, surely, señor, that would be an easy thing for four men to do--and i also can pull at the ropes, señor, almost as well as any man." it did not seem to me that even all of us pulling together could sway el sabio up a hundred feet through the air; but pablo was so pitiful in his entreaties, and seemed so resolutely bent upon remaining behind in the valley and dying there with his dear friend rather than go on without him, that i opened the matter to rayburn and joined my plea to pablo's that this curious effort should be made. and in addition to the sentimental reason for taking the ass with us, i pointed out to rayburn--as, indeed, he understood without my telling him--how practically valuable el sabio was to us in helping us to bear our heavy loads. rayburn thought with me that the dead lift of so considerable a weight to such a height, without tackle of any sort to help us, was impossible. but young, who had an inventive strain in his composition, was of the opinion that he could set up such rough tackle as would answer our purpose; upon understanding which, pablo at once embraced el sabio and danced for joy. young was, i think, the handiest man i ever knew. he had a natural genius for mechanics; and in the many years of his railroad life he had gained a knowledge of all manner of expedients by which the work of complicated machinery could be accomplished by very simple means. "when you have a freight smash-up right in the middle of the section," he said, "with nobody to help you inside of forty miles, and the express due to come bouncing down on you inside of two hours, you've just _got_ to get things out of the way whether you've got anything to do it with or not. if i had the equipment of a first-class freight-cab here i'd yank that burro up inside of twenty minutes; and if i don't do it, anyway, inside of two hours i'll promise to eat him." i did not translate the whole of this speech to pablo, for talk even in fun about eating el sabio was rather a delicate matter, considering how close a shave that worthy animal had had to being eaten in dead earnest; but i did tell him that the señor young felt sure that he could swing el sabio up through the air to where the stair began. and with pablo--who also could use his hands well--most willingly helping, young contrived in a surprisingly short time to make a rough windlass, that was effective enough for the work to be done with it, and to pull it up bit by bit into the chamber in the rock and there fit it together over the hole. el sabio, being brought into the recess behind the idol, regarded us all with a doubting expression that even pablo's repeated assurances that we meant well by him could not change into a look of trustfulness. pablo declared, however, that in his heart of hearts the wise one knew that we all were his friends, and that even though we should hurt him a little he would understand that it was for his good. and the conduct of the ass during the exceedingly bad half-hour that he then went through seemed fully to bear out pablo's words. around his small body, with stays running forward around his neck and aft to his tail, we rigged looped ropes--which ropes were gathered together above his back and there made fast to the line that was pendent from the windlass above. from time to time, as this operation was going forward, el sabio turned his head upon one shoulder or the other and gazed with a wistful expression at what we were doing to him; and the slow shake that he gave his head, whereby his great ears were set to wagging mournfully, as he finished each of these inspections, betrayed the grave wonder that was within him as to what it all could mean, together with a not unnatural apprehension of what might be its ultimate outcome. by a good chance, the effect upon the wise one of finding the solid earth drop suddenly from beneath his feet--when at last all was in readiness, and young and rayburn began to hoist away at the windlass--was to render him quite rigid with terror; and there was a most agonized look upon his face as he went sailing up through the air. pablo, standing below with me, that we might steady the ass with a guy-rope during his ascent, addressed to him all manner of tender and comforting words; but for once the wise one seemed to be insensible to his master's voice. neither with his eyes nor his ears did he respond; and he well enough might have been taken for a dead ass going heavenward, but for the sharp twitchings of his tail. and when at last he was safely within the upper chamber, he fairly fell down upon the rocky floor of it in sheer exhaustion begot of fright. it was not until we had passed up a bucket of water to him, whereof he drank the very last drop, and had been soothed by pablo's fondling of him and by pablo's gentle words, that his broken spirit revived. and so limp and weak was he that it was a long while before we could in conscience urge him to ascend the stair. when at last he set himself to this undertaking, he was far from accomplishing it in the bounding and deer-like manner that pablo had promised for him; but he certainly did at last get to the top--which was all that was required of him--and there drank gratefully the bucketful of water that pablo had carried up that great height for his comforting when his toilsome climbing should end. and pablo went down into the valley once more that night in order to bring back to his friend a hearty supper of rich grass. [illustration: el sabio's predicament] by the time that all this hard work was accomplished the day was nearly at an end; and even had there been light for us to see our way by we were too tired to go on--for every bone and muscle in our bodies was weary and sore. therefore we made our camp for the night on the flat expanse of rock where the stair ended; and we were thankful that enough of the eagle remained to us for our supper--and, indeed, we made our breakfast on him also, for he was a prodigiously large bird. very different were our feelings as we wrapped ourselves in our blankets and settled ourselves to sleep on that open mountain-top--with the path clear before us, and with the cheering hope in our hearts that among the mountains we should find a plenty of wild creatures suitable for food--from the dull despairing languor that had possessed us as we sank to sleep the night before. and with our joy was also a reverent thankfulness--that was more strongly stimulated by certain words which fray antonio spoke ere we lay down to rest--that our deliverance was accomplished from that death-stricken valley wherein we ourselves so surely had expected that we must die. xiv. the hanging chain. by the winding way which we followed along the mountain-top (and that this was the way we wished to follow the king's symbol and the pointing arrow plainly showed), we came presently close beside the rift in the cliffs through which the waters of the upper lake had been discharged upon the city in the valley below and so had buried it. and here we made a very surprising discovery--which was no less than that the great rift in the rocks through which the water had been let loose was not, as we had supposed, the result of some fierce convulsion of nature, but very plainly was the fiercer work of man. along the face of the opening whence the water had poured forth the rock was grooved, showing that drill-holes had been made, close together, from the edge of the cliff backward to the lake that once had filled all the valley now lying bare and empty before us; and with the field-glass we could see that there was a like channelling of the rock upon the farther side of the break. and all doubt in our minds in regard to this matter was removed by our finding a vastly long drill--made of the bright, hard metal that we now were familiar with, yet could not at all understand its composition--lying close beside the chasm upon the bare rock. "there has been the devil's own work here!" said rayburn, as he fully took in this extraordinary situation. "whoever did this must have spent months over it, perhaps years, working with such tools as these. they evidently went at it systematically, with the deliberate intention of drowning the whole crowd down below. from an engineering stand-point i must say that it's a good piece of work. see how cleverly they've picked out this particular spot, where the wall of rock went down almost perpendicularly into the lake, and so got the full value of the thrust of the water when their cuts were finished. if i'm not mistaken, there was a third line of drill-holes sunk in the middle of the mass that they meant to cut loose. that's the way i should have done it: then there would have been a little giving in the centre that would have helped to loosen the sides. but what a lot of incarnate devils they must have been to go at such a job!" truly, there was something chilling to the blood in the thought of the slow labor of them who had toiled here, day after day and month after month, until their ghastly purpose was accomplished, and they had slain a whole city without striking a single honest blow. such vengeance upon an enemy as here was taken never had its equal for cold, malignant cruelty since the world began. down in the valley below we had seen gleaming beneath the calm surface of the lake the bones of the thousands who had perished when this diabolical work was completed, and the waters bounded forth, shining and sparkling in the sunlight, on their mission of death. and whoever let them loose must have stood just where we now were standing; and at sight of what came of their long labor there must have been such joy as no hell could adequately punish in their black hearts. our bodies shuddered as we turned and left the scene of this tremendous tragedy; that was the more appalling to us because of the profound mystery in which was buried everything related to it save the fact that it had been. for a long distance our way went onward beside the bare, deep valley that had been the basin of the lake, and so the thought of the horror which had been wrought so devilishly with its innocent waters lingered gloomily in our minds. involuntarily we associated the unknown people of a long past time who had perpetrated this hideous wholesale murder with the people for whom we now were searching, and an uncertain dread filled our souls as to what might be our own fate should we end by finding what we sought. from the tender mercies of a race in which stealthy craft and cold, malignant cruelty evidently were such conspicuous characteristics, little was to be expected. therefore, it was in a sombre mood, and with but little talk among us, that we went forward upon our way. the path that we followed showed the same care in the making of it that we had found in the path leading down from the cañon into the valley where the drowned city was. throughout the length of it, by carrying it skilfully along the windings of the mountain-sides, an equable, easy grade was maintained; where it led across open spaces the loose stones had been cleared away and stood heaped along each side of it; where it skirted precipices the solid rock had been cut out in order to give a wider and a surer foothold; and here and there in its course crevices which traversed it were bridged with great slabs of stone. rayburn was lost in admiration of the engineering skill that was shown in its construction, and declared that a very little extra work put on it would fit it for the laying of a line of rails. the valley on our right, in which the lake had been, narrowed as we advanced; and as the path that we followed had a steadily rising grade (according to rayburn's estimate, of a trifle more than three per cent.), the bottom of it fell away rapidly. as we reached what had been, as we found, the foot of the lake, we discovered fresh evidence of the enormous amount of labor that had been expended in order to make its waters an effective engine of destruction. far in the depths beneath us, extending across the whole width of the valley--but here the valley had so narrowed that it was less a valley than a cañon--we saw a high and vastly broad stone wall. it was then that we perceived fully the whole of the devilish design, and realized the years that must have been given to its execution. by the building of the wall the level of the lake had been raised fully three hundred feet, and so a head of water had been obtained strong enough to thrust out the mass of rock that had been loosened by drilling through its centre and at its sides. it would have been possible, also, for the rock that was to be broken away to be greatly thinned by quarrying its open face while the water was rising slowly after the great dam was built. clearly, the whole work had been planned with a calm, diabolical ingenuity that assured with absolute certainty the accomplishment of the horrible purpose that those who labored at it had in view. it seemed impossible, but for the proof that we here had of it, that human hearts could have in them enough of purely devilish cruelty to spend years in thus working out to perfection so hideous a vengeance; and to me it seemed all the more dreadful because of the time that had passed since this most evil deed was done. centuries had vanished, and the slayers--living out the few years of their lifetime--had perished from off the earth as utterly as had the slain; yet here the whole proof of the great crime that had been wrought lived on in enduring stone that was like to last until the very end of the world should come. thus had these sinners left behind them, raised by their own hands, a monument telling of their sin; which sin had not even the redeeming quality of passionateness, but was slow and subtle and cruelly cold. we were glad to turn from sight of this place and press onward into the cañon, for such the valley now had become; and we found in the dark shadows which enveloped us in this deep cleft between the mountains a sombreness in keeping with the feelings in our hearts. so high above us towered the cliffs that at their top they seemed almost to meet, showing between them only a narrow ribbon of bright blue sky, and below us the chasm went down sheer for a thousand feet; a gloomy depth that our eyes could not have penetrated had there not gleamed at the bottom of it the foam and sparkle of a little stream. here the path was hewn almost continuously out of the solid rock; and we could see that a like path was cut in the rock on the other side. that so prodigious a piece of work should be thus duplicated seemed to us a very astonishing waste of energy; for even young did not have much faith in his own suggestion that two prehistoric railway companies had secured rights of way along the opposite sides of the cañon, and had begun the building there of rival lines. but the matter was explained, presently, by our finding that this other path was but a doubling of the path that we were on. as we rounded a turn in the cañon we came suddenly to a broad natural ledge in the rock, over which hung a great projection of the cliff so that the sky above was hid from us. here our path went off into the air, and began again on the other side of the vastly deep chasm, a good sixty feet away. "rather long for a jump," was rayburn's curt comment as we pulled up on the edge of the precipice and looked at each other blankly. yet it was evident that those who had made with such great expense of toil and time these path-ways on the opposite sides of the cañon had crossed in some way from the one to the other at this point, and the only surmise that seemed to fit the facts of the case was that there had been stretched across the chasm a swinging bridge of _lianas_--such as still are to be found spanning streams in the hot lands of mexico--and that in the course of ages this had rotted entirely away. but as this bridge, if ever there had been one here, was absolutely gone, we found ourselves in as shrewdly strait a place as men well could be in. to go ahead was as clearly impossible as was the hopelessness of turning back upon our path. at the most, we could only return to the valley out of which we had climbed with such thankfulness; and rather than go back to die of starvation in that place, so beautiful and so desolate, there was not one of us but would have chosen to end all quickly by springing into the gulf above which we stood. but while we thus stood in dreary contemplation of the miserable prospect before us, young, as his habit was, was spying about him sharply, and so spied out a way of deliverance for us. the announcement of his discovery was made in a very characteristic way. "you set up to be some punkins of an engineer, now don't you?" he said, addressing rayburn. "but did you ever happen to hear of a bridge that was hung up at one end an' that was operated by swingin' it backward an' forward like a pendulum?" "no," rayburn answered, promptly and decisively, "i never did." "so i thought," young went on. "well, you've admitted that in sev'ral things th' man who was in charge of construction on this line could have given you points, an' this swingin' bridge notion is one of 'em. i can't say that i think much of it. it wouldn't do in railroads, for sure; but there is a good deal to be said in favor of it when it helps folks out of such a hole as we're in now--an' if it still is in workin' order, that is just what it's going to do. there it is. do you catch on?" we all looked in the direction in which young pointed, for his gesture was so earnest that even fray antonio and pablo caught the meaning of it, and so saw--pendent from a point far up on the overhang of rock, and but indistinctly showing in the shadow--a great chain that at its lower end was caught in a metal hook set in the face of the cliff at the extreme back of the ledge on which we stood. for my part, i did not at once catch the meaning of young's words even when i saw the chain, but rayburn understood it all in a moment. "by jove!" he exclaimed, "that _is_ a notion! you grab the end of it and just swing across to the other side!" young already had loosened the chain from the hook and was testing its strength by putting his weight on it. at the end of it was a crossbar big enough to get a good grip upon; and this, and the chain itself, were wrought of the bright, hard metal of which we had encountered so many specimens. the upper end was made fast high above us in the out-jut of rock, very nearly over the centre of the cañon; so that no great force was required to carry whoever grasped the crossbar, and so swung out boldly, clear across the chasm to the ledge on the other side. but i confess that the thought of such a passage made me feel a little dizzy and sick; and never did i long to be safely back in my class-room at ann arbor as i did just then! "it seems t' be all right," said young, "but i guess you may as well take a pull on it with me, rayburn. there'd be no fun in havin' it fetch away when a man was about half across, an' we may as well make th' thing sure." and then, as the chain still held firm under the double strain, he added, "well, here goes;" and, so speaking, took a running start and went swinging out over the abyss. my heart was in my mouth as he leaped forth and shot out from and far below us; but in a moment he rose along the curve that he was traversing and was safely landed on the other side. "it's a boss invention. workin' it is just as easy as rollin' off a log," he called across to us; and to show how easily the passage was made, he instantly swung himself back again. pablo had manifested signs of strong uneasiness while this talk and action were in progress, and in a very anxious tone he now inquired: "but how will it be with the wise one, señor?" "why, gettin' _him_ across will be as easy as open an' shut," young answered, speaking in english to rayburn and to me. "we'll just rig him in th' rope slings again, an' make him fast to th' chain, an' give him a good boost to start him, and over he'll go before he fairly knows he's started." but when we came to apply this brisk statement of the case practically, we found it by no means easy of execution. el sabio grew restive as we arranged the slings of rope about his body, evidently remembering, fearfully, the strange journey that he had made in the air when we had rigged him in a like manner in order to trice him up to where the stair began; and he grew yet more restive as we fastened the rope slings to the end of the chain. rayburn had crossed to the other side--passing the chain back by weighting it with a rock--and stood ready to receive el sabio when he was swung across. but partly owing to a want of skill in our management of him, yet more to his own unruliness--for just as we started him, with a strong push, he clapped down his fore-feet upon the edge of the cliff and so checked his swing outward--he did not swing within reach of rayburn's hands. and so he came back towards us again, and then out once more towards rayburn; and so swung slowly and yet more slowly until at last he hung motionless over the very middle of the gulf, with nothing between him and the rocks below but a thousand feet of air. and then el sabio began to kick with a vigor that set to rattling every link in the chain! pablo was cast by this mischance into a veritable frenzy of fright; and we were most seriously frightened also--not only because the destruction of the poor ass was imminent, but because of the danger which menaced ourselves. our party was divided, and should the chain give way, under stress of el sabio's kicks and plunges, all possibility of our coming together again was at an end. rayburn might leave us and go on; and so, perhaps, save his own life. but for the rest of us there would be no hope. behind us was death by starvation. in front of us was this impassable gulf. from pablo, who was quite wild with dreadful anticipations of the parting of the chain and the loss to him forever of his friend, least was to be expected in the strait wherein we were; yet it was from pablo that our rescue came. with a quick apprehension of the needs of the case, he rove a running-knot in the end of one of the pack-ropes, and with a dexterous cast of this improvised lasso set the loop of it about el sabio's neck as that unfortunate animal for a moment ceased his strugglings and hung still. and then we all strained on the rope together, and in a minute had el sabio safely with us again; but in such a state of terror that pity for him wrung our hearts. but the limpness which the reaction from such deadly fear threw him into made handling him easy; and this time, when we launched him forth (taking the precaution, however, to fasten one end of a rope to the chain), he went sailing across the full width of the chasm, and rayburn in a moment had him landed in safety. the instant that the chain was loosened pablo hauled it back, and an instant later swung lightly across the cañon, and straightway fell to fondling the terrified creature and comforting him with all manner of tender words. and he so piteously besought us to give el sabio one good drink that we passed the water-keg and the bucket across, and permitted the poor ass to drink half of our stock of water without debate of the sacrifice. indeed, this refreshment was so necessary to him that without it i doubt if he could have gone on. while el sabio thus gathered courage and strength again, young swung over to the other side, and we passed our stores across from ledge to ledge--having ropes made fast to the chain, and so steadying each load from the one side while we hauled from the other. this was easy work, and we quickly finished it. when it was ended i braced myself for the flying journey through the air across that gulf so deep that the bottom of it was lost in black shadows, through which the sparkling water faintly gleamed; and my heart so throbbed within me as i took the bar in my hands, with the knowledge that should i lose hold of it death waited for me below in those dark shadows, that my breath came irregularly and i heard a dismal ringing in my ears. yet i had less to fear than either of the others who had crossed before me, for the ropes still were fast to the chain; and should i not swing far enough i would be helped to safety by my companions. but for shame, i should have made my body fast to the chain by a rope sling, and so have gone across as our stores had gone rather than as a man. but my pride forbade my surrender in this fashion to my fears; and it was a lucky thing for me that it did. holding the bar in my hands, i ran briskly across the ledge, and, with a strong kick on the edge of the cliff to give me additional impetus, i went spinning out into space. for an age, as it seemed to me, i sank rapidly; while that horrible feeling possessed me--the like of which people subject to sea-sickness feel as the ship drops away beneath them into the trough of the sea--of falling away from my own stomach. and then, just as my strength seemed to be failing, and my hold on the bar loosing, i perceived that i was rising again; and this put a little fresh heart in me, and i tightened my grip on the bar. ten seconds, no doubt, was the full extent of the time that my passage consumed; but it seemed to me then, and it seems to me still as i think of it, a long ten years. and a thrill of terror goes through me as i think also of how near i then came to a horrible death; for at the very moment that i reached the farther side of the cañon there was a little tinkling sound in the air above me, and the bar that i held was twitched out of my hands, and then came a loud jingling of metal on rock, and as i turned quickly i saw a gleam of sunlight catch the great chain as it went twisting downward into the black gulf below. xv. the temple in the clouds. doubtless the violent strain to which the chain had been subjected by el sabio's kicking and plunging had loosened the fastenings, centuries old, which held it to the rock; for the chain had not broken, but had come away entire. i sank down on the rock as weak with terror as the poor ass had been; and like him i drank greedily of water, and panted for a while, and at last found my courage coming back to me. yet my case was a happy one compared with that of fray antonio. howsoever narrow my escape had been, the fact remained that i had come out from my encounter with death safe and unharmed; but on fray antonio's shoulder we could but dread that death already had laid his hand. and that he knew how close to him death was standing we could see by a certain elate and confident air of courage in his bearing, and by the wonderful tenderness and sweetness of his smile. truly, never did i know a man so ready at all times as this man was to lay down the life that god had given him; holding it but as a trust that might at any moment be called back to the source whence it came. yet because it was a trust, meant to be put to useful purposes, fray antonio valued his life and cared for it. and at this time it was he himself who devised a plan by which it might be saved. the ropes which were fastened to the chain, being held stoutly on the one side by fray antonio and on the other by young, fortunately had broken as the great weight of the chain suddenly had come upon them, and had broken so close to the knots which held them that nearly the whole of their length remained. the plan that the monk now devised for coming across to us--and a bold heart was required even to think of this daring enterprise--was that with the two ropes fastened about his body at one end, and held by all of us at the other, he should swing down into the chasm and far under the promontory of rock on which we stood, and then that we should haul him up to us. the great difficulty in the way of executing this plan was in getting the line across between us; its great danger lay in the probability--notwithstanding the depth of the recess beneath us--that he would be dashed against the rocks with such force as to kill him outright. but young, who usually was ready for any emergency that might arise, roused out a ball of twine that was a part of our stores, and one end of this he made fast to a fragment of rock, and by a strong heave of it landed it safe on the other side; whereafter the rigging of the double rope across was an easy matter. very carefully, testing the knots as he made them, fray antonio fastened the double line about his body, beneath his shoulders, and so stood ready on the edge of the chasm; while we four stood holding the line, with all our muscles braced for the strain that would come upon it as he swung downward. for a moment he paused, with his face turned upward while his lips moved. then he waved his hand, and smiled as he called across to us, "it is as god wills!" and so dropped away from the ledge, and like a flash went down beyond our range of sight. we felt the jar on the ropes as his body struck against the face of the cliff far below us, and the reflex action as he swung out again, and thereafter the slower motion of the ropes as he swayed back and forth dangling over that black and awful chasm. and as the ropes settled into steadiness we drew him up towards us; yet dreaded, because of the dull weight of it, and because no assuring cry came up to us, that what we lifted was a corpse. and, in truth, as we raised the body of fray antonio over the edge of the cliff it seemed as though this dread were realized; for a great bloody gash was upon his temple, and his limbs were limp and lifeless, and his face was deathly pale. at sight of which there came into my heart a bursting pain, as though some one had stabbed me there; and there were tears in young's eyes; and rayburn gave vent to his sorrow in a great curse that was half a groan. as for pablo, whom no danger could daunt, and who would bear without flinching any hurt of his own, this dreadful sight so moved him that he fainted dead away. yet even in the moment that such deep sorrow seemed to be settling down upon us, fray antonio slightly moved his lips, and there came forth from them a low faint sigh--whereupon young jumped up with a shout and relieved his mind by administering to pablo a hearty kick, which he accompanied with the remark: "you infernal fool of a greaser indian, what do you mean by swoundin'? he ain't dead at all!" as tenderly as i could for the trembling of my hands, i washed away the blood from about the cut and bathed fray antonio's pale face, while rayburn gave him a sup of whiskey from his flask. and then, presently, his eyes opened and energy came into his body once more. in a little while he was on his feet again, and as well as ever, save for the smarting of his cut, and in his head a dizziness and a dull throbbing pain. just what had happened he could not tell. he knew that he had struck against the rock with his feet, as he had planned to do; but he must have swung around, when the force of the impact had been thus partly broken, and struck his head against some sharp projection, and so have been cut and stunned. but it made no great difference how his hurt had come to him, since it had not proved to be a deadly one; therefore we forbore to question him further concerning it, and sought by quiet talk, that led softly into silence, to take his thoughts away from the peril that he had been in. indeed, we all were glad to rest quietly where we were for the night, for our bodies were tired and our nerves were racked and strained. we should have been most thankful for a big potful of coffee, but there was no wood with which we could make a fire. the best that we could do, and there was not much comfort in it, was to chew some coffee grains after we had made a supper upon one of our few remaining tins of meat; and then we rolled ourselves in our blankets and lay down upon the bare rock. and i must say that if anybody had asked me at that moment if archæology was a study that paid for the trouble that it cost, i should have said most unhesitatingly that it was not. even sleep, which i greatly needed, and for which i earnestly longed, did not come to me easily; for each time that i seemed to be dropping gently away into unconsciousness i would be roused by the feeling that i was holding fast to the chain again, and so was sliding down the long curve among the shadows, with the great walls of the cañon towering infinitely above me, and with the black depth below. and in my sleep i made again the dreadful passage, and heard the clinking of the chain as it parted, and the rattle of it as it struck the rocks, and felt the grasp of rayburn as he caught me, just as the bar was twitched out of my hands--and so woke to find young shaking me, and to hear him say: "there's no earthly sense in your kickin' around that way, professor; an', anyhow, it's time t' get up. it's just a wonder how these mexican mornin's put life into a man. why, there's a freshness in th' air that's goin' t' waste in this cañon that's fit t' make a coffin stand right up on end an' dance a jig!" even fray antonio, but for the soreness of his hurt, felt strong and well; and we ate another tin of meat--which was much less than we wanted to eat--and so started along the path hewn out of the side of the cliff; and what with the brightness and joyfulness of the morning, we certainly were in much higher spirits than was at all reasonable in the case of men who had had such close companionship with death so short a time before, and who still stood a very fair chance of dying dismally of starvation. the knowledge that, by the falling of the chain, our retreat had been again cut off did not at all trouble us. even could we have crossed the cañon, and so have retraced our steps, we could have gone no farther than the valley of the lake; and we could as well die here as there. and we were stayed by the reasonable conviction that the path which we were travelling upon certainly would lead us out of the mountains at last--even if it did not lead us to the hidden city that we sought. for five or six miles we doubled on our course of the day before, going back along the cañon and seeing the path that we had followed a little below us on the other side; then, by a very easy grade, our course began to ascend, and went on rising until the other path was so far below us that it ceased to be distinguishable. thus we came to within a few hundred feet of the top of the cliffs, when a sudden turn to the left carried us into a narrow cleft in the rock. here the path was very sharply inclined upward for a little way; and for the remainder of the distance to the top we ascended a long series of rudely cut steps, so steep that our legs fairly cracked under us as we neared the end of them. but we forgot our weariness as we came out upon the summit at last, and a great view of clouds and mountain peaks burst upon us; the like of which i never have seen approached save by the view out over the gunnison country from the crest of the marshall pass. but here we saw all around us what there is seen only in one direction; for we were on a vastly high, square crest--very like that called the gigante, which the traveller by the mexican central railroad sees to the left as he nears silao--and clouds and mountain peaks rose up about us on every side. but we did not long contemplate this heroic landscape, for a cloud, which almost enveloped us as we finished our ascent of the stair, was swept still farther away by the brisk wind then blowing; so that suddenly a vast building loomed largely through the flying vapor, and in a moment was clear and distinct before our eyes. to find upon this bare mountain-top, among cloud solitudes so profound as these, such overpowering evidence of the labor and strength of man, sent thrilling through our breasts a wonder that was akin to awe. it seemed unreal, impossible, that in such a place such work could be accomplished; and the very tangible reality of it made it seem to me one of those prodigies of man's creation which old stories tell of as having been wrought by a league with the devil and at the cost of a human soul. had there been any signs at all of human life about this solemn and majestic building, or upon the mountain-top whereon it stood, the chilling hold that it took upon our imaginations would have been less strong. what wrought upon us was the deadly silence, and the absolute stillness of everything save the drifting clouds. it seemed to us as though we had come out from the living world and our own time into a dead region belonging to a long dead past; and i remembered with a shudder that we had entered this region through that gloomy cavern, where hundreds of the ancient dead were clustered in silent worship about the great silent idol carved in everlasting stone. it seemed as though some evil spell hung over us, that doomed us forever to wander in wild solitudes--which were the more appalling because constantly uprose before us tangible evidence of the strong current of eager human life that had pulsed through them in former times. young but put into his own rough language the thought that was in all our hearts when he declared, with a great oath, that for the sake of getting safe out of this lonely hole he'd contract to fight indians three days in every week for the rest of his life, and be glad to do it for the comfort of having somebody around who was alive. xvi. at the barred pass. the whole top of the mountain, near a mile square, had been so levelled by nature that little remained to be done for its further smoothing by the hand of man. but the amount of work that had gone into the mere preparation for the building of the great temple was almost incredible. in the centre of the plateau a pyramidal mass of rock near a thousand feet square, of a piece with the mountain itself, had been so shaped and hewn that it rose in three great terraces to the square apex on which the temple stood. these terraces slanted upward, surrounding the pyramid by a continuously ascending way that had its beginning and its ending in the centre of the eastern front--so that, allowing for the diminishing size of the pyramid, the distance by this way from the bottom to the top of it was more than a mile and a half. "it just took a slow-goin', lazy heathen greaser t' think out a thing like this," young observed as we went up the path. "now, if th' congregationalists that i was brought up among had put a church on a place like this--an' they wouldn't have been likely t' be fools enough t' do anything of th' sort--they'd 'a' had a set of steps runnin' smack from th' bottom t' th' top, an' folks would have got up in no time. it's just th' greaser fashion all over t' spend a hundred years or so in makin' a path five miles long around a hill about as high as th' boston state-house, so's they can get up it easy an' save their wind. but i wish they'd put in drinkin' fountains along th' road. i'm as thirsty as a salt cod--an' there's so precious little water left in th' keg that i'm afraid t' begin at it for fear of suckin' it all up." "drinking fountains?" rayburn, who was a little in advance, called back to us. "well, so they did. come along and drink as much as you want to." "cut that, rayburn," young answered. "i'm too dead in earnest about my being thirsty to stand any foolin'." "i'm not fooling"--we had caught up with him by this time--"look for yourself." to which young's only reply was to spring forward eagerly and drink a long deep draught from a stone basin beside the path into which trickled a tiny stream from above. finding water in this unlikely place was as great a surprise as it was a joy to us; for we all longed for it, yet dared not drink freely because our supply was nearly gone. it was touching to hear the long sigh of happiness that el sabio gave when at last he lifted his dripping snout out of the basin; and then to see the look that he gave pablo, as though to thank him for so blessedly plentiful a drink. in truth, the wise one had not tasted a drop of water for nearly twenty-four hours--not since his perilous passage of the cañon--and his throat, and his poor little inside generally, must have been very dry. when we came out on the top of the pyramid at last, which at that moment was wrapped in clouds almost as dense as london fog, we perceived the ingenious plan that had been adopted in order to secure water plentifully on this mountain-top. by careful scoring of the rock with many little channels, all leading to a cistern that seemed to be of great dimensions, the warm vapor of the clouds as it condensed into water on touching the chill stone surface was captured and safely stored away. and from the overflow of the cistern the fountain below was fed. but we did not stop to examine very carefully into this matter, so eager were we to press on to the temple close before us. this stood upon a terraced platform, cut from the living rock, and was a perfectly plain structure--with walls slightly receding inward as they rose, and wholly destitute of ornamentation. for its majestic effect it depended upon its great size and upon its admirable proportions; and being built of the dark rock of which the mountain was formed, and having about it much of the sombre feeling that characterizes egyptian architecture, it had an air of great solemnity and gloom. in silence we ascended the short flight of steps that led to the broad, doorless entrance--the only opening through the massive walls--and so came into the vast shadowy hall that these great walls enclosed. from front to back of this hall extended many rows of stone pillars--like the single row found in the great chamber among the ruins of mitla--and by these were upheld the huge slabs of stone of which the roof was made. far away from where we stood, down at the end of a long vista of pillars, was a stone altar on which was carved in stone a colossal figure of the god chac-mool. looking back through the open entrance, i saw a break in the mountain peaks to the eastward; and so perceived that the first rays of the rising sun must needs enter here and strike full upon the disk that was poised in the figure's hands. as pablo caught sight of the great idol recumbent there, a momentary shudder went through him and he made certain motions with his hand before his eyes that were strange to me. as we drew near to the altar we found that in front of it was a sacrificial stone, still darkly stained where blood had flowed upon it; and beneath the stone neck-yoke, still resting there, was a withered remnant of human vertebræ. there was something very ghastly in finding--preserved by the very stone that had held him down while life was let out of him--this mere scrap of the last human victim who had perished here. as in the desolate valley, so also on this desolate mountain-top, the only proof that human life ever had been here was found in proof of human death. save that our curiosity was gratified, and the blessing of the water which we found, our ascent of the great pyramid and our examination of the temple bore no fruit. young, who still seemed to think that tilting up and disclosing secret passages was an attribute of all statues of the god chac-mool, was here again convinced that his generalization from a single case was not a sound one. in a serious way--that in itself would have been laughable but for the gloom of our surroundings--he climbed upon the altar and sat first on the head of the god, and then on his feet, and even tried the effect of seating himself upon the stone disk that the god upheld above his navel. but through all of these experiments the stone figure remained solidly immovable. "i guess there was only one o' that tippin' kind," young said, at last, "an' he sort o' flocked by himself. let's get out of here, anyway. if this ever was the aztec bank that we're lookin' for, there must have been a prehistoric run on it that cleaned it out. they must have done that sort o' thing in old times, eh, professor? but it don't make much difference to us now what they did or what they didn't; an' we'd better fill up with water an' get out--that is, if there is any way of gettin' out except along the way we came. there's no good in goin' back that way. it would be better t' settle down here an' starve comfortably without wearin' out shoe-leather doin' it. but i don't mean t' do that until i've had a look all around th' top of this god-forsaken mountain, an' made sure that there's only one way down." my own thoughts had been dwelling on the possibility that young's words expressed; for at this definite point to which we had come, the path that we had come by very reasonably might end--so leaving us in this lonely region among the clouds to die slowly for lack of food. and there was a certain fitness in our having made our way so far among the dead only ourselves to die that added sombre fancies to our environment of sombre realities. yet there was a heartiness in young's resolutely expressed determination to search for a way out of our difficulties before at all yielding to them that insensibly cheered me. his words had a plucky ring to them; and bravery is as catching as is fear. our empty water-kegs were at the bottom of the pyramid, and when we reached the fountain on our downward way we waited there while pablo went on with el sabio and fetched them up to us. there was at least solid comfort in knowing, as we went on downward with the kegs all filled, that, whatever other death might come to us, at least we could not die of thirst. at the bottom of the pyramid we left fray antonio and pablo, with el sabio and the packs, and the three of us set out to explore the three sides of the mountain-top that were unknown to us in search of a downward path. a heavy mass of clouds had drifted over the mountain again, so thick that at a rod away all was white mist around us; and the light was growing faint, for the day had come nearly to an end. indeed, had we been upon the lower levels of the earth night would have been already upon us. making my way along the edge of the precipice, where the plateau broke sheer off, was ticklish work; and half humorous, half melancholy thoughts went through my mind touching the absurdity of an ex-professor of topical linguistics in the university of michigan being thus employed in path-hunting upon a lonely mountain-top in mexico. truly, adversity brings us strange bedfellows; but far stranger are the straits into which a man comes who takes up with the study of archæology at first-hand. but my path-hunting was without result, for nowhere along the edge of the plateau was there a break fit for the descent of any creature save such as had wings. at the end of near an hour the clouds once more lifted; and then i saw rayburn coming towards me, but with a serious look upon his face that told that he also had been unsuccessful in his search. "it has rather a bad look, professor," he said, briefly, when i had told him that along all the face of the mountain that i had examined the rock went down sheer. he filled his pipe and lighted it, and we walked back to the base of the pyramid in silence, while he smoked. young had not returned; but presently we heard a shout that had so hopeful a sound in it as to start us both to our feet and forth to meet him. "have you found a way down?" rayburn called, as he came nearer to us. "you bet i have," he called back; "and, what's more, i've seen somethin' to eat." "_seen_ something!" rayburn answered, as he joined us. "why the dickens didn't you _get_ it?" "well, because it was better'n a mile away from me. it looked like a mountain sheep, as well as i could make out; but there it was for sure; an' thinkin' how good that critter will taste roasted has given me a regular twistin' pain all through my empty inside! but th' point is that down on that side o' th' mountain there's game; i saw birds, too, but i couldn't make out what they were; an', somehow, it looks different down there. it don't look like these d--n dead places we've been prowlin' through for more'n a coon's age. it looks as if god remembered it, an' it was _alive_! why, th' very smell that came up had somethin' good about it; an' there was a different taste to th' air. i tell you, rayburn, i didn't know what a lonely an' mis'rable an' lost chump sort of a way i was in until i looked over there into that place where th' whole business ain't run by dead folks. an' what's more, professor, that's the trail for us; for, right where it starts down, there's th' king's symbol an' th' arrow, all reg'lar, blazed on th' rock." "is the trail good enough to make a start on now?" rayburn asked; "we won't have more than half an hour more light, but i'd give a lot to get off this mountain before dark, and every foot down that we go we'll be that much warmer. we'd stand a pretty fair chance of freezing up here to-night without any fire." "th' trail's all right for a good half-mile, anyway," young answered; "an' i guess it's good all th' way. it's pretty much th' same as th' one we come up by, an' that's good enough, where it don't jump cañons, t' go along in th' dark; but we must rustle if we mean t' do much by daylight." we were back at the pyramid by this time, and we found fray antonio very willing to be off with us that we might try to get well down the mountain before night set in; for at that great elevation the quick beating of his heart added very sensibly to the throbbing pain of his wound. therefore we lost no time in getting our packs upon our backs, and upon the back of el sabio, and briskly started downward; and the keen cold that came into the air, as the sun sunk away behind the mountain peaks at last, warned us that it was safer to take the risks of a descent almost in darkness than to stay for the night upon that bleak mountain-top without a fire. in twenty minutes we perceived a comforting change in the temperature; and at the end of an hour--during the last half of which we walked slowly and cautiously through the fast-thickening darkness--there was enough warmth in the air about us to make camping for the night endurable. but we still were at a great elevation, and the thin air was bitingly keen, and all the more so because of the scant meal that we had to comfort us and to put strength into us before we wrapped ourselves in our blankets for sleep. "what's a mis'rable two pounds of corned-beef among five of us," young exclaimed, in a tone of angry contempt, "when every man in th' lot is hungry enough t' eat th' whole of it, an' th' tin box it comes in, an' then go huntin' for a square meal? an' t' think o' that sheep i saw! i say, rayburn, did you ever eat a roast fore-shoulder of mutton, with onions an' potatoes baked under it, an' a thick gra--" "if you don't hold your jaw about things like that," rayburn struck in, "i'll murder you!"--and there was such fierceness in his voice, and he truly was such a savage fellow when his anger was up, that young was half frightened by his outburst, and so was silent. i must say that i wish that he had altogether held his tongue; for, somehow, the smell of mutton and onions and potatoes, all cooking together, was so strong in my nostrils, and this smell so set to yearning my very hollow inside, that it was a long while before i could sleep at all; and when i did sleep, it was to be pursued by dreams of painful hungriness which were but too surely founded in painful fact. certainly, it was very indiscreet in young, to say the least of it, to make a remark of that nature at that untoward time. however, that was the last day that we suffered for want of food. i was awakened in the very early morning by the sound of a rifle-shot, and sprang to my feet, brandishing my revolver, with a confused belief in my sleepy mind that we were attacked by indians again; and, truly, my first feeling was one of pleasure at the thought of meeting, even in deadly combat, with men who were alive. "it's all right, professor," rayburn said. "we're not fighting anybody. but i've killed a mountain sheep, and if we only can get him we'll have a solid breakfast, even if we have to eat him raw. he was over on that point of rock, and he's tumbled down clear into the valley, and the sooner we get down there and hunt for him the better." in the bright light of the early morning we could see below us a glad little valley, in which trees and grass grew, and in the centre of which was a tiny lake. but what gave us most joy was seeing birds flying over the face of the water, and half a dozen mountain sheep scampering away at the sound of rayburn's shot. truly, the sight of these live creatures was the most cheery that ever came to my eyes; and as i beheld them, and realized that at last we had emerged from the dreary, death-stricken region in which as it seemed to me we had spent years, a great wave of happiness rolled in upon and filled my heart. as it was with me, so was it with the others: who gave sighs of gladness as thus they found themselves no longer wanderers among the chill shades of ancient death, but once more moving in the warm living world. the path, cut out along the mountain-side, went downward by a sharper grade than that by which we had ascended; and we descended it joyfully at a swinging trot, with a new life in us that made us break out into lively talk and laughter that set the echoes to ringing. and presently, in a very jerky fashion because of his rapid motion, pablo piped away on his mouth-organ with "yankee doodle"--and this was the first time that he had had the heart to play upon his beloved "instrumentito" since our passage of the lake beneath which lay the city of the dead. in an hour we came fairly down into that bright and lovely valley, where was the sweet sound of birds calling to each other, and the glad sight of these live creatures flying through the air. as for the sheep that rayburn had killed, he was knocked pretty well into a jelly by his half-mile or so of tumble down the mountain-side. but we were not disposed to be over-fastidious, and we quickly had his ribs roasting over a brisk fire: that yet was not so brisk as was our hunger, for we began to eat before the meat was much more than warmed through. when our ravening appetite was appeased a little, young got out the coffee-pot and set to making coffee. and then, with meat well cooked and coffee in abundance, we made such a meal as can be made only by half-starved men who suddenly have come forth from the dark shadows of threatening death into the glad sunshine of safety. of what further perils might be in store for us we neither cared nor thought. our one strong feeling was the purely animal joy bred of deliverance from gloom and danger, and the packing of our bellies with hearty food. when, at last, our huge meal was ended, we settled back upon our blankets, and fell to smoking. presently rayburn gave a prodigious yawn and laid aside his pipe. "i think i'll take a nap," he said. i saw that young already was nodding and that pablo had sunk down into slumber; while el sabio, who had come even closer to starving than we had come, most thankfully rummaged among the rich grass. my eyes were heavy, and i stretched myself out on my blankets, with the warm sunshine comforting my stiffened body, and presently sunk softly into delicious sleep. i partly woke a few minutes later, as fray antonio rose, thinking that we all were lost in slumber, and walked a little apart from us. he alone had made a meal in reasonable moderation, and i saw now that he had gone aside to pray. for a moment the thought stirred in me that i would join him in what i knew was his thanksgiving for our deliverance; but sleep had too strong a hold upon me, and my body slowly fell back upon the blankets and my eyes slowly closed, carrying into my slumber the sight on which they last had rested: the monk kneeling upon the grass beside a great gray rock, with clasped hands and face turned upward, pouring his soul out in grateful prayer. it was well on in the afternoon when we all woke again; and young's first remark was that it must be about supper-time. rayburn fell in with this notion promptly, and so did i myself--rather to my astonishment, for it seemed unreasonable that after such a stuffing i should desire to eat so soon again. but we did make a supper almost as hearty as our breakfast had been, and in a little while wrapped ourselves in our blankets, with our feet towards the heaped-up fire, and went off once more to sleep, and slept through until sunrise of the following day. in truth, the mental strain, bred of our gloomy surroundings and of the dread of starvation that had possessed us, had taxed our physical strength more severely than our mountain climbing and our lack of nourishment. the great amount of strong food that we ate, and our long slumber, showed nature's demand upon us that our waste of tissue should be made good. when we woke again on the second morning, we all were fresh and strong and eager to press onward. there was little left of the sheep to carry with us; but rayburn shot half a dozen birds, some species of duck, as we skirted the lake in our passage across the valley, so there was no fear that we should lack for food. at its western end the valley narrowed into a cañon. there was no choice of paths, for this was the sole outlet, and we were assured that we were on the right path by finding the king's symbol and the pointing arrow carved upon the rook. the cañon descended very rapidly, and by noon we were so far below the level of the mexican plateau that the air had a tropical warmth in it; and so warm was the night--for all the afternoon we continued to descend--that we had no need for blankets when we settled ourselves for sleep. rayburn was of the opinion that we were close upon the tierra caliente, the hot lands of the coast; and when we resumed our march in the morning he went on in advance of the rest of us, that he might maintain a cautious outlook. if he were right in his conjecture as to our whereabouts, we might at any moment come upon hostile indians. it was towards noon that he came softly back to us and bade us lay down our packs and advance silently with him, carrying only our arms. "there's something queer ahead; and i thought that i heard voices," he explained. "but there must be no shooting unless we are shot at. some of these indians are friendly, and we don't want to start a row with them if they are willing not to row with us." the cañon was very narrow at this point, and high above us its walls drew so closely together that the shadows about us were deep. as we rounded a bend in it, the rock closed above our heads in a great arch, so that we were in a sort of natural tunnel; at the far end of which was a bright spot showing that a wide and sunny open space was beyond. but over this opening were bars which cut sharply against the light, as though a gigantic spider had spun there a massive web; and as we drew nearer to this curious barrier we saw beyond it a broad and glorious valley, rich with all manner of luxuriant tropical growth and flooded everywhere with the warm light of the sun. we approached the strange barrier cautiously, and our wonder at it was increased as we found that it was made of the bright metal of which we had found so many specimens; and still more we wondered as we found that the bars were fastened on the side from which we approached, so that we could remove them easily, while from the side of the valley they presented an impassable barrier. in strong excitement we drew out the metal pins which dropped into slots cut in the rock and so held the bars fast, and in a few minutes we had cleared the way for our advance. just as we were making ready to pass through the opening we heard the sound of voices; and as we quickly drew back into the shadows two men sprang up suddenly before us, and cried in wonder as they saw that the lower bars across the opening were gone. yet the expression upon their faces was not that of anger; rather did they seem to be stirred by a strong feeling of joy with which was also awe. both men were accoutred in the fashion which the pictured records show was usual with the aztec warriors, and one of them--as was indicated by his head-dress and by the metal corselet that he wore--was a chief; and they challenged us sharply, yet with gladness in their tones, in the aztec tongue. so sudden and so ringing was this challenge, and so startling was the uprising of the men before us, that as we sprang back into the shadow we instinctively stood ready with our arms. but fray antonio, not having any intent to join in the fight, was cooler than the rest of us, and instantly perceived that fighting was not necessary. therefore he it was who first spoke to these strangers; and his first word to them was, "friends!" then the watchmen, for such they seemed to be, spoke eagerly together for a moment, and pressed to the opening to look upon us; yet seeing us but dimly because of the dark shadows which surrounded us. pablo was closest to them, and i marvelled to see how like them he was in look and in air. him they first caught sight of, and as they saw him they both turned from the opening, and, as though calling to some one at a distance, gave both together a great glad shout. instantly, at some little distance, the cry was repeated; and so again farther on and yet farther, with ever more voices joining in it; so that it swelled and strengthened into a great roar of rejoicing that seemed to sweep over the whole of the valley before us, and to fill it everywhere with tumultuous sounds of joy. as though the duty that they were charged with had been thus accomplished, the men turned again to us, and he of the higher rank, speaking the aztec language, yet with turns and changes in that tongue which were strange to me, eagerly called to us: "come forth to us! come forth to us!" he cried. "now is the prophecy of old fulfilled and the watch rewarded that our people have maintained from generation to generation through twenty cycles here at the grated way! come forth to us, our brothers--who bring the promised message from our lord and king!" i turned to fray antonio as these words were spoken, and i saw in his face that which made me confident in my own glad conviction that here at last was the secret place for which so long, and through such perils, we had sought. here indeed had we found the hidden people of whom the dying cacique had spoken and of whom the monk's letter had told; the strong contingent of the ancient aztec tribe that ages since the wise king chaltzantzin had saved apart, that when their strength was needed they might come forth to ward their weaker brethren against conquest by a foreign foe. and the great happiness begotten of this glad discovery filled all my body with a throbbing joy. yet as we went out through the opening that we had made between the bars, and the watchers saw us fairly in the sunlight, they sprang back as though in alarm. rayburn met this demonstration promptly by making the peace-sign--raising aloft the right arm--that is common to all north american indians; and after a moment of hesitation the chief answered to this in kind. so there was peace between us as we advanced; but it seemed to me that their regard of us now had in it more of wonder and less of awe. [illustration: making the peace-sign] xvii. of our coming into the valley of aztlan. so unexpectedly had we come upon these strangers, and so marvellous was the finding thus of the hidden tribe for which we had sought so long, that i could not but dread, as we advanced towards the aztec warriors, lest i should wake suddenly and find that it all was a dream. and they, also, as it seemed to me, looked upon us doubtingly, and with somewhat of dread in their regard, as though uncertain whether we were beings from another world, or men of flesh and blood like themselves. not until we were close upon them did further words--after that first challenge and answer--pass between us; and then the elder of the two, still making the peace-sign with his raised right hand, and speaking with a trembling in his voice, as though deep emotion moved him, called to us: "have our brothers need of our strength? bring ye the token that summons us to their aid?" i should have been glad just then for opportunity to consult with my companions as to what answer i should make to these questions, for i perceived that our position was a very critical one, and that even our lives might depend upon the wisdom of my reply. for a moment i waited in the hope that fray antonio would make answer; but as he remained silent, there was nothing for it but that i should take the hazard upon myself. therefore, bringing forth the ancient piece of gold from the snake-skin bag--for so i had carried it constantly, even as the cacique had done before me, and others before him, for more than three hundred years--i held it towards the man who had spoken, and said, firmly: "here is the token of summons left behind him by chaltzantzin; but we come not to call you forth to battle, but to bring tidings that the fate which that wise king and prophet foresaw for his people, long since was fulfilled. in the time appointed, the stranger foemen overcame and enslaved your brethren, bringing to pass that which chaltzantzin foretold; and the message that then was sent to call you forth to their aid reached you not, because even the wisdom of chaltzantzin was powerless against the will of the gods. yet the gods desired not to destroy your brethren, but to punish them; and their punishment now is at an end. once more are they free, and once more is their ruler a wise and valiant man of their own race. therefore, the news which we bring you is not sorrowful, but glad." while i was thus speaking, the ringing cries which at the first alarm had sounded over all the valley grew louder and stronger; but as yet we saw only the two men who at the first had confronted us--for we were in a deep recess in the mountain, whence the ground dropped away in front, so that the immediate foreground was hid from us, and we saw only some distant meadows, and then a broad lake, and over this more meadows and a sweep of heavy timber, and back of all great mountains rising against the clear blue sky. but as my speech ended, and before those to whom it was addressed at all had digested the wonder of it, and so hesitated in their reply, a half-dozen men and a woman or two came in sight in the narrow way before us, panting after their rapid ascent of the acclivity; and the calls of others pressing up the slope behind them sounded loudly, and in a very little while a crowd of a hundred or more pressed about us, all gazing at us and questioning us with a most eager surprise. for the most part these seemed to be laborers from the near-by fields; for many of them carried agricultural implements, and their bare legs and arms were splashed with mud and were grimy of the soil. as for the look of them, save that the flowing garments of cotton cloth which the women wore were embroidered in a fanciful fashion, i could not have distinguished these people from the tallest and strongest of the indians dwelling in the hot lands of the coast about vera cruz. the men, who wore only a cloth twisted about their loins, were as magnificent fellows as i ever saw. every one of them was tall and straight, with broad shoulders and narrow hips, and the muscles of their arms and legs stood out like cords. from pablo, who was an unusually tall and well-formed lad, they differed only in the color of their skins--which were decidedly darker than his, as was to be expected in the case of men dwelling in this tropical region at the level of the sea. towards pablo these people manifested a familiar curiosity quite unlike their reverential manner towards the rest of us, who so obviously were not of their own race. and pablo was as much perplexed by their questions as they were by his answers; for never was a conversation carried on so hopelessly at cross-purposes. our boy, being spoken to by folk who obviously were as entirely mexicans as he was himself, and in a tongue that practically was that which he had been born to--for the indians dwelling in the guadalajara suburb of mexicalcingo, being the direct descendants of a pure aztec stock, speak the nahua language very correctly--could not at all realize that he was at last among the ancient race for which we had searched so long. it was his belief that we had come out, in accordance with rayburn's forecast, into the coast country, and that the people around him were the ordinary dwellers in the hot lands. and the aztecs, knowing him to be one of themselves, no doubt believed that he knew of the purpose for which they had been left to dwell apart, and so plied him with questions concerning their brethren from whom through long ages they had been separated. as their talk went on, getting the more involved with every question and reply, a tendency towards ill-temper began to develop itself on each side; for pablo considered that these people, who professed to be ignorant of so important a city as guadalajara, were making game of him; and they were not less disposed to believe that he either was answering them falsely or that he was a fool. fortunately, before any harm came of these misunderstandings, an interruption brought a temporary end to their talk. there was a stir among the crowd, and then an opening was made in it, through which came an elderly man wearing military trappings similar to, but much handsomer than those worn by the two warriors whom we had first encountered; and it was obvious, from the air of deference with which these saluted him, that he was their superior officer. in spite of the dignity of his demeanor it was evident that he was greatly excited by our advent, and his voice quivered and broke a little as he asked us who we were and whence we came. as i repeated what i had already told the guard, and showed the gold token, the expression upon his face was that of extreme perplexity. that the gold token gave us a strong claim upon his respect, almost upon his reverence, was apparent in his manner as i showed it to him; but the conditions under which it was presented obviously rendered him very uncertain as to what action was proper for him to take. when i had finished my statement, and had returned the token to its place in the snake-skin bag (for the wisdom of carefully retaining this potent talisman in our possession was evident), the officer turned to the two warriors, and they conversed for a while in low tones apart from us. of their talk i could catch only a few words, but several times i heard repeated the name itzacoatl, and frequent reference was made to the twenty lords. i gathered, too, that the name of the officer was tizoc, and that the name of the elder of the two warriors, a swarthy man, was ixtlilton. in the mean time, out of respect to the officer, the crowd had drawn away from us--being now swelled to very considerable numbers--but those composing it gazed at us in wonder, and among them was a steady murmur of low talk, like the buzzing of a hive of bees. when his conference with the warriors was ended, tizoc approached us, and with him came a younger man, who carried a roll of paper in his hand. the face of the officer still wore a troubled, doubting expression, and these feelings were expressed also in the tones of his voice as he spoke to us. "for the coming of the token from our lord chaltzantzin we who dwell in this valley of aztlan have waited through many ages," he said; "but the promise was given that the token should come to us from our brethren in the time of their need, and should be brought by those of our own race. but you tell us that the time of need long since is past, and ye who bring the token are of a race that is strange to us; and even this one among you who seems to be of our brethren speaks strangely of strange things. had ye come in the way that long past was promised, there would have been no room for questioning your right of entry here nor your authority over us; and i, who am the warden of the pass--being in right succession from him whom our lord chaltzantzin appointed to this high office--would have been the first to do you reverence and honor. but in this strange case that has arisen i hold it to be my duty to send news of your coming to the priest captain, itzacoatl, that he and his council of the twenty lords may decide what now is right to do. in this i mean no disrespect and no unkindness; and while we await the priest captain's orders i shall have the pleasure to offer you that rest and refreshment of which you stand in need." to this firm but courteous speech i was in the act of replying in fit terms of equal courtesy--for all that tizoc had said was so reasonable that no exception could be taken to it--when an outburst on young's part interrupted me. "hold on there, young fellow!" he cried. "i'll be shot if i'm goin' t' stand bein' made a fool of that way! if you can't make a better likeness of me than that, you'd better shut up shop an' go out of th' business." i turned quickly, and saw young standing beside tizoc's attendant, and looking half angrily and half laughingly at the sheet of paper that he held in his hand. fearful that some harm might come from young's maladroitness, i joined them quickly; and only a strong sense of the gravity of our situation restrained me from laughing outright as i behold the cause of his wrath. for the secretary, as i now perceived him to be, had made sketches in color of each member of our party; and while they all did violence to our vanity, that of young--with a bald head out of all proportion to the size of his body, and with most aggressively red hair--was so outrageous a caricature that there really was some justice in his resentment of it. but this was not a time when resentment could be safely manifested, and i hurriedly explained to young that these pictures, no doubt, were to be transmitted as a part of the report that tizoc was about to make to the king concerning us, and that he must find no fault with them. "he's goin' t' send that thing t' th' king an' say it's me, is he? no, he's not--not by a jugful! see here, professor! here's a photograph that i had taken last spring in boston. i meant t' give it to a girl before i came away, but she went back on me an' i didn't. it's not much of a photograph, but it don't look like a squash trimmed with red clover. if they want to send anything, let 'em send that." and before i could stop him, young had taken the photograph out of his pocket-book and had handed it to the secretary, with the remark, "just say t' him, professor, that he is t' give that t' th' king, an' tell him t' tell th' king that mr. seth young, of boston, sends it with his compliments." after all, no harm came of this absurd performance, but rather good; for the secretary exhibited the photograph to tizoc, and both of them, and the two warriors also, were lost in wonder at its marvellous likeness to the original, and evidently held us in increasingly great respect because we were the possessors of such an extraordinary work of art. young was a good deal chagrined, however, because the picture of him that the secretary had drawn was forwarded as a part of tizoc's despatches. he said that since he had set up a good likeness of himself, it wasn't the square thing to send the king a bad one. when the secretary, bearing the despatches, had departed, tizoc requested us to accompany him to the near-by guard-house, where we could refresh ourselves by bathing, and where food and drink would be provided for us. this order, for such it was, we obeyed gladly; for we were both weary and hungry, and the prospect of what young described as a good wash and a square meal after it, was very pleasing to us. a detachment of men from the guard-house, accoutred in the same handsome fashion as ixtlilton and his companion, had arrived while the secretary's portrait-work was in progress; and i observed that all of these guardsmen (excepting only ixtlilton, whose skin was dark,) were much lighter in color and more gracious in bearing than the men in the crowd around us. so marked, indeed, was this difference that they seemed scarcely to belong to the same race. as we moved away through the opening that the crowd made for us, with a platoon of guardsmen in advance, and another in our rear, pablo touched my arm and was about to speak to me; but before his mouth could open there sounded suddenly from the hollow way in the mountain behind us a mighty bray. "ah, the little angel!" pablo cried. "hearken to him, señor, calling to me." and so moved was pablo by this evidence of el sabio's affection that only my firm grasp upon his arm restrained him from attempting a dash through the guards to where the creature was penned in by the metal bars. truly, there is no sound more terrifying to those who are strangers to it than the braying of an ass; therefore, i was not at all surprised that a very considerable part of the crowd incontinently took to its heels; and i needed no better evidence of the bravery of the guardsmen who composed our escort than the steadiness with which they faced about in readiness to meet whatever danger might come forth from the gap in the mountain in the wake of this great roaring. yet what they saw there was only the mild face of the wise one extended towards us through the opening in the bars. to tizoc, who was standing beside me, and who had not displayed even the slightest tremor of alarm as the appalling noise had broken upon us, i explained that the roaring creature was not harmful, but gentle and biddable; and i begged that other of the bars might be removed, so that it might come forth and join us. that he acceded instantly to my request gave me a good opinion of his own faithfulness and honesty; for a man of a suspicious and crafty nature assuredly would have believed that my request was but a trap laid for his destruction; and thereupon the bars were removed. and the truth of my words was made manifest, as el sabio came instantly to pablo and received his caresses with every sign of gentleness and affection. but even tizoc did not disguise his wonder upon beholding this strange beast, for the largest four-footed creature in all that valley, as he told me, was a little animal of the deer species, that was not much bigger than a hare. and when i bade pablo mount upon el sabio's back, the look of surprise in tizoc's face changed suddenly to an expression of troubled doubt, in which was also alarm. under his breath i heard him mutter, "can it be that the prophecy will be fulfilled?" but whatever the cause of his inward disturbance was, he spoke not of it, but turned once more forward, and gave the order to march. [illustration: the fulfilment of the prophecy] the crowd, seeing that no harm was like to come to them, pressed forward once more, and gazed with open-mouthed wonder--and also, as it seemed to me, with awe--at the prodigious spectacle which pablo, gravely riding upon the ass's back, presented to them. and so, with the guards before and behind us, we marched onward into the valley of aztlan. xviii. the striking of a match. as we emerged from the nook in the mountain-side the whole of the valley lay open before us, and never was a more lovely spot beheld by the eyes of man. a half-dozen leagues in front of us rose the great mountain wall which shut in its farther side, and about as far away to the right and to the left these walls swept around in vast curves and joined the cliffs through which we had come by the hollow way that tunnelled beneath them. a noble lake extended nearly the whole length of the valley, and covered near a third of its width, and so seemed less like a lake than like a calm and majestic river. from the water-side the land rose in broad terraces, broken by belts of timber and by many groups of smaller trees, which, because of the regularity of their growth, i took to be fruit plantations. all the open country seemed to be one vast garden, most carefully tended, and everywhere cut up by little canals, whence water for irrigation was drawn. scattered everywhere about the valley were single houses embowered in trees, and from where we stood we could see also four or five little towns, which also were plentifully shaded. and on the lake many boats were passing, of which several were of a considerable size, and were fitted with curiously shaped sails. and all this exquisite tropical beauty of ample water and luxuriant foliage shone richly beneath the bright splendor of a deep blue tropical sky. yet that which most strongly attracted our attention was not this charming display of the manifold excellencies of god's handiwork, but rather a wonderful manifestation of the handiwork of man. over against us, on the far side of the lake, slantingwise from where we stood, rose a mass of buildings of such vastness and such majestic design that at the first glance we took it to be one of the square-topped mountains which are found not uncommonly in this portion of the world, and around the bases of which are sloping heaps of the fragments of rock which have broken away through countless ages from their weather-worn sides. yet in a moment we perceived that what we saw was a walled city built upon a great promontory, that jutted out from the mountain-side; and in the same breath fray antonio and i called out together, "it is the city of culhuacan!" as we uttered this name tizoc turned towards us quickly, and with a startled, troubled look upon his face. "they are not of our race," he said, as though speaking his thoughts aloud; "yet the sacred name, that among us only a few know, is known to them!" and the troubled look upon his face deepened as we went onward. the way by which we descended was a narrow road carried zigzag down the cliff--for the pass by which we had entered the valley was fully six hundred feet above the level of the lake--and at short intervals along its course this road was defended by walls of very solid masonry, pierced with openings so narrow that only one man at a time could pass through them. that the walls were for defence was shown by the piles of metal bars on the inner side of each opening--the side towards the mountain--so arranged that in a moment they could be slipped into sockets in the stone-work, thus closing effectually the way. perceiving that we regarded with surprise this curious system of fortification, tizoc explained: "these are the barriers set up against the tlahuicos, who, heeding not the order given of old by our lord chaltzantzin, have striven many times to break forth from the valley--for among these men there are many of perverse natures and evil minds." in _tlahuico_ i recognized a nahua word that means "men turned towards the earth," but what its meaning might be in the sense in which tizoc employed it i did not know. i should have asked for further explanation--for the manner of this man was so frank and so friendly that it invited a cordial familiarity--but as i was about to speak we passed through the narrow opening in a wall of unusual height and strength, and so came into a charming garden, in the midst of which stood a large house well built of stone. for the making of this garden a natural nook on the side of the mountain had been enlarged by filling in along its outer edge against a great retaining-wall, built up from a depth of a hundred feet from the slope below; and on the farther side of the plateau thus created, where the path down into the valley went on again, were heavy defensive walls. near this exit, also, was a long low building that i took to be a guard-house. the crowd that had followed behind us from the height above went on across the plateau, and out through the gate beside the guard-house--its members casting many curious looks at us as they departed--and the guardsmen who had formed our escort, at an order from tizoc, went on to their quarters. but tizoc led us across the garden to the large house that stood in the midst of it, and there, with a formal courtesy, bade us enter. this was his home, he said, and we were his welcome guests. the house was so like the houses ordinarily found in mexico that we had no feeling of strangeness in entering it. it was built of stone neatly laid in cement; was but a single story in height, and enclosed a large central court, in the midst of which a fountain sparkled, surrounded by small trees and shrubs and beds of flowers. all of the rooms opened upon this central court, and in the outer wall the only opening was the narrow way by which we had entered--for the prompt closing of which there lay in readiness a pile of metal bars. the flat roof, also of stone, was reached by a stone stair-way from the court, and had about it a heavy stone parapet that was pierced with narrow slits through which javelins and arrows could be discharged. but these arrangements for defence did not by any means produce a gloomy effect, as they would had we encountered them in a country-house in our own part of the world--for similar defence arrangements are found in every hacienda in mexico at the present day, and even i, though my stay in the country had been so short, already had become accustomed to them. a buzzing chatter of talk, in which women's voices predominated, ceased suddenly as we entered the court; and from the swaying and twitching of the curtains hanging in the front of the openings leading into several of the rooms, we inferred that we were undergoing a keen inspection. in response to a call from tizoc, some men-servants came out from one of the rooms and received his order to prepare food for us; and he then led us to a large room in a corner of the court that was arranged very delightfully as a bath. here was a great stone tank, twenty feet or so square, and with a slanting bottom, so that the depth of it ranged from two feet to nearly five, in which was fresh running water; and over the portion of the room that the tank occupied there was no roof but the bright blue sky. on the stone floor were beautifully woven mats, and towels of cotton cloth hung upon pegs driven into the walls, and in earthen bowls were fresh pieces of a saponaceous root that i have seen the like of in use among the indians of new mexico. it seemed to strike tizoc as odd that we preferred to make use of the bath successively rather than all together; but he was too polite a man to interpose any objections to our eccentricities. pablo only--coming last of all of us--had a companion in his bathing in the person of el sabio; and the sleekness of that excellent animal, when pablo had brushed carefully his long coat when his bath was ended, was a wonder to behold. being thus refreshed, we heartily welcomed the excellent meal that was served to us in the cool shade of the veranda by which the court-yard was surrounded. our eating was somewhat in the roman fashion, for the table was a broad slab of stone, raised but a little from the ground, and around it we reclined upon mats, with cushions woven of rushes to lean upon. the food was excellent--a small animal of the deer species, but no larger than a hare, roasted whole; birds very like quails, delicately broiled; little cakes made of maize, which were rather like the hoe-cakes of our southern negroes than _tortillas_; some sort of sweet marmalade; and a great abundance of oranges, mangoes, bananas, and other fruits common to the hot lands of mexico; all of which fruits were much more delicate in flavor than mexican fruits usually are; the result, as we found later, of the great care bestowed upon their culture. only water was served with the meal, but at the end of it a small jar of some sort of potent liquor was brought, very cool, and with an excellent spicy taste, that tizoc warned us must be taken but sparingly; and truly he was right, as i found from the warm and mellow feeling of benevolent friendliness that but half a cup of it infused into me. tizoc himself did not follow very rigidly the advice that he had given us; and to this fact, probably, was due the exceeding frankness with which he subsequently spoke with us concerning grave matters, of which he surely would have been reticent had he been in a less genial mood. "just ask th' colonel if he minds my smokin' a pipe, won't you, professor?" young said, when our meal was ended; and as i myself wanted to smoke, and as i was sure that rayburn did also, i made the request general. tizoc, to my surprise--for i believed smoking to be common to all the indigenous races--evidently did not at all understand my meaning; but perceiving that i asked to have some favor granted, he courteously gave the permission that i desired. as we filled our pipes he watched us curiously; but when we drew out our matches and struck fire by what seemed to him but the turn of our hands, he started to his feet and manifested a strange excitement, in which there seemed to be less of alarm than of awe. his voice shook, and his whole person trembled, as he asked, "are ye the children of chac-mool, the god of fire, and therefore the chosen servants of huitzilopochtli the terrible, that ye thus can do what among us is done only by our priest captain itzacoatl?" [illustration: the striking of a match] both fray antonio and i heard with delight this utterance, that in a moment settled the long-disputed question as to whether or not chac-mool was an idol, and settled it, also, in favor of the ingenious hypothesis presented by the learned señor chavero. the moment was not a favorable one, however, for pursuing the matter in its archæological bearings, for all of our tact and skill just then were required to restore tizoc to calmness. as well as this was possible in the language common to us--we suddenly realized how difficult it was to express in the nahua tongue more than rudimentary concepts of the ideas that we sought to convey--we explained to him how matches were made; and illustrated our words by showing him how fire was induced by friction, even as the rubbing of two pieces of wood together produced fire also. this explanation was less exact than ingenious; but it was one that he could understand, and it had the effect of allaying his alarm sufficiently to permit him to resume his seat, when he at once drank off a whole bowlful of the strong, spicy liquor at a draught. added to what he already had inside of him, this draught set his tongue to wagging in the free way that i have already referred to, and he grew bold enough to take a match in his hand. but even in his cups he manifested a certain reverence in his handling of it; and presently, from a little bag that was hung about his neck, he produced the burnt remnant of a match that he compared with it critically. "they are the same?" he asked, as he extended the whole match and the fragment together towards us that we might examine them. "they are the same," fray antonio answered. "whence comes the one that you guard so carefully?" "from the priest captain--from itzacoatl. with such things does he miraculously set burning the fire of sacrifice; but he does not speak of them lightly, as you do; he tells us that they are the handiwork of the fire god, chac-mool; and when the fire of sacrifice is kindled he gives what remains of them as high rewards to those who have served well the state by brave acts or honorable deeds. this which i cherish was my reward for crushing a revolt among the tlahuicos." fray antonio and i exchanged curious glances, for the conviction was forced upon us both that the priest captain of whom tizoc spoke must either have invented friction matches, or that he must have some secret channel of communication with the outside world. in either case it was evident that he must be a man of unusual shrewdness; and it also was evident that his feeling towards us--since we also could perform a miracle that he obviously made use of as a means of manifesting his divine right to rule--must be that of strong hostility. to rayburn and young, who had observed wonderingly tizoc's extraordinary conduct, i rapidly translated what he had said; and explained how serious our situation appeared in the light of this new development. "well, it certainly _is_ cold weather for this priest captain fellow," young commented, "if we've got hold of his boss miracle; and i guess you're about right, professor--he'll want t' take it out of our hides. just poke up th' colonel t' telling all he knows about this old dodger. th' colonel's got his tongue pretty well greased just now with his own prime old bourbon--pass me that jar, rayburn, i don't mind if i have another whack at it myself--and we may get something out of him that will be useful. try it on, professor, any way. here's luck, gentlemen." that young's tongue also was a little greased, as he put it, by this very agreeable beverage was quite evident; but his wits were sharpened rather than dulled by the drink, and his present suggestion evidently was a very good one. as for tizoc, his disposition towards us obviously was most soft and friendly; and as his mind slowly absorbed the fact that, somehow or another, the priest captain had made a fool of him with a miracle that was not really a miracle at all, his choler rose in a manner most favorable to our purposes. yet this very feeling of resentful anger--showing a growing irreverence of one to whom all the traditions of his people gave reverence second only to that due to the gods themselves--was startling evidence of the menace that our presence was to the theocratic ruler's temporal and spiritual power. therefore it was with a keen curiosity that we listened--and tizoc needed, to induce him to talk freely, but little of the poking-up that young had suggested--to what was told us concerning the strange people among whom we had come by ways so perilous, and of their chieftain, the priest captain itzacoatl--with whom, as no spirit of prophecy was needed to tell us, we were destined soon to engage in a conflict that must be fought out to the very death. xix. the seeds of revolt. for the sake of brevity i shall summarize here the statement that tizoc made to us, and for the sake of clearness i shall add to it some facts of minor importance which came to our knowledge later--thus at once exhibiting the whole of the troublous condition of affairs that stirred dangerously the people dwelling in the valley of aztlan at the time of our coming among them. at this period the political situation, as i may term it, was exceedingly critical. three powerful factions were in existence; and peace was preserved only by the generally diffused belief that open revolt, on the part of either one, would be crushed instantly by a temporary coalition of the other two. the beginning of this unpleasantly volcanic condition of affairs dated back six cycles--that is to say, a little more than three hundred years--and was the direct result of a violation of the law set forth by the wise king chaltzantzin when the colony was founded, by which it was ordained that all among the aztlanecas who, on coming to maturity, were weaklings or cripples, should be put to death. being once suggested, the repeal or the modification of this law found many advocates. naturally, the change was urged most strongly by all those whose sons and daughters were sickly or malformed, and so were doomed to die in the very blossom of their years. it was urged by the nobles because the more astute among them perceived the possibility of so manipulating it that it would result in the creation of a distinctively servile class; and the priests urged it because they also perceived a way by which it might be made to provide more victims for sacrifice to the gods. and so it came to pass, through the influence of these diverse elements operating together towards a common end, that the law which chaltzantzin had promulgated was set aside, and a law was made that embodied the provisions demanded by the nobles and the priests, whereby should be created a new social class; which class, because of the infirmities of those composing it, received the name of tlahuicos--"men turned towards the earth." thereafter, the sickly and the crippled were not slain upon reaching maturity, but then passed out from the class into which they were born and became servitors. and when the first cycle was ended after the making of this new law, and thenceforward every year, one in every ten among the tlahuicos was taken by lot to be sacrificed to the gods--for the priests craftily had gained the barbarous concession that they demanded by placing the first fulfilment of it at a time so far in the future that all concerned in the granting of it would be dead in the course of nature before it became operative. yet to the end that those of noble birth might be saved from the ignominy of servitude, it was provided that children which by reason of natural infirmity were doomed to become slaves, might be saved from that fate upon coming to maturity by being then surrendered by their parents to the priests for sacrifice. other grace there was none. excepting between death and slavery, there was no choice for the weak or the malformed. as time passed on, the tlahuicos, marrying among themselves, had greatly increased in numbers; and so far from remaining a weakling race, they had become, by reason of their frugal mode of living and of the wholesome, hearty labor in which they constantly were engaged, exceptionally hale and strong; the weak and crippled among them being mainly those who each year, because of such infirmities, were added to their number from the higher ranks of the community. and thus was collected together material as dangerous as it was inflammable; for the fresh additions to the tlahuicos kept constantly alive in the whole body a spirit of moody discontent, that time and again, at the season when the lots were cast by which one in every ten was doomed to death, was fanned into armed mutiny. these revolts ever had as their single object escape from the valley; which fact made evident enough the need for the elaborate system of defensive works by which the outlet of the valley was barred. from the tlahuicos were drawn the house-servants of the rich; and by those of this wretched class who were stout of body all the heavy labor of the community was carried on--the tilling of the fields, the quarrying of stone, the building of houses and bridges and roads, the felling of timber, the carriage of all burdens, and the working of the great gold-mine, concerning which i shall hereafter have more to tell. and all of these people were held in absolute bondage, either as the serfs of individual owners or as the property of the state; for each year the new accessions to the class were sold publicly at an auction to whoever would bid the most for them; and those which none would buy, being too infirm to be useful as laborers, the state laid claim to--but only that they might be kept alive until such time as they should be needed by the priests for sacrifice. yet out of this custom of sale, that on the face of it was harsh and barbarous, some slight mitigation of the cruelty of the system had come; for the practice had grown up of permitting parents to buy back their own children--nominally thereafter holding them as slaves--and so to save them at a single stroke from both death and servitude. one strong cause of the hatred of the priest captain itzacoatl, tizoc said (and we wondered then at the trembling in his voice, and at the evidently deep emotion that overcame him as he spoke), was that he had but lately forbidden the continuance of this practice, by which only the letter of the law was obeyed. until the promulgation by the priest captain of this decree, the priesthood, the military aristocracy, and the mass of the army had constituted, politically, one single class. the civil government was vested in a body styled the council of the twenty lords, the members of which originally had been chosen by chaltzantzin, and from him had received authority, in perpetuity, to fill the vacancies which death would cause among them by selecting the wisest of each new generation to be councillors. while the composition of this body was distinctively aristocratic--for its members were either military nobles or priests of a high grade--there was in it also an element of democracy; for both the priesthood and the army were recruited from all classes of society (saving only the servile class), and among the twenty lords there were always men who had risen from obscurity to distinction solely by their own merit. over this body the priest captain presided; yet was his will superior to that of the council, for he was the visible representative of the gods, and so centred in his own person their high authority and dreadful power. until the time of itzacoatl, each successive priest captain, in the long line that here had ruled, had exercised so discreetly his theocratic rights, and in all ways had shown such wisdom in his government, that no conflict had arisen between the temporal and the spiritual powers. and thus wisely had itzacoatl governed in the early years of his reign. but as age stole upon him--and he now was a very old man--his rule had grown more and more tyrannical. he had drawn about him certain priests for intimate advisers, and these constantly led him to run counter to the will of the twenty lords, not only in matters about which divergent opinions reasonably might be held, but in matters wherein the will of the whole people was at one with the advice that the council gave. thus, gradually, two parties were built up within the state: that of the priests, which strongly seconded the disposition that itzacoatl manifested to make the spiritual power absolutely supreme, and that of the nobles and people of the higher class, which sought to maintain the council's ancient rights in matters temporal. in regard to these two factions, the affiliations of the army were so nicely balanced that neither side ventured to resort to open violence--for each dreaded that the other would turn the scale against it by invoking the aid of the servile class. thus it was that the despised tlahuicos actually held the balance of power. yet of this fact, tizoc declared--but i noticed that just here there was a curious hesitancy about his speech, as though he knew more than he was willing to disclose--the tlahuicos were but dimly conscious; while they did know certainly that in the present state of affairs any attempt on their part to rise in mutiny would be met, as it had been met many times in the past, by all the forces of both factions of their superiors overwhelmingly united against them. but the bond that was stronger than all others in holding together this community, in which, beneath the surface, were working such potent elements of disintegration, was the loyal resolve pervading it to execute the mission to which its members were destined when they were set apart from the remainder of their race a thousand years before. excepting only among the tlahuicos--who, in the nature of things, could have no share in it--there had ever been among all classes a fervent longing for the summons that should call them forth to aid their brethren in the battling with a foreign foe that chaltzantzin had prophesied. and by reason of this loyalty to a lofty purpose the open rupture that assuredly otherwise would have come had been thus far restrained. honor forbade, tizoc declared, that by falling to warring among themselves they should put in jeopardy their power to respond instantly to the summons that might at any instant come. it was therefore with a profound and solemn interest--for the grave import of it was plain to him--that tizoc, having ended his own statement, questioned us as to the full meaning of the words which we had spoken when first we entered the valley: that the prophecy of chaltzantzin long since had been fulfilled, and that now, having in its appointed time miscarried, the summons would never come. with awe, and in sorrowful silence, he listened as fray antonio and i told him how exactly the prophecy had been verified by the coming of the spaniards, and by their conquest and enslavement of the mexicans; yet was he cheered again as our narrative continued, and he learned of the brave fight for freedom that his brethren had made, and of the happy success that had crowned it in the end. of the period between the achievement of independence and recent years we said but little--it is not a period of which those whose feeling towards the mexicans is friendly have much desire to talk--contenting ourselves with emphasizing the fact that the race so long oppressed, having risen successfully against its oppressors, remained independent under a ruler of its own blood. to that part of our narrative in which we told how we had gained knowledge of the hidden city of colhuacan, and possession of the token of summons, tizoc gave but little heed. it was evident that his mind was engrossed with consideration of the more important matters of which we had told him, and of the direct bearing that they had upon the troubled condition of affairs in which his own people were involved. seeing which, we left him to his own thoughts while we talked of these same matters among ourselves. rayburn, in his quick, clear-headed way, grasped the situation promptly and accurately. "about the size of it is," he said, "that we've knocked the false work right from under everything that these folks have been building for the whole thousand years that they have been living here; and what they've built isn't strong enough to stand alone. as young says, it's a cold day for the priest captain because we have got hold of his boss miracle; but it's still colder weather for him because the news that we have brought makes it all right for the crowd that wants to fight him to go right ahead and do it; and i guess they will do it, too, as soon as they get the fact fairly into their heads that there no longer is a chance of their being called off in the middle of their row. unless i am very much mistaken, we shall see some pretty lively times in this valley inside of the next thirty days." "and unless _i'm_ mistaken," young struck in, "th' colonel here will be about th' first man t' take off his coat--that is, th' thing that i suppose he thinks is a coat--an' sail in. i don't know just what he's got against th' priest captain, except that he seems t' be a sort of pill on gen'ral principles, but i'm sure that he's down on him from th' word go. from what th' colonel says, i judge that his crowd has a pretty good chance of comin' out on top--for th' other crowd seems t' be made up for th' most part of parsons; an' parsons, as a rule, haven't much fight in 'em. what we'd better do it t' tie t' th' colonel, an' when we've helped him an' his friends t' wallop th' other fellows they'll be so much obliged to us that they'll let us bag all th' treasure we want an' clear out. an' that reminds me, professor--we haven't heard anything about any treasure so far. just ask th' colonel if there really is one. if there isn't, i vote for pullin' out before th' row begins. it's as true of a fight as it is of a railroad--that runnin' it just for th' operatin' expenses don't pay." tizoc answered my question on this head somewhat absently, for he evidently was debating within himself some very serious matter; but his answer was of a sort that young found entirely satisfactory. in the heart of the city, he said, was the treasure-house that chaltzantzin had builded there; and within it the treasure remained that chaltzantzin had stored away. what it consisted of, nor the value of it, he could not tell. the treasure-house was also the great temple; and of the treasure only the priest captain had accurate knowledge. in the treasure-house, tizoc added, was stored the tribute that the people paid annually, and the metal that was taken from the great mine. this metal was the most precious of all their possessions, he said, for from it their arms were made, and also their tools for tilling the earth, and for working wood and stone. it had not always been of such value, for it naturally was too soft to serve these useful purposes; but at a remote period, until which time their implements had been made of stone, a wise man among them had discovered a way by which it could be hardened, and from that time onward the people dwelling in the valley had prospered greatly, because they thus were enabled to practise all manner of useful arts. "and what is this metal like?" i asked, with much interest, for my archæological instinct instantly was aroused by hearing summed in these few words a matter of such momentous importance as the transition of a people to the age of metal from the age of stone. "it is like this," tizoc answered, simply, disengaging as he spoke a heavy bracelet from his arm, "only this remains in its natural state of softness. to be of great value it first must be made hard." i had no doubt in my own mind as to what this metal was, but i knew that rayburn, who was an excellent metallurgist, could pronounce upon it authoritatively. "is this gold?" i asked, handing him the bracelet. "certainly it is," he answered, in a moment--"and it seems to be entirely without alloy." "then your guess about the bright, hard metal that has been such a puzzle to us," i continued, "was the right one; it is hardened gold:" and i repeated to him what tizoc had told me. rayburn was deeply interested. "scientifically, this is a big thing, professor," he said. "these fellows can give points to our metallurgists. but for our purposes, of course, what they've caught on to here has no practical value. gold has got to come down a good deal, or phosphor-bronze has got to go up a good deal, before it will pay us to turn gold dollars into axle-bearings and cogs and pinions. but it's mighty interesting, all the same. fusing with silicium would give a gold-silicide that might fill the bill for hardness; but i can't even make a guess as to how they do the tempering. ask the colonel what the whole process is, professor. it will make a capital paper to read before the institute of mining engineers at their next meeting." as i turned to tizoc to ask this question, i perceived that his regard was fixed upon something on the other side of the court-yard, and in his look most tender love was blended with a deep melancholy. following the direction of his gaze, i saw that its object was a beautiful boy, a lad of twelve or fourteen years old, who was half hidden behind some flowering shrubs, and from this cover was peering at us curiously. "it is my maza--my little son," tizoc said, as he turned and saw the direction in which i looked. and then he called to the boy to come to him. for a moment maza hesitated, but when the call was repeated he came out from behind the screen of flowers and so towards us across the court-yard; and as he advanced i perceived that he was lame. in his face was the look of wistfulness which cripples so often have, and there was a rare sweetness and intelligence in the expression of his large brown eyes. in a moment i understood why it was that tizoc resented so bitterly the abrogation by the priest captain of the custom that had permitted parents to buy back their crippled children, and so to save them from slavery; and a selfish feeling of gladness came into my heart as this light dawned upon me--for i knew that when we faced the danger that threatened us (a most real danger, for our coming into the valley was nothing less than a deadly blow at itzacoatl's supremacy) we surely would find in tizoc an ally and a friend. xx. the priest captain's summons. there was so much meaning in my look as i turned towards tizoc that i had no need to speak; he knew that i had comprehended the situation, and so answered my look in words. "do you wonder that i rejoice over your coming, and over the news which you bring? the will of the gods no longer is that we shall do the work for which our lord chaltzantzin destined us; therefore are we free to set aside the custom that he decreed by which our weak ones are condemned to death, and with it the custom, yet more cruel, of our own devising, by which they are saved from death only that they may be made slaves. to my boy neither slavery nor death shall come. through you the gods have spoken, and he is saved. and now also is fulfilled the prophecy that of ancient times was spoken, that with the coming into the valley of aztlan of a four-footed beast, bearing upon its back a man, the power of the priest captain should end." much more, doubtless, tizoc would have said to us, for an exalted emotion stirred him; but at that moment there was the sound of hurrying feet in the outer enclosure, and then tizoc's secretary came through the narrow entrance into the court-yard, followed closely by a detachment of the guards. the secretary spoke hurriedly to his master, apart from us, and from his excited manner in speaking, and from the anxious look upon his master's face as he listened, we inferred that some very stirring matter was involved in the communication that he brought. for a few moments tizoc stood in silence, his head bowed, as though engaged in earnest thought. then he turned to us and spoke. "the priest captain has sent his order that you shall be brought before him," he said, "and that you must go hence without delay." and then he added, taking me aside and speaking in a low voice: "there is great commotion already in the city, for the soldiers have noised abroad the news which you bring. the council of the twenty lords has been called together, and i am told that a messenger from the council is on his way hither. that my order to take you to the city in such haste, and directly to the priest captain, is so stringent, i cannot but think is caused by his desire to get you hence before the messenger from the council shall arrive. his purpose towards you surely is an evil one; but fear not--you bring a message of freedom and deliverance that has only to be published to raise around you a host of friends. and now we must go." in a few moments we had quitted tizoc's house, passed out through the fortified gate-way in the heavy wall by which the little plateau on the mountain side was defended; and so, by a broad road that descended sharply, went downward towards the border of the lake. our order of march was the same as that adopted in bringing us from the barred pass: before us and behind us were detachments of the guards, and tizoc walked with us. in accordance with his desire, that he expressed to me in a cautious whisper, pablo rode upon el sabio's back. there was no need for him to explain his motive in making this suggestion. it was his purpose, evidently, to exhibit the fulfilment of the prophecy as conspicuously as possible, and so to prepare the ground for the sowing of the seeds of revolt. i had an opportunity now to tell rayburn and young of what tizoc had been speaking at the moment when the summons from the priest captain came; and also of the strong personal reason that he had for protecting us, even to the extent of forwarding the outbreak of revolution, in his desire to save from death or slavery the son whom he so well loved. "i'm not at all surprised to hear that what we've told 'em is going to start a revolution," rayburn said. "that's just the way i sized the matter up, you know, as soon as i got down to the first facts. if they'd had a decent sort of a fellow at the head of things, they might have worked along so as to take a fresh start without fighting over it. but this priest captain chap isn't that kind. he goes in for boss management and machine politics, i should judge from what the colonel says, as straight as if he was a new york alderman or the chairman of a state campaign committee in ohio. no doubt he's got a pretty big crowd back of him; but that kind of a crowd don't amount to much in a fight, when there's any sort of a show for the other side to win. it sort of gets out of the way, and stands around with water on both shoulders, and then, when one side begins to get pretty well on top--it don't matter which--it says that that's the side it's been fighting with all along, and begins to kick the fellows that are down. where our chance comes in is in having the respectable element, the solid men who pay taxes and have an interest in decent government, to tie to. they may not pay taxes here, but that's the kind i mean. and that kind, when it takes to fighting, fights hard. then there must be a lot of fathers with crippled children, like the colonel here, who are down on the priest captain the worst kind, and will be only too glad of a chance to go for him; and they can be counted on to stand in with us, and to fight harder than anybody. i'll admit, professor, that we're in a pretty tight place; but it might be a good deal tighter, and i do honestly believe that we'll get out of it." "and so do i," said young, "'specially now that i know that that burro of pablo's is part of a prophecy. i always did think that there was style about el sabio, any way, an' now i know what it comes from. when i was a boy, th' one thing that used t' keep me quiet in church was hearin' our minister read that story about balaam and _his_ burro; but i never thought then that i'd actually ketch up with a live ass that was in the prophesyin' line of business for itself--or had prophecies made about it, which is pretty much the same thing. t' be sure, this prophecy don't come down t' dots quite as much as i'd like it to; but i s'pose that that's th' way with 'em always--eh, professor? th' prophets sort o' leave things at loose ends on purpose; so's they can run 'wild' on a clear track, without any bother about schedule time or connections." "well, our burro lays over balaam's," rayburn struck in. "in that case it took the combined arguments of an ass and an angel to convince balaam that he was off about his location, and was running his lines all wrong; but, unless we count in pablo, el sabio is playing a lone hand; and i'm sure that the colonel's not fooling us about this prophecy business, either. it's rubbish, of course; but that don't matter, so long as the people here swallow it for the genuine thing. just look at that old fellow there. he's tumbled to it, and he's regularly knocked out." we were close to the shore of the lake by this time, and as rayburn spoke we were passing a small house, in front of which was gathered a group of indians. in the midst of the group was a very old man, who with out-stretched arm was pointing towards pablo and el sabio, and who at the same time was talking to his companions in grave and earnest tones. there was a look of awe upon his age-worn face, and as we fairly came abreast of him he dropped upon his knees and raised his arms above his head, as though in supplication to some higher power. the action, truly, was a most impressive one; and even more strongly than we were affected by it did it affect those who were clustered around him. in a moment all in the group had fallen upon their knees and had raised their arms upward; and then a low moaning, that presently grew louder and more thrilling, broke forth among them as they gave vent to the feeling of awful dread that was in their hearts. "that's business, that is," young said, in tones of great satisfaction. "those fellows do believe in th' prophecy, for a fact; and if th' folks once get it fairly into their heads that th' time has come for their rascally priest captain t' have an upset, that's a good long start for our side towards upsettin' him. it was just everlastin'ly level-headed in th' colonel t' make pablo ride el sabio, and so regularly cram th' thing down these critters' throats. i don't know how much of th' prophecy he believes himself, but he's workin' it for all it's worth, any way. there don't seem t' be any flies worth speakin' of on th' colonel--eh, professor? and i guess that anybody who wants t' get up earlier 'n th' mornin' than he does 'll have to make a start overnight." by this time the road that we followed had come down to the lake-level, and presently we reached the end of it, which was a well-built pier that extended out from the shelving shore into deep water. here a boat was in waiting for us--a barge of near forty feet in length, with twenty men to row it, and carrying also a mast, stepped well forward, so rigged as to spread a sail that was a compromise between a lug and a lateen. there was some little talk between the officer in charge of the barge and tizoc, and then the latter motioned us to go on board. the barge-master gave the order to the guard to follow us, as though the command of the party now had devolved upon him; and it seemed to us, from the close group that the guard made around us in the boat, and from the anxious looks which the barge-master cast upon us, that very strict orders must have been given concerning keeping us closely in ward. under these circumstances, it caused us some little wonder that we were permitted to retain our arms, until the thought occurred to me that these people, having no knowledge of such things, did not at all realize that our rifles and revolvers were arms at all. to test which theory i drew one of my pistols--not violently, but as though this were something that i was doing for my own convenience--and so held it in my hands that the muzzle was pointed directly at the heart of the soldier who sat beside me; yet beyond the interest that its odd shape, and the strange metal that it was made of aroused in him, it was evident that the man regarded my action entirely without concern. i drew the attention of rayburn and young to what i was doing, and to how evident it was that fire-arms were unknown to this people; and in their ignorance we found much cause for satisfaction. [illustration: checking young's outbreak] "if they don't know enough to corral our guns," young said, "we've got a pretty good-sized piece of dead-wood on 'em. th' way things are goin', we may have a rumpus a'most any time, i s'pose; and if it does come to a rumpus, they'll be a badly struck lot when we open on 'em. robinson crusoe cleaned out a whole outfit of indians with just an old flint-lock musket; and i should say that we'd simply paralyze this crowd when we all get goin' at once with our revolvers an' winchesters. isn't that your idea of it, rayburn?" but rayburn did not answer, for while young was speaking he had taken out his field-glass and was examining the city, to within three or four miles of which we now were come. "well, that _is_ a walled city, and no mistake!" he said, as he lowered the glass from his eyes. "take a look, professor. these people may be easy to fool when it comes to prophecies, but when it comes to engineering and architecture they're sound all the way through. just look at the straightness of that wall running up the hill, and how exact the alignment is of the two parts above and below that ledge of rocks. they had to get that alignment, you know, by taking fore-sights and back-sights from the top of the ledge; and i must say that for people who haven't got far enough along in civilization to wear trousers, it's an uncommonly pretty piece of work." as i looked through the glass i was less impressed by this technical detail, involving the overcoming of engineering difficulties which i did not very thoroughly understand, than i was by the majestic effect produced by the city as a whole, in conjunction with the site on which it was reared. at this point the lake came close up to the vastly high cliffs by which the valley everywhere was girt in, and here jutted out from the cliff a great promontory of rock, whereof the highest part was fully two hundred feet above the lake-level. for the accommodation of the houses which everywhere were built upon it, the sloping face of this promontory had been cut into broad terraces, of which the facings were massive walls of stone; and the whole was enclosed by a wall of great height and enormous thickness that swept out in an immense semicircle from the face of the cliff, and thus shut in the terraced promontory and also a considerable area of level land at the base of it between the lowest terrace and the margin of the lake. on the highest terrace, crowning and dominating the whole, was a majestic building that seemed to be half temple and half fort--a square structure, resting solidly against the face of the cliff, and thence projecting a long way outward to where its façade was flanked by two low, heavy, square towers. architecturally, this building, unlike any other of which i had knowledge in mexico, saving only the temple that we had found upon the lonely mountain-top, was pervaded by a distinctly egyptian sentiment. its walls sloped inward from their bases, and no trivial nor fretful lines weakened the effect of their massive dignity; for the whole of the decoration upon them was a broad panelling that was gained by a combination of heavy pilasters and a heavy cornice; and with the exception of a central entrance, the front was unbroken by openings of any kind. possessing these characteristics, the building had about it an air of solemnity that bordered closely upon gloom; and the obvious solidity of its construction was such that it seemed destined to last on through all coming ages in defiance of the assaults of time. there was no need for me to question tizoc; for i knew that what i beheld before me, crowning with sombre grandeur this strange city, girded with such prodigious walls, was the treasure-house that chaltzantzin, the aztec king, had builded in the dim dawning of a most ancient past. young took his turn in looking through the glass, and as he handed it to fray antonio he said: "if at any time in th' course o' th' past few weeks, professor, you've got th' notion from any o' my talk that i thought that dead friend o' yours, th' old monk, was a liar, i want t' take it all back; and i want t' take back all that i've said about that other dead friend o' yours, th' cacique, havin' set up a job on us. it's clear enough now that both o' your friends played an entirely square game. they said that there was a walled city, an' there it is; they said that there was a big treasure-house, an' there _that_ is. they were perfect gentlemen, professor, and i want t' set myself right on th' record by sayin' so. if one of 'em hadn't been dead for more than three months, and if th' other one hadn't been dead for more than three hundred years, and if they both were here, i'd knuckle under and ask 'em t' take my hat." xxi. the walled city of culhuacan. our use in turn of the field-glass was a mysterious performance that aroused keenly the barge-master's curiosity. i heard him ask tizoc for an explanation of it; and tizoc, who also was much interested, referred his question to me. had i been dealing with tizoc alone i should have tried to make the matter clear to him; but in the case of the barge-master, whose feeling towards us, i was convinced, was anything but friendly, i thought it wiser to be less frank. therefore, covering the action with a negligent motion of my hand, i screwed the glasses close together, so that in looking through them there was to be seen only a mass of indistinct objects looming up in a blurred cloud of light, and so handed them to him. naturally, neither he nor tizoc arrived at any very satisfactory conclusion in regard to the real use of them; and from their talk it was evident that they conceived the ceremony in which we had engaged in turn so earnestly to be in the nature of a prayer to our gods. fray antonio was both shocked and pained by their taking this view of the matter, and was for making a true explanation to them; but at my urgent request he held his peace. yet it was evident that he brooded over the matter in his mind, and so was led to earnest thoughts of the mission that had brought him hither into the valley of aztlan. therefore was i not surprised--though i certainly was alarmed by the thought of what might be its consequences--when presently, in low and gentle tones, he began to speak to those about him of the free and glorious christian faith, which in all ways was more excellent than the cruel idolatry in which they were bound. naturally, he was not permitted long to speak in this strain, for the barge-master speedily ordered him in most peremptory tones to keep silence; which order doubtless would have been still more quickly given had not the officer been fairly surprised by fray antonio's temerity into momentary forgetfulness of the dangerous outcome of this gentle talk. and fray antonio, knowing the value of the word in season that is dropped to fructify in soil ready for it, did not attempt argument with the barge-master--by which the thoughts of those who listened would have been diverted from the hopeful promise of a better faith that he had offered to them--but obeyed the order meekly and so held his peace. that what he had spoken had taken hold upon the hearts of some at least among his hearers i was well assured by their grave look of thoughtfulness, and especially did tizoc seem to be deeply moved; but--as i supposed for fear of the barge-master--there was no open comment upon what had passed. by this time, the barge being all the while urged rapidly forward by the steady strokes of the twenty oarsmen, the city rose so broadly and so openly before us that we could see the whole of it distinctly with our naked eyes. and what at this nearer view seemed most impressive about it was its gloominess; that was due not less to the prison-like effect of its heavily built houses and its massive walls than to the dull blackness of the stone whereof these same were made. nowhere was there sparkle, or glitter, or bright color, or brightness of any sort to be seen; and it seemed to me, as i gazed upon this sombre stronghold, that dwelling always within it well enough might wear a man's heart out with a consuming melancholy begotten of its cold and cheerless tones. that it was indeed a stronghold was the more apparent to us the nearer that we came to it. the plan of it was that of a great fan, spread open upon the hillside, and extending also across the broad sweep of level land between the base of the promontory and the lake. the promontory had been so cut and shaped that its gentle slope had been transformed into six broad semicircular terraces, above the highest of which was a semicircular plateau of very considerable size, on which stood the treasure-house, that also was the great temple. along the face of each terrace, and around the face also of the plateau, a heavy defensive wall rose to a height of twenty feet or more; and from the base of the crowning plateau, thence accessible by a single broad flight of stairs--being led through openings in the rampart walls of the terraces, and down each terrace face by means of stair-ways--twelve streets descended, of which the central six ended at the water-side and the remainder against the great outer wall. it was this outer line of strong defence that gave the city--which otherwise would have corresponded curiously closely with the fortified city of quetzaltepec, described by the mexican chronicler tezozomoc--its most distinctive characteristic. such a vastly thick wall, for the great length of it, as this was i never have seen in any other place; and so solid was the building of it that it would have been proof against any ordinary train of siege artillery. for defence against a foe whose only missile weapons would be javelins and slings and bows, this great wall made the city absolutely impregnable. and that the protection that it gave might be still more complete--and also, as tizoc explained to us, that in the case of siege the water supply might be assured, together with a supply of fish for food--the wall was carried out into the lake so far as to enclose a basin of more than four acres in extent; within which, should an enemy gain access to the valley, all the boats upon the lake could be brought together and held in safety. and finally, the one entrance to the city was by way of a tunnel-like canal cut in the wall thus rising from the water; the outer end of which canal was closed in ordinary times by a heavy grating, while in war time the inner end also could be closed by means of great metal bars. it was towards this entrance that the barge that carried us was heading. presently we reached it, and the grating was raised for our admission by means of chains which were operated from the top of the wall. so low and so narrow was the passage that our heads were within a few inches of the huge slabs of stone of which its roof was formed; and the rowers had need to unstep the mast and then to lay their oars inboard, while they brought the barge through by pushing with their hands against the roof and sides. the canal was fully forty feet long, and thus the enormous thickness of the wall was made apparent to us. it truly was, as i observed to rayburn, a work that well might be attributed to the cyclops. "i never met a live cyclop, professor," rayburn answered, "and i don't believe that these fellows ever did either; but it bothers me to know how they managed to do work like this without a steam-derrick. if we get out of here with whole skins and our hair on our heads, i hope it won't be until i've had a chance to talk to some of their engineers, and so get down to the facts." a moment later we emerged from the tunnel through the wall, and so entered the enclosed basin that extended along the whole of the city's front. within the basin were lying many canoes, and also boats of a larger sort that carried oars and that were rigged with a sort of lug-sail; but these all kept away from us, even as all the boats which we had seen during our passage of the lake had given us a wide berth. that our barge--one of those employed exclusively in the priest captain's service--was thus shunned was due, as i found later, to the wholesome dread in which the special servitors of the temple and of its head universally were held; for these very frequently abused the authority acquired through their semi-sacerdotal functions by using it as a cloak to cover acts of purely personal oppression, while at all times they were feared as the executors of their master's wrath. there was, indeed (though i did not mention this fact to fray antonio), a curiously close resemblance between the officials of this class and the familiars of the inquisition, both in the duties which they performed and in the fear and hatred which they everywhere inspired. but even dread of entanglement with the priest captain's servants could not restrain the curiosity of the crowd that pressed towards us on the broad pier upon which we disembarked. it was evident that this crowd was not made up of the common folk of the city, and also that it was moved by a purpose far higher than that of a mere idle longing to see something that was strange. from their dress, and still more from the beauty of their ornaments and the elegance of the arms which many of them carried, it was obvious that for the most part these men were citizens of the highest rank; and this fact was still further attested by the dignity of their demeanor and by the reverent age to which the majority of them had attained. so far from manifesting any vulgar excitement, the crowd maintained an absolute silence; and with this an exterior air of calm that was the more impressive because the eager, almost awe-struck expression upon every face showed how strong was the emotion that thus strongly was restrained. but when el sabio, after much coaxing, crossed the gang-plank between the boat and the pier, and so came to where he could be seen of all plainly, there was a curious low sound in the air as though all at once every man in the crowd had heaved a sigh; and the sound swelled into a loud murmur as pablo, in obedience to a quick order that i gave him in spanish, briskly mounted upon the ass's back. in this murmur only one word was intelligible, and that i caught again and again: the prophecy! but pablo was no more than fairly seated upon el sabio's back than the officer in command of our guard took him roughly by the shoulders and snatched him thence to the ground again; which act led tizoc and me to a quick exchange of startled glances, for it showed very plainly that the priest captain--to whom the messenger telling of our coming into the valley had been sent before any of these people had seen pablo mounted upon el sabio's back--had anticipated this sign of the fulfilment of the prophecy and had given orders to prevent it. luckily, the celerity with which pablo had executed my quick order to mount had saved the day for us; and even more than saved it, for as we passed through the crowd, on our way from the water-side into the city, i caught here and there fragments of comment upon what had just passed which showed that not only was the sign told of in the prophecy recognized, but that the effort on the part of the officer to neutralize it was understood. but before our going into the city there was a stirring conflict of authority concerning us between the temporal and the spiritual powers. we were no more than fairly landed, indeed, when an officer addressed the barge-master, who continued in charge of our party, and gave him a formal order to bring the strangers directly before the council of the twenty lords. and to this the barge-master replied that he already was under orders to bring the prisoners, immediately upon their landing, before the priest captain--and there was something both curious and ominous, it struck me, in the marked manner in which the term "strangers" was employed by one of these men and the term "prisoners" by the other. at this juncture we had further proof of the foresight of the priest captain, and of the determined stand that he was prepared to make rather than to suffer the miscarriage of big plans. while the barge-master and the messenger from the council still were engaged in hot talk as to which of the two conflicting orders should be recognised, there was the sound of tramping feet and of arms clanking; and then a body of fully one hundred soldiers came quickly from behind a house that was near by the water-side and swept down on a double-quick to where we were standing at the end of the pier. the crowd, jostled aside to make way for the passage of the soldiers, evidently regarded them with astonishment; and this astonishment rapidly changed to anger as the purpose that brought them thither was made plain. in a moment they had closed in around us, separating us from the council's messenger and from tizoc; the barge-master placed himself at the head of them, and in sharp, quick tones gave the order to march; and the whole force, with ourselves in the centre of it, went off the pier at a round pace, and thence along a street that led towards the city's heart. evidently acting under orders, the men broke their platoons and closed in around us; and i was well convinced that this unsoldierly marching was adopted to the end that el sabio might not be seen. fray antonio agreed with me that the priest captain was carrying matters with a dangerously high hand in thus opposing the will of the council with armed force. this act of his, if tizoc had correctly represented to us the excited condition of popular feeling, was quite sufficient in itself to stir into violent activity the slumbering fires of mutiny. but whether the revolt that we now believed must surely come would come in time to be of service to ourselves, we could not but look upon as a very open question. "if this old scoundrel is as sharp as he seems to be," rayburn said, "and if he keeps things up in the way he's begun, it's about all day with us. his play should be to get rid of us as quick as he can manage it; and i should judge, from the cards that he's put down, that that's precisely the way he means to manage the game. it's not much comfort to us to know that after he's cleaned us out somebody else will rake his pile." as we talked, we went on rapidly through the city; and even the danger that we were in, and the excitement that attended this sudden shifting of our fortunes, could not prevent me from studying with a lively curiosity the many evidences of an advanced civilization that i beheld. the plan of the city, as i had discerned while we were approaching it, was that of a wide-open fan. from the treasure-house, on the height in the centre, twelve broad streets radiated outward, of which three on the northern side and three on the southern ended against the great enclosing wall, and six came down through openings in the walls along the several terraces directly to the water-front. all of these streets were well paved with large smooth blocks of stone, and were led up the faces of the terraces by wide and easy stairs. the transverse streets were true semicircles, starting from and ending at the face of the cliff, and were carried along the outer edges of the terraces, just inside their facing walls. rayburn was even more astonished than i was by the exactness with which these great semicircles were laid off; for he apprehended, as i did not, the difficulty attendant upon running a line in a true and regular curve. but i am not prepared to say that this work could not have been accomplished by mere rule of thumb. my friend bandelier, in the course of his admirable analysis of the ruins at mitla, has made clear to me how easy it is to attribute to scientific knowledge work that is the result only of manual skill. as i have pointed out in my discussion of this matter in my _pre-columbian conditions on the continent of north america_, the plateau at the top of this range of terraces easily might have been laid off in a true semicircle by the simple means of a pointed stick at the end of a long rope; and from the true line thus established the line of the terrace below it could have been had--and so on down to the lowest terrace of all. there could be no doubt, however, that engineering skill of a high order--howsoever crude might have been the actual method of its application--was exhibited both in the preparation of the site, and then in the city's building. on the site alone an almost incredible amount of labor had been expended; for the rocky promontory--that primitively, as the result showed, had been broken and irregular--had been so cut away in some places, and so filled in in others, and the whole of it had been so carefully trimmed and smoothed, that in the end it became a huge mass of rock-work, in the regularity of which there was not perceptible the smallest flaw. and in this preliminary work, as well as in the building of the houses afterwards, fragments of stone were used of such enormous size that the moving of them, rayburn declared, would be wellnigh impossible even with the most powerful engineering appliances of our own time. nor was the use of these huge pieces of stone confined to the foundations of the houses. some of them were high above the ground; indeed, the very largest that we observed--the weight of which rayburn estimated at not less than twenty tons--was a single block that made the entire top course of a high wall. all of the stone-work was well smoothed and squared; and while the exteriors of the houses were entirely plain, we could see through the open door-ways that the interiors of many of them were enriched with carvings. all were destitute of windows opening upon the street; and their dull, black walls, and the dull black of the stones with which the streets were paved, gave a dark and melancholy air to the city that oppressed us even more heavily when thus seen closely than it had when we beheld it from afar off. yet the interior court-yards, so far as we could tell from the glimpses that we had of them through open door-ways, were bright with sunshine and gay with flowers; thus showing that the gloom of these dwellings did not extend beyond their outer walls. i observed with much interest that the provision for closing the entrances from the street was not swinging doors of wood, but either metal bars, such as we had seen in tizoc's house, or else a metal grating, that was arranged like a portcullis to slide up and down in a groove; and i attributed the absence of wooden doors less to a desire for stronger barriers than to the comparative recentness of the acquisition of the knowledge of wood-working tools. here, i thought, was a curious instance of development along the lines of greatest resistance; for in itself the invention and the making of a swinging door of wood was a much easier matter than was the invention and the making of these finely wrought sliding doors of hardened gold. as for young, the sight of all this gold-work quite took his breath away. "it regularly jolts me, professor," he said, "t' see th' genuine stuff, that's good t' make gold dollars out of, slung around this way. a front door of solid gold is a huckleberry above jay gould's biggest persimmon; an' as t' solomon, these fellows just lay solomon out cold--regularly down th' old man an' sit on him. why, for just that one front door of th' big house ahead of us i'd sell out all my shares in this treasure-hunt, an' be glad t' do it. but i guess i'd have to hire samson--who was in that line of business--t' carry it off for me. it must weigh a solid ton!" by this time we had mounted all of the terraces, and the house towards which young pointed as he spoke was built directly beneath the crowning plateau on which the great temple stood. it was the largest and by far the most elegant house that we yet had seen, and the sliding grating of gold that closed the entrance was unusually heavy, and very beautifully wrought. sentinels were stationed here, wearing the same uniform as that of the soldiers who formed our guard; and this further indication of the importance of the building gave us the impression that it was the dwelling of some great dignitary. close by the portal we were halted, while the commander of our guard spoke through the grating to some one inside. a moment later the grating was slowly raised, and we were marched through the narrow entrance, and so along a short passage-way into a long, narrow chamber that obviously was a guard-room; for spears and javelins were ranged in orderly fashion upon racks, and swords and shields and bows and quivers of arrows were hung upon the walls. here we were halted again; and while we stood silent together, wondering what might be in store for us in this place, we heard the heavy grating behind us close with a dull clang. xxii. the outbreak of revolution. so dismal was this sound, and so many were the dismal possibilities that it suggested, that as i heard it a cold chill went down into my heart; and i was glad enough that we at once were led forth from the guard-room, and that in consideration of matters of immediate moment my mind was diverted from dwelling drearily upon a future that seemed full of gloom. for all the brilliant blaze of sunlight that brightened the large court-yard into which we were conducted, there was about it curious coldness and cheerlessness. as in the case of all the other houses which we had observed, the stone-work of the walls and of the pavement was a dull black; but here there were no flowers, nor bright-colored hangings over the inner doors, nor brightness of any sort or kind. the carving of the stone was extraordinarily rich, to be sure; but the bass-reliefs which covered the walls were wholly of a gloomy sort--being for the most part representations of the slaughter of men in sacrifice, and the tearing of hearts out--so that the eight of them made me shiver, notwithstanding the warmth of the sun. from the centre of the court-yard a broad stair-way ascended to the plateau above on which the temple stood; and this direct way of communicating with it led me to the conclusion that the building was a dependency of the temple, and that very likely the higher members of the priesthood were housed here. however, little time was given for looking around us, for our guard hurried us--el sabio following close at pablo's heels--across the court-yard to a door-way at its farther side, before which hung in heavy folds a curtain of some sort of thick black cloth. across this entrance the guard was drawn up in orderly ranks behind us; and then the barge-master, who had preserved absolute silence towards us since our march through the city began, held aside the curtain and silently motioned to us to enter. from the bright sunshine we passed at a step into a chamber so shadowy that we involuntarily stopped on the threshold, in order that our eyes might become accustomed to the semi-darkness before we advanced. the only light that entered it came through two narrow slits in the thick wall above the portal that we had just passed; and the glimmer diffused by the thin rays thus admitted was in great part absorbed by the black draperies with which everywhere the room was hung. as our eyes adjusted themselves to these gloomy conditions we perceived that we were in a hall of great size; and presently we were able to distinguish objects clearly enough to see that at the far end of it was a raised dais, having a sort of throne upon it; but not until, being urged forward by the officer, we had traversed more than half the length of the hall did we discern upon the throne the shadowy figure of a man. being come close to the dais, the officer halted us by a gesture; but no word was spoken, and for several minutes we stood in the semi-darkness of that strange place in absolute silence. for myself, i must confess that i was somewhat awed by my surroundings, and by the impassive silence and stillness that the dimly seen figure upon the throne maintained, and i am sure that fray antonio's imaginative nature was similarly impressed; as for pablo, i distinctly heard his teeth chattering in the dark. but neither rayburn nor young, as the latter would have expressed it, awed easily, and it was rayburn who presently spoke. "this fellow in the big chair would be a good hand at private theatricals. he's got a first-rate notion of stage effect. hadn't i better stick a pin in him and wake him up?" "there's no good in stickin' pins into _him_," said young, in a tone of great contempt. "what's the matter with him is, he's not real at all--he's stuffed!" there was something so absurdly incongruous in these comments that they acted instantly upon my overstrained nerves, and i burst into a laugh, in which the other two immediately joined. evidently, this was not at all the effect that this carefully arranged reception was intended to have upon us; for the seated figure started suddenly and uttered an angry exclamation, and at the same time gave a quick order to the officer. "i take it all back," said young; "he ain't stuffed. i guess he was only asleep." as young spoke there was a slight rustle of draperies, and in a moment the curtains which had veiled four great windows in the four sides of the hall were pulled aside, and the darkness vanished in a sudden blaze of light. while we shaded our eyes for some seconds, rayburn said, with great decision: "this settles it. he must have been in the show business all his life." but the man whom we now saw clearly did not look like a showman. he was a very old man, lean and shrivelled; his brown skin so wrinkled that his face looked like some sort of curiously withered nut. yet there was a wonderful sinewiness about him, and a most extraordinary brightness in his eyes. his face was of the strong, heavy type that is found in the figures carved on the ruins in yucatan; a much stronger type than i have observed anywhere among the mexican indians of the present day. his dress was a long, flowing robe of white cotton cloth, caught over his left shoulder with a broad gold clasp, and richly embroidered with shining green feathers; and shining green feathers were bound into his hair and rose above his head in a tall plume. his sandal-moccasins (for the covering of his feet was between these two) repeated the sacred combination of colors, green and white; and on his breast, falling from his neck, were several richly wrought gold chains. even apart from his stately surroundings, his dress--and especially the shining green feathers which were so conspicuous a part of it--would have informed me that this man was a priest of very exalted rank; and the conditions of our presentation to him assured me that he was none other than the priest captain, itzacoatl. and i may add that if ever a high dignitary of a heathen religion was in a rage, itzacoatl was in a rage at that particular moment. young's comment lacked reverence, but it was to the point: "well, he _has_ got his back up, for sure!" with an alertness that was astonishing in one of his years, itzacoatl rose quietly from the throne; and as he pointed to us with a commanding gesture, he asked, sharply, why we had been allowed to retain our arms, and ordered them to be taken away from us; which order troubled us greatly, and also occasioned us a very lively surprise. as for the barge-master, he evidently was vastly puzzled by it; for, according to his notions, we were not armed. he did not venture to reply, but his uncertainty was to the duty that was expected of him was apparent in his hopeless look of entire bewilderment. it seemed to me that for a moment the priest captain was slightly confused, as though he recognized the incongruity between his own knowledge in this matter and his officer's ignorance; and in explaining his order he took occasion to refer to the superior knowledge with which he was endowed by the gods. fray antonio and i glanced at each other doubtingly as he spoke, for this explanation struck us as being decidedly forced. the gods of the ancient mexicans pre-eminently were war gods; but they certainly were not likely to have any very extended knowledge of winchester rifles and self-cocking revolvers. however, when the officer comprehended what was required of him, he was prompt enough in his actions. without any ceremony at all he laid hands on young's rifle, that was hanging by its strap on his shoulder, and endeavored to take it away from him. this was a line of action that the lost-freight agent by no means was inclined to submit to. without any assistance he unslung the rifle, cocked it as he jumped back half a dozen steps, and then raised it to his shoulder, with his finger on the trigger and the muzzle fairly levelled at the officer's heart. "shall i down him?" he asked. "don't shoot!" rayburn cried, quickly; and in obedience to this order young slowly dropped the rifle from his shoulder, yet held it ready for action in his hands. the perfect calmness of the officer through this exciting episode afforded the most convincing proof that fire-arms were wholly unknown to him. and the conduct of the priest captain afforded equally convincing proof that he not only understood the nature of fire-arms, but that he was very much afraid of them; for, at the moment that young made his offensive demonstration, he very precipitately sheltered himself by crouching behind the throne. "don't shoot!" rayburn repeated. "we may have a chance to pull through if we don't rile these follows; but if we go killing any of them now it's all day with us, for sure. we'd better let 'em have our guns; but there's something mighty odd in their having found out all of a sudden what a gun is." very reluctantly young surrendered his rifle to the officer, who looked at it contemptuously, as though he considered it but a poor sort of weapon in case real fighting was to be done. in turn, the rest of us gave up our rifles also; and we were mightily pleased because the officer did not attempt to take our revolvers away from us. but in this our satisfaction was short-lived, for the priest captain quickly ordered the officer to relieve us of them, and of our cartridge-belts as well; nor was it until we had been thus entirely disarmed that he arose from his undignified position and resumed his seat upon the throne. while the disagreeable process of disarming us was going on i spoke to fray antonio of the curious possibilities suggested by the knowledge of fire-arms which the priest captain, alone among all the aztlanecas, so obviously possessed; and he, in reply, bade me remember what tizoc had told us of the use that itzacoatl made of wax-matches in lighting the sacred fire. "can it possibly be, then, that he is in communication with the outside world?" i exclaimed. as i uttered these words i glanced at itzacoatl, and the expression on his face was that of one who listens intently, and who is greatly enraged by what he hears. at the same moment rayburn cried: "that man understands spanish. he is listening to you." doubtless, some sort of an explanation would have followed this strange discovery, for that we had made it was very obvious, but at that moment a man--seemingly, from his dress, a priest of high rank--came into the hall hurriedly, and very earnestly delivered a communication to itzacoatl in low, excited tones. that the substance of this communication was highly disagreeable to him was shown by his manner of receiving it; and for a moment he slightly hesitated, as though very grave consequences might attend upon the decision that he then made. but it was for a moment only that he stood in doubt. then he called the barge-master to him, and gave some order in a low voice; and then, accompanied by the priest, went out rapidly from the hall. evidently in obedience to the order that he had received, the barge-master bade us follow him, and so led us into the court-yard again. young proposed, since we had only this one man to deal with, that we should make short work of him, and so get back our arms--which remained where he had placed them in a pile beside the throne. but rayburn's more prudent counsel overcame this tempting proposition. as he pointed out, the promptness with which the curtains had been pulled back showed that attendants of some sort were close at hand; and, in addition to these, we knew that the guard of soldiers was just outside of the entrance to the hall. it was certain, therefore, that we could not regain our arms without immediately using them in very active fighting; and no matter how well we fought, under these conditions we must certainly be defeated in the end. all of which was so just and so reasonable that young could not in anywise gainsay its propriety; but he was in a very ill humor at being restrained from the pleasure of having it out with them, as he grumblingly declared; and as we passed out into the court-yard he relieved his mind by swearing most vigorously. for my part, even the peril that we were in did not suffice to distract my mind from curious consideration of the strange state of affairs that existed among the folk dwelling in this hidden valley if our surmise in regard to the priest captain's knowledge of the outer matches, his acquaintance with fire-arms, and his knowledge of the spanish tongue. the implication was unavoidable that this extraordinary man actually had a more or less complete knowledge of the powers and appliances of the nineteenth century, and that he was using his nineteenth century knowledge to maintain his supremacy over a people whose civilization was about on a par with that of european communities of a thousand years ago. from the stand-point of the ethnologist, a more interesting situation than the one time developed could not possibly be devised. what i most longed for was the establishment of such friendly relations with itzacoatl that i could carry out a systematized series of scientific investigations among the aztlanecas before the impending crash of discovery came; and my keenest regret at that moment was caused by the conviction that the incapacity of itzacoatl to understand the value of scientific inquiry into such curious ethnologic facts would result in his mere vulgar killing of me, whereby a precious store of knowledge would be withheld from the world at large. as we came out into the court-yard we heard the sound of voices, which seemed to be raised in angry altercation, coming from the direction of the main entrance, with which there was also a slight clinking sound as of arms being got in readiness; and, much farther away, the sound seemingly coming from distant quarter of the city, the tapping of a drum. when we first had crossed the court-yard it had been entirely deserted; but now many priests and soldiers were standing in groups about it, and more were coming down the stair from the temple; and all of these men had a look of eager alertness, as though some decisive event were imminent in which they expected to have a part. but we had only a moment in which to observe all this, for we were hurried away towards the corner of the building that was most remote from the street, and here, before i well could understand what was being done with me, i was thrust so suddenly and so violently through a narrow door-way that i fell heavily upon the floor. before i could regain my feet young had tumbled down on top of me, and then the others tumbled on top of us both--they having been in the same rude fashion injected into the apartment; and while we thus were lying in a heap together--my own body, being undermost, having the breath wellnigh squeezed out of it--we heard the rattle of metal upon stone as the door-way was quickly closed with heavy bars. we struggled to our feet in wellnigh total darkness--for outside the bars a curtain had been dropped that shut off almost wholly the light of day--and i am confident that no one room ever contained two angrier people than rayburn and young were then; for their very strength and hardihood made them the more ragingly resent being thus tumbled about as though they were bales or boxes rather than men. rayburn's language was not open to the charge of weakness; but the words in which young gave vent to his feelings were so startlingly vigorous that even a wyoming cow-boy would have been surprised by them; yet i must confess that at the moment--so greatly was my own anger aroused--i thought his observations exceedingly appropriate to the occasion that called them forth, and i even was disposed to envy him the command of a technical vocabulary that enabled him to express so adequately his righteous wrath. however, i was for once well pleased that fray antonio did not understand english. but our anger quickly was swallowed up in anxious grief as we discovered, when our eyes had become somewhat accustomed to the very faint light, that only we four were in the room together; and a great dread fell upon us because of the imminent peril to pablo which this separation of him from the rest of us implied. assuredly there was strong reason why he should be an especial object of itzacoatl's fear and hatred. he and el sabio together were the visible sign which told that the prophecy touching the priest captain's downfall was about to be fulfilled; and, more than this, pablo's simple statement of the condition of affairs among the modern mexicans--showing that the crisis in their fate that chaltzantzin had foretold, and for which he had so well prepared, long since had come and gone--would be far more convincing to the masses of the aztlanecas than would be any exhibition of these same facts that we could make to them; for we were aliens among them, while pablo was of their own race and class. that we all were like to be done to death by this barbarous theocrat we did not for a moment doubt; but it was plain enough that every motive of self-interest must prompt him to put pablo and the poor ass most summarily out of the way. and as the logic of these facts irresistibly presented itself in my mind a keen and heavy sorrow overcame me, for i could not shirk the conviction that, whoever might strike the blow that killed him, i myself was the cause of this poor boy's death. fray antonio could not see my face in that shadowy prison, yet his fine nature divined the pain that i suffered and the cause of it, and he sought to comfort me with his sympathy. he did not speak, but he came close beside me and tenderly laid his hand upon my shoulder; and his loving touch, telling of his sorrow for me and with me, did bring a little cheer into my heavy heart. meanwhile the commotion outside increased greatly, and even through the thick folds of the curtain we could hear plainly the clanking of arms, and the heavy tread of men, and sharply given words of command. we pressed close to the bars and tried to push, the curtain aside that we might see out into the court-yard; but the bars were so near together that our hands would not pass between them, and we therefore could gather only from the sounds which we heard what was going on outside. but the sounds were unmistakable. there could be no doubt whatever that a vigorous assault upon the building was in progress, and those within it vigorously were defending it; and we knew that the cause of the fighting certainly must be ourselves. already, it would seem, the prophecy of the priest captain's downfall was assuming a tangible reality; for this rising in arms against him could mean nothing less than that his high-handed refusal to permit us to be carried before the council of the twenty lords had fairly brought matters to a crisis, and that the long-threatened revolution actually had been begun. xxiii. a rescue. that the two parties should be thus battling for possession of us gave us a gleam of hope for the saving of our lives. while we remained prisoners, in the ward of the priest captain, we knew that our death was inevitable; inasmuch as the witness which we bore against him, if suffered to be published, must of necessity bring his authority to an end. but should we pass into the ward of the council, there was every reason why we should be cherished and protected; because, in their behalf, we would be witnesses to the justice of their rebellion against itzacoatl's rule. nor would this feeling of amity towards us be confined to the leaders of the revolt; for we had perceived the substantial nature of the reasons which tizoc had given us in support of his assurance that the hope of deliverance from oppression which our coming brought would raise up around us a host of friends. therefore we knew that upon the issue of the battling that we heard the sounds of so loudly, and yet that might as well have been a thousand miles away for all that we could see of it, our fate must depend. and knowing this, it was a hard trial of our nerves and tempers to be forced to remain there idle in the dark, without the chance to strike in our own behalf a single blow. young strode backward and forward in such a fashion, and the mutterings beneath his breath were so like growls, that the likening of him to a wild beast in a cage, while trite, is strictly accurate. rayburn, not less resolute, but more self-contained, pressed close against the bars and never stirred, save that now and then he cracked his thumbs and fingers together with such vigor that the sound was like a pistol-shot. and even i, who am not naturally of a blood-thirsty disposition, found the need of walking briskly about our prison in order to quiet a little my strong longing to be outside with a weapon in my hands wherewith i could crack some skulls open. indeed, among us all, only fray antonio maintained an outward show of calm. thus far, all the sounds which we had heard had come to us from the direction of the front of the house, whence we inferred that the fight was being waged, greatly to the disadvantage of the assailants, through the grating by which the entrance was closed. but suddenly there was an outcry of alarm close by us in the court-yard, and then the sound of hurrying feet there, and then a roar of shouting mingled with the fierce clash of arms--so that we knew that the assailants, either by beating in the grating or by scaling the roof, had got inside. they and the defenders were engaged, hand to hand, almost within arm's-length of us. we could hear loudly the yells with which every stroke was accompanied, and the clang of metal striking upon metal, and the dull, crushing sound of the blows which went home truly and carved through flesh and bone--and we could see no more of it all than if we were dreaming, and these sounds of savage warfare were but the imaginings of our brains! one man, being, as we supposed, pursued by another from the central part of the court-yard--where, as it seemed, the fight raged most hotly--made a stand just outside the curtain that overhung the bars whereby we were pent in; and we could hear him panting as he struck and parried there, and then the splitting of his flesh and the crash of his bones as a tremendous blow overcame his guard, and the soft, deep groan that he gave as his life left him. his body fell against the curtain and dragged it a little; and presently, as i stood there by the bars, i found that my feet were in a pool of blood. it was only a moment or two after this that the sounds of conflict very sensibly diminished, and we heard a rush made, and the confused tread of feet upon the stairs that led upward to the temple, and then came so jubilant a shouting that we knew that to one side or the other had come victory. "if th' priest captain's outfit's on top," young said, grimly, "i guess we've about got t' th' end of a division; an' there's not much chance of our changin' engines an' keepin' on with th' run." to which figurative suggestion rayburn gave an immediate grunt of assent. but at that very instant there was a lull in the tumult outside, and we heard a voice that i recognized as tizoc's loudly calling to us; and to his hail, that carried such joyful meaning with it, i joyfully and loudly answered. to rayburn and young, of course, the call was unintelligible, nor did they recognize the voice of him who called; and they therefore were disposed to think, when i fell to shouting, that my brain was addled. however, they changed their views a minute or two later--the dead body resting against the curtain having been thrown aside, and the curtain itself torn down--when they saw tizoc's friendly face outside the bars, and then saw the bars rapidly removed. "colonel," said young, very seriously, as we stepped forth thankfully once more into the sunshine, "you may not know what a brick is, but you are one. shake!" and very much to tizoc's astonishment, though he perceived that the act was meant to express great friendliness, young most vigorously shook his hand. under more favorable circumstances tizoc, no doubt, would have asked for an explanation of this curious ceremony, but just then his whole mind was given to making good his retreat and so securing us against recapture. there was not a moment to lose, he said; throughout the city the priests everywhere were rallying forces to itzacoatl's support, and at any instant we might be attacked. as he spoke he drew us away with him towards the street, where the main body of his men still remained--for only a small part of them had joined in scaling the roof, and so taking the enemy by surprise in the rear. "but what of pablo, our young companion?" i asked, stopping short as i spoke. "my men are looking for him; they will find him in a moment; he surely is safe; he may be already outside. come." the possibility that pablo truly might be outside of the building was the only argument that could have induced us to leave it without him; and that possibility was so reasonable a one that we made no more delay. indeed, we fully realized the necessity for promptness. from all parts of the city came a humming, angry sound, which assured us that everywhere the people were aroused; and tizoc bade us arm ourselves with what weapons we could use most effectively among those which were scattered about the pavement of the court-yard, as we surely would have need of weapons soon. a sword was the only instrument of warfare of which i had knowledge--which knowledge was acquired during my german student days--and i took, therefore, one of the heavy maccuahuitls; and the others also, excepting fray antonio, similarly armed themselves, each with a sword that they found lying beside the dead hand that never would wield it more. it was as we obeyed tizoc's order that we saw how fierce and how bloody the fight had been; for the court-yard was red with blood, like a slaughter-house, and over the stones everywhere dead bodies were lying, all cut and gashed with ghastly wounds. excepting a few of tizoc's men, who had bound up their hurts, and who staggered along with us, not a wounded man remained alive; whence we inferred that the fight had been waged on strictly barbarous principles, and that no quarter had been given. and of this we had proof; for as we passed through the guard-room we found there a moaning wretch, belonging to the priest captain's party, in whose chest was a great hole made by a spear-thrust--and at a sign from tizoc one of our men stepped aside, and with a blow of his heavy sword coolly mashed in the wounded man's skull, and so finished him. the metal grating that closed the entrance had been raised by tizoc's people from the inside, and we passed out beneath it to where the main body of his men was drawn up in readiness to march. but of pablo and el sabio there was no sign. tizoc was not less distressed by the loss of the lad than we were, for he had counted upon the moral effect which the exhibition of pablo and el sabio most certainly would produce to aid powerfully in fomenting the spirit of revolt. when, therefore, we refused to go forward until further search had been made, he did not oppose us; but he told us plainly that further looking for him in that place was useless, for already every room in the building had been examined without the finding of a trace of him. there could be no doubt, he said, that when we had been made prisoners pablo, and el sabio with him, had been taken up the stair to the temple for greater security; in which place, if they were not both by this time dead, they still remained. whereupon young was for making an attack upon the temple instantly, and in this project rayburn and i warmly seconded him; and even fray antonio said that this was a case in which he felt justified in using carnal weapons, since the fighting would be to rescue from among infidels a christian soul. but tizoc hurriedly explained to us the hopelessness, at that time, of such an assault. the success that had attended his bold rescue of us had been due to the suddenness of it; for the majority of the people in the city, including the large force of soldiery there, assuredly was on the priest captain's side. it was outside the city that the strength of the revolution must be gathered; and his orders were, when his rescue of us should be accomplished, to carry us safely out beyond the walls with all possible speed. such of the council of the twenty lords as had decided to take the chances of revolt--being all the members of that body save the five priests that had belonged to it--already had gone down to the water-side, together with the small force that they had gathered, that they might seize the water-gate and hold it until we should join them. even now it was certain that in going down through the city we should have to fight our way, and each moment that we delayed our retreat increased our danger. capturing the temple now was a sheer impossibility. our only hope of saving pablo's life lay in our getting away promptly, and so beginning the preparations that would lead to ultimate victory. all the while that tizoc spoke he was edging us away towards the outer face of the terrace, where steps led downward; and when the men who had been searching the building once more for pablo returned without him, he resolutely gave the order to march. to the arguments that he had advanced we were compelled to yield; but our hearts were heavy with sorrow for the boy whom we were leaving behind us, and little hope was in our breasts that we ever again should see him alive. the truth of tizoc's words about the great danger that we ourselves were in became apparent as we crossed the terrace next below that on which our march began. where the street passed through the rampart by a narrow portal, and so by a flight of stone steps descended to the next level, soldiers were clustered together with the evident intention of disputing the way with us. their number was so much less than ours that we made short work of them; killing a few, and driving the remainder down the steps before us. but those who escaped ran on ahead of us to where the next rampart was, and there joined themselves to a much larger body that lay in wait for us. here our work was less easy; for the force that confronted us was nearly our equal, and some resolute fighting was required before we could drive it before us and so pass on. some of our men were killed there, and more of the enemy; and i got a trifling hurt in my arm from the point of a javelin, that, luckily, did little more than graze the skin. i do not think that i killed anybody there, but i remember very plainly the look of pain and of anger on the face of that fellow who poked his javelin at me when i gashed his arm, and broke the bone of it, with a blow from my sword. i was glad, at the moment, that i had succeeded in giving him a worse hurt than he had given me; and then the absurdity occurred to me of my thus fighting with a total stranger, against whom i had no personal ill-will; and i could not but feel sorrow for him as i thought of the long time that he must suffer severe pain and great inconvenience because i had chanced to strike him that blow. however, from the way in which they went cutting and slashing about them, it was evident that neither rayburn nor young were troubled with any compunctions of this nature. they were only too glad, apparently, to get a chance to whack away at any of the priest captain's representatives; and they made such use of their opportunity that the aztlanecas fighting with us cried out in admiration of their prowess and their strength. fray antonio was more sorely tried than any of us during this passage, for i knew that his flesh greatly longed to take part in the fighting, and that only the strong spirit which was within him subdued the flesh and so held his hands. with a final rush we succeeded in forcing the enemy through the narrow opening in the rampart, and so down the steps beyond; but as we pursued them across the next terrace, keeping close at their heels so that they might not have time to form again, many of our wounded fell out from the ranks and dropped by the way--and we had left behind us a dozen or more of our dead on the ground where the fight had been. our tactics of rapid pursuit of the force that we had defeated served us well at the next rampart; for the men whom we pursued and we ourselves came to it almost in one body, and thus threw into such confusion the fresh force that was waiting for us that, without any long fighting about it, we drove right through them and went on downward; and in the same dashing fashion we carried the rampart beyond. however, when those men whom we had pushed aside from our path so easily got over their surprise at being so lightly handled, they formed in our rear and came hurrying after us; the result of which was that as we approached the last of the ramparts that we had to pass through, where was gathered the largest body of men that we had yet encountered, we found ourselves fairly wedged in between two bodies of the enemy and outnumbered four to one. here, too, the passage through the rampart had been closed by the metal bars that were in readiness for that purpose. setting these in place was no real barrier to our passage, for, being intended to close the portal against assailants from below, the fastenings which held them were on the side nearest to us. but to remove them it was necessary that we should fight our way through the crowd--with no possibility of driving the enemy before us, as we had done upon the upper terraces, since here the way was closed. what we did was literally to cut a path through the throng; and over the men who fell dead or wounded beneath our blows we made our advance. there was a curious creeping, uneasy sensation in the region of my stomach as i trod thus on the bodies of wounded men who were not dead yet, and felt them moving, and heard their groaning; and i was conscious of a feeling of relief when a body that i trod upon did not squirm beneath my foot, and so by its stillness assured me that i was standing only on dead flesh that had no feeling in it. very slowly did we go forward, for while the living barrier that we had to deal with was not at the outset more than twenty feet, or thereabouts, in thickness, hacking it down took us a tediously long time. while still we faced a dozen or more very desperate fighters, who held us off most resolutely from the metal bars which closed the way, a pang of dread and sorrow went through me as i perceived that fray antonio, who a moment before had been close beside me, had disappeared. that he might the better restrain his longing to take part in the fighting he had remained in the centre of our men; and it was hard to understand how, in that position, harm could have come to him, for missiles had no share in the work that was going forward, which was a fiery struggle hand to hand. as i looked for him in the throng--so far as i could do this and at the same time keep up my guard against the man whom at that moment i was fighting with--i saw some signs of uneasy movement among the enemy in advance of us, and several of them evidently made an effort to reach down as though to get at something that was on the ground; which effort was wholly futile, for they were wedged so tightly together by our pressure upon them that reaching downward was impossible. by a lucky blow, i just then finished the man with whom i was contending, and so had a moment's breathing spell; and at that instant i saw one of the enemy, whose back was ranged against the bars, rise up in the air as though a strong spring had been loosed beneath him, and then fall sidewise upon the heads and shoulders of his fellows. and then, in the place thus made vacant, the cowled head of fray antonio instantly appeared--whereby i guessed, what afterwards i knew certainly, that he had crawled along the ground through the press until he reached the place that he aimed at, and then had risen up beneath one of the enemy with such sudden violence that he fairly had sent the man spinning upward into the air. what his purpose was i saw in a moment, for no sooner did he stand upright than he had his hands upon the metal bars, and then i heard the clinking together of stone and metal as he lifted them bodily away. xxiv. the affair at the water-gate rayburn gave a great roar of gladness as the clinking sound made him turn and he saw what was going forward; and young and i joined him in lusty anglo-saxon cheering, while our allies, in the savage fashion natural to them, vented their joy in shrill yells. in the midst of which cheering and yelling we pushed forward so hotly that the enemy, disconcerted by this sudden shifting of fortune in our favor, and the men directly in front of us being most seriously incommoded by their comrade lying sprawled out and kicking upon their heads and shoulders, seemed suddenly to lose heart so completely that we had no difficulty in cutting them down. even had they not been too closely wedged in to turn upon fray antonio, our strong dashing upon them would have compelled them to leave him unharmed in order to defend themselves; and so it was that, by the time we had cut a path to the portal, the monk had released the whole tier of bars from their fastenings, and the way was free. as we sprang down the steps--with fray antonio, once more in the guise of a non-combatant, safe in the midst of our company--we heard a great outcry from below, and saw a considerable body of men marching up towards us steadily from the water-side; but the alarm that sight of them gave us was only momentary, for their shouts, and the shouts of our men in answer, showed us that these were friends come to our support. however we had no great need of them, for those of the enemy whom we left alive behind us seemed suddenly to have grown sick of fighting, and made no attempt to follow after us down the stairs. yet the coming of this supporting force, to be just in the matter, no doubt was the saving of us; for more than half of the men who had been with us when we started on our march down through the city had been slain by the way, and nearly all in our company were more or less disabled by wounds. tizoc and young and rayburn had come through it all without as much as a scratch, and because of their extraordinary strength these three were almost as fresh as when the fighting began; but the rest of us were sorely weary, and our breathing was so heavy and so tremulous that each breath was like a long-drawn sob. truly, then, we were glad to fall in in advance of the supporting column and so make our way, with a strong rear-guard for our protection, across the bit of level land that lay between us and the lake. at the water-side boats were in readiness for us, and here we found also the members of the council who had ordered, and who were the recognized leaders of, the revolt. there was still more fighting ahead of us, for the necessity of sending back the relief party had prevented the seizing of the water-gate; and this was a matter that had to be attended to quickly, for we could see bodies of men coming down several of the streets in pursuit of us, and unless we escaped outside the wall before they overtook us there was a strong and dismal probability that our whole plan would fail. therefore, we tumbled aboard the boats with all possible rapidity, and while the pursuing parties still were far in our rear we shoved off from the shore. two minutes' quick rowing sufficed to carry our flotilla of boats across the basin, and so brought us to the long pier that extended landward from beside the water-gate, and from which an open stair-way ascended to the top of the wall. on the pier there was no one at all to oppose our landing; and the force on the wall was not likely to be a large one, for the outbreak had come so suddenly that there had been no time to increase the small detail maintained in this position in times of peace. only a few of our men, therefore--thirty or forty, perhaps--were ordered out of the boats to the attack, of which the leader was tizoc, and with which rayburn and young went as volunteers. i also would have joined the party; but rayburn, knowing that i was slightly wounded, begged me to stay where i was; and young, as he ran up the stairs, called back to me: "you just see that they keep steam up, professor. we'll attend t' takin' off th' brakes." what went on above us, on top of the wall, we could not see; but the work done there was done quickly. there was a little shouting, a sound of arms clashing, and then four or five men--as though this were the easiest way of getting rid of them--were thrown over the parapet, and fell near us in the water. to these short shrift was given. as they came to the surface, our fellows instantly finished them with a spear-thrust or two. then we heard the sound of a windlass creaking, and the clanking of chains; and as we looked through the opening in the wall we saw the grating that closed its farther end rise slowly until the way before us was free. two of our boats already were in the passage, so that no time might be lost; and as these passed out into the lake, the others followed after them rapidly. one boat remained to bring off the attacking party, and we wondered a little because its coming was a good while delayed. but we wondered still more when it joined us at last, and we found that tizoc and young and rayburn were not in it; indeed, at that moment i saw the three of them standing together on top of the wall. in answer to the shout that i gave, rayburn leaned over the wall and motioned to me to keep silence; and so i knew that they had not been left behind through treachery, but were staying there because they had some plan against the enemy that they thus could execute. and for knowledge of what their plan was we did not have to wait long. as we lay on our oars, off the outer end of the water-gate, we could see through it into the basin that lay before the city, and in a very few minutes the pursuing boats of the enemy came into view. as they neared us, we saw standing in the bow of the leading boat the same officer who had commanded the guard that had brought us as prisoners before the priest captain; the man of whom i have spoken, for what his real title was i do not know, as the barge-master. he was calling to his men savagely to row faster; for our boats were so scattered that he only could see the one in which we happened to be, and he doubtless imagined that the others had gone forward, and that this one waited to carry off some of our men who yet remained on the wall. he evidently hoped to be able to cut us off from the rest of our party, and his eagerness had so communicated itself to his oarsmen that his boat led the others by nearly a hundred yards. so far as this one boat was concerned, we felt no alarm, for the moment that it came out through the wall our whole force was ready to dash upon it; yet we wondered why tizoc permitted even a single boat to come out to the attack, when, by dropping the grating, they all could be penned in so effectually as to give us the advantage of a long start. as the boat neared the water-gate the barge-master went back from his place in the bow to the middle part of it, and there crouched down; and some soldiers who were standing crouched down also; and almost as the bow entered the low, narrow passage the oars were unshipped and taken aboard. so cleverly was the unshipping of the oars managed, and so good was the steering, that the boat shot into the passage under full speed, and so came nearly through it before losing head-way. and we who were nearest to it got our arms in readiness--for we were convinced that in another minute the barge-master would lay us aboard. but this was not destined to be, nor were the men in that boat destined ever to do any more fighting in this world. all this while rayburn had stood close by the parapet, bending over it and intently watching the outside of the water-gate; above which the heavy metal grating had been hauled up, in the metal grooves that it ran in, almost to the top of the wall. at the moment that the bow of the boat showed outside the opening he raised his hand, as though signalling to young and tizoc behind him; and in that same instant we heard the shrieking of the windlass and the quick clanking of the unwinding chains, and saw the metal grating rushing down the face of the wall. with all the force generated by the fall from so great height of so ponderous a body, the grating came crashing into the boat just amidships, fairly dividing its heavy timbers and forcing the fragments of it, together with all the men that it carried, down into the water's depths. but the barge-master died by a quicker death than drowning. he still was crouched in the middle of the boat, and the sharp angle of the lower bar of the grating struck him just on the nape of his neck so keenly that his head was cut off and seemed of itself to spring forward and away from him; while the broad flat bar, coming down upon his bowed shoulders, crushed his body into a mere quivering mass of flesh. a great yell of delight went up from our boats as this brilliant stroke so brilliantly was delivered; and an answering cry of triumph--that was one-third a yell and two-thirds a cheer--came back from tizoc and the others on top of the wall. however, they had no time to waste in shouting over their success, for the remaining boats of the enemy had come by this time to the pier inside the wall, and it seemed highly probable that in a minute or two more our three men would be prisoners. but for all their danger they coolly finished the work that they had in hand. as they explained to me afterwards, rayburn stood at the head of the stair to hold the enemy in check should they come before the work was finished--and very strong as well as very brave men must the man have been who would have ventured to attack him as he occupied that position of overpowering advantage--while the other two cast off from the windlass the chains by which the water-gate was operated, and dropped them over the wall into the lake; and as the gate itself was jammed and wedged fast by the fragments of the boat, this throwing down of the chains made the raising of it a serious undertaking that well might require a day or more to accomplish. as the chains fell with a splash, and we comprehended the thoroughness of the work that these three were doing, our people burst forth into yells again; and a perfect roar went up from them when, the gate being closed and the apparatus for raising it being entirely disabled, rayburn sprang from the outer edge of the parapet into the lake, and tizoc and young instantly followed him. in truth, a more gallant feat of arms had not been essayed, nor carried to a more triumphant conclusion, since the roman gate was held by horatius; and in my admiration of it i shouted until the muscles of my throat were strained and aching. our boat already was near the wall--having pulled in that the soldiers aboard of it might spear such of the enemy as came up to the surface alive--and we had the three out of the water and safe among us in very short order; and then we pulled away towards the other boats with all possible speed--for the wall now was manned by the enemy, and they were beginning to make things unpleasantly hot for us with the heavy stones which they heaved over the parapet, that our boat might be sunk by them, and by a rapid discharge of darts. luckily, none of the stones struck us, and because of the rapid way that we were making, only two of our men were struck with the darts. so, on the whole, we came out of this encounter very well; for these two men killed in our boat were all that we lost, while of the enemy at least forty were drowned or speared. however, we owed our light escape mainly to the fact that the enemy, having armed hurriedly, and expecting only to fight with us at close quarters, had with them neither bows nor slings--but for which fortunate fact it scarcely is possible that a single man in our boat would have come off alive. [illustration: the leap from above the water-gate] dripping wet though they were, i fairly hugged rayburn and young when they were safe aboard with us, as did also fray antonio, whose daring spirit was mightily aroused by witnessing their splendid bravery. and in giving them hearty words of praise for what they had done--which yet fell far short of their deserts--i naturally likened them to the roman hero. indeed, i may say that the parallel that i there drew was an apt one, and in some of its turns was not devoid of grace. "i can't say, professor," young answered, when i had finished, "that i ever heard o' th' party you refer to, but if this horace--what did you say his last name was?--pinched his fingers in th' drawbridge chains as damnably as i pinched mine in th' chains of that infernal grating, i'll bet a hat he was sorry that he hadn't run away!" and i truly believe that young thought more about his pinched fingers than he did about the resolute bravery that he had shown in finishing his work upon the wall in the very face of the advancing enemy. being once out of range of the darts, we pulled towards the other boats leisurely; for now we were entirely safe against pursuit, and were free to go upon the lake in whatsoever direction we pleased. that some positive line of action had been determined upon was evident, for the flotilla already was in motion as we came up in the rear of it--the boat containing the members of the council leading--and the order was passed back to us that we should follow with the rest. from the direction in which we were heading, tizoc inferred that we were bound for the only other considerable town in the valley, that which had grown up around the shafts leading to the great mine whence the aztlanecas drew their supply of gold. there was a very grave look upon his face as he told us of our probable destination; and presently added that the population of this town--save the few freemen who were in charge of the workings, and the large guard of soldiers that always was maintained there--was made up wholly of tlahuicos who had been selected from their fellows to be miners because of their exceptional hardiness and strength. it was among these men, he went on to tell us speaking in a low, guarded voice, that the most dangerous of the revolts of the tlahuicos invariably had their origin; for the miners were fierce, half-savage creatures, naturally turbulent and rebellious, and were stirred constantly to resentful anger because of the life of crushing toil that they were condemned to lead. so dangerous were they that the only effective means of keeping them in subjection was to hold the major part of them continually prisoners underground in the mine, with a guard stationed at the mouth of each shaft under orders to kill instantly any man who attempted to come forth from the mine without authority. in order that their labor, a thing of positive value, might not be lost through their dying of being thus imprisoned in the bowels of the earth, they were divided into ten great companies, each one of which, in regular order, was employed in the surface work under the constant supervision of a strong guard. yet even these stern measures were not wholly effective in preventing mutiny. many times great revolts had broken out here that had set all the valley in an uproar, and that had been crushed only after pitched battles had been fought between the rebels and the entire military force of the state. the town was a veritable volcano, tizoc declared; and because of the dread of it that universally obtained, by reason of the frequent outbursts there of lawless violence, it had received the name of huitzilan: the town of war. and there could be no doubt, he added--while the tones of his voice and the look upon his face showed how great he believed to be the risk involved in this line of policy--that in now directing our course towards the mining town the deliberate purpose of the council was to incite these semi-savage, wholly desperate miners to join forces with us in our rising against the priest captain's power. xxv. the gold-miners of huitzilan. as we rounded a mountain spur that extended a long way out into the lake, a deep bay opened to us; which bay ran close in to the cliffs whereby the valley was surrounded, and was at no great distance from the barred pass, through which we had made our entry. at the foot of the bay, built partly upon the level land near the water-side, and partly upon the steep ascent beyond, was the town of huitzilan--whereof the most curious feature that at first was noticeable was a tall chimney, whence thick black smoke was pouring forth, that rose above a stone building of great solidity and of a very considerable size. on archæological grounds, the sight of this chimney greatly astonished me; and rayburn, who was a very well-read man in all matters connected with his profession, was greatly astonished by it also; for the chimney obviously was a part of extensive reduction-works, and we both knew that such complete appliances for the smelting of metal, as seemed from this sign to exist here, were supposed to be the product of a high state of civilization in comparatively modern times. as for young, he declared that the chimney gave him a regular jolt of homesickness; for, excepting that it was built of stone instead of brick, it might have been, for the look of it, transplanted hither directly from the region of the back bay. "i s'pose we'll be hearin' th' noon whistle next," he said, mournfully; and presently he added: "do you know, professor, i b'lieve i'm beginnin' t' see daylight in all this tall talk you say th' colonel has been givin' us about th' 'rebellions,' as he calls 'em, that go on here. he don't mean t' close our eyes up, th' colonel don't, for he's a first-class gentleman; but, bein' born an' bred a heathen, he don't know any better. what he's tryin' t' tell us about, an' can't, because he don't know th' english for it, is _strikes_. that's what's th' matter. miners are bound t' go on strikes. it's their nature, an' they can't help it. that chimbly gives th' whole thing away. you just tell th' colonel that we've got down t' th' hard-pan an' really know what he's been drivin' at. an' t' think of there bein' strikes in mexico! i didn't b'lieve that a greaser had backbone enough, or ambition enough, t' strike at anything!" however, as i had no great amount of faith in young's theory, i did not attempt to translate to tizoc what he had said to me; nor was there any opportunity for further talk at that time. already the foremost boats of the flotilla had made a landing at a well-built pier that extended from the shore into deep water; and a minute or two later our boat also pulled in to the pier, and we disembarked. the general view of the town that i then had showed me that it was closely built over an area rather more than half a mile square; that the houses for the most part were mere hovels, of which the largest could not contain more than two small rooms; and that the few houses of a better sort were within the strong stone wall by which the reduction-works also were enclosed. at the pier where we landed a boat was in process of lading with bars of gold for transport to the treasure-house in the city; and i thought that i never had seen anywhere more savage-looking fellows than the almost naked laborers by whom the work of lading was carried on. physically these men were magnificent creatures--tall and well-shaped and vigorous, and the ease with which they handled the great bars of gold showed how enormous must be their strength. but so full of venomous hate were the sullen looks which they cast upon us, and so savage was the effect of their coarse, dishevelled hair falling down over and partly veiling their great glittering eyes, whence these angry glances were shot forth at us like poisoned darts, that i was thankful to see that, all told, there were not more than a dozen of them, and that three times as many heavily armed soldiers served as their guard. and looking at these creatures, who were truly less like men than dangerous wild beasts, i could not wonder at the grave concern which tizoc had manifested at thought of the risk which we ran in taking them for allies. "it's as easy t' start 'em," young said, when he came to an understanding of the situation, "as 'tis t' start a freight-train down a three per cent. grade. but what i want to know is, when we want 'em t' stop, how in th' h--ll are we ever goin' t' set th' brakes?" [illustration: the tlahuicos and their guards] yet, dangerous to ourselves though the use of it must be, our hopes of success rested mainly upon our ability to control and to employ effectively this savage material. fortunately, it was not the whole of our reliance; and it was our intention to leaven this dangerous lump with the very considerable number of trained and trustworthy soldiers that we had available as the substantial nucleus of our fighting force, and also with the larger body of both slaves and freemen--not regularly drilled soldiers, to be sure, yet many of them trained in the ways of war--that we counted upon to join us from among the people at large. this outline of the plan of action that the council had determined upon was exhibited to us by tizoc during our passage down the lake; and i was glad to find that rayburn--for whose judgment i had much respect in such matters--was disposed to think well of it. "if i expected to stay here, professor, after the row was over," he said, "i mightn't be quite as well satisfied with this plan of theirs for running things. the war part of the programme is all right. they won't have any difficulty in getting their tlahuicos to fight anything in the way of an army that the priest captain shows up with. fighting is just what will please them more than anything else. where the trouble is going to come in is when the fighting is over and they go in for reconstruction. it's one thing to make fighters out of this sort of stuff, but it's quite another thing to make respectable citizens out of it. that's where the hitch will be. but as we don't intend to settle down in this valley--unless we find that there's no way out of it--we needn't bother about that part of the performance at all. that's their funeral, not ours. so, for my part, the sooner they get their army in shape, and get the fighting part settled, the better i'll be satisfied." to do the members of the council justice, they seemed to be even more eager than rayburn was to forward the work that they had in hand. from the pier they went directly to the enclosure in the centre of the town, within which was the building ordinarily occupied by the commandant of the post and by the officials of the civil government; and in this place, tizoc informed us, they intended immediately to organize the new government, and then to proceed with all possible despatch to make arrangements for placing an army in the field. in tizoc's company, but more leisurely, we also went on to the citadel--as we found the enclosure about the smelting-works was called--where comfortable quarters had been provided for us in the same building wherein the council was housed. here we waited, in somewhat strained idleness, while the council carried on, in a chamber not far removed from us, its exciting work of destroying a government that had endured for more than a thousand years; and we were mightily surprised, knowing how prodigious was the change that then was being wrought in ancient institutions, by observing how quietly it all went on. the murmur of talk that came to us, unchecked by any intervening doors, had no sound of excitement or of anger or of violent emotion of any sort; and i could not but hold in admiration the calm, self-contained natures of these men who thus equably and rationally could deal with such vastly weighty affairs. while this great matter--which could end only in wild commotion and fierce battling--went forward in this quiet way, tizoc opened to us much that was of curious interest touching the near-by gold-mine and they who mined the gold. of the existence of the mine, he said, the aztlanecas had remained ignorant for many generations after their coming into the valley; and for many more generations but little gold had been taken from it, because the metal was of no value to his people save for the making of ornaments. but when the process had been discovered by which this metal could be hardened, and so made serviceable for all manner of useful purposes--and this the more because, by the manufacture that then ensued of tools wherewith the rock could be easily worked, mining in a large way became possible--the development of the mine upon a great scale had been begun, and had been continued upon a constantly increasing scale from that time onward. all the earth beneath where we then were, he said, was honey-combed with passages which followed the several veins; and of these there seemed to be no end at all, for ever as each vein was exhausted another not less rich was found--and thus it seemed as though all the substructure of that great mountain range were one huge mass of gold. what the measures of weight were with which he estimated the annual output of the mine, i could not clearly understand, but the matter was made approximately plain to us by his statement that the daily product of the mine never was less than one of the great bars of gold that we had seen upon the pier in process of carriage to the treasure-house; and that sometimes, when veins of extraordinary richness were encountered, even so much as four of these bars had been smelted from the ore that the mine yielded in a single day. "those bars don't weigh an ounce less than two hundred pounds apiece," rayburn said, when i had translated to him what tizoc had told me. "that makes the output of the mine not less than three tons a month, and, in a rough way, a ton of gold is worth just about half a million of dollars. if the colonel isn't mixed in his figures, and if you've translated him straight, professor, these fellows are taking out somewheres in the neighborhood of twenty millions a year." young gave a long whistle. "great scott!" he exclaimed, "that just is an all-fired big pile of money t' be wasted on a lot of barelegged heathen critters like these, who don't know th' ten commandments by sight, an' who've never even heard of a cocktail! d' you know what i'm goin' t' do, rayburn, when i realize on this investment? i'm goin' t' buy th' old colony railroad, just for th' sake of bein' able t' bounce th' superintendent. he bounced me after that freight smash-up--and it wasn't my fault that th' operator got mixed an' gave me th' wrong orders--and i'll give him a taste o' th' same kind. won't it just paralyze him when he gets his orders t' quit, signed 'seth young, president,' an' finds out it's th' same old seth young who used t' run thirty-two on th' fall river division?" "hadn't you better let him down easy by telegraphing him right now to begin to look out for a new place?" rayburn asked. "we'll wait for you here, while you step over to the western union office"--which cool comment upon young's enthusiastic discounting of a bright future brought the gloomy present so clearly before his mind that his castle-building ended suddenly, and he lapsed into silence. but great though our wonder was at the prodigious quantity of precious metal that this mine yielded in each year, and amazed though we were by thought of the vast store of treasure that the valley now must hold, i, for my part, felt a far deeper interest in what tizoc went on to tell us concerning the men by whose toil the treasure had been accumulated. and, truly, so bitter and so dreary was the life of the tlahuicos who were forced to labor here unceasingly, and through so long a period had they been thus cruelly dealt with, that it seemed to me there must rest upon all the valley of aztlan a heavy curse that only some signal act of expiation could remove. and the coincidence struck me as most curious that here among the aztecs, wrought by themselves upon the men of their own race, should be found identically the same cruelties which the spaniards practised upon the indians whom they enslaved as miners in new mexico: whereof came that fierce outburst of revolt two hundred years ago, when the pueblos ravaged with sword and flame the whole valley of the rio grande from taos to the pass of the north. there was small ground for wonder that the tlahuicos, thus crushed by over-heavy labor, and dealt with as though they were not men, but fierce and dangerous brutes, should cherish at all times in their breasts a sullen fire of mutiny; nor that on every occasion at all favorable to their purposes there should spring forth from the glowing embers of their hatred a vivid and consuming flame. only by the strength and the vigilance of the guard that constantly was maintained over them was their tendency to rebellion held in check; and even the guards could not prevent frequent outbreaks--which ended only in the cruel slaughter of all concerned in them--so passionately eager was the longing of these desperate creatures for revenge. only once, a vastly long while past, tizoc said, had success attended an effort on the part of the tlahuicos to release themselves from their cruel slavery, and that they then eluded the vigilance of their masters was due to their employment of strategy against force. the whole matter, he continued, was now but a half-remembered tradition, yet the main details of it were clear. in that far-back time a vein of extraordinary richness had been followed for a very long distance in the direction of the barred pass; and, as the event proved, the gallery was carried beyond the bars, passing far beneath them, and so went onward, steadily rising, until an outlet was had into the cañon. that the secret of this outlet might be kept among the men who had opened it, these slew the guard that watched over them and thrust his body out into the cañon, thus most effectually placing it beyond the reach of the search that would be made for it; and the opening that they had made they closed carefully, and continued a little way onward into the rock the gallery in which they were working: so that the superintendent of the mine might see clearly (what, indeed, was the truth) that the vein of ore had been followed to its end. tizoc knew not how long a time passed before the tlahuicos made use of the way of escape thus opened to them; but their flight could not have been taken hastily, because it included a very great number of them, and included also carrying with them large quantities of arms for warfare, and of useful household stores. he could say certainly no more than that when all their well-laid plan was ready to be executed, they rose against the soldiers which guarded them with such suddenness and brave violence that they succeeded in seizing and in holding the citadel; which gave no chance for grave uneasiness, for the officers of the force thus for a moment driven off thought that because of their retiring within so narrow a place they speedily must surrender for dread of being starved there; and it was held to be but a sign of their still greater simplicity--since thus would there be more hungry mouths to fill--that they carried their women and children with them into the stronghold where they lay besieged. but so strange was the desolate silence that hung over the place into which so great a multitude had retired, that the besiegers presently were moved by it to a wonder wherein was a strong feeling of awe; and still greater was the marvel that they had to ponder upon when, at last, meeting with no opposition, they broke in the grating that barred the entrance to the citadel, and found within the enclosure not one single living soul! and so cleverly had the fugitives closed the way behind them that a long while passed before it was known certainly what had become of this living host that, as it seemed, in a moment had vanished from off the face of the earth. more than half a lifetime went by without the shedding of light upon this mystery; and it seemed as though a ghost had risen when one day a very aged man came forth from that long-abandoned passage in the mine and surrendered himself to the first of the guards whom he encountered--and then told that he was a priest whom the fleeing rebels had carried captive with them, and whom they had held a prisoner through all these many years. and he told also how the rebels had made their home in a certain fair valley that was shut in and hidden among the mountains; and how that they had built a great city--resting fearless in the conviction that they were safe from harm. by the heavy toil that had been needful to open anew the way into the mine from the cañon, the little remnant of strength in this old man's body had been exhausted; and presently, having told his story, he died. then it was that the priest captain and the council who ruled in that ancient time, having assured themselves by the sending out of spies that all which the old man had told them was true, planned to bring upon the rebels a very terrible vengeance; which was to drown them all in their city by letting loose upon them the waters of a mighty lake. and this plan, though its accomplishment was not arrived at until two full cycles had passed away, so mighty was the labor that it involved, at last was executed: and in one single day every living creature in all that valley was overwhelmed by the flood let loose into it; and where so great a mass of teeming life had been there remained thereafter only the desolate silence and stillness of universal death. it was with long-drawn breaths that fray antonio and i listened to tizoc's telling of this tradition, which in many ways was far more real to us than it possibly could be to him; for we but lately had passed through that death-stricken valley--and ourselves had been like to die there--and every feature of the scene, that he could but vaguely describe to us, we had clearly in our minds. and thus we came to know the full meaning of the great catastrophe whereof we had seen the outworking, both in the destruction wrought by it and the way of its accomplishment, but of which we had divined no more concerning its cause than that in some way it must have resulted from a slowly worked-out vengeance prompted by a most malignant hate. xxvi. the gathering for war. although the whole of the discussion of their plan of revolt was carried on by the council with so calm a gravity, there was enough of energy and of quick movement when their deliberations came to an end; and we augured well of the result because they thus had delayed their action until their plan for making it effective had been fully matured. the whole of that first day in huitzilan, and much of the following night also, was given to arranging clearly what must be done in order to set up a temporary government and to get an army together; and how well this preliminary work was accomplished was shown by the precision and celerity with which the plans then made were executed during the immediately ensuing days. during this period we had ample time to look around us; and, being now upon a most friendly footing with the strange people among whom we thus strangely found ourselves, we were heartily aided--so far as this was possible because of the exigencies of that stirring time--in investigating the manner of their lives. the material then was obtained for my chapter on the "house life and domestic customs of the aztecs"; and the knowledge which rayburn gathered (also embodied in his own paper, that attracted so much attention when read before the american institute of mining engineers) he has permitted me to use in my chapter on "mining and metal-working among the aztecs"; which two chapters are among the most note worthy _pre-columbian conditions on the continent of north america_. rayburn, indeed, was lost in wonder as he came to understand how far scientific investigation had been carried among this isolated people, and how well they had learned to apply their scientific knowledge to their practical affairs. in many matters, to be sure, they fell far behind the remainder of the civilized world; but a large part of the useful knowledge that has been gained by study under civilized conditions elsewhere we found here also as the fruit of independent discovery. in many cases the discovery was identical in every respect with our own. thus, their process (the adding of hydrochloric acid to a neutral solution of auric-chloride) for producing from gold a rich purple stain, that was employed in the coloring of hard-wood and bone, was precisely that which boyle mentioned in ; and, as nearly as i could determine the date, it was about that very time that they, also, first effected this combination. in the matter of hardening gold, and thereafter giving it all the qualities of tempered steel, they had made a step that was distinctly in advance of anything which our metallurgists had accomplished; and i am strongly inclined to the belief that--at least among the priests--knowledge had been gained of a process quite unlike that known to us for producing a gold fulminate. i was not so fortunate as to gain more knowledge of this matter than could be learned from hearsay, but from several sources i heard of the splitting asunder of a certain great rock by the priest captain--which wonder was accompanied by a thunderous noise and a gleam of flame and a bursting forth of smoke--whereby he was considered to have proved that the aid of the gods was at his command. but to my mind, and also to rayburn's, the proof was, rather, that he had at his command--in some way that as yet our chemists have not fathomed--the aid of a gold fulminate that could be controlled in use as readily as we control gunpowder. that this agent, whatever it might be, was not easily available, was indicated by the fact that the priest captain never had given more than this single exhibition of the wonders which he could accomplish with it; and that it then had served his purpose well was shown by the obvious awe with which all who told me of it spoke of the dreadful havoc that thus visibly was wrought by what they termed the thunder of the gods. indeed, a very serious difficulty that the leaders of the revolution had to overcome was the unwillingness on the part of the people at large to defy the power of their spiritual chief; which feeling among the upper classes was mainly because disobedience to the priest captain was, in effect, heresy; while among the lower classes there was joined to a like horror of heresy a very lively dread of the punishment, both temporal and spiritual, that the priest captain could bring upon them because of his intimate relations with the supernatural beings by which the forces of the world were controlled. yet out of this condition of affairs arose an opportunity that fray antonio was not slow to make the most of. our coming into the valley with news of the outside world that directly controverted the priest captain's claim to infallibility gave a great shock to the religious faith of the community, and so induced a willingness to listen to the preaching of a new and purer creed. and on the part of those of the council who were organizing the revolution--among whom religion seemed to be regarded less as a vital fact than as a matter of political expediency--there was a strong disposition to encourage the spread of doctrines which obviously, by weakening the priest captain's hold upon the people, would increase their own strength. therefore, fray antonio found himself free to preach to this heathen multitude the glorious christian faith; and that he was granted this most rare and signal opportunity, the like of which was not given even to the blessed saint francis himself, so filled and exalted his soul with a radiantly joyful thankfulness that he was as one transformed. and his holy enthusiasm, that thus made every fibre of his being vibrate with a grateful gladness, gave him also so eloquent a command of beseeching language that it was a living wonder to perceive how his inspired words penetrated into the minds, darkened by superstitious doctrines, of those to whom he spoke, and so sunk into their hearts and brought the restful happiness of the faith christian to those who had known only the restless terror of idolatry throughout all their lives. like a pure flame, the doctrine that he preached ran through that host of the heathen, burning out from among them the impure creed whereby their souls had been held in a most cruel and desolate bondage, and giving in the place thereof the tender comfort of a saving christian grace. yet the very fervor of fray antonio's preaching, and the strong hold that the gentle doctrine which he set forth took upon the hearts of the multitude, tended also to stir up against him a lively enmity among those who, refusing to hearken to him, remained steadfast in the ancient faith. many such there were among us at that time in huitzilan; but because of the firm grasp that fray antonio had upon so many hearts, and also because of the countenance which the council gave him, these did not venture to assail either him or his doctrine openly; yet, as i noted at times the evil glances which they shot forth at him--which surely would have killed him could he thus have been slain--i was filled with dread that hate so malignant as here was shown must surely find expression in a direct attempt upon his life. fortunately, there no longer were any priests among us. of these there had been a considerable number in huitzilan upon our first coming there, but silently, one by one, they had disappeared--going, as we well knew, to join themselves to the force which the priest captain was gathering against the time when the issue between us would be settled by the arbitration of arms. and those who went from our camp to his must have carried with them news of the peril that menaced the ancient faith through the new faith that fray antonio preached so zealously in such burning words; for of his knowledge of what fray antonio was doing, and of his dread of what might therefrom result, we presently had proof in a way that filled our hearts with a very dismal fear. all the while that this curious, and to me most interesting, conflict between a primitive and a highly developed religion went on, the more practical work went on also of establishing a new government and of organizing an army whereby it might be maintained. so far as the setting up of a government was concerned, the matter was comparatively easy; for the majority of the council had come out with us from culhuacan, and these had but to adapt to the requirements of the new situation the governmental machinery that already was established and at their command. and they were surprised pleasurably by finding how readily this transformation was effected; for among the higher classes--from which classes the officials of the government exclusively were drawn--the feeling of hatred against the priest captain, begotten of his many acts of cruelty and oppression, was so strong that the opportunity now offered to turn against him was seized upon most gladly. in every town throughout the valley the emissaries of the council were warmly welcomed; and presently the new government was established everywhere save in the capital city and in certain villages upon the lake border lying close beneath its walls. the work of organizing an army, however, was a more difficult matter; for very serious obstacles, both moral and material, had to be overcome before we of the revolutionary faction could place an effective fighting force in the field. of what i may term regular troops, that is to say, thoroughly drilled and disciplined soldiers, we could count upon but few; for, practically, the whole body of the army had remained faithful to the priest captain and was with him in culhuacan. for the most part, also, the regular troops scattered through the garrisons of the various towns had betaken themselves immediately to culhuacan upon the acknowledgment by the civil officers of these towns of the authority of the new government; and at the same time had departed with them nearly all the priests, and such few persons of the upper classes as desired the maintenance of the ancient order of things. the result of which general movement at least gave us the advantage of carrying on unmolested our own work of concentrating and organizing; and, so far, was a positive service to us. as the nucleus of our army we had the corps that tizoc commanded, the highly organized body of troops charged with the important duty of guarding the barred pass; and we had also the few hundreds of men who had come out with us from culhuacan. from these sources we were able to draw officers to command the irregular force, largely made up of tlahuicos, that the council rapidly got together; while for the organizing of the main body of our troops, the savages who worked in the mine, the bold stroke was made of mingling them with the men who, until then, had been their most relentless enemies--the soldiers who had served as their guards. that it was possible to put in operation this daring plan was due, i think, in great part to the fact that both guards and miners were led to accept the extraordinary fellowship that it created by a genuine shock of surprise; and before they had at all recovered from their astonishment their interests became identical, through their common need of defending themselves against a common enemy. and, further, i am well convinced that the tlahuicos had been in part prepared, before our coming into the valley, to join in the revolt that under any circumstances could not have been much longer delayed. in regard to this matter, tizoc persistently evaded my questions; but i remembered very distinctly his curious hesitancy when he had told me of the effective part that the servile class could be made to take in the event of a rebellion; and i perceived many evidences of a secret understanding between him and certain of the miners during the time that the gathering for war was going on in huitzilan. therefore, i inferred that the seeds of revolt which germinated so readily had been long since sown. of all the disabilities under which we then labored, the most serious was the lack of an adequate supply of arms. the great arsenal of the aztlanecas was in culhuacan; and thus nearly the whole of the supply of munitions of war in the valley was in the priest captain's hands. fortunately, the shipment of hardened gold that we had intercepted--by landing at the pier whence in a few hours it would have been despatched to the treasure-house--gave us a good supply of raw material out of which spear-heads, and the heads of darts, and swords could be made; and night and day the forges blazed in huitzilan while the manufacture of these weapons went on. of bows and arrows it was not possible to make many in that short time, but of slings there was no difficulty in making enough to supply our entire force--and among these people, who are wonderfully skilful in the use of it, the sling is a most deadly implement of war. we lacked time, also, to make any large number of shields, and our deficiency in this respect was regarded by tizoc, and by all the military officers who were with us, as a most serious matter; for not only would our men without shields be the more easily slain in battle, but their fighting value would be lessened by their consciousness that they were without this piece of furniture that all savage races hold to be so necessary in war. however, of defensive armor we had a good supply, for it chanced that in the citadel there was a great store of cotton cloth, suitable for making long kirtles of many thicknesses of cloth quilted together; which kirtles were arrow proof, and well protected a man from his neck downward almost to his knees. young was disposed to think but lightly of this curious armor, but when tizoc, to convince him of its utility, demonstrated its power to resist a well-pointed arrow shot at very short range he was forced to confess its entire applicability to the purpose for which it was designed. "tell th' colonel that i give in, an' think it a first-rate notion, professor," he said. "but if you can get it into his head, an' i'm afraid you can't, just tell him that when this barelegged army of ours gets fitted out with those little night-shirts they'll look for all th' world like a lot o' fellows who've scrambled out of a hotel that's caught fire in th' middle o' th' night. all that'll be wanted t' make th' thing perfect 'll be a couple o' steam fire-engines, an' a crowd with all their clothes on, an' a line of policemen. i guess it's goin' t' be one o' th' funniest lookin' armies that was ever seen outside of a lunatic asylum. what i'd like to do, professor, instead o' tryin' t' do any fightin' with it, is just t' take th' whole outfit back t' th' states an' make a show of it. i'd get benito nichols t' go in with me--he's a first-class man, benito is, an' he's a boss hand as a show manager--an' we'd call it 'th' aztec warrior army an' circus combination,' an' we'd just rake in th' dollars quicker'n we could count 'em. that makes me think o' that show we were talkin' about makin' with pablo an' his burro." young's voice changed as he spoke, and there was a huskiness in it as he added: "i s'pose by this time there ain't much left for show-makin' purposes of either of 'em. no, i guess i'll stay around an' take a hand in any fightin' that's goin' on; for i'd pretty near be willin' t' be killed right away after it myself for th' chance t' square things with that old devil for killin' our boy. he was a good boy, professor, an'--how this devilish dust does get into my eyes an' make 'em water." with which highly irrelevant remark--for there was no dust blowing just then--young suddenly ceased speaking and walked away. this was the only time that we spoke of pablo while we lay at huitzilan, for talk about the boy only increased the bitter sorrow for him that was in all our hearts. as for my own heart, it was wellnigh broken as i thought that but for me his gentle life would still be flowing on smoothly--as i had found it flowing when, in an evil hour, i joined his fortunes with mine, and so had brought him to so untimely and to so cruel a death. and i, too, longed for the fighting to begin that i might avenge him; for the accomplishment of which vengeance i was not merely in part, but altogether ready to yield up my own life. indeed, excepting only fray antonio, who saw in warfare only the wickedness and the cruelty of it, we all were most eager for our inaction to end, and for the battling to begin that would give us opportunity to let the life out of some of those by whom pablo had been slain. it was with delight, therefore, that we noted the rapidity with which the preparations for the impending campaign were carried forward, and saw how each day the disorderly host that had been gathered at huitzilan was changing from a confused mass of good fighting material into a body fairly well adapted to the needs of war. it was, in truth, astonishing to us--for we could not well comprehend how essentially warlike were the instincts of this people, and how quick, therefore, they must be in military matters--to observe the promptness that was shown in getting our army in readiness for the field. and with our astonishment came also a comforting conviction that the force that could be so quickly, and, as it seemed, so effectively organized, must surely hold well together, and fight well together, when the hour for fighting came. xxvii. an offer of terms. during the time that our various preparations thus went forward we had no direct news from the stronghold of the enemy; yet many vague rumors reached us of the army that was being set in order there to take the field against us. on the other hand, the constant departure from among us of those who were loyal to the ancient government kept the priest captain well informed of all that was in progress in our camp. no effort was made by the council to prevent these departures, for all of our plans were working so well, and our forces were increasing so prodigiously, that it was to our advantage that the enemy should have news of our rapidly augmenting strength; and especially was it hoped that the news thus carried to the city might incline many there who wavered in their allegiance to take open part with us--or, at the least, to refuse to take part against us--and that in this way there might be stirred up a very dangerous spirit of mutiny within the enemy's lines. the plan of campaign that the council had adopted struck me as being an exceedingly prudent one. this was that we should not attempt an attack upon the city--for, indeed, to assail such fortifications without artillery would have been utterly hopeless--but should wait until the enemy came out to assail us, and then meet him on our own chosen ground. in every way this plan was in our favor. it most obviously was to our advantage to delay as long as possible the battle that was inevitable, and that, when it did come, must decide the fate of the rebellion finally. every day that this was deferred was a substantial gain to us, in that the organization of our army was thereby rendered the more complete, and also in that the effective hold of the new government upon the people throughout the valley was thereby strengthened. on the side of the enemy, delay would produce no corresponding gain, rather would it tend to weaken the hold of the priest captain upon those who remained faithful to him; and, being shut up with his whole army and a multitude of non-combatants within those great stone walls, a very terrible foe, against which stone walls are no defence, presently would attack him in the shape of hunger. therefore we had only to wait--maintaining the while a vigilant patrol of guard-boats on the lake, so that no fresh supplies might reach the garrison in the city--in the sure conviction that our foe would of his own accord come forth to give us battle, and that we then would have the advantage of standing wholly on the defensive until some happy turn of chance should so favor us that we would risk nothing in making an assault. it was a very fortunate thing for us that matters stood in this way; for wellnigh the whole of the trained army of the aztlanecas was with the priest captain, and against this well-disciplined body of men our own hastily assembled and imperfectly organized army would have made but a poor showing had we met on equal terms. even under the existing circumstances, so favorable in many ways to our success, tizoc and the other military officers who were with us did not at all disguise their anxiety as to what might be the outcome of the battle so soon to be fought; and especially did they dread some well-planned stealthy movement of the enemy, by which our camp might be suddenly set upon and fairly carried before our own untrained forces could be rallied from the bewilderment and confusion into which they would be thrown by the shock of such surprise. rayburn, who had seen a good deal of indian fighting in his time, fully shared in this feeling of anxiety. "indian fights, you see," he said, "are not like any other kind of fights. the side that wins has got to do it with a whoop and a hurrah. indians haven't got any staying power in them. they can't hold out against anybody who stands up against them squarely, and won't be scared by a howling rush into running away. that's the reason why our little bit of an army at home is strong enough to police our whole indian frontier. a single troop of our boys--if the fighting's square, and they haven't been corralled in an ambush--can stand off a whole tribe; and they can do it because they just get their backs together and won't give in. what bothers me about the fight that we're going to have is that the regulars are on the other side. of course, being indians too, regulars like these don't amount to much; but they are bound to be a long chalk better than this rowdy crowd of ours. we've got a pretty fair chance to win, because we're in a strong position, and because our people mean to wait until the other fellows come at 'em; but i tell you what it is, if ever they manage to get inside here, or if ever we go outside after them--that is, while they're fresh and full of fight--it's bound to be all day with us. these miners, and the rest of this tlahuico outfit, will fight like wild-cats as long as they're on top, but every bit of fight will go right out of them the minute they find that they're beginning to get underneath. that's the indian way. i'm trying hard to believe that our crowd will whip the other crowd; but i must say, professor, that i'm not betting on it." "well, i'm bettin' on it, and bettin' on it high," said young. "i don't pretend t' know as much about this sort o' thing as rayburn does; but i do think i know a live devil when i see one--an' these miners are about as lively an' about as devilly as anything that ever broke loose from hell. they're just as full o' th' wickedest sort o' fight as they can stick in their ugly skins, an' they're just sick for a chance t' let it get out of 'em. all we've got t' do is t' worry th' other crowd for a while by lettin' 'em monkey around tryin' t' bag us; an' then, when they've been pretty well shot off, an' are gettin' tired, just make a rush for 'em an' scoop 'em in. regulars or no regulars, these miners 'll go through 'em like a limited express; an' the' first thing th' priest captain knows we'll have walloped him right smack out o' th' baggy things he wears on his feet an' thinks are boots. that's th' size of it, rayburn. that's what's goin' t' happen right here--an' don't you forget it! an' then, if there's any way out o' this d--n valley, we'll load up with dollars an' pull out for home." for my own part, i was not disposed to be either so doubtful as rayburn or so sanguine as young. in what each of them said there was much truth, and my inference from such of the facts in the case as were within my knowledge and my comprehension was that the chances for and against our success were very evenly divided. had i listened only to the promptings of my hopes, i should have entertained no doubt whatever touching the certainty of our victory; for i was at that time so elated by the knowledge that i had acquired, and that each day was increased by the acquisition of new and most precious facts, whereby a flood of light was let in upon what hitherto had been hopelessly dark places in aztec archæology, that i was disposed to believe as firmly as ever did the first napoleon in the assured ascendency of my lucky star. however, i did not wholly permit my wits to be run away with by the joy begotten of my truly wonderful discoveries; and i strove even to contemplate calmly the possibility that i might myself be slain in the battle that was so close upon us; and that thus the exceedingly valuable information which i had acquired would be lost to the world, and to myself would be lost the honorable fame due me for having gathered it. yet i regret to state--for until that time i had entertained unreservedly the belief that i truly was a philosopher--my attempt at calm contemplation of this dismal and far from improbable combination of evil circumstances had no other effect upon me than to throw me into a most violent rage. it seemed to me so stupidly unreasonable that some mere common brute of an indian, by the crude process of splitting my skull open, might deprive me, and through me the scientific world, of the priceless knowledge that with much effort i had stored within my brain. but all thought of my own fortunes, and of this possible sudden cutting of my life-strings, presently was thrust aside by the inroad of another matter that was of far more serious moment to me, inasmuch as there was involved in it a menace against the life of one of my companions; and, indeed, this matter was one which startled our whole camp, for it was nothing less than a formal offer on the part of the priest captain to condone the rebellion, and to compromise with the rebels, on certain far from exacting terms. the envoy sent to treat with us came in a manner befitting his dignity and the importance of his mission, having a considerable retinue with him in his barge, and being himself a grave and dignified man well advanced in years. two of our guard-boats accompanied his barge across the lake, and he alone was permitted to land in huitzilan. being led before the council, he delivered himself briefly of his message, and added to it neither argument nor comment of his own. the priest captain, he said, desiring to avoid the shedding of blood among brethren, was willing to forgive the wrong already committed, and was willing even to concede in part the demands made by the rebels, in consideration of the acceptance by those now in arms against him of certain very easy terms. for his part, he would yield in so far as to restore the custom of permitting parents to buy back their own children, and so to save them from being sacrificed or from becoming slaves; and he would withdraw also his claim to the exercise of certain rights (which need not here be specified) in civil matters, to which a counter-claim was set up by the council. in return for these concessions, he demanded that the army raised by the rebels should be immediately disbanded; that order should be restored in huitzilan by returning the miners to their work, and the tlahuicos generally to their masters throughout the valley; and that the arms which had been manufactured should be turned over to the keeper of the arsenal in culhuacan. the final demand made by the priest captain related to ourselves; and the council was given to understand that upon its punctual and exact fulfilment the whole of the negotiation must depend. young and rayburn and i, the envoy said, must be thrust out through the barred pass, whence we came, and there left to shift for ourselves; fray antonio must be without delay surrendered--that the dreadful sin that he had committed by preaching vile doctrines, subversive of the true faith, might be punished in so signal a manner that the gods whom he had outraged would be appeased. both fray antonio and i were present in the council chamber when the envoy delivered his message; and when this final demand was made--hearing which made me grow sick and faint, so keen was the pang of sorrow that it caused me--i turned towards him quickly, expecting that he also would feel the hurt of the blow which through him, because of my great love for him, had stricken me so grievously. but so far from being at all cast down by the knowledge thus rudely conveyed that a very cruel death menaced him, there was upon his face a look of such joyful elation, of such rejoicing triumph, that it seemed as though the very greatest happiness that life could hold for him had been thrust suddenly within his grasp. within the council, and outside of it also, when the terms which the envoy offered were spread abroad, there was at once aroused a very hot antagonism between contending factions in regard to the wisdom of placing trust in the priest captain's promises, and to the justice of yielding to his demands. so far as the council was concerned, its members having no especial regard for our welfare now that we had served their purpose, the slaying of fray antonio, and the expulsion from the valley of the rest of us, were trifling matters which well enough might be conceded if thereby peace might be secured. the matter of importance that this body had to consider was how far the priest captain could be trusted to fulfil promises made to rebels in arms, when these same rebels voluntarily had submitted to disarmament and were at his mercy; and on this essential point the whole debate that followed turned. the faction that favored disarmament insisted that such yielding was not surrender, inasmuch as the priest captain had conceded all that the rebels had asked; while those of the faction that favored war rested their case on the ground that the promises of concession were made only to be broken, and that this sudden willingness on the part of the priest captain to grant what he had heretofore so persistently refused was proof that he recognized the hopelessness of his position, and so was seeking to retain by craft the power that he no longer could hold by force. these latter, therefore, urged that his false promises should not be heeded; and that the matter at issue should be settled surely and finally by carrying to a triumphant conclusion the war, for the waging of which all needful preparations had been made. the debate upon this matter continued throughout the whole day without any conclusion being arrived at, and we listened to it--fray antonio and i translating to the others--with a very earnest interest, inasmuch as the outcome of it all might be the instant slaying of one of us, and for the rest of us an imprisonment in wild fastnesses among bleak mountains for what was like to be the whole remainder of our lives. when night came, and the council, being still unresolved, broke off its session until the day following, we came back to our quarters and there talked over the situation, and not cheerfully, among ourselves. "even if these fellows understood algebra," said rayburn, "i don't see how they could get an answer to the problem that they're trying to work. all the _x_'s that ever were made are not enough to represent an unknown quantity like the priest captain; and it simply is not in the conditions of the case that they possibly can know what allowance to make for the factor of error. for the last three hours, as far as i can make out, they've just been talking in a circle, and going over and over the same ground. the size of the business is that half of them believe the priest captain is telling the truth, and the other half believe that he is lying. this is a matter of conviction; it is not a thing that they can argue about. as far as i can see, there is nothing to prevent them from keeping on talking without getting anywhere for the next twenty years." "well, all i can say," said young, "is that if they'll put me in th' cab, an' let me run their train for 'em, i'll get it up this grade in no time; an' what's more, i'll just take it down th' other side o' th' divide a-kitin'! what's th' matter with th' priest captain, an' only half of 'em have th' sense t' see 't, is that he's just solidly lyin'. he's been lyin' to 'em from away back, i reckon; an' he's lyin' to 'em now; an' he'll keep on lyin' to 'em right smack along till he gets t' th' end of his run. if they're fools enough t' believe him they're bound t' get left th' worst kind. they've got him in a hole now, an' he knows it--an' that's more'n they do, t' judge from th' way they're goin' on. i did have some respect for that council. so far, they've managed things first-rate. they've run in advance o' their schedule right along, an' they've kep' up a rattlin' head o' steam with mighty d----n bad coal. but if they really mean t' draw their fires, just when they ought t' put on th' forced draught an' let her go for all she's worth, i must say i haven't any more use for 'em. seein' 'em shilly-shallyin' around like they're doin' now, when they ought t' be takin' their coats off an' sailin' in, just makes me sick!" fray antonio--whose habit of quiet was such that he rarely sought to take part in the talks that we had in english among ourselves--somewhat surprised me by asking me to translate to him what young and rayburn had been saying; and when he had heard it all he was silent for a while, and evidently was engaged in earnest thought. at last, speaking very gravely, he asked us if we greatly feared being thrust out from the valley in case the council decided to accept the priest captain's terms; and without giving us a chance to answer, he bade us remember that we had not at all explored the last valley that we had passed through before we entered the cañon that ended at the barred pass, and that from it there well might be some outlet through which we could return to the civilized world; and even were we forced to end our days in it, he continued, speaking quickly and urgently, a much worse fate might come to us; for the valley was a bright and beautiful one, as we had seen, and had in it an abundant supply of food. would living there, he asked, be any worse for us than living where we then were--where we were equally shut in? and even supposing that the war ended in victory for us, and that our allies gave us entire freedom of action, what more could we do than end our days in the valley of aztlan, or else go back to that other valley and search for an outlet thence whereby we could get into an open way among the mountains, and so once more to our homes? and then, still denying us opportunity to answer, he went on to speak of the pain and misery and despairing sorrow that the threatened war would bring; and then, more gently, of the duty that pressed upon us of averting this calamity, that was also a crime, even though to do so we must sacrifice hopes and wishes very dear to our hearts. "what th' dickens is th' padre drivin' at, anyway?" young exclaimed; "i don't ketch on at all." "no more do i," said rayburn. "it's a first-rate sermon that he's giving us, but i don't see where he means the moral of it to fetch up." for myself, so closely were fray antonio and i bound together by bonds of sympathy, i saw but too plainly what he meant should be the outcome of his discourse; and i was not surprised, therefore--though hearing thus plainly expressed in words what i had been dreading, sent a dull, cold pain into the very depths of my heart--when he unfolded to us the whole of the plan that he had been forming within his mind. what he said was said very simply, and with a loving sorrow for the pain that might come to us through shaping our actions in accordance with his strong desire; and this desire was: that, of our own free-will, we should retire from the valley by the way that we came thither, and so leave the council free to accept unhesitatingly the priest captain's terms. "and what of yourself?" i asked; for i felt within me a strong conviction that for himself he had in view a very different fate. he hesitated for a moment before answering me, and his color changed a little; and then an unwonted ruddiness gave animation to his face, and a light of glad and strong resolve shone in his eyes as he replied, in a voice that was very low, and at the same time very clear and firm: "i shall go to the priest captain, in culhuacan!" "and so go to your death," i said, speaking brokenly, for the pain that his words caused me went through me like a knife-thrust. "say, rather," fray antonio answered, "that i go to win the life, glorious and eternal, into which neither death nor sin nor sorrow evermore can come!" xxviii. the surrender of a life. knowing as i did fray antonio's resolute nature, and understanding far more clearly than it was possible for the others to understand the heroic impulses which stirred within him, i took no part in the attempt that they then made to oppose the purpose which he had declared. but when they somewhat shifted their position--perceiving how hopeless was their effort to shake by argument his firm resolve--and sought to win him to their way of thinking by consenting to leave the valley if only he would accompany them, then i most earnestly joined my entreaties to theirs. but no more by entreaty than by argument was fray antonio to be moved. and, in truth, there was a logical consistency in what he urged in answer to us that, much though we might resent it, we yet were compelled to respect. he had come with us, he said, for the single purpose of preaching the saving grace of christianity to heathen souls which otherwise would perish utterly in their idolatry. and this was not a matter wherein he had any right of election, but was a solemn duty that the vows by which he was bound compelled him to fulfil. he was not free, therefore, as we were free, to consider side issues relating to his personal well-being or to mere expediency; his sole endeavor must be to accomplish by the most efficient means the duty wherewith he was charged. it was evident, he urged, that should there be war in the valley the chance for the further spread of christian doctrine would he scant; for the seed that he had sown, and that already was well rooted in many hearts, would die quickly and be utterly lost in the foul growth of evil passions which would spring up rankly amid this bloody strife. but if the war could be averted, not only would these people be spared the misery that war must bring upon them, and the crime also of slaying each other, but their hearts would remain open to the gentle doctrine that he had taught; and his willingness--should such sacrifice be necessary--to yield his life that peace might be preserved, would force upon them strongly the conviction, tending thus to their own strengthening, of his faithful trust in the creed which he avowed. and it well might happen, he said, that such grace would be given him that even within the very stronghold of the heathen faith he might win souls to the purer faith which it was his glorious privilege to preach and still remain unharmed; in proof of which possibility he cited the case of the blessed st. januarius, whom the lions refused to devour. but whatever might be the outcome of thus yielding himself into the priest captain's hands, his duty was so clear, he declared firmly, that no evasion of it was possible. and what he purposed doing, he said, finally, was but what countless of his brethren had done in the course of the six centuries since the founding in assisi of the order to which they and he belonged--and precisely was it what was done by the glorious proto-martyr of mexico, san felipe de jesus, who boldly carried the christian faith among the heathen, and so died for that faith upon the cross in japan. rayburn was far from willing to yield to this line of argument; yet he understood it, as i did also, and perceived that it was the only logical outcome of the only premises which fray antonio would recognize. young, on the other hand, did not in the least understand it, and fray antonio's reasoning simply threw him into a rage. "it's all d----n nonsense," he said, "for th' padre t' talk about his duty towards a set o' critters like th' priest captain's crowd. what's th' life o' that whole outfit worth compared t' one life like his? he might just as well sit down an' chop his own head off as go in among those fellows; an' he knows it, too. i never heard o' th' man he's talkin' about who didn't get eat up by th' lions--somebody in th' show business, i s'pose--but if he thinks there'll he anything worth speakin' of left of him two hours after he gets back into that city, he's makin' a pretty d--n big mistake. oh, i say, professor, we've _got_ t' stop this. th' padre's off his head, that's all there is to it; an' we've got t' look after him till he braces up an' gets sensible again. i'll do anything reasonable that he wants, but i'll be d----d if i'm goin' t' stand by doin' nothin' while he cuts his own throat!" young was quite ready, i am sure, to resort to the radical measure of clapping fray antonio into a strait-jacket; and had the opportunity arisen for bringing their difference of opinion to a practical issue i am confident that we should have witnessed an exceedingly curious conflict, in which heroic self-devotion would have struggled with a rough but very honest love. and that fray antonio anticipated such a conflict was shown by his taking effective measures to render it impossible. during the remainder of that day he steadfastly refused to discuss the matter further; not harshly, but by shifting away into other channels our earnest talk. only at night, before we lay down to sleep, of his own motion he turned once more to the matter; and when he briefly had exhibited to us again the motives which urged him forward upon a way so perilous, he begged that we would not think ill of his insisting upon traversing our wishes, but that once more we would clasp hands with him in sign of our forgiveness and continued love. so tender was the mood that came upon us with his gentle words that none of us well could answer him; and this he understood as in turn we took his hand and strove to utter that which was in our hearts, and only could say huskily a word or two, of which the meaning was conveyed for the most part by the sorrow and the longing that were in our tones. young's natural instincts were wholly opposed to any display of the softer emotions, and for shame of the weakness that in this case he could not help but show, his face and neck flushed red, and he declared that he had the toothache. and then, as a vent for his overwrought feelings--of all things in the world--he fell to cursing the superintendent of the old colony railroad: on the ground that but for this functionary, who most unjustifiably had discharged him, he never would have come to mexico at all! for my own part, i was well convinced that fray antonio meant then to say good-bye to us; and for a long while, as i lay awake that night, my thoughts went backward over the time that we had been companions together, and so dwelt upon the faithfulness of his friendship, and upon his gallant bearing in all times of peril, and upon the pure and perfect holiness which characterized his every act and word. into the future i dared not let my thoughts wander, for i could foresee no outcome to the purpose which he had planned so resolutely but a dreary sorrow that would rest heavily upon me through all the remainder of my days. and at last, worn out by my own grief, i fell into a troubled sleep. the faint gray light of early morning shone dimly in the room as rayburn awakened me by shaking my arm; and the first words which he spoke to me were, "the padre is not here!" as i roused myself fully, and sat up and looked into his face, i saw by the look that he gave me how fully he shared the dread that was in my heart. young still was sleeping, and we waited to rouse him until we should make sure that what we feared must be the truth really was true. together we went out quietly into the court-yard and so to the main entrance of the building, where a guard was stationed. but this man was asleep; and when i wakened him, and questioned him as to whether the monk had gone forth, he could give me no answer. therefore we went on to the gate of the citadel--which gate, being a vastly heavy grating, raised and lowered by chains, was not usually closed even at night--in the hope that there we might gain some certain knowledge. and here also we found all of the half-dozen men on guard slumbering, saving only one man, who seemed to have been aroused by the sound of our footsteps, and who raised himself on one elbow and looked at us with a sleepy curiosity. [illustration: in the gate-way of the citadel] even the urgency of the quest that we were upon did not suffice to distract our attention from the peril that we all were in because of the slumbering of these sentries. "if this is a specimen of the way all the watches are kept," rayburn said, angrily, "we stand a pretty good chance of being murdered in our beds. it all comes of trying to make soldiers out of savages. these tlahuicos will fight well enough, i never doubted that, but to put such men on guard is simple idiocy. they have been slaves all their lives, and they haven't the least notion in the world of personal responsibility. it's a lucky thing that we have found out their methods, for i shall give the colonel a talking to about putting on guard some of his own men who can be trusted. it's clear that these fellows cannot tell us anything. we'd better keep on down to the landing; if the padre has gone"--there was a sudden break in rayburn's voice as he said these words--"it's pretty certain that he has gone by water, and we may come across somebody down there who happened to be awake and saw him start." there were slight signs of wakefulness beginning to show themselves as we went down towards the water-side; a few doors already were open; here and there thin threads of smoke curled upward through the still air; around a fountain a half-dozen women were clustered, drawing water in great earthen pots, and chattering together softly in half-drowsy talk. at the pier, however, we found some people who really were wide-awake: fishermen just returned with a boat-load of fish that they had caught in the lake. and these, when i questioned them, in a moment resolved all of our troubled doubts into a sad certainty. only an hour before, as they lay out on the lake, a canoe had passed them paddled by a single indian, and in the canoe they had plainly recognized fray antonio. it was impossible that they should be mistaken, they declared, for the habit which the monk wore made him very plainly recognizable; and they had observed him with a particular care, for they had been greatly surprised by perceiving that the canoe was heading directly for "the great city"--by which name all save the priests were accustomed to speak of culhuacan. neither rayburn nor i spoke, as we walked back together through the town to the citadel. our hearts were altogether too full for words. even i, who had been in part prepared for fray antonio's departure by the tenor of his speech with us the night before, had not anticipated his going from us so suddenly to what surely must be his death; and to rayburn his departure came with the startling force of a heavy and unexpected blow. young was awake when we returned, and was in much anxiety concerning us; for our custom at all times was to hold closely together, and he knew that something out of the common must have happened to make us break through this very necessary rule; and his fears were further aroused when he perceived the sad gravity of our faces, and that fray antonio was not in our company. yet, though thus prepared to learn that evil of some sort had overtaken us, he was not at all prepared to learn how great that evil was. when, therefore, we told him of what we had discovered, which gave absolute assurance that fray antonio had carried out his purpose of surrendering himself into the priest captain's hands, young stared at us for a moment in a dazed sort of way, as though by no means grasping the meaning which our words conveyed. and then the whole meaning of them seemed to come to him suddenly, and he burst forth into such a raving volley of curses that it seemed as though he were fairly maddened by his ungoverned rage. i envied young, as i am sure rayburn did also, the relief that must come to him with this rough but frank and natural expression of his bitter grief. for ourselves, we stood sad and silent, yet with our hearts almost breaking within us, as we thought how small was the chance that ever in this world should we see the face of fray antonio again. xxix. the assault in the night. neither the council, in its irresolute parleyings, nor fray antonio, in his resolute action, had at all considered certain factors which they themselves had interjected into the problem that they then were dealing with from such widely different stand-points and in such widely different ways. the council, at a stroke, had transformed the tlahuicos into soldiers, and had given the promise that in reward for their faithfulness and valor these slaves thenceforward should be freemen. fray antonio had preached to all those assembled at huitzilan a creed that had taken strong hold upon many hearts, and that especially had won the hearts of those of the long-oppressed servile class--to whom its doctrine of equality seemed to hold out an absolute assurance that their life of slavery was at an end. when, therefore, the terms which the priest captain offered were spread abroad through the town, and through the camp close beside the town in which the army lay--being there in readiness instantly to occupy the citadel should the enemy appear--a very lively anger was aroused because such terms should even be listened to. for what the priest captain demanded was that the apostle of the new religion should be relinquished to him to be slain as a sacrifice to the aztec gods, and that once more the tlahuicos should be thrust back into slavery; while what he conceded--in that it affected only the higher classes--made the lot of the tlahuicos but the more unjustly cruel and hard to bear. and those who resented the delay on the part of the council in sending back the priest captain's envoy with a sharp denial, presently went on from hot words to violent deeds; being directly led from mutinous talk to mutinous action by the knowledge that the council had so far accepted the offered terms as to send fray antonio to the great city to be slain--for not one among them could be led for a moment to believe, so impossible from their stand-point did such an act appear, that the monk truly had gone thither of his own free-will. practically, the whole army was involved in the movement that then took place; for even its officers, while not of the servile class, dreaded the punishment that their revolt might bring upon them, and so preferred to take the chances of the war rather than to yield themselves to be dealt with as the priest captain might dispose. therefore it was, on the day that fray antonio departed from us, that all the soldiers together marched in from their camp and massed themselves compactly about the council chamber within the citadel, and then with loud cries demanded that the envoy should be sent back to the great city with an absolute refusal of the offered terms. thus was there created a rebellion within a rebellion; and one that the council was powerless to put down, for the reason that practically the whole of the force which it had created to serve against the enemy was now risen against its own authority with a most masterful strength. in the case that thus was presented there was no opportunity to temporize. the fierce, wild creatures of whom soldiers suddenly had been made stood there before the council chamber, shouting and waving their spears angrily and clashing together their arms. and so they continued, without one moment of quiet, until their will was obeyed. through the savage and tumultuous throng the envoy was led forth--his looks showing plainly his very natural expectation that his life would be let out of him amid that ferocious company--and so down to the water-side; and thence was sent back again to culhuacan with the firm assurance--which message of defiance the soldiers themselves dictated--that the terms offered by the priest captain would be accepted only when all the tlahuicos then risen together in arms against him had been slain! "bully for th' tlahuicos!" cried young, as i translated to him these ringing words. "just tell 'em, professor, that i've volunteered for three years or th' war, an' that they can count on me t' keep up a full head o' steam as long as there's any fightin' t' be done. accordin' t' my notions, now that th' padre's over there in th' city--t' say nothin' o' what we owe 'em on pablo's account--th' row can't begin one minute too soon. these tlahuicos are th' boys for me! didn't i tell you that nobody could stop 'em when they once got fairly started? they're a tough lot; but they're just everlastin' rustlers--an' their style suits me right now all th' way down t' th' ground floor!" the sharp excitement attendant upon this vigorous action gave place, as the day wore on, to a dull heavy pain as our thoughts dwelt upon the fate that fray antonio had gone forth to meet, and upon our present powerlessness to defend him in any way against it. although the envoy had been sent back, and war was now resolutely determined upon, the situation remained unchanged in so far as concerned the necessity of our waiting for the priest captain to take the initiative. to attack that great walled city was so hopeless a task that even the tlahuicos--flushed though they were by their victory over the council--did not venture to propose it; for they knew, as we all did, that our only chance of carrying the enemy's stronghold lay in first defeating its garrison in a battle in the open field. yet this dull inaction of waiting was a scarce of grave danger to us, in that it tended to wear out the spirits of our men and to make them still more careless of their guard. what rayburn and i had seen that morning had shown how little trust could be placed in them, in so far as the soldierly attribute of watchfulness was concerned; and tizoc, with whom we conferred in regard to this important matter, had little to say that we found comforting. being himself a thorough soldier, he perceived the danger to which the unsoldierly lack of vigilance on the part of the tlahuicos exposed our camp; but the situation was such that he was powerless to take effective measures for our protection. the few regular troops in our little army were not enough to do sentry duty everywhere, and the best that could be done would be to dispose them at the points most open to attack--"and then trust to luck," rayburn put in, rather bitterly, "that the enemy will be polite enough to try to surprise only the part of the camp where the sentries are awake!" partly that we might see for ourselves how our pickets were disposed, but more that by action of any sort we might divert our thoughts from the sorrow that was gnawing at our hearts, we walked out together in the late afternoon to the rocky heights of the promontory that on the western side of the town extended far into the lake. from a military stand-point this position was of great importance to us, inasmuch as bowmen or slingmen gaining access to it could command a considerable part of the town, and even could annoy very seriously the garrison of the citadel; and it also was of value to us as a place of lookout whence an attacking party coming by way of the lake from the city could be perceived while yet it was a long way off. we were surprised, therefore, when we had come well out upon the promontory, that no sentinel challenged us; but our surprise vanished a moment or two later as we perceived one of our men curled up comfortably against a sunny rock and apparently sound asleep. however, as we got close to the man it was clear to us that his sleep was one that he never would waken from, for a pool of blood stained the rock beside him, and an arrow was shot fairly through his heart. we made but a short stop beside this fellow--who plainly had been shot in his sleep, and so deserved the fate that had overtaken him--and then went forward anxiously that we might see how the other sentinels stationed hereabouts had fared. the result of our quest was as bad as it could be; for in one place or another among the rocks we found all five of the men who had been posted upon the promontory, and all of them were dead. three more of them certainly had been shot while asleep or wholly off their guard, as was shown by the easy attitudes in which we found them sitting or lying among the rocks. the fifth had not been instantly killed; as we inferred from finding a broken arrow sticking in his left arm, and some signs of a struggle about where he lay, and a great split in his skull, as from a sword stroke, that finally had let the life out of him. it struck us as strange that this man had not aroused the camp with his shouts; but his post was at the extreme end of the promontory, so that he must have called very loudly in order to be heard; and it was possible that in the suddenness of his danger he never thought to call at all. however, the important matter, so far as we were concerned, was that these five sentinels had been slain close beside the town and in broad daylight, and that but for the chance of our coming out upon the promontory the most important of our outposts would have remained unguarded until the night relief should have come on. it was rayburn's theory that the plan of the enemy was to place his own men on the vacant posts--trusting to the reasonable certainty that in the dusk of evening one naked indian would look much like another--and so despatch the relief, one by one, as the guard was changed. of those of the enemy who had accomplished this piece of work so skilfully we could see no sign--unless it were a boat that we dimly saw a long way off on the lake, and that presently wholly disappeared in a bank of haze; and despite the hot sunshine basking upon us a chill went through me at thought of the stealthy daring and truly devilish cunning of the men who thus could do their evil work in the full light of day, and close to the encampment of an army, and yet could get safely away without leaving a trace of their presence save the dead bodies of their foes. having made sure by carefully searching among the rocks throughout the length of the promontory that none of the enemy was hidden there, we hastened back to the town to tell what we had come upon, and to provide for mounting fresh sentinels in the place of those who had been relieved by death. we had expected that the news which we brought would stir up a great commotion; and we were not a little troubled, therefore, knowing how serious the matter was in its exhibition of the carelessness of our guards, by finding that only tizoc and a few other tried soldiers were more than lightly discomposed by what we had to tell. the general feeling seemed to be--inasmuch as our lucky discovery had dispelled the danger--that there was no need to worry about a calamity which had not occurred; and what after all was the most essential consideration--the constant danger that threatened us by reason of the criminal laxity of the watch maintained by our pickets--practically was lost sight of. apparently neither the council nor the higher officers of the army had the power to remedy this dangerous condition of affairs. at no time had any very strong authority been exercised over the tlahuicos--for all the orders which until now had been given to them had been directed only towards urging them along a way that they were glad enough to follow of their own accord--and since their assertion of their will that morning, what little control had restrained their waywardness seemed to have been wholly lost. however, as there was a chance in it of fighting, and as fighting was what they longed for earnestly, our unruly soldiers were willing enough that a strong detachment should be placed in ambush on the promontory, to the end that the force which the enemy probably would land there that night might be summarily dealt with. and the better to carry out our plan of a counter-surprise the dead sentinels were left where we found them. tizoc was given the command of the ambushed force, and he willingly granted our request that we might accompany him; which request was prompted by the desire that we fully shared with the tlahuicos to get at close quarters with the enemy, and also by the conviction that in tizoc's company--though in his company we were like to have hot fighting and plenty of it--we would have better chances of safety than anywhere else in all our camp. for this expedition we put on for the first time our armor of quilted cotton cloth; and the look of these garments certainly did justify young's comments upon them. "it's a pity we can't get photographed now," he said, "so's t' send our likenesses in this rig home t' our folks. you'd just jolt the cap cod folks, rayburn, with that pair o' telegraph poles you call your legs stickin' out from under th' tails o' that thing that looks like a cross between a badly made frock-coat and an undersized night-shirt. and i guess your college boys 'd be jolted, too, professor, if they could get a squint at you. and i s'pose that if some o' th' hands on th' old colony happened t' ketch up with me dressed this way they'd think i'd gone crazy. but i haven't got anything t' say against these little night-shirts except about their looks. when you get right down t' th' hard-pan with 'em, they're a first-rate thing." for three american citizens, belonging to the nineteenth century, we certainly presented a strange appearance, and appeared also in very strange company, as we marched out from the town late that afternoon with tizoc and his men. each of us carried half a dozen darts, and strapped around our waists, outside our cotton-cloth armor, we each wore a maccahuitl--the heavy sword with a jagged double edge that we knew from experience was an excellent weapon when wielded by a strong hand. indeed, young and i carried the darts rather to satisfy tizoc than because we expected to make any very effective use of them, and all of our reliance both for assault and defence was upon what we could do with our swords at close quarters. rayburn, however, had been practising dart-throwing very diligently, and as he naturally was an extraordinarily dextrous man he had made rapid progress in this savage art. the soldiers in our company, naked creatures, lithe and sinewy, were armed for the most part with spears and slings; and the officers wore each a sword and carried each a handful of darts. as we all stepped out briskly together i could not but think how amazed would be the president of the university of michigan, and my fellow-members of the faculty of that institution of learning, should they happen to encounter me in that barbarous company, and arrayed in that most barbarous garb! [illustration: the last rally] it was a little before sunset when we reached the place that tizoc had selected for our ambush upon the promontory; and an hour later, just as the shadows of evening were beginning to fall, one of our lookout men reported that a large boat--of which the oars must be muffled, for no sound came from it--was pulling around a point just beyond where we lay. there was a little stir among our men when this news was received, and a shifting and arranging of weapons, so that all might be in readiness when the moment for opening the ambush came; but we had a picked force with us, each man of which fully understood how necessary was silence to the success of our plans, and the quick thrill of movement was so guarded that it scarcely ruffled the deep stillness of the night. but the moments lengthened out into minutes, and the minutes slowly slipped by until a full hour had passed, and the thick darkness of tropical night was upon us, and still there was no sign of a foe. tizoc grew uneasy, for it was evident that we were in error in our conception of the enemy's plan. had he intend-to mount his own men as sentinels in place of our men whom he had slain, and then get save possession of the promontory by killing the relief as it came on, we should have been long since engaged with him; but here the night was wearing on, and, excepting only the boat that our scouts had seen, there had been nothing to show that the attack which we had expected so confidently was anything more than a creation of our own fears. yet our only course was to remain where we were until morning; for some accident might have delayed the attack, and the necessity of holding the promontory was so urgent that we could not take the risk of withdrawing our force. it was weary work sitting there in the darkness, after all the weariness of so exciting a day, and as the hours dragged on i found myself now and then sinking into a doze, for which i reproached myself; yet also excused myself by the reflection that i did not at all profess to have either the training or the instincts of a soldier, but had been brought up, as a man of peace and as a scholar, in accordance with the sound principle that night rationally is the time set apart for sleep. it was from a most agreeable nap--in which i was dreaming pleasantly of my old life in ann arbor--that i was roused suddenly by rayburn's quick grip upon my shoulder, and by his sharp whisper, "what's that?" in an instant i was thoroughly awake, and as i bent forward and listened intently i heard very distinctly a faint cry of alarm, that seemed to come from a long way off. tizoc, i perceived--for he had risen to his feet--also was most eagerly listening; and i heard a slight sound of movement and of arms clinking as our men roused themselves, showing that they also had heard that warning cry. but in a moment there was no need to strain our ears to catch the sounds which came to us. the cry that a single throat had uttered was taken up by a thousand; and so grew into a dull, distant roar, that pierced the black and sullen stillness of the night. and with this came also the higher notes of savage yells, and then we heard the clash of arms--which evidence that fighting was going on, no less than the direction whence, as we now perceived clearly, the sounds came, assured us that while we had maintained our watchful guard on the promontory the enemy had surprised our camp. rayburn sprang up with a growl like that of a savage beast. "by g----d!" he cried, "they meant us to do just what we've done, and we've walked into their trap like so many d----n fools!" xxx. the fall of the citadel. tizoc, i was glad to see, had his men well under his command, as was shown by the orderly manner in which they waited, despite their eager impatience to be off, until he gave the command to march. and hard marching we found it, as we floundered about that rough, rocky place, tripping and stumbling, and now and then hearing a crash in the darkness as one of our men went down. but, somehow or other, we certainly managed to get over the ground very rapidly; and all the while the sounds of the fight that was raging hotly struck with a constantly increasing clearness upon our ears. the whole width of the town lay between our camp and the foot of the rugged path that led down from the promontory; but when we were fairly in the streets, and no longer had rough rocks to stumble over in the darkness, we went forward at a very slashing pace. and we were further helped now by the fact that day was breaking, so that we could see clearly where we were going; and we had also within us that feeling of cheer and encouragement that ever is given to man by the return of the sun. in but a few minutes more, in that tropical region, a flood of daylight would be about us; and tizoc's hope was that when the horror of darkness, ever appalling to barbarians, should be lifted, and when our coming should afford a firm centre to rally around, our army might regain the courage and steadiness which it had lost in the terror and bewilderment of a night surprise. but he quickly found that this hope was doomed to disappointment. only a little beyond the gate of the citadel we came upon a flying body of tlahuicos--though no pursuers were in sight beyond them--and these were so completely demoralized that they took our company for a detachment of the enemy, and with wild cries fled away from us down a side street and so disappeared. "what do you think of your friends now?" rayburn asked young, grimly. but young's only answer was to curse the vanished tlahuicos for cowards. a moment later the whole street in front of us was filled with a howling mob of our men, and these came surging towards us with the evident intention of seeking safety in the citadel. tizoc saw at a glance the hopelessness of trying to rally a rout like this until the terrified creatures, fleeing like sheep from a pack of wolves, had been given rest for a while in some safe place where their courage might return to them. being once within the citadel they would be for a time wholly out of danger; for even should the enemy try to set scaling-ladders in place, and so break in upon us there, it would be an easy matter for a few determined men to hold the walls until some sort of order had been restored among our broken forces. tizoc therefore promptly wheeled our little force aside into an open space, and so made a way for the struggling crowd to sweep past us. we noted, as the stream of terror-stricken men flowed by, that their officers were not with them; from which tizoc drew the hopeful augury that the officers, being all trained soldiers, had drawn together into a rear-guard that sought to cover this wild retreat. and presently we found that tizoc was right in his inference, for soon the crowd began very perceptibly to grow thinner, and the sound of loud cries and the rattle and clashing of arms rang out above the tumult, and then there came around a turn in the street, a little beyond where we had halted, a compact body of men who were falling back slowly, and who were laying about them most valiantly with their swords. our party gave a yell, by way of putting fresh heart into these gallant fellows, and tizoc quickly disposed our company in such a manner that the retreating force fell back through our midst; and then we promptly closed in, and so took the fighting to ourselves. i cannot tell very clearly how our retreat to the citadel was managed, nor even of my own part in it; for fighting is but rough, wild work, which defies all attempts at scientific accuracy in describing it--and for the reason, i fancy, that it engenders a wholly unscientific frame of mind. reduced to its lowest terms, fighting is mere barbarity; a most illogical method of settling some disputed question by brute force instead of by the refined reasoning processes of the intelligent human mind; and by the anger that it inevitably begets, the habit of accurate observation, out of which alone can come accurate description, is hopelessly confused. therefore i can say only that foot by foot we yielded the ground to the enemy that pressed upon us; that wild shouts rang out--in which i myself joined, though why i should have shouted i am sure i do not know--together with the sharp rattle of clashing swords; and that through the roar of this outburst of fierce sounds there ran an undertone of groans and sobs from the poor wretches who had fallen wounded to the ground. the one thing that i remember clearly is a set-to with swords that i had with a big fellow, just as we had come close to the citadel, that ended in a way (that would have surprised him mightily had he lived long enough to comprehend it) by my finishing him by means of a stop-thrust followed by a beautiful draw-cut that was a famous stroke with my old sabre-master at leipsic. and i well remember thinking, at the moment that i made this stroke--and so saved my life by it, for the fellow was pressing me very closely--how happy it would have made the old rittmeister could he have seen me deliver it. as we made a rush for the gate of the citadel, that we might get inside this place of safety and drop the grating before the enemy could follow us, we were surprised by finding many of our own men lying dead about the entrance; and what was far worse for us, we found that unskilled hands had been at work with the machinery whereby the gate was lowered and by their bungling had managed to start it downward in such a way that it had jammed in the grooves. what actually had happened there, as we knew afterwards, was that the first of the cowardly wretches who had entered the citadel had tried to drop the gate in the faces of their companions and so secure their own safety; whence a fight among themselves had sprung up, in course of which many of them very deservedly were slain, and, most unhappily for us, their frantic efforts to lower the gate had resulted in thus disabling it. we had a moment of breathing space before the enemy came up with us, and in this time rayburn and young and i had a grip of each other's hands, in which, without any words over it, we said good-bye to each other; for we neither of us for one moment doubted that our last hour had come. tizoc stood a little distance from us, as steady and as gallant in his bearing as ever i saw a man; but that he also counted surely upon dying there was shown by the glance of grave friendliness that he gave us, and by his making the gesture that among his people is significant of farewell. then we ranged ourselves across the gate-way, holding our swords in hand firmly, and rayburn, who had caught up a javelin, stood with it poised above his shoulder in readiness to discharge it as the enemy came on. the sight of his splendid figure towering defiantly in that heroic attitude set my mind to running upon the homeric legend of the glorious battling of the greeks before the gates of troy, and of hector uplifting the rock; and i was very angry with young, whose disposition to seize upon the whimsical side of everything was the most irrepressible that ever i came across, when he exclaimed: "i'll bet you five dollars, rayburn, that when you throw that clothes-prop you don't hit th' man you fire at!" but rayburn did hit his man, straight in the heart too, a moment later, as the enemy with a wild yell charged us; and then, with his back set well against the wall, he fell to work most gallantly with his sword. from the very beginning of it we knew that our fighting was utterly hopeless; for all of our company together did not number fifty men, and we were confronting there a whole army. up the street, as far as we could see, the troops of the enemy were solidly massed; and for every man whom we struck down twenty were ready to spring forward, fresh and vigorous, to exhaust still further the strength that rapidly was leaving us. that we fought on was due not to our valor but to our desperation; and also--at least such was my own feeling--to a swelling rage that made us long to kill as many as possible of these savages before we ourselves died beneath their blows. death, we knew, was the best thing that could happen to us; for it would save us from the worse fate, that surely would come to us should we be captured, of being turned over to the priests, that they might torture us before their heathen altars, and in the end tear our still quivering hearts out. and that the wish of our enemies--according to the aztec custom--was rather to capture us than to kill us was shown by the way in which they fought; for all their effort was to disable us, and so to take us alive; nor did they seem to have any great care, if only this purpose could be accomplished, how many of themselves were slain. sometimes in my dreams the wild commotion of that most desperate combat comes back to me. i see again before me the crowd of half-naked men, curving in a semicircle measured by the length of my sword, their faces distorted by the passionate anger that stirred their souls; and i see one fierce face after another lose out of it the look of life, yet not the look of hate, as my sword crunches into the vitals of the body to which it belongs; and i hear the wild din around me, and the yells of rage and of pain, and my feet tread in slippery pools of blood, and my body aches with weariness, and sharp thrills of agony dart through the strained muscles of my right arm--yet still i fight on, and on. and, truly, all this seems more real to me now in my sleep than it did to me then in its reality; for a dull weight of most desolate hopelessness settled down upon me as i fought out to the end that most hopeless battle--so that my spirit shared in the numbness of my body, and i cut and parried and gave men their death-blows with the stolid energy of a mere death-dealing machine. it had been from the first no more than a question of minutes how long this unequal fight would last; and when i heard a great yell from the enemy, and perceived a flood of soldiers swirling inward through the gate-way just beyond the fellows whom i was dealing with, i knew that tizoc's men had been beaten down or slain, and that the end was very near at hand. as i glanced across the shoulders of the man whom i just then put forever on the list of the non-combatants, i saw what seemed to be an eddy in the midst of the crowd that was rushing into the citadel; and in the thick of the tightly knotted group that thus choked the narrow way i saw tizoc still laying about him with his sword. he was a very ghastly object, for a cut on his head had loosened a piece of his scalp, that hung down over his forehead and waved and trembled there like a draggled plume; his face was bathed in blood from this horrid wound, and his armor of cotton cloth was soaked with the blood that had run down upon it from the cut in his head, and also from a wound in his neck. in the moment that i had free sight of him he made as fine a sword-stroke as ever i saw, wherewith he fairly severed from its body the head of one of his assailants; and at the very same instant, while that head still was spinning in the air, a man directly behind him forced back the pressing crowd by main strength and so gained a free space in which to swing his sword. i shouted to tizoc to warn him of the danger, and he half turned to ward against it; but before he could turn wholly around the blow had fallen, splitting his whole head open from the crown to the very chin. and in the midst of the fierce yell of triumph that went up as this cowardly stroke was delivered there passed from earth the soul of as brave and as true a man as earth has ever known. a dizziness came over me as i saw tizoc fall, and saw in the same moment the wild rush forward of the enemy over his dead body into the citadel; and so i suppose that what with this dizziness and my great weariness i must have dropped my guard. i faintly remember hearing a shout of warning from young, who was close beside me, which shout mingled with the shrieks of those inside the citadel whom the enemy everywhere were cutting down, and the great roar of victory that went up from all the army, both within and without the citadel, rising tempestuously in mighty waves of sound: and then a crash like that of a thunder-bolt burst directly upon my head, and a sickening pain shot through me, and i seemed to be falling through untold depths into vast gloomy chasms (so that i thought i was dropping once more into the hollow darkness of the cañon), and there was a very dreadful surging and roaring and ringing in my ears; and then all this horror of evil sounds grew fainter, and i felt myself slipping quickly into the awful stillness and blackness that i surely thought must be the entrance-way to death. and with this thought a numb sort of gladness came over me, for in death there was promise of restfulness and peace. xxxi. defeat. after all, the life that i thought was lost, and had but little sorrow for the losing of it, slowly came back to me again. for a good while before i recovered consciousness fully, i understood a little of what was going on around me by sounds which, no doubt, were loud and ringing, yet which seemed to me to come faintly from a long way off. they plainly were the sounds of fighting--of weapons rattling together, of shouts and yells and death-cries--but i did not associate them with our present battling, but thought that we still were in the cañon, and were still fighting those wild indians by whom poor dennis was slain. and i knew that i had been hurt badly; for in my head was a throbbing pain so keen that it seemed like to split my skull open, and my stomach was stirred by most distressing qualms, and my weakness was such that i could not ease the sore muscles of my body by moving by so much as a hair's-breadth from the cramped position in which i lay. it seemed to me a vastly long while that i remained in this dreary condition of half-consciousness, with no certain knowledge of anything save the pain that i suffered; and then i felt some one touch me, and a hand laid upon my heart; and this touch so far roused me that i heaved a long sigh and slowly opened my eyes. for a moment i did not know the face that i saw bending over me; nor was this wonderful, for in place of its usual ruddiness was a death-like pallor, that was the more marked by contrast with the blood that trickled down over it from a great gash across the brow whereby the bone was laid bare. but there was no mistaking the voice that called out: "he's alive, rayburn!" and added, "i don't see what right he's got t' be alive, either, after a crack like that. i guess studyin' antiquities must everlastin'ly harden an' thicken a man's skull!" "studying engineering doesn't harden a man's leg, anyway," i heard rayburn answer. "that cut pretty near took mine off. but now that we've stopped the bleeding i guess i'm all right. i think i can work over to you on my hands and knees and help you with the professor. now that i know he's alive i seem to be a lot more alive myself." "just you stay where you are," young called back, sharply. "if you move you'll start that bandage an' i'll have t' tie you up all over again. i'll attend t' th' professor." and then young bent over me, and, with a tenderness that i never would have thought his rough hands capable of, set himself to bandaging my wounded head. but the best thing that he did for me was to give me a draught of water from a gourd that had been slung about the neck of one of the soldiers lying dead there; which draught, with the comfort that the cool wet bandage about my head gave me, brought back to me so much of my strength that i was able presently to sit up and look around. truly, a more ghastly sight than that which my eyes then rested upon i never saw. the gate-way of the citadel was a very shambles. piles of dead men lay all around me; and the prodigious number of the enemy lying slain there testified with a mute eloquence to the desperate fashion in which our handful of men had fought. over the rough pavement, down the slope towards the lake, there flowed a stream of bright red blood that in places shone a brilliant vermilion where it was touched by the glintings of the sun. among the dead i did not see tizoc's body, and for this i was glad. half a dozen of the enemy stood by us as a guard; but these suffered us to minister to each other, evidently feeling that no great amount of caution was necessary in dealing with three badly wounded men. indeed, these guards, in their way, manifested a kindly feeling for us; for when they perceived that our gourd of water was empty one of them picked up another full gourd from amid the dead and handed it to us. from inside the citadel there still came a tumult of fierce sounds which gave proof that though the battle--if it could be called a battle--was ended the work of killing still was going on; but these sounds sensibly diminished while we lay there waiting to know what fate would come to us, and we concluded, therefore, that there remained no more rebels to be slain. rayburn was seated upon the ground at no great distance from me, his back propped against the wall. as he saw that i was looking towards him, and had again my wits about me, he greeted me with a very melancholy smile. "it's been a pretty cold day for us, professor," he said, "and there's no great comfort in knowing that it's partly our own fault that these fellows have laid us out. i didn't give them credit for such good tactics; and even with the bad watch that we kept i don't see how they managed to get their men round on the other side of our camp. well, it must please them to know how straight we walked into the trap that they set for us, like the pack of fools that we were." "you won't ketch me joinin' in any more indian revolutions, anyway," young put in. "i did think i could bet on those tlahuicos, an' they've just gone back on us th' worst kind. do you feel strong enough, professor, to tie th' ends o' this rag?" he had been binding up the cut in his forehead, and now he got down on his hands and knees in front of me, and bent his head down within easy reach of my hands; and my strength had so far returned to me that without being very tired after it i was able to make the ends of the bandage fast. the blow on his head had glanced from the skull, luckily; but it had been heavy enough to stun him for some minutes after he received it--and his falling as though dead had been the means, no doubt, of saving his life, even as in the same manner my life had been saved. rayburn's wound was a worse one than either young's or mine, for a great gash in his thigh had wellnigh cut his leg off, and until, with young's help, he had improvised a tourniquet, from a bowstring and a broken fragment of a javelin, he had been in great danger of bleeding to death. for more than an hour we were suffered to lie in the gate-way; while the work went on of slaying the wretched tlahuicos, and then of marshalling the more important personages who had been reserved alive as prisoners, and, finally, of restoring order in the victorious ranks. at the end of this time an officer with a squad of men came to where we were lying, and roughly ordered us to rise, to the end that we also might be placed among the prisoners. young and i had so far recovered our strength that we managed to scramble on our feet with no great difficulty; though in my case this exertion, which made the blood flow more briskly in my veins, suddenly increased so greatly the pain in my head as to bring upon me for a little while a dizziness that compelled me to lean against the wall for support. in rayburn's case standing was quite out of the question; and i shortly told the officer in what manner he was wounded, and that to make him rise and walk assuredly would start the bandage on his leg, and so lead to his quickly bleeding to death. thereupon the officer gave an order to some of his men to fetch a stretcher such as their own wounded were carried in; yet at the same time he said to me: "this companion of yours is a brave man; and but for my orders, i would loosen the bandage with my own hands, and so let him die without further pain;" which speech, notwithstanding the obviously kind intention of it, i did not translate to rayburn at that time. while we waited for the stretcher to be brought, the soldiers fastened about young's neck and about mine heavy wooden collars, which set well out over our shoulders and were not unlike great ruffs. i confess that for my own part my professional interest in this curious piece of gear entirely overcame my repugnance to wearing it, for i instantly recognized it as the cuauh-cozatl, with which, as the ancient records tell us, the aztecs were accustomed to secure their prisoners of war. but young, who could not be expected to share in my delight at seeing actually alive, and ourselves made party to it, a custom that was supposed to have been extinguished to more than three centuries, grew exceedingly indignant at having thus placed about his neck what he coarsely described as "an overgrown d----n goose-yoke." nor was i at all successful in my attempt to soothe him by telling him that the discomfort to which we were subjected was a very trifling matter in comparison with the gain to the science of archeology that flowed from this positive identification of an exceedingly interesting historical fact. "oh, come off, professor," he growled. "what th' d----l do i care for historical facts, or for historical lies either?--an' they're all about th' same thing. what i want t' do is t' punch th' head o' th' fellow who put this thing on me, an' i can't. they'll be hangin' me up by my heels an' stickin' a corn-cob in my mouth next, i s'pose, an' makin' a regular stuck-pig out o' me; an' then likely enough you'll try t' make me believe that _that_ proves something or other that nobody but you thinks ever happened, an' so want me t' feel pleased about it. antiquities be d----d! i've had as much of' em as i want, an' more too!" while the collars were being placed about our necks, and while rayburn was being lifted upon the stretcher which the soldiers had brought, we heard from within the citadel the sound of drums tapping, and then the measured tread of soldiers marching; and as we looked through the gate-way we saw that the troops had been formed in regular order and were moving towards us. at the head of the column were the prisoners--numbering three or four hundred, and all wearing wooden collars about their necks--covered on both flanks by a strong line of guards. they were ranged in order of their dignity, the unlucky members of the council coming first, and after them the other officers of that short-lived government; then the military officers, and in the rear a few private soldiers. the fact that no tlahuicos were among the prisoners led me to conclude that such of these as had not been slain had been held under guard until they might be returned to their owners or set again to toiling hopelessly in the mine. the importance that in the estimation of our captors attached to ourselves was shown by their placing us at the very head of the column, in advance even of the members of the council; and this was a compliment that we willingly enough would have declined, for such honorable consideration, according to the customs of this people, meant surely that we were reserved for a very exemplary fate. but we were in no position to raise objections of any sort just then, and we therefore fell into the place assigned to us and tried as well as we could to show a bold front as we went downward towards the lake. only a few terrified women and children, who fled away as we advanced, were in sight as we passed through the streets of the town; and from many of the hovels came the moans of poor wounded wretches who had crawled to their miserable homes to die in them; and from others came the lamentations of women over their dead; and in nooks and corners, whither with their last strength they had dragged themselves, we saw men lying dead in pools of their own blood. but down by the water-side there were live men in plenty, soldiers and oarsmen, and the pier was crowded with them; while out beyond the pier the whole bay was swarming with the boats in which the enemy's forces had stolen down upon us in the darkness from culhuacan; making their landing, as we now learned, just beyond the town in a bay that ran up close to where our army was encamped. and this scene of bustling activity in the bright sunshine made a joyous and brilliant picture; that was all the brighter because of its setting in that sunlit bay, opening out between beaches of golden-yellow sand upon the broad expanse of restful water which fell away in gleaming splendor into a bank of soft gray haze. but the picture was still more stirring that we saw as we looked landward, when the barge that we were put aboard of pulled out from the pier and our rowers lay on their oars, and so waited while the work of embarkation went on. right in front of us was the broad central street of the town; and the whole length of this, from the pier to the citadel, was filled with a solidly massed body of soldiers that came down the steep descent slowly, and halting often, to the boats which were in waiting to bear them away. barbarians though they were, these soldiers made a gallant showing. in front of each regiment was borne its feather standard, and in the midst of each company was its rallying flag of brightly painted cotton cloth. the higher officers wore wooden casques, carved and painted in the semblance of the heads of ferocious beasts; the cotton-cloth armor of all the officers was decked with a great variety of strange devices, wrought in very lively hues, and similarly strong hues were used in the decoration of the universally-carried light round shields. and all this brilliant color, the more vivid because of its background of bare brown skins, was flecked with a thousand glittering points of light where the sunshine sparkled on swords and on spear-heads of hardened gold. "its not much wonder that those fellows got away with us," rayburn said, as he watched the orderly manner in which the disciplined ranks moved out upon the pier and stepped briskly into the boats at the word of command. "they're as fine a lot of fighters as i ever saw anywhere. just look how steadily they stand at a halt, and how sharply they obey orders, and how well set up they are! i must say i don't see what the colonel could have been thinking about when he said that we had a fighting chance against an army like that. well, he's paid for his mistake about as much as a man can pay for anything. it breaks me all up to think that the colonel is dead. he was good all the way through. and i wonder what will become of that little lame boy of his now? they'll make a tlahuico of him, i suppose. by jove! what a mess we've made of this whole business from first to last!" my heart was too heavy for me to answer rayburn save by a nod; for while he spoke the thought came home to me very bitterly that upon me rested the responsibility of the black misfortune in which he and young were involved; and with this came also a great burst of sorrow as i thought how still more closely at my door lay pablo's death--for rayburn and young at least had come into my plans with a reasonable understanding of the danger to which they exposed themselves; but pablo, having no such knowledge, had followed me unquestioningly because of his loving trust that i would hold him safe from harm. my sorrow concerning fray antonio was keen enough, heaven knows; but in his case i had the solace of knowing surely that he had come to his death not because of my urging, but in pursuance of his own strong desire. there was a little comfort in the thought that even one of these four lost lives could not be charged to my account; and yet this reflection seemed only to make my sorrow heavier as i thought of the woful weight of my responsibility for the other three. for nearly two hours we lay there in the bay while the embarkation of the prisoners and the troops went on--our boat moving farther out from the pier from time to time as the double line of boats behind it lengthened. in that sheltered place there was little wind blowing, and the blazing heat of the sun beating down upon my wounded head gave me so sharp a pain that i gladly would have died to be rid of it; and i could see, from the drawn look of their faces, that young and rayburn were suffering not less keenly. we were thankful enough, therefore, when at last the embarkation was completed--more than half of the army remaining in huitzilan to restore order there--and we pulled out from the bay into the open waters of the lake and were comforted by the light breeze, which yet brought with it a delicious refreshment, that was blowing there. all the bright beauty of that lovely lake was around us, having for its background the green meadows and the darker green of the forests hanging above them on the upward slopes, and beyond all the towering height of the cliffs, which shaded in their colorings from delicate gray to dark brown, and were touched here and there by patches of black shadow where some great cleft opened; and yet all that we then thought of was that across those blue waters, which gleamed golden in the sunlight, we were going swiftly to a cruel death, and that the cliffs, whereof the beauty was hateful to us, irrevocably shut us in. which gloomy feelings pressed upon us throughout that dismal passage, while all our oarsmen pulled stoutly together, and we went gliding onward over the sunlit waters towards the evil fate that we knew was waiting for us within the dark walls whereby was encircled the city of culhuacan. xxxii. el sabio's defiance. while yet we were a long way off from the city, we heard faintly the yells of triumph with which the watchers above the water-gate gave notice to those within the walls of the return of the victorious army; and from all the boats of our flotilla there went up a shrill chorus of answering yells. our barge was the first to pass through the water-gate, out from which we had come so gallantly so short a time before, and thence went onward across the basin to the very pier that we had started from with such high hopes to gather the forces for the rebellion that had come to so sorry an end. all the water-side was black with the crowd that had gathered to watch our landing; but, considering that these people were there to welcome a victorious army, it seemed to me that they were strangely still and dull. there was, to be sure, no lack of yelling, but it came for the most part from a company of priests clustered on the pier where we landed, and from the soldiers and oarsmen in the boats--not from the townsfolk at large. and when we were marched upward through the city--following the same street that we had fought our way along when last we traversed it--i saw in the crowd so many sullen and dejected faces that it seemed to me there still was in that city a good deal of material for the making of another mutiny. this time we were not taken to the house in which we had met the priest captain, and whence we had been delivered from imprisonment by tizoc's gallant rescue of us; but, passing a little beyond this house, we were led up a broad stair-way to the plateau which crowned the city, and on which stood the great treasure-house that also was the temple in which the aztlanecas housed their most venerated gods. and i confess that my delight at seeing closely this building, that until then i had beheld only from afar off, for a time completely overcame the dread and sorrow that had oppressed me; and the very strongest desire that stirred within me just then was for a tape-measure and a pair of compasses and a steel square, together with the opportunity to fall to work with these several instruments upon those mighty walls. indeed, i almost had forgotten that i was a prisoner, and was like to die soon a very dreadful death, when a groan that poor rayburn gave--wrung from him by the pain that he suffered in being carried up the stairs--recalled me suddenly to a realizing sense of our situation, and so pressed home upon me the sad conviction that the science of archæology would gain nothing of all that i might see or learn during the little while that i should remain alive. the outer facing of the plateau, like that of the terraces below it, was a prodigiously heavy wall of squared stones set in cement; and for a coping this wall had great stones carved in the similitude of serpents' heads, with mouths wide open, that instantly recalled to my mind the like enclosure that the spaniards found surrounding the principal temple in the city of tenochtitlan--and i had a sudden strong longing that my friend bandelier might be with me at that moment to see how precisely his very ingenious speculations concerning the snake-wall about the great teocalli were here confirmed. through a portal formed of two huge blocks of stone carved to represent two serpents coiled upon themselves, the heads meeting above in a sort of arch (not a true arch, for each of these serpents was a monolith, and was supported wholly on its own base), we entered the large enclosure before the temple. i was surprised to find--for of such a thing among the ancient aztecs there is no record--that in the centre of the enclosure the rock had been hewn away in such a fashion as to create a vast amphitheatre; and that this was the place where sacrifice was offered by the priests was shown by the blood-stained altar in the centre of it, to which fragments of flesh also adhered, whence was wafted up to us a dreadful stench that instantly racked us with queasy qualms. save directly in front of the entrance to the temple, where was a great stone balcony with a smaller balcony below it, all the sides of the amphitheatre were cut in steps, which made, also, benches where the multitude could sit at their ease and behold the bloody work going on in the pit below them; and so enormous was this rock-hewn cavity that fully forty thousand people could at once be seated there. under the balcony there was visible the entrance to a dark tunnel-like passage, that evidently communicated with the temple, and a smaller passage, not large enough for a man to pass through, slanted downward to where it opened on the terrace below; which last was to drain the blood away, and also to free the amphitheatre from water in the season of rains. we held our noses as we skirted this shocking place, and we were glad enough when we got beyond it and came to the entrance to the temple--a very noble portal, severely simple, and because of its simplicity the more majestic, in which, as in the whole of the façade, was manifest the grave and sombre egyptian feeling that i had before observed. through this we passed into the shadowy interior, lighted by only a few narrow slits cut in the enormously thick walls, where the lofty roof was upheld by a wilderness of columns which opened before us seemingly endless vistas where an eternal twilight reigned. of interior decoration there was nothing save a broad and simple panelling upon the walls, and the great pillars were mere round monoliths without either bases or capitals. as we entered this, to them, most sacred place a hush fell upon our escort, and even i felt something of that reverent awe that is inspired by any building which has been sanctified by the worship of multitudes within it through countless years. but that young did not at all share this feeling with me was made manifest by his observing, after taking a long look around him: "well, this wouldn't answer for a congregational church, anyway. there ain't a pew in th' whole place, an' here in broad daylight you couldn't see a hymn-book if you tried. i wonder what they'd say, professor, to a bid for puttin' in a dynamo for 'em an' lightin' this dark old hole with electricity? an' it 'u'd take off a lot o' this chill an' dampness if they'd have a steam-heater put in at th' same time. it's enough t' give all hands rheumatism th' way cold creeps strike up your legs." but at this point young's observations were cut short peremptorily by the hand that one of the guards laid across his mouth; which hint that it was desirable for him to keep silence was quite unmistakable. this decided repression of young's chattering, no doubt, was the more vigorous because we now were approaching the farther end of the temple, where loomed before us amid the shadows a great idol, set upon an altar-like throne. this figure, fully ten feet high, was a strange medley of grotesque and hideous carvings that yet in its entirety was like a man; and so cruel and so ferocious was the general air of it that it well might inspire a very lively terror in simple souls. the most striking feature of the figure was a dismal skull, that was outheld from the region of the waist by two great hands placed there arbitrarily and without any relation to the figure's arms; and for a crest--repeating the motive of the gate-way--it had two serpents' heads, the bodies pertaining to which were twisted and involved about the whole mass. for eyes this evil thing had large and gleaming green stones--being, in truth, emeralds, though i did not at that time recognize them as such--and golden serpents, very beautifully wrought, were twisted about it, and a collar of golden hearts was hung around its neck over a sort of apron of shining green feathers; and feathers of a like sort rose above the heads of the serpents in a thick plume; and over every part of the figure were scattered glittering objects--emeralds, and disks of gold, and scraps of mother-o'-pearl, and fragments of obsidian--whence shone through the heavy shadows faint, shimmering points of light. in one of its out-stretched hands the figure held a bow, and in the other a bunch of arrows; but even without these unmistakable attributes i should have known from the skull and from the serpents' heads that this fierce and hideous idol represented the god huitzilopochtli: the first divinity, and throughout the whole time that their bloody religion endured, the principal divinity, that the ancient mexicans adored. young did not venture to speak aloud again, but he turned to me with a long sigh and whispered, earnestly, "that certainly is, professor, the very d----dest thing i ever saw!" as i knew, it was in keeping with the aztec customs that prisoners taken in war thus should be brought first of all before the god huitzilopochtli, that they and their captors together might do him reverence; therefore, i was not surprised when a priest came forth from behind the altar and bade us prostrate ourselves in adoration of the idol. as this order was given, all the aztlanecas with us bowed themselves to the floor; but young, who did not understand the order, and i, who felt my gorge rising at the thought of thus humbling myself, remained erect. however, we did not continue through many seconds in that position; for a couple of soldiers instantly laid hands upon each of us, and by shoving our shoulders sharply forward, and at the same moment kicking our legs from under us, they summarily laid us face downward at full length upon the floor. as for rayburn, they seemed to be satisfied with his recumbent position upon the stretcher; at any rate, they suffered him to remain as he was. while i lay prone, quivering with rage at the double indignity of being thus roughly handled, and of being compelled even in form to worship a disgusting idol, i heard an odd little pattering upon the stone floor, and then something cold and clammy was thrust against my hand, and at the same instant i heard close beside me a curious snuffling noise; and while a glad doubt, that i scarce ventured to give way to, was rising within me, the clammy thing was taken away from my hand, and there straightway rang out through the gloomy silence of the temple a thunderous braying that seemed fairly to shake the walls. there was no mistaking the voice of the friend who with this triumphant blast welcomed me; and as i heard it there came into my heart a sudden glow of hope that pablo, and that even fray antonio also, might still be alive. and this hope was destined to be immediately and most joyfully realized, for as we rose to our feet again i saw the lad standing, with el sabio beside him, not a dozen feet away from me; and a little beyond them was the monk, his face all lighted up with a bright look of happiness and love. and seeing these three once more standing alive and well before me was the most amazing and also the very gladdest sight that ever met my eyes. it was a sore trial to me that i could not immediately hold converse with pablo and with fray antonio, and so come to know through what adventures they had passed, and by what miracles their lives had been saved; but the ceremony in which our captors were engaged was but half completed, and the better to assure our orderly conduct during its continuance we were kept asunder in the procession that then was formed--the object of which procession, as my knowledge of the aztec customs led me rightly to infer, was that the ceremonial of triumph might be ended by leading us thrice around the sacrificial stone. and in truth i dreaded less the fate which this leading us about the altar of sacrifice implied was in store for us than i did the close association, made necessary by the ceremony, with the direful stench which that vile altar exhaled. at the edge of the amphitheatre, where already the evil odor was almost overpowering, the soldiers who had charge of us relinquished us--as it seemed to me, most thankfully--to a company of the temple priests; whereof the chief was a round, fat little man, whose shortness of legs very obviously was accompanied by a corresponding shortness of wind. he was, in truth, a most hopelessly undignified little personage; yet he did his best to assume a look of dignity as he waddled down the steps in advance of us, and he manfully endeavored to conceal the difficulties encountered by his short fat legs in the course of this descent. and i was glad enough that we had his absurd performances to distract our minds a little from the dismalness of our surroundings, and especially from the queasiness that again beset our stomachs as our noses were assailed more and more violently by that most evil smell. the priests, i observed, had cotton stuffed in their nostrils; but for us there was nothing for it but to hold our noses tightly with our hands. el sabio, who had a most generous and broadly open nose, and who was not blest with hands to hold it fast with, grew restive as the first whiff struck him; which resulted less, i suppose, from the intrinsic vileness of the smell than from the fact that he, in common with all peace-loving animals, had aroused in him an instinctive terror by the odor of blood. pablo's voice, and pablo's touch, possibly might have soothed and quieted him; but the efforts which the priests who were leading him made to restrain him only served the more to terrify him, and so to increase his violence. and the priests, who now for a considerable time had seen him daily, and had known him only as the most gentle and biddable of creatures, were mightily astonished, and evidently were terrified, by this sudden outbreak of a fierce temper that most reasonably took them entirely by surprise. partly by pulling at the rope that they had about his neck, and partly by such pushes as they dared to give him while he was momentarily at rest, they succeeded in forcing him down the steps; and so at last into the large circular space at the bottom of the amphitheatre, in the midst of which stood the stone of sacrifice and where the smell of blood was overpoweringly strong. but by the time that this victory was won el sabio had ceased to be a quiet orderly donkey, accustomed to conform to the usages of human society, and had become a veritable crazy creature, inflamed by the madness of fear and rage. [illustration: el sabio's defiance] by some miracle--a very happy miracle for those whom the poor ass most naturally regarded as his tormentors--el sabio's nimble heels had until this moment lashed the air harmlessly; but just as the last step downward was accomplished he let out both of his hind-legs together, and with such precision that both of his hoofs struck a remarkably tall priest who had taken a very active part in persecuting him. the blow was landed fairly on the tall priest's stomach, and instantly the two long halves of that priest shut together like a jack-knife, and he fell to the ground with a gasp that told how thoroughly the wind was knocked out of him. doubtless this outburst of violence served but to increase el sabio's terror, for he straightway gave so strong a plunge that he fairly broke away from the men who were holding him; and then he bent all his energies to working such destruction as never was worked by one single ass since the very beginning of the world! fortunately for our own safety--for el sabio was in no condition to discriminate between friends and foes--we still were at some distance from the bottom of the amphitheatre when this outbreak occurred; the greater part of the priests having preceded us, and el sabio having been led in the van of the prisoners. it was wholly upon the priests, therefore, that his mad rage was expended, and the way that he "got in his work," as young expressed it, on these enemies of his and ours was a joyful wonder to behold. being closely penned in--for the way whence they had entered the amphitheatre was barred by the crowd of which we were a part, and the entrance to the subterranean passage leading to the temple was closed--the priests had no chance to escape from the furious creature save by clambering up the smooth wall, fully eight feet high, by which was enclosed the circular space that immediately surrounded the altar. even an agile man, going at it quietly, would have found a little difficulty in executing this gymnastic feat, that required for its accomplishment sheer lifting of the body until a leg could be thrown over the top of the wall; and as these priests, for the most part, had grown fat and sluggish in their sacred calling, they were wellnigh incapacitated from performing it. furthermore, el sabio manifested what had the appearance of being a most diabolical ingenuity--yet that, no doubt, was no more than chance--in delivering flying kicks against the legs of these dangling creatures; wherefrom such keen pain resulted that they instantly let loose their hold, and came tumbling to the ground. so far as we were concerned--our sympathies being wholly on the side of the ass--this astonishing spectacle remained a broad farce until the very end; but it presently became to the men engaged in it a very serious tragedy. as he made his wild charges, el sabio galloped backward and forward again and again over the bodies of his prostrate enemies; in the course of which gallopings his sharp little hoofs cut their naked flesh savagely, and now and then, when he happened to land a kick fairly against a man's body, we could see, from the sinking in of the fellow's ribs and the gush of blood that burst from his nostrils, that the ass had delivered a death-blow. as for the noise that attended this most extraordinary performance, words can but faintly describe it. from the men directly engaged with el sabio came yells of fear and shouts for assistance and cries of anger, beneath all of which was a dull undertone of groans; the crowd around us and higher up behind us gave vent to a shrill roar of shouts and yells that seemed to be partly in the nature of advice, and partly the result of that instinct which prompts all barbarians to yell whenever anybody else yells, on general principles. pablo interpolated a most despairing note in the way of beseeching cries of "b-u-r-r-r-o! b-u-r-r-r-o!" whereby he sought to allay el sabio's frenzy, and so to save him from the direful fate that well might be expected to overtake him in recompense of his direful deeds; and young fairly tossed his battered derby hat up into the air as he shouted: "go it, el sabio! give it to 'em, my boy! ten t' one against th' fat priest! three cheers for th' jackass! hip-hip-hurrah!" in short, it seemed as though bedlam had broken loose among us, and as though all of us together were going mad. what with dodging behind his fellows, and keeping clear of el sabio's frantic charges by the display of an agility that i would not have given him credit for, the little fat priest managed to preserve his small round body unharmed until all of his companions had either escaped over the wall or had been, as young put it, knocked out by el sabio's heels. once or twice he had made a dash for the passage-way in which we were standing, but the lower end of this was choked with the dozen or more badly wounded wretches who had crawled thither in their efforts to escape; and these the priests in front of us, being but cowardly creatures, had made no effort to succor or to lift away, for the reason that so long as this barrier remained they themselves were safe from el sabio's fury. having, therefore, no longer any one to hide behind, the fat little priest evidently realized that his only hope of salvation lay in making an effort, truly heroic in one of his height and girth and woful shortness of wind, to clamber up the face of the wall; and to this wellnigh impossible task he most resolutely set himself. it was only by jumping that he was able to get a grip over the top of the wall; yet when this grip was gained he could get no farther on his way to deliverance, and so he hung dangling there, his face to the wall, jerking his short fat legs about spasmodically, and wasting in most piercing yells what little there was in him of wind. it did really seem as though el sabio's action in these premises was dictated by reason, for when he saw the priest in this wholly unprotected position he deliberately took his stand at precisely the point behind the little man where all of his kicking power could be most effectively used. there was a momentary hush as el sabio thus placed himself, for every one perceived how very open was the priest to assault; and at the same time it was apparent that while el sabio's kicks assuredly would be exceedingly painful, they were not likely to inflict upon the priest, while he remained in that attitude, a deadly wound. in an instant the two small heels flashed through the air, and there was heard a dull, soft sound--such as might come from the striking of an over-ripe melon with a heavy club--and with this burst forth a most piercing shriek of pain. yet the little priest, knowing that his life depended upon it, most gallantly retained his hold. again el sabio kicked, and again a piercing shriek sounded; and one hand loosened for a moment and then clutched fast again. but when el sabio kicked for the third time human nature was too weak to resist further against brute violence. with a yell that fairly cracked our ears the priest let go his hold and fell downward and backward; and at that same instant el sabio delivered a final kick that struck fairly on the head of the falling man and battered in his skull. as for el sabio, it seemed as though he himself were like to die in the very moment of his victory; for with a sort of groan that, coming from a brute beast, was most pitiful to listen to, the poor terrified creature, utterly exhausted by his fright and his outlay of energy in furious violence, sank down panting by the side of the man whom he had slain. xxxiii. in the aztec treasure-house. even with el sabio reduced to this condition of complete quiescence, the aztlanecas, soldiers as well as priests, still were terribly afraid of him; being firmly convinced, as was not at all unnatural, that for the time being there was embodied in him a devil of a most dangerous sort. therefore they were but too glad to yield to pablo's burning eagerness to get to the poor ass; and when he called for aid to carry the exhausted creature out from the amphitheatre, and so away from among the dead and wounded and from the dreadful smell of blood, young and i promptly were pushed forward and ordered to perform this piece of work that even the bravest of them shrunk from undertaking. however, there was no real peril in it, for el sabio was so weak that he could not even stand, and still less was he strong enough to kick anybody. lifting him in this dull, limp state, and carrying him up the steep steps, was heavy work for us, wounded and weary as we were; but with pablo's help we managed it, and so got him up from the depths of the amphitheatre to its windward side--where a fresh sweet breeze that was blowing, and some water that a soldier brought when pablo called for it, in a little while put new life into him. why the ass was not made to pay the penalty of his sins, by being there and then killed, at first was a good deal of a puzzle to me; but presently, from the talk that went on about us while pablo ministered to him, and while the wounded lying around the altar were being cared for, and the dead borne away, i gathered that no one dared to kill him for fear of being himself possessed by the devil that needs must enter another body upon being thus set free. and as this seemed to be a view of the case that was worth encouraging, i very gravely told one of the priests that i myself had seen a man all in an instant go raving mad upon slaying one of these creatures and so letting the devil loose from him. as this story was circulated among the crowd i was glad to perceive that the dread of el sabio obviously greatly increased. as a result of the untoward outbreak that had occurred, no attempt was made to complete the ceremonial of triumph. indeed, the victory now lay so decidedly with el sabio that there was but little to triumph over. therefore we presently were herded together by a party of soldiers--who took good care that pablo should lead the ass, and that young and i should walk directly behind him as a protection against any further uplifting of his heels--and so we all were marched once more into the temple. this time we did not stop in front of the great idol, but went on beyond it towards a portal in the rear of the building that opened on an inner court; on the farther side of which court, as we knew from the description of the place that tizoc had given us, was the treasure-house, in which was stored not only the treasure placed there in long past ages by king chaltzantzin, but also the treasure belonging to the state and to the temple that had been accumulated in later times. at the entrance to the court-yard, where the way was closed by a metal grating over which a heavy curtain hung, the soldiers formally relinquished us into the charge of a company of priests; and then the curtain was drawn aside and the grating was raised, and we passed out into the bright sunlight--and saw close before us the place which for so long a time had so largely filled our thoughts. it was a building of no great size, being but a single story high, and was dwarfed by the vastly stupendous cliffs which so far overtopped it that they seemed to extend upward to the very sky; but it was most massively constructed, and the actual available space within it was far greater than was indicated by the relatively small dimensions of its exterior walls. when we entered the building, through a narrow opening protected by a metal grating, the chamber into which we came was of so considerable a size that a part of it, we perceived, must extend actually into the cliff; and that the work of quarrying out the living rock had been carried still farther was shown by an opening at its rear end that evidently gave access to some hollow depth beyond. it was towards this inner recess that our guards led us. here another grating was raised that we might pass, and we went onward through a narrow passage cut in the rock, along the sides of which were many openings giving access to small cell-like rooms. nor was this place, as we had expected to find it, wholly dark; for narrow slits had been cut through the rock out to the face of the cliff, through which came so much light that we could see about us very well. and but for that blessed light, faint though it was, i doubt not that we should have gone mad there; and even with the light to cheer and to comfort us i felt a black despair settling down upon me at the thought of being thus imprisoned within the very bowels of the mountain, with no possibility of other release than being taken thence to die. at the extreme end of the passage the rock had been hollowed away smoothly and carefully so as to form a chamber nearly thirty feet square and at least twenty feet high, whereof all the walls were covered with plates of gold which overlapped each other in the manner of fishes' scales; and advantage had been taken of some wide crevice or deep depression in the cliff above to open in the roof of this chamber a small aperture, whence a pale light entered in long fine rays which gleamed through the shadows, and gleamed again more faintly in reflections from the golden walls. in this oratory--for such it evidently was--stood a statue, smaller than that in the temple yet still more magnificently arrayed, of the god huitzilopochtli; before which odious image we were thrown upon our faces by our guards. when this ceremony was ended we were led forth once more into the passage, and so into two of the little cells which had been meagrely prepared for us by tossing into each of them a bundle of mats; and there our guards left us to shift for ourselves--shutting the grating behind them with a sharp ringing of metal on stone that echoed dismally through the rock-hewn chambers wherein we were held fast. for a while we stood in melancholy silence about the stretcher on which poor rayburn lay; and very pale and worn he looked after his great loss of blood and heavy fatigue and the pain and excitement of the last few hours. pablo had taken up his quarters with el sabio in a cell on the opposite side of the passage--for within the limits of our prison we were left to arrange ourselves as we pleased--and we could hear him talking to the ass in a fashion that at any other time we should have laughed at; for by turns he upbraided him for his rash acts, and complimented him upon his bravery, and expressed dread of the punishment that might be visited upon him, and told him of his very tender love--all of which, so far as we could judge, el sabio took in equally good part. "there ain't no good in standin' 'round here doin' nothin'," young said, at last. "this don't look like much of a place t' break out of, but we may as well see how things are, anyway. th' padre'd better take a squint at rayburn's busted leg an' set th' bandages straight; an' while he's attendin' t' that, me an' you, professor, can do a little prospectin'. this is th' treasure-house, for sure, an' it'll be some satisfaction t' see what it amounts to. i'll bet a hat there ain't anything worth havin' in th' whole place, after all." i was glad enough to have any occupation that would change even a little the sad current of my thoughts, and i therefore very willingly acted on young's suggestion--after first making sure that fray antonio had no need of help in his work of dressing rayburn's wound--and together we set about this curious exploration; that had in it a strong charm for me, notwithstanding my heavy sorrow, because of the possibility that it opened of finding curious traces of a new community so far advanced in civilization as was that which the king chaltzantzin had brought with him into this valley a thousand years ago. here, unquestionably, was the oldest deposit of the belongings of any of the primitive dwellers upon the american continent; and i trembled a little with excitement at the thought of what archæological treasures i here might find--and then i heaved suddenly a long sigh as i remembered how useless in my present case would be even the most brilliant of discoveries. as for young's bet of a hat that there was no treasure here worth having, he would have lost it, had it been accepted, at the very first of the rooms which we examined; for the whole of this room, a cube of about ten feet, was packed full of bars of hardened gold from the mine at huitzilan. and so was the next room, and the next, until we had found five rooms thus filled. but all the remaining rooms were entirely empty, and of the treasure set aside in long past ages by king chaltzantzin there was no sign. yet here, truly, was stored wealth the like of which the richest monarch in the world could not match for greatness; and as young beheld before him such enormous riches his face grew ruddy, an eager light came into his eyes, the muscles of his throat worked convulsively, and his breathing was labored and short--until i demolished all his fine fancies at a blow by saying: "much good this treasure is to us, when there isn't a ghost of a chance that either of us ever will get out of this valley alive!" as i uttered these bitter words his look of animation left him, and for some moments he was silent; and when at last he spoke, it was in a tone of calm though melancholy conviction, and with a most dispassionate air. "i shall be obliged t' you, professor, really obliged t' you," he said, "if you'll just kick me for a blasted fool. ever since that night in morelia when you told me an' rayburn about this treasure i've regularly had it on my brain. through all these months i've been thinkin' about it when i was awake an' dreamin' about it when i was asleep. an' it's true for a fact, professor, that never until this blessed minute, when we've really struck it, has th' notion come into my fool head that when we did ketch up with it the folks it rightly b'longed to might want t' keep it for theirselves! yes, just kick me, please. just kick me for a forlorn, mis'rable, blasted fool!" i was not disposed to laugh at young's words; rather was i disposed to weep over them. for they brought freshly and strongly to my mind the fact that i was responsible for alluring him, by the hope of acquiring great riches quickly, into this accursed valley, where in a little while he would be most barbarously done to death. and i knew too that i was responsible for the like fate that must overtake rayburn, and that in regard to pablo my guilt was greatest of all. it was a comfort to me, truly, that not one of these ever by look or word reproached me for thus so wofully misleading them; and yet, in a certain way, their very forbearance but added to my pain. therefore was i a little gladdened, when we returned again to the others, to find that fray antonio was speaking to rayburn, with a grave, calm hopefulness, of those spiritual realities which are higher and better than material realities, and without steadfast trust in which, most of us, in the course of this sorrowful thing that we call life, assuredly would go mad in sheer despair. and listening to this comforting discourse, which was not checked by our return, did much to strengthen me to bear my heavy load of vain regret. presently fray antonio shifted his ground--for he had the wisdom to speak but shortly on these grave topics, yet using always pregnant words which sank down into men's hearts and germinated there--and told us of what had befallen him since he had stolen away from us that night in huitzilan. in truth, he had but little to tell, for his adventures had been of a very simple kind. upon his arrival in the canoe at the water-gate he had been at once recognized and admitted, and had been carried directly to the building in which, on our first coming into the city, we all had been confined. and there he had been imprisoned until he was led up to the temple to take part in the triumph that el sabio's violence so seriously had marred, and so once more was in our company. of the priest captain he had seen nothing at all; nor had any answer come back to him from that dignitary to his urgent plea that, inasmuch as he had thus surrendered himself, his companions--that is, ourselves--should be suffered to leave the valley in peace; which silence on the part of the priest captain was not surprising, however, in view of the brave defiance in words sent by the tlahuicos, who afterwards were such cowards in deeds. in fact, during the brief time of his imprisonment fray antonio had not spoken to a soul save the man who brought him drink and food. yet his talk with this man, scant though it had been, had filled him with the hope that, could he only hold free converse with the people at large, even as he had done at huitzilan, the purpose that he had in mind in coming into the valley would be fulfilled. although a priest of the temple, his jailer had listened with a most earnest and hearty attention to the expounding of christian doctrine that was opened to him, and had shown a very cheering willingness to recognize the shortcomings of his own idolatrous belief as compared with the principles of this purer and nobler faith. and he had told fray antonio that many of his companions in the service of the temple, having heard somewhat of the new creed from those who had tome up from huitzilan, were eager to know more concerning it; so that it would seem, fray antonio declared, as though there were a harvest there ready to be reaped to christianity by his hand. the case was such, he thought, that could he but speak publicly to the multitude, and especially could there but be vouchsafed from heaven some sign by which the verity of his words might be established, he yet would win to the glorious christian faith this whole community, that, through no fault of its own, until that time had remained lost in heathen sin. rayburn and i exchanged glances as fray antonio spoke of aid being given him in his work by a sign from heaven, for to our notions the time of miracles was a long while past. but fray antonio, as we knew (for once or twice we three had spoken together of this matter), did not at all hold with us in believing that miracle-working had come to an end; and indeed his faith was entirely logical; for, as he himself put it, those who believed that miracles ever had been wrought for the advancement of christianity could not reasonably draw a line at any year since the christian church was founded, and say that in that year miracles ceased to be. in this matter, as in many others, the resemblance between fray antonio and the founder of his order, saint francis of assisi, was very strong. pablo's experience as a prisoner had been of a far more trying sort; for the priests had sought earnestly, he said, by most stringent means, to pervert him from christianity to their own faith. when we had been so rudely separated that day, after our interview with the priest captain, he, and el sabio with him, had been hurried up the stairs to the temple, and thence to the treasure-house; and there, though not in the part of it in which we then were, he had been ever since confined. strong measures certainly had been taken to make a heathen of him. he had been starved for a while, and he had been deprived of water, and he had been cruelly scourged, and very harrowing presentments had been made to him of the death that he must die should he much longer refuse to yield. that the lad had remained firm in his faith, he told us, sobbing a little at memory of his hardships, was because of the sorrow that he knew his yielding would bring upon fray antonio and upon me; which certainly was not the reason that fray antonio most would have approved, but it did not in the least detract from the steady courage that he had shown in holding out firmly under pressure that would have made many a man succumb. in all the time that so many cruelties had been practised upon him, only one man had shown him kindness--an old man, who seemed to be in charge of the archives that the treasure-house contained, who twice had risked his own life by secretly giving him water and food. but he never had been separated from el sabio, pablo said joyfully, in conclusion, nor had his mouth-organ been taken away from him; and these blessings had done much to lessen the misery that he was compelled to bear. when, in our turn, rayburn and young and i had told of the far more stirring adventures that we had passed through, and of our high hopes seemingly so well founded that had suffered so dismal a downfall, we all of us wisely refrained from speculating at all upon the future; instead of which profitless and painful topic we strove to speak cheerfully of indifferent matters; and this we did not only that we might the better keep our hearts up, but that we might not excite rayburn, who already was in a dangerously feverish condition by reason of his wound. but, though we spoke not of it, we none of us doubted what our fate would be; nor did we imagine that the death that surely awaited us would be long delayed. it was a source of wonder to us, therefore, that day after day went by without bringing the end that we so confidently expected. from the man who brought us our food we could learn nothing; but this was not from ill-will on his part, but because he himself knew nothing of the priest captain's plans. this man, though a priest, was not unkindly disposed towards us, and he even listened to the words which fray antonio addressed to him touching christian doctrine; but while he listened--being made of a sterner stuff than the priest who previously had been fray antonio's jailer--he gave no sign of assent. the only other person whom we had a chance to speak with, and this but rarely, was the old man who had shown kindness to pablo, the guardian of the archives--who, by right of his official position, had free access to that portion of the treasure-house from which the second grating cut us off. at the grating he and i had some very interesting conversations together upon archæological matters; but fray antonio took but little interest in him when he found how slight was the impression made upon him by the most serious of doctrinal talk. in truth, this old fellow--wherefore my own heart warmed to him--was wholly given to the study of antiquities; and so full was his mind of this delightful subject that there was no room left in it for thoughts about religions of any sort. he was entirely catholic in this matter, for his unconcern respecting christianity was neither more marked nor less marked than was his unconcern toward his own avowed faith. many curious things this old man told me touching the history of his people; and he showed me, also, the manner in which their annals were kept--an obvious evolution from the picture-writing of the aztecs that had advanced to a stage closely resembling the cross between ideaographs and an alphabet that the coreans use--all of which i have dealt with exhaustively in my larger work. and he told me also, with a wonder that did not seem uncalled for, that several times in each year the priest captain retired to the very place in which we then were imprisoned, and remained there sometimes for as much as a whole month cut off from his people, without food or drink, while he communed with the gods. but what seemed strange to me, and also bitterly disheartening, was that this old man, notwithstanding the office that he held and his hungry love for ancient things, could tell me nothing of the treasure that king chaltzantzin had stored away. he knew of this treasure, he said, only as a vague tradition; and although, at one time or another, he had explored every chamber in the treasure-house, he never had found of this ancient deposit the smallest trace; for which excellent reason he had concluded that if ever there had been such a treasure it long since had been dispersed. no doubt--considering how useless to me, beyond the mere gratification of my own curiosity, would have been its discovery--my regret at this abrupt ending of my hopes was most unreasonable; but i confess that, so far as i myself was concerned, the very keenest pang of sorrow that i suffered through all that sorrowful time was when i thus learned that the archæological search that i had entered upon so hopefully, and that i had so laboriously prosecuted, had been but a fool's errand from first to last. xxxiv. a martyrdom. heavily and wearily the days dragged on as we lay in that dismal prison hewn from the mountain's heart; and as they slowly vanished there stole upon us a new sorrow, that was deeper and more searching than the doubting dread by which we were beset touching the cruel ending of our lives. rayburn's wound--a very savage cut in the thigh, made by the jagged edge of a maccahuitl--from the first had been a dangerous one; and the danger had been aggravated by inflammation that had followed that long, hot journey across the lake, and by the rough handling that his bearers had given him, and by the excitement that had attended el sabio's fiery outburst beside the sacrificial stone. even fray antonio's skill in surgery, without which he assuredly would have quickly died, only barely sufficed to keep him alive while the fever was upon him; and when at last the fever left him, the little strength remaining to him grew less with every passing day. it was pathetic to see this man, who until then had been the very embodiment of rugged vigor, so worn with suffering that without fray antonio's tender assistance he scarce could move; and still more pathetic was it to hear him moaning in his pain, and uttering heart-sick longings for sunlight and fresh air, for need of which, fray antonio affirmed, he was dying there quite as much as because of his wound. indeed, the chill chamber in the rock where he was lying was no fit place even for a well man at that time to dwell in; for the season of rains had come, and all the nights were cold and damp, while through the afternoons and in the night-time, during which portions of the day the rain fell in torrents, the whole mountain was shaken by the tremendous peals of thunder which roared and crashed about its crest. it was after one of poor rayburn's pitiable outbreaks of weak moaning that young led me away into the oratory, with the evident intention of delivering himself of some matter that pressed heavily upon his mind. "see here, professor, i just _can't_ stand this any longer," he said, when we were alone. "i'm goin' t' send word t' th' priest captain t' ask him if finishin' me off in short order won't make him willin' t' let rayburn out o' this damp hole into some place where he can be comfortable, an' where in th' mornin's he can get some sun an' air. rayburn won't mind bein' squarely killed after he's healthy again. he ain't th' kind t' be afraid of anything when he's feelin' all right. but it's just infernal cruelty t' kill him this way--it wouldn't be fair to a dog. so i'm goin' t' try what i can do. it's nothin' much t' do, any way--only runnin' a little ahead o' th' schedule, that's all." oddly enough, something of a like purpose had been for some time past slowly forming in my own mind--though what i intended to do would have, i hoped, still better consequences; for my notion was to urge that for the pleasure that could be had from killing me, my companions should be given such freedom as was to be found in that rock-bound region beyond the barred pass. therefore, when young thus brought up the matter openly between us, i told him of my own intention; and with some emphasis i advised him that inasmuch as i first had thought of it, to me belonged the right to carry this project into execution; and especially was this right mine, i urged, because but for me neither he nor any of the rest of us--saving only, possibly, fray antonio--ever would have come into that valley at all. thereupon we fell to wrangling somewhat hotly; for young was a most pig-headed man when his mind was set upon anything, and his notions of argument even at the best of times were of the loosest kind. how our talk might have ended i cannot tell, for each of us most resolutely was determined to have his own way; but it actually did end because of an interruption by which we presently learned that a will finer and stronger than either of ours had been acting, while we had been only thinking, in a fashion that cut the ground completely from under us both. and all that followed within the next hour or two came upon us with so startling a suddenness that it seemed less like reality than like a terrible dream. the first intimation that we had that anything was upon us out of the common run of our drearily dull prison life was hearing a creaking noise that we knew must be caused by the raising of the grating that shut us in; and as we hurried out from the oratory into the long passage-way we saw a company of soldiers coming towards us, at the head of which was a priest. fray antonio and pablo, startled as we had been by the sound caused by the opening of the grating and the tramp of feet, also had come out into the passage; but while pablo evidently was wondering, even as we were wondering, what might be the purpose that these men had come to execute, the look upon the monk's face was of expectation rather than of surprise. and without waiting for the others to speak, he asked, eagerly: "is it to be?" "it is to be," the priest answered; and it seemed to me that there was sorrow in the look that went with his words, and sorrow also in the tone of his voice; and that this man truly was sorrowful because of the message that he brought i doubt not, for he was the priest who had been jailer to fray antonio, and whose mind had seemed so open to receive the doctrine that fray antonio taught. but there was only joy in the bearing of the monk as his question thus was answered; and there was a ringing gladness in his voice as he replied--being most careful first to draw us away from the room in which rayburn was lying--to our looks of wondering inquiry. "the priest captain has granted my request," he said, and added quickly: "do not sorrow for me, my friends. dying for the faith is the most glorious ending that life can have; and happier still is he to whom, with this rare privilege, is given also that of dying that those whom he loves may yet be saved alive. the priest captain has promised that when i have paid this little debt of life you whom i love so greatly shall go free--" "don't you believe him! he's a blasted liar from the word go!" young struck in, clean forgetting, in the passionate sorrow that was rising in his breast, that what fray antonio so plainly had in mind to do he himself had been most strongly bent upon doing but a moment before. but young spoke in english, and without heeding him fray antonio went on: "you two, and the boy, surely will live; and perhaps life may be given also to our friend. he is in god's hands. and then, until----" but further speech was not permitted to him. two soldiers stepped forward and grasped his arms, yet first suffering him for a moment to clasp hands with us, and so led him towards the open grating; and behind him young and i and pablo were conducted in a like fashion by the guards. as we passed the room in which rayburn lay we heard him moaning faintly; and so weak was he that it seemed to me a very likely thing for us to find him dead there upon our return--if, indeed, we ever returned at all. as we passed out into the inner court of the temple, where the sum shone joyously--for the day still was young, and the rain-clouds had but begun to gather about the mountain peaks--we heard a murmur in the air like the distant sound of bees buzzing; and as we entered the rear portal of the temple this sound grew louder, yet still was soft and blurred. in the temple, fray antonio was separated from us, being led towards the inner entrance of that subterranean passage which opened into the pit of the amphitheatre; and as we went onward to the great portal in the temple's front we cast towards him sorrowful looks, in which all the bitter pain that was in our hearts was concentrated, but had in answer from him, as he walked with elate bearing between his guards, only looks of most joyful hope in which was also a very tender love. the noise that at first had seemed to us like bees buzzing grew louder as we advanced, until, when we came out upon the open space before the temple, it swelled into a mighty roar. and there the cause of it was plain to us; for before us lay the great amphitheatre crowded with a seething multitude, and all the thousands gathered there were uttering savage cries of delight at thought of the savage spectacle that now in a few moments would gladden their fierce hearts. in the midst of this tumult we were hurried into a sort of balcony, heavily built of stone, that hung upon the slope of the amphitheatre; just behind and above which was a much larger balcony of richly wrought stone-work that was covered by a canopy of colored stuffs, and that had in its midst a sort of throne. and at sight of us a great shout went up, that in a moment died away into a hush of silence as the priest captain, with a company of priests about him, entered the balcony behind us and took his seat upon the throne. but in another instant the shouting burst forth again as fray antonio came out from the passage that opened beneath us, and in a moment was lifted bodily by his guards and placed upon the stone of sacrifice in plain view of all. i wondered as i saw that only soldiers accompanied him, and that there was no sign of the coming of the priests by whom the sacrifice would be made. but my wonder ceased, and the burning pain that then consumed me was a little lessened, as there came forth from the underground passage, guarded by four soldiers, a very tall, strong indian, whose muscles stood out in great knots upon his lithe body and legs and arms, and immediately following him six others no less powerful--for then i knew that fray antonio was not to die the cruel and bloody death of a sacrificial victim, but was to have, in accordance with the aztec custom, such chance of life as was to be found in fighting these seven men in turn and receiving his freedom when he had slain them all. yet as i looked at the slim figure of the monk, and then at these burly giants ready to be pitted against him, i knew that but one result could issue from that unequal combat; and a sudden dizziness came upon me, and for a moment all around me was dark. nor was this momentary darkness wholly imaginary; for just then--with a low growl of distant thunder--a fragment broke away from the great mass of black cloud that hung upon the crest of the cliff above us and drifted sluggishly across the face of the sun. when my dizziness had passed, and i could again see clearly, the warrior was standing upon the stone of sacrifice--naked save for his breech-clout, and armed with a round shield and a maccahuitl of hardened gold. the monk still wore his flowing habit, whence the hood had fallen back, so that his head was bare; in one hand he held his crucifix, and with the other he was motioning away the sword and shield that a soldier held out to him: at sight of which refusal on his part to be armed there was a shrill outcry among the multitude that the fight would not be fair; and to this sharp noise of strident voices there was added a solemn undertone that came in a low roll of thunder from the overhanging cloud. [illustration: fray antonio's appeal] as though to still the clamor, the monk waved his hand; and when at this sign the outcries ceased, he asked--yet addressing not the priest captain but the whole mass of people gathered there--if certain words which he desired to utter would be heard. and in answer to him there went up a shout of assent, in which was drowned completely (save that we, being close beneath him, heard it) the priest captain's order that the fight should begin. and it struck me that the priest captain showed his appreciation of the critical situation with which he then was dealing, and his dread of the forces which an ill-timed word in opposition to the will of the multitude might let loose against him, by refraining from repeating his order when silence came again, and all the thousands gathered there leaned forward eagerly to hearken to what fray antonio would say. and what he did say was the most moving and the most exalted deliverance that ever came forth from mortal man. to that great multitude he preached there shortly, but with an eloquence that i doubt not was born directly of heavenly inspiration, a sermon so searching, so full of god's great love and tenderness, and so full also of the majesty of his law and of the long-suffering of his mercy and loving-kindness, that every word of it falling from his lips seemed to burn into the depths of all those heathen hearts. my own heart was thrilled and shaken as it never had been stirred before, and the boy pablo wept as he listened; and even young, to whom the spoken words had no meaning, grew pale, and sweat gathered upon his forehead as his soul was moved within him by the infinitely beseeching tenderness of fray antonio's voice: for most wonderfully did his voice rise and fall in its cadenced sweetness and entreaty, and there was a strangely vibrant quality in his tones that matched the tenor of his words, and so held all that vast multitude spellbound. as he spoke on, a hush fell upon them who listened; and then through the throng a tremor seemed to run, but less a sound of actual speech than a subtle manifestation that in a moment a great outburst of assent would come, and i felt within me that the work which fray antonio had dared death to accomplish already was triumphantly concluded; and so waited, breathless, to hear this heathen host proclaim its glad allegiance to the christian god. but the priest captain also perceived how imminent was the danger that menaced the ancient faith, and dared to take the one chance left for saving it, and that a desperate one, by breaking in upon fray antonio's discourse with a ringing order that the fight should be no longer delayed; whereat a deep growl of dissent ran through the crowd, that was echoed in a still deeper roar of thunder in the dark sky. in truth, the gathering of the storm in the heavens above seemed to be wholly in keeping with the storm that with an equal celerity was gathering on the earth below. there was a heavy languor, a dense stillness in the air, and the cloud above us had drifted out from the face of the cliff so far that it now hung over all the city like a vast black canopy. from this sombre mass, that buried all beneath it in gloomy shadows, flashes of lightning shot forth that each moment increased in fiery intensity, and the rolling roar of thunder each moment grew louder and sharper in its dark depths. even as the priest captain spoke there came a yet more vivid flash, and almost with it a crashing peal. at the word of command, so vehemently given, the warrior faced about upon fray antonio, and held high aloft his sword; but the monk, firmly standing there, while in his eyes shone so glorious a light that it seemed as though the wrath of outraged heaven blazed forth from them, opposed to this earthly weapon only his out-stretched crucifix, and thus confronted the death that menaced him with so splendid a bravery that for an instant his huge antagonist was held still by a wonder that was born half of admiration and half of awe; and in the breathless hush of that supreme moment fray antonio cried out, in tones so clear and so ringing that his words were heard by all the thousands gathered there: "i call for help upon the living and the only god!" and even as these words still sounded in our ears there shot forth from the cloud above us a swift red flash of blinding light, and with this came a crash of thunder so mighty that the cliffs above strained and quivered, and great fragments of rock came hurtling down from them, and a shivering trembling surged through the whole mountain, so that we felt it swaying beneath our feet. and as we gazed in awe, through the gloom that from all parts of the heavens was gathering towards the height whereon we were, we saw before us god's wrath made manifest; for the warrior, still holding raised the metal sword that had tempted death to him, trembled, reeled a little, swayed gently forward, and then, with, a sudden jerk, swayed backward again, and so fell lifeless--his bare right arm, and all the length of his naked body to his very heel marked by a livid streak of bloody purple that showed where the thunder-bolt had passed. for a moment the monk also seemed stunned; and then, kneeling beside that lightning-blasted corpse, and holding his hands out-stretched towards heaven, whence his deliverance had come, he cried in a clear strong voice, of which the solemn tones rang vibrant through that awful silence: "the christian god liveth and reigneth! believe on him whose love and whose mercy are not less tender than is terrible his transcendent power!" there was no mistaking the thrill of movement that ran through the multitude as these words were spoken. i drew a long breath of thankfulness, for i felt that fray antonio was saved, and that in another instant my ears would be nigh burst by the thunderous roar of all those thousands--won to him by his own most moving eloquence, and by sight of the miracle whereby his deliverance had been wrought--that he should be set free. and in this instant--in the very moment that this sigh escaped me, while yet the pause lasted before that great shout came--the priest captain sprang from, his seat above us into the balcony where we prisoners stood guarded, on downward into the arena below, and thence upon the stone of sacrifice--all with a demoniac agility most horrible to look upon in one of his withered age--and there, with a fierce thrust of a spear that he had caught from a soldier's hand in passing, he pierced fray antonio between the shoulders straight through the heart; and the monk, still grasping in his hands his crucifix, fell face downward upon the stone of sacrifice, and lay there dead! then itzacoatl, standing with one foot upon the monk's dead body, and grasping still the spear that he had planted in that noble heart, cried out, triumphantly, "behold the victory and the vengeance of our aztec gods!" and the multitude, swayed backward from the very threshold of the christian faith, shouted together in one mighty voice, "victory and vengeance for our gods!" xxxv. the treasure-chamber. close in the wake of that great thunder-crash there burst upon us so mighty a flood of rain that it seemed as though the lightning had riven solid walls asunder within the thick black mass of overhanging vapour, and so had let loose upon us the waters of a lake. in a moment the whole pit of the amphitheatre was awash, knee-deep, and before those who were standing there could flounder to the steps leading upward they were buried to their waists--and this although the water was pouring out through the vent provided for it with such violence that we could hear the rush and gurgle of it above the dashing and roaring of the falling rain. and all the dark mass of cloud above us was aflame continuously with blinding flashes of red lightning, while a continuous crash of splitting peals of thunder rang through the shattered air. doubtless this storm was our salvation. that the priest captain's intention, even from the first, had been to kill us also, and so make his victory complete, i do not for a moment doubt; but he was too shrewd to waste upon a few terrified spectators an exhibition that would carry with it a salutary demonstration of his power; and with the bursting of the flood upon us, the crowd that filled the amphitheatre had begun a tumultuous flight to the temple; going thither partly for shelter, and partly being awe-struck by what had passed before them and by the tremendous fury of the storm, that they might find safety in the abiding-place of their gods. therefore, the order was given hurriedly that we should be taken back to our prison; in obedience to which command our guards led us through the temple--where they had difficulty in forcing a way for us through the dense throng that had gathered within its walls--and thence to the treasure-house beyond; and they were in such haste to be quit of us, that they also might seek safety in the temple, that they scarce waited to close the grating behind us before they sped away. so overwhelming was the grief that had fallen upon us that for some moments we stood as though stunned where the guards had left us; and, for myself, my one regret was that the chance of the storm, by saving me yet a little while longer alive, had lost to me the happiness of dying in the same hour with the friend whom i had so strongly loved. i think that this thought was in young's heart also, as he stood there silent beside me, the blood so drawn away from his face that a dull yellow pallor overspread his bronzed skin, while his breath came short and hard. as for the boy pablo, his whole being was shattered. he sank down on the rock at our feet, and seemed to be moaning his very life out in long quivering sobs. but presently, as our minds grew steadier, the thought of rayburn came to us; and the strain upon our heart-strings was relaxed a little by remembering that our lives still were worth holding fast to in order that we might minister to his needs. yet when we came again into the room where he lay, it seemed at first as though he also was lost to us; for even in that faint light we saw that his face was a deadly white, and when we spoke to him he neither spoke nor moved. but, happily, our dread that he had died in that gloomy solitude was not realized; for as i laid my hand upon his bare breast i felt his heart feebly beating, and at the touch of my hand he sighed a little, and then slowly opened his eyes. "he's only swounded," young cried, joyfully. "it's th' smotherin' shut-upness o' this forlorn hole he's lyin' in. there's a little more air out in th' big room. just grab t'other end o' th' stretcher, professor, an' we'll yank him out there--nobody's likely t' come in t' stop us while this storm lasts. an'--an' we must be careful how we talk, professor, y' know," he added, in a lower tone, as we raised the stretcher. "it won't do for him t' know about--about _it_ now." there was a break in young's voice as he spoke, and i could feel by the momentary quiver of the stretcher that a shiver went through him as he thought of that "it," about which we must for a time hold our peace. young bore the forward end of the stretcher, and as we came into the oratory i felt him start as he exclaimed, "what th' devil's broke loose here?" the darkness of the storm outside shrouded the oratory in a dusky twilight; but even through the shadows which lay thick about us we could see that there had been within this chamber some outbreak of extraordinary and tremendous violence; for the image of the god huitzilopochtli had been cast down and broken into fragments, and just behind where it had stood there was a dark rift in the gold-plating of the walls, where several plates had been wrenched bodily away. a strong odor of sulphur hung heavily in the air, and, as i perceived it, the whole matter was plain to me. but young sniffed at this odor suspiciously when we had brought the stretcher gently to rest upon the floor, and in a startled voice exclaimed, "th' devil has been bustin' around in here for sure, an' he's left his regular home-made stink for a give-away!" and as he spoke there was manifest a decided bristling of his fringe of hair. i could not help smiling at this quaint proof of the shattered condition of young's nerves--for, under ordinary circumstances, he was the very last man in the world to place faith in things supernatural--but i answered him promptly: "then the devil did a stroke of honest business at the same time, for all this is the work of the same thunder-bolt, or of a part of it, that killed that indian. didn't you hear the rocks flying from the cliff where it struck?" "that's just what i was goin' t' say myself," young replied, a little awkwardly. "an' that's what's the matter with rayburn, an' made him swound away. how d' you find yourself now, old man?" he went on--rather glad to change the subject, i fancied--as rayburn, at sound of his own name, moved a little. "i feel queer," rayburn answered. "sort of numb and dizzy. where's the padre?" "an' it's not much blame to you that you do feel queer," young replied, hurriedly. "this last thing you've taken it into your fool head t' do is bein' busted all t' bits by a stroke o' lightnin'. most folks would 'a' been satisfied with havin' their legs pretty much sliced off by injuns--but reasonableness ain't your strongest hold, rayburn; an' i guess it never was." rayburn smile faintly as young spoke, but instead of attempting to answer him--being still numbed by the heavy shock that he had received--he settled his head back upon the rolled-up coat that served him for a pillow, and languidly closed his eyes. whereupon young, seeing that there was nothing further that we could do for his comfort, betook himself--as his bent at all times was when any strange matter presented itself, and in this case with the half-crazed eagerness with which those upon whom a great sorrow has fallen seek instinctively to engage their minds with any trifling matter that will change the current of their thoughts--to investigating carefully the work of destruction that the thunder-bolt had wrought: examining the fragments of the idol, and the loosened plates of gold and the place on the wall whence these last had been wrenched away; which examination was the easier because the storm-cloud was leaving us--though the almost continuous loud rolling of the thunder still stunned our ears--and a stronger light came in through the opening in the roof. i seated myself beside rayburn and paid no attention to what young was doing; for my brooding sorrow was like a slow fire consuming me--as the tragedy that i had but just witnessed, and the infinite pathos that there was in seeing rayburn thus miserably dying, overwhelmed me with a desolate despair. even when young called to me, in a tone so eager and so penetrating that at any other time i should have been startled into quick action by his words, i did not rouse myself to answer him; though, in a dull way, i knew that he would not thus have spoken unless some matter of great moment had aroused the full energy of his mind. "professor! i say, professor!" he repeated: "get right up and come here. don't sit there like a chuckle-headed chump. get up, i tell you. here's some sort of a show for us. here's what looks like a way out o' this god-forsaken hole!" as i heard these words i did get up, and in a hurry, and so joined young where he was kneeling on the floor close beside the rear wall of the oratory, directly behind where the idol had stood until the thunder-bolt had dashed it down. it was at this point, apparently, that the lightning had entered the chamber; for here several of the plates of gold with which the walls were covered--overlapping each other like fish-scales--had been loosened, while three of them had been wrenched entirely from their fastenings and had fallen down. as i joined him, young excitedly pointed to the opening thus made, through which was visible not a solid wall of rock but a dark cavity, and from which was blowing a soft current of cool air. "it's a way out! it's a way out! i tell you," he cried. "this suck o' wind proves it. if we only can get some more o' these blasted plates loose we'll light out o' this and euchre the priest captain an' his whole d--n outfit yet! ketch hold here, professor, an' put your muscle into it for all you're worth. grab right here; now!" and young and i together pulled at the same plate with all our might and main. but for all the impression that we made upon it we might as well have tried to pull down the mountain; the plate did not stir. young gave a hearty curse (and i confess that hearing him swearing in that natural way again was a real comfort to me), and then we took another pull; and all this while, so much does the thought of saving his life put cheer into a man, my heart was bounding within me and the hot coursing of my blood seemed like to burst my veins. young's fervor was not less than mine, and we wrenched and tugged together, and never stopped to mark our cut and bleeding hands. "we've _got_ t' do it!" young exclaimed, as we paused at last, without having loosened the plate in the least degree. "there's some way o' workin' this thing, i know. it must be some sort of a door, an' if we only can get th' hang of it we'll be all right. have you got your wind again, professor? let's try 'f we can't sort o' prize this plate out; it's a little loose. just get your fingers under it an' we'll sort o' pull it up an' out at th' same time. so! now sling your muscle into it. heft!" we were stooping a little, and so had a strong purchase, and with all our united strength we heaved away together. there was a rattling of metal, a yielding of the plate so easy that our tremendous effort was out of all proportion to it; my fingers seemed suddenly to be nipped in a red-hot vice; young uttered a yell of pain, and then we both were sprawling on our backs on the floor, while in front of us was a broad opening in the wall where a wide section of the panelling had risen upward (the plates sliding up under each other), and so had made an open way. "h--ll! how that did hurt!" young mumbled, with his nipped fingers in his mouth; and i must say that the vigor of his language was not uncalled for, as i well understood by the pain that i myself was suffering. i never remember pinching my fingers so badly as i did then in the whole course of my life. however, we did not suffer our hurts, which were not really serious, to delay us in exploring this hidden place that so suddenly and with such unnecessary violence had opened to us. pushing upward the ingeniously contrived door from the bottom, we easily raised it until an opening was discovered the full height of a man; and through this we went into a narrow passage in the rock that in a moment turned and so brought us into a room that was nearly as large as the oratory that we had just left, and that, as we presently found, actually communicated with the oratory by means of two narrow slits high up in the wall; which apertures here were plainly visible, but on the other side were so cleverly disguised by an ingenious arrangement of the overlapping plates as to be entirely concealed. like the oratory, too, this room had an opening in its roof through which air entered, and so much light that we could see about us plainly. and the very first glance that i cast around me in this strange place assured me that, by sheer accident, we had found our way at last to the secret chamber wherein king chaltzantzin's treasure had lain hidden for a thousand years. rude shelves had been cut in the rock on all four sides of the room, and on these were ranged earthen pots of curious shapes, ornamented with strange devices that my newly acquired knowledge enabled me to recognize--to express the matter in the terms of our system of heraldry--as the arms of a king quartered with the arms of certain princely houses or tribes. on these shelves, also, were many quaintly wrought vessels and some small square boxes, all of which were of gold--together with a score or so of small idols moulded in clay or roughly carved in stone, in which last the workmanship was so far inferior to that of the earthen-ware pots and golden vessels as to show at a glance that they were the product of a much earlier and ruder age; but belonging to the same age as the gold-work, or to a period even later, was a very beautiful calendar stone most delicately carved in obsidian, that was identical, save in the matter of size, with the great calendar stone that now is preserved in mexico in the national museum. this was placed at one end of the room upon a carved pedestal; and at the opposite end of the room, the end farthest removed from the entrance, was a great stone image of the god chac mool. lying upon the calendar stone was what at first i took to be a cross-bow made of gold; but more careful examination convinced me, especially in view of the place where i had found it, that this certainly was an arbalest--called also a jacob's staff and a cross-staff--such as in no very ancient times, until the invention of the quadrant, was used by europeans in taking the meridional altitude of the sun and stars. at the moment that i made this last most curious and exceedingly interesting discovery, young, who had been investigating on his own account, gave a yell of delight, and bounded towards me flourishing his own brace of revolvers in his hands. "they're all here!" he cried. "all our guns are here, an' th 'ca'tridges too! now we _have_ got the bulge on these devils for sure!" as he spoke i also was thrilled with joy at the thought of the vengeance which this recovery of our arms might enable us to take upon fray antonio's murderers; but my joy was only momentary, for i could not but reflect that, after all, these aztlanecas had but acted in accordance with their lights--excepting only the priest captain, for whom the most cruel death would be all too merciful--and that our slaying them would not be vengeance, but mere brutal revenge. having which thoughts in mind, i answered, "at least we can shoot ourselves with them, and so be safe from death by sacrifice." "not much we won't shoot ourselves," young replied, with great energy; "an' nobody's goin' t' come monkeyin' 'round us with sacrifices, either. why, man alive, we ain't goin' t' stay here--not by a jugful! we're goin' t' light right out o' this an' be smack off for home." "how?" i asked, blankly, and with real alarm; for the hot hope that had filled me at the thought of our having found a way of escape had vanished as i perceived that from this chamber there was no outlet save the hole in the roof; which hole also accounted for the current of air whereby my hope had been inspired. therefore, when young spoke in this extravagant fashion, the dread came over me that he was going mad. "how?" he answered, "why, through that jack mullins, of course. he _is_ th' tippin' kind. i was just tryin' him, while you was pokin' 'round in that old rubbish, when i happened t' ketch sight of our guns; an' seein' them, you bet, made me bounce. here goes for another shot at him! stick somethin' under him t' keep him up when i heave." i was so dazed by the stunning wonder and by the joy that young's words carried with them, that i obeyed his order mechanically. with a grave seriousness he seated himself upon the head of the idol; and as the figure and the stone base upon which it rested settled down at the end upon which he sat, and its other end correspondingly swung upward, showing beneath it a dark opening, i wedged up the mass with a heavy plate of gold that served as the lid of one of the boxes ranged upon the shelves. "it won't do for us both together t' go down there," young said, as he rose from his seat and we peered into the dark cavity. "mullins might take 't into his fool head t' shut himself up while we was down there, an' that ud mean cold weather for rayburn an' pablo. i'll just jump down them steps an' prospect a little, while you look after him t' see that he keeps steady;" and with these words down he went into the hole. in five minutes or so he joined me again. "it don't look like th' nicest place i ever got into," he said, "but i guess we'll have t' take th' chances on it. there's a little room down there, an' out o' that a kind of a back entry leads into an everlastin' big cave. but there seems t' be a sort of a path runnin' along in the cave--it's all as dark as th' devil--an' as paths mostly have two ends to 'em, i guess if we keep on long enough we'll get somewhere. we can't stay here, that's sure, so we've just got t' risk it, an' th' sooner we get rayburn down there th' better. when he's solidly safe, then we can do some prospectin'--by good-luck we've got lots o' matches--an' see where that path goes to. just sling on your guns, professor, an' let's mosey back an' get th' percession started. it's hard lines on rayburn t' tumble him into a hole like that when he's feelin' so bad; but i guess it's better t' take th' chances o' killin' him that way ourselves than it is t' let these devils do it for sure. come on!" while he was speaking, young had buckled his revolvers about his waist and had slung his rifle over his shoulder, and i also in like manner had armed myself--whereby was restored to me a most comforting feeling of strength. as for young, the recovery of his weapons seemed to make him grow two inches taller, and he swaggered in his walk. xxxvi. the vengeance of the gods. almost in the moment that we thus found ourselves in condition to show fight again, the need for fighting seemed like to be forced upon us; for as we turned to leave the treasure-chamber we were startled by hearing a creaking sound that we knew came from the sliding upward of the grating in its metal grooves wherewith the entrance to our prison was made fast. we paused for a moment, and then young motioned to me to follow him, stepping lightly; and as we came out into the oratory we heard a fresh creaking, by which we knew that the grating had been closed. "i guess it's only th' fellow puttin' in th' grub," young whispered. "but go easy, professor, an' have your guns all handy, so's you can shoot. if anybody _has_ come in it won't do t' let 'em get out again. only mind you don't shoot unless you really have to. if there's only two or three of 'em we'd better try t' club 'em with our winchesters, so's not t' bring all hands down on us with a rush before we can get rayburn away." as he spoke, we were assured that some one had entered when the grating was raised and had remained on our side of the grating when it was closed again, for we heard footsteps in the room where we ordinarily lay; and then the footsteps drew nearer, as though the unseen person were examining the other rooms in search of us, and we knew that in another moment or two this person would enter the chamber wherein we were. rayburn was lying so quietly that it seemed as though he had fallen into a swoon again; and pablo, as we could tell by hearing his sobs, had betaken himself to the room in which el sabio was tethered in search of solacing companionship. young motioned me to stand on one side of the entrance to the oratory, and himself stood on the other; and thus we waited, while the footsteps rapidly drew nearer, in readiness most effectually to cut off the retreat of whoever might enter the room. the man who did enter, passing between us, was the priest captain. as he saw the wreck of the idol, and the opening in the wall behind where the idol had stood, he uttered an exclamation of alarm and rage; and in the same moment some instinctive dread of the danger that menaced him caused him to turn suddenly around. so, for an instant, he confronted us--and never shall i forget the look of malignant hatred that was in his face as in that instant he regarded us, nor his quick despairing gesture at sight of young standing there with his rifle raised. even as he opened his mouth to cry out, before any sound came from his lips, the heavy barrel of young's rifle swept downward, and with a groan he fell. had the blow struck fairly it could not but have split the man's skull open; but he swerved aside a little as the rifle came down, and the weight of the stroke, glancing from his head, fell upon his shoulder. in an instant, dropping the rifle, young was kneeling on his breast with a hand buried in the flabby flesh of his old throat, holding tight-gripped his windpipe. excepting only rayburn, young was the strongest man i ever knew (though, to be sure, at that time he was weakened by his then recent wound and by the privations of his imprisonment), yet it was all that he could do to hold that old man down and to maintain his choking grasp. with a most desperate energy and a fierce strength that seemed out of all nature in a creature so lean and old and shrivelled, the priest captain writhed and struggled in his efforts to throw young off, and sought also to grasp young's throat with his long bony hands--while foam gathered on his thin lips, and his withered brown face grew black with congested blood, and his black eyes protruded until the half of the eyeballs, bloody with bursting reins, showed around the black, dilated pupils. and then him struggles slowly grew less and less violent, his knotted muscles gradually relaxed, his mouth fell open so that his tongue lolled out hideously, his legs and arms twitched a little spasmodically--and then he lay quite still. [illustration: young's struggle with the priest captain] for a minute or two longer young maintained his grasp. then rising to his feet, breathing heavily, he wiped the sweat from his face as he exclaimed, at the same moment giving the dead body a vicious kick: "you black devil, take that! now i've squared accounts with you for killin' th' padre--and it's the best day's work i've ever done!" though the struggle between the two had been a very desperate one, there had been no noise about it. through the whole fight rayburn had remained buried in his death-like stupor; and pablo, though so near to us, had heard no sound of it at all. "now, then, professor," young said, when he had got his wind back, "we've got t' bounce. th' first thing t' do is t' fasten that gratin' on our side, so's nobody can get in here t' bother us while we're doin' our skippin'. i guess we can sort o' wedge it fast so's t' stand 'em off for an hour or two, anyway, an' that's time enough to give us a fair start." "we can do something better than that, i think," i said, as we went together towards the grating. "unless i am much mistaken, only the priest captain knew about this sliding door and the treasure-chamber beyond it. if we can restore to their places those three plates, and can close the door behind us, i am persuaded that so far as pursuit of us is concerned we shall be absolutely safe." "gosh!" young exclaimed. "d' you know, professor, i wouldn't 'a' given you credit for havin' that much common-sense. it's a big idea, that is, an' we'll try it on. but, all th' same, we've got t' make things as sure as we can, an' this little job must be attended to first." as we approached the grating we saw two of the temple guard standing outside of it, apparently waiting for the priest captain's return; and these men looked at us with such evident suspicion that i feared for the success of our plans. "just talk to 'em," young said, hurriedly. "talk to 'em about th' last election, or chicken-coops, or anything you please, while i take a look 'round an' sec how we're goin' t' get this job done." young dropped behind me, and then aside and so out of sight, as i advanced to the grating and spoke to the men, whose faces somewhat cleared as i told them that the priest captain desired that they should wait there a little longer. and then i managed to hold their interest for some minutes while i spoke about the devil that was in el sabio, and about other devils of a like sort whom i had known in my time. while i thus spoke i heard a little tinkling sound, as of metal striking against stone--but if the soldiers also heard it they paid no attention to it--and then young whispered, "we're solid now; come on!" whereupon i quickly ended my imaginative discourse upon demoniac donkeys, and with no appearance of haste we walked away. "it was just as easy as rollin' off a log," young said, jubilantly. "there was a big gold peg stickin' there all ready t' slide into a slot, so's t' hold th' gratin' down, an' all i had t' do was t' slide it. i guess, with a plug like that holdin' that gratin' fast, they'll need jacks t' open it. th' only other way t' start it 'll be rammin' it with a bit o' timber; but bustin' it in that way 'll take a lot o' time, an' half an hour's plenty for all we've got t' do. if you're straight in thinkin' nobody knows about that slidin' door we're solid." i felt very sure in my own mind that i was right in believing that only the priest captain had known of this secret opening; for, after him, the most likely person to have knowledge of it was the keeper of the archives, and that he was altogether ignorant of it i was well assured. therefore i most cheerfully helped young, so far as my unskilful hands could be useful, in the work of restoring the gold plates to the places whence the lightning had wrenched them loose; and when this work was done, so cleverly did young manage it, there was no possibility of distinguishing the door from any other portion of the wall; nor was there then a sign of any sort remaining to show that by the passage of a thunder-bolt the idol had been destroyed. as we were finishing this piece of work we heard the soldiers at the grating calling to the priest captain--at first in low tones, and then more loudly; and then we heard them give a yell together, which convinced us that they had tried to raise the grating and had found that it was fastened down. the ten minutes that followed was the most exciting time that i ever passed through. notwithstanding the secure fashion in which the grating was fastened, we could not but dread that those outside had knowledge of some means whereby it could be loosened; and in any event there was no doubt but that they could force a way in upon us by beating it down. therefore we knew that there was no safety for us until we were fairly out of the oratory, and had closed behind us the sliding door--and with such difficult material to deal with as rayburn, who still lay in a heavy stupor, and pablo, whom sorrow had wellnigh crazed, we found it hard to make such haste as the sharp exigency of our situation required. pablo, indeed, was so lost in wonder at finding the broken idol, and the dead body of the priest captain, and a door open in the solid wall, that what little remained of his wits disappeared entirely; so that we had almost to carry him--while el sabio most intelligently followed him--into the treasure-chamber, and there we left the two together while we returned for rayburn. and as we lifted the stretcher our hearts bounded, for at that instant there was a tremendous crash at the grating; whereby we knew that those without had brought to bear against it some sort of a battering-ram that they might beat it in. "it's a close call," young said between his teeth; and added, as we rested the stretcher inside the passage while we closed behind us the sliding door: "if you're off your base, professor, an' they do know th' trick o' this thing, it may be all day with us yet--but it's a comfort t' know that even if they do finish us we'll everlastin'ly salt 'em first with our guns." we heard another great crash behind us, but faintly now that the sliding door was closed, as we went onward into the treasure-chamber; and here we heard the like sound again, more clearly, through the slits cut in the wall. as gently as our haste, and the awkwardness of that narrow way would permit, we lifted rayburn from the stretcher, and so carried him down the short flight of stairs beneath the upraised statue to the little chamber that there was hollowed in the rock. here we laid him upon the stretcher again; and then, without any ceremony whatever, we bundled pablo and el sabio down the hole. it was a smaller aperture, even, than that through which we had come forth from the cave of the dead, and how el sabio was able to condense himself sufficiently to get through it will remain a puzzle to me to my dying day. all this while we could hear plainly, through the slits in the wall, the crashing blows which every minute or so were delivered against the grating, together with a shrill roar of shouts and yells; and we knew that before this vigorous assault the grating must give way within a very brief period, and so let in the whole yelping pack. if i were right in my belief that the priest captain alone knew of the secret outlet to the oratory, we still would be safe enough, and could make some preliminary examination of the cave before we closed the way behind us irrevocably by letting the statue fall back into its place; but if i were mistaken, then there was nothing for us but to take the chance of life and death by going on blindly into that black cavern, after wedging fast the under side of the statue in such a way that it no longer could be swung open from above. it was most necessary, therefore, that we should see what course our enemies would take when they came into the oratory and found it empty of us, and the idol broken, and the priest captain lying dead there; and, that we might compass this end, young and i returned into the treasure-chamber and mounted upon a ledge that seemed to have been provided for a standing-place--whence we had a clear view into the oratory through the slits in the wall. and at the very moment that we thus stationed ourselves there reverberated through those rock-hewn chambers a deafening crash and a jingling clang of metal and a rattle of falling stone; and with this came a yell of triumph and a rush of footsteps--and then, in an instant, the oratory was full of soldiers and priests, all yelling together like so many fiends. but upon this violent hubbub there fell a hush of awe and wonder as those who had thus tumultuously entered the oratory saw the priest captain lying dead amid the fragments of the shattered idol, and perceived that the prisoners who had been shut within these seemingly solid walls had vanished utterly away; and then a sobbing murmur, that presently swelled into moans and cries of terror, arose from the throng; and in a moment more, seized by a common impulse, the whole company bowed downward, in suppliant dread of the gods by whom such direful wonders had been wrought. young gave a long sigh of relief, and with a most mouth-filling oath whispered in my ear, "they haven't tumbled to it, an' we're all right!" as we gazed at these terror-stricken creatures, a thought occurred to me on which i promptly acted. "get both of your revolvers pointed through that hole," i whispered to young. "point high, so that the balls will not hit anybody; and when i begin to shoot do you shoot also, and as quickly as you can. mind, you are not to hit anybody," i added; for i saw by the look on young's face that he longed to fire into the crowd point-blank. for answer he gave me a rather sulky nod of assent; but i saw by the way that he held his pistols that my order was obeyed. "now," i said, "fire!"--and as rapidly as self-acting revolvers would do it, we poured twenty-four shots through the slits in the wall. no doubt several people were hurt by balls bounding back from the rock, but i am confident that nobody was killed. when we ceased firing it was impossible to see anything in the oratory, because of the dense cloud of sulphurous smoke wherewith it was filled; but such shrieks and yells of soul-racking terror as came from beneath that black canopy i hope i may never hear again. i waited a little, until this wild outburst had somewhat quieted, and then--placing my mouth close to one of the openings and speaking in a voice that i tried to make like that of fray antonio--i said, in deep and solemn tones, "behold the vengeance of the strangers' god!" what effect my words produced i cannot tell. our firing must have loosened a fragment of rock between the gold plating that lined the oratory and the outer surface of the wall, and even as i spoke this fragment fell. with its fall the opening was irrevocably closed. "that was a boss dodge," said young, as he recharged his revolver. "those fellows 'll just think hell's broke loose in here, for sure; and i guess after they've onct fairly got outside they'll rather be skinned alive than come back again. but what did you say to 'em? hearin' you talkin' like th' padre, that way, gave me a regular jolt. don't you think, though, maybe it was a little bit risky t' give ourselves away?" but when i had repeated in english the words which i had spoken, young very seriously shook hands with me. "shake!" he said. "i've done you injustice, professor. sometimes i've thought that you was too much asleep for your own good--but if anybody ever did anything more wide awake than that, i'd like t' know _what_ he did and who he was. why, when those fellows tell about all that's been goin' on in here--about their busted idol, an' their dead priest captain, an' our skippin,' an' this row our shootin' has made, an' then about th' padre's ghost talkin' to 'em that way--it's bound t' give 'em such a jolt that th' whole outfit 'll slew smack round an' be christians right off!" some such notion as this had been in my own mind as i executed the plan that on the spur of the moment i had formed. when, later, i thought about it more calmly, i could not but regret, for fray antonio's sake, my hasty action; for he would have been the very last man to approve of such stringent methods of advancing the christian faith. if any result came from my demonstration, it certainly came through terror; and the essence of fray antonio's doctrine, as it was also of his own nature, was gentleness and love. xxxvii. through darkness to light. "i guess we're solid now, as far as bein' bothered by those sacred devils goes," young said, as we stepped down from the ledge of rock on which we had been standing; "but this ain't no time t' take no chances, an' th' sooner we see what show we've got for gettin' anywhere through that cave, th' better it'll be. an' we've got t' look after rayburn. he's closter t' handin' in his checks t'-day than he's been at all. just think o' him keepin' still through all that row, an lettin' himself be yanked around like a bag o' meal without takin' any notice of it! but there's just a squeal of a chance for him if we do get clear away. knowin' that he's safe 'll do him more good, even, than fresh air an' sunshine--an' oh lord! how good fresh air an' sunshine 'll be, if ever we do strike 'em again!" when we descended the stair-way again to the little hollow in the rock where rayburn was lying, we found that he still remained in his dull stupor and took no notice of our coming. close beside were pablo and el sabio, huddled together for mutual support in this very trying passage of their lives. el sabio, indeed, was a most melancholy and dejected creature, for his short commons and his long confinement had taken the spirit out of him pretty thoroughly; but for our purposes just then, when his tractability was very necessary to us, it was a piece of good-fortune that he had fallen into so low a way. as for pablo, the boy was in so dazed a condition that i feared greatly he would wholly lose his wits. there was only a faint suggestion of light in that deeply hidden place, and young struck a match that he might see to begin his explorations. "well, i'll be shot," he exclaimed, as the wax-taper shed its clear light around us, "if here ain't a conductor's lantern hangin' up all ready for us, an' a can o' kerosene oil!" as he lighted the lantern, and the letters f. c. c. showed clearly on the glass, he added, in a tone of still greater amazement: "ferro-carril central! why, it b'longs t' one o' th' boys on th' central!--but how th' dickens did it ever get _here_? an' here's a lot of old clothes--th' sort o' rags th' low-down greasers wear. an' i'm blest," he went on, as he picked up a scrap of paper from the floor, "if this ain't a mexican central ticket from leon to silao! it's dated last june, an' it's only punched once, so 't couldn't 'a' been used all the way. i say, professor, am i asleep or awake?" as i examined the several articles which we had come upon so strangely in this incongruous plate, a flood of light was let in upon my mind, and with this came also the glad certainty that the way before us to freedom was open and assured. my belief that the priest captain had been in communication with the outside world no longer admitted of a doubt, for here was absolute proof of it: the clothes which he wore when making his expeditions into the nineteenth century; the lantern that he had stolen in order the more easily to find his way through the cave; the railway ticket that he had but lately used. in an instant i had connected all this with what the guardian of the archives had told me concerning the priest captain's habit of retiring for long periods of time to one of the chambers in which we had been imprisoned, and the whole matter was as plain to me as day; and i knew now, that in order to guard against discovery, he, or one of his predecessors, to whom this secret way must also have been known, had caused to be set in place the fastening by which the grating could be secured upon its inner side; which fastening, within that very hour, had been the means of saving our lives. "well," said young, dryly, when i had briefly explained these several matters, "i guess he won't pull th' wool over nobody's eyes any more! an' now you an' me 'll do some prospectin'. we must go back upstairs, before we pull out for good, an' bag what there is there that's worth carryin' off; but th' first thing t' do is t' get rayburn where he'll be comfortable an' safe. until that's attended to we've got t' be careful an' go slow; so we'll rouse up this fool of a pablo, an' get it into his head that if he hears anybody comin' he's t' knock th' plug from under mullins an' let him down, an' then chock him fast with a rock underneath. it's not likely that anybody _will_ come, an' even if they do, i don't think that they'll know th' trick about mullins' tippin', for that's a point that i'll bet a whole kag o' beer th' priest captain didn't give away t' nobody. i tell you, professor, there wasn't any flies on that old man, now was there? he was a wicked old devil, an' i'm glad i did for him; but he was just an everlastin' keen one, an' a rustler from th' word go!" in the dazed condition in which he then was, we scarcely should have ventured to place pablo in a position of such grave responsibility had there been any likelihood of his being called upon to perform the duty with which we charged him; but we were well satisfied that to the priest captain alone had been known the secret of the sliding door, and that, consequently, the need for closing the passage leading upward into the treasure-chamber would not arise. without any fear for rayburn's safety; therefore, we left him lying in the little room at the foot of the stair-way, and thence went forth through a cleft in the rock--that seemed to be a natural crevice, where the mountain was split apart--and so came into a natural cave of such great size that the light of the lantern was not sufficient to enable us to see its roof nor its farther wall. save that the well-defined path that we followed was continuously steep, we did not find walking difficult, for the fragments of rock with which the floor of the cave everywhere was strewn had been lifted aside carefully, so as to make a smooth and easy way. and only in one place--where for a short distance the path skirted the edge of a black gulf, in the depths of which we could hear the rush of water--was any part of it dangerous. for near an hour we went onward, all the while steadily ascending; and then, as we turned a corner, we saw a long way before us a faintly luminous haze. it was so very faint that only by holding the lantern behind us, and then closing our eyes for a moment, could we assure ourselves that what we saw really was light at all; but when we turned another corner, presently, the light, though still faint, was unmistakable; whereat young gave a whoop of joy, and we quickened our steps in our eager longing to behold the sunshine that we knew could not be far away. suddenly the path dipped downward, and then another turn brought us into light so strong that the lantern no longer was needed to show us where to tread; and by a common impulse we gave a great glad shout together and went onward at a run; and so, running and shouting like the crazy creatures that truly for the time being we were, we made one turn more, and then beheld before us, reaching away broadly and openly in a fashion to give one a sense of most glorious freedom, a vastly wide plain, over which everywhere the blessed sunshine blazed full and strong. as we stood together in the mouth of the cave for a moment in silence--for no words seemed strong enough to express the bursting gladness that was in our hearts--two short blasts of a whistle, wafted upward on the light breeze that was blowing towards us from the plain, sounded very faintly but clearly in our ears. young started as he heard this sound, and as he turned towards me he held out his hand and said, in a voice that was husky and tremulous, "professor, that's a locomotive whistle, an' th' d----n fool is--is whistlin' 'down brakes'!" and in these curiously chosen, yet not unmeaning words, did we celebrate our deliverance. when we returned to rayburn--and as we now knew the way, and as almost the whole of it was downhill, our return was accomplished rapidly--some of the joyous strength that we had gained seemed to be imparted to him. he opened his eyes as we stooped over him, and there seemed to be more life in them than there had been through all that day. "rouse up, old man!" young cried cheerily. "we've struck th' trail out o' this cussed hole at last, an' we're goin' t' hike you right along to where you'll get some of god's sunshine again, an' some air that's fit for a white man t' breathe;" which words brought still more light into rayburn's eyes, and a little color came into his pale cheeks as we told him of the open way that we had found to light and life. "where's the padre?" he asked, as we together raised the stretcher, while pablo, holding the lantern and leading el sabio, went on ahead of us. fortunately rayburn could not see young's face as he answered: "th' padre's--well, th' padre's just gone on up th' line. you've got t' hold your jaw, rayburn. you ain't fit t' talk; an' while we're packin' you along we can't talk either. come on, professor; and you, pablo," he added, in his jerky spanish. "be careful with that lamp or i'll break the head of you!" although a good third of his flesh had wasted away, rayburn would have been a heavy load for us to carry over level ground, even had we been hale and strong. worn as we then were by our prison-life, we found carrying him up that long steep path in the heart of the mountain a weary work that only the hope and joy that strengthened us enabled us to accomplish. as it was, we went so slowly, and made so many halts for rest, that the sun had sunk almost to the level of the distant mountains, wherewith that great plain was bordered to the westward, when at last our toilsome journey was at an end. but we thought nothing of the heaviness of our labor as we saw the glad look that came into his face when he gazed out over that broad expanse of sunlit landscape, and snuffed eagerly the sweet fresh air, and so felt his soul grow light within him as he realized that he once more was safe and free. in the mouth of the cave--within its shelter, yet where he could see out freely, and so have constantly in his mind the comforting thought of his deliverance--we made a bed for him of soft pine-branches, which some near-by trees gave us; and we took care that this couch should be so thick and so evenly laid that he would lie easily upon it; for we knew that many days, perhaps even weeks, must pass before we could venture to put so heavy a strain upon his strength as would come when we carried him down that rough mountain-side, and so began our journey towards home. fortunately, a little spring came out from the rock, clear and cool, just inside the cave; and game was so abundant on that mountain-side that young came back presently from a foraging expedition with half a dozen codornices, that he had come so close to as to shoot with his revolver, and a jack-rabbit that he actually had caught with his hands as it jumped up almost beneath his feet; which excellent fare made a most satisfying supper for all of us; and eating it so added to rayburn's strength--as we could tell by the fuller tones of his voice, and by his being able to move a little on his bed without our helping him--as to rouse in us a warm hope that the death that seemed so near to him might yet be thrust away. our chief concern, lest the shock that would come to him of knowing it should fairly kill him, was to hide from him for the present the knowledge that fray antonio was dead; and to compass this end we plumply told him the flat-footed lie that the monk had gone on in search of some town whence he might bring back horses and supplies; and so, for a time, we laid at rest his doubts. in his own original way, also, young tried to put heart into him. "you see, old man," he said, "you've just _got_ t' pull through. think how d----d ashamed o' yourself you'd feel after you was dead when you had t' tell all th' folks in heaven that you was killed by nothin' better'n a mis'rable chump of an injun! that was what bothered poor old steve hollis when he was handin' in _his_ checks--'t least it was th' same general sort of idea. i guess you never knew steve, did you, rayburn? he was an old railroader--had been a-workin' on th' old colony one way and another for more'n twenty years. when i knowed him he used t' run th' steamboat express from boston t' fall river--their boss train on that blasted old road. steve owned a house clost t' th' line just a little way out o' braintree; an' when 't was his day off he'd mostly slide down from fall river on no. , an' walk out home from braintree along th' track. nobody ever know'd just how 't happened--steve was th' soberest man i ever knowed; never drunk a drop o' nothin'--but one day, as he was walkin' out home, no. , that was th' slow freight from boston t' newport, ketched him an' got in its work on him--an' that was th' end o' steve. it didn't kill him right smack off, an' i went down t' see him; for i did think th' world of old steve. he was a-layin' in his bed, an' i could see that he was a-most gone when i got there; but he chippered up a little for a minute as i shook hands with him and ast him how he was. he said he was poorly; an' then he kep' quiet for a while. then he kind o' ketched his breath an' seemed t' want t' say somethin'. so i bent over him, an' he said, in a kind of a whisperin' groan: 'jus' think of it, seth, what did it was th' slow freight! that's what cuts me; that's what cuts me the worst kind. i wouldn't a-minded if 't had been th' express--them things will happen, an' they've got t' come. but here i've been a-railroadin' for more'n twenty year, an' t' think o' _me_ bein' busted by that d----n slow freight!' an' then he turned over, an' give a sort of a grunt, an' died." i am not sure that i myself should have selected this particular story to tell to rayburn just then; but the moral that it contained unquestionably was a sound one, and, in a way, was calculated to impress upon him strongly the conviction that his duty was to get well. xxxviii. king chaltzantzin's treasure. whether or not young's story had this good effect upon rayburn, i am not prepared to say; but it is certain that he slept well that night--his first good night's sleep for many weeks--and that when morning came he was so much stronger and brighter as to fill us with a still more earnest hope that he was well started on the way to recovery. young quickly brought in some birds for our breakfast, and when the meal was finished he took me aside and said: "now, professor, lets me an' you go back t' that hole an' bring away all there is there that's worth carryin'. it's not much, i guess, but it's better'n nothin'. it just makes me sick t' think of all that gold, that ud 'a' made our everlastin' fortunes if we'd only been able t' pack it along with us. there was millions an' millions there, i s'pose--an' it 'll never do us any more good than if we'd never seen it at all!" and as young spoke he heaved a very melancholy sigh. "but we may as well grab all we can get," he went on, more cheerfully. "there was a lot o' gold boxes an' jugs in th' room where mullins is; an' maybe there's somethin' that's worth havin' in all them little pots. let's go back an' see, anyway. rayburn's lookin' almost all right this mornin'; and pablo's got his wits back now, an' can give him anything he wants." for my own part i did not desire, because of their money value, any of the articles which i had seen in the treasure-chamber; but i did very earnestly long to possess myself of that most curious arbalest, and i desired also to examine carefully--because of the discoveries of great archæological value which i hoped to make--the contents of the gold boxes and vases and earthen jars. therefore, rayburn having expressed his entire willingness that we should leave him, i assented readily to young's proposition; whereupon young lighted the lantern and we set off. as we entered again the treasure-chamber there was within me a strong feeling of awe. during our hurried passage through it, the imminent danger in which we were, and then the excitement of the scene in the oratory, and then the joyfulness of our finding a way of escape, had prevented me from realizing how wonderful was the deposit that this room contained; a deposit that certainly had lain there for not less than a thousand years, and that unquestionably was the most perfect surviving trace of the most intelligent and most interesting people that in prehistoric times dwelt upon this continent. which strange reflections, now that my mind was free to entertain them and to dwell upon them, aroused within me a feeling of such reverent wonder that i hesitated for some moments before i could bring myself to disturb what thus through so long a sweep of ages had remained sacredly inviolate. but reverence, as he himself would have said, was not young's strongest hold; in truth, i am persuaded that there was not an atom of it in his entire composition; and as i stood hesitating beside the statue of chac-mool he briskly called to me: "come right along, professor; there ain't nobody t' stop us now. we've got th' drop, you might say, on th' whole outfit, an' we can do just as we blame please. this looks like a badly kept drug store, don't it?" he went on, "with all these pots an' boxes an' little jars stuck round on th' shelves. well, here goes t' see what's in 'em: not much o' nothin', i guess; but then it _might_ be di'monds, an' that just would be gay!" as young spoke he thrust his hand into one of the earthen jars, and thereby set flying such a cloud of dust that for some seconds his violent sneezing prevented him from examining the small object that he had brought forth from the jar and held in his hand; and when he did examine this object an expression of intense disgust appeared upon his face, and he exclaimed, indignantly, "why, it's nothin' but a fool arrow-head!" i could not but laugh at young as i took the arrow-head from him. for my purposes, this beautifully carved piece of obsidian was far more precious than a diamond would have been; and i tried--quite unsuccessfully, however--to arouse his interest in this proof of the high degree of skill to which the prehistoric races of america had attained in the manipulation of an exceedingly hard yet delicate variety of stone; and i added that not less interesting was the proof thus afforded us of the great value which these same races attached to implements of war. "oh, come off with your prehistoric races, professor!" he growled. "a whole car-load o' rubbish like this wouldn't be worth a nickel t' anybody but a scientific crank like you. if this is th' sort o' stuff that that old king o' yours thought was worth hidin', i guess he must 'a' been off his head. but that pot may 'a' got in by mistake. before i get too much down on him i'll give him another show." with which words, but cautiously, that the dust might not be disturbed, he thrust his hand into another jar, and was mightily resentful upon finding that what he brought forth from it was only the head of a lance. however, the determination to give king chaltzantzin a chance to prove his sanity, together with the hope that something of real value might be found, led him to continue his investigations, and he presently had examined all the jars ranged on two sides of the room; and his grumbling curses increased constantly in vigor as jar after jar yielded only arrow-heads, and lance-heads, and chisel-shaped pieces of obsidian, that i perceived must have been intended for the making of the cutting edges of the maccahuitl, or aztec sword; but, for my part, all of these things filled me with the liveliest pleasure as i took them from young and attentively examined them; for the delicate and perfect workmanship that they exhibited showed them to have been made by a people that had reached the highest development of the stone age. "this business is gettin' worse, instead o' better," young said, gloomily, as he began his search on the third side of the room by opening one of the small gold boxes. "the stuff in here is nothin' but a mean sort o' wrappin'-paper with pictures on it--like that old map o' yours that got us started on this tomfoolin' treasure-hunt. i s'pose _you'll_ just have a fit over it!" and as i uttered an eager cry of delight, and bent over this casket that contained such inestimable riches, he gave a sniff of contempt, and added: "there, i thought so. you think more o' that rotten old stuff than you would o' gold dollars. well, there's no accountin' for tastes, and it takes all sorts o' people t' make th' world." but i paid no attention to him as i rapidly glanced over these priceless manuscripts; and then had my cup of happiness filled absolutely to overflowing by the glad discovery that in every one of the gold boxes, of which there were nine in all, treasures of a like sort were stored. in the supplemental volume (in elephant folio) to my _pre-columbian conditions on the continent of north america_ these wonderful manuscripts are reproduced in fac-simile; and when that great work is published the surpassing value of my discovery will be at once recognized. it is sufficient to say here that these several codices together constituted a complete hieratic chronicle of the aztec tribes; and that (herein lying the extraordinary value of the collection) the uncertain picture-writing was accompanied by a translation into the ideographic characters of later times, the meaning of which i was enabled, thanks to the instruction that my friend the guardian of the archives had given me, fully to understand. in short, my discovery precisely paralleled that of boussard; for even as the rosetta stone gave the key to egyptian hieroglyphics, so did this transliteration into intelligible characters make all aztec picture-writing plain. as the full significance of my discovery burst upon me, my joy and the excitement of my splendid triumph so moved me that my hands trembled as i held these precious manuscripts, and i no longer could see clearly the painted characters because of the tears of happiness which filled my eyes. young, however, whose longing was only for material treasure, continued his investigations in anything but a thankful mood. "there ain't no doubt of it _now_," he said presently in a most melancholy tone. "that old king o' yours must 'a' been just as crazy as a loon. look here: this thing ain't even a fool arrow-head; it's nothin' but a bit o' green glass! i reckon it's part o' th' bottom of a porter-bottle. nice sort o' stuff this is t' call treasure, an' t' take such an all-fired lot o' trouble t' hide away! why, i should jedge that that king must 'a' spent most of his time settin' up nights a-puzzlin' over plans for makin' sure that he was th' very d----dest biggest fool that ever lived!--an' that's just what he was, for sure! it's tough, gettin' left this way; but it wouldn't begin t' be as tough as 't is if 't wasn't for all them car-loads an' car-loads o' gold right clost by us here that we might 'a' got away with as easy as rollin' off a log if we'd only ketched on to this back-door racket in time. an' see here, professor," he went on in a very earnest tone, "i don't believe there's anybody in there now; why shouldn't we just chance things a little an' go back an' get some of it? we've got our guns; an' even if we do strike a crowd too big for us t' tackle, an' have t' run for it, we won't be no worse off 'an we are now. come, let's try it on!" while young spoke i had been looking closely at the object that so violently had excited his indignation, and instead of replying to him i asked, "are there any more pieces of that porter-bottle in the jar?" "it's full of 'em," he answered with a contemptuous brevity. "and the next?" "that's full of 'em too. all th' jars on this side o' th' room are full of 'em," he added, as he rapidly thrust his hand into one after another--and so set the dust to flying that we both fell to sneezing as though we would sneeze our heads off. "oh come along, professor: what's th' use o' foolin' over this rubbish; let's go for th' stuff that's good for its weight in spot cash every time!" "wait till we see what is in these gold vases over here," i answered, turning as i spoke to the side of the room that as yet we had not examined. "what's th' good?" he asked, sulkily. but he lifted down one of the vases, and with his thumb and finger brought forth from it a little round black ball. "worse an' worse," he said, as he handed the ball to me. "we've got down t' what looks like lumps o' shoemaker's wax now. that's about th' sickest lookin' thing t' call itself treasure i ever did see!" it did not seem to me probable that the little ball was shoemaker's wax; but in order to settle this point experimentally i cut into it with my penknife. under the gummy exterior i found a layer of cotton-wool, and enclosed in this a hard substance about the size of a hazel-nut. while i was making this examination, young investigated into the contents of the remaining vases--which themselves were exceedingly interesting, being made of hammered gold and most curiously engraved. "they're no good," he said, "except i s'pose th' mugs must be worth somethin'. shoemaker's wax in 'em all! it's worse 'an th' porter-bottles--for what's th' use o' shoemaker's wax t' folks who don't rightly know what a shoe is? come along, i say, professor, an' let's have a whack at them piles o' gold. if we don't tackle 'em we might just as well never have come on this treasure-hunt at all. some o' the stuff in here's worth havin'--th' gold mugs an' boxes, an' that old gold bow-gun that you're so busted about--but what does th' whole of it amount to, anyway, when you come t' divide it up among four men an' a jackass? i guess even th' jackass ud turn up his nose at it if he knowed what a lot more there was that was t' be had just for grabbin' it an' packin' it along. it's somethin', i s'pose, that we've pulled through without losin' our hair; but we _have_ pulled through all right, an' now we want t' make this business pay; an' unless we go for that gold this business won't 'a' paid worth a cuss--an' instead o' comin' out on top we'll be left th' very worst kind!" as young was delivered of this dismal remonstrance i handed him the small object that i had extracted from the pitch-coated ball. "before you make up your mind that we are likely to be 'left,' as you term it, suppose you look at this," i said. he held out his hand carelessly; but as he saw what i had placed in it his expression suddenly changed, and he burst forth excitedly: "great scott! where did this come from? why--why, professor, it _looks_ like it was a pearl; but if 't truly is one it's about th' bustin'est biggest one that godamighty ever made! do you truly size it up for a pearl yourself?" "most assuredly," i answered. "and it is a fair assumption, i think, that there is a pearl in each one of all these little pitch-covered balls. as to what you called bits of green glass, they are neither more nor less than extraordinarily fine emeralds; i should say that the smallest of them must be worth more dollars than you could carry at a single load. of course, all the emeralds and pearls together are not worth a single one of these manuscripts"--here young gave a sceptical grunt--"but in the way of vulgar material riches i am confident that the value of what is in these jars is greater than that of all the gold together that we saw in the valley of aztlan. without a shadow of doubt, you and i at this moment are standing in the midst of the most enormous treasure that ever has been brought together since the world was made!" "honest injun, professor?" "certainly," i answered; "and if this is your notion of getting 'left' on a treasure-hunt," i continued, "it assuredly is not mine." "left?" young repeated after me, while his eyes ranged exultantly over the rows of jars in which this vast wealth was contained. "well, i should smile! i take it all back about that old king bein' crazy. he was just as level-headed as george washington an' dan'l webster rolled into one. these pots full of arrow-heads an' such stuff was only one of his little jokes, showin' that he must 'a' been a good-natured, comical old cuss, th' kind i always did like, anyway. left? not much we ain't left! we've just everlastin'ly got there with all four feet to onct! professor, shake!" epilogue. throughout my whole life i have been saddened, as each well-defined section of it has come to an end, by the thought that during the period that has then slipped away from me forever i have wasted more opportunities than i have improved. as i write these final lines, therefore, i feel a sorrowful regret, which, in a way, is akin to the regret that weighed upon me when young and i, having carried into the cave the contents of the treasure-chamber, removed the prop wherewith was upheld the swinging statue, and so suffered to fall into place again that ponderous mass of stone. from below, where we were, lifting it was impossible; and by heaping fragments of rock under the forward end of it we presently made it equally immovable from above. thus for outlet or for inlet that way was irrevocable barred; and as i write now i know that i am not less irrevocable severing myself from one portion of my past. for, says the persian poet, "a finished book is a sealed casket. to it nothing can be added. from it nothing can be taken away. therefore should we pray to allah that its contents may be good." the record that i am now ending was begun partly that i might find in the writing of it relief from the more serious work in which i have been engaged, and partly because i perceived that i could properly include in a personal narrative many matters which were too trivial or too entirely personal to be incorporated into my extended scientific treatise, but which, i was persuaded, were of a sufficient interest to be preserved. but i certainly should not have finished this history of our adventures nearly so expeditiously had not rayburn and young taken a very lively interest in it, and pressed me constantly to bring it to an end. "you see, professor," said young, "i don't want t' say anything against that big book you're writin'. i don't doubt that in its way it'll be a daisy; but you know yourself there won't be more'n about three cranks in th' whole o' god's universe who'll ever read more'n about ten lines of it; an' that's why i want you t' rush ahead with th' little book--that stands some chance o' bein' read outside o' lunatic asylums--so's folks'll know what a powerful queer time we've had. don't be too cussed particular t' say just where that valley is--for, while it's not likely, we might want t' take a fightin' crowd along an' dynamite our way back there some day after more cash; but, exceptin' that, just give 'em th' cold facts. i reckon they'll make some folks open their eyes." from times to time, as my narrative has grown beneath my hand, i have read aloud to my fellow-adventurers what i have written, and have received from them suggestions in accordance with which it has been corrected or amended in its several parts; and it is but just to add, in this connection, that in every case where i have referred (as it seems to me now in words not nearly strong enough) to the loyalty to our common interests, and to the splendid bravery which rayburn and young constantly exhibited throughout that trying time, i have been compelled to exert the whole of my authority over them in order to win their grumbling permission that my words might stand. even pablo--for the love that there was between this boy and me was far too strong to permit me to leave him behind in mexico, and we are like to live together as long as we live at all--has taken issue with me concerning what i have written of his steadfast faithfulness and courage; and this on the ground that he could not possibly be anything but faithful to those whom he loved, and that it is only natural for a man to fight for his own life, and for the lives of his friends. in thus applying the word _hombre_ to himself pablo spoke a little doubtfully, as though he feared that i might question his right to it; yet did he roll it so relishingly under his tongue, and so well had he proved his manliness, that i suffered it to pass. in point of fact, the only member of our party who has accepted my just tribute of praise with entire equanimity has been el sabio. it was pablo's notion, of course, that el sabio should hear what i had written about him. "not the whole of it, you know, señor," the boy said, earnestly; "for some of what you have written--while i know that it is true, and therefore must be told--would hurt his tender heart. it was not his fault--the angel!--that he gave us so much trouble when we swung him across the cañon; and to tell him that there was even a thought of eating him, while we were in that dreadful valley where every one was dead, assuredly would turn him gray before his time. no; we will hide all such unpleasant parts of the book from him; but we will read to him what you have said concerning his beauty and his wisdom--and, surely, you might have said of those a great deal more; and also about his gallant fight with the priests, when, all alone, he slew so many of them with his heels. and it would have been fairer to el sabio, señor," pablo added, a little reproachfully, as we walked out together to the paddock in which the ass, grown to be very fat, was living a life of most royal ease, "had you told in the book how well he served us in bringing all the treasure, in many weary journeys, out through that dismal cave; and also how carefully he carried the señor rayburn down that steep mountain-side, and so to the little town beside the railway, and never hurt his wound." however, el sabio did not seem to notice these omissions from my narrative, though he certainly did exhibit a most curious air of interest and understanding as i read to him those laudatory portions of it which pablo desired that he should hear. according to pablo's understanding of his language, he even thanked me for speaking well of him; for when the reading was ended he thrust his nose far forward, laid his long ears back upon his neck, planted his little legs firmly, and as he erected in triumph his scrag of a tail, he uttered a most thunderous bray. "and now, wise one," pablo said, tenderly, as he infolded the head of the ass in his arms and hugged it to his breast, "thou knowest that we not only love thee for thy goodness and thy wisdom, but that we also honor thee for thy noble deeds." rayburn's fancy was mightily tickled by this performance in which el sabio and pablo and i had engaged--though young evidently thought it but another proof of the addled state of my brains--when i told about it that evening as we all sat smoking comfortably in my library before the open fire. this was to be our last meeting for some time to come; for rayburn was to start the next day for idaho to look after some mining matters, and young suddenly had decided that he would accompany him. in truth, young was rather at a loss to know what to do with himself; for his plan for buying the old colony railroad, in order to be in a position to discharge its superintendent, had been abandoned. "i'd like t' do it, of course," he said. "bouncin' that chump th' same way that he bounced me would do me a lot o' good; but i've made up my mind it wouldn't be th' square thing t' do, considerin' that if he hadn't bounced me i'd still be foolin' round on top o' freight-cars, in all sorts o' weather, handlin' brakes. so i've let up on him, an' he can stay. what i want now is t' do some good with this all-fired big pile o' money that i've got. that's one reason why i'm goin' out with rayburn t' idaho. right straight along from here t' boisé city i mean t' set up drinks for every railroader i meet. that'll be doin' good, for sure." [illustration: in the library before the open fire] rayburn and i laughed a little at this odd method for benefiting humanity that young had got hold of; and then rayburn's face grew grave as he said: "well, we're doing a little good, i suppose, in putting that old church in morelia in good shape. i'm glad you thought of that, professor. i don't suppose that anything we could have done would have pleased the padre more than to have that church, that he loved so much, made as handsome as money can make it all the way through." "yes," young added, "an' i guess th' professor's head was level in havin' all th' new stuff that we've put in it made t' look like 't was about two hundred years old. i did kick at that at first, i'll allow. what i wanted t' do was t' build a first-class new church, with a rattlin' tall steeple, an' steam heat, an' electric lights, an' an organ big enough t' bust the roof off every time she was played. but th' padre was as keen as th' professor, a'most, for old-fashioned things; an' so i guess we've done that job just about as he'd 'a' done it himself. it makes me feel queer, though, puttin' up money on a catholic church that way; an' when i was tellin' an old aunt o' mine, down t' milton, about it, she just riz up an' rared. an' she didn't feel a bit better when i told her that if i thought it ud please th' padre t' have me do it, i'd go smack off t' rome an' shake hands with th' pope. and i truly would do that very same thing," young continued, earnestly, while his voice trembled a little, "for this side o' heaven i never expect t' meet anybody that's so near t' bein' a first-class angel as th' padre was. an' when i think how he saved our mis'rable lives for us, as he surely did, by givin' away his own--that was worth more'n all of ours put together, an' ten times over--i don't care a continental what his religious politics was; an' i'll punch th' head of anybody who don't say that he was th' pluckiest an' th' best man that ever lived!" pablo had caught the word padre in young's talk, and as the lad looked up from the corner in which he was sitting, i saw that his eyes were full of tears; rayburn's eyes also had an odd glistening look about them as he turned away suddenly, and emptied the ashes from his pipe into the fire; and i know that i could not see very clearly just then, as very tender, yet very poignant memories surged suddenly into my heart. and when the others left me--as they did presently, for we could not fall again into commonplace talk--i bade pablo be off to bed, and so sat there for a while alone. what i had planned to do that night was to revise an address that i was shortly to deliver before the archæological institute; but the pen that i had taken into my hand lay idle there, while my thoughts went backward through the channels of the past. in that still season of darkness i seemed to live again through all the time that fray antonio and i had been together--from the moment when i first caught sight of him, as he knelt before the crucifix in the sacristy, to my last sad look at the dead body whence his soul had sped back again to god. as my thoughts dwelt upon this most loving and most tender companionship, the like of which for perfectness i am confident was never known, and then upon the cruel violence that brought it to an end, so searching a pain went through my soul that i knew that either it must cease or i must die of it in a very little while. and then was borne in upon me the strong conviction--and so has it since been always, when thus my thoughts have been engaged--that because of my very love for fray antonio must i rejoice that he had died so savage a death; believing confidently that what he prayed for when first i found him in the christian church of san francisco was, in truth, that very crown of martyrdom that god granted to him when at last i lost him in the heathen city of colhuacan. and with the pressing in upon me thus strangely of this strange thought, it seemed as though he himself said again to me, "i go to win the life, glorious and eternal, into which neither death nor sin nor sorrow evermore can come." the end. indian notes and monographs edited by f. w. hodge vol. ix [illustration: logo] no. a series of publications relating to the american aborigines reports on the maya indians of yucatan by santiago mendez, antonio garcÍa y cubas, pedro sanchez de aguilar, and francisco hernandez edited by marshall h. saville new york museum of the american indian heye foundation this series of indian notes and monographs is devoted primarily to the publication of the results of studies by members of the staff of the museum of the american indian, heye foundation, and is uniform with hispanic notes and monographs, published by the hispanic society of america, with which organization this museum is in cordial coöperation. only the first ten volumes of indian notes and monographs are numbered. the unnumbered parts may readily be determined by consulting the list of publications issued as one of the series. reports on the maya indians of yucatan by santiago mendez antonio garcÍa y cubas, pedro sanchez de aguilar and francisco hernandez edited by marshall h. saville contents page preface the maya indians of yucatan in , by santiago mendez customs women dress language stature, physiognomy, color savage tribes note by antonio garcía y cubas notes on the superstitions of the indians of yucatan ( ), by pedro sanchez de aguilar of the religious beliefs of the indians of yucatan in . report of francisco hernandez glossary bibliography notes preface so little has been written in regard to the ethnology of the maya indians of yucatan, and especially concerning their beliefs, which persist to the present time, that we publish here a translation of an important and practically unknown account of this subject. this report was printed in mexico in , but it is buried in a study by antonio garcía y cubas entitled "materiales para formar la estadistica general de la republica mexicana," in _boletin de la sociedad mexicana de geografia y estadistica_, segunda epoca, tomo ii, pp. - . it is on pages - , bears the date mérida, october , , and was written by santiago mendez, who states that he was governor of yucatan during the years - . in connection with a study of this report, so far as it relates to the beliefs of the maya, it will be profitable to consult the paper by dr daniel g. brinton on the folk-lore of yucatan, printed in the _folk-lore journal_, london, vol. i, part viii, pp., august, . we have also had translated the notes on the superstitions of the indians of yucatan contained in the work of pedro sanchez de aguilar, , published by the museo nacional of mexico in (pp. - ), and the report of francisco hernandez on the religious beliefs of the yucatan indians, which was sent to bartolomé de las casas, evidently while bishop of yucatan in , and is given by him in chapter cxxiii (pp. - ) of his apologetica historia de las indias, a work which did not appear in print until - , the first complete edition of which was edited by m. serrano y sanz, and printed at madrid in . the information contained in the mendez report is strikingly similar to that given by bartolomé josé granado baeza on los indios de yucatan, an account written in but not published until , when it appeared in the _registro yucateco_, tomo i, pp. - . this report of baeza is one of the principal sources used by brinton in his study. the editor has incorporated a few gbrief notes, and has prepared a glossary of the indian words and a short bibliography of the subject. marshall h. saville. the maya indians of yucatan in by santiago mendez _report on the customs, labor, language, industry, physiognomy, etc., of the indians of yucatan, made by the agent of the department of public works, who signs this report, in obedience to orders of february , ._ customs the character of the indians of yucatan is such that, were they to be judged only by their customs and their habits, we would have to qualify them as stupid and devoid of reason. it seems indifferent to them to be in the shade or exposed to rain or to the scorching rays of the sun, even though they could avoid it. it does not matter to them whether they go dressed or naked. they never try to obtain commodities they see other races enjoy, even though the trouble or sacrifice it would cost to get them might be but small. in order to rest or to chat with their companions they hardly ever sit down: they squat, it being quite indifferent to them that they do it in a sun that scorches them when they might perhaps have shade two steps from where they are. reward does not encourage them, nor does punishment admonish them; in the first place, they think they deserve more,--perhaps because they were always accustomed to be made use of,--and in the second case they consider punishment as a kind of fatality from which it is quite useless to try to deliver themselves: hence they do not reform. so long as their hunger is stilled, it is quite indifferent to them whether their meal is exquisite and varied, or whether it consists only of tortillas and chile, devouring their food in either case with astounding voracity. when they find themselves driven by utter necessity, they will work in order to remedy it, but they never do so with zeal or with the desire to improve their fortunes. they are so improvident that they may squander in one day the earnings of a week, in an exaggerated amount of dainties or in superstitious practices, and above all by intoxicating themselves, leaving their families without bread and clothing. or, they remain idle until whatever they earned by the sweat of their brow is gone. they cultivate a cornfield and gather a good harvest from it, and even though they do not need to do so, they will sell the corn with considerable loss in order to squander the money in splendid repasts and superstitions, both of which always go together. this harvest might insure the subsistence of their family for a whole year, but their improvidence will reduce them within a few days to having to sell themselves for work (peonage). the love of the parents for their children, of the children for their parents, and between husband and wife, is barely lukewarm, and not at all passionate, if we are to judge from their absolute lack of signs of sympathy, pity, or condolence. they contemplate dry-eyed and rather indifferently the suffering of their nearest, and even their demise, without allowing this to change their demeanor or letting it interfere in the least with their general customs of life. although some of them can read and write, they use it very little, either because they are very slow and clumsy in the exercise of both, on account, no doubt, of the lack of practice, and also because there is but little written in their own language. their children have usually no other education than that which they receive from the curates, priests, choirmasters, and teachers of the catechism, which education was formerly given to them at the church doors or in the mansions of the large ranches and farms, and they were compelled to assemble every morning from seven to eight to learn the catechism. at the present day, as it is not possible to force the parents to send their children to learn even this, there are but few who learn at all, especially among the boys. when the writer of this was governor of this state in the years and , he succeeded in establishing primary schools in almost all the villages, and although averse to anything that looks or sounds like despotism, he authorized, nevertheless, the mayors, justices of the peace, and chieftains (_caciques_[ ]) to use it in order to force parents to send their children to the said schools. unfortunately, in came the invasion by the forces of general santa anna, and in the effort to resist them, all the resources of the state were spent for many years in advance. then followed our own senseless revolutions and the almost general uprising of these same indians against the other native races, consequently these schools passed out of existence without it having been possible until this day to reëstablish them. hence this remains an unsolved problem and it is difficult to calculate the profit they might have brought (once the tenacious and persistent opposition of the indians overcome), leaving them convinced of the advantages it might mean to further their knowledge even in the manual labor they perform. generally they train their children from a very early age to help in their agricultural labor such as their forefathers did before the conquest, or else they teach them light manual labor, such as weaving little mats or matting in general, making small bags, baskets of all kinds and sizes, leather bands such as are used by the native porters, sacks, hammocks, ropes, to prepare henequen from agave fiber, to make straw hats, and so forth. in some villages they are taught to make common pottery, and in places near the coast they are shown how to extract salt, to fish, and seamanship in general. it is very rare that they are taught other arts and crafts or trades, with the exception perhaps in cities or principal towns, where, especially when they have been reared and educated in the households of white people, they may become efficient in the art of quarrying stone, though quite primitively, or they qualify as masons, shoemakers, tailors, muleteers, drivers, and cowboys. they also provide the town with firewood, charcoal, and fodder. with regard to their marriage customs, there is little else to say except that the daughter-in-law goes to live in the house of her father-in-law, and the son-in-law goes to live with his wife's parents, which is at present the most usual way, because an episcopal edict had to be issued prohibiting the first-mentioned to avoid the very frequent abuses committed on the bride by her father-in-law and brothers-in-law. at a very early age young men marry, without repugnance, women who are much older, widows, and even girls who have children born out of wedlock. to remonstrances made by those who wish to dissuade them in view of such conditions, they will reply, "why should i care? this happened before my time!" it is to be supposed that conjugal fidelity is not regarded very scrupulously by such couples. their most common diseases depend largely on the seasons, and recur regularly. during summer and fall, when fresh food is abundant, the indians are very immoderate in its use, consequently they suffer from diarrhea and vomiting. in spring and summer they have _tabardillo_, which is a burning fever, and dysentery, both of which are caused by too much exposure to the hot sun; and in winter obstinate constipation, colds, and affections of the throat and lungs. their curative methods consist merely of abstinence and of bleeding, which they perform with a thorn or a fish-bone, and they cool their blood by drinking sour _pozole_ or boiled lemonade, or else a decoction of a plant called _xhantumbú_. they never use emetics nor cathartics. ordinarily they eat two meals a day, one on rising and another in the evening. if they go to work in the field, after having breakfasted on tortillas and _atole_, they take with them a large lump of _pozole_ which they use as a refreshment at noon by diluting it in water. at sunset they leave work, and, returning home, eat the second meal, generally after having taken their bath. their usual food consists of boiled vegetables seasoned with salt, chile, and sometimes with the juice of oranges (the sour orange is used for this) or of lemons. on sundays, if they are able to do so, they buy beef or pork; these are the only days when they eat meat, except when they kill a wild bird or a creature of the woods while hunting. such meat they cook by baking it in a special way in the earth, or else in _pib_. the very poor among them live all the year round on tortillas and chile, and a bowlful of _pozole_ or _atole_. even the wealthiest content themselves with only one dish. this does not interfere with their being big eaters, nor devouring all they can get when it does not cost them anything. their usual beverage is called _pitarrilia_, consisting of the bark of a plant called _balché_ which they put in soak in fresh water and honey and let it ferment. after fermentation it becomes strong enough to be intoxicating. they are also very fond of liquor, and there are very few among them who do not become intoxicated occasionally, at least on sundays. experience, and to a certain extent tradition, are their only guides for telling the different seasons of the year; they have not the slightest remembrance of their ancient calendar system. they are accustomed to hear clocks strike where such exist, but otherwise, simply from the course of the sun, moon, and stars, they are able to regulate the hours of the day and night, more or less. they also know when an eclipse of the moon is approaching, attributing this phenomenon to an intention of the sun to destroy his satellite, and they therefore are prepared to make a fearful racket with sticks, _mitotes_, whistles or horns (_fotutos_[ ]), shotguns, and other instruments during the eclipse, believing that by so doing they can avoid the catastrophe. they sleep from early evening until four o'clock in the morning. their working hours, if it is at all necessary for them to go to work, last from sunrise to sunset. if they are paid, they walk or travel at all hours, even with a load. there are a few among them who are trustworthy and faithful in their contracts, and know how to keep their word and promises; but there is a greater number who absolutely lack all of these virtues, with the exception, perhaps, of the solemn promises they make to their saints, in the fulfilment of which they are scrupulously punctual. they lie easily and very frequently, although they are aware that lies are prohibited. generally they evade, whenever possible, a truthful answer which is to the point and fully satisfies the question. their principal vices are lasciviousness among both sexes, and drunkenness among the men. to do them justice though, we might as well acknowledge that it is more than probable that if other races and tribes had to live as they do, almost naked, in the complete liberty and isolation of country places, all members of one family, males and females, grownups and minors, the married and the single ones sleeping together in those little huts without any, or at best, very scant, knowledge of religion, of modesty and honor, without any fear of the consequences of unchastity to the women, without any intellectual enjoyment, reduced to the merest essentials--to satisfy hunger, thirst, sleep, and the intercourse of the two sexes, might they not be guilty of worse crimes? they are generally accused of being inclined to theft, but as a rule they steal small things of little value, and they are not known to recur to violence or murder to satisfy this tendency. the wealthy are free money-lenders to members of their own tribe and even to those of a different stock, so long as they are satisfied they are not going to be cheated. as in almost all of the most populated part of the yucatecan peninsula, it is impossible to use the plow for tilling the fields; labor is reduced to clearing the tropical growth by burning it in the height of summer and sowing corn or vegetables when the rains commence, to fencing in the fields and weeding them, etc. in order to be able to cultivate at one time as much as possible of their extensive lands, the wealthy indians pay their day-laborers and volunteers exceedingly well, either in money or in its equivalent in provisions at a price below its actual market value, especially in times of scarcity. they are guided in this by the rule, "this is sweat of my brethren and it is not right that they should pay it too dearly." if those workers are servants of some large ranch and live on the place, they are called _luneros_,[ ] because they give their master their day's work on mondays in exchange for the land he gives them to cultivate for themselves and for the water he allows them for irrigation of their fields. if they do not, for one reason or another, go to work on that day, he receives one real in silver instead. the customary amount of work they really are compelled to do for their master per year is twenty _mecates_ of clearing of untilled land and another twenty of already previously tilled fields. had the owner to pay for hired labor, this would amount to pesos, reals. in addition to this they have to give him two hours on saturdays for what they call _fagina_,[ ] which means work around the house of any kind their patron should order them to do. on some of the ranches the obligatory field-work is reduced to half, but in this case they have to pay their real for mondays, and always have to do the saturday's _fagina_. any other service or work they may be called on to do is paid or put to their account. by _milpa roza_,[ ] the first clearing of a field by felling trees, cutting and burning undergrowth, etc., is meant; while the _milpa caña_[ ] is the clearing of fields that have already been tilled the year before, where the cornstalks are to be split and burnt in order to plant again. those who are employed as cowboys on stock-farms receive a fixed wage, and are not subject to the monday service nor to the usual field-work. they have to look after the cattle and horses, and they have charge of the draw-wells, the tanks, and drinking pools. they have to attend to irrigation, weeding, and sowing of the truck gardens and orchards, and in general to do all work performed on such ranches either for their conservation and improvement or else in personal service to the owners or for the advantage of its products. it is also their duty to rasp a certain amount of henequen fiber from the agave each day. their wage is from eight to twelve reals per month and five _almudes_[ ] of corn per week. yet neither this latter nor the salary are paid to him as his earnings, but credited to his account against what he draws in provisions or money, so that he actually is always indebted. this, however, is the aim of the owners, in order to hold the man quite secure, even though they know very well that, should the man die in their service, they would lose that amount. they see to it, however, that he never owes too much. this really constitutes a kind of slavery (peonage) which the men try to avenge by serving as poorly as they can, even to such masters as aim to make their lot easy and agreeable by frequent gifts or bonuses. as a rule the yucatecan indians are regarded as being meek, humble, and not easily stirred to ire and cruelty, basing such an opinion on the fact that the most customary punishment among them was a whipping applied with moderation. this kind of punishment did not offend them, if they were informed of the reason why it was meted out to them, nor did they consider it degrading. this characteristic is still noticeable among those who have remained submissive and attached to the white people. it is quite different with those among them who have had to suffer the cruel, atrocious, and protracted martyrdom inflicted by the rebels. they are merciless to those who have fallen and still fall into their power, not only those of other tribes, but even of their own, in case they refuse to follow their tracks. they have no pity on either age or sex. the chieftains (_caçiques_) of today, as well as those who were in office in the past, and the most prominent or wealthy indians, live just as simply as the rest, without the slightest variation. they all are respected by their subordinates, whom they do not oppress to their own advantage, nor do they demand any services from them without compensation. the indians are generally gay, light-hearted, gossipy, and fond of tricks, in which they can display strength, agility, and adroitness. they are also very fond of music and song, although not very gifted or talented in the execution of the former especially. at their feasts and dances, which usually are rather tumultuous and poorly organized, they still use some of the old songs in their own language, to the accompaniment of a little raucous flute, the carapace of a turtle (_hicotea_), upon which they beat the time with a hart's horn, and of the _mitote_ or _taukul_. the _mitote_[ ] is a solid piece of wood of cylindrical shape, one yard long and a third of a yard or a little more in diameter, open at one side almost from one end to the other. this opening is made for the purpose of hollowing out the piece of wood until it is reduced to one inch or a little more in thickness. on the opposite side of the mouth, or opening, they fasten two oblong wings, which, starting at both ends, meet in the center and are separated from one another by a serrated edge. in order to play this instrument, they place it, mouth downward, on the ground, so that the wings remain on the topmost side, and they hit them with two short sticks whose points are covered with an elastic resin that makes them jump, so as not to deaden or confound the sound, which is of such resonance and force that it may be heard at a distance of two leagues. notwithstanding the fact that they regard death almost with indifference, they are timid and cowardly. they never attack the enemy unless they are far superior in number. still, they are very astute or cunning to plan ambushes and to take advantage of every occasion to surprise their foes, and then fight with great advantage, always accompanying the fighting with frightful shouting. they are generally good marksmen, and they handle the machete[ ] with admirable skill. whenever they see that they cannot resist the onslaught, they disperse in the woods, but almost instantly come together again at a previously designated meeting-place. they are very fleet of foot and good racers, and of an almost incredible endurance for walking long distances, even with a load of six to eight arrobas [ to pounds][ ] on their backs. they also can stand a long time without food or drink. they do not excel in writing or in learning to write, although not a few have studied the same length of time and the same subjects as white men, but they are generally clownish and slow of understanding. it happens very often that after they have been given a clear and oft-repeated order, they will manage to execute it the wrong way, and their memory is so short that, although they attend catechism daily from the age of six or seven until they are twelve or fourteen years of age, there are very many among them who have never been able either to learn it or to commit it to memory. those, however, who do not evade those lessons and who furthermore attend the preaching of the gospel in their own language, have obtained catholic ideas about eternity, the last judgment, the glory of god, purgatory, and hell. as the climate of the peninsula is so hot that it exhausts our physical strength and energy, as well as reduces the needs of man who can live almost nude and in the open air and feed himself sparingly, we cannot expect that the indian should be particularly inclined to work. we had the same experience among the other native races, although perhaps their social standard may impose greater necessities. a hut of six or seven yards in length by three or four in width, he builds himself; its walls consist of rows of sticks (which sometimes are covered with a coat of clay) and thatched with palm-leaves or grass, with a door frequently made of reeds twined together. two or three roughly-woven hammocks of henequen, a machete, perchance a hoe, perhaps a hatchet, and, very rarely, a poor shotgun, are all his furniture. a _metate_ to grind his corn, an earthen pot to boil it, another pot to cook the vegetables and the _atole_, a _comal_ or flat earthenware plate to cook the corn-cakes or tortillas, a pitcher for water, one or two _jicaras_ of _gúero_,[ ] an equal number of gourds cut in halves to make drinking vessels and for other purposes, are the eating utensils. a roughly-made, circular stool of half a yard in diameter and about as much in height, and which is used for shaping the tortillas as well as for a table at which they eat their meals, etc. fifteen to twenty yards of cotton cloth for the man's clothes, for the wife's, and for the children's, which costs a real per yard, supposing the woman does not spin and weave this herself; two or three coarse needles, a reel of cotton thread, a straw hat, sandals, a handkerchief and a cotton belt; a large straw basket or hamper, a _mecapal_, and a sack of henequen, complete the list. a trough in which to wash clothes and to bathe themselves; a few pounds of corn which he sows himself, as well as chile, beans, calabazas,[ ] _camote_ [sweet potatoes], and _jicama_,[ ] a bunch of bananas, the leaf of which is used to shape the tortillas, and perhaps a sour orange. his wood he himself cuts in the forest for cooking his meals and also for the fire which he keeps all night in the center of the hut; and lastly a little salt. this is the entire inventory of the necessaries of life an indian family of yucatan needs, and which suffices even to the wealthy ones in the larger towns and principal cities. a great many of them live even without some of the things enumerated. they substitute for corn and vegetables (in case they cannot have them either for not having sown or for having lost the harvest), fruits, roots, and indigenous plants which grow wild all over their country, and which are edible and nourishing. shall we still ask why the yucatecan indian is so indolent, when he has such few and such modest necessities, all of which are so easy to obtain even in the midst of the forests and at a great distance from any other human habitation? he instinctively hates the superiority of the white race, and even of the mestizos, to whom institutions both of long ago and of the present day, customs, greater civilization, and above all the allotment of land, give so many advantages. his almost irresistible inclination carries him into isolation, almost exile, in order to escape from the torment of seeing them and from social duties. he retires where the land is free, where he can till his field wherever he pleases. this accounts for the often very small settlements of perhaps only a couple of families in the thickets of the forests, provided they find a spring or at least a watering place, even though they might have to travel a considerable distance to provide themselves. but even those who live in larger settlements, in towns of white people, will invariably select the most retired spots in streets in the outskirts (far away from the center of the town) where to build their huts. this isolation in the big forests is the principal cause of his becoming more and more brutish, and it grows with the facility which those same isolated places afford him to satisfy the one and only desire he has acquired--drunkenness. it is there he finds _balché_ and wild honey to brew his _pitarrilla_. and there are ever some of his own race or mestizos who bring him liquor in exchange for the little corn he may have stored. he gives this up with an improvidence which seems innate, though perhaps we might attribute it to ignorance. the indian never sees the crucifix or a simple cross or the image of some saint displayed anywhere, without going to kneel before it in reverent devotion, nor does he ever meet a priest without raising his hat or hurrying to his side to kiss his hand. he spends half of his earnings in devotional offerings which in the end degenerate into perfect orgies of religious fervor. and yet, in spite of all that, he does not feel the slightest scruple to take as concubines his sisters or even his own daughters. he does not profess half as much love and devotion to god as he shows toward the images of saint anthony of padua or to the crucifix, both of which are the only ornaments he has in his little hut. he enters a church without bowing to the holy sacrament on the main altar, but he goes and kneels before the cross or before saint anthony or saint francis of paula, or to any other image to which miracles are ascribed, no matter how poorly executed or how defective such an image might be. on rising from his prostrate position, he bends over to kiss the altar, to touch its board with his cheeks or forehead, then touches the image itself, if such is possible, at least with a twig of some aromatic herb or a flower which he carries home as a relic, paying it the utmost reverence. in addition to this he offers a certain amount of money for candles which he lights before the image of his saint at certain times; he pays for a determinate number of "salve reginas" to be sung either in the church or during street processions for his sake, and he offers prayers for the souls of departed relatives. he believes that the souls of the departed return to earth, and he therefore marks with chalk the road from the cemetery to their former abode, that they may not get lost. he has just as deep-rooted a belief in witches and elves, and he is in very great fear of witchcraft. it is impossible to eradicate from his mind the idea that there are men who especially dedicate themselves to inflict this dreadful art on others. he fears and respects at the same time an ideal being whom he calls _balám_ and who, so he says, is the lord of the fields. they all are therefore convinced that these fields cannot be tilled without danger even to their lives if they do not offer him sacrifices before beginning work, such as _horchata de maiz_ (orgeat), which they call _sacá_; a stew made of corn and turkey, which they call _kool_; the tortilla with beans, called _bulihuah_; pitarrilla, and fumes of copal which they use instead of incense. it may safely be stated, therefore, that they adore him like god, but they are always careful that the white people do not see or notice this sacrificial offering for fear of being considered as idolators. _alux_ they call certain apparitions which they believe to exist in the ancient ruins and on the hills, and they say that as soon as it grows dark in the evening these apparitions or ghosts commence to walk around the houses, throwing stones, whistling to the dogs and lashing them when they get near them, which leaves the poor beasts with a cough that kills them. they pretend that these ghosts can run with great speed, as well backward as forward; that they do not terrify those who look at them. they are wont to enter into the houses to annoy and tease people who are abed in their hammocks, not letting them sleep. they assure us that on ranches where sugar-cane is grown, and just as soon as the grinding machine for the cane is set up, they will go and turn it or they will drive on the horse attached to it, to make it trot around. they say these apparitions are of the size of a little indian boy of four or five, and that they appear naked, with only a little hat on their heads. this belief is the cause of incalculable loss to antiquarians on account of the almost daily destruction of articles found in the ruins. the indians will destroy without pity or regard, notwithstanding they may be offered a good price for them, all the images in clay and other objects found on the hills or in subterranean passages, because they are convinced that these objects are the ones that become alive at night and come out to walk around. they attribute to the _alux_ or to their influence, all the diseases they have, as they consider their touch malignant. they say that if these apparitions find anyone asleep they will pass their hands over his face so lightly that the sleeper does not even feel it, but this causes him a fever which incapacitates him for a long time. they also believe in the existence of the _xtabay_, the _huahuapach_, and the _xbolontharoch bokolhahoch_. the first of these apparitions or ghosts may be seen, according to them, in the most isolated spots of a village or settlement in the shape of a woman dressed as a mestizo, combing her beautiful hair with the fruit of a plant they call _xaché xtabay_. she runs away as soon as anyone approaches. she quickens or retards her flight, either disappearing or allowing the one who pursues her to reach her side. this latter is the case if the one who pursues her is some amorous fellow who thinks her to be a beautiful maiden. but as soon as he reaches and embraces her, he finds that he holds in his arms a bundle filled with thorns, with legs as thin as those of a turkey, and this gives him such a terrible shock that he has fainting spells and high delirious fevers. the _huahuapach_ is a giant who may be seen at midnight in certain streets, and he is so tall that an ordinary man barely reaches to his knees. he amuses himself by blocking the traffic, opening his limbs and placing one foot on either side of the street. should anyone inadvertently try to pass between his feet, he quickly brings his legs together and so closely presses the throat of the poor victim that he finally chokes him. the two other specters or ghosts confine themselves to repeating during the night the noises that have been prevalent in the daytime, and especially the noise made by the spindle-wheel the women use. the other one makes a subterranean noise which sounds like the chocolate-churner, but both these noises terrorize those who hear them. there is no end of superstitions among the general mass of the indians, and the most customary form of fortune-telling is performed by means of a piece of a certain crystal which they call _zaztun_, which means a clear and transparent stone, and this enables them to see hidden things and also to divine the cause of maladies. those who arrogate to themselves the title of a diviner are freely consulted, and they receive presents and live a very easy and carefree life. by means of their tricks and great cunning they make the simple and ignorant indians believe, when they are ill and go to consult them, that through the _zaztun_ they (the sorcerers) have discovered that some ill-intentioned enemy has bewitched them, and that in order to discover the malicious spell, they will have to wake for three nights with an abundant provision of pitarrilla, and aguardiente, food, and lighted candles. of course, during these three nights they give themselves up to high living and immoderate drinking. while the others, their patients if we may so call them, are sleeping, or off their guard, they bury within the house or in its immediate vicinity a little wax figure pierced by a thorn through that part of the body where the complaint of their patient lies. when everybody is awake after the last night of vigil, they start certain ceremonies with the _zaztun_, and finally they go to the spot where they had buried the figure and take it out within sight of everyone, making them believe that that was the witchery. then they start their treatment of the patient with the first and any herbs they can find, and if by mere chance these cure the ailment, they have naturally made for themselves a great reputation among the ignorant. they also perform a "healing" incantation by offering certain prayers in which they mention the diseases and the different winds to the influence of which they attribute them. they will repeat the lord's prayer over their patient, the ave maria, and the creed, and sometimes also the prayer to saint anthony which is included in the mexican prayer-book. on other occasions they will resort to the _kex_, which means exchange, and consists in hanging around the house of their patient certain food and drink for the _yuncimil_, or lord of death, and they believe that by so doing they are able to save, for the time being, the life of the patient by barter. to prevent bees from abandoning the hives and to make them bring home ample honey, and also that their owners may be free from sickness, they will hang in the beehives chocolate cups with _sacá_ or _horchata_ of corn. they also perform the _misa milpera_ (mass on the cornfield), which they call _tich_, which means offering or sacrifice, and which is celebrated in the following manner: on a barbecue or roast made with little sticks of equal length they place a turkey, and the one who officiates as priest opens the bird's beak and pours pitarrilla down its throat. then they kill it, and the assistants carry it off to season it. in the meantime they have been cooking in the earth some large loaves of corn-bread which they call _canlahuntaz_, which is made of fourteen tortillas or broken bread filled with beans. when all is well flavored and cooked, they place it on the barbecue with several cups filled with pitarrilla. now again the one acting the part of priest begins to incense it with copal, invoking the holy trinity; he repeats the creed, and, taking some pitarrilla with a holy-water sprinkler, he flings it to the four winds, invoking the four _pahahtunes_, lords or custodians of rain. he then returns to the table, and, raising one of the jicaras aloft while those surrounding him kneel, he places the jicara to each one's mouth for a sip. the feast then proceeds and terminates by general eating and drinking, most of all by the one who "officiated," who furthermore takes home with him a goodly supply. they say that the red _pahahtun_, who is seated in the east, is saint dominick (_santo domingo_); the white one in the north is saint gabriel; the black one in the west is saint james; the yellow _pahahtun_, said to be female and called by them _xanleox_, is seated in the south, and is mary magdalen. they very readily take their new-born babies to the baptismal font, and they never refuse to bury their dead in the cemetery. women it is quite astounding how in this climate woman in general passes very rapidly from childhood into womanhood, but this development is still more remarkable in the case of the native indian woman, prompted no doubt by their mode of life and native customs. it is quite usual to see a little indian girl of three trot daily to the woods with her parents to help cultivate the fields; very often her excursions extend to neighboring villages, and she seems to make those trips of four and even six leagues with the greatest ease, on foot; and after she has reached five or six years, she even carries her little bundle tied on her back. they also journey day after day out into the fields in search of firewood, small sticks perhaps not thicker than an inch or a little more, which they call _moloch_. they search for the wood themselves; they cut it and tie it with two reed or rattan rings, so that they can carry it on their backs. then they go for water in the morning and again in the evening, having to draw it from wells forty and sixty yards deep, in buckets made of tree-bark. after they have reached the age of eleven or twelve years, they always present themselves for this particular errand, as clean as possible. they take great care to be well-washed and their hair carefully combed, almost as if they were going for a pleasure walk or to some meeting. this is particularly the case on the ranches and farms, and in almost all the villages where they have to provide themselves with water from the communal wells. between the ages of six and eleven years the little indian maiden attends, either at the church door or, on big haciendas, in the main building, to the teaching of our christian religion. she goes there with bare head and with her hair hanging loose over her shoulders. all a mother teaches her daughters is how to cook, grind the corn, and shape the tortillas; to make _atole_ and _pozole_; to wash clothes,--and this very poorly,--at all events. or rather the girls learn all those things by themselves through mere observation and by helping their mothers in their daily tasks. some mothers, however, will teach them to spin and weave their rough cotton cloth, to sew their garments, and sometimes even to embroider in a very primitive way. they are usually accompanied by a _criada_, or housemaid, who is a kind of guardian angel and remains by their side wherever they go. when they meet the man they love, they bow their heads and look down; when speaking of their love, with the big toe of one foot they will draw lines on the ground. while they are within their homes they wear only a skirt or petticoat of white cotton cloth, which covers them from the waist down to their knees, and in this way they will also present themselves to visitors, unless it is someone absolutely unknown to them, in which case they cross their arms over their breasts to hide them from the stranger. if one meets them in the fields or lies in wait for them over the walls of unmortared stones, they hide immediately, apparently to run away from the presence of a wayfarer, notwithstanding they are all exceedingly curious, and the love of gossip is one of their main characteristics. they are tender-hearted and desirous of pleasing, but rather in an uncouth manner, in keeping with what little education they have received. anyone who asks them something in the name of god is welcome to their compassion and to whatever they can afford to give. their bodily cleanliness almost borders on superstition, for they consider a person who does not wash her body everyday as not quite sane or reasonable. for their daily bath they heat a stone they call _sintun_ in the fire, and when it is well heated they throw it into the water they have prepared for their bath. it is very seldom that they are happy in their love affairs, because it is generally their parents who choose their husbands. after the choice is once made, the parents of the prospective husband come to ask for the girl's hand, and if accepted they present an offering of two pesetas, which is known under the name of _pochat tancab_ or _buhul_. one peseta is for the bride-to-be, the other for her mother. from the day following this ceremony the bridegroom-elect has to furnish daily a fagot of firewood to the house of his future parents-in-law. on her wedding day the bride is dressed in a _hipil_ or loose garment over a petticoat or skirt, the border of which is adorned with ribbons of deep purple; while another wide ribbon of the same shade is tied around her hair. her head is covered with a cloth of white muslin. she also has to wear shoes, a rosary around her neck, earrings and finger-rings with big cheap stones. all this jewelry may be borrowed from someone. once the religious ceremonies over, they all proceed to the banquet, at which the newly married couple and their godfathers (sponsors) are assigned a prominent place. if the girl is not to continue living with her parents, she returns there, nevertheless, and remains for eight days, after which time the godparents come to get her and turn her over to her husband. the husband is the recipient of all the attention and care of his wife. she sews, she washes, and she grinds the corn and makes the tortillas, the _pozole_, the _atole_, and all the rest of his food with her own hands. she does all the work of her household; she has to prepare his bath when he comes home from work in the evening. these are her daily duties. in the evening, by the light of the home fire or in the pale light of a tropical moon, she sews or mends his clothes and hers and those of her children. whenever the husband leaves home to go on a journey to some neighboring town or hacienda, the wife has to follow him; she is never allowed, however, to walk by his side, but behind, in his footsteps so to speak. if this husband gets drunk, which occurs rather frequently, and he should fall by the roadside, it is the wife's duty to remain by his side and take care of him until he is able to continue on his way. neither the scorching sun, nor heavy rains, nor thunderstorms, nor any other danger of the road has power enough to take her away from his side. even the fact that a woman has just been delivered of a child does not serve as an impediment to her going with the husband; she simply carries the new-born baby with her, either in a piece of cloth on her back or else mounted on one of her hips. if the husband, for one reason or another, is called before a court of justice, he appears accompanied by his wife, simply because it is her duty to go with him and to act as his defender. she does this wonderfully well; she speaks with such warmth and so fluently, with such courage and enthusiasm, absolutely free from her usual bashful shyness, that one cannot help but admire her. and this absolute devotion on her part to the service of her consort does not weaken even with the ill-treatment she receives at his hands in return, for whenever he is intoxicated he treats her to a liberal whipping--he beats her with his bare hands even, or with a stick. under such circumstances marital fidelity on the part of the women is not, nor can it be, very deep-rooted, and frequently her seducers triumph over her virtue. however, if the husband surprises them and the woman succeeds in escaping him, he denounces her to the next court of justice and demands that she be given a certain number of blows. she invariably receives them quite resignedly, and after the ordeal returns peacefully to her domestic duties. if the woman is the offended one, she also goes before the judge and demands that her rival be treated to the same punishment. any sickness that might befall them after this misadventure, they unfailingly attribute to witchcraft instigated by their offenders. witchcraft enjoys such wide popularity among indian women that there is hardly one among them who cannot relate one and even many cases of the black art in her family. to their minds superstition and credulity go hand in hand, and if one tells them of some strange occurrence ascribed to enchantment, they believe it as readily and as firmly as if it had happened to themselves or as if they had witnessed it. and if one immediately afterward asks them whether it is day or night, they will answer doubtfully, even after having looked at the sun--so wrapped up in the tale have they become. they are very fond of dancing and of music, but they do not perform the former either gracefully or freely, nor have they any variety or art in its execution. they have no talent or gift for playing an instrument either. they are wont to sing in their idle moments or even while at work, but sadly and in a monotone. the woman who finds herself pregnant works until the very last moment before the child is born, and resumes her tasks immediately afterward, as soon as the baby is attended to. they leave their children so much to themselves, and give them so little care, that they are forever creeping around on the floor in all the mire and dirt, and always completely naked. a diaper and a tiny _hipil_ are all they get for the first few days of their life. around wrists and ankles they occasionally will tie tiny cords made of blue cotton to protect them, so they say, from epilepsy. those who can afford to do so will hang a little rosary of beads interspersed with wooden honey-berries around their necks and put tiny earrings in their ears. a pregnant indian woman will not go outdoors during an eclipse, in order to avoid her child being born with spots or ugly birthmarks on its body; nor do they visit women who have just given birth to a child, because it is their belief that the babies would become ill with pains in their bowels. as soon as the child is six months old they name a godfather and a godmother for the ceremony of opening the baby's limbs for the first time. to this end they set a table with some kind of pottage, and the godfather makes nine rounds of the table, with the baby placed astride one of his hips, which is the way in which it will be carried thereafter by its mother. then they place in the child's hands, if it is a girl, a needle, a spindle, and the implements with which they weave their cloth; if it is a boy, he is given a hatchet, a machete, and other implements he is expected to use when grown up. these godparents enjoy the same distinction as those at the christening. the women do not care about knowing their own age, and they keep track of the age of their children only until they have attained about six or eight years; after that they forget it. although they grow into young manhood or womanhood very quickly, really old age comes late, except in the appearance of the women, who at the age of thirty-five look like women of forty-five. their most common diseases are pleurisy, intermittent fevers, and jaundice, while fits, fainting spells, and hysterics are exceedingly rare. as a rule the women are abstemious, economical, and very hospitable. they love work, and are fond of raising chickens and turkeys, which they sell in order to enable them to buy what they most need, or else they prepare such fowl for banquets, marriages, christenings, the day of all souls, or for the novenas which they celebrate for the holy cross or the saint of their special devotion. they do not fancy all manner of necessities, nor do they pretend to live on the work of their husbands; rather they work constantly in order to dominate them, and in this they succeed generally, at least to a certain degree. they will upbraid them if they undertake anything without asking their advice. they do not forget offenses they may have received until they are avenged. in their old age they are liable to commit small insignificant thefts, and they especially seem to like to become mendicants, even though they do not need to be. they seem to do this as a kind of compensation for what in their earlier days they may have given to the poor. sentiments of gratitude do not last long. however, we must in this case always except those who were reared in the homes of white people. with few exceptions (when perhaps poor methods or little care in their education, or perchance bad example and ill-treatment dominated), these indian girls are virtuous, assiduous, disinterested, and very well-disposed toward all the different branches of service and ready to learn whatever they are taught. they are modest, and are fond of dressing themselves nicely and decently. they are so affectionate, true, and grateful, that many a time they grow old in the service of one family, and if this family meets with misfortune and perhaps becomes impoverished, they will go to work outside to help support them, of which i could mention many cases. just the opposite happens with the men, who, although they were educated in a white family from early childhood, and many a time with the same care as the white children, the cases are rare that they do not gradually drift apart, become estranged, give themselves up to vice, and finally forget their benefactors entirely. dress the ordinary costume of the men consists of a shirt of white cotton like ours, worn outside the white drawers of the same material, which are wide and reach to the calf of the leg; a belt, white or in colors, is worn around the waist under the shirt; a kerchief; a straw hat, and sandals consisting of only soles which are adjusted to the foot by cords of agave fiber, complete his costume. while at work in the field they take all their clothes off and wear only a loin-cloth, which they call _huit_, consisting of a piece of cotton cloth fastened around the hips, the points passing between the thighs to be fastened to the belt below the navel. from this belt hangs the sheathed machete on the left side. when they go out, the indian women wear on their heads either a piece of cotton cloth of about half a yard in width by two and a half yards in length, the ends of which hang down the back, or else they tie a red kerchief around the head, a very bright red being their favorite color. a _hipil_ of cotton is fashioned like a wide sacque-coat, with an opening in the center to put the head through, fitting around the neck, having openings on the two sides for the arms. this _hipil_ reaches to about the calf of the leg, falling on a skirt or petticoat, also of white cotton, three or four fingers longer. it is fastened around the waist under the _hipil_, which falls loosely over it. the hem of both the skirt and the _hipil_ are very often roughly embroidered in blue or red thread. for traveling they wear sandals like the men. language the indians of yucatan speak the maya language, though somewhat adulterated through contact with spanish. several spanish expressions have gradually crept into their idiom, especially in cities and principal towns where the indians are in almost constant intercourse with whites and mestizos. many among them can speak spanish perfectly well, but as a rule they avoid it, and will answer in maya to those who speak spanish to them. stature, physiognomy, color generally speaking, the indians of yucatan are of about the same stature as all intertropical races, of a round face, straight black hair, rather coarse, not very pronounced eyebrows, very little beard or none at all, a low narrow forehead, black and expressive eyes, a somewhat flat nose, small but outstanding ears, protruding cheekbones, a regular mouth with thin lips and beautiful teeth, a stout neck, broad chest and shoulders, arms, thighs, and limbs of robust and muscular build. their hands and feet are small, and the toes of their feet stand closer together than the heels. they have no hair on their bodies except on the head. their color is a copper-brown, darkened through constant exposure to the sun, especially as they go about almost totally naked. the color of the women is therefore much lighter, and this is also the case with such men as have been reared from childhood in homes of the white people. among the women there are some very pretty ones, slender in form, with an airy but graceful carriage, and a very sweet voice; but the hard work to which they are subjected from early childhood causes them to lose their beauty at an early age. there are also some truly fine types among the men. savage tribes of real savage tribes there are none in yucatan. after the greater part of the peninsula, cities as well as villages, had been reconquered from the possession of the indians who had taken them during their insurrection in , which was general, the most tenacious and unruly ones among them settled in the eastern part of the peninsula, where they have built several towns, the principal one being chan-santacruz. from these fastnessess they frequently sally forth to attack and even to raze our absolutely defenseless villages. these attacks cause frightful suffering not only to members of other tribes and races, without regard to sex or age, but they are at times even greater among those of their own race, who at one time or another have either absolutely refused to join their ranks, or, after following their lead for some time, have deserted, and returned to live in peace among the white people. another and by far the most numerous band of those rebellious indians went to settle in the south of the peninsula, and by virtue of the treaty they celebrated with general vega have given up all hostilities, although they remain in complete independence of national as well as of state authorities, and in peaceful business intercourse with this city (mérida), and also with campeche and other points in close proximity to their abodes. colonel juan sanchez navarro drew a map, which he presented, together with his report, before the government of yucatan on april of the present year, on which map he gives an approximate idea of the localities on the peninsula still occupied by rebellious indians who maintain a hostile attitude and those who have agreed to peaceful intercourse. the first mentioned he calls the eastern group, and the last named the southern one. santiago mendez. mérida, _october th, _. note by antonio garcÍa y cubas after having written about several groups of aborigines who inhabit the central part of the republic, i wish to extend these notes with the aid of documents in my possession to the indians of tabasco and chiapas. the customs, habits, and inclinations of all those indians in general do not, with any certainty, evoke any hope for the improvement of their race and their subsequent utility and usefulness to the nation. the task i have set for myself is a very delicate one, and there may exist a great many people who will attribute to lack of patriotism the frank statement of many defects in our population; but i observe that our nation is not moving toward its aggrandizement with the alacrity and speed which the progressives among the authorities wish to see. therefore i consider it necessary to study and point out the defects. i do not wish it to appear as if the conceptions expressed in these lines were imputations of my own imagination, and i wish to state, therefore, that whatever is said in this report is extracted from official documents in my possession. the aborigines living in the towns and villages of the district of jalpa, and the same may be said of the rest of the indians of tabasco, despite their docility, prefer the wild, uncivilized life of the mountains to the advantages of communal life, if by so doing they are able to evade all public responsibilities and duties. they come together only for their religious festivities, and on all such occasions they are given to drunkenness and gluttony to such a degree that they contract very serious diseases which in a great many cases hasten their demise. with very few exceptions they live in complete vagrancy, and they propagate without respecting any degree of blood relationship. they insist on curing their diseases with all sorts of roots and plants, which, however, mostly impair their health, causing great mortality, especially among children. this may be regarded as the principal cause why very few among their number reach the age of fifty years. the aborigines who inhabit the borders to the river usumacinta and its tributaries are for the greater part natives of yucatan, and are like all the rest of their kind, very fond of drinking. the indians of tenosique, about forty years ago, were known as very honest and trustworthy, but their intercourse with the rebels and emigrants from yucatan have demoralized them to a great extent. these and other defects, with but a few honorable exceptions, are revealed in the documents treating of the indians of the district of comitan, state of chiapas, which, however, i am not going to enumerate, so as to avoid repetitions, and by so doing make this article altogether too long. all the above mentioned shows the decadence and general degeneration of the aborigines, as compared with the very scant elements of vitality and vigor that might help in the movement toward progress in our republic. the same customs, the same reserve and diffidence which characterized the indian of colonial days is manifestly still his today under the so-called protective laws of the republic, which barely give him the title of citizen. yet, as i have stated before, i do not belong to those who despair of his ultimate civilization, and i believe that the most efficacious means of effecting this is by crossing his breed or race by way of colonization, introducing other nations and elements to come in contact with him. that this efficacious means of stopping the infinite defects which retard, if they do not hinder, the natural progress of our nation, has not been attained, to my idea, lies in the fact that so far no protective laws have existed which, founded on prevision, afford guaranties and procure work for colonists. there are no laws that fix the boundaries of the immense stretches of waste-land within our country, nor a careful study of climate, geology, and production. there is not, to my knowledge, any report establishing the best methods of making all our territory productive either through sales or the renting of all lands that cannot be tilled by their original owners. our own elements, as we have tried to demonstrate in this article, are either heterogeneous or too scarce and insufficient to accomplish the task of carrying the nation onward on the road of aggrandizement. hence it is, according to my idea, colonization, and colonization alone, that may serve as the final remedy for our national ills. if we had today laws such as i have had reference to, we would at this very moment see european colonists arrive continually, attracted by hopes of a splendid future which our fertile soil and our salubrious climate offer to the industrious and enterprising man. our population would increase daily at the same pace with the united states of brazil and buenos aires, where european immigration forms an element of prosperity. it remains for our government to fix in the most decisive way the answer to this question in the interest of the future of our country. antonio garcÍa y cubas. mexico, _may st, _. notes on the superstitions of the indians of yucatan informe contra idolorvm cvltores del obÍspado de yvcatan. madrid, by pedro sanchez de aguilar the abuses and superstitions in which those indians of yucatan believe and the abuses which they cherish are mostly inherited from their forebears, and are as numerous as they are varied in kind. i am including in this report all i was able to investigate, so that they may enable the curates to disapprove them publicly, and in their sermons to reprimand the indians on account of them. they believe in dreams which they try to interpret to suit the occasion. on hearing the cawing (or cackle) of a bird they call _kipxosi_, they interpret it to mean poor success to whatever enterprise they are engaged in at the time. they consider it as a bad omen or foreboding, as the spaniards do with the female fox or the cuckoo. if, while the indian is traveling, he stumbles over a big stone among a pile which had been dug up to build or level a road, he venerates it by placing on the top of it a little twig, brushing his knees with another one in order not to get tired. this is a tradition of his forefathers. if he happens to be traveling near sunset, and he fears that he will arrive late or even at night at the village he is bound for, he will drive a stone into the first tree he finds, believing that this will retard the setting of the sun. another superstition to the same effect is the pulling out of some of his eyelashes and blowing them toward the sun. these are superstitions that came down to him by tradition from his forebears. during lunar eclipses they still believe in the tradition of their forefathers to make their dogs howl or cry by pinching them either in the body or ears, or else they will beat on boards, benches, and doors. they say that the moon is dying, or that it is being bitten by a certain kind of ant which they call _xubab_. once, while at the village of yalcobá, i heard great noises during an eclipse of the moon which occurred that night, and in my sermon the next day i tried to make them understand the cause of the eclipse in their own language, according to the interpretation from the philosopher: "the lunar eclipse is the interposing of the earth between the sun and the moon with the sun on top and the moon in the shadow." with an orange to represent the sphere of sacrobosco, and two lit candles on either side, i explained to them plainly and at sight what an eclipse really was. they seemed astonished, and quite happy and smiling, cured of their ignorance and that of their forefathers. i gave orders to their chieftain (caçique) that he should punish in the future all those who made a noise on such occasions. they also call certain old indian shamans when a woman is in labor, and, with words of their former idolatry, he will enchant her and hear her confession. they do the same with some other patients. i could not find out all about this, for which i am very sorry. there are some indian medicine-men who, with similar enchantment, are supposed to cure the bites or stings of snakes, especially of the rattlesnakes, of which there are a great many here. the victims of such bites are sometimes delirious, and often the flesh around the wound will decay until they die. the remedy the wizards give them, according to what i heard, is to make them eat human excrement or drink the juice of lemons, or else they will take a domestic fowl and place its beak on the wound, and have it suck in this way the poison of the snakebite. the hen or chicken will of course die, and they immediately replace it by another live one, and repeat that until all the poison is absorbed. when they build new houses, which occurs every ten or twelve years, they will not inhabit nor even enter them unless the old wizard has been brought even from a distance of one, two, or three leagues to bless it or consecrate it with his stupid enchantment. this, however, i have only heard, and i am now sorry never to have recorded it personally. they are fortune-tellers, and they perform this feat with a heap of grained corn, counting always two and two grains, and if it comes out in even numbers, the fortune-teller will continue counting one, two, or three times over until it comes out uneven, bearing all the while in mind the main facts or reason for which he had been called on to tell the fortune, _vera gratia_. once a girl ran away from home, and her mother, like any true indian woman would have done in a similar case, immediately called one of those fortune-tellers, who drew lots on all the different roads until the fortune told of or pointed to a certain road the girl had taken and where she would be found. they sent out to look for her and found her in the village to which that road led. i punished that wizard, who was a native of a village at one league from valladolid, and while i examined him with patience and slowly, i found that all the words he used in that so-called fortune-telling, while he counted the grains of corn, were no more than "odd or even, odd or even" (_huylan nones, caylan pares_). he could not even tell me whether those words were meant as an invocation to satan. in fact, he seemed not to know what they meant, for this particular wizard was a very great simpleton, almost imbecile. in this city of mérida it is publicly known that there exist several indian sorceresses (witches), who by using certain words can open a rosebud before it is time for its opening, which is given to the one they wish to attract to their lascivious desire. they let him smell of it, or they place it under his pillow; but should the person who gives it to him smell its perfume, she is said invariably to lose her mind for a long while, calling to the one she expected to inhale it, and in whose name the rose was opened by the witch--a worthy matter which serves as medicine as well as punishment, especially if it hits the double mark. it has also been assured that the indian women of this city are wont to throw a certain enchantment into the chocolate which is ready for their husbands to drink, and by it they become bewildered. this i only heard however, and i could not vouchsafe its truth. i will also note here what i saw as a child, and that is that they used to drown in a hole young puppies of a breed of dogs they raise as pets as well as for food. these are a kind of dogs, with but little or no hair at all, which they call _tzomes_.[ ] it is an old jewish dogma of _cosher_. see the apostle, _ut abstineant se a suffocatis_, etc.--that they abstain from the food of animals dying by smothering or any kind of natural death. of the religious beliefs of the indians of yucatan in report of francisco hernandez when our people discovered the kingdom of yucatan they found crosses there, and one cross in particular which was made of stone and mortar, of a height of ten palms, and was erected in the center of a court or enclosure, very prominent and fair, and crowned with battlements; it stands alongside of a sumptuous temple and is very much frequented by a great number of people. this is on the island of cozumel, which lies near the mainland of yucatan. it is said that this cross was really adored as the god of water or rain; as often as there was a drought they went to sacrifice quail before it, as will be told later. when asked whence or through whom they had first heard of that sign, they replied that a very handsome man had once passed through their country and that he left it with them, that they might always remember him by it. others, it is said, answered that it was because a man more resplendent than the sun had died on that cross. this is referred to by peter martyr in chapter i of his fourth decade. i shall refer to another tale or report which is very unusual and new regarding the indies, and which until now has not been found in any other part of them. as this kingdom, on account of its close proximity to it, comes within the jurisdiction of my bishopric of chiapa, on one of my visits i disembarked and remained at a very healthy port. i met there a clergyman, good, so it seemed, of mature age and honest, and [one] who knew the language of the natives from having lived there several years. as it was necessary for me to return to my episcopal residence, i nominated him as my vicar, and ordered and entreated him to travel inland and visit the indians there and preach to them in a certain way in which i instructed him. after a certain number of months (i even believe it was one year), he wrote to me that on his trip he had met a principal lord or chief, and that on inquiring of him concerning his faith and the ancient belief all over his realm, he answered him that they knew and believed in god who was in heaven; that that god was the father, the son, and the holy ghost. that the father is called by them _içona_,[ ] and that he had created man and all things. the son's name was _bacab_,[ ] who was born from a maiden who had ever remained a virgin, whose name was _chibirias_,[ ] and who is in heaven with god. the holy ghost they called _echuac_.[ ] they say that _içona_ means the great father. _bacab_, who is the son, they say killed _eopuco_,[ ] and flagellated him, crowning him with a crown of thorns, and placed him with arms extended on a pole, not meaning that he should be nailed to it, but tied (and in order to show him how, the chief extended his own arms), where he finally died. he was dead for three days, but on the third day he returned to life and went up to heaven, and he is there with his father. after this immediately came _echuac_, which is the holy ghost, and he filled the earth with all it needs. when asked what _bacab_ or _bacabab_ meant, he said it meant the son of the great father, and that _echuac_ meant merchant. and very good merchandise did the holy ghost bring to this earth, for he filled men with all their faculties, and divine and abundant graces. _chibirias_ means mother of the son of the great father. he added, furthermore, that at a certain time all men would have to die, but he did not seem to know anything of the resurrection of the flesh. when asked how they came to know all these things, the chief replied that the lords taught their sons, and in this manner it descended from one age to another. they also assert that in olden times, long ago, there came to the land twenty men (he gave the names of fifteen of them), but because they were very poorly written, and furthermore as they do not have great importance for this report, i do not copy them. of the five others the vicar says he could not obtain their names. the principal one was called _cocolcan_,[ ] and they called this one the god of all kinds of fevers. two of the others are the gods of fish, still another two the gods of farms and homesteads [landed properties], still another was the god of lightning, etc. they all wore long gowns or mantles, and sandals for their feet. they had long beards, and wore nothing to cover their heads. these men ordained that the people should go to confession and should fast, and some people fasted on fridays because on that day _bacab_ had died. the name of this day (friday) is _himis_,[ ] and they honor it in their devotion on account of the death of _bacab_. the chiefs (caçiques) know all the particulars of those things, but the common people believe only in the three persons, _içona_ and _bacab_ and _echuac_, and in _chibirias_, the mother of _bacab_, and also [in] the mother of _chibirias_ called _hischen_,[ ] whom we consider to have been saint ann. all this above stated is from information i have received in a letter from that reverend father whose name is francisco hernandez, and i still have his letter among my papers. he also stated that he took the said chief to a franciscan friar who lived near there, and that the caçique repeated all he said before the friar, and they remained both greatly surprised at it. if all those things just stated are true, it would seem that that part of the land had been (long ago) informed about our holy faith, for in no other part of the indies have we ever found such news. it is true that in brazil, which belongs to the portuguese, it was stated that traces of the wanderings of saint thomas the apostle had been discovered, but such news could not very well fly over through the air, and furthermore it is quite certain that the country and kingdom of yucatan give us more special and singular cases to ponder over, and of far greater antiquity, if we think of the great, exquisite, and admirable way the most ancient buildings are constructed, also of a certain lettering in queer characters which are not found anywhere else. finally these are the secrets which only god knows. glossary _alux_, _h'lox_, or more fully _h'loxkatob_. according to brinton the meaning is "the strong clay images." he writes in his paper, the folk-lore of yucatan, that "the derivation of this word is from _kat_, which, in the diccionario maya-español del convento de motul (ms. of about ), is defined as 'la tierra y barro de las olleras,' but which perez in his modern maya dictionary translates 'ollas ó figuras de barro'; _ob_ is the plural termination; _lox_ is strong, or the strength of anything; _h'_ or _ah_, as it is often written, is the rough breathing which in maya indicates the masculine gender." _atole._ nahuan _atolli_, or _atlaolli_. corn-meal gruel. _balám._ tiger or mountain-lion. the word was applied also to a class of priests and to kings as a title of distinction. _balché._ a fermented liquor made from wild honey and the bark of a tree. _buhul_, _buuhul_. a section of a stick of wood split lengthwise in the middle. _bulihuah._ tortillas made of corn-meal and beans. from _bul_ or _buul_, beans; _uah_, tortilla. _caçique._ antillean word meaning a lord or chief. _camote._ nahuan _camotl_, a kind of sweet-potato. _canlahuntaz._ large loaves of native bread. from _canlahun_, fourteen; _taz_, tiers, or layers. _comal._ nahuan _comalli_, clay griddle. _hipil._ nahuan _huipilli_, a woman's chemise. _huahuapach, ua ua pach._ according to brinton (op. cit.) it means giant crab. _huit_, _uith_. loin-cloth. _jicara._ nahuan _xicalli_, corrupted into _jicara_, a calabash. _kex._ to barter or change; also used as a name for ex votos placed on altars. _kipxosi_, _kipchoh_, _cipchoh_. "a diviner bird among the indians." _kool._ a dish prepared by cooking corn with chicken. _mecapal._ nahuan _mecapalli_, leathern band used over the forehead for carrying burdens. _mecate._ nahuan _mecatl_, rope or cord made of maguey fiber. _metate._ nahuan _metatl_, a stone on which corn is ground. _milpa._ nahuan _milli_, cultivated land; _pan_, a postposition. _mitote._ nahuan _mitotli_, a dance. _moloch._ brush-wood or kindling. _pahatun_, _pah ah tun_. the four _pa ah tunes_, the lords of rains, are, according to brinton, "identical with the winds, and the four cardinal points from which they blow.... the name _pahatun_ is of difficult derivation, but it probably means 'stone, or pillar, set up or erected.'" _pib._ an underground oven. _pochat tancab._ according to the author of this report the phrase has the same signification as _buhul_: the offering made to a girl by a prospective bridegroom. the words seem to be: _poc_, to wash or rub; _hat_, numerical termination serving to count split-wood; _tancab_, outside the house, or in the patio. _pozole._ nahuan _pozolatl_, or _poçol atl_, a drink of cooked corn. _sacá_, _zacá_. orgeat of corn; from _za_, corn gruel; _cá_, or _caa_, duplicative particle. _sintun_, _zintun_. a heated stone for heating water for bathing purposes. from _zin_, to haul, girdle or encircle; _tun_, stone. _taukul_, _tunkul_. a wooden drum. _tich._ a mass celebrated in planted fields. see brinton, op. cit. _xaché xtabay._ according to the author, the name of a plant. the first word, _xaché_, is evidently _xach_ or _xachah_, to comb. _xtabay_ may be _x-_, a prefix, indicating feminine gender; _tabal_, to deceive. _xanleox_, _x'kanleox_. from _x-_, prefix denoting feminine gender; _kan_, yellow; _lox_, to strike with the closed fist. brinton simply gives "yellow goddess" as the equivalent. _xbolonthahroch bokolhahoch_, _x bolon thoroch bokol_ (or _bookol_) _h'otoch_. from _x-_, prefix denoting feminine gender; _bolon_, nine; _thoroch_, sound of a spindle revolving in its shaft. brinton says, "the name therefore signifies 'the female imp who magnifies the sound of the spindle." _bokol_ or _bookol_, to stir; _h_ or _ah_, to indicate the rough breathing which in maya denotes the masculine gender. _xhantumbú_, _xkantumbub,_ or _xkantun bub_. a small plant used for medicinal purposes. _xtabay._ see etymology under _xaché xtabay_. _xulab._ spelled by sanchez de aguilar _xubab_. an ant which attacks beehives. _yuncimil_, _yumcimil_. the god of death; from _yum_, universal father or lord; _cimil_, death. _zaztun._ a quartz crystal; from _zaz_, clear; _tun_, stone. bibliography baeza, bartolomÉ josÉ granado. los indios de yucatan. informe dado por el cura de yaxcabá d. bartolomé del granado baeza, en contestacion al interrogatorio de preguntas, circulado por el ministerio de ultrámar sobre el manejo, vida y costumbres de los indios, que acompaño el illmo. sr. obispo á la deputacion provincial. _registro yucateco_, mérida, tomo i, pp. - . this account was written in yaxcabá, april , . it is one of the principal sources of information used by brinton in his paper, the folk-lore of yucatan. g. c. el indio yucateco, carácter, costumbres y condicion de los indios de yucatan. _registro yucateco_, mérida, tomo i, pp. - . this report is dated mexico, december , . carrillo, estanislao. papeles sueltos de p. carrillo. fantasmas. _registro yucateco_, tomo iv, pp. - . the material in this article was used by brinton in his paper, op. cit. hernandez, juan josÉ. costumbres de las indias de yucatan. _registro yucateco_, mérida, tomo iii, pp. , . this report is dated mérida, april , . carrillo, crescencio. estudio historico sobre la raza indigena de yucatan. vera cruz, , pp. bancroft, hubert howe. the native races of the pacific states. volumes, san francisco. in the several volumes of this work bancroft has assembled most of the early accounts of the manners and customs of the maya of yucatan. he was unaware of the existence of the report by mendez which forms the basis of our publication. brinton, daniel g. the folk-lore of yucatan. _folk-lore journal_, london, vol. , part viii, pp. - . this study is based largely on the report of baeza, with additions from the article of estanislao carrillo, and manuscript notes of several other persons, notably those of carl hermann berendt. carrillo y ancona, crescencio. historia de welinna. leyenda yucateca. segunda edición, mérida, pp. the first edition was printed in . brinton, daniel g. a primer of mayan hieroglyphs. _publications of the university of pennsylvania, series in philology, literature, and archæology_, vol. iii, no. . rejÓn garcÍa, manuel. supersticiones y leyendas mayas. mérida, . notes [ ] for the meaning of this and of other indian words, consult the glossary. [ ] _fotuto_ is a musical instrument used by the carib indians and also by the negroes of the antilles. [ ] _luneros_ are monday-workers. [ ] _fagina_--_faena_, manual labor. [ ] _milpa roza_ is, literally, field cleared of underbrush and ready for planting. [ ] _milpa caña_, literally cane field. [ ] an _almud_ is a dry measure equivalent to twelve english bushels. there seems to be an error in the quantity here. [ ] the author here seems to have confused the meaning of the word _mitote_ (see glossary). in yucatan the instrument he describes is called _tunkul_. [ ] the _machete_ is the large knife which the indian men of yucatan invariably carry with them. [ ] the _arroba_ is the spanish measure of twenty-five pounds. [ ] we have been unable to find the meaning of the word _güero_. [ ] _calabaza_ is the spanish for pumpkin; but the mexican pumpkin is different from that raised in our latitudes. [ ] _jicama_ seems to be a local word not in the dictionary. [ ] _tzomes_, according to sanchez de aguilar, is the name applied to hairless dogs. the common appellation is _kúkbil_, or _kikbil_. _tzom_ in maya means a horn, also a proboscis. the word _tzomes_ is close to _tzimin_, pl. _tzimines_, the name of the tapir, which has an elongate snout. alonzo poncé who was in yucatan in , speaks of tapirs being called by the natives _tzimines_, and further states that they call horses by the same name, a definition to be found in the maya dictionary of pio perez. [ ] the names to which we call attention in notes to represent, with a single exception, in misspelled form, well-known mayan deities. it is interesting to note the early influence of the spaniards on the religious beliefs of the maya, as evidenced by the interpretation given to father hernandez by the old caçique. there is a curious mixture of old and new in the account. dr seler has identified the various deities spoken of, and a description of their attributes will be found in brinton's primer of mayan hieroglyphs. içona is _itzamna_, chief of the beneficent gods, the personification of the east. according to brinton the name means "the dew or moisture of the morning." brinton writes, "he was said to have been the creator of men, animals, and plants, and was the founder of the culture of the mayas. he was the first priest of their religion, and invented writing and books." [ ] according to brinton the _bacabs_, or _chacs_, were the offspring of _itzamna_ and his consort _ix-chel_ (spoken of by the caçique as _hischen_). [ ] _chibirias_ is identified by seler as _ix-chebel-yax_, who, according to brinton, was "the inventress of painting and of colored designs on woven stuffs." [ ] _echuac_ is _ek chua_, said by landa to be the god of the cacao planters, hence, as cacao-beans were the medium of exchange, the god of merchants, as here related. it is difficult to understand the confusion by which this god has been interwoven in christian beliefs as the holy ghost. [ ] _eopuco_ has been interpreted by seler as_ ah uoh puc_, or _ah-puch_, the god of death, or god of evil. brinton believes that "these words mean the undoer, or spoiler, apparently a euphemism to avoid pronouncing a name of evil omen." in modern maya he is plain _yum cimil_, lord of death. [ ] _cocolcan_ is _cuculcan_, or _kukulcan_, the same as the nahuan _quetzalcoatl_. _kukulcan_ was the feathered or winged serpent god, a deity of culture and kindliness. [ ] _himis_ is _imix_, the name of the first day of the twenty-day month of the maya calendar. [ ] _hischen_ is _ix-chel_, the consort of _itzamna_. brinton states that the word means "rainbow," and that the goddess was also known as _ix kan leom_, "the spider-web" which catches the dew of the morning. her children, according to brinton, the _bacabs_ or _chacs_ were "four mighty brethren, who were the gods of the four cardinal points, of the winds which blow from them, of the rains these bring, of the thunder and the lightning, and consequently of agriculture, the harvests, and food supply. their position in the ritual was of the first importance. to each were assigned a particular color and a certain year and day in the calendar." produced from images generously made available by st-hand-history.org) transcriber's note: inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. obvious typographical errors have been corrected. italics in the footnote citations were inconsistently applied by the typesetter. italic text is denoted by _underscores_. the following changes were made or suggested: page xlix: "viena" is a possible typo for "vienna" page xlix: "megico" is a possible typo for "mejico" page : the opening quote mark is missing in the quote ending "in company," page : "aläsku" should possibly be "aläksu" page : "von bis pud" should possibly be "von bis pfund" page : "mit grellen farben" should possibly be "die mit grellen farben" page : viaye changed to viage page : "some of women would with difficulty" is apparently missing a word page : crane's topog. mem. possibly should be cram's page : farnham's trav., pp. -; is missing an end page reference page : "galeon" should possibly be "galleon" page : footnote is missing its anchor page : footnote is missing its anchor page : footnote is missing its anchor page : "to the west fork of walker's river the south.'" is apparently missing a word page : headquarters possibly should be headwaters page : gray colors possibly should be gay colors page : looses possibly should be loses the works of hubert howe bancroft. volume i. the native races. vol. i. wild tribes. san francisco: a. l. bancroft & company, publishers. . entered according to act of congress in the year , by hubert h. bancroft, in the office of the librarian of congress, at washington. _all rights reserved._ [illustration: the world: the white part showing the pacific states.] preface. in pursuance of a general plan involving the production of a series of works on the western half of north america, i present this delineation of its aboriginal inhabitants as the first. to the immense territory bordering on the western ocean from alaska to darien, and including the whole of mexico and central america, i give arbitrarily, for want of a better, the name pacific states. stretching almost from pole to equator, and embracing within its limits nearly one tenth of the earth's surface, this last western land offers to lovers of knowledge a new and enticing field; and, although hitherto its several parts have been held somewhat asunder by the force of circumstances, yet are its occupants drawn by nature into nearness of relationship, and will be brought yet nearer by advancing civilization; the common oceanic highway on the one side, and the great mountain ramparts on the other, both tending to this result. the characteristics of this vast domain, material and social, are comparatively unknown and are essentially peculiar. to its exotic civilization all the so-called older nations of the world have contributed of their energies; and this composite mass, leavened by its destiny, is now working out the new problem of its future. the modern history of this west antedates that of the east by over a century, and although there may be apparent heterogeneity in the subject thus territorially treated, there is an apparent tendency toward ultimate unity. to some it may be of interest to know the nature and extent of my resources for writing so important a series of works. the books and manuscripts necessary for the task existed in no library in the world; hence, in , i commenced collecting material relative to the pacific states. after securing everything within my reach in america, i twice visited europe, spending about two years in thorough researches in england and the chief cities of the continent. having exhausted every available source, i was obliged to content myself with lying in wait for opportunities. not long afterward, and at a time when the prospect of materially adding to my collection seemed anything but hopeful, the _biblioteca imperial de méjico_, of the unfortunate maximilian, collected during a period of forty years by don josé maría andrade, litterateur and publisher of the city of mexico, was thrown upon the european market and furnished me about three thousand additional volumes. in , having accumulated some sixteen thousand books, manuscripts, and pamphlets, besides maps and cumbersome files of pacific coast journals, i determined to go to work. but i soon found that, like tantalus, while up to my neck in water, i was dying of thirst. the facts which i required were so copiously diluted with trash, that to follow different subjects through this trackless sea of erudition, in the exhaustive manner i had proposed, with but one life-time to devote to the work, was simply impracticable. in this emergency my friend, mr henry l. oak, librarian of the collection, came to my relief. after many consultations, and not a few partial failures, a system of indexing the subject-matter of the whole library was devised, sufficiently general to be practicable, and sufficiently particular to direct me immediately to all my authorities on any given point. the system, on trial, stands the test, and the index when completed, as it already is for the twelve hundred authors quoted in this work, will more than double the practical value of the library. of the importance of the task undertaken, i need not say that i have formed the highest opinion. at present the few grains of wheat are so hidden by the mountain of chaff as to be of comparatively little benefit to searchers in the various branches of learning; and to sift and select from this mass, to extract from bulky tome and transient journal, from the archives of convent and mission, facts valuable to the scholar and interesting to the general reader; to arrange these facts in a natural order, and to present them in such a manner as to be of practical benefit to inquirers in the various branches of knowledge, is a work of no small import and responsibility. and though mine is the labor of the artisan rather than that of the artist, a forging of weapons for abler hands to wield, a producing of raw materials for skilled mechanics to weave and color at will; yet, in undertaking to bring to light from sources innumerable essential facts, which, from the very shortness of life if from no other cause, must otherwise be left out in the physical and social generalizations which occupy the ablest minds, i feel that i engage in no idle pastime. a word as to the nations of which this work is a description, and my method of treating the subject. aboriginally, for a savage wilderness, there was here a dense population; particularly south of the thirtieth parallel, and along the border of the ocean north of that line. before the advent of europeans, this domain counted its aborigines by millions; ranked among its people every phase of primitive humanity, from the reptile-eating cave-dweller of the great basin, to the aztec and maya-quiché civilization of the southern table-land,--a civilization, if we may credit dr draper, "that might have instructed europe," a culture wantonly crushed by spain, who therein "destroyed races more civilized than herself." differing among themselves in minor particulars only, and bearing a general resemblance to the nations of eastern and southern america; differing again, the whole, in character and cast of features from every other people of the world, we have here presented hundreds of nations and tongues, with thousands of beliefs and customs, wonderfully dissimilar for so segregated a humanity, yet wonderfully alike for the inhabitants of a land that comprises within its limits nearly every phase of climate on the globe. at the touch of european civilization, whether latin or teutonic, these nations vanished; and their unwritten history, reaching back for thousands of ages, ended. all this time they had been coming and going, nations swallowing up nations, annihilating and being annihilated, amidst human convulsions and struggling civilizations. their strange destiny fulfilled, in an instant they disappear; and all we have of them, besides their material relics, is the glance caught in their hasty flight, which gives us a few customs and traditions, and a little mythological history. to gather and arrange in systematic compact form all that is known of these people; to rescue some facts, perhaps, from oblivion, to bring others from inaccessible nooks, to render all available to science and to the general reader, is the object of this work. necessarily some parts of it may be open to the charge of dryness; i have not been able to interlard my facts with interesting anecdotes for lack of space, and i have endeavored to avoid speculation, believing, as i do, the work of the collector and that of the theorizer to be distinct, and that he who attempts to establish some pet conjecture while imparting general information, can hardly be trusted for impartial statements. with respect to the territorial divisions of the first volume, which is confined to the wild tribes, and the necessity of giving descriptions of the same characteristics in each, there may be an appearance of repetition; but i trust this may be found more apparent than real. although there are many similar customs, there are also many minor differences, and, as one of the chief difficulties of this volume was to keep it within reasonable limits, no delineation has been repeated where a necessity did not appear to exist. the second volume, which treats of the civilized nations, offers a more fascinating field, and with ample space and all existing authorities at hand, the fault is the writer's if interest be not here combined with value. as regards mythology, languages, antiquities, and migrations, of which the three remaining volumes treat, it has been my aim to present clearly and concisely all knowledge extant on these subjects; and the work, as a whole, is intended to embody all facts that have been preserved concerning these people at the time of their almost simultaneous discovery and disappearance. it will be noticed that i have said little of the natives or their deeds since the coming of the europeans; of their wars against invaders and among themselves; of repartimientos, presidios, missions, reservations, and other institutions for their conquest, conversion, protection, or oppression. my reason for this is that all these things, so far as they have any importance, belong to the modern history of the country and will receive due attention in a subsequent work. in these five volumes, besides information acquired from sources not therein named, are condensed the researches of twelve hundred writers, a list of whose works, with the edition used, is given in this volume. i have endeavored to state fully and clearly in my text the substance of the matter, and in reaching my conclusions to use due discrimination as to the respective value of different authorities. in the notes i give liberal quotations, both corroborative of the text, and touching points on which authors differ, together with complete references to all authorities, including some of little value, on each point, for the use of readers or writers who may either be dissatisfied with my conclusions, or may wish to investigate any particular branch of the subject farther than my limits allow. i have given full credit to each of the many authors from whom i have taken material, and if, in a few instances, a scarcity of authorities has compelled me to draw somewhat largely on the few who have treated particular points, i trust i shall be pardoned in view of the comprehensive nature of the work. quotations are made in the languages in which they are written, and great pains has been taken to avoid mutilation of the author's words. as the books quoted form part of my private library, i have been able, by comparison with the originals, to carefully verify all references after they were put in type; hence i may confidently hope that fewer errors have crept in than are usually found in works of such variety and extent. the labor involved in the preparation of these volumes will be appreciated by few. that expended on the first volume alone, with all the material before me, is more than equivalent to the well-directed efforts of one person for ten years. in the work of selecting, sifting, and arranging my subject-matter, i have called in the aid of a large corps of assistants, and, while desiring to place on no one but myself any responsibility for the work, either in style or matter, i would render just acknowledgment for the services of all; especially to the following gentlemen, for the efficient manner in which, each in his special department, they have devoted their energies and abilities to the carrying out of my plan;--to mr t. arundel-harcourt, in the researches on the manners and customs of the civilized nations; to mr walter m. fisher, in the investigation of mythology; to mr albert goldschmidt, in the treatise on language; and to mr henry l. oak, in the subject of antiquities and aboriginal history. contents of this volume. chapter i. ethnological introduction. page. facts and theories--hypotheses concerning origin--unity of race--diversity of race--spontaneous generation--origin of animals and plants--primordial centres of population-- distribution of plants and animals--adaptability of species to locality--classification of species--ethnological tests--races of the pacific--first intercourse with europeans chapter ii. hyperboreans. general divisions--hyperborean nations--aspects of nature--vegetation--climate--animals--the eskimos--their country--physical characteristics--dress--dwellings--food-- weapons--boats--sledges--snow-shoes--government--domestic affairs--amusements--diseases--burial--the koniagas, their physical and social condition--the aleuts--the thlinkeets-- the tinneh chapter iii. columbians. habitat of the columbian group--physical geography--sources of food supply--influence of food and climate--four extreme classes--haidahs--their home--physical peculiarities-- clothing--shelter--sustenance--implements--manufactures-- arts--property--laws--slavery--women--customs--medicine-- death--the nootkas--the sound nations--the chinooks--the shushwaps--the salish--the sahaptins chapter iv. californians. groupal divisions; northern, central, and southern californians, and shoshones--country of the californians-- the klamaths, modocs, shastas, pitt river indians, eurocs, cahrocs, hoopahs, weeyots, tolewahs, and rogue river indians and their customs--the tehamas, pomos, ukiahs, gualalas, sonomas, petalumas, napas, suscols, suisunes, tamales, karquines, tulomos, thamiens, olchones, runsiens, escelens, and others of central california--the cahuillos, diegueños, islanders, and mission rancherías of southern california--the snakes or shoshones proper, utahs, bannocks, washoes and other shoshone nations chapter v. new mexicans. geographical position of this group, and physical features of the territory--family divisions; apaches, pueblos, lower californians, and northern mexicans--the apache family: comanches, apaches proper, hualapais, yumas, cosninos, yampais, yalchedunes, yamajabs, cruzados, nijoras, navajos, mojaves, and their customs--the pueblo family: pueblos, moquis, pimas, maricopas, pápagos, and their neighbors--the cochimis, waicuris, pericuis, and other lower californians-- the seris, sinaloas, tarahumares, conchos, tepehuanes, tobosos, acaxees, and others in northern mexico chapter vi. wild tribes of mexico. territorial aspects--two main divisions; wild tribes of central mexico, and wild tribes of southern mexico--the coras and others in jalisco--descendants of the aztecs--the otomís and mazahuas adjacent to the valley of mexico--the pames--the tarascos and matlaltzincas of michoacan--the huaztecs and totonacos of vera cruz and tamaulipas--the chontales, chinantecs, mazatecs, cuicatecs, chatinos, miztecs, zapotecs, mijes, huaves, chiapanecs, zoques, lacandones, choles, mames, tzotziles, tzendales, chochones and others of southern mexico chapter vii. wild tribes of central america. physical geography and climate--three groupal divisions; first, the nations of yucatan, guatemala, salvador, western honduras, and nicaragua; second, the mosquitos of honduras; third, the nations of costa rica and the isthmus of panamá--the popolucas, pipiles and chontales--the descendants of the maya-quiché races--the natives of nicaragua--the mosquitos, poyas, ramas, lencas, towkas, woolwas, and xicaques of honduras--the guatusos of the rio frio--the caimanes, bayamos, dorachos, goajiros, mandingos, savanerics, sayrones, and viscitas living in costa rica and on the isthmus authorities quoted. abbot (gorham d.), mexico and the united states. new york, . abert (j. w.), report of his examination of new mexico. - . ( th congress, st session, senate executive doc. .) washington, . about (edmond), handbook of social economy. new york, . acazitli (francisco de sandoval), relacion de la jornada que hizo. indios chichimecas de xuchipila. in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. ii. acosta (joaquin), compendio histórico del descubrimiento, etc. de la nueva granada. paris, . acosta (josef de), historia natural y moral de las yndias. sevilla, . [quoted as hist. de las ynd.] acosta (josef de), the naturall and morall historie of the east and west indies. london, n.d. [ ]. [quoted as hist. nat. ind.] adair (james), the history of the american indians. london, . to. adelung (johann christoph), see vater (j. s.), mithridates. akademie der wissenschaften, sitzungsberichte. berlin. alaman (lúcas), disertaciones sobre la historia de la república mejicana. méjico, - . vols. alaman (lúcas), historia de méjico. méjico, - . vols. alarcon (fernando), the relation of the nauigation and discouery which captaine fernando alarchon made. [ .] in hakluyt's voy., vol. iii.; ramusio, navigationi, tom. iii.; ternaux-compans, voy., série i., tom. ix. album mexicano. mexico, . alcedo (antonio de), diccionario geográfico histórico. madrid, - . vols. alegre (francisco javier), historia de la compañia de jesus en nueva españa. mexico, . vols. almaraz (ramon), memoria de los trabajos ejecutados por la comision científica de pachuca. mexico, . almaraz (ramon), memoria acerca de los terrenos de metlaltoyuca. mexico, . alric (henri j. a.), dix ans de résidence d'un missionnaire dans les deux californies. mexico, . alzate y ramirez (josé antonio), gacetas de literatura de mexico. mexico, - . vols.; and puebla, . vols. alzate y ramirez (josé antonio), memoria sobre la naturaleza, etc., de la grana. ms. mexico, . america, an account of the spanish settlements in. edinburgh, . american annual register. new york, et seq. american antiquarian society, transactions and collections. worcester, etc., - . vols. american ethnological society, transactions. new york, - . vols. i., ii. american missions, history of. worcester, . american notes and queries. philadelphia, . american quarterly register. philadelphia, et seq. american quarterly review. philadelphia, et seq. american register. philadelphia, et seq. american review. new york, et seq. amérique centrale. colonisation du district de santo-thomas, guatemala. paris, . ampère (j. j.), promenade en amérique. paris, . vols. anales mexicanos de ciencia, literatura, etc. mexico, . anderson (alex. c.), hand-book and map of frazer's and thompson's rivers. san francisco, [ ]. andrews (w. s.), illustrations of the west indies. london, [ ]. folio. annales des voyages. paris, - . vols. annual of scientific discovery. boston, et seq. annual register. london, - . vols. anson (george), a voyage round the world, - . london, . to. antiquités mexicaines. paris, . folio. vols. text, vols., each in divisions; plates, vol. antuñez y acevedo (rafael), memorias históricas. madrid, . anunciacion (juan de la), doctrina christiana muy cumplida. en lengua castellana y mexicana. mexico, . anunciacion (juan de la), sermonario en lengua mexicana. mexico, . apostólicos afanes de la compañia de jesus. barcelona, . to. aravjo (ivan martinez de), manual de los santos sacramentos en el idioma de michuacan. mexico, . archenholtz (j. m. von), the history of the pirates, etc., of america. london, . archæologia, or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity. london, - . vols. arenas (pedro de), guide de la conversation en trois langues, français, espagnol et mexicain. paris, . arenas (pedro de), vocabulario manual de las lenguas castellana y mexicana. mexico, [ ]. arenas (pedro de), vocabulario manual de las lenguas castellana y mexicana. puebla, . arizcorreta (mariano), respuesta de algunos propietarios de fincas rústicas, á ----. mexico, . arlegui (joseph de), chrónica de la provincia de n. s. p. s. francisco de zacatecas. mexico, . armin (th.), das alte mexiko. leipzig, . armin (th.), das heutige mexiko. leipzig, . armstrong (alex.), a personal narrative of the discovery of the n. w. passage. london, . arricivita (juan domingo), crónica seráfica y apostólica del colegio de propaganda fide de la santa cruz de querétaro. mexico, . to. arte de la lengua névome, que se dice pima. (shea's linguistics, no. .) san augustine, . athanasius, see west-indische spieghel. atlantic monthly. boston, et seq. atwater (caleb), description of the antiquities of ohio. in amer. antiq. soc. transact., vol. i. aubin, mémoire sur l'écriture figurative. paris, . auger (Édouard), voyage en californie. paris, . avila (francisco de), arte de la lengua mexicana. mexico, . baegert (jacob), an account of the aboriginal inhabitants of the californian peninsula. in smithsonian report, - . baer (k. e. von), statistische und ethnographische nachrichten über die russischen besitzungen an der nordwestküste von amerika. st petersburg, . baeza (bartolomé del granado), los indios de yucatan. in registro yucateco, tom. i. baily (john), central america; describing guatemala, honduras, salvador, nicaragua, and costa rica. london, . bain (alexander), mind and body; the theories of their relation. new york, . baldwin (john d.), ancient america. new york, . barber (john w.), and henry howe, all the western states and territories. cincinnati, . bárcena, (j. m. roa), ensayo de una historia anecdótica de mexico. mexico, . bárcena, (j. m. roa), leyendas mexicanas. mexico, . barcia (andrés gonzalez de), historiadores primitivos de las indias occidentales. madrid, . folio. vols. bard (samuel a.), waikna; or, adventures on the mosquito shore. [by e. g. squier.] new york, . baril (v. l.), mexique. douai, . barnard (j. g.), and j. j. williams, the isthmus of tehuantepec. new york, . vol. and maps. barnes (demas), from the atlantic to the pacific. new york, . barreiro (antonio), ojeada sobre nuevo-mexico. puebla, . barrett-lennard (c.), travels in british columbia. london, . bartlett (john russell), personal narrative of explorations and incidents in texas, n. mexico, california, sonora and chihuahua. new york, . vols. bates (mrs d. b.), incidents on land and water. boston, . bausa (josé m.), bosquejo geográfico y estadístico de papantla. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. v. baxley (willis), what i saw on the west coast of south and north america. new york, . bazancourt (de), le mexique contemporain. paris, . beaufoy (mark), mexican illustrations. london, . beaumont, pablo de la purísima concepcion, crónica de la provincia de s. pedro y s. pablo de mechoacan. ms. becher (c. c.), mexico. hamburg, . beechey (f. w.), narrative of a voyage to the pacific, - . london, . vols. beeson (john), a plea for the indians. new york, . belcher (edward), narrative of a voyage round the world, - . london, . vols. bell (chas. n.), remarks on the mosquito territory. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. xxxii. bell (james), a system of geography. glasgow, . vols. belly (félix), le nicaragua. paris, . vols. beltrami (j. c), le mexique. paris, . vols. beltran de santa rosa maría (pedro), arte del idioma maya. merida, . benzoni (girolamo), la historia del mondo nvovo. venetia, . benzoni (girolamo), history of the new world. (hakl. soc. ed.) london, . berendt (c. h.), report of explorations in central america. in smithsonian report, . berenger, collection de tous les voyages faits autour du monde. paris, - . vols. berlandier (luis), and rafael thovel, diario de viage de la comision de límites. mexico, . bernardez (josef de rivera), descripcion breve de la ciudad de zacatecas. mexico, . betagh (wm.), a voyage round the world. london, . beulloch, le mexique en . london, . vols. biart (lucien), la terre chaude. paris, [ ]. biart (lucien), la terre tempérée. paris, . bidwell (chas. toll), the isthmus of panamá. london, . bigelow (john), memoir of the life and public services of john charles fremont. new york, . bigland (john), a geographical and historical view of the world. london, . vols. bigler (h. w.), early days in utah and nevada. ms., . bingley (wm.), travels in north america. london, . biondelli (b.), sull' antica lingua azteca. milano, . blagdon (francis wm.), the modern geographer. london, n.d. vols. blake (wm. p.), geographical notes upon russian america. ( th congress, d sess., house ex. doc. , pt. .) washington, . bloomfield (e.), a general view of the world. bungay, . to. bodega y quadra (juan francisco), primer viage hasta la altura de grados. . ms. bodega y quadra (juan francisco), navegacion y descubrimientos hechos de órden de s. m. en la costa septentrional de california [ ]. ms. boggs, life of gov. l. w. boggs, by his son. ms., . boguslawski (b. von), ueber deutsche colonisation in mexico. berlin, . bolduc (j. b. z.), extrait d'une lettre. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. cviii. bollaert (wm.), antiquarian and other researches in new granada. london, . boller (henry a.), among the indians. philadelphia, . bonilla (antonio), breve compendio de tejas, . ms. bonner (t. d.), the life and adventures of james p. beckwourth. new york, . bonnycastle (r. h.), spanish america. london, . vols. borthwick (j. d.), three years in california. edinburgh, . boscana (gerónimo), chinigchinich; a historical account of the origin, etc., of the indians of san juan capistrano. new york, . boturini benaduci (lorenzo), computo cronológico de los indios mexicanos. in doc. hist. mex., serie iii., pt. iv. boturini benaduci (lorenzo), idea de una nueva historia general de la america septentrional. madrid, . boudinot (elias), a star in the west, or a humble attempt to find the long lost ten tribes of israel. trenton, . box (michael james), adventures and explorations in new and old mexico. new york, . boyle (frederick), a ride across a continent. london, . vols. brace (chas. l.), the races of the old world. new york, . brackenridge (h. m.), views of louisiana. pittsburg, . brackett (albert g.), gen. lane's brigade in mexico. cincinnati, . bradford (alex. w.), american antiquities and researches into the origin and history of the red race. new york, . brasseur de bourbourg, bibliothèque mexico-guatémalienne. paris, . brasseur de bourbourg, esquisses d'histoire, d'archéologie, d'ethnographie, etc. [paris, .] brasseur de bourbourg, grammaire de la langue quichée. paris, . brasseur de bourbourg, histoire des nations civilisées du mexique et de l'amérique centrale. paris, - . vols. brasseur de bourbourg, lettres pour servir d'introduction à l'histoire primitive des nations civilisées de l'amérique septentrional. mexico, . to. brasseur de bourbourg, manuscrit troano. Études sur le système graphique et la langue des mayas. paris, - . to. vols. (mission scientifique, linguistique.) brasseur de bourbourg, popol vuh. le livre sacré et les mythes de l'antiquité américaine. paris, . brasseur de bourbourg, quatre lettres sur le mexique. paris, . brasseur de bourbourg, recherches sur les ruines de palenqué. avec les dessins de m. de waldeck. paris, . folio. vol. text; and vol. plates. brasseur de bourbourg, voyage sur l'isthme de tehuantepec. paris, . brinton (daniel g.), the myths of the new world. new york, . brissot (a.), voyage au guazacoalcos. paris, . british columbia, papers relating to the affairs of. london, - . folio. vols. british north america. london, n.d. browne (j. ross), adventures in the apache country. new york, . browne (j. ross), crusoe's island, etc. new york, . browne (j. ross), resources of the pacific states. san francisco, . browne (j. ross), a sketch of the settlement and exploration of lower california. san francisco, . brownell (charles de wolf), the indian races of north and south america. hartford, . bryant (edwin), voyage en californie. paris, n.d. bryant (edwin), what i saw in california. new york, . bucaneers of america, the history of. boston, . buchanan (james), sketches of the history, manners and customs of the n. american indians. london, . buckle (henry thomas), history of civilization in england. london, . vols. buffum (e. gould), six months in the gold mines. philadelphia, . bulfinch (thomas), oregon and eldorado. boston, . bullock (w. h.), across mexico in - . london, . bullock (w. h.), six months' residence and travels in mexico. london, , vols. bülow (a. von), der freistaat nicaragua. berlin, . burgoa (francisco de), geográfica descripcion de la parte septentrional del polo artico de la america (oajaca). mexico, . to. vols. burgoa (francisco de), palestra historial de virtudes, y exemplares apostólicos. mexico, . to. burkart (joseph), aufenthalt und reisen in mexico. stuttgart, . vols. burke (edmund), an account of european settlements in america. london, . to. burney (james), a chronological history of northeastern voyages of discovery. london, . burney (james), a chronological history of the voyages of discovery in the south sea. london, - . to. vols. burton (r.), the english heroe; or sir francis drake revived. london, . burton (r. f.), the city of the saints. london, . buschmann (johann carl ed.), das apache als eine athapaskische sprache erwiesen. berlin, [ ]. to. buschmann (johann carl ed.), der athapaskische sprachstamm. berlin, [ ]. to. buschmann (johann carl ed.), grammatik der sonorischen sprachen. berlin, . to. buschmann (johann carl ed.), die lautveränderung aztekischer wörter in den sonorischen sprachen. berlin, [ ]. to buschmann (johann carl ed.), die pima-sprache und die sprache der koloschen. berlin, [ ]. to. buschmann (johann carl ed.), die sprachen kizh und netela von neu-californien. berlin, [ ]. to. buschmann (johann carl ed.), die spuren der aztekischen sprachen im nördlichen mexico und höheren amerikanischen norden. berlin, . to. buschmann (johann carl ed.), die verwandtschafts-verhältnisse der athapaskischen sprachen. berlin, . to. buschmann (johann carl ed.), die völker und sprachen neu-mexico's und der westseite des britischen nordamerikas. berlin, [ ]. to. buschmann (johann carl ed.), systematische worttafel des athapaskischen sprachstamms. berlin, [ ]. to. buschmann (johann carl ed.), Über die aztekischen ortsnamen. berlin, [ ] to. bussièrre (th. de), l'empire mexicain. paris, . bustamante (benigno), memoria geográfica y estadística del estado de guanajuato. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. i. bustamante (carlos maría), mañanas de la alameda de mexico. mexico, - . vols. byam (george), wanderings in some of the western republics of america. london, . byam (george), wild life in the interior of central america. london, . cabeza de vaca (alvar nuñez), relation. translated from the spanish by buckingham smith. new york, . to. cabeza de vaca (alvar nuñez), relatione. in ramusio, navig., tom. iii.; barcia, historiadores prim., tom. i.; ternaux-compans, voy., série i., tom. vii. cabrera (josé maría), estadística de la municipalidad de natívitas. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. ii. cabrera (josé maria), sobre el orígen de la palabra mexico. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. viii. cabrera (paul felix), teatro crítico americano. in rio. (ant. del.), description of an ancient city. cabrera bueno (joseph gonzalez), navegacion especvlativa y práctica. manila, . folio. cabrillo (juan rodriguez), relacion, ó diario, de la navegacion que hizo, . in smith (b.), col. de varios documentos. calderon de la barca (madame), life in mexico. boston, . vols. california, establecimiento y progresos de las misiones de la antigua california, dispuesto por un religioso. (chiefly the letters of p. juan maría de salvatierra.) in doc. hist. mex., serie iv., tom. v. california academy of natural sciences, proceedings. san francisco, et seq. california farmer and journal of useful sciences. san francisco, - . california illustrated. new york, . california, its past history; its present position, etc. london, . california mercantile journal. san francisco, . california, nouvelle descente des espagnols dans l'ile de californie l'an . in voy. de l'empereur de la chine. california state medical journal. sacramento, - . californias, noticias de la provincia de californias en tres cartas de un sacérdote. valencia, . californie, histoire chrétienne. paris, . calvo (charles), recueil complet des traités. paris, - . vols. camargo (domingo muñoz), histoire de la république de tlaxcallan. in nouvelles annales des voy., , tom. xcviii-ix. campbell, a concise history of spanish america. london, . campbell (archibald), a voyage round the world. edinburgh, . cancio (lorenzo), cartas, año de . in doc. hist. mex., serie iv., tom. ii. capron (e. s.), history of california. boston, . carbajal espinosa (francisco), historia de mexico desde los primeros tiempos de que hay noticia. mex. . vols. i., ii. carbajal (francisco leon), discurso sobre la legislacion de los antiguos mexicanos. mexico, . carleton (james henry), diary of an excursion to the ruins of abó, etc., new mexico. in smithsonian report, . carli (gian-rinaldo), las cartas americanas. mexico, - . carochi (horacio), compendio del arte de la lengua mexicana ... dispuesto ... por el p. ignacio de paredes. mexico, . carpenter (wm. w.), travels and adventures in mexico. new york, . carranza (domingo gonzales), a geographical description of ... the west indies. london, . carriedo (juan b.), los palacios antiguos de mitla. in ilustracion mexicana, tom. ii. carrington (mrs m. j.), absaraka, home of the crows. philadelphia, . cartari (vicenzo), le vere e nove imagini de gli dei delli antichi. padoua, . cartas edificantes y curiosas escritas de las missiones estrangeras por algunos missioneros de la comp. de jesus. madrid, - . vols. carvalho (s. n.), incidents of travel and adventure in the far west. new york, . castañeda de nágera (pedro de), relation du voyage de cibola. in ternaux-compans, voy., serie i., tom. ix. paris, . castaño de sosa (gaspar), memoria del descubrimiento ... del nuevo reino de leon. . in pacheco, col. de doc. inéd., tom. iv. catecismo en idioma mixteco. puebla, . cathecismo y suma de la doctrina christiana ... por el iii. concilio provincial, . ms. catherwood (f.), views of ancient monuments in central america, chiapas and yucatan. new york, . folio. catlin (george), illustrations of the manners, customs and condition of the north american indians. london, . vols. catlin (george), okeepa. philadelphia, . cavo (andres), los tres siglos de mexico. mexico, - . vols. chambers' edinburgh journal. london, et seq. champagnac (j. b. j.), le jeune voyageur en californie. paris, n.d. chandless (wm.), a visit to salt lake. london, . chappe d'auteroche, voyage en californie. paris, . to. charlevoix (fr. xav. de), histoire de la nouvelle france. paris, . to. vols. charnay (désiré), cités et ruines américaines ... avec un texte par m. viollet-le-duc. paris, . with folio atlas of photographs. charpenne (pierre), mon voyage au mexique. paris, . vols. chateaubriand (de), voyages en amérique. paris, n.d. chaves (g.), rapport sur la province de meztitlan. . in ternaux-compans, voy., série ii., tom. v. chevalier (michel), l'isthme de panamá. paris, . chevalier (michel), du mexique avant et pendant le conquête. paris, . chevalier (michel), le mexique, ancien et moderne. paris, . chimalpopocatl (faustino galicia), disertacion sobre la riqueza, etc., del idioma mexicano. in museo mexicano, tom. iv. chinook jargon, vocabulary. san francisco, . chipman (c.), mineral resources of northern mexico. new york, . choris (louis), voyage pittoresque autour du monde. paris, . folio. choules (john o.), and thomas smith, the origin and history of missions. new york, . to. vols. cincinnatus, travels on the western slope of the mexican cordillera. san francisco, . clark (joseph g.), lights and shadows of sailor life. boston, . clavigero (francesco saverio), storia della california. venezia, . vols. clavigero (francesco saverio), storia antica del messico. cesena, . to. vols. cleveland (richard j.), a narrative of voyages. cambridge, . vols. cockburn (john), a journey overland from the gulf of honduras to the great south sea. london, . codex mendoza, etc., see mex. picture-writings. cogolludo (diego lopez), historia de yucathan. madrid, . folio. coke (henry j.), a ride over the rocky mountains. london, . collinson (r.), account of the proceedings of h. m. s. enterprise, from behring strait to cambridge bay. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. xxv. london, . colombo (fernando), historie, della vita, e de' fatti dell' ammiraglio d. christoforo colombo suo padre. venetia, . colon (fernando), la historia del almirante d. christóval colon su padre. in barcia, historiadores prim., tom. i. colton (walter), deck and port. new york, . colton (walter), the land of gold. new york, . colton (walter), three years in california. new york, . combier (c.), voyage au golfe de californie. paris, n.d. commettant (oscar), les civilisations inconnues. paris, . comité d'archéologie américaine, annuaire. paris, - . concilios provinciales mexicanos. º, º, º, y º; , , , . the original ms. records, folio. vols. conder (josiah), mexico and guatemala. london, . vols. cook (james), a voyage to the pacific ocean. london, . to. vols. and folio atlas. cooke (p. st g.), scenes and adventures in the army. philadelphia, . cooper, the history of north america. london, . coréal (françois), voyages aux indes occidentales. paris, . vols. cornwallis (kinahan), the new el dorado, or british columbia. london, . coronado (francisco vazquez de), the relation of. country of cibola. [ .] in hakluyt's voyages, vol. iii.; ternaux-compans, voy., série i., tom. ix.; ramusio, navig., tom. iii. cortés (hernan), aventuras y conquistas de hernan cortés en méjico. barcelona, . cortés (hernan), carta inédita. [oct. , .] in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. i. cortés (hernan), cartas y relaciones de hernan cortés al emperador carlos v. paris, . cortés (hernan), the despatches of. translated by geo. folsom. new york, . cortés (hernan), historia de nueva-españa. aumentada por don francisco antonio lorenzana. mexico, . folio. cortés (hernan), vida de hernan cortés. [de rebus gestis, etc.] in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. i. cortés, martyr, et al., de insvlis nvper inventis ferdinandi cortesii ad carolum v. narrationes cum alio quodam petri martyris. n.pl., . cortez (josé), history of the apache nations. [ .] in pac. r. r. repts., vol. iii. cotheal (alex. j.), a grammatical sketch of the language spoken by the indians of the mosquito shore. in amer. ethnol. soc., transact., vol. ii. coulter (john), adventures on the western coast of south america and the interior of california. london, . vols. coulter (thomas), notes on upper california. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. v. cousin (victor), course of the history of modern philosophy. new york, . vols. cox (isaac), the annals of trinity county. san francisco, . cox (ross), adventures on the columbia river. london, . vols. coxe (wm.), account of the russian discoveries between russia and america. london, . cremony (john c.), life among the apaches. san francisco, . crespi (juan), diario de la espedicion de mar que hizo la fragata santiago. [capt. juan perez, .] in doc. hist. mex., serie iv., tom. vi. crespi (juan), viage de la espedicion de tierra de san diego á monterey. copia del diario, etc. [ .] in doc. hist. mex., serie iv., tom. vi. cronise (titus fey), the natural wealth of california. san francisco, . crowe (frederick), the gospel in central america. london, . cuaderno histórico de las agresiones y hazañas de tres célebres apaches. in doc. hist. mex., serie iv., tom. iii. cuesta (felipe arroyo de la), extracto de la gramática mutsun. (shea's linguistics, no. .) new york, . cuesta (felipe arroyo de la), a vocabulary or phrase book of the mutsun language of alta california. (shea's linguistics, no. .) new york, . cullen, the isthmus of darien ship canal. london, . cutts (j. madison), the conquest of california and new mexico. philadelphia, . dale (r.), notes of an excursion to the isthmus of tehuantepec. london, . dall (wm. h.), alaska and its resources. boston, . dally (e.), sur les races indigènes et sur l'archéologie du mexique. paris, . dampier (wm.), a new voyage round the world. london, - . vols. dapper (o.), die unbekannte neue welt. amsterdam, . folio. darwin (charles), the descent of man. new york, . vols. darwin (charles), on the origin of species. new york, . davidson (george), directory for the pacific coast of the united states. washington, n.d. dávila (gil gonzalez), teatro eclesiástico de la primitiva iglesia de las indias occidentales. madrid, - . vols. folio. dávila (julian gutierrez), memorias históricas de la congregacion de el oratorio de la ciudad de mexico. mexico, . folio. dávila padilla (avgvstin), historia de la fvndacion y discvrso de la provincia de santiago de mexico. brusselas, . folio. davis (a.), antiquities of america. buffalo, , and new york, . davis (w. w. h.), el gringo; or, new mexico and her people. new york, . dease and simpson, an account of the recent arctic discoveries. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. viii. de bercy (drouin), l'europe et l'amérique. paris, . de costa (b. f.), the pre-columbian discovery of america. albany, . de groot (henry), british columbia. san francisco, . delafield (john), an inquiry into the origin of the antiquities of america. cincinnati, . to. delano (a.), life on the plains. new york, . delaporte, reisen eines franzosen. leipzig, . democratic review. washington, etc., et seq. denkschriften der russischen geographischen gesellschaft zu st petersburg. weimar, et seq. derbec, lettres écrites de la californie. in nouvelles annales des voy., ., tom. cxxviii-xxx. de smet (p. j. de), letters and sketches. philadelphia, . de smet (p. j. de), missions de l'orégon. london, . de smet (p. j. de), oregon missions and travels over the rocky mountains. new york, . de smet (p. j. de), voyages aux montagnes rocheuses. lille, . de smet (p. j. de), western missions and missionaries. new york, . dewees (w. b.), letters from an early settler of texas. louisville, . diaz (juan), itinerario de la armada del rey católico á la isla de yucatan, , en la que fué juan de grijalva. in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. i.; ternaux-compans, voy., série i., tom. x. diaz del castillo (bernal), historia verdadera de la conquista de la nueva-españa. madrid, . to. diccionario universal de historia y de geografía. mexico, . to. vols. dillon (a.), beautés de l'histoire du mexique. paris, . diorama. [mexico.] n.d. dixon (george), a voyage round the world. london, . to. dobbs (arthur), an account of the countries adjoining to hudson's bay. london, . to. doctrina christiana y confesionario en lengua névome. (shea's linguistics, no. .) san augustine, . documentos para la historia de mexico. mexico, - . vols. series. series iii. in folio and in parts referred to as volumes. documentos para la historia eclesiástica y civil de nueva vizcaya. in doc. hist. mex., serie iv., tom. iv.; and ms. dollfus (a.), and e. de mont-serrat, voyage géologique dans les républiques de guatemala et de salvador. paris, . to. (mission scientifique, géologie.) domenech (emmanuel), journal d'un missionaire au texas et au mexique. paris, . domenech (emmanuel), manuscrit pictographique américain. paris, . domenech (emmanuel), le mexique tel qu'il est. paris, . domenech (emmanuel), seven years' residence in the great deserts of north america. london, . dominguez (f. a.), and s. v. de escalante, diario y derrotero, santa fé á monterey, . in doc. hist. mex., serie ii., tom. i. d'orbigny (alcide), voyage dans les deux amériques. paris, . douglass (wm.), a summary, historical and political, of british settlements. boston, . vols. dragoon campaigns through the rocky mountains. new york, . drake (francis), the world encompassed. out of the notes of master francis fletcher. london, . (hakl. soc. ed.) drake (samuel g.), the aboriginal races of north america. philadelphia, . draper (john wm.), history of the intellectual development of europe. new york, . draper (john wm.), thoughts on the future civil polity of america. new york, . drew (c. s.), official report of the owyhee reconnoissance. jacksonville, . duhaut-cilly (a.), viaggio intorno al globo. torino, . vols. dunbar (edward e.), the mexican papers. new york, . duniway (abigail j.), captain gray's company; or crossing the plains. portland, . dunlop (robert glasgow), travels in central america. london, . dunn (henry), guatimala, or the united provinces of central america. new york, . dunn (john), history of the oregon territory. london, . dupaix (guillermo), relation de la première (seconde et troisième) expédition pour la recherche des antiquités du pays. spanish text and french translation, in antiq. mex., tom. i., div. i. plates in id., tom. iii. spanish text, in kingsborough's mex. antiq., vol. v. english translation, in id., vol. vi. plates in id., vol. iv. duponceau (p. Ét.), mémoire sur le système grammaticale des langues de l'amérique du nord. paris, . edinburgh review. edinburgh, et seq. edward (david b.), the history of texas. cincinnati, . edwards (bryan), the history, civil and commercial, of the british colonies in the west indies. london, - . to. vols. edwards (frank s.), a campaign in new mexico. philadelphia, . emerson (r. w.), essay on civilization. emory (wm. h.), report of the u. s. and mex. boundary survey. ( th cong., st sess., house ex. doc. .) washington, . to. vols. emory, abert, and cooke, notes of military reconnoissance, etc., in new mexico and california. ( th cong., st sess., ex. doc. .) washington, . erman (a.), archiv für wissenschaftliche kunde von russland. berlin. escalante (silvestre velez de), carta escrita en de abril de años. in doc. hist. mex., serie iii., pt. iv. escalera (evaristo), and m. g. llana, méjico histórico-descriptivo. madrid, . escobar (alonso de), account of the province of vera paz. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. xi. escudero (josé agustin de), noticias estadísticas del estado de chihuahua. mexico, . escudero (josé agustin de), noticias estadísticas del estado de durango. mexico, . escudero (josé agustin de), noticias estadísticas de sonora y sinaloa. mexico, . esparza (marcos de), informe presentado al gobierno. zacatecas, . espeio (antonio de), el viaie qve hizo antonio de espeio en el anno de ochenta y tres (to new mexico). in hakluyt's voyages, vol. iii. espinosa (isidro felis de), chrónica apostólica y seráphica de todos los colegios de propaganda fide de esta nueva-españa, primera parte. mexico, . folio. [for segunda parte see arricivita.] esquemelin (a. o.), de americaensche zee-roovers. amsterdam, . esteva (josé maría), apuntes arqueológicos. in museo mex., tom. ii. evans (albert s.), our sister republic. hartford, . fabens (joseph w.), a story of life on the isthmus. new york, . fages (eduardo), noticias estadísticas sobre el departamento de tuxpan. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. iv. fages (pedro), voyage en californie. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. ci. fancourt (charles st john), the history of yucatan. london, . farnham (thomas j.), the early days of california. philadelphia, . farnham (thomas j.), life and adventures in california. new york, . farnham (thomas j.), mexico. new york, . farnham (thomas j.), travels in the great western prairies. new york, . fédix, l'orégon et les côtes de l'océan pacifique du nord. paris, . ferry (gabriel), scènes de la vie mexicaine. paris, . ferry (gabriel), scènes de la vie sauvage au mexique. paris, . ferry (gabriel), vagabond life in mexico. new york, . figuier (louis), the human race. new york, . finck (hugo), account of antiquities in the state of vera cruz. in smithsonian report, . findlay (alex. g.), a directory for the navigation of the pacific ocean. london, . vols. fitzgerald (james edward), an examination of the charter and proceedings of the hudson's bay company. london, . fleuri, and joaquin ruz, catecismo histórico. [en idioma yucateco.] merida, . florencia (francisco de), historia de la provincia de la compañia de jesvs de neva-españa. mexico, . folio. font (pedro), notice sur la grande maison dite de moctezuma. in ternaux-compans, voy., série i., tom. ix. paris, . fontaine (edward), how the world was peopled. new york, . foote (henry stuart), texas and the texans. philadelphia, . vols. foote (mrs), recollections of central america. london, . forbes (alex.), california: a history of upper and lower california. london, . forbes (chas.), prize essay, vancouver island, n.pl., . foreign quarterly review. london, et seq. foresti, supplementi chronicarum jacobo phillippo bergomati. venetiis, . folio. forster (john reinhold), history of the voyages and discoveries made in the north. london, . to. forster (john reinhold), observations made during a voyage round the world. london, . to. fossey (matthieu de), le mexique. paris, . foster (j. w.), pre-historic races of the united states. chicago, . franchère (gabriel), narrative of a voyage to the n. w. coast of america. readfield, . franciscus (erasmus), guineischer und americanischer blumen-busch. nürnberg, . franck (sebastian), weltbuch-spiegel und bildtnis des gantzen erdtbodens. tübingen, . franklin (john), narrative of a journey to the shores of the polar sea. london, . vols. fransham (john), the world in miniature. london, . vols. fremont (john chas.), geographical memoir upon upper california. washington, . fremont (john chas.), report of the exploring expedition to the rocky mountains, etc. washington, . fremont, and emory, notes of travel in california. new york, . french (b. f.), historical collections of louisiana. new york, - . friederichsthal (emmanuel de), les monuments de l'yucatan. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. xcii. frignet (ernest), la californie. paris, . froebel (julius), aus amerika. erfahrungen, reisen und studien. leipzig, n.d. vols. froebel (julius), seven years' travel in central america. london, . frost (john), great cities of the world. auburn, n.d. frost (john), history of the state of california. auburn, . frost (john), indian wars of the u. s. new york, . fry (f.), traveler's guide. cincinnati, . funnell (wm.), a voyage round the world. london, . gage (thomas), a new survey of the west indies. london, . gairdner, notes on the geography of the columbia river. [ .] in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. xi. galindo (juan), description of the river usumasinta. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. iii. galindo (juan), notice of the caribs. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. iii. galindo (juan), notions transmises, sur palenque, etc. in antiquités mexicaines, tom. i., div. ii. galindo (juan), the ruins of copan in central america. in amer. antiq. soc., transact., vol. ii. gallatin (albert), hale's indians of northwest america. in amer. ethnol. soc., transact., vol. ii. gallatin (albert), notes on the semi-civilized nations of mexico, yucatan, and cent. am. in amer. ethnol. soc., transact., vol. i. gallatin (albert), sur l'ancienne civilisation du nouveau mexique. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. cxxxi. gallatin (albert), a synopsis of the indian tribes. in amer. antiq. soc., transact., vol. ii. gand (pierre de), lettre du frère pierre de gand, autrement dit de mura, . in ternaux-compans, voy., série i., tom. x. garay (josé de), reconocimiento del istmo de tehuantepec. london, . garces (francisco), diario y derrotero que siguió el m. r. p. fr. en su viage desde oct. de hasta sept. de , al rio colorado. in doc. hist. mex., serie ii., tom. i. garcía (gregorio), orígen de los indios de el nuevo mundo. madrid, . folio. garcía conde (francisco), frontera de la república. in album mexicano, tom. i. garcía y cubas (antonio), atlas geográfico, estadístico, é histórico de la república mexicana, mexico, . folio. gass (patrick), a journal of the voyages and travels of lewis and clarke. pittsburgh, . gastelu (antonio vazquez), arte de la lengua mexicana. puebla, . gastelu (antonio vazquez), catecismo breve [en lengua mexicana.] puebla, . gazlay's pacific monthly. san francisco, . gemelli careri (giovanni francesco), a voyage round the world. in voyages, col. (churchill), vol. iv., and in other collections. plates in kingsborough's mex. antiq., vol. iv. gerstäcker (friederich), californische skizzen. leipzig, . gerstäcker (friederich), narrative of a journey round the world. new york, . gibbs (george), alphabetical vocabulary of the chinook language. (shea's linguistics, no. .) new york, . gibbs (george), alphabetical vocabularies of the clallam and lummi. (shea's linguistics, no. .) new york, . gibbs (george), a dictionary of the chinook jargon. (shea's linguistics, no. .) (smithsonian miscel. col., no. .) new york, . gil (hilarion romero), memoria sobre los descubrimientos que los españoles hicieron en el siglo xvi. en nueva galicia. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. viii. gilliam (albert m.), travels over the table lands and cordilleras of mexico. philadelphia, . girard (juste), excursion d'un touriste au mexique. tours, . gisbourne (lionel), the isthmus of darien in . london, . glasunow (andreas), auszug aus dem tagebuche des schiffer-gehülfen--. in baer (k. e. von), stat. und ethnog. nachrichten; and in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. lxxxix. gleeson (w.), history of the catholic church in california. san francisco, . vols. gomara (francisco lopez de), historia de mexico. anvers, . gomara (francisco lopez de), la historia general de las indias. anvers, . gondra (isidro r.), antigüedades mexicanas. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. ii. gondra (isidro r.), campeche. in album mexicano, tom. i. gondra (isidro r.), esplicacion de las láminas. historia antigua de mejico. in prescott, hist. conq. mex., mexico, , tom. iii. gonzalez (joseph), see cabrera bueno (j. g.). goodrich, lives of celebrated american indians. boston, . gordon (james bentley), an historical and geographical memoir of the north american continent, its nations and tribes. dublin, . to. gordon (thomas f.), the history of ancient mexico. philadelphia, . vols. gottfriedt (johann ludwig), newe welt und americanische historien. franckfurt, . folio. granados y galvez (joseph joaquin), tardes americanas. mexico, . grant (george m.), ocean to ocean. toronto, . grant (w. colquhoun), description of vancouver island. [ .] in lond. geog. soc., jour., vols. xxvii., xxxi. gray (wm. h.), a history of oregon. portland, . greenhow (robert), the history of oregon and california. london, . gregg (josiah), commerce of the prairies. philadelphia, . vols. grijalua (joan de), crónica de la orden de n. p. s. augustin. mexico, . folio. griswold (c. d.), the isthmus of panamá. new york, . guerra (josé), historia de la revolucion de nueva españa. london, . vols. guizot (f.), history of civilization. new york, . vols. guyot (arnold), the earth and man. boston, . guzman (nuño de), relacion anónima de la jornada que hizo á la nueva galicia. in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. ii. hacke (wm.), a collection of original voyages. london, . haefkens (j.), central america. dordrecht, . hakluyt (richard), the principal navigations, voyages, etc. london, - . folio. vols. hale (horatio), ethnography and philology. philadelphia, . to. (u. s. ex. ex., vol. vi.) halkett (john), historical notes respecting the indians of north america. london, . hall (basil), extracts from a journal. edinburgh, . vols. hall (basil), voyage au chili, etc. paris, . vols. hall (frederic), the history of san josé. san francisco, . hardisty (wm. l.), the loucheux indians. in smithsonian report, . hardman (frederick), scenes and adventures in central america. edinburgh, . hardy (r. w. h.), travels in the interior of mexico. london, . harmon (daniel williams), a journal of voyages and travels. andover, . harpers' new monthly magazine. new york, et seq. harris (g.), civilization considered as a science. new york, . hartmann (carl), geographisch-statistische beschreibung von californien. weimar, . hartmann (wm.), and millard, le texas; ou notice historique sur le champ-d'asile. paris, . hassel (g.), and j. g. f. r. cannabich, vollständige und neueste erdbeschreibung vom reiche mexico, guatemala und westindien. weimar, . hastings (lansford w.), the emigrants' guide to oregon and california. cincinnati, . hayes (benj.), recollections of early times. ms. hayes collection of mss. and newspaper scraps. - . vols. hazart (cornelius), kirchen-geschichte. wienn, . folio. vols. hazlitt (wm. carew), the great gold fields of cariboo. london, . hazlitt (wm. carew), british columbia and vancouver island. london, . heap (gwinn harris), central route to the pacific. philadelphia, . hearne (samuel), a journey from prince of wales's fort in hudson's bay to the northern ocean. london, . to. heine (wilhelm), wanderbilder aus central-amerika. leipzig, n.d. heller (carl bartholomæus), reisen in mexiko. leipzig, . hellwald (frederick von), the american migration. in smithsonian report, . helmholtz (h.), popular lectures on scientific subjects. new york, . helps (arthur), the conquerors of the new world and their bondsmen. london, - . vols. helps (arthur), the life of las casas. philadelphia, . helps (arthur), the spanish conquest in america. london. - . vols. henderson (alex.), a grammar of the moskito language. new york, . henderson (george), an account of the british settlement of honduras. london, . hennepin (louis), description de la louisiane. paris, . hermesdorf (m. g.), on the isthmus of tehuantepec. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. xxxii. hernandez (francisco), nova plantarum animalium et mineralium mexicanorum historia. romæ, . folio. heredia y sarmiento (josef ignacio), sermon panegírico da la gloriosa aparicion de nra. sra. de guadalupe. mexico, . herrera (antonio de), historia general de los hechos de los castellanos en las islas i tierra firme del mar océano. madrid, . to. vols. hervas (lorenzo), catálogo de las lenguas de las naciones conocidas. madrid, - . vols. hervas (lorenzo), saggio pratico delle lengue. cesena, . hesperian. san francisco, et seq. hill (s. s.), travels in peru and mexico. london, . vols. hind (henry youle), narrative of the canadian red river exploring expedition. london, . vols. and atlas. hines (gustavus), oregon, its history, etc. buffalo, . hines (gustavus), a voyage round the world. buffalo, . hinton (r.), the land of gold. baltimore, . historia de welinna, leyenda yucateca. merida, . historical magazine and notes and queries. boston, etc., - . to. vols. hittell (john s.), the resources of california. san francisco, . holinski (alex.), la californie et les routes interocéaniques. bruxelles, . holley (mrs may austin), texas. lexington, . holmberg (h. j.), ethnographische skizzen über die völker des russischen america. helsingfors, . to. holton (isaac f.), new granada. new york, . hooper (wm. h.), ten months among the tents of the tuski. london, . horn (mrs), an authentic and thrilling narrative of the captivity of ----. cincinnati, n.d. horn (george), de originibus americanis. hagae, . houstoun (mrs), texas and the gulf of mexico. london, . vols. hudson's bay company, report. london, . folio. hughes (john t.), doniphan's expedition. cincinnati, . humboldt (alex. de), essai politique sur le royaume de la nouvelle espagne. paris, . folio. vols. and atlas. humboldt (alex. de), État présent de la république de centro-america ou guatemala. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. xxxv. humboldt (alex. de), examen critique de l'histoire de la géographie du nouveau continent. paris, - . vols. humboldt (alex. de), kosmos. entwurf einer physischen weltbeschreibung. stuttgart, - . vols. humboldt (alex. de), personal narrative of travels to the equinoctial regions of the new continent. london, - . vols. humboldt (alex. de), vues des cordillères, et monumens des peuples indigènes de l'amérique. paris, . vols. hunter (john d.), memoirs of a captivity among the indians. london, . hutchings' california magazine. san francisco, - . vols. huxley (thomas henry), critiques and addresses. new york, . huxley (thomas henry), lay sermons, addresses, and reviews. new york, . iberri, ruinas de monte-real, vera cruz. in museo mex., tom. iii. icazbalceta (joaquin garcía), coleccion de documentos para la historia de méxico. mexico, - . folio. vols. ilustracion mexicana. mexico, . incidents and sketches. cincinnati, n.d. indian affairs, report of the commissioner. washington, et seq. indian life, traits of american. london, . instituto nacional de geografía y estadística, boletin. see sociedad mexicana, etc., its later name. irving (washington), the adventures of captain bonneville. new york, . irving (washington), astoria. new york, . irving (washington), the life and voyages of christopher columbus. new york, . vols. ives (joseph c.), report upon the colorado river of the west. ( th cong., st sess., house ex. doc. .) washington, . to. ixtlilxochitl (fernando de alva), cruautés horribles des conquérants du mexique. in ternaux-compans, voy., série i., tom. viii. ixtlilxochitl (fernando de alva), histoire des chichimèques. in ternaux-compans, voy., série ii., tom. ii. paris, . vols. ixtlilxochitl (fernando de alva), historia chichimeca. in kingsborough's mex. antiq., vol. ix. ixtlilxochitl (fernando de alva), relaciones. in kingsborough's mex. antiq., vol. ix. jackson (george w.), vocabulary of the wintoon language. ms. james (edwin), account of an expedition from pittsburgh to the rocky mountains. london, . vols. japanese equivalent of the most common english words. tokei, n.d. jaramillo (juan), relation du voyage fait à la nouvelle-terre. in ternaux-compans, voy., série i., tom. ix. jefferys (thomas), voyages from asia to america. london, . to. jenkins (john s.), voyage of u. s. exploring squadron. auburn, . jewett (john r.), a narrative of the adventures and sufferings of. new york, . joan baptista, advertencias para los confesores de los naturales. mexico, . johnson (chas. granville), history of the territory of arizona. san francisco, . to. johnston (theodore t.), california and oregon. philadelphia, . jones (charles c., jr), antiquities of the southern indians. new york, . jones (george), the history of ancient america. london, . jones (strachan), the kutchin tribes. in smithsonian report, . jourdanet (d.), du mexique. paris, . juan (george), and antonio de ulloa, voyage historique de l'amérique méridionale. amsterdam, . to. vols. juarros (domingo), a statistical and commercial history of the kingdom of guatemala. london, . kamtschatka, histoire de. lyon, . vols. kane (paul), wanderings of an artist among the indians of n. america. london, . kelly (wm.), an excursion to california. london, . vols. kendall (george wilkins), narrative of the texan santa fé expedition. new york, . vols. kennedy (wm.), texas; the rise, progress, and prospects. london, . vols. koppel (henry), the expedition to borneo. london, . vols. ker (henry), travels through the western interior of the u. s. elizabethtown, . kerr (robert), a general history and collection of voyages and travels. edinburgh and london, . vols. king (clarence), mountaineering in the sierra nevada. boston, . kingsborough (lord), antiquities of mexico. london, - . folio. vols. kino, kappus, and mange, [itineraries of their travels in sonora and on the gila river.] in doc. hist. mex., serie iv., tom. i. kirby (w. w.), a journey to the youcan, russian america. in smithsonian report, . kittlitz (f. h. von), denkwürdigkeiten einer reise nach dem russischen amerika, nach mikronesien und durch kamtschatka. gotha, . vols. klaproth (j.), recherches sur le pays de fou sang, pris mal à propos pour une partie de l'amérique. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. li. klemm (gustav), allgemeine cultur-geschichte der menschheit. leipzig, - . vols. kneeland (samuel), the wonders of the yosemite valley. boston, . knight (thomas), pioneer life. ms., . knight (wm. h.), bancroft's hand-book almanac. san francisco, - . vols. kotzebue (otto von), a new voyage round the world, - . london, . vols. kotzebue (otto von), a voyage of discovery into the south sea and beering's straits. london, . vols. kruger (f.), the first discovery of america. new york, . krusenstern (a. j. von), voyage round the world. london, . to. krusenstern (a. j. von), wörter-sammlungen. st petersburg, . to. kvostoff, and davidoff, voyage dans l'amérique. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. cxxxv. lachapelle (a. de), le comte de raousset-boulbon. paris, . lacunza (josé maría), historia antigua de mexico. discurso histórico. in museo mex., tom. iv. laet (joannis de), novvs orbis. lvgd. batav., . folio. lafond (g.), voyages autour du monde. paris, . vols. la harpe (jean françois), abrégé de l'histoire générale des voyages. paris, . vols. and atlas. lamberg (e.), inspeccion de las colonias militares de chihuahua. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. iii. lambert, curious observations upon the manners, customs, etc. london, n.d. vols. landa (diego de), relacion de las cosas de yucatan. [spanish and french.] paris, . lang (john dunmore), view of the origin and migrations of the polynesian nations. london, . langsdorff (g. h. von), voyages and travels. london, - . to. vols. la pérouse (jean françois galaup de), voyage autour du monde. rédigé par m. l. a. milet-mureau. paris, an. vi. [ .] vols. and atlas. lapham (j. a.), the antiquities of wisconsin. (smithsonian contribution.) washington, . to. laplace (c.), campagne de circumnavigation. paris, - . vols. larenaudière, mexique et guatemala. paris, . larrainzar (manuel), dictamen sobre la obra de brasseur de bourbourg. mexico, . larrainzar (manuel), noticia histórica de soconusco. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. iii. las casas (bartolomé de), historia de indias. ms. folio. vols. las casas (bartolomé de), historia apologética de las yndias occidentales. ms. folio. vols. lassepas (ulises urbano), de la colonizacion de la baja california. mexico, . latham (robert gordon), comparative philology. london, . latham (robert gordon), man and his migrations. london, . latham (robert gordon), the native races of the russian empire. london, . latour-allard, specimens of mexican sculpture in the possession of ----. in kingsborough's mex. antiq., vol. iv. latrobe (charles joseph), the rambler in mexico. london, . lecciones espirituales para las tandas de ejercicios de s. ignacio, en el idioma mexicano. puebla, . lecky (w. e. h.), history of european morals. new york, . vols. lejarza (juan josé martinez de), análisis estadístico de la provincia de michuacan en . mexico, . lemprière (charles), notes in mexico in - . london, . lenoir (alexandre), parallèle des anciens monuments mexicains, avec ceux de l'egypte, de l'inde, et du reste de l'ancien monde. in antiq. mex., tom. ii., div. i. leon (martin de), camino del cielo en lengua mexicana. mexico, . leon (martin de), manual breve, y forma de administrar los santos sacramentos. mexico, . leon y gama (antonio), descripcion histórica y cronológica de las dos piedras. mexico, . leon y gama (antonio), saggio dell' astronomía, cronología, etc. roma, . letherman (jona.), sketch of the navajo tribe of indians. in smithsonian report, . lettres Édifiantes et curieuses écrites des missions Étrangères. lyon, . vols. letts (j. m.), a pictorial view of california. new york, . lewis and clarke, travels to the source of the missouri river. london, . to. linati (c.), costumes civils, militaires et réligieux du mexique. bruxelles, n.d. liot (w. b.), panamá, nicaragua and tehuantepec. london, . lippincott's magazine. philadelphia, et seq. lisiansky (urey), a voyage round the world in the years - . london, . to. lizana, devocionario de nuestra señora de itzamal. extracts in landa (diego de), relacion de las cosas de yucatan. llorente (j. a.), oeuvres de don barthélemé de las casas. paris, . vols. lloyd (j. a), notes respecting the isthmus of panamá. [ .] in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. i. loa en obsequio de la aparicion de nuestra señora de guadalupe. (en lengua azteca.) [mexico,] . lockman, travels of the jesuits. london, . vols. london geographical society, journal. london, - . vols. long, porter, and tucker, america and the west indies. london, . lord (john keast), the naturalist in vancouver island and british columbia. london, . vols. lorenzana y buitron (francisco antonio), cartas pastorales. mexico, . to. löwenstern (isador), le mexique. paris, . löwenstern (m. j.), journey from the city of mexico to mazatlan. [ .] in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. xi. lowry (a. a.), klamath vocabulary. ms., . lubbock (john), the origin of civilization. new york, . lubbock (john), pre-historic times. new york, . ludecus (Édouard), reise durch die mexikanischen provinzen. leipzig, . ludewig (herman e.), the literature of american aboriginal languages. london, . lussan (ravenau de), journal du voyage fait à la mer du sud avec les flibustiers, . paris, . lyon (g. f.), journal of a residence and tour in the republic of mexico. london, . vols. m'clure (r.), discovery of the north-west passage. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. xxiv. london, . mccollum (wm. s.), california as i saw it. buffalo, . mcculloh (james h., jr.), researches in america. baltimore, . mcculloh (james h., jr.), researches, philosophical and antiquarian, concerning the aboriginal history of america. baltimore, . mcdaniel (wm. d.), early days of california. ms. macdonald (d. g. f.), lecture on british columbia. london, . macfie (matthew), vancouver island and british columbia. london, . macgregor (john), the progress of america, from the discovery by columbus to . london, . mcintosh (john), the origin of the north american indians. new york, . mckean (kate), manual of social science. being a condensation of the principles of social science of h. c. carey. philadelphia, . mackenzie (alex.), voyages from montreal through the continent of north america. london, . to. mcsherry (richard), el puchero; or, a mixed dish from mexico. philadelphia, . maillard (doran), the history of the republic of texas. london, . major (richard henry), the life of prince henry of portugal. london, . maltby, letter on california indians. ms. malte-brun (v. a.), un coup d'oeil sur le yucatan. paris, n.d. malte-brun (v. a.), précis de la geógraphie universelle. bruxelles, . vols. and atlas. malte-brun (v. a.), la sonora et ses mines. paris, . manzi (pietro), il conquisto di messico. roma, . marbois (barbé), the history of louisiana. philadelphia, . march y labores (josé), historia de la marina real española. madrid, . to. vols. and atlas. marchand (Étienne), voyage autour du monde pendant les années - . paris, ans vi-viii. [ - .] vols. and atlas. marcy (randolph b.), exploration of the red river of louisiana. ( d cong., d sess., senate ex. doc. .) washington, . marcy (randolph b.), the prairie traveler. new york, . marcy (randolph b.), report of route from fort smith to santa fé. ( st cong., st sess., senate ex. doc. .) washington, . marcy (randolph b.), thirty years of army life on the border. new york, . marineo (lucio), sumario de la clarissima vida y heroicos hechos de los cathólicos reyes. toledo, . to. marmier (x.), notice sur les indiens de la californie. in bryant (ed.), voy. en cal. marmier (x.), les voyageurs nouveaux. paris, n.d. vols. marquez (pietro), due antichi monumenti di architettura messicana. roma, . marsh (g. p.), man and nature. new york, . martin (ch.), précis des Événements de la campagne du mexique. paris, . martin (john), an account of the natives of the tonga islands. london, . vols. martin (r. montgomery), history of the british colonies. london, - . vols. martin (r. montgomery), history of the west indies. london, . vols. martin (r. montgomery), the hudson's bay territories and vancouver's island. london, . martyr (peter), decades. in voy., a selection, etc. london, . martyr (peter), petri martyris ab angleria, etc., de rebus oceanicis et orbe nouo decades tres. basileae, . folio. maurelle (fran. antonio), journal of a voyage in . n.pl., n.d. to. mayer (brantz), memoranda upon mexican antiquities. in schoolcraft's arch., vol. vi. mayer (brantz), mexico as it was and as it is. new york, . mayer (brantz), mexico. aztec, spanish and republican. hartford, . vols. mayer (brantz), observations on mexican history and archeology. (smithsonian contribution, no. .) washington, . mayne (r. c.), four years in british columbia and vancouver island. london, . meares (john), voyages made in the years - . london, . to. medina (balthassar de), chrónica de la santa provincia de san diego de mexico. mexico, . folio. mélanges russes tirés du bulletin historico-philologique de l'académie impériale des sciences de st pétersbourg. st pétersbourg, . meletta, pah-utah vocabulary. ms. meline (james f.), two thousand miles on horseback. new york, . mendez (modesto), bericht über eine untersuchungs-expedition nach den ruinen der alten stadt tikal. in sivers, mittelamerika. mendieta (gerónimo de), historia eclesiástica indiana. mexico, . mendoza (joan gonzalez de), historia de las cosas mas notables, ritos y costumbres del gran reyno de la china. anvers, . mengarini (gregory), a selish or flathead grammar. (shea's linguistics, no. .) new york, . menonville (thierry de), reise nach guaxaca. leipzig, . mercator (gerardus), atlas sive cosmographicae meditationes. dvisbvrgi, . folio. mexican picture-writings. fac-similes of ancient mexican paintings and hieroglyphics, in kingsborough's mex. antiq., as follows: codex berlin, fac-similes of original mexican paintings deposited in the royal library of berlin by the baron de humboldt. vol. ii. codex bodleian, fac-similes, in bodleian library at oxford. (nos. , , , .) vols. i. ii. codex bologna, fac-simile, library of the institute. vol. ii. codex borgian, fac-simile, borgian museum, rome. vol. iii. codex boturini, fac-simile, collection of boturini. vol. i. codex dresden, fac-simile, royal library. vol. iii. codex fejérvary, fac-simile, in possession of m. f----. vol. iii. codex mendoza, copy of the collection of mendoza. vol. i. explicacion de la coleccion, vol. v. interpretion of the collection, vol. vi. codex telleriano-remensis, copy, in royal library at paris. vol. i. explicacion, vol. v. explanation, vol. vi. codex vaticanus, copy, library of the vatican, rome. vols. ii. iii. spiegazione delle tavole, vol. v. translation, vol. vi. codex vienna, fac-simile, imperial library. vol. ii. mexican sculpture, specimens preserved in the british museum. in kingsborough's mex. antiq., vol. iv. mexicanische zustände aus den jahren - . stuttgart, . mexico, anales del ministerio de fomento. mexico, . mexico, the country, history and people. london, . mexico in . new york, . mexico, memoria presentada á s. m. el emperador por el ministro de fomento. mexico, . to. mexico, noticias de la ciudad. mexico, . to. mexico, a trip to, by a barrister. london, . mexique conquis. paris, . vols. mexique, Études historiques. paris, . meyer (carl), nach dem sacramento. aarau, . michler (n.), report of survey for ship canal near darien. ( th cong., d sess., senate ex. doc. .) washington, . mijangos (joan), espeio divino en lengua mexicana. mexico, . milburn (wm. henry), the rifle, axe, and saddle-bags. new york, . mill (john stuart), dissertations and discussions. london, . vols. mill (john stuart), essay on civilization. mill (nicholas), history of mexico. london, . miller (joaquin), life amongst the modocs. london, . milton, and cheadle, the north-west passage by land. london, [ ]. miscellanea curiosa. london, . mission scientifique au mexique et dans l'amérique centrale. géologie, linguistique. paris, - . vols. to. mofras (duflot de), exploration du territoire de l'orégon, des californies, etc. paris, . vols. and atlas. molina (alonso de), vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana. mexico, . vols. to. molina (felipe), coup d'oeil rapide sur la république de costa rica. paris, . molina (felipe), memoir on the boundary question, costa rica and nicaragua. washington, . möllhausen (balduin), der flüchtling. leipzig, . vols. möllhausen (balduin), das mormonenmädchen. jena, . vols. möllhausen (balduin), reisen in die felsengebirge nord-amerikas. leipzig, . vols. möllhausen (balduin), tagebuch einer reise vom mississippi nach den küsten der südsee. leipzig, . to. monglave (eugéne de), résumé de l'histoire du mexique. paris, . montanus (arnoldus), de nieuwe en onbekende weereld. amsterdam, . folio. montgomery (g. w.), narrative of a journey to guatemala. new york, . moore (francis, jr.), description of texas. new york, . morelet (arthur), voyage dans l'amérique centrale, l'isle de cuba et le yucatan. paris, . vols. morfi (juan agustin de), viage de indios y diario del nuevo-méxico. in doc. hist. mex., serie iii., pt. iv. morineau (p. de), notice sur la nouvelle californie. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. lxi. morrell (benjamin), a narrative of four voyages to the south sea, etc. new york, . morse (jedidiah), a report on indian affairs. new haven, . morton (samuel george), crania americana or a comparative view of the skulls of various aboriginal nations of north and south america. philadelphia, . folio. mosaico mexicano. mexico, - . vols. mosquitoland, bericht über. berlin, . motolinia (toribio de benavente), historia de los indios de la nueva españa. in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. i. mowry (sylvester), arizona and sonora. new york, . mowry (sylvester), the geography and resources of arizona and sonora. san francisco, . moxó (benito maría de), cartas mejicanas. genova, n.d. mühlenpfordt (eduard), versuch einer getreuen schilderung der republik mejico. hannover, . vols. mullan (john), report on the construction of a military road from walla-walla to fort benton. washington, . müller (j. g.), geschichte der amerikanischen urreligionen. basel, . müller (j. w. von), beiträge zur geschichte, etc., von mexico. leipzig, . müller (j. w. von), reisen in den vereinigten staaten, canada, und mexico. leipzig, . vols. müller (max), chips from a german workshop. new york, . vols. müller (max), lectures on the science of language. new york, - , vols. munster (sebastian), cosmographia. basel, . to. murguia, estadística antigua y moderna de la provincia de guajaca. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. vii. murphy and harned, the puget sound directory. murr (christoph gottlieb von), nachricht von verschiedenen ländern des spanischen amerika. halle, . murray (hugh), historical account of discoveries and travels in north america. london, . vols. museo mexicano. mexico, - . vols. n. (n.), america, or an exact description of the west indies. london, . navarrete (martin fernandez), coleccion de los viages y descubrimientos que hicieron los españoles desde fines del siglo xv. madrid, - . vols. náxera (manuel crisóstomo), disertacion sobre la lengua othomí. mexico, . nebel (carlos), viaje pintoresco y arqueolójico sobre la república mejicana, - . paris, . folio. neue nachrichten von denen neuentdekten insuln. hamburg, . neve y molina (luis de), grammática della lingua otomí. esposta en italiano dal conte enea silvio vincenzo piccolomini. roma, . nicolai (eliud), newe und warhafte relation von west-und-ost indien. münchen, . nicolay (c. g.), the oregon territory. london, . nievwe weerelt, anders ghenaempt west-indien. amsterdam, . folio. niza (marco de), a relation of the reuerend father frier marco de niça, touching his discouery of ceuola or cibola. in hakluyt's voyages, vol. iii.; ternaux-compans, voy., série i., tom. ix.; ramusio, navigationi, tom. iii. norman (b. m.), rambles by land and water. new york, . norman (b. m.), rambles in yucatan. new york, . north american review. boston, et seq. nott (j. c), and geo. r. gliddon. indigenous races of the earth. philadelphia, . nouvelles annales des voyages. paris, - . vols. oersted, l'amérique centrale. copenhague, . ogilby (john), america: being the latest and most accurate description of the new world. london, . folio. oregon, sketches of mission life among the indians of. new york, . orozco y berra (manuel), geografía de las lenguas y carta etnográfica de méxico. mexico, . orrio (francisco xavier alexo de), solucion del gran problema acerca de la poblacion de las americas. mexico, . ortega (francisco de), apendice to veytia, historia antigua de mejico, tom. iii. ortega (francisco de), relacion de la entrada que hizo á las californias el capitan francisco de ortega el año de . in doc. hist. mex., serie ii., tom. iii. ortega (joseph de), vocabulario en lengua castellana y cora. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. viii. ortelivs (abrahamvs), theatrvm orbis terrarvm. antverpiae, . folio. oswald (fr.), californien und seine verhältnisse. leipzig, . otis (f. n.), isthmus of panamá. new york, . ottavio, promenade dans le golfe du mexique. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. lix. overland monthly. san francisco, et seq. oviedo y valdés (gonzalo fernandez de), historia general y natural de las indias. madrid, - . vols. to. oviedo y valdés (gonzalo fernandez de), relacion sumaria de la historia natural de las indias. in barcia, historiadores prim., tom. i. pacheco (joaquin f.), et al., coleccion de documentos inéditos relativos al descubrimiento, conquista y colonizacion de las posesiones españolas en america. madrid, - . vols. pacific r. r., reports of explorations and surveys. washington, - . vols. to. padilla (matins de la mota), conquista del reino de la nueva galicia. ms. guadalajara, . folio. page (legh), notes on a journey from belize to guatemala. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. viii. pagés (f. de), nouveau voyage autour du monde. paris, . pagés (f. de), travels round the world. london, . vols. palacio (diego garcía de), carta dirigida al rey de españa, año . [with english translation.] albany, . (no. of squier's collection.) palacio (diego garcía de), relacion hecha por el licenciado palacio al rey d. felipe ii. [same as preceding.] in pacheco, col. de doc., tom. vi. palacios, description de la province de guatemala. [translation of preceding.] in ternaux-compans, recueil de doc. palliser (john), exploration of british america. london, . folio. palliser (john), solitary rambles. london, . palmer (joel), journal of travels over the rocky mountains. cincinnati, . palou (francisco), noticias de las californias. in doc. hist. mex., serie iv., tom. vi. vii. mexico, . palou (francisco), relacion histórica de la vida y apostólicas tareas del venerable padre fray junípero serra. mexico, . pandosy (mie. cles.), grammar and dictionary of the yakama language. (shea's linguistics, no vi.) new york, . paredes (alonso de), utiles y curiosas noticias del nuevo-mexico, cíbola, etc. in doc. hist. mex., serie iii., pt. iv. paredes (ignacio de), promptuario manual mexicano. mexico, . parker (samuel), journal of an exploring tour. ithaca, . parker (w. b.), notes taken during the expedition through unexplored texas. philadelphia, . parkman (francis), the california and oregon trail. new york, . parkman (francis), the jesuits in north america. boston, . parry (w. e.), journals of the first, second and third voyages for the discovery of a northwest passage. london, - . vols. pattie (james o.), the personal narrative of, edited by timothy flint. cincinnati, . pauw (de), recherches philosophiques sur les américains. london, . vols. pemberton (j. despard), facts and figures relating to vancouver's island and british columbia. london, . perez (francisco), catecismo de la doctrina cristiana en lengua otomí. mexico, . perez (juan), relacion del viage en con la fragata santiago. ms. perez (juan pio), cronología antigua de yucatan. in landa (diego de), relacion de las cosas de yucatan; in stephens' yucatan, vol. ii.; and in diccionario univ. de geog., tom. iii. perez (manuel), arte de el idioma mexicano. mexico, . peters (de witt c.), the life and adventures of kit carson. new york, . petit-thouars (abel du), voyage autour du monde. paris, - . vols. petzholdt (j.), das buch der wilden. dresden, . pfeiffer (ida), a lady's second journey round the world. new york, . phelps (w. d.), fore and aft. boston, . pickering (charles), the races of man: and their geographical distribution. philadelphia, . to. (u. s. ex. ex., vol. ix.) pidgeon (william), traditions of decoodah, and antiquarian researches. new york, . pike (zebulon montgomery), exploratory travels through the western territories of north america. london, . to. pilar (garcía del), relacion de la entrada de nuño de guzman. in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. ii. pim (bedford), the gate of the pacific. london, . pim (bedford), and berthold seemann, dottings on the roadside in panamá, nicaragua, and mosquito. london, . pimentel (francisco), cuadro descriptivo y comparativo de las lenguas indígenas de mexico. mexico, - . vols. pimentel (francisco), la economía política. mexico, . pimentel (francisco), memoria sobre las causas que han originado la situacion actual de la raza indígena le méxico. mexico, . pimería, noticias de la. in doc. hist. mex., serie iii., pt. iv. pineda (emilio), descripcion geográfica del departamento de chiapas y soconusco. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. iii. pinkerton (john), a general collection of voyages and travels. london, - . vols. to. pioneer. san francisco, - . vols. pitman (robert birks), a succinct view and analysis of ship canal across the isthmus of america. london, . pizarro y orellana (fernando), varones ilvstres del nvevo mvndo. madrid, . folio. poinsett (j. r.), notes on mexico. london, . pontelli (l. de), explorations in central america. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. clv.; and in california farmer, nov. , , . poole (francis), queen charlotte islands. london, . porter (jane), sir edward seaward's narrative of his shipwreck. london, . vols. porter (noah), the sciences of nature versus the science of man. new york, . portlock (nathaniel), a voyage round the world. london, . poussin (g. t.), question de l'orégon. paris, . powers (stephen), the northern california indians. in overland monthly, vols. viii. et seq. powers (stephen), pomo: some accounts of the habits, customs, traditions and languages of the california indians. ms., . powers (stephen), vocabularies of the california indians. mss. poyet (c. f.), notices géographiques. paris, . pradt, cartas al sr abate de pradt. madrid, . prariedom. rambles and scrambles in texas. new york, . prescott (william h.), history of the conquest of mexico. new york, . vols. prescott (william h.), historia de la conquista de méxico. mexico, - . vols. prescott (william h.), historia de la conquista de méxico. madrid, - . vols. prichard (james cowles), the natural history of man. london, . vols. prichard (james cowles), researches in the physical history of mankind. london, - . vols. priest (josiah), american antiquities and discoveries in the west. albany, . prieto (guillermo), viajes de orden suprema. mexico, . purchas his pilgrimes. london, - . vols. folio. puydt (lucien de), account of scientific explorations in the isthmus of darien, , . in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. xxxviii. quarterly review, london, et seq. querétaro, noticias estadísticas. mexico, . quintana (manuel josef), vidas de españoles célebres. paris, . radloff (l.), einige nachrichten über die sprache der kaiganen; in mélanges russes, tom. iii., livraison v. st pétersbourg, . rae (w. f.), westward by rail. london, . ramirez (antonio de guadalupe), breve compendio de todo lo que debe saber y entender el christiano, en lengua othomí. mexico, . ramirez (josé fernando), cuadro histórico-geroglífico de la peregrinacion de las tribus aztecas. in garcía y cubas, atlas. ramirez (josé fernando), discursos sobre la historia antigua de méjico. in revista científica, tom. i. ramirez (josé fernando), notas y esclarecimientos á la historia de la conquista. in prescott (w. h.), hist. conq. mex., mexico, , tom. ii. ramirez (josé fernando), noticias históricas de durango. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. v. ramirez (josé fernando), noticias históricas y estadísticas de durango. mexico, . ramirez (josé fernando), proceso de residencia contra pedro de alvarado. mexico, . ramusio (giovanni battista), navigationi et viaggi. venetia, tom. i., ; tom. ii., ; tom. iii., . vols. folio. ranking (john), historical researches on the conquest of peru, mexico, etc., by the mongols. london, . raso (antonio del), notas estadísticas del departamento de querétaro. in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. iii. rattray (alex.), vancouver island and british columbia. london, . rau (charles), indian pottery. in smithsonian report, . raven (ralph), golden dreams and leaden realities. new york, . raynal (g. t.), histoire philosophique et politique. paris, - . vols. and atlas. registro trimestre. mexico, . registro yucateco. mérida, . vols. reichardt (c. f.), centro-amerika. braunschweig, . reichardt (c. f.), nicaragua. braunschweig, . reid (hugo), the indians of los angeles county. in los angeles star, ; california farmer, ; and in hayes collection. relacion de algunas cosas de la nueva españa. [anonymous conqueror.] in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. i. relatione d'alcvne cose della nuoua spagna, etc., per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese. [anonymous conqueror.] in ramusio, navigationi, tom. iii. religious ceremonies and customs. london, . vols. folio. remesal (antonio de), historia de la provincia de s. vicente de chyapa. madrid, . to. remy (jules), and julius brenchley, a journey to great salt lake city. london, . vols. revere (joseph warren), a tour of duty in california. new york, . revilla-gigedo, extractos de la carta de de diciembre de , sobre las misiones de la nueva españa. ms. revista científica y literaria. mexico, . vols. revista mexicana. mexico, . revue américaine. paris, et seq. revue des deux mondes. paris, et seq. revue française. paris, . ribas (andres perez de), historia de los trivmphos de nvestra santa fee, en las misiones de la provincia de nueva-españa. madrid, . folio. ribero (l. miguel), proyecto de monarquía en mexico. madrid, . richardson (john), arctic searching expedition: a journal of a boat voyage. london, . vols. richardson (john), the polar regions. edinburgh, . richthofen (emil karl heinrich von), die aeusseren und inneren politischen zustände der republik mexico. berlin, . rio (antonio del), description of the ruins of an ancient city [palenque]. london, . to. rio (antonio del), beschreibung einer alten stadt. [with additions by the translator, j. h. von minutoli.] berlin, . rios (epitacio j. de los), compendio de la historia de mexico. mexico, . ripaldo, catecismo (en idioma mixteco). puebla, . ritos antiguos, sacrificios é idolatrías de los indios de la nueva-españa. in kingsborough's mex. antiq., vol. ix. rittner (heinrich), guatimozin über die welt und die erde. berlin, . rivera, and garcía, ruinas de la quemada. in museo mexicano, tom. i. rivero (mariano edward), see tschudi, peruvian antiq. robertson (william), the history of america. london, . vols. to. robertson (william parrish), a visit to mexico. london, . vols. robinson (alfred), life in california. new york, . robinson (fayette), california and its gold regions. new york, . rochelle (roux de), États unis d'amérique. paris, . rogers (woodes), a cruising voyage round the world. london, . rollin, mémoire physiologique et pathologique sur les américains. in pérouse, voy., tom. iv. romero (josé guadalupe), noticias para formar la historia y la estadística del obispado de michoacan. mexico, ; and in soc. mex. geog., boletin, tom. viii. roquefeuil (camille de), voyage round the world. london, . roquette (de la), de la géographie de la nouvelle-grenade. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. cxlvii. roseborough (j. b.), letter on northern california indians. ms. ross (alex.), adventures of the first settlers on the oregon or columbia river. london, . ross (alex.), the fur hunters of the far west. london, . vols. rossi, souvenirs d'un voyage en orégon. paris, . rouhaud (hip.), les régions nouvelles. paris, . royal geographical society of london. see lond. geog. soc. ruschenberger (w. s. w.), narrative of a voyage round the world. london, . vols. ruxton (george frederic), adventures in mexico and the rocky mountains. new york, . ruxton (george frederic), sur la migration des anciens mexicains. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. cxxvi. ruz (joaquin), cartilla ó silabario de lengua maya. mérida, . ruz (joaquin), gramática yucateca. mérida, . ryan (william redmond), personal adventures in upper and lower california. london, . vols. s. (j. l.), see neue nachrichten. sacramento daily union. sacramento, et seq. sahagun (bernardino de), la aparicion de nuestra señora de guadalupe de mexico. mexico, . sahagun (bernardino de), historia general de las cosas de nueva españa. mexico, . vols.; and in kingsborough's mex. antiq., vols. v.-vii. saigey (emile), the unity of natural phenomena. boston, . saint-amant (de), voyages en californie et dans l'orégon. paris, . salazar y olarte (ignacio de), historia de la conquista de mexico. segunda parte. [continuation of solis.] córdoba, . folio. salmeron (gerónimo de zárate), relaciones de todas las cosas que en el nuevo-mexico se han visto y sabido, - . in doc. hist. mex., serie iii., pt. iv. salvatierra (juan maría de), cartas. in doc. hist. mex., serie iv., tom. v., and serie ii., tom. i. sámano (juan de), relacion de la conquista de los teules chichimecas. in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. ii. sammlung aller reisebeschreibungen. leipzig, - . vols. to. san francisco evening bulletin. san francisco, et seq. sartorius (c.), mexico. landscapes and popular sketches. london, . to. saturday magazine. london, - . vols. folio. sauer (martin), an account of a geographical and astronomical expedition to the northern parts of russia, performed by joseph billings. london, . to. saxon (isabella), five years within the golden gate. philadelphia, . scenes in the rocky mountains. new york, . schérer (jean benoît), recherches historiques. paris, . scherr (johannes), das trauerspiel in mexiko. leipzig, . scherzer (karl), ein besuch bei den ruinen von quiriguá. (akademie der wissenschaften.) scherzer (karl), die indianer von istlávacan. wien, . scherzer (karl), narrative of the circumnavigation of the globe by the austrian frigate novara. london, . vols. scherzer (karl), travels in the free states of central america. london, . vols. scherzer (karl), wanderungen durch die mittelamerikanischen freistaaten. braunschweig, . schiel, reise durch die felsengebirge und die humboldtgebirge. schaffhausen, . schoolcraft (henry r.), archives of aboriginal knowledge. philadelphia, . vols. to. schott (arthur), remarks on the "cara gigantesca" of yzamal, in yucatan. in smithsonian report, . schumacher (paul), oregon antiquities. ms. scouler (john), observations on the indigenous tribes of the n. w. coast of america. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. xi. sedelmair (jacobo), relacion que hizo el p----, . in doc. hist. mex., serie iii., pt. iv. seemann (berthold), narrative of the voyage of h. m. s. herald, - . london, . vols. seleny (s. j.), auszug aus dem tagebuche des lieutenants sagoskin über seine expedition auf dem festen lande des nordwestlichen amerikas. in denkschriften der russ. geog. gesellsch. zu st petersburg, band i. weimar, . seleny (s. j.), [or zelenöi], résumé des journaux de l'expedition amérique russe, - . in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. cxxv-vi. selfridge (thomas olliver), reports of explorations. ship-canal by way of darien. washington, . to. sevin (ch.), journey to mexico. [ .] in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. xxx. sharp (barth.), the voyages and adventures of. london, . shastas and their neighbors. ms., . shaw (william), golden dreams and waking realities. london, . shea (john gilmary), history of the catholic missions among the indians of the united states. new york, . shea (john gilmary), library of american linguistics. [quoted separately.] shelvocke (george), a voyage round the world. london, . shepard (a. k.), the land of the aztecs. albany, . shepard (a. k.), papers on spanish america. albany, . shuck (oscar t.), the california scrap-book. san francisco, . shufeldt (robert w.), reports of explorations. ship-canal by way of tehuantepec. ( d cong., d sess., ex. doc. .) washington, . to. sigüenza y góngora (carlos de), parayso occidental. mexico, . sigüenza y góngora (carlos de), teatro de virtudes políticas. in doc. hist. mex., serie iii., pt. iii. silliman (benjamin), the american journal of science. new haven, et seq. vols. simon (mrs), the ten tribes of israel historically identified with the aborigines of the western hemisphere. london, . simpson (george), narrative of a journey round the world. london, . vols. simpson (james h.), coronado's march in search of the "seven cities of cíbola." in smithsonian report, . simpson (james h.), journal of a military reconnoissance from santa fé to the navajo country. philadelphia, . simpson (james h.), the shortest route to california. philadelphia, . simpson (thomas), narrative of the discoveries on the north coast of america. london, . sitgreaves (l.), report of an expedition down the zuñi and colorado rivers. ( d cong., d sess., senate ex. doc. .) washington, . sitjar (buenaventura), vocabulario de la lengua de los naturales de la mision de san antonio, alta california. (shea's linguistics, no. .) new york, . sivers (jegór von), ueber madeira und die antillen nach mittelamerika. leipzig, . smart (charles), notes on the tonto apaches. in smithsonian report, . smith (buckingham), coleccion de varios documentos para la historia de la flórida y tierras adyacentes. madrid, . to. smith (buckingham), a grammatical sketch of the heve language. (shea's linguistics, no. .) new york, . smith (charles hamilton), the natural history of the human species. london, . smith (jedediah), excursion à l'ouest des monts rocky. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. xxxvii. smithsonian institution, annual report of the board of regents. washington, et seq. smucker (samuel m.), the life of col. john charles fremont. new york, . sociedad mexicana de geografía y estadística, boletin. mexico, et seq. [includes instituto nacional.] société de géographie, bulletin. paris. soden (julius), die spanier in peru und mexiko. berlin, . vols. solis (antonio de), historia de la conquista de mexico. madrid, - . vols. to. solórzano pereyra (juan de), de indiarum jure. sive de iusta indiarum occidentalium inquisitione, acquisitione & retentione. lugduni, . vols. folio. solórzano pereyra (juan de), política indiana. [translation of preceding work.] madrid, . vols. folio. sonora, descripcion geográfica, natural y curiosa de la provincia de sonora. [ .] in doc. hist. mex., serie iii., pt. iv. sonora, rudo ensayo, tentativa de una prevencional descripcion geográfica de la provincia de sonora. [same as preceding.] san augustin, . to. soulé (frank), et al., the annals of san francisco. new york, . southern quarterly review. new orleans, et seq. sparks (jared), life of john ledyard. cambridge, . spectateur américain. amsterdam, . spencer (herbert), illustrations of universal progress. new york, . spencer (herbert), the principles of biology. new york, . vols. spencer (herbert), the principles of psychology. new york, . vols. spencer (herbert), recent discussions in science, philosophy and morals. new york, . spencer (herbert), social statics; or, the conditions essential to human happiness. new york, . spizelius (theophilus), elevatio relations monteziniana de repertis in america tribubus israeliticis. basilea, . sproat (gilbert malcolm), scenes and studies of savage life. london, . squier (e. g.), antiquities of the state of new york. buffalo, . squier (e. g.), monograph of authors who have written on the languages of central america. new york, . squier (e. g.), new mexico and california. in american review, nov. . squier (e. g.), nicaragua; its people, scenery, resources, condition, and proposed canal. new york, ; and new york, . vols. squier (e. g.), the serpent symbol. new york, . squier (e. g.), the state of central america. new york, . squier (e. g.), waikna. see bard (sam. a.). squier (e. g.), and e. h. davis, the ancient monuments of the mississippi valley. (smithsonian contributions, vol. i.) new york, . to. staehlin (j. von), an account of the new northern archipelago. london, . stanley (j. m.), portraits of north american indians. washington, . stansbury (howard), exploration and survey of the valley of the great salt lake of utah. (special sess., march, , senate ex. doc. .) washington, . vol. and maps. stapp (william preston), the prisoners of perote. philadelphia, . steele (mrs), a summer journey in the west. new york, . stephen (james fitzjames), liberty, equality, fraternity. new york, . stephens (john l.), incidents of travel in central america. new york, . vols. stephens (john l.), incidents of travel in yucatan. new york, . vols. stevens (isaac i.), address on the north west. washington, . stevens (isaac i.), report of explorations for a route for the pacific r. r. near the th and th parallels, from st paul to puget sound. in pac. r. r. reports, vol. i. and supplement. stoddart (john), glossology, or the historical relations of languages. london, . stout (peter f.), nicaragua; past, present, and future. philadelphia, . strangeways (thomas), sketch of the mosquito shore. edinburgh, . stratton (r. b.), captivity of the oatman girls. san francisco, . strickland (w. p.), history of the missions of the m. e. church. cincinnati, . stuart (granville), montana as it is. new york, . sue (joseph), henri le chancelier, souvenirs d'un voyage dans l'amérique centrale. paris, . sutil y mexicana, relacion del viage hecho por las goletas sutil y mexicana en el año de , para reconocer el estrecho de fuca. madrid, . vol. and atlas. swan (james g.), the northwest coast; or, three years' residence in washington territory. new york, . tápia (andrés de), relacion sobre la conquista de mexico. in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. ii. taylor (alex. s.), the indianology of california. in california farmer, - . taylor (bayard), eldorado; or, adventures in the path of empire. new york, . vols. tello (antonio), fragmentos de una historia de la nueva galicia escrita hácia, . in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. ii. tempsky (g. f. von), mitla; a narrative of incidents and personal adventures. london, . ternaux-compans (henri), au port de mazatlan. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. xcv. ternaux-compans (henri), recueil de documents et mémoires originaux sur l'histoire des possessions espagnoles dans l'amérique. paris, . ternaux-compans (henri), vocabulaire des principales langues du mexique. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. lxxxviii. ternaux-compans (henri), voyages, relations et mémoires originaux pour servir à l'histoire de la découverte de l'amérique. paris, - . series, and vols. tezozomoc (fernando de alvarado), crónica mexicana. in kingsborough's mex. antiq., vol. ix. tezozomoc (alvaro), histoire du mexique. [translation of preceding.] paris, . vols. thompson (g. a.), narrative of an official visit to guatemala. london, . thompson (waddy), recollections of mexico. new york, . thornton (j. quinn), oregon and california in . new york, . vols. thümmel (a. r.), mexiko und die mexikaner. erlangen, . todd (john), the sunset land. boston, . tomes (robert), panamá in . new york, . torquemada (juan de), monarquía indiana. madrid, . vols. folio. touron (r. r.), histoire générale de l'amérique. paris, . vols. townsend (john k.), narrative of a journey across the rocky mountains to the columbia river. philadelphia, . townshend (f. french), ten thousand miles of travel, sport, and adventure. london, . trautwine (john c.), rough notes of an exploration of the rivers atrato and san juan, . in franklin institute, journal, vols. - . treasury of travel and adventure. new york, . trioen (l. f. b.), indagaciones sobre las antigüedades mexicanas. mexico, . tschudi (john james von), peruvian antiquities. new york, . tudor (henry), narrative of a tour in north america. london, . vols. tuthill (franklin), the history of california. san francisco, . twiss (travers), the oregon territory. new york, . tylor (edward b.), anahuac; or, mexico and the mexicans. london, . tylor (edward b.), primitive culture. boston, . vols. tylor (edward b.), researches into the early history of mankind. london, . tyson (james l.), diary of a physician in california. new york, . tyson (philip t.), geology and industrial resources of california. baltimore, . ulloa (antonio de), noticias americanas. madrid, . ulloa (francisco de), a relation of the discouery, etc. [ .] in hakluyt's voyages, vol. iii.; ramusio, navigationi, tom. iii. united states exploring expedition. philadelphia, - . vols. to., and vols. folio. upham (charles wentworth), life, explorations, and public services of john charles fremont. boston, . uring (nathaniel), a history of the voyages and travels of. london, . utah, acts, resolutions and memorials. great salt lake city, . valois (alfred de), mexique, havane, et guatemala. paris, n.d. vancouver (george), a voyage of discovery to the north pacific ocean, and round the world. london, . to. vols. and atlas. variedades de la civilizacion. méjico, . vols. varnhagen (f. a. de), le premier voyage de amerigo vespucci. vienne, . vassar (john guy), twenty years around the world. new york, . vater (johann severin), mithridates oder allgemeine sprachenkunde. berlin, - . vols. vega (manuel de la), historia del descubrimiento de la america. mexico, . velasco (josé francisco), noticias estadísticas del estado de sonora. mexico, . velasquez de cardenas y leon (carlos celedonio), breve práctica, y régimen del confesionario de indios, en mexicano y castellano. [mexico, .] venegas (miguel), noticia de la california y de su conquista. madrid, . vols. veniaminoff (ivan), langues de l'amérique russe. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. cxxv. veniaminoff (ivan), situation présente de l'Église orthodoxe (greco-russe) dans l'amérique du nord. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. xc. veniaminoff (ivan), ueber die sprachen des russischen amerikas nach wenjaminow; in erman (a.), archiv für wissenschaftl. kunde von russland, tom. vii., heft. i. berlin, . vera cruz, estadística del estado libre y soberano. jalapa, . vetancvrt (avgvstin de), teatro mexicano. mexico, . folio. vetch, on the monuments and relics of the ancient inhabitants of new spain. in lond. geog. soc., jour., vol. vii. veytia (mariano), historia antigua de méjico. mexico, . vols. victor (mrs francis fuller), all over washington and oregon. san francisco, . vigne (g. t.), travels in mexico, south america, etc. london, . vols. vigneaux (ernest), souvenirs d'un prisonnier de guerre au mexique. paris, . villa señor y sanchez (josef antonio de), theatro americano. mexico, . vols. to. villagra (gaspar de), historia de la nueva mexico. alcalá, . villagutierre soto-mayor (juan de), historia de la conquista de la provincia de el itza. [madrid, .] folio. viollet-le-duc. see charnay (d.), cités, etc. voyages, a collection of voyages and travels (harleian collection). london, . vols. folio. voyages, a collection of voyages and travels (churchill collection). london, . vols. folio. voyages, curious and entertaining. london, . to. voyages, a historical account of all the voyages round the world. london, - . vols. voyages, a new collection of voyages, discoveries, and travels. london, . vols. voyages, a new universal collection of voyages and travels. london, . vols. voyages, new voyages and travels. london, [ - ]. vols. voyages, nouvelle bibliothèque des voyages. paris, n.d. vols. voyages, recueil des voyages au nord. amsterdam, - . vols. voyages, a selection of curious, rare, and early voyages. london, . to. voyages, the world displayed; or, a curious collection of voyages and travels. london, - . vols. voyage de l'empereur de la chine. paris, . wafer (lionel), a new voyage and description of the isthmus of america. london, . wagner (moritz), and karl scherzer, die republik costa rica in central-amerika. leipzig, . waldeck (frédéric de), palenqué et autres ruines. texte redigé par m. brasseur de bourbourg. paris, . folio. waldeck (frédéric de), voyage pittoresque et archéologique dans la province d'yucatan. paris, . folio. walker (john d.), the pimas. ms. san francisco, . walpole (frederick), four years in the pacific. london, . walton (william jr.), present state of the spanish colonies. london, . vols. wappäus (j. e.), geographie und statistik von mexiko und central-amerika. leipzig, . warburton (eliot), darien, or the merchant prince. london, . vols. ward (h. g.), mexico in . london, . vols. warden (d. b.), recherches sur les antiquités de l'amérique du nord. in antiquités mexicaines, tom. ii., div. ii. weatherhead (w. d.), an account of the late expedition against the isthmus of darien. london, . webb (james watson), altowan; or, incidents of life and adventure in the rocky mountains. new york, . webber (charles w.), old hicks the guide. new york, . weeks (c. e.), narrative of captivity in queen charlotte island. in olympia wash. standard, may , . weil (johann), californien wie es ist. philadelphia, . wells (william v.), explorations and adventures in honduras. new york, . welshöfer (max moritz), die republik mexico. leipzig, . west und ost indischer lustgart. cöllen, . western monthly. chicago, . western scenes and reminiscences. auburn, . west-indische spieghel, door athanasium inga. [amsterdam, .] wheelwright (william), observations on the isthmus of panamá. london, . whipple (a. w.), report of explorations near th parallel, - . in pac. r. r. reports, vols. iii., iv. whipple, ewbank, and turner, report upon the indian tribes. [ .] in pac. r. r. reports, vol. iii. white (e.), ten years in oregon. ithaca, . whitney (william dwight), language and the study of language. new york, . whittlesey (charles), ancient mining on the shores of lake superior. (smithsonian contribution, no. .) washington, . to. whymper (frederick), travel and adventure in the territory of alaska. new york, . wierzbicki (f. p.), california as it is. san francisco, . wilkes (charles), narrative of the u. s. ex. ex., - . philadelphia, . vols. to. (u. s. ex. ex., vols. i-v.) wilkes (charles), western america. philadelphia, . wilkes (george), history of oregon. new york, . wilkeson, notes on puget sound, n.pl., n.d. williamson (r. s.), report of explorations in california, . in pac. r. r. reports, vol. v. willson (marcius), american history. cincinnati, . wilson (daniel), physical ethnology. in smithsonian report, . wilson (robert anderson), mexico and its religion. new york, . wilson (robert anderson), a new history of the conquest of mexico. philadelphia, . wimmel (heinrich), californien. cassel, . winslow (charles f.), force and nature. philadelphia, . winterbotham (w.), an historical view of the u. s. of america. new york, . vols. winterfeldt (l. von), der mosquito-staat. berlin, . winthrop (theodore), the canoe and the saddle. boston, . wise, los gringos. new york, . wizlizenus (a.), memoir of a tour to northern mexico. ( th cong., st sess., senate miscel. doc. .) washington, . woods (daniel b.), sixteen months at the gold diggings. new york, . worsley (israel), review of the american indians. london, . wortley (lady emmeline stuart), travels in the united states. new york, . wrangell, observations recueillies par l'amiral ---- sur les habitants des côtes nord-ouest de l'amérique. in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. cxxxvii. wyeth (john b.), oregon. cambridge, . ximenez (francisco), las historias del orígen de los indios de esta provincia de guatemala. viena, . yates (john), sketch of the sacramento valley in . ms. yepes (joaquin lopez), catecismo y declaracion de la doctrina cristiana en lengua otomí. megico, . yonge (c. d.), three centuries of modern history. new york, . young (thomas), narrative of a residence on the mosquito shore. london, . yucatan, estadística de. mexico, . zenteno (carlos de tapia), arte novissima de lengua mexicana. mexico, . zenteno (carlos de tapia), noticia de la lengua huasteca. mexico, . zapata (juan ortiz), relacion de las missiones que la compañia de jesus tiene en el reino y provincia de la nueva viscaya. [ .] in doc. hist. mex., serie iv., tom. iii. zuazo (alonso), carte del licenciado ---- al padre fray luis de figueroa. in icazbalceta, col. de doc., tom. i. zuñiga (ignacio), rápida ojeada al estado de sonora. [coup d'oeil, etc.] in nouvelles annales des voy., . tom. xciii. zurita (alonzo de), rapport sur les différentes classes de chefs de la nouvelle espagne. in ternaux-compans, voy., série ii., tom. i. paris, . the native races of the pacific states. wild tribes. chapter i. ethnological introduction. facts and theories--hypotheses concerning origin--unity of race--diversity of race--spontaneous generation--origin of animals and plants--primordial centres of population-- distribution of plants and animals--adaptability of species to locality--classification of species--ethnological tests-- races of the pacific--first intercourse with europeans. facts are the raw material of science. they are to philosophy and history, what cotton and iron are to cloth and steam-engines. like the raw material of the manufacturer, they form the bases of innumerable fabrics, are woven into many theories finely spun or coarsely spun, which wear out with time, become unfashionable, or else prove to be indeed true and fit, and as such remain. this raw material of the scholar, like that of the manufacturer, is always a staple article; its substance never changes, its value never diminishes; whatever may be the condition of society, or howsoever advanced the mind, it is indispensable. theories may be only for the day, but facts are for all time and for all science. when we remember that the sum of all knowledge is but the sum of ascertained facts, and that every new fact brought to light, preserved, and thrown into the general fund, is so much added to the world's store of knowledge,--when we consider that, broad and far as our theories may reach, the realm of definite, tangible, ascertained truth is still of so little extent, the importance of every never-so-insignificant acquisition is manifest. compare any fact with the fancies which have been prevalent concerning it, and consider, i will not say their relative brilliance, but their relative importance. take electricity, how many explanations have been given of the lightning and the thunder, yet there is but one fact; the atmosphere, how many howling demons have directed the tempest, how many smiling deities moved in the soft breeze. for the one all-sufficient first cause, how many myriads of gods have been set up; for every phenomenon how many causes have been invented; with every truth how many untruths have contended, with every fact how many fancies. the profound investigations of latter-day philosophers are nothing but simple and laborious inductions from ascertained facts, facts concerning attraction, polarity, chemical affinity and the like, for the explanation of which there are countless hypotheses, each hypothesis involving multitudes of speculations, all of which evaporate as the truth slowly crystallizes. speculation is valuable to science only as it directs the mind into otherwise-undiscoverable paths; but when the truth is found, there is an end to speculation. so much for facts in general; let us now look for a moment at the particular class of facts of which this work is a collection. [sidenote: tendency of philosophic inquiry.] the tendency of philosophic inquiry is more and more toward the origin of things. in the earlier stages of intellectual impulse, the mind is almost wholly absorbed in ministering to the necessities of the present; next, the mysterious uncertainty of the after life provokes inquiry, and contemplations of an eternity of the future command attention; but not until knowledge is well advanced does it appear that there is likewise an eternity of the past worthy of careful scrutiny,--without which scrutiny, indeed, the eternity of the future must forever remain a sealed book. standing as we do between these two eternities, our view limited to a narrow though gradually widening horizon, as nature unveils her mysteries to our inquiries, an infinity spreads out in either direction, an infinity of minuteness no less than an infinity of immensity; for hitherto, attempts to reach the ultimate of molecules, have proved as futile as attempts to reach the ultimate of masses. now man, the noblest work of creation, the only reasoning creature, standing alone in the midst of this vast sea of undiscovered truth,--ultimate knowledge ever receding from his grasp, primal causes only thrown farther back as proximate problems are solved,--man, in the study of mankind, must follow his researches in both of these directions, backward as well as forward, must indeed derive his whole knowledge of what man is and will be from what he has been. thus it is that the study of mankind in its minuteness assumes the grandest proportions. viewed in this light there is not a feature of primitive humanity without significance; there is not a custom or characteristic of savage nations, however mean or revolting to us, from which important lessons may not be drawn. it is only from the study of barbarous and partially cultivated nations that we are able to comprehend man as a progressive being, and to recognize the successive stages through which our savage ancestors have passed on their way to civilization. with the natural philosopher, there is little thought as to the relative importance of the manifold works of creation. the tiny insect is no less an object of his patient scrutiny, than the wonderful and complex machinery of the cosmos. the lower races of men, in the study of humanity, he deems of as essential importance as the higher; our present higher races being but the lower types of generations yet to come. hence, if in the following pages, in the array of minute facts incident to the successive peoples of which we speak, some of them appear small and unworthy of notice, let it be remembered that in nature there is no such thing as insignificance; still less is there anything connected with man unworthy of our most careful study, or any peculiarity of savagism irrelevant to civilization. [sidenote: origin of man.] different schools of naturalists maintain widely different opinions regarding the origin of mankind. existing theories may be broadly divided into three categories; in the first two of which man is considered as a special creation, and in the third as a natural development from some lower type. the special-creation school is divided on the question of unity or diversity of race. the first party holds by the time-honored tradition, that all the nations of the earth are descended from a single human pair; the second affirms, that by one creative act were produced several special creations, each separate creation being the origin of a race, and each race primordially adapted to that part of the globe which it now inhabits. the third theory, that of the development school, denies that there ever were common centres of origin in organic creation; but claims that plants and animals generate spontaneously, and that man is but the modification of some preexisting animal form. [sidenote: hypotheses concerning origin.] the first hypothesis, the doctrine of the monogenists, is ably supported by latham, prichard, and many other eminent ethnologists of europe, and is the favorite opinion of orthodox thinkers throughout christendom. the human race, they say, having sprung from a single pair, constitutes but one stock, though subject to various modifications. anatomically, there is no difference between a negro and a european. the color of the skin, the texture of the hair, the convolutions of the brain, and all other peculiarities, may be attributed to heat, moisture, and food. man, though capable of subduing the world to himself, and of making his home under climates and circumstances the most diverse, is none the less a child of nature, acted upon and molded by those conditions which he attempts to govern. climate, periodicities of nature, material surroundings, habits of thought and modes of life, acting through a long series of ages, exercise a powerful influence upon the human physical organization; and yet man is perfectly created for any sphere in which he may dwell; and is governed in his condition by choice rather than by coercion. articulate language, which forms the great line of demarcation between the human and the brute creation, may be traced in its leading characteristics to one common source. the differences between the races of men are not specific differences. the greater part of the flora and fauna of america, those of the circumpolar regions excepted, are essentially dissimilar to those of the old world; while man in the new world, though bearing traces of high antiquity, is specifically identical with all the races of the earth. it is well known that the hybrids of plants and of animals do not possess the power of reproduction, while in the intermixture of the races of men no such sterility of progeny can be found; and therefore, as there are no human hybrids, there are no separate human races or species, but all are one family. besides being consistent with sound reasoning, this theory can bring to its support the testimony of the sacred writings, and an internal evidence of a creation divine and spiritual, which is sanctioned by tradition, and confirmed by most philosophic minds. man, unlike animals, is the direct offspring of the creator, and as such he alone continues to derive his inheritance from a divine source. the hebraic record, continue the monogenists, is the only authentic solution of the origin of all things; and its history is not only fully sustained by science, but it is upheld by the traditions of the most ancient barbarous nations, whose mythology strikingly resembles the mosaic account of the creation, the deluge, and the distribution of peoples. the semitic family alone were civilized from the beginning. a peculiar people, constantly upheld by special act of providence from falling into paganism, they alone possessed a true knowledge of the mystery of creation. a universal necessity for some form of worship, a belief inherent in all mankind, in an omnipotent deity and a life beyond the grave, point to a common origin and prophesy a common destiny. this much for the monogenists. the second hypothesis, that of the polygenists, holds that there was not one only, but several independent creations, each giving birth to the essential, unchangeable peculiarities of a separate race; thus constituting a diversity of species with primeval adaptation to their geographical distribution. morton, agassiz, gliddon, and others in america, stand sponsors for this theory. the physiological differences of race, they say, which separate mankind into classes, do not result from climatic surroundings, but are inherited from original progenitors. they point to marked characteristics in various peoples which have remained unchanged for a period of four thousand years. in place of controverting divine revelation, they claim that mosaic history is the history of a single race, and not the history of all mankind; that the record itself contains an implied existence of other races; and that the distribution of the various species or races of men, according to their relative organisms, was part of the creative act, and of no less importance than was the act of creation. the third hypothesis, derived mainly from the writings of lamarck, darwin, and huxley, is based upon the principle of evolution. all existing species are developments of some preëxisting form, which in like manner descended by true generation from a form still lower. man, say they, bears no impress of a divine original that is not common to brutes; he is but an animal, more perfectly developed through natural and sexual selection. commencing with the spontaneous generation of the lowest types of vegetable and animal life,--as the accumulation of mold upon food, the swarming of maggots in meat, the infusorial animalcules in water, the generation of insect life in decaying vegetable substances,--the birth of one form arising out of the decay of another, the slow and gradual unfolding from a lower to a higher sphere, acting through a long succession of ages, culminate in the grandeur of intellectual manhood. thus much for this life, while the hope of a like continued progress is entertained for the life to come. while the tendency of variety in organic forms is to decrease, argue these latter-day naturalists, individuals increase in a proportion greater than the provisional means of support. a predominating species, under favorable circumstances, rapidly multiplies, crowding out and annihilating opposing species. there is therefore a constant struggle for existence in nature, in which the strongest, those best fitted to live and improve their species, prevail; while the deformed and ill-favored are destroyed. in courtship and sexual selection the war for precedence continues. throughout nature the male is the wooer; he it is who is armed for fight, and provided with musical organs and ornamental appendages, with which to charm the fair one. the savage and the wild beast alike secure their mate over the mangled form of a vanquished rival. in this manner the more highly favored of either sex are mated, and natural selections made, by which, better ever producing better, the species in its constant variation is constantly improved. many remarkable resemblances may be seen between man and the inferior animals. in embryonic development, in physical structure, in material composition and the function of organs, man and animals are strikingly alike. and, in the possession of that immaterial nature which more widely separates the human from the brute creation, the 'reasonable soul' of man is but an evolution from brute instincts. the difference in the mental faculties of man and animals is immense; but the high culture which belongs to man has been slowly developed, and there is plainly a wider separation between the mental power of the lowest zoöphyte and the highest ape, than between the most intellectual ape and the least intellectual man. physically and mentally, the man-like ape and the ape-like man sustain to each other a near relationship; while between the mammal and the mollusk there exists the greatest possible dissimilarity. articulate language, it is true, acting upon the brain, and in turn being acted upon to the improvement of both, belongs only to man; yet animals are not devoid of expedients for expressing feeling and emotion. it has been observed that no brute ever fashioned a tool for a special purpose; but some animals crack nuts with a stone, and an accidentally splintered flint naturally suggests itself as the first instrument of primeval man. the chief difficulty lies in the high state of moral and intellectual power which may be attained by man; yet this same progressive principle is likewise found in brutes. nor need we blush for our origin. the nations now most civilized were once barbarians. our ancestors were savages, who, with tangled hair, and glaring eyes, and blood-besmeared hands, devoured man and beast alike. surely a respectable gorilla lineage stands no unfavorable comparison. between the first and the last of these three rallying points, a whole continent of debatable land is spread, stretching from the most conservative orthodoxy to the most scientific liberalism. numberless arguments may be advanced to sustain any given position; and not unfrequently the same analogies are brought forward to prove propositions directly oppugnant. as has been observed, each school ranks among its followers the ablest men of science of the day. these men do not differ in minor particulars only, meeting in general upon one broad, common platform; on the contrary, they find themselves unable to agree as touching any one thing, except that man is, and that he is surrounded by those climatic influences best suited to his organization. any one of these theories, if substantiated, is the death-blow of the others. the first denies any diversity of species in creation and all immutability of race; the second denies a unity of species and the possibility of change in race; the third denies all special acts of creation and, like the first, all immutability of race. [sidenote: plants and animals.] the question respecting the origin of animals and plants has likewise undergone a similar flux of beliefs, but with different result. whatever the conclusions may be with regard to the origin of man, naturalists of the present day very generally agree, that there was no one universal centre of propagation for plants and animals; but that the same conditions of soil, moisture, heat, and geographical situation, always produce a similarity of species; or, what is equivalent, that there were many primary centres, each originating species, which spread out from these centres and covered the earth. this doctrine was held by early naturalists to be irreconcilable with the scripture account of the creation, and was therefore denounced as heretical. linnæus and his contemporaries drew up a pleasing picture, assigning the birth-place of all forms of life to one particular fertile spot, situated in a genial climate, and so diversified with lofty mountains and declivities, as to present all the various temperatures requisite for the sustenance of the different species of animal and vegetable life. the most exuberant types of flora and fauna are found within the tropical regions, decreasing in richness and profusion towards either pole; while man in his greatest perfection occupies the temperate zone, degenerating in harmony of features, in physical symmetry, and in intellectual vigor in either direction. within this temperate zone is placed the hypothetical cradle of the human race, varying in locality according to religion and tradition. the caucasians are referred for their origin to mount caucasus, the mongolians to mount altai, and the africans to mount atlas. three primordial centres of population have been assigned to the three sons of noah,--arabia, the semitic; india, the japetic; and egypt, the hamitic centre. thibet, and the mountains surrounding the gobi desert, have been designated as the point from which a general distribution was made; while the sacred writings mention four rich and beautiful valleys, two of which are watered by the tigris and euphrates, as the birth-place of man. it was formerly believed that in the beginning, the primeval ocean covered the remaining portion of the globe, and that from this central spot the waters receded, thereby extending the limits of terrestrial life. admitting the unity of origin, conjecture points with apparent reason to the regions of armenia and of iran, in western asia, as the cradle of the human race. departing from this geographical centre, in the directions of the extremities of the continent, the race at first degenerated in proportion to distance. civilization was for many ages confined within these central limits, until by slow degrees, paths were marked out to the eastward and to the westward, terminating the one upon the eastern coast of asia, and the other upon the american shores of the pacific. [sidenote: primordial centers.] concerning the distribution of plants and animals, but one general opinion is now sustained with any degree of reason. the beautifully varied systems of vegetation with which the habitable earth is clothed, springing up in rich, spontaneous abundance; the botanical centres of corresponding latitudes producing resemblance in genera without identity of species; their inability to cross high mountains or wide seas, or to pass through inhospitable zones, or in any way to spread far from the original centre,--all show conclusively the impossibility that such a multitude of animal and vegetable tribes, with characters so diverse, could have derived their origin from the same locality, and disappearing entirely from their original birth-place, sprung forth in some remote part of the globe. linnæus, and many others of his time, held that all telluric tribes, in common with mankind, sprang from a single pair, and descended from the stock which was preserved by noah. subsequently this opinion was modified, giving to each species an origin in some certain spot to which it was particularly adapted by nature; and it was supposed that from these primary centres, through secondary causes, there was a general diffusion throughout the surrounding regions. a comparison of the entomology of the old world and the new, shows that the genera and species of insects are for the most part peculiar to the localities in which they are found. birds and marine animals, although unrestricted in their movements, seldom wander far from specific centres. with regard to wild beasts, and the larger animals, insurmountable difficulties present themselves; so that we may infer that the systems of animal life are indigenous to the great zoölogical provinces where they are found. on the other hand, the harmony which exists between the organism of man and the methods by which nature meets his requirements, tends conclusively to show that the world in its variety was made for man, and that man is made for any portion of the earth in which he may be found. whencesoever he comes, or howsoever he reaches his dwelling-place, he always finds it prepared for him. on the icy banks of the arctic ocean, where mercury freezes and the ground never softens, the eskimo, wrapped in furs, and burrowing in the earth, revels in grease and train-oil, sustains vitality by eating raw flesh and whale-fat; while the naked inter-tropical man luxuriates in life under a burning sun, where ether boils and reptiles shrivel upon the hot stone over which they attempt to crawl. the watery fruit and shading vegetation would be as useless to the one, as the heating food and animal clothing would be to the other. the capability of man to endure all climates, his omnivorous habits, and his powers of locomotion, enable him to roam at will over the earth. he was endowed with intelligence wherewith to invent methods of migration and means of protection from unfavorable climatic influence, and with capabilities for existing in almost any part of the world; so that, in the economy of nature the necessity did not exist with regard to man for that diversity of creation which was deemed requisite in the case of plants and animals. the classification of man into species or races, so as to be able to designate by his organization the family to which he belongs, as well as the question of his origin, has been the subject of great diversity of opinion from the fact that the various forms so graduate into each other, that it is impossible to determine which is species and which variety. attempts have indeed been made at divisions of men into classes according to their primeval and permanent physiological structure, but what uniformity can be expected from such a classification among naturalists who cannot so much as agree what is primeval and what permanent? the tests applied by ethnologists for distinguishing the race to which an individual belongs, are the color of the skin, the size and shape of the skull,--determined generally by the facial angle,--the texture of the hair, and the character of the features. the structure of language, also, has an important bearing upon the affinity of races; and is, with some ethnologists, the primary criterion in the classification of species. the facial angle is determined by a line drawn from the forehead to the front of the upper jaw, intersected by a horizontal line passing over the middle of the ear. the facial angle of a european is estimated at °, of a negro at °, and of the ape at °. representations of an adult troglodyte measure °, and of a satyr °. some writers classify according to one or several of these tests, others consider them all in arriving at their conclusions. [sidenote: specific classifications.] thus, virey divides the human family into two parts: those with a facial angle of from eighty-five to ninety degrees,--embracing the caucasian, mongolian, and american; and those with a facial angle of from seventy-five to eighty-two degrees,--including the malay, negro, and hottentot. cuvier and jaquinot make three classes, placing the malay and american among the subdivisions of the mongolian. kant makes four divisions under four colors: white, black, copper, and olive. linnæus also makes four: european, whitish; american, coppery; asiatic, tawny; and african, black. buffon makes five divisions and blumenbach five. blumenbach's classification is based upon cranial admeasurements, complexion, and texture of the hair. his divisions are caucasian or aryan, mongolian, ethiopian, malay, and american. lesson makes six divisions according to colors: white, dusky, orange, yellow, red, and black. bory de st vincent arranges fifteen stocks under three classes which are differenced by hair: european straight hair, american straight hair, and crisped or curly hair. in like manner prof. zeune designates his divisions under three types of crania for the eastern hemisphere, and three for the western, namely, high skulls, broad skulls, and long skulls. hunter classifies the human family under seven species; agassiz makes eight; pickering, eleven; desmoulins, sixteen; and crawford, sixty-three. dr latham, considered by many the chief exponent of the science of ethnology in england, classifies the different races under three primary divisions, namely: mongolidæ, atlantidæ, and japetidæ. prichard makes three principal types of cranial conformation, which he denominates respectively, the civilized races, the nomadic or wandering races, and the savage or hunting races. agassiz designates the races of men according to the zoölogical provinces which they respectively occupy. thus the arctic realm is inhabited by hyperboreans, the asiatic by mongols, the european by white men, the american by american indians, the african by black races, and the east indian, australian and polynesian by their respective peoples. now when we consider the wide differences between naturalists, not only as to what constitutes race and species,--if there be variety of species in the human family,--but also in the assignment of peoples and individuals to their respective categories under the direction of the given tests; when we see the human race classified under from one to sixty-three distinct species, according to individual opinions; and when we see that the several tests which govern classification are by no means satisfactory, and that those who have made this subject the study of their lives, cannot agree as touching the fundamental characteristics of such classification--we cannot but conclude, either that there are no absolute lines of separation between the various members of the human family, or that thus far the touchstone by which such separation is to be made remains undiscovered. [sidenote: all tests fallacious.] the color of the human skin, for example, is no certain guide in classification. microscopists have ascertained that the normal colorations of the skin are not the results of organic differences in race; that complexions are not permanent physical characters, but are subject to change. climate is a cause of physical differences, and frequently in a single tribe may be found shades of color extending through all the various transitions from black to white. in one people, part occupying a cold mountainous region, and part a heated lowland, a marked difference in color is always perceptible. peculiarities in the texture of the hair are likewise no proof of race. the hair is more sensibly affected by the action of the climate than the skin. every degree of color and crispation may be found in the european family alone; and even among the frizzled locks of negroes every gradation appears, from crisped to flowing hair. the growth of the beard may be cultivated or retarded according to the caprice of the individual; and in those tribes which are characterized by an absence or thinness of beard, may be found the practice, continued for ages, of carefully plucking out all traces of beard at the age of puberty. no physiological deformities have been discovered which prevent any people from cultivating a beard if such be their pleasure. the conformation of the cranium is often peculiar to habits of rearing the young, and may be modified by accidental or artificial causes. the most eminent scholars now hold the opinion that the size and shape of the skull has far less influence upon the intelligence of the individual than the quality and convolutions of the brain. the structure of language, especially when offered in evidence supplementary to that of physical science, is most important in establishing a relationship between races. but it should be borne in mind that languages are acquired, not inherited; that they are less permanent than living organisms; that they are constantly changing, merging into each other, one dialect dying out and another springing into existence; that in the migrations of nomadic tribes, or in the arrival of new nations, although languages may for a time preserve their severalty, they are at last obliged, from necessity, to yield to the assimilating influences which constantly surround them, and become merged into the dialects of neighboring clans. and on the other hand, a counter influence is exercised upon the absorbing dialect. the dialectic fusion of two communities results in the partial disappearance of both languages, so that a constant assimilation and dissimilation is going on. "the value of language," says latham, "has been overrated;" and whitney affirms that "language is no infallible sign of race;" although both of these authors give to language the first place as a test of national affinities. language is not a physiological characteristic, but an acquisition; and as such should be used with care in the classification of species. science, during the last half century, has unfolded many important secrets; has tamed impetuous elements, called forth power and life from the hidden recesses of the earth; has aroused the slumbering energies of both mental and material force, changed the currents of thought, emancipated the intellect from religious transcendentalism, and spread out to the broad light of open day a vast sea of truth. old-time beliefs have had to give place. the débris of one exploded dogma is scarcely cleared away before we are startled with a request for the yielding up of another long and dearly cherished opinion. and in the attempt to read the book of humanity as it comes fresh from the impress of nature, to trace the history of the human race, by means of moral and physical characteristics, backward through all its intricate windings to its source, science has accomplished much; but the attempt to solve the great problem of human existence, by analogous comparisons of man with man, and man with animals, has so far been vain and futile in the extreme. i would not be understood as attempting captiously to decry the noble efforts of learned men to solve the problems of nature. for who can tell what may or may not be found out by inquiry? any classification, moreover, and any attempt at classification, is better than none; and in drawing attention to the uncertainty of the conclusions arrived at by science, i but reiterate the opinions of the most profound thinkers of the day. it is only shallow and flippant scientists, so called, who arbitrarily force deductions from mere postulates, and with one sweeping assertion strive to annihilate all history and tradition. they attempt dogmatically to set up a reign of intellect in opposition to that of the author of intellect. terms of vituperation and contempt with which a certain class of writers interlard their sophisms, as applied to those holding different opinions, are alike an offense against good taste and sound reasoning. notwithstanding all these failures to establish rules by which mankind may be divided into classes, there yet remains the stubborn fact that differences do exist, as palpable as the difference between daylight and darkness. these differences, however, are so played upon by change, that hitherto the scholar has been unable to transfix those elements which appear to him permanent and characteristic. for, as draper remarks, "the permanence of organic forms is altogether dependent on the invariability of the material conditions under which they live. any variation therein, no matter how insignificant it might be, would be forthwith followed by a corresponding variation in form. the present invariability of the world of organization is the direct consequence of the physical equilibrium, and so it will continue as long as the mean temperature, the annual supply of light, the composition of the air, the distribution of water, oceanic and atmospheric currents, and other such agencies, remain unaltered; but if any one of these, or of a hundred other incidents that might be mentioned, should suffer modification, in an instant the fanciful doctrine of the immutability of species would be brought to its true value." [sidenote: origin of the indians.] the american indians, their origin and consanguinity, have, from the days of columbus to the present time proved no less a knotty question. schoolmen and scientists count their theories by hundreds, each sustaining some pet conjecture, with a logical clearness equaled only by the facility with which he demolishes all the rest. one proves their origin by holy writ; another by the writings of ancient philosophers; another by the sage sayings of the fathers. one discovers in them phoenician merchants; another, the ten lost tribes of israel. they are tracked with equal certainty from scandinavia, from ireland, from iceland, from greenland, across bering strait, across the northern pacific, the southern pacific, from the polynesian islands, from australia, from africa. venturesome carthaginians were thrown upon the eastern shore; japanese junks on the western. the breezes that wafted hither america's primogenitors are still blowing, and the ocean currents by which they came cease not yet to flow. the finely spun webs of logic by which these fancies are maintained would prove amusing, did not the profound earnestness of their respective advocates render them ridiculous. acosta, who studied the subject for nine years in peru, concludes that america was the ophir of solomon. aristotle relates that the carthaginians in a voyage were carried to an unknown island; whereupon florian, gomara, oviedo, and others, are satisfied that the island was española. "who are these that fly as a cloud," exclaims esaias, "or as the doves to their windows?" scholastic sages answer, columbus is the _columba_ or dove here prophesied. alexo vanegas shows that america was peopled by carthaginians; anahuac being but another name for anak. besides, both nations practiced picture-writing; both venerated fire and water, wore skins of animals, pierced the ears, ate dogs, drank to excess, telegraphed by means of fires on hills, wore all their finery on going to war, poisoned their arrows, beat drums and shouted in battle. garcia found a man in peru who had seen a rock with something very like greek letters engraved upon it; six hundred years after the apotheosis of hercules, coleo made a long voyage; homer knew of the ocean; the athenians waged war with the inhabitants of atlantis; hence the american indians were greeks. lord kingsborough proves conclusively that these same american indians were jews: because their "symbol of innocence" was in the one case a fawn and in the other a lamb; because of the law of moses, "considered in reference to the custom of sacrificing children, which existed in mexico and peru;" because "the fears of tumults of the people, famine, pestilence, and warlike invasions, were exactly the same as those entertained by the jews if they failed in the performance of any of their ritual observances;" because "the education of children commenced amongst the mexicans, as with the jews, at an exceedingly early age;" because "beating with a stick was a very common punishment amongst the jews," as well as among the mexicans; because the priesthood of both nations "was hereditary in a certain family;" because both were inclined to pay great respect to lucky or unlucky omens, such as the screeching of the owl, the sneezing of a person in company," etc., and because of a hundred other equally sound and relevant arguments. analogous reasoning to this of lord kingsborough's was that of the merced indians of california. shortly after the discovery of the yosemite valley, tidings reached the settlers of mariposa that certain chiefs had united with intent to drop down from their mountain stronghold and annihilate them. to show the indians the uselessness of warring upon white men, these chieftains were invited to visit the city of san francisco, where, from the number and superiority of the people that they would there behold, they should become intimidated, and thereafter maintain peace. but contrary to the most reasonable expectations, no sooner had the dusky delegates returned to their home than a council was called, and the assembled warriors were informed that they need have no fear of these strangers: "for," said the envoys, "the people of the great city of san francisco are of a different tribe from these white settlers of mariposa. their manners, their customs, their language, their dress, are all different. they wear black coats and high hats, and are not able to walk along the smoothest path without the aid of a stick." there are many advocates for an asiatic origin, both among ancient and modern speculators. favorable winds and currents, the short distance between islands, traditions, both chinese and indian, refer the peopling of america to that quarter. similarity in color, features, religion, reckoning of time, absence of a heavy beard, and innumerable other comparisons, are drawn by enthusiastic advocates, to support a mongolian origin. the same arguments, in whole or in part, are used to prove that america was peopled by egyptians, by ethiopians, by french, english, trojans, frisians, scythians; and also that different parts were settled by different peoples. the test of language has been applied with equal facility and enthusiasm to egyptian, jew, phoenician, carthaginian, spaniard, chinese, japanese, and in fact to nearly all the nations of the earth. a complete review of theories and opinions concerning the origin of the indians, i propose to give in another place; not that intrinsically they are of much value, except as showing the different fancies of different men and times. fancies, i say, for modern scholars, with the aid of all the new revelations of science, do not appear in their investigations to arrive one whit nearer an indubitable conclusion. it was obvious to the europeans when they first beheld the natives of america, that these were unlike the intellectual white-skinned race of europe, the barbarous blacks of africa, or any nation or people which they had hitherto encountered, yet were strikingly like each other. into whatsoever part of the newly discovered lands they penetrated, they found a people seemingly one in color, physiognomy, customs, and in mental and social traits. their vestiges of antiquity and their languages presented a coincidence which was generally observed by early travelers. hence physical and psychological comparisons are advanced to prove ethnological resemblances among all the peoples of america, and that they meanwhile possess common peculiarities totally distinct from the nations of the old world. morton and his confrères, the originators of the american homogeneity theory, even go so far as to claim for the american man an origin as indigenous as that of the fauna and flora. they classify all the tribes of america, excepting only the eskimos who wandered over from asia, as the american race, and divide it into the american family and the toltecan family. blumenbach classifies the americans as a distinct species. the american mongolidæ of dr latham are divided into eskimos and american indians. dr morton perceives the same characteristic lineaments in the face of the fuegian and the mexican, and in tribes inhabiting the rocky mountains, the mississippi valley, and florida. the same osteological structure, swarthy color, straight hair, meagre beard, obliquely cornered eyes, prominent cheek bones, and thick lips are common to them all. dr latham describes his american mongolidæ as exercising upon the world a material rather than a moral influence; giving them meanwhile a color, neither a true white nor a jet black; hair straight and black, rarely light, sometimes curly; eyes sometimes oblique; a broad, flat face and a retreating forehead. dr prichard considers the american race, psychologically, as neither superior nor inferior to other primitive races of the world. bory de st vincent classifies americans into five species, including the eskimos. the mexicans he considers as cognate with the malays. humboldt characterizes the nations of america as one race, by their straight glossy hair, thin beard, swarthy complexion, and cranial formation. schoolcraft makes four groups; the first extending across the northern end of the continent; the second, tribes living east of the mississippi; the third, those between the mississippi and the rocky mountains; and the fourth, those west of the rocky mountains. all these he subdivides into thirty-seven families; but so far as those on the pacific coast are concerned, he might as reasonably have made of them twice or half the number. all writers agree in giving to the nations of america a remote antiquity; all admit that there exists a greater uniformity between them than is to be found in the old world; many deny that all are one race. there is undoubtedly a prevailing uniformity in those physical characteristics which govern classification; but this uniformity goes as far to prove one universal race throughout the world, as it does to prove a race peculiar to america. traditions, ruins, moral and physical peculiarities, all denote for americans a remote antiquity. the action of a climate peculiar to america, and of natural surroundings common to all the people of the continent, could not fail to produce in time a similarity of physiological structure. [sidenote: individuality of race.] the impression of a new world individuality of race was no doubt strengthened in the eyes of the conquerors, and in the mind of the train of writers that followed, by the fact, that the newly discovered tribes were more like each other than were any other peoples they had ever before seen; and at the same time very much unlike any nation whatever of the old world. and so any really existing physical distinctions among the american stocks came to be overlooked or undervalued. darwin, on the authority of elphinstone, observes that in india, "although a newly arrived european cannot at first distinguish the various native races, yet they soon appear to him entirely dissimilar; and the hindoo cannot at first perceive any difference between the several european nations." it has been observed by prof. von martius that the literary and architectural remains of the civilized tribes of america indicate a higher degree of intellectual elevation than is likely to be found in a nation emerging from barbarism. in their sacerdotal ordinances, privileged orders, regulated despotisms, codes of law, and forms of government are found clear indications of a relapse from civilization to barbarism. chateaubriand, from the same premises, develops a directly opposite conclusion, and perceives in all this high antiquity and civilization only a praiseworthy evolution from primeval barbarism. thus arguments drawn from a comparison of parallel traits in the moral, social, or physical condition of man should be received with allowance, for man has much in common not only with man, but with animals. variations in bodily structure and mental faculties are governed by general laws. the great variety of climate which characterizes america could not fail to produce various habits of life. the half-torpid hyperborean, the fierce warrior-hunter of the vast interior forests, the sluggish, swarthy native of the tropics, and the intelligent mexican of the table-land, slowly developing into civilization under the refining influences of arts and letters,--all these indicate variety in the unity of the american race; while the insulation of american nations, and the general characteristics incident to peculiar physical conditions could not fail to produce a unity in their variety. [sidenote: races of the pacific.] the races of the pacific states embrace all the varieties of species known as american under any of the classifications mentioned. thus, in the five divisions of blumenbach, the eskimos of the north would come under the fourth division, which embraces malays and polynesians, and which is distinguished by a high square skull, low forehead, short broad nose, and projecting jaws. to his fifth class, the american, which he subdivides into the american family and the toltecan family, he gives a small skull with a high apex, flat on the occiput, high cheek bones, receding forehead, aquiline nose, large mouth, and tumid lips. morton, although he makes twenty-two divisions in all, classifies americans in the same manner. the polar family he characterises as brown in color, short in stature, of thick, clumsy proportions, with a short neck, large head, flat face, small nose, and eyes disposed to obliquity. he perceives an identity of race among all the other stocks from mount st elias to patagonia; though he designates the semi-civilized tribes of mexico and peru as the toltecan family, and the savage nations as the appalachian branch of the american family. dr prichard makes three divisions of the tribes bordering the pacific between mount st elias and cape st lucas: the tribes from the borders of the eskimos southward to vancouver island constitute the first division; the tribes of oregon and washington, the second; and the tribes of upper and lower california, the third. pickering assigns the limits of the american, malay, or toltecan family to california and western mexico. he is of the opinion that they crossed from southeastern asia by way of the islands of the pacific, and landed upon this continent south of san francisco, there being no traces of them north of this point; while the mongolians found their way from northeastern asia across bering strait. the californians, therefore, he calls malays; and the inhabitants of vancouver island, british columbia, washington, and oregon, he classifies as mongolians. californians, in the eyes of this traveler, differ from their northern neighbors in complexion and physiognomy. the only physiological test that mr pickering was able to apply in order to distinguish the polynesian in san francisco from the native californian, was that the hair of the former was wavy, while that of the latter was straight. both have more hair than the oregonian. the skin of the malay of the polynesian islands, and that of the californian are alike, soft and very dark. three other analogous characteristics were discovered by mr pickering. both have an open countenance, one wife, and no tomahawk! on the other hand, the mongolian from asia, and the oregonian are of a lighter complexion, and exhibit the same general resemblances that are seen in the american and asiatic eskimos. in general the toltecan family may be described as of good stature, well proportioned, rather above medium size, of a light copper color; as having long black obliquely pointed eyes, regular white teeth, glossy black hair, thin beard, prominent cheek bones, thick lips, large aquiline nose, and retreating forehead. a gentle expression about the mouth is blended with severity and melancholy in the upper portion of the face. they are brave, cruel in war, sanguinary in religion, and revengeful. they are intelligent; possess minds well adapted to the pursuit of knowledge; and, at the time of the arrival of the spaniards, were well advanced in history, architecture, mathematics, and astronomy. they constructed aqueducts, extracted metals, carved images in gold, silver, and copper; they could spin, weave, and dye; they could accurately cut precious stones; they cultivated corn and cotton; built large cities, constructing their buildings of stone and lime; made roads and erected stupendous tumuli. certain ethnological zones have been observed by some, stretching across the continent in various latitudes, broken somewhat by intersecting continental elevations, but following for the most part isothermal lines which, on coming from the east, bend northward as the softer air of the pacific is entered. thus the eskimos nearly surround the pole. next come the tinneh, stretching across the continent from the east, somewhat irregularly, but their course marked generally by thermic lines, bending northward after crossing the rocky mountains, their southern boundary, touching the pacific, about the fifty-fifth parallel. the algonkin family border on the tinneh, commencing at the mouth of the st lawrence river, and extending westward to the rocky mountains. natural causes alone prevent the extension of these belts round the entire earth. indeed, both philologists and physiologists trace lines of affinity across the pacific, from island to island, from one continent to the other; one line, as we have seen, crossing bering strait, another following the aleutian archipelago, and a third striking the coast south of san francisco bay. [sidenote: savage humanity.] it is common for those unaccustomed to look below the surface of things, to regard indians as scarcely within the category of humanity. especially is this the case when we, maddened by some treacherous outrage, some diabolic act of cruelty, hastily pronounce them incorrigibly wicked, inhumanly malignant, a nest of vipers, the extermination of which is a righteous act. all of which may be true; but, judged by this standard, has not every nation on earth incurred the death penalty? human nature is in no wise changed by culture. the european is but a white-washed savage. civilized venom is no less virulent than savage venom. it ill becomes the full grown man to scoff at the ineffectual attempts of the little child, and to attempt the cure of its faults by killing it. no more is it a mark of benevolent wisdom in those favored by a superior intelligence, with the written records of the past from which to draw experience and learn how best to shape their course for the future, to cry down the untaught man of the wilderness, deny him a place in this world or the next, denounce him as a scourge, an outlaw, and seize upon every light pretext to assist him off the stage from which his doom is so rapidly removing him. we view man in his primitive state from a wrong stand-point at the outset. in place of regarding savages as of one common humanity with ourselves, and the ancestors perhaps of peoples higher in the scale of being, and more intellectual than any the world has yet seen, we place them among the common enemies of mankind, and regard them more in the light of wild animals than of wild men. and let not him who seeks a deeper insight into the mysteries of humanity despise beginnings, things crude and small. the difference between the cultured and the primitive man lies chiefly in the fact that one has a few centuries the start of the other in the race of progress. before condemning the barbarian, let us first examine his code of ethics. let us draw our light from his light, reason after his fashion; see in the sky, the earth, the sea, the same fantastic imagery that plays upon his fancy, and adapt our sense of right and wrong to his social surroundings. just as human nature is able to appreciate divine nature only as divine nature accords with human nature; so the intuitions of lower orders of beings can be comprehended only by bringing into play our lower faculties. nor can we any more clearly appreciate the conceptions of beings below us than of those above us. the thoughts, reasonings, and instincts of an animal or insect are as much a mystery to the human intellect as are the lofty contemplations of an archangel. [sidenote: pacification of tierra firme.] three hundred and thirty-six years were occupied in the discovery of the western border of north america. from the time when, in , the adventurous notary of triana, rodrigo de bastidas, approached the isthmus of darien, in search of gold and pearls, till the year , when messrs dease and simpson, by order of the hudson's bay company, completed the survey of the northern extremity, which bounds the arctic ocean, the intervening territory was discovered at intervals, and under widely different circumstances. during that time, under various immediate incentives, but with the broad principle of avarice underlying all, such parts of this territory as were conceived to be of sufficient value were seized, and the inhabitants made a prey to the rapacity of the invaders. thus the purpose of the worthy notary bastidas, the first spaniard who visited the continent of north america, was pacific barter with the indians; and his kind treatment was rewarded by a successful traffic. next came columbus, from the opposite direction, sailing southward along the coast of honduras on his fourth voyage, in . his was the nobler object of discovery. he was striving to get through or round this _tierra firme_ which, standing between himself and his theory, persistently barred his progress westward. he had no time for barter, nor any inclination to plant settlements; he was looking for a strait or passage through or round these outer confines to the more opulent regions of india. but, unsuccessful in his laudable effort, he at length yielded to the clamorous cupidity of his crew. he permitted his brother, the adelantado, to land and take possession of the country for the king of spain, and, in the year following, to attempt a settlement at veragua. [sidenote: first intercourse with europeans.] in - , juan de solis with pinzon continued the search of columbus, along the coast of yucatan and mexico, for a passage through to the southern ocean. the disastrous adventures of alonzo de ojeda, diego de nicuesa, and juan de la cosa, on the isthmus of darien, between the years and , brought into more intimate contact the steel weapons of the chivalrous hidalgos with the naked bodies of the savages. vasco nuñez de balboa, after a toilsome journey across the isthmus in , was rewarded by the first view of the pacific ocean, of which he took possession for the king of spain on the twenty-fifth of september. the white sails of córdova grijalva, and garay, descried by the natives of yucatan and mexico in - , were quickly followed by cortés and his keen-scented band of adventurers, who, received by the unsuspecting natives as gods, would have been dismissed by them as fiends had not the invasion culminated in the conquest of mexico. during the years - , cortés made expeditions to tehuantepec, panuco, and central america; gil gonzales and cristobal de olid invaded nicaragua and honduras. nuño de guzman in , with a large force, took possession of the entire northern country from the city of mexico to the northern boundary of sinaloa; and cabeza de vaca crossed the continent from texas to sinaloa in the years - . journeys to the north were made by cortés, ulloa, coronado, mendoza, and cabrillo between the years and . hundreds of roman catholic missionaries, ready to lay down their lives in their earnest anxiety for the souls of the indians, spread out into the wilderness in every direction. during the latter part of the sixteenth century had place,--the expedition of francisco de ibarra to sinaloa in , the campaign of hernando de bazan against the indians of sinaloa in , the adventures of oxenham in darien in , the voyage round the world of sir francis drake, touching upon the northwest coast in ; the expedition of antonio de espejo to new mexico in ; francisco de gali's return from macao to mexico, by way of the northwest coast, in ; the voyage of maldonado to the imaginary straits of anian in ; the expedition of castaño de sosa to new mexico in ; the voyage of juan de fuca to the straits of anian in ; the wreck of the 'san agustin' upon the northwest coast in ; the voyage of sebastian vizcaino towards california in ; the discoveries of juan de oñate in new mexico in , and many others. intercourse with the natives was extended during the seventeenth century by the voyage of sebastian vizcaino from mexico to california in ; by the expedition of francisco de ortega to lower california in ; by the journey of thomas gage from mexico to guatemala in ; by the voyage round the world of william dampier in ; by the reckless adventures of the buccaneers from to ; by the expedition of isidor de otondo into lower california in ; by the expedition of father kino to sonora and arizona in ; by the expeditions of kino, kappus, mange, bernal, carrasco, salvatierra, and others to sonora and arizona in - ; and by the occupation of lower california by the jesuits, salvatierra, ugarte, kino, and piccolo, from to . voyages of circumnavigation were made by dampier in - ; by rogers in - ; by shelvocke in - , and by anson in - . frondac made a voyage from china to california in . the first voyage through bering strait is supposed to have been made by semun deschneff and his companions in the year , and purports to have explored the asiatic coast from the river kolyma to the south of the river anadir, thus proving the separation of the continents of asia and america. in , a russian cossack, named popoff, was sent from the fort on the anadir river to subdue the rebellious tschuktschi of tschuktschi noss, a point of land on the asiatic coast near to the american continent. he there received from the natives the first intelligence of the proximity of the continent of america and the character of the inhabitants; an account of which will be given in another place. in , vitus bering and alexei tschirikoff sailed in company, from petropaulovski, for the opposite coast of america. they parted company during a storm, the latter reaching the coast in latitude fifty-six, and the former landing at cape st elias in latitude sixty degrees north. the earliest information concerning the aleutian islanders was obtained by the russians in the year , when michael nevodtsikoff sailed from the kamtchatka river in pursuit of furs. a russian commercial company, called the promyschleniki, was formed, and other hunting and trading voyages followed. lasareff visited six islands of the andreanovski group in ; and the year following was made the discovery of the alaskan peninsula, supposed to be an island until after the survey of the coast by captain cook. drusinin made a hunting expedition to unalaska and the fox islands in ; and, during the same year, stephen glottoff visited the island of kadiak. korovin, solovieff, synd, otseredin, krenitzen, and other russian fur-hunters spent the years - among the aleutian islands, capturing sea-otters, seals, and foxes, and exchanging, with the natives, beads and iron utensils, for furs. [sidenote: occupation of california.] a grand missionary movement, growing out of the religious rivalries of the two great orders of the catholic church, led to the original occupation of upper california by spaniards. the work of christianizing lower california was inaugurated by the jesuits, under fathers salvatierra and kino, in . when the jesuits were expelled from mexico in , their missions were turned over to the franciscans. this so roused the zeal of the dominicans that they immediately appealed to spain, and in obtained an edict, giving them a due share in the missions of lower california. the franciscans, thinking it better to carry their efforts into new fields than to contend for predominance at home, generously offered to cede the whole of lower california to the dominicans, and themselves retire to the wild and distant regions of upper california. this being agreed upon, two expeditions were organized to proceed northward simultaneously, one by water and the other by land. in january, , the ship 'san carlos,' commanded by vicente vila, was dispatched for san diego, followed by the 'san antonio,' under juan perez, and the 'san josé,' which was unfortunately lost. the land expedition was separated into two divisions; the first under rivera y moncada departed from mexico in march, and arrived at san diego in may; the second under gaspar de portolá and father junípero serra reached san diego in july, . portolá with his companions immediately set out by land for the bay of monterey; but, unwittingly passing it by, they continued northward until barred in their progress by the magnificent bay of san francisco. unable to find the harbor of monterey, they returned to san diego in january, . in april, portolá made a second and more successful attempt, and arrived at monterey in may. meanwhile perez and junípero serra accomplished the voyage by sea, sailing in the 'san carlos.' in , pedro fages and juan crespi proceeded from monterey to explore the bay of san francisco. they were followed by rivera y moncada in , and palou and ezeta in ; and in , moraga founded the mission of dolores. in , bodega y quadra voyaged up the californian coast to the fifty-eighth parallel. in , dominguez and escalante made an expedition from santa fé to monterey. menonville journeyed to oajaca in new spain in . in , captain cook, in his third voyage round the world, touched along the coast from cape flattery to norton sound; and in , bodega y quadra, maurelle, and arteaga voyaged up the western coast to mount st elias. during the years - , voyages of circumnavigation were made by dixon and portlock, and by la pérouse, all touching upon the northwest coast. french canadian traders were the first to penetrate the northern interior west of hudson bay. their most distant station was on the saskatchewan river, two thousand miles from civilization, in the heart of an unknown wilderness inhabited by savage men and beasts. these _coureurs des bois_ or wood-rangers, as they were called, were admirably adapted, by their disposition and superior address, to conciliate the indians and form settlements among them. unrestrained, however, by control, they committed excesses which the french government could check only by prohibiting, under penalty of death, any but its authorized agents from trading within its territories. british merchants at new york soon entered into competition with the fur princes of montreal. but, in , a more formidable opposition arose in the organization of the hudson's bay company, by prince rupert and other noblemen, under a charter of charles ii. which granted exclusive right to all the territory drained by rivers flowing into hudson bay. notwithstanding constant feuds with the french merchants regarding territorial limits, the company prospered from the beginning, paying annual dividends of twenty-five and fifty per cent. after many times increasing the capital stock. in , the canadians formed the _compagnie du nord_, in order the more successfully to resist encroachment. upon the loss of canada by the french in , hostilities thickened between the companies, and the traffic for a time fell off. in , the famous northwest company was formed by canadian merchants, and the management entrusted to the frobisher brothers and simon m'tavish. the head-quarters of the company were at montreal, but annual meetings were held, with lordly state, at fort william, on the shore of lake superior. the company consisted of twenty-three partners, and employed over two thousand clerks and servants. it exercised an almost feudal sway over a wide savage domain, and maintained a formidable competition with the hudson's bay company, with which they were for two years in actual war. in , they purchased, from the partners of john jacob astor, the settlement of astoria on the columbia river. in , they united with the hudson's bay company; and the charter covering the entire region occupied by both was renewed by act of parliament. in , some merchants of new orleans organized a company which was commissioned by d'abadie, director-general of louisiana, under the name of pierre ligueste laclède, antoine maxan, and company. their first post occupied the spot upon which the city of st louis is now situated; and, under the auspices of the brothers chouteau, they penetrated northwestward beyond the rocky mountains. in , the missouri fur company was formed at st louis, consisting of the chouteaus and others; and an expedition under major henry was sent across the rocky mountains, which established the first post on the columbia river. between the years and , the rocky mountain fur company of st louis extended their operations over california and oregon, but at a loss of the lives of nearly one half of their employés. john jacob astor embarked in the fur trade at new york in , purchasing at that time in montreal. in , he obtained a charter for the american fur company, which was, in , merged into the southwest company. in , mr astor conceived the project of establishing a transcontinental line of posts. his purpose was to concentrate the fur trade of the united states, and establish uninterrupted communication between the pacific and the atlantic. he made proposals of association to the northwest company, which were not only rejected, but an attempt was made by that association to anticipate mr astor in his operations, by making a settlement at the mouth of the columbia river. in , the pacific fur company was founded by mr astor, and an expedition dispatched overland by way of st louis and the missouri river. at the same time a vessel was sent round cape horn to the mouth of the columbia; but, their adventure in that quarter proving unsuccessful, the company was dissolved, and the operations of mr astor were thereafter confined to the territory east of the rocky mountains. [sidenote: the great northwest.] samuel hearne, an officer of the hudson's bay company, was the first european to reach the arctic ocean through the interior of the continent. he descended coppermine river to its mouth in the year . the upper misinipi river was first visited by joseph frobisher in . three years later, one peter pond penetrated to within thirty miles of athabasca lake, and established a trading post at that point. four canoe-loads of merchandise were exchanged by him for more fine furs than his canoes could carry. other adventurous traders soon followed; but not long afterwards the inevitable broils which always attended the early intercourse of europeans and indians, rose to such a height that, but for the appearance of that terrible scourge, the small-pox, the traders would have been extirpated. the ravages of this dire disease continued to depopulate the country until , when traders again appeared among the knisteneaux and tinneh. the most northern division of the northwest company was at that time the athabascan lake region, where alexander mackenzie was the managing partner. his winter residence was at fort chipewyan, on athabasca lake. the indians who traded at his establishment informed him of the existence of a large river flowing to the westward from slave lake. thinking thereby to reach the pacific ocean, mr mackenzie, in the year , set out upon an expedition to the west; and, descending the noble stream which bears his name, found himself, contrary to his expectations, upon the shores of the arctic sea. in , he made a journey to the pacific, ascending peace river, and reaching the coast in latitude about fifty-two. the first expedition organized by the british government for the purpose of surveying the northern coast, was sent out under lieutenants franklin and parry in . during the year following, franklin descended coppermine river, and subsequently, in , he made a journey down the mackenzie. in , d. w. harmon, a partner in the northwest company, crossed the rocky mountains, at about the fifty-sixth parallel, to fraser and stuart lakes. the accounts of the natives given by these travelers and their companions are essentially the same, and later voyagers have failed to throw much additional light upon the subject. john meares, in , visited the straits of fuca, nootka sound, and cook inlet; and, during the same year, two ships, sent out by boston merchants, under robert gray and john kendrick, entered nootka sound. estevan martinez and gonzalo haro, sent from mexico to look after the interest of spain in these regions, explored prince william sound, and visited kadiak. during the same year, the russians established a trading post at copper river. in , joseph billings visited the aleutian islands, and the boston vessels explored the eastern coast of queen charlotte island. in , salvador fidalgo was sent by the mexican government to nootka; and monaldo explored the straits of juan de fuca. in , four ships belonging to boston merchants, two spanish ships, one french and several russian vessels touched upon the northwest coast. the spanish vessels were under the command of alejandro malespina; etienne marchand was the commander of the french ship. the 'sutil y mexicana' entered nootka sound in ; and during the same year, vancouver commenced his explorations along the coast above cape flattery. in - , baron von humboldt was making his searching investigations in mexico; while the captive new englander, jewett, was dancing attendance to maquina, king of the nootkas. lewis and clark traversed the continent in . in , a mr fraser set out from canada, and crossed the rocky mountains near the headwaters of the river which bears his name. he descended fraser river to the lake which he also called after himself. there he built a fort and opened trade with the natives. kotzebue visited the coast in ; and the russian expedition under kramchenko, wasilieff, and etolin, in . captain morrel explored the californian coast from san diego to san francisco in ; captains beechey and lütke, the northwest coast in ; and sir edward belcher in . j. k. townsend made an excursion west of the rocky mountains in . in , dease and simpson made an open boat voyage from the mackenzie river, westward to point barrow, the farthest point made by beechey from the opposite direction, thus reaching the _ultima thule_ of northwestern discovery. sir george simpson crossed the continent in , fremont in , and paul kane in . kushevaroff visited the coast in , laplace in , commodore wilkes in , and captain kellett in . following the discovery of gold, the country was deluged by adventurers. in - , commenced the series of explorations for a pacific railway. the necessities of the natives were examined, and remnants of disappearing nations were collected upon reservations under government agents. the interior of alaska was first penetrated by the employés of the russian-american fur company. malakoff ascended the yukon in ; and, in , derabin established a fort upon that river. in , w. h. hooper made a boat expedition from kotzebue sound to the mackenzie river; and, in , william h. dall and frederick whymper ascended the yukon. i have here given a few only of the original sources whence my information is derived concerning the indians. a multitude of minor voyages and travels have been performed during the past three and a half centuries, and accounts published by early residents among the natives, the bare enumeration of which i fear would prove wearisome to the reader. enough, however, has been given to show the immediate causes which led to the discovery and occupation of the several parts of this western coast. the spanish cavaliers craved from the indians of the south their lands and their gold. the spanish missionaries demanded from the indians of northern mexico and california, faith. the french, english, canadian, and american fur companies sought from the indians of oregon and new caledonia, peltries. the russians compelled the natives of the aleutian islands to hunt sea-animals. the filthy raw-flesh-eating eskimos, having nothing wherewith to tempt the cupidity of the superior race, retain their primitive purity. [sidenote: cupidity and zeal.] we observe then three original incentives urging on civilized white men to overspread the domain of the indian. the first was that thirst for gold, which characterized the fiery hidalgos from spain in their conquests, and to obtain which no cruelty was too severe nor any sacrifice of human life too great; as though of all the gifts vouchsafed to man, material or divine, one only was worth possessing. the second, following closely in the footsteps of the first, and oftentimes constituting a part of it, was religious enthusiasm; a zealous interest in the souls of the natives and the form in which they worshiped. the third, which occupied the attention of other and more northern europeans, grew out of a covetous desire for the wild man's clothing; to secure to themselves the peltries of the great hyperborean regions of america. from the south of europe the spaniards landed in tropical north america, and exterminated the natives. from the north of europe the french, english, and russians crossed over to the northern part of america; and, with a kinder and more refined cruelty, no less effectually succeeded in sweeping them from the face of the earth by the introduction of the poisonous elements of a debased cultivation. fortunately for the indians of the north, it was contrary to the interests of white people to kill them in order to obtain the skins of their animals; for, with a few trinkets, they could procure what otherwise would require long and severe labor to obtain. the policy, therefore, of the great fur-trading companies has been to cherish the indians as their best hunters, to live at peace with them, to heal their ancient feuds, and to withhold from them intoxicating liquors. the condition of their women, who were considered by the natives as little better than beasts, has been changed by their inter-social relations with the servants of the trading companies; and their more barbarous practices discontinued. it was the almost universal custom of the employés of the hudson's bay company to unite to themselves native women; thus, by means of this relationship, the condition of the women has been raised, while the men manifest a kinder feeling towards the white race who thus in a measure become one with them. the efforts of early missionaries to this region were not crowned with that success which attended the spaniards in their spiritual warfare upon the southern nations, from the fact that no attention was paid to the temporal necessities of the natives. it has long since been demonstrated impossible to reach the heart of a savage through abstract ideas of morality and elevation of character. a religion, in order to find favor in his eyes, must first meet some of his material requirements. if it is good, it will clothe him better and feed him better, for this to him is the chiefest good in life. intermixtures of civilized with savage peoples are sure to result in the total disappearance of refinement on the one side, or in the extinction of the barbaric race on the other. the downward path is always the easiest. of all the millions of native americans who have perished under the withering influences of european civilization, there is not a single instance on record, of a tribe or nation having been reclaimed, ecclesiastically or otherwise, by artifice and argument. individual savages have been educated with a fair degree of success. but, with a degree of certainty far greater, no sooner is the white man freed from the social restraint of civilized companionship, than he immediately tends towards barbarism; and not infrequently becomes so fascinated with his new life as to prefer it to any other. social development is inherent: superinduced culture is a failure. left alone, the nations of america might have unfolded into as bright a civilization as that of europe. they were already well advanced, and still rapidly advancing towards it, when they were so mercilessly stricken down. but for a stranger to re-create the heart or head of a red man, it were easier to change the color of his skin. [illustration: native races of the pacific states hyperborean group] chapter ii. hyperboreans. general divisions--hyperborean nations--aspects of nature--vegetation--climate--animals--the eskimos--their country--physical characteristics--dress--dwellings-- food--weapons--boots--sledges--snow-shoes--government--domestic affairs--amusements--diseases--burial--the koniagas, their physical and social condition--the aleuts--the thlinkeets--the tinneh. i shall attempt to describe the physical and mental characteristics of the native races of the pacific states under seven distinctive groups; namely, i. hyperboreans, being those nations whose territory lies north of the fifty-fifth parallel; ii. columbians, who dwell between the fifty-fifth and forty-second parallels, and whose lands to some extent are drained by the columbia river and its tributaries; iii. californians, and the inhabitants of the great basin; iv. new mexicans, including the nations of the colorado river and northern mexico; v. wild tribes of mexico; vi. wild tribes of central america; vii. civilized nations of mexico and central america. it is my purpose, without any attempt at ethnological classification, or further comment concerning races and stocks, plainly to portray such customs and characteristics as were peculiar to each people at the time of its first intercourse with european strangers; leaving scientists to make their own deductions, and draw specific lines between linguistic and physiological families, as they may deem proper. i shall endeavor to picture these nations in their aboriginal condition, as seen by the first invaders, as described by those who beheld them in their savage grandeur, and before they were startled from their lair by the treacherous voice of civilized friendship. now they are gone,--those dusky denizens of a thousand forests,--melted like hoar-frost before the rising sun of a superior intelligence; and it is only from the earliest records, from the narratives of eye witnesses, many of them rude unlettered men, trappers, sailors, and soldiers, that we are able to know them as they were. some division of the work into parts, however arbitrary it may be, is indispensable. in dealing with mythology, and in tracing the tortuous course of language, boundaries will be dropped and beliefs and tongues will be followed wherever they lead; but in describing manners and customs, to avoid confusion, territorial divisions are necessary. [sidenote: groupings and subdivisions.] in the groupings which i have adopted, one cluster of nations follows another in geographical succession; the dividing line not being more distinct, perhaps, than that which distinguishes some national divisions, but sufficiently marked, in mental and physical peculiarities, to entitle each group to a separate consideration. the only distinction of race made by naturalists, upon the continents of both north and south america, until a comparatively recent period, was by segregating the first of the above named groups from all other people of both continents, and calling one mongolians and the other americans. a more intimate acquaintance with the nations of the north proves conclusively that one of the boldest types of the american indian proper, the tinneh, lies within the territory of this first group, conterminous with the mongolian eskimos, and crowding them down to a narrow line along the shore of the arctic sea. the nations of the second group, although exhibiting multitudinous variations in minor traits, are essentially one people. between the california diggers of the third division and the new mexican towns-people of the fourth, there is more diversity; and a still greater difference between the savage and civilized nations of the mexican table-land. any classification or division of the subject which could be made would be open to criticism. i therefore adopt the most simple practical plan, one which will present the subject most clearly to the general reader, and leave it in the best shape for purposes of theorizing and generalization. in the first or hyperborean group, to which this chapter is devoted, are five subdivisions, as follows: the _eskimos_, commonly called western eskimos, who skirt the shores of the arctic ocean from mackenzie river to kotzebue sound; the _koniagas_ or southern eskimos, who, commencing at kotzebue sound, cross the kaviak peninsula, border on bering sea from norton sound southward, and stretch over the alaskan[ ] peninsula and koniagan islands to the mouth of the atna or copper river, extending back into the interior about one hundred and fifty miles; the _aleuts_, or people of the aleutian archipelago; the _thlinkeets_, who inhabit the coast and islands between the rivers atna and nass; and the _tinneh_, or athabascas, occupying the territory between the above described boundaries and hudson bay. each of these families is divided into nations or tribes, distinguished one from another by slight dialectic or other differences, which tribal divisions will be given in treating of the several nations respectively. let us first cast a glance over this broad domain, and mark those aspects of nature which exercise so powerful an influence upon the destinies of mankind. midway between mount st elias and the arctic seaboard rise three mountain chains. one, the rocky mountain range, crossing from the yukon to the mackenzie river, deflects southward, and taking up its mighty line of march, throws a barrier between the east and the west, which extends throughout the entire length of the continent. between the rocky mountains and the pacific, interposes another called in oregon the cascade range, and in california the sierra nevada; while from the same starting-point, the alaskan range stretches out to the southwest along the alaskan peninsula, and breaks into fragments in the aleutian archipelago. three noble streams, the mackenzie, the yukon, and the kuskoquim, float the boats of the inland hyperboreans and supply them with food; while from the heated waters of japan comes a current of the sea, bathing the icy coasts with genial warmth, tempering the air, and imparting gladness to the oily watermen of the coast, to the northernmost limit of their lands. the northern border of this territory is treeless; the southern shore, absorbing more warmth and moisture from the japan current, is fringed with dense forests; while the interior, interspersed with hills, and lakes, and woods, and grassy plains, during the short summer is clothed in luxuriant vegetation. notwithstanding the frowning aspect of nature, animal life in the arctic regions is most abundant. the ocean swarms with every species of fish and sea-mammal; the land abounds in reindeer, moose, musk-oxen; in black, grizzly, and arctic bears; in wolves, foxes, beavers, mink, ermine, martin, otters, raccoons, and water-fowl. immense herds of buffalo roam over the bleak grassy plains of the eastern tinneh, but seldom venture far to the west of the rocky mountains. myriads of birds migrate to and fro between their breeding-places in the interior of alaska, the open arctic sea, and the warmer latitudes of the south. from the gulf of mexico, from the islands of the pacific, from the lakes of california, of oregon, and of washington they come, fluttering and feasting, to rear their young during the sparkling arctic summer-day. [sidenote: man and nature.] the whole occupation of man throughout this region, is a struggle for life. so long as the organism is plentifully supplied with heat-producing food, all is well. once let the internal fire go down, and all is ill. unlike the inhabitants of equatorial latitudes, where, eden-like, the sheltering tree drops food, and the little nourishment essential to life may be obtained by only stretching forth the hand and plucking it, the hyperborean man must maintain a constant warfare with nature, or die. his daily food depends upon the success of his daily battle with beasts, birds, and fishes, which dispute with him possession of sea and land. unfortunate in his search for game, or foiled in his attempt at capture, he must fast. the associate of beasts, governed by the same emergencies, preying upon animals as animals prey upon each other, the victim supplying all the necessities of the victor, occupying territory in common, both alike drawing supplies directly from the storehouse of nature,--primitive man derives his very quality from the brute with which he struggles. the idiosyncrasies of the animal fasten upon him, and that upon which he feeds becomes a part of him. thus, in a nation of hunters inhabiting a rigorous climate, we may look for wiry, keen-scented men, who in their war upon wild beasts put forth strength and endurance in order to overtake and capture the strong; cunning is opposed by superior cunning; a stealthy watchfulness governs every movement, while the intelligence of the man contends with the instincts of the brute. fishermen, on the other hand, who obtain their food with comparatively little effort, are more sluggish in their natures and less noble in their development. in the icy regions of the north, the animal creation supplies man with food, clothing, and caloric; with all the requisites of an existence under circumstances apparently the most adverse to comfort; and when he digs his dwelling beneath the ground, or walls out the piercing winds with snow, his ultimate is attained. the chief differences in tribes occupying the interior and the seaboard,--the elevated, treeless, grassy plains east of the rocky mountains, and the humid islands and shores of the great northwest,--grow out of necessities arising from their methods of procuring food. even causes so slight as the sheltering bend of a coast-line; the guarding of a shore by islands; the breaking of a seaboard by inlets and covering of the strand with sea-weed and polyps, requiring only the labor of gathering; or the presence of a bluff coast or windy promontory, whose occupants are obliged to put forth more vigorous action for sustenance--all govern man in his development. turn now to the most northern division of our most northern group. [sidenote: the eskimos.] the eskimos, esquimaux, or as they call themselves, _innuit_, 'the people,' from _inuk_, 'man,'[ ] occupy the arctic seaboard from eastern greenland along the entire continent of america, and across bering[ ] strait to the asiatic shore. formerly the inhabitants of our whole hyperborean sea-coast, from the mackenzie river to queen charlotte island--the interior being entirely unknown--were denominated eskimos, and were of supposed asiatic origin.[ ] the tribes of southern alaska were then found to differ essentially from those of the northern coast. under the name eskimos, therefore, i include only the western eskimos of certain writers, whose southern boundary terminates at kotzebue sound.[ ] [sidenote: eskimo land.] eskimo-land is thinly peopled, and but little is known of tribal divisions. at the coppermine river, the eskimos are called _naggeuktormutes_, or deer-horns; at the eastern outlet of the mackenzie, their tribal name is _kittegarute_; between the mackenzie river and barter reef, they go by the name of _kangmali innuit_; at point barrow they call themselves _nuwungmutes_; while on the nunatok river, in the vicinity of kotzebue sound, they are known as _nunatangmutes_. their villages, consisting of five or six families each,[ ] are scattered along the coast. a village site is usually selected upon some good landing-place, where there is sufficient depth of water to float a whale. between tribes is left a spot of unoccupied or neutral ground, upon which small parties meet during the summer for purposes of trade.[ ] the eskimos are essentially a peculiar people. their character and their condition, the one of necessity growing out of the other, are peculiar. first, it is claimed for them that they are the anomalous race of america--the only people of the new world clearly identical with any race of the old. then they are the most littoral people in the world. the linear extent of their occupancy, all of it a narrow seaboard averaging scarcely one hundred miles in width, is estimated at not less than five thousand miles. before them is a vast, unknown, icy ocean, upon which they scarcely dare venture beyond sight of land; behind them, hostile mountaineers ever ready to dispute encroachment. their very mother-earth, upon whose cold bosom they have been borne, age after age through countless generations,[ ] is almost impenetrable, thawless ice. their days and nights, and seasons and years, are not like those of other men. six months of day succeed six months of night. three months of sunless winter; three months of nightless summer; six months of glimmering twilight. about the middle of october[ ] commences the long night of winter. the earth and sea put on an icy covering; beasts and birds depart for regions sheltered or more congenial; humanity huddles in subterraneous dens; all nature sinks into repose. the little heat left by the retreating sun soon radiates out into the deep blue realms of space; the temperature sinks rapidly to forty or fifty degrees below freezing; the air is hushed, the ocean calm, the sky cloudless. an awful, painful stillness pervades the dreary solitude. not a sound is heard; the distant din of busy man, and the noiseless hum of the wilderness alike are wanting. whispers become audible at a considerable distance, and an insupportable sense of loneliness oppresses the inexperienced visitor.[ ] occasionally the aurora borealis flashes out in prismatic coruscations, throwing a brilliant arch from east to west--now in variegated oscillations, graduating through all the various tints of blue, and green, and violet, and crimson; darting, flashing, or streaming in yellow columns, upwards, downwards; now blazing steadily, now in wavy undulations, sometimes up to the very zenith; momentarily lighting up in majestic grandeur the cheerless frozen scenery, but only to fall back with exhausted force, leaving a denser obscurity. nature's electric lantern, suspended for a time in the frosty vault of heaven;--munificent nature's fire-works; with the polar owl, the polar bear, and the polar man, spectators. in january, the brilliancy of the stars is dimmed perceptibly at noon; in february, a golden tint rests upon the horizon at the same hour; in march, the incipient dawn broadens; in april, the dozing eskimo rubs his eyes and crawls forth; in may, the snow begins to melt, the impatient grass and flowers arrive as it departs.[ ] in june, the summer has fairly come. under the incessant rays of the never setting sun, the snow speedily disappears, the ice breaks up, the glacial earth softens for a depth of one, two, or three feet; circulation is restored to vegetation,[ ] which, during winter, had been stopped,--if we may believe sir john richardson, even the largest trees freezing to the heart. sea, and plain, and rolling steppe lay aside their seamless shroud of white, and a brilliant tint of emerald overspreads the landscape.[ ] all nature, with one resounding cry, leaps up and claps her hands for joy. flocks of birds, lured from their winter homes, fill the air with their melody; myriads of wild fowls send forth their shrill cries; the moose and the reindeer flock down from the forests;[ ] from the resonant sea comes the noise of spouting whales and barking seals; and this so lately dismal, cheerless region, blooms with an exhuberance of life equaled only by the shortness of its duration. and in token of a just appreciation of the creator's goodness, this animated medley--man, and beasts, and birds, and fishes--rises up, divides, falls to, and ends in eating or in being eaten. [sidenote: physical characteristics.] the physical characteristics of the eskimos are: a fair complexion, the skin, when free from dirt and paint, being almost white;[ ] a medium stature, well proportioned, thick-set, muscular, robust, active,[ ] with small and beautifully shaped hands and feet;[ ] a pyramidal head;[ ] a broad egg-shaped face; high rounded cheek-bones; flat nose; small oblique eyes; large mouth; teeth regular, but well worn;[ ] coarse black hair, closely cut upon the crown, leaving a monk-like ring around the edge,[ ] and a paucity of beard.[ ] the men frequently leave the hair in a natural state. the women of icy reef introduce false hair among their own, wearing the whole in two immense bows at the back of the head. at point barrow, they separate the hair into two parts or braids, saturating it with train-oil, and binding it into stiff bunches with strips of skin. their lower extremities are short, so that in a sitting posture they look taller than when standing. [sidenote: improvements upon nature.] were these people satisfied with what nature has done for them, they would be passably good-looking. but with them as with all mankind, no matter how high the degree of intelligence and refinement attained, art must be applied to improve upon nature. the few finishing touches neglected by the creator, man is ever ready to supply. arrived at the age of puberty, the great work of improvement begins. up to this time the skin has been kept saturated in grease and filth, until the natural color is lost, and until the complexion is brought down to the eskimo standard. now pigments of various dye are applied, both painted outwardly and pricked into the skin; holes are cut in the face, and plugs or labrets inserted. these operations, however, attended with no little solemnity, are supposed to possess some significance other than that of mere ornament. upon the occasion of piercing the lip, for instance, a religious feast is given. on the northern coast the women paint the eyebrows and tattoo the chin; while the men only pierce the lower lip under one or both corners of the mouth, and insert in each aperture a double-headed sleeve-button or dumb-bell-shaped labret, of bone, ivory, shell, stone, glass, or wood. the incision when first made is about the size of a quill, but as the aspirant for improved beauty grows older, the size of the orifice is enlarged until it reaches a width of half or three quarters of an inch.[ ] in tattooing, the color is applied by drawing a thread under the skin, or pricking it in with a needle. different tribes, and different ranks of the same tribe, have each their peculiar form of tattooing. the plebeian female of certain bands is permitted to adorn her chin with but one vertical line in the centre, and one parallel to it on either side, while the more fortunate noblesse mark two vertical lines from each corner of the mouth.[ ] a feminine cast of features, as is common with other branches of the mongolian race, prevails in both sexes. some travelers discover in the faces of the men a characteristic expression of ferociousness, and in those of the women, an extraordinary display of wantonness. a thick coating of filth and a strong odor of train-oil are inseparable from an eskimo, and the fashion of labrets adds in no wise to his comeliness.[ ] [sidenote: eskimo dress.] for covering to the body, the eskimos employ the skin of all the beasts and birds that come within their reach. skins are prepared in the fur,[ ] and cut and sewed with neatness and skill. even the intestines of seals and whales are used in the manufacture of water-proof overdresses.[ ] the costume for both sexes consists of long stockings or drawers, over which are breeches extending from the shoulders to below the knees; and a frock or jacket, somewhat shorter than the breeches with sleeves and hood. this garment is made whole, there being no openings except for the head and arms. the frock of the male is cut at the bottom nearly square, while that of the female reaches a little lower, and terminates before and behind in a point or scollop. the tail of some animal graces the hinder part of the male frock; the woman's has a large hood, in which she carries her infant. otherwise both sexes dress alike; and as, when stripped of their facial decorations, their physiognomies are alike, they are not unfrequently mistaken one for the other.[ ] they have boots of walrus or seal skin, mittens or gloves of deer-skin, and intestine water-proofs covering the entire body. several kinds of fur frequently enter into the composition of one garment. thus the body of the frock, generally of reindeer-skin, may be of bird, bear, seal, mink, or squirrel skin; while the hood may be of fox-skin, the lining of hare-skin, the fringe of wolverine-skin, and the gloves of fawn-skin.[ ] two suits are worn during the coldest weather; the inner one with the fur next the skin, the outer suit with the fur outward.[ ] thus, with their stomachs well filled with fat, and their backs covered with furs, they bid defiance to the severest arctic winter.[ ] [sidenote: dwellings of the eskimos.] in architecture, the eskimo is fully equal to the emergency; building, upon a soil which yields him little or no material, three classes of dwellings. penetrating the frozen earth, or casting around him a frozen wall, he compels the very elements from which he seeks protection to protect him. for his _yourt_ or winter residence he digs a hole of the required dimensions, to a depth of about six feet.[ ] within this excavation he erects a frame, either of wood or whalebone, lashing his timbers with thongs instead of nailing them. this frame is carried upward to a distance of two or three feet above the ground,[ ] when it is covered by a dome-shaped roof of poles or whale-ribs turfed and earthed over.[ ] in the centre of the roof is left a hole for the admission of light and the emission of smoke. in absence of fire, a translucent covering of whale-intestine confines the warmth of putrifying filth, and completes the eskimo's sense of comfort. to gain admittance to this snug retreat, without exposing the inmates to the storms without, another and a smaller hole is dug to the same depth, a short distance from the first. from one to the other, an underground passage-way is then opened, through which entrance is made on hands and knees. the occupants descend by means of a ladder, and over the entrance a shed is erected, to protect it from the snow.[ ] within the entrance is hung a deer-skin door, and anterooms are arranged in which to deposit frozen outer garments before entering the heated room. around the sides of the dwelling, sleeping-places are marked out; for bedsteads, boards are placed upon logs one or two feet in diameter, and covered with willow branches and skins. a little heap of stones in the centre of the room, under the smoke-hole, forms the fireplace. in the corners of the room are stone lamps, which answer all domestic purposes in the absence of fire-wood.[ ] in the better class of buildings, the sides and floor are boarded. supplies are kept in a store house at a little distance from the dwelling, perched upon four posts, away from the reach of the dogs, and a frame is always erected on which to hang furs and fish. several years are sometimes occupied in building a hut.[ ] mark how nature supplies this treeless coast with wood. the breaking-up of winter in the mountains of alaska is indeed a breaking-up. the accumulated masses of ice and snow, when suddenly loosened by the incessant rays of the never-setting sun, bear away all before them. down from the mountain-sides comes the avalanche, uprooting trees, swelling rivers, hurrying with its burden to the sea. there, casting itself into the warm ocean current, the ice soon disappears, and the driftwood which accompanied it is carried northward and thrown back upon the beach by the october winds. thus huge forest-trees, taken up bodily, as it were, in the middle of a continent, and carried by the currents to the incredible distance, sometimes, of three thousand miles, are deposited all along the arctic seaboard, laid at the very door of these people, a people whose store of this world's benefits is none of the most abundant.[ ] true, wood is not an absolute necessity with them, as many of their houses in the coldest weather have no fire; only oil-lamps being used for cooking and heating. whale-ribs supply the place of trees for house and boat timbers, and hides are commonly used for boards. yet a bountiful supply of wood during their long, cold, dark winter comes in no wise amiss.[ ] their summer tents are made of seal or untanned deer skins with the hair outward, conical or bell-shaped, and without a smoke-hole as no fires are ever kindled within them. the wet or frozen earth is covered with a few coarse skins for a floor.[ ] [sidenote: snow houses.] but the most unique system of architecture in america is improvised by the eskimos during their seal-hunting expeditions upon the ice, when they occupy a veritable crystal palace fit for an arctic fairy. on the frozen river or sea, a spot is chosen free from irregularities, and a circle of ten or fifteen feet in diameter drawn on the snow. the snow within the circle is then cut into slabs from three to four inches in thickness, their length being the depth of the snow, and these slabs are formed into a wall enclosing the circle and carried up in courses similar to those of brick or stone, terminating in a dome-shaped roof. a wedge-like slab keys the arch; and this principle in architecture may have first been known to the assyrians, egyptians, chinese or eskimos.[ ] loose snow is then thrown into the crevices, which quickly congeals; an aperture is cut in the side for a door; and if the thin wall is not sufficiently translucent, a piece of ice is fitted into the side for a window. seats, tables, couches, and even fireplaces are made with frozen snow, and covered with reindeer or seal skin. out-houses connect with the main room, and frequently a number of dwellings are built contiguously, with a passage from one to another. these houses are comfortable and durable, resisting alike the wind and the thaw until late in the season. care must be taken that the walls are not so thick as to make them too warm, and so cause a dripping from the interior. a square block of snow serves as a stand for the stone lamp which is their only fire.[ ] "the purity of the material," says sir john franklin, who saw them build an edifice of this kind at coppermine river, "of which the house was framed, the elegance of its construction, and the translucency of its walls, which transmitted a very pleasant light, gave it an appearance far superior to a marble building, and one might survey it with feelings somewhat akin to those produced by the contemplation of a grecian temple, reared by phidias; both are triumphs of art, inimitable in their kind."[ ] eskimos, fortunately, have not a dainty palate. everything which sustains life is food for them. their substantials comprise the flesh of land and marine animals, fish and birds; venison, and whale and seal blubber being chief. choice dishes, tempting to the appetite, arctic epicurean dishes, eskimo nectar and ambrosia, are daintily prepared, hospitably placed before strangers, and eaten and drunk with avidity. among them are: a bowl of coagulated blood, mashed cranberries with rancid train-oil, whortleberries and walrus-blubber, alternate streaks of putrid black and white whale-fat; venison steeped in seal-oil, raw deer's liver cut in small pieces and mixed with the warm half-digested contents of the animal's stomach; bowls of live maggots, a draught of warm blood from a newly killed animal.[ ] fish are sometimes eaten alive. meats are kept in seal-skin bags for over a year, decomposing meanwhile, but never becoming too rancid for our eskimos. their winter store of oil they secure in seal-skin bags, which are buried in the frozen ground. charlevoix remarks that they are the only race known who prefer food raw. this, however, is not the case. they prefer their food cooked, but do not object to it raw or rotten. they are no lovers of salt.[ ] [sidenote: migrations for food.] in mid-winter, while the land is enveloped in darkness, the eskimo dozes torpidly in his den. early in september the musk-oxen and reindeer retreat southward, and the fish are confined beneath the frozen covering of the rivers. it is during the short summer, when food is abundant, that they who would not perish must lay up a supply for the winter. when spring opens, and the rivers are cleared of ice, the natives follow the fish, which at that time ascend the streams to spawn, and spear them at the falls and rapids that impede their progress. small wooden fish are sometimes made and thrown into holes in the ice for a decoy; salmon are taken in a whalebone seine. at this season also reindeer are captured on their way to the coast, whither they resort in the spring to drop their young. multitudes of geese, ducks, and swans visit the ocean during the same period to breed.[ ] august and september are the months for whales. when a whale is discovered rolling on the water, a boat starts out, and from the distance of a few feet a weapon is plunged into its blubbery carcass. the harpoons are so constructed that when this blow is given, the shaft becomes disengaged from the barbed ivory point. to this point a seal-skin buoy or bladder is attached by means of a cord. the blows are repeated; the buoys encumber the monster in diving or swimming, and the ingenious eskimo is soon able to tow the carcass to the shore. a successful chase secures an abundance of food for the winter.[ ] seals are caught during the winter, and considerable skill is required in taking them. being a warm-blooded respiratory animal, they are obliged to have air, and in order to obtain it, while the surface of the water is undergoing the freezing process, they keep open a breathing-hole by constantly gnawing away the ice. they produce their young in march, and soon afterward the natives abandon their villages and set out on the ice in pursuit of them. seals, like whales, are also killed with a harpoon to which is attached a bladder. the seal, when struck, may draw the float under water for a time, but is soon obliged to rise to the surface from exhaustion and for air, when he is again attacked and soon obliged to yield. the eskimos are no less ingenious in catching wild-fowl, which they accomplish by means of a sling or net made of woven sinews, with ivory balls attached. they also snare birds by means of whalebone nooses, round which fine gravel is scattered as a bait. they manoeuvre reindeer to near the edge of a cliff, and, driving them into the sea, kill them from canoes. they also waylay them at the narrow passes, and capture them in great numbers. they construct large reindeer pounds, and set up two diverging rows of turf so as to represent men; the outer extremities of the line being sometimes two miles apart, and narrowing to a small enclosure. into this trap the unsuspecting animals are driven, when they are easily speared.[ ] [sidenote: bear-hunting.] to overcome the formidable polar bear the natives have two strategems. one is by imitating the seal, upon which the bear principally feeds, and thereby enticing it within gunshot. another is by bending a piece of stiff whalebone, encasing it in a ball of blubber, and freezing the ball, which then holds firm the bent whalebone. armed with these frozen blubber balls, the natives approach their victim, and, with a discharge of arrows, open the engagement. the bear, smarting with pain, turns upon his tormentors, who, taking to their heels, drop now and then a blubber ball. bruin, as fond of food as of revenge, pauses for a moment, hastily swallows one, then another, and another. soon a strange sensation is felt within. the thawing blubber, melted by the heat of the animal's stomach, releases the pent-up whalebone, which, springing into place, plays havoc with the intestines, and brings the bear to a painful and ignominious end. to vegetables, the natives are rather indifferent; berries, acid sorrel leaves, and certain roots, are used as a relish. there is no native intoxicating liquor, but in eating they get gluttonously stupid. notwithstanding his long, frigid, biting winter, the eskimo never suffers from the cold so long as he has an abundance of food. as we have seen, a whale or a moose supplies him with food, shelter, and raiment. with an internal fire, fed by his oily and animal food, glowing in his stomach, his blood at fever heat, he burrows comfortably in ice and snow and frozen ground, without necessity for wood or coal.[ ] nor are those passions which are supposed to develop most fully under a milder temperature, wanting in the half-frozen hyperborean.[ ] one of the chief difficulties of the eskimo during the winter is to obtain water, and the women spend a large portion of their time in melting snow over oil-lamps. in the arctic regions, eating snow is attended with serious consequences. ice or snow, touched to the lips or tongue, blisters like caustic. fire is obtained by striking sparks from iron pyrites with quartz. it is a singular fact that in the coldest climate inhabited by man, fire is less used than anywhere else in the world, equatorial regions perhaps excepted. caloric for the body is supplied by food and supplemented by furs. snow houses, from their nature, prohibit the use of fire; but cooking with the eskimo is a luxury, not a necessity. he well understands how to utilize every part of the animals so essential to his existence. with their skins he clothes himself, makes houses, boats, and oil-bags; their flesh and fat he eats. he even devours the contents of the intestines, and with the skin makes water-proof clothing. knives, arrow-points, house, boat, and sledge frames, fish-hooks, domestic utensils, ice-chisels, and in fact almost all their implements, are made from the horns and bones of the deer, whale, and seal. bowstrings are made of the sinews of musk-oxen, and ropes of seal-skin.[ ] the eskimo's arms are not very formidable. backed by his ingenuity, they nevertheless prove sufficient for practical purposes; and while his neighbor possesses none better, all are on an equal footing in war. their most powerful as well as most artistic weapon is the bow. it is made of beech or spruce, in three pieces curving in opposite directions and ingeniously bound by twisted sinews, so as to give the greatest possible strength. richardson affirms that "in the hands of a native hunter it will propel an arrow with sufficient force to pierce the heart of a musk-ox, or break the leg of a reindeer." arrows, as well as spears, lances, and darts, are of white spruce, and pointed with bone, ivory, flint, and slate.[ ] east of the mackenzie, copper enters largely into the composition of eskimo utensils.[ ] before the introduction of iron by europeans, stone hatchets were common.[ ] [sidenote: sledges, snow-shoes, and boats.] the hyperboreans surpass all american nations in their facilities for locomotion, both upon land and water. in their skin boats, the natives of the alaskan seaboard from point barrow to mount st elias, made long voyages, crossing the strait and sea of bering, and held commercial intercourse with the people of asia. sixty miles is an ordinary day's journey for sledges, while indians on snow-shoes have been known to run down and capture deer. throughout this entire border, including the aleutian islands, boats are made wholly of the skins of seals or sea-lions, excepting the frame of wood or whale-ribs. in the interior, as well as on the coast immediately below mount st elias, skin boats disappear, and canoes or wooden boats are used. two kinds of skin boats are employed by the natives of the alaskan coast, a large and a small one. the former is called by the natives _oomiak_, and by the russians _baidar_. this is a large, flat-bottomed, open boat; the skeleton of wood or whale-ribs, fastened with seal-skin thongs or whale's sinews, and covered with oiled seal or sea-lion skins, which are first sewed together and then stretched over the frame. the baidar is usually about thirty feet in length, six feet in extreme breadth, and three feet in depth. it is propelled by oars, and will carry fifteen or twenty persons, but its capacity is greatly increased by lashing inflated seal-skins to the outside. in storms at sea, two or three baidars are sometimes tied together.[ ] the small boat is called by the natives _kyak_, and by the russians _baidarka_. it is constructed of the same material and in the same manner as the baidar, except that it is entirely covered with skins, top as well as bottom, save one hole left in the deck, which is filled by the navigator. after taking his seat, and thereby filling this hole, the occupant puts on a water-proof over-dress, the bottom of which is so secured round the rim of the hole that not a drop of water can penetrate it. this dress is provided with sleeves and a hood. it is securely fastened at the wrists and neck, and when the hood is drawn over the head, the boatman may bid defiance to the water. the baidarka is about sixteen feet in length, and two feet in width at the middle, tapering to a point at either end.[ ] it is light and strong, and when skillfully handled is considered very safe. the native of norton sound will twirl his kyak completely over, turn an aquatic somersault, and by the aid of his double-bladed paddle come up safely on the other side, without even losing his seat. so highly were these boats esteemed by the russians, that they were at once universally adopted by them in navigating these waters. they were unable to invent any improvement in either of them, although they made a baidarka with two and three seats, which they employed in addition to the one-seated kyak. the kadiak baidarka is a little shorter and wider than the aleutian.[ ] sleds, sledges, dogs, and arctic land-boats play an important part in eskimo economy. the eskimo sled is framed of spruce, birch, or whalebone, strongly bound with thongs, and the runners shod with smooth strips of whale's jaw-bone. this sled is heavy, and fit only for traveling over ice or frozen snow. indian sleds of the interior are lighter, the runners being of thin flexible boards better adapted to the inequalities of the ground. sledges, such as are used by the voyagers of hudson bay, are of totally different construction. three boards, each about one foot in width and twelve feet in length, thinned, and curved into a semicircle at one end, are placed side by side and firmly lashed together with thongs. a leathern bag or blanket of the full size of the sled is provided, in which the load is placed and lashed down with strings.[ ] sleds and sledges are drawn by dogs, and they will carry a load of from a quarter to half a ton, or about one hundred pounds to each dog. the dogs of alaska are scarcely up to the average of arctic canine nobility.[ ] they are of various colors, hairy, short-legged, with large bushy tails curved over the back; they are wolfish, suspicious, yet powerful, sagacious, and docile, patiently performing an incredible amount of ill-requited labor. dogs are harnessed to the sledge, sometimes by separate thongs at unequal distances, sometimes in pairs to a single line. they are guided by the voice accompanied by a whip, and to the best trained and most sagacious is given the longest tether, that he may act as leader. an eastern dog will carry on his back a weight of thirty pounds. the dogs of the northern coast are larger and stronger than those of the interior. eskimo dogs are used in hunting reindeer and musk-oxen, as well as in drawing sledges.[ ] those at cape prince of wales appear to be of the same species as those used upon the asiatic coast for drawing sledges. snow-shoes, or foot-sledges, are differently made according to the locality. in traveling over soft snow they are indispensable. they consist of an open light wooden frame, made of two smooth pieces of wood each about two inches wide and an inch thick; the inner part sometimes straight, and the outer curved out to about one foot in the widest part. they are from two to six feet in length, some oval and turned up in front, running to a point behind; others flat, and pointed at both ends, the space within the frame being filled with a network of twisted deer-sinews or fine seal-skin.[ ] the hudson bay snow-shoe is only two and a half feet in length. the kutchin shoe is smaller than that of the eskimo. [sidenote: property.] the merchantable wealth of the eskimos consists of peltries, such as wolf, deer, badger, polar-bear, otter, hare, musk-rat, arctic-fox, and seal skins; red ochre, plumbago, and iron pyrites; oil, ivory, whalebone; in short, all parts of all species of beasts, birds, and fishes that they can secure and convert into an exchangeable shape.[ ] the articles they most covet are tobacco, iron, and beads. they are not particularly given to strong drink. on the shore of bering strait the natives have constant commercial intercourse with asia. they cross easily in their boats, carefully eluding the vigilance of the fur company. they frequently meet at the gwosdeff islands, where the tschuktschi bring tobacco, iron, tame-reindeer skins, and walrus-ivory; the eskimos giving in exchange wolf and wolverine skins, wooden dishes, seal-skins and other peltries. the eskimos of the american coast carry on quite an extensive trade with the indians of the interior,[ ] exchanging with them asiatic merchandise for peltries. they are sharp at bargains, avaricious, totally devoid of conscience in their dealings; will sell their property thrice if possible, and, if caught, laugh it off as a joke. the rights of property are scrupulously respected among themselves, but to steal from strangers, which they practice on every occasion with considerable dexterity, is considered rather a mark of merit than otherwise. a successful thief, when a stranger is the victim, receives the applause of the entire tribe.[ ] captain kotzebue thus describes the manner of trading with the russo-indians of the south and of asia. "the stranger first comes, and lays some goods on the shore and then retires; the american then comes, looks at the things, puts as many things near them as he thinks proper to give, and then also goes away. upon this the stranger approaches, and examines what is offered him; if he is satisfied with it, he takes the skins and leaves the goods instead; but if not, then he lets all the things lie, retires a second time, and expects an addition from the buyer." if they cannot agree, each retires with his goods. [sidenote: social economy.] their government, if it can be called a government, is patriarchal. now and then some ancient or able man gains an ascendency in the tribe, and overawes his fellows. some tribes even acknowledge an hereditary chief, but his authority is nominal. he can neither exact tribute, nor govern the movements of the people. his power seems to be exercised only in treating with other tribes. slavery in any form is unknown among them. caste has been mentioned in connection with tattooing, but, as a rule, social distinctions do not exist.[ ] [sidenote: amusements.] the home of the eskimo is a model of filth and freeness. coyness is not one of their vices, nor is modesty ranked among their virtues. the latitude of innocency marks all their social relations; they refrain from doing in public nothing that they would do in private. female chastity is little regarded. the kutchins, it is said, are jealous, but treat their wives kindly; the new caledonians are jealous, and treat them cruelly; but the philosophic eskimos are neither jealous nor unkind. indeed, so far are they from espionage or meanness in marital affairs, that it is the duty of the hospitable host to place at the disposal of his guest not only the house and its contents, but his wife also.[ ] the lot of the women is but little better than slavery. all the work, except the nobler occupations of hunting, fishing, and fighting, falls to them. the lesson of female inferiority is at an early age instilled into the mind of youth. nevertheless, the eskimo mother is remarkably affectionate, and fulfills her low destiny with patient kindness. polygamy is common; every man being entitled to as many wives as he can get and maintain. on the other hand, if women are scarce, the men as easily adapt themselves to circumstances, and two of them marry one woman. marriages are celebrated as follows: after gaining the consent of the mother, the lover presents a suit of clothes to the lady, who arrays herself therein and thenceforth is his wife.[ ] dancing, accompanied by singing and violent gesticulation, is their chief amusement. in all the nations of the north, every well-regulated village aspiring to any degree of respectability has its public or town house, which among the eskimos is called the _casine_ or _kashim_. it consists of one large subterranean room, better built than the common dwellings, and occupying a central position, where the people congregate on feast-days.[ ] this house is also used as a public work-shop, where are manufactured boats, sledges, and snow-shoes. a large portion of the winter is devoted to dancing. feasting and visiting commence in november. on festive occasions, a dim light and a strong odor are thrown over the scene by means of blubber-lamps. the dancers, who are usually young men, strip themselves to the waist, or even appear _in puris naturalibus_, and go through numberless burlesque imitations of birds and beasts, their gestures being accompanied by tambourine and songs. sometimes they are fantastically arrayed in seal or deer skin pantaloons, decked with dog or wolf tails behind, and wear feathers or a colored handkerchief on the head. the ancients, seated upon benches which encircle the room, smoke, and smile approbation. the women attend with fish and berries in large wooden bowls; and, upon the opening of the performance, they are at once relieved of their contributions by the actors, who elevate the provisions successively to the four cardinal points and once to the skies above, when all partake of the feast. then comes another dance. a monotonous refrain, accompanied by the beating of an instrument made of seal-intestines stretched over a circular frame, brings upon the ground one boy after another, until about twenty form a circle. a series of pantomimes then commences, portraying love, jealousy, hatred, and friendship. during intervals in the exercises, presents are distributed to strangers. in their national dance, one girl after another comes in turn to the centre, while the others join hands and dance and sing, not unmusically, about her. the most extravagant motions win the greatest applause.[ ] among other customs of the eskimo may be mentioned the following. their salutations are made by rubbing noses together. no matter how oily the skin, nor how rank the odor, he who would avoid offense must submit his nose to the nose of his hyperborean brother,[ ] and his face to the caressing hand of his polar friend. to convey intimations of friendship at a distance, they extend their arms, and rub and pat their breast. upon the approach of visitors they form a circle, and sit like turks, smoking their pipes. men, women, and children are inordinately fond of tobacco. they swallow the smoke and revel in a temporary elysium. they are called brave, simple, kind, intelligent, happy, hospitable, respectful to the aged. they are also called cruel, ungrateful, treacherous, cunning, dolorously complaining, miserable.[ ] they are great mimics, and, in order to terrify strangers, they accustom themselves to the most extraordinary contortions of features and body. as a measure of intellectual capacity, it is claimed for them that they divide time into days, lunar months, seasons, and years; that they estimate accurately by the sun or stars the time of day or night; that they can count several hundred and draw maps. they also make rude drawings on bone, representing dances, deer-hunting, animals, and all the various pursuits followed by them from the cradle to the grave. but few diseases are common to them, and a deformed person is scarcely ever seen. cutaneous eruptions, resulting from their antipathy to water, and ophthalmia, arising from the smoke of their closed huts and the glare of sun-light upon snow and water, constitute their chief disorders.[ ] for protection to their eyes in hunting and fishing, they make goggles by cutting a slit in a piece of soft wood, and adjusting it to the face. the eskimos do not, as a rule, bury their dead; but double the body up, and place it on the side in a plank box, which is elevated three or four feet from the ground, and supported by four posts. the grave-box is often covered with painted figures of birds, fishes, and animals. sometimes it is wrapped in skins, placed upon an elevated frame, and covered with planks, or trunks of trees, so as to protect it from wild beasts. upon the frame or in the grave-box are deposited the arms, clothing, and sometimes the domestic utensils of the deceased. frequent mention is made by travelers of burial places where the bodies lie exposed, with their heads placed towards the north.[ ] [sidenote: the koniagas.] the koniagas derive their name from the inhabitants of the island of kadiak, who, when first discovered, called themselves _kanagist_.[ ] they were confounded by early russian writers with the aleuts. english ethnologists sometimes call them southern eskimos. from kadiak they extend along the coast in both directions; northward across the alaskan peninsula to kotzebue sound, and eastward to prince william sound. the koniagan family is divided into nations as follows: the _koniagas_ proper, who inhabit the koniagan archipelago; the _chugatshes_,[ ] who occupy the islands and shores of prince william sound; the _aglegmutes_, of bristol bay; the _keyataigmutes_, who live upon the river nushagak and the coast as far as cape newenham; the _agulmutes_, dwelling upon the coast between the kuskoquim and kishunak rivers; the _kuskoquigmutes_,[ ] occupying the banks of the river kuskoquim; the _magemutes_, in the neighborhood of cape romanzoff; the _kwichpagmutes_, _kwichluagmutes_, and _pashtoliks_, on the kwichpak, kwickluak, and pashtolik rivers; the _chnagmutes_, near pashtolik bay; the _anlygmutes_, of golovnin bay, and the _kaviaks_ and _malemutes_, of norton sound.[ ] "all of these people," says baron von wrangell, "speak one language and belong to one stock." the most populous district is the kuskoquim valley.[ ] the small islands in the vicinity of kadiak were once well peopled; but as the russians depopulated them, and hunters became scarce, the natives were not allowed to scatter, but were forced to congregate in towns.[ ] schelikoff, the first settler on kadiak, reported, in that and contiguous isles, thirty thousand natives. thirty years later, saritsheff visited the island and found but three thousand. the chugatshes not long since lived upon the island of kadiak, but, in consequence of dissensions with their neighbors, they were obliged to emigrate and take up their residence on the main land. they derived their manners originally from the northern nations; but, after having been driven from their ancient possessions, they made raids upon southern nations, carried off their women, and, from the connections thus formed, underwent a marked change. they now resemble the southern rather than the northern tribes. the kadiaks, chugatshes, kuskoquims, and adjacent tribes, according to their own traditions, came from the north, while the unalaskas believe themselves to have originated in the west. the kaviaks intermingle to a considerable extent with the malemutes, and the two are often taken for one people; but their dialects are quite distinct. [sidenote: land of the koniagas.] the country of the koniagas is a rugged wilderness, into many parts of which no white man has ever penetrated. mountainous forests, glacial cañons, down which flow innumerable torrents, hills interspersed with lakes and marshy plains; ice-clad in winter, covered with luxuriant vegetation in summer. some sheltered inlets absorb an undue proportion of oceanic warmth. thus the name aglegmutes signifies the inhabitants of a warm climate. travelers report chiefs among the koniagas seven feet in height, but in general they are of medium stature.[ ] their complexion may be a shade darker than that of the eskimos of the northern coast, but it is still very light.[ ] the chugatshes are remarkable for their large heads, short necks, broad faces, and small eyes. holmberg claims for the koniagas a peculiar formation of the skull; the back, as he says, being not arched but flat. they pierce the septum of the nose and the under lip, and in the apertures wear ornaments of various materials; the most highly prized being of shell or of amber. it is said that at times amber is thrown up in large quantities by the ocean, on the south side of kadiak, generally after a heavy earthquake, and that at such times it forms an important article of commerce with the natives. the more the female chin is riddled with holes, the greater the respectability. two ornaments are usually worn, but by very aristocratic ladies as many as six.[ ] their favorite colors in face-painting are red and blue, though black and leaden colors are common.[ ] young kadiak wives secure the affectionate admiration of their husbands by tattooing the breast and adorning the face with black lines; while the kuskoquim women sew into their chin two parallel blue lines. the hair is worn long by men as well as women. on state occasions, it is elaborately dressed; first saturated in train-oil, then powdered with red clay or oxide of iron, and finished off with a shower of white feathers. both sexes wear beads wherever they can find a place for them, round the neck, wrists, and ankles, besides making a multitude of holes for them in the ears, nose, and chin. into these holes they will also insert buttons, nails, or any european trinket which falls into their possession.[ ] [sidenote: kadiak and kuskoquim dress.] the aboriginal dress of a wealthy kadiak was a bird-skin parka, or shirt, fringed at the top and bottom, with long wide sleeves out of which the wearer slipped his arms in an emergency. this garment was neatly sewed with bird-bone needles, and a hundred skins were sometimes used in the making of a single parka. it was worn with the feathers outside during the day, and inside during the night. round the waist was fastened an embroidered girdle, and over all, in wet weather, was worn an intestine water-proof coat. the kadiak breeches and stockings were of otter or other skins, and the boots, when any were worn, were of seal-neck leather, with whale-skin soles. the russians in a measure prohibited the use of furs among the natives, compelling them to purchase woolen goods from the company, and deliver up all their peltries. the parkas and stockings of the kuskoquims are of reindeer-skin, covered with embroidery, and trimmed with valuable furs. they also make stockings of swamp grass, and cloaks of sturgeon-skin. the malemute and kaviak dress is similar to that of the northern eskimo.[ ] the chugatshes, men, women, and children, dress alike in a close fur frock, or robe, reaching sometimes to the knees, but generally to the ankles. their feet and legs are commonly bare, notwithstanding the high latitude in which they live; but they sometimes wear skin stockings and mittens. they make a truncated conic hat of straw or wood, in whimsical representation of the head of some fish or bird, and garnished with colors.[ ] [sidenote: dwellings and food of the koniagas.] the koniagas build two kinds of houses; one a large, winter village residence, called by the russians _barabara_, and the other a summer hunting-hut, placed usually upon the banks of a stream whence they draw food. their winter houses are very large, accommodating three or four families each. they are constructed by digging a square space of the required area to a depth of two feet, placing a post, four feet high above the surface of the ground, at every corner, and roofing the space over to constitute a main hall, where eating is done, filth deposited, and boats built. the sides are of planks, and the roof of boards, poles, or whale-ribs, thickly covered with grass. in the roof is a smoke-hole, and on the eastern side a door-hole about three feet square, through which entrance is made on hands and knees, and which is protected by a seal or other skin. under the opening in the roof, a hole is dug for fire; and round the sides of the room, tomb-like excavations are made, or boards put up, for sleeping-places, where the occupant reposes on his back with his knees drawn up to the chin. adjoining rooms are sometimes made, with low underground passages leading off from the main hall. the walls are adorned with implements of the chase and bags of winter food; the latter of which, being in every stage of decay, emits an odor most offensive to unhabituated nostrils. the ground is carpeted with straw. when the smoke-hole is covered by an intestine window, the dwellings of the koniagas are exceedingly warm, and neither fire nor clothing is required.[ ] the _kashim_, or public house of the koniagas, is built like their dwellings, and is capable of accommodating three or four hundred people.[ ] huts are built by earthing over sticks placed in roof-shape; also by erecting a frame of poles, and covering it with bark or skins. the koniagas will eat any digestible substance in nature except pork; from which fact kingsborough might have proven incontestably a jewish origin. i should rather give them swinish affinities, and see in this singularity a hesitancy to feed upon the only animal, except themselves, which eats with equal avidity bear's excrements, carrion birds, maggoty fish, and rotten sea-animals.[ ] when a whale is taken, it is literally stripped of everything to the bare bones, and these also are used for building huts and boats.[ ] these people can dispose of enormous quantities of food; or, if necessary, they can go a long time without eating.[ ] before the introduction of intoxicating drinks by white men, they made a fermented liquor from the juice of raspberries and blueberries. tobacco is in general use, but chewing and snuffing are more frequent than smoking. salmon are very plentiful in the vicinity of kadiak, and form one of the chief articles of diet. during their periodical ascension of the rivers, they are taken in great quantities by means of a pole pointed with bone or iron. salmon are also taken in nets made of whale-sinews. codfish are caught with a bone hook. whales approach the coast of kadiak in june, when the inhabitants pursue them in baidarkas. their whale-lance is about six feet in length, and pointed with a stone upon which is engraved the owner's mark. this point separates from the handle and is left in the whale's flesh, so that when the body is thrown dead upon the beach, the whaler proves his property by his lance-point. many superstitions are mentioned in connection with the whale-fishery. when a whaler dies, the body is cut into small pieces and distributed among his fellow-craftsmen, each of whom, after rubbing the point of his lance upon it, dries and preserves his piece as a sort of talisman. or the body is placed in a distant cave, where, before setting out upon a chase, the whalers all congregate, take it out, carry it to a stream, immerse it and then drink of the water. during the season, whalers bear a charmed existence. no one may eat out of the same dish with them, nor even approach them. when the season is over, they hide their weapons in the mountains. in may, the koniagas set out in two-oared baidarkas for distant islands, in search of sea-otter. as success requires a smooth sea, they can hunt them only during the months of may and june, taking them in the manner following. fifty or one hundred boats proceed slowly through the water, so closely together that it is impossible for an otter to escape between them. as soon as the animal is discovered, the signal is given, the area within which he must necessarily rise to the surface for air, is surrounded by a dozen boats, and when he appears upon the surface he is filled with arrows. seals are hunted with spears ten or twelve feet in length, upon the end of which is fastened an inflated bladder, in order to float the animal when dead. [sidenote: the kuskokwigmutes and malemutes.] the kuskokwigmutes are less nomadic than their neighbors; being housed in permanent settlements during the winter, although in summer they are obliged to scatter in various directions in quest of food. every morning before break of day, during the hunting-season, a boy lights the oil-lamps in all the huts of the village, when the women rise and prepare the food. the men, excepting old men and boys, all sleep in the kashim, whither they retire at sunset. in the morning they are aroused by the appearance of the shamán, arrayed in his sacerdotal robes, and beating his sacred drum. after morning worship, the women carry breakfast to their husbands in the kashim. at day-break the men depart for their hunting or fishing, and when they return, immediately repair to the kashim, leaving the women to unload and take care of the products of the day's work. during the hunting-season the men visit their wives only during the night, returning to the kashim before daylight. the malemutes leave their villages upon the coast regularly in february, and, with their families, resort to the mountains, where they follow the deer until snow melts, and then return to catch water-fowl and herring, and gather eggs upon the cliffs and promontories of the coast and islands. in july is their salmon feast. the fawns of reindeer are caught upon the hills by the women in august, either by chasing them down or by snaring them. deer are stalked, noosed in snares, or driven into enclosures, where they are easily killed. at kadiak, hunting begins in february, and in april they visit the smaller islands for sea-otter, seals, sea-lions, and eggs. their whale and other fisheries commence in june and continue till october, at which time they abandon work and give themselves up to festivities. the seal is highly prized by them for its skin, blubber, and oil. one method of catching seals illustrates their ingenuity. taking an air-tight seal-skin, they blow it up like a bladder, fasten to it a long line, and, concealing themselves behind the rocks, they throw their imitation seal among the live ones and draw it slowly to the shore. the others follow, and are speared or killed with bow and arrows. blueberries and huckleberries are gathered in quantities and dried for winter use; they are eaten mixed with seal-oil. the koniagas are also very fond of raw reindeer-fat. they hunt with guns, and snare grouse, marten, and hares. a small white fish is taken in great quantities from holes in the ice. they are so abundant and so easily caught that the natives break off the barbs from their fish-hooks in order to facilitate their operations. the white polar bear does not wander south of the sixty-fifth parallel, and is only found near bering strait. some were found on st matthew island, in bering sea, but were supposed to have been conveyed thither upon floating ice. the natives approach the grizzly bear with great caution. when a lair is discovered, the opening is measured, and a timber barricade constructed, with an aperture through which the bear may put his head. the indians then quietly approach and secure their timbers against the opening of the den with stones, and throw a fire-brand into the den to arouse the animal, who thereupon puts his head out through the hole and meets with a reception which brings him to an untimely end.[ ] [sidenote: war, implements, and government.] in former times, the koniagas went to war behind a huge wooden shield a foot thick and twelve feet in width. it was made of three thicknesses of larch-wood, bound together with willows, and with it they covered thirty or forty lancers.[ ] they poisoned their arrow and lance points with a preparation of aconite, by drying and pulverizing the root, mixing the powder with water, and, when it fermented, applying it to their weapons.[ ] they made arrow-points of copper, obtaining a supply from the kenai of copper river;[ ] and the wood was as finely finished as if turned in a lathe. the boats of the koniagas are similar to those of the north, except that the bow and stem are not alike, the one turning up to a point and the other cut off square.[ ] needles made of birds' bones, and thread from whale-sinews, in the hands of a kadiak woman, produced work, "many specimens of which," says lisiansky, "would do credit to our best seamstresses."[ ] they produced fire by revolving with a bow-string a hard dry stick upon a soft dry board, one end of the stick being held in a mouth-piece of bone or ivory. their implements were few--a stone adze, a shell or flint knife, a polishing stone, and a handled tooth.[ ] yet they excel in carving, and in working walrus-teeth and whalebone, the former being supplied them mostly by the aglegmutes of the alaskan peninsula. the tools used in these manufactures were of stone, and the polishing tools of shell. traces of the stone age are found in lamps, hammers and cutting instruments, wedges and hatchets. carving is done by the men, while the women are no less skillful in sewing, basket-making, crocheting, and knitting. the women tan, and make clothing and boat-covers from skins and intestines.[ ] the agulmutes are skilled in the carving of wood and ivory; the kuskoquims excel in wood and stone carving. they make in this manner domestic utensils and vases, with grotesque representations of men, animals, and birds, in relief. authority is exercised only by heads of households, but chiefs may, by superior ability, acquire much influence.[ ] before they became broken up and demoralized by contact with civilization, there was a marked division of communities into castes; an hereditary nobility and commonalty. in the former was embodied all authority; but the rule of american chieftains is nowhere of a very arbitrary character. slavery existed to a limited extent, the thralls being mostly women and children. their male prisoners of war, they either killed immediately or reserved to torture for the edification and improvement of their children.[ ] upon the arrival of the russians, the slaves then held by the natives, thinking to better their condition, left their barbaric masters and placed themselves under the protection of the new comers. the russians accepted the trust, and set them to work. the poor creatures, unable to perform the imposed tasks, succumbed; and, as their numbers were diminished by ill treatment, their places were supplied by such of the inhabitants as had been guilty of some misdemeanor; and singularly enough, misdemeanors happened to be about in proportion to the demand for slaves.[ ] [sidenote: morality of the koniagas.] the domestic manners of the koniagas are of the lowest order. in filth they out-do, if possible, their neighbors of the north.[ ] thrown together in little bands under one roof, they have no idea of morality, and the marriage relation sits so loosely as hardly to excite jealousy in its abuse. female chastity is deemed a thing of value only as men hold property in it. a young unmarried woman may live uncensured in the freest intercourse with the men; though, as soon as she belongs to one man, it is her duty to be true to him. sodomy is common; the kaviaks practice polygamy and incest; the kadiaks cohabit promiscuously, brothers and sisters, parents and children.[ ] the malemutes are content with one wife, but they have no marriage ceremony, and can put her away at pleasure. they prize boy babies, but frequently kill the girls, taking them out into the wilderness, stuffing grass into their mouth and abandoning them; yet children are highly esteemed, and the barren woman is a reproach among her people. such persons even go so far as to make a doll or image of the offspring which they so greatly desire, and fondle it as if it were a real child.[ ] two husbands are also allowed to one woman; one the chief or principal husband, and the other a deputy, who acts as husband and master of the house during the absence of the true lord; and who, upon the latter's return, not only yields to him his place, but becomes in the meantime his servant. but the most repugnant of all their practices is that of male concubinage. a kadiak mother will select her handsomest and most promising boy, and dress and rear him as a girl, teaching him only domestic duties, keeping him at woman's work, associating him only with women and girls, in order to render his effeminacy complete. arriving at the age of ten or fifteen years, he is married to some wealthy man, who regards such a companion as a great acquisition. these male wives are called _achnutschik_ or _schopans_.[ ] [sidenote: koniagan sweat-houses.] a most cruel superstition is enforced upon maidens at the age of puberty; the victim being confined for six months in a hut built for the purpose, apart from the others, and so small that the poor inmate cannot straighten her back while upon her knees. during the six months following, she is allowed a room a little larger, but is still permitted no intercourse with any one. daughters of principal men obtain the right of access to the kashim by undergoing a ceremonial yielding up of their virginity to the shamán.[ ] marriage ceremonies are few, and marriage engagements peculiar. the consent of the father of the intended bride being obtained, the aspirant for nuptial honors brings wood and builds a fire in the bath-room; after which, he and the father take a bath together. the relatives meanwhile congregate, a feast is held, presents are made, the bridegroom takes the name of the bride's father, the couple are escorted to a heated vapor-bath and there left together. although extremely filthy in their persons and habits, all indians attach great importance to their sweat-baths. this peculiar institution extends through most of the nations of our territory, from alaska to mexico, with wonderful uniformity. frequently one of the side subterranean apartments which open off from the main hall, is devoted to the purposes of a sweat-house. into one of these caverns a kadiak will enter stripped. steam is generated by throwing water upon heated stones. after sweltering for a time in the confined and heated atmosphere, and while yet in a profuse perspiration, the bather rushes out and plunges into the nearest stream or into the sea, frequently having to break the ice before being able to finish his bath. sometimes all the occupants of the house join in a bath. they then clear the floor of the main room from obstructions, and build a hot fire under the smoke-hole. when the fire is reduced to coals, a covering is placed over the smoke-hole, and the bathers proceed to wash themselves in a certain liquid, which is carefully saved for this and other cleansing purposes, and also for tanning. the alkali of the fluid combines with the grease upon their persons, and thus a lather is formed which removes dirt as effectually as soap would. they then wash in water, wrap themselves in deer-skins, and repose upon shelves until the lassitude occasioned by perspiration passes away. festivals of various kinds are held; as, when one village is desirous of extending hospitality to another village, or when an individual becomes ambitious of popularity, a feast is given. a ceremonial banquet takes place a year after the death of a relative; or an entertainment may be announced as a reparation for an injury done to one's neighbor. at some of these feasts only men dance, and at others the women join. upon these occasions, presents are exchanged, and the festivities sometimes continue for several days. the men appear upon the scene nearly or quite naked, with painted faces, and the hair fantastically decorated with feathers, dancing to the music of the tambourine, sometimes accompanied by sham fights and warlike songs. their faces are marked or fantastically painted, and they hold a knife or lance in one hand and a rattle in the other. the women dance by simply hopping forward and backward upon their toes.[ ] a visitor, upon entering a dwelling, is presented with a cup of cold water; afterward, fish or flesh is set before him, and it is expected that he will leave nothing uneaten. the more he eats, the greater the honor to the host; and, if it be impossible to eat all that is given him, he must take away with him whatever remains. after eating, he is conducted to a hot bath and regaled with a drink of melted fat. sagoskin assisted at a ceremony which is celebrated annually about the first of january at all the villages on the coast. it is called the festival of the immersion of the bladders in the sea. more than a hundred bladders, taken only from animals which have been killed with arrows, and decorated with fantastic paintings, are hung upon a cord stretched horizontally along the wall of the kashim. four birds carved from wood, a screech-owl with the head of a man, a sea-gull, and two partridges, are so disposed that they can be moved by strings artfully arranged; the owl flutters his wings and moves his head; the gull strikes the boards with his beak as if he were catching fish, and the partridges commence to peck each other. lastly, a stake enveloped in straw is placed in the centre of the fire-place. men and women dance before these effigies in honor of _jug-jak_, the spirit of the sea. every time the dancing ceases, one of the assistants lights some straw, burning it like incense before the birds and the bladders. the principal ceremony of the feast consists, as its name indicates, in the immersion of the bladders in the sea. it was impossible to discover the origin of this custom; the only answer given to questions was, that their ancestors had done so before them. [sidenote: superstitions of the koniagas.] the shamán, or medicine-man of the koniagas, is the spiritual and temporal doctor of the tribe; wizard, sorcerer, priest, or physician, as necessity demands. in the execution of his offices, the shamán has several assistants, male and female, sages and disciples; the first in rank being called _kaseks_, whose duty it is to superintend festivals and teach the children to dance. when a person falls sick, some evil spirit is supposed to have taken possession of him, and it is the business of the shamán to exorcise that spirit, to combat and drive it out of the man. to this end, armed with a magic tambourine, he places himself near the patient and mutters his incantations. a female assistant accompanies him with groans and growls. should this prove ineffectual, the shamán approaches the bed and throws himself upon the person of the sufferer; then, seizing the demon, he struggles with it, overpowers and casts it out, while the assistants cry, "he is gone! he is gone!" if the patient recovers, the physician is paid, otherwise he receives nothing.[ ] colds, consumption, rheumatism, itch, boils, ulcers, syphilis, are among their most common diseases. blood-letting is commonly resorted to as a curative, and except in extreme cases the shamán is not called. the koniagas bleed one another by piercing the arm with a needle, and then cutting away the flesh above the needle with a flint or copper instrument. beaver's oil is said to relieve their rheumatism. "the kadiak people," says lisiansky, "seem more attached to their dead than to their living." in token of their grief, surviving friends cut the hair, blacken the face with soot, and the ancient custom was to remain in mourning for a year. no work may be done for twenty days, but after the fifth day the mourner may bathe. immediately after death, the body is arrayed in its best apparel, or wrapped with moss in seal or sea-lion skins, and placed in the kashim, or left in the house in which the person died, where it remains for a time in state. the body, with the arms and implements of the deceased, is then buried. it was not unfrequent in former times to sacrifice a slave upon such an occasion. the grave is covered over with blocks of wood and large stones.[ ] a mother, upon the death of a child, retires for a time from the camp; a husband or wife withdraws and joins another tribe.[ ] the character of the koniagas may be drawn as peaceable, industrious, serviceable to europeans, adapted to labor and commerce rather than to war and hunting. they are not more superstitious than civilized nations; and their immorality, though to a stranger most rank, is not to them of that socially criminal sort which loves darkness and brings down the avenger. in their own eyes, their abhorrent practices are as sinless as the ordinary, openly conducted avocations of any community are to the members thereof. [sidenote: the aleuts.] the aleuts are the inhabitants of the aleutian archipelago. the origin of the word is unknown;[ ] the original name being _kagataya koung'ns_, or 'men of the east,' indicating an american origin.[ ] the nation consists of two tribes speaking different dialects; the _unalaskans_, occupying the south-western portion of the alaskan peninsula, the shumagin islands, and the fox islands; and the _atkhas_, inhabiting the andreanovski, rat, and near islands. migrations and intermixtures with the russians have, however, nearly obliterated original distinctions. the earliest information concerning the aleutian islanders was obtained by michael nevodtsikoff, who sailed from kamchatka in . other russian voyagers immediately followed, attracted thither in search of sea-animal skins, which at that time were very plentiful.[ ] tribute was levied upon the islanders by the russians, and a system of cruelty commenced which soon reduced the natives from ten thousand to but little more than one thousand. the aleuts, to langsdorff, "appear to be a sort of middle race between the mongrel tartars and the north americans." john ledyard, who visited unalaska with captain cook, saw "two different kinds of people; the one we knew to be the aborigines of america, while we supposed the others to have come from the opposite coasts of asia."[ ] their features are strongly marked, and those who saw them as they originally existed, were impressed with the intelligent and benevolent expression of their faces.[ ] they have an abundance of lank hair, which they cut with flints--the men from the crown, and the women in front.[ ] both sexes undergo the usual face-painting and ornamentations. they extend their nostrils by means of a bow-cylinder. the men wear a bone about the size of a quill in the nose, and the women insert pieces of bone in the under lip.[ ] their legs are bowed, from spending so much of their time in boats; they frequently sitting in them fifteen or twenty hours at a time. their figure is awkward and uncouth, yet robust, active, capable of carrying heavy burdens and undergoing great fatigue.[ ] [sidenote: aleutian hat and habitation.] the hat of the aleut is the most peculiar part of his dress. it consists of a helmet-shaped crown of wood or leather, with an exceedingly long brim in front, so as to protect the eyes from the sun's reflection upon the water and snow. upon the apex is a small carving, down the back part hang the beards of sea-lions, while carved strips of bone and paint ornament the whole. this hat also serves as a shield against arrows. the fox islanders have caps of bird-skin, on which are left the bright-colored feathers, wings, and tail.[ ] as a rule, the men adopt bird-skin clothing, and the women furs, the latter highly ornamented with beads and fringes.[ ] the habitations of the fox islanders are called _ullaa_, and consist of immense holes from one to three hundred feet in length, and from twenty to thirty feet wide. they are covered with poles and earthed over, leaving several openings at the top through which descent is made by ladders. the interior is partitioned by stakes, and three hundred people sometimes occupy one of these places in common. they have no fire-place, since lamps hollowed from flat stones answer every purpose for cooking and light.[ ] a boat turned bottom upward is the summer house of the aleut.[ ] raw seal and sea-otter, whale and sea-lion blubber, fish, roots, and berries are staple articles of food among the aleuts. to procure vegetable food is too much trouble. a dead, half-putrefied whale washed ashore is always the occasion of great rejoicing. from all parts the people congregate upon the shore, lay in their winter supplies, and stuff themselves until not a morsel remains. november is their best hunting-season. whale-fishing is confined to certain families, and the spirit of the craft descends from father to son. birds are caught in a net attached to the end of a pole; sea-otter are shot with arrows; spears, bone hooks, and nets are used in fishing.[ ] after the advent of the russians, the natives were not allowed to kill fur-animals without accounting to them therefor.[ ] their weapons are darts with single and double barbs, which they throw from boards; barbed, bone-pointed lances; spears, harpoons, and arrows, with bone or stone points. at their side is carried a sharp stone knife ten or twelve inches long, and for armor they wear a coat of plaited rushes, which covers the whole body.[ ] an aleut bear-trap consists of a board two feet square and two inches thick, planted with barbed spikes, placed in bruin's path and covered with dust. the unsuspecting victim steps firmly upon the smooth surface offered, when his foot sinks into the dust. maddened with pain, he puts forward another foot to assist in pulling the first away, when that too is caught. soon all four of the feet are firmly spiked to the board; the beast rolls over on his back, and his career is soon brought to an end. [sidenote: customs of the aleuts.] notwithstanding their peaceful character, the occupants of the several islands were almost constantly at war. blood, the only atonement for offense, must be washed out by blood, and the line of vengeance becomes endless. at the time of discovery, the unimak islanders held the supremacy. the fabrications of the aleuts comprise household utensils of stone, bone, and wood; missiles of war and the chase; mats and baskets of grass and the roots of trees, neat and strong; bird-beak rattles, tambourines or drums, wooden hats and carved figures. from the wing-bone of the sea-gull, the women make their needles; from sinews, they make thread and cord.[ ] to obtain glue for mending or manufacturing purposes, they strike the nose until it bleeds.[ ] to kindle a fire, they make use of sulphur, in which their volcanic islands abound, and the process is very curious. first they prepare some dry grass to catch the fire; then they take two pieces of quartz, and, holding them over the grass, rub them well with native sulphur. a few feathers are scattered over the grass to catch the particles of sulphur, and, when all is ready, holding the stones over the grass, they strike them together; a flash is produced by the concussion, the sulphur ignites, and the straw blazes up.[ ] the aleuts have no marriage ceremony. every man takes as many women to wife as he can support, or rather as he can get to support him. presents are made to the relatives of the bride, and when she ceases to possess attractions or value in the eyes of her proprietor, she is sent back to her friends. wives are exchanged by the men, and rich women are permitted to indulge in two husbands. male concubinage obtains throughout the aleutian islands, but not to the same extent as among the koniagas.[ ] mothers plunge their crying babies under water in order to quiet them. this remedy performed in winter amid broken ice, is very effectual.[ ] every island, and, in the larger islands, every village, has its _toyon_, or chief, who decides differences, is exempt from work, is allowed a servant to row his boat, but in other respects possesses no power. the office is elective.[ ] the aleuts are fond of dancing and given to hospitality. the stranger guest, as he approaches the village, is met by dancing men and dancing women, who conduct him to the house of the host, where food is given him. after supper, the dancing, now performed by naked men, continues until all are exhausted, when the hospitalities of the dwelling are placed at the disposal of the guest, and all retire.[ ] a religious festival used to be held in december, at which all the women of the village assembled by moonlight, and danced naked with masked faces, the men being excluded under penalty of death. the men and women of a village bathe together, in aboriginal innocency, unconscious of impropriety. they are fond of pantomimic performances; of representing in dances their myths and their legends; of acting out a chase, one assuming the part of hunter, another of a bird or beast trying to escape the snare, now succeeding, now failing--the piece ending in the transformation of a captive bird into a lovely woman, who falls exhausted into the arms of the hunter. the dead are clothed and masked, and either placed in the cleft of a rock, or swung in a boat or cradle from a pole in the open air. they seem to guard the body as much as possible from contact with the ground.[ ] [sidenote: character of the aleuts.] in their nature and disposition, these islanders are sluggish but strong. their sluggishness gives to their character a gentleness and obsequiousness often remarked by travelers; while their inherent strength, when roused by brutal passions, drives them on to the greatest enormities. they are capable of enduring great fatigue, and, when roused to action by necessity, they will perform an incredible amount of work, suffering the severest cold or heat or hunger with the most stoical calmness. they are very quiet in their demeanor; sometimes sitting in companies within their dens, or on their house-tops gazing at the sea for hours, without speaking a word. it is said that formerly they were much more gay and cheerful, but that an acquaintance with civilization has been productive of the usual misfortune and misery.[ ] it does not appear that the russians were behind the spaniards in their barbarous treatment of the natives.[ ] notwithstanding their interest lay in preserving life, and holding the natives in a state of serfdom as fishers and hunters, the poor people were soon swept away. father innocentius veniaminoff, a russian missionary who labored among the islanders long and faithfully, gives them the highest character for probity and propriety. among other things, he affirms that during a residence of ten years in unalaska, there did not occur a single fight among the natives. proselytes were made by the russians with the same facility as by the spaniards. tribute was levied by the russians upon all the islanders, but, for three years after their conversion, neophytes were exempt; a cheap release from hateful servitude, thought the poor aleut; and a polity which brought into the folds of the church pagan multitudes. [sidenote: the thlinkeets.] the thlinkeets, as they call themselves, or _kolosches_, as they are designated by the russians, inhabit the coast and islands from mount st elias to the river nass. the name thlinkeet signifies 'man,' or 'human being.' kolosch,[ ] or more properly _kaluga_, is the aleutian word for 'dish,' and was given to this people by aleutian seal-hunters whom the russians employed during their first occupation of the island of the sitkas. perceiving a resemblance in the shape of the thlinkeet lip-ornament, to the wooden vessels of their own country, they applied to this nation the name kaluga, whence the kolosches of the russians. holmberg carries their boundaries down to the columbia river; and wrangell perceives a likeness, real or imaginary, to the aztecs.[ ] indeed the differences between the thlinkeets and the inhabitants of new caledonia, washington, and oregon, are so slight that the whole might without impropriety be called one people. the thlinkeets have, however, some peculiarities not found elsewhere; they are a nation distinct from the tinneh upon their eastern border, and i therefore treat of them separately. the three families of nations already considered, namely, the eskimos, the koniagas, and the aleuts, are all designated by most writers as eskimos. some even include the thlinkeets, notwithstanding their physical and philological differences, which, as well as their traditions, are as broadly marked as those of nations that these same ethnologists separate into distinct families. nomadic nations, occupying lands by a precarious tenure, with ever-changing boundaries, engaged in perpetual hostilities with conterminous tribes that frequently annihilate or absorb an entire community, so graduate into one another that the dividing line is often with difficulty determined. thus the thlinkeets, now almost universally held to be north american indians proper, and distinct from the eskimos, possess, perhaps, as many affinities to their neighbors on the north, as to those upon the south and east. the conclusion is obvious. the native races of america, by their geographical position and the climatic influences which govern them, are of necessity to a certain degree similar; while a separation into isolated communities which are acted upon by local causes, results in national or tribal distinctions. thus the human race in america, like the human race throughout the world, is uniform in its variety, and varied in its unity. the thlinkeet family, commencing at the north, comprises the _ugalenzes_,[ ] on the shore of the continent between mount st elias and copper river; the _yakutats_, of bering bay; the _chilkats_, at lynn canal; the _hoodnids_, at cross sound; the _hoodsinoos_, of chatham strait; and, following down the coast and islands, the _takoos_, the _auks_, the _kakas_, the _sitkas_,[ ] the _stikines_,[ ] and the _tungass_. the sitkas on baranoff island[ ] are the dominant tribe. descending from the north into more genial climes, the physical type changes, and the form assumes more graceful proportions. with the expansion of nature and a freer play of physical powers, the mind expands, native character becomes intensified, instinct keener, savage nature more savage, the nobler qualities become more noble; cruelty is more cruel, torture is elevated into an art, stoicism is cultivated,[ ] human sacrifice and human slavery begin, and the oppression and degradation of woman is systematized. "if an original american race is accepted," says holmberg, "the thlinkeets must be classed with them." they claim to have migrated from the interior of the continent, opposite queen charlotte island. the ugalenzes spend their winters at a small bay east from kadiak, and their summers near the mouth of copper river, where they take fish in great quantities. their country also abounds in beaver. the chilkats make two annual trading excursions into the interior. the tacully tribes, the sicannis and nehannes, with whom the chilkats exchange european goods for furs, will allow no white man to ascend their streams. [sidenote: thlinkeet peculiarities.] naturally, the thlinkeets are a fine race; the men better formed than the boatmen of the north;[ ] the women modest, fair, and handsome;[ ] but the latter have gone far out of their way to spoil the handiwork of nature. not content with daubing the head and body with filthy coloring mixtures; with adorning the neck with copper-wire collars, and the face with grotesque wooden masks; with scarring their limbs and breast with keen-edged instruments; with piercing the nose and ears, and filling the apertures with bones, shells, sticks, pieces of copper, nails, or attaching to them heavy pendants, which drag down the organs and pull the features out of place;[ ] they appear to have taxed their inventive powers to the utmost, and with a success unsurpassed by any nation in the world, to produce a model of hideous beauty. [sidenote: thlinkeet lip-ornament.] this success is achieved in their wooden lip-ornament, the crowning glory of the thlinkeet matron, described by a multitude of eye-witnesses; and the ceremony of its introduction may be not inappropriately termed, the baptism of the block. at the age of puberty,--some say during infancy or childhood,--in the under lip of all free-born female thlinkeets,[ ] a slit is made parallel with the mouth, and about half an inch below it.[ ] if the incision is made during infancy, it is only a small hole, into which a needle of copper, a bone, or a stick is inserted, the size being increased as the child grows. if the baptism is deferred until the period when the maiden merges into womanhood, the operation is necessarily upon a larger scale, and consequently more painful.[ ] when the incision is made, a copper wire, or a piece of shell or wood, is introduced, which keeps the wound open and the aperture extended; and by enlarging the object and keeping up a continuous but painful strain, an artificial opening in the face is made of the required dimensions. on attaining the age of maturity, this wire or other incumbrance is removed and a block of wood inserted. this block is oval or elliptical in shape, concaved or hollowed dish-like on the sides, and grooved like the wheel of a pulley on the edge in order to keep it in place.[ ] the dimensions of the block are from two to six inches in length, from one to four inches in width, and about half an inch thick round the edge, and highly polished.[ ] old age has little terror in the eyes of a thlinkeet belle, for larger lip-blocks are introduced as years advance, and each enlargement adds to the lady's social status, if not to her facial charms. when the block is withdrawn, the lip drops down upon the chin like a piece of leather, displaying the teeth, and presenting altogether a ghastly spectacle.[ ] this custom is evidently associated in their minds with womanly modesty, for when la pérouse asked them to remove their block, some refused; those who complied manifesting the same embarrassment shown by a european woman who uncovers her bosom. the yakutats alone of all the thlinkeet nation have never adopted this fashion. [sidenote: dress of the thlinkeets.] their dress, which is made from wolf, deer, bear, or other skin, extends from the shoulder to the knee, and consists of a mantle, or cape, with sleeves, which reaches down to the waist, and to which the women attach a skirt, or gown, and the men a belt and apron. a white blanket is made from the wool of the wild sheep, embroidered with figures, and fringed with furs, all of native work. this garment is most highly prized by the men. they wear it thrown over the shoulder so as to cover the whole body. vancouver thus describes the dress of a chief at lynn canal. his "external robe was a very fine large garment, that reached from his neck down to his heels, made of wool from the mountain sheep, neatly variegated with several colors, and edged and otherwise decorated with little tufts or frogs of woolen yarn, dyed of various colors. his head-dress was made of wood, much resembling in its shape a crown, adorned with bright copper and brass plates, from whence hung a number of tails or streamers, composed of wool and fur, wrought together, dyed of various colors, and each terminating in a whole ermine skin. the whole exhibited a magnificent appearance, and indicated a taste for dress and ornament that we had not supposed the natives of these regions to possess." the men make a wooden mask, which rests on a neckpiece, very ingeniously carved, and painted in colors, so as to represent the head of some bird or beast or mythological being. this was formerly worn in battle, probably, as la pérouse suggests, in order to strike terror into the hearts of enemies, but is now used only on festive occasions.[ ] a small hat of roots and bark, woven in the shape of a truncated cone, ornamented with painted figures and pictures of animals, is worn by both sexes.[ ] ordinarily, however, the men wear nothing on the head; their thick hair, greased and covered with ochre and birds' down, forming a sufficient covering. the hat is designed especially for rainy weather, as a protection to the elaborately dressed hair.[ ] besides their every-day dress, they have a fantastic costume for tribal holidays. for their winter habitations, a little back from the ocean, the thlinkeets build substantial houses of plank or logs, sometimes of sufficient strength to serve as a fortress. they are six or eight feet in height, the base in the form of a square or parallelogram, the roof of poles placed at an angle of forty-five degrees and covered with bark. the entrance is by a small side door. the fire, which is usually kept burning night and day, occupies the centre of the room; over it is a smoke-hole of unusual size, and round the sides of the room are apartments or dens which are used as store-houses, sweat-houses, and private family rooms. the main room is very public and very filthy.[ ] summer huts are light portable buildings, thrown up during hunting excursions in the interior, or on the sea-beach in the fishing-season. a frame is made of stakes driven into the ground, supporting a roof, and the whole covered with bark, or with green or dry branches, and skins or bark over all. the door is closed by bark or a curtain of skins. each hut is the rendezvous for a small colony, frequently covering twenty or thirty persons, all under the direction of one chief.[ ] [sidenote: food of the thlinkeets.] the food of the thlinkeets is derived principally from the ocean, and consists of fish, mussels, sea-weeds, and in fact whatever is left upon the beach by the ebbing tide--which at sitka rises and falls eighteen feet twice a day--or can be caught by artificial means. holmberg says that all but the yakutats hate whale as the jews hate pork. roots, grasses, berries, and snails are among their summer luxuries. they chew a certain plant as some chew tobacco, mixing with it lime to give it a stronger effect,[ ] and drink whale-oil as a european drinks beer. preferring their food cooked, they put it in a tight wicker basket, pouring in water, and throwing in heated stones, until the food is boiled.[ ] for winter, they dry large quantities of herring, roes, and the flesh of animals. for catching fish, they stake the rivers, and also use a hook and line; one fisherman casting from his canoe ten or fifteen lines, with bladders for floats. for herring, they fasten to the end of a pole four or five pointed bones, and with this instrument strike into a shoal, spearing a fish on every point. they sometimes make the same instrument in the shape of a rake, and transfix the fish with the teeth. the sitkas catch halibut with large, wooden, bone-pointed hooks.[ ] the arms of the thlinkeets denote a more warlike people than any we have hitherto encountered. bows and arrows; hatchets of flint, and of a hard green stone which cuts wood so smoothly that no marks of notches are left; great lances, six or eight varas in length, if bodega y quadra may be trusted, hardened in the fire or pointed with copper, or later with iron; a large, broad, double-ended dagger, or knife,--are their principal weapons. the knife is their chief implement and constant companion. the handle is nearer one end than the other, so that it has a long blade and a short blade, the latter being one quarter the length of the former. the handle is covered with leather, and a strap fastens it to the hand when fighting. both blades have leathern sheaths, one of which is suspended from the neck by a strap.[ ] [sidenote: the thlinkeets in war.] they also encase almost the entire body in a wooden and leathern armor. their helmets have curiously carved vizors, with grotesque representations of beings natural or supernatural, which, when brilliantly or dismally painted, and presented with proper yells, and brandishings of their ever-glittering knives, are supposed to strike terror into the heart of their enemies. they make a breast-plate of wood, and an arrow-proof coat of thin flexible strips, bound with strings like a woman's stays.[ ] when a thlinkeet arms for war, he paints his face and powders his hair a brilliant red. he then ornaments his head with white eagle-feathers, a token of stern, vindictive determination. during war they pitch their camp in strong positions, and place the women on guard. trial by combat is frequently resorted to, not only to determine private disputes, but to settle quarrels between petty tribes. in the latter case, each side chooses a champion, the warriors place themselves in battle array, the combatants armed with their favorite weapon, the dagger, and well armored, step forth and engage in fight; while the people on either side engage in song and dance during the combat. wrangell and laplace assert that brave warriors killed in battle are devoured by the conquerors, in the belief that the bravery of the victim thereby enters into the nature of the partaker.[ ] coming from the north, the thlinkeets are the first people of the coast who use wooden boats. they are made from a single trunk; the smaller ones about fifteen feet long, to carry from ten to twelve persons; and the larger ones, or war canoes, from fifty to seventy feet long; these will carry forty or fifty persons. they have from two and a half to three feet beam; are sharp fore and aft, and have the bow and stern raised, the former rather more than the latter. being very light and well modeled, they can be handled with ease and celerity. their paddles are about four feet in length, with crutch-like handles and wide, shovel-shaped blades. boats as well as paddles are ornamented with painted figures, and the family coat-of-arms. bodega y quadra, in contradiction to all other authorities, describes these canoes as being built in three parts; with one hollowed piece, which forms the bottom and reaches well up the sides, and with two side planks. having hollowed the trunk of a tree to the required depth, the thlinkeet builders fill it with water, which they heat with hot stones to soften the wood, and in this state bend it to the desired shape. when they land, they draw their boats up on the beach, out of reach of the tide, and take great care in preserving them.[ ] [sidenote: industries of the thlinkeets.] the thlinkeets manifest no less ingenuity in the manufacture of domestic and other implements than in their arms. rope they make from sea-weed, water-tight baskets and mats from withes and grass; and pipes, bowls, and figures from a dark clay. they excel in the working of stone and copper, making necklaces, bracelets, and rings; they can also forge iron. they spin thread, use the needle, and make blankets from the white native wool. they exhibit considerable skill in carving and painting, ornamenting the fronts of their houses with heraldic symbols, and allegorical and historical figures; while in front of the principal dwellings, and on their canoes, are carved parts representing the human face, the heads of crows, eagles, sea-lions, and bears.[ ] la pérouse asserts that, except in agriculture, which was not entirely unknown to them, the thlinkeets were farther advanced in industry than the south sea islanders. trade is carried on between europeans and the interior indians, in which no little skill is manifested. every article which they purchase undergoes the closest scrutiny, and every slight defect, which they are sure to discover, sends down the price. in their commercial intercourse they exhibit the utmost decorum, and conduct their negotiations with the most becoming dignity. nevertheless, for iron and beads they willingly part with anything in their possession, even their children. in the voyage of bodega y quadra, several young thlinkeets thus became the property of the spaniards, as the author piously remarks, for purposes of conversion. sea-otter skins circulate in place of money.[ ] the office of chief is elective, and the extent of power wielded depends upon the ability of the ruler. in some this authority is nominal; others become great despots.[ ] slavery was practiced to a considerable extent; and not only all prisoners of war were slaves, but a regular slave-trade was carried on with the south. when first known to the russians, according to holmberg, most of their slaves were flatheads from oregon. slaves are not allowed to hold property or to marry, and when old and worthless they are killed. kotzebue says that a rich man "purchases male and female slaves, who must labor and fish for him, and strengthen his force when he is engaged in warfare. the slaves are prisoners of war, and their descendants; the master's power over them is unlimited, and he even puts them to death without scruple. when the master dies, two slaves are murdered on his grave that he may not want attendance in the other world; these are chosen long before the event occurs, but meet the destiny that awaits them very philosophically." simpson estimates the slaves to be one third of the entire population. interior tribes enslave their prisoners of war, but, unlike the coast tribes, they have no hereditary slavery, nor systematic traffic in slaves. [sidenote: caste and clanship.] with the superior activity and intelligence of the thlinkeets, social castes begin to appear. besides an hereditary nobility, from which class all chiefs are chosen, the whole nation is separated into two great divisions or clans, one of which is called the wolf, and the other the raven. upon their houses, boats, robes, shields, and wherever else they can find a place for it, they paint or carve their crest, an heraldic device of the beast or the bird designating the clan to which the owner belongs. the raven trunk is again divided into sub-clans, called the frog, the goose, the sea-lion, the owl, and the salmon. the wolf family comprises the bear, eagle, dolphin, shark, and alca. in this clanship some singular social features present themselves. people are at once thrust widely apart, and yet drawn together. tribes of the same clan may not war on each other, but at the same time members of the same clan may not marry with each other. thus the young wolf warrior must seek his mate among the ravens, and, while celebrating his nuptials one day, he may be called upon the next to fight his father-in-law over some hereditary feud. obviously this singular social fancy tends greatly to keep the various tribes of the nation at peace.[ ] although the thlinkeet women impose upon themselves the most painful and rigorous social laws, there are few savage nations in which the sex have greater influence or command greater respect. whether it be the superiority of their intellects, their success in rendering their hideous charms available, or the cruel penances imposed upon womanhood, the truth is that not only old men, but old women, are respected. in fact, a remarkably old and ugly crone is accounted almost above nature--a sorceress. one cause of this is that they are much more modest and chaste than their northern sisters.[ ] as a rule, a man has but one wife; more, however, being allowable. a chief of the nass tribe is said to have had forty. a young girl arrived at the age of maturity is deemed unclean; and everything she comes in contact with, or looks upon, even the clear sky or pure water, is thereby rendered unpropitious to man. she is therefore thrust from the society of her fellows, and confined in a dark den as a being unfit for the sun to shine upon. there she is kept sometimes for a whole year. langsdorff suggests that it may be during this period of confinement that the foundation of her influence is laid; that in modest reserve, and meditation, her character is strengthened, and she comes forth cleansed in mind as well as body. this infamous ordeal, coming at a most critical period, and in connection with the baptism of the block, cannot fail to exert a powerful influence upon her character. it is a singular idea that they have of uncleanness. during all this time, according to holmberg, only the girl's mother approaches her, and that only to place food within her reach. there she lies, wallowing in her filth, scarcely able to move. it is almost incredible that human beings can bring themselves so to distort nature. to this singular custom, as well as to that of the block, female slaves do not conform. after the girl's immurement is over, if her parents are wealthy, her old clothing is destroyed, she is washed and dressed anew, and a grand feast given in honor of the occasion.[ ] the natural sufferings of mothers during confinement are also aggravated by custom. at this time they too are considered unclean, and must withdraw into the forest or fields, away from all others, and take care of themselves and their offspring. after the birth of a child, the mother is locked up in a shed for ten days. a marriage ceremony consists in the assembling of friends and distribution of presents. a newly married pair must fast for two days thereafter, in order to insure domestic felicity. after the expiration of that time they are permitted to partake of a little food, when a second two days' fast is added, after which they are allowed to come together for the first time; but the mysteries of wedlock are not fully unfolded to them until four weeks after marriage. very little is said by travelers regarding the bath-houses of the thlinkeets, but i do not infer that they used them less than their neighbors. in fact, notwithstanding their filth, purgations and purifications are commenced at an early age. as soon as an infant is born, and before it has tasted food, whatever is in the stomach must be squeezed out. mothers nurse their children from one to two and a half years. when the child is able to leave its cradle, it is bathed in the ocean every day without regard to season, and this custom is kept up by both sexes through life. those that survive the first year of filth, and the succeeding years of applied ice water and exposure, are very justly held to be well toughened. the thlinkeet child is frequently given two names, one from the father's side and one from the mother's; and when a son becomes more famous than his father, the latter drops his own name, and is known only as the father of his son. their habits of life are regular. in summer, at early dawn they put out to sea in their boats, or seek for food upon the beach, returning before noon for their first meal. a second one is taken just before night. the work is not unequally divided between the sexes, and the division is based upon the economical principles of civilized communities. the men rarely conclude a bargain without consulting their wives. marchand draws a revolting picture of their treatment of infants. the little bodies are so excoriated by fermented filth, and so scarred by their cradle, that they carry the marks to the grave. no wonder that when they grow up they are insensible to pain. nor are the mothers especially given to personal cleanliness and decorum.[ ] music, as well as the arts, is cultivated by the thlinkeets, and, if we may believe marchand, ranks with them as a social institution. "at fixed times," he says, "evening and morning, they sing in chorus, every one takes part in the concert, and from the pensive air which they assume while singing, one would imagine that the song has some deep interest for them." the men do the dancing, while the women, who are rather given to fatness and flaccidity, accompany them with song and tambourine.[ ] their principal gambling game is played with thirty small sticks, of various colors, and called by divers names, as the crab, the whale, and the duck. the player shuffles together all the sticks, then counting out seven, he hides them under a bunch of moss, keeping the remainder covered at the same time. the game is to guess in which pile is the whale, and the crab, and the duck. during the progress of the game, they present a perfect picture of melancholic stoicism.[ ] the thlinkeets burn their dead. an exception is made when the deceased is a shamán or a slave; the body of the former is preserved, after having been wrapped in furs, in a large wooden sarcophagus; and the latter is thrown out into the ocean or anywhere, like a beast. the ashes of the burned thlinkeet are carefully collected in a box covered with hieroglyphic figures, and placed upon four posts. the head of a warrior killed in battle is cut off before the body is burned, and placed in a box supported by two poles over the box that holds his ashes.[ ] some tribes preserve the bodies of those who die during the winter, until forced to get rid of them by the warmer weather of spring. their grandest feasts are for the dead. besides the funeral ceremony, which is the occasion of a festival, they hold an annual 'elevation of the dead,' at which times they erect monuments to the memory of their departed. the shamáns possess some knowledge of the medicinal properties of herbs, but the healing of the body does not constitute so important a part of their vocation as do their dealings with supernatural powers. [sidenote: thlinkeet character.] to sum up the character of the thlinkeets, they may be called bold, brave, shrewd, intelligent, industrious, lovers of art and music, respectful to women and the aged; yet extremely cruel, scalping and maiming their prisoners out of pure wantonness, thievish, lying, and inveterate gamblers. in short they possess most of the virtues and vices incident to savagism. [sidenote: the tinneh.] the tinneh, the fifth and last division of our hyperborean group, occupy the 'great lone land,' between hudson bay and the conterminous nations already described; a land greater than the whole of the united states, and more 'lone,' excepting absolute deserts, than any part of america. white men there are scarcely any; wild men and wild beasts there are few; few dense forests, and little vegetation, although the grassy savannahs sustain droves of deer, buffalo, and other animals. the tinneh are, next to the eskimos, the most northern people of the continent. they inhabit the unexplored regions of central alaska, and thence extend eastward, their area widening towards the south to the shores of hudson bay. within their domain, from the north-west to the south-east, may be drawn a straight line measuring over four thousand miles in length. the tinneh,[ ] may be divided into four great families of nations; namely, the _chepewyans_, or athabascas, living between hudson bay and the rocky mountains; the _tacullies_, or carriers, of new caledonia or north-western british america; the _kutchins_, occupying both banks of the upper yukon and its tributaries, from near its mouth to the mackenzie river; and the _kenai_, inhabiting the interior from the lower yukon to copper river. the chepewyan family is composed of the northern indians, so called by the fur-hunters at fort churchill as lying along the shores of hudson bay, directly to their north; the copper indians, on coppermine river; the horn mountain and beaver indians, farther to the west; the strong-bows, dog-ribs, hares, red-knives, sheep, sarsis, brush-wood, nagailer, and rocky-mountain indians, of the mackenzie river and rocky mountains.[ ] the tacully[ ] nation is divided into a multitude of petty tribes, to which different travelers give different names according to fancy. among them the most important are the talkotins and chilkotins, nateotetains and sicannis, of the upper branches of fraser river and vicinity. it is sufficient for our purpose, however, to treat them as one nation. the kutchins,[ ] a large and powerful nation, are composed of the following tribes. commencing at the mackenzie river, near its mouth, and extending westward across the mountains to and down the yukon; the loucheux or quarrellers, of the mackenzie river; the vanta kutchin, natche kutchin, and yukuth kutchin, of porcupine river and neighborhood; the tutchone kutchin, han kutchin, kutcha kutchin, gens de bouleau, gens de milieu, tenan kutchin, nuclukayettes, and newicarguts, of the yukon river. their strip of territory is from one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles in width, lying immediately south of the eskimos, and extending westward from the mackenzie river about eight hundred miles.[ ] the kenai[ ] nation includes the ingaliks, of the lower yukon; the koltchanes, of the kuskoquim river; and to the south-eastward, the kenais, of the kenai peninsula, and the atnas, of copper river.[ ] thus we see that the tinneh are essentially an inland people, barred out from the frozen ocean by a thin strip of eskimo land, and barely touching the pacific at cook inlet. philologists, however, find dialectic resemblances, imaginary or real, between them and the umpquas[ ] and apaches.[ ] [sidenote: the chepewyans.] the name chepewyan signifies 'pointed coat,' and derives its origin from the parka, coat, or outer garment, so universally common throughout this region. it is made of several skins differently dressed and ornamented in different localities, but always cut with the skirt pointed before and behind. the chepewyans believe that their ancestors migrated from the east, and therefore those of them who are born nearest their eastern boundary, are held in the greatest estimation. the dog-ribs alone refer their origin to the west. the chepewyans are physically characterized by a long full face,[ ] tall slim figure;[ ] in complexion they are darker than coast tribes,[ ] and have small piercing black eyes,[ ] flowing hair,[ ] and tattooed cheeks and forehead.[ ] altogether they are pronounced an inferior race.[ ] into the composition of their garments enter beaver, moose, and deer-skin, dressed with and without the hair, sewed with sinews and ornamented with claws, horns, teeth, and feathers.[ ] [sidenote: the northern indians.] the northern indian man is master of his household.[ ] he marries without ceremony, and divorces his wife at his pleasure.[ ] a man of forty buys or fights for a spouse of twelve,[ ] and when tired of her whips her and sends her away. girls on arriving at the age of womanhood must retire from the village and live for a time apart.[ ] the chepewyans inhabit huts of brush and portable skin tents. they derive their origin from a dog. at one time they were so strongly imbued with respect for their canine ancestry that they entirely ceased to employ dogs in drawing their sledges, greatly to the hardship of the women upon whom this laborious task fell. their food consists mostly of fish and reindeer, the latter being easily taken in snares. much of their land is barren, but with sufficient vegetation to support numerous herds of reindeer, and fish abound in their lakes and streams. their hunting grounds are held by clans, and descend by inheritance from one generation to another, which has a salutary effect upon the preservation of game. indian law requires the successful hunter to share the spoils of the chase with all present. when game is abundant, their tent-fires never die, but are surrounded during all hours of the day and night by young and old cooking their food.[ ] superabundance of food, merchandise, or anything which they wish to preserve without the trouble of carrying it about with them while on hunting or foraging expeditions, is _cached_, as they term it; from the french, _cacher_, to conceal. canadian fur-hunters often resorted to this artifice, but the practice was common among the natives before the advent of europeans. a sudden necessity often arises in indian countries for the traveler to relieve himself from burdens. this is done by digging a hole in the earth and depositing the load therein, so artfully covering it as to escape detection by the wily savages. goods may be cached in a cave, or in the branches of a tree, or in the hollow of a log. the camp-fire is frequently built over the spot where stores have been deposited, in order that the disturbance of the surface may not be detected. their weapons[ ] and their utensils[ ] are of the most primitive kind--stone and bone being used in place of metal. their dances, which are always performed in the night, are not original, but are borrowed from the southern and dog-rib indians. they consist in raising the feet alternately in quick succession, as high as possible without moving the body, to the sound of a drum or rattle.[ ] they never bury their dead, but leave the bodies where they fall, to be devoured by the birds and beasts of prey.[ ] their religion consists chiefly in songs and speeches to these birds and beasts and to imaginary beings, for assistance in performing cures of the sick.[ ] old age is treated with disrespect and neglect, one half of both sexes dying before their time for want of care. the northern indians are frequently at war with the eskimos and southern indians, for whom they at all times entertain the most inveterate hatred. the copper indians, bordering on the southern boundary of the eskimos at the coppermine river, were originally the occupants of the territory south of great slave lake. the dog-ribs, or slavés as they are called by neighboring nations, are indolent, fond of amusement, but mild and hospitable. they are so debased, as savages, that the men do the laborious work, while the women employ themselves in household affairs and ornamental needlework. young married men have been known to exhibit specimens of their wives' needle-work with pride. from their further advancement in civilization, and the tradition which they hold of having migrated from the westward, were it not that their language differs from that of contiguous tribes only in accent, they might naturally be considered of different origin. bands of dog-ribs meeting after a long absence greet each other with a dance, which frequently continues for two or three days. first clearing a spot of ground, they take an arrow in the right hand and a bow in the left, and turning their backs each band to the other, they approach dancing, and when close together they feign to perceive each other's presence for the first time; the bow and arrow are instantly transferred from one hand to the other, in token of their non-intention to use them against friends. they are very improvident, and frequently are driven to cannibalism and suicide.[ ] [sidenote: hares, dog-ribs, and tacullies.] the hare indians, who speak a dialect of the tinneh scarcely to be distinguished from that of the dog-ribs, are looked upon by their neighbors as great conjurers. the hare and sheep indians look upon their women as inferior beings. from childhood they are inured to every description of drudgery, and though not treated with special cruelty, they are placed at the lowest point in the scale of humanity. the characteristic stoicism of the red race is not manifested by these tribes. socialism is practiced to a considerable extent. the hunter is allowed only the tongue and ribs of the animal he kills, the remainder being divided among the members of the tribe. the hares and dog-ribs do not cut the finger-nails of female children until four years of age, in order that they may not prove lazy; the infant is not allowed food until four days after birth, in order to accustom it to fasting in the next world. the sheep indians are reported as being cannibals. the red-knives formerly hunted reindeer and musk-oxen at the northern end of great bear lake, but they were finally driven eastward by the dog-ribs. laws and government are unknown to the chepewyans.[ ] [sidenote: the tacullies, or carriers.] the tacullies, or, as they were denominated by the fur-traders, 'carriers,' are the chief tribe of new caledonia, or north-western british america. they call themselves tacullies, or 'men who go upon water,' as their travels from one village to another are mostly accomplished in canoes. this, with their sobriquet of 'carriers,' clearly indicates their ruling habitudes. the men are more finely formed than the women, the latter being short, thick, and disproportionately large in their lower limbs. in their persons they are slovenly; in their dispositions, lively and contented. as they are able to procure food[ ] with but little labor, they are naturally indolent, but appear to be able and willing to work when occasion requires it. their relations with white people have been for the most part amicable; they are seldom quarrelsome, though not lacking bravery. the people are called after the name of the village in which they dwell. their primitive costume consists of hare, musk-rat, badger, and beaver skins, sometimes cut into strips an inch broad, and woven or interlaced. the nose is perforated by both sexes, the men suspending therefrom a brass, copper, or shell ornament, the women a wooden one, tipped with a bead at either end.[ ] their avarice lies in the direction of hiaqua shells, which find their way up from the sea-coast through other tribes. in , these beads were the circulating medium of the country, and twenty of them would buy a good beaver-skin. their paint is made of vermilion obtained from the traders, or of a pulverized red stone mixed with grease. they are greatly addicted to gambling, and do not appear at all dejected by ill fortune, spending days and nights in the winter season at their games, frequently gambling away every rag of clothing and every trinket in their possession. they also stake parts of a garment or other article, and if losers, cut off a piece of coat-sleeve or a foot of gun-barrel. native cooking vessels are made of bark, or of the roots or fibres of trees, woven so as to hold water, in which are placed heated stones for the purpose of cooking food.[ ] polygamy is practiced, but not generally. the tacullies are fond of their wives, performing the most of the household drudgery in order to relieve them, and consequently they are very jealous of them. but to their unmarried daughters, strange as it may seem, they allow every liberty without censure or shame. the reason which they give for this strange custom is, that the purity of their wives is thereby better preserved.[ ] during a portion of every year the tacullies dwell in villages, conveniently situated for catching and drying salmon. in april they visit the lakes and take small fish; and after these fail, they return to their villages and subsist upon the fish they have dried, and upon herbs and berries. from august to october, salmon are plentiful again. beaver are caught in nets made from strips of cariboo-skins, and also in cypress and steel traps. they are also sometimes shot with guns or with bows and arrows. smaller game they take in various kinds of traps. the civil polity of the tacullies is of a very primitive character. any person may become a _miuty_ or chief who will occasionally provide a village feast. a malefactor may find protection from the avenger in the dwelling of a chief, so long as he is permitted to remain there, or even afterwards if he has upon his back any one of the chief's garments. disputes are usually adjusted by some old man of the tribe. the boundaries of the territories belonging to the different villages are designated by mountains, rivers, or other natural objects, and the rights of towns, as well as of individuals, are most generally respected; but broils are constantly occasioned by murders, abduction of women, and other causes, between these separate societies.[ ] when seriously ill, the carriers deem it an indispensable condition to their recovery that every secret crime should be confessed to the magician. murder, of any but a member of the same village, is not considered a heinous offense. they at first believed reading and writing to be the exercise of magic art. the carriers know little of medicinal herbs. their priest or magician is also the doctor, but before commencing his operations in the sick room, he must receive a fee, which, if his efforts prove unsuccessful, he is obliged to restore. the curative process consists in singing a melancholy strain over the invalid, in which all around join. this mitigates pain, and often restores health. their winter tenements are frequently made by opening a spot of earth to the depth of two feet, across which a ridge-pole is placed, supported at either end by posts; poles are then laid from the sides of the excavation to the ridge-pole and covered with hay. a hole is left in the top for purposes of entrance and exit, and also in order to allow the escape of smoke.[ ] slavery is common with them; all who can afford it keeping slaves. they use them as beasts of burden, and treat them most inhumanly. the country of the sicannis in the rocky mountains is sterile, yielding the occupants a scanty supply of food and clothing. they are nevertheless devotedly attached to their bleak land, and will fight for their rude homes with the most patriotic ardor. [sidenote: nehannes and talkotins.] the nehannes usually pass the summer in the vicinity of the sea-coast, and scour the interior during the winter for furs, which they obtain from inland tribes by barter or plunder, and dispose of to the european traders. it is not a little remarkable that this warlike and turbulent horde was at one time governed by a woman. fame gives her a fair complexion, with regular features, and great intelligence. her influence over her fiery people, it is said, was perfect; while her warriors, the terror and scourge of the surrounding country, quailed before her eye. her word was law, and was obeyed with marvelous alacrity. through her influence the condition of the women of her tribe was greatly raised. great ceremonies, cruelty, and superstition attend burning the dead, which custom obtains throughout this region,[ ] and, as usual in savagism, woman is the sufferer. when the father of a household dies, the entire family, or, if a chief, the tribe, are summoned to present themselves.[ ] time must be given to those most distant to reach the village before the ceremony begins.[ ] the talkotin wife, when all is ready, is compelled to ascend the funeral pile, throw herself upon her husband's body and there remain until nearly suffocated, when she is permitted to descend. still she must keep her place near the burning corpse, keep it in a proper position, tend the fire, and if through pain or faintness she fails in the performance of her duties, she is held up and pressed forward by others; her cries meanwhile are drowned in wild songs, accompanied by the beating of drums.[ ] when the funeral pile of a tacully is fired, the wives of the deceased, if there are more than one, are placed at the head and foot of the body. their duty there is to publicly demonstrate their affection for the departed; which they do by resting their head upon the dead bosom, by striking in frenzied love the body, nursing and battling the fire meanwhile. and there they remain until the hair is burned from their head, until, suffocated and almost senseless, they stagger off to a little distance; then recovering, attack the corpse with new vigor, striking it first with one hand and then with the other, until the form of the beloved is reduced to ashes. finally these ashes are gathered up, placed in sacks, and distributed one sack to each wife, whose duty it is to carry upon her person the remains of the departed for the space of two years. during this period of mourning the women are clothed in rags, kept in a kind of slavery, and not allowed to marry. not unfrequently these poor creatures avoid their term of servitude by suicide. at the expiration of the time, a feast is given them, and they are again free. structures are erected as repositories for the ashes of their dead,[ ] in which the bag or box containing the remains is placed. these grave-houses are of split boards about one inch in thickness, six feet high, and decorated with painted representations of various heavenly and earthly objects. the indians of the rocky mountains burn with the deceased all his effects, and even those of his nearest relatives, so that it not unfrequently happens that a family is reduced to absolute starvation in the dead of winter, when it is impossible to procure food. the motive assigned to this custom is, that there may be nothing left to bring the dead to remembrance. a singular custom prevails among the nateotetain women, which is to cut off one joint of a finger upon the death of a near relative. in consequence of this practice some old women may be seen with two joints off every finger on both hands. the men bear their sorrows more stoically, being content in such cases with shaving the head and cutting their flesh with flints.[ ] [sidenote: kutchin characteristics.] the kutchins are the flower of the tinneh family. they are very numerous, numbering about twenty-two tribes. they are a more noble and manly people than either the eskimos upon the north or the contiguous tinneh tribes upon their own southern boundary. the finest specimens dwell on the yukon river. the women tattoo the chin with a black pigment, and the men draw a black stripe down the forehead and nose, frequently crossing the forehead and cheeks with red lines, and streaking the chin alternately with red and black. their features are more regular than those of their neighbors, more expressive of boldness, frankness, and candor; their foreheads higher, and their complexions lighter. the tenan kutchin of the tananah river, one of the largest tribes of the yukon valley, are somewhat wilder and more ferocious in their appearance. the boys are precocious, and the girls marry at fifteen.[ ] the kutchins of peel river, as observed by mr isbister, "are an athletic and fine-looking race; considerable above the average stature, most of them being upwards of six feet in height and remarkably well proportioned." their clothing is made from the skins of reindeer, dressed with the hair on; their coat cut after the fashion of the eskimos, with skirts peaked before and behind, and elaborately trimmed with beads and dyed porcupine-quills. the kutchins, in common with the eskimos, are distinguished by a similarity in the costume of the sexes. men and women wear the same description of breeches. some of the men have a long flap attached to their deer-skin shirts, shaped like a beaver's tail, and reaching nearly to the ground.[ ] of the coat, mr whymper says: "if the reader will imagine a man dressed in two swallow-tailed coats, one of them worn as usual, the other covering his stomach and buttoned behind, he will get some idea of this garment." across the shoulders and breast they wear a broad band of beads, with narrower bands round the forehead and ankles, and along the seams of their leggins. they are great traders; beads are their wealth, used in the place of money, and the rich among them literally load themselves with necklaces and strings of various patterns.[ ] the nose and ears are adorned with shells.[ ] the hair is worn in a long cue, ornamented with feathers, and bound with strings of beads and shells at the head, with flowing ends, and so saturated with grease and birds' down as to swell it sometimes to the thickness of the neck. they pay considerable attention to personal cleanliness. the kutchins construct both permanent underground dwellings and the temporary summer-hut or tent.[ ] [sidenote: food of the kutchins.] on the yukon, the greatest scarcity of food is in the spring. the winter's stores are exhausted, and the bright rays of the sun upon the melting snow almost blind the eyes of the deer-hunter. the most plentiful supply of game is in august, september, and october, after which the forming of ice on the rivers prevents fishing until december, when the winter traps are set. the reindeer are in good condition in august, and geese are plentiful. salmon ascend the river in june, and are taken in great quantities until about the first of september; fish are dried or smoked without salt, for winter use. fur-hunting begins in october; and in december, trade opens with the eskimos, with whom furs are exchanged for oil and seal-skins. the kutchin of the yukon are unacquainted with nets, but catch their fish by means of weirs or stakes planted across rivers and narrow lakes, having openings for wicker baskets, by which they intercept the fish. they hunt reindeer in the mountains and take moose-deer in snares.[ ] both kutchins and eskimos are very jealous regarding their boundaries; but the incessant warfare which is maintained between the littoral and interior people of the northern coast near the mackenzie river, is not maintained by the north-western tribes. one of either people, however, if found hunting out of his own territory, is very liable to be shot. some kutchin tribes permit the eskimos to take the meat of the game which they kill, provided they leave the skin at the nearest village.[ ] the kutchins of the yukon river manufacture cups and pots from clay, and ornament them with crosses, dots, and lines; moulding them by hand after various patterns, first drying them in the sun and then baking them. the eskimo lamp is also sometimes made of clay. the tinneh make paint of pulverized colored stones or of earth, mixed with glue. the glue is made from buffalo feet and applied by a moose-hair brush. in the manufacture of their boats the kutchins of the yukon use bark as a substitute for the seal-skins of the coast. they first make a light frame of willow or birch, from eight to sixteen feet in length. then with fine spruce-fir roots they sew together strips of birch bark, cover the frame, and calk the seams with spruce gum. they are propelled by single paddles or poles. those of the mackenzie river are after the same pattern.[ ] in absence of law, murder and all other crimes are compounded for.[ ] a man to be well married must be either rich or strong. a good hunter, who can accumulate beads, and a good wrestler, who can win brides by force, may have from two to five wives. the women perform all domestic duties, and eat after the husband is satisfied, but the men paddle the boats, and have even been known to carry their wives ashore so that they might not wet their feet. the women carry their infants in a sort of bark saddle, fastened to their back; they bandage their feet in order to keep them small.[ ] kutchin amusements are wrestling, leaping, dancing, and singing. they are great talkers, and etiquette forbids any interruption to the narrative of a new comer.[ ] [sidenote: the tenan kutchin.] the tenan kutchin, 'people of the mountains,' inhabiting the country south of fort yukon which is drained by the river tananah, are a wild, ungovernable horde, their territory never yet having been invaded by white people. the river upon which they dwell is supposed to take its rise near the upper yukon. they allow no women in their deer-hunting expeditions. they smear their leggins and hair with red ochre and grease. the men part their hair in the middle and separate it into locks, which, when properly dressed, look like rolls of red mud about the size of a finger; one bunch of locks is secured in a mass which falls down the neck, by a band of dentalium shells, and two smaller rolls hang down either side of the face. after being soaked in grease and tied, the head is powdered with finely cut swan's down, which adheres to the greasy hair. the women wear few ornaments, perform more than the ordinary amount of drudgery, and are treated more like dogs than human beings. chastity is scarcely known among them. the kutcha kutchin, 'people of the lowland,' are cleaner and better mannered. the kutchins have a singular system of totems. the whole nation is divided into three castes, called respectively _chitcheah_, _tengratsey_, and _natsahi_, each occupying a distinct territory. two persons of the same caste are not allowed to marry; but a man of one caste must marry a woman of another. the mother gives caste to the children, so that as the fathers die off the caste of the country constantly changes. this system operates strongly against war between tribes; as in war, it is caste against caste, and not tribe against tribe. as the father is never of the same caste as the son, who receives caste from his mother, there can never be intertribal war without ranging fathers and sons against each other. when a child is named, the father drops his former name and substitutes that of the child, so that the father receives his name from the child, and not the child from the father. they have scarcely any government; their chiefs are elected on account of wealth or ability, and their authority is very limited.[ ] their custom is to burn the dead, and enclose the ashes in a box placed upon posts; some tribes enclose the body in an elevated box without burning.[ ] [sidenote: the kenai.] the kenai are a fine, manly race, in which baer distinguishes characteristics decidedly american, and clearly distinct from the asiatic eskimos. one of the most powerful kenai tribes is the unakatanas, who dwell upon the koyukuk river, and plant their villages along the banks of the lower yukon for a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. they are bold and ferocious, dominative even to the giving of fashion in dress. that part of the yukon which runs through their territory abounds with moose, which during the summer frequent the water in order to avoid the mosquitos, and as the animals are clumsy swimmers, the indians easily capture them. their women occupy a very inferior position, being obliged to do more drudgery and embellish their dress with fewer ornaments than those of the upper tribes. the men wear a heavy fringe of beads or shells upon their dress, equal sometimes to two hundred marten-skins in value. at nuklukahyet, where the tananah river joins the yukon, is a neutral trading-ground to which all the surrounding tribes resort in the spring for traffic. skins are their moneyed currency, the beaver-skin being the standard; one 'made' beaver-skin represents two marten-skins. the ingaliks inhabiting the yukon near its mouth call themselves _kaeyah khatana_. their dialect is totally distinct from the malemutes, their neighbors on the west, but shows an affinity with that of the unakatanas to their east. tobacco they both smoke and snuff. the smoke they swallow; snuff is drawn into the nostrils through a wooden tube. they manufacture snuff from leaf tobacco by means of a wooden mortar and pestle, and carry bone or wooden snuff-boxes. they are described by travelers as a timid, sensitive people, and remarkably honest. ingalik women are delivered kneeling, and without pain, being seldom detained from their household duties for more than an hour. the infant is washed, greased, and fed, and is seldom weaned under two or three years. the women live longer than the men; some of them reaching sixty, while the men rarely attain more than forty-five years. the koltschanes, whose name in the dialect of the kenai signifies 'guest,' and in that of the atnas of copper river, 'stranger,' have been charged with great cruelty, and even cannibalism, but without special foundation. wrangell believes the koltschanes, atnas, and kolosches to be one people. the kenai, of the kenaian peninsula, upon recovery from dangerous illness, give a feast to those who expressed sympathy during the affliction. if a bounteous provision is made upon these occasions, a chieftainship may be obtained thereby; and although the power thus acquired does not descend to one's heir, he may be conditionally recognized as chief. injuries are avenged by the nearest relative, but if a murder is committed by a member of another clan, all the allied families rise to avenge the wrong. when a person dies, the whole community assemble and mourn. the nearest kinsman, arrayed in his best apparel, with blackened face, his nose and head decked with eagle's feathers, leads the ceremony. all sit round a fire and howl, while the master of the lamentation recounts the notable deeds of the departed, amidst the ringing of bells, and violent stampings, and contortions of his body. the clothing is then distributed to the relatives, the body is burned, the bones collected and interred, and at the expiration of a year a feast is held to the memory of the deceased, after which it is not lawful for a relative to mention his name. the lover, if his suit is accepted, must perform a year's service for his bride. the wooing is in this wise: early some morning he enters the abode of the fair one's father, and without speaking a word proceeds to bring water, prepare food, and to heat the bath-room. in reply to the question why he performs these services, he answers that he desires the daughter for a wife. at the expiration of the year, without further ceremony, he takes her home, with a gift; but if she is not well treated by her husband, she may return to her father, and take with her the dowry. the wealthy may have several wives, but the property of each wife is distinct. they are nomadic in their inclinations and traverse the interior to a considerable distance in pursuit of game. the atnas are a small tribe inhabiting the atna or copper river. they understand the art of working copper, and have commercial relations with surrounding tribes. in the spring, before the breaking up of ice upon the lakes and rivers, they hunt reindeer, driving them into angle-shaped wicker-work corrals, where they are killed. in the autumn another general hunt takes place, when deer are driven into lakes, and pursued and killed in boats. their food and clothing depend entirely upon their success in these forays, as they are unable to obtain fish in sufficient quantities for their sustenance; and when unsuccessful in the chase, whole families die of starvation. those who can afford it, keep slaves, buying them from the koltschanes. they burn their dead, then carefully collect the ashes in a new reindeer-skin, enclose the skin in a box, and place the box on posts or in a tree. every year they celebrate a feast in commemoration of their dead. baer asserts that the atnas divide the year into fifteen months, which are designated only by their numbers; ten of them belong to autumn and winter, and five to spring and summer. [sidenote: tinneh character.] the tinneh character, if we may accept the assertions of various travelers, visiting different parts under widely different circumstances, presents a multitude of phases. thus it is said of the chepewyans by mackenzie, that they are "sober, timorous, and vagrant, with a selfish disposition which has sometimes created suspicions of their integrity. they are also of a quarrelous disposition, and are continually making complaints which they express by a constant repetition of the word _edmy_, 'it is hard,' in a whiny and plaintive tone of voice. so indolent that numbers perish every year from famine. suicide is not uncommon among them." hearne asserts that they are morose and covetous; that they have no gratitude; are great beggars; are insolent, if any respect is shown them; that they cheat on all opportunities; yet they are mild, rarely get drunk; and "never proceed to violence beyond bad language;" that they steal on every opportunity from the whites, but very rarely from each other; and although regarding all property, including wives, as belonging to the strongest, yet they only wrestle, and rarely murder. of the same people sir john franklin says, that they are naturally indolent, selfish, and great beggars. "i never saw men," he writes, "who either received or bestowed a gift with such bad grace." the dog-ribs are "of a mild, hospitable, but rather indolent disposition," fond of dancing and singing. according to the same traveler the copper indians are superior, in personal character, to any other chepewyans. "their delicate and humane attentions to us," he remarks, "in a period of great distress, are indelibly engraven on our memories." simpson says that it is a general rule among the traders not to believe the first story of an indian. although sometimes bearing suffering with fortitude, the least sickness makes them say, "i am going to die," and the improvidence of the indian character is greatly aggravated by the custom of destroying all the property of deceased relatives. sir john richardson accuses the hare indians of timidity, standing in great fear of the eskimos, and being always in want of food. they are practical socialists, 'great liars,' but 'strictly honest.' hospitality is not a virtue with them. according to richardson, neither the eskimos, dog-ribs, nor hare indians, feel the least shame in being detected in falsehood, and invariably practice it if they think that they can thereby gain any of their petty ends. even in their familiar intercourse with each other, the indians seldom tell the truth in the first instance, and if they succeed in exciting admiration or astonishment, their invention runs on without check. from the manner of the speaker, rather than by his words, is his truth or falsehood inferred, and often a very long interrogation is necessary to elicit the real fact. the comfort, and not unfrequently even the lives of parties of the timid hare indians are sacrificed by this miserable propensity. the hare and dog-rib women are certainly at the bottom of the scale of humanity in north america. ross thinks that they are "tolerably honest; not bloodthirsty, nor cruel;" "confirmed liars, far from being chaste." according to harmon, one of the earliest and most observing travelers among them, the tacullies "are a quiet, inoffensive people," and "perhaps the most honest on the face of the earth." they "are unusually talkative," and "take great delight in singing or humming or whistling a dull air." "murder is not considered as a crime of great magnitude." he considers the sicannis the bravest of the tacully tribes. but the kutchins bear off the palm for honesty. says whymper: "finding the loads too great for our dogs, we raised an erection of poles, and deposited some bags thereon. i may here say, once for all, that our men often left goods, consisting of tea, flour, molasses, bacon, and all kinds of miscellaneous articles, scattered in this way over the country, and that they remained untouched by the indians, who frequently traveled past them." simpson testifies of the loucheux that "a bloody intent with them lurks not under a smile." murray reports the kutchins treacherous; richardson did not find them so. jones declares that "they differ entirely from the tinneh tribes of the mackenzie, being generous, honest, hospitable, proud, high-spirited, and quick to revenge an injury." tribal boundaries. accurately to draw partition lines between primitive nations is impossible. migrating with the seasons, constantly at war, driving and being driven far past the limits of hereditary boundaries, extirpating and being extirpated, overwhelming, intermingling; like a human sea, swelling and surging in its wild struggle with the winds of fate, they come and go, here to-day, yonder to-morrow. a traveler passing over the country finds it inhabited by certain tribes; another coming after finds all changed. one writer gives certain names to certain nations; another changes the name, or gives to the nation a totally different locality. an approximation, however, can be made sufficiently correct for practical purposes; and to arrive at this, i will give at the end of each chapter all the authorities at my command; that from the statements of all, whether conflicting or otherwise, the truth may be very nearly arrived at. all nations, north of the fifty-fifth parallel, as before mentioned, i call hyperboreans. to the eskimos, i give the arctic sea-board from the coppermine river to kotzebue sound. late travelers make a distinction between the malemutes and kaveaks of norton sound and the eskimos. whymper calls the former 'a race of tall and stout people, but in other respect, much resembling the esquimaux.' _alaska_, p. . sir john richardson, in his _journal_, vol. i., p. , places them on the 'western coast, by cook's sound and tchugatz bay, nearly to mount st. elias;' but in his _polar regions_, p. , he terminates them at kotzebue sound. early writers give them the widest scope. 'die südlichsten sind in amerika, auf der küste labrador, wo nach charlevoix dieser völkerstamm den namen esquimaux bey den in der nähe wohnenden abenaki führte, und auch an der benachbarten ostseite von neu-fundland, ferner westlich noch unter der halbinsel alaska.' _vater_, _mithridates_, vol. iii., pt. iii., p. . dr latham, in his _varieties of man_, treats the inhabitants of the aleutian islands as eskimos, and in _native races of the russian empire_, p. , he gives them 'the whole of the coast of the arctic ocean, and the coast from behring strait to cook inlet.' prichard, _researches_, vol. v., p. , requires more complete evidence before he can conclude that the aleuts are not eskimos. being entirely unacquainted with the great kutchin family in the yukon valley, he makes the carriers of new caledonia conterminous with the eskimos. the boundary lines between the eskimos and the interior indian tribes 'are generally formed by the summit of the watershed between the small rivers which empty into the sea and those which fall into the yukon.' _dall's alaska_, p. . malte-brun, _précis de la géographie_, vol. v., p. , goes to the other extreme. 'les esquimaux,' he declares, 'habitent depuis le golfe welcome jusqu'au fleuve mackenzie, et probablement jusqu'au détroit de bering; ils s'étendent au sud jusqu'au lac de l'esclave.' ludewig, _aboriginal languages_, p. , divides them into 'eskimo proper, on the shores of labrador, and the western eskimos.' gallatin sweepingly asserts that 'they are the sole native inhabitants of the shores of all the seas, bays, inlets, and islands of america, north of the sixtieth degree of north latitude.' _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . the western eskimos, says beechey, 'inhabit the north-west coast of america, from ° ´ n. to ° ´ n.' _voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'along the entire coast of america.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . [sidenote: eskimos and koniagas.] the tribal subdivisions of the eskimos are as follows:--at coppermine river they are known by the name of _naggeuktoomutes_, 'deer-horns.' at the eastern outlet of the mackenzie they are called _kittear_. between the mackenzie river and barter reef they call themselves _kangmali-innuin_. the tribal name at point barrow is _nuwangmeun_. 'the _nuna-tangmë-un_ inhabit the country traversed by the nunatok, a river which falls into kotzebue sound.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . from cape lisburn to icy cape the tribal appellation is _kitegues_. 'deutsche karten zeigen uns noch im nord-west-ende des russischen nordamerika's, in dieser so anders gewandten küstenlinie, nördlich vom kotzebue-sund: im westlichen theile des küstenlandes, das sie west-georgien nennen, vom cap lisburn bis über das eiscap; hinlaufend das volk der kiteguen.' _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . 'the tribes appear to be separated from each other by a neutral ground, across which small parties venture in the summer for barter.' the _tuski_, _tschuktschi_, or _tchutski_, of the easternmost point of asia, have also been referred to the opposite coast of america for their habitation. the tschuktchi 'occupy the north-western coast of russian asia, and the opposite shores of north-western america.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the koniagan nation occupies the shores of bering sea, from kotzebue sound to the island of kadiak, including a part of the alaskan peninsula, and the koniagan and chugatschen islands. the _koniagas_ proper inhabit kadiak, and the contiguous islands. _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . 'the konægi are inhabitants of the isle of kodiak.' _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. . 'die eigentlichen konjagen oder bewohner der insel kadjak.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'zu den letztern rechnet man die aleuten von kadjack, deren sprache von allen küstenbewohnern von der tschugatschen-bay, bis an die berings-strasse und selbst weiter noch die herrschende ist.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'from iliamna lake to the th degree of west longitude.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'la côte qui s'étend depuis le golfe kamischezkaja jusqu'au nouveau-cornouaille, est habitée par cinq peuplades qui forment autant de grandes divisions territoriales dans les colonies de la russie américaine. leurs noms sont: koniagi, kenayzi, tschugatschi, ugalachmiuti et koliugi.' _humboldt_, _pol._, tom. i., p. . the _chugatsches_ inhabit the islands and shores of prince william sound. 'die tchugatschen bewohnen die grössten inseln der bai tschugatsk, wie zukli, chtagaluk u. a. und ziehen sich an der südküste der halbinsel kenai nach westen bis zur einfahrt in den kenaischen meerbusen.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'die tschugatschen sind ankömmlinge von der insel kadjack, die während innerer zwistigkeiten von dort vertrieben, sich zu ihren jetzigen wohnsitzen an den ufern von prince william's sound und gegen westen bis zum eingange von cook's inlet hingewendet haben.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'les tschugatschi occupent le pays qui s'étend depuis l'extrémité septentrionale de l'entrée de cook jusqu'à l'est de la baie du prince guillaume (golfe tschugatskaja.)' _humboldt_, _pol._, tom. i., p. . according to latham, _native races_, p. , they are the most southern members of the family. the tschugazzi 'live between the ugalyachmutzi and the kenaizi.' _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. . 'occupy the shores and islands of chugach gulf, and the southwest coasts of the peninsula of kenai.' _dall's alaska_, p. . tschugatschi, 'prince william sound, and cook's inlet.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . tchugatchih, 'claim as their hereditary possessions the coast lying between bristol bay and beering's straits.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . the _aglegmutes_ occupy the shores of bristol bay from the river nushagak along the western coast of the alaskan peninsula, to latitude °. 'die aglegmjuten, von der mündung des flusses nuschagakh bis zum ° oder ° an der westküste der halbinsel aljaska; haben also die ufer der bristol-bai inne.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . dall calls them oglemutes, and says that they inhabit 'the north coast of aliaska from the th degree of west longitude to the head of bristol bay, and along the north shore of that bay to point etolin.' _alaska_, p. . die agolegmüten, an den ausmündungen der flüsse nuschagack und nackneck, ungefähr an der zahl.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . the _kijataigmutes_ dwell upon the banks of the river nushagak and along the coast westward to cape newenham. 'die kijataigmjuten wohnen an den ufern des flusses nuschagakh, sowie seines nebenflusses iligajakh.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . dall says that they call themselves nushergagmut, and 'inhabit the coast near the mouth of the nushergak river, and westward to cape newenham.' _alaska_, p. . 'die kijaten oder kijataigmüten an den flüssen nuschagack und ilgajack.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'am fl. nuschagak.' _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . the _agulmutes_ inhabit the coast between the rivers kuskoquim and kishunak. 'die aguljmjuten haben sowohl den küstenstrich als das innere des landes zwischen den mündungen des kuskokwim und des kishunakh inne.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'this tribe extends from near cape avinoff nearly to cape romanzoff.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'den agulmüten, am flusse kwichlüwack.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'an der kwickpak-münd.' _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . the _kuskoquigmutes_ occupy the banks of kuskoquim river and bay. 'die kuskokwigmjuten bewohnen die ufer des flusses kuskokwim von seiner mündung bis zur ansiedelung kwygyschpainagmjut in der nähe der odinotschka kalmakow.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . the kuskwogmuts 'inhabit both shores of kuskoquim bay, and some little distance up that river.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'die kuskokwimer an dem flusse kuskokwim und andern kleinen zuflüssen desselben und an den ufern der südlich von diesem flusse gelegenen seen.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'between the rivers nushagak, ilgajak, chulitna, and kuskokwina, on the sea-shore.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the _magemutes_ live between the rivers kishunak and kipunaiak. 'die magmjuten oder magagmjuten, zwischen den flüssen kiskunakh und kipunajakh.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'these inhabit the vicinity of cape romanzoff and reach nearly to the yukon-mouth.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'magimuten, am flusse kyschunack.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'im s des norton busens.' _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . the _kwichpagmutes_, or inhabitants of the large river, dwell upon the kwichpak river, from the coast range to the uallik. 'die kwichpagmjuten, haben ihre ansiedelungen am kwickpakh vom küstengebirge an bis zum nebenflusse uallik.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'kuwichpackmüten, am flusse kuwichpack.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'tlagga silla, or little dogs, nearer to the mouth of the yukon, and probably conterminous with the eskimo kwichpak-meut.' _latham's nat. races_, p. . on whymper's map are the _primoski_, near the delta of the yukon. the _kwichluagmutes_ dwell upon the banks of the kwichluak or crooked river, an arm of the kwichpak. 'die kwichljuagmjuten an den ufern eines mündungsarmes des kwichpakh, der kwichljuakh.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'inhabit the kwikhpak slough.' _dall's alaska_, p. . the _pashtoliks_ dwell upon the river pashtolik. 'die paschtoligmjuten, an den ufern des pastolflusses.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'paschtoligmüten, am flusse paschtol.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . whymper places them immediately north of the delta of the yukon. the _chnagmutes_ occupy the coast and islands south of the unalaklik river to pashtolik bay. 'die tschnagmjuten, an den ufern der meerbusen pastol und schachtolik zwischen den flüssen pastol an unalaklik.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'den tschnagmüten, gegen norden von den paschtuligmüten und gegen westen bis zum kap rodney.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'am. sdl. norton-busen.' _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . the _anlygmutes_ inhabit the shores of golovnin bay and the southern coast of the kaviak peninsula. 'die anlygmjuten, an den ufern der bai golownin nördlich vom nortonsunde.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'anlygmüten, an der golowninschen bai.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'ndl. vom norton-sund.' _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . the _kaviaks_ inhabit the western portion of the kaviak peninsula. 'adjacent to port clarence and behring strait.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . 'between kotzebue and norton sounds.' _dall's alaska_, p. . the _malemutes_ inhabit the coast at the mouth of the unalaklik river, and northward along the shores of norton sound across the neck of the kaviak peninsula at kotzebue sound. 'die maleigmjuten bewohnen die küste des nortonsundes vom flusse unalaklik an und gehen durch das innere des landes hinauf bis zum kotzebuesunde.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'from norton sound and bay north of shaktolik, and the neck of the kaviak peninsula to selawik lake.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'den malimüten, nahe an den ufern des golfes schaktulack oder schaktol.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . the malemutes 'extend from the island of st. michael to golovin sound.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . 'ndl. am norton-busen bis zum kotzebue sund.' _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . [sidenote: the aleuts.] the aleuts inhabit the islands of the aleutian archipelago, and part of the peninsula of alaska and the island of kadiak. they are divided into the _atkahs_, who inhabit the western islands, and the _unalaskans_ or eastern division. the tribal divisions inhabiting the various islands are as follows; namely, on the alaskan peninsula, three tribes to which the russians have given names--_morshewskoje_, _bjeljkowskoje_, and _pawlowskoje_; on the island of unga, the _ugnasiks_; on the island of unimak, the _sesaguks_; the _tigaldas_ on tigalda island; the _avatanaks_ on avatanak island; on the island of akun, three tribes, which the russians call _arteljnowskoje_, _rjätscheschnoje_, and _seredkinskoje_; the _akutans_ on the akutan island; the _unalgas_ on the unalga island; the _sidanaks_ on spirkin island; on the island of unalashka, the _ililluluk_, the _nguyuk_, and seven tribes called by the russians _natykinskoje_, _pestnjakow-swoje_, _wesselowskoje_, _makuschinskoja_, _koschhiginskoje_, _tuscon-skoje_, and _kalechinskoje_; and on the island of umnak the _tuliks_. latham, _nat. races_, p. , assigns them to the aleutian isles. 'die unalaschkaer oder fuchs-aleuten bewohnen die gruppe der fuchsinseln, den südwestlichen theil der halbinsel aljaska, und die inselgruppe schumaginsk. die atchaer oder andrejanowschen aleuten bewohnen die andrejanowschen, die ratten, und die nahen-inseln der aleuten-kette.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, pp. , . inhabit 'the islands between alyaska and kamschatka.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . [sidenote: the thlinkeets.] the thlinkeets, or kolosches, occupy the islands and shores between copper river and the river nass. 'die eigentlichen thlinkithen (bewohner des archipels von den parallelen des flusses nass bis zum st. elias-berge).' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'the kalosh indians seen at sitka inhabit the coast between the stekine and chilcat rivers.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . 'kaloches et kiganis. côtes et îles de l'amérique russe.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . the 'koloshians live upon the islands and coast from the latitude ° ´ to the mouth of the atna or copper river.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'from about ° to ° n. lat., reaching therefore across the russian frontier as far as the columbia river.' _müller's chips_, vol. i., p. . 'at sitka bay and norfolk sound.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . 'between jacootat or behring's bay, to the th degree of north latitude.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'die völker eines grossen theils der nordwest-küste von america.' _vater_, _mithridates_, vol. iii., pt. iii., p. . 'les koliugi habitent le pays montueux du nouveau-norfolk, et la partie septentrionale du nouveau-cornouaille.' _humboldt_, _pol._, tom. i., p. . the _ugalenzes_ or ugalukmutes, the northernmost thlinkeet tribe, inhabit the coast from both banks of the mouth of copper river, nearly to mount st elias. 'about mount elias.' _latham's nat. races_, p. . adjacent to behring bay. _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. . 'die ugalenzen, die im winter eine bucht des festlandes, der kleinen insel kajak gegenüber, bewohnen, zum sommer aber ihre wohnungsplätze an dem rechten ufer des kupferflusses bei dessen mündung aufschlagen.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'das vorgebirge st. elias, kann als die gränzscheide der wohnsitze der see-koloschen gegen nordwest angesehen werden.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'les ugalachmiuti s'étendent depuis le golfe du prince guillaume, jusqu'à la baie de jakutat.' _humboldt_, _pol._, tom. i., p. . 'ugalenzen oder ugaljachmjuten. an der russ. küste ndwstl. vom st. elias berg.' _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . 'west of cape st. elias and near the island of kadjak.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the _yakutats_ 'occupy the coast from mount fairweather to mount st. elias.' _dall's alaska_, p. . at 'behring bay.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _chilkat_ come next, and live on lynn canal and the chilkat river. 'at chilkaht inlet.' 'at the head of chatham straits.' _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . 'am lynn's-canal, in russ. nordamerika.' _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . 'on lynn's canal.' _schoolcraft's archives_, vol. v., p. . a little to the northward of the stakine-koan. _dunn's oregon_, p. . the _hoonids_ inhabit the eastern banks of cross sound. 'for a distance of sixty miles.' 'at cross sound reside the whinegas.' 'the hunnas or hooneaks, who are scattered along the main land from lynn canal to cape spencer.' _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , , . the huna cow tribe is situated on cross sound. _schoolcraft's archives_, vol. v., p. . the _hoodsinoos_ 'live near the head of chatham strait.' 'on admiralty island.' 'rat tribes on kyro and kespriano islands.' _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , , . 'hootsinoo at hoodsinoo or hood bay.' _schoolcraft's archives_, vol. v., p. . 'hoodsunhoo at hood bay.' _gallatin_, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . 'hoodsunhoo at hood bay.' 'eclikimo in chatham's strait.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the _takoos_ dwell 'at the head of takoo inlet on the takoo river. the sundowns and takos who live on the mainland from port houghton to the tako river.' _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . tako and samdan, tako river. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . the _auks indians_ are at the mouth of the takoo river and on admiralty island. 'north of entrance tako river.' _schoolcraft's arch._, p. . 'the ark and kake on prince frederick's sound.' _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . the _kakas_ inhabit the shores of frederick sound and kuprianoff island. 'the kakus, or kakes, who live on kuprinoff island, having their principal settlement near the northwestern side.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the ark and kake on prince frederick's sound.' _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . the _sitkas_ occupy baranoff island. 'they are divided into tribes or clans, of which one is called coquontans.' _buschmann_, _pima spr. u. d. spr. der koloschen_, p. . 'the tribe of the wolf are called coquontans.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'the sitka-koan,' or the people of sitka. 'this includes the inhabitants of sitka bay, near new archangel, and the neighboring islands.' _dall's alaska_, p. . simpson calls the people of sitka 'sitkaguouays.' _overland jour._, vol. i., p. . 'the sitkas or indians on baronoff island.' _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . the _stikeen indians_ inhabit the country drained by the stikeen river. 'do not penetrate far into the interior.' _dall's alaska_, p. . the stikein tribe 'live at the top of clarence's straits, which run upwards of a hundred miles inland.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . 'at stephens passage.' 'the stikeens who live on the stackine river and the islands near its mouth.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'stikeen indians, stikeen river, sicknaahutty, taeeteetan, kaaskquatee, kookatee, naaneeaaghee, talquatee, kicksatee, kaadgettee.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . the secatquonays occupy the main land about the mouths of the stikeen river, and also the neighboring islands. _simpson's overland jour._, vol. i., p. . the _tungass_, 'live on tongas island, and on the north side of portland channel.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . southern entrance clarence strait. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . the tongarses or tun ghaase 'are a small tribe, inhabiting the s.e. corner of prince of wales's archipelago.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . 'tungass, an der sdlst. russ. küste.' _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . 'tunghase indians of the south-eastern part of prince of wales's archipelago.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . tongas indians, lat. ° ´ n. and long. ° ´ w. _dall's alaska_, p. . [sidenote: the tinneh.] the tinneh occupy the vast interior north of the fifty-fifth parallel, and west from hudson bay, approaching the arctic and pacific coasts to within from fifty to one hundred and fifty miles: at prince william sound, they even touch the seashore. mackenzie, _voy._, p. cxvii., gives boundaries upon the basis of which gallatin, _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. , draws a line from the mississippi to within one hundred miles of the pacific at ° ´, and allots them the northern interior to eskimos lands. 'extend across the continent.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . 'von der nördlichen hudsonsbai aus fast die ganze breite des continents durchläuft--im norden und nordwesten den ten grad u. beinahe die gestade des polarmeers erreicht.' _buschmann_, _athapask. sprachst._, p. . the athabascan area touches hudson's bay on the one side, the pacific on the other.' _latham's comp. phil._, p. . 'occupies the whole of the northern limits of north america, together with the eskimos.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the _chipewyans_, or athabascas proper, mackenzie, _voy._, p. cxvi., places between n. latitude ° and °, and w. longitude ° and °. 'between the athabasca and great slave lakes and churchill river.' _franklin's nar._, vol. i., p. . 'frequent the elk and slave rivers, and the country westward to hay river.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . the northern indians occupy the territory immediately north of fort churchill, on the western shore of hudson bay. 'from the fifty-ninth to the sixty-eighth degree of north latitude, and from east to west is upward of five hundred miles wide.' _hearne's jour._, p. ; _martin's brit. col._, vol. iii., p. . the _copper indians_ occupy the territory on both sides of the coppermine river south of the eskimo lands, which border on the ocean at the mouth of the river. they are called by the athabascas _tantsawhot-dinneh_. _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., ; _gallatin_, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . the _horn mountain indians_ 'inhabit the country betwixt great bear lake and the west end of great slave lake.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . the _beaver indians_ 'inhabit the lower part of peace river.' _harmon's jour._, p. . on mackenzie's map they are situated between slave and martin lakes. 'between the peace river and the west branch of the mackenzie.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . edchawtawhoot-dinneh, strong-bow, beaver or thick-wood indians, who frequent the rivière aux liards, or south branch of the mackenzie river, _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . the _thlingcha-dinneh_, or dog-ribs, 'inhabit the country to the westward of the copper indians, as far as mackenzie's river.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . _gallatin_, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . 'east from martin lake to the coppermine river.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . 'at fort confidence, north of great bear lake.' _simpson's nar._, p. . 'between martin's lake and the coppermine river.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the _kawcho-dinneh_, or hare indians, are 'immediately to the northward of the dog-ribs on the north side of bear lake river.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . they 'inhabit the banks of the mackenzie, from slave lake downwards.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . between bear lake and fort good hope, _simpson's nar._, p. . on mackenzie river, below great slave lake, extending towards the great bear lake. _gallatin_, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . 'to the eastward of the dog-ribs are the red-knives, named by their southern neighbors, the _tantsaut-'dtinnè_ (birch-rind people). they inhabit a stripe of country running northwards from great slave lake, and in breadth from the great fish river to the coppermine.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . the _ambawtawhoot tinneh_, or sheep indians, 'inhabit the rocky mountains near the sources of the dawhoot-dinneh river which flows into mackenzie's.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . further down the mackenzie, near the ° parallel. _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . the _sarsis_, _circees_, _ciriés_, _sarsi_, _sorsi_, _sussees_, _sursees_, or _surcis_, 'live near the rocky mountains between the sources of the athabasca and saskatchewan rivers; are said to be likewise of the tinné stock.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . 'near the sources of one of the branches of the saskachawan.' _gallatin_, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . the _tsillawdawhoot tinneh_, or brush-wood indians, inhabit the upper branches of the rivière aux liards. _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . on the river aux liards (poplar river), _gallatin_, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . the _nagailer_, or chin indians, on mackenzie's map, latitude ° ´ longitude ° to °, 'inhabit the country about ° ´ n. l. to the southward of the takalli, and thence extend south along fraser's river towards the straits of fuca.' _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. . the _slouacuss tinneh_ on mackenzie's are next north-west from the nagailer. vater places them at ° ´. 'noch näher der küste um den ° ´ wohnten die slua-cuss-dinais d. i. rothfisch-männer.' _vater_, _mithridates_, vol. iii., pt. iii., p. . on the upper part of frazers river. _cox's adven._, p. . the _rocky mountain indians_ are a small tribe situated to the south-west of the sheep indians. _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . 'on the unjigah or peace river.' _gallatin_, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . on the upper tributaries of peace river. _mackenzie's voy._, p. . the _tacullies_, or carriers, inhabit new caledonia from latitude ° ´ to latitude °. 'a general name given to the native tribes of new-caledonia.' _morse's report_, p. . 'all the natives of the upper fraser are called by the hudson bay company, and indeed generally, "porteurs," or carriers.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . 'tokalis, le nord de la nouvelle calédonie.' _mofras, explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'northern part of new caledonia.' _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . 'on the sources of fraser's river.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . 'unter den völkern des tinné-stammes, welche das land westlich von den rocky mountains bewohnen, nehmen die takuli (wasservolk) oder carriers den grössten theil von neu-caledonien ein.' _buschmann_, _athapask. sprachst._, p. . 'greater part of new caledonia.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . 'latitude of queen charlotte's island.' _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. . 'from latitude ° ´, where it borders on the country of the shoushaps, to latitude °, including simpson's river.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'south of the sicannis and straits lake.' _harmon's jour._, p. . they 'are divided into eleven clans, or minor tribes, whose names are--beginning at the south--as follows: the tautin, or talkotin; the tsilkotin or chilcotin; the naskotin; the thetliotin; the tsatsnotin; the nulaautin; the ntshaautin; the natliautin; the nikozliautin; the tatshiautin; and the babine indians.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'the principal tribes in the country north of the columbia regions, are the chilcotins and the talcotins.' _greenhow's hist. ogn._, p. . the talcotins 'occupy the territory above fort alexandria on frazer river.' _hazlitt's b. c._, p. . 'spend much of their time at bellhoula, in the bentinck inlet.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . the calkobins 'inhabit new caledonia, west of the mountains.' _de smet's letters and sketches_, p. . the nateotetains inhabit the country lying directly west from stuart lake on either bank of the nateotetain river. _harmon's jour._, p. . the naskootains lie along frazer river from frazer lake. _id._, p. . the _sicannis_ dwell in the rocky mountains between the beaver indians on the east, and the tacullies and atnas on the west and south. _id._, p. . they live east of the tacullies in the rocky mountain. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'on the rocky mountains near the rapid indians and west of them.' _morse's report_, p. . the _kutchins_ are a large nation, extending from the mackenzie river westward along the yukon valley to near the mouth of the river, with the eskimos on one side and the koltshanes on the other. buschmann, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. , places them on the sixty-fifth parallel of latitude, and from ° to ° of longitude west from greenwich. 'das volk wohnt am flusse yukon oder kwichpak und über ihm; es dehnt sich nach richardson's karte auf dem ten parallelkreise aus vom - ° w. l. v. gr., und gehört daher zur hälfte dem britischen und zur hälfte dem russischen nordamerika an.' they are located 'immediately to the northward of the hare indians on both banks of mackenzie's river.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . gallatin, _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. , places their northern boundary in latitude ° ´. to the west of the mackenzie the loucheux interpose between the esquimaux 'and the tinné, and spread westward until they come into the neighborhood of the coast tribes of beering's sea.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . 'the kutchin may be said to inhabit the territory extending from the mackenzie, at the mouth of peel's river, lat. °, long. °, to norton's sound, living principally upon the banks of the youcon and porcupine rivers, though several of the tribes are situated far inland, many days' journey from either river.' _jones_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'they commence somewhere about the th degree of north latitude, and stretch westward from the mackenzie to behring's straits.' 'they are divided into many petty tribes, each having its own chief, as the tatlit-kutchin (peel river indians), ta-kuth-kutchin (lapiene's house indians), kutch-a-kutchin (youcan indians), touchon-ta-kutchin (wooded-country indians), and many others.' _kirby_, in _smithsonian rept._, , pp. , . the degothi-kutchin, or loucheux, quarrellers, inhabit the west bank of the mackenzie between the hare indians and eskimos. the loucheux are on the mackenzie between the arctic circle and the sea. _simpson's nar._, p. . the vanta-kutchin occupy 'the banks of the porcupine, and the country to the north of it.' 'vanta-kutshi (people of the lakes), i only find that they belong to the porcupine river.' _latham's nat. races_, p. . they 'inhabit the territory north of the head-waters of the porcupine, somewhat below lapierre's house.' _dall's alaska_, p. . the natche-kutchin, or gens de large, dwell to the 'north of the porcupine river.' 'these extend on the north bank to the mouth of the porcupine.' _dall's alaska_, pp. , . 'neyetse-kutshi, (people of the open country), i only find that they belong to the porcupine river.' _latham's nat. races_, p. . whymper's map calls them rat indians. 'the na-tsik-kut-chin inhabit the high ridge of land between the yukon and the arctic sea.' _hardisty_, in _dall's alaska_, p. . the kukuth-kutchin 'occupy the country south of the head-waters of the porcupine.' _dall's alaska_, p. . the tutchone kutchin, gens de foux, or crow people, dwell upon both sides of the yukon about fort selkirk, above the han kutchin. _id._, pp. , . 'tathzey-kutshi, or people of the ramparts, the gens du fou of the french canadians, are spread from the upper parts of the peel and porcupine rivers, within the british territory, to the river of the mountain-men, in the russian. the upper yukon is therefore their occupancy. they fall into four bands: _a_, the tratsè-kutshi, or people of the fork of the river; _b_, the kutsha-kutshi; _c_, the zèkà-thaka (ziunka-kutshi), people on this side, (or middle people); and, _d_, the tanna-kutshi, or people of the bluffs.' _latham's nat. races_, p. . the han-kutchin, an-kutchin gens de bois, or wood people, inhabit the yukon above porcupine river. _whymper's alaska_, p. . they are found on the yukon next below the crows, and above fort yukon. _dall's alaska_, p. . 'han-kutchi residing at the sources of the yukon.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . 'the artez-kutshi, or the tough (hard) people. the sixty-second parallel cuts through their country; so that they lie between the head-waters of the yukon and the pacific.' _latham's nat. races_, p. . see also _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . the kutcha-kutchins, or kot-à-kutchin, 'are found in the country near the junction of the porcupine and the yukon.' _dall's alaska_, p. . the tenan-kutchin, or tananahs, gens de buttes, or people of the mountains, occupy an unexplored domain south-west of fort yukon. their country is drained by the tananah river. _dall's alaska_, p. . they are placed on whymper's map about twenty miles south of the yukon, in longitude ° west from greenwich. on whymper's map are placed: the birch indians, or gens de bouleau on the south bank of the yukon at its junction with porcupine river; the gens de milieu, on the north bank of the yukon, in longitude °; the nuclukayettes on both banks in longitude °; and the newicarguts, on the south bank between longitude ° and °. the _kenais_ occupy the peninsula of kenai and the surrounding country. _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'an den ufern und den umgebungen von cook's inlet und um die seen iliamna und kisshick.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . the unakatana yunakakhotanas, live 'on the yukon between koyukuk and nuklukahyet.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'junakachotana, ein stamm, welcher auf dem flusse jun-a-ka wohnt.' _sagoskin_, in _denkschr. der russ. geo. gesell._, p. . 'die junnakachotana, am flusse jukchana oder junna (so wird der obere lauf des kwichpakh genannt) zwischen den nebenflüssen nulato und junnaka, so wie am untern laufe des letztgenannten flusses.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'die junnachotana bewohnen den obern lauf des jukchana oder junna von der mündung des junnaka.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'die jugelnuten haben ihre ansiedelungen am kwichpakh, am tschageljuk und an der mündung des innoka. die inkalichljuaten, am obern laufe des innoka. die thljegonchotana am flusse thljegon, der nach der vereinigung mit dem tatschegno den innoka bildet.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, pp. , . 'they extend virtually from the confluence of the co-yukuk river to nuchukayette at the junction of the tanana with the yukon.' 'they also inhabit the banks of the co-yukuk and other interior rivers.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . the _ingaliks_ inhabit the yukon from nulato south to below the anvic river. see _whymper's map_. 'the tribe extends from the edge of the wooded district near the sea to and across the yukon below nulato, on the yukon and its affluents to the head of the delta, and across the portage to the kuskoquim river and its branches.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'die inkiliken, am untern laufe des junna südlich von nulato.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'an dem ganzen ittege wohnt der stamm der inkiliken, welcher zu dem volk der ttynai gehört.' _sagoskin_, in _denkschr. der russ. geo. gesell._, p. . 'an den flüssen kwichpack, kuskokwim und anderen ihnen zuströmenden flüssen.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'the ingaliks living on the north side of the yukon between it and the kaiyuh mountains (known as takaitsky to the russians), bear the name of kaiyuhkatana or "lowland people," and the other branches of ingaliks have similar names, while preserving their general tribal name.' _dall's alaska_, p. . on whymper's map they are called t'kitskes and are situated east of the yukon in latitude ° north. the _koltschanes_ occupy the territory inland between the sources of the kuskoquim and copper rivers. 'they extend as far inland as the watershed between the copper-river and the yukon.' _latham's nat. races_, p. . 'die galzanen oder koltschanen (d. h. fremdlinge, in der sprache der athnaer) bewohnen das innere des landes zwischen den quellflüssen des kuskokwim bis zu den nördlichen zuflüssen des athna oder kupferstromes.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'diejenigen stämme, welche die nördlichen und östlichen, dem atna zuströmenden flüsse und flüsschen bewohnen, eben so die noch weiter, jenseits der gebirge lebenden, werden von den atnaern koltschanen, d. h. fremdlinge, genannt.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'north of the river atna.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the nehannes occupy the territory midway between mount st. elias and the mackenzie river, from fort selkirk and the stakine river. 'according to mr. isbister, range the country between the russian settlements on the stikine river and the rocky mountains.' _latham's nat. races_, p. . the nohhannies live 'upon the upper branches of the rivière aux liards.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . they 'inhabit the angle between that branch and the great bend of the trunk of the river, and are neighbours of the beaver indians.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . the region which includes the lewis, or tahco, and pelly rivers, with the valley of the chilkaht river, is occupied by tribes known to the hudson bay voyageurs as nehannees. those on the pelly and macmillan rivers call themselves affats-tena. some of them near liard's river call themselves daho-tena or acheto-tena, and others are called sicannees by the voyageurs. those near francis lake are known as mauvais monde, or slavé indians. about fort selkirk they have been called gens des foux. the _kenai_ proper, or kenai-tena, or thnaina, inhabit the peninsula of kenai, the shores of cook inlet, and thence westerly across the chigmit mountains, nearly to the kuskoquim river. they 'inhabit the country near cook's inlet, and both shores of the inlet as far south as chugachik bay.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'die eigentlichen thnaina bewohnen die halbinsel kenai und ziehen sich von da westlich über das tschigmit-gebirge zum mantaschtano oder tchalchukh, einem südlichen nebenflusse des kuskokwim.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'dieses--an den ufern und den umgebungen von cook's inlet und um die seen iliamna und kisshick lebende volk gehört zu dem selben stamme wie die galzanen oder koltschanen, atnaer, und koloschen.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'les _kenayzi_ habitent la côte occidentale de l'entrée de cook ou du golfe kenayskaja.' _humboldt_, _pol._, tom. i., p. . 'the indians of cook's inlet and adjacent waters are called "kanisky." they are settled along the shore of the inlet and on the east shore of the peninsula.' 'east of cook's inlet, in prince william's sound, there are but few indians, they are called "nuchusk."' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _atnas_ occupy the atna or copper river from near its mouth to near its source. 'at the mouth of the copper river.' _latham's comp. phil._, vol. viii., p. . 'die athnaer, am athna oder kupferflusse.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'on the upper part of the atna or copper river are a little-known tribe of the above name [viz., ah-tena]. they have been called atnaer and kolshina by the russians, and yellow knife or nehaunee by the english.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'diese kleine, jetzt ungefähr aus familien bestehende, völkerschaft wohnt an den ufern des flusses atna und nennt sich atnaer.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . footnotes: [ ] of late, custom gives to the main land of russian america, the name _alaska_; to the peninsula, _aliaska_; and to a large island of the aleutian archipelago, _unalashka_. the word of which the present name alaska is a corruption, is first encountered in the narrative of betsevin, who, in , wintered on the peninsula, supposing it to be an island. the author of _neue nachrichten von denen neuentdekten insuln_, writes, page , 'womit man nach der abgelegensten insul _aläksu_ oder _alachschak_ über gieng.' again, at page , in giving a description of the animals on the supposed island he calls it 'auf der insul _aläsku_.' 'this,' says coxe, _russian discoveries_, p. , 'is probably the same island which is laid down in krenitzin's chart under the name of _alaxa_.' _unalaschka_ is given by the author of _neue nachrichten_, p. , in his narrative of the voyage of drusinin, who hunted on that island in . at page he again mentions the 'grosse insul _aläksu_.' on page , in glottoff's log-book, , is the entry: 'den sten may der wind ostsüdost; man kam an die insul _alaska_ oder _aläksu_.' still following the author of _neue nachrichten_, we have on page , in an account of the voyages of otseredin and popoff, who hunted upon the aleutian islands in , mention of a report by the natives 'that beyond unimak is said to be a large land _aläschka_, the extent of which the islanders do not know.' on cook's atlas, voyage , the peninsula is called _alaska_, and the island _oonalaska_, la pérouse, in his atlas, map no. , , calls the peninsula _alaska_, and the island _ounalaska_. the spaniards, in the _atlas para el viage de las goletas sutil y mexicana_, , write _alasca_ for the peninsula, and for the island _unalaska_. sauer, in his account of billings' expedition, , calls the main land _alaska_, the peninsula _alyaska_, and the island _oonalashka_. wrangell, in _baer's statistische und ethnographische nachrichten_, p. , writes for the peninsula _alaska_ and for the island _unalaschka_. holmberg, _ethnographische skizzen_, p. , calls the island _unalaschka_ and the peninsula _aljaska_. dall, _alaska_, p. , says that the peninsula or main land was called by the natives _alayeksa_, and the island _nagun-alayeksa_, 'or the land near alayeksa.' thus we have, from which to choose, the orthography of the earliest voyagers to this coast--russian, english, french, spanish, german, and american. the simple word _alaksu_, after undergoing many contortions, some authors writing it differently on different pages of the same book, has at length become _alaska_, as applied to the main land; _aliaska_ for the peninsula, and _unalashka_ as the name of the island. as these names are all corruptions from some one original word, whatever that may be, i see no reason for giving the error three different forms. i therefore write alaska for the mainland and peninsula and unalaska for the island. [ ] the name is said, by charlevoix 'to be derived from the language of the abenaqui, a tribe of algonquins in canada, who border upon them and call them "esquimantsic."' 'l'origine de leur nom n'est pas certain. toutefois il y a bien de l'apparence qu'il vient du mot abenaqui, _esquimantsic_ qui veut dire "mangeur de viande cruë."' see _prichard's physical history of mankind_, vol. v., pp. , . 'french writers call them eskimaux.' 'english authors, in adopting this term, have most generally written it "esquimaux," but dr. latham, and other recent ethnologists, write it "eskimos," after the danish orthography.' _richardson's polar regions_, p. . 'probably of canadian origin, and the word, which in french orthography is written esquimaux, was probably originally _ceux qui miaux_ (_miaulent_).' _richardson's journal_, vol. i., p. . 'said to be a corruption of _eskimantik_, _i. e._ raw-fish-eaters, a nickname given them by their former neighbors, the mohicans.' _seemann's voyage of the herald_, vol. ii., p. . eskimo is derived from a word indicating sorcerer or shamán. 'the northern tinneh use the word _uskeemi_.' _dall's alaska_, pp. , . 'their own national designation is "keralit."' _morton's crania americana_, p. . they 'call themselves "innuit," which signifies "man."' _armstrong's narrative_, p. . [ ] it is not without reluctance that i change a word from the commonly accepted orthography. names of places, though originating in error, when once established, it is better to leave unchanged. indian names, coming to us through russian, german, french, or spanish writers, should be presented in english by such letters as will best produce the original indian pronunciation. european personal names, however, no matter how long, nor how commonly they may have been erroneously used, should be immediately corrected. every man who can spell is supposed to be able to give the correct orthography of his own name, and his spelling should in every instance be followed, when it can be ascertained. veit bering, anglicè vitus behring, was of a danish family, several members of which were well known in literature before his own time. in danish writings, as well as among the biographies of russian admirals, where may be found a fac-simile of his autograph, the name is spelled _bering_. it is so given by humboldt, and by the _dictionnaire de la conversation_. the author of the _neue nachrichten von denen neuentdekten insuln_, one of the oldest printed works on russian discoveries in america; as well as müller, who was the companion of bering for many years; and buschmann,--all write _bering_. baer remarks: 'ich schreibe ferner bering, obgleich es jetzt fast allgemein geworden ist, behring zu schreiben, und auch die engländer und franzosen sich der letztern schreibart bequemt haben. bering war ein däne und seine familie war lange vor ihm in der literatur-geschichte bekannt. sie hat ihren namen auf die von mir angenommene weise drucken lassen. derselben schreibart bediente sich auch der historiograph müller, der längere zeit unter seinen befehlen gedient hatte, und pallas.' _statistische und ethnographische nachrichten_, p. . there is no doubt that the famous navigator wrote his name _bering_, and that the letter 'h' was subsequently inserted to give the danish sound to the letter 'e.' to accomplish the same purpose, perhaps, coxe, langsdorff, beechey, and others write _beering_. [ ] 'die kadjacker im gegentheil nähern sich mehr den amerikanischen stämmen und gleichen in ihrem aeussern gar nicht den eskimos oder den asiatischen völkern, wahrscheinlich haben sie durch die vermischung mit den stämmen amerika's ihre ursprüngliche asiatische äussere gestalt und gesichtsbildung verloren und nur die sprache beibehalten.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn. nachr._, p. . 'ils ressemblent beaucoup aux indigènes des îles curiles, dépendantes du japon.' _laplace_, _circumnavigation de l'artémise_, vol. vi., p. . [ ] 'the tribes crowded together on the shores of beering's sea within a comparatively small extent of coast-line, exhibit a greater variety, both in personal appearance and dialect, than that which exists between the western eskimos and their distant countrymen in labrador; and ethnologists have found some difficulty in classifying them properly.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . [ ] for authorities, see tribal boundaries, at the end of this chapter. [ ] _collinson_, in _london geographical society journal_, vol. xxv., p. . [ ] 'im nordwestlichsten theile von amerika fand franklin den boden, mitte august, schon in einer tiefe von zoll gefroren. richardson sah an einem östlicheren punkte der küste, in ° ´ breite, die eisschicht im julius aufgethaut bis fuss unter der krautbedeckten oberfläche.' _humboldt_, _kosmos_, tom. iv., p. . [ ] _silliman's journal_, vol. xvi., p. . _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . _armstrong's nar._, p. . [ ] 'characteristic of the arctic regions.' _silliman's jour._, vol. xvi., p. . [ ] at kotzebue sound, in july, choris writes: 'le sol était émaillé de fleurs de couleurs variées, dans tous les endroits où la neige venait de fondre.' _voyage pittoresque_, pt. ii., p. . [ ] 'in der einöde der inseln von neu-sibirien finden grosse heerden von rennthieren und zahllose lemminge noch hinlängliche nahrung.' _humboldt_, _kosmos_, vol. iv., p. . [ ] 'thermometer rises as high as ° fahr. with a sun shining throughout the twenty-four hours the growth of plants is rapid in the extreme.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'during the period of incubation of the aquatic birds, every hole and projecting crag on the sides of this rock is occupied by them. its shores resound with the chorus of thousands of the feathery tribe.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'their complexion, if divested of its usual covering of dirt, can hardly be called dark.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . 'in comparison with other americans, of a white complexion.' _mcculloh's aboriginal history of america_, p. . 'white complexion, not copper coloured.' _dobbs' hudson's bay_, p. . 'almost as white as europeans.' _kalm's travels_, vol. ii., p. . 'not darker than that of a portuguese.' _lyon's journal_, p. . 'scarcely a shade darker than a deep brunette.' _parry's rd voyage_, p. . 'their complexion is light.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'eye-witnesses agree in their superior lightness of complexion over the chinooks.' _pickering's races of man_, _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . at coppermine river they are 'of a dirty copper color; some of the women, however, are more fair and ruddy.' _hearne's travels_, p. . 'considerably fairer than the indian tribes.' _simpson's nar._, p. . at cape bathurst 'the complexion is swarthy, chiefly, i think, from exposure and the accumulation of dirt.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . 'shew little of the copper-colour of the red indians.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . 'from exposure to weather they become dark after manhood.' _richardson's nar._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'both sexes are well proportioned, stout, muscular, and active.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . 'a stout, well-looking people.' _simpson's nar._, pp. , . 'below the mean of the caucasian race.' _dr. hayes_, in _historic. magazine_, vol. i., p. . 'they are thick set, have a decided tendency to obesity, and are seldom more than five feet in height.' _figuier's human race_, p. . at kotzebue sound, 'tallest man was five feet nine inches; tallest woman, five feet four inches.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'average height was five feet four and a half inches.' at the mouth of the mackenzie they are of 'middle stature, strong and muscular.' _armstrong's nar._, pp. , . 'low, broad-set, not well made, nor strong.' _hearne's trav._, p. . 'the men were in general stout.' _franklin's nar._, vol. i., p. . 'of a middle size, robust make, and healthy appearance.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'men vary in height from about five feet to five feet ten inches.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . 'women were generally short.' 'their figure inclines to squat.' _hooper's tuski_, p. . [ ] 'tous les individus qui appartiennent à la famille des eskimaux, se distinguent par la petitesse de leurs pieds et de leurs mains, et la grosseur énorme de leurs têtes.' _de pauw_, _recherches phil._, tom. i., p. . 'the hands and feet are delicately small and well formed.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . 'small and beautifully made.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . at point barrow, 'their hands, notwithstanding the great amount of manual labour to which they are subject, were beautifully small and well-formed, a description equally applicable to their feet.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . [ ] 'the head is of good size, rather flat superiorly, but very fully developed posteriorly, evidencing a preponderance of the animal passions; the forehead was, for the most part, low and receding; in a few it was somewhat vertical, but narrow.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . their cranial characteristics 'are the strongly developed coronary ridge, the obliquity of the zygoma, and its greater capacity compared with the indian cranium. the former is essentially pyramidal, while the latter more nearly approaches a cubic shape.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'greatest breadth of the face is just below the eyes, the forehead tapers upwards, ending narrowly, but not acutely, and in like manner the chin is a blunt cone.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . dr gall, whose observations on the same skulls presented him for phrenological observation are published by m. louis choris, thus comments upon the head of a female eskimo from kotzebue sound: 'l'organe de l'instinct de la propagation se trouve extrêmement développé pour une tête de femme.' he finds the musical and intellectual organs poorly developed; while vanity and love of children are well displayed. 'en général,' sagely concluded the doctor, 'cette tête femme présentait une organization aussi heureuse que celle de la plupart des femmes d'europe.' _voy. pitt._, pt. ii., p. . [ ] 'large fat round faces, high cheek bones, small hazel eyes, eyebrows slanting like the chinese, and wide mouths.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'broad, flat faces, high cheekbones.' _dr hayes_, in _hist. mag._, vol. i., p. . their 'teeth are regular, but, from the nature of their food, and from their practice of preparing hides by chewing, are worn down almost to the gums at an early age.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . at hudson strait, broad, flat, pleasing face; small and generally sore eyes; given to bleeding at the nose. _franklin's nar._, vol. i., p. . 'small eyes and very high cheek bones.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'la face platte, la bouche ronde, le nez petit sans être écrasé, le blanc de l'oeil jaunâtre, l'iris noir et peu brillant.' _de pauw_, _recherches phil._, tom. i., p. . they have 'small, wild-looking eyes, large and very foul teeth, the hair generally black, but sometimes fair, and always in extreme disorder.' _brownell's ind. races_, p. . 'as contrasted with the other native american races, their eyes are remarkable, being narrow and more or less oblique.' _richardson's nar._, vol. i., p. . expression of face intelligent and good-natured. both sexes have mostly round, flat faces, with mongolian cast. _hooper's tuski_, p. . [ ] 'allowed to hang down in a club to the shoulder.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . hair cut 'close round the crown of the head, and thereby, leaving a bushy ring round the lower part of it.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'their hair is straight, black, and coarse.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . a fierce expression characterized them on the mackenzie river, which 'was increased by the long disheveled hair flowing about their shoulders.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . at kotzebue sound 'their hair was done up in large plaits on each side of the head.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . at camden bay, lofty top-knots; at point barrow, none. at coppermine river the hair is worn short, unshaven on the crown, and bound with strips of deer-skin. _simpson's nar._, pp. , . some of the men have bare crowns, but the majority wear the hair flowing naturally. the women cut the hair short in front, level with the eyebrows. at humphrey point it is twisted with some false hair into two immense bows on the back of the head. _hooper's tuski_, p. . 'their hair hangs down long, but is cut quite short on the crown of the head.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . hair cut like 'that of a capuchin friar.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] crantz says the greenlanders root it out. 'the old men had a few gray hairs on their chins, but the young ones, though grown up, were beardless.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'the possession of a beard is very rare, but a slight moustache is not infrequent.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . 'as the men grow old, they have more hair on the face than red indians.' _richardson's nar._, vol. i., p. . 'generally an absence of beard and whiskers.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . 'beard is universally wanting.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'the young men have little beard, but some of the old ones have a tolerable shew of long gray hairs on the upper lip and chin.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . 'all have beards.' _bell's geography_, vol. v., p. . kirby affirms that in alaska 'many of them have a profusion of whiskers and beard.' _smithsonian report_, , p. . [ ] 'the lip is perforated for the labret as the boy approaches manhood, and is considered an important era in his life.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . 'some wore but one, others one on each side of the mouth.' _hooper's tuski_, p. . 'lip ornaments, with the males, appear to correspond with the tattooing of the chins of the females.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'the women tattoo their faces in blue lines produced by making stitches with a fine needle and thread, smeared with lampblack.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . between kotzebue sound and icy cape, 'all the women were tattooed upon the chin with three small lines.' they blacken 'the edges of the eyelids with plumbago, rubbed up with a little saliva upon a piece of slate.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . at point barrow, the women have on the chin 'a vertical line about half an inch broad in the centre, extending from the lip, with a parallel but narrower one on either side of it, a little apart. some had two vertical lines protruding from either angle of the mouth; which is a mark of their high position in the tribe.' _armstrong's nar._, pp. , . on bering isle, men as well as women tattoo. 'plusieurs hommes avaient le visage tatoué.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, pt. ii., p. . [ ] 'give a particularly disgusting look when the bones are taken out, as the saliva continually runs over the chin.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . at camden, labrets were made of large blue beads, glued to pieces of ivory. none worn at coppermine river. _simpson's nar._, pp. , . 'many of them also transfix the septum of the nose with a dentalium shell or ivory needle.' _richardson's nar._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'these natives almost universally use a very unpleasant liquid for cleansing purposes. they tan and soften the seal-skin used for boot-soles with it.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . 'females occasionally wash their hair and faces with their own urine, the odour of which is agreeable to both sexes, and they are well accustomed to it, as this liquor is kept in tubs in the porches of their huts for use in dressing the deer and seal skins.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . 'show much skill in the preparation of whale, seal, and deer-skins.' _richardson's nar._, vol. i., p. . they have a great antipathy to water. 'occasionally they wash their bodies with a certain animal fluid, but even this process is seldom gone through.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'during the summer, when on whaling or sealing excursions, a coat of the gut of the whale, and boots of seal or walrus hide, are used as water-proof coverings.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . at point barrow they wear 'kamleikas or water-proof shirts, made of the entrails of seals.' _simpson's nar._, p. . women wear close-fitting breeches of seal-skin. _hooper's tuski_, p. . 'they are on the whole as good as the best oil-skins in england.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] the dress of the two sexes is much alike, the outer shirt or jacket having a pointed skirt before and behind, those of the female being merely a little longer. 'pretty much the same for both sexes.' _figuier's human race_, p. . [ ] 'they have besides this a jacket made of eider drakes' skins sewed together, which, put on underneath their other dress, is a tolerable protection against a distant arrow, and is worn in times of hostility.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . messrs dease and simpson found those of point barrow 'well clothed in seal and reindeer skins.' _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. viii., p. . 'the finest dresses are made of the skins of unborn deer.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . 'the half-developed skin of a fawn that has never lived, obtained by driving the doe till her offspring is prematurely born.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . eskimo women pay much regard to their toilet. _richardson's nar._, vol. i., p. . [ ] their dress consists of two suits. _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . 'reindeer skin--the fur next the body.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . 'two women, dressed like men, looked frightfully with their tattooed faces.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . seal-skin jackets, bear-skin trowsers, and white-fox skin caps, is the male costume at hudson strait. the female dress is the same, with the addition of a hood for carrying children. _franklin's nar._, vol. i., p. . at camden bay, reindeer-skin jackets and water-proof boots. _simpson's nar._, p. . at coppermine river, 'women's boots which are not stiffened out with whalebone, and the tails of their jackets are not over one foot long.' _hearne's travels_, p. . deer-skin, hair outside, ornamented with white fur. _kirby_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . the indoor dress of the eastern eskimo is of reindeer-skin, with the fur inside. 'when they go out, another entire suit with the fur outside is put over all, and a pair of watertight sealskin moccasins, with similar mittens for their hands.' _silliman's journal_, vol. xvi., p. . the frock at coppermine river has a tail something like a dress-coat. _simpson's nar._, p. . [ ] 'some of them are even half-naked, as a summer heat, even of ° is insupportable to them.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'down to the frozen subsoil.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . 'some are wholly above ground, others have their roof scarcely raised above it.' _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'formed of stakes placed upright in the ground about six feet high, either circular or oval in form, from which others inclined so as to form a sloping roof.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . 'half underground, with the entrance more or less so.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'they are more than half underground,' and are 'about twenty feet square and eight feet deep.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'the whole building is covered with earth to the thickness of a foot or more, and in a few years it becomes overgrown with grass, looking from a short distance like a small tumulus.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . [ ] a smaller drift-wood house is sometimes built with a side-door. 'light and air are admitted by a low door at one end.' _richardson's nar._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'the fire in the centre is never lit merely for the sake of warmth, as the lamps are sufficient for that purpose.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . 'they have no fire-places; but a stone placed in the centre serves for a support to the lamp, by which the little cooking that is required is performed.' _richardson's nar._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'on trouva plusieurs huttes construites en bois, moitié dans la terre, moitié en dehors.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, pt. ii., p. . at beaufort bay are wooden huts. _simpson's nar._, p. . at toker point, 'built of drift-wood and sods of turf or mud.' _hooper's tuski_, p. . at cape krusenstern the houses 'appeared like little round hills, with fences of whale-bone.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'they construct yourts or winter residences upon those parts of the shore which are adapted to their convenience, such as the mouths of rivers, the entrances of inlets, or jutting points of land, but always upon low ground.' _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'i was surprised at the vast quantity of driftwood accumulated on its shore, several acres being thickly covered with it, and many pieces at least sixty feet in length.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . [ ] 'eastern esquimaux never seem to think of fire as a means of imparting warmth.' _simpson's nar._, p. . [ ] their houses are 'moveable tents, constructed of poles and skins.' _brownell's ind. races_, p. . 'neither wind nor watertight.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . at cape smythe, hooper saw seven eskimo tents of seal skin. _tuski_, p. . 'we entered a small tent of morse-skins, made in the form of a canoe.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . at coppermine river their tents in summer are of deer-skin with the hair on, and circular. _hearne's travels_, p. . at st lawrence island, kotzebue saw no settled dwellings, 'only several small tents built of the ribs of whales, and covered with the skin of the morse.' _voyage_, vol. i., pp. - . [ ] 'in parallelograms, and so adjusted as to form a rotunda, with an arched roof.' _silliman's jour._, vol. xvi., p. . _parry's voy._, vol. v., p. . _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'these houses are durable, the wind has little effect on them, and they resist the thaw until the sun acquires very considerable power.' _richardson's nar._, vol. i., p. . [ ] the snow houses are called by the natives _igloo_, and the underground huts _yourts_, or _yurts_, and their tents _topeks_. winter residence, 'iglut.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . beechey, describing the same kind of buildings, calls them 'yourts.' _voy._, vol. i., p. . tent of skins, tie-poo-eet; topak; toopek. tent, too-pote. _ibid._, vol. ii., p. . 'yourts.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . tent, topek. dall says richardson is wrong, and that igloo or iglu is the name of ice houses. _alaska_, p. . house, iglo. tent, tuppek. _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . snow house, eegloo. _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] they are so fond of the warm blood of dying animals that they invented an instrument to secure it. see _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'whale-blubber, their great delicacy, is sickening and dangerous to a european stomach.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] hearne says that the natives on the arctic coast of british america are so disgustingly filthy that when they have bleeding at the nose they lick up their own blood. _travels_, p. . 'salt always appeared an abomination.' 'they seldom cook their food, the frost apparently acting as a substitute for fire.' _collinson_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxv., p. . at kotzebue sound they 'seem to subsist entirely on the flesh of marine animals, which they, for the most part, eat raw.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'during the two summer months they hunt and live on swans, geese, and ducks.' _richardson's nar._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'secures winter feasts and abundance of oil for the lamps of a whole village, and there is great rejoicing.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . 'the capture of the seal and walrus is effected in the same manner. salmon and other fish are caught in nets.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . 'six small perforated ivory balls attached separately to cords of sinew three feet long.' _dease & simpson_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. viii., . [ ] near smith river, a low piece of ground, two miles broad at the beach, was found enclosed by double rows of turf set up to represent men, narrowing towards a lake, into which reindeer were driven and killed. _simpson's nar._, p. . [ ] 'ce qu'il y a encore de frappant dans la complexion de ces barbares, c'est l'extrême chaleur de leur estomac et de leur sang; ils échauffent tellement, par leur haleine ardente, les huttes où ils assemblent en hiver, que les européans, s'y sentent étouffés, comme dans une étuve dont la chaleur est trop graduée: aussi ne font-ils jamais de feu dans leur habitation en aucune saison, et ils ignorent l'usage des cheminées, sous le climat le plus froid du globe.' _de pauw_, _recherches phil._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'the voluptuousness and polygamy of the north american indians, under a temperature of almost perpetual winter, is far greater than that of the most sensual tropical nations.' _martin's british colonies_, vol. iii., p. . [ ] 'the seal is perhaps their most useful animal, not merely furnishing oil and blubber, but the skin used for their canoes, thongs, nets, lassoes, and boot soles.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . [ ] they have 'two sorts of bows; arrows pointed with iron, flint, and bone, or blunt for birds; a dart with throwing-board for seals; a spear headed with iron or copper, the handle about six feet long; and formidable iron knives, equally adapted for throwing, cutting, or stabbing.' _simpson's nar._, p. . they ascended the mackenzie in former times as far as the ramparts, to obtain flinty slate for lance and arrow points. _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . at st. lawrence island, they are armed with a knife two feet long. _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., pp. , . one weapon was 'a walrus tooth fixed to the end of a wooden staff.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] at the coppermine river, arrows are pointed with slate or copper; hatchets also are made of a thick lump of copper. _hearne's travels_, pp. - . [ ] 'the old ivory knives and flint axes are now superseded, the russians having introduced the common european sheath-knife and hatchet. the board for throwing darts is in use, and is similar to that of the polynesians.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] the 'baydare is a large open boat, quite flat, made of sea-lions' skins,' and is used also for a tent. at lantscheff island it was 'a large and probably leathern boat, with black sails.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., pp. , . 'the kaiyaks are impelled by a double-bladed paddle, used with or without a central rest, and the umiaks with oars.' can 'propel their kaiyaks at the rate of seven miles an hour.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., pp. , . at hudson strait they have canoes of seal-skin, like those of greenland. _franklin's nar._, vol. i., p. . not a drop of water can penetrate the opening into the canoe. _müller's voy._, p. . the kyak is like an english wager-boat. they are 'much stronger than their lightness would lead one to suppose.' _hooper's tuski_, pp. , . _oomiaks_ or family canoes of skin; float in six inches of water. _simpson's nar._, p. . 'with these boats they make long voyages, frequently visiting st. lawrence island.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'frame work of wood--when this cannot be procured whalebone is substituted.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . mackenzie saw boats put together with whalebone; 'sewed in some parts, and tied in others.' _voyages_, p. . they also use a sail. 'on découvrit au loin, dans la baie, un bateau qui allait à la voile; elle était en cuir.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, pt. ii., p. . they 'are the best means yet discovered by mankind to go from place to place.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'it is wonderful what long voyages they make in these slight boats.' _campbell's voy._, p. . 'the skin, when soaked with water, is translucent; and a stranger placing his foot upon the flat yielding surface at the bottom of the boat fancies it a frail security.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] the 'kajak is shaped like a weaver's shuttle.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . 'the paddle is in the hands of an eskimo, what the balancing pole is to a tight-rope dancer.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'the koltshanen construct birch-bark canoes; but on the coast skin boats or baidars, like the eskimo kaiyaks and umiaks, are employed.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . if by accident a hole should be made, it is stopped with a piece of the flesh of the sea-dog, or fat of the whale, which they always carry with them. _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . they strike 'the water with a quick, regular motion, first on one side, and then on the other.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'wiegen nie über pfund, und haben ein dünnes mit leder überzognes gerippe.' _neue nachrichten_, p. . 'the aleutians put to sea with them in all weathers.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . at the shumagin islands they 'are generally about twelve feet in length, sharp at each end, and about twenty inches broad.' _meares' voy._, p. x. they are as transparent as oiled paper. at unalaska they are so light that they can be carried in one hand. _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. , . [ ] 'they average twelve feet in length, two feet six inches in height, two feet broad, and have the fore part turned up in a gentle curve.' 'the floor resembles a grating without cross-bars, and is almost a foot from the level of the snow.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . at saritscheff island 'i particularly remarked two very neat sledges made of morse and whalebones.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'to make the runners glide smoothly, a coating of ice is given to them.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . at norton sound captain cook found sledges ten feet long and twenty inches in width. a rail-work on each side, and shod with bone; 'neatly put together; some with wooden pins, but mostly with thongs or lashings of whale-bone.' _third voy._, vol. ii., p. , . mackenzie describes the sledges of british america, _voyages_, pp. , . [ ] 'about the size of those of newfoundland, with shorter legs.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'neither plentiful nor of a good class.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . [ ] the dog will hunt bear and reindeer, but is afraid of its near relative, the wolf. _brownell's ind. races_, p. . [ ] 'an average length is four and a half feet.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . 'the innuit snowshoe is small and nearly flat,' 'seldom over thirty inches long.' 'they are always rights and lefts.' ingalik larger; kutchin same style; hudson bay, thirty inches in length. _dall's alaska_, pp. , . 'they are from two to three feet long, a foot broad, and slightly turned up in front.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'blue beads, cutlery, tobacco, and buttons, were the articles in request.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . at hudson strait they have a custom of licking with the tongue each article purchased, as a finish to the bargain. _franklin's nar._, vol. i., . 'articles of russian manufacture find their way from tribe to tribe along the american coast, eastward to repulse bay.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . [ ] are very anxious to barter arrows, seal-skin boots, and ivory ornaments for tobacco, beads, and particularly for iron. _hooper's tuski_, p. . some of their implements at coppermine river are: stone kettles, wooden dishes, scoops and spoons made of buffalo or musk-ox horns. _hearne's travels_, p. . at point barrow were ivory implements with carved figures of sea-animals, ivory dishes, and a 'fine whalebone net.' also 'knives and other implements, formed of native copper' at coppermine river. _simpson's nar._, pp. , , . at point barrow they 'have unquestionably an indirect trade with the russians.' _simpson's nar._, . [ ] 'they are very expert traders, haggle obstinately, always consult together, and are infinitely happy when they fancy they have cheated anybody.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'a thieving, cunning race.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . they respect each other's property, 'but they steal without scruple from strangers.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'they have a chief (nalegak) in name, but do not recognize his authority.' _dr hayes_, in _hist. mag._, vol. i., p. . government, 'a combination of the monarchical and republican;' 'every one is on a perfect level with the rest.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. , . 'chiefs are respected principally as senior men.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . at kotzebue sound, a robust young man was taken to be chief, as all his commands were punctually obeyed. _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . quarrels 'are settled by boxing, the parties sitting down and striking blows alternately, until one of them gives in.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . every man governs his own family. _brownell's ind. races_, p. . they 'have a strong respect for their territorial rights, and maintain them with firmness.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . [ ] they are 'horribly filthy in person and habits.' _hooper's tuski_, p. . 'a husband will readily traffic with the virtue of a wife for purposes of gain.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . 'more than once a wife was proffered by her husband.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . as against the above testimony, seemann affirms: 'after the marriage ceremony has been performed infidelity is rare.' _voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . 'these people are in the habit of collecting certain fluids for the purposes of tanning; and that, judging from what took place in the tent, in the most open manner, in the presence of all the family.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'two men sometimes marry the same woman.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . 'as soon as a girl is born, the young lad who wishes to have her for a wife goes to her father's tent, and proffers himself. if accepted, a promise is given which is considered binding, and the girl is delivered to her betrothed husband at the proper age.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . women 'carry their infants between their reindeer-skin jackets and their naked backs.' _simpson's nar._, p. . 'all the drudgery falls upon the women; even the boys would transfer their loads to their sisters.' _collinson_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxv., p. . [ ] the '_kashim_ is generally built by the joint labour of the community.' _richardson's pol. reg._, p. . [ ] 'their dance is of the rudest kind, and consists merely in violent motion of the arms and legs.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . they make 'the most comical motions with the whole body, without stirring from their place.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . their song consisted of the words: 'hi, yangah yangah; ha ha, yangah--with variety only in the inflection of voice.' _hooper's tuski_, p. . when heated by the dance, even the women were stripped to their breeches. _simpson's nar._, p. . 'an old man, all but naked, jumped into the ring, and was beginning some indecent gesticulations, when his appearance not meeting with our approbation he withdrew.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'c'était la plus grande marque d'amitié qu'ils pouvaient nous donner.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, pt. ii., p. . 'they came up to me one after the other--each of them embraced me, rubbed his nose hard against mine, and ended his caresses by spitting in his hands and wiping them several times over my face.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., pp. , . [ ] 'their personal bravery is conspicuous, and they are the only nation on the north american continent who oppose their enemies face to face in open fight.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . 'simple, kind people; very poor, very filthy, and to us looking exceedingly wretched.' _mcclure's dis. n. w. passage_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxiv., p. . 'more bold and crafty than the indians; but they use their women much better.' _bell's geog._, vol. v., p. . [ ] 'their diseases are few.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . 'diseases are quite as prevalent among them as among civilized people.' _dall's alaska_, p. . 'ophthalmia was very general with them.' _beechey's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'there is seldom any mortality except amongst the old people and very young children.' _armstrong's nar._, p. . [ ] at point barrow, bodies were found in great numbers scattered over the ground in their ordinary seal-skin dress; a few covered with pieces of wood, the heads all turned north-east towards the extremity of the point. _simpson's nar._, p. . 'they lay their dead on the ground, with their heads all turned to the north.' 'the bodies lay exposed in the most horrible and disgusting manner.' _dease and simpson_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. viii., p. , . 'their position with regard to the points of the compass is not taken into consideration.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. ii., p. . 'there are many more graves than present inhabitants of the village, and the story is that the whole coast was once much more densely populated.' _dall's alaska_, p. . hooper, on coming to a burial place not far from point barrow, 'conjectured that the corpses had been buried in an upright position, with their heads at or above the surface.' _tuski_, p. . [ ] kadiak 'is a derivative, according to some authors, from the russian _kadia_, a large tub; more probably, however, it is a corruption of kaniag, the ancient innuit name.' _dall's alaska_, p. . holmberg thinks that the word kadiak arose from _kikchtak_, which in the language of the koniagas means a large island. 'der name kadjak ist offenbar eine verdrehung von kikchtak, welches wort in der sprache der konjagen "grosse insel" bedeutet und daher auch als benennung der grössten insel dieser gruppe diente.' _ethnographische skizzen über die völker des russischen amerika_, p. . 'a la division _koniagi_ appartient la partie la plus septentrionale de l'alaska, et l'île de kodiak, que les russes appellent vulgairement _kichtak_, quoique, dans la langue des naturels, le mot kightak ne désigne en général qu'une île.' _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. . coxe affirms that the natives 'call themselves kanagist.' _russian dis._, p. . and sauer says, 'the natives call themselves _soo-oo-it_.' _billings' ex._, p. . 'man verstand von ihnen, das sie sich selbst kanagist nennen.' _neue nachr._, p. . [ ] _tschugatsches_, _tschugatsi_ or _tschgatzi_. latham, _native races_, p. , says the name is athabascan, and signifies 'men of the sea.' [ ] _kuskoquigmutes_, _kuskokwimen_, _kuskokwigmjuten_, _kusckockwagemuten_, _kuschkukchwakmüten_, or _kaskutchewak_. [ ] the termination _mute_, _mut_, _meut_, _muten_, or _mjuten_, signifies people or village. it is added to the tribal name sometimes as a substantive as well as in an adjective sense. [ ] 'herr wassiljew schätzt ihre zahl auf mindestens seelen beiderlei geschlechts und jeglichen alters.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . [ ] 'es waren wohl einst alle diese inseln bewohnt.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . [ ] the malemutes are 'a race of tall and stout people.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . 'die kuskokwimer sind, mittlerer statur, schlank, rüstig und oft mit grosser stärke begabt.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . _dixon's voy._, p. . 'bisweilen fallen sogar riesige gestalten auf, wie ich z. b. einen häuptling in der igatschen bucht zu sehen gelegenheit hatte, dessen länge ¾ fuss betrug.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . the chief at prince william sound was a man of low stature, 'with a long beard, and seemed about sixty years of age.' _portlock's voy._, p. . a strong, raw-boned race. _meares' voy._, p. . at cook's inlet they seemed to be of the same nation as those of pr. wm. sd., but entirely different from those at nootka, in persons and language. _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . they are of 'middle size and well proportioned.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'they emigrated in recent times from the island of kadyak, and they claim, as their hereditary possessions, the coast lying between bristol bay and beering's straits.' _richardson's nar._, vol. i., p. . 'die tschugatschen sind ankömmlinge von der insel kadjack, die während innerer zwistigkeiten von dort vertrieben.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . [ ] achkugmjuten, 'bewohner der warmen gegend.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'copper complexion.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] 'they bore their under lip, where they hang fine bones of beasts and birds.' _staehlin's north. arch._, p. . 'setzen sich auch--zähne von vögeln oder thierknochen in künstliche oeffnungen der unterlippe und unter der nase ein.' _neue nachr._, p. . [ ] the people of kadiak, according to langsdorff, are similar to those of unalaska, the men being a little taller. they differ from the fox islanders. _voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'die insulaner waren hier von den einwohnern, der vorhin entdeckten übrigen fuchsinsuln, in kleidung und sprache ziemlich verschieden.' _neue nachr._, p. . 'ils ressemblent beaucoup aux indigènes des îles curiles, dépendantes du japon.' _laplace_, _circumnav._, vol. vi., p. . [ ] 'they wore strings of beads suspended from apertures in the lower lip.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'their ears are full of holes, from which hang pendants of bone or shell.' _meares' voy._, p. xxxii. 'elles portent des perles ordinairement en verre bleu, suspendues au-dessous du nez à un fil passé dans la cloison nasale.' _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. . 'upon the whole, i have nowhere seen savages who take more pains than these people do to ornament, or rather to disfigure their persons.' at prince william sound they are so fond of ornament 'that they stick any thing in their perforated lip; one man appearing with two of our iron nails projecting from it like prongs; and another endeavouring to put a large brass button into it.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . they slit the under lip, and have ornaments of glass beads and muscle-shells in nostrils and ears; tattoo chin and neck. _langsdorff's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'die frauen machen einschnitte in die lippen. der nasenknorpel ist ebenfalls durchstochen.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . [ ] the kadiaks dress like the aleuts, but their principal garment they call _konägen_; _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . like the unalaskas, the neck being more exposed, fewer ornamentations. _sauer_, _billings' voy._, p. . 'consists wholly of the skins of animals and birds.' _portlock's voy._, p. . a coat peculiar to norton sound appeared 'to be made of reeds sewed very closely together.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'nähen ihre _parken_ (winter-kleider) aus vögelhäuten und ihre _kamleien_ (sommer-kleider) aus den gedärmen von wallfischen und robben.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . at norton sound 'principally of deer-skins.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'ihre kleider sind aus schwarzen und andern fuchsbälgen, biber, vogelhäuten, auch jungen rennthier and jewraschkenfellen, alles mit sehnen genäht.' _neue nachr._, p. . 'the dress of both sexes consists of parkas and camleykas, both of which nearly resemble in form a carter's frock.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] 'una tunica entera de pieles que les abriga bastantemente.' _bodega y quadra_, _nav._, ms. p. . 'by the use of such a girdle, it should seem that they sometimes go naked.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'plastered over with mud, which gives it an appearance not very unlike a dung hill.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . sea-dog skin closes the opening. _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . the kuskoquims have 'huttes qu'ils appellent barabores pour l'été.' _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. . 'mit erde und gras bedeckt, so dass man mit recht die wohnungen der konjagen erdhütten nennen kann.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'a door fronting the east.' _sauer_, _billings' voy._, p. . at norton sound 'they consist simply of a sloping roof, without any side-walls.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . build temporary huts of sticks and bark. _portlock's voy._, p. . [ ] 'in dem kashim versammelt sich die männliche bevölkerung des ganzen dorfes zur berathschlagung über wichtige angelegenheiten, über krieg und frieden, etc.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . [ ] 'le poisson est la principale nourriture.' _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. . 'berries mixed with rancid whale oil.' 'the fat of the whale is the prime delicacy.' _lisiansky's voy._, pp. , . 'meistentheils nähren sie sich mit rohen und trocknen fischen, die sie theils in der see mit knöchernen angelhaken, theils in den bächen mit sacknetzen, die sie aus sehnen flechten, einfangen.' _neue nachr._, p. . they generally eat their food raw, but sometimes they boil it in water heated with hot stones. _meares' voy._, p. xxxv. the method of catching wild geese, is to chase and knock them down immediately after they have shed their large wing-feathers; at which time they are not able to fly. _portlock's voy._, p. . [ ] 'ich hatte auf der insel afognak gelegenheit dem zerschneiden eines wallfisches zuzusehen und versichere, dass nach verlauf von kaum stunden nur die blanken knochen auf dem ufer lagen.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . [ ] the kadiaks 'pass their time in hunting, festivals, and abstinence. the first takes place in the summer; the second begins in the month of december, and continues as long as any provisions remain; and then follows the period of famine, which lasts till the re-appearance of fish in the rivers. during the period last mentioned, many have nothing but shell-fish to subsist on, and some die for want.' _lisiansky's voy._, pp. , . [ ] 'wild animals which they hunt, and especially wild sheep, the flesh of which is excellent.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . they eat the larger sort of fern-root baked, and a substance which seemed the inner bark of the pine. _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'die eingebornen essen diese wurzeln (lagat) roh und gekocht; aus der wurzel, nachdem sie in mehl verwandelt ist, bäckt man, mit einer geringen beimischung von weizenmehl, süssliche, dünne kuchen.' _sagoskin_, _tagebuch_, in _denkschr. d. russ. geog. gesell._, p. . [ ] 'ihre hölzernen schilde nennen sie kujaki.' _neue nachr._, p. . [ ] 'selecting the roots of such plants as grow alone, these roots are dried and pounded, or grated.' _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . [ ] 'die pfeilspitzen sind aus eisen oder kupfer, ersteres erhalten sie von den kenayern, letzteres von den tutnen.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'de pedernal en forma de arpon, cortado con tanta delicadeza como pudiera hacerlo el mas hábil lapidario.' _bodega y quadra_, _nav._, ms. p. . [ ] at prince william sound cook found the canoes not of wood, as at nootka. at bristol bay they were of skin, but broader. _third voy._, vol. ii., pp. , . 'die kadjakschen baidarken unterscheiden sich in der form ein wenig von denen der andern bewohner der amerikanischen küste, von denen der aleuten aber namentlich darin, dass sie kürzer und breiter sind.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . at prince william sound, 'formada la canoa en esqueleto la forran por fuera con pieles de animales.' _bodega y quadra_, _nav._, ms. p. . 'qu'on se figure une nacelle de quatre mètres de long et de soixante centimètres de large tout au plus.' _laplace_, _circumnav._, vol. vi., p. . 'these canoes were covered with skins, the same as we had seen last season in cook's river. _dixon's voy._, p. . 'safer at sea in bad weather than european boats.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] their whale-sinew thread was as fine as silk. _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] the only tool seen was a stone adze. _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'their sewing, plaiting of sinews, and small work on their little bags may be put in competition with the most delicate manufactures found in any part of the known world.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., pp. , . 'if we may judge by these figures, the inhabitants of cadiack must have lost much of their skill in carving, their old productions of this kind being greatly superior.' _lisiansky_, p. . the ingalik's household furniture is made 'von gebogenem holz sehr zierlich gearbeitet und mittelst erdfarben roth, grün und blau angestrichen. zum kochen der speisen bedienen sie sich irdener, ausgebrannter geschirre.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . [ ] 'tis most probable they are divided into clans or tribes.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'they have a king, whose name was sheenoway.' _meares' voy._, p. xxvii. 'they always keep together in families, and are under the direction of toyons or chiefs.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] female slaves are sold from one tribe to another. _sauer, billings' voy._, p. . [ ] 'zugleich verschwand auch ihre benennung; man nannte sie ferner kajuren, ein wort aus kamtschatka hieher übergesiedelt, welches tagelöhner oder arbeiter bedeutet.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . [ ] 'they will not go a step out of the way for the most necessary purposes of nature; and vessels are placed at their very doors for the reception of the urinous fluid, which are resorted to alike by both sexes.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] 'not only do brothers and sisters cohabit with each other, but even parents and children.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . [ ] 'images dressed in different forms.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'the most favoured of women is she who has the greatest number of children.' _sauer_, _billings' voy._, p. . [ ] 'der vater oder die mutter bestimmen den sohn schon in seiner frühsten kindheit zum achnutschik, wenn er ihnen mädchenhaft erscheint.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'male concubines are much more frequent here than at oonalashka.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . they 'are happy to see them taken by the chiefs, to gratify their unnatural desires. such youths are dressed like women, and taught all their domestic duties.' _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . 'ces peuples sont très adonnés aux plaisirs des sens et même à un vice infame.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, pt. vii., p. . 'of all the customs of these islanders, the most disgusting is that of men, called _schoopans_, living with men, and supplying the place of women.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . this shameful custom applies to the thlinkeets as well. 'quelques personnes de l'equipage du solide ont rapporté qu'il ne leur est pas possible de douter que les tchinkîtânéens ne soient souillés de ce vice honteux que la théogonie immorale des grecs avoit divinisé.' _marchand_, _voy. aut. du monde_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'der schamane hat seiner obliegenheit gemäss oder aus besonderem wohlwollen sie der jungferschaft beraubt und sie wäre unwürdig vor der versammlung zu erscheinen, wenn sie ihre erste liebe irgend einem anderen und nicht dem schamanen gezollt hätte.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . [ ] 'their dances are proper tournaments.' _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . they are much addicted to public dances, especially during winter. _whymper's alaska_, p. . 'masks of the most hideous figures are worn.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'use a sort of rattle composed of a number of the beaks of the sea-parrot, strung upon a wooden cross,'--sounds like castanets. _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'die tänzer erscheinen, eben so, mit wurfspiessen oder messern in den händen, welche sie über dem kopfe schwingen.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . [ ] 'les sorciers et chamans jouissent d'une grande faveur dans cette région glacée de l'amérique.' _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. . 'schamanen und alte weiber kennen verschiedene heilmittel.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'next in rank to the shamans are the kaseks, or sages, whose office is to teach children the different dances, and superintend the public amusements and shows, of which they have the supreme control.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] 'the dead body of a chief is embalmed with moss, and buried.' _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . [ ] 'in one of the small buildings, or kennels, as they may very properly be called, was a woman who had retired into it in consequence of the death of her son.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] 'the word aleutian seems to be derived from the interrogative particle _allix_, which struck strangers in the language of that people.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. iii., p. . the unalaskas and 'the people of oomnak, call themselves _cowghalingen_.' 'the natives of alaska and all the adjacent islands they call _kagataiakung'n_.' _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . 'the inhabitants of unalashka are called _kogholaghi_; those of akutan, and further east to unimak, _kighigusi_; and those of unimak and alaxa, _kataghayekiki_. they cannot tell whence these appellations are derived; and now begin to call themselves by the general name of _aleyut_, given to them by the russians, and borrowed from some of the kurile islands.' _coxe's russ. dis._, p. . [ ] yet, says d'orbigny, _voyage_, p. : 'si on interroge les aléoutiens sur leur origine, ils disent que leurs ancêtres ont habité un grand pays vers l'ouest, et que de là ils sont avancés de proche en proche sur les îles désertes jusqu'au continent américain.' [ ] trapesnikoff took from an unknown island in , sea-otter skins. durneff returned to kamchatka in , with , skins. in one crew touched at bering island and took , arctic foxes, and , sea-bears. cholodiloff, in , took from one island , otter-skins. tolstych in one voyage took , sea-otter, blue foxes, and sea-bears. _coxe's russ. dis._, pp. , , , , . [ ] _sparks_, _life of ledyard_, p. . [ ] a great deal of character. _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . [ ] 'rather low of stature, but plump and well shaped; with rather short necks; swarthy chubby faces; black eyes; small beards, and long, straight, black hair; which the men wear loose behind, and cut before, but the women tie up in a bunch.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'von gesicht sind sie platt und weiss, von guter statur, durchgängig mit schwarzen haaren.' _neue nachr._, p. . 'low in stature, broad in the visage.' _campbell's voy._, p. . hair 'strong and wiry;' scanty beard, but thick on the upper lip. _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . [ ] 'les femmes aléoutes portaient aux mains et aux pieds des chapelets de pierres de couleur et préférablement d'ambre.' _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. . 'none are so highly esteemed as a sort of long muscle, commonly called sea-teeth, the _dentalium entalis_ of linnæus.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'women have the chin punctured in fine lines rayed from the centre of the lip and covering the whole chin.' they wear bracelets of black seal-skin around the wrists and ankles, and go barefoot. _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . 'im nasen-knorpel und der unterlippe machen beide geschlechter löcher und setzen knochen ein, welches ihr liebster schmuck ist. sie stechen sich auch bunte figuren im gesicht aus.' _neue nachr._, p. . 'they bore the upper lip of the young children of both sexes, under the nostrils, where they hang several sorts of stones, and whitened fish-bones, or the bones of other animals.' _staehlin's north arch._, p. . [ ] 'leur conformation est robuste et leur permet de supporter des travaux et des fatigues de toute sorte.' _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. . [ ] at shumagin island, their caps were of sea-lion skins. _müller's voy._, p. . on the front are one or two small images of bone. _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . a wooden hat, 'which in front comes out before the eyes like a sort of umbrella, and is rounded off behind.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'einige haben gemeine mützen von einem bunten vogelfell, woran sie etwas von den flügeln und dem schwanz sitzen lassen;--sind vorn mit einem brettchen wie ein schirm versehn und mit bärten von seebären--geschmücket.' _neue nachr._, pp. , . [ ] on a feather garment, 'a person is sometimes employed a whole year.' 'the women for the most part go bare-footed.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., pp. , . 'seams covered with thin slips of skin, very elegantly embroidered with white deer's hair, goat's hair, and the sinews of sea animals, dyed of different colours.' _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . 'ihr pelzkleid wird über den kopf angezogen, und ist hinten und vorn ganz zu. die männer tragen es aus vogelhäuten; die weiber hingegen von bibern und jungen seebären.' _neue nachr._, p. . 'boots and breeches in one piece.' _campbell's voy._, p. . [ ] 'round the sides and ends of the huts, the families (for several are lodged together) have their separate apartments, where they sleep, and sit at work; not upon benches, but in a kind of concave trench, which is dug all around the inside of the house, and covered with mats.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'when they have stood for sometime, they become overgrown with grass, so that a village has the appearance of an european churchyard full of graves.' _langsdorff's voy._, p. . 'in den jurten wird niemals feuer angelegt und doch ist es gemeiniglich sehr warm darinnen, so dass beide geschlechter ganz nakkend sitzen.' _neue nachr._, p. . [ ] 'a bidarka or boat is turned up sideways, and at the distance of four or five feet, two sticks, one opposite to the head and the other to the stern, are driven into the ground, on the tops of which a cross stick is fastened. the oars are then laid along from the boat to the cross stick, and covered with seal skins, which are always at hand for the purpose.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] 'among the greatest delicacies of oonalashka are the webbed feet of a seal, which are tied in a bladder, buried in the ground, and remain there till they are changed into a stinking jelly.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. ii., p. . almost everything is eaten raw. _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . the sea-dog is caught with nets, killed when asleep, or enticed on shore by a false cap made to resemble a seal's head. _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] 'l'aléoute peut tuer les phoques et les oiseaux, sans être obligé d'en rendre compte à la compagnie.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, pt. vii., p. . [ ] 'die spitze selbst wird theils aus obsidian oder lavaglas, theils auch aus trachyt verfertigt.' _kittlitz_, _reise_, vol. i., p. . spear-handles are feathered, the points of sharpened flint. _neue nachr._, p. , 'arrows are thrown from a narrow and pointed board, twenty inches long, which is held by the thumb and three fingers. they are thrown straight from the shoulder with astonishing velocity.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'les armes défensives consistaient en une cotte de joncs tressés qui leur couvrait tout le corps.' _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. . 'no such thing as an offensive, or even defensive weapon was seen amongst the natives of oonalashka.' probably they had been disarmed by the russians. _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'wherever any one has fixed his habitation, nobody else dares to hunt or fish.' _staehlin's nor. arch._, p. . for birds they point their darts with three light bones, spread and barbed. _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . 'indeed, there is a neatness and perfection in most of their work, that shews they neither want ingenuity nor perseverance.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] they make 'baskets called ishcats, in which the aleutians keep all their valuables.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'thread they make of the sinews of the seal, and of all sizes, from the fineness of a hair to the strength of a moderate cord, both twisted and plaited.' _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . of the teeth of sea-dogs they carve little figures of men, fish, sea-otters, sea-dogs, sea-cows, birds, and other objects. _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . [ ] 'wollen sie etwas an ihren pfeilen oder sonst eine kleinigkeit leimen, so schlagen sie sich an die nase und bestreichen es mit ihrem blute.' _neue nachr._, p. . [ ] _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. ; _campbell's voy._, p. . [ ] 'comme les femmes coûtaient cher en présents de fiançailles, la plupart des aléoutes n'en avaient qu'une ou deux.' _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. . purchase as many girls for wives as they can support. _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . 'objects of unnatural affection.' _id._, p. . 'their beards are carefully plucked out as soon as they begin to appear, and their chins tattooed like those of the women.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'the russians told us, that they never had any connections with their women, because they were not christians. our people were not so scrupulous; and some of them had reason to repent that the females of oonalashka encouraged their addresses without any reserve; for their health suffered by a distemper that is not unknown here.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'it often happens that a mother plunges her noisy child into water, even in winter, and keeps it there till it leaves off crying.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'schreyt das kind, so trägt es die mutter, es sey winter oder sommer nakkend nach der see, und hält es so lange im wasser bis es still wird.' _neue nachr._, p. . [ ] 'have their own chiefs in each island.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'generally is conferred on him who is the most remarkable for his personal qualities.' _coxe's russ. dis._, p. . [ ] those of the inhabitants who have two wives give their guests one, or a slave. _neue nachr._, p. . 'in the spring holidays, they wear masks, neatly carved and fancifully ornamented.' _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . [ ] 'on avait soin de le disposer de manière à ce qu'il ne touchât pas la terre.' _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. . 'embalm the bodies of the men with dried moss and grass.' _sauer_, _billings' ex._, p. . slaves sometimes slaughtered. _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'bury their dead on the summits of hills.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'when a man dies in the hut belonging to his wife, she retires into a dark hole, where she remains forty days. the husband pays the same compliment to his favorite wife upon her death.' _coxe's russ. dis._, p. . 'die todten werden begraben, und man giebt dem mann seinen kahn, pfeile und kleider mit ins grab.' 'die todten umwinden sie mit riemen und hängen sie in einer art hölzerner wiege an einen auf zwey gabelen ruhenden querstock in der luft auf.' _neue nachr._, pp. , . [ ] 'naturellement silencieux.' _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. . 'sie verrichten auch die nothdurft und das ehegeschäft ohne alle scheu.' _neue. nachr._, p. . 'a stupid silence reigns among them.' 'i am persuaded that the simplicity of their character exceeds that of any other people.' _lisiansky's voy._, pp. , . 'kind-hearted and obliging, submissive and careful; but if roused to anger, they become rash and unthinking, even malevolent, and indifferent to all danger.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'to all appearance, they are the most peaceable, inoffensive people, i ever met with. and, as to honesty, they might serve as a pattern to the most civilized nation upon earth.' _cook_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'to hunt was their task; to be drowned, or starved, or exhausted, was their reward.' _simpson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . 'they are harmless, wretched slaves,' whose race will soon be extinct. _kotzebue's voy._, vol. iii., p. . the russian hunters 'used not unfrequently to place the men close together, and try through how many the ball of their rifle-barrelled musket would pass.' _sauer_, _billings' ex. app._, p. . 'of a thousand men, who formerly lived in this spot, scarcely more than forty remained.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'la variole, la syphilis, voire même le choléra depuis quelques années, en emportent une effrayante quantité.' _laplace_, _circumnav._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] _kaluga_, _kaljush_, _koljush_, _kalusch_, _kolush_, _kolosch_, _kolosh_, _kolosches_. marchand calls them tchinkîtâné. _voyage aut. du monde_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] see _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, pp. , . [ ] _ugalachmiuti_, _ugaljachmjuten_, _ugalyachmutzi_, _ugalukmutes_, _ugalenzi_, _ugalenzen_, _ugalenzes_. [ ] they 'call themselves g-tinkit, or s-chinkit, or also s-chitcha-chon, that is, inhabitants of sitki or sitcha.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., . [ ] the orthographic varieties of this word are endless. _stickeen_, _stekin_, _stakhin_, _stachin_, _stikin_, _stachine_, _stikeen_, _stikine_, _stychine_, are among those before me at the moment. [ ] at the end of this chapter, under tribal boundaries, the location of these tribes is given definitely. [ ] a thlinkeet boy, 'when under the whip, continued his derision, without once exhibiting the slightest appearance of suffering.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] 'leur corps est ramassé, mais assez bien proportionné.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'very fierce.' _portlock's voy._, p. . 'limbs straight and well shaped.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'stolze gerade haltung.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'active and clever.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'bigote á manera de los chinos.' _perez_, _nav._, ms. p. . 'limbs ill-proportioned.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'très supérieurs en courage et en intelligence.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] the women 'are pleasing and their carriage modest.' _portlock's voy._, p. . when washed, white and fresh. _dixon's voy._, p. . 'dunkle hautfarbe.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'eran de color blanco y habia muchos con ojos azules.' _perez_, _nav._, ms. p. . as fair as many europeans. _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'muchos de ellos de un blanco regular.' _bodega y quadra_, _nav._, ms. p. . [ ] 'leur chevelure, dure, épaisse, mêlée, couverte d'ocre, de duvet d'oiseaux et de toutes les ordures que la négligence et le temps y ont accumulées, contribue encore à rendre leur aspect hideux.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'a more hideous set of beings, in the form of men and women, i had never before seen.' _cleveland's voy._, p. . the men painted 'a black circle extending from the forehead to the mouth, and a red chin, which gave the face altogether the appearance of a mask.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . pourraient même passer pour jolies, sans l'horrible habitude qu'elles ont adoptée.' _laplace_, _circumnav._, tom. vi., p. . 'that person seems to be reckoned the greatest beau amongst them, whose face is one entire piece of smut and grease.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'ils se font des cicatrices sur les bras et sur la poitrine.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'um aus dem gesichte diese fette farbenmasse abzuwaschen, gebrauchen sie ihren eignen urin, und dieser verursacht bei ihnen den widerlichen geruch, der den sich ihm nahenden fremdling fast zum erbrechen bringt.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . [ ] meares, _voyages_, p. xxxi., states that at prince william sound, 'the men have universally a slit in their under lip, between the projecting part of the lip and the chin, which is cut parallel with their mouths, and has the appearance of another mouth.' worn only by women. _dixon's voy._, p. . [ ] 'about three tenths of an inch below the upper part of the under lip.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'in the centre of the under-lip.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'fendue au ras des gencives.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'in the thick part near the mouth.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'when the first person having this incision was seen by one of the seamen, who called out, that the man had two mouths.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'in their early infancy, a small incision is made in the center of the under lip, and a piece of brass or copper wire is placed in, and left in the wound. this corrodes the lacerated parts, and by consuming the flesh gradually increases the orifice, until it is sufficiently large to admit the wooden appendage.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'les femmes de tchinkîtâné ont cru devoir ajouter à leur beauté naturelle, par l'emploi d'un ornement labial, aussi bizarre qu'incommode.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'simply perforated, and a piece of copper wire introduced.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'les jeunes filles n'ont qu'une aiguille dans la lèvre inférieure.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'on y prépare les petites filles aussitôt qu'elles sont nées.' _id._, tom. iv., p. . 'at first a thick wire.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . when almost marriageable. _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'the children have them bored at about two years of age, when a piece of copper-wire is put through the hole; this they wear till the age of about thirteen or fourteen years, when it is taken out, and the wooden ornament introduced.' _portlock's voy._, p. . 'said to denote maturity.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . 'se percer la lèvre inférieure des l'enfance.' 'd'agrandir peu à peu cette ouverture au point de pouvoir jeune fille y introduire une coquille, et femme mariée une énorme tasse de bois.' _laplace_, _circumnav._, tom. vi., p. . 'never takes place during their infancy.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'when the event takes place that implies womanhood.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'wenn zum ersten mal beim mädchen sich spuren der mannbarkeit zeigen, wird ihre unterlippe durchstochen und in diese oeffnung eine knochenspitze, gegenwärtig doch häufiger ein silberstift gelegt.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'pues les pareció que solo lo tenian los casados.' _perez_, _nav._, ms. p. . [ ] 'concave on both sides.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'so lange sie unverheirathet ist, trägt sie diesen; erhält sie aber einen mann, so presst man einen grösseren schmuck von holz oder knochen in die oeffnung, welcher nach innen, d. h. zur zahnseite etwas trogförmig ausgehöhlt ist.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'une espèce d'écuelle de bois sans anses qui appuie contre les gencives.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . pieces of shell resembling teeth. _meares' voy._, p. xxxi. [ ] 'as large as a large saucer.' _portlock's voy._, p. . 'from one corner of the mouth to the other.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'frequently increased to three, or even four inches in length, and nearly as wide.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'a communément un demi-pouce d'épaisseur, deux de diamètre, et trois pouces de long.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. iv., p. . 'at least seven inches in circumference.' _meares' voy._, p. xxxviii. 'mit den jahren wird der schmuck vergrössert, so dass er bei einem alten weibe über zoll breit angetroffen wird.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . from two to five inches long, and from one and a half to three inches broad. ladies of distinction increase the size. 'i have even seen ladies of very high rank with this ornament, full five inches long and three broad.' mr dwolf affirms that he saw 'an old woman, the wife of a chief, whose lip ornament was so large, that by a peculiar motion of her under-lip she could almost conceal her whole face with it.' 'horrible in its appearance to us europeans.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'es una abertura como de media pulgada debaxo del labio inferior, que representa segunda boca, donde colocan una especie de roldana elíptica de pino, cuyo diámetro mayor es de dos pulgadas, quatro lineas, y el menor de una pulgada.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . [ ] 'une énorme tasse de bois, destinée à recevoir la salive qui s'en échappe constamment.' _laplace_, _circumnav._, tom. vi., p. . 'l'effet de cet ornement est de rabattre, par le poids de sa partie saillante la lèvre inférieure sur le menton, de développer les charmes d'une grande bouche béante, qui prend la forme de celle d'un four, et de mettre à découvert une rangée de dents jaunes et sales.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'she is obliged to be constantly on the watch, lest it should fall out, which would cover her with confusion.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'the weight of this trencher or ornament weighs the lip down so as to cover the whole of the chin, leaving all the lower teeth and gum quite naked.' _portlock's voy._, p. . 'l'usage le plus révoltant qui existe peut-être sur la terre.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'always in proportion to a person's wealth.' 'distorts every feature in the lower part of the face.' _dixon's voy._, p. , . 'in running the lip flaps up and down so as to knock sometimes against the chin and sometimes against the nose. upon the continent the kaluga is worn still larger; and the female who can cover her whole face with her under-lip passes for the most perfect beauty,' 'the lips of the women held out like a trough, and always filled with saliva stained with tobacco-juice, of which they are immoderately fond, is the most abominably revolting part of the spectacle.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'dadurch entsteht eine im selbigen maasse ausgedehnte lippe, die höchst widerlich aussieht, um so mehr, da sich nun mehr der mund nicht schliessen kann, sondern unaufhörlich einen braunen tabaksspeichel von sich gibt.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'so distorts the face as to take from it almost the resemblance to the human; yet the privilege of wearing this ornament is not extended to the female slaves, who are prisoners taken in war.' _cleveland's voy._, p. . 'look as if they had large flat wooden spoons growing in the flesh.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'the sight is hideous. our men used jocosely to say, this lower lip would make a good slab to lay their trousers on to be scrubbed.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . 'on ne connaît point d'explication plausible de cette mutilation, qui, chez les indiens, passe pour un signe de noblesse.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'die männertracht unterscheidet sich in nichts von der weiber; sie besteht nämlich aus einem bis zu den knieen gehenden hemde.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . some of their blankets 'are so curiously worked on one side with the fur of the sea-otter, that they appear as if lined with it.' 'some dress themselves in short pantaloons.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'las mugeres visten honestamente una especie de túnica interior de piel sobada.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. cxvii. 'se vestian las mugeres tunicas de pieles ajustadas al cuerpo con brazaletes de cobre o hierro.' _perez_, _nav._, ms. p. . 'usual clothing consists of a little apron.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'their feet are always bare.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . [ ] 'usan sombreros de la corteza interior del pino en forma de cono truncado.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. cxvii. their wooden masks 'are so thick, that a musket-ball, fired at a moderate distance, can hardly penetrate them.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] pluck out their beard. _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'ils ont de la barbe, moins à la vérité que les européens, mais assez cependant pour qu'il soit impossible d'en douter.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'the women in general are hair-dressers for their husbands.' _portlock's voy._, p. . [ ] 'der eingang, ziemlich hoch von der erde, besteht aus einem kleinen runden loche.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . 'ils se construisent des maisons de bois ou de terre pour l'hiver.' _laplace_, _circumnav._, vol. vi., p. . 'the barabaras of the sitcan people are of a square form, and spacious. the sides are of planks; and the roof resembles that of a russian house.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'habitan estos indios en chozas ó rancherías de tablas muy desabrigadas.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. cxvi. at sitka the roof 'rests upon ten or twelve thick posts driven into the ground, and the sides of the house are composed of broad thick planks fastened to the same posts.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'dans l'intérieur des terres, des habitations bien construites, spacieuses et commodes.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'shanties on a large scale.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . 'their huts are made of a few boards, which they take away with them when they go to their winter quarters. it is very surprising to see how well they will shape their boards with the shocking tools they employ; some of them being full feet long, ½ feet broad, and not more than an inch thick.' _portlock's voy._, p. . 'high, large, and roomy, built of wood, with the hearth in the middle, and the sides divided into as many compartments as there are families living under the roof.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . 'lebt in schoppen aus balken gebaut, wo an den seiten für jede familie besondere plätze abgetheilt sind, in der mitte aber feuer für alle zusammen angemacht wird. so pflegen gemeiniglich bis familien eine einzige scheune einzunehmen.' _baer's ethn. u. stat._, p. . [ ] 'vingt-cinq pieds de long sur quinze à vingt pieds de large.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'roof in the whole with the bark of trees.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'las casas en que estos habitan en las playas son de poca consideracion y ninguna subsistencia.' _bodega y quadra_, _nav._, ms. p. . 'a few poles stuck in the ground, without order or regularity.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'gebäude besteht aus langen, sorgfältig behauenen brettern, die kartenhausartig über einander gestellt, an zahlreichen in die erde gesteckten stangen befestigt, recht eigentlich ein hölzernes zelt bilden. es hat die form einer länglichen barake mit zwei giebeln.' _kittlitz_, _reise_, vol. i., pp. , . [ ] all kinds of fish; 'such as salmon, mussels, and various other shell-fish, sea-otters, seals and porpoises; the blubber of the porpoise, they are remarkably fond of, and indeed the flesh of any animal that comes in their way.' _portlock's voy._, p. . 'vom meere, an dessen ufern sie sich stets ansiedeln, erhalten sie ihre hauptsächlichste nahrung; einige wurzeln, gräser u. beeren gehören nur zu den leckerbissen des sommers.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . cakes made of bark of spruce-fir, mixed with roots, berries, and train-oil. for salt they use sea-water. never eat whale-fat. _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . at sitka, summer food consists of berries, fresh fish, and flesh of amphibious animals. winter food, of dried salmon, train-oil, and the spawn of fish, especially herrings. _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'sus alimentos se reducen á pescado cocido ó asado ya fresco ó ya seco, varias hierbas y raizes.' _bodega y quadra_, _nav._, ms. p. . they chew 'a plant which appears to be a species of tobacco.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'sont couverts de vermine; ils font une chasse assidue à ces animaux dévorans, mais pour les dévorer eux-mêmes.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'tägliche nahrung der einwohner--sind hauptsächtlich fische, doch häufig auch mollusken und echinodermen.' _kittlitz_, _reise_, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'le poisson frais ou fumé, les oeufs séchés de poisson.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'is sometimes cooked upon red-hot stones, but more commonly eaten raw.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'not so expert in hunting as the aleutians. their principal mode is that of shooting the sea animals as they lie asleep.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . they boil their victuals in wooden vessels, by constantly putting red-hot stones into the water. _portlock's voy._, p. . 'das kochen geschieht jetzt in eisernen kesseln, vor der bekanntschaft mit den russen aber wurden dazu aus wurzeln geflochtene körbe angewandt.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . [ ] to their fishing lines, bladders are fastened, 'which float upon the surface of the water, so that one person can attend to fourteen or fifteen lines.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'ils pêchent, comme nous, en barrant les rivières, ou à la ligne.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'for taking the spawn, they use the branches of the pine-tree, to which it easily adheres, and on which it is afterwards dried. it is then put into baskets, or holes purposely dug in the ground, till wanted.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'su comun alimento es el salmon, y es ingenioso el método que tienen de pescarle.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. cxvii. 'their lines are very strong, being made of the sinews or intestines of animals.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'die riesenbutte, die in sitcha bisweilen ein gewicht von bis pud erreicht, wird aus der tiefe mit grossen hölzernen angeln, die mit widerhaken aus eisen oder knochen versehen sind, herausgezogen. die angelschnur besteht aus an einander geknüpften fucusstängeln.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . [ ] 'bows and arrows were formerly their only weapons; now, besides their muskets, they have daggers, and knives half a yard long.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . their weapons were bows, arrows, and spears. _dixon's voy._, p. . 'leur lances dont l'ancienne forme n'est pas connue, est à présent composée de deux pièces: de la hampe, longue de quinze ou dix-huit pieds, et du fer qui ne le cède en rien à celui de la hallebarde de parade dont étoit armé un suisse de paroisse.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . knives, some two feet long, shaped almost like a dagger, with a ridge in the middle. worn in skin sheaths hung by a thong to the neck under their robe, probably used only as weapons. _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'las armas ofensivas que generalmente usan son las flechas, lanzas de seis y ocho varas de largo con lenguetas de fierro.' _bodega y quadra_, _nav._, ms. p. . 'the daggers used in battle are made to stab with either end, having three, four or five inches above the hand tapered to a sharp point; but the upper part of those used in the sound and river is excurvated.' _portlock's voy._, p. . 'principally bows and arrows.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'sus armas se reducen al arco, la flecha y el puñal que traen siempre consigo.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. cxvii. 'comme nous examinions très attentivement tous ces poignards, ils nous firent signe qu'ils n'en faisaient usage que contre les ours et les autres bêtes des forêts.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'der dolch ist sehr breit und hat zwei geschliffene blätter auf jeder seite des griffes, das obere jedoch nur ein viertel von der länge des unteren.' 'beide blätter oder klingen sind mit ledernen scheiden versehen.' _holmberg_, _ethn. skiz._, p. . [ ] 'a kind of jacket, or coat of mail, made of thin laths, bound together with sinews, which makes it quite flexible, though so close as not to admit an arrow or dart.' _cook's third voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'für den krieg besitzen die kaloschen auch von holz gearbeitete schutzwaffen: brustharnische, sturmhauben und seltsam geschnitzte visire, mit grellen farben bemalte fratzengesichter darstellen.' _kittlitz_, _reise_, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'they never attack their enemies openly.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'les guerriers tués ou faits prisonniers à la guerre, passent également sous la dent de leurs vainqueurs qui, en dévorant une proie aussi distinguée, croient y puiser de nouvelles forces, une nouvelle énergie.' _laplace_, _circumnav._, tom. vi., p. . [ ] 'bien hechas de una pieza con su falca sobre las bordas.' _perez_, _nav._, ms. p. . 'on n'est pas moins étonné de leur stabilité: malgré la légèreté et le peu de largeur de la coque, elles n'ont pas besoin d'être soutenues par des balanciers, et jamais on ne les accouple.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'las regulares canoas de que se sirven son de pino, y no tienen mas capacidad que la que basta para contener una familia, sin embargo que las hay sumamente grandes.' _bodega y quadra_, _nav._, ms. p. . 'rudely excavated and reduced to no particular shape, but each end has the resemblance of a butcher's tray.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'their canoes are much inferior to those of the lower coast, while their skin "baidarkes" (kyacks) are not equal to those of norton sound and the northern coast.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . at cook's inlet, 'their canoes are sheathed with the bark of trees.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . these canoes 'were made from a solid tree, and many of them appeared to be from to feet in length, but very narrow, being no broader than the tree itself.' _meares' voy._, p. xxxviii. 'their boat was the body of a large pine tree, neatly excavated, and tapered away towards the ends, until they came to a point, and the fore-part somewhat higher than the after-part; indeed, the whole was finished in a neat and very exact manner.' _portlock's voy._, p. . [ ] 'ont fait beaucoup plus de progrès dans les arts que dans la morale.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . thlinkeet women make baskets of bark of trees, and grass, that will hold water. _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . they have tolerable ideas of carving, most utensils having sculptures, representing some animal. _portlock's voy._, p. . 'ces peintures, ces sculptures, telles qu'elles sont, on en voit sur tous leurs meubles.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'de la vivacidad de su genio y del afecto al cambio se debe inferir son bastantemente laboriosos.' _bodega y quadra_, _nav._, ms. p. . 'tienen lana blanca cuya especie ignoraron.' _perez_, _nav._, ms. p. . 'masks very ingeniously cut in wood, and painted with different colors.' a rattle, 'very well finished, both as to sculpture and painting.' 'one might suppose these productions the work of a people greatly advanced in civilization.' _lisiansky's voy._, pp. , . 'found some square patches of ground in a state of cultivation, producing a plant that appeared to be a species of tobacco.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] 'the skins of the sea-otters form their principal wealth, and are a substitute for money.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'in one place they discovered a considerable hoard of woolen cloth, and as much dried fish as would have loaded bidarkas.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] 'le gouvernement des tchinkitânéens paroîtroit donc se rapprocher du gouvernement patriarchal.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'de su gobierno pensamos cuando mas, oiendo el modo de someterse á algunos viejos, seria oligárhico.' _bodega y quadra_, _nav._, ms. p. . 'though the toyons have power over their subjects, it is a very limited power, unless when an individual of extraordinary abilities starts up, who is sure to rule despotically.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . 'chaque famille semble vivre d'une manière isolée et avoir un régime particulier.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. iv., p. . 'ces conseils composés des vieillards.' _laplace_, _circumnav._, tom. vi., p. . [ ] tribes are distinguished by the color and character of their paint. _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . they 'are divided into tribes; the principal of which assume to themselves titles of distinction, from the names of the animals they prefer; as the tribe of the bear, of the eagle, etc. the tribe of the wolf are called _coquontans_, and have many privileges over the other tribes.' _lisiansky's voy._, pp. , . [ ] 'the women possess a predominant influence, and acknowledged superiority over the other sex.' _meares' voy._, p. . 'parmi eux les femmes jouissent d'une certaine considération.' _laplace_, _circumnav._, tom. vi., p. . they treat their wives and children with much affection and tenderness, and the women keep the treasures. _portlock's voy._, p. . the kalush 'finds his filthy countrywomen, with their lip-troughs, so charming, that they often awaken in him the most vehement passion.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'it is certain that industry, reserve, modesty, and conjugal fidelity, are the general characteristics of the female sex among these people.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'quoiqu'elles vivent sous la domination d'hommes très-féroces, je n'ai pas vu qu'elles en fussent traitées d'une manière aussi barbare que le prétendent la plupart des voyageurs.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] 'weddings are celebrated merely by a feast, given to the relatives of the bride.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'ils ne s'écartent jamais de deux pas pour aucun besoin; ils ne cherchent dans ces occasions ni l'ombre ni le mystère; ils continuent la conversation qu'ils ont commencée, comme s'ils n'avaient pas un instant à perdre; et lorsque c'est pendant le repas, ils reprennent leur place, dont ils n'ont jamais été éloignés d'une toise.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'ont un goût décidé pour le chant.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'the women sit upon the ground at a distance of some paces from the dancers, and sing a not inharmonious melody, which supplies the place of music.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'they dance and sing continually.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . besides the tambourine, captain belcher saw a castanet and 'a new musical instrument, composed of three hoops, with a cross in the centre, the circumference being closely strung with the beaks of the alca arctica.' _voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] they lose at this game all their possessions, and even their wives and children, who then become the property of the winner.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'ce jeu les rend tristes et sérieux.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] upon one tomb, 'formaba una figura grande y horrorosa que tenia entre sus garras una caxa.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. cxviii. 'the box is frequently decorated with two or three rows of small shells.' _dixon's voy._, p. . 'the dead are burned, and their ashes preserved in small wooden boxes, in buildings appropriated to that purpose.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'nos voyageurs rencontrèrent aussi un morai qui leur prouva que ces indiens étaient dans l'usage de brûler les morts et d'en conserver la tête.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'on the death of a toyon, or other distinguished person, one of his slaves is deprived of life, and burned with him.' _lisiansky's voy._, p. . [ ] called by gallatin, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. , _athapasca_, the name 'first given to the central part of the country they inhabit.' sir john richardson, _jour._, vol. ii., p. , calls them 'tinnè, or 'dtinnè, athabascans or chepewyans.' 'they style themselves generally dinneh men, or indians.' _franklin's nar._, vol. i., p. . [ ] _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] 'les indiens de la côte ou de la nouvelle calédonie, les tokalis, les chargeurs (carriers) les schouchouaps, les atnas, appartiennent tous à la nation des chipeouaïans dont la langue est en usage dans le nord du continent jusqu'à la baie d'hudson et à la mer polaire.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] are 'known under the names of _loucheux_, _digothi_, and _kutshin_.' _latham's nat. races_, p. . 'they are called deguthee dinees, or the _quarrellers_.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. . 'on peel's river they name themselves _kutchin_, the final _n_ being nasal and faintly pronounced.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . they are also called _tykothee-dinneh_, loucheux or quarrellers. _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . 'the loucheux proper is spoken by the indians of peel's river. all the tribes inhabiting the valley of the youkon understand one another.' _hardisty_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] gallatin, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. , erroneously ruled the loucheux out of his athabasca nation. 'im äussersten nordosten hat uns gallatin aufmerksam gemacht auf das volk der loucheux, zänker-indianer oder digothi: an der mündung des mackenzie-flusses, nach einigen zu dessen beiden seiten (westliche und östliche): dessen sprache er nach den reisenden für fremd den athapaskischen hielt: worüber sich die neuen nachrichten noch widersprechen.' _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . franklin, _nar._, vol. ii., p. , allies the loucheux to the eskimos. [ ] tnai, 'man;' tnaina ttynai, thnaina, kinai, kenai, kenaize. [ ] see notes on boundaries at the end of this chapter. [ ] besides the 'umkwa,' being outlying members of the athabaskan stock,' there are the 'navahoe, the jecorilla, the panalero, along with the apatsh of new mexico, california, and sonora. to these add the hoopah of california, which is also athabaskan.' _latham's comp. phil._, p. . [ ] william w. turner was the first to assert positively that the apaches spoke a language which belongs to the athabascan family. _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. . [ ] face 'oval.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . 'broad faces, projecting cheek-bones, and wide nostrils.' _id._, vol. i., p. . foreheads low, chin long. _martin's brit. col._, vol. iii., p. . an exact compound between the usquemows and western indians. _barrow's geog. hudson bay_, p. . [ ] generally more than medium size. _hearne's trav._, p. . 'well proportioned, and about the middle size.' _martin's brit. col._, vol. iii., p. . 'long-bodied, with short, stout limbs.' _ross_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] 'dingy copper.' _martin's brit. col._, vol. iii., p. . 'swarthy.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. cxix. dingy brown, copper cast. _hearne's trav._, p. . 'very fresh and red.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . 'dirty yellowish ochre tinge.' _ross_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] 'small, fine eyes and teeth.' _franklin's nar._, vol. i., . [ ] 'hair lank, but not always of a dingy black. men in general extract their beard, though some of them are seen to prefer a bushy, black beard, to a smooth chin.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. cxix. beard in the aged 'between two and three inches long, and perfectly white.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . 'black, strait, and coarse.' _martin's brit. col._, vol. iii., p. . 'neither sex have any hair under their armpits, and very little on any other part of the body, particularly the women; but on the place where nature plants the hair, i never knew them attempt to eradicate it.' _hearne's trav._, p. . [ ] tattooing appears to be universal among the kutchins. _kirby_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . the chepewyans tattooed 'by entering an awl or needle under the skin, and, on drawing it out again, immediately rubbing powdered charcoal into the wound.' _hearne's trav._, p. . 'both sexes have blue or black bars, or from one to four straight lines on their cheeks or forehead, to distinguish the tribe to which they belong.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. cxx. [ ] women 'destitute of real beauty.' _hearne's trav._, p. . 'very inferior aspect.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . women nasty. _mackenzie's voy._, p. . 'positively hideous.' _ross_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] a deer-horn mountaineer's dress 'consisted of a shirt, or jacket with a hood, wide breeches, reaching only to the knee, and tight leggins sewed to the shoes, all of deer's skins.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . the cap consists of the skin of a deer's head. _mackenzie's voy._, p. cxxii. [ ] as witness this speech of a noble chief: 'women were made for labor; one of them can carry, or haul, as much as two men can do. they also pitch our tents, make and mend our clothing, keep us warm at night; and, in fact, there is no such thing as traveling any considerable distance, in this country without their assistance.' _hearne's trav._, p. . [ ] an indian desiring another one's wife, fights with her husband, principally by pulling hair. if victorious, he pays a number of skins to the husband. _hooper's tuski_, p. . [ ] 'continence in an unmarried female is scarcely considered a virtue.' 'their dispositions are not amatory.' 'i have heard among them of two sons keeping their mother as a common wife, of another wedded to his daughter, and of several married to their sisters. _ross_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . women carry their children on the back next the skin, and suckle them until another is born. they do not suspend their ordinary occupations for child-birth. _mackenzie's voy._, p. cxxii. 'a temporary interchange of wives is not uncommon; and the offer of their persons is considered as a necessary part of the hospitality due to strangers.' _id._, p. xcvi. women are 'rather the slaves than the companions of the men.' _bell's geog._, vol. v., p. . [ ] they are harsh towards their wives, except when enceinte. they are accused of abandoning the aged and sick, but only one case came to his knowledge. _franklin's nar._, vol. i., pp. , . [ ] beeatee, prepared from deer only, 'is a kind of haggis, made with the blood, a good quantity of fat shred small, some of the tenderest of the flesh, together with the heart and lungs cut, or more commonly cut into small shivers; all of which is put into the stomach, and roasted.' _hearne's trav._, p. . 'not remarkable for their activity as hunters, owing to the ease with which they snare deer and spear fish.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. cxxiii. the deer-horn mountaineers 'repair to the sea in spring and kill seals; as the season advances, they hunt deer and musk oxen at some distance from the coast. they approach the deer either by crawling, or by leading these animals by ranges of turf towards the spot where the archer can conceal himself.' do not use nets, but the hook and line. _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . 'nets made of lines of twisted willow-bark, or thin strips of deer-hide.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . curdled blood, a favorite dish. _simpson's nar._, p. . [ ] the weapons of the chepewyans are bows and arrows; stone and bone axes and knives. _harmon's jour._, p. . the bows of the deer-horns 'are formed of three pieces of fir, the centre piece alone bent, the other two lying in the same straight line with the bowstring; the pieces are neatly tied together with sinew. _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . in preparing for an attack, each coppermine indian paints his shield with figures of sun, moon, or some animal or imaginary beings, each portraying whatever character he most relies upon. _hearne's trav._, p. . in some parts hunting grounds descend by inheritance, and the right of property is rigidly enforced. _simpson's nar._, p. . [ ] 'their cooking utensils are made of pot-stone, and they form very neat dishes of fir.' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . make fishing-lines and nets of green deer-thongs. _mackenzie's voy._, p. cxxvi. [ ] 'they are great mimics.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . men dance naked; women dressed. a crowd stand in a straight line, and shuffle from right to left without moving the feet from the ground. _hearne's trav._, p. . 'the men occasionally howl in imitation of some animal.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. . [ ] 'they manifest no common respect to the memory of their departed friends, by a long period of mourning, cutting off their hair, and never making use of the property of the deceased.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. cxxviii. the death of leading men is attributed to conjuring. they never bury the dead, but leave them, where they die, for wild beasts to devour. _hearne's trav._, p. . the chepewyans bury their dead. when mourning for relatives they gash their bodies with knives. _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., pp. , . [ ] 'the northern indians seldom attain a great age, though they have few diseases.' _martin's brit. col._, vol. iii., p. . for inward complaints, the doctors blow zealously into the rectum, or adjacent parts. _hearne's trav._, p. . the conjurer shuts himself up for days with the patient, without food, and sings over him. _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . medicine-men or conjurers are at the same time doctors. _hooper's tuski_, pp. , . 'the kutchins practice blood-letting _ad libitum_.' _jones_, _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'their principal maladies are rheumatic pains, the flux, and consumption.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. cxxiv. [ ] according to the report of the dog-ribs, the mountain indians are cannibals, casting lots for victims in time of scarcity. _simpson's nar._, p. . 'instances of suicide, by hanging, frequently occur among the women.' _harmon's jour._, p. . during times of starvation, which occur quite frequently, the slavé indians eat their families. _hooper's tuski_, p. . 'these people take their names, in the first instance, from their dogs. a young man is the father of a certain dog, but when he is married, and has a son, he styles himself the father of the boy. the women have a habit of reproving the dogs very tenderly when they observe them fighting. "are you not ashamed," say they, "to quarrel with your little brother?"' _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., pp. , . 'whether circumcision be practiced among them, i cannot pretend to say, but the appearance of it was general among those whom i saw.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. . dog-rib indians, sometimes also called slavés, 'a name properly meaning 'strangers.' _gallatin_, in _am. arch. soc. trans._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'order is maintained in the tribe solely by public opinion.' _richardson's jour._, vol. ii., p. . the chiefs are now totally without power. _franklin's nar._, vol. i., p. . 'they are influenced, more or less, by certain principles which conduce to their general benefit.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. cxxv. [ ] 'many consider a broth, made by means of the dung of the cariboo and the hare, to be a dainty dish.' _harmon's jour._, p. . they 'are lazy, dirty, and sensual,' and extremely uncivilized. 'their habits and persons are equally disgusting.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'they are a tall, well formed, good-looking race.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . 'an utter contempt of cleanliness prevailed on all hands, and it was revolting to witness their voracious endeavors to surpass each other in the gluttonous contest.' _ind. life_, p. . [ ] the women 'run a wooden pin through their noses.' _harmon's jour._, p. . at their burial ceremonies they smear the face 'with a composition of fish-oil and charcoal.' when conjuring, the chief and his companions 'wore a kind of coronet formed of the inverted claws of the grizzly bear.' _ind. life_, pp. , . [ ] the tacullies have 'wooden dishes, and other vessels of the rind of the birch and pine trees.' 'have also other vessels made of small roots or fibres of the cedar or pine tree, closely laced together, which serve them as buckets to put water in.' _harmon's jour._, p. . [ ] 'in the summer season both sexes bathe often; and this is the only time, when the married people wash themselves.' the tacullies are very fond and very jealous of their wives, 'but to their daughters, they allow every liberty, for the purpose, as they say, of keeping the young men from intercourse with the married women.' _harmon's jour._, pp. , , . a father, whose daughter had dishonored him, killed her and himself. _ind. life_, . [ ] 'the people of every village have a certain extent of country, which they consider their own, and in which they may hunt and fish; but they may not transcend these bounds, without purchasing the privilege of those who claim the land. mountains and rivers serve them as boundaries.' _harmon's jour._, p. . [ ] mackenzie, _voy._, p. , found on fraser river, about latitude °, a deserted house, by , with three doors, by ½ feet; three fire-places, and beds on either side; behind the beds was a narrow space, like a manger, somewhat elevated, for keeping fish. 'their houses are well formed of logs of small trees, buttressed up internally, frequently above seventy feet long and fifteen high, but, unlike those of the coast, the roof is of bark; their winter habitations are smaller, and often covered over with grass and earth; some even dwell in excavations of the ground, which have only an aperture at the top, and serves alike for door and chimney.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . [ ] 'quelques peuplades du nord, telles que les sikanis, enterrent leurs morts.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'the sicaunies bury, while the tacullies, burn their dead.' _harmon's jour._, p. . they 'and the chimmesyans on the coast, and other tribes speaking their language, burn the dead.' _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . see also _dunn's oregon_, pp. , ; _ind. life_, pp. , ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. , . [ ] they fire guns as a warning to their friends not to invade their sorrow. _mackenzie's voy._, p. . [ ] 'in the winter season, the carriers often keep their dead in their huts during five or six months, before they will allow them to be burned.' _harmon's jour._, p. . [ ] 'she must frequently put her hands through the flames and lay them upon his bosom, to show her continued devotion.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . they have a custom of mourning over the grave of the dead; their expressions of grief are generally exceedingly vociferous. _ind. life_, pp. , . [ ] 'on the end of a pole stuck in front of the lodge.' _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] women cut off a joint of one of their fingers. men only cut off their hair close to their heads, but also frequently cut and scratch their faces and arms. _harmon's jour._, p. . with some sharp instrument they 'force back the flesh beyond the first joint, which they immediately amputate.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. . [ ] 'the men are completely destitute of beard, and both men and women, are intensely ugly.' _jones_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'they reminded me of the ideal north american indian i had read of but never seen.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . distinguished from all other tribes for the frankness and candor of their demeanor, and bold countenances. _simpson's nar._, p. . 'males are of the average hight of europeans, and well-formed, with regular features, high foreheads, and lighter complexions than those of the other red indians. the women resemble the men.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'tunic or shirt reaching to the knees, and very much ornamented with beads, and hyaqua shells from the columbia.' _kirby_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . the tenan kutchins are 'gay with painted faces, feathers in their long hair, patches of red clay at the back of their head.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . jackets like the eskimos. _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . 'both sexes wear breeches.' _simpson's nar._, p. . [ ] 'the kutch-a-kutchin, are essentially traders.' _kirby_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . appear to care more for useful than ornamental articles. _whymper's alaska_, p. . 'dentalium and arenicola shells are transmitted from the west coast in traffic, and are greatly valued.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . [ ] some wear 'wampum (a kind of long, hollow shell) through the septum of the nose.' _hooper's tuski_, p. . they pierce the nose and insert shells, which are obtained from the eskimos at a high price. _franklin's nar._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] the loucheux live in huts 'formed of green branches. in winter their dwellings are partly under ground. the spoils of the moose and reindeer furnish them with meat, clothing, and tents.' _simpson's nar._, pp. , . the co-yukon winter dwellings are made under ground, and roofed over with earth, having a hole for the smoke to escape by, in the same manner as those of the malemutes and ingaliks. _whymper's alaska_, pp. , . their movable huts are constructed of deer-skin, 'dressed with the hair on, and sewed together, forming two large rolls, which are stretched over a frame of bent poles,' with a side door and smoke-hole at the top. _jones_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] the loucheux are 'great gormandizers, and will devour solid fat, or even drink grease, to surfeiting.' _hooper's tuski_, p. . 'the bears are not often eaten in summer, as their flesh is not good at that time.' _jones_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . some of their reindeer-pounds are over one hundred years old and are hereditary in the family. _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . 'the mode of fishing through the ice practiced by the russians is much in vogue with them.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . [ ] the kutchins 'have no knowledge of scalping.' 'when a man kills his enemy, he cuts all his joints.' _jones_, in _smithsonian rept._, , . the loucheux of peel river and the eskimos are constantly at war. _hooper's tuski_, p. . [ ] 'at peace river the bark is taken off the tree the whole length of the intended canoe, which is commonly about eighteen feet, and is sewed with watupe at both ends.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. . when the kutchins discover a leak, 'they go ashore, light a small fire, warm the gum, of which they always carry a supply, turn the canoe bottom upward, and rub the healing balm in a semi-fluid state into the seam until it is again water-tight.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . the tacullies 'make canoes which are clumsily wrought, of the aspin tree, as well as of the bark of the spruce fir.' _harmon's jour._, p. . rafts are employed on the mackenzie. _simpson's nar._, p. . 'in shape the northern indian canoe bears some resemblance to a weaver's shuttle; covered over with birch bark.' _hearne's jour._, pp. , . 'kanots aus birkenrinde, auf denen sie die flüsse u. seen befahren.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . the kutchin canoe 'is flat-bottomed, is about nine feet long and one broad, and the sides nearly straight up and down like a wall.' _jones_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] as for instance for a life, the fine is forty beaver-skins, and may be paid in guns at twenty skins each; blankets, equal to ten skins each; powder, one skin a measure; bullets, eighteen for a skin; worsted belts, two skins each. _hooper's tuski_, p. . 'for theft, little or no punishment is inflicted; for adultery, the woman only is punished'--sometimes by beating, sometimes by death. _jones_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] kutchin 'female chastity is prized, but is nearly unknown.' _jones_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . loucheux mothers had originally a custom of casting away their female children, but now it is only done by the mountain indians, _simpson's nar._, p. . the kutchin 'women are much fewer in number and live a much shorter time than the men.' _kirby_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . the old people 'are not ill-used, but simply neglected.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . the children are carried in small chairs made of birch bark. _id._, p. . 'in a seat of birch bark.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . [ ] the loucheux dances 'abound in extravagant gestures, and demand violent exertion.' _simpson's nar._, p. . see _hardisty_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'singing is much practiced, but it is, though varied, of a very hum-drum nature.' _hooper's tuski_, p. . 'at the festivals held on the meeting of friendly tribes, leaping and wrestling are practised.' _richardson's jour._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'irrespective of tribe, they are divided into three classes, termed respectively, chit-sa, nate-sa, and tanges-at-sa, faintly representing the aristocracy, the middle classes, and the poorer orders of civilized nations, the former being the most wealthy and the latter the poorest.' _kirby_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] on peel river 'they bury their dead on stages.' on the yukon they burn and suspend the ashes in bags from the top of a painted pole. _kirby_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . they of the yukon 'do not inter the dead, but put them in oblong boxes, raised on posts.' _whymper's alaska_, pp. , . [illustration: native races of the pacific states columbian group] chapter iii. columbians. habitat of the columbian group--physical geography--sources of food-supply--influence of food and climate--four extreme classes--haidahs--their home--physical peculiarities-- clothing--shelter--sustenance--implements--manufactures-- arts--property--laws--slavery--women--customs--medicine-- death--the nootkas--the sound nations--the chinooks--the shushwaps--the salish--the sahaptins--tribal boundaries. the term columbians, or, as scouler[ ] and others have called them, _nootka-columbians_, is, in the absence of a native word, sufficiently characteristic to distinguish the aboriginal nations of north-western america between the forty-third and fifty-fifth parallels, from those of the other great divisions of this work. the columbia river, which suggests the name of this group, and nootka sound on the western shore of vancouver island, were originally the chief centres of european settlement on the north-west coast; and at an early period these names were compounded to designate the natives of the anglo-american possessions on the pacific, which lay between the discoveries of the russians on the north and those of the spaniards on the south. as a simple name is always preferable to a complex one, and as no more pertinent name suggests itself than that of the great river which, with its tributaries, drains a large portion of this territory, i drop 'nootka' and retain only the word 'columbian.'[ ] these nations have also been broadly denominated flatheads, from a custom practiced more or less by many of their tribes, of compressing the cranium during infancy;[ ] although the only indians in the whole area, tribally known as flatheads, are those of the salish family, who do not flatten the head at all. [sidenote: columbian families.] in describing the columbian nations it is necessary, as in the other divisions, to subdivide the group; arbitrarily this may have been done in some instances, but as naturally as possible in all. thus the people of queen charlotte islands, and the adjacent coast for about a hundred miles inland, extending from ° to ° of north latitude, are called _haidahs_ from the predominant tribe of the islands. the occupants of vancouver island and the opposite main, with its labyrinth of inlets from ° to °, i term _nootkas_. the _sound indians_ inhabit the region drained by streams flowing into puget sound, and the adjacent shores of the strait and ocean; the _chinooks_ occupy the banks of the columbia from the dalles to the sea, extending along the coast northward to gray harbor, and southward nearly to the californian line. the interior of british columbia, between the cascade and rocky mountains, and south of the territory occupied by the hyperborean carriers, is peopled by the _shushwaps_, the _kootenais_, and the _okanagans_. between ° and °, extending west from the cascade to the rocky mountains, chiefly on the columbia and clarke fork, is the _salish_ or flathead family. the nations dwelling south of ° and east of the cascade range, on the columbia, the lower snake, and their tributary streams, may be called _sahaptins_, from the name of the nez percé tribes.[ ] the great _shoshone_ family, extending south-east from the upper waters of the columbia, and spreading out over nearly the whole of the great basin, although partially included in the columbian limits, will be omitted in this, and included in the californian group, which follows. these divisions, as before stated, are geographic rather than ethnographic.[ ] many attempts have been made by practical ethnologists, to draw partition lines between these peoples according to race, all of which have proved signal failures, the best approximation to a scientific division being that of philologists, the results of whose researches are given in the third volume of this series; but neither the latter division, nor that into coast and inland tribes--in many respects the most natural and clearly defined of all[ ]--is adapted to my present purpose. in treating of the columbians, i shall first take up the coast families, going from north to south, and afterward follow the same order with those east of the mountains. [sidenote: home of the columbians.] no little partiality was displayed by the great spirit of the columbians in the apportionment of their dwelling-place. the cascade mountains, running from north to south throughout their whole territory, make of it two distinct climatic divisions, both highly but unequally favored by nature. on the coast side--a strip which may be called one hundred and fifty miles wide and one thousand miles long--excessive cold is unknown, and the earth, warmed by asiatic currents and watered by numerous mountain streams, is thickly wooded; noble forests are well stocked with game; a fertile soil yields a great variety of succulent roots and edible berries, which latter means of subsistence were lightly appreciated by the indolent inhabitants, by reason of the still more abundant and accessible food-supply afforded by the fish of ocean, channel, and stream. the sources of material for clothing were also bountiful far beyond the needs of the people. passing the cascade barrier, the climate and the face of the country change. here we have a succession of plains or table-lands, rarely degenerating into deserts, with a good supply of grass and roots; though generally without timber, except along the streams, until the heavily wooded western spurs of the rocky mountains are reached. the air having lost much of its moisture, affords but a scanty supply of rain, the warming and equalizing influence of the ocean stream is no longer felt, and the extremes of heat and cold are undergone according to latitude and season. yet are the dwellers in this land blessed above many other aboriginal peoples, in that game is plenty, and roots and insects are at hand in case the season's hunt prove unsuccessful. ethnologically, no well-defined line can be drawn to divide the people occupying these two widely different regions. diverse as they certainly are in form, character, and customs, their environment, the climate, and their methods of seeking food may well be supposed to have made them so. not only do the pursuit of game in the interior and the taking of fish on the coast, develop clearly marked general peculiarities of character and life in the two divisions, but the same causes produce grades more or less distinct in each division. west of the cascade range, the highest position is held by the tribes who in their canoes pursue the whale upon the ocean, and in the effort to capture leviathan become themselves great and daring as compared with the lowest order who live upon shell-fish and whatever nutritious substances may be cast by the tide upon the beach. likewise in the interior, the extremes are found in the deer, bear, elk, and buffalo hunters, especially when horses are employed, and in the root and insect eaters of the plains. between these four extreme classes may be traced many intermediate grades of physical and intellectual development, due to necessity and the abilities exercised in the pursuit of game. the columbians hitherto have been brought in much closer contact with the whites than the hyperboreans, and the results of the association are known to all. the cruel treacheries and massacres by which nations have been thinned, and flickering remnants of once powerful tribes gathered on government reservations or reduced to a handful of beggars, dependent for a livelihood on charity, theft, or the wages of prostitution, form an unwritten chapter in the history of this region. that this process of duplicity was unnecessary as well as infamous, i shall not attempt to show, as the discussion of indian policy forms no part of my present purpose. whatever the cause, whether from an inhuman civilized policy, or the decrees of fate, it is evident that the columbians, in common with all the aborigines of america, are doomed to extermination. civilization and savagism will not coalesce, any more than light and darkness; and although it may be necessary that these things come, yet are those by whom they are unrighteously accomplished none the less culpable. once more let it be understood that the time of which this volume speaks, was when the respective peoples were first known to europeans. it was when, throughout this region of the columbia, nature's wild magnificence was yet fresh; primeval forests unprofaned; lakes, and rivers, and rolling plains unswept; it was when countless villages dotted the luxuriant valleys; when from the warrior's camp-fire the curling smoke never ceased to ascend, nor the sounds of song and dance to be heard; when bands of gaily dressed savages roamed over every hill-side; when humanity unrestrained vied with bird and beast in the exercise of liberty absolute. this is no history; alas! they have none; it is but a sun-picture, and to be taken correctly must be taken quickly. nor need we pause to look back through the dark vista of unwritten history, and speculate, who and what they are, nor for how many thousands of years they have been coming and going, counting the winters, the moons, and the sleeps; chasing the wild game, basking in the sunshine, pursuing and being pursued, killing and being killed. all knowledge regarding them lies buried in an eternity of the past, as all knowledge of their successors remains folded in an eternity of the future. we came upon them unawares, unbidden, and while we gazed they melted away. the infectious air of civilization penetrated to the remotest corner of their solitudes. their ignorant and credulous nature, unable to cope with the intellect of a superior race, absorbed only its vices, yielding up its own simplicity and nobleness for the white man's diseases and death. [sidenote: haidah nations.] in the haidah family i include the nations occupying the coast and islands from the southern extremity of prince of wales archipelago to the bentinck arms in about °. their territory is bounded on the north and east by the thlinkeet and carrier nations of the hyperboreans, and on the south by the nootka family of the columbians. its chief nations, whose boundaries however can rarely be fixed with precision, are the _massets_, the _skiddegats_, and the _cumshawas_, of queen charlotte islands; the _kaiganies_, of prince of wales archipelago; the _chimsyans_, about fort simpson, and on chatham sound; the _nass_ and the _skeenas_, on the rivers of the same names; the _sebassas_, on pitt archipelago and the shores of gardner channel; and the millbank sound indians, including the _hailtzas_ and the _bellacoolas_, the most southern of this family. these nations, the orthography of whose names is far from uniform among different writers, are still farther subdivided into numerous indefinite tribes, as specified at the end of this chapter. the haidah territory, stretching on the mainland three hundred miles in length, and in width somewhat over one hundred miles from the sea to the lofty chilkoten plain, is traversed throughout its length by the northern extension of the cascade range. in places its spurs and broken foot-hills touch the shore, and the very heart of the range is penetrated by innumerable inlets and channels, into which pour short rapid streams from interior hill and plain. the country, though hilly, is fertile and covered by an abundant growth of large, straight pines, cedars, and other forest trees. the forest abounds with game, the waters with fish. the climate is less severe than in the middle united states; and notwithstanding the high latitude of their home, the haidahs have received no small share of nature's gifts. little has been explored, however, beyond the actual coast, and information concerning this nation, coming from a few sources only, is less complete than in the case of the more southern nootkas. [sidenote: physical peculiarities of the haidahs.] favorable natural conditions have produced in the haidahs a tall, comely, and well-formed race, not inferior to any in north-western america;[ ] the northern nations of the family being generally superior to the southern,[ ] and having physical if not linguistic affinities with their thlinkeet neighbors, rather than with the nootkas. their faces are broad, with high cheek bones;[ ] the eyes small, generally black, though brown and gray with a reddish tinge have been observed among them.[ ] the few who have seen their faces free from paint pronounce their complexion light,[ ] and instances of albino characteristics are sometimes found.[ ] the hair is not uniformly coarse and black, but often soft in texture, and of varying shades of brown, worn by some of the tribes cut close to the head.[ ] the beard is usually plucked out with great care, but moustaches are raised sometimes as strong as those of europeans;[ ] indeed there seems to be little authority for the old belief that the north-western american indians were destitute of hair except on the head.[ ] dr scouler, comparing chimsyan skulls with those of the chinooks, who are among the best known of the north-western nations, finds that in a natural state both have broad, high cheek-bones, with a receding forehead, but the chimsyan skull, between the parietal and temporal bones, is broader than that of the chinook, its vertex being remarkably flat.[ ] swollen and deformed legs are common from constantly doubling them under the body while sitting in the canoe. the teeth are frequently worn down to the gums by eating sanded salmon.[ ] [sidenote: haidah dress and ornament.] the haidahs have no methods of distortion peculiar to themselves, by which they seek to improve their fine physique; but the custom of flattening the head in infancy obtains in some of the southern nations of this family, as the hailtzas and bellacoolas,[ ] and the thlinkeet lip-piece, already sufficiently described, is in use throughout a larger part of the whole territory. it was observed by simpson as far south as millbank sound, where it was highly useful as well as ornamental, affording a firm hold for the fair fingers of the sex in their drunken fights. these ornaments, made of either wood, bone, or metal, are worn particularly large in queen charlotte islands, where they seem to be not a mark of rank, but to be worn in common by all the women.[ ] besides the regular lip-piece, ornaments, various in shape and material, of shell, bone, wood, or metal, are worn stuck in the lips, nose, and ears, apparently according to the caprice or taste of the wearer, the skin being sometimes, though more rarely, tattooed to correspond.[ ] both for ornament and as a protection against the weather, the skin is covered with a thick coat of paint, a black polish being a full dress uniform. figures of birds and beasts, and a coat of grease are added in preparation for a feast, with fine down of duck or goose--a stylish coat of tar and feathers--sprinkled over the body as an extra attraction.[ ] when the severity of the weather makes additional protection desirable, a blanket, formerly woven by themselves from dog's hair, and stained in varied colors, but now mostly procured from europeans, is thrown loosely over the shoulders. chiefs, especially in times of feasting, wear richer robes of skins.[ ] the styles of dress and ornament adopted around the forts from contact with the whites need not be described. among the more unusual articles that have been noticed by travelers are, "a large hat, resembling the top of a small parasol, made of the twisted fibres of the roots of trees, with an aperture in the inside, at the broader end" for the head, worn by a sebassa chief; and at millbank sound, "masks set with seals' whiskers and feathers, which expand like a fan," with secret springs to open the mouth and eyes.[ ] mackenzie and vancouver, who were among the earliest visitors to this region, found fringed robes of bark-fibre, ornamented with fur and colored threads. a circular mat, with an opening in the centre for the head, was worn as a protection from the rain; and war garments consisted of several thicknesses of the strongest hides procurable, sometimes strengthened by strips of wood on the inside.[ ] [sidenote: haidah houses.] the haidahs use as temporary dwellings, in their frequent summer excursions for war and the hunt, simple lodges of poles, covered, among the poorer classes by cedar mats, and among the rich by skins. their permanent villages are usually built in strong natural positions, guarded by precipices, sometimes on rocks detached from the main land, but connected with it by a narrow platform. their town houses are built of light logs, or of thick split planks, usually of sufficient size to accommodate a large number of families. poole mentions a house on queen charlotte islands, which formed a cube of fifty feet, ten feet of its height being dug in the ground, and which accommodated seven hundred indians. the buildings are often, however, raised above the ground on a platform supported by posts, sometimes carved into human or other figures. some of these raised buildings seen by the earlier visitors were twenty-five or thirty feet from the ground, solidly and neatly constructed, an inclined log with notches serving as a ladder. these houses were found only in the southern part of the haidah territory. the fronts were generally painted with figures of men and animals. there were no windows or chimney; the floors were spread with cedar mats, on which the occupants slept in a circle round a central fire, whose smoke in its exit took its choice between the hole which served as a door and the wall-cracks. on the south-eastern boundary of this territory, mackenzie found in the villages large buildings of similar but more careful construction, and with more elaborately carved posts, but they were not dwellings, being used probably for religious purposes.[ ] [sidenote: food of the haidahs.] although game is plentiful, the haidahs are not a race of hunters, but derive their food chiefly from the innumerable multitude of fish and sea animals, which, each variety in its season, fill the coast waters. most of the coast tribes, and all who live inland, kill the deer and other animals, particularly since the introduction of firearms, but it is generally the skin and not the flesh that is sought. some tribes about the bentinck channels, at the time of mackenzie's visit, would not taste flesh except from the sea, from superstitious motives. birds that burrow in the sand-banks are enticed out by the glare of torches, and knocked down in large numbers with clubs. they are roasted without plucking or cleaning, the entrails being left in to improve the flavor. potatoes, and small quantities of carrots and other vegetables, are now cultivated throughout this territory, the crop being repeated until the soil is exhausted, when a new place is cleared. wild parsnips are abundant on the banks of lakes and streams, and their tender tops, roasted, furnish a palatable food; berries and bulbs abound, and the inner tegument of some varieties of the pine and hemlock is dried in cakes and eaten with salmon-oil. the varieties of fish sent by nature to the deep inlets and streams for the haidah's food, are very numerous; their standard reliance for regular supplies being the salmon, herring, eulachon or candle-fish, round-fish, and halibut. salmon are speared; dipped up in scoop-nets; entangled in drag-nets managed between two canoes and forced by poles to the bottom; intercepted in their pursuit of smaller fish by gill-nets with coarse meshes, made of cords of native hemp, stretched across the entrance of the smaller inlets; and are caught in large wicker baskets, placed at openings in weirs and embankments which are built across the rivers. the salmon fishery differs little in different parts of the northwest. the candle-fish, so fat that in frying they melt almost completely into oil, and need only the insertion of a pith or bark wick to furnish an excellent lamp, are impaled on the sharp teeth of a rake, or comb. the handle of the rake is from six to eight feet long, and it is swept through the water by the haidahs in their canoes by moonlight. herring in immense numbers are taken in april by similar rakes, as well as by dip-nets, a large part of the whole take being used for oil. seals are speared in the water or shot while on the rocks, and their flesh is esteemed a great delicacy. clams, cockles, and shell-fish are captured by squaws, such an employment being beneath manly dignity. fish, when caught, are delivered to the women, whose duty it is to prepare them for winter use by drying. no salt is used, but the fish are dried in the sun, or smoke-dried by being hung from the top of dwellings, then wrapped in bark, or packed in rude baskets or chests, and stowed on high scaffolds out of the reach of dogs and children. salmon are opened, and the entrails, head, and back-bone removed before drying. during the process of drying, sand is blown over the fish, and the teeth of the eater are often worn down by it nearly even with the gums. the spawn of salmon and herring is greatly esteemed, and besides that obtained from the fish caught, much is collected on pine boughs, which are stuck in the mud until loaded with the eggs. this native caviare is dried for preservation, and is eaten prepared in various ways; pounded between two stones, and beaten with water into a creamy consistency; or boiled with sorrel and different berries, and moulded into cakes about twelve inches square and one inch thick by means of wooden frames. after a sufficient supply of solid food for the winter is secured, oil, the great heat-producing element of all northern tribes, is extracted from the additional catch, by boiling the fish in wooden vessels, and skimming the grease from the water or squeezing it from the refuse. the arms and breast of the women are the natural press in which the mass, wrapped in mats, is hugged; the hollow stalks of an abundant sea-weed furnish natural bottles in which the oil is preserved for use as a sauce, and into which nearly everything is dipped before eating. when the stock of food is secured, it is rarely infringed upon until the winter sets in, but then such is the indian appetite--ten pounds of flour in the pancake-form at a meal being nothing for the stomach of a haidah, according to poole--that whole tribes frequently suffer from hunger before spring.[ ] the haidah weapons are spears from four to sixteen feet long, some with a movable head or barb, which comes off when the seal or whale is struck; bows and arrows; hatchets of bone, horn, or iron, with which their planks are made; and daggers. both spears and arrows are frequently pointed with iron, which, whether it found its way across the continent from the hudson-bay settlements, down the coast from the russians, or was obtained from wrecked vessels, was certainly used in british columbia for various purposes before the coming of the whites. bows are made of cedar, with sinew glued along one side. poole states that before the introduction of fire-arms, the queen charlotte islanders had no weapon but a club. brave as the haidah warrior is admitted to be, open fair fight is unknown to him, and in true indian style he resorts to night attacks, superior numbers, and treachery, to defeat his foe. cutting off the head as a trophy is practiced instead of scalping, but though unmercifully cruel to all sexes and ages in the heat of battle, prolonged torture of captives seems to be unknown. treaties of peace are arranged by delegations from the hostile tribes, following set forms, and the ceremonies terminate with a many days' feast.[ ] nets are made of native wild hemp and of cedar-bark fibre; hooks, of two pieces of wood or bone fastened together at an obtuse angle; boxes, troughs, and household dishes, of wood; ladles and spoons, of wood, horn, and bone. candle-fish, with a wick of bark or pith, serve as lamps; drinking vessels and pipes are carved with great skill from stone. the haidahs are noted for their skill in the construction of their various implements, particularly for sculptures in stone and ivory, in which they excel all the other tribes of northern america.[ ] [sidenote: haidah manufactures.] the cedar-fibre and wild hemp were prepared for use by the women by beating on the rocks; they were then spun with a rude distaff and spindle, and woven on a frame into the material for blankets, robes, and mats, or twisted by the men into strong and even cord, between the hand and thigh. strips of otter-skin, bird-feathers, and other materials, were also woven into the blankets. dogs of a peculiar breed, now nearly extinct, were shorn each year, furnishing a long white hair, which, mixed with fine hemp and cedar, made the best cloth. by dyeing the materials, regular colored patterns were produced, each tribe having had, it is said, a peculiar pattern by which its matting could be distinguished. since the coming of europeans, blankets of native manufacture have almost entirely disappeared. the bellacoolas made very neat baskets, called _zeilusqua_, as well as hats and water-tight vessels, all of fine cedar-roots. each chief about fort simpson kept an artisan, whose business it was to repair canoes, make masks, etc.[ ] the haidah canoes are dug out of cedar logs, and are sometimes sixty feet long, six and a half wide, and four and a half deep, accommodating one hundred men. the prow and stern are raised, and often gracefully curved like a swan's neck, with a monster's head at the extremity. boats of the better class have their exteriors carved and painted, with the gunwale inlaid in some cases with otter-teeth. each canoe is made of a single log, except the raised extremities of the larger boats. they are impelled rapidly and safely over the often rough waters of the coast inlets, by shovel-shaped paddles, and when on shore, are piled up and covered with mats for protection against the rays of the sun. since the coming of europeans, sails have been added to the native boats, and other foreign features imitated.[ ] [sidenote: trade and government.] rank and power depend greatly upon wealth, which consists of implements, wives, and slaves. admission to alliance with medicine-men, whose influence is greatest in the tribe, can only be gained by sacrifice of private property. before the disappearance of sea-otters from the haidah waters, the skins of that animal formed the chief element of their trade and wealth; now the potatoes cultivated in some parts, and the various manufactures of queen charlotte islands, supply their slight necessities. there is great rivalry among the islanders in supplying the tribes on the main with potatoes, fleets of forty or fifty canoes engaging each year in the trade from queen charlotte islands. fort simpson is the great commercial rendezvous of the surrounding nations, who assemble from all directions in september, to hold a fair, dispose of their goods, visit friends, fight enemies, feast, and dance. thus continue trade and merry-making for several weeks. large fleets of canoes from the north also visit victoria each spring for trading purposes.[ ] very little can be said of the government of the haidahs in distinction from that of the other nations of the northwest coast. among nearly all of them rank is nominally hereditary, for the most part by the female line, but really depends to a great extent on wealth and ability in war. females often possess the right of chieftainship. in early intercourse with whites the chief traded for the whole tribe, subject, however, to the approval of the several families, each of which seemed to form a kind of subordinate government by itself. in some parts the power of the chief seems absolute, and is wantonly exercised in the commission of the most cruel acts according to his pleasure. the extensive embankments and weirs found by mackenzie, although their construction must have required the association of all the labor of the tribe, were completely under the chief's control, and no one could fish without his permission. the people seemed all equal, but strangers must obey the natives or leave the village. crimes have no punishment by law; murder is settled for with relatives of the victim, by death or by the payment of a large sum; and sometimes general or notorious offenders, especially medicine-men, are put to death by an agreement among leading men.[ ] slavery is universal, and as the life of the slave is of no value to the owner except as property, they are treated with extreme cruelty. slaves the northern tribes purchase, kidnap, or capture in war from their southern neighbors, who obtain them by like means from each other, the course of the slave traffic being generally from south to north, and from the coast inland.[ ] polygamy is everywhere practiced, and the number of wives is regulated only by wealth, girls being bought of parents at any price which may be agreed upon, and returned, and the price recovered, when after a proper trial they are not satisfactory. the transfer of the presents or price to the bride's parents is among some tribes accompanied by slight ceremonies nowhere fully described. the marriage ceremonies at millbank sound are performed on a platform over the water, supported by canoes. while jealousy is not entirely unknown, chastity appears to be so, as women who can earn the greatest number of blankets win great admiration for themselves and high position for their husbands. abortion and infanticide are not uncommon. twin births are unusual, and the number of children is not large, although the age of bearing extends to forty or forty-six years. women, except in the season of preparing the winter supply of fish, are occupied in household affairs and the care of children, for whom they are not without some affection, and whom they nurse often to the age of two or three years. many families live together in one house, with droves of filthy dogs and children, all sleeping on mats round a central fire.[ ] [sidenote: haidah gamblers.] the haidahs, like all indians, are inveterate gamblers, the favorite game on queen charlotte islands being odd and even, played with small round sticks, in which the game is won when one player has all the bunch of forty or fifty sticks originally belonging to his opponent. farther south, and inland, some of the sticks are painted with red rings, and the player's skill or luck consists in naming the number and marks of sticks previously wrapped by his antagonist in grass. all have become fond of whisky since the coming of whites, but seem to have had no intoxicating drink before. at their annual trading fairs, and on other occasions, they are fond of visiting and entertaining friends with ceremonious interchange of presents, a suitable return being expected for each gift. at these reception feasts, men and women are seated on benches along opposite walls; at wedding feasts both sexes dance and sing together. in dancing, the body, head, and arms are thrown into various attitudes to keep time with the music, very little use being made of the legs. on queen charlotte islands the women dance at feasts, while the men in a circle beat time with sticks, the only instruments, except a kind of tambourine. for their dances they deck themselves in their best array, including plenty of birds' down, which they delight to communicate to their partners in bowing, and which they also blow into the air at regular intervals, through a painted tube. their songs are a simple and monotonous chant, with which they accompany most of their dances and ceremonies, though mackenzie heard among them some soft, plaintive tones, not unlike church music. the chiefs in winter give a partly theatrical, partly religious entertainment, in which, after preparation behind a curtain, dressed in rich apparel and wearing masks, they appear on a stage and imitate different spirits for the instruction of the hearers, who meanwhile keep up their songs.[ ] after the salmon season, feasting and conjuring are in order. the chief, whose greatest authority is in his character of conjurer, or _tzeetzaiak_ as he is termed in the hailtzuk tongue, pretends at this time to live alone in the forest, fasting or eating grass, and while there is known as _taamish_. when he returns, clad in bear-robe, chaplet, and red-bark collar, the crowd flies at his approach, except a few brave spirits, who boldly present their naked arms, from which he bites and swallows large mouthfuls. this, skillfully done, adds to the reputation of both biter and bitten, and is perhaps all the foundation that exists for the report that these people are cannibals; although mr duncan, speaking of the chimsyans in a locality not definitely fixed, testifies to the tearing to pieces and actual devouring of the body of a murdered slave by naked bands of cannibal medicine-men. only certain parties of the initiated practice this barbarism, others confining their tearing ceremony to the bodies of dogs.[ ] [sidenote: magicians and medicine-men.] none of these horrible orgies are practiced by the queen charlotte islanders. the performances of the haidah magicians, so far as they may differ from those of the nootkas have not been clearly described by travelers. the magicians of chatham sound keep infernal spirits shut up in a box away from the vulgar gaze, and possess great power by reason of the implicit belief on the part of the people, in their ability to charm away life. the doctor, however, is not beyond the reach of a kinsman's revenge, and is sometimes murdered.[ ] with their ceremonies and superstitions there seems to be mixed very little religion, as all their many fears have reference to the present life. certain owls and squirrels are regarded with reverence, and used as charms; salmon must not be cut across the grain, or the living fish will leave the river; the mysterious operations with astronomical and other european instruments about their rivers caused great fear that the fisheries would be ruined; fogs are conjured away without the slightest suspicion of the sun's agency.[ ] european navigators they welcome by paddling their boats several times round the ship, making long speeches, scattering birds' down, and singing.[ ] ordinary presents, like tobacco or trinkets, are gladly received, but a written testimonial is most highly prized by the haidahs, who regard writing as a great and valuable mystery. they have absolutely no methods of recording events. although living so constantly on the water, i find no mention of their skill in swimming, while poole states expressly that they have no knowledge of that art.[ ] very slight accounts are extant of the peculiar methods of curing diseases practiced by the haidahs. their chief reliance, as in the case of all indian tribes, is on the incantations and conjurings of their sorcerers, who claim supernatural powers of seeing, hearing, and extracting disease, and are paid liberally when successful. bark, herbs, and various decoctions are used in slight sickness, but in serious cases little reliance is placed on them. to the bites of the sorcerer-chiefs on the main, eagle-down is applied to stop the bleeding, after which a pine-gum plaster or sallal-bark is applied. on queen charlotte islands, in a case of internal uneasiness, large quantities of sea-water are swallowed, shaken up, and ejected through the mouth for the purpose, as the natives say, of 'washing themselves inside out.'[ ] [sidenote: haidah burials.] death is ascribed to the ill will and malign influence of an enemy, and one suspected of causing the death of a prominent individual, must make ready to die. as a rule, the bodies of the dead are burned, though exceptions are noted in nearly every part of the territory. in the disposal of the ashes and larger bones which remain unburned, there seems to be no fixed usage. encased in boxes, baskets, or canoes, or wrapped in mats or bark, they are buried in or deposited on the ground, placed in a tree, on a platform, or hung from a pole. articles of property are frequently deposited with the ashes, but not uniformly. slaves' bodies are simply thrown into the river or the sea. mourning for the dead consists usually of cutting the hair and blackening anew the face and neck for several months. among the kaiganies, guests at the burning of the bodies are wont to lacerate themselves with knives and stones. a tribe visited by mackenzie, kept their graves free from shrubbery, a woman clearing that of her husband each time she passed. the nass indians paddle a dead chief, gaily dressed, round the coast villages.[ ] the haidahs, compared with other north american indians, may be called an intelligent, honest, and brave race, although not slow under european treatment to become drunkards, gamblers, and thieves. acts of unprovoked cruelty or treachery are rare; missionaries have been somewhat successful in the vicinity of fort simpson, finding in intoxicating liquors their chief obstacle.[ ] [sidenote: the nootkas.] the nootkas, the second division of the columbian group, are immediately south of the haidah country; occupying vancouver island, and the coast of the main land, between the fifty-second and the forty-ninth parallels. the word _nootka_ is not found in any native dialect of the present day. captain cook, to whom we are indebted for the term, probably misunderstood the name given by the natives to the region of nootka sound.[ ]the first european settlement in this region was on the sound, which thus became the central point of early english and spanish intercourse with the northwest coast; but it was soon abandoned, and no mission or trading post has since taken its place, so that no tribes of this family have been less known in later times than those on the west coast of vancouver island. the chief tribes of the nootka family, or those on whose tribal existence, if not on the orthography of their names authors to some extent agree, are as follows.[ ] the _nitinats_, _clayoquots_, and _nootkas_, on the sounds of the same names along the west coast of vancouver island; the _quackolls_ and _newittees_,[ ] in the north; the _cowichins_, _ucletas_, and _comux_, on the east coast of vancouver and on the opposite main; the _saukaulutuchs_[ ], in the interior of the island; the _clallums_,[ ] _sokes_, and _patcheena_, on the south end; and the _kwantlums_ and _teets_,[ ] on the lower fraser river. these tribes differ but little in physical peculiarities, or manners and customs, but by their numerous dialects they have been classed in nations. no comprehensive or satisfactory names have, however, been applied to them as national divisions.[ ] between the nootka family and its fish-eating neighbors on the north and south, the line of distinction is not clearly marked, but the contrast is greater with the interior hunting tribes on the east. since their first intercourse with whites, the nootkas have constantly decreased in numbers, and this not only in those parts where they have been brought into contact with traders and miners, but on the west coast, where they have retained in a measure their primitive state. the savage fades before the superior race, and immediate intercourse is not necessary to produce in native races those 'baleful influences of civilization,' which like a pestilence are wafted from afar, as on the wings of the wind.[ ] [sidenote: nootka physique.] the nootkas are of less than medium height, smaller than the haidahs, but rather strongly built; usually plump, but rarely corpulent;[ ] their legs, like those of all the coast tribes, short, small, and frequently deformed, with large feet and ankles;[ ] the face broad, round, and full, with the usual prominent cheek-bone, a low forehead, flat nose, wide nostrils, small black eyes, round thickish-lipped mouth, tolerably even well-set teeth; the whole forming a countenance rather dull and expressionless, but frequently pleasant.[ ] the nootka complexion, so far as grease and paint have allowed travelers to observe it, is decidedly light, but apparently a shade darker than that of the haidah family.[ ] the hair, worn long, is as a rule black or dark brown, coarse, and straight, though instances are not wanting where all these qualities are reversed.[ ] the beard is carefully plucked out by the young men, and this operation, repeated for generations, has rendered the beard naturally thin. old men often allow it to grow on the chin and upper lip. [sidenote: nootka hair and beard.] to cut the hair short is to the nootka a disgrace. worn at full length, evened at the ends, and sometimes cut straight across the forehead, it is either allowed to hang loosely from under a band of cloth or fillet of bark, or is tied in a knot on the crown. on full-dress occasions the top-knot is secured with a green bough, and after being well saturated with whale-grease, the hair is powdered plentifully with white feathers, which are regarded as the crowning ornament for manly dignity in all these regions. both sexes, but particularly the women, take great pains with the hair, carefully combing and plaiting their long tresses, fashioning tasteful head-dresses of bark-fibre, decked with beads and shells, attaching leaden weights to the braids to keep them straight. the bruised root of a certain plant is thought by the ahts to promote the growth of the hair.[ ] the custom of flattening the head is practiced by the nootkas, in common with the sound and chinook families, but is not universal, nor is so much importance attached to it as elsewhere; although all seem to admire a flattened forehead as a sign of noble birth, even among tribes that do not make this deformity a sign of freedom. among the quatsinos and quackolls of the north, the head, besides being flattened, is elongated into a conical sugar-loaf shape, pointed at the top. the flattening process begins immediately after birth, and is continued until the child can walk. it is effected by compressing the head with tight bandages, usually attached to the log cradle, the forehead being first fitted with a soft pad, a fold of soft bark, a mould of hard wood, or a flat stone. observers generally agree that little or no harm is done to the brain by this infliction, the traces of which to a great extent disappear later in life. many tribes, including the aht nations, are said to have abandoned the custom since they have been brought into contact with the whites.[ ] [sidenote: nootka face-painting.] the body is kept constantly anointed with a reddish clayey earth, mixed in train oil, and consequently little affected by their frequent baths. in war and mourning the whole body is blackened; on feast days the head, limbs, and body are painted in fantastic figures with various colors, apparently according to individual fancy, although the chiefs monopolize the fancy figures, the common people being restricted to plain colors. solid grease is sometimes applied in a thick coating, and carved or moulded in _alto-rilievo_ into ridges and figures afterwards decorated with red paint, while shining sand or grains of mica are sprinkled over grease and paint to impart a glittering appearance. the women are either less fond of paint than the men, or else are debarred by their lords from the free use of it; among the ahts, at least of late, the women abandon ornamental paint after the age of twenty-five. in their dances, as in war, masks carved from cedar to represent an endless variety of monstrous faces, painted in bright colors, with mouth and eyes movable by strings, are attached to their heads, giving them a grotesquely ferocious aspect.[ ] the nose and ears are regularly pierced in childhood, with from one to as many holes as the feature will hold, and from the punctures are suspended bones, shells, rings, beads, or in fact any ornament obtainable. the lip is sometimes, though more rarely, punctured. bracelets and anklets of any available material are also commonly worn.[ ] the aboriginal dress of the nootkas is a square blanket, of a coarse yellow material resembling straw matting, made by the women from cypress bark, with a mixture of dog's hair. this blanket had usually a border of fur; it sometimes had arm-holes, but was ordinarily thrown over the shoulders, and confined at the waist by a belt. chiefs wore it painted in variegated colors or unpainted, but the common people wore a coarser material painted uniformly red. women wore the garment longer and fastened under the chin, binding an additional strip of cloth closely about the middle, and showing much modesty about disclosing the person, while the men often went entirely naked. besides the blanket, garments of many kinds of skin were in use, particularly by the chiefs on public days. in war, a heavy skin dress was worn as a protection against arrows. the nootkas usually went bareheaded, but sometimes wore a conical hat plaited of rushes, bark, or flax. european blankets have replaced those of native manufacture, and many indians about the settlements have adopted also the shirt and breeches.[ ] [sidenote: dwellings of the nootkas.] the nootkas choose strong positions for their towns and encampments. at desolation sound, vancouver found a village built on a detached rock with perpendicular sides, only accessible by planks resting on the branches of a tree, and protected on the sea side by a projecting platform resting on timbers fixed in the crevices of the precipice. the nimkish tribe, according to lord, build their homes on a table-land overhanging the sea, and reached by ascending a vertical cliff on a bark-rope ladder. each tribe has several villages in favorable locations for fishing at different seasons. the houses, when more than one is needed for a tribe, are placed with regularity along streets; they vary in size according to the need or wealth of the occupants, and are held in common under the direction of the chief. they are constructed in the manner following. a row of large posts, from ten to fifteen feet high, often grotesquely carved, supports an immense ridge-pole, sometimes two and a half feet thick and one hundred feet long. similar but smaller beams, on shorter posts, are placed on either side of the central row, distant from it fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five feet, according to the dimensions required. this frame is then covered with split cedar planks, about two inches thick, and from three to eight feet wide. the side planks are tied together with bark, and supported by slender posts in couples just far enough apart to receive the thickness of the plank. a house like this, forty by one hundred feet, accommodates many families, each of which has its allotted space, sometimes partitioned off like a double row of stalls, with a wide passage in the middle. in the centre of each stall is a circle of stones for a fire-place, and round the walls are raised couches covered with mats. in rainy weather, cracks in the roof and sides are covered with mats. no smoke or window holes are left, and when smoke becomes troublesome a roof-plank is removed. the entrance is at one end. these dwellings furnish, according to nootka ideas, a comfortable shelter, except when a high wind threatens to unroof them, and then the occupants go out and sit on the roof to keep it in place. frequently the outside is painted in grotesque figures of various colors. only the frame is permanent; matting, planks, and all utensils are several times each year packed up and conveyed in canoes to another locality where a frame belonging to the tribe awaits covering. the odor arising from fish-entrails and other filth, which they take no pains to remove, appears to be inoffensive, but the nootkas are often driven by mosquitos to sleep on a stage over the water.[ ] [sidenote: food of the nootkas.] the nootkas, like the haidahs, live almost wholly on the products of the sea, and are naturally expert fishermen. salmon, the great staple, are taken in august and september, from sea, inlet, and river, by nets, spears, pots or baskets, and even by hooks. hooks consist of sharp barbed bones bound to straight pieces of hard wood; sea-wrack, maple-bark, and whale-sinew furnish lines, which in salmon-fishing are short and attached to the paddles. the salmon-spear is a forked pole, some fifteen feet long, the detachable head having prongs pointed with fish-bone or iron, and the fish in deep water is sometimes attracted within its reach by a wooden decoy, forced down by a long pole, and then detached and allowed to ascend rapidly to the surface. spearing is carried on mostly by torch-light. a light-colored stone pavement is sometimes laid upon the bottom of the stream, which renders the fish visible in their passage over it. nets are made of nettles or of wild flax, found along fraser river. they are small in size, and used as dip-nets, or sunk between two canoes and lifted as the fish pass over. a pot or basket fifteen to twenty feet long, three to five feet in diameter at one end, and tapering to a point at the other, is made of pine splinters one or two inches apart, with twig-hoops; and placed, large end up stream, at the foot of a fall or at an opening in an embankment. the salmon are driven down the fall with poles, and entering the basket are taken out by a door in the small end. this basket is sometimes enclosed in another one, similar but of uniform diameter, and closed at one end. fences of stakes across the river oblige the salmon to enter the open mouth in their passage up, and passing readily through an opening left in the point of the inner basket, they find themselves entrapped. in march, herring appear on the coast in great numbers, and in april and may they enter the inlets and streams, where they are taken with a dip-net, or more commonly by the fish-rake--a pole armed with many sharp bones or nails. early in the season they can be taken only by torch-light. halibut abound from march to june, and are caught with hooks and long lines, generally at some distance from shore. for all other fish, european hooks were early adopted, but the halibut, at least among the ahts, must still be taken with the native hook. many other varieties of fish, caught by similar methods, are used as food, but those named supply the bulk of the nootka's provision. in may or june, whales appear and are attacked in canoes by the chief, with the select few from each tribe who alone have the right to hunt this monarch of the sea. the head of their harpoon is made of two barbed bones and pointed with muscle-shell; it is fastened to a whale-sinew line of a few feet in length, and this short line to a very long bark rope, at one end of which are seal-skin air-bags and bladders, to keep it afloat. the point is also fastened to a shaft from ten to twenty-five feet in length, from which it is easily detached. with many of these buoys in tow the whale cannot dive, and becomes an easy prey. whale-blubber and oil are great delicacies, the former being preferred half putrid, while the oil with that of smaller denizens of the sea preserved in bladders, is esteemed a delicious sauce, and eaten with almost everything. sea-otters and seals are also speared, the former with a weapon more barbed and firmly attached to the handle, as they are fierce fighters; but when found asleep on the rocks, they are shot with arrows. seals are often attracted within arrow-shot by natives disguised as seals in wooden masks. clams and other shell-fish, which are collected in great numbers by the women, are cooked, strung on cypress-bark cords, and hung in the houses to dry for winter use. fish are preserved by drying only, the use of salt being unknown. salmon, after losing their heads and tails, which are eaten in the fishing season, are split open and the back-bone taken out before drying; smaller fry are sometimes dried as they come from their element; but halibut and cod are cut up and receive a partial drying in the sun. the spawn of all fish, but particularly of salmon and herring, is carefully preserved by stowing it away in baskets, where it ferments. bear, deer, and other land animals, as well as wild fowl, are sometimes taken for food, by means of rude traps, nets, and covers, successful only when game is abundant, for the nootkas are but indifferent hunters. in the time of jewitt, three peculiarities were observable in the nootka use of animal food, particularly bear-meat. when a bear was killed, it was dressed in a bonnet, decked with fine down, and solemnly invited to eat in the chief's presence, before being eaten; after partaking of bruin's flesh, which was appreciated as a rarity, the nootka could not taste fresh fish for two months; and while fish to be palatable must be putrid, meat when tainted was no longer fit for food. the nootka cuisine furnished food in four styles; namely, boiled--the mode par excellence, applicable to every variety of food, and effected, as by the haidahs, by hot stones in wooden vessels; steamed--of rarer use, applied mostly to heads, tails, and fins, by pouring water over them on a bed of hot stones, and covering the whole tightly with mats; roasted--rarely, in the case of some smaller fish and clams; and raw--fish-spawn and most other kinds of food, when conveniences for cooking were not at hand. some varieties of sea-weed and lichens, as well as the camass, and other roots, were regularly laid up for winter, while berries, everywhere abundant, were eaten in great quantities in their season, and at least one variety preserved by pressing in bunches. in eating, they sit in groups of five or six, with their legs doubled under them round a large wooden tray, and dip out the food nearly always boiled to a brothy consistency, with their fingers or clam-shells, paying little or no attention to cleanliness. chiefs and slaves have trays apart, and the principal meal, according to cook, was about noon. feasting is the favorite way of entertaining friends, so long as food is plentiful; and by a curious custom, of the portion allotted them, guests must carry away what they cannot eat. water in aboriginal days was the only nootka drink; it is also used now when whisky is not to be had.[ ] [sidenote: nootka battles and boats.] lances and arrows, pointed with shell, slate, flint, or bone, and clubs and daggers of wood and bone, were the weapons with which they met their foes; but firearms and metallic daggers, and tomahawks, have long since displaced them, as they have to a less degree the original hunting and fishing implements.[ ] the nootka tribes were always at war with each other, hereditary quarrels being handed down for generations. according to their idea, loss of life in battle can be forgotten only when an equal number of the hostile tribe are killed. their military tactics consist of stratagem and surprise in attack, and watchfulness in defense. before engaging in war, some weeks are spent in preparation, which consists mainly of abstinence from women, bathing, scrubbing the skin with briers till it bleeds, and finally painting the whole body jet-black. all prisoners not suitable for slaves are butchered or beheaded. in an attack the effort is always made to steal into the adversary's camp at night and kill men enough to decide the victory before the alarm can be given. when they fail in this, the battle is seldom long continued, for actual hand-to-hand fighting is not to the nootka taste. on the rare occasions when it is considered desirable to make overtures of peace, an ambassador is sent with an ornamented pipe, and with this emblem his person is safe. smoking a pipe together by hostile chiefs also solemnizes a treaty.[ ] nootka boats are dug out each from a single pine-tree, and are made of all sizes from ten to fifty feet long, the largest accommodating forty or fifty men. selecting a proper tree in the forest, the aboriginal nootka fells it with a sort of chisel of flint or elk-horn, three by six inches, fastened in a wooden handle, and struck by a smooth stone mallet. then the log is split with wooden wedges, and the better piece being selected, it is hollowed out with the aforesaid chisel, a mussel-shell adze, and a bird's-bone gimlet worked between the two hands. sometimes, but not always, fire is used as an assistant. the exterior is fashioned with the same tools. the boat is widest in the middle, tapers toward each end, and is strengthened by light cross-pieces extending from side to side, which, being inserted after the boat is soaked in hot water, modify and improve the original form. the bow is long and pointed, the stern square-cut or slightly rounded; both ends are raised higher than the middle by separate pieces of wood painted with figures of birds or beasts, the head on the bow and the tail on the stern. the inside is painted red; the outside, slightly burned, is rubbed smooth and black, and for the whale fishery is ornamented along the gunwales with a row of small shells or seal-teeth, but for purposes of war it is painted with figures in white. paddles are neatly made of hard wood, about five and a half feet long with a leaf-shaped blade of two feet, sharp at the end, and used as a weapon in canoe-fighting. a cross-piece is sometimes added to the handle like the top of a crutch.[ ] in addition to the implements already named are chests and boxes, buckets, cups and eating-troughs, all of wood, either dug out or pinned together; baskets of twigs and bags of matting; all neatly made, and many of the articles painted or carved, or ornamented with shell work. as among the haidahs, the dried _eulachon_ is often used as a lamp.[ ] the matting and coarser kinds of cloth are made of rushes and of pine or cedar bark, which after being soaked is beaten on a plank with a grooved instrument of wood or bone until the fibres are separated. the threads are twisted into cords between the hand and thigh; these cords, hung to a horizontal beam and knotted with finer thread at regular intervals, form the cloth. thread of the same bark is used with a sharpened twig for a needle. intercourse with europeans has modified their manufactures, and checked the development of their native ingenuity.[ ] [sidenote: property of the nootkas.] captain cook found among the ahts very "strict notions of their having a right to the exclusive property of everything that their country produces," so that they claimed pay for even wood, water, and grass. the limits of tribal property are very clearly defined, but individuals rarely claim any property in land. houses belong to the men who combine to build them. private wealth consists of boats and implements for obtaining food, domestic utensils, slaves, and blankets, the latter being generally the standard by which wealth or price is computed. food is not regarded as common property, yet any man may help himself to his neighbor's store when needy. the accumulation of property beyond the necessities of life is considered desirable only for the purpose of distributing it in presents on great feast-days, and thereby acquiring a reputation for wealth and liberality; and as these feasts occur frequently, an unsuccessful man may often take a fresh start in the race. instead of being given away, canoes and blankets are often destroyed, which proves that the motive in this disposal of property is not to favor friends, but merely to appear indifferent to wealth. it is certainly a most remarkable custom, and one that exerts a great influence on the whole people. gifts play an important part in procuring a wife, and a division of property accompanies a divorce. to enter the ranks of the medicine-men or magicians, or to attain rank of any kind, property must be sacrificed; and a man who receives an insult or suffers any affliction must tear up the requisite quantity of blankets and shirts, if he would retain his honor.[ ] trade in all their productions was carried on briskly between the different nootka tribes before the coming of the whites. they manifest much shrewdness in their exchanges; even their system of presents is a species of trade, the full value of each gift being confidently expected in a return present on the next festive occasion. in their intertribal commerce, a band holding a strong position where trade by canoes between different parts may be stopped, do not fail to offer and enforce the acceptance of their services as middlemen, thereby greatly increasing market prices.[ ] the system of numeration, sufficiently extensive for the largest numbers, is decimal, the numbers to ten having names which are in some instances compounds but not multiples of smaller numbers. the fingers are used to aid in counting. the year is divided into months with some reference to the moon, but chiefly by the fish-seasons, ripening of berries, migrations of birds, and other periodical events, for which the months are named, as: 'when the herrings spawn,' etc. the unit of measure is the span, the fingers representing its fractional parts.[ ] the nootkas display considerable taste in ornamenting with sculpture and paintings their implements and houses, their chief efforts being made on the posts of the latter, and the wooden masks which they wear in war and some of their dances; but all implements may be more or less carved and adorned according to the artist's fancy. they sometimes paint fishing and hunting scenes, but generally their models exist only in imagination, and their works consequently assume unintelligible forms. there seems to be no evidence that their carved images and complicated paintings are in any sense intended as idols or hieroglyphics. a rude system of heraldry prevails among them, by which some animal is adopted as a family crest, and its figure is painted or embroidered on canoes, paddles, or blankets.[ ] [sidenote: nootka art and government.] to the nootka system of government the terms patriarchal, hereditary, and feudal have been applied. there is no confederation, each tribe being independent of all the rest, except as powerful tribes are naturally dominant over the weak. in each tribe the head chief's rank is hereditary by the male line; his grandeur is displayed on great occasions, when, decked in all his finery, he is the central figure. at the frequently recurring feasts of state he occupies the seat of honor; presides at all councils of the tribe, and is respected and highly honored by all; but has no real authority over any but his slaves. between the chief, or king, and the people is a nobility, in number about one fourth of the whole tribe, composed of several grades, the highest being partially hereditary, but also, as are all the lower grades, obtainable by feats of valor or great liberality. all chieftains must be confirmed by the tribe, and some of them appointed by the king; each man's rank is clearly defined in the tribe, and corresponding privileges strictly insisted on. there are chiefs who have full authority in warlike expeditions. harpooners also form a privileged class, whose rank is handed down from father to son. this somewhat complicated system of government nevertheless sits lightly, since the people are neither taxed nor subjected to any laws, nor interfered with in their actions. still, long-continued custom serves as law and marks out the few duties and privileges of the nootka citizen. stealing is not common except from strangers; and offenses requiring punishment are usually avenged--or pardoned in consideration of certain blankets received--by the injured parties and their friends, the chiefs seeming to have little or nothing to do in the matter.[ ] [sidenote: nootka slavery and marriage.] slavery is practiced by all the tribes, and the slave-trade forms an important part of their commerce. slaves are about the only property that must not be sacrificed to acquire the ever-desired reputation for liberality. only rich men--according to some authorities only the nobles--may hold slaves. war and kidnapping supply the slave-market, and no captive, whatever his rank in his own tribe, can escape this fate, except by a heavy ransom offered soon after he is taken, and before his whereabouts becomes unknown to his friends. children of slaves, whose fathers are never known, are forever slaves. the power of the owner is arbitrary and unlimited over the actions and life of the slave, but a cruel exercise of his power seems of rare occurrence, and, save the hard labor required, the material condition of the slave is but little worse than that of the common free people, since he is sheltered by the same roof and partakes of the same food as his master. socially the slave is despised; his hair is cut short, and his very name becomes a term of reproach. female slaves are prostituted for hire, especially in the vicinity of white settlements. a runaway slave is generally seized and resold by the first tribe he meets.[ ] [sidenote: the nootka family.] the nootka may have as many wives as he can buy, but as prices are high, polygamy is practically restricted to the chiefs, who are careful not to form alliances with families beneath them in rank. especially particular as to rank are the chiefs in choosing their first wife, always preferring the daughters of noble families of another tribe. courtship consists in an offer of presents by the lover to the girl's father, accompanied generally by lengthy speeches of friends on both sides, extolling the value of the man and his gift, and the attractions of the bride. after the bargain is concluded, a period of feasting follows if the parties are rich, but this is not necessary as a part of the marriage ceremony. betrothals are often made by parents while the parties are yet children, mutual deposits of blankets and other property being made as securities for the fulfillment of the contract, which is rarely broken. girls marry at an average age of sixteen. the common nootka obtains his one bride from his own rank also by a present of blankets, much more humble than that of his rich neighbor, and is assisted in his overtures by perhaps a single friend instead of being followed by the whole tribe. courtship among this class is not altogether without the attentions which render it so charming in civilized life; as when the fond girl lovingly caresses and searches her lover's head, always giving him the fattest of her discoveries. wives are not ill treated, and although somewhat overworked, the division of labor is not so oppressive as among many indian tribes. men build houses, make boats and implements, hunt and fish; women prepare the fish and game for winter use, cook, manufacture cloth and clothing, and increase the stock of food by gathering berries and shell-fish; and most of this work among the richer class is done by slaves. wives are consulted in matters of trade, and in fact seem to be nearly on terms of equality with their husbands, except that they are excluded from some public feasts and ceremonies. there is much reason to suppose that before the advent of the whites, the nootka wife was comparatively faithful to her lord, that chastity was regarded as a desirable female quality, and offenses against it severely punished. the females so freely brought on board the vessels of early voyagers and offered to the men, were perhaps slaves, who are everywhere prostituted for gain, so that the fathers of their children are never known. women rarely have more than two or three children, and cease bearing at about twenty-five, frequently preventing the increase of their family by abortions. pregnancy and childbirth affect them but little. the male child is named at birth, but his name is afterwards frequently changed. he is suckled by the mother until three or four years old, and at an early age begins to learn the arts of fishing by which he is to live. children are not quarrelsome among themselves, and are regarded by both parents with some show of affection and pride. girls at puberty are closely confined for several days, and given a little water but no food; they are kept particularly from the sun or fire, to see either of which at this period would be a lasting disgrace. at such times feasts are given by the parents. divorces or separations may be had at will by either party, but a strict division of property and return of betrothal presents is expected, the woman being allowed not only the property she brought her husband, and articles manufactured by her in wedlock, but a certain proportion of the common wealth. such property as belongs to the father and is not distributed in gifts during his life, or destroyed at his death, is inherited by the eldest son.[ ] from the middle of november to the middle of january, is the nootka season of mirth and festivity, when nearly the whole time is occupied with public and private gaiety. their evenings are privately passed by the family group within doors in conversation, singing, joking, boasting of past exploits, personal and tribal, and teasing the women until bed-time, when one by one they retire to rest in the same blankets worn during the day.[ ] swimming and trials of strength by hooking together the little fingers, or scuffling for a prize, seem to be the only out-door amusements indulged in by adults, while the children shoot arrows and hurl spears at grass figures of birds and fishes, and prepare themselves for future conflicts by cutting off the heads of imaginary enemies modeled in mud.[ ] to gambling the nootkas are passionately addicted, but their games are remarkably few and uniform. small bits of wood compose their entire paraphernalia, sometimes used like dice, when the game depends on the side turned up; or passed rapidly from hand to hand, when the gamester attempts to name the hand containing the trump stick; or again concealed in dust spread over a blanket and moved about by one player that the rest may guess its location. in playing they always form a circle seated on the ground, and the women rarely if ever join the game.[ ] they indulge in smoking, the only pipes of their own manufacture being of plain cedar, filled now with tobacco by those who can afford it, but in which they formerly smoked, as it is supposed, the leaves of a native plant--still mixed with tobacco to lessen its intoxicating properties. the pipe is passed round after a meal, but seems to be less used in serious ceremonies than among eastern indian nations.[ ] [sidenote: nootka amusements.] but the nootka amusement par excellence is that of feasts, given by the richer classes and chiefs nearly every evening during 'the season.' male and female heralds are employed ceremoniously to invite the guests, the house having been first cleared of its partitions, and its floor spread with mats.[ ] as in countries more civilized, the common people go early to secure the best seats, their allotted place being near the door. the élite come later, after being repeatedly sent for; on arrival they are announced by name, and assigned a place according to rank. in one corner of the hall the fish and whale-blubber are boiled by the wives of the chiefs, who serve it to the guests in pieces larger or smaller, according to their rank. what can not be eaten must be carried home. their drink ordinarily is pure water, but occasionally berries of a peculiar kind, preserved in cakes, are stirred in until a froth is formed which swells the body of the drinker nearly to bursting.[ ] eating is followed by conversation and speech-making, oratory being an art highly prized, in which, with their fine voices, they become skillful. finally, the floor is cleared for dancing. in the dances in which the crowd participate, the dancers, with faces painted in black and vermilion, form a circle round a few leaders who give the step, which consists chiefly in jumping with both feet from the ground, brandishing weapons or bunches of feathers, or sometimes simply bending the body without moving the feet. as to the participation of women in these dances, authorities do not agree.[ ] in a sort of conversational dance all pass briskly round the room to the sound of music, praising in exclamations the building and all within it, while another dance requires many to climb upon the roof and there continue their motions. their special or character dances are many, and in them they show much dramatic talent. a curtain is stretched across a corner of the room to conceal the preparations, and the actors, fantastically dressed, represent personal combats, hunting scenes, or the actions of different animals. in the seal-dance naked men jump into the water and then crawl out and over the floors, imitating the motions of the seal. indecent performances are mentioned by some visitors. sometimes in these dances men drop suddenly as if dead, and are at last revived by the doctors, who also give dramatic or magic performances at their houses; or they illuminate a wax moon out on the water, and make the natives believe they are communing with the man in the moon. to tell just where amusement ceases and solemnity begins in these dances is impossible.[ ] birds' down forms an important item in the decoration at dances, especially at the reception of strangers. all dances, as well as other ceremonies, are accompanied by continual music, instrumental and vocal. the instruments are: boxes and benches struck with sticks; a plank hollowed out on the under side and beaten with drum-sticks about a foot long; a rattle made of dried seal-skin in the form of a fish, with pebbles; a whistle of deer-bone about an inch long with one hole, which like the rattle can only be used by chiefs; and a bunch of muscle-shells, to be shaken like castanets.[ ] their songs are monotonous chants, extending over but few notes, varied by occasional howls and whoops in some of the more spirited melodies, pleasant or otherwise, according to the taste of the hearer.[ ] certain of their feasts are given periodically by the head chiefs, which distant tribes attend, and during which take place the distributions of property already mentioned. whenever a gift is offered, etiquette requires the recipient to snatch it rudely from the donor with a stern and surly look.[ ] [sidenote: miscellaneous customs.] among the miscellaneous customs noticed by the different authorities already quoted, may be mentioned the following. daily bathing in the sea is practiced, the vapor-bath not being used. children are rolled in the snow by their mothers to make them hardy. camps and other property are moved from place to place by piling them on a plank platform built across the canoes. whymper saw indians near bute inlet carrying burdens on the back by a strap across the forehead. in a fight they rarely strike but close and depend on pulling hair and scratching; a chance blow must be made up by a present. invitations to eat must not be declined, no matter how often repeated. out of doors there is no native gesture of salutation, but in the houses a guest is motioned politely to a couch; guests are held sacred, and great ceremonies are performed at the reception of strangers; all important events are announced by heralds. friends sometimes saunter along hand in hand. a secret society, independent of tribe, family, or crest, is supposed by sproat to exist among them, but its purposes are unknown. in a palaver with whites the orator holds a long white pole in his hand, which he sticks occasionally into the ground by way of emphasis. an animal chosen as a crest must not be shot or ill-treated in the presence of any wearing its figure; boys recite portions of their elders' speeches as declamations; names are changed many times during life, at the will of the individual or of the tribe. [sidenote: customs and cannibalism.] in sorcery, witchcraft, prophecy, dreams, evil spirits, and the transmigration of souls, the nootkas are firm believers, and these beliefs enable the numerous sorcerers of different grades to acquire great power in the tribes by their strange ridiculous ceremonies. most of their tricks are transparent, being deceptions worked by the aid of confederates to keep up their power; but, as in all religions, the votary must have some faith in the efficacy of their incantations. the sorcerer, before giving a special demonstration, retires apart to meditate. after spending some time alone in the forests and mountains, fasting and lacerating the flesh, he appears suddenly before the tribe, emaciated, wild with excitement, clad in a strange costume, grotesquely painted, and wearing a hideous mask. the scenes that ensue are indescribable, but the aim seems to be to commit all the wild freaks that a maniac's imagination may devise, accompanied by the most unearthly yells which can terrorize the heart. live dogs and dead human bodies are seized and torn by their teeth; but, at least in later times, they seem not to attack the living, and their performances are somewhat less horrible and bloody than the wild orgies of the northern tribes. the sorcerer is thought to have more influence with bad spirits than with good, and is always resorted to in the case of any serious misfortune. new members of the fraternity are initiated into the mysteries by similar ceremonies. old women are not without their traditional mysterious powers in matters of prophecy and witchcraft; and all chiefs in times of perplexity practice fasting and laceration. dreams are believed to be the visits of spirits or of the wandering soul of some living party, and the unfortunate nootka boy or girl whose blubber-loaded stomach causes uneasy dreams, must be properly hacked, scorched, smothered, and otherwise tormented until the evil spirit is appeased.[ ] whether or not these people were cannibals, is a disputed question, but there seems to be little doubt that slaves have been sacrificed and eaten as a part of their devilish rites.[ ] the nootkas are generally a long-lived race, and from the beginning to the failing of manhood undergo little change in appearance. jewitt states that during his captivity of three years at nootka sound, only five natural deaths occurred, and the people suffered scarcely any disease except the colic. sproat mentions as the commonest diseases; bilious complaints, dysentery, a consumption which almost always follows syphilis, fevers, and among the aged, ophthalmia. accidental injuries, as cuts, bruises, sprains, and broken limbs, are treated with considerable success by means of simple salves or gums, cold water, pine-bark bandages, and wooden splints. natural pains and maladies are invariably ascribed to the absence or other irregular conduct of the soul, or to the influence of evil spirits, and all treatment is directed to the recall of the former and to the appeasing of the latter. still, so long as the ailment is slight, simple means are resorted to, and the patient is kindly cared for by the women; as when headache, colic, or rheumatism is treated by the application of hot or cold water, hot ashes, friction, or the swallowing of cold teas made from various roots and leaves. nearly every disease has a specific for its cure. oregon grape and other herbs cure syphilis; wasp-nest powder is a tonic, and blackberries an astringent; hemlock bark forms a plaster, and dog-wood bark is a strengthener; an infusion of young pine cones or the inside scrapings of a human skull prevent too rapid family increase, while certain plants facilitate abortion. when a sickness becomes serious, the sorcerer or medicine-man is called in and incantations begin, more or less noisy according to the amount of the prospective fee and the number of relatives and friends who join in the uproar. a very poor wretch is permitted to die in comparative quiet. in difficult cases the doctor, wrought up to the highest state of excitement, claims to see and hear the soul, and to judge of the patient's prospects by its position and movements. the sick man shows little fortitude, and abandons himself helplessly to the doctor's ridiculous measures. failing in a cure, the physician gets no pay, but if successful, does not fail to make a large demand. both the old and the helplessly sick are frequently abandoned by the ahts to die without aid in the forest.[ ] [sidenote: nootka burial.] after death the nootka's body is promptly put away; a slave's body is unceremoniously thrown into the water; that of a freeman, is placed in a crouching posture, their favorite one during life, in a deep wooden box, or in a canoe, and suspended from the branches of a tree, deposited on the ground with a covering of sticks and stones, or, more rarely, buried. common people are usually left on the surface; the nobility are suspended from trees at heights differing, as some authorities say, according to rank. the practice of burning the dead seems also to have been followed in some parts of this region. each tribe has a burying-ground chosen on some hill-side or small island. with chiefs, blankets, skins, and other property in large amounts are buried, hung up about the grave, or burned during the funeral ceremonies, which are not complicated except for the highest officials. the coffins are often ornamented with carvings or paintings of the deceased man's crest, or with rows of shells. when a death occurs, the women of the tribe make a general howl, and keep it up at intervals for many days or months; the men, after a little speech-making, keep silent. the family and friends, with blackened faces and hair cut short, follow the body to its last resting-place with music and other manifestations of sorrow, generally terminating in a feast. there is great reluctance to explain their funeral usages to strangers; death being regarded by this people with great superstition and dread, not from solicitude for the welfare of the dead, but from a belief in the power of departed spirits to do much harm to the living.[ ] [sidenote: character of the nootkas.] the nootka character presents all the inconsistencies observable among other american aborigines, since there is hardly a good or bad trait that has not by some observer been ascribed to them. their idiosyncrasies as a race are perhaps best given by sproat as "want of observation, a great deficiency of foresight, extreme fickleness in their passions and purposes, habitual suspicion, and a love of power and display; added to which may be noticed their ingratitude and revengeful disposition, their readiness for war, and revolting indifference to human suffering." these qualities, judged by civilized standards censurable, to the nootka are praiseworthy, while contrary qualities are to be avoided. by a strict application, therefore, of 'put yourself in his place' principles, to which most 'good indians' owe their reputation, nootka character must not be too harshly condemned. they are not, so far as physical actions are concerned, a remarkably lazy people, but their minds, although intelligent when aroused, are averse to effort and quickly fatigued; nor can they comprehend the advantage of continued effort for any future good which is at all remote. what little foresight they have, has much in common with the instinct of beasts. ordinarily, they are quiet and well behaved, especially the higher classes, but when once roused to anger, they rage, bite, spit and kick without the slightest attempt at self-possession. a serious offense against an individual, although nominally pardoned in consideration of presents, can really never be completely atoned for except by blood; hence private, family, and tribal feuds continue from generation to generation. women are not immodest, but the men have no shame. stealing is recognized as a fault, and the practice as between members of the same tribe is rare, but skillful pilfering from strangers, if not officially sanctioned, is extensively carried on and much admired; still any property confided in trust to a nootka is said to be faithfully returned. to his wife he is kind and just; to his children affectionate. efforts for their conversion to foreign religions have been in the highest degree unsuccessful.[ ] [sidenote: the sound indians.] the sound indians, by which term i find it convenient to designate the nations about puget sound, constitute the third family of the columbian group. in this division i include all the natives of that part of washington which lies to the west of the cascade range, except a strip from twenty-five to forty miles wide along the north bank of the columbia. the north-eastern section of this territory, including the san juan group, whidbey island, and the region tributary to bellingham bay, is the home of the _nooksak_, _lummi_, _samish_ and _skagit_ nations, whose neighbors and constant harassers on the north are the fierce kwantlums and cowichins of the nootka family about the mouth of the fraser. the central section, comprising the shores and islands of admiralty inlet, hood canal, and puget sound proper, is occupied by numerous tribes with variously spelled names, mostly terminating in _mish_, which names, with all their orthographic diversity, have been given generally to the streams on whose banks the different nations dwelt. all these tribes may be termed the _nisqually_ nation, taking the name from the most numerous and best-known of the tribes located about the head of the sound. the _clallams_ inhabit the eastern portion of the peninsula between the sound and the pacific. the western extremity of the same peninsula, terminating at cape flattery, is occupied by the _classets_ or _makahs_; while the _chehalis_ and _cowlitz_ nations are found on the chehalis river, gray harbor, and the upper cowlitz. excepting a few bands on the headwaters of streams that rise in the vicinity of mount baker, the sound family belongs to the coast fish-eating tribes rather than to the hunters of the interior. indeed, this family has so few marked peculiarities, possessing apparently no trait or custom not found as well among the nootkas or chinooks, that it may be described in comparatively few words. when first known to europeans they seem to have been far less numerous than might have been expected from the extraordinary fertility and climatic advantages of their country; and since they have been in contact with the whites, their numbers have been reduced,--chiefly through the agency of small-pox and ague,--even more rapidly than the nations farther to the north-west.[ ] these natives of washington are short and thick-set, with strong limbs, but bow-legged; they have broad faces, eyes fine but wide apart; noses prominent, both of roman and aquiline type; color, a light copper, perhaps a shade darker than that of the nootkas, but capable of transmitting a flush; the hair usually black and almost universally worn long.[ ] all the tribes flatten the head more or less, but none carry the practice to such an extent as their neighbors on the south, unless it be the cowlitz nation, which might indeed as correctly be classed with the chinooks. by most of the sound natives tattooing is not practiced, and they seem somewhat less addicted to a constant use of paint than the nootkas; yet on festive occasions a plentiful and hideous application is made of charcoal or colored earth pulverized in grease, and the women appreciate the charms imparted to the face by the use of vermilion clay. the nose, particularly at cape flattery, is the grand centre of facial ornamentation. perforating is extravagantly practiced, and pendant trinkets of every form and substance are worn, those of bone or shell preferred, and, if we may credit wilkes, by some of the women these ornaments are actually kept clean. [sidenote: sound dress and dwellings.] the native garment, when the weather makes nakedness uncomfortable, is a blanket of dog's hair, sometimes mixed with birds' down and bark-fibre, thrown about the shoulders. some few fasten this about the neck with a wooden pin. the women are more careful in covering the person with the blanket than are the men, and generally wear under it a bark apron hanging from the waist in front. a cone-shaped, water-proof hat, woven from colored grasses, is sometimes worn on the head.[ ] temporary hunting-huts in summer are merely cross-sticks covered with coarse mats made by laying bulrushes side by side, and knotting them at intervals with cord or grass. the poorer individuals or tribes dwell permanently in similar huts, improved by the addition of a few slabs; while the rich and powerful build substantial houses, of planks split from trees by means of bone wedges, much like the nootka dwellings in plan, and nearly as large. these houses sometimes measure over one hundred feet in length, and are divided into rooms or pens, each house accommodating many families. there are several fire-places in each dwelling; raised benches extend round the sides, and the walls are often lined with matting.[ ] [sidenote: food of the sound indians.] in spring time they abandon their regular dwellings and resort in small companies to the various sources of food-supply. fish is their chief dependence, though game is taken in much larger quantities than by the nootkas; some of the more inland sound tribes subsisting almost entirely by the chase and by root-digging. nearly all the varieties of fish which support the northern tribes are also abundant here, and are taken substantially by the same methods, namely, by the net, hook, spear, and rake; but fisheries seem to be carried on somewhat less systematically, and i find no account of the extensive and complicated embankments and traps mentioned by travelers in british columbia. to the salmon, sturgeon, herring, rock-cod, and candle-fish, abundant in the inlets of the sound, the classets, by venturing out to sea, add a supply of whale-blubber and otter-meat, obtained with spears, lines, and floats. at certain points on the shore tall poles are erected, across which nets are spread; and against these nets large numbers of wild fowl, dazzled by torch-lights at night, dash themselves and fall stunned to the ground, where the natives stand ready to gather in the feathery harvest. vancouver noticed many of these poles in different localities, but could not divine their use. deer and elk in the forests are also hunted by night, and brought within arrow-shot by the spell of torches. for preservation, fish are dried in the sun or dried and smoked by the domestic hearth, and sometimes pounded fine, as are roots of various kinds; clams are dried on strings and hung up in the houses, or occasionally worn round the neck, ministering to the native love of ornament until the stronger instinct of hunger impairs the beauty of the necklace. in the better class of houses, supplies are neatly stored in baskets at the sides. the people are extremely improvident, and, notwithstanding their abundant natural supplies in ocean, stream, and forest, are often in great want. boiling in wooden vessels by means of hot stones is the ordinary method of cooking. a visitor to the nooksaks thus describes their method of steaming elk-meat: "they first dig a hole in the ground, then build a wood fire, placing stones on the top of it. as it burns, the stones become hot and fall down. moss and leaves are then placed on the top of the hot stones, the meat on these, and another layer of moss and leaves laid over it. water is poured on, which is speedily converted into steam. this is retained by mats carefully placed over the heap. when left in this way for a night, the meat is found tender and well cooked in the morning." fowls were cooked in the same manner by the queniults.[ ] i find no mention of other weapons, offensive or defensive, than spears, and bows and arrows. the arrows and spears were usually pointed with bone; the bows were of yew, and though short, were of great power. vancouver describes a superior bow used at puget sound. it was from two and a half to three feet long, made from a naturally curved piece of yew, whose concave side became the convex of the bow, and to the whole length of this side a strip of elastic hide or serpent-skin was attached so firmly by a kind of cement as to become almost a part of the wood. this lining added greatly to the strength of the bow, and was not affected by moisture. the bow-string was made of sinew.[ ] the tribes were continually at war with each other, and with northern nations, generally losing many of their people in battle. sticking the heads of the slain enemy on poles in front of their dwellings, is a common way of demonstrating their joy over a victory. the indians at port discovery spoke to wilkes of scalping among their warlike exploits, but according to kane the classets do not practice that usage.[ ] vancouver, finding sepulchres at penn cove, in which were large quantities of human bones but no limb-bones of adults, suspected that the latter were used by the indians for pointing their arrows, and in the manufacture of other implements.[ ] [sidenote: manufactures of puget sound.] the sound manufactures include only the weapons and utensils used by the natives. their articles were made with the simplest tools of bone or shell. blankets were made of dog's hair,--large numbers of dogs being raised for the purpose,--the wool of mountain sheep, or wild goats, found on the mountain slopes, the down of wild-fowl, cedar bark-fibre, ravellings of foreign blankets, or more commonly of a mixture of several of these materials. the fibre is twisted into yarn between the hand and thigh, and the strands arranged in perpendicular frames for weaving purposes. willow and other twigs supply material for baskets of various forms, often neatly made and colored. oil, both for domestic use and for barter, is extracted by boiling, except in the case of the candle-fish, when hanging in the hot sun suffices; it is preserved in bladders and skin-bottles.[ ] canoes are made by the sound indians in the same manner as by the nootkas already described; being always dug out, formerly by fire, from a single cedar trunk, and the form improved afterwards by stretching when soaked in hot water. of the most elegant proportions, they are modeled by the builder with no guide but the eye, and with most imperfect tools; three months' work is sufficient to produce a medium-sized boat. the form varies among different nations according as the canoe is intended for ocean, sound, or river navigation; being found with bow or stern, or both, in various forms, pointed, round, shovel-nosed, raised or level. the raised stern, head-piece, and stern-post are usually formed of separate pieces. like the nootkas, they char and polish the outside and paint the interior with red. the largest and finest specimen seen by mr. swan was forty-six feet long and six feet wide, and crossed the bar into shoalwater bay with thirty queniult indians from the north. the paddle used in deep water has a crutch-like handle and a sharp-pointed blade.[ ] [sidenote: trade and government of the sound indians.] in their barter between the different tribes, and in estimating their wealth, the blanket is generally the unit of value, and the _hiaqua_, a long white shell obtained off cape flattery at a considerable depth, is also extensively used for money, its value increasing with its length. a kind of annual fair for trading purposes and festivities is held by the tribes of puget sound at bajada point, and here and in their other feasts they are fond of showing their wealth and liberality by disposing of their surplus property in gifts.[ ] the system of government seems to be of the simplest nature, each individual being entirely independent and master of his own actions. there is a nominal chief in each tribe, who sometimes acquires great influence and privileges by his wealth or personal prowess, but he has no authority, and only directs the movements of his band in warlike incursions. i find no evidence of hereditary rank or caste except as wealth is sometimes inherited.[ ] slaves are held by all the tribes, and are treated very much like their dogs, being looked upon as property, and not within the category of humanity. for a master to kill half a dozen slaves is no wrong or cruelty; it only tends to illustrate the owner's noble disposition in so freely sacrificing his property. slaves are obtained by war and kidnapping, and are sold in large numbers to northern tribes. according to sproat, the classets, a rich and powerful tribe, encourage the slave-hunting incursions of the nootkas against their weaker neighbors.[ ] wives are bought by presents, and some performances or ceremonies, representative of hunting or fishing scenes, not particularly described by any visitor, take place at the wedding. women have all the work to do except hunting and fishing, while their lords spend their time in idleness and gambling. still the females are not ill-treated; they acquire great influence in the tribe, and are always consulted in matters of trade before a bargain is closed. they are not overburdened with modesty, nor are husbands noted for jealousy. hiring out their women, chiefly however slaves, for prostitution, has been a prominent source of tribal revenue since the country was partially settled by whites. women are not prolific, three or four being ordinarily the limit of their offspring. infants, properly bound up with the necessary apparatus for head-flattening, are tied to their cradle or to a piece of bark, and hung by a cord to the end of a springy pole kept in motion by a string attached to the mother's great toe. affection for children is by no means rare, but in few tribes can they resist the temptation to sell or gamble them away.[ ] [sidenote: amusements of the sound indians.] feasting, gambling, and smoking are the favorite amusements; all their property, slaves, children, and even their own freedom in some cases are risked in their games. several plants are used as substitutes for tobacco when that article is not obtainable. if any important differences exist between their ceremonies, dances, songs and feasts, and those of vancouver island, such variations have not been recorded. in fact, many authors describe the manners and customs of 'north-west america' as if occupied by one people.[ ] there is no evidence of cannibalism; indeed, during vancouver's visit at puget sound, some meat offered to the natives was refused, because it was suspected to be human flesh. since their acquaintance with the whites they have acquired a habit of assuming great names, as duke of york, or jenny lind, and highly prize scraps of paper with writing purporting to substantiate their claims to such distinctions. their superstitions are many, and they are continually on the watch in all the commonest acts of life against the swarm of evil influences, from which they may escape only by the greatest care.[ ] [sidenote: character of the sound indians.] disorders of the throat and lungs, rheumatism and intermittent fevers, are among the most prevalent forms of disease, and in their methods of cure, as usual, the absurd ceremonies, exorcisms, and gesticulations of the medicine-men play the principal part; but hot and cold baths are also often resorted to without regard to the nature or stage of the malady.[ ] the bodies of such as succumb to their diseases, or to the means employed for cure, are disposed of in different ways according to locality, tribe, rank, or age. skeletons are found by travelers buried in the ground or deposited in a sitting posture on its surface; in canoes or in boxes supported by posts, or, more commonly, suspended from the branches of trees. corpses are wrapped in cloth or matting, and more or less richly decorated according to the wealth of the deceased. several bodies are often put in one canoe or box, and the bodies of young children are found suspended in baskets. property and implements, the latter always broken, are deposited with or near the remains, and these last resting-places of their people are religiously cared for and guarded from intrusion by all the tribes.[ ] all the peculiarities and inconsistencies of the nootka character perhaps have been noted by travelers among the indians of the sound, but none of these peculiarities are so clearly marked in the latter people. in their character, as in other respects, they have little individuality, and both their virtues and vices are but faint reflections of the same qualities in the great families north and south of their territory. the cape flattery tribes are at once the most intelligent, bold, and treacherous of all, while some of the tribes east and north-east of the sound proper have perhaps the best reputation. since the partial settlement of their territory by the whites, the natives here as elsewhere have lost many of their original characteristics, chiefly the better ones. the remnants now for the most part are collected on government reservations, or live in the vicinity of towns, by begging and prostitution. some tribes, especially in the region of bellingham bay, have been nominally converted to christianity, have abandoned polygamy, slavery, head-flattening, gambling, and superstitious ceremonies, and pay considerable attention to a somewhat mixed version of church doctrine and ceremonies.[ ] the chinooks constitute the fourth division of the columbian group. originally the name was restricted to a tribe on the north bank of the columbia between gray bay and the ocean; afterwards, from a similarity in language and customs, it was applied to all the bands on both sides of the river, from its mouth to the dalles.[ ] it is employed in this work to designate all the oregon tribes west of the cascade range, southward to the rogue river or umpqua mountains. this family lies between the sound indians on the north and the californian group on the south, including in addition to the tribes of the columbia, those of the willamette valley and the coast. all closely resemble each other in manners and customs, having also a general resemblance to the northern families already described, springing from their methods of obtaining food; and although probably without linguistic affinities, except along the columbia river, they may be consistently treated as one family--the last of the great coast or fish-eating divisions of the columbian group. among the prominent tribes, or nations of the chinook family may be mentioned the following: the _watlalas_ or upper chinooks, including the bands on the columbia from the cascades to the cowlitz, and on the lower willamette; the lower chinooks from the cowlitz to the pacific comprising the _wakiakums_ and _chinooks_ on the north bank, and the _cathlamets_ and _clatsops_ on the south; the _calapooyas_ occupying the valley of the willamette, and the _clackamas_ on one of its chief tributaries of the same name; with the _killamooks_ and _umpquas_ who live between the coast range[ ] and the ocean. with respect to the present condition of these nations, authorities agree in speaking of them as a squalid and poverty-stricken race, once numerous and powerful, now few and weak. their country has been settled by whites much more thickly than regions farther north, and they have rapidly disappeared before the influx of strangers. whole tribes have been exterminated by war and disease, and in the few miserable remnants collected on reservations or straggling about the oregon towns, no trace is apparent of the independent, easy-living bands of the remote past.[ ] it is however to be noted that at no time since this region has been known to europeans has the indian population been at all in proportion to the supporting capacity of the land, while yet in a state of nature, with its fertile soil and well-stocked streams and forests. [sidenote: chinook physique.] in physique the chinook can not be said to differ materially from the nootka. in stature the men rarely exceed five feet six inches, and the women five feet. both sexes are thick-set, but as a rule loosely built, although in this respect they had doubtless degenerated when described by most travelers. their legs are bowed and otherwise deformed by a constant squatting position in and out of their canoes. trained by constant exposure with slight clothing, they endure cold and hunger better than the white man, but to continued muscular exertion they soon succumb. physically they improve in proportion to their distance from the columbia and its fisheries; the calapooyas on the upper willamette, according to early visitors, presenting the finest specimens.[ ] descending from the north along the coast, hyperboreans, columbians, and californians gradually assume a more dusky hue as we proceed southward. the complexion of the chinooks may be called a trifle darker than the natives of the sound, and of vancouver; though nothing is more difficult than from the vague expressions of travelers to determine shades of color.[ ] points of resemblance have been noted by many observers between the chinook and mongolian physiognomy, consisting chiefly in the eyes turned obliquely upward at the outer corner. the face is broad and round, the nose flat and fat, with large nostrils, the mouth wide and thick-lipped, teeth irregular and much worn, eyes black, dull and expressionless; the hair generally black and worn long, and the beard carefully plucked out; nevertheless, their features are often regular.[ ] [sidenote: head-flattening phenomenon.] it is about the mouth of the columbia that the custom of flattening the head seems to have originated. radiating from this centre in all directions, and becoming less universal and important as the distance is increased, the usage terminates on the south with the nations which i have attached to the chinook family, is rarely found east of the cascade range, but extends, as we have seen, northward through all the coast families, although it is far from being held in the same esteem in the far north as in its apparently original centre. the origin of this deformity is unknown. all we can do is to refer it to that strange infatuation incident to humanity which lies at the root of fashion and ornamentation, and which even in these later times civilization is not able to eradicate. as alphonso the wise regretted not having been present at the creation--for then he would have had the world to suit him--so different ages and nations strive in various ways to remodel and improve the human form. thus the chinese lady compresses the feet, the european the waist, and the chinook the head. slaves are not allowed to indulge in this extravagance, and as this class are generally of foreign tribes or families, the work of ethnologists in classifying skulls obtained by travelers, and thereby founding theories of race is somewhat complicated; but the difficulty is lessened by the fact that slaves receive no regular burial, and hence all skulls belonging to bodies from native cemeteries are known to be chinook.[ ] the chinook ideal of facial beauty is a straight line from the end of the nose to the crown of the head. the flattening of the skull is effected by binding the infant to its cradle immediately after birth, and keeping it there from three months to a year. the simplest form of cradle is a piece of board or plank on which the child is laid upon its back with the head slightly raised by a block of wood. another piece of wood, or bark, or leather, is then placed over the forehead and tied to the plank with strings which are tightened more and more each day until the skull is shaped to the required pattern. space is left for lateral expansion; and under ordinary circumstances the child's head is not allowed to leave its position until the process is complete. the body and limbs are also bound to the cradle, but more loosely, by bandages, which are sometimes removed for cleansing purposes. moss or soft bark is generally introduced between the skin and the wood, and in some tribes comfortable pads, cushions, or rabbit-skins are employed. the piece of wood which rests upon the forehead is in some cases attached to the cradle by leather hinges, and instances are mentioned where the pressure is created by a spring. a trough or canoe-shaped cradle, dug out from a log, often takes the place of the simple board, and among the rich this is elaborately worked, and ornamented with figures and shells. the child while undergoing this process, with its small black eyes jammed half out of their sockets, presents a revolting picture. strangely enough, however, the little prisoner seems to feel scarcely any pain, and travelers almost universally state that no perceptible injury is done to the health or brain. as years advance the head partially but not altogether resumes its natural form, and among aged persons the effects are not very noticeable. as elsewhere, the personal appearance of the women is of more importance than that of the men, therefore the female child is subjected more rigorously and longer to the compressing process, than her brothers. failure properly to mould the cranium of her offspring gives to the chinook matron the reputation of a lazy and undutiful mother, and subjects the neglected children to the ridicule of their young companions;[ ] so despotic is fashion. a practice which renders the chinook more hideous than the compression of his skull is that of piercing or slitting the cartilage of the nose and ears, and inserting therein long strings of beads or hiaqua shells, the latter being prized above all other ornaments. tattooing seems to have been practiced, but not extensively, taking usually the form of lines of dots pricked into the arms, legs, and cheeks with pulverized charcoal. imitation tattooing, with the bright-colored juices of different berries, was a favorite pastime with the women, and neither sex could resist the charms of salmon-grease and red clay. in later times, however, according to swan, the custom of greasing and daubing the body has been to a great extent abandoned. great pains is taken in dressing the hair, which is combed, parted in the middle, and usually allowed to hang in long tresses down the back, but often tied up in a queue by the women and girls, or braided so as to hang in two tails tied with strings.[ ] [sidenote: chinook dress.] for dress, skins were much more commonly used in this region than among other coast families; particularly the skins of the smaller animals, as the rabbit and woodrat. these skins, dressed and often painted, were sewed together so as to form a robe or blanket similar in form and use to the more northern blanket of wool, which, as well as a similar garment of goose-skin with the feathers on, was also made and worn by the chinooks, though not in common use among them. they prefer to go naked when the weather permits. skins of larger animals, as the deer and elk, are also used for clothing, and of the latter is made a kind of arrow-proof armor for war; another coat of mail being made of sticks bound together. females almost universally wear a skirt of cedar bark-fibre, fastened about the waist and hanging to the knees. this garment is woven for a few inches at the top, but the rest is simply a hanging fringe, not very effectually concealing the person. a substitute for this petticoat in some tribes is a square piece of leather attached to a belt in front; and in others a long strip of deer-skin passed between the thighs and wound about the waist. a fringed garment, like that described, is also sometimes worn about the shoulders; in cold weather a fur robe is wrapped about the body from the hips to the armpits, forming a close and warm vest; and over all is sometimes thrown a cape, or fur blanket, like that of the men, varying in quality and value with the wealth of the wearer. the best are made of strips of sea-otter skin, woven with grass or cedar bark, so that the fur shows on both sides. chiefs and men of wealth wear rich robes of otter and other valuable furs. the conical hat woven of grass and bark, and painted in black and white checks or with rude figures, with or without a brim, and fastened under the chin, is the only covering for the head.[ ] [sidenote: dwellings of the chinooks.] the chinooks moved about less for the purpose of obtaining a supply of food, than many others, even of the coast families, yet the accumulation of filth or--a much stronger motive--of fleas, generally forced them to take down their winter dwellings each spring, preserving the materials for re-erection on the same or another spot. the best houses were built of cedar planks attached by bark-fibre cords to a frame, which consisted of four corner, and two central posts and a ridge pole. the planks of the sides and ends were sometimes perpendicular, but oftener laid horizontally, overlapping here in clapboard fashion as on the roof. in some localities the roof and even the whole structure was of cedar bark. these dwellings closely resembled those farther north, but were somewhat inferior in size, twenty-five to seventy-five feet long, and fifteen to twenty-five feet wide, being the ordinary dimensions. on the columbia they were only four or five feet high at the eaves, but an equal depth was excavated in the ground, while on the willamette the structure was built on the surface. the door was only just large enough to admit the body, and it was a favorite fancy of the natives to make it represent the mouth of an immense head painted round it. windows there were none, nor chimney; one or more fireplaces were sunk in the floor, and the smoke escaped by the cracks, a plank in the roof being sometimes moved for the purpose. mats were spread on the floor and raised berths were placed on the sides, sometimes in several tiers. partitions of plank or matting separated the apartments of the several families. smaller temporary huts, and the permanent homes of the poorer indians were built in various forms, of sticks, covered with bark, rushes, or skins. the interior and exterior of all dwellings were in a state of chronic filth.[ ] [sidenote: fisheries of the chinooks.] the salmon fisheries of the columbia are now famous throughout the world. once every year innumerable multitudes of these noble fish enter the river from the ocean to deposit their spawn. impelled by instinct, they struggle to reach the extreme limits of the stream, working their way in blind desperation to the very sources of every little branch, overcoming seeming impossibilities, and only to fulfill their destiny and die; for if they escape human enemies, they either kill themselves in their mad efforts to leap impassable falls, or if their efforts are crowned with success, they are supposed never to return to the ocean. this fishery has always been the chief and an inexhaustible source of food for the chinooks, who, although skillful fishermen, have not been obliged to invent a great variety of methods or implements for the capture of the salmon, which rarely if ever have failed them. certain ceremonies must, however, be observed with the first fish taken; his meat must be cut only with the grain, and the hearts of all caught must be burned or eaten, and on no account be thrown into the water or be devoured by a dog. with these precautions there is no reason to suppose that the chinook would ever lack a supply of fish. the salmon begin to run in april, but remain several weeks in the warmer waters near the mouth, and are there taken while in their best condition, by the chinook tribe proper, with a straight net of bark or roots, sometimes five hundred feet long and fifteen feet deep, with floats and sinkers. one end of the net is carried out into the river at high water, and drawn in by the natives on the shore, who with a mallet quiet the fish and prevent them from jumping over the net and escaping. farther up, especially at the cascades and at the falls of the willamette, salmon are speared by natives standing on the rocks or on planks placed for the purpose; scooped up in small dip-nets; or taken with a large unbaited hook attached by a socket and short line to a long pole. there is some account of artificial channels of rocks at these places, but such expedients were generally not needed, since, beside those caught by the chinooks, such numbers were cast on the rocks by their own efforts to leap the falls, that the air for months was infected by the decaying mass; and many of these in a palatable state of decay were gathered by the natives for food. hooks, spears, and nets were sometimes rubbed with the juice of certain plants supposed to be attractive to the fish. once taken, the salmon were cleaned by the women, dried in the sun and smoked in the lodges; then they were sometimes powdered fine between two stones, before packing in skins or mats for winter use. the heads were always eaten as favorite portions during the fishing season. next to the salmon the sturgeon was ranked as a source of food. this fish, weighing from two hundred to five hundred pounds, was taken by a baited hook, sunk about twenty feet, and allowed to float down the current; when hooked, the sturgeon rises suddenly and is dispatched by a spear, lifted into the canoe by a gaff-hook, or towed ashore. the chinooks do not attack the whale, but when one is accidentally cast upon the shore, more or less decayed, a season of feasting ensues and the native heart is glad. many smaller varieties of fish are taken by net, spear, hook, or rake, but no methods are employed meriting special description. wild fowl are snared or shot; elk and deer are shot with arrows or taken in a carefully covered pit, dug in their favorite haunts. as to the methods of taking rabbits and woodrats, whose skins are said to have been so extensively used for clothing, i find no information. nuts, berries, wild fruits and roots are all used as food, and to some extent preserved for winter. the wapato, a bulbous root, compared by some to the potatoe and turnip, was the aboriginal staple, and was gathered by women wading in shallow ponds, and separating the root with their toes.[ ] boiling in wooden kettles by means of hot stones, was the usual manner of cooking, but roasting on sticks stuck in the sand near the fire was also common. clam-shells and a few rude platters and spoons of wood were in use, but the fingers, with the hair for a napkin, were found much more convenient table ware.[ ] in all their personal habits the chinooks are disgustingly filthy, although said to be fond of baths for health and pleasure. the clatsops, as reported by one visitor, form a partial exception to this rule, as they occasionally wash the hands and face.[ ] [sidenote: weapons of the chinooks.] their chief weapons are bows and arrows, the former of which is made of cedar, or occasionally, as it is said, of horn and bone; its elasticity is increased by a covering of sinew glued on. the arrow-head is of bone, flint, or copper, and the shaft consists of a short piece of some hard wood, and a longer one of a lighter material. the bows are from two and a half to four feet long; five styles, differing in form and curve, are pictured by schoolcraft. another weapon in common use was a double-edged wooden broad-sword, or sharp club, two and a half or three feet long; spears, tomahawks, and scalping knives are mentioned by many travelers, but not described, and it is doubtful if either were ever used by these aborigines.[ ] i have already spoken of their thick arrow-proof elk-skin armor, and of a coat of short sticks bound together with grass; a bark helmet is also employed of sufficient strength to ward off arrows and light blows. ross states that they also carry a circular elk-skin shield about eighteen inches in diameter. although by no means a blood-thirsty race, the chinook tribes were frequently involved in quarrels, resulting, it is said, from the abduction of women more frequently than from other causes. they, like almost all other american tribes, make a free use of war paint, laying it on grotesquely and in bright colors; but unlike most other nations, they never resorted to treachery, surprise, night attacks, or massacre of women and children. fighting was generally done upon the water. when efforts to settle amicably their differences, always the first expedient, failed, a party of warriors, covered from head to foot with armor, and armed with bows, arrows, and bludgeons, was paddled by women to the enemies' village, where diplomatic efforts for peace were renewed. if still unsuccessful, the women were removed from danger, and the battle commenced, or, if the hour was late, fighting was postponed till the next morning. as their armor was arrow-proof and as they rarely came near enough for hand-to-hand conflict, the battles were of short duration and accompanied by little bloodshed; the fall of a few warriors decided the victory, the victors gained their point in the original dispute, the vanquished paid some damages, and the affair ended.[ ] [sidenote: implements, manufactures, boats.] troughs dug out of one piece of cedar, and woven baskets served this people for dishes, and were used for every purpose. the best baskets were of silk grass or fine fibre, of a conical form, woven in colors so closely as to hold liquids, and with a capacity of from one to six gallons. coarser baskets were made of roots and rushes, rude spoons of ash-wood, and circular mats did duty as plates. wapato diggers used a curved stick with handle of horn; fish-hooks and spears were made of wood and bone in a variety of forms; the wing-bone of the crane supplied a needle. with regard to their original cutting instruments, by which trees were felled for canoes or for planks which were split off by wedges, there is much uncertainty; since nearly all authorities state that before their intercourse with europeans, chisels made of 'old files,' were employed, and driven by an oblong stone or a spruce-knot mallet. pipe-bowls were of hard wood fitted to an elder stem, but the best ones, of stone elegantly carved, were of haidah manufacture and obtained from the north.[ ] to kindle a fire the chinook twirls rapidly between the palms a cedar stick, the point of which is pressed into a small hollow in a flat piece of the same material, the sparks falling on finely-frayed bark. sticks are commonly carried for the purpose, improving with use. besides woven baskets, matting is the chief article of chinook manufacture. it is made by the women by placing side by side common bulrushes or flags about three feet long, tying the ends, and passing strings of twisted rushes through the whole length, sometimes twenty or thirty feet, about four inches apart, by means of a bone needle.[ ] chinook boats do not differ essentially, either in material, form, or method of manufacture, from those already described as in use among the sound family. always dug out of a single log of the common white cedar, they vary in length from ten to fifty feet, and in form according to the waters they are intended to navigate or the freight they are to carry. in these canoes lightness, strength, and elegance combine to make them perfect models of water-craft. lewis and clarke describe four forms in use in this region, and their description of boats, as of most other matters connected with this people, has been taken with or without credit by nearly all who have treated of the subject. i cannot do better than to give their account of the largest and best boats used by the killamooks and other tribes on the coast outside the river. "the sides are secured by cross-bars, or round sticks, two or three inches in thickness, which are inserted through holes just below the gunwale, and made fast with cords. the upper edge of the gunwale itself is about five-eighths of an inch thick, and four or five in breadth, and folds outwards, so as to form a kind of rim, which prevents the water from beating into the boat. the bow and stern are about the same height, and each provided with a comb, reaching to the bottom of the boat. at each end, also, are pedestals, formed of the same solid piece, on which are placed strange grotesque figures of men or animals, rising sometimes to the height of five feet, and composed of small pieces of wood, firmly united, with great ingenuity, by inlaying and mortising, without a spike of any kind. the paddle is usually from four feet and a half to five feet in length; the handle being thick for one-third of its length, when it widens, and is hollowed and thinned on each side of the centre, which forms a sort of rib. when they embark, one indian sits in the stern, and steers with a paddle, the others kneel in pairs in the bottom of the canoe, and sitting on their heels, paddle over the gunwale next to them. in this way they ride with perfect safety the highest waves, and venture without the least concern in seas where other boats or seamen could not live an instant." the women are as expert as the men in the management of canoes.[ ] [sidenote: chinook property and trade.] the chinooks were always a commercial rather than a warlike people, and are excelled by none in their shrewdness at bargaining. before the arrival of the europeans they repaired annually to the region of the cascades and dalles, where they met the tribes of the interior, with whom they exchanged their few articles of trade--fish, oil, shells, and wapato--for the skins, roots, and grasses of their eastern neighbors. the coming of ships to the coast gave the chinooks the advantage in this trade, since they controlled the traffic in beads, trinkets and weapons; they found also in the strangers ready buyers of the skins obtained from the interior in exchange for these articles. their original currency or standard of value was the hiaqua shell from the northern coast, whose value was in proportion to its length, a fathom string of forty shells being worth nearly double a string of fifty to the fathom. since the white men came, beaver-skins and blankets have been added to their currency. individuals were protected in their rights to personal property, such as slaves, canoes, and implements, but they had no idea of personal property in lands, the title to which rested in the tribe for purposes of fishing and the chase.[ ] in decorative art this family cannot be said to hold a high place compared with more northern nations, their only superior work being the modeling of their canoes, and the weaving of ornamental baskets. in carving they are far inferior to the haidahs; the cathlamets, according to lewis and clarke, being somewhat superior to the others, or at least more fond of the art. their attempts at painting are exceedingly rude.[ ] little can be said of their system of government except that it was eminently successful in producing peaceful and well regulated communities. each band or village was usually a sovereignty, nominally ruled by a chief, either hereditary or selected for his wealth and popularity, who exerted over his tribe influence rather than authority, but who was rarely opposed in his measures. sometimes a league existed, more or less permanent, for warlike expeditions. slight offenses against usage--the tribal common law--were expiated by the payment of an amount of property satisfactory to the party offended. theft was an offense, but the return of the article stolen removed every trace of dishonor. serious crimes, as the robbery of a burial-place, were sometimes punished with death by the people, but no special authorities or processes seem to have been employed, either for detection or punishment.[ ] slavery, common to all the coast families, is also practiced by the chinooks, but there is less difference here perhaps than elsewhere between the condition of the slaves and the free. obtained from without the limits of the family, towards the south or east, by war, or more commonly by trade, the slaves are obliged to perform all the drudgery for their masters, and their children must remain in their parents' condition, their round heads serving as a distinguishing mark from freemen. but the amount of the work connected with the chinook household is never great, and so long as the slaves are well and strong, they are liberally fed and well treated. true, many instances are known of slaves murdered by the whim of a cruel and rich master, and it was not very uncommon to kill slaves on the occasion of the death of prominent persons, but wives and friends are also known to have been sacrificed on similar occasions. no burial rights are accorded to slaves, and no care taken of them in serious illness; when unable to work they are left to die, and their bodies cast into the sea or forest as food for fish or beast. it was not a rare occurrence for a freeman to voluntarily subject himself to servitude in payment of a gambling-debt; nor for a slave to be adopted into the tribe, and the privilege of head-flattening accorded to his offspring.[ ] [sidenote: marital relations of the chinooks.] not only were the chinooks a peaceable people in their tribal intercourse, but eminently so in their family relations. the young men when they married brought their wives to their father's home, and thus several generations lived amicably in their large dwellings until forced to separate by numbers, the chief authority being exercised not by the oldest but by the most active and useful member of the household. overtures for marriage were made by friends of the would-be bridegroom, who offered a certain price, and if accepted by the maiden's parents, the wedding ceremony was celebrated simply by an interchange and exhibition of presents with the congratulations of invited guests. a man might take as many wives as he could buy and support, and all lived together without jealousy; but practically few, and those among the rich and powerful, indulged in the luxury of more than one wife. it has been noticed that there was often great disparity in the ages of bride and groom, for, say the chinooks, a very young or very aged couple lack either the experience or the activity necessary for fighting the battles of life. divorce or separation is easily accomplished, but is not of frequent occurrence. a husband can repudiate his wife for infidelity, or any cause of dissatisfaction, and she can marry again. some cases are known of infidelity punished with death. barrenness is common, the birth of twins rare, and families do not usually exceed two children. childbirth, as elsewhere among aboriginals, is accompanied with but little inconvenience, and children are often nursed until three or five years old. they are carried about on the mother's back until able to walk; at first in the head-flattening cradle, and later in wicker baskets. unmarried women have not the slightest idea of chastity, and freely bestow their favors in return for a kindness, or for a very small consideration in property paid to themselves or parents. when married, all this is changed--female virtue acquires a marketable value, the possessorship being lodged in the man and not in the woman. rarely are wives unfaithful to their husbands; but the chastity of the wife is the recognized property of the husband, who sells it whenever he pleases. although attaching no honor to chastity, the chinook woman feels something like shame at becoming the mother of an illegitimate child, and it is supposed to be partly from this instinct, that infanticide and abortion are of frequent occurrence. at her first menstruation a girl must perform a certain penance, much less severe, however, than among the northern nations. in some tribes she must bathe frequently for a moon, and rub the body with rotten hemlock, carefully abstaining from all fish and berries which are in season, and remaining closely in the house during a south wind. did she partake of the forbidden food, the fish would leave the streams and the berries drop from the bushes; or did she go out in a south wind, the thunder-bird would come and shake his wings. all thunder-storms are thus caused. both young children and the old and infirm are kindly treated. work is equally divided between the sexes; the women prepare the food which the men provide; they also manufacture baskets and matting; they are nearly as skillful as the men with the canoe, and are consulted on all important matters. their condition is by no means a hard one. it is among tribes that live by the chase or by other means in which women can be of little service, that we find the sex most oppressed and cruelly treated.[ ] [sidenote: chinook feasts and festivities.] like all indians, the chinooks are fond of feasting, but their feasts are simply the coming together of men and women during the fishing season with the determination to eat as much as possible, and this meeting is devoid of those complicated ceremonies of invitation, reception, and social etiquette, observed farther north; nor has any traveler noticed the distribution of property as a feature of these festivals. fantastically dressed and gaudily decked with paint, they are wont to jump about on certain occasions in a hopping, jolting kind of dance, accompanied by songs, beating of sticks, clapping of hands, and occasional yells, the women usually dancing in a separate set. as few visitors mention their dances, it is probable that dancing was less prevalent than with others. their songs were often soft and pleasing, differing in style for various occasions, the words extemporized, the tunes being often sung with meaningless sounds, like our tra-la-la. swan gives examples of the music used under different circumstances. smoking was universal, the leaves of the bear-berry being employed, mixed in later times with tobacco obtained from the whites. smoke is swallowed and retained in the stomach and lungs until partial intoxication ensues. no intoxicating drink was known to them before the whites came, and after their coming for a little time they looked on strong drink with suspicion, and were averse to its use. they are sometimes sober even now, when no whisky is at hand. but the favorite amusement of all the chinook nations is gambling, which occupies the larger part of their time when not engaged in sleeping, eating, or absolutely necessary work. in their games they risk all their property, their wives and children, and in many instances their own freedom, losing all with composure, and nearly always accompanying the game with a song. two persons, or two parties large or small, play one against the other; a banking game is also in vogue, in which one individual plays against all comers. a favorite method is to pass rapidly from hand to hand two small sticks, one of which is marked, the opponent meanwhile guessing at the hand containing the marked stick. the sticks sometimes take the form of discs of the size of a silver dollar, each player having ten; these are wrapped in a mass of fine bark-fibre, shuffled and separated in two portions; the winner naming the bunch containing the marked or trump piece. differently marked sticks may also be shuffled or tossed in the air, and the lucky player correctly names the relative position in which they shall fall. a favorite game of females, called _ahikia_, is played with beaver-teeth, having figured sides, which are thrown like dice; the issue depends on the combinations of figures which are turned up. in all these games the players squat upon mats; sticks are used as counters; and an essential point for a successful gambler is to make as much noise as possible, in order to confuse the judgment of opponents. in still another game the players attempt to roll small pieces of wood between two pins set up a few inches apart, at a distance of ten feet, into a hole in the floor just beyond. the only sports of an athletic nature are shooting at targets with arrows and spears, and a game of ball in which two goals are placed a mile apart, and each party--sometimes a whole tribe--endeavors to force the ball past the other's goal, as in foot-ball, except that the ball is thrown with a stick, to one end of which is fixed a small hoop or ring.[ ] children's sports are described only by swan, and as rag babies and imitated catholic baptisms were the favorite pastimes mentioned, they may be supposed not altogether aboriginal. [sidenote: customs and superstitions.] personal names with the chinooks are hereditary, but in many cases they either have no meaning or their original signification is soon forgotten. they are averse to telling their true name to strangers, for fear, as they sometimes say, that it may be stolen; the truth is, however, that with them the name assumes a personality; it is the shadow or spirit, or other self, of the flesh and blood person, and between the name and the individual there is a mysterious connection, and injury cannot be done to one without affecting the other; therefore, to give one's name to a friend is a high mark of chinook favor. no account is kept of age. they are believers in sorcery and secret influences, and not without fear of their medicine-men or conjurers, but, except perhaps in their quality of physicians, the latter do not exert the influence which is theirs farther north; their ceremonies and tricks are consequently fewer and less ridiculous. inventions of the whites not understood by the natives are looked on with great superstition. it was, for instance, very difficult at first to persuade them to risk their lives before a photographic apparatus, and this for the reason before mentioned; they fancied that their spirit thus passed into the keeping of others, who could torment it at pleasure.[ ] consumption, liver complaint and ophthalmia are the most prevalent chinook maladies; to which, since the whites came, fever and ague have been added, and have killed eighty or ninety per cent. of the whole people, utterly exterminating some tribes. the cause of this excessive mortality is supposed to be the native method of treatment, which allays a raging fever by plunging the patient in the river or sea. on the columbia this alleviating plunge is preceded by violent perspiration in a vapor bath; consequently the treatment has been much more fatal there than on the coast where the vapor bath is not in use. for slight ills and pains, especially for external injuries, the chinooks employ simple remedies obtained from various plants and trees. many of these remedies have been found to be of actual value, while others are evidently quack nostrums, as when the ashes of the hair of particular animals are considered essential ingredients of certain ointments. fasting and bathing serve to relieve many slight internal complaints. strangely enough, they never suffer from diseases of the digestive organs, notwithstanding the greasy compounds used as food. when illness becomes serious or refuses to yield to simple treatment, the conclusion is that either the spirits of the dead are striving to remove the spirit of the sick person from the troubles of earth to a happier existence, or certain evil spirits prefer this world and the patient's body for their dwelling-place. then the doctor is summoned. medical celebrities are numerous, each with his favorite method of treatment, but all agree that singing, beating of sticks, indeed a noise, however made, accompanied by mysterious passes and motions, with violent pressure and kneading of the body are indispensable. the patient frequently survives the treatment. several observers believe that mesmeric influences are exerted, sometimes with benefit, by the doctors in their mummeries.[ ] [sidenote: chinook burial rites.] when the chinook dies, relatives are careful to speak in whispers, and indulge in no loud manifestations of grief so long as the body remains in the house. the body is prepared for final disposition by wrapping it in blankets, together with ornaments and other property of a valuable but not bulky nature. for a burial place an elevated but retired spot near the river bank or on an island is almost always selected, but the methods of disposing of the dead in these cemeteries differ somewhat among the various tribes. in the region about the mouth of the columbia, the body with its wrappings is placed in the best canoe of the deceased, which is washed for the purpose, covered with additional blankets, mats, and property, again covered, when the deceased is of the richer class, by another inverted canoe, the whole bound together with matting and cords, and deposited usually on a plank platform five or six feet high, but sometimes suspended from the branches of trees, or even left on the surface of the ground. the more bulky articles of property, such as utensils, and weapons, are deposited about or hung from the platform, being previously spoiled for use that they may not tempt desecrators among the whites or foreign tribes; or, it may be that the sacrifice or death of the implements is necessary before the spirits of the implements can accompany the spirit of the owner. for the same purpose, and to allow the water to pass off, holes are bored in the bottom of the canoe, the head of the corpse being raised a little higher than the feet. some travelers have observed a uniformity in the position of the canoe, the head pointing towards the east, or down the current of the stream. after about a year, the bones are sometimes taken out and buried, but the canoe and platform are never removed. chiefs' canoes are often repainted. farther up both the columbia and willamette rivers, excavations of little depth are often made, in which bodies are deposited on horizontal boards and covered over with a slightly inclining roof of heavy planks or poles. in these vaults several tiers of corpses are often placed one above another. at the cascades, depositories of the dead have been noticed in the form of a roofed inclosure of planks, eight feet long, six feet wide, and five feet high, with a door in one end, and the whole exterior painted. the calapooyas also buried their dead in regular graves, over which was erected a wooden head-board. desecration of burial places is a great crime with the chinook; he also attaches great importance to having his bones rest in his tribal cemetery wherever he may die. for a long time after a death, relatives repair daily at sunrise and sunset to the vicinity of the grave to sing songs of mourning and praise. until the bones are finally disposed of, the name of the deceased must not be spoken, and for several years it is spoken only with great reluctance. near relatives often change their name under the impression that spirits will be attracted back to earth if they hear familiar names often repeated. chiefs are supposed to die through the evil influence of another person, and the suspected, though a dear friend, was formerly often sacrificed. the dead bodies of slaves are never touched save by other slaves.[ ] [sidenote: chinook character.] there is little difference of opinion concerning the character of the chinooks. all agree that they are intelligent and very acute in trade; some travelers have found them at different points harmless and inoffensive; and in a few instances honesty has been detected. so much for their good qualities. as to the bad, there is unanimity nearly as great that they are thieves and liars, and for the rest each observer applies to them a selection of such adjectives as lazy, superstitious, cowardly, inquisitive, intrusive, libidinous, treacherous, turbulent, hypocritical, fickle, etc. the clatsops, with some authors, have the reputation of being the most honest and moral; for the lowest position in the scale all the rest might present a claim. it should however be said in their favor that they are devotedly attached to their homes, and treat kindly both their young children and aged parents; also that not a few of their bad traits originated with or have been aggravated by contact with civilization.[ ] the inland families, constituting the fifth and last division of the columbians, inhabit the region between the cascade range and the eastern limit of what i term the pacific states, from ° ´ to ° of north latitude. these bounds are tolerably distinct; though that on the south, separating the eastern portions of the columbian and californian groups, is irregular and marked by no great river, mountain chain, or other prominent physical feature. these inland natives of the northwest occupy, in person, character, and customs, as well as in the location of their home, an intermediate position between the coast people already described--to whom they are pronounced superior in most respects--and the rocky mountain or eastern tribes. travelers crossing the rocky mountains into this territory from the east, or entering it from the pacific by way of the columbia or fraser, note contrasts on passing the limits, sufficient to justify me in regarding its inhabitants as one people for the purposes aimed at in this volume.[ ] instead, therefore, of treating each family separately, as has been done with the coast divisions of the group, i deem it more convenient, as well as less monotonous to the reader, to avoid repetition by describing the manners and customs of all the people within these limits together, taking care to note such variations as may be found to exist. the division into families and nations, made according to principles already sufficiently explained, is as follows, beginning again at the north: [sidenote: the shushwaps.] the shushwaps, our first family division, live between ° ´ and ° in the interior of british columbia, occupying the valleys of the fraser, thompson, and upper columbia rivers with their tributary streams and lakes. they are bounded on the west by the nootkas and on the north by the carriers, from both of which families they seem to be distinct. as national divisions of this family may be mentioned the shushwaps proper, or _atnahs_,[ ] who occupy the whole northern portion of the territory; the _okanagans_,[ ] in the valley of the lake and river of the same name; and the _kootenais_,[ ] who inhabit the triangle bounded by the upper columbia, the rocky mountains, and the th parallel, living chiefly on flatbow river and lake. all three nations might probably be joined with quite as much reason to the salish family farther south, as indeed has usually been done with the okanagans; while the kootenais are by some considered distinct from any of their adjoining nations. the salish family dwells south of the shushwaps, between ° and °, altogether on the columbia and its tributaries. its nations, more clearly defined than in most other families, are the _flatheads_,[ ] or salish proper, between the bitter root and rocky mountains on flathead and clarke rivers; the _pend d'oreilles_,[ ] who dwell about the lake of the same name and on clarke river, for fifty to seventy-five miles above and below the lake; the _coeurs d'alêne_,[ ] south of the pend d'oreilles, on coeur d'alêne lake and the streams falling into it; the _colvilles_,[ ] a term which may be used to designate the variously named bands about kettle falls, and northward along the columbia to the arrow lakes; the _spokanes_,[ ] on the spokane river and plateau along the columbia below kettle falls, nearly to the mouth of the okanagan; and the _pisquouse_,[ ] on the west bank of the columbia between the okanagan and priest rapids. [sidenote: the sahaptin family.] the sahaptin family, the last of the columbian group, is immediately south of the salish, between the cascade and bitter root mountains, reaching southward, in general terms, to the forty-fifth parallel, but very irregularly bounded by the shoshone tribes of the californian group. of its nations, the _nez percés_,[ ] or sahaptins proper, dwell on the clearwater and its branches, and on the snake about the forks; the _palouse_[ ] occupy the region north of the snake about the mouth of the palouse; the south banks of the columbia and snake near their confluence, and the banks of the lower walla walla are occupied by the _walla wallas_;[ ] the _yakimas_ and _kliketats_[ ] inhabit the region north of the dalles, between the cascade range and the columbia, the former in the valley of the yakima, the latter in the mountains about mt. adams. both nations extend in some bands across into the territory of the sound family. the natives of oregon east of the cascade range, who have not usually been included in the sahaptin family, i will divide somewhat arbitrarily into the _wascos_, extending from the mountains eastward to john day river, and the _cayuse_,[ ] from this river across the blue mountains to the grande ronde. [sidenote: physique of the inland tribes.] the inland columbians are of medium stature, usually from five feet seven to five feet ten inches, but sometimes reaching a height of six feet; spare in flesh, but muscular and symmetrical; with well-formed limbs, the legs not being deformed as among the chinooks by constant sitting in the canoe; feet and hands are in many tribes small and well made. in bodily strength they are inferior to whites, but superior, as might be expected from their habits, to the more indolent fish-eaters on the pacific. the women, though never corpulent, are more inclined to rotundity than the men. the nez percés and cayuses are considered the best specimens, while in the north the kootenais seem to be superior to the other shushwap nations. the salish are assigned by wilkes and hale an intermediate place in physical attributes between the coast and mountain tribes, being in stature and proportion superior to the chinooks, but inferior to the nez percés.[ ] inland, a higher order of face is observed than on the coast. the cheek-bones are still high, the forehead is rather low, the face long, the eyes black, rarely oblique, the nose prominent and frequently aquiline, the lips thin, the teeth white and regular but generally much worn. the general expression of the features is stern, often melancholy, but not as a rule harsh or repulsive. dignified, fine-looking men, and handsome young women have been remarked in nearly all the tribes, but here again the sahaptins bear off the palm. the complexion is not darker than on the coast, but has more of a coppery hue. the hair is black, generally coarse, and worn long. the beard is very thin, and its growth is carefully prevented by plucking.[ ] [sidenote: head-flattening in the interior.] the custom of head-flattening, apparently of seaboard origin and growth, extends, nevertheless, across the cascade barrier, and is practiced to a greater or less extent by all the tribes of the sahaptin family. among them all, however, with the exception perhaps of the kliketats, the deformity consists only of a very slight compression of the forehead, which nearly or quite disappears at maturity. the practice also extends inland up the valley of the fraser, and is found at least in nearly all the more western tribes of the shushwaps. the salish family do not flatten the skull.[ ] other methods of deforming the person, such as tattooing and perforating the features are as a rule not employed; the yakimas and kliketats, however, with some other lower columbia tribes, pierce or cut away the septum of the nose,[ ] and the nez percés probably derived their name from a similar custom formerly practiced by them. paint, however, is used by all inland as well as coast tribes on occasions when decoration is desired, but applied in less profusion by the latter. the favorite color is vermilion, applied as a rule only to the face and hair.[ ] elaborate hair-dressing is not common, and both sexes usually wear the hair in the same style, soaked in grease, often painted, and hanging in a natural state, or in braids, plaits, or queues, over the shoulders. some of the southern tribes cut the hair across the forehead, while others farther north tie it up in knots on the back of the head.[ ] the coast dress--robes or blankets of bark-fibre or small skins--is also used for some distance inland on the banks of the columbia and fraser, as among the nicoutamuch, kliketats, and wascos; but the distinctive inland dress is of dressed skin of deer, antelope, or mountain sheep; made into a rude frock, or shirt, with loose sleeves; leggins reaching half-way up the thigh, and either bound to the leg or attached by strings to a belt about the waist; moccasins, and rarely a cap. men's frocks descend half-way to the knees; women's nearly to the ankles. over this dress, or to conceal the want of some part of it, a buffalo or elk robe is worn, especially in winter. all garments are profusely and often tastefully decorated with leather fringes, feathers, shells, and porcupine quills; beads, trinkets and various bright-colored cloths having been added to indian ornamentation since the whites came. a new suit of this native skin clothing is not without beauty, but by most tribes the suit is worn without change till nearly ready to drop off, and becomes disgustingly filthy. some tribes clean and whiten their clothing occasionally with white earth, or pipe-clay. the buffalo and most of the other large skins are obtained from the country east of the mountains.[ ] [sidenote: inland dwellings.] the inland dwelling is a frame of poles, covered with rush matting, or with the skins of the buffalo or elk. as a rule the richest tribes and individuals use skins, although many of the finest sahaptin houses are covered with mats only. notwithstanding these nations are rich in horses, i find no mention that horse-hides are ever employed for this or any other purpose. the form of the lodge is that of a tent, conical or oblong, and usually sharp at the top, where an open space is left for light and air to enter, and smoke to escape. their internal condition presents a marked contrast with that of the chinook and nootka habitations, since they are by many interior tribes kept free from vermin and filth. their light material and the frequency with which their location is changed contributes to this result. the lodges are pitched by the women, who acquire great skill and celerity in the work. holes are left along the sides for entrance, and within, a floor of sticks is laid, or more frequently the ground is spread with mats, and skins serve for beds. dwellings are often built sufficiently large to accommodate many families, each of which in such case has its own fireplace on a central longitudinal line, a definite space being allotted for its goods, but no dividing partitions are ever used. the dwellings are arranged in small villages generally located in winter on the banks of small streams a little away from the main rivers. for a short distance up the columbia, houses similar to those of the chinooks are built of split cedar and bark. the walla wallas, living in summer in the ordinary mat lodge, often construct for winter a subterranean abode by digging a circular hole ten or twelve feet deep, roofing it with poles or split cedar covered with grass and mud, leaving a small opening at the top for exit and entrance by means of a notched-log ladder. the atnahs on fraser river spend the winter in similar structures, a simple slant roof of mats or bark sufficing for shade and shelter in summer. the okanagans construct their lodges over an excavation in the ground several feet deep, and like many other nations, cover their matting in winter with grass and earth.[ ] [sidenote: food of the inland nations.] the inland families eat fish and game, with roots and fruit; no nation subsists without all these supplies; but the proportion of each consumed varies greatly according to locality. some tribes divide their forces regularly into bands, of men to fish and hunt, of women to cure fish and flesh, and to gather roots and berries. i have spoken of the coast tribes as a fish-eating, and the interior tribes as a hunting people, attributing in great degree their differences of person and character to their food, or rather to their methods of obtaining it; yet fish constitutes an important element of inland subsistence as well. few tribes live altogether without salmon, the great staple of the northwest; since those dwelling on streams inaccessible to the salmon by reason of intervening falls, obtain their supply by annual migrations to the fishing-grounds, or by trade with other nations. the principal salmon fisheries of the columbia are at the dalles, the falls ten miles above, and at kettle falls. other productive stations are on the powder, snake, yakima, okanagan, and clarke rivers. on the fraser, which has no falls in its lower course, fishing is carried on all along the banks of the river instead of at regular stations, as on the columbia. nets, weirs, hooks, spears, and all the implements and methods by which fish are taken and cured have been sufficiently described in treating of the coast region; in the interior i find no important variations except in the basket method in use at the chaudières or kettle falls by the quiarlpi tribe. here an immense willow basket, often ten feet in diameter and twelve feet deep, is suspended at the falls from strong timbers fixed in crevices of the rocks, and above this is a frame so attached that the salmon in attempting to leap the fall strike the sticks of the frame and are thrown back into the basket, in the largest of which naked men armed with clubs await them. five thousand pounds of salmon have thus been taken in a day by means of a single basket. during the fishing-season the salmon chief has full authority; his basket is the largest, and must be located a month before others are allowed to fish. the small nets used in the same region have also the peculiarity of a stick which keeps the mouth open when the net is empty, but is removed by the weight of the fish. besides the salmon, sturgeon are extensively taken in the fraser, and in the arrow lakes, while trout and other varieties of small fish abound in most of the streams. the fishing-season is the summer, between june and september, varying a month or more according to locality. this is also the season of trade and festivity, when tribes from all directions assemble to exchange commodities, gamble, dance, and in later times to drink and fight.[ ] [sidenote: hunting by shushwaps, salish, and sahaptins.] the larger varieties of game are hunted by the natives on horseback wherever the nature of the country will permit. buffalo are now never found west of the rocky mountains, and there are but few localities where large game has ever been abundant, at least since the country became known to white men. consequently the flatheads, nez percés, and kootenais, the distinctively hunting nations, as well as bands from nearly every other tribe, cross the mountains once or twice each year, penetrating to the buffalo-plains between the yellowstone and the missouri, in the territory of hostile nations. the bow and arrow was the weapon with which buffalo and all other game were shot. no peculiar cunning seems to have been necessary to the native hunter of buffalo; he had only to ride into the immense herds on his well-trained horse, and select the fattest animals for his arrows. various devices are mentioned as being practiced in the chase of deer, elk, and mountain sheep; such as driving them by a circle of fire on the prairie towards the concealed hunters, or approaching within arrow-shot by skillful manipulations of a decoy animal; or the frightened deer are driven into an ambush by converging lines of bright-colored rags so placed in the bushes as to represent men. kane states that about the arrow lakes hunting dogs are trained to follow the deer and to bring back the game to their masters even from very long distances. deer are also pursued in the winter on snow-shoes, and in deep snow often knocked down with clubs. bear and beaver are trapped in some places; and, especially about the northern lakes and marshes, wild fowl are very abundant, and help materially to eke out the supply of native food.[ ] [sidenote: food and its preparation.] their natural improvidence, or an occasional unlucky hunting or fishing season, often reduces them to want, and in such case the resort is to roots, berries, and mosses, several varieties of which are also gathered and laid up as a part of their regular winter supplies. chief among the roots are the camass, a sweet, onion-like bulb, which grows in moist prairies, the couse, which flourishes in more sterile and rocky spots, and the bitter-root, which names a valley and mountain range. to obtain these roots the natives make regular migrations, as for game or fish. the varieties of roots and berries used for food are very numerous; and none seem to grow in the country which to the native taste are unpalatable or injurious, though many are both to the european.[ ] towards obtaining food the men hunt and fish; all the other work of digging roots, picking berries, as well as dressing, preserving, and cooking all kinds of food is done by the women, with some exceptions among the nez percés and pend d'oreilles. buffalo-meat is jerked by cutting in thin pieces and drying in the sun and over smouldering fires on scaffolds of poles. fish is sun-dried on scaffolds, and by some tribes on the lower columbia is also pulverized between two stones and packed in baskets lined with fish-skin. here, as on the coast, the heads and offal only are eaten during the fishing-season. the walla wallas are said usually to eat fish without cooking. roots, mosses, and such berries as are preserved, are usually kept in cakes, which for eating are moistened, mixed in various proportions and cooked, or eaten without preparation. to make the cakes simply drying, pulverizing, moistening, and sun-drying usually suffice; but camas and pine-moss are baked or fermented for several days in an underground kiln by means of hot stones, coming out in the form of a dark gluey paste of the proper consistency for moulding. many of these powdered roots may be preserved for years without injury. boiling by means of hot stones and roasting on sharp sticks fixed in the ground near the fire, are the universal methods of cooking. no mention is made of peculiar customs in eating; to eat often and much is the aim; the style of serving is a secondary consideration.[ ] life with all these nations is but a struggle for food, and the poorer tribes are often reduced nearly to starvation; yet they never are known to kill dogs or horses for food. about the missions and on the reservations cattle have been introduced and the soil is cultivated by the natives to considerable extent.[ ] [sidenote: personal habits in the interior.] in their personal habits, as well as the care of their lodges, the cayuses, nez percés, and kootenais, are mentioned as neat and cleanly; the rest, though filthy, are still somewhat superior to the dwellers on the coast. the flatheads wash themselves daily, but their dishes and utensils never. de smet represents the pend d'oreille women as untidy even for savages.[ ] guns, knives and tomahawks have generally taken the place of such native weapons as these natives may have used against their foes originally. only the bow and arrow have survived intercourse with white men, and no other native weapon is described, except one peculiar to the okanagans,--a kind of indian slung-shot. this is a small cylindrical ruler of hard wood, covered with raw hide, which at one end forms a small bag and holds a round stone as large as a goose-egg; the other end of the weapon is tied to the wrist. arrow-shafts are of hard wood, carefully straightened by rolling between two blocks, fitted by means of sinews with stone or flint heads at one end, and pinnated with feathers at the other. the most elastic woods are chosen for the bow, and its force is augmented by tendons glued to its back.[ ] [sidenote: the inland nations at war.] the inland families cannot be called a warlike race. resort to arms for the settlement of their intertribal disputes seems to have been very rare. yet all are brave warriors when fighting becomes necessary for defense or vengeance against a foreign foe; notably so the cayuses, nez percés, flatheads and kootenais. the two former waged both aggressive and defensive warfare against the snakes of the south; while the latter joined their arms against their common foes, the eastern blackfeet, who, though their inferiors in bravery, nearly exterminated the flathead nation by superiority in numbers, and by being the first to obtain the white man's weapons. departure on a warlike expedition is always preceded by ceremonious preparation, including councils of the wise, great, and old; smoking the pipe, harangues by the chiefs, dances, and a general review, or display of equestrian feats and the manoeuvres of battle. the warriors are always mounted; in many tribes white or speckled war-horses are selected, and both rider and steed are gaily painted, and decked with feathers, trinkets, and bright-colored cloths. the war-party in most nations is under the command of a chief periodically elected by the tribe, who has no authority whatever in peace, but who keeps his soldiers in the strictest discipline in time of war. stealthy approach and an unexpected attack in the early morning constitute their favorite tactics. they rush on the enemy like a whirlwind, with terrific yells, discharge their guns or arrows, and retire to prepare for another attack. the number slain is rarely large; the fall of a few men, or the loss of a chief decides the victory. when a man falls, a rush is made for his scalp, which is defended by his party, and a fierce hand-to-hand conflict ensues, generally terminating the battle. after the fight, or before it when either party lacks confidence in the result, a peace is made by smoking the pipe, with the most solemn protestations of goodwill, and promises which neither party has the slightest intention of fulfilling. the dead having been scalped, and prisoners bound and taken up behind the victors, the party starts homeward. torture of the prisoners, chiefly perpetrated by the women, follows the arrival. by the flatheads and northern nations captives are generally killed by their sufferings; among the sahaptins some survive and are made slaves. in the flathead torture of the blackfeet are practiced all the fiendish acts of cruelty that native cunning can devise, all of which are borne with the traditional stoicism and taunts of the north american indian. the nez percé system is a little less cruel in order to save life for future slavery. day after day, at a stated hour, the captives are brought out and made to hold the scalps of their dead friends aloft on poles while the scalp-dance is performed about them, the female participators meanwhile exerting all their devilish ingenuity in tormenting their victims.[ ] the native saddle consists of a rude wooden frame, under and over which is thrown a buffalo-robe, and which is bound to the horse by a very narrow thong of hide in place of the mexican _cincha_. a raw-hide crupper is used; a deer-skin pad sometimes takes the place of the upper robe, or the robe and pad are used without the wooden frame. stirrups are made by binding three straight pieces of wood or bone together in triangular form, and sometimes covering all with raw-hide put on wet; or one straight piece is suspended from a forked thong, and often the simple thong passing round the foot suffices. the bridle is a rope of horse-hair or of skin, made fast with a half hitch round the animal's lower jaw. the same rope usually serves for bridle and lariat. sharp bones, at least in later times, are used for spurs. wood is split for the few native uses by elk-horn wedges driven by bottle-shaped stone mallets. baskets and vessels for holding water and cooking are woven of willow, bark, and grasses. rushes, growing in all swampy localities are cut of uniform length, laid parallel and tied together for matting. rude bowls and spoons are sometimes dug out of horn or wood, but the fingers, with pieces of bark and small mats are the ordinary table furniture. skins are dressed by spreading, scraping off the flesh, and for some purposes the hair, with a sharp piece of bone, stone, or iron attached to a short handle, and used like an adze. the skin is then smeared with the animal's brains, and rubbed or pounded by a very tedious process till it becomes soft and white, some hides being previously smoked and bleached with white clay.[ ] [sidenote: preparation of skins. river-boats.] on the lower columbia the wascos, kliketats, walla wallas, and other tribes use dug-out boats like those of the coast, except that little skill or labor is expended on their construction or ornamentation; the only requisite being supporting capacity, as is natural in a country where canoes play but a small part in the work of procuring food. farther in the interior the mountain tribes of the sahaptin family, as the cayuses and nez percés, make no boats, but use rude rafts or purchase an occasional canoe from their neighbors, for the rare cases when it becomes necessary to transport property across an unfordable stream. the flatheads sew up their lodge-skins into a temporary boat for the same purpose. on the fraser the nootka dug-out is in use. but on the northern lakes and rivers of the interior, the pend d'oreille, flatbow, arrow, and okanagan, northward to the tacully territory, the natives manufacture and navigate bark canoes. both birch and pine are employed, by stretching it over a cedar hoop-work frame, sewing the ends with fine roots, and gumming the seams and knots. the form is very peculiar; the stem and stern are pointed, but the points are on a level with the bottom of the boat, and the slope or curve is upward towards the centre. travelers describe them as carrying a heavy load, but easily capsized unless when very skillfully managed.[ ] [sidenote: horses, property, and trade.] horses constitute the native wealth, and poor indeed is the family which has not for each member, young and old, an animal to ride, as well as others sufficient to transport all the household goods, and to trade for the few foreign articles needed. the nez percés, cayuses and walla wallas have more and better stock than other nations, individuals often possessing bands of from one thousand to three thousand. the kootenais are the most northern equestrian tribes mentioned. how the natives originally obtained horses is unknown, although there are some slight traditions in support of the natural supposition that they were first introduced from the south by way of the shoshones. the latter are one people with the comanches, by whom horses were obtained during the spanish expeditions to new mexico in the sixteenth century. the horses of the natives are of small size, probably degenerated from a superior stock, but hardy and surefooted; sustaining hunger and hard usage better than those of the whites, but inferior to them in form, action, and endurance. all colors are met with, spotted and mixed colors being especially prized.[ ] the different articles of food, skins and grasses for clothing and lodges and implements, shells and trinkets for ornamentation and currency are also bartered between the nations, and the annual summer gatherings on the rivers serve as fairs for the display and exchange of commodities; some tribes even visit the coast for purposes of trade. smoking the pipe often precedes and follows a trade, and some peculiar commercial customs prevail, as for instance when a horse dies soon after purchase, the price may be reclaimed. the rights of property are jealously defended, but in the salish nations, according to hale, on the death of a father his relatives seize the most valuable property with very little attention to the rights of children too young to look out for their own interests.[ ] indeed, i have heard of deeds of similar import in white races. in decorative art the inland natives must be pronounced inferior to those of the coast, perhaps only because they have less time to devote to such unproductive labor. sculpture and painting are rare and exceedingly rude. on the coast the passion for ornamentation finds vent in carving and otherwise decorating the canoe, house, and implements; in the interior it expends itself on the caparison of the horse, or in bead and fringe work on garments. systems of numeration are simple, progressing by fours, fives, or tens, according to the different languages, and is sufficiently extensive to include large numbers; but the native rarely has occasion to count beyond a few hundreds, commonly using his fingers as an aid to his numeration. years are reckoned by winters, divided by moons into months, and these months named from the ripening of some plant, the occurrence of a fishing or hunting season, or some other periodicity in their lives, or by the temperature. among the salish the day is divided according to the position of the sun into nine parts. de smet states that maps are made on bark or skins by which to direct their course on distant excursions, and that they are guided at night by the polar star.[ ] [sidenote: chiefs and their authority.] war chiefs are elected for their bravery and past success, having full authority in all expeditions, marching at the head of their forces, and, especially among the flatheads, maintaining the strictest discipline, even to the extent of inflicting flagellation on insubordinates. with the war their power ceases, yet they make no effort by partiality during office to insure re-election, and submit without complaint to a successor. except by the war chiefs no real authority is exercised. the regular chieftainship is hereditary so far as any system is observed, but chiefs who have raised themselves to their position by their merits are mentioned among nearly all the nations. the leaders are always men of commanding influence and often of great intelligence. they take the lead in haranguing at the councils of wise men, which meet to smoke and deliberate on matters of public moment. these councils decide the amount of fine necessary to atone for murder, theft, and the few crimes known to the native code; a fine, the chief's reprimand, and rarely flogging, probably not of native origin, are the only punishments; and the criminal seldom attempts to escape. as the more warlike nations have especial chiefs with real power in time of war, so the fishing tribes, some of them, grant great authority to a 'salmon chief' during the fishing-season. but the regular inland chiefs never collect taxes nor presume to interfere with the rights or actions of individuals or families.[ ] prisoners of war, not killed by torture, are made slaves, but they are few in number, and their children are adopted into the victorious tribe. hereditary slavery and the slave-trade are unknown. the shushwaps are said to have no slaves.[ ] [sidenote: family relations.] in choosing a helpmate, or helpmates, for his bed and board, the inland native makes capacity for work the standard of female excellence, and having made a selection buys a wife from her parents by the payment of an amount of property, generally horses, which among the southern nations must be equaled by the girl's parents. often a betrothal is made by parents while both parties are yet children, and such a contract, guaranteed by an interchange of presents, is rarely broken. to give away a wife without a price is in the highest degree disgraceful to her family. besides payment of the price, generally made for the suitor by his friends, courtship in some nations includes certain visits to the bride before marriage; and the spokane suitor must consult both the chief and the young lady, as well as her parents; indeed the latter may herself propose if she wishes. runaway matches are not unknown, but by the nez percés the woman is in such cases considered a prostitute, and the bride's parents may seize upon the man's property. many tribes seem to require no marriage ceremony, but in others an assemblage of friends for smoking and feasting is called for on such occasions; and among the flatheads more complicated ceremonies are mentioned, of which long lectures to the couple, baths, change of clothing, torch-light processions, and dancing form a part. in the married state the wife must do all the heavy work and drudgery, but is not otherwise ill treated, and in most tribes her rights are equally respected with those of the husband. [sidenote: women and children.] when there are several wives each occupies a separate lodge, or at least has a separate fire. among the spokanes a man marrying out of his own tribe joins that of his wife, because she can work better in a country to which she is accustomed; and in the same nation all household goods are considered as the wife's property. the man who marries the eldest daughter is entitled to all the rest, and parents make no objection to his turning off one in another's favor. either party may dissolve the marriage at will, but property must be equitably divided, the children going with the mother. discarded wives are often reinstated. if a kliketat wife die soon after marriage, the husband may reclaim her price; the nez percé may not marry for a year after her death, but he is careful to avoid the inconvenience of this regulation by marrying just before that event. the salish widow must remain a widow for about two years, and then must marry agreeably to her mother-in-law's taste or forfeit her husband's property.[ ] the women make faithful, obedient wives and affectionate mothers. incontinence in either girls or married women is extremely rare, and prostitution almost unknown, being severely punished, especially among the nez percés. in this respect the inland tribes present a marked contrast to their coast neighbors.[ ] at the first appearance of the menses the woman must retire from the sight of all, especially men, for a period varying from ten days to a month, and on each subsequent occasion for two or three days, and must be purified by repeated ablutions before she may resume her place in the household. also at the time of her confinement she is deemed unclean, and must remain for a few weeks in a separate lodge, attended generally by an old woman. the inland woman is not prolific, and abortions are not uncommon, which may probably be attributed in great measure to her life of labor and exposure. children are not weaned till between one and two years of age; sometimes not until they abandon the breast of their own accord or are supplanted by a new arrival; yet though subsisting on the mother's milk alone, and exposed with slight clothing to all extremes of weather, they are healthy and robust, being carried about in a rude cradle on the mother's back, or mounted on colts and strapped to the saddle that they may not fall off when asleep. after being weaned the child is named after some animal, but the name is changed frequently later in life.[ ] although children and old people are as a rule kindly cared for, yet so great the straits to which the tribes are reduced by circumstances, that both are sometimes abandoned if not put to death.[ ] [sidenote: games in the interior.] the annual summer gathering on the river banks for fishing and trade, and, among the mountain nations, the return from a successful raid in the enemy's country, are the favorite periods for native diversions.[ ] to gambling they are no less passionately addicted in the interior than on the coast,[ ] but even in this universal indian vice, their preference for horse-racing, the noblest form of gaming, raises them above their stick-shuffling brethren of the pacific. on the speed of his horse the native stakes all he owns, and is discouraged only when his animal is lost, and with it the opportunity to make up past losses in another race. foot-racing and target-shooting, in which men, women and children participate, also afford them indulgence in their gambling propensities and at the same time develop their bodies by exercise, and perfect their skill in the use of their native weapon.[ ] the colvilles have a game, _alkollock_, played with spears. a wooden ring some three inches in diameter is rolled over a level space between two slight stick barriers about forty feet apart; when the ring strikes the barrier the spear is hurled so that the ring will fall over its head; and the number scored by the throw depends on which of six colored beads, attached to the hoop's inner circumference, falls over the spear's head.[ ] the almost universal columbian game of guessing which hand contains a small polished bit of bone or wood is also a favorite here, and indeed the only game of the kind mentioned; it is played, to the accompaniment of songs and drumming, by parties sitting in a circle on mats, the shuffler's hands being often wrapped in fur, the better to deceive the players.[ ] all are excessively fond of dancing and singing; but their songs and dances, practiced on all possible occasions, have not been, if indeed they can be, described. they seem merely a succession of sounds and motions without any fixed system. pounding on rude drums of hide accompanies the songs, which are sung without words, and in which some listeners have detected a certain savage melody. scalp-dances are performed by women hideously painted, who execute their diabolical antics in the centre of a circle formed by the rest of the tribe who furnish music to the dancers.[ ] all are habitual smokers, always inhaling the smoke instead of puffing it out after the manner of more civilized devotees of the weed. to obtain tobacco the native will part with almost any other property, but no mention is made of any substitute used in this region before the white man came. besides his constant use of the pipe as an amusement or habit, the inland native employs it regularly to clear his brain for the transaction of important business. without the pipe no war is declared, no peace officially ratified; in all promises and contracts it serves as the native pledge of honor; with ceremonial whiffs to the cardinal points the wise men open and close the deliberations of their councils; a commercial smoke clinches a bargain, as it also opens negotiations of trade.[ ] [sidenote: treatment of horses.] the use of the horse has doubtless been a most powerful agent in molding inland customs; and yet the introduction of the horse must have been of comparatively recent date. what were the customs and character of these people, even when america was first discovered by the spaniards, must ever be unknown. it is by no means certain that the possession of the horse has materially bettered their condition. indeed, by facilitating the capture of buffalo, previously taken perhaps by stratagem, by introducing a medium with which at least the wealthy may always purchase supplies, as well as by rendering practicable long migrations for food and trade, the horse may have contributed somewhat to their present spirit of improvidence. the horses feed in large droves, each marked with some sign of ownership, generally by clipping the ears, and when required for use are taken by the lariat, in the use of which all the natives have some skill, though far inferior to the mexican _vaqueros_. the method of breaking and training horses is a quick and an effectual one. it consists of catching and tying the animal; then buffalo-skins and other objects are thrown at and upon the trembling beast, until all its fear is frightened out of it. when willing to be handled, horses are treated with great kindness, but when refractory, the harshest measures are adopted. they are well trained to the saddle, and accustomed to be mounted from either side. they are never shod and never taught to trot. the natives are skillful riders, so far as the ability to keep their seat at great speed over a rough country is concerned, but they never ride gracefully, and rarely if ever perform the wonderful feats of horsemanship so often attributed to the western indians. a loose girth is used under which to insert the knees when riding a wild horse. they are hard riders, and horses in use always have sore backs and mouths. women ride astride, and quite as well as the men; children also learn to ride about as early as to walk.[ ] each nation has its superstitions; by each individual is recognized the influence of unseen powers, exercised usually through the medium of his medicine animal chosen early in life. the peculiar customs arising from this belief in the supernatural are not very numerous or complicated, and belong rather to the religion of these people treated elsewhere. the pend d'oreille, on approaching manhood, was sent by his father to a high mountain and obliged to remain until he dreamed of some animal, bird, or fish, thereafter to be his medicine, whose claw, tooth, or feather was worn as a charm. the howling of the medicine-wolf and some other beasts forebodes calamity, but by the okanagans the white-wolf skin is held as an emblem of royalty, and its possession protects the horses of the tribe from evil-minded wolves. a ram's horns left in the trunk of a tree where they were fixed by the misdirected zeal of their owner in attacking a native, were much venerated by the flatheads, and gave them power over all animals so long as they made frequent offerings at the foot of the tree. the nez percés had a peculiar custom of overcoming the _mawish_ or spirit of fatigue, and thereby acquiring remarkable powers of endurance. the ceremony is performed annually from the age of eighteen to forty, lasts each time from three to seven days, and consists of thrusting willow sticks down the throat into the stomach, a succession of hot and cold baths, and abstinence from food. medicine-men acquire or renew their wonderful powers by retiring to the mountains to confer with the wolf. they are then invulnerable; a bullet fired at them flattens on their breast. to allowing their portraits to be taken, or to the operations of strange apparatus they have the same aversion that has been noted on the coast.[ ] steam baths are universally used, not for motives of cleanliness, but sometimes for medical purposes, and chiefly in their superstitious ceremonies of purification. the bath-house is a hole dug in the ground from three to eight feet deep, and sometimes fifteen feet in diameter, in some locality where wood and water are at hand, often in the river bank. it is also built above ground of willow branches covered with grass and earth. only a small hole is left for entrance, and this is closed up after the bather enters. stones are heated by a fire in the bath itself, or are thrown in after being heated outside. in this oven, heated to a suffocating temperature, the naked native revels for a long time in the steam and mud, meanwhile singing, howling, praying, and finally rushes out dripping with perspiration, to plunge into the nearest stream.[ ] every lodge is surrounded by a pack of worthless coyote-looking curs. these are sometimes made to carry small burdens on their backs when the tribe is moving; otherwise no use is made of them, as they are never eaten, and, with perhaps the exception of a breed owned by the okanagans, are never trained to hunt. i give in a note a few miscellaneous customs noticed by travelers.[ ] [sidenote: medical practice.] these natives of the interior are a healthy but not a very long-lived race. ophthalmia, of which the sand, smoke of the lodges, and reflection of the sun's rays on the lakes are suggested as the causes, is more or less prevalent throughout the territory; scrofulous complaints and skin-eruptions are of frequent occurrence, especially in the sahaptin family. other diseases are comparatively rare, excepting of course epidemic disorders like small-pox and measles contracted from the whites, which have caused great havoc in nearly all the tribes. hot and cold baths are the favorite native remedy for all their ills, but other simple specifics, barks, herbs, and gums are employed as well. indeed, so efficacious is their treatment, or rather, perhaps, so powerful with them is nature in resisting disease, that when the locality or cause of irregularity is manifest, as in the case of wounds, fractures, or snake-bites, remarkable cures are ascribed to these people. but here as elsewhere, the sickness becoming at all serious or mysterious, medical treatment proper is altogether abandoned, and the patient committed to the magic powers of the medicine-man. in his power either to cause or cure disease at will implicit confidence is felt, and failure to heal indicates no lack of skill; consequently the doctor is responsible for his patient's recovery, and in case of death is liable to, and often does, answer with his life, so that a natural death among the medical fraternity is extremely rare. his only chance of escape is to persuade relatives of the dead that his ill success is attributable to the evil influence of a rival physician, who is the one to die; or in some cases a heavy ransom soothes the grief of mourning friends and avengers. one motive of the cayuses in the massacre of the whitman family is supposed to have been the missionary's failure to cure the measles in the tribe. he had done his best to relieve the sick, and his power to effect in all cases a complete cure was unquestioned by the natives. the methods by which the medicine-man practices his art are very uniform in all the nations. the patient is stretched on his back in the centre of a large lodge, and his friends few or many sit about him in a circle, each provided with sticks wherewith to drum. the sorcerer, often grotesquely painted, enters the ring, chants a song, and proceeds to force the evil spirit from the sick man by pressing both clenched fists with all his might in the pit of his stomach, kneading and pounding also other parts of the body, blowing occasionally through his own fingers, and sucking blood from the part supposed to be affected. the spectators pound with their sticks, and all, including doctor, and often the patient in spite of himself, keep up a continual song or yell. there is, however, some method in this madness, and when the routine is completed it is again begun, and thus repeated for several hours each day until the case is decided. in many nations the doctor finally extracts the spirit, in the form of a small bone or other object, from the patient's body or mouth by some trick of legerdemain, and this once effected, he assures the surrounding friends that the tormentor having been thus removed, recovery must soon follow.[ ] grief at the death of a relative is manifested by cutting the hair and smearing the face with black. the women also howl at intervals for a period of weeks or even months; but the men on ordinary occasions rarely make open demonstrations of sorrow, though they sometimes shed tears at the death of a son. several instances of suicide in mourning are recorded; a walla walla chieftain caused himself to be buried alive in the grave with the last of his five sons. the death of a wife or daughter is deemed of comparatively little consequence. in case of a tribal disaster, as the death of a prominent chief, or the killing of a band of warriors by a hostile tribe, all indulge in the most frantic demonstrations, tearing the hair, lacerating the flesh with flints, often inflicting serious injury. the sacrifice of human life, generally that of a slave, was practiced, but apparently nowhere as a regular part of the funeral rites. among the flatheads the bravest of the men and women ceremonially bewail the loss of a warrior by cutting out pieces of their own flesh and casting them with roots and other articles into the fire. a long time passes before a dead person's name is willingly spoken in the tribe. the corpse is commonly disposed of by wrapping in ordinary clothing and burying in the ground without a coffin. the northern tribes sometimes suspended the body in a canoe from a tree, while those in the south formerly piled their dead in wooden sheds or sepulchres above ground. the okanagans often bound the body upright to the trunk of a tree. property was in all cases sacrificed; horses usually, and slaves sometimes, killed on the grave. the more valuable articles of wealth were deposited with the body; the rest suspended on poles over and about the grave or left on the surface of the ground; always previously damaged in such manner as not to tempt the sacrilegious thief, for their places of burial are held most sacred. mounds of stones surmounted with crosses indicate in later times the conversion of the natives to a foreign religion.[ ] [sidenote: inland morality.] in character and in morals,[ ] as well as in physique, the inland native is almost unanimously pronounced superior to the dweller on the coast. the excitement of the chase, of war, and of athletic sports ennobles the mind as it develops the body; and although probably not by nature less indolent than their western neighbors, yet are these natives of the interior driven by circumstances to habits of industry, and have much less leisure time for the cultivation of the lower forms of vice. as a race, and compared with the average american aborigines, they are honest, intelligent, and pure in morals. travelers are liable to form their estimate of national character from a view, perhaps unfair and prejudiced, of the actions of a few individuals encountered; consequently qualities the best and the worst have been given by some to each of the nations now under consideration. for the best reputation the nez percés, flatheads and kootenais have always been rivals; their good qualities have been praised by all, priest, trader and tourist. honest, just, and often charitable; ordinarily cold and reserved, but on occasions social and almost gay; quick-tempered and revengeful under what they consider injustice, but readily appeased by kind treatment; cruel only to captive enemies, stoical in the endurance of torture; devotedly attached to home and family; these natives probably come as near as it is permitted to flesh-and-blood savages to the traditional noble red man of the forest, sometimes met in romance. it is the pride and boast of the flathead that his tribe has never shed the blood of a white man. yet none, whatever their tribe, could altogether resist the temptation to steal horses from their neighbors of a different tribe, or in former times, to pilfer small articles, wonderful to the savage eye, introduced by europeans. many have been nominally converted by the zealous labors of the jesuit fathers, or protestant missionaries; and several nations have greatly improved, in material condition as well as in character, under their change of faith. as mr alexander ross remarks, "there is less crime in an indian camp of five hundred souls than there is in a civilized village of but half that number. let the lawyer or moralist point out the cause." tribal boundaries. the columbian group comprises the tribes inhabiting the territory immediately south of that of the hyperboreans, extending from the fifty-fifth to the forty-third parallel of north latitude. [sidenote: the haidah family.] in the haidah family, i include all the coast and island nations of british columbia, from ° to °, and extending inland about one hundred miles to the borders of the chilcoten plain, the _haidah nation_ proper having their home on the queen charlotte islands. 'the haidah tribes of the northern family inhabit queen charlotte's island.' 'the massettes, skittegás, cumshawás, and other (haidah) tribes inhabiting the eastern shores of queen charlotte's island.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . 'the principal tribes upon it (q. char. isl.) are the sketigets, massets, and comshewars.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . 'tribal names of the principal tribes inhabiting the islands:--klue, skiddan, ninstence or cape st. james, skidagate, skidagatees, gold-harbour, cumshewas, and four others.... hydah is the generic name for the whole.' _poole's q. char. isl._, p. . 'the cumshewar, massit, skittageets, keesarn, and kigarnee, are mentioned as living on the island.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the following bands, viz.: lulanna, (or sulanna), nightan, massetta, (or mosette), necoon, aseguang, (or asequang), skittdegates, cumshawas, skeedans, queeah, cloo, kishawin, kowwelth, (or kawwelth), and too, compose the queen charlotte island indians, 'beginning at n. island, north end, and passing round by the eastward.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; and _kane's wand._, end of vol. 'the hydah nation which is divided into numerous tribes inhabiting the island and the mainland opposite.' _reed's nar._ 'queen charlotte's island and prince of wales archipelago are the country of the haidahs; ... including the kygany, massett, skittegetts, hanega, cumshewas, and other septs.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . 'les indiens koumchaouas, haïdas, massettes, et skidegats, de l'île de la reine charlotte.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . my haidah family is called by warre and vavasour _quacott_, who with the newette and twenty-seven other tribes live, 'from lat. ° to lat. °, including queen charlotte's island; north end of vancouver's island, millbank sound and island, and the main shore.' _martin's hudson's bay_, p. . the massets and thirteen other tribes besides the quacott tribes occupy queen charlotte islands. _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. bay_, p. . the ninstence tribe inhabits 'the southernmost portions of moresby island.' _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. , - . the crosswer indians live on skiddegate channel. _downie_, in _b. col. papers_, vol. iii., p. . the _kaiganies_ inhabit the southern part of the prince of wales archipelago, and the northern part of queen charlotte island. the kygargeys or kygarneys are divided by schoolcraft and kane into the youahnoe, clictass (or clictars), quiahanles, houaguan, (or wonagan), shouagan, (or showgan), chatcheenie, (or chalchuni). _archives_, vol. v., p. ; _wanderings_, end of vol. the kygáni 'have their head-quarters on queen charlotte's archipelago, but there are a few villages on the extreme southern part of prince of wales archipelago.' _dall's alaska_, p. . a colony of the hydahs 'have settled at the southern extremity of prince of wales's archipelago, and in the northern island.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . 'die kaigàni (kigarnies, kigarnee, kygànies der engländer) bewohnen den südlichen theil der inseln (archipels) des prinzen von wales.' _radloff_, _sprache der kaiganen_, in _mélanges russes_, tom. iii., livrais. v., p. . 'the kegarnie tribe, also in the russian territory, live on an immense island, called north island.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . the hydahs of the south-eastern alexander archipelago include 'the kassaaus, the chatcheenees, and the kaiganees.' _bendel's alex. arch._, p. . 'called kaiganies and kliavakans; the former being near kaigan harbor, and the latter near the gulf of kliavakan scattered along the shore from cordova to tonvel's bay.' _halleck and scott_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. - . 'a branch of this tribe, the kyganies (kigarnies) live in the southern part of the archipel of the prince of wales.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . 'to the west and south of prince of wales island is an off-shoot of the hydah,' indians, called anega or hennegas. _mahony_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _chimsyans_ inhabit the coast and islands about fort simpson. ten tribes of chymsyans at 'chatham sound, portland canal, port essington, and the neighbouring islands.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hudson's bay_, p. . 'the chimsians or fort simpson indians.' _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . 'indians inhabiting the coast and river mouth known by the name of chyniseyans.' _ind. life_, p. . the tsimsheeans live 'in the fort simpson section on the main land.' _poole's q. char. isl._, p. . chimpsains, 'living on chimpsain peninsula.' _scott_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the chimmesyans inhabit 'the coast of the main land from ° ´ n., down to ° ´ n.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. ; _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the chimseeans 'occupy the country from douglas' canal to nass river.' _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. . divided into the following bands; kispachalaidy, kitlan (or ketlane), keeches (or keechis), keenathtoix, kitwillcoits, kitchaclaith, kelutsah (or ketutsah), kenchen kieg, ketandou, ketwilkcipa, who inhabit 'chatham's sound, from portland canal to port essington (into which skeena river discharges) both main land and the neighboring islands.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _kane's wand._, end of vol. the chymsyan connection 'extending from milbank sound to observatory inlet, including the sebassas, neecelowes, nass, and other offsets.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii. p. . mr. duncan divides the natives speaking the tsimshean language into four parts at fort simpson, nass river, skeena river, and the islands of milbank sound. _mayne's b. c._, p. . the keethratlah live 'near fort simpson.' _id._, p. . the _nass_ nation lives on the banks of the nass river, but the name is often applied to all the mainland tribes of what i term the haidah family. the nation consists of the kithateen, kitahon, ketoonokshelk, kinawalax (or kinaroalax), located in that order from the mouth upward. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _kane's wand._, end of vol. four tribes, 'nass river on the main land.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hudson's bay_, p. . 'on observatory inlet, lat. °.' _bryant_, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . adjoin the sebassa tribe. _cornwallis' n. el dorado_, p. . about fort simpson. _dunn's oregon_, p. . the hailtsa, haeeltzuk, billechoola, and chimmesyans are nass tribes. _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . see _buschmann_, _brit. nordamer._, pp. - . 'there is a tribe of about souls now living on a westerly branch of the naas near stikeen river; they are called "lackweips" and formerly lived on portland channel.' _scott_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _skeenas_ are on the river of the same name, 'at the mouth of the skeena river.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hudson's bay_, p. . they are the 'kitsalas, kitswingahs, kitsiguchs, kitspayuchs, hagulgets, kitsagas, and kitswinscolds.' _scott_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . keechumakarlo (or keechumakailo) situated 'on the lower part of the skeena river.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _kane's wand._, end of vol. the kitswinscolds live 'between the nass and the skeena.' _scott_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the kitatels live 'on the islands in ogden's channel, about sixty miles below fort simpson.' _id._ the _sebassas_ occupy the shores of gardner channel and the opposite islands. inhabit banks island. _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. . the labassas in five tribes are situated on 'gardner's canal, canal de principe, canal de la reida.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hudson's bay_, p. . keekheatla (or keetheatla), on canal de principe; kilcatah, at the entrance of gardner canal; kittamaat (or kittamuat), on the north arm of gardner canal; kitlope on the south arm; neeslous on canal de la reido (reina). _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _kane's wand._, end of vol. 'in the neighbourhood of seal harbour dwell the sebassa tribe.' _cornwallis' n. el dorado_, p. . 'the shebasha, a powerful tribe inhabiting the numerous islands of pitt's archipelago.' _bryant_, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . the _millbank sound_ tribes are the onieletoch, weitletoch (or weetletoch), and kokwaiytoch, on millbank sound; eesteytoch, on cascade canal; kuimuchquitoch, on dean canal; bellahoola, at entrance of salmon river of mackenzie; guashilla, on river canal; nalalsemoch, at smith inlet, and weekemoch on calvert island. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., pp. - ; _kane's wand._, end of vol. 'the millbank indians on millbank sound.' _bryant_, in _am. antiq. soc. transact._, vol. ii., p. . the _bellacoolas_ live about the mouth of salmon river. '"bentick's arms"--inhabited by a tribe of indians--the bellaghchoolas. their village is near salmon river.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . the billechoolas live on salmon river in latitude ° ´. _buschmann_, _brit. nordamer._, p. . the bellahoolas 'on the banks of the salmon river.' _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . 'the indians at milbank sound called belbellahs.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . 'spread along the margins of the numerous canals or inlets with which this part of the coast abounds.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . 'in the neighbourhood of the fort (mcloughlin) was a village of about five hundred ballabollas.' _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. . the _hailtzas_, hailtzuks, or haeelzuks 'dwell to the south of the billechoola, and inhabit both the mainland and the northern entrance of vancouver's island from latitude ° ´ n. to ° ´ n.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . 'the hailtsa commencing in about latitude ° n., and extending through the ramifications of fitzhugh and milbank sounds.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . 'an diesem sunde (milbank) wohnen die hailtsa-indianer.' _buschmann_, _brit. nordamer._, p. ; _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . [sidenote: the nootka family.] the nootka family dwells south of the haidah, occupying the coast of british columbia, from bentinck arms to the mouth of the fraser, and the whole of vancouver island. by other authors the name has been employed to designate a tribe at nootka sound, or applied to nearly all the coast tribes of the columbian group. 'the native population of vancouver island ... is chiefly composed of the following tribes:--north and east coasts (in order in which they stand from north to south)--quackolls, newittees, comuxes, yukletas, suanaimuchs, cowitchins, sanetchs, other smaller tribes;--south coast (... from east to west)--tsomass, tsclallums, sokes, patcheena, sennatuch;--west coast ... (from south to north)--nitteenats, chadukutl, oiatuch, toquatux, schissatuch, upatsesatuch, cojuklesatuch, uqluxlatuch, clayoquots, nootkas, nespods, koskeemos, other small tribes.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. . 'in barclay sound: pacheenett, nittinat, ohiat, ouchuchlisit, opecluset, shechart, toquart, ucletah, tsomass;--clayoquot sound: clayoquot, kilsamat, ahouset, mannawousut, ishquat;--nootka sound: matchclats, moachet, neuchallet, ehateset.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . 'about queen charlotte sound;--naweetee, quacolth, queehavuacolt (or queehaquacoll), marmalillacalla, clowetsus (or clawetsus), murtilpar (or martilpar), nimkish, wewarkka, wewarkkum, clallueis (or clalluiis), cumquekis, laekquelibla, clehuse (or clehure), soiitinu (or soiilenu), quicksutinut (or quicksulinut), aquamish, clelikitte, narkocktau, quainu, exenimuth, (or cexeninuth), tenuckttau, oiclela.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _kane's wand._, end of vol. on the seaboard, south of nitinaht sound, and on the nitinaht river, the pacheenaht and nitinaht tribes; on barclay, otherwise nitinaht sound, the ohyaht, howchuklisaht, opechisaht, seshaht, youclulaht, and toquaht tribes; on klahohquaht sound, the klahohquaht, killsmaht, ahousaht and manohsaht tribes; on nootkah sound, the hishquayaht, muchlaht, moouchat (the so-called nootkahs), ayhuttisaht and noochahlaht; north of nootkah sound, the kyohquaht, chaykisaht, and klahosaht tribes. _sproat's scenes_, p. . alphabetical list of languages on vancouver island: ahowzarts, aitizzarts, aytcharts, cayuquets, eshquates (or esquiates), klahars, klaizzarts, klaooquates (or tlaoquatch), michlaïts, mowatchits, neuchadlits, neuwitties, newchemass, (nuchimas), savinnars, schoomadits, suthsetts, tlaoquatch, wicananish. _buschmann_, _brit. nordamer._, p. . 'among those from the north were the aitizzarts, schoomadits, neuwitties, savinnars, ahowzarts, mowatchits, suthsetts, neuchadlits, michlaits, and cayuquets; the most of whom were considered as tributary to nootka. from the south the aytcharts, and esquiates also tributary, with the klaooquates and the wickanninish, a large and powerful tribe, about two hundred miles distant.' _jewitt's nar._, pp. - . 'tribes situated between nanaimo and fort rupert, on the north of vancouver island, and the mainland indians between the same points ... are divided into several tribes, the nanoose, comoux, nimpkish, quawguult, &c., on the island; and the squawmisht, sechelt, clahoose, ucletah, mamalilaculla, &c., on the coast, and among the small islands off it.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . list of tribes on vancouver island: 'songes, sanetch, kawitchin, uchulta, nimkis, quaquiolts, neweetg, quacktoe, nootka, nitinat, klayquoit, soke.' _findlay's directory_, pp. - . the proper name of the vancouver island tribes is yucuatl. _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the nootka territory 'extends to the northward as far as cape saint james, in the latitude of ° ´ n. ... and to the southward to the islands ... of the wicananish.' _meares' voy._, p. . 'the cawitchans, ucaltas, and coquilths, who are i believe of the same family, occupy the shores of the gulf of georgia and johnston's straits.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . 'twenty-four tribes speaking the challam and cowaitzchim languages, from latitude ° along the coast south to whitby island in latitude °; part of vancouver's island, and the mouth of franc's river.' also on the strait of juan de fuca and vancouver islands, the sanetch, three tribes; hallams, eleven tribes; sinahomish; skatcat; cowitchici, seven tribes; soke; cowitciher, three tribes. _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hudson's bay_, p. ; also in _hazlitt's b. c._, pp. - . five tribes at fort rupert;--quakars, qualquilths, kumcutes, wanlish, lockqualillas. _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . 'the chicklezats and ahazats, inhabiting districts in close proximity on the west coast of vancouver.' _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . 'north of the district occupied by the ucletahs come the nimkish, mamalilacula, matelpy and two or three other smaller tribes. the mamalilaculas live on the mainland.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . the population of vancouver island 'is divided into twelve tribes; of these the kawitchen, quaquidts and nootka are the largest.' _cornwallis' n. el dorado_, p. . 'ouakichs, grande île de quadra et van couver.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . [sidenote: nations inhabiting vancouver island.] in naming the following tribes and nations i will begin at the north and follow the west coast of the island southward, then the east coast and main land northward to the starting-point. the _uclenus_ inhabit scott island. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _kane's wand._, end of vol. the _quanes_ dwell at cape scott. _id._ the _quactoe_ are found in the 'woody part n.w. coast of the island.' _findlay's directory_, p. . the _koskiemos_ and _quatsinos_ live on 'the two sounds bearing those names.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . kuskema, and quatsinu, 'outside vancouver's island south of c. scott.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _kane's wand._, end of vol. the _kycucut_, 'north of nootka sound, is the largest tribe of the west coast.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . the _aitizzarts_ are 'a people living about thirty or forty miles to the northward' of nootka sound. _jewitt's nar._, pp. , . the _ahts_ live on the west coast of the island. 'the localities inhabited by the aht tribes are, chiefly, the three large sounds on the west coast of vancouver island, called nitinaht (or barclay) klahohquaht, and nootkah.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . the _chicklezahts_ and _ahazats_ inhabit districts in close proximity on the west coast of vancouver. _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . the _clayoquots_, or klahohquahts, live at clayoquot sound, and the moouchats at nootka sound. _sproat's scenes_, pp. , . north of the wickininish. _jewitt's nar._, p. . the _toquahts_ are a people 'whose village is in a dreary, remote part of nitinaht (or barclay) sound.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . the _seshats_ live at alberni, barclay sound. _sproat's scenes_, p. . the _pacheenas_, or 'pacheenetts, which i have included in barclay sound, also inhabit port san juan.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . the _tlaoquatch_ occupy the south-western part of vancouver. 'den südwesten der quadra- und vancouver-insel nehmen die tlaoquatch ein, deren sprache mit der vom nutka-sunde verwandt ist.' _buschmann_, _brit. nordamer._, p. . tlaoquatch, or tloquatch, on 'the south-western coast of vancouver's island.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the _sokes_ dwell 'between victoria and barclay sound.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . 'east point of san juan to the songes territory.' _findlay's directory_, p. . the _wickinninish_ live about two hundred miles south of nootka. _jewitt's nar._, p. . the _songhies_ are 'a tribe collected at and around victoria.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . 'the songhish tribe, resident near victoria.' _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. . songes, 's.e. part of the island.' _findlay's directory_, p. . the _sanetch_ dwell 'sixty miles n.w. of mount douglas.' _findlay's directory_, p. . the _cowichins_ live 'in the harbour and valley of cowitchen, about miles north of victoria.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . 'cowichin river, which falls into that (haro) canal about miles n. of cowichin head, and derives its name from the tribe of indians which inhabits the neighbouring country.' _douglas_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxiv., p. . kawitchin, 'country n.w. of sanetch territory to the entrance of johnson's straits.' _findlay's directory_, p. . 'north of fraser's river, and on the opposite shores of vancouver's island.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . 'north of fraser's river, on the north-west coast.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the _comux_, or komux, 'live on the east coast between the kowitchan and the quoquoulth tribes.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . comoux, south of johnston straits. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _kane's wand._, end of vol. the comoux 'extend as far as cape mudge.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . the _kwantlums_ dwell about the mouth of the fraser. 'at and about the entrance of the fraser river is the kuantlun tribe: they live in villages which extend along the banks of the river as far as langley.' _mayne's b. c._, pp. , . the _teets_ live on the lower frazer river. 'from the falls (of the fraser) downward to the seacoast, the banks of the river are inhabited by several branches of the haitlin or teet tribe.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . 'extending from langley to yale, are the smess, chillwayhook, pallalts, and teates.... the smess indians occupy the smess river and lake, and the chillwayhooks the river and lake of that name.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . teate indians. see _bancroft's map of pac. states_. the _nanaimos_ are 'gathered about the mouth of the fraser.' _mayne's b. c._, p. .--chiefly on a river named the nanaimo, which falls into wentuhuysen inlet. _douglas_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxiv., p. . the _squawmishts_ 'live in howe sound.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . the _sechelts_ live on jervis inlet. _mayne's b. c._, pp. - . the _clahoose_, or klahous, 'live in desolation sound.' _mayne's b. c._, pp. - . the _nanoose_ 'inhabit the harbour and district of that name, which lies miles north of nanaimo.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . the _tacultas_, or tahcultahs, live at point mudge on valdes island. _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . the _ucletas_ are found 'at and beyond cape mudge.' 'they hold possession of the country on both sides of johnstone straits until met or miles south of fort rupert by the nimpkish and mamalilacullas.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . yougletats--'une partie campe sur l'ile vancouver elle-même, le reste habite sur le continent, au nord de la rivière fraser.' _de smet_, _miss. de l'orégon_, p. . yongletats, both on vancouver island, and on the mainland above the fraser river. _bolduc_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cviii., pp. - . the _nimkish_ are 'at the mouth of the nimpkish river, about miles below fort rupert.' _mayne's b. c._, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . the _necultas_ and _queehanicultas_ dwell at the entrance of johnston straits. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _kane's wand._, end of vol. the _quackolls_ and 'two smaller tribes, live at fort rupert.' _mayne's b. c._, pp. , . 'on the north-east side of vancouver's island, are to be found the coquilths.' _cornwallis' n. el dorado_, p. . coquilths, a numerous tribe living at the north-east end. _dunn's oregon_, p. . the cogwell indians live around fort rupert. _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . the _newittees_ 'east of cape scott ... meet the quawguults at fort rupert.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . neweetg, 'at n.w. entrance of johnson's straits.' _findlay's directory_, p. . 'at the northern extremity of the island the newette tribe.' _cornwallis' n. el dorado_, p. . newchemass came to nootka 'from a great way to the northward, and from some distance inland.' _jewitt's nar._, p. . the _saukaulutucks_ inhabit the interior of the northern end of vancouver island. _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . 'at the back of barclay sound, ... about two days' journey into the interior, live the only inland tribe.... they are called the upatse satuch, and consist only of four families.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. . [sidenote: the sound family.] the sound family includes all the tribes about puget sound and admiralty inlet, occupying all of washington west of the cascade range, except a narrow strip along the north bank of the columbia. in locating the nations of this family i begin with the extreme north-east, follow the eastern shores of the sound southward, the western shores northward, and the coast of the pacific southward to gray harbor. list of tribes between olympia and nawaukum river. 'staktamish, squaks'namish, sehehwamish, squalliamish, puyallupamish, s'homamish, suquamish, sinahomish, snoqualmook, sinaahmish, nooklummi.' _tolmie_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . a canadian trapper found the following tribes between fort nisqually and fraser river; 'sukwámes, sunahúmes, tshikátstat, puiále, and kawítshin.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. - . cheenales, west; cowlitz, south; and nisqually, east of puget sound. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. , map. the _shimiahmoos_ occupy the 'coast towards frazer's river.' 'between lummi point and frazer's river.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . 'most northern tribe on the american side of the line.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . the _lummis_ 'are divided into three bands--a band for each mouth of the lummi river.' _fitzhugh_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'on the northern shore of bellingham bay.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'lummi river, and peninsula.' _id._, p. . 'on a river emptying into the northern part of bellingham bay and on the peninsula.' _id._, p. , and in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . the _nooksaks_ are 'on the south fork of the lummi river.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . nooksâhk, 'on the main fork of the river.' _id._, p. . nooksáhk, 'above the lummi, on the main fork of the river.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'south fork lummi river.' _id._, p. . nootsaks 'occupy the territory from the base of mount baker down to within five miles of the mouth of the lummi.' _coleman_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xxxix., p. . neuksacks 'principally around the foot of mount baker.' _fitzhugh_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the neukwers and siamanas, or stick indians 'live on lakes back of whatcom and siamana lakes and their tributaries.' _id._, p. . three tribes at bellingham bay, neuksack, samish, and lummis, with some neukwers and siamanas who live in the back country. _id._, p. . neuksacks, a tribe inhabiting a country drained by the river of the same name ... taking the name lummi before emptying into the gulf of georgia. _simmons_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . nooklummie, 'around bellingham's bay.' _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . the _samish_ live on samish river and southern part of bellingham bay. _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . 'they have several islands which they claim as their inheritance, together with a large scope of the main land.' _fitzhugh_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _skagits_ 'live on the main around the mouth of skagit river, and own the central parts of whidby's island, their principal ground being the neighborhood of penn's cove.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. , and in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . whidby's island 'is in the possession of the sachet tribe.' _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., p. . the sachets inhabit whidby's island. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . sachets, 'about possession sound.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . skadjets, 'on both sides of the skadjet river, and on the north end of whidby's island.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. . the skagit, 'on skagit river, and penn's cove,' the n'quachamish, smalèhhu, miskaiwhu, sakuméhu, on the branches of the same river. _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . sockamuke, 'headwaters of skagit river,' neutubvig, 'north end of whidby's island, and county between skagit's river and bellingham's bay.' cowewachin, noothum, miemissouks, north to frazer river. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . the _kikiallis_ occupy the banks of 'kikiallis river and whitby's island.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . the _skeysehamish_ dwell in the 'country along the skeysehamish river and the north branch of the sinahemish.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. . the _snohomish_ reside on 'the southern end of whidby's island, and the country on and near the mouth of the sinahomish river.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , . the sinahemish 'live on the sinahemish river (falling into possession sound).' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. . 'sinahoumez (en tribus) de la rivière fraser à la baie de puget.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'n'quutlmamish, skywhamish, sktahlejum, upper branches, north side, sinahomish river.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . neewamish, 'neewamish river, bay and vicinity;' sahmamish, 'on a lake between neewamish and snohomish river;' snohomish, 'south end of whitney's island, snohomish river, bay and vicinity;' skeawamish, 'north fork of the snohomish river, called skeawamish river;' skuckstanajumps, 'skuckstanajumps river, a branch of skeawamish river;' stillaquamish, 'stillaquamish river and vicinity;' kickuallis, 'mouth of kickuallis river and vicinity.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . stoluchwámish, on stoluchwámish river, also called steilaquamish. _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , , also in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . squinámish, swodámish, sinaahmish, 'north end of whitby's island, canoe passage, and sinamish river.' _id._, pp. , . 'southern end of whidby's island and sinahomish river.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. - . the _snoqualmooks_ 'reside on the south fork, north side of the sinahomish river.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. , and in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . snoqualimich, 'snoqualimich river and the south branch of the sinahemish.' _harley_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. . the _dwamish_ are 'living on and claiming the lands on the d'wamish river.' _paige_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . dwamish river and lake, white and green rivers. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . on d'wamish lake etc. ... reside the samamish and s'ketehlmish tribes. 'the d'wamish tribe have their home on lake fork, d'wamish river.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , . dwamish, 'lake fork, dwamish river;' samamish, s'ketéhlmish, 'dwamish lake;' smelkámiah, 'head of white river;' skopeáhmish, 'head of green river;' stkámish, 'main white river.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _skopeahmish_ have their home at the 'head of green river.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . the sekamish band 'on the main white river;' the smulkamish tribe 'at the head of white river.' _ib._ the _seattles_, a tribe of the snowhomish nation, occupied as their principal settlement, 'a slight eminence near the head of what is now known as port madison bay.' _overland monthly_, , vol. iv., p. . the _suquamish_ 'claim all the land lying on the west side of the sound, between apple tree cove on the north, and gig harbor on the south.' _paige_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . soquamish, 'country about port orchard and neighbourhood, and the west side of widby's island.' _harley_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. . 'peninsula between hood's canal and admiralty inlet.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , and in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . snoquamish, 'port orchard, elliott's bay, and their vicinity.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . shomamish, 'on vashon's island.' _ib._ 'vashon's island.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . s'slomamish, 'vaston's island.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'the indians frequenting this port (orchard) call themselves the jeachtac tribe.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . the _puyallupamish_ live 'at the mouth of puyallup river;' t'quaquamish, 'at the heads of puyallup river.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , and in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . squallyamish and pugallipamish, 'in the country about nesqually, pugallipi, and sinnomish rivers.' _harley_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. . puallipawmish or pualliss, 'on pualliss river, bay, and vicinity.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . puyyallapamish, 'puyallop river.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . the _nisquallies_, or skwall, 'inhabit the shores of puget's sound.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'nesquallis, de la baie de puget à la pointe martinez.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . nasqually tribes, 'nasqually river and puget's sound.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hudson bay_, p. . squallyamish, 'at puget sound.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the squalliahmish are composed of six bands, and have their residence on nisqually river and vicinity. _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . squallyamish or nisqually, nisqually river and vicinity. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . fort nisqually is frequented by the 'squallies, the clallams, the paaylaps, the scatchetts, the checaylis,' and other tribes. _simpson's overland journey_, vol. i., p. . the _steilacoomish_ dwell on 'stalacom creek;' loquamish, 'hood's reef.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . stitcheosawmish, 'budd's inlet and south bay,' in the vicinity of olympia. _id._, vol. iv., p. . steilacoomamish, 'steilacoom creek and vicinity.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , and in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . the _sawamish_ have their residence on 'totten's inlet.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . sayhaymamish, 'totten inlet.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'srootlemamish, quackenamish at case's inlet.' _ib._ quáks'namish, 'case's inlet;' s'hotlemamish, 'carr's inlet;' sahéhwamish, 'hammersly's inlet;' sawámish, 'totten's inlet;' squaiaitl, 'eld's inlet;' stéhchasámish, 'budd's inlet;' noosehchatl, 'south bay.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _skokomish_ live at the upper end of hood canal. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . töanhooch and shokomish on hood's canal. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . tuanoh and skokomish 'reside along the shores of hood's canal.' _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. . toankooch, 'western shore of hood's canal. they are a branch of the nisqually nation.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . tuanooch, 'mouth of hood's canal.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'the region at the head of puget sound is inhabited by a tribe called the toandos.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . homamish, hotlimamish, squahsinawmish, sayhaywamish, stitchassamish, 'reside in the country from the narrows along the western shore of puget's sound to new market.' _mitchell and harley_, in _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. . the _noosdalums_, or nusdalums, 'dwell on hood's channel.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . 'die noosdalum, wohnen am hood's-canal;' _buschmann_, _brit. nordamer._, p. . 'noostlalums, consist of eleven tribes or septs living about the entrance of hood's canal, dungeness, port discovery, and the coast to the westward.' _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . the _chimakum_, or chinakum, 'territory seems to have embraced the shore from port townsend to port ludlow.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . 'on port townsend bay.' _id._, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . the _clallams_, or clalams, are 'about port discovery.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . 'their country stretches along the whole southern shore of the straits to between port discovery and port townsend.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . southern shore of the straits of fuca east of the classets. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . at port discovery. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . sklallum, 'between los angelos and port townsend.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . sklallams, 'at cape flattery.' _id._, vol. v., p. . 'scattered along the strait and around the bays and bights of admiralty inlet, upon a shoreline of more than a hundred miles.' _scammon_, in _overland monthly_, , vol. vii., p. . 's'klallams, chemakum, toanhooch, skokomish, and bands of the same, taking names from their villages, ... and all residing on the shores of the straits of fuca and hood's canal.' _webster_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . kahtai, kaquaith, and stehllum, at port townsend, port discovery, and new dungeness. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . stentlums at new dungeness. _id._, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . [sidenote: indians of the coast of washington.] the _makahs_, or _classets_, dwell about cape flattery. macaw, 'cape flattery to neah bay.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . pistchin, 'neah bay to los angelos point.' _ib._ 'country about cape flattery, and the coast for some distance to the southward, and eastward to the boundary of the halam or noostlalum lands.' _id._, vol. v., p. ; _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , ; _hale_, in _id._, , p. ; _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , . 'at neah bay or waadda, and its vicinity.' _simmons_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . tatouche, a tribe of the classets. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . classets 'reside on the south side of the straits of fuca.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. ; _mitchell and harley_, in _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. . tatouche or classets, 'between the columbia and the strait of fuca.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . 'clatset tribe.' _cornwallis' n. el dorado_, p. . 'classets, on the strait of fuca.' _greenhow's hist. ogn._, p. ; _stevens' address_, p. . makahs, 'inhabiting a wild broken peninsula circumscribed by the river wyatch, the waters of the strait and the pacific.' _scammon_, in _overland monthly_, , vol. vii., p. . klaizzarts, 'living nearly three hundred miles to the south' of nootka sound. _jewitt's nar._, p. . the elkwhahts have a village on the strait. _sproat's scenes_, p. . list of tribes between columbia river and cape flattery on the coast; calasthocle, chillates, chiltz, clamoctomichs, killaxthocles, pailsh, potoashs, quieetsos, quinnechart, quiniülts. _morse's rept._, p. . the _quillehute_ and _queniult_, or quenaielt, 'occupy the sea-coast between ozelt or old cape flattery, on the north, and quinaielt river on the south.' _simmons_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . quinaielt, quillehuté, queets, and hoh, live on the quinaielt river and ocean. _smith_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the queniult live 'at point grenville.' _swan's n. w. coast_, p. . 'on the banks of a river of the same name.' _id._, p. . the wilapahs 'on the wilapah river.' _id._, p. . the copalis 'on the copalis river, eighteen miles north of gray's harbor.' _id._, p. . quinaitle, north of gray's harbor. _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . quinaik, 'coast from gray's harbor northward.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . ehihalis, quinailee, grey's harbor and north. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . south of the classets along the coast come the quinnechants, calasthortes, chillates, quinults, pailsk, etc. _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . the kaliouches and konnichtchates, spoken of as dwelling on destruction island and the neighboring main. _tarakanov_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xx., p. , et seq. the _chehalis_, or chickeeles, 'inhabit the country around gray's harbour.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . on the chehalis river. _nesmith_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . frequent also shoalwater bay. _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . on the cowelits. 'among the tsihailish are included the kwaiantl and kwenaiwitl ... who live near the coast, thirty or forty miles south of cape flattery.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. - . 'in the vicinity of the mouth of the columbia.' _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. . 'chekilis, et quinayat. près du havre de gray et la rivière chekilis.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. ; _swan's n. w. coast_, p. ; _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; _starling_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'a quarante milles au nord, (from the columbia) le long de la côte, habitent les tchéilichs.' _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. x., p. . the whiskkah and wynooche tribes on the northern branches of the chihailis. _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . sachals 'reside about the lake of the same name, and along the river chickeeles.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . the _cowlitz_ live on the upper cowlitz river. occupy the middle of the peninsula which lies west of puget sound and north of the columbia. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . on the cowlitz river. the taitinapams have their abode at the base of the mountains on the cowlitz. _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; and in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. , vol. v., p. . cowlitsick, 'on columbia river, miles from its mouth.' _morse's rept._, p. . there are three small tribes in the vicinity of the cowlitz farm, 'the cowlitz, the checaylis and the squally.' _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. . the staktomish live 'between nisqually and cowlitz and the head waters of chehaylis river.' _am. quar. register_, vol. iii., p. ; _harley_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . [sidenote: the chinook family.] the chinook family includes, according to my division, all the tribes of oregon west of the cascade range, together with those on the north bank of the columbia river. the name has usually been applied only to the tribes of the columbia valley up to the dalles, and belonged originally to a small tribe on the north bank near the mouth. 'the nation, or rather family, to which the generic name of chinook has attached, formerly inhabited both banks of the columbia river, from its mouth to the grand dalles, a distance of about a hundred and seventy miles.' 'on the north side of the river, first the chinooks proper (tchi-nuk), whose territory extended from cape disappointment up the columbia to the neighborhood of gray's _bay_ (not gray's _harbor_, which is on the pacific), and back to the northern vicinity of shoalwater bay, where they interlocked with the chihalis of the coast.' _gibbs' chinook vocab._, pp. iii., iv. the name watlalas or upper chinooks 'properly belongs to the indians at the cascades,' but is applied to all 'from the multnoma island to the falls of the columbia.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. - . 'the principal tribes or bands were the wakaíkam (known as the wahkyekum), the katlámat (cathlamet), the tshinuk (chinook), and the tlatsap (clatsop).' _ib._ 'the natives, who dwell about the lower parts of the columbia, may be divided into four tribes--the clotsops, who reside around point adams, on the south side; ... the chinooks; waakiacums; and the cathlamets; who live on the north side of the river, and around baker's bay and other inlets.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . the tribes may be classed: 'chinooks, clatsops, cathlamux, wakicums, wacalamus, cattleputles, clatscanias, killimux, moltnomas, chickelis.' _ross' adven._, p. . tribes on north bank of the columbia from mouth; chilts, chinnook, cathlamah, wahkiakume, skillute, quathlapotle. _lewis and clarke's map._ 'all the natives inhabiting the southern shore of the straits (of fuca), and the deeply indented territory as far as and including the tide-waters of the columbia, may be comprehended under the general term of chinooks.' _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . 'the chenook nation resides along upon the columbia river, from the cascades to its confluence with the ocean.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'inhabiting the lower parts of the columbia.' _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. . 'hauts-tchinouks, près des cascades du rio colombia. tchinouks d'en bas, des cascades jusqu'à la mer, bas-tchinouks.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., pp. , - . 'on the right bank of the columbia.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the cheenooks and kelussuyas, tribes, live at 'pillar rock, oak point, the dallas, the cascades, cheate river, takama river, on the columbia.' 'cheenooks, clatsops and several tribes near the entrance of the columbia river.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. . upper and lower chinooks on the columbia river, lower chinooks at shoalwater bay. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . chinooks, 'north of the columbia.' _id._, p. . 'upper chinooks, five bands, columbia river, above the cowlitz. lower chinooks, columbia river below the cowlitz, and four other bands on shoalwater bay.' _stevens_, in _id._, p. . 'mouth of columbia river, north side, including some miles interior.' _emmons_, in _id._, vol. iii., p. . the chinnooks 'reside chiefly along the banks of a river, to which we gave the same name; and which, running parallel to the sea coast ... empties itself into haley's bay.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. , and map; _irving's astoria_, p. . 'to the south of the mouth of the columbia.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'chenooks on the columbia.' _swan's n. w. coast_, p. . north side of the columbia. _morse's report_, p. ; _greenhow's hist. ogn._, p. . tshinuk south of the columbia at mouth. watlala on both sides of the river from the willamette to dalles. they properly belong to the indians at the cascades. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. - , and map, p. . banks of the columbia from dalles to the mouth. _farnham's trav._, p. . the upper chinooks were the shalala and echeloots of lewis and clarke. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . in the vicinity of the mouth of the columbia, there are, besides the chinooks, the klickatacks, cheehaylas, naas, and many other tribes. _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. . 'the flathead indians are met with on the banks of the columbia river, from its mouth eastward to the cascades, a distance of about miles; they extend up the walhamette river's mouth about thirty or forty miles, and through the district between the walhamette and fort astoria.' _kane's wand._, p. . 'the flatheads are a very numerous people, inhabiting the shores of the columbia river, and a vast tract of country lying to the south of it.' _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. . 'the cathlascon tribes, which inhabit the columbia river.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . cathlascos on the columbia river, s. side miles from its mouth. _morse's rept._, p. . shoalwater bay indians: whilapah on whilapah river; necomanchee, or nickomin, on nickomin river, flowing into the east side of the bay; quelaptonlilt, at the mouth of whilapah river; wharhoots, at the present site of bruceport; querqueltin, at the mouth of a creek; palux, on copalux or palux river; marhoo, nasal, on the peninsula. _swan's n. w. coast_, p. . 'karweewee, or artsmilsh, the name of the shoalwater bay tribes.' _id._, p. . along the coast north of the columbia are the chinnooks, killaxthockle, chilts, clamoitomish, potoashees, etc. _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . quillequeoquas at shoalwater bay. map in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . kwalhioqua, north of the columbia near the mouth. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. , and map, p. . klatskanai, 'on the upper waters of the nehalem, a stream running into the pacific, on those of young's river, and one bearing their own name, which enters the columbia at oak point.' _gibbs' chinook vocab._, p. iv. willopahs, 'on the willopah river, and the head of the chihalis.' _ib._ the _chilts_ inhabit the 'coast to the northward of cape disappointment.' _cox's adven._, vol. i., p. . 'north of the mouth of the columbia and chealis rivers.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. , and map. 'on the sea-coast near point lewis.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . miscellaneous bands on the columbia; aleis, on the north side of the colombia. _gass' jour._, p. . cathlacumups 'on the main shore s.w. of wappatoo isl.' _morse's rept._, p. . cathlakamaps, 'at the mouth of the wallaumut.' _id._, p. . cathlanamenamens, 'on the island in the mouth of the wallaumut.' _id._, p. . cathlanaquiahs, 'on the s.w. side of wappatoo isl.' _id._, p. . cathlapootle, eighty miles from mouth of the columbia opposite the mouth of the willamette. _id._, p. . calhlathlas, 'at the rapids, s. side.' _id._, p. . clahclellah, 'below the rapids.' _morse's rept._, p. . clannarminnamuns, 's.w. side of wappatoo isl.' _id._, p. . clanimatas, 's.w. side of wappatoo isl.' _ib._ clockstar, 's.e. side of wappattoo isl.' _ib._ cooniacs, 'of oak point (kahnyak or kukhnyak, the kreluits of franchère and skilloots of lewis and clarke).' _gibbs' chinook vocab._, p. iv. hellwits, 's. side miles from mouth.' _morse's rept._, p. . katlagakya, 'from the cascades to vancouver.' _framboise_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . katlaminimim, on multnomah island. _ib._ katlaportl, river of same name, and right bank of columbia for five miles above its mouth. _ib._ ketlakaniaks, at oak point, formerly united with kolnit. _ib._ klakalama, between kathlaportle and towalitch rivers. _ib._ mamnit, 'multnomah isl.' _ib._ nechakoke, 's. side, near quicksand river, opposite diamond isl.' _morse's rept._, p. . neerchokioon, south side above the wallaumut river. _ib._ shalala at the grand rapids down to the willamet. _ib._ quathlapotle, between the cowlits and chahwahnahinooks (cathlapootle?) river. _lewis and clarke's map._ seamysty, 'at the mouth of the towalitch river.' _framboise_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . shoto, w. side back of a pond and nearly opposite the entrance of the willamut. _morse's rept._, p. . skillutes, 'about junction of cowlitz.' _lewis and clarke's map._ skiloots on the columbia on each side, from the lower part of the columbia valley as low as sturgeon island, and on both sides of the coweliskee river. _morse's rept._, p. . smockshop. _id._, p. . trile kalets, near fort vancouver. _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. . wahclellah, 'below all the rapids.' _morse's rept._, p. . wakamass, 'deer's isle to the lower branch of the wallamat.' _framboise_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . wyampams, at the narrows. _ross' adven._, pp. - . tchilouits on the columbia, south bank, below the cowlitz. _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. x., p. . cathlâkaheckits and cathlathlalas in vicinity of the cascades. _id._, tom. xii., , p. . the _clatsops_ live on point adams. _hines' voy._, p. . 'south side of the (columbia) river at its mouth.' _greenhow's hist. ogn._, pp. , . 'southern shore of the bay at the mouth of the columbia, and along the seacoast on both sides of point adams.' _morton's crania_, p. ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , , and map. miles from mouth, south side. _morse's rept._, p. . 'south side of the river.' _gass' jour._, p. . 'from near tillamook head to point adams and up the river to tongue point.' _gibbs' chinook vocab._, p. iv. klakhelnk, 'on clatsop point, commonly called clatsops.' _framboise_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. , vol. v., p. . [sidenote: coast tribes of oregon.] the _wakiakum_, or 'wakaikum, live on the right bank of the columbia; on a small stream, called cadet river.' _framboise_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . wakiakums (wakáiakum) 'towards oak point.' _gibbs' chinook vocab._, p. iv. wahkiacums, adjoining the cathlamahs on the south-east and the skilloots on the north-west. _lewis and clarke's map._ waakicums, thirty miles from the mouth of the columbia, north side. _morse's rept._, p. . the _cathlamets_ extend from tongue point to puget's island. _gibbs' chinook vocab._, p. iv. 'opposite the lower village of the wahkiacums.' _irving's astoria_, p. . ' miles from the mouth of columbia.' _morse's rept._, p. . 'on a river of same name.' _framboise_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. ; _lewis and clarke's map._ 'along the coast south of the columbia river are the clatsops, killamucks, lucktons, kahunkle, lickawis, youkone, necketo, ulseah, youitts, shiastuckle, killawats, cookoose, shalalahs, luckasos, hannakalals.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - . 'along the coast s. of columbia river, and speak the killamucks language,' youicone, neekeetoos, ulseahs, youitts, sheastukles, killawats, cookkoooose, shallalah, luckkarso, hannakallal. _morse's rept._, p. . náélim, 'on a river on the sea-coast, miles s. of clatsop point,' and the following tribes proceeding southward. nikaas, kowai, neselitch, tacóón, aleya, sayonstla, kiliwatsal, kaons, godamyou (!), stotonia, at the mouth of coquin river. _framboise_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., pp. - . the _killamooks_ dwell along the coast southward from the mouth of the columbia. 'near the mouth of the columbia.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . callimix, ' miles s. of columbia.' _morse's rept._, p. . killamucks, 'along the s.e. coast for many miles.' _id._, p. . tillamooks, 'along the coast from umpqua river to the neachesna, a distance of one hundred and twenty miles.' _palmer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . kilamukes, 'south and east of mouth of the columbia, extending to the coast.' _emmons_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . nsietshawus, or killamuks, 'on the sea-coast south of the columbia.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. , and map, p. . 'between the river columbia and the umpqua.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. . 'country about cape lookout.' _palmer's jour._, p. . 'on comprend sous le nom général de killimous, les indiens du sud du rio colombia, tels que les nahelems, les nikas, les kaouais, les alsiias, les umquas, les toutounis et les sastés. ces deux dernières peuplades se sont jusqu'à présent montrées hostiles aux caravanes des blancs.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., pp. , . killamucks, next to the clatsops. _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . 'callemeux nation.' _gass' jour._, p. . callemax on the coast forty leagues south of the columbia. _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, tom. x., p. . the lucktons are found 'adjoining the killamucks, and in a direction s.s.e.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . the jakon, or yakones, dwell south of the killamooks on the coast. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. , and map, p. . the tlatskanai are farther inland than the killamooks. _id._, p. . the _umpquas_ live 'on a river of that name.' _framboise_, in _lond. geog. soc. jour._, vol. ii., p. . 'in a valley of the same name. they are divided into six tribes; the sconta, chalula, palakahu, quattamya, and chastà.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . umbaquâs. _id._, p. . 'umpquas ( tribus) sur la rivière de ce nom, et de la rivière aux vaches.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'the umkwa inhabit the upper part of the river of that name, having the kalapuya on the north, the lutuami (clamets), on the east, and the sainstkla between them and the sea.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. , and map, p. . two hundred and twenty-five miles south of the columbia. _hines' voy._, p. . 'the country of the umpquas is bounded east by the cascade mountains, west by the umpqua mountains and the ocean, north by the calipooia mountains and south by grave creek and rogue river mountains.' _palmer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _emmons_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. , vol. v., p. . the saiustkla reside 'upon a small stream which falls into the sea just south of the umqua river.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. , map, p. . sinselaw, 'on the banks of the sinselaw river.' _harvey_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . sayousla, 'near the mouth of sayousla bay.' _brooks_, in _id._, , p. . saliutla, 'at the mouth of the umbaquâ river.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . the katlawotsetts include the siuslaw and alsea bands on siuslaw river; the scottsburg, lower umpqua, and kowes bay bands on umpqua river. _drew_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . kiliwatshat, 'at the mouth of the umpqua.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . the alseas, or alseyas, live on alsea bay. _brooks_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _harvey_, in _id._, , p. . chocreleatan, 'at the forks of the coquille river.' quahtomahs, between coquille river and port orford. nasomah, 'near the mouth of the coquille river.' _parrish_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [sidenote: natives of the willamette valley.] willamette valley nations: 'the nations who inhabit this fertile neighbourhood are very numerous. the wappatoo inlet extends three hundred yards wide, for ten or twelve miles to the south, as far as the hills near which it receives the waters of a small creek, whose sources are not far from those of the killamuck river. on that creek resides the clackstar nation, a numerous people of twelve hundred souls, who subsist on fish and wappatoo, and who trade by means of the killamuck river, with the nation of that name on the sea-coast. lower down the inlet, towards the columbia, is the tribe called cathlacumup. on the sluice which connects the inlet with the multnomah, are the tribes cathlanahquiah and cathlacomatup; and on wappatoo island, the tribes of clannahminamun and clahnaquah. immediately opposite, near the towahnahiooks, are the quathlapotles, and higher up, on the side of the columbia, the shotos. all these tribes, as well as the cathlahaws, who live somewhat lower on the river, and have an old village on deer island, may be considered as parts of the great multnomah nation, which has its principal residence on wappatoo island, near the mouth of the large river to which they give their name. forty miles above its junction with the columbia, it receives the waters of the clackamos, a river which may be traced through a woody and fertile country to its sources in mount jefferson, almost to the foot of which it is navigable for canoes. a nation of the same name resides in eleven villages along its borders: they live chiefly on fish and roots, which abound in the clackamos and along its banks, though they sometimes descend to the columbia to gather wappatoo, where they cannot be distinguished by dress or manners, or language, from the tribes of multnomahs. two days' journey from the columbia, or about twenty miles beyond the entrance of the clackamos, are the falls of the multnomah. at this place are the permanent residences of the cushooks and chaheowahs, two tribes who are attracted to that place by the fish, and by the convenience of trading across the mountains and down killamuck river, with the nation of killamucks, from whom they procure train oil. these falls were occasioned by the passage of a high range of mountains; beyond which the country stretches into a vast level plain, wholly destitute of timber. as far as the indians, with whom we conversed, had ever penetrated that country, it was inhabited by a nation called calahpoewah, a very numerous people, whose villages, nearly forty in number, are scattered along each side of the multnomah, which furnish them with their chief subsistence, fish, and the roots along its banks.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - . calapooyas, moolallels, and clackamas in the willamette valley. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. , map. cathlakamaps at the mouth of the ouallamat; cathlapoutles opposite; cathlanaminimins on an island a little higher up; mathlanobes on the upper part of the same island; cathlapouyeas just above the falls; the cathlacklas on an eastern branch farther up; and still higher the chochonis. _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. x., pp. , . the cathlathlas live ' miles from the mouth of the wallaumut.' _morse's rept._, p. . the cloughewallhah are 'a little below the falls.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . the katlawewalla live 'at the falls of the wallamat.' _framboise_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . the leeshtelosh occupy the 'headwaters of the multnomah.' _hunter's captivity_, p. . the multnomahs (or mathlanobs) dwell 'at upper end of the island in the mouth of the wallaumut.' _morse's rept._, p. . the nemalquinner lands are 'n.e. side of the wallaumut river, miles above its mouth.' _morse's rept._, p. . the newaskees extend eastward of the headwaters of the multnomah, on a large lake. _hunter's captivity_, p. . the yamkallies dwell 'towards the sources of the wallamut river.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . the _calapooyas_ live in the upper willamette valley. callipooya, 'willamette valley.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. , vol. iii., p. . kalapuya, 'above the falls.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . callawpohyeaas, willamette tribes sixteen in number. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. . calapooah, seventeen tribes on the willamette and its branches. _parker's explor. tour_, p. . callappohyeaass nation consists of wacomeapp, nawmooit, chillychandize, shookany, coupé, shehees, longtonguebuff, lamalle, and pecyou tribes. _ross' adven._, pp. - . kalapooyahs, 'on the shores of the oregon.' _morton's crania_, p. . 'willamat plains.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . kalapuyas, 'above the falls of the columbia.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . ' miles from the mouth of the wallaumut, w. side.' _morse's rept._, p. . vule puyas, valley of the willamette. _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. . the _clackamas_ are on the 'clackama river.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'clakemas et kaoulis, sur le ouallamet et la rivière kaoulis.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'valley of the clakamus and the willamuta falls.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. . klackamas, 'three miles below the falls.' _hines' voy._, p. . clackamis. _palmer's jour._, p. . clarkamees. _morse's rept._, p. . clackamus. _lewis and clarke's map._ the _mollales_ are found in 'willamettee valley.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'at the mouth of the wallamet, and the wapatoo islands.' _tucker's oregon_, p. . 'upon the west side of the willamette and opposite oregon city.' _palmer's jour._, p. . [sidenote: the shushwap family.] the shushwap family comprises all the inland tribes of british columbia, south of lat. ° ´. the _atnahs_, strangers, niccoutamuch, or shushwaps proper, inhabit the fraser and thompson valleys. 'at spuzzum ... a race very different both in habits and language is found. these are the nicoutamuch, or nicoutameens, a branch of a widely-extended tribe. they, with their cognate septs, the atnaks, or shuswapmuch, occupy the frazer river from spuzzum to the frontier of that part of the country called by the hudson bay company new caledonia, which is within a few miles of fort alexandria.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . 'shushwaps of the rocky mountains inhabit the country in the neighbourhood of jasper house, and as far as tête jaune cache on the western slope. they are a branch of the great shushwap nation who dwell near the shushwap lake and grand fork of the thompson river in british columbia.' thompson river and lake kamloops. _milton and cheadle's northw. pass._, pp. , . 'on the pacific side, but near the rocky mountains, are the shoushwaps who, inhabiting the upper part of frazer's river, and the north fork of the columbia.' _blakiston_, in _palliser's explor._, p. . 'the shooshaps live below the sinpauelish indians.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'the shushwaps possess the country bordering on the lower part of frazer's river, and its branches.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . the atnahs or soushwap, 'live in the country on the fraser's and thompson's rivers.' 'they were termed by mackenzie the chin tribe.' (see p. , note of this vol.) _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. ; _buschmann_, _brit. nordamer._, p. . shooshaps, south of the sinpavelist. _de smet_, _voy._, pp. - . 'the atnah, or chin indian country extends about one hundred miles,' from fort alexander. _cox's adven._, vol. ii., p. . shooshewaps inhabit the region of the north bend of the columbia, in °. atnahs, in the region of the fraser and thompson rivers. _macdonald's lecture on b. c._, p. ; _hector_, in _palliser's explor._, p. . 'the shewhapmuch (atnahs of mackenzie) ... occupy the banks of thompson's river; and along frazer's river from the rapid village, twenty miles below alexandria, to the confluence of these two streams. thence to near the falls the tribe bears the name of nicutemuch.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . 'the stta llimuh, natives of anderson lake, speak a dialect of the sheswap language.' skowhomish, in the same vicinity. _mckay_, in _b. c. papers_, vol. ii., p. . 'the loquilt indians have their home in the winter on lake anderson, and the surrounding district, whence they descend to the coast in jervis inlet in the summer.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . the kamloops dwell about one hundred and fifty miles north-west of okanagan. _cox's adven._, vol. ii., p. . the clunsus are east of fraser river, between yale and latitude °; skowtous, on the fiftieth parallel south of lake kamloops and west of lake okanagan; sockatcheenum, east of fraser and north of °. _bancroft's map of pac. states._ the _kootenais_ live in the space bounded by the columbia river, rocky mountains, and clarke river. the kitunaha, coutanies, or flatbows, 'wander in the rugged and mountainous tract enclosed between the two northern forks of the columbia. the flat-bow river and lake also belong to them.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. - , map, p. . 'inhabit the country extending along the foot of the rocky mountains, north of the flatheads, for a very considerable distance, and are about equally in american and in british territory.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . kootoonais, 'on mcgillivray's river, the flat bow lake, etc.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. . kootonais, on 'or about the fiftieth parallel at fort kootonie, east of fort colville.' _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. . 'between the rocky mountains, the upper columbia and its tributary the killuspeha or pend'oreille, and watered by an intermediate stream called the kootanais river is an angular piece of country peopled by a small, isolated tribe bearing the same name as the last-mentioned river, on the banks of which they principally live.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . the lands of the cottonois 'lie immediately north of those of the flatheads.' _irving's bonneville's adven._, p. . kutanàe, kútani, kitunaha, kutneha, coutanies, flatbows, 'near the sources of the mary river, west of the rocky mountains.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . 'inhabit a section of country to the north of the ponderas, along m'gillivray's river.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'koutanies ou arcs-plats, près du fort et du lac de ce nom.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'in the kootanie valley.' _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . kootonays, south of the shushwaps. _palliser's explor._, p. . 'great longitudinal valley' of the kootanie river. _hector_, in _id._, p. . 'the tobacco plains form the country of the kootanies.' _blakiston_, in _id._, p. . 'about the northern branches of the columbia.' _greenhow's hist. ogn._, p. . kootanais, 'angle between the saeliss lands and the eastern heads of the columbia.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . about the river of the same name, between the columbia and rocky mountains. _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . a band called sinatcheggs on the upper arrow lake. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. ii., p. . the kootenais were perhaps the tushepaws of lewis and clarke. the _tushepaws_ are 'a numerous people of four hundred and fifty tents, residing on the heads of the missouri and columbia rivers, and some of them lower down the latter river.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. , and map; _bulfinch's ogn._, p. . 'on a n. fork of clarke's river.' _morse's rept._, p. . ootlashoots, micksucksealton (pend d'oreilles?), hohilpos (flatheads?), branches of the tushepaws. _id._, and _lewis and clarke's map_. the tushepaw nation might as correctly be included in the salish family or omitted altogether. according to _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. , they were the kootenais. the _okanagans_, or okinakanes, 'comprise the bands lying on the river of that name, as far north as the foot of the great lake. they are six in number, viz: the tekunratum at the mouth; konekonep, on the creek of that name; kluckhaitkwee, at the falls; kinakanes, near the forks; and milaketkun, on the west fork. with them may be classed the n'pockle, or sans puelles, on the columbia river, though these are also claimed by the spokanes. the two bands on the forks are more nearly connected with the schwogelpi than with the ones first named.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , and in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . oakinackens, priests' rapids, northward over miles, and miles in width, to the shewhaps, branching out into tribes, as follows, beginning with the south: 'skamoynumachs, kewaughtchenunaughs, pisscows, incomecanétook, tsillane, intiétook, battlelemuleemauch, or meatwho, inspellum, sinpohellechach, sinwhoyelppetook, samilkanuigh and oakinacken, which is nearly in the centre.' _ross' adven._, pp. - . 'on both sides the okanagan river from its mouth up to british columbia, including the sennelkameen river.' _ross_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'près du fort de ce nom.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'on the okanagan and piscour rivers.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. . 'composed of several small bands living along the okinakane river, from its confluence with the columbia to lake okinakane.... a majority of the tribe live north of the boundary line.' _paige_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'columbia valley.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . north-east and west of the shoopshaps. _de smet_, _voy._, p. . junction of the okanagan and columbia. _parker's map._ 'upper part of fraser's river and its tributaries.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . principal family called conconulps about miles up stream of the same name. _ross' adven._, pp. - . the similkameen live on s. river, and 'are a portion of the okanagan tribe.' _palmer_, in _b. col. papers_, vol. iii., p. . the okanagans, called catsanim by lewis and clarke. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . cutsahnim, on the columbia above the sokulks, and on the northern branches of the taptul. _morse's rept._, p. . [sidenote: the salish family.] the salish family includes all the inland tribes between ° and °. the salish, saalis, selish, or flatheads, 'inhabit the country about the upper part of the columbia and its tributary streams, the flathead, spokan, and okanagan rivers. the name includes several independent tribes or bands, of which the most important are the salish proper, the kullespelm, the soayalpi, the tsakaitsitlin, and the okinakan.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'the saeliss or shewhapmuch race, whose limits may be defined by the rocky mountains eastward; on the west the line of frazer's river from below alexandria to kequeloose, near the falls, in about latitude ° ´; northward by the carrier offset of the chippewyans; and south by the sahaptins or nez percés of oregon.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . 'from thompson's river other septs of this race--the shuswaps, skowtous, okanagans, spokans, skoielpoi (of colville), pend'oreilles, and coeurs d'aleines--occupy the country as far as the flathead passes of the rocky mountains, where the saelies or flatheads form the eastern portion of the race.' _mayne's b. c._, pp. - . 'about the northern branches of the columbia.' _greenhow's hist. ogn._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . tribes mentioned in _lewis and clarke's trav._, and map: tushepaw (kootenai), hopilpo (flathead), micksucksealtom (pend d'oreilles), wheelpo, (chualpays), sarlisto and sketsomish (spokanes), hehighenimmo (sans poils), according to _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . see _morse's rept._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'between the two great branches of the columbia and the rocky mountains are only five petty tribes: the kootanais and selish, or flatheads, at the foot of the mountains, and the pointed hearts, pend d'oreilles, and spokanes lower down.' _ross' fur hunters_, vol. ii., p. . 'divided into several tribes, the most important of which are the selishes, the kullespelms, the soayalpis, the tsakaïtsitlins, and the okinakans.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. - . the _flatheads_, or salish proper, reside on the river, valley, and lake of the same name. 'inhabit st. mary's or the flathead valley and the neighborhood of the lake of the same name.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. , and in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'occupying the valleys between the bitter root and rocky mountains.' _thompson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'south of the flathead valley on the bitter root.' _sully_, in _id._, , p. . st. mary's river. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'east and south-east (of the coeurs d'alène) and extends to the rocky mountains.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. , and map. _de smet_, _miss. de l'orégon_, p. . saalis ou faux têtes-plates. sur la rivière de ce nom au pied des montagnes rocheuses. _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'along the foot of the mountains.' _ross' adven._, p. . 'in new caledonia, w. of the rocky mountains.' _morse's rept._, p. . bitter root valley. _hutchins_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , , p. ; _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . hopilpo, of lewis and clarke. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'ils occupent le pays compris entre le lewis river et la branche nord-ouest ou la columbia, et borné en arrière par les monts-rocailleux.' _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xii., p. . the _pend d'oreilles_ occupy the vicinity of the lake of the same name. 'on the flathead or clarke river.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. . 'at clark's fork.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . lower pend d'oreilles, 'in the vicinity of the st. ignatius mission.' _paige_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the kalispelms or pend d'oreilles of the lower lake, inhabit the country north of the coeur d'alenes and around the kalispelm lake.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . calispels, or calispellum, 'on fool's prairie at the head of colville valley, and on both sides of the pend d'oreille river, from its mouth to the idaho line, but principally at the camas prairie.' _winans_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , , . situated to the east of fort colville, adjoining the kootonais on their eastern border. _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. . 'pend'oreilles ou kellespem. au-dessous du fort colville.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . skatkmlschi, or pend d'oreilles of the upper lake. a tribe who, by the consent of the selish, occupy jointly with them the country of the latter. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . kullas-palus, 'on the flathead or clarke river.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. . ponderas, 'north of clarke's river and on a lake which takes its name from the tribe.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. and map; _de smet_, _voy._, p. . the pend'oreilles were probably the micksucksealtom of lewis and clarke. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . tribes baptized by de smet: thlishatkmuche, stietshoi, zingomenes, shaistche, shuyelpi, tschilsolomi, siur poils, tinabsoti, yinkaceous, yejak-oun, all of same stock. tribes mentioned by morse as living in the vicinity of clarke river: coopspellar, lahama, lartielo, hihighenimmo, wheelpo, skeetsomish. _rept._, p. . the _coeurs d'aléne_ 'live about the lake which takes its name from them.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . east of the spokanes, at headwaters of the spokane river. _parker's explor. tour_, p. , and map. 'the skitswish or coeur d'alenes, live upon the upper part of the coeur d'alene river, above the spokanes, and around the lake of the same name.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . their mission is on the river ten miles above the lake and thirty miles from the mountains. _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . stietshoi, or coeur d'alenes on the river, and about the lake. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. , map, vol. v., p. . pointed hearts, 'shores of a lake about fifty miles to the eastward of spokan house.' _cox's adven._, vol. ii., p. ; _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. ; _de smet_, _miss. de l'orégon_, p. . 'st. joseph's river.' _mullan's rept._, p. . the _colvilles_ include the tribes about kettle falls, and the banks of the columbia up to the arrow lakes. 'colville valley and that of the columbia river from kettle falls to a point thirty miles below.' _paige_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the colvilles, whose tribal name is swielpree, are located in the colville valley, on the kettle river, and on both sides of the columbia river, from kettle falls down to the mouth of the spokane.' _winans_, in _id._, , p. . colvilles and spokanes, 'near fort colville.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. . the lakes, 'whose tribal name is senijextee, are located on both sides of the columbia river, from kettle falls north to british columbia.' _winans_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'so named from their place of residence, which is about the arrow lakes.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'les sauvages des lacs ... résident sur le lac-aux-flèches.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . the chaudières, or kettle falls, reside 'about colville.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . the village of les chaudières 'is situated on the north side just below the fall.' _cox's advent._, vol. i., p. . chaudières 'live south of the lake indians.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . 'fort colville is the principal ground of the schwoyelpi or kettle falls tribe.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'the tribe in the vicinity (of fort colville) is known as the chaudière, whose territory reaches as far up as the columbia lakes.' _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. . 'gens des chaudières. près du lac schouchouap au-dessous des dalles.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'called in their own language, chualpays.' _kane's wand._, pp. - . 'called quiarlpi (basket people).' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . the chualpays called wheelpo by lewis and clarke, and by morse. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . [sidenote: the spokane nation.] the _spokanes_ live on the spokane river and plateau, along the banks of the columbia from below kettle falls, nearly to the okanagan. 'the spokihnish, or spokanes, lie south of the schrooyelpi, and chiefly upon or near the spokane river. the name applied by the whites to a number of small bands, is that given by the coeur d'alene to the one living at the forks. they are also called sinkoman, by the kootonies. these bands are eight in number: the sinslihhooish, on the great plain above the crossings of the coeur d'alene river; the sintootoolish, on the river above the forks; the smahoomenaish (spokehnish), at the forks; the skaischilt'nish, at the old chemakane mission; the skecheramouse, above them on the colville trail; the scheeetstish, the sinpoilschne, and sinspeelish, on the columbia river; the last-named band is nearly extinct. the sinpoilschne (n'pochle, or sans puelles) have always been included among the okinakanes, though, as well as the sinspeelish below them, they are claimed by the spokanes. the three bands on the columbia all speak a different language from the rest.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , ; and _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. - . 'this tribe claim as their territory the country commencing on the large plain at the head of the slawntehus--the stream entering the columbia at fort colville; thence down the spokane to the columbia, down the columbia half way to fort okinakane, and up the spokane and coeur d'alene, to some point between the falls and the lake, on the latter.' _id._, p. . 'inhabit the country on the spokane river, from its mouth to the boundary of idaho.' _paige_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'at times on the spokane, at times on the spokane plains.' _mullan's rept._, pp. , . 'principally on the plains.' _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . 'north-east of the palooses are the spokein nation.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. , and map. 'au-dessous du fort okanagam à l'est.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'au nord-ouest des palooses se trouve la nation des spokanes.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . 'have a small village at the entrance of their river, but their chief and permanent place of residence is about forty miles higher up ... where the pointed-heart river joins the spokan from the south-east.' _cox's adven._, vol. ii., p. . 'the spokanes, whose tribal names are sineequomenach, or upper, sintootoo, or middle spokamish, and chekasschee, or lower spokanes, living on the spokane river, from the idaho line to its mouth.' _winans_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . spokane, the sarlilso and sketsomish of lewis and clarke. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . the _sans poils_ (hairless), or 'sanpoils, which includes the nespeelum indians, are located on the columbia, from the mouth of the spokane down to grand coulée (on the south of the columbia), and from a point opposite the mouth of the spokane down to the mouth of the okanagan on the north side of the columbia, including the country drained by the sanpoil, and nespeelum creeks.' _winans_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . sinpoilish, west of the columbia between priest rapids and okanagan. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. , map. sinpauelish, west of the kettle falls indians. _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'sinipouals. près des grands rapides du rio colombia.' _mofras_, _explor_., tom. ii., p. . sinpavelist, west of the chaudières. _de smet_, _voy._, p. . sinapoils, 'occupy a district on the northern banks of the columbia, between the spokan and oakinagan rivers.' _cox's adven._, vol. ii., p. . hehighenimmo of lewis and clarke. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . the _pisquouse_ inhabit the west bank of the columbia between the okanagan and priest rapids. piskwaus, or piscous; 'name properly belongs to the tribe who live on the small river which falls into the columbia on the west side, about forty miles below fort okanagan. but it is here extended to all the tribes as far down as priest's rapids.' the map extends their territory across the columbia. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. , and map, p. . pisquouse, 'immediately north of that of the yakamas.' 'on the columbia between the priest's and ross rapids.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; and _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'piscaous. sur la petite rivière de ce nom à l'ouest de la colombie.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . the skamoynumacks live on the banks of the columbia, at priest rapids, near the mouth of the umatilla. thirty miles distant up the river are the kewaughtohenemachs. _ross' adven._, pp. , . 'the mithouies are located on the west side of the columbia river, from the mouth of the okanagan down to the wonatchee, and includes the country drained by the mithouie, lake chelan, and enteeatook rivers.' _winans_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the isle de pierres, whose tribal name is linkinse, are located on the east and south side of the col. riv. from grand coulée down to priests' rapids, which includes the peninsula made by the great bend of the col.' _ib._ [sidenote: sahaptin family.] the sahaptin family is situated immediately south of the salish. only six of the eight nations mentioned below have been included in the family by other authors. 'the country occupied by them extends from the dalles of the columbia to the bitter-root mountains, lying on both sides of the columbia and upon the kooskooskie and salmon forks of lewis' and snake river, between that of the selish family on the north, and of the snakes on the south.' _gibbs_, in _pandosy's gram._, p. vii. 'the first and more northern indians of the interior may be denominated the shahaptan family, and comprehends three tribes; the shahaptan, or nez percés of the canadians; the kliketat, a scion from the shahaptans who now dwell near mount rainier, and have advanced toward the falls of the columbia; and the okanagan, who inhabit the upper part of fraser's river and its tributaries.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . hale's map, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. , divides the territory among the nez percés, walla-wallas, waiilaptu, and molele. 'the indians in this district (of the dalles) are dog river, wascos, tyicks, des chutes, john day, utilla, cayuses, walla-walla, nez percés, mountain snakes and bannacks.' _dennison_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the different tribes attached to fort nez percés, and who formerly went by that cognomen, are the shamooinaugh, skamnaminaugh, e'yackimah, ispipewhumaugh, and inaspetsum. these tribes inhabit the main north branch above the forks. on the south branch are the palletto pallas, shawhaapten or nez percés proper, pawluch, and cosispa tribes. on the main columbia, beginning at the dallas, are the necootimeigh, wisscopam, wisswhams, wayyampas, lowhim, sawpaw, and youmatalla bands.' _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. - . cathlakahikits, at the rapids of columbia river, n. side; chippanchickchicks, 'n. side of columbia river, in the long narrows, a little below the falls.' hellwits, 'at the falls of columbia river;' ithkyemamits, 'on columbia river, n. side near chippanchickchicks'; yehah, 'above the rapids.' _morse's rept._, pp. - . the _nez percés_ 'possess the country on each side of the lewis or snake river, from the peloose to the wapticacoes, about a hundred miles--together with the tributary streams, extending, on the east, to the foot of the rocky mountains.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'on both sides of the kooskooskia and north fork of snake river.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; and _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'a few bands of the nez percés indians occupy the salmon river and the clearwater.' _thompson_, in _id._, p. . 'the nez percés country is bounded west by the palouse river and the tucannon; on the north by the range of mountains between clear water and the coeur d'alene; east by the bitter root mountains; on the south they are bounded near the line dividing the two territories.' _craig_, in _id._, , p. . the buffalo, a tribe of the nez perces, winter in the bitter root valley. _owen_, in _id._, , p. . 'upper waters and mountainous parts of the columbia.' _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. . 'country lying along lewis river and its tributaries from the eastern base of the blue mountains to the columbia.' _palmer's jour._, p. . nez percés or sahaptins, 'on the banks of the lewis fork or serpent river.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'chohoptins, or nez-percés, ... on the banks of lewis river.' _cox's adven._, vol. ii., p. . 'rove through the regions of the lewis branch.' _greenhow's hist. ogn._, p. . 'the lower nez percés range upon the wayleeway, immahah, yenghies, and other of the streams west of the mountains.' _irving's bonneville's adven._, p. . some flatheads live along the clearwater river down to below its junction with the snake. _gass' jour._, p. . country 'drained by the kooskooskie, westward from the blackfoot country, and across the rocky mountains.' _brownell's ind. races_, p. . 'près du fort de ce nom, à la junction des deux branches du fleuve.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . junction of snake and clearwater. _parker's explor. tour_, _map_. chopunnish. _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. , and map. copunnish. _bulfinch's oregon_, p. . 'the nez-percés are divided into two classes, the nez-percés proper, who inhabit the mountains, and the polonches, who inhabit the plain country about the mouth of the snake river.' _gairdner_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . chopunnish, 'on lewis river below the entrance of the kooskooskee, on both sides.' 'on the kooskooskee river below the forks, and on cotter's creek.' bands of the chopunnish; pelloatpallah, kimmooenim, yeletpoo, willewah, soyennom. _morse's rept._, p. . the _palouse_, or 'the palus, usually written paloose, live between the columbia and the snake.' _gibbs_, in _pandosy's gram._, p. vi. 'the peloose tribe has a stream called after it which empties into lewis river.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . upon the peloose river. 'entrance of great snake river and surrounding country.' _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. , . 'properly a part of the nez percés. their residence is along the nez percé river and up the pavilion.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . in three bands; at the mouth of the pelouse river; on the north bank of snake river, thirty miles below the pelouse; and at the mouth of the snake river. _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - , and in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. - . palouse, or pelouse, 'reside on the banks of the palouse and snake rivers.' _mullan's rept._, pp. , . 'la tribu paloose appartient à la nation des nez-percés ... elle habite les bords des deux rivières des nez-percés et du pavilion.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . selloatpallah, north of the snake, near its confluence with the columbia. _lewis and clarke's map._ same as the sewatpalla. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . the _walla-wallas_ 'occupy the country south of the columbia and about the river of that name.' _gibbs_, in _pandosy's gram._, p. vii. 'a number of bands living usually on the south side of the columbia, and on the snake river to a little east of the peluse.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'are on a small stream which falls into the columbia near fort nez-percés.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'inhabit the country about the river of the same name, and range some distance below along the columbia.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'upon the banks of the columbia, below the mouth of the lewis fork are found the walla-wallas.' _brownell's ind. races_, p. . 'oualla-oualla, au-dessus du fort des nez percés.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'under this term are embraced a number of bands living usually on the south side of the columbia, and on the snake river, to a little east of the pelouse; as also the klikatats and yakamas, north of the former.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'on both sides of the columbia river between snake river and hudson bay fort, walla-walla.' _dennison_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . walla wallapum. _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'les walla-walla habitent, sur la rivière du même nom, l'un des tributaires de la colombie, et leur pays s'étend aussi le long de ce fleuve.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . wollaw wollah. south side of the snake, at junction with the columbia. _lewis and clarke's map._ wollaolla and wollawalla, 'on both sides of col., as low as the muscleshell rapid, and in winter pass over to the taptul river.' _morse's rept._, pp. - . 'country south of the columbia and about the river of that name.' _gibbs_, in _pandosy's gram._, p. vii. walawaltz nation about the junction of the snake and columbia. on walla walle river. _gass' jour._, pp. - . 'on both banks of the columbia, from the blue mountains to the dalles.' _farnham's trav._, p. . wallah wallah. _cox's adven._, vol. ii., p. . 'about the river of that name.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, pp. , . wallawallahs, 'reside along the lower part of the walla walla, the low bottom of the umatilla and the columbia, from the mouth of lewis river for one hundred miles south.' _palmer's jour._, pp. , . 'on the borders of the wallahwallah and columbia.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xii., p. . the sciatogas and toustchipas live on canoe river (tukanon?), and the euotalla (touchet?), the akaïtchis 'sur le big-river,' (columbia). _hunt_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. x., pp. - . the sciatogas 'possède le pays borné au sud-est par la grande-plaine; au nord, par le lewis-river; à l'ouest par la columbia; au sud par l'oualamat.' _id._, , tom. xii., p. . [sidenote: the cayuses and wascos.] the _cayuses_ extend from john day river eastward to grande ronde valley. the cayuse, cailloux, waiilatpu, 'country south of the sahaptin and wallawalla. their head-quarters are on the upper part of wallawalla river.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. , map, p. . 'the country belonging to the cayuse is to the south of and between the nez perces and walla-wallas, extending from the des chutes, or wanwanwi, to the eastern side of the blue mountains.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'on the west side of the blue mountains and south of the columbia river.' _thompson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'occupy a portion of the walla-walla valley.' _dennison_, in _id._, , p. ; _cain_, in _id._, , pp. - . 'À l'ouest des nez-perces sont les kayuses.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . the kayouse dwell upon the utalla or emnutilly river. _townsend's nar._, p. . 'west of the nez percés.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. , and map. 'rove through the regions of the lewis branch.' _greenhow's hist. ogn._, p. . 'kayouses. près du grand détour de la colombie.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . waiilatpu, molele, called also willetpoos, cayuse, 'western oregon, south of the columbia river.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. ; _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . caäguas 'inhabit the country bordering on wallawalla river and its tributaries, the blue mountains and grand round.' _palmer's jour._, pp. - . wyeilat or kyoose, country to the south of walla walla. _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - . the skyuses 'dwell about the waters of the wayleeway and the adjacent country.' _irving's bonneville's adven._, p. . the willewah 'reside on the willewah river, which falls into the lewis river on the s.w. side, below the forks.' _morse's rept._, p. . in grande ronde valley. _lewis and clarke's map_; _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . the umatillas 'live near the junction of the umatilla and columbia rivers.' _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . umatallow river and country extending thence westward to dalles. _tolmie_, in _id._, p. . 'the utillas occupy the country along the river bearing that name.' _dennison_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the wahowpum live 'on the n. branch of the columbia, in different bands from the pishquitpahs; as low as the river lapage; the different bands of this nation winter on the waters of taptul and cataract rivers.' _morse's rept._, p. ; _lewis and clarke's map._ on john day's river. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . the _wascos_ include all the tribes between the cascade range and john day river, south of the columbia. 'they are known by the name of wasco indians, and they call their country around the dallas, wascopam. they claim the country extending from the cascades up to the falls of the columbia, the distance of about fifty miles.' _hines' voy._, p. . 'the wascos occupy a small tract of country near to and adjoining the dalles.' _dennison_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . on both sides of the columbia about the dalles are the wascopams. _map_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . eneshur, echeloots, chillukkitequaw and sinacshop occupy the territory, on _lewis and clarke's map_; _morse's rept._, p. . the tchipantchicktchick, cathlassis, ilttekaïmamits, and tchelouits about the dalles. _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xii., p. ; _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'the residence of the molele is (or was) in the broken and wooded country about mounts hood and vancouver.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . the mollales have their home in the willamette valley. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'the tairtla, usually called taigh, belong ... to the environs of the des-chutes river.' _gibbs_, in _pandosy's gram._, p. vii. 'the des chutes ... formerly occupied that section of country between the dalles and the tyich river.' _dennison_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the tyichs ... formerly occupied the tyich valley and the country in its vicinity, which lies about miles south of fort dalles.' _ib._ 'the john day rivers occupy the country in the immediate vicinity of the river bearing that name.' _ib._ 'the dog river, or cascade indians reside on a small stream called dog river, which empties into the columbia river, about half way between the cascades and dalles.' _id._, p. . the cascades dwell 'on the river of that name.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . the _yakimas_ occupy the valley of the yakima river and its branches. 'the upper yakimas occupy the country upon the wenass and main branch of the yakima, above the forks; the lower upon the yakima and its tributaries, below the forks and along the columbia from the mouth of the yakima to a point three miles below the dalles.' _robie_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . three bands, wishhams, clickahut, and skien, along the columbia. _id._, p. . 'the pshwanwappam bands, usually called yakamas, inhabit the yakama river.' _gibbs_, in _pandosy's gram._, p. vii. lewis and clarke's chanwappan, shaltattos, squamaross, skaddals, and chimnahpum, on the yakima river. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . the yakimas 'are divided into two principal bands, each made up of a number of villages, and very closely connected; one owning the country on the nahchess and lower yakima, the other are upon the wenass and main branch above the forks.' _id._, p. . yackamans, northern banks of the columbia and on the yackamans river. _cox's adven._, vol. ii., p. . on the yakima. _hale's ethnog._, _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'south of the long rapids, to the confluence of lewis' river with the columbia, are the yookoomans.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . pishwanwapum (yakima), in yakimaw or eyakema valley. _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - . called stobshaddat by the sound indians. _id._, p. . the chimnapums are 'on the n.w. side of col. river, both above and below the entrance of lewis' r. and the taptul r.' _morse's rept._, p. ; _lewis and clarke's map._ the 'chunnapuns and chanwappans are between the cascade range and the north branch of the columbia.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . the pisquitpahs, 'on the muscleshell rapids, and on the n. side of the columbia, to the commencement of the high country; this nation winter on the waters of the taptul and cataract rivers.' _morse's rept._, p. . the sokulks dwell north of the confluence of the snake and columbia. _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. , and map; _morse's rept._, p. . at priest rapids. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . [sidenote: the kliketats.] the _kliketats_ live in the mountainous country north of the cascades, on both sides of the cascade range, and south of the yakimas. klikatats 'inhabit, properly, the valleys lying between mounts st. helens and adams, but they have spread over districts belonging to other tribes, and a band of them is now located as far south as the umpqua.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'roilroilpam is the klikatat country, situated in the cascade mountains north of the columbia and west of the yakamas.' _gibbs_, in _pandosy's gram._, p. vii. 'wander in the wooded country about mount st. helens.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'in the vicinity of the mouth of the columbia.' _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. . klikatats. 'au-dessus du fort des nez-percés.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'the kliketat, a scion from the sahaptans, who now dwell near mount rainier and have advanced towards the falls of the columbia.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . on _lewis and clarke's map_ the kliketat territory is occupied by the chanwappan, shallatos, squamaros, skaddals, shahalas. also in _morse's rept._, p. . whulwhypum, or kliketat, 'in the wooded and prairie country between vancouver and the dalles.' _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . the weyehhoo live on the north side of the columbia, near chusattes river. (kliketat.) _gass' jour._, p. . footnotes: [ ] the _nootka-columbians_ comprehend 'the tribes inhabiting quadra and vancouver's island, and the adjacent inlets of the mainland, down to the columbia river, and perhaps as far s. as umpqua river and the northern part of new california.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . [ ] gilbert malcolm sproat, a close observer and clear writer, thinks 'this word nootkah--no word at all--together with an imaginary word, columbian, denoting a supposed original north american race--is absurdly used to denote all the tribes which inhabit the rocky mountains and the western coast of north america, from california inclusively to the regions inhabited by the esquimaux. in this great tract there are more tribes, differing totally in language and customs, than in any other portion of the american continent; and surely a better general name for them could be found than this meaningless and misapplied term _nootkah columbian_.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . yet mr sproat suggests no other name. it is quite possible that cook, _voy. to the pacific_, vol. ii., p. , misunderstood the native name of nootka sound. it is easy to criticise any name which might be adopted, and even if it were practicable or desirable to change all meaningless and misapplied geographical names, the same or greater objections might be raised against others, which necessity would require a writer to invent. [ ] _kane's wand._, p. ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. ; _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. ; the name being given to the people between the region of the columbia and ° ´. [ ] the name _nez percés_, 'pierced noses,' is usually pronounced as if english, _nez pér-ces_. [ ] for particulars and authorities see tribal boundaries at end of this chapter. [ ] 'the indian tribes of the north-western coast may be divided into two groups, the insular and the inland, or those who inhabit the islands and adjacent shores of the mainland, and subsist almost entirely by fishing; and those who live in the interior and are partly hunters. this division is perhaps arbitrary, or at least imperfect, as there are several tribes whose affinities with either group are obscure.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . see _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. - , and _mayne's b. c._, p. . 'the best division is into coast and inland tribes.' _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'by far the best looking, most intelligent and energetic people on the n. w. coast.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . also ranked by prichard as the finest specimens physically on the coast. _researches_, vol. v., p. . the nass people 'were peculiarly comely, strong, and well grown.' _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. . 'would be handsome, or at least comely,' were it not for the paint. 'some of the women have exceedingly handsome faces, and very symmetrical figures.' 'impressed by the manly beauty and bodily proportions of my islanders.' _poole's queen charlotte isl._, pp. , . mackenzie found the coast people 'more corpulent and of better appearance than the inhabitants of the interior.' _voy._, pp. - ; see pp. - . 'the stature (at burke's canal) ... was much more stout and robust than that of the indians further south. the prominence of their countenances and the regularity of their features, resembled the northern europeans.' _vancouver's voy._ vol. ii., p. . a chief of 'gigantic person, a stately air, a noble mien, a manly port, and all the characteristics of external dignity, with a symmetrical figure, and a perfect order of european contour.' _dunn's oregon_, pp. , , , . mayne says, 'their countenances are decidedly plainer' than the southern indians. _b. c._, p. . 'a tall, well-formed people.' _bendel's alex. arch._, p. . 'no finer men ... can be found on the american continent.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . in °, 'son bien corpulentos.' _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, s. iv., vol. vi., p. . 'the best looking indians we had ever met.' 'much taller, and in every way superior to the puget sound tribes. the women are stouter than the men, but not so good-looking.' _reed's nar._ [ ] the sebassas are 'more active and enterprising than the millbank tribes.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . the haeeltzuk are 'comparatively effeminate in their appearance.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . the kyganies 'consider themselves more civilised than the other tribes, whom they regard with feelings of contempt.' _id._, p. . the chimsyans 'are much more active and cleanly than the tribes to the south.' _id._, p. . 'i have, as a rule, remarked that the physical attributes of those tribes coming from the north, are superior to those of the dwellers in the south.' _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . [ ] _mackenzie's voy._, pp. - , - ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., pp. , ; _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'regular, and often fine features.' _bendel's alex. arch._, p. . [ ] _mackenzie's voy._, pp. - , - , - ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . 'opening of the eye long and narrow.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . [ ] 'had it not been for the filth, oil, and paint, with which, from their earliest infancy, they are besmeared from head to foot, there is great reason to believe that their colour would have differed but little from such of the labouring europeans, as are constantly exposed to the inclemency and alterations of the weather.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'between the olive and the copper.' _mackenzie's voy._, pp. - . 'their complexion, when they are washed free from paint, is as white as that of the people of the s. of europe.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . skin 'nearly as white as ours.' _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. - . 'of a remarkable light color.' _bendel's alex. arch._, p. . 'fairer in complexion than the vancouverians.' 'their young women's skins are as clear and white as those of englishwomen.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . 'fair in complexion, sometimes with ruddy cheeks.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'de buen semblante, color blanco y bermejos.' _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, s. iv., vol. vi., p. . [ ] tolmie mentions several instances of the kind, and states that 'amongst the hydah or queen charlotte island tribes, exist a family of coarse, red-haired, light-brown eyed, square-built people, short-sighted, and of fair complexion.' _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] _mackenzie's voy._, pp. - , ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _dunn's oregon_, p. ; _poole's q. char. isl._, p. . [ ] _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. ; _poole's q. char. isl._, p. . 'what is very unusual among the aborigines of america, they have thick beards, which appear early in life.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . [ ] 'after the age of puberty, their bodies, in their natural state, are covered in the same manner as those of the europeans. the men, indeed, esteem a beard very unbecoming, and take great pains to get rid of it, nor is there any ever to be perceived on their faces, except when they grow old, and become inattentive to their appearance. every crinous efflorescence on the other parts of the body is held unseemly by them, and both sexes employ much time in their extirpation. the nawdowessies, and the remote nations, pluck them out with bent pieces of hard wood, formed into a kind of nippers; whilst those who have communication with europeans procure from them wire, which they twist into a screw or worm; applying this to the part, they press the rings together, and with a sudden twitch draw out all the hairs that are inclosed between them.' _carver's trav._, p. . [ ] _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . [ ] _mackenzie's voy._, pp. - ; _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. ; _dunn's oregon_, p. . [ ] _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. ; _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., pp. , , . 'the most northern of these flat-head tribes is the hautzuk.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., pp. , . 'this wooden ornament seems to be wore by all the sex indiscriminately, whereas at norfolk sound it is confined to those of superior rank.' _dixon's voy._, pp. , , with a cut. a piece of brass or copper is first put in, and 'this corrodes the lacerated parts, and by consuming the flesh gradually increases the orifice.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., pp. - , . _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. , ; _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, s. iv., vol. vi., p. ; _cornwallis' new el dorado_, p. ; _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. , with plate. [ ] _mayne's b. c._, pp. - ; _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. , ; _barrett-lennard's trav._, pp. - ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. , . [ ] _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. , , , - ; _mayne's b. c._, pp. , ; _dunn's oregon_, p. . [ ] _mayne's b. c._, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. , , ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. ; _poole's q. char. isl._, p. . 'the men habitually go naked, but when they go off on a journey they wear a blanket.' _reed's nar._ 'cuero de nutrias y lobo marino ... sombreros de junco bien tejidos con la copa puntiaguda.' _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, s. iv., vol. vi., p. . [ ] _dunn's oregon_, pp. , - ; _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] at salmon river, ° ´, 'their dress consists of a single robe tied over the shoulders, falling down behind, to the heels, and before, a little below the knees, with a deep fringe round the bottom. it is generally made of the bark of the cedar tree, which they prepare as fine as hemp; though some of these garments are interwoven with strips of the sea-otter skin, which give them the appearance of a fur on one side. others have stripes of red and yellow threads fancifully introduced towards the borders.' clothing is laid aside whenever convenient. 'the women wear a close fringe hanging down before them about two feet in length, and half as wide. when they sit down they draw this between their thighs.' _mackenzie's voy._, pp. - , ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., pp. , . [ ] a house 'erected on a platform, ... raised and supported near thirty feet from the ground by perpendicular spars of a very large size; the whole occupying a space of about thirty-five by fifteen (yards), was covered in by a roof of boards lying nearly horizontal, and parallel to the platform; it seemed to be divided into three different houses, or rather apartments, each having a separate access formed by a long tree in an inclined position from the platform to the ground, with notches cut in it by way of steps, about a foot and a half asunder.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . see also pp. , - , , . 'their summer and winter residences are built of split plank, similar to those of the chenooks.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'ils habitent dans des loges de soixante pieds de long, construites avec des troncs de sapin et recouvertes d'écorces d'arbres.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'their houses are neatly constructed, standing in a row; having large images, cut out of wood, resembling idols. the dwellings have all painted fronts, showing imitations of men and animals. attached to their houses most of them have large potatoe gardens.' _dunn's oregon_, pp. - . see also, pp. - , - , ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; vol. ii., pp. , , with cuts on p. and frontispiece. 'near the house of the chief i observed several oblong squares, of about twenty feet by eight. they were made of thick cedar boards, which were joined with so much neatness, that i at first thought they were one piece. they were painted with hieroglyphics, and figures of different animals,' probably for purposes of devotion, as was 'a large building in the middle of the village.... the ground-plot was fifty feet by forty-five; each end is formed by four stout posts, fixed perpendicularly in the ground. the corner ones are plain, and support a beam of the whole length, having three intermediate props on each side, but of a larger size, and eight or nine feet in height. the two centre posts, at each end, are two and a half feet in diameter, and carved into human figures, supporting two ridge poles on their heads, twelve feet from the ground. the figures at the upper part of this square represent two persons, with their hands upon their knees, as if they supported the weight with pain and difficulty: the others opposite to them stand at their ease, with their hands resting on their hips.... posts, poles, and figures, were painted red and black, but the sculpture of these people is superior to their painting.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. . see also pp. , , - , , ; _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. , - ; _reed's nar._; _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] on food of the haidahs and the methods of procuring it, see _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. , ; _mackenzie's voy._, pp. , - , - , , , , - ; _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. , - , - ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. , , , - ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. ; _pemberton's vancouver island_, p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. ; _reed's nar._ [ ] _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _poole's q. char. isl._, p. ; _mackenzie's voy._, p. - . 'once i saw a party of kaiganys of about two hundred men returning from war. the paddles of the warriors killed in the fight were lashed upright in their various seats, so that from a long distance the number of the fallen could be ascertained; and on each mast of the canoes--and some of them had three--was stuck the head of a slain foe.' _bendel's alex. arch._, p. . [ ] the kaiganies 'are noted for the beauty and size of their cedar canoes, and their skill in carving. most of the stone pipes, inlaid with fragments of haliotis or pearl shells, so common in ethnological collections, are their handiwork. the slate quarry from which the stone is obtained is situated on queen charlotte's island.' _dall's alaska_, p. . the chimsyans 'make figures in stone dressed like englishmen; plates and other utensils of civilization, ornamented pipe stems and heads, models of houses, stone flutes, adorned with well-carved figures of animals. their imitative skill is as noticeable as their dexterity in carving.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . the supporting posts of their probable temples were carved into human figures, and all painted red and black, 'but the sculpture of these people ( ° ´) is superior to their painting.' _mackenzie's voy._, pp. - ; see pp. - . 'one man (near fort simpson) known as the arrowsmith of the north-east coast, had gone far beyond his compeers, having prepared very accurate charts of most parts of the adjacent shores.' _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. . 'the indians of the northern family are remarkable for their ingenuity and mechanical dexterity in the construction of their canoes, houses, and different warlike or fishing implements. they construct drinking-vessels, tobacco-pipes, &c., from a soft argillaceous stone, and these articles are remarkable for the symmetry of their form, and the exceedingly elaborate and intricate figures which are carved upon them. with respect to carving and a faculty for imitation, the queen charlotte's islanders are equal to the most ingenious of the polynesian tribes.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . 'like the chinese, they imitate literally anything that is given them to do; so that if you give them a cracked gun-stock to copy, and do not warn them, they will in their manufacture repeat the blemish. many of their slate-carvings are very good indeed, and their designs most curious.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . see also, _dunn's oregon_, p. ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. , and plate p. . the skidagates 'showed me beautifully wrought articles of their own design and make, and amongst them some flutes manufactured from an unctuous blue slate.... the two ends were inlaid with lead, giving the idea of a fine silver mounting. two of the keys perfectly represented frogs in a sitting posture, the eyes being picked out with burnished lead.... it would have done credit to a european modeller.' _poole's q. char. isl._, p. . 'their talent for carving has made them famous far beyond their own country.' _bendel's alex. arch._, p. . a square wooden box, holding one or two bushels, is made from three pieces, the sides being from one piece so mitred as to bend at the corners without breaking. 'during their performance of this character of labor, (carving, etc.) their superstitions will not allow any spectator of the operator's work.' _reed's nar._; _ind. life_, p. . 'of a very fine and hard slate they make cups, plates, pipes, little images, and various ornaments, wrought with surprising elegance and taste.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'ils peignent aussi avec le même goût.' _rossi_, _souvenirs_, p. ; _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., pp. - . [ ] _mackenzie's voy._, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; vol. ii., pp. - , , ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. , , , . 'they boil the cedar root until it becomes pliable to be worked by the hand and beaten with sticks, when they pick the fibres apart into threads. the warp is of a different material--sinew of the whale, or dried kelp-thread.' _reed's nar._ 'petatito de vara en cuadro bien vistoso, tejido de palma fina de dos colores blanco y negro que tejido en cuadritos.' _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, s. iv., vol. vi., pp. , - . [ ] _poole's q. char. isl._, p. , and cuts on pp. , ; _mackenzie's voy._, p. ; _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. cxxv; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; _reed's nar._; _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. , with plate. the bellabellahs 'promised to construct a steam-ship on the model of ours.... some time after this rude steamer appeared. she was from to feet long, all in one piece--a large tree hollowed out--resembling the model of our steamer. she was black, with painted ports; decked over; and had paddles painted red, and indians under cover, to turn them round. the steersman was not seen. she was floated triumphantly, and went at the rate of three miles an hour. they thought they had nearly come up to the point of external structure; but then the enginery baffled them; and this they thought they could imitate in time, by perseverance, and the helping illumination of the great spirit.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . see also, p. . 'a canoe easily distanced the champion boat of the american navy, belonging to the man-of-war _saranac_.' _bendel's alex. arch._, p. . [ ] _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. ; _macfie's b. c._, pp. , , ; _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. , - , ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. cxxv. [ ] _mackenzie's voy._, pp. - ; _tolmie and anderson_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - , ; _macfie's b. c._, p. ; _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. ; _dixon's voy._, p. . 'there exists among them a regular aristocracy.' 'the chiefs are always of unquestionable birth, and generally count among their ancestors men who were famous in battle and council.' 'the chief is regarded with all the reverence and respect which his rank, his birth, and his wealth can claim,' but 'his power is by no means unlimited.' _bendel's alex. arch._, p. . [ ] _dunn's oregon_, pp. - , ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. ; _bendel's alex. arch._, p. ; _kane's wand._, p. . [ ] 'polygamy is universal, regulated simply by the facilities for subsistence.' _anderson_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . see pp. - , and vol. i., pp. - . the women 'cohabit almost promiscuously with their own tribe though rarely with other tribes.' poole, spending the night with a chief, was given the place of honor, under the same blanket with the chief's daughter--and her father. _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. - , - , . 'the indians are in general very jealous of their women.' _dixon's voy._, p. - . 'tous les individus d'une famille couchent pêle-mêle sur le sol plancheyé de l'habitation.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'soon after i had retired ... the chief paid me a visit to insist on my going to his bed-companion, and taking my place himself.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. . see pp. , - . _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'on the weddingday they have a public feast, at which they dance and sing.' _dunn's oregon_, pp. - , - . 'according to a custom of the bellabollahs, the widow of the deceased is transferred to his brother's harem.' _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. - . 'the temporary present of a wife is one of the greatest honours that can be shown there to a guest.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . [ ] 'the queen charlotte islanders surpass any people that i ever saw in passionate addiction' to gambling. _poole's q. char. isl._, p. - . see pp. - , - . _mackenzie's voy._, pp. , . the sebassas are great gamblers, and 'resemble the chinooks in their games.' _dunn's oregon_, pp. - , - , - , . 'the indian mode of dancing bears a strange resemblance to that in use among the chinese.' _poole's q. char. isl._, p. . _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. ; _ind. life_, p. . [ ] _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. ; _duncan_, in _mayne's b. c._, pp. - , and in _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - ; _white's oregon_, p. ; _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. ; _hutchings' cal. mag._, nov. , pp. - ; _ind. life_, p. ; _reed's nar._; _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . [ ] the indians of millbank sound became exasperated against me, 'and they gave me the name of "_schloapes_," i. e., "_stingy_:" and when near them, if i should spit, they would run and try to take up the spittle in something; for, according as they afterwards informed me, they intended to give it to their doctor or magician; and he would charm my life away.' _dunn's oregon_, pp. - . see pp. - ; _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. - . [ ] _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - , - ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. , - . [ ] _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. - , ; _anderson_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] at about ° ´, between the fraser river and the pacific, mackenzie observed the treatment of a man with a bad ulcer on his back. they blew on him and whistled, pressed their fingers on his stomach, put their fists into his mouth, and spouted water into his face. then he was carried into the woods, laid down in a clear spot, and a fire was built against his back while the doctor scarified the ulcer with a blunt instrument. _voy._, pp. - ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. , ; _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. - ; _duncan_, in _mayne's b. c._, - ; _reed's nar._, in _olympia wash. stand._, _may , _. [ ] at boca de quadra, vancouver found 'a box about three feet square, and a foot and a half deep, in which were the remains of a human skeleton, which appeared from the confused situation of the bones, either to have been cut to pieces, or thrust with great violence into this small space.' ... 'i was inclined to suppose that this mode of depositing their dead is practised only in respect to certain persons of their society.' _voy._, vol. ii., p. . at cape northumberland, in ° ´, 'was a kind of vault formed partly by the natural cavity of the rocks, and partly by the rude artists of the country. it was lined with boards, and contained some fragments of warlike implements, lying near a square box covered with mats and very curiously corded down.' _id._, p. ; _cornwallis' new el dorado_, pp. - . on queen charlotte islands, 'ces monumens sont de deux espèces: les premiers et les plus simples ne sont composés que d'un seul pilier d'environ dix pieds d'élévation et d'un pied de diamètre, sur le sommet duquel sont fixées des planches formant un plateau; et dans quelques-uns ce plateau est supporté par deux piliers. le corps, déposé sur cette plate-forme, est recouvert de mousse et de grosses pierres' ... 'les mausolées de la seconde espèce sont plus composés: quatre poteaux plantés en terre, et élevés de deux pieds seulement au-dessus du sol portent un sarcophage travaillé avec art, et hermétiquement clos.' _marchand_, _voy._, tom. ii., pp. - . 'according to another account it appeared that they actually bury their dead; and when another of the family dies, the remains of the person who was last interred, are taken from the grave and burned.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. . see also pp. , - ; _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., pp. - ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. , , ; _mayne's b. c._, pp. , ; _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - ; _dall's alaska_, p. . [ ] on the coast, at ° ´, vancouver found them 'civil, good-humoured and friendly.' at cascade canal, about ° ´, 'in traffic they proved themselves to be keen traders, but acted with the strictest honesty;' at point hopkins 'they all behaved very civilly and honestly;' while further north, at observatory inlet, 'in their countenances was expressed a degree of savage ferocity infinitely surpassing any thing of the sort i had before observed,' presents being scornfully rejected. _voy._, vol. ii., pp. , , , . the kitswinscolds on skeena river 'are represented as a very superior race, industrious, sober, cleanly, and peaceable.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the chimsyans are fiercer and more uncivilized than the indians of the south. _sproat's scenes_, p. . 'finer and fiercer men than the indians of the south.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . 'they appear to be of a friendly disposition, but they are subject to sudden gusts of passion, which are as quickly composed; and the transition is instantaneous, from violent irritation to the most tranquil demeanor. of the many tribes ... whom i have seen, these appear to be the most susceptible of civilization.' _mackenzie's voy._, p. , . at stewart's lake the natives, whenever there is any advantage to be gained are just as readily tempted to betray each other as to deceive the colonists. _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - , - ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . a kygarnie chief being asked to go to america or england, refused to go where even chiefs were slaves--that is, had duties to perform--while he at home was served by slaves and wives. the sebassas 'are more active and enterprising than the milbank tribes, but the greatest thieves and robbers on the coast.' _dunn's oregon_, p. , . 'all these visitors of fort simpson are turbulent and fierce. their broils, which are invariably attended with bloodshed, generally arise from the most trivial causes.' _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. . the kygarnies 'are very cleanly, fierce and daring.' the islanders, 'when they visit the mainland, they are bold and treacherous, and always ready for mischief.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . the kygarnies 'are a very fierce, treacherous race, and have not been improved by the rum and fire-arms sold to them.' _dall's alaska_, p. . queen charlotte islanders look upon white men as superior beings, but conceal the conviction. the skidagates are the most intelligent race upon the islands. wonderfully acute in reading character, yet clumsy in their own dissimulation.... 'not revengeful or blood-thirsty, except when smarting under injury or seeking to avert an imaginary wrong.' ... 'i never met with a really brave man among them.' the acoltas have 'given more trouble to the colonial government than any other along the coast.' _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. , - , - , , , , , , , - , , , - . 'of a cruel and treacherous disposition.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . they will stand up and fight englishmen with their fists. _sproat's scenes_, p. . intellectually superior to the puget sound tribes. _reed's nar._ 'mansos y de buena indole.' _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, s. iv., vol. vi., p. . on skeena river, 'the worst i have seen in all my travels.' _downie_, in _b. c. papers_, vol. iii., p. . 'as rogues, where all are rogues,' preëminence is awarded them. _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., pp. - . [ ] 'on my arrival at this inlet, i had honoured it with the name of king george's sound; but i afterward found, that it is called nootka by the natives.' _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., p. . 'no aht indian of the present day ever heard of such a name as nootkah, though most of them recognize the other words in cook's account of their language.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . sproat conjectures that the name may have come from _noochee! noochee!_ the aht word for mountain. a large proportion of geographical names originate in like manner through accident. [ ] for full particulars see tribal boundaries at end of this chapter. [ ] 'the newatees, mentioned in many books, are not known on the west coast. probably the klah-oh-quahts are meant.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . [ ] there are no indians in the interior. _fitzwilliam's evidence_, in _hud. b. co., rept. spec. com._, , p. . [ ] the same name is also applied to one of the _sound_ nations across the strait in washington. [ ] the teets or haitlins are called by the tacullies, '_sa-chinco_' strangers. _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., pp. - . [ ] sproat's division into nations, 'almost as distinct as the nations of europe' is into the quoquoulth (quackoll) or fort rupert, in the north and north-east; the kowitchan, or thongeith, on the east and south; aht on the west coast; and komux, a distinct tribe also on the east of vancouver. 'these tribes of the ahts are not confederated; and i have no other warrant for calling them a nation than the fact of their occupying adjacent territories, and having the same superstitions and language.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. - , . mayne makes by language four nations; the first including the cowitchen in the harbor and valley of the same name north of victoria, with the nanaimo and kwantlum indians about the mouth of the fraser river, and the songhies; the second comprising the comoux, nanoose, nimpkish, quawguult, etc., on vancouver, and the squawmisht, sechelt, clahoose, ucle-tah, mama-lil-a-culla, etc., on the main, and islands, between nanaimo and fort rupert; the third and fourth groups include the twenty-four west-coast tribes who speak two distinct languages, not named. _mayne's vanc. isl._, pp. - . grant's division gives four languages on vancouver, viz., the quackoll, from clayoquot sound north to c. scott, and thence s. to johnson's strait; the cowitchin, from johnson's strait to sanetch arm; the tsclallum, or clellum, from sanetch to soke, and on the opposite american shore; and the macaw, from patcheena to clayoquot sound. 'these four principal languages ... are totally distinct from each other, both in sound, formation, and modes of expression.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. . scouler attempts no division into nations or languages. _lond. geo. soc., jour._, vol. xi., pp. , . mofras singularly designates them as one nation of , souls, under the name of _ouakich_. _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . recent investigations have shown a somewhat different relationship of these languages, which i shall give more particularly in a subsequent volume. [ ] see _sproat's scenes_, pp. - , on the 'effects upon savages of intercourse with civilized men.' 'hitherto, ( ) in vancouver island, the tribes who have principally been in intercourse with the white man, have found it for their interest to keep up that intercourse in amity for the purposes of trade, and the white adventurers have been so few in number, that they have not at all interfered with the ordinary pursuits of the natives.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. . [ ] 'muy robustos y bien apersonados.' 'de mediana estatura, excepto los xefes cuya corpulencia se hace notar.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. , . 'the young princess was of low stature, very plump.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . macquilla, the chief was five feet eight inches, with square shoulders and muscular limbs; his son was five feet nine inches. _belcher's voy._, vol. i., pp. - . the seaboard tribes have 'not much physical strength.' _poole's q. char. isl._, p. . 'la gente dicen ser muy robusta.' _perez_, _rel. del viage, ms._, p. . 'leur taille est moyenne.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'in general, robust and well proportioned.' _meares' voy._, p. . under the common stature, pretty full and plump, but not muscular--never corpulent, old people lean--short neck and clumsy body; women nearly the same size as the men. _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'of smaller stature than the northern tribes; they are usually fatter and more muscular.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . in the north, among the clayoquots and quackolls, men are often met of five feet ten inches and over; on the south coast the stature varies from five feet three inches to five feet six inches. _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. . 'the men are in general from about five feet six to five feet eight inches in height; remarkably straight, of a good form, robust and strong.' only one dwarf was seen. _jewitt's nar._, pp. - . the klah-oh-quahts are 'as a tribe physically the finest. individuals may be found in all the tribes who reach a height of five feet eleven inches, and a weight of pounds, without much flesh on their bodies.' extreme average height: men, five feet six inches, women, five feet one-fourth inch. 'many of the men have well-shaped forms and limbs. none are corpulent.' 'the men generally have well-set, strong frames, and, if they had pluck and skill, could probably hold their own in a grapple with englishmen of the same stature.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . 'rather above the middle stature, copper-colored and of an athletic make.' _spark's life of ledyard_, p. ; _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. . 'spare muscular forms.' _barrett-lennard's trav._, pp. ; _gordon's hist. and geog. mem._, pp. - . [ ] limbs small, crooked, or ill-made; large feet; badly shaped, and projecting ankles from sitting so much on their hams and knees. _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'their limbs, though stout and athletic, are crooked and ill-shaped.' _meares' voy._, p. . 'ils ont les membres inférieures légèrement arqués, les chevilles très-saillantes, et la pointe des pieds tournée en dedans, difformité qui provient de la manière dont ils sont assis dans leurs canots.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., pp. - . 'stunted, and move with a lazy waddling gait.' _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. . 'skeleton shanks ... not much physical strength ... bow-legged--defects common to the seaboard tribes.' _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. - . all the females of the northwest coast are very short-limbed. 'raro es el que no tiene muy salientes los tobillos y las puntas de los pies inclinadas hácia dentro ... y una especie de entumecimiento que se advierte, particularmente en las mugeres.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. , , - . they have great strength in the fingers. _sproat's scenes_ p. . women, short-limbed, and toe in. _id._, p. ; _mayne's b. c._, pp. - . 'the limbs of both sexes are ill-formed, and the toes turned inwards.' 'the legs of the women, especially those of the slaves, are often swollen as if oedematous, so that the leg appears of an uniform thickness from the ankle to the calf,' from wearing a garter. _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . [ ] the different aht tribes vary in physiognomy somewhat--'faces of the chinese and spanish types may be seen.' 'the face of the ahts is rather broad and flat; the mouth and lips of both men and women are large, though to this there are exceptions, and the cheekbones are broad but not high. the skull is fairly shaped, the eyes small and long, deep set, in colour a lustreless inexpressive black, or very dark hazel, none being blue, grey, or brown.... one occasionally sees an indian with eyes distinctly chinese. the nose ... in some instances is remarkably well-shaped.' 'the teeth are regular, but stumpy, and are deficient in enamel at the points,' perhaps from eating sanded salmon. _sproat's scenes_, pp. , . 'their faces are large and full, their cheeks high and prominent, with small black eyes; their noses are broad and flat; their lips thick, and they have generally very fine teeth, and of the most brilliant whiteness.' _meares' voy._, pp. - ; _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . 'la fisonomia de estos (nitinats) era differente de la de los habitantes de nutka: tenian el cráneo de figura natural, los ojos chicos muy próximos, cargados los párpados.' many have a languid look, but few a stupid appearance. _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. , , - , . 'dull and inexpressive eye.' 'unprepossessing and stupid countenances.' _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. , . the wickinninish have 'a much less open and pleasing expression of countenance' than the klaizzarts. the newchemass 'were the most savage looking and ugly men that i ever saw.' 'the shape of the face is oval; the features are tolerably regular, the lips being thin and the teeth very white and even: their eyes are black but rather small, and the nose pretty well formed, being neither flat nor very prominent.' the women 'are in general very well-looking, and some quite handsome.' _jewitt's nar._, pp. , , . 'features that would have attracted notice for their delicacy and beauty, in those parts of the world where the qualities of the human form are best understood.' _meares' voy._, p. . face round and full, sometimes broad, with prominent cheek-bones ... falling in between the temples, the nose flattening at the base, wide nostrils and a rounded point ... forehead low; eyes small, black and languishing; mouth round, with large, round, thickish lips; teeth tolerably equal and well-set, but not very white. remarkable sameness, a dull phlegmatic want of expression; no pretensions to beauty among the women. _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. - . see portraits of nootkas in _belcher's voy._, vol. i., p. ; _cook's atlas_, pl. - ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, _atlas_; _whymper's alaska_, p. . 'long nose, high cheek bones, large ugly mouth, very long eyes, and foreheads villainously low.' 'the women of vancouver island have seldom or ever good features; they are almost invariably pug-nosed; they have however, frequently a pleasing expression, and there is no lack of intelligence in their dark hazel eyes.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., pp. - . 'though without any pretensions to beauty, could not be considered as disagreeable.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'have the common facial characteristics of low foreheads, high cheek-bones, aquiline noses, and large mouths.' 'among some of the tribes pretty women may be seen.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . [ ] 'her skin was clean, and being nearly white,' etc. _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'reddish brown, like that of a dirty copper kettle.' some, when washed, have 'almost a florid complexion.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., pp. , . 'brown, somewhat inclining to a copper cast.' the women are much whiter, 'many of them not being darker than those in some of the southern parts of europe.' the newchemass are much darker than the other tribes. _jewitt's nar._, pp. , . 'their complexion, though light, has more of a copper hue' than that of the haidahs. _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . 'skin white, with the clear complexion of europe.' _meares' voy._, p. . the color hard to tell on account of the paint, but in a few cases 'the whiteness of the skin appeared almost to equal that of europeans; though rather of that pale effete cast ... of our southern nations.... their children ... also equalled ours in whiteness.' _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., p. . 'their complexion is a dull brown,' darker than the haidahs. 'cook and meares probably mentioned exceptional cases.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . 'tan blancos como el mejor español.' _perez_, _rel. del viage, ms._, p. . 'por lo que se puede inferir del (color) de los niños, parece menos obscuro que el de los mexicanos,' but judging by the chiefs' daughters they are wholly white. _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . 'a dark, swarthy copper-coloured figure.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . they 'have lighter complexions than other aborigines of america.' _greenhow's hist. ogn._, p. . 'sallow complexion, verging towards copper colour.' _barrett-lennard's trav._, pp. - . copper-coloured. _spark's life of ledyard_, p. . [ ] 'the hair of the natives is never shaven from the head. it is black or dark brown, without gloss, coarse and lank, but not scanty, worn long.... slaves wear their hair short. now and then, but rarely, a light-haired native is seen. there is one woman in the opechisat tribe at alberni who had curly, or rather wavy, brown hair. few grey-haired men can be noticed in any tribe. the men's beards and whiskers are deficient, probably from the old alleged custom, now seldom practiced, of extirpating the hairs with small shells. several of the nootkah sound natives (moouchahts) have large moustaches and whiskers.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . 'el cabello es largo lacio y grueso, variando su color entre rubio, obscuro, castaño y negro. la barba sale á los mozos con la misma regularidad que á los de otros paises, y llega á ser en los ancianos tan poblada y larga como la de los turcos; pero los jóvenes parecen imberbes porque se la arrancan con los dedos, ó mas comunmente con pinzas formadas de pequeñas conchas.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - , . 'hair of the head is in great abundance, very coarse, and strong; and without a single exception, black, straight and lank.' no beards at all, or a small thin one on the chin, not from a natural defect, but from plucking. old men often have beards. eyebrows scanty and narrow. _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'neither beard, whisker, nor moustache ever adorns the face of the redskin.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; _jewitt's nar._, pp. , , . hair 'invariably either black or dark brown.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. ; _meares' voy._, p. ; _mayne's b. c._, pp. - ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. ; _spark's life of ledyard_, p. . [ ] _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. - ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - ; _sproat's scenes_, pp. - ; _meares' voy._, p. ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. ; _jewitt's nar._, pp. , , , , - ; _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. ; _mayne's b. c._, pp. - ; _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . [ ] _mayne's b. c._, pp. , , with cut of a child with bandaged head, and of a girl with a sugar-loaf head, measuring eighteen inches from the eyes to the summit. _sproat's scenes_, pp. - ; _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. ; _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. ; meares' voy., p. ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; vol. ii., p. , cut of three skulls of flattened, conical, and natural form; _kane's wand._, p. ; _jewitt's nar._, p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. ; _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. ; _gordon's hist. and geog. mem._, p. . [ ] at valdes island, 'the faces of some were made intirely white, some red, black, or lead colour.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., pp. , . at nuñez gaona bay, 'se pintan de encarnado y negro.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . at nootka sound, 'con esta grasa (de ballena) se untan todo el cuerpo, y despues se pintan con una especie de barniz compuesto de la misma grasa ó aceyte, y de almagre en términos que parece este su color natural.' chiefs only may paint in varied colors, plebeians being restricted to one.' _id._, pp. - . 'many of the females painting their faces on all occasions, but the men only at set periods.' vermilion is obtained by barter. black, their war and mourning color, is made by themselves. _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. . 'ces indiens enduisent leur corps d'huile de baleine, et se peignent avec des ocres.' chiefs only may wear different colors, and figures of animals. _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'rub their bodies constantly with a red paint, of a clayey or coarse ochry substance, mixed with oil.... their faces are often stained with a black, a brighter red, or a white colour, by way of ornament.... they also strew the brown martial mica upon the paint, which makes it glitter.' _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., p. . 'a line of vermilion extends from the centre of the forehead to the tip of the nose, and from this "trunk line" others radiate over and under the eyes and across the cheeks. between these red lines white and blue streaks alternately fill the interstices. a similar pattern ornaments chest, arms, and back, the frescoing being artistically arranged to give apparent width to the chest.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . 'they paint the face in hideous designs of black and red (the only colours used), and the parting of the hair is also coloured red.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . 'at great feasts the faces of the women are painted red with vermilion or berry-juice, and the men's faces are blackened with burnt wood. about the age of twenty-five the women cease to use paint.... some of the young men streak their faces with red, but grown-up men seldom now use paint, unless on particular occasions.... the leader of a war expedition is distinguished by a streaked visage from his black-faced followers.' _sproat's scenes_, p. - . the manner of painting is often a matter of whim. 'the most usual method is to paint the eye-brows black, in form of a half moon, and the face red in small squares, with the arms and legs and part of the body red; sometimes one half of the face is painted red in squares, and the other black; at others, dotted with red spots, or red and black instead of squares, with a variety of other devices, such as painting one half of the face and body red, and the other black.' _jewitt's nar._, p. ; _meares' voy._, p. ; _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. ; _spark's life of ledyard_, p. . [ ] 'the habit of tattooing the legs and arms is common to all the women of vancouver's island; the men do not adopt it.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. . 'no such practice as tattooing exists among these natives.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . 'the ornament on which they appear to set the most value, is the nose-jewel, if such an appellation may be given to the wooden stick, which some of them employ for this purpose.... i have seen them projecting not less than eight or nine inches beyond the face on each side; this is made fast or secured in its place by little wedges on each side of it.' _jewitt's nar._, pp. - , ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. - ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. , - ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. ; _whymper's alaska_, pp. , , with cut of mask. _mayne's b. c._, p. ; _kane's wand._, pp. - , and illustration of a hair medicine-cap. [ ] 'their cloaks, which are circular capes with a hole in the centre, edged with sea-otter skin, are constructed from the inner bark of the cypress. it turns the rain, is very soft and pliable,' etc. _belcher's voy._, vol. i., p. . the usual dress of the newchemass 'is a _kootsuck_ made of wolf skin, with a number of the tails attached to it ... hanging from the top to the bottom; though they sometimes wear a similar mantle of bark cloth, of a much coarser texture than that of nootka.' _jewitt's nar._, pp. - , - , - , - . 'their common dress is a flaxen garment, or mantle, ornamented on the upper edge by a narrow strip of fur, and at the lower edge, by fringes or tassels. it passes under the left arm, and is tied over the right shoulder, by a string before, and one behind, near its middle.... over this, which reaches below the knees, is worn a small cloak of the same substance, likewise fringed at the lower part.... their head is covered with a cap, of the figure of a truncated cone, or like a flower-pot, made of fine matting, having the top frequently ornamented with a round or pointed knob, or bunch of leathern tassels.' _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. - , - , . 'the men's dress is a blanket; the women's a strip of cloth, or shift, and blanket. the old costume of the natives was the same as at present, but the material was different.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. , . 'their clothing generally consists of skins,' but they have two other garments of bark or dog's hair. 'their garments of all kinds are worn mantlewise, and the borders of them are fringed' with wampum. _spark's life of ledyard_, pp. - ; _colyer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - , , - , - ; _meares' voy._, pp. - ; _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _whymper's alaska_, p. ; _greenhow's hist. ogn._, p. ; _macfie's van. isl._, pp. , ; _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . see portraits in _cook's atlas_, _belcher's voy._, _sutil y mexicana, atlas_, and _whymper's alaska._ [ ] on the east side of vancouver was a village of thirty-four houses, arranged in regular streets. the house of the leader 'was distinguished by three rafters of stout timber raised above the roof, according to the architecture of nootka, though much inferior to those i had there seen, in point of size.' bed-rooms were separated, and more decency observed than at nootka sound. _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., pp. - , with a view of this village; also pp. - , description of the village on desolation sound; p. , on valdes island; p. , view of village on bute canal; and vol. iii., pp. - , a peculiarity not noticed by cook--'immense pieces of timber which are raised, and horizontally placed on wooden pillars, about eighteen inches above the roof of the largest houses in that village; one of which pieces of timber was of a size sufficient to have made a lower mast for a third rate man of war.' see _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. , - , and _atlas_, plate . a sort of a duplicate inside building, with shorter posts, furnishes on its roof a stage, where all kinds of property and supplies are stored. _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . 'the planks or boards which they make use of for building their houses, and for other uses, they procure of different lengths, as occasion requires, by splitting them out, with hard wooden wedges from pine logs, and afterwards dubbing them down with their chizzels.' _jewitt's nar._, pp. - . grant states that the nootka houses are palisade inclosures formed of stakes or young fir-trees, some twelve or thirteen feet high, driven into the ground close together, roofed in with slabs of fir or cedar. _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. . the teets have palisaded enclosures. _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . 'the chief resides at the upper end, the proximity of his relatives to him being according to their degree of kindred.' _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - ; _dunn's oregon_, p. ; _belcher's voy._, vol. i., p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. , - , , - ; _seemann's voy. of herald_, vol. i., pp. - . the carved pillars are not regarded by the natives as idols in any sense. _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - , ; _barrett-lennard's trav._, pp. , - . some houses eighty by two hundred feet. _colyer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _mayne's b. c._, p. ; _gordon's hist. and geog. mem._, pp. - . [ ] 'their heads and their garments swarm with vermin, which, ... we used to see them pick off with great composure, and eat.' _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., p. . see also pp. - , - . 'their mode of living is very simple--their food consisting almost wholly of fish, or fish spawn fresh or dried, the blubber of the whale, seal, or sea-cow, muscles, clams, and berries of various kinds; all of which are eaten with a profusion of train oil.' _jewitt's nar._, pp. - , - , - , - , . _sproat's scenes_, pp. - , , , - , - . 'the common business of fishing for ordinary sustenance is carried on by slaves, or the lower class of people;--while the more noble occupation of killing the whale and hunting the sea-otter, is followed by none but the chiefs and warriors.' _meares' voy._, p. . 'they make use of the dried fucus giganteus, anointed with oil, for lines, in taking salmon and sea-otters.' _belcher's voy._, vol. i., pp. - . _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. , , - , - , , - , - ; _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., pp. - ; _mayne's b. c._, pp. - ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - ; _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., p. ; _pemberton's vanc. isl._, pp. - ; _dunn's oregon_, p. ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . the sau-kau-lutuck tribe 'are said to live on the edge of a lake, and subsist principally on deer and bear, and such fish as they can take in the lake.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - ; _barrett-lennard's trav._, pp. , - , - , - , - , - , - ; vol. ii., p. ; _cornwallis' new el dorado_, p. ; _forbes' vanc. isl._, pp. - ; _rattray's vanc. isl._, pp. - , - ; _hud. bay co., rept. spec. com._, , p. . [ ] _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. , , ; _jewitt's nar._, pp. - ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., p. . 'the native bow, like the canoe and paddle, is beautifully formed. it is generally made of yew or crab-apple wood, and is three and a half feet long, with about two inches at each end turned sharply backwards from the string. the string is a piece of dried seal-gut, deer-sinew, or twisted bark. the arrows are about thirty inches long, and are made of pine or cedar, tipped with six inches of serrated bone, or with two unbarbed bone or iron prongs. i have never seen an aht arrow with a barbed head.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . 'having now to a great extent discarded the use of the traditional tomahawk and spear. many of these weapons are, however, still preserved as heirlooms among them.' _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . 'no bows and arrows.' 'generally fight hand to hand, and not with missiles.' _fitzwilliam's evidence_, in _hud. bay co. rept._, , p. . [ ] the ahts 'do not take the scalp of the enemy, but cut off his head, by three dexterous movements of the knife ... and the warrior who has taken most heads is most praised and feared.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . 'scalp every one they kill.' _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. , , . one of the nootka princes assured the spaniards that the bravest captains ate human flesh before engaging in battle. _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . the nittinahts consider the heads of enemies slain in battle as _spolia opima_. _whymper's alaska_, pp. , ; _jewitt's nar._, pp. - ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - , , , , vol. ii., p. - . women keep watch during the night, and tell the exploits of their nation to keep awake. _meares' voy._, p. . _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. ; _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. ; _mayne's b. c._, p. ; _barrett-lennard's trav._, pp. - , - . [ ] 'they have no seats.... the rowers generally sit on their hams, but sometimes they make use of a kind of small stool.' _meares' voy._, pp. - . the larger canoes are used for sleeping and eating, being dry and more comfortable than the houses. _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. , , and _atlas_, pl. . 'the most skillful canoe-makers among the tribes are the nitinahts and the klah-oh-quahts. they make canoes for sale to other tribes.' 'the baling-dish of the canoes, is always of one shape--the shape of the gable-roof of a cottage.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. , - ; _mayne's b. c._, p. , and cut on title-page. canoes not in use are hauled up on the beach in front of their villages. _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. . 'they keep time to the stroke of the paddle with their songs.' _jewitt's nar._, pp. - , ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. , ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . their canoes 'are believed to supply the pattern after which clipper ships are built.' _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. , . _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . _colyer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. , , , , - . _sproat's scenes_, pp. - , ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - , which describes a painted and ornamented plate of native copper some one and a half by two and a half feet, kept with great care in a wooden case, also elaborately ornamented. it was the property of the tribe at fort rupert, and was highly prized, and only brought out on great occasions, though its use was not discovered. _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. . [ ] woolen cloths of all degrees of fineness, made by hand and worked in figures, by a method not known. _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., p. . _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. , ; _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. ; _sproat's scenes_, pp. - ; _jewitt's nar._, p. ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. , , - ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. ; _pemberton's vanc. isl._, p. ; _cornwallis' new el dorado_, pp. - . 'the implement used for weaving, (by the teets) differed in no apparent respect from the rude loom of the days of the pharaohs.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . [ ] _sproat's scenes_, pp. - , , , - ; _kane's wand._, pp. - ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. , ; _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., p. ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - ; _mayne's b. c._, - . [ ] _jewitt's nar._, pp. - ; _sproat's scenes_, pp. , , - , . before the adoption of blankets as a currency, they used small shells from the coast bays for coin, and they are still used by some of the more remote tribes. _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. . 'their acuteness in barter is remarkable.' _forbes' vanc. isl._, p. . [ ] the ahts 'divide the year into thirteen months, or rather moons, and begin with the one that pretty well answers to our november. at the same time, as their names are applied to each actual new moon as it appears, they are not, by half a month and more (sometimes), identical with our calendar months.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . 'las personas mas cultas dividen el año en catorce meses, y cada uno de estos en veinte dias, agregando luego algunos dias intercalares al fin de cada mes. el de julio, que ellos llaman _satz-tzi-mitl_, y es el primero de su año, á mas de sus veinte dias ordinarios tiene tantos intercalares quantos dura la abundancia de lenguados, atunes, etc.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - , ; _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., pp. , ; _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] 'they shew themselves ingenious sculptors. they not only preserve, with great exactness, the general character of their own faces, but finish the more minute parts, with a degree of accuracy in proportion, and neatness in execution.' _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. - , and _atlas_, pl. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - , vol. ii., pp. - , and cut, p. ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - , ; _mayne's b. c._, cut on p. . [ ] 'in an aht tribe of two hundred men, perhaps fifty possess various degrees of acquired or inherited rank; there may be about as many slaves; the remainder are independent members.' some of the klah-oh-quahts 'pay annually to their chief certain contributions, consisting of blankets, skins, etc.' 'a chief's "blue blood" avails not in a dispute with one of his own people; he must fight his battle like a common man.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. - , - , . cheslakees, a chief on johnson's strait, was inferior but not subordinate in authority to maquinna, the famous king at nootka sound, but the chief at loughborough's channel claimed to be under maquinna. _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., pp. , . 'la dignidad de tays es hereditaria de padres á hijos, y pasa regularmente á estos luego que estan en edad de gobernar, si los padres por ancianidad ú otras causas no pueden seguir mandando.' 'el gobierno de estos naturales puede llamarse patriarcal; pues el xefe de la nacion hace á un mismo tiempo los oficios de padre de familia, de rey y de sumo sacerdote.' 'los nobles gozan de tanta consideracion en nutka, que ni aun de palabra se atreven los tayses á reprehenderlos.' 'todos consideraban á este (maquinna) como soberano de las costas, desde la de buena esperanza hasta la punta de arrecifes, con todos los canales interiores.' to steal, or to know carnally a girl nine years old, is punished with death. _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. , , , , . 'there are such men as chiefs, who are distinguished by the name or title of _acweek_, and to whom the others are, in some measure, subordinate. but, i should guess, the authority of each of these great men extends no farther than the family to which he belongs.' _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'la forme de leur gouvernement est toute patriarcale, et la dignité de chef, héréditaire.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . several very populous villages to the northward, included in the territory of maquilla, the head chief, were entrusted to the government of the principal of his female relations. the whole government formed a political bond of union similar to the feudal system which formerly obtained in europe. _meares' voy._, pp. - . 'the king or head tyee, is their leader in war, in the management of which he is perfectly absolute. he is also president of their councils, which are almost always regulated by his opinion. but he has no kind of power over the property of his subjects.' _jewitt's nar._, pp. - , , , . _kane's wand._, pp. - . 'there is no code of laws, nor do the chiefs possess the power or means of maintaining a regular government; but their personal influence is nevertheless very great with their followers.' _douglas_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxiv., p. . [ ] 'usually kindly treated, eat of the same food, and live as well as their masters.' 'none but the king and chiefs have slaves.' 'maquinna had nearly fifty, male and female, in his house.' _jewitt's nar._, pp. - . meares states that slaves are occasionally sacrificed and feasted upon. _voy._, p. . the newettee tribe nearly exterminated by kidnappers. _dunn's oregon_, p. . 'an owner might bring half a dozen slaves out of his house and kill them publicly in a row without any notice being taken of the atrocity. but the slave, as a rule, is not harshly treated.' 'some of the smaller tribes at the north of the island are practically regarded as slave-breeding tribes, and are attacked periodically by stronger tribes.' the american shore of the strait is also a fruitful source of slaves. _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . 'they say that one flathead slave is worth more than two roundheads.' _rept. ind. aff._, , p. ; _mayne's b. c._, p. ; _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - , ; _kane's wand._, p. ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. , , - . [ ] 'the women go to bed first, and are up first in the morning to prepare breakfast,' p. . 'the condition of the aht women is not one of unseemly inferiority,' p. . 'their female relations act as midwives. there is no separate place for lying-in. the child, on being born, is rolled up in a mat among feathers.' 'they suckle one child till another comes,' p. . 'a girl who was known to have lost her virtue, lost with it one of her chances of a favourable marriage, and a chief ... would have put his daughter to death for such a lapse,' p. . in case of a separation, if the parties belong to different tribes, the children go with the mother, p. . 'no traces of the existence of polyandry among the ahts,' p. . the personal modesty of the aht women when young is much greater than that of the men, p. . _sproat's scenes_, pp. - , - , - , , , . one of the chiefs said that three was the number of wives permitted: 'como número necesario para no comunicar con la que estuviese en cinta.' 'muchos de ellos mueren sin casarse.' 'el tays no puede hacer uso de sus mugeres sin ver enteramente iluminado el disco de la luna.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - . women treated with no particular respect in any situation. _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., p. . persons of the same crest are not allowed to marry. 'the child again always takes the crest of the mother.' 'as a rule also, descent is traced from the mother, not from the father.' 'intrigue with the wives of men of other tribes is one of the commonest causes of quarrel among the indians.' _mayne's b. c._, pp. - , ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - . the women are 'very reserved and chaste.' _meares' voy._, pp. , , , ; _kane's wand._, pp. - . the indian woman, to sooth her child, makes use of a springy stick fixed obliquely in the ground to which the cradle is attached by a string, forming a convenient baby-jumper. _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. ; _pemberton's vanc. isl._, p. ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., pp. - . 'where there are no slaves in the tribe or family they perform all the drudgery of bringing firewood, water, &c.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., pp. - , . no intercourse between the newly married pair for a period of ten days, p. . 'perhaps in no part of the world is virtue more prized,' p. . _jewitt's nar._, pp. - , , - ; _cornwallis' new el dorado_, p. . [ ] 'when relieved from the presence of strangers, they have much easy and social conversation among themselves.' 'the conversation is frequently coarse and indecent.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . 'cantando y baylando al rededor de las hogueras, abandonándose á todos los excesos de la liviandad.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . [ ] _sproat's scenes_, pp. - ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . [ ] _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. ; _mayne's b. c._, pp. - ; _pemberton's vanc. isl._, p. ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. ; _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . [ ] _sproat's scenes_, p. . but lord says 'nothing can be done without it.' _nat._, vol. i., p. . [ ] the indian never invites any of the same crest as himself. _macfie's vanc. isl._, . 'they are very particular about whom they invite to their feasts, and, on great occasions, men and women feast separately, the women always taking the precedence.' _duncan_, in _mayne's b. c._, pp. - ; _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . [ ] _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - . [ ] 'i have never seen an indian woman dance at a feast, and believe it is seldom if ever done.' _mayne's b. c._, pp. - . the women generally 'form a separate circle, and chaunt and jump by themselves.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. . 'as a rule, the men and women do not dance together; when the men are dancing the women sing and beat time,' but there is a dance performed by both sexes. _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . 'on other occasions a male chief will invite a party of female guests to share his hospitality.' _macfie's vanc. isl._, p. . 'las mugeres baylan desayradisimamente; rara vez se prestan á esta diversion.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . [ ] 'la decencia obliga á pasar en silencio los bayles obscenos de los mischîmis (common people), especialmente el del impotente á causa de la edad, y el del pobre que no ha podido casarse.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - , ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - ; _sproat's scenes_, pp. - ; _mayne's b. c._, pp. - ; _jewitt's nar._, p. ; _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., p. ; _cornwallis' new el dorado_, pp. - . [ ] _jewitt's nar._, pp. , , - ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. iii., pp. - ; _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] their music is mostly grave and serious, and in exact concert, when sung by great numbers. 'variations numerous and expressive, and the cadence or melody powerfully soothing.' _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. - , . dislike european music. _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - . 'their tunes are generally soft and plaintive, and though not possessing great variety, are not deficient in harmony.' jewitt thinks the words of the songs may be borrowed from other tribes. _jewitt's nar._, p. , and specimen of war song, p. . airs consist of five or six bars, varying slightly, time being beaten in the middle of the bar. 'melody they have none, there is nothing soft, pleasing, or touching in their airs; they are not, however, without some degree of rude harmony.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xviii., p. . 'a certain beauty of natural expression in many of the native strains, if it were possible to relieve them from the monotony which is their fault.' there are old men, wandering minstrels, who sing war songs and beg. 'it is remarkable how aptly the natives catch and imitate songs heard from settlers or travelers.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . [ ] _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - ; _jewitt's nar._, p. . [ ] 'i have seen the sorcerers at work a hundred times, but they use so many charms, which appear to me ridiculous,--they sing, howl, and gesticulate in so extravagant a manner, and surround their office with such dread and mystery,--that i am quite unable to describe their performances,' pp. - . 'an unlucky dream will stop a sale, a treaty, a fishing, hunting, or war expedition,' p. . _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . a chief, offered a piece of tobacco for allowing his portrait to be made, said it was a small reward for risking his life. _kane's wand._, p. . shrewd individuals impose on their neighbors by pretending to receive a revelation, telling them where fish or berries are most abundant. description of initiatory ceremonies of the sorcerers. _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. , - , . _jewitt's nar._, pp. - . a brave prince goes to a distant lake, jumps from a high rock into the water, and rubs all the skin off his face with pieces of rough bark, amid the applause of his attendants. description of king's prayers, and ceremonies to bring rain. _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - , . candidates are thrown into a state of _mesmerism_ before their initiation. _'medicus'_, in _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. v., pp. - ; _barrett-lennard's trav._, pp. - ; _californias, noticias_, pp. - . [ ] they brought for sale 'human skulls, and hands not yet quite stripped of the flesh, which they made our people plainly understand they had eaten; and, indeed, some of them had evident marks that they had been upon the fire.' _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., p. . slaves are occasionally sacrificed and feasted upon. _meares' voy._, p. . 'no todos habian comido la carne humana, ni en todo tiempo, sino solamente los guerreros mas animosos quando se preparaban para salir á campaña.' 'parece indudable que estos salvages han sido antropófagos.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . 'at nootka sound, and at the sandwich islands, ledyard witnessed instances of cannibalism. in both places he saw human flesh prepared for food.' _spark's life of ledyard_, p. ; _cornwallis' new el dorado_, pp. - . 'cannibalism, all-though unknown among the indians of the columbia, is practised by the savages on the coast to the northward.' _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - . the cannibal ceremonies quoted by macfie and referred to vancouver island, probably were intended for the haidahs farther north. _vanc. isl._, p. . a slave as late as was drawn up and down a pole by a hook through the skin and tendons of the back, and afterwards devoured. _medicus_, in _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. v., p. . 'l'anthropophagie á été longtemps en usage ... et peut-être y existe-t-elle encore.... le chef maquina ... tuait un prisonnier à chaque lune nouvelle. tous les chefs étaient invités à cette horrible fête.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'it is not improbable that the suspicion that the nootkans are cannibals may be traced to the practice of some custom analagous to the _tzeet-tzaiak_ of the haeel tzuk.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., pp. - . 'the horrid practice of sacrificing a victim is not annual, but only occurs either once in three years or else at uncertain intervals.' _sproat's scenes_, p. . [ ] 'rheumatism and paralysis are rare maladies.' syphilis is probably indigenous. amputation, blood-letting, and metallic medicine not employed. medicines to produce love are numerous. 'young and old of both sexes are exposed when afflicted with lingering disease.' _sproat's scenes_, pp. - , , - . 'headache is cured by striking the part affected with small branches of the spruce tree.' doctors are generally chosen from men who have themselves suffered serious maladies. _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - . 'their cure for rheumatism or similar pains ... is by cutting or scarifying the part affected.' _jewitt's nar._, p. . they are sea sick on european vessels. _poole's q. char. isl._, p. . description of ceremonies. _swan_, in _mayne's b. c._, pp. - , . 'the patient is put to bed, and for the most part starved, lest the food should be consumed by his internal enemy.' 'the warm and steam bath is very frequently employed.' _medicus_, in _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. v., pp. - . [ ] the custom of burning or burying property is wholly confined to chiefs. 'night is their time for interring the dead.' buffoon tricks, with a feast and dance, formed part of the ceremony. _jewitt's nar._, pp. , - , . at valdes island, 'we saw two sepulchres built with plank about five feet in height, seven in length, and four in breadth. these boards were curiously perforated at the ends and sides, and the tops covered with loose pieces of plank;' inclosed evidently the relics of many different bodies. _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., pp. - . 'the coffin is usually an old canoe, lashed round and round, like an egyptian mummy-case.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . 'there is generally some grotesque figure painted on the outside of the box, or roughly sculptured out of wood and placed by the side of it. for some days after death the relatives burn salmon or venison before the tomb.' 'they will never mention the name of a dead man.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., pp. - . 'as a rule, the indians burn their dead, and then bury the ashes.' 'it was at one time not uncommon for indians to desert forever a lodge in which one of their family had died.' _mayne's b. c._, pp. - , with cut of graves. for thirty days after the funeral, dirges are chanted at sunrise and sunset. _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - . children frequently, but grown persons never, were found hanging in trees. _meares' voy._, p. ; _sproat's scenes_, pp. - . the bodies of chiefs are hung in trees on high mountains, while those of the commons are buried, that their souls may have a shorter journey to their residence in a future life. _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - . 'the indians never inter their dead,' and rarely burn them. _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . [ ] 'as light-fingered as any of the sandwich islanders. of a quiet, phlegmatic, and inactive disposition.' 'a docile, courteous, good-natured people ... but quick in resenting what they look upon as an injury; and, like most other passionate people, as soon forgetting it.' not curious; indolent; generally fair in trade, and would steal only such articles as they wanted for some purpose. _cook's voy. to pac._, vol. ii., pp. , - , etc. 'exceedingly hospitable in their own homes, ... lack neither courage nor intelligence.' _pemberton's vanc. isl._, p. . the kla-iz-zarts 'appear to be more civilized than any of the others.' the cayuquets are thought to be deficient in courage; and the kla-os-quates 'are a fierce, bold, and enterprizing people.' _jewitt's nar._, pp. - . 'civil and inoffensive' at horse sound. _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'their moral deformities are as great as their physical ones.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. . the nittinahts given to aggressive war, and consequently 'bear a bad reputation.' _whymper's alaska_, p. . not brave, and a slight repulse daunts them. 'sincere in his friendship, kind to his wife and children, and devotedly loyal to his own tribe,' p. . 'in sickness and approaching death, the savage always becomes melancholy,' p. . _sproat's scenes_, pp. , , , , - , - , , . 'comux and yucletah fellows very savage and uncivilized dogs,' and the nootkas not to be trusted. 'cruel, bloodthirsty, treacherous and cowardly.' _grant_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxvii., pp. , , , , . _mayne's b. c._, p. ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. , - , , , ; _poole's q. char. isl._, pp. - . the spaniards gave the nootkas a much better character than voyagers of other nations. _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. , - , - , , , , , - , - ; _forbes' vanc. isl._, p. ; _rattray's vanc. isl._, pp. - . the ucultas 'are a band of lawless pirates and robbers, levying black-mail on all the surrounding tribes.' _barrett-lennard's trav._, p. . 'bold and ferocious, sly and reserved, not easily provoked, but revengeful.' _spark's life of ledyard_, p. . the teets have 'all the vices of the coast tribes' with 'none of the redeeming qualities of the interior nations.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . [ ] 'those who came within our notice so nearly resembled the people of nootka, that the best delineation i can offer is a reference to the description of those people' (by cook), p. . at cape flattery they closely resembled those of nootka and spoke the same language, p. . at gray harbor they seemed to vary in little or no respect 'from those on the sound, and understood the nootka tongue', p. . 'the character and appearance of their several tribes here did not seem to differ in any material respect from each other,' p. . evidence that the country was once much more thickly peopled, p. . _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., pp. , , , ; vol. ii., p. . the chehalis come down as far as shoal-water bay. a band of klikatats (sahaptins) is spoken of near the head of the cowlitz. 'the makahs resemble the northwestern indians far more than their neighbors.' the lummi are a branch of the clallams. _rept. ind. aff._, , pp. - . the lummi 'traditions lead them to believe that they are descendants of a better race than common savages.' the semianmas 'are intermarried with the north band of the lummis, and cowegans, and quantlums.' the neuk-wers and siamanas are called stick indians, and in had never seen a white. 'the neuk-sacks (mountain men) trace from the salt water indians,' and 'are entirely different from the others.' 'the loomis appear to be more of a wandering class than the others about bellingham bay.' _id._, , pp. - . 'they can be divided into two classes--the salt-water and the stick indians.' _id._, , p. . of the nisquallies 'some live in the plains, and others on the banks of the sound.' the classets have been less affected than the chinooks by fever and ague. _dunn's oregon_, pp. - . the clallams speak a kindred language to that of the ahts. _sproat's scenes_, p. . 'el gobierno de estos naturales de la entrada y canales de fuca, la disposicion interior de las habitaciones las manufacturas y vestidos que usan son muy parecidos á los de los habitantes de nutka.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . the sound indians live in great dread of the northern tribes. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . the makahs deem themselves much superior to the tribes of the interior, because they go out on the ocean. _scammon_, in _overland monthly_, vol. vii., pp. - . the nooksaks are entirely distinct from the lummi, and some suppose them to have come from the clallam country. _coleman_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xxxix., p. . _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . [ ] at port discovery they 'seemed capable of enduring great fatigue.' 'their cheek-bones were high.' 'the oblique eye of the chinese was not uncommon.' 'their countenances wore an expression of wildness, and they had, in the opinion of some of us, a melancholy cast of features.' some of women would with difficulty be distinguished in colour from those of european race. the classet women 'were much better looking than those of other tribes.' portrait of a tatouche chief. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - , , - . 'all are bow-legged.' 'all of a sad-colored, caravaggio brown.' 'all have coarse, black hair, and are beardless.' _winthrop's canoe and saddle_, p. . 'tall and stout.' _maurelle's jour._, p. . sproat mentions a clallam slave who 'could see in the dark like a racoon.' _scenes_, p. . the classet 'cast of countenance is very different from that of the nootkians ... their complexion in also much fairer and their stature shorter.' _jewitt's nar._, p. . the nisqually indians 'are of very large stature; indeed, the largest i have met with on the continent. the women are particularly large and stout.' _kane's wand._, pp. , , . the nisquallies are by no means a large race, being from five feet five inches to five feet nine inches in height, and weighing from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and eighty pounds. _anderson_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . 'de rostro hermoso y da gallarda figura.' _navarrete_, in _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. xciv. the queniults, 'the finest-looking indians i had ever seen.' _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - . neuksacks stronger and more athletic than other tribes. many of the lummi 'very fair and have light hair.' _rept. ind. aff._, , p. ; _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. ; _morton's crania_, p. , with plate of cowlitz skull; _cornwallis' new el dorado_, p. ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. ; _murphy and harned_, _puget sound directory_, pp. - ; _clark's lights and shadows_, pp. - , - . [ ] 'less bedaubed with paint and less filthy' than the nootkas. at port discovery 'they wore ornaments, though none were observed in their noses.' at cape flattery the nose ornament was straight, instead of crescent-shaped, as among the nootkas. vancouver supposed their garments to be composed of dog's hair mixed with the wool of some wild animal, which he did not see. _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., pp. , , . at port discovery some had small brass bells hung in the rim of the ears, p. . some of the skagits were tattooed with lines on the arms and face, and fond of brass rings, pp. - . the classets 'wore small pieces of an iridescent mussel-shell, attached to the cartilage of their nose, which was in some, of the size of a ten cents piece, and triangular in shape. it is generally kept in motion by their breathing,' p. . _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - , , , , - , - . the conical hats and stout bodies 'brought to mind representations of siberian tribes.' _pickering's races_, in _idem._, vol. ix., p. . the clallams 'wear no clothing in summer.' faces daubed with red and white mud. illustration of head-flattening. _kane's wand._, pp. , , - , . _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., pp. - ; _rossi_, _souvenirs_, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _san francisco bulletin_, _may , _; _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _id._, , p. ; _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . above gray harbor they were dressed with red deer skins. _navarrete_, in _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. xciv: _cornwallis' new el dorado_, p. ; _winthrop's canoe and saddle_, p. - ; _murphy and harned_, in _puget sd. direct._, pp. - . [ ] the skagit tribe being exposed to attacks from the north, combine dwellings and fort, and build themselves 'enclosures, four hundred feet long, and capable of containing many families, which are constructed of pickets made of thick planks, about thirty feet high. the pickets are firmly fixed into the ground, the spaces between them being only sufficient to point a musket through.... the interior of the enclosure is divided into lodges,' p. . at port discovery the lodges were 'no more than a few rudely-cut slabs, covered in part by coarse mats,' p. . _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - , , . the clallams also have a fort of pickets one hundred and fifty feet square, roofed over and divided into compartments for families. 'there were about two hundred of the tribe in the fort at the time of my arrival.' 'the lodges are built of cedar like the chinook lodges, but much larger, some of them being sixty or seventy feet long.' _kane's wand._, pp. , , - . 'their houses are of considerable size, often fifty to one hundred feet in length, and strongly built.' _rept. ind. aff._, , pp. - . 'the planks forming the roof run the whole length of the building, being guttered to carry off the water, and sloping slightly to one end.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. - . well built lodges of timber and plank on whidbey island. _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., p. . at new dungeness, 'composed of nothing more than a few mats thrown over cross sticks;' and on puget sound 'constructed something after the fashion of a soldier's tent, by two cross sticks about five feet high, connected at each end by a ridge-pole from one to the other, over some of which was thrown a coarse kind of mat; over others a few loose branches of trees, shrubs or grass.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., pp. , . the queniults sometimes, but not always, whitewash the interior of their lodges with pipe-clay, and then paint figures of fishes and animals in red and black on the white surface. see description and cuts of exterior and interior of indian lodge in _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - , , ; _crane's top. mem._, p. ; _cornwallis' new el dorado_, p. ; _clark's lights and shadows_, p. . [ ] the nootsaks, 'like all inland tribes, they subsist principally by the chase.' _coleman_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xxxix., pp. , , ; _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . sturgeon abound weighing to pounds, and are taken by the clallams by means of a spear with a handle seventy to eighty feet long, while lying on the bottom of the river in spawning time. fish-hooks are made of cedar root with bone barbs. their only vegetables are the camas, wappatoo, and fern roots. _kane's wand._, pp. - , - , . at puget sound, 'men, women and children were busily engaged like swine, rooting up this beautiful verdant meadow in quest of a species of wild onion, and two other roots, which in appearance and taste greatly resembled the saranne.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., pp. , , . in fishing for salmon at port discovery 'they have two nets, the drawing and casting net, made of a silky grass,' 'or of the fibres of the roots of trees, or of the inner bark of the white cedar.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . 'the line is made either of kelp or the fibre of the cypress, and to it is attached an inflated bladder.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., p. . at port townsend, 'leurs provisions, consistaient en poisson séché au soleil ou boucané; ... tout rempli de sable.' _rossi_, _souvenirs_, pp. - , . the clallams 'live by fishing and hunting around their homes, and never pursue the whale and seal as do the sea-coast tribes.' _scammon_, in _overland monthly_, vol. vii., p. . the uthlecan or candle-fish is used on fuca strait for food as well as candles. _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . lamprey eels are dried for food and light by the nisquallies and chehalis. 'cammass root, ... stored in baskets. it is a kind of sweet squills, and about the size of a small onion. it is extremely abundant on the open prairies, and particularly on those which are overflowed by the small streams.' cut of salmon fishery, p. . 'hooks are made in an ingenious manner of the yew tree.' 'they are chiefly employed in trailing for fish.' cut of hooks, pp. - . the classets make a cut in the nose when a whale is taken. each seal-skin float has a different pattern painted on it, p. . _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - , , - , - . the chehalis live chiefly on salmon. _id._, vol. v., p. . according to swan the puget sound indians sometimes wander as far as shoalwater bay in chinook territory, in the spring. the queniult indians are fond of large barnacles, not eaten by the chinooks of shoalwater bay. cut of a sea-otter hunt. the indians never catch salmon with a _baited_ hook, but always use the hook as a _gaff_. _n. w. coast_, pp. , , , , , ; _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., pp. - , , - ; _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'they all depend upon fish, berries, and roots for a subsistence, and get their living with great ease.' _starling_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - . the makahs live 'by catching cod and halibut on the banks north and east of cape flattery.' _ind. aff. rept._ , p. . 'when in a state of semi-starvation the beast shows very plainly in them (stick indians): they are generally foul feeders, but at such a time they eat anything, and are disgusting in the extreme.' _id._, , p. ; _id._, , p. ; _cornwallis' new el dorado_, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - ; _hittell_, in _hesperian_, vol. iii., p. ; _winthrop's canoe and saddle_, pp. - ; _maurelle's jour._, p. . [ ] _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . at gray harbor the bows were somewhat more circular than elsewhere. _id._, vol. ii., p. ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. ; _kane's wand._, pp. - . [ ] _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. ; _kane's wand._, pp. - ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'they have been nearly annihilated by the hordes of northern savages that have infested, and do now, even at the present day, infest our own shores' for slaves. they had fire-arms before our tribes, thus gaining an advantage.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _clark's lights and shadows_, p. . [ ] _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'a single thread is wound over rollers at the top and bottom of a square frame, so as to form a continuous woof through which an alternate thread is carried by the hand, and pressed closely together by a sort of wooden comb; by turning the rollers every part of the woof is brought within reach of the weaver; by this means a bag formed, open at each end, which being cut down makes a square blanket.' _kane's wand._, pp. - . cuts showing the loom and process of weaving among the nootsaks, also house, canoes, and willow baskets. _coleman_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xxxix., pp. - . the clallams 'have a kind of cur with soft and long white hair, which they shear and mix with a little wool or the ravelings of old blankets.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . the makahs have 'blankets and capes made of the inner bark of the cedar, and edged with fur.' _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . the candle-fish 'furnishes the natives with their best oil, which is extracted by the very simple process of hanging it up, exposed to the sun, which in a few days seems to melt it away.' _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., p. . they 'manufacture some of their blankets from the wool of the wild goat.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . the queniults showed 'a blanket manufactured from the wool of mountain sheep, which are to be found on the precipitous slopes of the olympian mountains.' _alta california_, _feb. , _, quoted in _california farmer_, _july , _; _cornwallis' new el dorado_, p. ; _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] 'they present a model of which a white mechanic might well be proud.' description of method of making, and cuts of queniult, clallam, and cowlitz canoes, and a queniult paddle. _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - . at port orchard they 'exactly corresponded with the canoes of nootka,' while those of some visitors were 'cut off square at each end,' and like those seen below cape orford. at gray harbor the war canoes 'had a piece of wood rudely carved, perforated, and placed at each end, three feet above the gunwale; through these holes they are able to discharge their arrows.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. ; vol. ii., p. . the clallam boats were 'low and straight, and only adapted to the smoother interior waters.' _scammon_, in _overland monthly_, vol. vii., p. . cut showing nootsak canoes in _harper's mag._, vol. xxxix., p. . 'the sides are exceedingly thin, seldom exceeding three-fourths of an inch.' to mend the canoe when cracks occur, 'holes are made in the sides, through which withes are passed, and pegged in such a way that the strain will draw it tighter; the withe is then crossed, and the end secured in the same manner. when the tying is finished, the whole is pitched with the gum of the pine.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - . the clallams have 'a very large canoe of ruder shape and workmanship, being wide and shovel-nosed,' used for the transportation of baggage. _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. - ; _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., p. ; _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., pp. - ; _winthrop's canoe and saddle_, p. ; _clark's lights and shadows_, pp. - . [ ] _kane's wand._, pp. - ; _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _starling_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] 'ils obéissent à un chef, qui n'exerce son pouvoir qu'en temps de guerre.' _rossi_, _souvenirs_, p. . at gray harbor 'they appeared to be divided into three different tribes, or parties, each having one or two chiefs.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . wilkes met a squaw chief at nisqually, who 'seemed to exercise more authority than any that had been met with.' 'little or no distinction of rank seems to exist among them; the authority of the chiefs is no longer recognized.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. ; vol. v., p. . yellow-cum had become chief of the makahs from his own personal prowess. _kane's wand._, pp. - ; _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . [ ] _sproat's scenes_, p. ; _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., pp. - ; _kane's wand._, pp. - . the nooksaks 'have no slaves.' _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . it is said 'that the descendants of slaves obtain freedom at the expiration of three centuries.' _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] the makahs have some marriage ceremonies, 'such as going through the performance of taking the whale, manning a canoe, and throwing the harpoon into the bride's house.' _ind. aff. rept._, p. . the nooksak women 'are very industrious, and do most of the work, and procure the principal part of their sustenance.' _id._, , p. . 'the women have not the slightest pretension to virtue.' _id._, , p. ; _siwash nuptials_, in _olympia washington standard, july , _. in matters of trade the opinion of the women is always called in, and their decision decides the bargain. _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., p. . 'the whole burden of domestic occupation is thrown upon them.' cut of the native baby-jumper. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - , . at gray harbor they were not jealous. at port discovery they offered their children for sale. _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. ; vol. ii., pp. - . 'rarely having more than three or four' children. _swan's n. w. coast_, p. ; _clark's lights and shadows_, pp. - . [ ] _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. , ; _rossi_, _souvenirs_, pp. - ; _san francisco bulletin_, _may , ._ [ ] _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., pp. , . the lummi 'are a very superstitious tribe, and pretend to have traditions--legends handed down to them by their ancestors.' 'no persuasion or pay will induce them to kill an owl or eat a pheasant.' _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - ; _kane's wand._, pp. - , . no forms of salutation. _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., pp. - ; _winthrop's canoe and saddle_, pp. - . [ ] among the skagits 'dr. holmes saw an old man in the last stage of consumption, shivering from the effects of a cold bath at the temperature of ° fahrenheit. a favourite remedy in pulmonary consumption is to tie a rope tightly around the thorax, so as to force the diaphram to perform respiration without the aid of the thoracic muscles.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . among the clallams, to cure a girl of a disease of the side, after stripping the patient naked, the medicine-man, throwing off his blanket, 'commenced singing and gesticulating in the most violent manner, whilst the others kept time by beating with little sticks on hollow wooden bowls and drums, singing continually. after exercising himself in this manner for about half an hour, until the perspiration ran down his body, he darted suddenly upon the young woman, catching hold of her side with his teeth and shaking her for a few minutes, while the patient seemed to suffer great agony. he then relinquished his hold, and cried out that he had got it, at the same time holding his hands to his mouth; after which he plunged them in the water and pretended to hold down with great difficulty the disease which he had extracted.' _kane's wand._, pp. - . small-pox seemed very prevalent by which many had lost the sight of one eye. _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . to cure a cold in the face the queniults burned certain herbs to a cinder and mixing them with grease, anointed the face. _swan's n. w. coast_, p. . among the nooksaks mortality has not increased with civilization. 'as yet the only causes of any amount are consumption and the old diseases.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . at neah bay, 'a scrofulous affection pervades the whole tribe.' the old, sick and maimed are abandoned by their friends to die. _id._, , p. . [ ] slaves have no right to burial. _kane's wand._, p. . at a queniult burial place 'the different colored blankets and calicoes hung round gave the place an appearance of clothes hung out to dry on a washing day.' _swan's n. w. coast_, p. . at port orchard bodies were 'wrapped firmly in matting, beneath which was a white blanket, closely fastened round the body, and under this a covering of blue cotton.' at port discovery bodies 'are wrapped in mats and placed upon the ground in a sitting posture, and surrounded with stakes and pieces of plank to protect them.' on the cowlitz the burial canoes are painted with figures, and gifts are not deposited till several months after the funeral. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. , - , - . among the nisquallies bodies of relatives are sometimes disinterred at different places, washed, re-wrapped and buried again in one grave. _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'ornés de rubans de diverses couleurs, de dents de poissons, de chapelets et d'autres brimborions du goût des sauvages.' _rossi_, _souvenirs_, pp. - . on penn cove, in a deserted village, were found 'several sepulchres formed exactly like a centry box. some of them were open, and contained the skeletons of many young children tied up in baskets.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., pp. - , ; _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . a correspondent describes a flathead mummy from puget sound preserved in san francisco. 'the eye-balls are still round under the lid; the teeth, the muscles, and tendons perfect, the veins injected with some preserving liquid, the bowels, stomach and liver dried up, but not decayed, all perfectly preserved. the very blanket that entwines him, made of some threads of bark and saturated with a pitchy substance, is entire.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] 'their native bashfulness renders all squaws peculiarly sensitive to any public notice or ridicule.' probably the laziest people in the world. the mails are intrusted with safety to indian carriers, who are perfectly safe from interference on the part of any indian they may meet. _kane's wand._, p. - , - , , - . 'la mémoire locale et personelle du sauvage est admirable; il n'oublie jamais un endroit ni une personne.' nature seems to have given him memory to supply the want of intelligence. 'much inclined to vengeance. those having means may avert vengeance by payments.' _rossi_, _souvenirs_, pp. , - . 'perfectly indifferent to exposure; decency has no meaning in their language.' although always begging, they refuse to accept any article not in good condition, calling it _peeshaaak_, a term of contempt. _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., pp. - . murder of a spanish boat's crew in latitude ° ´. _maurelle's jour._, pp. , . 'cheerful and well disposed' at port orchard. at strait of fuca 'little more elevated in their moral qualities than the fuegians.' at nisqually, 'addicted to stealing.' 'vicious and exceedingly lazy, sleeping all day.' the skagits are catholics, and are more advanced than others in civilization. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. , , - , . both at gray harbor and puget sound they were uniformly civil and friendly, fair and honest in trade. each tribe claimed that 'the others were bad people and that the party questioned were the only good indians in the harbor.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. ; vol. ii., pp. - . 'the clallam tribe has always had a bad character, which their intercourse with shipping, and the introduction of whiskey, has by no means improved.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the superior courage of the makahs, as well as their treachery, will make them more difficult of management than most other tribes.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . the lummis and other tribes at bellingham bay have already abandoned their ancient barbarous habits, and have adopted those of civilization. _coleman_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xxxix., pp. - ; _simpson's overland journ._, vol. i., pp. - . 'the instincts of these people are of a very degraded character. they are filthy, cowardly, lazy, treacherous, drunken, avaricious, and much given to thieving. the women have not the slightest pretension to virtue.' the makahs 'are the most independent indians in my district--they and the quilleyutes, their near neighbors.' _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , ; _id._, , p. ; _id._, , p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _winthrop's canoe and saddle_, p. ; _cram's top. mem._, p. . [ ] perhaps the cascades might more properly be named as the boundary, since the region of the dalles, from the earliest records, has been the rendezvous for fishing, trading, and gambling purposes, of tribes from every part of the surrounding country, rather than the home of any particular nation. [ ] for details see tribal boundaries at the end of this chapter. the chinooks, clatsops, wakiakums and cathlamets, 'resembling each other in person, dress, language, and manners.' the chinooks and wakiakums were originally one tribe, and wakiakum was the name of the chief who seceded with his adherents. _irving's astoria_, pp. - . 'they may be regarded as the distinctive type of the tribes to the north of the oregon, for it is in them that the peculiarities of the population of these regions are seen in the most striking manner.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. - , . all the tribes about the mouth of the columbia 'appear to be descended from the same stock ... and resemble one another in language, dress, and habits.' _ross' adven._, pp. - . the cathleyacheyachs at the cascades differ but little from the chinooks. _id._, p. . scouler calls the columbia tribes _cathlascons_, and considers them 'intimately related to the kalapooiah family.' _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . the willamette tribes 'differ very little in their habits and modes of life, from those on the columbia river.' _hunter's cap._, p. . mofras makes _killimous_ a general name for all indians south of the columbia. _explor._, tom. ii., p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _cox's adven._, vol. ii., p. . the nechecolees on the willamette claimed an affinity with the eloots at the narrows of the columbia. the killamucks 'resemble in almost every particular the clatsops and chinnooks. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , . 'of the coast indians that i have seen there seems to be so little difference in their style of living that a description of one family will answer for the whole.' _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - . 'all the natives inhabiting the southern shore of the straits, and the deeply indented territory as far and including the tide-waters of the columbia, may be comprehended under the general term of chinooks.' _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] 'the race of the chenooks is nearly run. from a large and powerful tribe ... they have dwindled down to about a hundred individuals, ... and these are a depraved, licentious, drunken set.' _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - . the willopahs 'may be considered as extinct, a few women only remaining.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. ; _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; vol. ii., p. ; _de smet_, _missions de l'orégon_, pp. - ; _kane's wand._, pp. - , - ; _irving's astoria_, pp. - ; _fitzgerald's hud. b. co._, pp. - ; _hines' oregon_, pp. - , ; _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. ii., pp. - ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _palmer's jour._, pp. , ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - . 'in the wallamette valley, their favorite country, ... there are but few remnants left, and they are dispirited and broken-hearted.' _robertson's oregon_, p. . [ ] 'the personal appearance of the chinooks differs so much from that of the aboriginal tribes of the united states, that it was difficult at first to recognize the affinity.' _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . 'there are no two nations in europe so dissimilar as the tribes to the north and those to the south of the columbia.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. ; vol. ii., p. . 'thick set limbs,' north; 'slight,' south. _id._, vol. i., p. ; vol. ii., p. . 'very inferior in muscular power.' _id._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'among the ugliest of their race. they are below the middle size, with squat, clumsy forms.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. , . the men from five feet to five feet six inches high, with well-shaped limbs; the women six to eight inches shorter, with bandy legs, thick ankles, broad, flat feet, loose hanging breasts. _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - . 'a diminutive race, generally below five feet five inches, with crooked legs and thick ankles.' 'broad, flat feet.' _irving's astoria_, pp. , . 'but not deficient in strength or activity.' _nicolay's oregon_, p. . men 'stout, muscular and strong, but not tall;' women 'of the middle size, but very stout and flabby, with short necks and shapeless limbs.' _ross' adven._, pp. - . at cape orford none exceed five feet six inches; 'tolerably well limbed, though slender in their persons.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . the willamette tribes were somewhat larger and better shaped than those of the columbia and the coast. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , - , , . _hunter's cap._, pp. - ; _hines' voy._, pp. , . 'persons of the men generally are rather symmetrical; their stature is low, with light sinewy limbs, and remarkably small, delicate hands. the women are usually more rotund, and, in some instances, even approach obesity.' _townsend's nar._, p. . 'many not even five feet.' _franchère's nar._, pp. - . can endure cold, but not fatigue; sharp sight and hearing, but obtuse smell and taste. 'the women are uncouth, and from a combination of causes appear old at an early age. _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - . 'the indians north of the columbia are, for the most part good-looking, robust men, some of them having fine, symmetrical, forms. they have been represented as diminutive, with crooked legs and uncouth features. this is not correct; but, as a general rule, the direct reverse is the truth.' _swan's n. w. coast_, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - . [ ] the following terms applied to chinook complexion are taken from the authors quoted in the preceding note: 'copper-colored brown;' 'light copper color;' 'light olive;' 'fair complexion.' 'not dark' when young. 'rough tanned skins.' 'dingy copper.' 'fairer' than eastern indians. fairer on the coast than on the columbia. half-breeds partake of the swarthy hue of their mothers. [ ] 'the cheenook cranium, even when not flattened, is long and narrow, compressed laterally, keel-shaped, like the skull of the esquimaux.' broad and high cheek-bones, with a receding forehead.' _scouler_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . 'skulls ... totally devoid of any peculiar development.' nose flat, nostrils distended, short irregular teeth; eyes black, piercing and treacherous. _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. , . 'broad faces, low foreheads, lank black hair, wide mouths.' 'flat noses, and eyes turned obliquely upward at the outer corner.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. , . 'faces are round, with small, but animated eyes. their noses are broad and flat at the top, and fleshy at the end, with large nostrils.' _irving's astoria_, p. . portraits of two calapooya indians. _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . south of the columbia they have 'long faces, thin lips,' but the calapooyas in willamette valley have 'broad faces, low foreheads,' and the chinooks have 'a wide face, flat nose, and eyes turned obliquely outwards.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. ; vol. ii., pp. - . 'dull phlegmatic want of expression' common to all adults. _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . women 'well-featured,' with 'light hair, and prominent eyes.' _ross' adven._, pp. - . 'their features rather partook of the general european character.' hair long and black, clean and neatly combed. _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'women have, in general, handsome faces.' 'there are rare instances of high aquiline noses; the eyes are generally black,' but sometimes 'of a dark yellowish brown, with a black pupil.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , - . the men carefully eradicate every vestige of a beard. _dunn's oregon_, p. . 'the features of many are regular, though often devoid of expression.' _townsend's nar._, p. . 'pluck out the beard at its first appearance.' _kane's wand._, p. . portrait of chief, p. . 'a few of the old men only suffer a tuft to grow upon their chins.' _franchère's nar._, p. . one of the clatsops 'had the reddest hair i ever saw, and a fair skin, much freckled.' _gass' jour._, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . for descriptions and plates of chinook skulls see _morton's crania_, pp. - ; pl. - , , , and _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] 'practiced by at least ten or twelve distinct tribes of the lower country.' _townsend's nar._, pp. - . 'on the coast it is limited to a space of about one hundred and seventy miles, extending between cape flattery and cape look-out. inland, it extends up the columbia to the first rapids, or one hundred and forty miles, and is checked at the falls on the wallamette.' _belcher's voy._, vol. i., p. . the custom 'prevails among all the nations we have seen west of the rocky mountains,' but 'diminishes in receding eastward.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . 'the indians at the dalles do not distort the head.' _kane's wand._, pp. , - . 'the chinooks are the most distinguished for their attachment to this singular usage.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . the tribes from the columbia river to millbank sound flatten the forehead, also the yakimas and klikitats of the interior. _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - , . 'the practice prevails, generally, from the mouth of the columbia to the dalles, about one hundred and eighty miles, and from the straits of fuca on the north, to coos bay.... northward of the straits it diminishes gradually to a mere slight compression, finally confined to women, and abandoned entirely north of milbank sound. so east of the cascade mountains, it dies out in like manner.' _gibbs_, in _nott and gliddon's indig. races_, p. . 'none but such as are of noble birth are allowed to flatten their skulls.' _gray's hist. ogn._, p. . [ ] all authors who mention the chinooks have something to say of this custom; the following give some description of the process and its effects, containing, however, no points not included in that given above. _dunn's oregon_, pp. - , - ; _ross' adven._, pp. - ; _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - , with cut; _chamber's jour._, vol. x., pp. - ; _belcher's voy._, vol. i., pp. - , with cuts; _townsend's nar._, pp. - ; _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. ; _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _irving's astoria_, p. ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., p. ; _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., pp. - , with plate. females remain longer than the boys. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , . 'not so great a deformity as is generally supposed.' _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - , - . 'looking with contempt even upon the white for having round heads.' _kane's wand._, p. , , cut. 'as a general thing the tribes that have followed the practice of flattening the skull are inferior in intellect, less stirring and enterprising in their habits, and far more degraded in their morals than other tribes.' _gray's hist. ogn._, p. . mr. gray is the only authority i have seen for this injurious effect, except domenech, who pronounces the flat-heads more subject to apoplexy than others. _deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _gass' jour._, pp. - ; _brownell's ind. races_, pp. - ; _morton's crania am._, pp. - , cut of cradle and of skulls; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., pp. - , _atlas_, pl. ; _foster's pre-hist. races_, pp. - , , with cut; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_ p. ; _wilson_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] the multnomah women's hair 'is most commonly braided into two tresses falling over each ear in front of the body.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - , , - , - . the clackamas 'tattoo themselves below the mouth, which gives a light blue appearance to the countenance.' _kane's wand._, pp. , - , . at cape orford 'they seemed to prefer the comforts of cleanliness to the painting of their bodies.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . on the columbia 'in the decoration of their persons they surpassed all the other tribes with paints of different colours, feathers and other ornaments.' _id._, vol. ii., p. . 'ils mettent toute leur vanité dans leurs colliers et leurs pendants d'oreilles.' _de smet_, _miss. de l'orégon_, p. . 'some of these girls i have seen with the whole rim of their ears bored full of holes, into each of which would be inserted a string of these shells that reached to the floor, and the whole weighing so heavy that to save their ears from being pulled off they were obliged to wear a band across the top of the head.' 'i never have seen either men or women put oil or grease of any kind on their bodies.' _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. , - . see _dunn's oregon_, pp. , - ; _cox's adven._, pp. - ; _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. ; _irving's astoria_, pp. - ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _franchère's nar._, p. . [ ] 'these robes are in general, composed of the skins of a small animal, which we have supposed to be the brown mungo.' 'sometimes they have a blanket woven with the fingers, from the wool of their native sheep.' every part of the body but the back and shoulders is exposed to view. the nechecolies had 'larger and longer robes, which are generally of deer skin dressed in the hair.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , - , , - , . 'i have often seen them going about, half naked, when the thermometer ranged between ° and °, and their children barefooted and barelegged in the snow.' 'the lower indians do not dress as well, nor with as good taste, as the upper.' _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - . the fringed skirt 'is still used by old women, and by all the females when they are at work in the water, and is called by them their _siwash coat_.' _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - . _ross' adven._, pp. - ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. - , - , ; _townsend's nar._, p. ; _kane's wand._, pp. - ; _franchère's nar._, pp. - . the conical cap reminded pickering of the siberian tribes. _races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., pp. , ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - , - ; _hines' voy._, p. . collars of bears' claws, for the men, and elks' tusks for the women and children. _irving's astoria_, pp. - ; _gass' jour._, pp. , - , - , , , , . [ ] 'their houses seemed to be more comfortable than those at nootka, the roof having a greater inclination, and the planking being thatched over with the bark of trees. the entrance is through a hole, in a broad plank, covered in such a manner as to resemble the face of a man, the mouth serving the purpose of a door-way. the fire-place is sunk into the earth, and confined from spreading above by a wooden frame.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . emmons, in _schoolcraft's archives_, vol. iii., p. , speaks of a palisade enclosure ten or fifteen feet high, with a covered way to the river. 'the indian huts on the banks of the columbia are, for the most part, constructed of the bark of trees, pine branches, and brambles, which are sometimes covered with skins or rags.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . but 'the chinooks build their houses of thick and broad planks,' etc. _id._ lewis and clarke saw a house in the willamette valley two hundred and twenty-six feet long, divided into two ranges of large apartments separated by a narrow alley four feet wide. _travels_, pp. - , , - , - , , . the door is a piece of board 'which hangs loose by a string, like a sort of pendulum,' and is self-closing. _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - . 'the tribes near the coast remove less frequently than those of the interior.' _california, past, present and future_, p. . 'i never saw more than four fires, or above eighty persons--slaves and all--in the largest house.' _ross' adven._, pp. - ; _palmer's jour._, pp. , ; _irving's astoria_, p. ; _nicolay's ogn._, pp. , - ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., p. , from _lewis and clarke_; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - , from _lewis and clarke_; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - , - , ; _franchère's nar._, pp. - ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; _townsend's nar._, p. ; _kane's wand._, pp. - ; _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. , - ; _strickland's hist. missions_, pp. - . [ ] 'in the summer they resort to the principal rivers and the sea coast, ... retiring to the smaller rivers of the interior during the cold season.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. bay_, p. . all small fish are driven into the small coves or shallow waters, 'when a number of indians in canoes continue splashing the water; while others sink branches of pine. the fish are then taken easily out with scoops or wicker baskets.' _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., pp. , - , - , - . fish 'are not eaten till they become soft from keeping, when they are mashed with water.' in the willamette valley they raised corn, beans, and squashes. _hunter's cap._, pp. - . a 'sturgeon, though weighing upwards of three hundred pounds, is, by the single effort of one indian, jerked into the boat'! _dunn's oregon_, pp. , - , , - . the umpquas, to cook salmon, 'all provided themselves with sticks about three feet long, pointed at one end and split at the other. they then apportioned the salmon, each one taking a large piece, and filling it with splinters to prevent its falling to pieces when cooking, which they fastened with great care, into the forked end of the stick; ... then placing themselves around the fire so as to describe a circle, they stuck the pointed end of the stick into the ground, a short distance from the fire, inclining the top towards the flames, so as to bring the salmon in contact with the heat, thus forming a kind of pyramid of salmon over the whole fire.' _hines' voy._, p. ; _id. ogn._, p. . 'there are some articles of food which are mashed by the teeth before being boiled or roasted; this mastication is performed by the women.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. , , - . 'the salmon in this country are never caught with a (baited) hook.' _wilkes' hist. ogn._, p. . 'turbot and flounders are caught (at shoalwater bay) while wading in the water, by means of the feet.' _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. , , - , , - , with cuts. on food, see _ross' adven._, vol. i., pp. - , , - ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - , - ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - , , , - , , ; _wells_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xiii., pp. - , with cuts; _nicolay's ogn._, pp. , - ; _palmer's jour._, pp. , ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. ; _irving's astoria_, pp. , ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., p. - ; vol. ii., pp. - ; _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. ; _abbott_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. vi., p. ; _ind. life_, p. ; _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. ; _kane's wand._, pp. - ; _franchère's nar._, pp. - ; _gass' jour._, pp. , - , - ; _fédix_, _l'orégon_, pp. - ; _stanley's portraits_, pp. - . [ ] for description of the various roots and berries used by the chinooks as food, see _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - . [ ] the multnomahs 'are very fond of cold, hot, and vapour baths, which are used at all seasons, and for the purpose of health as well as pleasure. they, however, add a species of bath peculiar to themselves, by washing the whole body with urine every morning.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , . eat insects from each other's head, for the animals bite them, and they claim the right to bite back. _kane's wand._, pp. - . [ ] _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - ; vol. ii., p. ; _irving's astoria_, pp. , ; _ross' adven._, p. ; _kane's wand._, p. ; _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. , pl. ½; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - , ; _hines' ogn._, p. ; _franchère's nar._, p. ; _emmons_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. - , - , . [ ] 'when the conflict is postponed till the next day, ... they keep up frightful cries all night long, and, when they are sufficiently near to understand each other, defy one another by menaces, railleries, and sarcasms, like the heroes of homer and virgil.' _franchère's nar._, pp. - ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - ; _dunn's oregon_, p. ; _irving's astoria_, pp. - ; _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., pp. , - ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _stanley's portraits_, pp. - ; _foster's pre-hist. races_, p. . [ ] pickering makes 'the substitution of the water-proof basket, for the square wooden bucket of the straits' the chief difference between this and the sound family. _races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. ; _emmons_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _ross' adven._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. , ; _franchère's nar._, pp. - ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. , pl. ½, showing cradle, ladles, wapato diggers, _pautomaugons_, or war clubs and pipes. _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - ; _kane's wand._, pp. - , - . [ ] _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. . [ ] _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - . 'hollowed out of the cedar by fire, and smoothed off with stone axes.' _kane's wand._, p. . at cape orford 'their shape much resembled that of a butcher's tray.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., p. . 'a human face or a white-headed eagle, as large as life, carved on the prow, and raised high in front.' _ross' adven._, pp. - . 'in landing they put the canoe round, so as to strike the beach stern on.' _franchère's nar._, p. . 'the larger canoes on the columbia are sometimes propelled by short oars.' _emmons_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'finest canoes in the world.' _wilkes' hist. ogn._, p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - , with cuts; _irving's astoria_, pp. , ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - ; _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. - ; _brownell's ind. races_, pp. - ; _gass' jour._, p. . [ ] dried and pounded salmon, prepared by a method not understood except at the falls, formed a prominent article of commerce, both with coast and interior nations. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - , . a fathom of the largest hiaqua shells is worth about ten beaver-skins. a dying man gave his property to his intimate friends 'with a promise on their part to restore them if he recovered.' _franchère's nar._, pp. - , ; _ross' adven._, pp. - , - ; _swan's n. w. coast_, p. ; _irving's astoria_, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., p. ; _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., p. ; _kane's wand._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _gass' jour._, p. ; _morton's crania am._, pp. - ; _fédix_, _l'orégon_, pp. - . [ ] have no idea of drawing maps on the sand. 'their powers of computation ... are very limited.' _emmons_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. , ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. ; _ross' adven._, pp. - , ; _kane's wand._, p. . [ ] the willamette tribes, nine in number, were under four principal chiefs. _ross' adven._, pp. - , , . casanov, a famous chief at fort vancouver employed a hired assassin to remove obnoxious persons. _kane's wand._, pp. - ; _franchère's nar._, p. ; _irving's astoria_, pp. , ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . [ ] 'live in the same dwelling with their masters, and often intermarry with those who are free.' _parker's explor. tour_, pp. , . 'treat them with humanity while their services are useful.' _franchère's nar._, p. . treated with great severity. _kane's wand._, pp. - ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. ; _ross' adven._, pp. - ; _irving's astoria_, p. ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _fitzgerald's hud. b. co._, pp. - ; _stanley's portraits_, pp. - . [ ] _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. , ; _emmons_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. - . 'in proportion as we approach the rapids from the sea, female impurity becomes less perceptible; beyond this point it entirely ceases.' _cox's adven._, vol. ii., pp. , ; vol. i., pp. - , ; _wells_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xiii., p. ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - . ceremonies of a widow in her endeavors to obtain a new husband. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. ; _ross' adven._, pp. , - ; _franchère's nar._, pp. , - ; _hunter's cap._, p. ; _hines' voy._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. , - ; _irving's astoria_, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - ; _kane's wand._, pp. - , ; _gass' jour._, p. ; _strickland's hist. missions_, pp. - . [ ] 'i saw neither musical instruments, nor dancing, among the oregon tribes.' _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . 'all extravagantly fond of ardent spirits, and are not particular what kind they have, provided it is strong, and gets them drunk quickly.' _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - , - . 'not addicted to intemperance.' _franchère's nar._, p. . at gambling 'they will cheat if they can, and pride themselves on their success.' _kane's wand._, pp. , . seldom cheat, and submit to their losses with resignation. _cox's adven._, vol. i., p. ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , - ; _wells_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xiii., p. , and cut of dance at coos bay; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - ; vol. v., p. ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., pp. - , - ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - , , - , - ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _irving's astoria_, p. ; _palmer's jour._, p. . [ ] _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. ; _gass' jour._, pp. , ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _kane's wand._, pp. , - ; _swan's n. w. coast_, p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . [ ] doctors, if unsuccessful, are sometimes subjected to rough treatment, but rarely killed, except when they have previously threatened the life of the patient. _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - . at the dalles an old woman, whose incantations had caused a fatal sickness, was beheaded by a brother of the deceased. _ind. life_, pp. - , - . whole tribes have been almost exterminated by the small-pox. _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , . venereal disease prevalent, and a complete cure is never effected. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , . generally succeed in curing venereal disease even in its worst stage. _ross' adven._, pp. - . the unsuccessful doctor killed, unless able to buy his life. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . flatheads more subject to apoplexy than others. _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., p. - , , - , , vol. ii., pp. - ; _townsend's nar._, pp. , - ; _franchère's nar._, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - , ; _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. ii., p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. , - ; _fitzgerald's hud. b. co._, pp. - ; _strickland's hist. missions_, pp. - . [ ] a chief on the death of his daughter 'had an indian slave bound hand and foot, and fastened to the body of the deceased, and enclosed the two in another mat, leaving out the head of the living one. the indian then took the canoe and carried it to a high rock and left it there. their custom is to let the slave live for three days; then another slave is compelled to strangle the victim by a cord.' _letter_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. . see also vol. iii., pp. - ; vol. vi., pp. - , with plate; vol. v., p. . 'the emblem of a squaw's grave is generally a camass-root digger, made of a deer's horns, and fastened on the end of a stick.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., pp. - , vol. iv., p. . 'i believe i saw as many as an hundred canoes at one burying place of the chinooks.' _gass' jour._, p. . 'four stakes, interlaced with twigs and covered with brush,' filled with dead bodies. _abbott_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. vi., p. . at coos bay, 'formerly the body was burned, and the wife of the corpse killed and interred.' now the body is sprinkled with sand and ashes, the ankles are bent up and fastened to the neck; relatives shave their heads and put the hair on the body with shells and roots, and the corpse is then buried and trampled on by the whole tribe. _wells_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xiii., p. . 'the canoe-coffins were decorated with rude carved work.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . strangers are paid to join in the lamentations. _ross' adven._, p. . children who die during the head-flattening process are set afloat in their cradles upon the surface of some sacred pool, where the bodies of the old are also placed in their canoes. _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. . on burial and mourning see also, _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. - , , - , with cut of canoe on platform. _mofras' explor._, vol. ii., p. , and pl. of _atlas_; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , , ; _kane's wand._, pp. - , , - ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - , - , vol. ii., p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. , - ; _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., pp. - , vol. ii., p. ; _belcher's voy._, vol. i., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - , - ; _nicolay's ogn. ter._, pp. - ; _fremont's ogn. and cal._, p. ; _irving's astoria_, p. ; _franchère's nar._, p. ; _palmer's jour._, p. ; _ind. life_, p. ; _townsend's nar._, p. . [ ] 'the clumsy thief, who is detected, is scoffed at and despised.' _dunn's oregon_, pp. - , . 'the kalapuya, like the umkwa, ... are more regular and quiet' than the inland tribes, 'and more cleanly, honest and moral than the' coast tribes. the chinooks are a quarrelsome, thievish, and treacherous people. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. , , , . 'a rascally, thieving set.' _gass' jour._, p. . 'when well treated, kind and hospitable.' _swan's n. w. coast_, pp. , , . at cape orford 'pleasing and courteous deportment ... scrupulously honest.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. i., pp. - . laziness is probably induced by the ease with which they obtain food. _kane's wand._, pp. , . 'crafty and intriguing.' easily irritated, but a trifle will appease him. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. , - , , , - , - , - . 'they possess in an eminent degree, the qualities opposed to indolence, improvidence, and stupidity: the chiefs above all, are distinguished for their good sense and intelligence. generally speaking, they have a ready intellect and a tenacious memory.' 'rarely resist the temptation of stealing' white men's goods. _franchère's nar._, pp. - , . loquacious, never gay, knavish, impertinent. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , - , , - . 'thorough-bred hypocrites and liars.' 'the killymucks the most roguish.' industry, patience, sobriety and ingenuity are their chief virtues; thieving, lying, incontinence, gambling and cruelty may be classed among their vices. _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. , , - , , - , , vol. ii., p. . at wishiam 'they were a community of arrant rogues and freebooters.' _irving's astoria_, pp. , . 'lying is very common; thieving comparatively rare.' _white's ogn._, p. . 'do not appear to possess a particle of natural good feeling.' _townsend's nar._, p. . at coos bay 'by no means the fierce and warlike race found further to the northward.' _wells_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xiii., p. . umqua and coose tribes are naturally industrious; the suislaws the most advanced; the alcea not so enterprising. _sykes_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . calapooias, a poor, cowardly, and thievish race. _miller_, in _id._, , p. ; _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., pp. , ; _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. ; _palmer's jour._, pp. , ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - ; _ind. life_, pp. - , ; _fitzgerald's vanc. isl._, p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. , etc. [ ] 'they all resemble each other in general characteristics.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . shushwaps and salish all one race. _mayne's b. c._, p. - . 'the indians of the interior are, both physically and morally, vastly superior to the tribes of the coast.' _id._, p. . 'the kliketat near mount rainier, the walla-wallas, and the okanagan ... speak kindred dialects.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . the best-supported opinion is that the inland were of the same original stock with the lower tribes. _dunn's oregon_, p. . 'on leaving the verge of the carrier country, near alexandria, a marked change is at once perceptible.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . inland tribes differ widely from the piscatorial tribes. _ross' adven._, p. . 'those residing near the rocky mountains ... are and always have been superior races to those living on the lower columbia.' _alvord_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'i was particularly struck with their vast superiority (on the similkameen river, lat. ° ´, long. ° ´) in point of intelligence and energy to the fish indians on the fraser river, and in its neighbourhood.' _palmer_, in _b. c. papers_, vol. iii., p. . striking contrast noted in passing up the columbia. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . [ ] 'the shewhapmuch ... who compose a large branch of the saeliss family,' known as _nicute-much_--corrupted by the canadians into couteaux--below the junction of the fraser and thompson. _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. - . atnahs is their name in the takali language, and signifies 'strangers.' 'differ so little from their southern neighbors, the salish, as to render a particular description unnecessary.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . they were called by mackenzie the chin tribe, according to _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. , but mackenzie's chin tribe was north of the atnahs, being the nagailer tribe of the carriers. see _mackenzie's voy._, pp. - , and map. [ ] 'about okanagan, various branches of the carrier tribe.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . 'okanagans, on the upper part of frazer's river.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . [ ] also known as flat-bows. 'the poorest of the tribes composing the flathead nation.' _mccormick_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'speaking a language of their own, it is not easy to imagine their origin; but it appears probable that they once belonged to some more southern tribe, from which they became shut off by the intervention of larger tribes.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . 'in appearance, character, and customs, they resemble more the indians east of the rocky mountains than those of lower oregon.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'les arcs-à-plats, et les koetenais sont connus dans le pays sous le nom de skalzi.' _de smet_, _miss. de l'orégon_, p. . [ ] the origin of the name flathead, as applied to this nation, is not known, as they have never been known to flatten the head. 'the mass of the nation consists of persons who have more or less of the blood of the spokanes, pend d'oreilles, nez perces, and iroquois.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. ; _stuart's montana_, p. . gass applied the name apparently to tribes on the clearwater of the sahaptin family. _jour._, p. . [ ] also called _kalispelms_ and _ponderas_. the upper pend d'oreilles consist of a number of wandering families of spokanes, kalispelms proper, and flatheads. _suckley_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; _stevens_, in _id._, p. ; _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'very similar in manners, etc., to the flatheads, and form one people with them.' _de smet_, _miss. de l'orégon_, p. . [ ] the native name, according to hale, is _skitsuish_, and coeur d'alêne, 'awl heart,' is a nickname applied from the circumstance that a chief used these words to express his idea of the canadian traders' meanness. _ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . [ ] _quiarlpi_, 'basket people,' _chaudieres_, 'kettles,' _kettle falls_, _chualpays_, _skoielpoi_, and _lakes_, are some of the names applied to these bands. [ ] 'ils s'appellent entre eux les enfants du soleil, dans leur langue spokane.' _de smet_, _miss. de l'orégon_, p. . 'differing very little from the indians at colville, either in their appearance, habits, or language.' _kane's wand._, p. . [ ] so much intermarried with the yakamas that they have almost lost their nationality.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] 'pierced noses,' so named by the canadians, perhaps from the nasal ornaments of the first of the tribe seen, although the custom of piercing the nose has never been known to be prevalent with this people. 'generally known and distinguished by the name of "black robes," in contradistinction to those who live on fish.' named nez perces from the custom of boring the nose to receive a white shell, like the fluke of an anchor. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., pp. , - . 'there are two tribes of the pierced-nose indians, the upper and the lower. _brownell's ind. races_, pp. - . 'though originally the same people, their dialect varies very perceptibly from that of the tushepaws.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . called _thoiga-rik-kah_, _tsoi-gah_, 'cowse-eaters,' by the snakes. 'ten times better off to-day than they were then'--'a practical refutation of the time-honored lie, that intercourse with whites is an injury to indians.' _stuart's montana_, pp. - . 'in character and appearance, they resemble more the indians of the missouri than their neighbors, the salish.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'la tribu paloose appartient à la nation des nez-percés et leur ressemble sous tous les rapports.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . [ ] the name comes from that of the river. it should be pronounced wala-wala, very short. _pandosy's gram._, p. . 'descended from slaves formerly owned and liberated by the nez perces.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'not unlike the pierced-noses in general appearance, language, and habits.' _brownell's ind. races_, pp. - . parts of three different nations at the confluence of the snake and columbia. _gass' jour._, pp. - , 'none of the indians have any permanent habitations' on the south bank of the columbia about and above the dalles. _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . 'generally camping in winter on the north side of the river.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] the name yakima is a word meaning 'black bear' in the walla walla dialect. they are called klikatats west of the mountains. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'the klikatats and yakimas, in all essential peculiarities of character, are identical, and their intercourse is constant.' _id._, p. , and _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'pshawanwappam bands, usually called yakamas.' the name signifies 'stony ground.' _gibbs_, in _pandosy's gram._, p. vii. 'roil-roil-pam, is the klikatat country.' 'its meaning is "the mouse country."' _id._ the yakima valley is a great national rendezvous for these and surrounding nations. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., pp. , . kliketats, meaning robbers, was first the name given to the whulwhypums, and then extended to all speaking the same language. for twenty-five years before they overran the willamette valley, but at that time were forced by government to retire to their own country. _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] wasco is said to mean 'basin,' and the tribe derives its name, traditionally, from the fact that formerly one of their chiefs, his wife having died, spent much of his time in making cavities or basins in the soft rock for his children to fill with water and pebbles, and thereby amuse themselves. _victor's all over ogn._, pp. - . the word cayuse is perhaps the french _cailloux_, 'pebbles.' called by tolmie, 'wyeilats or kyoose.' he says their language has an affinity to that of the carriers and umpquas. _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'resemble the walla-wallas very much.' _kane's wand._, pp. - . 'the imperial tribe of oregon' claiming jurisdiction over the whole columbia region. _farnham's trav._, p. . the snakes, walla-wallas, and cayuse meet annually in the grande ronde valley. _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., p. . 'individuals of the pure blood are few, the majority being intermixed with the nez perces and the wallah-wallahs.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . the region which i give to the wascos and cayuses is divided on hale's map between the walla-wallas, waiilatpu, and molele. [ ] in the interior the 'men are tall, the women are of common stature, and both are well formed.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'of middle height, slender.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . the inland tribes of british columbia, compared with those on the coast, 'are of a better cast, being generally of the middle height.' _id._, p. . see also p. . the nez percés and cayuses 'are almost universally fine-looking, robust men.' in criticising the person of one of that tribe 'one was forcibly reminded of the apollo belvidere.' _townsend's nar._, pp. , . the klikatat 'stature is low, with light, sinewy limbs.' _id._, p. ; also pp. - . the walla-wallas are generally powerful men, at least six feet high, and the cayuse are still 'stouter and more athletic.' _gairdner_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . the umatillas 'may be a superior race to the "snakes," but i doubt it.' _barnhart_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the salish are 'rather below the average size, but are well knit, muscular, and good-looking.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'well made and active.' _dunn's oregon_, pp. , . 'below the middle hight, with thick-set limbs.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., pp. - , - . the cootonais are above the medium height. very few shushwaps reach the height of five feet nine inches. _cox's adven._, vol. ii., pp. , , vol. i., p. . see also on physique of the inland nations, _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , , , , , - , - ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. ; _dunn_, in _cal. farmer_, _april , _; _san francisco herald_, _june, _; _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , ; _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - , and vol. i., frontispiece, cut of a group of spokanes. _de smet_, _voy._, pp. , ; _palmer's jour._, p. ; _ross' adven._, pp. , ; _stuart's montana_, p. . [ ] the interior tribes have 'long faces, and bold features, thin lips, wide cheek-bones, smooth skins, and the usual tawny complexion of the american tribes.' 'features of a less exaggerated harshness' than the coast tribes. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. - . 'hair and eyes are black, their cheek bones high, and very frequently they have aquiline noses.' 'they wear their hair long, part it upon their forehead, and let it hang in tresses on each side, or down behind.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . complexion 'a little fairer than other indians.' _id._ the okanagans are 'better featured and handsomer in their persons, though darker, than the chinooks or other indians along the sea-coast.' 'teeth white as ivory, well set and regular.' the voices of walla wallas, nez percés, and cayuses, are strong and masculine. _ross' adven._, pp. , . the flatheads (nez percés) are 'the whitest indians i ever saw.' _gass' jour._, p. . the shushwap 'complexion is darker, and of a more muddy, coppery hue than that of the true red indian.' _milton and cheadle's n. w. pass._, p. . the nez perces darker than the tushepaws. dignified and pleasant features. would have quite heavy beards if they shaved. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , , , - , - , . the inland natives are an ugly race, with 'broad faces, low foreheads, and rough, coppery and tanned skins.' the salish 'features are less regular, and their complexion darker' than the sahaptins. _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., pp. - . teeth of the river tribes worn down by sanded salmon. _anderson_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. ; _kane's wand._, p. . nez perces and cayuses 'are almost universally fine looking, robust men, with strong aquiline features, and a much more cheerful cast of countenance than is usual amongst the race. some of the women might almost be called beautiful, and none that i have seen are homely.' some very handsome young girls among the walla wallas. the kliketat features are 'regular, though often devoid of expression.' _townsend's nar._, pp. , , , . flatheads 'comparatively very fair in complexion, ... with oval faces, and a mild, and playful expression of countenance.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . the kayuls had long dark hair, and regular features. _coke's rocky mountains_, p. . cut and description of a clickitat skull, in _morton's crania_, p. , pl. . 'the flatheads are the ugliest, and most of their women are far from being beauties.' _stuart's montana_, p. . [ ] 'the sahaptin and wallawallas compress the head, but not so much as the tribes near the coast. it merely serves with them to make the forehead more retreating, which, with the aquiline nose common to these natives, gives to them occasionally, a physiognomy similar to that represented in the hieroglyphical paintings of central america.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. , . all the shushwaps flatten the head more or less. _mayne's b. c._, p. . 'il est à remarquer que les tribus établies au-dessus de la jonction de la branche sud de la colombie, et désignées sous le nom de têtes plates, ont renoncé depuis longtemps à cet usage.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'a roundhead klickatat woman would be a pariah.' _winthrop's canoe and saddle_, p. . nez percés 'seldom known to flatten the head.' _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. . see _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. - , - ; _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - , - ; _townsend's nar._, p. ; _kane's wand._, p. ; _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. , with cut. walla wallas, skyuse, and nez percés flatten the head and perforate the nose. _farnham's trav._, p. ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , ; _gass' jour._, p. . [ ] _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., pp. - ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , - . [ ] the salish 'profuse in the use of paint.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - , and in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . nez percés painted in colored stripes. _hines' voy._, p. . 'four indians (nez percés) streaked all over with white mud.' _kane's wand._, p. . walla walla 'faces painted red.' the okanagan 'young of both sexes always paint their faces with red and black bars.' _ross' adven._, pp. , - . the inland tribes 'appear to have less of the propensity to adorn themselves with painting, than the indians east of the mountains, but not unfrequently vermilion mixed with red clay, is used not only upon their faces but upon their hair.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . red clay for face paint, obtained at vermilion forks of the similkameen river, in b. c. _palmer_, in _b. c. papers_, vol. iii., p. . pend d'oreille women rub the face every morning with a mixture of red and brown powder, which is made to stick by a coating of fish-oil. _de smet_, _voy._, p. . [ ] the oakinack 'women wear their hair neatly clubbed on each side of the head behind the ears, and ornamented with double rows of the snowy higua, which are among the oakinackens called shet-la-cane; but they keep it shed or divided in front. the men's hair is queued or rolled up into a knot behind the head, and ornamented like that of the women; but in front it falls or hangs down loosely before the face, covering the forehead and the eyes, which causes them every now and then to shake the head, or use the hands to uncover their eyes.' _ross' adven._, pp. - . the head of the nez perces not ornamented. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , , , , , - ; _coke's rocky mts._, p. ; _kane's wand._, p. . [ ] the ootlashoot women wear 'a long shirt of skin, reaching down to the ancles, and tied round the waist.' few ornaments. the nez percés wear 'the buffalo or elk-skin robe decorated with beads, sea-shells, chiefly mother-of-pearl, attached to an otter-skin collar and hung in the hair.' leggins and moccasins are painted; a plait of twisted grass is worn round the neck. the women wear their long robe without a girdle, but to it 'are tied little pieces of brass and shells, and other small articles.' 'the dress of the female is indeed more modest, and more studiously so than any we have observed, though the other sex is careless of the indelicacy of exposure.' 'the sokulk females have no other covering but a truss or piece of leather tied round the hips and then drawn tight between the legs.' three fourths of the pisquitpaws 'have scarcely any robes at all.' the chilluckittequaws use skins of wolves, deer, elk, and wild cats. 'round their neck is put a strip of some skin with the tail of the animal hanging down over the breast.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , - , , , , , , , - . many of the walla walla, nez percé, and cayuse females wore robes 'richly garnished with beads, higuas,' etc. the war chief wears as a head-dress the whole skin of a wolf's head, with the ears standing erect. the okanagans wear in winter long detachable sleeves or mittens of wolf or fox skin, also wolf or bear skin caps when hunting. men and women dress nearly alike, and are profuse in the use of ornaments. _ross' adven._, p. , - ; _id._, _fur hunters_, vol. i., p. . the flatheads often change their clothing and clean it with pipe-clay. they have no regular head-dress. from the yakima to the okanagan the men go naked, and the women wear only a belt with a slip passing between the legs. _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. , , - , vol. ii., p. . nez percés better clad than any others, cayuses well clothed, walla wallas naked and half starved. _palmer's jour._, pp. , , - . at the dalles, women 'go nearly naked, for they wear little else than what may be termed a breech-cloth, of buckskin, which is black and filthy with dirt.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - , , . the kliketat women wear a short pine-bark petticoat tied round the loins. _townsend's nar._, pp. , , . 'their buffaloe robes and other skins they chiefly procure on the missouri, when they go over to hunt, as there are no buffaloe in this part of the country and very little other game.' _gass' jour._, pp. , , - , . tusshepaw 'women wore caps of willow neatly worked and figured.' _irving's astoria_, pp. , , ; _id._, _bonneville's adven._, p. . the flathead women wear straw hats, used also for drinking and cooking purposes. _de smet_, _voy._, pp. - , . the shushwaps wear in wet weather capes of bark trimmed with fur, and reaching to the elbows. moccasins are more common than on the coast, but they often ride barefoot. _mayne's b. c._, p. . _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - ; _kane's wand._, p. , and cut; _fremont's ogn. and cal._, pp. - ; _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. ; _franchère's nar._, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, p. ; _coke's rocky mts._, p. ; _hunt_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, tom. x., , pp. - , . [ ] the sokulk houses 'generally of a square or oblong form, varying in length from fifteen to sixty feet, and supported in the inside by poles or forks about six feet high.' the roof is nearly flat. the echeloot and chilluckittequaw houses were of the chinook style, partially sunk in the ground. the nez percés live in houses built 'of straw and mats, in the form of the roof of a house.' one of these 'was one hundred and fifty-six feet long, and about fifteen wide, closed at the ends, and having a number of doors on each side.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , , - , - , . nez percé dwellings twenty to seventy feet long and from ten to fifteen feet wide; free from vermin. flathead houses conical but spacious, made of buffalo and moose skins over long poles. spokane lodges oblong or conical, covered with skins or mats. _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. , , . nez percé and cayuse lodges 'composed of ten long poles, the lower ends of which are pointed and driven into the ground; the upper blunt and drawn together at the top by thongs' covered with skins. 'universally used by the mountain indians while travelling.' umatillas live in 'shantys or wigwams of driftwood, covered with buffalo or deer skins.' klicatats 'in miserable loose hovels.' _townsend's nar._, pp. - , , . okanagan winter lodges are long and narrow, 'chiefly of mats and poles, covered over with grass and earth;' dug one or two feet below the surface; look like the roof of a common house set on the ground. _ross' adven._, pp. - . on the yakima river 'a small canopy, hardly sufficient to shelter a sheep, was found to contain four generations of human beings.' _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., pp. , . on the clearwater 'there are not more than four lodges in a place or village, and these small camps or villages are eight or ten miles apart.' 'summer lodges are made of willows and flags, and their winter lodges of split pine.' _gass' jour._, pp. , , . 'at kettle falls, the lodges are of rush mats.' 'a flooring is made of sticks, raised three or four feet from the ground, leaving the space beneath it entirely open, and forming a cool, airy, and shady place, in which to hang their salmon.' _kane's wand._, pp. , - . the pend d'oreilles roll their tent-mats into cylindrical bundles for convenience in traveling. _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , , . _barnhart_, in _id._, , p. . the shushwap den is warm but 'necessarily unwholesome, and redolent ... of anything but roses.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . yakimas, 'rude huts covered with mats.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . shushwaps erect rude slants of bark or matting; have no tents or houses. _milton and cheadle's n. w. pass._, p. . from the swamps south of flatbow lake, 'the kootanie indians obtain the klusquis or thick reed, which is the only article that serves them in the construction of their lodges,' and is traded with other tribes. _sullivan_, in _palliser's explor._, p. . in winter the salish cover their mats with earth. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . flag huts of the walla wallas. _farnham's trav._, p. ; _mullan's rept._, pp. - ; _palmer's jour._, p. ; _coke's rocky mts._, p. ; _irving's astoria_, pp. , ; _id._, _bonneville's adven._, p. ; _de smet_, _voy._, p. ; _id._, _west. missions_, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - . _hunt_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, tom. x., , pp. - , . [ ] natives begin to assemble at kettle falls about three weeks before the salmon begin to run; feuds are laid by; horse-racing, gambling, love-making, etc., occupy the assembly; and the medicine-men are busy working charms for a successful season. the fish are cut open, dried on poles over a small fire, and packed in bales. on the fraser each family or village fishes for itself; near the mouth large gaff-hooks are used, higher up a net managed between two canoes. all the principal indian fishing-stations on the fraser are below fort hope. for sturgeon a spear seventy to eighty feet long is used. cut of sturgeon-fishing. _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - , , - . the pend d'oreilles 'annually construct a fence which reaches across the stream, and guides the fish into a weir or rack,' on clarke river, just above the lake. the walla walla 'fisheries at the dalles and the falls, ten miles above, are the finest on the river.' the yakima weirs constructed 'upon horizontal spars, and supported by tripods of strong poles erected at short distances apart; two of the logs fronting up stream, and one supporting them below;' some fifty or sixty yards long. the salmon of the okanagan were 'of a small species, which had assumed a uniform red color.' 'the fishery at the kettle falls is one of the most important on the river, and the arrangements of the indians in the shape of drying-scaffolds and store-houses are on a corresponding scale.' _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , , , ; _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. - . the salmon chief at kettle falls distributes the fish among the people, every one, even the smallest child, getting an equal share. _kane's wand._, pp. - . on des chutes river 'they spear the fish with barbed iron points, fitted loosely by sockets to the ends of poles about eight feet long,' to which they are fastened by a thong about twelve feet long. _abbott_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. vi., p. . on the upper columbia an indian 'cut off a bit of his leathern shirt, about the size of a small bean; then pulling out two or three hairs from his horse's tail for a line, tied the bit of leather to one end of it, in place of a hook or fly.' _ross' adven._, pp. - . at the mouth of flatbow river 'a dike of round stones, which runs up obliquely against the main stream, on the west side, for more than one hundred yards in length, resembling the foundation of a wall.' similar range on the east side, supposed to be for taking fish at low water. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. ii., pp. - . west of the rocky mountains they fish 'with great success by means of a kind of large basket suspended from a long cord.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. - . on powder river they use the hook as a gaff. _coke's rocky mts._, p. . a wasco spears three or four salmon of twenty to thirty pounds each in ten minutes. _remy and brenchley's jour._, vol. ii., p. . no salmon are taken above the upper falls of the columbia. _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., p. . walla walla fish-weirs 'formed of two curtains of small willow switches matted together with withes of the same plant, and extending across the river in two parallel lines, six feet asunder. these are supported by several parcels of poles, ... and are either rolled up or let down at pleasure for a few feet.... a seine of fifteen or eighteen feet in length is then dragged down the river by two persons, and the bottom drawn up against the curtain of willows.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . make fishing-nets of flax. _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'the inland, as well as the coast, tribes, live to a great extent upon salmon.' _mayne's b. c._, p. ; _nicolay's ogn. ter._, pp. - . palouse 'live solely by fishing.' _mullan's rept._, p. . salmon cannot ascend to coeur d'alêne lake. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. - . okanagan food 'consists principally of salmon and a small fish which they call carp.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . the walla wallas 'may well be termed the fishermen of the skyuse camp.' _farnham's trav._, p. . [ ] the shushwaps formerly crossed the mountains to the assinniboine territory. the okanagans when hunting wear wolf or bear skin caps; there is no bird or beast whose voice they cannot imitate. war and hunting were the nez percé occupation; cross the mountains for buffalo. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., pp. , , - , . the chief game of the nez percés is the deer, 'and whenever the ground will permit, the favourite hunt is on horseback.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . the salish live by the chase, on elk, moose, deer, big-horn and bears; make two trips annually, spring to fall, and fall to mid-winter, across the mountains, accompanied by other nations. the pend d'oreilles hunt deer in the snow with clubs; have distinct localities for hunting each kind of game. nez percés, flatheads, coeurs d'alêne, spokanes, pend d'oreilles, etc., hunt together. yakimas formerly joined the flatheads in eastern hunt. _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - , - , , - . 'two hunts annually across the mountains--one in april, for the bulls, from which they return in june and july; and another, after about a month's recruit, to kill cows, which have by that time become fat.' _stevens, gibbs, and suckley_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , , - , vol. xii., p. . kootenais live by the chase principally. _hutchins_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . spokanes rather indolent in hunting; hunting deer by fire. _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. , vol. ii., pp. - . the kootenais 'seldom hunt;' there is not much to shoot except wild fowl in fall. trap beaver and carriboeuf on a tributary of the kootanie river. _palliser's explor._, pp. , , . flatheads 'follow the buffalo upon the headwaters of clarke and salmon rivers.' nez percé women accompany the men to the buffalo-hunt. _parker's explor. tour_, pp. , . kootenais cross the mountains for buffalo. _mayne's b. c._, p. . coeurs d'alêne ditto. _mullan's rept._, p. . half of the nez percés 'usually make a trip to the buffalo country for three months.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . shushwaps 'live by hunting the bighorns, mountain goats, and marmots.' _milton and cheadle's n. w. pass._, p. . buffalo never pass to west of the rocky mountains. _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. ; _kane's wand._, p. ; _de smet_, _voy._, pp. , , - ; _ind. life_, pp. - , - ; _franchère's nar._, pp. - ; _hunt_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, tom. x., , pp. - ; _stuart_, in _id._, tom. xii., pp. , - ; _joset_, in _id._, tom. cxxiii., , pp. - . [ ] the kliketats gather and eat _peahay_, a bitter root boiled into a jelly; _n'poolthla_, ground into flour; _mamum_ and _seekywa_, made into bitter white cakes; _kamass_; _calz_, a kind of wild sunflower. _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . the flatheads go every spring to camass prairie. _de smet_, _voy._, p. . the kootenais eat kamash and an edible moss. _id._, _missions de l'orégon_, pp. - . 'the cayooses, nez percés, and other warlike tribes assemble (in yakima valley) every spring to lay in a stock of the favourite kamass and pelua, or sweet potatoes.' _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. . quamash, round, onion-shaped, and sweet, eaten by the nez percés. _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . couse root dug in april or may; camas in june and july. _alvord_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . the skyuses 'main subsistence is however upon roots.' the nez percés eat _kamash_, _cowish_ or biscuit root, _jackap_, _aisish_, _quako_, etc. _irving's bonneville's adven._, p. , . okanagans live extensively on moss made into bread. the nez percés also eat moss. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. , . pend d'oreilles at the last extremity live on pine-tree moss; also collect camash, bitter-roots, and sugar pears. _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , - . 'i never saw any berry in the course of my travels which the indians scruple to eat, nor have i seen any ill effect from their doing so.' _kane's wand._, p. . the kootenai food in september 'appears to be almost entirely berries; namely, the "sasketoom" of the crees, a delicious fruit, and a small species of cherry, also a sweet root which they obtain to the southward.' _blakiston_, in _palliser's explor._, p. . flatheads dig _konah_, 'bitter root' in may. it is very nutritious and very bitter. _pahseego_, camas, or 'water seego,' is a sweet, gummy, bulbous root. _stuart's montana_, pp. - . colvilles cut down pines for their moss (alectoria?). kamas also eaten. _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . the shushwaps eat moss and lichens, chiefly the black lichen, or _whyelkine_. _mayne's b. c._, p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. . the salish in march and april eat _popkah_, an onion-like bulb; in may, _spatlam_, a root like vermicelli; in june and july, _itwha_, like roasted chestnuts; in august, wild fruits; in september, _marani_, a grain. _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] at the dalles 'during the fishing season, the indians live entirely on the heads, hearts and offal of the salmon, which they string on sticks, and roast over a small fire.' besides pine-moss, the okanagans use the seed of the balsam oriza pounded into meal, called _mielito_. 'to this is added the _siffleurs_.' berries made into cakes by the nez percés. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. , , . quamash, 'eaten either in its natural state, or boiled into a kind of soup, or made into a cake, which is then called pasheco.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , , , . women's head-dress serves the flatheads for cooking, etc. _de smet_, _voy._, pp. , - ; _id._, _missions de l'orégon_, pp. - . 'the dog's tongue is the only dish-cloth known' to the okanagans. pine-moss cooked, or _squill-ape_, will keep for years. 'at their meals they generally eat separately and in succession--man, woman and child.' _ross' adven._, pp. - , , - . 'most of their food is roasted, and they excel in roasting fish.' _parker's explor. tour_, pp. , . 'pine moss, which they boil till it is reduced to a sort of glue or black paste, of a sufficient consistence to take the form of biscuit.' _franchère's nar._, p. . couse tastes like parsnips, is dried and pulverized, and sometimes boiled with meat. _alvord_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . root bread on the clearwater tastes like that made of pumpkins. _gass' jour._, pp. - . kamas after coming from the kiln is 'made into large cakes, by being mashed, and pressed together, and slightly baked in the sun.' white-root, pulverized with stones, moistened and sun-baked, tastes not unlike stale biscuits. _townsend's nar._, pp. - . camas and sun-flower seed mixed with salmon-heads caused in the eater great distension of the stomach. _remy and brenchley's jour._, vol. ii., pp. - . _sowete_, is the name of the mixture last named, among the cayuses. _coke's rocky mts._, p. ; _ind. life_, p. ; _stuart's montana_, pp. - ; _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. ; _kane's wand._, pp. - ; _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . [ ] additional notes and references on procuring food. the okanagans break up winter quarters in february; wander about in small bands till june. assemble on the river and divide into two parties of men and two of women for fishing and dressing fish, hunting and digging roots, until october; hunt in small parties in the mountains or the interior for four or six weeks; and then go into winter quarters on the small rivers. _ross' adven._, pp. - . further south on the columbia plains the natives collect and dry roots until may; fish on the north bank of the river till september, burying the fish; dig camas on the plains till snow falls; and retire to the foot of the mountains to hunt deer and elk through the winter. the nez percés catch salmon and dig roots in summer; hunt deer on snow-shoes in winter; and cross the mountains for buffalo in spring. sokulks live on fish, roots, and antelope. eneeshur, echeloots, and chilluckittequaw, on fish, berries, roots and nuts. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - , - , , , . spokanes live on deer, wild fowl, salmon, trout, carp, pine-moss, roots and wild fruit. they have no repugnance to horse-flesh, but never kill horses for food. the sinapoils live on salmon, camas, and an occasional small deer. the chaudiere country well stocked with game, fish and fruit. _cox's adven._, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., p. . the kayuse live on fish, game, and camass bread. _de smet_, _voy._, pp. - . 'ils cultivent avec succès le blé, les patates, les pois et plusieurs autres légumes et fruits.' _id._, _miss. de l'orégon._, p. . pend d'oreilles; fish, kamash, and pine-tree moss. _id._, _west. missions_, p. . 'whole time was occupied in providing for their bellies, which were rarely full.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . yakimas and kliketats; unis or fresh-water muscles, little game, sage-fowl and grouse, kamas, berries, salmon. the okanagans raise some potatoes. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , , . kootenais; fish and wild fowl, berries and pounded meat, have cows and oxen. _palliser's explor._, pp. , . palouse; fish, birds, and small animals. umatillas; fish, sage-cocks, prairie-hares. _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. , - . tushepaws would not permit horses or dogs to be eaten. _irving's astoria_, p. . nez percés; beaver, elk, deer, white bear, and mountain sheep, also steamed roots. _id._, _bonneville's adven._, p. . sahaptin; gather cherries and berries on clarke river. _gass' jour._, p. ; _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. ; _hines' voy._, p. ; _brownell's ind. races_, pp. - ; _stanley's portraits_, pp. - ; _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. ; _kane's wand._, pp. - ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - , ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. ; _hale's ethnog._, _ib._, vol. vi., p. . [ ] _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. , ; _townsend's nar._, p. ; _de smet_, _voy._, pp. - , ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - , , vol. ii., pp. , , ; _coke's rocky mts._, p. ; _palmer's jour._, pp. , , . [ ] the okanagan weapon is called a _spampt_. _ross' adven._, pp. - ; _id._, _fur hunters_, vol. i., pp. - . 'ils ... faire leurs arcs d'un bois très-élastique, ou de la corne du cerf.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. ; _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; _townsend's nar._, p. ; _irving's astoria_, p. ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - , ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., p. . [ ] torture of blackfeet prisoners; burning with a red-hot gun-barrel, pulling out the nails, taking off fingers, scooping out the eyes, scalping, revolting cruelties to female captives. the disputed right of the flatheads to hunt buffalo at the eastern foot of the mountains is the cause of the long-continued hostility. the wisest and bravest is annually elected war chief. the war chief carries a long whip and secures discipline by flagellation. except a few feathers and pieces of red cloth, both the flathead and kootenai enter battle perfectly naked. _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - , vol. ii., p. . the cayuse and sahaptin are the most warlike of all the southern tribes. the nez percés good warriors, but do not follow war as a profession. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., pp. - , , - , vol. ii., pp. - , . among the okanagans 'the hot bath, council, and ceremony of smoking the great pipe before war, is always religiously observed. their laws, however, admit of no compulsion, nor is the chief's authority implicitly obeyed on these occasions; consequently, every one judges for himself, and either goes or stays as he thinks proper. with a view, however, to obviate this defect in their system, they have instituted the dance, which answers every purpose of a recruiting service.' 'every man, therefore, who enters within this ring and joins in the dance ... is in honour bound to assist in carrying on the war.' _id._, _adven._, pp. - . mock battles and military display for the entertainment of white visitors. _hines' voy._, pp. - . the chilluckittequaws cut off the forefingers of a slain enemy as trophies. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - . when scouting, 'flathead chief would ride at full gallop so near the foe as to flap in their faces the eagle's tail streaming behind (from his cap), yet no one dared seize the tail or streamer, it being considered sacrilegious and fraught with misfortune to touch it.' _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., p. . a thousand walla wallas came to the sacramento river in , to avenge the death of a young chief killed by an american about a year before. _colton's three years in cal._, p. . one flathead is said to be equal to four blackfeet in battle. _de smet_, _voy._, pp. , ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _gray's hist. ogn._, pp. - ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - ; _stanley's portraits_, pp. - ; _ind. life_, pp. - ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . [ ] white marl clay used to cleanse skin robes, by making it into a paste, rubbing it on the hide and leaving it to dry, after which it is rubbed off. saddles usually sit uneasily on the horse's back. _parker's explor. tour_, pp. , - . 'mallet of stone curiously carved' among the sokulks. near the cascades was seen a ladder resembling those used by the whites. the pishquitpaws used 'a saddle or pad of dressed skin, stuffed with goats' hair.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , , , . on the fraser a rough kind of isinglass was at one time prepared and traded to the hudson bay company. _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . 'the sahaptins still make a kind of vase of lava, somewhat in the shape of a crucible, but very wide; they use it as a mortar for pounding the grain, of which they make cakes.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. , . (undoubtedly an error.) pend d'oreilles; 'les femmes ... font des nattes de joncs, des paniers, et des chapeaux sans bords.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . 'nearly all (the shushwaps) use the spanish wooden saddle, which they make with much skill.' _mayne's b. c._, pp. - . 'the saddles for women differ in form, being furnished with the antlers of a deer, so as to resemble the high pommelled saddle of the mexican ladies.' _franchère's nar._, pp. - ; _palmer's jour._, p. ; _irving's astoria_, p. , ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - . [ ] 'the white-pine bark is a very good substitute for birch, but has the disadvantage of being more brittle in cold weather.' _suckley_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . yakima boats are 'simply logs hollowed out and sloped up at the ends, without form or finish.' _gibbs_, in _id._, p. . the flatheads 'have no canoes, but in ferrying streams use their lodge skins, which are drawn up into an oval form by cords, and stretched on a few twigs. these they tow with horses, riding sometimes three abreast.' _stevens_, in _id._, p. . in the kootenai canoe 'the upper part is covered, except a space in the middle.' the length is twenty-two feet, the bottom being a dead level from end to end. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. ii., pp. - . 'the length of the bottom of the one i measured was twelve feet, the width between the gunwales only seven and one half feet.' 'when an indian paddles it, he sits at the extreme end, and thus sinks the conical point, which serves to steady the canoe like a fish's tail.' _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - , - . on the arrow lakes 'their form is also peculiar and very beautiful. these canoes run the rapids with more safety than those of any other shape.' _kane's wand._, p. . see _de smet_, _voy._, pp. , ; _irving's astoria_, p. ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. ; _hector_, in _palliser's explor._, p. ; _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , , , . [ ] 'the tradition is that horses were obtained from the southward,' not many generations back. _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. , - . individuals of the walla wallas have over one thousand horses. _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. bay_, p. . kootenais rich in horses and cattle. _palliser's explor._, pp. , . kliketat and yakima horses sometimes fine, but injured by early usage; deteriorated from a good stock; vicious and lazy. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'la richesse principale des sauvages de l'ouest consiste en chevaux.' _de smet_, _voy._, pp. , . at an assemblage of walla wallas, shahaptains and kyoots, 'the plains were literally covered with horses, of which there could not have been less than four thousand in sight of the camp.' _ross' adven._, p. . the kootanies about arrow lake, or sinatcheggs have no horses, as the country is not suitable for them. _id._, _fur hunters_, vol. ii., pp. - . of the spokanes the 'chief riches are their horses, which they generally obtain in barter from the nez percés.' _cox's adven._, vol. i., p. . a skyuse is poor who has but fifteen or twenty horses. the horses are a fine race, 'as large and of better form and more activity than most of the horses of the states.' _farnham's trav._, p. . the flatheads 'are the most northern of the equestrian tribes.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . many nez percés 'have from five to fifteen hundred head of horses.' _palmer's jour._, pp. - . indians of the spokane and flathead tribes 'own from one thousand to four thousand head of horses and cattle.' _stevens' address_, p. . the nez percé horses 'are principally of the pony breed; but remarkably stout and long-winded.' _irving's bonneville's adven._, p. ; _hastings' em. guide_, p. ; _hines' voy._, p. ; _gass' jour._, p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. . [ ] the chilluckittequaw intercourse seems to be an intermediate trade with the nations near the mouth of the columbia. the chopunnish trade for, as well as hunt, buffalo-robes east of the mountains. course of trade in the sahaptin county: the plain indians during their stay on the river from may to september, before they begin fishing, go down to the falls with skins, mats, silk-grass, rushes and chapelell bread. here they meet the mountain tribes from the kooskooskie (clearwater) and lewis rivers, who bring bear-grass, horses, quamash and a few skins obtained by hunting or by barter from the tushepaws. at the falls are the chilluckittequaws, eneeshurs, echeloots and skilloots, the latter being intermediate traders between the upper and lower tribes. these tribes have pounded fish for sale; and the chinooks bring wappato, sea-fish, berries, and trinkets obtained from the whites. then the trade begins; the chopunnish and mountain tribes buy wappato, pounded fish and beads; and the plain indians buy wappato, horses, beads, etc. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , , - . horse-fairs in which the natives display the qualities of their steeds with a view to sell. _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - . the oakinacks make trips to the pacific to trade wild hemp for hiaqua shells and trinkets. _ross' adven._, pp. , . trade conducted in silence between a flathead and crow. _de smet_, _voy._, p. . kliketats and yakimas 'have become to the neighboring tribes what the yankees were to the once western states, the traveling retailers of notions.' _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , . cayuses, walla wallas, and nez percés meet in grande ronde valley to trade with the snakes. _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., p. ; _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. ; _cox's adven._, vol. ii., pp. - , ; _palmer's jour._, pp. , ; _dunniway's capt. gray's comp._, p. ; _coke's rocky mts._, p. ; _mayne's b. c._, p. ; _gass' jour._, p. . [ ] in calculating time the okanagans use their fingers, each finger standing for ten; some will reckon to a thousand with tolerable accuracy, but most can scarcely count to twenty. _ross' adven._, p. . the flatheads 'font néanmoins avec précision, sur des écorces d'arbres ou sur des peaux le plan, des pays qu'ils ont parcourus, marquant les distances par journées, demi-journées ou quarts de journées.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . count years by snows, months by moons, and days by sleeps. have names for each number up to ten; then add ten to each; and then add a word to multiply by ten. _parker's explor. tour_, p. . names of the months in the pisquouse and salish languages beginning with january;--'cold, a certain herb, snow-gone, bitter-root, going to root-ground, camass-root, hot, gathering berries, exhausted salmon, dry, house-building, snow.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'menses computant lunis, ex spkani, _sol_ vel _luna_ et dies per ferias. hebdomadam unicam per splcháskat, _septem dies_, plures vero hebdomadas per s'chaxèus, id est, _vexillum_ quod a duce maximo qualibet die dominica suspendebatur. dies antem in novem dividitur partes.' _mengarini_, _grammatica linguae selicae_, p. ; _sproat's scenes_, p. ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . [ ] the twelve oakinack tribes 'form, as it were, so many states belonging to the same union, and are governed by petty chiefs.' the chieftainship descends from father to son; and though merely nominal in authority, the chief is rarely disobeyed. property pays for all crimes. _ross' adven._, pp. - , - , . the chualpays are governed by the 'chief of the earth' and 'chief of the waters,' the latter having exclusive authority in the fishing-season. _kane's wand._, pp. - . the nez percés offered a flathead the position of head chief, through admiration of his qualities. _de smet_, _voy._, pp. , . among the kalispels the chief appoints his successor, or if he fails to do so, one is elected. _de smet_, _western miss._, p. . the flathead war chief carries a long whip, decorated with scalps and feathers to enforce strict discipline. the principal chief is hereditary. _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - , vol. ii., p. . the 'camp chief' of the flatheads as well as the war chief was chosen for his merits. _ind. life_, pp. - . among the nez percés and wascos 'the form of government is patriarchal. they acknowledge the hereditary principle--blood generally decides who shall be the chief.' _alvord_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., pp. - . no regularly recognized chief among the spokanes, but an intelligent and rich man often controls the tribe by his influence. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - . 'the salish can hardly be said to have any regular form of government.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. - . every winter the cayuses go down to the dalles to hold a council over the chinooks 'to ascertain their misdemeanors and punish them therefor by whipping'! _farnham's trav._, p. - . among the salish 'criminals are sometimes punished by banishment from their tribe.' 'fraternal union and the obedience to the chiefs are truly admirable.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. - ; _hines' voy._, p. ; _stanley's portraits_, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _white's oregon_, p. ; _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. ; _joset_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, tom. cxxiii., , pp. - . [ ] 'slavery is common with all the tribes.' _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hud. b._, p. . sahaptins always make slaves of prisoners of war. the cayuses have many. _alvord_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _palmer's jour._, p. . among the okanagans 'there are but few slaves ... and these few are adopted as children, and treated in all respects as members of the family.' _ross' adven._, p. . the inland tribes formerly practiced slavery, but long since abolished it. _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'not practised in the interior.' _mayne's b. c._, p. . not practiced by the shushwaps. _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . [ ] each okanagan 'family is ruled by the joint will or authority of the husband and wife, but more particularly by the latter.' wives live at different camps among their relatives; one or two being constantly with the husband. brawls constantly occur when several wives meet. the women are chaste, and attached to husband and children. at the age of fourteen or fifteen the young man pays his addresses in person to the object of his love, aged eleven or twelve. after the old folks are in bed, he goes to her wigwam, builds a fire, and if welcome the mother permits the girl to come and sit with him for a short time. these visits are several times repeated, and he finally goes in the day-time with friends and his purchase money. _ross' adven._, pp. - . the spokane husband joins his wife's tribe; women are held in great respect; and much affection is shown for children. among the nez percés both men and women have the power of dissolving the marriage tie at pleasure. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. , - , , . the coeurs d'alêne 'have abandoned polygamy.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , ; _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . pend d'oreille women less enslaved than in the mountains, but yet have much heavy work, paddle canoes, etc. generally no marriage among savages. _de smet_, _voy._, pp. - , . the nez percés generally confine themselves to two wives, and rarely marry cousins. no wedding ceremony. _alvord_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . polygamy not general on the fraser; and unknown to kootenais. _cox's adven._, vol. ii., pp. , , vol. i., pp. - . nez percés have abandoned polygamy. _palmer's jour._, pp. , . flathead women do everything but hunt and fight. _ind. life_, p. . flathead women 'by no means treated as slaves, but, on the contrary, have much consideration and authority.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'rarely marry out of their own nation,' and do not like their women to marry whites. _dunn's oregon_, pp. - . the sokulk men 'are said to content themselves with a single wife, with whom ... the husband shares the labours of procuring subsistence much more than is usual among savages.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. ; _dunniway's capt. gray's comp._, p. ; _gray's hist. ogn._, p. ; _tolmie and anderson_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - ; _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _de smet's west. miss._, p. . [ ] the wife of a young kootenai left him for another, whereupon he shot himself. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. ii., p. . among the flatheads 'conjugal infidelity is scarcely known.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . the sahaptins 'do not exhibit those loose feelings of carnal desire, nor appear addicted to the common customs of prostitution.' _gass' jour._, p. . inland tribes have a reputation for chastity, probably due to circumstances rather than to fixed principles. _mayne's b. c._, p. . spokanes 'free from the vice of incontinence'. among the walla wallas prostitution is unknown, 'and i believe no inducement would tempt them to commit a breach of chastity.' prostitution common on the fraser. _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. , - . nez percé women remarkable for their chastity. _alvord_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . [ ] in the salish family on the birth of a child wealthy relatives make presents of food and clothing. the nez percé mother gives presents but receives none on such an occasion. the flatheads and pend d'oreilles bandage the waist and legs of infants with a view to producing broad-shouldered, small-waisted and straight-limbed adults. _tolmie and anderson_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - . among the walla wallas 'when traveling a hoop, bent over the head of the child, protects it from injury.' the confinement after child-birth continues forty days. at the first menstruation the spokane woman must conceal herself two days in the forest; for a man to see her would be fatal; she must then be confined for twenty days longer in a separate lodge. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - , . the okanagan mother is not allowed to prepare her unborn infant's swaddling clothes, which consist of a piece of board, a bit of skin, a bunch of moss, and a string. _ross' adven._, pp. - . 'small children, not more than three years old, are mounted alone and generally upon colts.' younger ones are carried on the mother's back 'or suspended from a high knob upon the forepart of their saddles.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . houses among the chopunnish 'appropriated for women who are undergoing the operation of the menses.' 'when anything is to be conveyed to these deserted females, the person throws it to them forty or fifty paces off, and then retires.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. ; _townsend's nar._, p. ; _alvord_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . [ ] with the pend d'oreilles 'it was not uncommon for them to bury the very old and the very young alive, because, they said, "these cannot take care of themselves, and we cannot take care of them, and they had better die."' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _suckley_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _white's ogn._, p. ; _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - . [ ] in the yakima valley 'we visited every street, alley, hole and corner of the camp.... here was gambling, there scalp-dancing; laughter in one place, mourning in another. crowds were passing to and fro, whooping, yelling, dancing, drumming, singing. men, women, and children were huddled together; flags flying, horses neighing, dogs howling, chained bears, tied wolves, grunting and growling, all pell-mell among the tents.' _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. . at kettle falls 'whilst awaiting the coming salmon, the scene is one great revel: horse-racing, gambling, love-making, dancing, and diversions of all sorts, occupy the singular assembly; for at these annual gatherings ... feuds and dislikes are for the time laid by.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - . [ ] the principal amusement of the okanagans is gambling, 'at which they are not so quarrelsome as the spokans and other tribes,' disputes being settled by arbitration. _cox's adven._, vol. ii., p. . a young man at kettle falls committed suicide, having lost everything at gambling. _kane's wand._, pp. - . 'les indiens de la colombie ont porté les jeux de hasard au dernier excès. après avoir perdu tout ce qu'ils ont, ils se mettent eux-mêmes sur le tapis, d'abord une main, ensuite l'autre; s'ils les perdent, les bras, et ainsi de suite tous les membres du corps; la tête suit, et s'ils la perdent, ils deviennent esclaves pour la vie avec leurs femmes et leurs enfants.' _de smet_, _voy._, pp. - . many kooteneais have abandoned gambling. _de smet_, _west. miss._, p. . 'whatever the poor indian can call his own, is ruthlessly sacrificed to this moloch of human weakness.' _ind. life_, p. ; _irving's bonneville's adven._, p. - . [ ] spokanes; 'one of their great amusements is horse-racing.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . kliketats and yakimas; 'the racing season is the grand annual occasion of these tribes. a horse of proved reputation is a source of wealth or ruin to his owner. on his speed he stakes his whole stud, his household goods, clothes, and finally his wives; and a single heat doubles his fortune, or sends him forth an impoverished adventurer. the interest, however is not confined to the individual directly concerned; the tribe share it with him, and a common pile of goods, of motley description, apportioned according to their ideas of value, is put up by either party, to be divided among the backers of the winner.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , . 'running horses and foot-races by men, women and children, and they have games of chance played with sticks or bones;' do not drink to excess. _parker's explor. tour_, pp. , . _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. ; _franchère's nar._, p. . [ ] _kane's wand._, pp. - . [ ] the principal okanagan amusement is a game called by the voyageurs 'jeu de main,' like our odd and even. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, p. . it sometimes takes a week to decide the game. the loser never repines. _ross' adven._, pp. - ; _stuart's montana_, p. . [ ] among the wahowpums 'the spectators formed a circle round the dancers, who, with their robes drawn tightly round the shoulders, and divided into parties of five or six men, perform by crossing in a line from one side of the circle to the other. all the parties, performers as well as spectators, sing, and after proceeding in this way for some time, the spectators join, and the whole concludes by a promiscuous dance and song.' the walla wallas 'were formed into a solid column, round a kind of hollow square, stood on the same place, and merely jumped up at intervals, to keep time to the music.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , . nez percés dance round a pole on sundays, and the chiefs exhort during the pauses. _irving's bonneville's adven._, pp. - , . in singing 'they use _hi_, _ah_, in constant repetition, ... and instead of several parts harmonizing, they only take eighths one above another, never exceeding three.' _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - . 'the song was a simple expression of a few sounds, no intelligible words being uttered. it resembled the words _ho-ha-ho-ha-ho-ha-ha-ha_, commencing in a low tone, and gradually swelling to a full, round, and beautifully modulated chorus.' _townsend's nar._, p. . chualpay scalp-dance. _kane's wand._, p. . religious songs. _dunn's oregon_, pp. - ; _palmer's jour._, p. . [ ] de smet thinks inhaling tobacco smoke may prevent its injurious effects. _voy._, p. . in all religious ceremonies the pipe of peace is smoked. _ross' adven._, pp. - . _parker's explor. tour_, p. ; _hines' voy._, p. . 'the medicine-pipe is a sacred pledge of friendship among all the north-western tribes.' _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] in moving, the girls and small boys ride three or four on a horse with their mothers, while the men drive the herds of horses that run loose ahead. _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - , . horses left for months without a guard, and rarely stray far. they call this 'caging' them. _de smet_, _voy._, pp. , , . 'babies of fifteen months old, packed in a sitting posture, rode along without fear, grasping the reins with their tiny hands.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. xii., pt. ii., p. , with plate; _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. - ; _palliser's rept._, p. ; _farnham's trav._, pp. -; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _irving's astoria_, p. ; _franchère's nar._, pp. - ; _cox's adven._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] 'l'aigle ... est le grand oiseau de médecine.' _de smet_, _voy._, pp. , ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - ; _stevens_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , and in _de smet's west. miss._, pp. - ; _suckley_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. - ; _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., p. ; _kane's wand._, pp. , - , . [ ] _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - ; _ross' adven._, pp. - . [ ] the walla wallas receive bad news with a howl. the spokanes 'cache' their salmon. they are willing to change names with any one they esteem. 'suicide prevails more among the indians of the columbia river than in any other portion of the continent which i have visited.' _kane's wand._, pp. - , - . 'preserve particular order in their movements. the first chief leads the way, the next chiefs follow, then the common men, and after these the women and children.' they arrange themselves in similar order in coming forward to receive visitors. do not usually know their own age. _parker's explor. tour_, pp. , - , . distance is calculated by time; a day's ride is seventy miles on horseback, thirty-five miles on foot. _ross' adven._, p. . natives can tell by examining arrows to what tribe they belong. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. ii., p. . kliketats and yakimas often unwilling to tell their name. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. . 'd'après toutes les observations que j'ai faites, leur journée équivaut à peu près à cinquante ou soixante milles anglais lorsqu'ils voyagent seuls, et à quinze ou vingt milles seulement lorsqu'ils lèvent leur camps.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . among the nez percés everything was promulgated by criers. 'the office of crier is generally filled by some old man, who is good for little else. a village has generally several.' _irving's bonneville's adven._, p. . habits of worship of the flatheads in the missions. _dunn's oregon_, pp. - . 'a pack of prick-eared curs, simply tamed prairie wolves, always in attendance.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., pp. - . [ ] the nez percés 'are generally healthy, the only disorders which we have had occasion to remark being of scrophulous kind.' with the sokulks 'a bad soreness of the eyes is a very common disorder.' 'bad teeth are very general.' the chilluckittequaws' diseases are sore eyes, decayed teeth, and tumors. the walla wallas have ulcers and eruptions of the skin, and occasionally rheumatism. the chopunnish had 'scrofula, rheumatism, and sore eyes,' and a few have entirely lost the use of their limbs. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , , , , . the medicine-man uses a medicine-bag of relics in his incantations. _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - . the okanagan medicine-men are called _tlaquillaughs_, and 'are men generally past the meridian of life; in their habits grave and sedate.' 'they possess a good knowledge of herbs and roots, and their virtues.' i have often 'seen him throw out whole mouthfuls of blood, and yet not the least mark would appear on the skin.' 'i once saw an indian who had been nearly devoured by a grizzly bear, and had his skull split open in several places, and several pieces of bone taken out just above the brain, and measuring three-fourths of an inch in length, cured so effectually by one of these jugglers, that in less than two months after he was riding on his horse again at the chase. i have also seen them cut open the belly with a knife, extract a large quantity of fat from the inside, sew up the part again, and the patient soon after perfectly recovered.' the most frequent diseases are 'indigestion, fluxes, asthmas, and consumptions.' instances of longevity rare. _ross' adven._, pp. - . a desperate case of consumption cured by killing a dog each day for thirty-two days, ripping it open and placing the patient's legs in the warm intestines, administering some barks meanwhile. the flatheads subject to few diseases; splints used for fractures, bleeding with sharp flints for contusions, ice-cold baths for ordinary rheumatism, and vapor bath with cold plunge for chronic rheumatism. _cox's adven._, vol. ii., pp. - , vol. i., pp. - . among the walla wallas convalescents are directed to sing some hours each day. the spokanes require all garments, etc., about the death-bed to be buried with the body, hence few comforts for the sick. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - , . the flatheads say their wounds cure themselves. _de smet_, _voy._, pp. - . the wascos cure rattlesnake bites by salt applied to the wound or by whisky taken internally. _kane's wand._, pp. , , - . a female doctor's throat cut by the father of a patient she had failed to cure. _hines' voy._, p. . the office of medicine-men among the sahaptins is generally hereditary. men often die from fear of a medicine-man's evil glance. rival doctors work on the fears of patients to get each other killed. murders of doctors somewhat rare among the nez percés. _alvord_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., pp. - , . small-pox seems to have come among the yakimas and kliketats before direct intercourse with whites. _gibbs_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , . a nez percé doctor killed by a brother of a man who had shot himself in mourning for his dead relative; the brother in turn killed, and several other lives lost. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. . [ ] the sokulks wrap the dead in skins, bury them in graves, cover with earth, and mark the grave by little pickets of wood struck over and about it. on the columbia below the snake was a shed-tomb sixty by twelve feet, open at the ends, standing east and west. recently dead bodies wrapped in leather and arranged on boards at the west end. about the centre a promiscuous heap of partially decayed corpses; and at eastern end a mat with twenty-one skulls arranged in a circle. articles of property suspended on the inside and skeletons of horses scattered outside. about the dalles eight vaults of boards eight feet square, and six feet high, and all the walls decorated with pictures and carvings. the bodies were laid east and west. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - , - , - , - . okanagans observe silence about the death-bed, but the moment the person dies the house is abandoned, and clamorous mourning is joined in by all the camp for some hours; then dead silence while the body is wrapped in a new garment, brought out, and the lodge torn down. then alternate mourning and silence, and the deceased is buried in a sitting posture in a round hole. widows must mourn two years, incessantly for some months, then only morning and evening. _ross' adven._, pp. - . frantic mourning, cutting the flesh, etc., by nez percés. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., pp. - , - , vol. ii., p. . destruction of horses and other property by spokanes. _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. - . a shushwap widow instigates the murder of a victim as a sacrifice to her husband. the horses of a walla walla chief not used after his death. _kane's wand._, pp. - , - , , . hundreds of wasco bodies piled in a small house on an island, just below the dalles. a walla walla chief caused himself to be buried alive in the grave of his last son. _hines' voy._, pp. , - . among the yakimas and kliketats the women do the mourning, living apart for a few days, and then bathing. okanagan bodies strapped to a tree. stone mounds over spokane graves. _gibbs and stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , , vol. xii., pt. i., p. . pend d'oreilles buried old and young alive when unable to take care of them. _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . 'high conical stacks of drift-wood' over walla walla graves. _townsend's nar._, p. . shushwaps often deposit dead in trees. if in the ground, always cover grave with stones. _mayne's b. c._, p. . killing a slave by wascos. _white's ogn._, pp. - . dances and prayers for three days at nez percé chief's burial. _irving's bonneville's adven._, p. . burying infant with parents by flatheads. _de smet_, _voy._, p. . light wooden pilings about shushwap graves. _milton and cheadle's northw. pass._, p. ; _alvord_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. ; _palmer_, in _b. c. papers_, pt. iii., p. ; _gass' jour._, p. ; _ind. life_, p. ; _tolmie_, in _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. - , - . [ ] sokulks 'of a mild and peaceable disposition,' respectful to old age. chilluckittequaws 'unusually hospitable and good humoured.' chopunnish 'the most amiable we have seen. their character is placid and gentle, rarely moved into passion.' 'they are indeed selfish and avaricious.' will pilfer small articles. _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , , , , - , . the flatheads 'se distinguent par la civilité, l'honnétété, et la bonté.' _de smet_, _voy._, pp. - , - , - , - , - . flatheads 'the best indians of the mountains and the plains,--honest, brave, and docile.' kootenais 'men of great docility and artlessness of character.' _stevens and hoecken_, in _de smet's west. miss._, pp. , , , . coeurs d'alène selfish and poor-spirited. _de smet_, _miss. de l'orégon_, p. . in the walla wallas 'an air of open unsuspecting confidence,' 'natural politeness,' no obtrusive familiarity. flatheads 'frank and hospitable.' except cruelty to captives have 'fewer failings than any of the tribes i ever met.' brave, quiet, and amenable to their chiefs. spokanes 'quiet, honest, inoffensive,' but rather indolent. 'thoughtless and improvident.' okanagans 'indolent rascals;' 'an honest and quiet tribe.' sanspoils dirty, slothful, dishonest, quarrelsome, etc. coeurs d'alène 'uniformly honest;' 'more savage than their neighbours.' kootenais honest, brave, jealous, truthful. kamloops 'thieving and quarrelling.' _cox's adven._, vol. i., pp. , , , , - , - , , vol. ii., pp. , - , , - . okanagans active and industrious, revengeful, generous and brave. _ross' adven._, pp. , - , - . skeen 'a hardy, brave people.' cayuses far more vicious and ungovernable than the walla wallas. nez percés treacherous and villainous. _kane's wand._, pp. , , , - , . nez percés 'a quiet, civil, people, but proud and haughty.' _palmer's jour._, pp. , , , , , - . 'kind to each other.' 'cheerful and often gay, sociable, kind and affectionate, and anxious to receive instruction.' 'lying scarcely known.' _parker's explor. tour_, pp. , , , , - , - . of the nicutemuchs 'the habitual vindictiveness of their character is fostered by the ceaseless feuds.' 'nearly every family has a minor vendetta of its own.' 'the races that depend entirely or chiefly on fishing, are immeasurably inferior to those tribes who, with nerves and sinews braced by exercise, and minds comparatively ennobled by frequent excitement, live constantly amid war and the chase.' _anderson_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., pp. - . inland tribes of british columbia less industrious and less provident than the more sedentary coast indians. _mayne's b. c._, pp. , . sahaptins 'cold, taciturn, high-tempered, warlike, fond of hunting.' palouse, yakimas, kliketats, etc., of a 'less hardy and active temperament' than the nez percés. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. , - . cayuses 'dreaded by their neighbors on account of their courage and warlike spirit.' walla wallas 'notorious as thieves since their first intercourse with whites.' 'indolent, superstitious, drunken and debauched.' character of flatheads, pend d'oreilles, umatillas. _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - , , , , , , pp. - . yakimas and kliketats 'much superior to the river indians.' _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., pp. , , , , vol. xii., pt. i., p. . wascos 'exceedingly vicious.' _hines' voy._, pp. , . the nez percés 'are, certainly, more like a nation of saints than a horde of savages.' skyuses, walla wallas. _irving's bonneville's adven._, pp. , , - , . tushepaws; _irving's astoria_, p. . thompson river indians rather a superior and clever race. _victoria colonist_, oct., . 'indians from the rocky mountains to the falls of columbia, are an honest, ingenuous, and well disposed people,' but rascals below the falls. _gass' jour._, p. . flathead 'fierceness and barbarity in war could not be exceeded.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . flatheads, walla wallas and nez percés; _gray's hist. ogn._, pp. , . kootenais; _palliser's explor._, pp. , . salish, walla wallas; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., p. . walla wallas, cayuses, and nez percés; _white's oregon_, p. . walla wallas, kootenais; _lord's nat._, vol. ii., pp. , . flatheads, nez percés; _dunn's oregon_, pp. , , - . nez percés; _catlin's n. am. ind._, vol. ii., p. ; _franchère's nar._, p. . kayuses, walla wallas; _townsend's nar._, p. . sahaptins; _wilkes' hist. ogn._, p. . nez percés; _hastings' emigrants' guide_, p. . flatheads; _ind. life_, pp. ix., x., . at dalles; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . shushwaps; _grant's ocean to ocean_, pp. - , . at dalles; _hunt_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. x., p. ; _stuart_, in _id._, , tom. xii., p. . pend d'oreilles; _joset_, in _id._, , tom. cxxiii., pp. - . [illustration: native races of the pacific states californian group] chapter iv. californians. groupal divisions; northern, central, and southern californians, and shoshones--country of the californians-- the klamaths, modocs, shastas, pitt river indians, eurocs, cahrocs, hoopahs, weeyots, tolewas, and rogue river indians and their customs--the tehamas, pomos, ukiahs, gualalas, sonomas, petalumas, napas, suscols, suisunes, tamales, karquines, ohlones, tulomos, thamiens, olchones, rumsens, escelens, and others of central california--the cahuillas, diegueÑos, islanders, and mission rancherias of southern california--the snakes or shoshones proper, utahs, bannocks, washoes and other shoshone nations. of the seven groups into which this work separates the nations of western north america, the californians constitute the third, and cover the territory between latitude ° and ° ´, extending back irregularly into the rocky mountains. there being few distinctly marked families in this group, i cannot do better in subdividing it for the purpose of description than make of the californians proper three geographical divisions, namely, the _northern californians_, the _central californians_, and the _southern californians_. the _shoshones_, or fourth division of this group, who spread out over south-eastern oregon, southern idaho, and the whole of nevada and utah, present more distinctly marked family characteristics, and will therefore be treated as a family. [sidenote: home of the californians.] the same chain of mountains, which, as the cascade range, divides the land of the columbians, holds its course steadily southward, and entering the territory of the californian group forms, under the name of the sierra nevada, the partition between the californians proper and the shoshones of idaho and nevada. the influence of this range upon the climate is also here manifest, only intenser in degree than farther north. the lands of the northern californians are well watered and wooded, those of the central division have an abundance of water for six months in the year, namely, from november to may, and the soil is fertile, yielding abundantly under cultivation. sycamore, oak, cotton-wood, willow, and white alder, fringe the banks of the rivers; laurel, buckeye, manzanita, and innumerable berry-bearing bushes, clothe the lesser hills; thousands of acres are annually covered with wild oats; the moist bottoms yield heavy crops of grass; and in summer the valleys are gorgeous with wild-flowers of every hue. before the blighting touch of the white man was laid upon the land, the rivers swarmed with salmon and trout; deer, antelope, and mountain sheep roamed over the foot-hills, bear and other carnivora occupied the forests, and numberless wild fowl covered the lakes. decreasing in moisture toward the tropics, the climate of the southern californians is warm and dry, while the shoshones, a large part of whose territory falls in the great basin, are cursed with a yet greater dryness. the region known as the great basin, lying between the eastern base of the sierra nevada and the wahsatch mountains, and stretching north and south from latitude ° to °, presents a very different picture from the land of the californians. this district is triangular in shape, the apex pointing toward the south, or southwest; from this apex, which, round the head of the gulf of california, is at tide level, the ground gradually rises until, in central nevada, it reaches an altitude of about five thousand feet, and this, with the exception of a few local depressions, is about the level of the whole of the broad part of the basin. the entire surface of this plateau is alkaline. being in parts almost destitute of water, there is comparatively little timber; sage-brush and greasewood being the chief signs of vegetation, except at rare intervals where some small stream struggling against almost universal aridity, supports on its banks a little scanty herbage and a few forlorn-looking cotton-wood trees. the northern part of this region, as is the case with the lands of the californians proper, is somewhat less destitute of vegetable and animal life than the southern portion which is indeed a desert occupied chiefly by rabbits, prairie-dogs, sage-hens, and reptiles. the desert of the colorado, once perhaps a fertile bottom, extending northward from the san bernardino mountains one hundred and eighty miles, and spreading over an area of about nine thousand square miles, is a silent unbroken sea of sand, upon whose ashy surface glares the mid-day sun and where at night the stars draw near through the thin air and brilliantly illumine the eternal solitude. here the gigantic cereus, emblem of barrenness, rears its contorted form, casting weird shadows upon the moonlit level. in such a country, where in winter the keen dust-bearing blast rushes over the unbroken desolate plains, and in summer the very earth cracks open with intense heat, what can we expect of man but that he should be distinguished for the depths of his low attainment. but although the poverty and barrenness of his country account satisfactorily for the low type of the inhabitant of the great basin, yet no such excuse is offered for the degradation of the native of fertile california. on every side, if we except the shoshone, in regions possessing far fewer advantages than california, we find a higher type of man. among the tuscaroras, cherokees, and iroquois of the atlantic slope, barbarism assumes its grandest proportions; proceeding west it bursts its fetters in the incipient civilization of the gila; but if we continue the line to the shores of the pacific we find this intellectual dawn checked, and man sunk almost to the utter darkness of the brute. coming southward from the frozen land of the eskimo, or northward from tropical darien we pass through nations possessing the necessaries and even the comforts of life. some of them raise and grind wheat and corn, many of them make pottery and other utensils, at the north they venture out to sea in good boats and make behemoth their spoil. the californians on the other hand, comparatively speaking, wear no clothes, they build no houses, do not cultivate the soil, they have no boats, nor do they hunt to any considerable extent; they have no morals nor any religion worth calling such. the missionary fathers found a virgin field whereon neither god nor devil was worshiped. we must look, then, to other causes for a solution of the question why a nobler race is not found in california; such for instance as revolutions and migrations of nations, or upheavals and convulsions of nature, causes arising before the commencement of the short period within which we are accustomed to reckon time. [sidenote: tribal diversity.] there is, perhaps, a greater diversity of tribal names among the californians than elsewhere in america; the whole system of nomenclature is so complicated and contradictory that it is impossible to reduce it to perfect order. there are tribes that call themselves by one name, but whose neighbors call them by another; tribes that are known by three or four names, and tribes that have no name except that of their village or chief.[ ] tribal names are frequently given by one writer which are never mentioned by any other;[ ] nevertheless there are tribes on whose names authorities agree, and though the spelling differs, the sound expressed in these instances is about the same. less trouble is experienced in distinguishing the tribes of the northern division, which is composed of people who resemble their neighbors more than is the case in central california, where the meaningless term 'indians,' is almost universally applied in speaking of them.[ ] another fruitful source of confusion is the indefinite nickname 'digger' which is applied indiscriminately to all the tribes of northern and middle california, and to those of nevada, utah, and the southern part of oregon. these tribes are popularly known as the californian diggers, washoe diggers, shoshone diggers of utah, etc., the signification of the term pointing to the digging of roots, and in some parts, possibly, to burrowing in the ground. the name is seemingly opprobrious, and is certainly no more applicable to this people than to many others. by this territorial division i hope to avoid, as far as possible, the two causes of bewilderment before alluded to; neither treating the inhabitants of an immense country as one tribe, nor attempting to ascribe distinct names and idiosyncrasies to hundreds of small, insignificant bands, roaming over a comparatively narrow area of country and to all of which one description will apply. [sidenote: nations of northern california.] the northern californians, the first tribal group, or division, of which i shall speak, might, not improperly, be called the klamath family, extending as they do from rogue river on the north, to the eel river south, and from the pacific ocean to the californian boundary east, and including the upper and lower klamath and other lakes. the principal tribes occupying this region are the _klamaths_,[ ] who live on the headwaters of the river and on the shores of the lake of that name; the _modocs_,[ ] on lower klamath lake and along lost river; the _shastas_, to the south-west of the lakes, near the shasta mountains; the _pitt river indians_; the _eurocs_ on the klamath river between weitspek and the coast; the _cahrocs_[ ] on the klamath river from a short distance above the junction of the trinity to the klamath mountains; the _hoopahs_ in hoopah valley on the trinity near its junction with the klamath; numerous tribes on the coast from eel river and humboldt bay north, such as the _weeyots_,[ ] _wallies_, _tolewahs_, etc., and the _rogue river indians_,[ ] on and about the river of that name.[ ] the northern californians are in every way superior to the central and southern tribes.[ ] their physique and character, in fact, approach nearer to the oregon nations than to the people of the sacramento and san joaquin valleys. this applies more particularly to the inland tribes. the race gradually deteriorates as it approaches the coast, growing less in stature, darker in color, more and more degraded in character, habits, and religion. the rogue river indians must, however, be made an exception to this rule. the tendency to improve toward the north, which is so marked among the californians, holds good in this case; so that the natives on the extreme north-west coast of the region under consideration, are in many respects superior to the interior but more southerly tribes. [sidenote: physical peculiarities.] the northern californians round the klamath lakes, and the klamath, trinity, and rogue rivers, are tall, muscular, and well made,[ ] with a complexion varying from nearly black to light brown, in proportion to their proximity to, or distance, from the ocean or other large bodies of water; their face is large, oval, and heavily made, with slightly prominent cheek-bones, nose well set on the face and frequently straight, and eyes which, when not blurred by ophthalmia, are keen and bright. the women are short and some of them quite handsome, even in the caucasian sense of the word;[ ] and although their beauty rapidly fades, yet they do not in old age present that unnaturally wrinkled and shriveled appearance, characteristic of the central californians. this description scarcely applies to the people inhabiting the coast about redwood creek, humboldt bay, and eel river, who are squat and fat in figure, rather stoutly built, with large heads covered with coarse thick hair, and repulsive countenances, who are of a much darker color, and altogether of a lower type than the tribes to the east and north of them.[ ] [sidenote: dress in northern california.] dress depends more on the state of the climate than on their own sense of decency. the men wear a belt, sometimes a breech-clout, and the women an apron or skirt of deer-skin or braided grass; then they sometimes throw over the shoulders a sort of cloak, or robe, of marten or rabbit skins sewn together, deer-skin, or, among the coast tribes, seal or sea-otter skin. when they indulge in this luxury, however, the men usually dispense with all other covering.[ ] occasionally we find them taking great pride in their gala dresses and sparing no pains to render them beautiful. the modocs, for instance, took large-sized skins, and inlaid them with brilliant-colored duck-scalps, sewed on in various figures; others, again, embroidered their aprons with colored grasses, and attached beads and shells to a deep fringe falling from the lower part.[ ] a bowl-shaped hat, or cap, of basket-work, is usually worn by the women, in making which some of them are very skillful. this hat is sometimes painted with various figures, and sometimes interwoven with gay feathers of the woodpecker or blue quail.[ ] the men generally go bare-headed, their thick hair being sufficient protection from sun and weather. in the vicinity of the lakes, where, from living constantly among the long grass and reeds, the greatest skill is acquired in weaving and braiding, moccasins of straw or grass are worn.[ ] at the junction of the klamath and trinity rivers their moccasins have soles of several thicknesses of leather.[ ] the natives seen by maurelle at trinidad bay, bound their loins and legs down to the ankle with strips of hide or thread, both men and women. the manner of dressing the hair varies; the most common way being to club it together behind in a queue, sometimes in two, worn down the back, or occasionally in the latter case drawn forward over the shoulders. the queue is frequently twisted up in a knot on the back of the head--_en castanna_--as maurelle calls it. occasionally the hair is worn loose, and flowing, and some of the women cut it short on the forehead. it is not uncommon to see wreaths of oak or laurel leaves, feathers, or the tails of gray squirrels twisted in the hair; indeed, from the trouble which they frequently take to adorn their coiffure, one would imagine that these people were of a somewhat æsthetic turn of mind, but a closer acquaintance quickly dispels the illusion. on eel river some cut all the hair short, a custom practiced to some extent by the central californians.[ ] [sidenote: facial ornamentation.] as usual these savages are beardless, or nearly so.[ ] tattooing, though not carried to any great extent, is universal among the women, and much practiced by the men, the latter confining this ornamentation to the breast and arms. the women tattoo in three blue lines, extending perpendicularly from the centre and corners of the lower lip to the chin. in some tribes they tattoo the arms, and occasionally the back of the hands. as they grow older the lines on the chin, which at first are very faint, are increased in width and color, thus gradually narrowing the intervening spaces. now, as the social importance of the female is gauged by the width and depth of color of these lines, one might imagine that before long the whole chin would be what southey calls "blue, darkly, deeply, beautifully blue;" but fashion ordains, as in the lip-ornament of the thlinkeets, that the lines should be materially enlarged only as the charms of youth fade, thus therewith gauging both age and respectability.[ ] in some few tribes, more especially in the vicinity of the lakes, the men paint themselves in various colors and grotesque patterns. among the modocs the women also paint. miller says that when a modoc warrior paints his face black before going into battle it means victory or death, and he will not survive a defeat.[ ] both men and women pierce the dividing cartilage of the nose, and wear various kinds of ornaments in the aperture. sometimes it is a goose-quill, three or four inches long, at others, a string of beads or shells. some of the more northerly tribes wear large round pieces of wood or metal in the ears.[ ] maurelle, in his bucolic description of the natives at trinidad bay, says that "on their necks they wear various fruits, instead of beads."[ ] vancouver, who visited the same place nearly twenty years later, states that "all the teeth of both sexes were by some process ground uniformly down horizontally to the gums, the women especially, carrying the fashion to an extreme, had their teeth reduced even below this level."[ ] here also we see in their habitations the usual summer and winter residences common to nomadic tribes. the winter dwellings, varying with locality, are principally of two forms--conical and square. those of the former shape, which is the most widely prevailing, and obtains chiefly in the vicinity of the klamath lakes and on the klamath and trinity rivers, are built in the manner following: a circular hole, from two to five feet in depth, and varying in diameter, is dug in the ground. round this pit, or cellar, stout poles are sunk, which are drawn together at the top until they nearly meet; the whole is then covered with earth to the depth of several inches. a hole is left in the top, which serves as chimney and door, a rude ladder or notched pole communicating with the cellar below, and a similar one with the ground outside. this, however, is only the commoner and lighter kind of conical house. many of them are built of much heavier timbers, which, instead of being bent over at the top, and so forming a bee-hive-shaped structure, are leaned one against the other. the dwellings built by the hoopahs are somewhat better. the inside of the cellar is walled up with stone; round this, and at a distance of a few feet from it, another stone wall is built on the surface level, against which heavy beams or split logs are leaned up, meeting at the top, or sometimes the lower ends of the poles rest against the inside of the wall, thus insuring the inmates against a sudden collapse of the hut.[ ] [sidenote: californian habitations.] the square style of dwelling is affected more by the coast tribes, although occasionally seen in the interior. a cellar, either square or round, is dug in the same manner as with the conical houses. the sides of the hole are walled with upright slabs, which project some feet above the surface of the ground. the whole structure is covered with a roof of sticks or planks, sloping gently outward, and resting upon a ridge-pole. the position of the door varies, being sometimes in the roof, sometimes on a level with the ground, and occasionally high up in the gable. its shape and dimensions, however, never alter; it is always circular, barely large enough to admit a full-grown man on hands and knees. when on the roof or in the gable, a notched pole or mud steps lead up to the entrance; when on the ground, a sliding panel closes the entrance. in some cases, the excavation is planked up only to a level with the ground. the upper part is then raised several feet from the sides, leaving a bank, or rim, on which the inmates sleep; occasionally there is no excavation, the house being erected on the level ground, with merely a small fire-hole in the centre. the floors are kept smooth and clean, and a small space in front of the door, paved with stones and swept clean, serves as gossiping and working ground for the women.[ ] the temporary summer houses of the northern californians are square, conical, and inverted-bowl-shaped huts; built, when square, by driving light poles into the ground and laying others horizontally across them; when conical, the poles are drawn together at the top into a point; when bowl-shaped, both ends of the poles are driven into the ground, making a semi-circular hut. these frames, however shaped, are covered with neatly woven tule matting,[ ] or with bushes or ferns.[ ] [sidenote: hunting and fishing.] the californians are but poor hunters; they prefer the snare to the bow and arrow. yet some of the mountain tribes display considerable dexterity in the chase. to hunt the prong-buck, the klamath fastens to each heel a strip of ermine-skin, and keeping the herd to the windward, he approaches craftily through the tall grass as near as possible, then throwing himself on his back, or standing on his head, he executes a pantomime in the air with his legs. naturally the antelope wonder, and being cursed with curiosity, the simple animals gradually approach. as soon as they arrive within easy shooting-distance, down go the hunter's legs and up comes the body. too late the antelope learn their mistake; swift as they are, the arrow is swifter; and the fattest buck pays the penalty of his inquisitiveness with his life. the veeards, at humboldt bay, construct a slight fence from tree to tree, into which inclosure elk are driven, the only exit being by a narrow opening at one end, where a pole is placed in such a manner as to force the animal to stoop in passing under it, when its head is caught in a noose suspended from the pole. this pole is dragged down by the entangled elk, but soon he is caught fast in the thick undergrowth, and firmly held until the hunter comes up.[ ] pitfalls are also extensively used in trapping game. a narrow pass, through which an elk or deer trail leads, is selected for the pit, which is ten or twelve feet deep. the animals are then suddenly stampeded from their feeding-grounds, and, in their wild terror, rush blindly along the trail to destruction.[ ] the bear they seldom hunt, and if one is taken, it is usually by accident, in one of their strong elk-traps. many of the tribes refuse to eat bear-meat, alleging that the flesh of a man-eating animal is unclean; but no doubt bruin owes his immunity as much to his teeth and claws as to his uncleanness. [sidenote: fishing by night on the klamath.] fishing is more congenial to the lazy taste of these people than the nobler but more arduous craft of hunting; consequently fish, being abundant, are generally more plentiful in the aboriginal larder than venison. several methods are adopted in taking them. sometimes a dam of interwoven willows is constructed across a rapid at the time when salmon are ascending the river; niches four or five feet square are made at intervals across the dam, in which the fish, pressed on by those behind, collect in great numbers and are there speared or netted without mercy. much ingenuity and labor are required to build some of the larger of these dams. mr gibbs describes one thrown across the klamath, where the river was about seventy-five yards wide, elbowing up the stream in its deepest part. it was built by first driving stout posts into the bed of the river, at a distance of some two feet apart, having a moderate slope, and supported from below, at intervals of ten or twelve feet, by two braces; the one coming to the surface of the water, the other reaching to the string-pieces. these last were heavy spars, about thirty feet in length, and secured to each post by withes. the whole dam was faced with twigs, carefully peeled, and placed so close together as to prevent the fish from passing up. the top, at this stage of the water, was two or three feet above the surface. the labor of constructing this work must, with the few and insufficient tools of the natives, have been immense. slight scaffolds were built out below it, from which the fish were taken in scoop-nets; they also employ drag-nets and spears, the latter having a movable barb, which is fastened to the shaft with a string in order to afford the salmon play.[ ] on rogue river, spearing by torch-light--a most picturesque sight--is resorted to. twenty canoes sometimes start out together, each carrying three persons--two women, one to row and the other to hold the torch, and a spearman. sometimes the canoes move in concert, sometimes independently of each other; one moment the lights are seen in line, like an army of fire-flies, then they are scattered over the dark surface of the water like ignes fatui. the fish, attracted by the glare, rise to the surface, where they are transfixed by the unerring aim of the spearmen. torchlight spearing is also done by driving the fish down stream in the day-time by dint of much wading, yelling, and howling, and many splashes, until they are stopped by a dam previously erected lower down; another dam is then built above, so that the fish cannot escape. at night fires are built round the edge of the enclosed space, and the finny game speared from the bank.[ ] some tribes on the klamath erect platforms over the stream on upright poles, on which they sleep and fish at the same time. a string leads from the net either to the fisherman himself or to some kind of alarm; and as soon as a salmon is caught, its floundering immediately awakens the slumberer. on the sea-shore smelts are taken in a triangular net stretched on two slender poles; the fisherman wades into the water up to his waist, turns his face to the shore, and his back to the incoming waves, against whose force he braces himself with a stout stick, then as the smelts are washed back from the beach by the returning waves, he receives them in his net. the net is deep, and a narrow neck connects it with a long network bag behind; into this bag the fish drop when the net is raised, but they cannot return. in this manner the fisherman can remain for some time at his post, without unloading. eels are caught in traps having a funnel-shaped entrance, into which the eels can easily go, but which closes on them as soon as they are in. these traps are fastened to stakes and kept down by weights. similar traps are used to take salmon. when preserved for winter use, the fish are split open at the back, the bone taken out, then dried or smoked. both fish and meat, when eaten fresh, are either broiled on hot stones or boiled in water-tight baskets, hot stones being thrown in to make the water boil. bread is made of acorns ground to flour in a rough stone mortar with a heavy stone pestle, and baked in the ashes. acorn-flour is the principal ingredient, but berries of various kinds are usually mixed in, and frequently it is seasoned with some high-flavored herb. a sort of pudding is also made in the same manner, but is boiled instead of baked. they gather a great variety of roots, berries, and seeds. the principal root is the camas,[ ] great quantities of which are dried every summer, and stored away for winter provision. another root, called _kice_, or _kace_,[ ] is much sought after. of seeds they have the _wocus_,[ ] and several varieties of grass-seeds. among berries the huckleberry and the manzanita berry are the most plentiful.[ ] the women do the cooking, root and berry gathering, and all the drudgery. the winter stock of smoked fish hangs in the family room, sending forth an ancient and fish-like smell. roots and seeds are, among some of the more northerly tribes, stored in large wicker boxes, built in the lower branches of strong, wide-spreading trees. the trunk of the tree below the granary is smeared with pitch to keep away vermin.[ ] the modocs are sometimes obliged to cache their winter hoard under rocks and bushes; the great number of their enemies and bad character of their ostensibly friendly neighbors, rendering it unsafe for them to store it in their villages. so cunningly do they conceal their treasure that one winter, after an unusually heavy fall of snow, they themselves could not find it, and numbers starved in consequence.[ ] although the northern californians seldom fail to take a cold bath in the morning, and frequently bathe at intervals during the day, yet they are never clean.[ ] [sidenote: war and weapons.] the northern californians are not of a very warlike disposition, hence their weapons are few, being confined chiefly to the bow and arrow.[ ] the bow is about three feet in length, made of yew, cedar, or some other tough or elastic wood, and generally painted. the back is flat, from an inch and a half to two inches wide, and covered with elk-sinews, which greatly add both to its strength and elasticity; the string is also of sinew. the bow is held horizontally when discharged, instead of perpendicularly as in most countries. the arrows are from two to three feet long, and are made sometimes of reed, sometimes of light wood. the points, which are of flint, obsidian, bone, iron, or copper, are ground to a very fine point, fastened firmly into a short piece of wood, and fitted into a socket in the main shaft, so that on withdrawing the arrow the head will be left in the wound. the feathered part, which is from five to eight inches long, is also sometimes a separate piece bound on with sinews. the quiver is made of the skin of a fox, wild-cat, or some other small animal, in the same shape as when the animal wore it, except at the tail end, where room is left for the feathered ends of arrows to project. it is usually carried on the arm.[ ] mr powers says: "doubtless many persons who have seen the flint arrow-heads made by the indians, have wondered how they succeeded with their rude implements, in trimming them down to such sharp, thin points, without breaking them to pieces. the veeards--and probably other tribes do likewise--employ for this purpose a pair of buck-horn pincers, tied together at the point with a thong. they first hammer out the arrow-head in the rough, and then with these pincers carefully nip off one tiny fragment after another, using that infinite patience which is characteristic of the indian, spending days, perhaps weeks, on one piece. there are indians who make arrows as a specialty, just as there are others who concoct herbs and roots for the healing of men."[ ] the shastas especially excelled in making obsidian arrow-heads; mr wilkes of the exploring expedition notices them as being "beautifully wrought," and lyon, in a letter to the american ethnological society, communicated through dr e. h. davis, describes the very remarkable ingenuity and skill which they display in this particular. the arrow-point maker, who is one of a regular guild, places the obsidian pebble upon an anvil of talcose slate and splits it with an agate chisel to the required size; then holding the piece with his finger and thumb against the anvil, he finishes it off with repeated slight blows, administered with marvelous adroitness and judgment. one of these artists made an arrow-point for mr lyon out of a piece of a broken porter-bottle. owing to his not being acquainted with the grain of the glass, he failed twice, but the third time produced a perfect specimen.[ ] the wallies poison their arrows with rattlesnake-virus, but poisoned weapons seem to be the exception.[ ] the bow is skilfully used; war-clubs are not common.[ ] [sidenote: war and its motives.] wars, though of frequent occurrence, were not particularly bloody. the casus belli was usually that which brought the spartan king before the walls of ilion, and titus tatius to incipient rome--woman. it is true, the northern californians are less classic abductors than the spoilers of the sabine women, but their wars ended in the same manner--the ravished fair cleaving to her warrior-lover. religion also, that ever-fruitful source of war, is not without its conflicts in savagedom; thus more than once the shastas and the umpquas have taken up arms because of wicked sorceries, which caused the death of the people.[ ] so when one people obstructed the river with their weir, thereby preventing the ascent of salmon, there was nothing left for those above but to fight or starve. along pitt river, pits from ten to fifteen feet deep were formerly dug, in which the natives caught man and beast. these man-traps, for such was their primary use, were small at the mouth, widening toward the bottom, so that exit was impossible, even were the victim to escape impalement upon sharpened elk and deer horns, which were favorably placed for his reception. the opening was craftily concealed by means of light sticks, over which earth was scattered, and the better to deceive the unwary traveler, footprints were frequently stamped with a moccasin in the loose soil. certain landmarks and stones or branches, placed in a peculiar manner, warned the initiated, but otherwise there was no sign of impending danger.[ ] some few nations maintain the predominancy and force the weaker to pay tribute.[ ] when two of these dominant nations war with each other, the conflict is more sanguinary. no scalps are taken, but in some cases the head, hands, or feet of the conquered slain are severed as trophies. the cahrocs sometimes fight hand to hand with ragged stones, which they use with deadly effect. the rogue river indians kill all their male prisoners, but spare the women and children.[ ] the elk-horn knives and hatchets are the result of much labor and patience.[ ] the women are very ingenious in plaiting grass, or fine willow-roots, into mats, baskets, hats, and strips of parti-colored braid for binding up the hair. on these, angular patterns are worked by using different shades of material, or by means of dyes of vegetable extraction. the baskets are of various sizes, from the flat, basin-shaped, water-tight, rush bowl for boiling food, to the large pointed cone which the women carry on their backs when root-digging or berry-picking.[ ] they are also expert tanners, and, by a comparatively simple process, will render skins as soft and pliable as cloth. the hide is first soaked in water till the hair loosens, then stretched between trees or upright posts till half dry, when it is scraped thoroughly on both sides, well beaten with sticks, and the brains of some animal, heated at a fire, are rubbed on the inner side to soften it. finally it is buried in moist ground for some weeks. [sidenote: manufactures and boats.] the interior tribes manifest no great skill in boat-making, but along the coast and near the mouth of the klamath and rogue rivers, very good canoes are found. they are still, however, inferior to those used on the columbia and its tributaries. the lashed-up-hammock-shaped bundle of rushes, which is so frequently met in the more southern parts of california, has been seen on the klamath,[ ] but i have reason to think that it is only used as a matter of convenience, and not because no better boat is known. it is certain that dug-out canoes were in use on the same river, and within a few miles of the spot where tule buoys obtain. the fact is, this bundle of rushes is the best craft that could be invented for salmon-spearing. seated astride, the weight of the fisherman sinks it below the surface; he can move it noiselessly with his feet so that there is no splashing of paddles in the sun to frighten the fish; it cannot capsize, and striking a rock does it no injury. canoes are hollowed from the trunk of a single redwood, pine, fir, sycamore, or cottonwood tree. they are blunt at both ends and on rogue river many of them are flat-bottomed. it is a curious fact that some of these canoes are made from first to last without being touched with a sharp-edged tool of any sort. the native finds the tree ready felled by the wind, burns it off to the required length, and hollows it out by fire. pitch is spread on the parts to be burned away, and a piece of fresh bark prevents the flames from extending too far in the wrong direction. a small shelf, projecting inward from the stern, serves as a seat. much trouble is sometimes taken with the finishing up of these canoes, in the way of scraping and polishing, but in shape they lack symmetry. on the coast they are frequently large; mr powers mentions having seen one at smith river forty-two feet long, eight feet four inches wide, and capable of carrying twenty-four men and five tons of merchandise. the natives take great care of their canoes, and always cover them when out of the water to protect them from the sun. should a crack appear they do not caulk it, but stitch the sides of the split tightly together with withes. they are propelled with a piece of wood, half pole, half paddle.[ ] [sidenote: wealth in northern california.] wealth, which is quite as important here as in any civilized communities, and of much more importance than is customary among savage nations, consists in shell-money, called _allicochick_, white deer-skins, canoes, and, indirectly, in women. the shell which is the regular circulating medium is white, hollow, about a quarter of an inch through, and from one to two inches in length. on its length depends its value. a gentleman, who writes from personal observation, says: "all of the older indians have tattooed on their arms their standard of value. a piece of shell corresponding in length to one of the marks being worth five dollars, 'boston money,' the scale gradually increases until the highest mark is reached. for five perfect shells corresponding in length to this mark they will readily give one hundred dollars in gold or silver."[ ] white deer-skins are rare and considered very valuable, one constituting quite an estate in itself.[ ] a scalp of the red-headed woodpecker is equivalent to about five dollars, and is extensively used as currency on the klamath. canoes are valued according to their size and finish. wives, as they must be bought, are a sign of wealth, and the owner of many is respected accordingly.[ ] among the northern californians, hereditary chieftainship is almost unknown. if the son succeed the father it is because the son has inherited the father's wealth, and if a richer than he arise the ancient ruler is deposed and the new chief reigns in his stead. but to be chief means to have position, not power. he can advise, but not command; at least, if his subjects do not choose to obey him, he cannot compel obedience. there is most frequently a head man to each village, and sometimes a chief of the whole tribe, but in reality each head of a family governs his own domestic circle as he thinks best. as in certain republics, when powerful applicants become multiplied--new offices are created, as salmon-chief, elk-chief, and the like. in one or two coast tribes the office is hereditary, as with the patawats on mad river, and that mysterious tribe at trinidad bay, mentioned by mr meyer, the allequas.[ ] their penal code is far from draconian. a fine of a few strings of allicochick appeases the wrath of a murdered man's relatives and satisfies the requirements of custom. a woman may be slaughtered for half the sum it costs to kill a man. occasionally banishment from the tribe is the penalty for murder, but capital punishment is never resorted to. the fine, whatever it is, must be promptly paid, or neither city of refuge nor sacred altar-horns will shield the murderer from the vengeance of his victim's friends.[ ] [sidenote: women and domestic affairs.] in vain do we look for traces of that arcadian simplicity and disregard for worldly advantages generally accorded to children of nature. although i find no description of an actual system of slavery existing among them, yet there is no doubt that they have slaves. we shall see that illegitimate children are considered and treated as such, and that women, entitled by courtesy wives, are bought and sold. mr drew asserts that the klamath children of slave parents, who, it may be, prevent the profitable prostitution or sale of the mother, are killed without compunction.[ ] marriage, with the northern californians, is essentially a matter of business. the young brave must not hope to win his bride by feats of arms or softer wooing, but must buy her of her father, like any other chattel, and pay the price at once, or resign in favor of a richer man. the inclinations of the girl are in nowise consulted; no matter where her affections are placed, she goes to the highest bidder, and "mammon wins his way where seraphs might despair." neither is it a trifling matter to be bought as a wife; the social position of the bride herself, as well as that of her father's family thereafter, depends greatly upon the price she brings; her value is voted by society at the price her husband pays for her, and the father whose daughter commands the greatest number of strings of allicochick, is greatly to be honored. the purchase effected, the successful suitor leads his blushing property to his hut and she becomes his wife without further ceremony. wherever this system of wife-purchase obtains, the rich old men almost absorb the female youth and beauty of the tribe, while the younger and poorer men must content themselves with old and ugly wives. hence their eagerness for that wealth which will enable them to throw away their old wives and buy new ones. when a marriage takes place among the modocs, a feast is given at the house of the bride's father, in which, however, neither she nor the bridegroom partake. the girl is escorted by the women to a lodge, previously furnished by public contributions, where she is subsequently joined by the man, who is conducted by his male friends. all the company bear torches, which are piled up as a fire in the lodge of the wedded pair, who are then left alone. in some tribes this wife-traffic is done on credit, or at least partially so; but the credit system is never so advantageous to the buyer as the ready-money system, for until the full price is paid, the man is only 'half-married,' and besides he must live with his wife's family and be their slave until he shall have paid in full.[ ] the children of a wife who has cost her husband nothing are considered no better than bastards, and are treated by society with contumely; nobody associates with them, and they become essentially ostracized. in all this there is one redeeming feature for the wife-buyer; should he happen to make a bad bargain he can, in most instances, send his wife home and get his money back. mr gibbs asserts that they shoot their wives when tired of them, but this appears inconsistent with custom. [sidenote: adultery and chastity.] polygamy is almost universal, the number of wives depending only on the limit of a man's wealth. the loss of one eye, or expulsion from the tribe, are common punishments for adultery committed by a man. a string of beads, however, makes amends. should the wife venture on any irregularity without just compensation, the outraged honor of her lord is never satisfied until he has seen her publicly disemboweled. among the hoopahs the women are held irresponsible and the men alone suffer for the crime.[ ] illegitimate children are life-slaves to some male relative of the mother, and upon them the drudgery falls; they are only allowed to marry one in their own station, and their sole hope of emancipation lies in a slow accumulation of allicochick, with which they can buy their freedom. we are told by mr powers that a modoc may kill his mother-in-law with impunity. adultery, being attended with so much danger, is comparatively rare, but among the unmarried, who have nothing to fear, a gross licentiousness prevails.[ ] among the muckalucs a dance is instituted in honor of the arrival of the girls at the age of puberty. on the klamath, during the period of menstruation the women are banished from the village, and no man may approach them. although the principal labor falls to the lot of the women, the men sometimes assist in building the wigwam, or even in gathering acorns and roots.[ ] kane mentions that the shastas, or, as he calls them, the chastays, frequently sell their children as slaves to the chinooks.[ ] dances and festivities, of a religio-playful character, are common, as when a whale is stranded, an elk snared, or when the salmon come. there is generally a kind of thanksgiving-day once a year, when the people of neighboring tribes meet and dance. the annual feast of the veeards is a good illustration of the manner of these entertainments. the dance, which takes place in a large wigwam, is performed by as many men as there is room for, and a small proportion of women. they move in a circle slowly round the fire, accompanying themselves with their peculiar chant. each individual is dressed in all the finery he can muster; every valuable he possesses in the way of shells, furs, or woodpecker-scalps, does duty on this occasion; so that the wealth of the dancers may be reckoned at a glance. when the dance has concluded, an old gray-beard of the tribe rises, and pronounces a thanksgiving oration, wherein he enumerates the benefits received, the riches accumulated, and the victories won during the year; exhorting the hearers meanwhile, by good conduct and moral behavior, to deserve yet greater benefits. this savage nestor is listened to in silence and with respect; his audience seeming to drink in with avidity every drop of wisdom that falls from his lips; but no sooner is the harangue concluded than every one does his best to violate the moral precepts so lately inculcated, by a grand debauch. the cahrocs have a similar festival, which they call the feast of the propitiation. its object is much the same as that of the feast just described, but in place of the orator, the chief personage of the day is called the chareya, which is also the appellation of their deity. no little honor attaches to the position, but much suffering is also connected with it. it is the duty of the chareya-man to retire into the mountains, with one attendant only, and there to remain for ten days, eating only enough to keep breath in his body. meanwhile the cahrocs congregate in honor of the occasion, dance, sing, and make merry. when the appointed period has elapsed, the chareya-man returns to camp, or is carried by deputies sent out for the purpose, if he have not strength to walk. his bearers are blindfolded, for no human being may look upon the face of the chareya-man and live. his approach is the signal for the abrupt breaking up of the festivities. the revelers disperse in terror, and conceal themselves as best they may to avoid catching sight of the dreaded face, and where a moment before all was riot and bustle, a deathly stillness reigns. then the chareya-man is conducted to the sweat-house, where he remains for a time. and now the real propitiation-dance takes place, the men alone participating in its sacred movements, which are accompanied by the low, monotonous chant of singers. the dance over, all solemnity vanishes, and a lecherous saturnalia ensues, which will not bear description. the gods are conciliated, catastrophes are averted, and all is joy and happiness.[ ] [sidenote: sports and games.] a passion for gambling obtains among the northern californians as elsewhere. nothing is too precious or too insignificant to be staked, from a white or black deer-skin, which is almost priceless, down to a wife, or any other trifle. in this manner property changes hands with great rapidity. i have already stated that on the possession of riches depend power, rank, and social position, so that there is really much to be lost or won. they have a game played with little sticks, of which some are black, but the most white. these they throw around in a circle, the object being seemingly to make the black ones go farther than the white. a kind of guess-game is played with clay balls.[ ] there is also an international game, played between friendly tribes, which closely resembles our 'hockey.' two poles are set up in the ground at some distance apart, and each side, being armed with sticks, endeavors to drive a wooden ball round the goal opposite to it.[ ] in almost all their games and dances they are accompanied by a hoarse chanting, or by some kind of uncouth music produced by striking on a board with lobster-claws fastened to sticks, or by some other equally primitive method. before the introduction of spirituous liquors by white men drunkenness was unknown. with their tobacco for smoking, they mix a leaf called _kinnik-kinnik_.[ ] [sidenote: medical treatment.] the diseases and ailments most prevalent among these people are scrofula, consumption, rheumatism, a kind of leprosy, affection of the lungs, and sore eyes, the last arising from the dense smoke which always pervades their cabins.[ ] in addition to this they have imaginary disorders caused by wizards, witches, and evil spirits, who, as they believe, cause snakes and other reptiles to enter into their bodies and gnaw their vitals. some few roots and herbs used are really efficient medicine, but they rely almost entirely upon the mummeries and incantations of their medicine men and women.[ ] their whole system of therapeutics having superstition for a basis, mortality is great among them, which may be one of the causes of the continent being, comparatively speaking, so thinly populated at the time of its discovery. syphilis, one of the curses for which they may thank the white man, has made fearful havoc among them. women doctors seem to be more numerous than men in this region; acquiring their art in the _temescal_ or sweat-house, where unprofessional women are not admitted. their favorite method of cure seems to consist in sucking the affected part of the patient until the blood flows, by which means they pretend to extract the disease. sometimes the doctress vomits a frog, previously swallowed for the occasion, to prove that she has not sucked in vain. she is frequently assisted by a second physician, whose duty it is to discover the exact spot where the malady lies, and this she effects by barking like a dog at the patient until the spirit discovers to her the place. mr gibbs mentions a case where the patient was first attended by four young women, and afterward by the same number of old ones. standing round the unfortunate, they went through a series of violent gesticulations, sitting down when they could stand no longer, sucking, with the most laudable perseverance, and moaning meanwhile most dismally. finally, when with their lips and tongue they had raised blisters all over the patient, and had pounded his miserable body with hands and knees until they were literally exhausted, the performers executed a swooning scene, in which they sank down apparently insensible.[ ] the rogue river medicine-men are supposed to be able to wield their mysterious power for harm, as well as for good, so that should a patient die, his relatives kill the doctor who attended him; or in case deceased could not afford medical attendance, they kill the first unfortunate disciple of Æsculapius they can lay hands on, frequently murdering one belonging to another tribe; his death, however, must be paid for.[ ] but the great institution of the northern californians is their temescal, or sweat-house, which consists of a hole dug in the ground, and roofed over in such a manner as to render it almost air-tight. a fire is built in the centre in early fall, and is kept alive till the following spring, as much attention being given to it as ever was paid to the sacred fires of hestia; though between the subterranean temescal, with its fetid atmosphere, and lurid fire-glow glimmering faintly through dense smoke on swart, gaunt forms of savages, and the stately temple on the forum, fragrant with fumes of incense, the lambent altar-flame glistening on the pure white robes of the virgin priestesses, there is little likeness. the temescal[ ] is usually built on the brink of a stream; a small hatchway affords entrance, which is instantly closed after the person going in or out. here congregate the men of the village and enact their sudorific ceremonies, which ordinarily consist in squatting round the fire until a state of profuse perspiration sets in, when they rush out and plunge into the water. whether this mode of treatment is more potent to kill or to cure is questionable. the sweat-house serves not only as bath and medicine room, but also as a general rendezvous for the male drones of the village. the women, with the exception of those practicing or studying medicine, are forbidden its sacred precincts on pain of death; thus it offers as convenient a refuge for henpecked husbands as a civilized club-house. in many of the tribes the men sleep in the temescal during the winter, which, notwithstanding the disgusting impurity of the atmosphere, affords them a snug retreat from the cold gusty weather common to this region.[ ] [sidenote: burial and mourning.] incremation obtains but slightly among the northern californians, the body usually being buried in a recumbent position. the possessions of the deceased are either interred with him, or are hung around the grave; sometimes his house is burned and the ashes strewn over his burial-place. much noisy lamentation on the part of his relatives takes place at his death, and the widow frequently manifests her grief by sitting on, or even half burying herself in, her husband's grave for some days, howling most dismally meanwhile, and refusing food and drink; or, on the upper klamath, by cutting her hair close to the head, and so wearing it until she obtains consolation in another spouse. the modocs hired mourners to lament at different places for a certain number of days, so that the whole country was filled with lamentation. these paid mourners were closely watched, and disputes frequently arose as to whether they had fulfilled their contract or not.[ ] occasionally the body is doubled up and interred in a sitting position, and, rarely, it is burned instead of buried. on the klamath a fire is kept burning near the grave for several nights after the burial, for which rite various reasons are assigned. mr powers states that it is to light the departed shade across a certain greased pole, which is supposed to constitute its only approach to a better world. mr gibbs affirms that the fire is intended to scare away the devil, obviously an unnecessary precaution as applied to the satan of civilization, who by this time must be pretty familiar with the element. the grave is generally covered with a slab of wood, and sometimes two more are placed erect at the head and foot; that of a chief is often surrounded with a fence; nor must the name of a dead person ever be mentioned under any circumstances.[ ] [sidenote: burial ceremonies at pitt river.] the following vivid description of a last sickness and burial by the pitt river indians, is taken from the letter of a lady eye-witness to her son in san francisco:-- it was evening. we seated ourselves upon a log, your father, bertie, and i, near the fire round which the natives had congregated to sing for old gesnip, the chief's wife. presently sootim, the doctor, appeared, dressed in a low-necked, loose, white muslin, sleeveless waist fastened to a breech-cloth, and red buck-skin cap fringed and ornamented with beads; the face painted with white stripes down to the chin, the arms from wrist to shoulder, in black, red, and white circles, which by the lurid camp-fire looked like bracelets, and the legs in white and black stripes,--presenting altogether a merry-andrew appearance. creeping softly along, singing in a low, gradually-increasing voice, sootim approached the invalid and poised his hands over her as in the act of blessing. the one nearest him took up the song, singing low at first, then the next until the circle was completed; after this the pipe went round; then the doctor taking a sip of water, partly uncovered the patient and commenced sucking the left side; last of all he took a pinch of dirt and blew it over her. this is their curative process, continued night after night, and long into the night, until the patient recovers or dies. next day the doctor came to see me, and i determined if possible to ascertain his own ideas of these things. giving him some _muck-a-muck_,[ ] i asked him, "what do you say when you talk over old gesnip?" "i talk to the trees, and to the springs, and birds, and sky, and rocks," replied sootim, "to the wind, and rain, and leaves, i beg them all to help me." iofalet, the doctor's companion on this occasion, volunteered the remark: "when indian die, doctor very shamed, all same boston doctor;[ ] when indian get well, doctor very smart, all same boston doctor." gesnip said she wanted after death to be put in a box and buried in the ground, and not burned. that same day the poor old woman breathed her last--the last spark of that wonderful thing called life flickered and went out; there remained in that rude camp the shriveled dusky carcass, the low dim intelligence that so lately animated it having fled--whither? when i heard of it i went to the camp and found them dressing the body. first they put on gesnip her best white clothes, then the next best, placing all the while whatever was most valuable, beads, belts, and necklaces, next the body. money they put into the mouth, her daughter contributing about five dollars. the knees were then pressed up against the chest, and after all of her own clothing was put on, the body was rolled up in the best family bear-skin, and tied with strips of buckskin. then soomut, the chief and husband, threw the bundle over his shoulders, and started off for the cave where they deposit their dead, accompanied by the whole band crying and singing, and throwing ashes from the camp-fire into the air. and thus the old barbarian mourns: "soomut had two wives--one good, one bad; but she that was good was taken away, while she that is bad remains. o gesnip gone, gone, gone!" and the mournful procession take up the refrain: "o gesnip gone, gone, gone!" again the ancient chief: "soomut has a little boy, soomut has a little girl, but no one is left to cook their food, no one to dig them roots. o gesnip gone, gone, gone!" followed by the chorus. then again soomut: "white woman knows that gesnip was strong to work; she told me her sorrow when gesnip died. o gesnip gone, gone, gone!" and this was kept up during the entire march, the dead wife's virtues sung and chorused by the whole tribe, accompanied by the scattering of ashes and lamentations which now had become very noisy. the lady further states that the scene at the grave was so impressive that she was unable to restrain her tears. no wonder then that these impulsive children of nature carry their joy and sorrow to excess, even so far as in this instance, where the affectionate daughter of the old crone had to be held by her companions from throwing herself into the grave of her dead mother. after all, how slight the shades of difference in hearts human, whether barbaric or cultured! as before mentioned, the ruling passion of the savage seems to be love of wealth; having it, he is respected, without it he is despised; consequently he is treacherous when it profits him to be so, thievish when he can steal without danger, cunning when gain is at stake, brave in defense of his lares and penates. next to his excessive venality, abject superstition forms the most prominent feature of his character. he seems to believe that everything instinct with animal life--with some, as with the siahs, it extends to vegetable life also--is possessed by evil spirits; horrible fancies fill his imagination. the rattling of acorns on the roof, the rustling of leaves in the deep stillness of the forest is sufficient to excite terror. his wicked spirit is the very incarnation of fiendishness; a monster who falls suddenly upon the unwary traveler in solitary places and rends him in pieces, and whose imps are ghouls that exhume the dead to devour them.[ ] were it not for the diabolic view he takes of nature, his life would be a comparatively easy one. his wants are few, and such as they are, he has the means of supplying them. he is somewhat of a stoic, his motto being never do to-day what can be put off until to-morrow, and he concerns himself little with the glories of peace or war. now and then we find him daubing himself with great stripes of paint, and looking ferocious, but ordinarily he prefers the calm of the peaceful temescal to the din of battle. the task of collecting a winter store of food he converts into a kind of summer picnic, and altogether is inclined to make the best of things, in spite of the annoyance given him in the way of reservations and other benefits of civilization. taken as a whole, the northern californian is not such a bad specimen of a savage, as savages go, but filthiness and greed are not enviable qualities, and he has a full share of both.[ ] [sidenote: the central californians.] the central californians occupy a yet larger extent of territory, comprising the whole of that portion of california extending, north and south, from about ° ´ to °, and, east and west, from the pacific ocean to the californian boundary. [sidenote: nations of central california.] the native races of this region are not divided, as in the northern part of the state, into comparatively large tribes, but are scattered over the face of the country in innumerable little bands, with a system of nomenclature so intricate as to puzzle an oedipus. nevertheless, as among the most important, i may mention the following: the _tehamas_, from whom the county takes its name; the _pomos_, which name signifies 'people', and is the collective appellation of a number of tribes living in potter valley, where the head-waters of eel and russian rivers interlace, and extending west to the ocean and south to clear lake. each tribe of the nation takes a distinguishing prefix to the name of pomo, as, the _castel pomos_ and _ki pomos_ on the head-waters of eel river; the _pome pomos_, earth people, in potter valley; the _cahto pomos_, in the valley of that name; the _choam chadéla pomos_, pitch-pine people, in redwood valley; the _matomey ki pomos_, wooded valley people, about little lake; the _usals_, or _camalél pomos_, coast people, on usal creek; the _shebalne pomos_, neighbor people, in sherwood valley, and many others. on russian river, the _gallinomeros_ occupy the valley below healdsburg; the _sanéls_, _socoas_, _lamas_, and _seacos_, live in the vicinity of the village of sanél; the _comachos_ dwell in ranchería and anderson valleys; the _ukiahs_, or yokias, near the town of ukiah, which is a corruption of their name;[ ] the _gualalas_[ ] on the creek which takes its name from them, about twenty miles above the mouth of russian river. on the borders of clear lake were the _lopillamillos_, the _mipacmas_, and _tyugas_; the _yolos_, or yolays, that is to say, 'region thick with rushes,' of which the present name of the county of yolo is a corruption, lived on cache creek; the _colusas_ occupied the west bank of the sacramento; in the valley of the moon, as the _sonomas_ called their country, besides themselves there were the _guillicas_, the _kanimares_, the _simbalakees_, the _petalumas_, and the _wapos_; the _yachichumnes_ inhabited the country between stockton and mount diablo. according to hittel, there were six tribes in napa valley: the _mayacomas_, the _calajomanas_, the _caymus_, the _napas_, the _ulucas_, and the _suscols_; mr taylor also mentions the _guenocks_, the _tulkays_, and the _socollomillos_; in suisun valley were the _suisunes_, the _pulpones_, the _tolenos_, and the _ullulatas_; the tribe of the celebrated chief marin lived near the mission of san rafael, and on the ocean-coast of marin county were the _bolanos_ and _tamales_; the _karquines_ lived on the straits of that name. humboldt and mülhlenpfordt mention the _matalanes_, _salses_, and _quirotes_, as living round the bay of san francisco. according to adam johnson, who was indian agent for california in , the principal tribes originally living at the mission dolores, and yerba buena, were the _ahwashtes_, _altahmos_, _romanans_, and _tulomos_; choris gives the names of more than fifteen tribes seen at the mission, chamisso of nineteen, and transcribed from the mission books to the tribal boundaries of this group, are the names of nearly two hundred rancherías. the _socoisukas_, _thamiens_, and _gergecensens_ roamed through santa clara county. the _olchones_ inhabited the coast between san francisco and monterey; in the vicinity of the latter place were the _rumsens_ or runsiens, the _ecclemaches_, _escelens_ or eslens, the _achastliens_, and the _mutsunes_. on the san joaquin lived the _costrowers_, the _pitiaches_, _talluches_, _loomnears_, and _amonces_; on fresno river the _chowclas_, _cookchaneys_, _fonechas_, _nookchues_, and _howetsers_; the _eemitches_ and _cowiahs_, lived on four creeks; the _waches_, _notoowthas_, and _chunemmes_ on king river, and on tulare lake, the _talches_ and _woowells_. in their aboriginal manners and customs they differ but little, so little, in fact, that one description will apply to the whole division within the above-named limits. the reader will therefore understand that, except where a tribe is specially named, i am speaking of the whole people collectively. the conflicting statements of men who had ample opportunity for observation, and who saw the people they describe, if not in the same place, at least in the same vicinity, render it difficult to give a correct description of their physique. they do not appear to deteriorate toward the coast, or improve toward the interior, so uniformly as their northern neighbors; but this may be accounted for by the fact that several tribes that formerly lived on the coast have been driven inland by the settlers and vice versa. [sidenote: physical peculiarities.] some ethnologists see in the californians a stock different from that of any other american race; but the more i dwell upon the subject, the more convinced i am, that, except in the broader distinctions, specific classifications of humanity are but idle speculations. their height rarely exceeds five feet eight inches, and is more frequently five feet four or five inches, and although strongly they are seldom symmetrically built. a low retreating forehead, black deep-set eyes, thick bushy eyebrows, salient cheek-bones, a nose depressed at the root and somewhat wide-spreading at the nostrils, a large mouth with thick prominent lips, teeth large and white, but not always regular, and rather large ears, is the prevailing type. their complexion is much darker than that of the tribes farther north, often being nearly black; so that with their matted, bushy hair, which is frequently cut short, they present a very uncouth appearance.[ ] the question of beard has been much mooted; some travelers asserting that they are bearded like turks, others that they are beardless as women. having carefully compared the pros and cons, i think i am justified in stating that the central californians have beards, though not strong ones, and that some tribes suffer it to grow, while others pluck it out as soon as it appears.[ ] [sidenote: dress in central california.] during summer, except on festal occasions, the apparel of the men is of the most primitive character, a slight strip of covering round the loins being full dress; but even this is unusual, the majority preferring to be perfectly unencumbered by clothing. in winter the skin of a deer or other animal is thrown over the shoulders, or sometimes a species of rope made from the feathers of water-fowl, or strips of otter-skin, twisted together, is wound round the body, forming an effectual protection against the weather. the women are scarcely better clad, their summer costume being a fringed apron of tule-grass, which falls from the waist before and behind nearly down to the knees, and is open at the sides. some tribes in the northern part of the sacramento valley wear the round bowl-shaped hat worn by the natives on the klamath. during the cold season a half-tanned deer-skin, or the rope garment above mentioned, is added. the hair is worn in various styles. some bind it up in a knot on the back of the head, others draw it back and club it behind; farther south it is worn cut short, and occasionally we find it loose and flowing. it is not uncommon to see the head adorned with chaplets of leaves or flowers, reminding one of a badly executed bronze of apollo or bacchus. ear-ornaments are much in vogue; a favorite variety being a long round piece of carved bone or wood, sometimes with beads attached, which is also used as a needle-case. strings of shells and beads also serve as ear-ornaments and necklaces. the head-dress for gala days and dances is elaborate, composed of gay feathers, skillfully arranged in various fashions.[ ] [sidenote: personal adornment.] tattooing is universal with the women, though confined within narrow limits. they mark the chin in perpendicular lines drawn downward from the corners and centre of the mouth, in the same manner as the northern californians; they also tattoo slightly on the neck and breast. it is said that by these marks women of different tribes can be easily distinguished. the men rarely tattoo, but paint the body in stripes and grotesque patterns to a considerable extent. red was the favorite color, except for mourning, when black was used. the friars succeeded in abolishing this custom except on occasions of mourning, when affection for their dead would not permit them to relinquish it. the new almaden cinnabar mine has been from time immemorial a source of contention between adjacent tribes. thither, from a hundred miles away, resorted vermilion-loving savages, and often such visits were not free from blood-shed.[ ] a thick coat of mud sometimes affords protection from a chilly wind. it is a convenient dress, as it costs nothing, is easily put on, and is no incumbrance to the wearer. the nudity of the savage more often proceeds from an indifference to clothing than from actual want. no people are found entirely destitute of clothing when the weather is cold, and if they can manage to obtain garments of any sort at one time of year they can at another. [sidenote: dwellings in central california.] their dwellings are about as primitive as their dress. in summer all they require is to be shaded from the sun, and for this a pile of bushes or a tree will suffice. the winter huts are a little more pretentious. these are sometimes erected on the level ground, but more frequently over an excavation three or four feet deep, and varying from ten to thirty feet in diameter. round the brink of this hole willow poles are sunk upright in the ground and the tops drawn together, forming a conical structure, or the upper ends are bent over and driven into the earth on the opposite side of the pit, thus giving the hut a semi-globular shape. bushes, or strips of bark, are then piled up against the poles, and the whole is covered with a thick layer of earth or mud. in some instances, the interstices of the frame are filled by twigs woven cross-wise, over and under, between the poles, and the outside covering is of tule-reeds instead of earth. a hole at the top gives egress to the smoke, and a small opening close to the ground admits the occupants. each hut generally shelters a whole family of relations by blood and marriage, so that the dimensions of the habitation depend on the size of the family.[ ] thatched oblong houses are occasionally met with in russian river valley, and mr powers mentions having seen one among the gallinomeros which was of the form of the letter l, made of slats leaned up against each other, and heavily thatched. along the centre the different families or generations had their fires, while they slept next the walls. three narrow holes served as doors, one at either end and one at the elbow.[ ] a collection of native huts is in california called a _ranchería_, from rancho, a word first applied by the spaniards to the spot where, in the island of cuba, food was distributed to repartimiento indians. [sidenote: food and methods of obtaining it.] the bestial laziness of the central californian prevents him from following the chase to any extent, or from even inventing efficient game-traps. deer are, however, sometimes shot with bow and arrow. the hunter, disguised with the head and horns of a stag, creeps through the long grass to within a few yards of the unsuspecting herd, and drops the fattest buck at his pleasure. small game, such as hares, rabbits, and birds, are also shot with the arrow. reptiles and insects of all descriptions not poisonous are greedily devoured; in fact, any life-sustaining substance which can be procured with little trouble, is food for them. but their main reliance is on acorns, roots, grass-seeds, berries and the like. these are eaten both raw and prepared. the acorns are shelled, dried in the sun, and then pounded into a powder with large stones. from this flour a species of coarse bread is made, which is sometimes flavored with various kinds of berries or herbs. this bread is of a black color when cooked, of about the consistency of cheese, and is said, by those who have tasted it, to be not at all unpalatable.[ ] the dough is frequently boiled into pudding instead of being baked. a sort of mush is made from clover-seed, which is also described as being rather a savory dish. grasshoppers constitute another toothsome delicacy. when for winter use, they are dried in the sun; when for present consumption, they are either mashed into a paste, which is eaten with the fingers, ground into a fine powder and mixed with mush, or they are saturated with salt water, placed in a hole in the ground previously heated, covered with hot stones, and eaten like shrimps when well roasted. dried chrysalides are considered a bonne bouche, as are all varieties of insects and worms. the boiled dishes are cooked in water-tight baskets, into which hot stones are dropped. meat is roasted on sticks before the fire, or baked in a hole in the ground. the food is conveyed to the mouth with the fingers. [sidenote: acorns and wild fowl.] grasshoppers are taken in pits, into which they are driven by setting the grass on fire, or by beating the grass in a gradually lessening circle, of which the pit is the centre. for seed-gathering two baskets are used; a large one, which is borne on the back, and another smaller and scoop-shaped, which is carried in the hand; with this latter the tops of the ripe grass are swept, and the seed thus taken is thrown over the left shoulder into the larger basket. the seeds are then parched and pulverized, and usually stored as pinole,[ ] for winter use.[ ] when acorns are scarce the central californian resorts to a curious expedient to obtain them. the woodpecker, or _carpintero_ as the spaniards call it, stores away acorns for its own use in the trunks of trees. each acorn is placed in a separate hole, which it fits quite tightly. these the natives take; but it is never until hunger compels them to do so, as they have great respect for their little caterer, and would hold it sacrilege to rob him except in time of extreme need.[ ] wild fowl are taken with a net stretched across a narrow stream between two poles, one on either bank. decoys are placed on the water just before the net, one end of which is fastened to the top of the pole on the farther bank. a line passing through a hole in the top of the pole on the bank where the fowler is concealed, is attached to the nearest end of the net, which is allowed to hang low. when the fowl fly rapidly up to the decoys, this end is suddenly raised with a jerk, so that the birds strike it with great force, and, stunned by the shock, fall into a large pouch, contrived for the purpose in the lower part of the net.[ ] fish are both speared and netted. a long pole, projecting sometimes as much as a hundred feet over the stream, is run out from the bank. the farther end is supported by a small raft or buoy. along this boom the net is stretched, the nearer corner being held by a native. as soon as a fish becomes entangled in the meshes it can be easily felt, and the net is then hauled in.[ ] on the coast a small fish resembling the sardine is caught on the beach in the receding waves by means of a hand-net, in the manner practiced by the northern californian heretofore described.[ ] the central californians do not hunt the whale, but it is a great day with them when one is stranded.[ ] in reality their food was not so bad as some writers assert. before the arrival of miners game was so plentiful that even the lazy natives could supply their necessities. the 'nobler race,' as usual, thrust them down upon a level with swine. johnson thus describes the feeding of the natives at sutter's fort: "long troughs inside the walls were filled with a kind of boiled mush made of the wheat-bran; and the indians, huddled in rows upon their knees before these troughs, quickly conveyed their contents by the hand to the mouth." "but," writes powers to the author, "it is a well-established fact that california indians, even when reared by americans from infancy, if they have been permitted to associate meantime with others of their race, will, in the season of lush blossoming clover, go out and eat it in preference to all other food."[ ] in their personal habits they are filthy in the extreme. both their dwellings and their persons abound in vermin, which they catch and eat in the same manner as their northern neighbors.[ ] [sidenote: californian weapons.] their weapons are bows and arrows, spears, and sometimes clubs. the first-named do not differ in any essential respect from those described as being used by the northern californians. they are well made, from two and a half to three feet long, and backed with sinew; the string of wild flax or sinew, and partially covered with bird's down or a piece of skin, to deaden the twang. the arrows are short, made of reed or light wood, and winged with three or four feathers. the head is of flint, bone, obsidian, or volcanic glass, sometimes barbed and sometimes diamond-shaped. it is fastened loosely to the shaft, and can be extracted only from a wound by cutting it out. the shaft is frequently painted in order that the owner may be able to distinguish his own arrows from others. spears, or rather javelins, are used, seldom exceeding from four and a half to five feet in length. they are made of some tough kind of wood and headed with the same materials as the arrows. occasionally the point of the stick is merely sharpened and hardened in the fire.[ ] the head of the fishing-spear is movable, being attached to the shaft by a line, so that when a fish is struck the pole serves as a float. some of the tribes formerly poisoned their arrows, but it is probable that the custom never prevailed to any great extent. m. du petit-thouars was told that they used for this purpose a species of climbing plant which grows in shady places. it is said that they also poison their weapons with the venom of serpents.[ ] pedro fages mentions that the natives in the country round san miguel use a kind of sabre, made of hard wood, shaped like a cimeter, and edged with sharp flints. this they employ for hunting as well as in war, and with such address that they rarely fail to break the leg of the animal at which they hurl it.[ ] [sidenote: battles and weapons.] battles, though frequent, were not attended with much loss of life. each side was anxious for the fight to be over, and the first blood would often terminate the contest. challenging by heralds obtained. thus the shumeias challenge the pomos by placing three little sticks, notched in the middle and at both ends, on a mound which marked the boundary between the two tribes. if the pomos accept, they tie a string round the middle notch. heralds then meet and arrange time and place, and the battle comes off as appointed.[ ] among some tribes, children are sent by mutual arrangement into the enemy's ranks during the heat of battle to pick up the fallen arrows and carry them back to their owners to be used again.[ ] when fighting, they stretch out in a long single line and endeavor by shouts and gestures to intimidate the foe.[ ] notwithstanding the mildness of their disposition and the inferiority of their weapons, the central californians do not lack courage in battle, and when captured will meet their fate with all the stoicism of a true indian. for many years after the occupation of the country by the spaniards, by abandoning their villages and lying in ambush upon the approach of the enemy, they were enabled to resist the small squads of mexicans sent against them from the presidios for the recovery of deserters from the missions. during the settlement of the country by white people, there were the usual skirmishes growing out of wrong and oppression on the one side, and retaliation on the other; the usual uprising among miners and rancheros, and vindication of border law, which demanded the massacre of a village for the stealing of a cow. trespass on lands and abduction of women are the usual causes of war among themselves. opposing armies, on approaching each other in battle array, dance and leap from side to side in order to prevent their enemies from taking deliberate aim. upon the invasion of their territory they rapidly convey the intelligence by means of signals. a great smoke is made upon the nearest hilltop, which is quickly repeated upon the surrounding hills, and thus a wide extent of country is aroused in a remarkably short time. the custom of scalping, though not universal in california, was practiced in some localities. the yet more barbarous habit of cutting off the hands, feet, or head of a fallen enemy, as trophies of victory, prevailed more widely. they also plucked out and carefully preserved the eyes of the slain. it has been asserted that these savages were cannibals, and there seems to be good reason to believe that they did devour pieces of the flesh of a renowned enemy slain in battle. human flesh was, however, not eaten as food, nor for the purpose of wreaking vengeance on or showing hate for a dead adversary, but because they thought that by eating part of a brave man they absorbed a portion of his courage. they do not appear to have kept or sold prisoners as slaves, but to have either exchanged or killed them.[ ] [sidenote: implements and manufactures.] they are not ingenious, and manufacture but few articles requiring any skill. the principal of these are the baskets in which, as i have already mentioned, they carry water and boil their food. they are made of fine grass, so closely woven as to be perfectly water-tight, and are frequently ornamented with feathers, beads, shells, and the like, worked into them in a very pretty manner. fletcher, who visited the coast with sir francis drake in , describes them as being "made in fashion like a deep boale, and though the matter were rushes, or such other kind of stuffe, yet it was so cunningly handled that the most part of them would hold water; about the brimmes they were hanged with peeces of the shels of pearles, and in some places with two or three linkes at a place, of the chaines forenamed ... and besides this, they were wrought vpon with the matted downe of red feathers, distinguished into diuers workes and formes."[ ] the baskets are of various sizes and shapes, the most common being conical or wide and flat. their pipes are straight, the bowl being merely a continuation of the stem, only thicker and hollowed out.[ ] [sidenote: no boats in san francisco bay.] it is a singular fact that these natives about the bay of san francisco and the regions adjacent, had no canoes of any description. their only means of navigation were bundles of tule-rushes about ten feet long and three or four wide, lashed firmly together in rolls, and pointed at both ends. they were propelled, either end foremost, with long double-bladed paddles. in calm weather, and on a river, the centre, or thickest part of these rafts might be tolerably dry, but in rough water the rower, who sat astride, was up to his waist in water.[ ] it has been asserted that they even ventured far out to sea on them, but that this was common i much doubt.[ ] they were useful to spear fish from, but for little else; in proof of which i may mention, on the authority of roquefeuil, that in - , the koniagas employed by the russians at bodega, killed seals and otters in san francisco bay under the very noses of the spaniards, and in spite of all the latter, who appear to have had no boats of their own, could do to prevent them. in their light skin baidarkas, each with places for two persons only, these bold northern boatmen would drop down the coast from bodega bay, where the russians were stationed, or cross over from the farallones in fleets of from forty to fifty boats, and entering the golden gate creep along the northern shore, beyond the range of the presidio's guns, securely establish themselves upon the islands of the bay and pursue their avocation unmolested. for three years, namely from to , these northern fishermen held possession of the bay of san francisco, during which time they captured over eight thousand otters. finally, it occurred to the governor, don luis argüello, that it would be well for the spaniards to have boats of their own. accordingly four were built, but they were so clumsily constructed, ill equipped, and poorly manned, that had the russians and koniagas felt disposed, they could easily have continued their incursions. once within the entrance, these northern barbarians were masters of the bay, and such was their sense of security that they would sometimes venture for a time to stretch their limbs upon the shore. the capture of several of their number, however, by the soldiers from the fort, made them more wary thereafter. maurelle, who touched at point arenas in , but did not enter the bay of san francisco, says that "a vast number of indians now presented themselves on both points, who passed from one to the other in small canoes made of fule, where they talked loudly for two hours or more, till at last two of them came alongside of the ship, and most liberally presented us with plumes of feathers, rosaries of bone, garments of feathers, as also garlands of the same materials, which they wore round their head, and a canister of seeds which tasted much like walnuts." the only account of this voyage in my possession is an english translation, in which "canoes made of fule" might easily have been mistaken for boats or floats of tule.[ ] split logs were occasionally used to cross rivers, and frequently all means of transportation were dispensed with, and swimming resorted to. captain phelps, in a letter to the author, mentions having seen skin boats, or baidarkas, on the sacramento river, but supposes that they were left there by those same russian employés.[ ] vancouver, speaking of a canoe which he saw below monterey, says: "instead of being composed of straw, like those we had seen on our first visit to san francisco, it was neatly formed of wood, much after the nootka fashion, and was navigated with much adroitness by four natives of the country. their paddles were about four feet long with a blade at each end; these were handled with great dexterity, either entirely on one side or alternately on each side of their canoe."[ ] i account for the presence of this canoe in the same manner that captain phelps accounts for the skin canoes on the sacramento, and think that it must have come either from the south or north. the probable cause of this absence of boats in central california is the scarcity of suitable, favorably located timber. doubtless if the banks of the sacramento and the shores of san francisco bay had been lined with large straight pine or fir trees, their waters would have been filled with canoes; yet after all, this is but a poor excuse; for not only on the hills and mountains, at a little distance from the water, are forests of fine trees, but quantities of driftwood come floating down every stream during the rainy season, out of which surely sufficient material could be secured for some sort of boats. shells of different kinds, but especially the variety known as _aulone_, form the circulating medium. they are polished, sometimes ground down to a certain size, and arranged on strings of different lengths.[ ] [sidenote: chieftainship and its rights.] chieftainship is hereditary, almost without exception. in a few instances i find it depending upon wealth, influence, family, or prowess in war, but this rarely. in some parts, in default of male descent, the females of the family are empowered to appoint a successor.[ ] although considerable dignity attaches to a chief, and his family are treated with consideration, yet his power is limited, his principal duties consisting in making peace and war, and in appointing and presiding over feasts. every band has its separate head, and two or even three have been known to preside at the same time.[ ] sometimes when several bands are dwelling together they are united under one head chief, who, however, cannot act for the whole without consulting the lesser chiefs. practically, the heads of families rule in their own circle, and their internal arrangements are seldom interfered with. their medicine-men also wield a very powerful influence among them.[ ] sometimes, when a flagrant murder has been committed, the chiefs meet in council and decide upon the punishment of the offender. the matter is, however, more frequently settled by the relatives of the victim, who either exact blood for blood from the murderer or let the thing drop for a consideration. among the neeshenams revenge must be had within twelve months after the murder or not at all.[ ] [sidenote: rulers of new albion.] according to fletcher's narrative, there seems to have been much more distinction of rank at the time of drake's visit to california than subsequent travelers have seen; however, allowance must be made for the exaggerations invariably found in the reports of early voyagers. in proof of this, we have only to take up almost any book of travel in foreign lands printed at that time; wherein dragons and other impossible animals are not only zoölogically described, but carefully drawn and engraved, as well as other marvels in abundance. captain drake had several temptations to exaggerate. the richer and more important the country he discovered, the more would it redound to his credit to have been the discoverer; the greater the power and authority of the chief who formally made over his dominions to the queen of england, the less likely to be disputed would be that sovereign's claims to the ceded territory. fletcher never speaks of the chief of the tribe that received drake, but as 'the king,' and states that this dignitary was treated with great respect and ceremony by the courtiers who surrounded him. these latter were distinguished from the canaille by various badges of rank. they wore as ornaments chains "of a bony substance, euery linke or part thereof being very little, and thinne, most finely burnished, with a hole pierced through the middest. the number of linkes going to make one chaine, is in a manner infinite; but of such estimation it is amongst them, that few be the persons that are admitted to weare the same; and euen they to whom its lawfull to use them, yet are stinted what number they shall vse, as some ten, some twelue, some twentie, and as they exceed in number of chaines, so thereby are they knowne to be the more honorable personages." another mark of distinction was a "certain downe, which groweth vp in the countrey vpon an herbe much like our lectuce, which exceeds any other downe in the world for finenesse, and beeing layed vpon their cawles, by no winds can be remoued. of such estimation is this herbe amongst them, that the downe thereof is not lawfull to be worne, but of such persons as are about the king (to whom also it is permitted to weare a plume of feather on their heads, in signe of honour), and the seeds are not vsed but onely in sacrifice to their gods." the king, who was gorgeously attired in skins, with a crown of feather-work upon his head, was attended by a regular body-guard, uniformly dressed in coats of skins. his coming was announced by two heralds or ambassadors, one of whom prompted the other, during the proclamation, in a low voice. his majesty was preceded in the procession by "a man of large body and goodly aspect, bearing the septer or royall mace;" all of which happened, if we may believe the worthy chaplain of the expedition, on the coast just above san francisco bay, three hundred years ago.[ ] [sidenote: how a bride is won.] slavery in any form is rare, and hereditary bondage unknown.[ ] polygamy obtains in most of the tribes, although there are exceptions.[ ] it is common for a man to marry a whole family of sisters, and sometimes the mother also, if she happen to be free.[ ] husband and wife are united with very little ceremony. the inclinations of the bride seem to be consulted here more than among the northern californians. it is true she is sometimes bought from her parents, but if she violently opposes the match she is seldom compelled to marry or to be sold. among some tribes the wooer, after speaking with her parents, retires with the girl; if they agree, she thenceforth belongs to him; if not, the match is broken off.[ ] the neeshenam buys his wife indirectly by making presents of game to her family. he leaves the gifts at the door of the lodge without a word, and, if they are accepted, he shortly after claims and takes his bride without further ceremony. in this tribe the girl has no voice whatever in the matter, and resistance on her part merely occasions brute force to be used by her purchaser.[ ] [sidenote: child-birth and the couvade.] when an oleepa lover wishes to marry, he first obtains permission from the parents. the damsel then flies and conceals herself; the lover searches for her, and should he succeed in finding her twice out of three times she belongs to him. should he be unsuccessful he waits a few weeks and then repeats the performance. if she again elude his search, the matter is decided against him.[ ] the bonds of matrimony can be thrown aside as easily as they are assumed. the husband has only to say to his spouse, i cast you off, and the thing is done.[ ] the gallinomeros acquire their wives by purchase, and are at liberty to sell them again when tired of them.[ ] as usual the women are treated with great contempt by the men, and forced to do all the hard and menial labor; they are not even allowed to sit at the same fire or eat at the same repast with their lords. both sexes treat children with comparative kindness;[ ] boys are, however, held in much higher estimation than girls, and from early childhood are taught their superiority over the weaker sex. it is even stated that many female children are killed as soon as born,[ ] but i am inclined to doubt the correctness of this statement as applied to a country where polygamy is practiced as extensively as in california. old people are treated with contumely, both men and women, aged warriors being obliged to do menial work under the supervision of the women. the gallinomeros kill their aged parents in a most cold-blooded manner. the doomed creature is led into the woods, thrown on his back, and firmly fastened in that position to the ground. a stout pole is then placed across the throat, upon either end of which a person sits until life is extinct.[ ] a husband takes revenge for his wife's infidelities upon the person of her seducer, whom he is justified in killing. sometimes the male offender is compelled to buy the object of his unholy passions. in consequence of their strictness in this particular, adultery is not common among themselves, although a husband is generally willing to prostitute his dearest wife to a white man for a consideration. the central californian women are inclined to rebel against the tyranny of their masters, more than is usual in other tribes. a refractory tahtoo wife is sometimes frightened into submission. the women have a great dread of evil spirits, and upon this weakness the husband plays. he paints himself in black and white stripes to personate an ogre, and suddenly jumping in among his terrified wives, brings them speedily to penitence. child-bearing falls lightly on the californian mother. when the time for delivery arrives she betakes herself to a quiet place by the side of a stream; sometimes accompanied by a female friend, but more frequently alone. as soon as the child is born the mother washes herself and the infant in the stream. the child is then swaddled from head to foot in strips of soft skin, and strapped to a board, which is carried on the mother's back. when the infant is suckled, it is drawn round in front and allowed to hang there, the mother meanwhile pursuing her usual avocations. so little does child-bearing affect these women, that, on a journey, they will frequently stop by the way-side for half an hour to be delivered, and then overtake the party, who have traveled on at the usual pace. painful parturition, though so rare, usually results fatally to both mother and child when it does occur. this comparative exemption from the curse, "in sorrow shalt thou bring forth," is doubtless owing partly to the fact that the sexes have their regular season for copulation, just as animals have theirs, the women bringing forth each year with great regularity. a curious custom prevails, which is, however, by no means peculiar to california. when child-birth overtakes the wife, the husband puts himself to bed, and there grunting and groaning he affects to suffer all the agonies of a woman in labor. lying there, he is nursed and tended for some days by the women as carefully as though he were the actual sufferer. ridiculous as this custom is, it is asserted by mr tylor to have been practiced in western china, in the country of the basques, by the tibareni at the south of the black sea, and in modified forms by the dyaks of borneo, the arawaks of surinam, and the inhabitants of kamchatka and greenland.[ ] the females arrive early at the age of puberty,[ ] and grow old rapidly.[ ] [sidenote: californian diversions.] most important events, such as the seasons of hunting, fishing, acorn-gathering, and the like, are celebrated with feasts and dances which differ in no essential respect from those practiced by the northern californians. they usually dance naked, having their heads adorned with feather ornaments, and their bodies and faces painted with glaring colors in grotesque patterns. broad stripes, drawn up and down, across, or spirally round the body, form the favorite device; sometimes one half of the body is colored red and the other blue, or the whole person is painted jet black and serves as a ground for the representation of a skeleton, done in white, which gives the wearer a most ghastly appearance.[ ] the dancing is accompanied by chantings, clapping of hands, blowing on pipes of two or three reeds and played with the nose or mouth, beating of skin drums, and rattling of tortoise-shells filled with small pebbles. this horrible discord is, however, more for the purpose of marking time than for pleasing the ear.[ ] the women are seldom allowed to join in the dance with the men, and when they are so far honored, take a very unimportant part in the proceedings, merely swaying their bodies to and fro in silence. plays, representing scenes of war, hunting, and private life, serve to while away the time, and are performed with considerable skill. though naturally the very incarnation of sloth, at least as far as useful labor is concerned, they have one or two games which require some exertion. one of these, in vogue among the meewocs, is played with bats and an oak-knot ball. the former are made of a pliant stick, having the end bent round and lashed to the main part so as to form a loop, which is filled with a network of strings. they do not strike but push the ball along with these bats. the players take sides, and each party endeavors to drive the ball past the boundaries of the other. another game, which was formerly much played at the missions on the coast, requires more skill and scarcely less activity. it consists in throwing a stick through a hoop which is rapidly rolled along the ground. if the player succeeds in this, he gains two points; if the stick merely passes partially through, so that the hoop remains resting upon it, one point is scored. but, as usual, games of chance are much preferred to games of skill. the chief of these is the same as that already described in the last chapter as being played by the natives all along the coasts of oregon, washington, and british columbia, and which bears so close a resemblance to the odd-and-even of our school-days. they are as infatuated on this subject as their neighbors, and quite as willing to stake the whole of their possessions on an issue of chance. they smoke a species of strong tobacco in the straight pipes before mentioned;[ ] but they have no native intoxicating drink.[ ] [sidenote: medicine and sweat-houses.] the principal diseases are small-pox, various forms of fever, and syphilis. owing to their extreme filthiness they are also very subject to disgusting eruptions of the skin. women are not allowed to practice the healing art, as among the northern californians, the privileges of quackery being here reserved exclusively to the men. chanting incantations, waving of hands, and the sucking powers obtain. doctors are supposed to have power over life and death, hence if they fail to effect a cure, they are frequently killed.[ ] they demand the most extortionate fees in return for their services, and often refuse to officiate unless the object they desire is promised them. sweat-houses similar to those already described are in like manner used as a means of cure for every kind of complaint.[ ] they have another kind of sudatory. a hole is dug in the sand of a size sufficient to contain a person lying at full length; over this a fire is kept burning until the sand is thoroughly heated, when the fire is removed and the sand stirred with a stick until it is reduced to the required temperature. the patient is then placed in the hole and covered, with the exception of his head, with sand. here he remains until in a state of profuse perspiration, when he is unearthed and plunged into cold water. they are said to practice phlebotomy, using the right arm when the body is affected and the left when the complaint is in the limbs. a few simple decoctions are made from herbs, but these are seldom very efficient medicines, especially when administered for the more complicated diseases which the whites have brought among them. owing to the insufficient or erroneous treatment they receive, many disorders which would be easily cured by us, degenerate with them into chronic maladies, and are transmitted to their children.[ ] incremation is almost universal in this part of california.[ ] the body is decorated with feathers, flowers, and beads, and after lying in state for some time, is burned amid the howls and lamentations of friends and relations. the ashes are either preserved by the family of the deceased or are formally buried. the weapons and effects of the dead are burned or buried with them.[ ] when a body is prepared for interment the knees are doubled up against the chest and securely bound with cords. it is placed in a sitting posture in the grave, which is circular. this is the most common manner of sepulture, but some tribes bury the body perpendicularly in a hole just large enough to admit it, sometimes with the head down, sometimes in a standing position. the pomos formerly burned their dead, and since they have been influenced by the whites to bury them, they invariably place the body with its head toward the south. [sidenote: mourning for the dead.] a scene of incremation is a weird spectacle. the friends and relatives of the deceased gather round the funeral pyre in a circle, howling dismally. as the flames mount upward their enthusiasm increases, until in a perfect frenzy of excitement, they leap, shriek, lacerate their bodies, and even snatch a handful of smoldering flesh from the fire, and devour it. the ashes of the dead mixed with grease, are smeared over the face as a badge of mourning, and the compound is suffered to remain there until worn off by the action of the weather. the widow keeps her head covered with pitch for several months. in the russian river valley, where demonstrations of grief appear to be yet more violent than elsewhere, self-laceration is much practiced. it is customary to have an annual dance of mourning, when the inhabitants of a whole village collect together and lament their deceased friends with howls and groans. many tribes think it necessary to nourish a departed spirit for several months. this is done by scattering food about the place where the remains of the dead are deposited. a devoted neeshenam widow does not utter a word for several months after the death of her husband; a less severe sign of grief is to speak only in a low whisper for the same time.[ ] regarding a future state their ideas are vague; some say that the meewocs believe in utter annihilation after death, but who can fathom the hopes and fears that struggle in their dark imaginings. they are not particularly cruel or vicious; they show much sorrow for the death of a relative; in some instances they are affectionate toward their families.[ ] [sidenote: central californian character.] although nearly all travelers who have seen and described this people, place them in the lowest scale of humanity, yet there are some who assert that the character of the californian has been maligned. it does not follow, they say, that he is indolent because he does not work when the fertility of his native land enables him to live without labor; or that he is cowardly because he is not incessantly at war, or stupid and brutal because the mildness of his climate renders clothes and dwellings superfluous. but is this sound reasoning? surely a people assisted by nature should progress faster than another, struggling with depressing difficulties. from the frozen, wind-swept plains of alaska to the malaria-haunted swamps of darien, there is not a fairer land than california; it is the neutral ground, as it were, of the elements, where hyperboreal cold, stripped of its rugged aspect, and equatorial heat, tamed to a genial warmth, meet as friends, inviting, all blusterings laid aside. yet if we travel northward from the isthmus, we must pass by ruined cities and temples, traces of mighty peoples, who there flourished before a foreign civilization extirpated them. on the arid deserts of arizona and new mexico is found an incipient civilization. descending from the arctic sea we meet races of hunters and traders, which can be called neither primitive nor primordial, living after their fashion as men, not as brutes. it is not until we reach the golden mean in central california that we find whole tribes subsisting on roots, herbs and insects; having no boats, no clothing, no laws, no god; yielding submissively to the first touch of the invader; held in awe by a few priests and soldiers. men do not civilize themselves. had not the greeks and the egyptians been driven on by an unseen hand, never would the city of the violet crown have graced the plains of hellas, nor thebes nor memphis have risen in the fertile valley of the nile. why greece is civilized, while california breeds a race inferior to the lowest of their neighbors, save only perhaps the shoshones on their east, no one yet can tell. when father junípero serra established the mission of dolores in , the shores of san francisco bay were thickly populated by the ahwashtees, ohlones, altahmos, romanons, tuolomos, and other tribes. the good father found the field unoccupied, for, in the vocabulary of these people, there is found no word for god, angel, or devil; they held no theory of origin or destiny. a ranchería was situated on the spot where now beach street intersects hyde street. were it there now, as contrasted with the dwellings of san francisco, it would resemble a pig-sty more than a human habitation. on the marin and sonoma shores of the bay were the tomales and camimares, the latter numbering, in , ten thousand souls. marin, chief of the tomales, was for a long time the terror of the spaniards, and his warriors were ranked as among the fiercest of the californians. he was brave, energetic, and possessed of no ordinary intelligence. when quite old he consented to be baptized into the romish church. [sidenote: yosemite valley indians.] it has been suspected that the chief marin was not a full-bred indian, but that he was related to a certain spanish sailor who was cast ashore from a wrecked galeon on a voyage from manila to acapulco about the year . the ship-wrecked spaniards, it has been surmised, were kindly treated by the natives; they married native wives, and lived with the tomales as of them, and from them descended many of their chiefs; but of this we have no proof. yosemite valley was formerly a stronghold to which tribes in that vicinity resorted after committing their depredations upon white settlers. they used to make their boast that their hiding place could never be discovered by white men. but during the year , the marauders growing bold in their fancied security, the whites arose and drove them into the mountains. following them thither under the guidance of tenaya, an old chief and confederate, the white men were suddenly confronted by the wondrous beauties of the valley. the indians, disheartened at the discovery of their retreat, yielded a reluctant obedience, but becoming again disaffected they renewed their depredations. shortly afterward the yosemite indians made a visit to the monos. they were hospitably entertained, but upon leaving, could not resist the temptation to drive off a few stray cattle belonging to their friends. the monos, enraged at this breach of good faith, pursued and gave them battle. the warriors of the valley were nearly exterminated, scarce half a dozen remaining to mourn their loss. all their women and children were carried away into captivity. these yosemite indians consisted of a mixture from various tribes, outlaws as it were from the surrounding tribes. they have left as their legacy a name for every cliff and waterfall within the valley. how marvelous would be their history could we go back and trace it from the beginning, these millions of human bands, who throughout the ages have been coming and going, unknowing and unknown! in the southern californians, whose territory lies south of the thirty-fifth parallel, there are less tribal differences than among any people whom we have yet encountered, whose domain is of equal extent. those who live in the south-eastern corner of the state are thrown by the sierra nevada range of mountains into the shoshone family, to which, indeed, by affinity they belong. the chief tribes of this division are the _cahuillas_ and the _diegueños_, the former living around the san bernardino and san jacinto mountains, and the latter in the southern extremity of california. around each mission were scores of small bands, whose rancherías were recorded in the mission books, the natives as a whole being known only by the name of the mission. when first discovered by cabrillo in , the islands off the coast were inhabited by a superior people, but these they were induced by the padres to abandon, following which event the people rapidly faded away. the natives called the island of santa cruz _liniooh_, santa rosa _hurmal_, san miguel _twocan_, and san nicolas _ghalashat_. as we approach the southern boundary of california a slight improvement is manifest in the aborigines. the men are here well made, of a stature quite up to the average, comparatively fair-complexioned and pleasant-featured. the children of the islanders are described by the early voyagers as being white, with light hair and ruddy cheeks, and the women as having fine forms, beautiful eyes, and a modest demeanor.[ ] the beard is plucked out with a bivalve shell, which answers the purpose of pincers. [sidenote: dress in southern california.] a short cloak of deer-skin or rabbit-skins sewed together, suffices the men for clothing; and sometimes even this is dispensed with, for they think it no shame to be naked.[ ] the women and female children wear a petticoat of skin, with a heavy fringe reaching down to the knees; in some districts they also wear short capes covering the breasts.[ ] on the coast and, formerly, on the islands, seals furnished the material.[ ] the more industrious and wealthy embroider their garments profusely with small shells. around santa barbara rings of bone or shell were worn in the nose; at los angeles nasal ornaments were not the fashion. the women had cylinder-shaped pieces of ivory, sometimes as much as eight inches, in length, attached to the ears by a shell ring. bracelets and necklaces were made of pieces of ivory ground round and perforated, small pebbles, and shells. paint of various colors was used by warriors and dancers. mr hugo reid, who has contributed valuable information concerning the natives of los angeles county, states that girls in love paint the cheeks sparingly with red ochre, and all the women, before they grow old, protect their complexion from the effects of the sun by a plentiful application of the same cosmetic.[ ] vizcaino saw natives on the southern coast painted blue and silvered over with some kind of mineral substance. on his asking where they obtained the silver-like material they showed him a kind of mineral ore, which they said they used for purposes of ornamentation.[ ] they take much pride in their hair, which they wear long. it is braided, and either wound round the head turban-like,[ ] or twisted into a top-knot; some tie it in a queue behind. according to father boscana the girls are tattooed in infancy on the face, breast, and arms. the most usual method was to prick the flesh with a thorn of the cactus-plant; charcoal produced from the maguey was then rubbed into the wounds, and an ineffaceable blue was the result.[ ] [sidenote: dwellings and food.] dwellings, in the greater part of this region, differ but little from those of the central californians. in shape they are conical or semi-globular, and usually consist of a frame, formed by driving long poles into the ground, covered with rushes and earth.[ ] on the coast of the santa barbara channel there seems to have been some improvement in their style of architecture. it was probably here that cabrillo saw houses built after the manner of those in new spain.[ ] it is possible that the influences of the southern civilization may have extended as far as this point. father boscana's description of the temples or _vanquechs_ erected by the natives in the vicinity of san juan capistrano, in honor of their god, chinigchinich, is thus translated: "they formed an enclosure of about four or five yards in circumference, not exactly round, but inclining to an oval. this they divided by drawing a line through the centre, and built another, consisting of the branches of trees, and mats to the height of about six feet, outside of which, in the other division, they formed another of small stakes of wood driven into the ground. this was called the gate, or entrance, to the vanquech. inside of this, and close to the larger stakes, was placed a figure of their god chinigchinich, elevated upon a kind of hurdle. this is the edifice of the vanquech."[ ] almost every living thing that they can lay their hands on serves as food. coyotes, skunks, wild cats, rats, mice, crows, hawks, owls, lizards, frogs, snakes, excepting him of the rattle, grasshoppers and other insects, all are devoured by the inland tribes. stranded whales, animals of the seal genus, fish, and shell-fish, form the main support of those inhabiting the coast. venison they are of course glad to eat when they can get it, but as they are poor hunters, it is a rare luxury. when they did hunt the deer they resorted to the same artifice as their northern neighbors, placing a deer's head and horns on their own head, and thus disguised approaching within bow-shot. bear-meat the majority refuse to eat from superstitious motives.[ ] grasshoppers are eaten roasted. acorns are shelled, dried, and pounded in stone mortars into flour, which is washed and rewashed in hot and cold water until the bitterness is removed, when it is made into gruel with cold water, or baked into bread. various kinds of grass-seeds, herbs, berries, and roots, are also eaten, both roasted and raw. wild fowl are caught in nets made of tules, spread over channels cut through the rushes in places frequented by the fowl, at a sufficient height above the water to allow the birds to swim easily beneath them. the game is gently driven or decoyed under the nets, when at a given signal, a great noise is made, and the terrified fowl, rising suddenly, become hopelessly entangled in the meshes, and fall an easy prey. or selecting a spot containing clear water about two feet deep, they fasten a net midway between the surface and the bottom, and strewing the place with berries, which sink to the bottom under the net, they retire. the fowl approach and dive for the berries. the meshes of the net readily admit the head, but hold the prisoner tight upon attempting to withdraw it. and what is more, their position prevents them from making a noise, and they serve also as a decoy for others. fish are taken in seines made from the tough bark of the tioñe-tree. they are also killed with spears having a movable bone head, attached to a long line, so that when a fish is struck the barb becomes loosened; line is then paid out until the fish is exhausted with running, when it is drawn in. many of the inland tribes come down to the coast in the fishing season, and remain there until the shoals leave, when they return to the interior. food is either boiled by dropping hot stones into water-baskets, or, more frequently, in vessels made of soap-stone.[ ] in their cooking, as in other respects, they are excessively unclean. they bathe frequently, it is true, but when not in the water they are wallowing in filth. their dwellings are full of offal and other impurities, and vermin abound on their persons. [sidenote: weapons and war.] bows and arrows, and clubs, are as usual the weapons most in use. sabres of hard wood, with edges that cut like steel, are mentioned by father junípero serra.[ ] war is a mere pretext for plunder; the slightest wrong, real or imaginary, being sufficient cause for a strong tribe to attack a weaker one. the smaller bands form temporary alliances; the women and children accompanying the men on a raid, carrying provisions for the march, and during an engagement they pick up the fallen arrows of the enemy and so keep their own warriors supplied. boscana says that no male prisoners are taken, and no quarter given; and hugo reid affirms of the natives of los angeles county that all prisoners of war, after being tormented in the most cruel manner, are invariably put to death. the dead are decapitated and scalped. female prisoners are either sold or retained as slaves. scalps, highly prized as trophies, and publicly exhibited at feasts, may be ransomed, but no consideration would induce them to part with their living captives.[ ] among the few articles they manufacture are fish-hooks, needles, and awls, made of bone or shell; mortars and pestles of granite, and soap-stone cooking vessels, and water-tight baskets.[ ] the clay vessels which are frequently found among them now, were not made by them before the arrival of the spaniards. the stone implements, however, are of aboriginal manufacture, and are well made. the former are said to have been procured mostly by the tribes of the mainland from the santa rosa islanders.[ ] the instruments which they used in their manufactures were flint knives and awls; the latter fages describes as being made from the small bone of a deer's fore-foot. the knife is double-edged, made of a flint, and has a wooden haft, inlaid with mother of pearl.[ ] on this coast we again meet with wooden canoes, although the balsa, or tule raft, is also in use. these boats are made of planks neatly fastened together and paid with bitumen;[ ] prow and stern, both equally sharp, are elevated above the centre, which made them appear to vizcaino "como barquillos" when seen beside his own junk-like craft. the paddles were long and double-bladed, and their boats, though generally manned by three or four men, were sometimes large enough to carry twenty. canoes dug out of a single log, scraped smooth on the outside, with both ends shaped alike, were sometimes, though more rarely, used.[ ] the circulating medium consisted of small round pieces of the white mussel-shell. these were perforated and arranged on strings, the value of which depended upon their length.[ ] i have said before that this money is supposed to have been manufactured for the most part on santa rosa island. hence it was distributed among the coast tribes, who bought with it deer-skins, seeds, etc., from the people of the interior. [sidenote: government and punishments.] each tribe acknowledged one head, whose province it was to settle disputes,[ ] levy war, make peace, appoint feasts, and give good advice. beyond this he had little power.[ ] he was assisted in his duties by a council of elders. the office of chief was hereditary, and in the absence of a male heir devolved upon the female nearest of kin. she could marry whom she pleased, but her husband obtained no authority through the alliance, all the power remaining in his wife's hands until their eldest boy attained his majority, when the latter at once assumed the command. a murderer's life was taken by the relatives of his victim, unless he should gain refuge in the temple, in which case his punishment was left to their god. vengeance was, however, only deferred; the children of the murdered man invariably avenged his death, sooner or later, upon the murderer or his descendants. when a chief grew too old to govern he abdicated in favor of his son, on which occasion a great feast was given. when all the people had been called together by criers, "the crown was placed upon the head of the chief elect, and he was enrobed with the imperial vestments," as father boscana has it; that is to say, he was dressed in a head-ornament of feathers, and a feather petticoat reaching from the waist half-way down to the knees, and the rest of his body painted black. he then went into the temple and performed a pas seul before the god chinigchinich. here, in a short time, he was joined by the other chiefs, who, forming a circle, danced round him, accompanied by the rattling of turtle-shells filled with small stones. when this ceremony was over he was publicly acknowledged chief. as i said before, the chief had little actual authority over individuals; neither was the real power vested in the heads of families; but a system of influencing the people was adopted by the chief and the elders, which is somewhat singular. whenever an important step was to be taken, such as the killing of a malefactor, or the invasion of an enemy's territory, the sympathies of the people were enlisted by means of criers, who were sent round to proclaim aloud the crime and the criminal, or to dilate upon the wrongs suffered at the hands of the hostile tribe; and their eloquence seldom failed to attain the desired object.[ ] [sidenote: marriage in southern california.] the chief could have a plurality of wives, but the common people were only allowed one.[ ] the form of contracting a marriage varied. in los angeles county, according to mr reid, the matter was arranged by a preliminary interchange of presents between the male relatives of the bridegroom and the female relatives of the bride. the former proceeded in a body to the dwelling of the girl, and distributed small sums in shell money among her female kinsfolk, who were collected there for the occasion. these afterward returned the compliment by visiting the man and giving baskets of meal to his people. a time was then fixed for the final ceremony. on the appointed day the girl, decked in all her finery, and accompanied by her family and relations, was carried in the arms of one of her kinsfolk toward the house of her lover; edible seeds and berries were scattered before her on the way, which were scrambled for by the spectators. the party was met half-way by a deputation from the bridegroom, one of whom now took the young woman in his arms and carried her to the house of her husband, who waited expectantly. she was then placed by his side, and the guests, after scattering more seeds, left the couple alone. a great feast followed, of which the most prominent feature was a character-dance. the young men took part in this dance in the rôles of hunters and warriors, and were assisted by the old women, who feigned to carry off game, or dispatch wounded enemies, as the case might be. the spectators sat in a circle and chanted an accompaniment. according to another form of marriage the man either asked the girl's parents for permission to marry their daughter, or commissioned one of his friends to do so. if the parents approved, their future son-in-law took up his abode with them, on condition that he should provide a certain quantity of food every day. this was done to afford him an opportunity to judge of the domestic qualities of his future wife. if satisfied, he appointed a day for the marriage, and the ceremony was conducted much in the same manner as that last described, except that he received the girl in a temporary shelter erected in front of his hut, and that she was disrobed before being placed by his side. children were often betrothed in infancy, kept continually in each other's society until they grew up, and the contract was scarcely ever broken. many obtained their wives by abduction, and this was the cause of many of the inter-tribal quarrels in which they were so constantly engaged. if a man ill-treated his wife, her relations took her away, after paying back the value of her wedding presents, and then married her to another. little difficulty was experienced in obtaining a divorce on any ground; indeed, in many of the tribes the parties separated whenever they grew tired of each other. adultery was severely punished. if a husband caught his wife in the act, he was justified in killing her, or, he could give her up to her seducer and appropriate the spouse of the latter to himself. [sidenote: child-birth.] at the time of child-birth many singular observances obtained; for instance, the old women washed the child as soon as it was born, and drank of the water; the unhappy infant was forced to take a draught of urine medicinally, and although the husband did not affect the sufferings of labor, his conduct was supposed in some manner to affect the unborn child, and he was consequently laid under certain restrictions, such as not being allowed to leave the house, or to eat fish and meat. the women as usual suffer little from child-bearing. one writer thus describes the accouchement of a woman in the vicinity of san diego: "a few hours before the time arrives she gets up and quietly walks off alone, as if nothing extraordinary was about to occur. in this manner she deceives all, even her husband, and hides herself away in some secluded nook, near a stream or hole of water. at the foot of a small tree, which she can easily grasp with both hands, she prepares her 'lying-in-couch,' on which she lies down as soon as the labor pains come on. when the pain is on, she grasps the tree with both hands, thrown up backward over her head, and pulls and strains with all her might, thus assisting each pain, until her accouchement is over. as soon as the child is born, the mother herself ties the navel-cord with a bit of buck-skin string, severing it with a pair of sharp scissors, prepared for the occasion, after which the end is burned with a coal of fire; the child is then thrown into the water; if it rises to the surface and cries, it is taken out and cared for; if it sinks, there it remains, and is not even awarded an indian burial. the affair being all over, she returns to her usual duties, just as if nothing had happened, so matter of fact are they in such matters." purification at child-birth lasted for three days, during which time the mother was allowed no food, and no drink but warm water. the ceremony, in which mother and child participated, was as follows: in the centre of the hut a pit was filled with heated stones, upon which herbs were placed, and the whole covered with earth, except a small aperture through which water was introduced. the mother and child, wrapped in blankets, stood over the pit and were soon in a violent perspiration. when they became exhausted from the effect of the steam and the heated air, they lay upon the ground and were covered with earth, after which they again took to the heated stones and steam. the mother was allowed to eat no meat for two moons, after which pills made of meat and wild tobacco were given her. in some tribes she could hold no intercourse with her husband until the child was weaned. children, until they arrived at the age of puberty, remained under the control of their parents, afterward they were subject only to the chief. like the spartan youth, they were taught that abstinence, and indifference to hardship and privations, constitute the only true manhood. to render them hardy much unnecessary pain was inflicted. they were forbidden to approach the fire to warm themselves, or to eat certain seeds and berries which were considered luxuries. a youth, to become a warrior, must first undergo a severe ordeal; his naked body was beaten with stinging nettles until he was literally unable to move; then he was placed upon the nest of a species of virulent ant, while his friends irritated the insects by stirring them up with sticks. the infuriated ants swarmed over every part of the sufferer's body, into his eyes, his ears, his mouth, his nose, causing indescribable pain. boscana states that the young were instructed to love truth, to do good, and to venerate old age.[ ] at an early age they were placed under the protection of a tutelar divinity, which was supposed to take the form of some animal. to discover the particular beast which was to guide his future destinies, the child was intoxicated,[ ] and for three or four days kept without food of any kind. during this period he was continually harassed and questioned, until, weak from want of food, crazed with drink and importunity, and knowing that the persecution would not cease until he yielded, he confessed to seeing his divinity, and described what kind of brute it was. the outline of the figure was then molded in a paste made of crushed herbs, on the breast and arms of the novitiate. this was ignited and allowed to burn until entirely consumed, and thus the figure of the divinity remained indelibly delineated in the flesh. hunters, before starting on an expedition, would beat their faces with nettles to render them clear-sighted. a girl, on arriving at the age of puberty, was laid upon a bed of branches placed over a hole, which had been previously heated, where she was kept with very little food for two or three days. old women chanted songs, and young women danced round her at intervals during her purification. in the vicinity of san diego the girl is buried all but her head, and the ground above her is beaten until she is in a profuse perspiration. this is continued for twenty-four hours, the patient being at intervals during this time taken out and washed, and then reimbedded. a feast and dance follow.[ ] when the missionaries first arrived in this region, they found men dressed as women and performing women's duties, who were kept for unnatural purposes. from their youth up they were treated, instructed, and used as females, and were even frequently publicly married to the chiefs or great men.[ ] [sidenote: amusements.] gambling and dancing formed, as usual, their principal means of recreation. their games of chance differed little from those played farther north. that of guessing in which hand a piece of wood was held, before described, was played by eight, four on a side, instead of four. another game was played by two. fifty small pieces of wood, placed upright in a row in the ground, at distances of two inches apart, formed the score. the players were provided with a number of pieces of split reed, blackened on one side; these were thrown, points down, on the ground, and the thrower counted one for every piece that remained white side uppermost; if he gained eight he was entitled to another throw. if the pieces all fell with the blackened side up they counted also. small pieces of wood placed against the upright pegs, marked the game. they reckoned from opposite ends of the row, and if one of the players threw just so many as to make his score exactly meet that of his opponent, the former had to commence again. throwing lances of reed through a rolling hoop was another source of amusement. professional singers were employed to furnish music to a party of gamblers. an umpire was engaged, whose duty it was to hold the stakes, count the game, prevent cheating, and act as referee; he was also expected to supply wood for the fire. when they were not eating, sleeping, or gambling, they were generally dancing; indeed, says father boscana, "such was the delight with which they took part in their festivities, that they often continued dancing day and night, and sometimes entire weeks." they danced at a birth, at a marriage, at a burial; they danced to propitiate the divinity, and they thanked the divinity for being propitiated by dancing. they decorated themselves with shells and beads, and painted their bodies with divers colors. sometimes head-dresses and petticoats of feathers were worn, at other times they danced naked. the women painted the upper part of their bodies brown. they frequently danced at the same time as the men, but seldom with them. time was kept by singers, and the rattling of turtle-shells filled with pebbles. they were good actors, and some of their character-dances were well executed; the step, however, like their chanting, was monotonous and unvarying. many of their dances were extremely licentious, and were accompanied with obscenities too disgusting to bear recital. most of them were connected in some way with their superstitions and religious rites.[ ] these people never wandered far from their own territory, and knew little or nothing of the nations lying beyond their immediate neighbors. mr reid relates that one who traveled some distance beyond the limits of his own domain, returned with the report that he had seen men whose ears descended to their hips; then he had met with a race of lilliputians; and finally had reached a people so subtly constituted that they "would take a rabbit, or other animal, and merely with the breath, inhale the essence; throwing the rest away, which on examination proved to be excrement." [sidenote: customs and superstitions.] they had a great number of traditions, legends, and fables. some of these give evidence of a powerful imagination; a few are pointed with a moral; but the majority are puerile, meaningless, to us at least, and filled with obscenities. it is said that, in some parts, the southern californians are great snake-charmers, and that they allow the reptiles to wind themselves about their bodies and bite them, with impunity. feuds between families are nursed for generations; the war is seldom more than one of words, however, unless a murder is to be avenged, and consists of mutual vituperations, and singing obscene songs about each other. friends salute by inquiries after each other's health. on parting one says 'i am going,' the other answers 'go.' they are very superstitious, and believe in all sorts of omens and auguries. an eclipse frightens them beyond measure, and shooting stars cause them to fall down in the dust and cover their heads in abject terror. many of them believe that, should a hunter eat meat or fish which he himself had procured, his luck would leave him. for this reason they generally hunt or fish in pairs, and when the day's sport is over, each takes what the other has killed. living as they do from hand to mouth, content to eat, sleep, and dance away their existence, we cannot expect to find much glimmering of the simpler arts or sciences among them. their year begins at the winter solstice, and they count by lunar months, so that to complete their year they are obliged to add several supplementary days. all these months have symbolic names. thus december and january are called the month of cold; february and march, the rain; march and april, the first grass; april and may, the rise of waters; may and june, the month of roots; june and july, of salmon fishing; july and august, of heat; august and september, of wild fruits; september and october, of bulbous roots; october and november, of acorns and nuts; november and december, of bear and other hunting. [sidenote: medical treatment.] sorcerers are numerous, and as unbounded confidence is placed in their power to work both good and evil, their influence is great. as astrologers and soothsayers, they can tell by the appearance of the moon the most propitious day and hour in which to celebrate a feast, or attack an enemy. sorcerers also serve as almanacs for the people, as it is their duty to note by the aspect of the moon the time of the decease of a chief or prominent man, and to give notice of the anniversary when it comes round, in order that it may be duly celebrated. they extort black-mail from individuals by threatening them with evil. the charm which they use is a ball made of mescal mixed with wild honey; this is carried under the left arm, in a small leather bag,--and the spell is effected by simply laying the right hand upon this bag. neither does their power end here; they hold intercourse with supernatural beings, metamorphose themselves at will, see into the future, and even control the elements. they are potent to cure as well as to kill. for all complaints, as usual, they 'put forth the charm of woven paces and of waving hands,' and in some cases add other remedies. for internal complaints they prescribe cold baths; wounds and sores are treated with lotions and poultices of crushed herbs, such as sage and rosemary, and of a kind of black oily resin, extracted from certain seeds. other maladies they affirm to be caused by small pieces of wood, stone, or other hard substance, which by some means have entered the flesh, and which they pretend to extract by sucking the affected part. in a case of paralysis the stricken parts were whipped with nettles. blisters are raised by means of dry paste made from nettle-stalks, placed on the bare flesh of the patient, set on fire, and allowed to burn out. cold water or an emetic is used for fever and like diseases, or, sometimes, the sufferer is placed naked upon dry sand or ashes, with a fire close to his feet, and a bowl of water or gruel at his head, and there left for nature to take its course, while his friends and relatives sit round and howl him into life or into eternity. snake-bites are cured by an internal dose of ashes, or the dust found at the bottom of ants' nests, and an external application of herbs.[ ] the medicine-men fare better here than their northern brethren, as, in the event of the non-recovery of their patient, the death of the latter is attributed to the just anger of their god, and consequently the physician is not held responsible. to avert the displeasure of the divinity, and to counteract the evil influence of the sorcerers, regular dances of propitiation or deprecation are held, in which the whole tribe join.[ ] [sidenote: death and burial.] the temescal, or sweat-house, is the same here as elsewhere, which renders a description unnecessary.[ ] the dead were either burned or buried. father boscana says that no particular ceremonies were observed during the burning of the corpse. the body was allowed to lie untouched some days after death, in order to be certain that no spark of life remained. it was then borne out and laid upon the funeral pyre, which was ignited by a person specially appointed for that purpose. everything belonging to the deceased was burned with him. when all was over the mourners betook themselves to the outskirts of the village, and there gave vent to their lamentation for the space of three days and nights. during this period songs were sung, in which the cause of the late death was related, and even the progress of the disease which brought him to his grave minutely described in all its stages. as an emblem of grief the hair was cut short in proportion to nearness of relation to or affection for the deceased, but laceration was not resorted to.[ ] mr taylor relates that the santa inez indians buried their dead in regular cemeteries. the body was placed in a sitting posture in a box made of slabs of claystone, and interred with all the effects of the dead person.[ ] according to reid, the natives of los angeles county waited until the body began to show signs of decay and then bound it together in the shape of a ball, and buried it in a place set apart for that purpose, with offerings of seeds contributed by the family. at the first news of his death all the relatives of the deceased gathered together, and mourned his departure with groans, each having a groan peculiar to himself. the dirge was presently changed to a song, in which all united, while an accompaniment was whistled through a deer's leg-bone. the dancing consisted merely in a monotonous shuffling of the feet.[ ] pedro fages thus describes a burial ceremony at the place named by him sitio de los pedernales.[ ] immediately after an indian has breathed his last, the corpse is borne out and placed before the idol which stands in the village, there it is watched by persons who pass the night round a large fire built for the purpose; the following morning all the inhabitants of the place gather about the idol and the ceremony commences. at the head of the procession marches one smoking gravely from a large stone pipe; followed by three others, he three times walks round the idol and the corpse; each time the head of the deceased is passed the coverings are lifted, and he who holds the pipe blows three puffs of smoke upon the body. when the feet are reached, a kind of prayer is chanted in chorus, and the parents and relatives of the defunct advance in succession and offer to the priest a string of threaded seeds, about a fathom long; all present then unite in loud cries and groans, while the four, taking the corpse upon their shoulders, proceed with it to the place of interment. care is taken to place near the body articles which have been manufactured by the deceased during his life-time. a spear or javelin, painted in various vivid colors, is planted erect over the tomb, and articles indicating the occupation of the dead are placed at his foot; if the deceased be a woman, baskets or mats of her manufacture are hung on the javelin.[ ] death they believed to be a real though invisible being, who gratified his own anger and malice by slowly taking away the breath of his victim until finally life was extinguished. the future abode of good spirits resembled the scandinavian valhalla; there, in the dwelling-place of their god, they would live for ever and ever, eating, and drinking, and dancing, and having wives in abundance. as their ideas of reward in the next world were matter-of-fact and material, so were their fears of punishment in this life; all accidents, such as broken limbs or bereavement by death, were attributed to the direct vengeance of their god, for crimes which they had committed.[ ] though good-natured and inordinately fond of amusement, they are treacherous and unreliable. under a grave and composed exterior they conceal their thoughts and character so well as to defy interpretation. and this is why we find men, who have lived among them for years, unable to foretell their probable action under any given circumstances. [sidenote: the shoshone family.] the shoshone family, which forms the fourth and last division of the californian group, may be said to consist of two great nations, the snakes, or shoshones proper, and the utahs. the former inhabit south-eastern oregon, idaho, western montana, and the northern portions of utah and nevada, are subdivided into several small tribes, and include the more considerable nation of the bannacks. the utahs occupy nearly the whole of utah and nevada, and extend into arizona and california, on each side of the colorado. among the many tribes into which the utahs are divided may be mentioned the _utahs_ proper, whose territory covers a great part of utah and eastern nevada; the _washoes_ along the eastern base of the sierra nevada, between honey lake and the west fork of walker river; the _pah utes_, or, as they are sometimes called, piutes, in western and central nevada, stretching into arizona and south-eastern california; the _pah vants_ in the vicinity of sevier lake, the _pi edes_ south of them, and the _gosh utes_, a mixed tribe of snakes and utahs, dwelling in the vicinity of gosh ute lake and mountains. the shoshones[ ] are below the medium stature; the utahs, though more powerfully built than the snakes, are coarser-featured and less agile. all are of a dark bronze-color when free from paint and dirt, and, as usual, beardless. the women are clumsily made, although some of them have good hands and feet.[ ] on the barren plains of nevada, where there is no large game, the rabbit furnishes nearly the only clothing. the skins are sewn together in the form of a cloak, which is thrown over the shoulders, or tied about the body with thongs of the same. in warm weather, or when they cannot obtain rabbit-skins, men, women and children are, for the most part, in a state of nudity. the hair is generally allowed to grow long, and to flow loosely over the shoulders; sometimes it is cut straight over the forehead, and among the utahs of new mexico it is plaited into two long queues by the men, and worn short by the women. ornaments are rare; i find mention in two instances[ ] of a nose-ornament, worn by the pah utes, consisting of a slender piece of bone, several inches in length, thrust through the septum of the nose. tattooing is not practiced but paint of all colors is used unsparingly.[ ] the snakes are better dressed than the utahs, their clothing being made from the skins of larger game, and ornamented with beads, shells, fringes, feathers, and, since their acquaintance with the whites, with pieces of brilliant-colored cloth. a common costume is a shirt, leggins, and moccasins, all of buck-skin, over which is thrown, in cold weather, a heavy robe, generally of buffalo-skin, but sometimes of wolf, deer, elk, or beaver. the dress of the women differs but little from that of the men, except that it is less ornamented and the shirt is longer.[ ] [sidenote: dress of the snakes.] the dress of the snakes seen by captains lewis and clarke was richer than is usually worn by them now; it was composed of a robe, short cloak, shirt, long leggins, and moccasins. the robe was of buffalo or smaller skins, dressed with the hair on; the collar of the cloak, a strip of skin from the back of the otter, the head being at one end and the tail at the other. from this collar were suspended from one hundred to two hundred and fifty ermine-skins,[ ] or rather strips from the back of the ermine, including the head and tail; each of these strips was sewn round a cord of twisted silk-grass, which tapered in thickness toward the tail. the seams were concealed with a fringe of ermine-skin; little tassels of white fur were also attached to each tail, to show off its blackness to advantage. the collar was further ornamented with shells of the pearl-oyster; the shirt, made of the dressed hides of various kinds of deer, was loose and reached half-way down the thigh; the sleeves were open on the under side as low as the elbow,--the edges being cut into a fringe from the elbow to the wrist,--and they fitted close to the arm. the collar was square, and cut into fringe, or adorned with the tails of the animals which furnished the hide; the shirt was garnished with fringes and stained porcupine-quills; the leggins were made each from nearly an entire antelope-skin, and reached from the ankle to the upper part of the thigh. the hind legs of the skin were worn uppermost, and tucked into the girdle; the neck, highly ornamented with fringes and quills, trailed on the ground behind the heel of the wearer; the side seams were fringed, and for this purpose the scalps of fallen enemies were frequently used. the moccasins were also of dressed hide, without the hair, except in winter, when buffalo-hide, with the hair inside, answered the purpose. they were made with a single seam on the outside edge, and were embellished with quills; sometimes they were covered with the skin of a polecat, the tail of which dragged behind on the ground. ear-ornaments of beads, necklaces of shells, twisted-grass, elk-tushes, round bones, like joints of a fish's back-bone, and the claws of the brown bear, were all worn. eagles' feathers stuck in the hair, or a strip of otter-skin tied round the head, seem to have been the only head-dresses in use.[ ] this, or something similar, was the dress only of the wealthy and prosperous tribes. like the utahs, the snakes paint extensively, especially when intent upon war.[ ] [sidenote: dwellings and food of the shoshones.] the snakes also build better dwellings than the utahs. long poles are leaned against each other in a circle, and are then covered with skins, thus forming a conical tent. a hole in the top, which can be closed in bad weather, serves as chimney, and an opening at the bottom three or four feet high, admits the occupants on pushing aside a piece of hide stretched on a stick, which hangs over the aperture as a door. these skin tents, as is necessary to a nomadic people, are struck and pitched with very little labor. when being moved from one place to another, the skins are folded and packed on the ponies, and the poles are hitched to each side of the animal by one end, while the other drags. the habitations of the people of nevada and the greater part of utah are very primitive and consist of heaps of brush, under which they crawl, or even of a mere shelter of bushes, semi-circular in shape, roofless, and three or four feet high, which serves only to break the force of the wind. some of them build absolutely no dwellings, but live in caves and among the rocks, while others burrow like reptiles in the ground. farnham gives us a very doleful picture of their condition; he says: "when the lizard, and snail, and wild roots are buried in the snows of winter, they are said to retire to the vicinity of timber, dig holes in the form of ovens in the steep sides of the sand-hills, and, having heated them to a certain degree, deposit themselves in them, and sleep and fast till the weather permits them to go abroad again for food. persons who have visited their haunts after a severe winter, have found the ground around these family ovens strewn with the unburied bodies of the dead, and others crawling among them, who had various degrees of strength, from a bare sufficiency to gasp in death, to those that crawled upon their hands and feet, eating grass like cattle."[ ] naturally pusillanimous, weak in development, sunk below the common baser passions of the savage, more improvident than birds, more beastly than beasts, it may be possible to conceive of a lower phase of humanity, but i confess my inability to do so. pine-nuts, roots, berries, reptiles, insects, rats, mice, and occasionally rabbits are the only food of the poorer shoshone tribes. those living in the vicinity of streams or lakes depend more or less for their subsistence upon fish. the snakes of idaho and oregon, and the tribes occupying the more fertile parts of utah, having abundance of fish and game, live well the year round, but the miserable root-eating people, partly owing to their inherent improvidence, partly to the scantiness of their food-supply, never store sufficient provision for the winter, and consequently before the arrival of spring they are invariably reduced to extreme destitution. to avoid starvation they will eat dead bodies, and even kill their children for food.[ ] a rat or a rabbit is prepared for eating by singeing the hair, pressing the offal from the entrails and cooking body and intestines together. lizards, snakes, grasshoppers, and ants are thrown alive into a dish containing hot embers, and are tossed about until roasted; they are then eaten dry or used to thicken soup. grasshoppers, seeds, and roots, are also gathered and cooked in the same manner as by the nations already described. the gosh utes take rabbits in nets made of flax-twine, about three feet wide and of considerable length. a fence of sage-brush is erected across the rabbit-paths, and on this the net is hung. the rabbits in running quickly along the trail become entangled in the meshes and are taken before they can escape. lizards are dragged from their holes by means of a hooked stick. to catch ants a piece of fresh hide or bark is placed upon the ant-hill; this is soon covered by vast swarms of the insects, which are then brushed off into a bag and kept there until dead, when they are dried for future use. among the hunting tribes antelope are gradually closed in upon by a circle of horsemen and beaten to death with clubs. they are also stalked after the fashion of the californians proper, the hunter placing the head and horns of an antelope or deer upon his own head and thus disguised approaching within shooting distance. [sidenote: native fish-weir.] fish are killed with spears having movable heads, which become detached when the game is struck, and are also taken in nets made of rushes or twigs. in the latter case a place is chosen where the river is crossed by a bar, the net is then floated down the stream and on reaching the bar both ends are drawn together. the fish thus enclosed are taken from the circle by hand, and the shoshone as he takes each one, puts its head in his mouth and kills it with his teeth. captain clarke describes an ingeniously constructed weir on snake river, where it was divided into four channels by three small islands. three of these channels were narrow "and stopped by means of trees which were stretched across, and supported by willow stakes, sufficiently near to prevent the passage of the fish. about the centre of each was placed a basket formed of willows, eighteen or twenty feet in length, of a cylindrical form, and terminating in a conic shape at its lower extremity; this was situated with its mouth upwards, opposite to an aperture in the weir. the main channel of the water was then conducted to this weir, and as the fish entered it they were so entangled with each other, that they could not move, and were taken out by emptying the small end of the willow basket. the weir in the main channel was formed in a manner somewhat different; there were, in fact two distinct weirs formed of poles and willow sticks quite across the river, approaching each other obliquely with an aperture in each side of the angle. this is made by tying a number of poles together at the top, in parcels of three, which were then set up in a triangular form at the base, two of the poles being in the range desired for the weir, and the third down the stream. to these poles two ranges of other poles are next lashed horizontally, with willow bark and withes, and willow sticks joined in with these crosswise, so as to form a kind of wicker-work from the bottom of the river to the height of three or four feet above the surface of the water. this is so thick as to prevent the fish from passing, and even in some parts with the help of a little gravel and some stone enables them to give any direction which they wish to the water. these two weirs being placed near to each other, one for the purpose of catching the fish as they ascend, the other as they go down the river, are provided with two baskets made in the form already described, and which are placed at the apertures of the weir." for present consumption the fish are boiled in water-tight baskets by means of red-hot stones, or are broiled on the embers; sometimes the bones are removed before the fish is cooked; great quantities are also dried for winter. some few of the utahs cultivate a little maize, vegetables, and tobacco, and raise stock, but efforts at agriculture are not general. the snakes sometimes accompany the more northern tribes into the country of the blackfeet, for the purpose of killing buffalo.[ ] in their persons, dwellings and habits, the utahs are filthy beyond description. their bodies swarm with vermin which they catch and eat with relish. some of the snakes are of a more cleanly disposition, but, generally speaking, the whole shoshone family is a remarkably dirty one.[ ] [sidenote: weapons of the shoshones.] the bow and arrow are universally used by the shoshones, excepting only some of the most degraded root-eaters, who are said to have no weapon, offensive or defensive, save the club. the bow is made of cedar, pine, or other wood, backed with sinew after the manner already described, or, more rarely, of a piece of elk-horn. the string is of sinew. the length of the bow varies. according to farnham, that used by the pi utes is six feet long, while that of the shoshones seen by lewis and clark was only two and a half feet in length. the arrows are from two to four feet, and are pointed with obsidian, flint, or, among the lower tribes, by merely hardening the tip with fire. thirty or forty are usually carried in a skin quiver, and two in the hand ready for immediate use. lances, which are used in some localities, are pointed in the same manner as the arrows when no iron can be procured. the snakes have a kind of mace or club, which they call a _poggamoggon_. it consists of a heavy stone, sometimes wrapped in leather, attached by a sinew thong about two inches in length, to the end of a stout leather-covered handle, measuring nearly two feet. a loop fastened to the end held in the hand prevents the warrior from losing the weapon in the fight, and allows him to hold the club in readiness while he uses the bow and arrow.[ ] they also have a circular shield about two and a half feet in diameter, which is considered a very important part of a warrior's equipment, not so much from the fact that it is arrow-proof, as from the peculiar virtues supposed to be given it by the medicine-men. the manufacture of a shield is a season of great rejoicing. it must be made from the entire fresh hide of a male two-year-old buffalo, and the process is as follows. a hole is dug in the ground and filled with red-hot stones; upon these water is poured until a thick steam arises. the hide is then stretched, by as many as can take hold of it, over the hole, until the hair can be removed with the hands and it shrinks to the required size. it is then placed upon a prepared hide, and pounded by the bare feet of all present, until the ceremony is concluded. when the shield is completed, it is supposed to render the bearer invulnerable. lewis and clarke also make mention of a species of defensive armor "something like a coat of mail, which is formed by a great many folds of dressed antelope skins, united by means of a mixture of glue and sand. with this they cover their own bodies and those of their horses, and find it impervious to the arrow." i find mention in one instance only, of a shield being used by the utahs. in that case it was small, circular, and worn suspended from the neck. the fishing spear i have already described as being a long pole with an elk-horn point. when a fish is struck the shaft is loosened from its socket in the head, but remains connected with the latter by a cord.[ ] arrows are occasionally poisoned by plunging them into a liver which has been previously bitten by a rattlesnake.[ ] [sidenote: manner of making war.] the tribes that possess horses always fight mounted, and manage their animals with considerable address. in war they place their reliance upon strategy and surprise; fires upon the hills give warning of an enemy's approach. prisoners of war are killed with great tortures, especially female captives, who are given over to the women of the victorious tribe and by them done to death most cruelly; it is said, however, that male prisoners who have distinguished themselves by their prowess in battle, are frequently dismissed unhurt. scalps are taken, and sometimes portions of the flesh of a brave fallen enemy are eaten that the eater may become endued with the valor of the slain. he who takes the most scalps gains the most glory. whether the warriors who furnished the trophies fell by the hand of the accumulator or not, is immaterial; he has but to show the spoils and his fame is established. the snakes are said to be peculiarly skillful in eluding pursuit. when on foot, they will crouch down in the long grass and remain motionless while the pursuer passes within a few feet of them, or when caught sight of they will double and twist so that it is impossible to catch them. the custom of ratifying a peace treaty by a grand smoke, common to so many of the north american aborigines, is observed by the shoshones.[ ] the pipe, the bowl of which is usually of red stone, painted or carved with various figures and adorned with feathers, is solemnly passed from mouth to mouth, each smoker blowing the smoke in certain directions and muttering vows at the same time. the only tools used before iron and steel were introduced by the whites were of flint, bone, or horn. the flint knife had no regular form, and had a sharp edge about three or four inches long, which was renewed when it became dull. elk-horn hatchets, or rather wedges, were used to fell trees. they made water-proof baskets of plaited grass, and others of wicker-work covered with hide. the snakes and some of the utahs were versed in the art of pottery, and made very good vessels from baked clay. these were not merely open dishes, but often took the form of jars with narrow necks, having stoppers.[ ] [sidenote: laws and government.] boats, as a rule, the shoshones have none. they usually cross rivers by fording; otherwise they swim, or pass over on a clumsy and dangerous raft made of branches and rushes.[ ] by way of compensation they all, except the poorest, have horses, and these constitute their wealth. they have no regular currency, but use for purposes of barter their stock of dried fish, their horses, or whatever skins and furs they may possess. they are very deliberate traders, and a solemn smoke must invariably precede a bargain.[ ] although each tribe has an ostensible chief, his power is limited to giving advice, and although his opinion may influence the tribe, yet he cannot compel obedience to his wishes. every man does as he likes. private revenge, of course, occasionally overtakes the murderer, or, if the sympathies of the tribe be with the murdered man, he may possibly be publicly executed, but there are no fixed laws for such cases. chieftainship is hereditary in some tribes; in others it is derived from prestige.[ ] the utahs do not hesitate to sell their wives and children into slavery for a few trinkets. great numbers of these unfortunates are sold to the navajos for blankets. an act which passed the legislature of utah in , legalizing slavery, sets forth that from time immemorial, slavery has been a customary traffic among the indians; that it was a common practice among them to gamble away their wives and children into slavery, to sell them into slavery to other nations, and that slaves thus obtained were most barbarously treated by their masters; that they were packed from place to place on mules; that these unfortunate humans were staked out to grass and roots like cattle, their limbs mutilated and swollen from being bound with thongs; that they were frozen, starved, and killed by their inhuman owners; that families and tribes living at peace would steal each other's wives and children, and sell them as slaves. in view of these abuses it was made lawful for a probate judge, or selectmen, to bind out native captive women and children to suitable white persons for a term not to exceed twenty years.[ ] polygamy, though common, is not universal; a wife is generally bought of her parents;[ ] girls are frequently betrothed in infancy; a husband will prostitute his wife to a stranger for a trifling present, but should she be unfaithful without his consent, her life must pay the forfeit. the women, as usual, suffer very little from the pains of child-bearing. when the time of a shoshone woman's confinement draws near, she retires to some secluded place, brings forth unassisted, and remains there for about a month, alone, and procuring her subsistence as best she can. when the appointed time has elapsed she is considered purified and allowed to join her friends again. the weaker sex of course do the hardest labor, and receive more blows than kind words for their pains. these people, in common with most nomadic nations, have the barbarous custom of abandoning the old and infirm the moment they find them an incumbrance. lewis and clarke state that children are never flogged, as it is thought to break their spirit.[ ] [sidenote: gambling and drinking.] the games of hazard played by the shoshones differ little from those of their neighbors; the principal one appears to be the odd-and-even game so often mentioned; but of late years they have nearly abandoned these, and have taken to 'poker,' which they are said to play with such adroitness as to beat a white man. with the voice they imitate with great exactness the cries of birds and beasts, and their concerts of this description, which generally take place at midnight, are discordant beyond measure. though they manufacture no intoxicating liquor themselves, they will drink the whisky of the whites whenever opportunity offers. they smoke the _kinikkinik_ leaf when no tobacco can be procured from the traders.[ ] in connection with their smoking they have many strange observances. when the pipe is passed round at the solemnization of a treaty, or the confirmation of a bargain, each smoker, on receiving it from his neighbor, makes different motions with it; one turns the pipe round before placing the stem to his lips; another describes a semicircle with it; a third smokes with the bowl in the air; a fourth with the bowl on the ground, and so on through the whole company. all this is done with a most grave and serious countenance, which makes it the more ludicrous to the looker-on. the snakes, before smoking with a stranger, always draw off their moccasins as a mark of respect. any great feat performed by a warrior, which adds to his reputation and renown, such as scalping an enemy, or successfully stealing his horses, is celebrated by a change of name. killing a grizzly bear also entitles him to this honor, for it is considered a great feat to slay one of these formidable animals, and only he who has performed it is allowed to wear their highest insignia of glory, the feet or claws of the victim. to bestow his name upon a friend is the highest compliment that one man can offer another. the snakes, and some of the utahs, are skillful riders, and possess good horses. their horse-furniture is simple. a horse-hair or raw-hide lariat is fastened round the animal's neck; the bight is passed with a single half-hitch round his lower jaw, and the other end is held in the rider's hand; this serves as a bridle. when the horse is turned loose, the lariat is loosened from his jaw and allowed to trail from his neck. the old men and the women have saddles similar to those used for packing by the whites; they are a wooden frame made of two pieces of thin board fitting close to the sides of the horse, and held together by two cross-pieces, in shape like the legs of an isosceles triangle. a piece of hide is placed between this and the horse's back, and a robe is thrown over the seat when it is ridden on. the younger men use no saddle, except a small pad, girthed on with a leather thong. when traveling they greatly overload their horses. all the household goods and provisions are packed upon the poor animal's back, and then the women and children seat themselves upon the pile, sometimes as many as four or five on one horse.[ ] [sidenote: diseases and burial.] the poorer utahs are very subject to various diseases, owing to exposure in winter. they have few, if any, efficient remedies. they dress wounds with pine-gum, after squeezing out the blood. the snakes are much affected by rheumatism and consumption, caused chiefly by their being almost constantly in the water fishing, and by exposure. syphilis has, of course, been extensively introduced among all the tribes. a few plants and herbs are used for medicinal purposes, and the medicine-men practice their wonted mummeries, but what particular means of cure they adopt is not stated by the authorities. i find no mention of their having sweat-houses.[ ] concerning the disposal of the dead usage differs. in some parts the body is burned, in others it is buried. in either case the property of the deceased is destroyed at his burial. his favorite horse, and, in some instances, his favorite wife, are killed over his grave, that he may not be alone in the spirit land. laceration in token of grief is universal, and the lamentations of the dead person's relatives are heard for weeks after his death, and are renewed at intervals for many months. child-like in this, they rush into extremes, and when not actually engaged in shrieking and tearing their flesh, they appear perfectly indifferent to their loss.[ ] [sidenote: shoshone character.] the character of the better shoshone tribes is not much worse than that of the surrounding nations; they are thieving, treacherous, cunning, moderately brave after their fashion, fierce when fierceness will avail them anything, and exceedingly cruel. of the miserable root and grass eating shoshones, however, even this much cannot be said. those who have seen them unanimously agree that they of all men are lowest. lying in a state of semi-torpor in holes in the ground during the winter, and in spring crawling forth and eating grass on their hands and knees, until able to regain their feet; having no clothes, scarcely any cooked food, in many instances no weapons, with merely a few vague imaginings for religion, living in the utmost squalor and filth, putting no bridle on their passions, there is surely room for no missing link between them and brutes.[ ] yet as in all men there stands out some prominent good, so in these, the lowest of humanity, there is one virtue: they are lovers of their country; lovers, not of fair hills and fertile valleys, but of inhospitable mountains and barren plains; these reptile-like men love their miserable burrowing-places better than all the comforts of civilization; indeed, in many instances, when detained by force among the whites, they have been known to pine away and die. tribal boundaries. [sidenote: northern californians.] to the northern californians, whose territory extends from rogue river on the north to eel river south, and from the pacific ocean to the californian boundary east, including the klamath, and other lakes, are assigned, according to the authorities, the following tribal boundaries: there are 'the hoopahs, and the ukiahs of mendocino;' 'the umpquas, kowooses or cooses, macanootoony's of the umpqua river section, nomee cults, and nomee lacks of tehama county; the copahs, hanags, yatuckets, terwars and tolowas, of the lower klamath river; the wylaks and noobimucks of trinity county mountains west from sacramento plains; the modocs of klamath lake, the ylackas of pitt river, the ukas and shastas of shasta county.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _june , _. 'the _tototins_ are divided into twelve bands; eight of them are located on the coast, one on the forks of the coquille, and three on rogue river.' 'the tototins, from whom is derived the generic name of the whole people speaking the language, reside on the north bank of the tototin river, about four miles from its mouth. their country extends from the eastern boundary of the yahshutes, a short distance below their village, up the stream about six miles, where the fishing-grounds of the mackanotins commence.' 'the country of the euquachees commences at the "three sisters," and extends along the coast to a point about three miles to the south of their village, which is on a stream which bears their name. the mining town of elizabeth is about the southern boundary of the euquachees, and is called thirty miles from port orford. next southward of the euquachees are the yahshutes, whose villages occupy both banks of the tototin or rogue river, at its mouth. these people claim but about two and a half miles back from the coast, where the tototin country commences. the yahshutes claim the coast to some remarkable headlands, about six miles south of rogue river. south of these headlands are the chetlessentuns. their village is north of, but near, the mouth of a stream bearing their name, but better known to the whites as pistol river. the chetlessentuns claim but about eight miles of the coast; but as the country east of them is uninhabited, like others similarly situated, their lands are supposed to extend to the summit of the mountains. next to the chetlessentuns on the south are the wishtenatins, whose village is at the mouth of a small creek bearing their name. they claim the country to a small trading-post known as the whale's head, about twenty-seven miles south of the mouth of rogue river. next in order are the cheattee or chitco band, whose villages were situated on each side of the mouth, and about six miles up a small river bearing their name.... the lands of these people extend from whale's head to the california line, and back from the coast indefinitely.... the mackanotin village is about seven miles above that of the tototins, and is on the same side of the river. they claim about twelve miles of stream. the shistakoostees succeed them (the mackanotins). their village is on the north bank of rogue river, nearly opposite the confluence of the illinois. these are the most easterly band within my district in the south.' _parrish_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . 'dr. hubbard, in his notes ( ) on the indians of rogue river and south oregon, on the ocean, before alluded to, gives the following list of names of rancherias and clans of the lototen or tutatamys tribe. masonah band, location, coquille river; chockrelatan band, location, coquille forks; quatomah band, location, flore's creek; laguaacha band, location, elk river; cosulhenten band, location, port orford; yuquache band, location, yugua creek; chetlessenten band, location, pistol river; yah shutes band, location, rogue river; wishtanatan band, location, whale's head; cheahtoc band, location, chetko; tototen band, location, six miles above the mouth of rogue river; sisticoosta band, location, above big bend, of rogue river; maquelnoteer band, location, fourteen miles above the mouth of rogue river.' _cal. farmer_, _june , _. the tutotens were a large tribe, numbering thirteen clans, inhabiting the southern coast of oregon. _golden era_, _march, _. 'toutounis ou coquins, sur la rivière de ce nom et dans l'intérieur des terres.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'on the lower part of the clamet river are the totutune, known by the unfavorable soubriquet of the rogue, or rascal indians.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . the bands of the tootooton tribe 'are scattered over a great extent of country--along the coast and on the streams from the california line to twenty miles north of the coquille, and from the ocean to the summit of the coast range of mountains.' _palmer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . taylor places the tutunahs in the northwest corner of del norte county. _ms. map._ the _hunas_ live in california a little south of rogue river, on the way north from crescent city. _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . _modoc_, by some _moädoc_, is a word which originated with the shasteecas, who applied it indefinitely to all wild indians or enemies. 'their proper habitat is on the southern shore of lower klamath lake, on hot creek, around clear lake, and along lost river in oregon.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. . they own the klamath river from the lake 'to where it breaks through the siskiyou range to the westward.' _id._, vol. xi., p. . in the northern part of siskiyou county. _ms. map_. 'the modocs of the klamath lake were also called moahtockna.' _cal. farmer_, _june , _. east of the klamaths, whose eastern boundary is twenty-five or thirty miles east of the cascade range, along the southern boundary of oregon, 'and extending some distance into california, is a tribe known as the modocks. east of these again, but extending farther south, are the moetwas.' 'the country round ancoose and modoc lakes, is claimed and occupied by the modoc indians.' _palmer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . 'the modocs (or moadoc, as the word is pronounced) known in their language as the okkowish, inhabit the goose lake country, and are mostly within the state of california.... the word modoc is a shasta indian word, and means all distant, stranger, or hostile indians, and became applied to these indians by white men in early days from hearing the shastas speak of them.' see _steele_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _oukskenahs_, in the north-western part of siskiyou county. _ms. map._ [sidenote: the trinity river tribes.] the _klamaths_ or _lutuami_--'lutuami, or tlamatl, or clamet indians. the first of these names is the proper designation of the people in their own language. the second is that by which they are known to the chinooks, and through them to the whites. they live on the head waters of the river and about the lake, which have both received from foreigners the name of clamet.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . that portion of the eastern base of the cascade range, south of the forty-fourth parallel, 'extending twenty-five or thirty miles east, and south to the california line, is the country of the klamath indians.' _palmer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the tlameths 'inhabit the country along the eastern base of the cascade and sierra nevada mountains, and south to the great klameth lake.' _thompson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the clamets inhabit 'roquas river, near the south boundary' (of oregon). _warre and vavasour_, in _martin's hudson's bay_, p. . 'lutuami, clamets; also tlamatl--indians of southwestern oregon, near the clamet lake.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'klamacs, sur la rivière de ce nom et dans l'intérieur des terres.' _de mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . clamet: on the upper part of the river, and sixty miles below the lake so named. _framboise_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. . 'next east of the shastas are the klamath lake indians, known in their language as the okshee, who inhabit the country about the klamath lakes, and east about half way to the goose lake, to wright lake, and south to a line running about due east from shasta butte.' _steele_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . 'the name of klamath or tlamath, belonging to the tribes on the lake where the river rises, is not known among those farther down.... thus, at the forks, the weitspeks call the river below pohlik, signifying down; and that above pehtsik, or up; giving, moreover, the same name to the population in speaking of them collectively. three distinct tribes, speaking different languages, occupy its banks between the sea and the mouth of the shasté, of which the lowest extends up to bluff creek, a few miles above the forks. of these there are, according to our information, in all, thirty-two villages.... the names of the principal villages ... are the weitspek (at the forks), wahsherr, kaipetl, moraiuh, nohtscho, méhteh, schregon, yauterrh, pecquan, kauweh, wauhtecq, scheperrh, oiyotl, naiagutl, schaitl, hopaiuh, rekqua, and weht'lqua, the two last at the mouth of the river.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _eurocs_ inhabit 'the lower klamath from weitspeck down, and along the coast for about twenty miles.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. . the eurocs 'inhabit the banks of the klamath from the junction of the trinity to the mouth, and the sea coast from gold bluff up to a point about six miles above the mouth of the klamath.' _powers' pomo, ms._ the _cahrocs_ live between the eurocs and the foot of the klamath mountains, also a short distance up salmon river. 'on the klamath river there live three distinct tribes, called the eurocs, cahrocs, and modocs; which names mean respectively, "down the river," "up the river," and "head of the river."' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. . speaking of indians at the junction of salmon and klamath rivers, mr. gibbs says: 'they do not seem to have any generic appellation for themselves, but apply the terms "kahruk," up, and "youruk," down, to all who live above or below themselves, without discrimination, in the same manner that the others (at the junction of the trinity) do "pehtsik," and "pohlik."' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _tolewahs_ are the first tribe on the coast north of klamath river. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the tahlewahs are a 'tribe on the klamath river.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'in the vicinity of crescent city and smith's river there are the ... lopas, talawas, and lagoons.' _heintzelman_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . 'in del norte county ... the haynaggis live along smith river, the tolowas on the lagoon, and the tahatens around crescent city.' _powers' pomo, ms._ the cops, hanags, yantuckets, and tolawas, are 'indian tribes living near the oregon and california coast frontiers.' _crescent city herald_, _aug. _. the tolowas at the meeting point of trinity, humboldt, and klamath counties. _ms. map._ the _terwars_, north-west of the tolowas. _ms. map._ the _weitspeks_ are the 'principal band on the klamath, at the junction of the trinity.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . the _oppegachs_ are a tribe at red-cap's bar, on the klamath river. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _hoopahs_ live 'am unteren rio de la trinidad, oder trinity river.' _buschmann_, _das apache als eine athhapask. spr._, p. . 'indian tribe on the lower part of the trinity river.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . the hoopas live 'in hoopa valley, on the lower trinity river.' _power's pomo, ms._, p. . 'the lower trinity tribe is, as well as the river itself, known to the klamaths by the name of hoopah.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. ; see also p. . in the northern part of klamath county. _ms. map._ 'upon the trinity, or hoopah, below the entrance of the south fork or otahweiaket, there are said to be eleven ranches, the okenoke, agaraits, uplegoh, olleppauh'lkahtehtl and pephtsoh; ... and the haslintah, aheltah, sokéakeit, tashhuanta, and witspuk above it; a twelfth, the méyemma, now burnt, was situated just above "new" or "arkansas" river.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _copahs_, in the extreme north of klamath county, north of the hoopahs. _ms. map._ the cops are mentioned as 'living near the oregon and california coast frontiers,' in the _crescent city herald_, _aug., _. the _kailtas_ live on the south fork of trinity river. _powers' pomo, ms._ the _pataways_ occupy the banks of the trinity, from the vicinity of big bar to south fork. _powers' pomo, ms._ the _chimalquays_ lived on new river, a tributary of the trinity. _powers' pomo, ms._ the _siahs_ 'occupied the tongue of land jutting down between eel river, and van dusen's fork.' _powers' pomo, ms._ the sians or siahs lived on the headwaters of smith river. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _ehneks_, eenahs, or eenaghs, lived above the tolewas on smith river. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'ehnek was the name of a band at the mouth of the salmon or quoratem river.' _id._, p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . _wishosk_ 'is the name given to the bay (humboldt) and mad river indians by those of eel river.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . the _weeyots_ are 'a band on the mouth of eel river and near humboldt bay.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . the humboldt bay indians call themselves wishosk; and those of the hills teokawilk; 'but the tribes to the northward denominate both those of the bay and eel river, weyot, or walla-walloo.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'the _patawats_ live on the lower waters of mad river, and around humboldt bay, as far south as arcata, perhaps originally as far down as eureka.' _powers' pomo, ms._ _ossegon_ is the name given to the indians of gold bluff, between trinidad and the klamath. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'the _lassics_ formerly dwelt in mad river valley, from the head waters down to low gap, or thereabout, where they borrowed on the wheelcuttas.' _powers' pomo, ms._ _chori_ was the name given to the indians of trinidad by the weeyots. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _chillulahs_ 'occupied the banks of redwood creek, from the coast up about twenty miles.' _powers' pomo, ms._ the oruk, tchololah, or bald hill indians, lived on redwood creek. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _wallies_ occupy the sandy country north of humboldt bay. _overland monthly_, vol. ii., p. . 'the _wheelcuttas_ had their place on the upper redwood creek, from the land of the chillulahs up to the mountains. they ranged across southward by the foot of the bald hills, which appear to have marked the boundary between them and the chillulahs in that direction; and penetrated to van dusen's fork, anent the siahs and lassics, with whom they occasionally came in bloody collision.' _powers' pomo, ms._ the _veeards_ 'live around lower humboldt bay, and up eel river to eagle prairie.' _powers' pomo, ms._ the _shastas_ live to the south-west of the lutuamis or klamaths. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'sastés, dans l'intérieur au nord de la californie.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'the shasta indians, known in their language as weohow--it meaning stone house, from the large cave in their country--occupy the land east of shasta river, and south of the siskiyou mountains, and west of the lower klamath lake.' _steele_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the shastas occupy the centre of the county of that name. _ms. map._ 'indians of south-western oregon, on the northern frontiers of upper california.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . watsahewah is the name 'of one of the scott river bands of the shasta family.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the name is spelled variously as shasty, shaste, sasté, &c. the _palaiks_ live to the southeast of the lutuamis or klamaths. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'indians of south-western oregon, on the northern frontiers of upper california.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . on the klamath are the odeeilahs; in shasta valley the ikarucks, kosetahs, and idakariúkes; and in scott's valley the watsahewas and eehs. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'the _hamburg indians_, known in their language as the tka, inhabit immediately at the mouth of scott's river, known in their language as the ottetiewa river.' _steele_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the _scott's valley indians_, known in their language as the iddoa, inhabit scott's valley above the cañon.' _ib._ 'the _yreka_ (a misnomer for yeka--shasta butte) indians, known in their language as the hoteday, inhabit that part of the country lying south of klamath river, and west of shasta river.' _ib._ the _yuka_ or uka tribe 'inhabited the shasta mountains in the vicinity of mccloud's fork of pitt river.' _cal. farmer_, _june , _. the ukas are directly south of the modocs. _ms. map._ 'the yukeh, or as the name is variously spelt, yuka, yuques, and uca, are the original inhabitants of the nome-cult, or round valley, in tehama county ... and are not to be confounded with the yukai indians of russian river.' _gibbs_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. . 'the _noser_ or _noza_ indians ... live in the vicinity of lassen's butte.' _siskiyou chronicle_, _may, _. the _ylakas_ are to the southeast of the ukas. _ms. map._ the central californians occupy the whole of that portion of california extending north and south, from about ° ´ to °, and east and west, from the pacific ocean to the californian boundary. they are tribally divided as follows: 'the _mattoles_ have their habitat on the creek which bears their name, and on the still smaller stream dignified with the appellation of bear river. from the coast they range across to eel river, and by immemorial indian usage and prescriptive right, they hold the western bank of this river from about eagle prairie, where they border upon the veeards, up southward to the mouth of south fork.' _powers' pomo, ms._ the _betumkes_ live on the south fork of eel river. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . in the northern part of mendocino county. _ms. map._ the _choweshaks_ live on the head of eel river. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . tribes living on the middle fork of eel river, in the valley called by the indians betumki were the naboh choweshak, chawteuh bakowa, and samunda. _id._, p. . the choweshaks lived on the head of eel river. _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'the _loloncooks_ live on bull creek and the lower south fork of eel river, owning the territory between those streams and the pacific.' _powers' pomo, ms._ the _batemdakaiees_ live in the valley of that name on the head of eel river. _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . [sidenote: russian river and coast tribes.] the _pomos_ consist of 'a great number of tribes or little bands, sometimes one in a valley, sometimes three or four, clustered in the region where the headwaters of eel and russian rivers interlace, along the estuaries of the coast and around clear lake. really, the indians all along russian river to its mouth are branches of this great family, but below calpello they no longer call themselves pomos.... the broadest and most obvious division of this large family is, into eel river pomos and russian river pomos.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ix., pp. - . the castel pomos 'live between the forks of the river extending as far south as big chamise and blue rock.' _id._, p. . the ki-pomos 'dwell on the extreme headwaters of south fork, ranging eastward to eel river, westward to the ocean and northward to the castel pomos.' _ib._, _ms. map_. 'the cahto pomos (lake people) were so called from a little lake which formerly existed in the valley now called by their name.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ix., p. . the choam chadéla pomos (pitch pine people) live in redwood valley. _id._, p. . the matomey ki pomos (wooded valley people) live about little lake. _ib._ the camalèl pomos (coast people) or usals live on usal creek. _ib._ the shebalne pomos (neighbor people) live in sherwood valley. _ib._ the pome pomos (earth people) live in potter valley. besides the pome pomos there are two or three other little rancherias in potter valley, each with a different name; and the whole body of them are called ballo ki pomos (oat valley people). _id._ the camalel pomos, yonsal pomos, and bayma pomos live on ten mile, and the country just north of it, in mendocino county. _tobin_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the salan pomas are a tribe of indians inhabiting a valley called potter's valley.' _ford_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _niahbella pomos_ live in the north-west of mendocino county. _ms. map._ the _ukiahs_ live on russian river in the vicinity of parker's ranch. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. , . 'the yuka tribe are those mostly within and immediately adjoining the mountains.' _mendocino herald_, _march, _. the yukai live on russian river. _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . the ukias are in the south-eastern part of mendocino county. _ms. map._ the _soteomellos_ or sotomieyos 'lived in russian river valley.' _cal. farmer_, _march , _. the _shumeias_ 'lived on the extreme upper waters of eel river, opposite potter valley.' _powers' pomo, ms._ the _tahtoos_ 'live in the extreme upper end of potter valley.' _ib._ the _yeeaths_ live at cape mendocino. _tobin_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _kushkish_ indians live at shelter cove. _id._, p. . the _comachos_ live in russian river valley, in rancheria and anderson valleys. _powers' pomo, ms._ the _kajatschims_, _makomas_, and _japiams_ live in the russian river valley, north of fort ross. _baer_, _stat. und ethno._, p. . the _gallinomeros_ occupy dry creek valley and russian river valley below healdsburg. _powers' pomo, ms._ the _masalla magoons_ 'live along russian river south of cloverdale.' _id._ the _rincons_ live south of the masalla magoons. _id._ the _gualalas_ live on gualala or wallalla creek. _id._ the nahlohs, carlotsapos, chowechaks, chedochogs, choiteeu, misalahs, bacowas, samindas, and cachenahs, tuwanahs, lived in the country between fort ross and san francisco bay. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . _chwachamaju_ (russian severnovskia) or northerners, is the name of one of the tribes in the vicinity of fort ross. _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. und ethno._, p. . 'severnovskia, severnozer, or "northerners." indians north of bodega bay. they call themselves chwachamaja.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . the _olamentkes_ live at bodega. _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. und ethnog._, p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . the _kainamares_ or kainaméahs are at fitch's ranch, extending as far back as santa rosa, down russian river, about three leagues to cooper's ranch, and thence across the coast at fort ross, and for twenty-five miles above. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'the kanimares had rancherias at santa rosa, petaluma, or pataloma, and up to russian river.' _cal. farmer_, _march , _. 'the proper name of russian river in sonoma valley is canimairo after the celebrated indians of those parts.' _id._, _june , _. the indians of the plains in vicinity of fort ross, call themselves kainama. _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. und ethno._, p. . the kyanamaras 'inhabit the section of country between the cañon of russian river and its mouth.' _ford_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _tumalehnias_ live on bodega bay. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _socoas_, _lamas_, and _seacos_, live in russian river valley in the vicinity of the village of sanél. _powers' pomo, ms._ the _sonomas_, sonomis, or sonomellos, lived at the embarcadero of sonoma. _cal. farmer_, _march , _. the sonomas lived in the south-eastern extremity of what is now the county of sonoma. _ms. map._ the _tchokoyems_ lived in sonoma valley. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the chocuyens lived in the region now called sonoma county, and from their chief the county takes its name. _cronise's nat. wealth_, p. . the word sonoma means 'valley of the moon.' _tuthill's hist. cal._, p. . the tchokoyems live in sonoma valley. _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'the _timbalakees_ lived on the west side of sonoma valley.' _cal. farmer_, _march , _. the _guillicas_ lived 'northwest of sonoma,' on the old wilson ranch of . _ib._; _ms. map_. the _kinklas_ live in ° ´ north lat. and ° ´ long. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . the klinkas are a 'tribu fixée au nord du rio del sacramento.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . south of the rogue river indians 'the population is very scanty until we arrive at the valley of the sacramento, all the tribes of which are included by the traders under the general name of kinklá, which is probably, like tlamatl, a term of chinook origin.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . the talatui live 'on the kassima river, a tributary to the sacramento, on the eastern side, about eighty miles from its mouth.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . the _oleepas_ live on the feather river, twenty miles above marysville. _delano's life on the plains_, p. . 'the nemshous, as stated by general sutter, roamed (prior to ) between the bear and american rivers; across the sacramento were the yolos and colusas; north of the american fork were the bashones. on the banks of the river north of fort helvetia, roamed the veshanacks, the touserlemnies and youcoolumnies; between the american (plain and hills) and the mokalumne roamed the walacumnies, cosumnies, solumnees, mokelumnees, suraminis, yosumnis, lacomnis, kis kies and omochumnies.' _cal. farmer_, _june , _. the colusas live in the north-eastern corner of colusa county. the yolos, in the northern part of the county of that name. west of them the olashes. the bushones in the south of yolo county. the nemshoos in the eastern part of placer county. the yukutneys north of them. the vesnacks south-west of the nemshoos, and north of the pulpenes. the youcoulumnes and cosumnes are in the eastern part of amador county. the mokelumnes south of them. the yachachumnes west of the mokelumnes. _ms. map_. 'yolo is a corruption of the indian yoloy, which signified a region thick with rushes, and was the name of the tribe owning the tule lands west of the sacramento and bordering on cache creek.' _tuthill's hist. cal._, p. . the following are names of rancherias of tame indians or neophytes in the sacramento valley; sakisimme, shonomnes, tawalemnes, seywamenes, mukelemnes, cosumne. rancherias of wild indians or gentiles, are: sagayacumne, socklumnes, olonutchamne, newatchumne, yumagatock, shalachmushumne, omatchamne, yusumne, yuleyumne, tamlocklock, sapototot, yalesumne, wapoomne, kishey, secumne, pushune, oioksecumne, nemshan, palanshan, ustu, olash, yukulme, hock, sishu, mimal, yulu, bubu, honcut. _indian tribes of the sacramento valley, ms._ tame indians or neophites: lakisumne, shonomne, fawalomnes, mukeemnes, cosumne. wild indians or gentiles: sagayacumne, locklomnee, olonutchamne, yumagatock, shalachmushumne, omutchamne, yusumne, yaleyumne, yamlocklock, lapototot, yalesumne, wajuomne, kisky, secumne, pushune, oioksecumne, nemshaw, palanshawl ustu, olash, yukulme, hock, lishu, mimal, ubu, bubu, honcut. _sutter's estimate of indian population, , ms._ the ochecamnes, servushamnes, chupumnes, omutchumnes, sicumnes, walagumnes, cosumnes, sololumnes, turealemnes, saywamines, nevichumnes, matchemnes, sagayayumnes, muthelemnes, and lopstatimnes, lived on the eastern bank of the sacramento. the bushumnes (or pujuni), (or sekomne) yasumnes, nemshaw, kisky, yaesumnes, huk, and yucal, lived on the western bank of the sacramento. _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., pp. , . the _yubas_ or _yuvas_ lived on yuva river, a tributary to the sacramento. _fremont's geog. memoir_, p. . the _meidoos_ and _neeshenams_ are on the yuba and feather rivers. 'as you travel south from chico the indians call themselves meidoo until you reach bear river; but below that it is neeshenam, or sometimes mana or maidec, all of which denote men or indians.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. xii., p. . the _cushnas_ live near the south fork of the yuba river. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . taylor also mentions the cushnas south of the yuba. _cal. farmer_, _may , _. [sidenote: clear lake tribes.] the _guenocks_ and _locollomillos_ lived between clear lake and napa. _cal. farmer_, _march , _. the _lopillamillos_ or lupilomis lived on the borders of clear lake. _ib._; _ms. map_. the _mayacmas_ and _tyugas_ dwell about clear lake. _san francisco herald_, _june, _. the mayacmas and tyugas 'inhabited the vicinity of clear lake and the mountains of napa and mendocino counties.' _cal. farmer_, _june , _; _ms. map_. the _wi-lackees_ 'live along the western slope of the shasta mountains from round valley to hay fork, between those mountains on one side and eel and mad rivers on the other, and extending down the latter stream about to low gap.' _powers' pomo, ms._ the wye lakees, nome lackees, noimucks, noiyucans and noisas, lived at clear lake. _geiger_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . _napobatin_, meaning 'many houses,' was the collective name of six tribes living at clear lake: their names were hulanapo, habenapo or stone house, dahnohabe, or stone mountain, möalkai, shekom, and howkuma. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _shanelkayas_ and _bedahmareks_, or lower people, live on the east fork of eel river. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'the _sanéls_ live at clear lake.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'the sanels occupy russian river valley in the vicinity of the american village of sanel.' _powers' pomo, ms._ the _bochheafs_, _ubakheas_, _tabahteas_, and the _moiyas_, live between clear lake and the coast. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _socoas_, _lamas_, and _seacos_, occupy russian river valley in the vicinity of the village of sanel. _powers' pomo, ms._ the _napas_ 'inhabited the salvador vallejo ranch of entre-napa--that is the place between napa river and napa creek.' _hittell_, in _hesperian mag._, vol. iv., p. ; _cal. farmer_, _june , _. 'the napa indians lived near that town and near yount's ranch.' _cal. farmer_, _march , _. 'the _caymus_ tribe occupied the tract now owned by g. c. yount.' _hittell_, in _hesperian mag._, vol. iv., p. . 'the _calajomanas_ had their home on the land now known as the bale ranche.' _ib._ the _mayacomas_ dwelt in the vicinity of the hot springs in the upper end of napa valley. _ib._ the _ulucas_ lived on the east of the river napa, near the present townsite. _id._, p. . 'the _suscols_ lived on the ranch of that name, and between napa and benicia.' _cal. farmer_, _march , _. 'the former domain of the suscol indians was afterwards known as suscol ranch.' _hittel_, in _hesperian mag._, vol. iv., p. ; _ms. map_. the _tulkays_ lived 'below the town of napa.' _cal. farmer_, _march , _. the _canaumanos_ lived on bayle's ranch in napa valley. _ib._ the _mutistuls_ live 'between the heads of napa and putos creeks.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _yachimeses_ originally occupied the ground upon which the city of stockton now stands. _cal. farmer_, _dec. , _. the _yachichumnes_ 'formerly inhabited the country between stockton and mt. diablo.' _san francisco evening bulletin_, _sept. , _. the _suisunes_ live in suisun valley. _cal. farmer_, _march , _. solano county was named from their chief. _cronise's nat. wealth_, p. ; _tuthill's hist. cal._, p. . the _ullulatas_ 'lived on the north side of suisun valley.' _cal. farmer_, _march , _. the _pulpenes_ lived on the eastern side of suisun valley. _ib._ the _tolenos_ lived on the north side of suisun valley. _ib._ the _karquines_ lived on the straits of that name. _ib._ the _tomales_, tamales, tamallos, or tamalanos, and bollanos, lived between bodega bay and the north shore of san francisco bay. _id._, _march , _, _march , _. the _socoisukas_, _thamiens_, and _gerguensens_ or gerzuensens 'roamed in the santa clara valley, between the coyote and guadalupe rivers, and the country west of san jose city to the mountains.' _id._, _june , _. the _lecatuit_ tribe occupied marin county, and it is from the name of their chief that the county takes its name. _cronise's nat. wealth_, p. . 'the _petalumas_ or the _yolhios_ lived near or around that town.' _cal. farmer_, _march , _. the _tulares_, so called by the spaniards, lived between the northern shore of the bay of san francisco and san rafael. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _wapos_ inhabited 'the country about the geysers.' _ford_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _yosemites_ inhabited the valley of the same name. the tosemiteiz are on the headwaters of the chowchilla. _lewis_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _ahwahnachees_ are the inhabitants of yosemite valley. _hittel's yosemite_, p. . [sidenote: tribes near the mission dolores.] the following names of rancherías which formerly existed in the vicinity of the mission dolores, are taken from the mission books: abmoctac, amutaja, altanui, aleytac, anchin, aleta, aramay, altajumo, aluenchi, acnagis, assunta, atarpe, anamás, acyum, anamon, cachanegtac, caprup, cazopo, carascan, conop, chutchin, chagunte, chapugtac, chipisclin, chynau, chipletac, chuchictac, chiputca, chanigtac, churmutcé, chayen, chupcan, elarroyde, flunmuda, génau, guloismistac, gamchines, guanlen, hunctu, halchis, horocroc, huimen, itáes, juniamuc, josquigard, juchium, juris, joquizará, luidneg, luianeglua, lamsim, livangelva, livangebra, libantone, macsinum, mitliné, malvaitac, muingpe, naig, naique, napa, ompivromo, ousint, oturbe, olestura, otoacte, petlenum, or petaluma, pruristac, puichon, puycone, patnetac, pructaca, purutea, proqueu, quet, sitlintaj, suchni, subchiam, siplichiquin, siscastac, ssiti, sitintajea, ssupichum, sicca, soisehme, saturaumo, satumuo, sittintac, ssichitca, sagunte, ssalayme, sunchaque, ssipudca, saraise, sipanum, sarontac, ssogereate, sadanes, tuzsint, tatquinte, titmictac, tupuic, titiyú, timita, timsim, tubisuste, timigtac, torose, tupuinte, tuca, tamalo, or tomales, talcan, totola, urebure, uturpe, ussete, uchium, véctaca, vagerpe, yelamú, yacmui, yacomui, yajumui, zomiomi, zucigin ... aguasajuchium, apuasto, aguasto, carquin, (karquines), cuchian, chaclan, chiguau, cotejen, chuscan, guylpunes, huchun, habasto, junatca, jarquin, sanchines, oljon, olpen, olemos, olmolococ, quemelentus, quirogles, salzon, sichican, saucon, suchigin, sadan, uquitinac, volvon (or bolbon). 'the tribes of indians upon the bay of san francisco, and who were, after its establishment, under the supervision of the mission of dolores, were five in number; the ahwashtees, ohlones (called in spanish costanos, or indians of the coast), altahmos, romanons, and tuolomos. there were, in addition to these, a few small tribes, but all upon the land extending from the entrance to the head of san francisco bay, spoke the same language.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _may , _. the tribes mentioned by adam johnston in schoolcraft, who lived around the missions of dolores and yerba buena, were the 'ahwashtes, ohlones, altahmos, romanans, and tulomos. the ohlones were likely the same called by the old priests, sulones, solomnies, the sonomis were another.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. . 'the following races of californians were named to us living within the precincts of the mission of san francisco; guymen, utschim, olumpali, soclan, sonomi, chulpun, umpin, kosmitas, bulbones, tchalabones, pitem, lamam, apalamu, tcholoones, suysum, numpali, tamal, and ululato.' _chamisso_, in _kotzebue's voy._, vol. iii., p. . 'on compte dans cette seul mission (san francisco) plus de quinze différentes tribus d'indiens: les khoulpouni; les oumpini; les kosmiti; les lamanès; les bolbonès; les pitemèns; les khalalons; les apatamnès, ils parlent la même langue et habitent le long des bords du rio sacramento; les guimen; les outchioung; les olompalis; les tamals; les sonons ils parlent la même langue; ces tribus sont les plus nombreuses dans la mission de san francisco; les saklans; les ouloulatines; les noumpolis; les souissouns; ils parlent des langues différentes.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, pt. iii., pp. , . 'california indians on the bay of san francisco, and formerly under the supervisions of the mission dolores. there were five tribes: ashwashtes, olhones (called by the spaniards costanos, or indians of the coast), altahmos, romonans, and tulomos. a few other small tribes round the bay speak the same language.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . 'um die bai von san francisco die matalánes, salses und quiróles, deren sprachen, eine gemeinsame quelle haben.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. . the olchones 'inhabit the seacoast between san francisco and monterey.' _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., p. . the salsonas, 'viven unas seis leguas distantes rumbo al sueste (of san francisco bay) por las cercanias del brazo de mar.' _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. . the _korekins_ formerly lived at the mouth of the san joaquin. _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'the rancherias of indians near this mission, all within eight or ten miles of santa cruz, ... were: aulintac, the rancheria proper to the mission; chalumü, one mile north-west of the mission; hottrochtac, two miles north-west; ... wallanmai; sio cotchmin; shoremee; onbi; choromi; turami; payanmin; shiuguermi; hauzaurni. the mission also had neophytes of the rancherias of tomoy, osacalis (souquel), yeunaba, achilla, yeunata, tejey, nohioalli, utalliam, locobo, yeunator, chanech, huocom, chicutae, aestaca, sachuen, hualquilme, sagin, ochoyos, huachi, apil, mallin, luchasmi, coot, and agtism, as detailed in a letter from friar ramon olbez to governor de sola, in november, , in reply to a circular from him, as to the native names, etc., of the indians of santa cruz, and their rancherias.' _cal. farmer_, _april , _. the _mutsunes_ are the natives of the mission of san juan baptista. _cal. farmer_, _nov. _, and _june , _; _hist. mag._, vol. i., p. . the _ansaymas_ lived in the vicinity of san juan bautista. _cal. farmer_, _june , _. 'four leagues (twelve miles) southeast of the mission (monterey), inside the hills eastward, was the rancheria of echilat, called san francisquita. eslanagan was one on the east side of the river and ecgeagan was another; another was ichenta or san jose; another xaseum in the sierra, ten leagues from carmelo; that of pachhepes was in the vicinity of xaseum, among the escellens. that of the sargentarukas was seven leagues south and east of the river in a canaditta de palo colorado.' _cal. farmer_, _april , _. the _runsienes_ live near monterey. _cal. farmer_, _april , _. the rumsen or runsienes are 'indians in the neighbourhood of monterey, california. the achastliers speak a dialect of the same language.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'um den hafen von monterey leben die rumsen oder runsien, die escelen oder eslen, die ecclemáches, und achastliés.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. . 'la partie septentrionale de la nouvelle-californie est habitée par les deux nations des rumsen et escelen.... elles forment la population du preside et du village de monterey. dans la baie de s. francisco, on distingue les tribus des matalans, salsen et quirotes.' _humboldt_, _pol._, p. . 'eslen y runsien que ocupan toda la california septentrional.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . 'um monterey wohnen zwey völker ... die rumsen, und im osten von diesen die escelen.' _vater_, _mithridates_, p. . 'the eslenes clan roamed over the present ranchos san francisquito, tallarcittos, and up and down the carmelo valley.' 'the rancheria _per se_ of the escellens was named by the priests, santa clara; soccorondo was across the river a few miles. their other little clans or septs were called coyyo, yampas, fyules, nennequi, jappayon, gilimis, and yanostas.' _cal. farmer_, _april , _. the eskelens are 'california indians, east of monterey. the ekklemaches are said to be a tribe of the eskelen, and to speak the richest idiom of all the california indians.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . the country of the ecclemachs extends more than twenty leagues east of monterey. _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _. the _katlendarucas_ seem 'to have been situated near the esteros or lagoons about the mouth of the salinas river, or in the words of the old priest, "en los esteros de la entrada al mar del rio de monterey, o reversa de esta grande ensenada." their rancherias were capanay, lucayasta, paysim, tiubta, culul, mustac, pytogius, animpayamo, ymunacam, and all on the pajaro river, or between it and the salinas.' _cal. farmer_, _april , _; _ms. map_. the _sakhones_ had rancherias near monterey 'on the ranchos now known as loucitta, tarro, national buena esperanza, buena vista, and lands of that vicinity.' _ib._; _ms. map_. 'the _wallalshimmez_ live on tuolumne river.' _lewis_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the _potoancies_ claim the merced river as their homes.' _ib._ the potaaches occupy the same region on the _ms. map_. 'the _nootchoos_ ... live on the headwaters of chowchilla.' _lewis_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the nootchoos live on the south fork of the merced. _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. . 'the _pohoneeches_ live on the headwaters of fresno.' _lewis_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the pohoneeches live on the north bank of the fresno. _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. . the _pitcatches_, the _tallenches_, and the _coswas_, live on the san joaquin. _lewis_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [sidenote: king's river and tulare lake tribes.] 'the _wattokes_, a nation of indians, consisting of the wattokes, ituchas, chokemnies, and wechummies, live high up on king's river.' _lewis_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _watches_, the _notonotoos_, and the _wemelches_, live in the neighborhood of king's river farm. _ib._ 'the _talches_ and woowells live on tulare lake.' _ib._ the _chowchillas_, _choocchancies_, and _howachez_, are mentioned as living at fresno river farm. _id._, p. . the chowchillas inhabit 'from the kern river of the tulare deltas to the feather river.' _taylor_, in _bancroft's hand book almanac_, , p. . the _wallas_ live in tuolumne county. _patrick_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . there has been much discussion about the word wallie, or walla. powers asserts that it is derived from the word 'wallim,' which means 'down below', and was applied by the yosemite indians to all tribes living below them. the wallies live on the stanislaus and tuolumne. _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. . the mewahs live in tuolumne county. _jewett_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _meewoc_ nation 'extended from the snow-line of the sierra to the san joaquin river, and from the cosumnes to the fresno.... north of the stanislaus they call themselves meewoc (indians); south of it, to the merced, meewa; south of that to the fresno, meewie. on the upper merced river is wakâlla; on the upper tuolumne, wakalumy; on the stanislaus and mokelumne, wakalumytoh.... as to tribal distribution, the meewocs north of the stanislaus, like the neeshenams, designate principally by the points of the compass. these are toomun, choomuch, háyzooit, and ólowit (north, south, east, and west), from which are formed various tribal names--as toomuns, toomedocs, and tamolécas, choomuch, choomwits, choomedocs, or chimedocs, and choomtéyas; olowits, olówedocs, oloweéyas, etc. olówedocs is the name applied to all indians living on the plains, as far west as stockton. but there are several names which are employed absolutely, and without any reference to direction. on the south bank of the cosumnes are the cawnees; on sutter creek, the yulónees; on the stanislaus and tuolumne the extensive tribe of wallies; in yosemite, the awánees, on the south fork of merced, the nootchoos; on the middle merced, the choomtéyas, on the upper chowchilla, the héthtoyas; on the middle chowchilla the tribe that named the stream; and on the north bank of the fresno the pohoneechees.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., pp. - ; _ms. map_. the _coitch_ tribe live one hundred and fifty miles east of the vegas of santa clara. _los angeles star_, _may , _. the _notonatos_ lived on king's river. _maltby's ms. letter._ the _kahweahs_ lived on four creeks. _ib._ the _yolanchas_ lived on tule river. _ib._ the _pokoninos_ lived on deer creek. _ib._ the _poloyamas_ lived on pasey creek. _ib._ the _polokawynahs_ lived on kern river. _ib._ the _ymithces_ and _cowiahs_ live on four creeks. _henley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _waches_, _notoowthas_, _ptolmes_, and _chunemnes_ live on king river. _ib._ the _costrowers_, _pitiaches_, _talluches_, _loomnears_ and _amonces_ live on the san joaquin. _id._, p. . the _chowclas_, _chookchaneys_, _phonechas_, _nookchues_, and _howetsers_, live on the fresno river. _ib._ the _coconoons_ live on the merced river. _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . the _monos_ living west of the sierra nevada, live on fine gold gulch and the san joaquin river. _ib._ east of the sierra nevada they occupy the country south of mono lake. _ms. map._ 'the monos, cosos, and some other tribes, occupy the eastern slopes of the sierra nevadas.' _cal. farmer_, _may , _. 'the olanches, monos, siqiurionals, wasakshes, cowhuillas, chokiamauves, tenisichs, yocolles, paloushiss, wikachumnis, openoches, taches, nutonetoos and choemimnees, roamed from the tuolumne to kings river and the tejon, on the east of the san joaquin, the tulare lakes and in the sierra nevada, as stated by lieut. beale, in .' _cal. farmer_, _june , _. the _tulareños_ live in the mountain wilderness of the four creeks, porsiuncula (or kerns or current) river and the tejon; and wander thence towards the headwaters of the mohave and the neighborhood of the cahuillas. their present common name belongs to the spanish and mexican times and is derived from the word tularé (a swamp with flags). _hayes' ms._ 'tulareños, habitant la grande vallée de los tulares de la californie.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'the _yocut_ dominion includes the kern and tulare basins and the middle of san joaquin, stretching from fresno to kern river falls.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. xi., p. . cumbatwas on pitt river. _roseborough's letter to the author, ms._ shastas, in shasta and scott valleys. _ib._ [sidenote: southern californians.] the southern californians, whose territory lies south of the thirty-fifth parallel, are, as far as is known, tribally distributed as follows: the _cahuillos_ 'inhabit principally a tract of country about eighty miles east from san bernardino, and known as the cabeson valley, and their villages are on or near the road leading to la paz on the colorado river.... another branch of this tribe numbering about four hundred occupy a tract of country lying in the mountains about forty miles southeast from san bernardino, known as the coahuila valley.' _stanley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . 'the coahuillas are scattered through the san bernardino and san jacinto mountains and eastward in the cabesan valley.' _whiting_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the coahuilas live in the san jacinto mountains. _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the cohuillas reside in the northern half of the country, commencing on the coast, and extending to within fifty miles of the colorado river, following the eastern base of the mountains. _san francisco herald_, _june, _. the cahuillos or cawios reside 'near the pacific, between the sources of the san gabriel and santa anna.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'the cahuillas are a little to the north of the san luiseños, occupying the mountain ridges and intervening valleys to the east and southeast of mount san bernadino, down towards the mohava river and the desert that borders the river colorado, the nation of mohavas lying between them and these rivers. i am unable just now to give the number and names of all their villages. san gorgonio, san jacinto, coyote, are among those best known, though others even nearer the desert, are more populous.' _hayes' ms._ the cohuillas occupy the southwestern part of san bernardino county, and the northwestern part of san diego county. _ms. map._ 'the carvilla indians occupy the country from san gorgonio pass to the arroyo blanco.' _cram's topog. memoir_, p. . 'the _cowillers_ and _telemnies_ live on four creeks.' _id._, p. . 'the limits of the kahweyah and kahsowah tribes appear to have been from the feather river in the northern part of the state, to the tulare lakes of the south.' _cal. farmer_, _may , _. the _diegeños_ 'are said to occupy the coast for some fifty miles above, and about the same distance below san diego, and to extend about a hundred miles into the interior.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. the dieguinos are in the southern part of san diego county, and extend from the coast to the desert. _henley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the dieguinas reside in the southern part of the country watered by the colorado, and claim the land from a point on the pacific to the eastern part of the mountains impinging on the desert. _san francisco herald_, _june, _. the comeyas or diegenos 'occupy the coast for some fifty miles above, and about the same distance below san diego, and extend about a hundred miles into the interior.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. . 'the indians round san diego, deguinos, diegeños, were in a savage state, and their language almost unknown. bartlett says that they are also called comeya; but whipple asserts that the comeya, a tribe of the yumas, speak a different language.' _ludewig_, _ab. lang._, p. . on page ludewig says that as the name diegeños means the indians round san diego, there is no such name as deguinos. 'the villages of the dieguinos, wherever they live separately, are a little to the south of the cahuillas. indeed, under this appellation they extend a hundred miles into lower california, in about an equal state of civilization, and thence are scattered through the tecaté valley over the entire desert on the west side of new river.... their villages known to me are san dieguito (about twenty souls), san diego mission, san pasqual, camajal (two villages), santa ysabel, san josé, matahuay, lorenzo, san felipe, cajon, cuyamaca, valle de las viejas.' _hayes' ms._ the _missouris_ 'are scattered over san bernardino, san diego and other counties in the southern part of the state.' _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _kechi_ inhabit the country about mission san luis rey. _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. . the _chumas_, or _kachumas_ live three miles from the mission of santa inez. _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _. _los cayotes_ was the name given by the spaniards to the tribe which originally inhabited san diego county. _hoffman_, in _san francisco medical press_, vol. v., p. . the _new river indians_ 'live along new river, sixty miles west from fort yuma, and near san diego.' _jones_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _sierras_, or caruanas, the _lagunas_, or tataguas, and the _surillos_ or cartakas are mentioned as living on the tejon reservation. _wentworth_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . the _serranos_ lived in the vicinity of san bernardino. _reid_, in _los angeles star, letter i._, in _hayes col._ mr taylor claims to have discovered the exact positions of many of the places mentioned. his statement, for the accuracy of which i by no means vouch, is as follows: 'xucu, or shucu, on the ortega farm, near rincon point; missisissepono on rafel gonzale's rancho on saticoy river, near sea, sometimes called pono; coloc, near carpentaria beach. mugu, below saticoy some thirty miles, near the sea; anacbuc or anacarck, near the islet of la patera, near the sea shore. partocac or paltocac, the indian cemetery on the mesa of la patera, near sea; aguin at the beach of los llagos canada; casalic, at the refugio playa and canada; tucumu or playa of arroyo honda. xocotoc, cojo, or cojotoc, near pt. concepcion; pt. concepcion, cancac or caacac, or cacat.' _cal. farmer_, _aug. , _. [sidenote: southern mission indians.] the following names of rancherías were taken from the archives of the various missions; in the vicinity of la purissima: lajuchu, silimastus, sisolop, jlaacs, or slacus, huasna, estait, esmischue, ausion, esnispele, silisne, sacspili, estait, huenejel, husistaic, silimi, suntaho, alacupusyuen, espiiluima, tutachro, sisolop, naila, tutachro, paxpili, or axpitil, silino, lisahuato, guaslaique, pacsiol, sihimi, huenepel ninyuelgual, lompoc, nahuey, or nahajuey, sipuca, stipu, ialamma, huasna, sacsiol, kachisupal, salachi, nocto, fax, salachi, sitolo, or sautatho, omaxtux. near santa inez, were: sotomoenu, katahuac, asiuhuil, situchi, kulahuasa, sisuchi, kuyam, or cuyama, ionata, tekep, kusil, sanchu, sikitipuc, temesathi, lujanisuissilac, tapanissilac, ialamne, chumuchn, suiesia, chumuchu, tahijuas, tinachi, lompoe, ionata, aguama, sotonoemu, guaislac, tequepas, matiliha, stucu, aketsum, or kachuma, ahuamhoue, geguep, achillimo, alizway, souscoc, talaxano, nutonto, cholicus. near santa barbara were guainnonost, sisabanonase, huelemen, inoje, luijta, cajpilili, missopeno (sopono), inajalayehua, huixapa, calahuassa, snihuax, huililoc, yxaulo, anijue, sisuch, cojats, numguelgar, lugups, gleuaxcuyu, chiuchin, ipec, sinicon, xalanaj, xalou, sisahiahut, cholosoc, ituc, guima, huixapapa, eleunaxciay, taxlipu, elmian, anajue, huililic, inajalaihu, estuc, eluaxcu. sihuicom, liam. some of these were from rancherias of the valleys east of the range on the coast. some of these taylor locates as follows: 'janaya, above the mission, salpilil on the patera; aljiman, near the windmill of la patera; geliec, near islet of la patera; tequepes, in santa ynez valley; cascili, in the refugio playa; miguihui, on the dos pueblos; sisichii, in dos pueblos; maschal, on santa cruz island; gelo, the islet of la patera; cuyamu on dos pueblos also cinihuaj on same rancho; coloc, at the rincon; alcax in la goleta; allvatalama, near the la goleta estero; sayokenek, on the arroyo burro; partocac cemetery, near sea bluffs of la goleta; humaliju, of san fernando mission; calla wassa and anijue, of santa ynez mission; sajcay in los cruces; sasaguel, in santa cruz island; lucuyumu, in the same island, dated november, ; nanahuani and chalosas were also on same island; eljman was on san marcos, xexulpituc and taxlipu, were camps of the tulares.' _cal. farmer_, _aug. , _. near san buenaventura mission were: 'miscanaka, name of the mission site. ojai or aujay, about ten miles up san buenavent river. mugu, on the coast near sea on guadalasca rancho, not far from the point so called. matillija up the s. b. river towards santa inez, which mission also had matilija indians. the matillija sierra separates the valleys of s. buenaventa and s. inez. sespe was on the san cayetano rancho of saticoy river, twenty miles from the sea. mupu and piiru were on the arroyos of those names which came into the saticoy near sespe. kamulas was higher up above piiru. cayeguas (not a spanish name as spelt on some maps) on rancho of that name. somes or somo near hills of that name. malico, range of hills south of somo. chichilop, lisichi, liam, sisa, sisjulcioy, malahue, chumpache, lacayamu, ypuc, lojos aogni, luupsch, miguigui, and chihucchihui were names of other rancherias.... ishgua or ishguaget, was a rancheria near the mouth of the saticoy river and not far from the beach.... hueneme was a rancheria on the ocean coast a few miles south of saticoy river. tapo and simi were rancherias on the present noriega rancho of simi. saticoy is the name of the existing rancheria ... on the lower part of the santa paula or saticoy rancho, about eight miles from the sea, near some fine springs of water, not far from the river, and near the high road going up the valleys.' _cal. farmer_, _july , _. 'the site of san fernando was a rancheria called pasheckno. other clans were okowvinjha, kowanga and saway yanga. the ahapchingas were a clan or rancheria between los angeles and san juan capistrano, and enemies of the gabrielenos or those of san gabriel.... the following are the names of the rancherias, or clans, living in the vicinity of san luis rey mission: enekelkawa was the name of one near the mission-site, mokaskel, cenyowpreskel, itukemuk, hatawa, hamechuwa, itaywiy, milkwanen, ehutewa, mootaeyuhew, and hepowwoo, were the names of others. at the aquas calientes was a very populous rancheria, called hakoopin.' _id._, _may , _. in los angeles county, the following are the principal lodges or rancherias, with their corresponding present local names: yangna, los angeles; sibag-na, san gabriel; isanthcagna, mision vieja; sisitcanogna, pear orchard; sonagna, mr white's farm; acuragua, the presa; asucsagna, azuza; cucomogna, cucamonga farm; pasinogna, rancho del chino; awigna, la puente; chokishgna, the saboneria; nacaugna, carpenter's farm; pineugna, santa catalina island; pimocagna, rancho de los ybarras; toybipet, san josé; hutucgna, santa ana (yorbes); aleupkigna, santa anita; maugna, rancho de los felis; hahamogna, rancho de los verdugas; cabuegna, caliuenga; pasecgna, san fernando; houtgna, ranchito de lugo, suangna, suanga; pubugna, alamitos; tibahagna, serritos; chowig-na, palos verdes; kinkipar, san clemente island, harasgna. _reid_, in _los angeles star, letter i._, in _hayes collection_. the _san luisieños_ inhabit the northern part of san diego, from the coast east, including the mountains. _henley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the villages of the san luiseños are in a section of country adjacent to the cahuillas, between and miles in the mountainous interior from san diego; they are known as las flores, santa margarita, san luis rey mission, wahoma, pala, temecula, ahuanga (two villages), la joya, potrero, and bruno's and pedro's villages within five or six miles of aqua caliente; they are all in san diego county.' _hayes' ms._ the _noches_ are settled along the rivers which flow between the colorado and the pacific ocean. _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . garces mentions the western noches in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., vol. i., p. . the _tejon_ indians were those who inhabited the southern part of tulare valley. _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, vol. i., p. . the _playanos_ were indians who came to settle in the valley of san juan capistrano. _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, p. . the shoshones, whose territory spreads over south-eastern oregon, southern idaho, and the whole of utah and nevada, extending into arizona and new mexico, and the eastern border of california, i divide into two great nations, the snakes or shoshones, proper, and the utahs, with their subdivisions. wilson divides the shoshones into the shoshones and bannacks, and the utahs; the latter he subdivides into seven bands, which will be seen under utahs. he adds: 'among the shoshonies there are only two bands properly speaking. the principal or better portion are called shoshonies, or snakes ... the others the shoshocoes.... their claim of boundary is to the east, from the red buttes on the north fork of the platte, to its head in the park, decayaque, or buffalo bull-pen, in the rocky mountains; to the south across the mountains, over to the yanpapa, till it enters green, or colorado river, and then across to the backbone or ridge of mountains called the bear river mountains running nearly due west towards the salt lake, so as to take in most of the salt lake, and thence on to the sinks of marry's or humboldt's river; thence north to the fisheries, on the snake river, in oregon; and thence south (their northern boundary), to the red buttes, including the source of green river.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. vi., p. . 'under various names ... the great race of shoshones, is found scattered over the boundless wilderness, from texas to the columbia. their territory is bounded on the north and west by ... the blackfeet and crows.' _brownell's ind. races_, pp. - . [sidenote: the snakes.] the _snakes_, or shoshones proper, although they form a part only of the great shoshone family, are usually termed 'the shoshones' by the authorities. they are divided by dr hurt into 'snakes, bannacks, tosiwitches, gosha utes, and cumumpahs, though he afterwards classes the last two divisions as hybrid races between the shoshones and the utahs.... the shoshones claim the northeastern portion of the territory for about four hundred miles west, and from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five miles south from the oregon line.' _simpson's route to cal._, p. . 'the great snake nation may be divided into three divisions, namely, the shirrydikas, or dog-eaters; the wararereekas, or fish-eaters; and the banattees, or robbers. but, as a nation, they all go by the general appellation of shoshones, or snakes.... the shirrydikas are the real shoshones, and live in the plains hunting the buffalo.' the country claimed by the snake tribes 'is bounded on the east by the rocky mountains, on the south by the spanish waters; on the pacific, or west side, by an imaginary line, beginning at the west end, or spur, of the blue mountains, behind fort nez percés, and running parallel with the ocean to the height of land beyond the umpqua river, in about north lat. ° (this line never approaches within miles of the pacific); and on the north by another line, running due east from the said spur of the blue mountains, and crossing the great south branch, or lewis river, at the dalles, till it strikes the rocky mountains miles north of the three pilot knobs, or the place thereafter named the 'valley of troubles.'' _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., pp. , . 'they embrace all the territory of the great south pass, between the mississippi valley and the waters of the columbia.... under the name of yampatickara or root-eaters and bonacks they occupy with the utahs the vast elevated basin of the great salt lake, extending south and west to the borders of new mexico and california.' _brownell's ind. races_, pp. - , . 'the hunters report, that the proper country of the snakes is to the east of the youta lake, and north of the snake or lewis river; but they are found in many detached places. the largest band is located near fort boise, on the snake river to the north of the bonacks.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . the shoshones 'occupy the centre and principal part of the great basin.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _. 'inhabit that part of the rocky mountains which lies on the grand and green river branches of the colorado of the west, the valley of great bear river, the habitable shores of the great salt lake, a considerable portion of country on snake river above and below fort hall, and a tract extending two or three hundred miles to the west of that post.' _farnham's trav._, p. . the shoshones inhabit about one third of the territory of utah, living north of salt lake 'and on the line of the humboldt or mary river, some miles west and to south of the oregon line. the yuta claim the rest of the territory between kansas, the sierra nevada, new mexico and the oregon frontier.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . 'les soshonies, c'est-à-dire les déterreurs de racines, surnommés les serpents, ... habitent la partie méridionale du territoire de l'orégon, dans le voisinage de la haute californie.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . 'their country lies south-west of the south-east branch of the columbia, and is said to be the most barren of any part of the country in these western regions.' _parker's explor. tour_, p. . 'on the south part of the oregon territory, adjoining upper california, are located the shoshones or snake indians.' _ib._, p. . 'serpents ou saaptins, monquis, bonacks et youtas toutes les branches du rio colombia ou sud-est et les environs du lac salé an timpanogos.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'the country of the shoshonees proper is south of lewis or snake river, and east of the salt lake. there is, however one detached band, known as the wihinasht, or western snakes, near fort boirie, separated from the main body by the tribe of bonnaks.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'the shoshones are a small tribe of the nation called snake indians, a vague denomination, which embraces at once the inhabitants of the southern part of the rocky mountains, and of the plains on each side.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . the snakes or shothoucs 'formerly occupied the whole of that vast territory lying between the rocky and the blue mountains, and extending northward to the lower fork of the columbia, and to the south as far as the basin of the great salt lake.' _coke's rocky mts._, p. . 'they occupy southern and western nevada.' _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'they inhabit the southern part of the rocky mountains and the plains on each side.' _bulfinch's ogn._, p. . 'they occupy all the country between the southern branches of lewis's river, extending from the umatullum to the e. side of the stony mountains, on the southern parts of wallaumut river from about ° to ° n. lat. a branch of this tribe reside ... in spring and summer on the w. fork of lewis river, a branch of the columbia, and in winter and fall on the missouri.' _morse's rept._, p. . 'the shoshones dwell between the rocky and blue mountain ranges.' _nicolay's ogn. ter._, p. . 'the aboriginees of the reese river country consist of the shoshone nation, divided into many subordinate tribes, each having a distinctive name, and occupying a tract of country varying from to miles square. their country is bordered on the west by the pi-utes, the edwards creek mountains some miles west of reese river, being the dividing line. on the east it extends to ruby valley, where it joins on the territory of the goshoots, the bannocks being their neighbors on the northeast.' _cal. farmer_, _june , _. 'the snake tribe, inhabit the country bordering on lewis and bear rivers, and their various tributaries.' _palmer's jour._, p. . 'the snake indians, who embrace many tribes, inhabit a wide extent of country at the head of snake river above and below fort hall, and the vicinity of great bear river and great salt lake. they are a migratory race, and generally occupy the south-eastern portion of oregon.' _dunn's ogn._, p. . the shoshones inhabit the great plains to the southward of the lewis river. _cox's adven._, vol. ii., p. . the shoshones occupy 'almost the whole eastern half of the state (nevada). the line separating them from the pai-utes on the east and south is not very clearly defined.' _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the western bands of shoshones ... range from the idaho boundary north, southward to the thirty-eighth parallel; their western limit is the line passing through the sunatoya mountains; their eastern limit steptoe and great salt lake valleys.' _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the snakes inhabit 'the plains of the columbia between the d and th degrees of latitude.' _franchère's nar._, p. . the washakeeks or green river snakes inhabit the country drained by green river and its tributaries. the tookarikkahs, or mountain sheep-eaters, 'occupy the salmon river country and the upper part of snake river valley, and coiners' prairie, near the boise mines.' these two bands are the genuine snakes; other inferior bands are the hokandikahs or salt lake diggers who 'inhabit the region about the great lake.' the aggitikkahs or salmon-eaters who 'occupy the region round about salmon falls, on snake river.' _stuart's montana_, p. . [sidenote: bannacks and utahs.] 'the _bannacks_, who are generally classed with the snakes, inhabit the country south of here, (powder river) in the vicinity of harney lake.... the winnas band of snakes inhabit the country north of snake river, and are found principally on the bayette, boise, and sickley rivers.' _kirkpatrick_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . the bonacks 'inhabit the country between fort boise and fort hall.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . they 'inhabit the southern borders of oregon, along the old humboldt river emigrant road.' _simpson's route to cal._, p. . the bonaks seem 'to embrace indian tribes inhabiting a large extent of country west of the rocky mountains. as the name imports, it was undoubtedly given to that portion of indians who dig and live on the roots of the earth.' _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . the bonaks inhabit 'the banks of that part of saptin or snake river which lies between the mouth of boisais or reeds river and the blue mountains.' _farnham's trav._, p. . the bonax inhabit the country west of the lewis fork of the columbia between the forty-second and forty-fourth parallels. _parker's map._ the bannacks range through northern nevada, and into oregon and idaho. _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . they 'claim the southwestern portions of montana as their land.' _sully_, in _id._, p. . 'this tribe occupies most of that portion of nevada north of the forty-first degree of north latitude, with the southeastern corner of oregon and the southwestern corner of idaho.' _parker_, in _id._, , p. . the bannocks drift 'from boise city to the game country northeast of bozeman, montana, and south as far as fort bridger, wyoming territory ... traveling from oregon to east of the rocky mountains.' _high_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . [sidenote: utahs.] the _utah_ nation occupies all that portion of the territory assigned to the shoshone family lying south of the snakes, between the country of the californians proper, and the rocky mountains. it is divided into several tribes, the number varying with different authorities. wilson divides the utah nation into seven tribes; viz., the 'taos, yampapas, ewinte, tenpenny utahs, parant utahs, sampiches, pahmetes.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. vi., p. . 'besides the parawat yutas, the yampas, - miles south, on the white river; the tebechya, or sun-hunters, about tête de biche, near spanish lands; and the tash yuta, near the navajos; there are scatters of the nation along the californian road from beaver valley, along the santa clara, virgen, las vegas, and muddy rivers, to new mexico.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . 'the tribes of utah territory are: utahs at large, pi utahs, roving, uwinty utahs, utahs of sampitch valley, utahs of carson valley, utahs of lake sevier and walker river, navahoes and utahs of grand river, shoshonees, or snakes proper, diggers on humboldt river, eutahs of new mexico.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . the utahs are composed of several bands, the most important of which are the timpanogs who 'range through utah valley and the mountains adjoining the valley on the east.... the uintahs, the principal band of the utahs, ... range through uintah valley and the green river country.... the pah vants ... range through pah vant and sevier valleys and west to the white mountains.' _irish_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the yutah nation is very numerous, and is also made up of many bands, which are to be distinguished only by their names.... four of these bands called noaches, payuches, tabiachis and sogup, are accustomed to occupy lands within the province of new mexico, or very near it, to the north and northeast.' _whipple, ewbank, & turner's rept._, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'the utahs are divided into three bands--mohuaches, capotes, and nomenuches or poruches.' _delgado_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; see also pp. , . 'the ute tribe dr. hurt divides into the pah utahs, tamp pah-utes, cheveriches, pah vants, san pitches, and pyedes. the utahs proper inhabit the waters of green river, south of green river mountains, the grand river and its tributaries and as far south as the navajo country. they also claim the country bordering on utah lake and as far south as the sevier lake.' _simpson's route to cal._, p. . 'the utahs are a separate and distinct tribe of indians, divided into six bands, each with a head chief, as follows: the menaches ... the capotes ... the tabe-naches ... the cibariches ... the tempanahgoes ... the piuchas.' _graves_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the yutahs are subdivided into four great bands: the noaches, the payuches (whom we believe to be identical with the paï utahs), the tabiachis, and the sogups, who live in perfect harmony on the north eastern confines of new mexico, and at a distance of miles to the south of the great tribe of the zuguaganas.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . the utes are 'those ... which inhabit the vicinity of the lakes and streams and live chiefly on fish, being distinguished by the name of pah utahs or pah utes, the word pah, in their language signifying water.' _stansbury's rept._, p. . 'the country of the utaws is situated to the east and southeast of the soshonees, at the sources of the rio colorado.' _de smet's letters_, p. . 'the youtas live between the snake and green rivers.' _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. . 'the utahs of new mexico are a portion of the tribe of the same name inhabiting the territory of utah.... they inhabit and claim all that region of country, embracing the sources of the north-western tributaries of the arkansas river, above bent's fort, up to the southern boundary of utah territory, and all the northern tributaries of the rio grande, which lie within new mexico and north of the th parallel of latitude.' _merriwether_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the utes 'occupy and claim that section of country ranging from abiquin, northward to navajo river and westward somewhat of this line.' _davis_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the eutaws 'reside on both sides of the eutaw or anahuac mountains, they are continually migrating from one side to the other.' _farnham's trav._, p. . 'the youtas inhabit the country between the snake and green rivers.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., p. . 'the utahs' claim of boundaries are all south of that of the shoshonies, embracing the waters of the colorado, going most probably to the gulf of california.' _wilson_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. vi., p. . the country of the utaws 'is situated to the east and southeast of the shoshones, about the salt lake, and on the head waters of the colorado river, which empties into the gulf of california.... their country being in latitude about °.' 'the utaws are decent in appearance and their country, which is towards santa fe, is said to be tolerably good.' _parker's explor. tour_, pp. , . the yutas, utaws, or youtas, 'range between lat. ° and ° north and the meridians ° and ° w. long. of washington. the great yutas tribe is divided into two families which are contradistinguished by the names of their respective head-quarters; the tao yutas, so called because their principal camp is pitched in tao mountains, seventy miles north of santa fé; and the timpanigos yutas, who hold their great camp near the timpanigos lake.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . 'um den fluss dolóres haben die yutas, tabeguáchis, payúches und tularénos ihre wohnsitze.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. . the utahs live 'on the border of new mexico.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'le pays des utaws est situé à l'est et au sud-est de celui des soshonies, aux sources du rio-colorado.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . 'the yutas or eutaws are one of the most extensive nations of the west, being scattered from the north of new mexico to the borders of snake river and rio colorado.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. . the _pah utes_ occupy the greater part of nevada, and extend southward into arizona and south-eastern california. there is reason to believe that the pi utes are a distinct tribe from the pah utes, but as the same localities are frequently assigned to both tribes by different writers, and as many have evidently thought them one and the same, thereby causing great confusion, i have thought it best to merely give the names as spelled by the authorities without attempting to decide which tribe is being spoken of in either case. the pah-utes 'range principally in the southwestern portion of utah and the southeastern portion of nevada.' _head_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the pah utes 'are spread over the vast tract of territory, between the sierra nevada and the colorado river, going as far south as the thirty-fifth parallel, and extending to the northward through california and nevada into southern oregon and idaho.' _colyer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the pah-utes inhabit the western part of nevada. _walker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the pah utes and pah edes range over all that part of utah south of the city of filmore in millard county. _head_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the term pah utes is applied to a very large number of indians who roam through that vast section of country lying between the sierra nevada and the colorado, going as far south as the thirty-fifth parallel, and extending to the northward through california, nevada, into southern oregon and idaho. the indians of this tribe in arizona are located in the big bend of the colorado, on both sides of the river, and range as far east as diamond river, west to the sierra nevada, and northward into the state of nevada.' _jones_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the pah utes 'properly belong in nevada and arizona, but range over in southwestern utah.' _irish_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the pah-utes 'range principally from the borders of oregon, on the north, to the southeast boundary of nevada, and from the sierra nevada eastward to the humboldt river and sink of carson; there are one or two small bands of them still further east, near austin, nevada. they are much scattered within these limits.' _douglas_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . 'the pah-utes roam along the eastern slopes of the sierra nevada, from the mouth of the virgin with the colorado (in about lat. ° long. °) to the territories of the washoes north, and as far east as the sevier lake country of fremont's explorations.' _cal. farmer_, _june , _. 'the pa-utahs, and lake utahs occupy the territory lying south of the snakes, and upon the waters of the colorado of the west and south of the great salt lake.' _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. . the pá yuta (pey utes) 'extend from forty miles west of stony point to the californian line, and n.w. to the oregon line, and inhabit the valley of the fenelon river, which rising from lake bigler empties itself into pyramid lake.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . 'the womenunche (also known as the pa uches) occupy the country on the san juan river.' _collins_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the custom of designating the different bands of pah utes is derived from the name of some article of food not common in other localities; "ocki," signifies "trout," "toy," "tule," &c. the ocki pah utes ... are located on walker river and lake, and the mountains adjacent thereto. the cozaby pah utes ... range from mono lake east to smoky valley.' _campbell_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . the pah utes extend, 'over portions of utah and arizona territories, also the states of nevada and california. _fenton_, in _id._, p. . the chemehuevis are a band of pah-utahs. _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . the chimehuevais live about forty miles below the colorado river agency, on the california side of the river, and are scattered over an area of fifty square miles. _tonner_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the chemehuewas are 'located mainly on the west bank of the colorado, above la paz, and ranges along the river from about thirty miles south of fort mohave, to a point fifty miles north of fort yuma, to the eastward, but a short distance.' _sherman_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the chemehuevis live on the colorado river, above the bill williams fork, a small tribe and quite unknown. _poston_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the chemehuevis are 'a band of pahutahs, ... belonging to the great shoshonee family.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'the chimchinves are undoubtedly a branch of the pah ute tribe.' _stanley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [sidenote: pi utes and gosh utes.] the _pi utes_, or pyutes, 'inhabit western utah, from oregon to new mexico; their locations being generally in the vicinity of the principal rivers and lakes of the great basin, viz., humboldt, carson, walker, truckee, owens's, pyramid, and mono.' _simpson's route to cal._, p. . 'the tribe of indians who inhabit this section (near fort churchill) of which the post forms the centre comes under the one generic name of piute, and acknowledge as their great chief winnemucca. they are split up into small captaincies and scattered throughout a vast extent of territory.' _farley_, in _san francisco medical press_, vol. iii., p. . the piutes or paiuches inhabit 'the northern banks of the colorado, the region of severe river, and those portions of the timpanigos desert where man can find a snail to eat.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . the piutes live 'along the eastern slopes of the sierra nevada, from the mouth of the virgen with the colorado (in about lat. ° long. °) to the territories of the washoes north, and as far east as the sevier lake.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _june , _. 'von ° nordwärts die pai utes.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, vol. i., p. . the territory occupied by the piutes 'is about one hundred miles broad, and is bounded on the north by the country of the bannocks, on the east by that of the shoshones, on the south by the state line between nevada and california and on the west by the territory of the washoes.' _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the piutes inhabit 'a country two hundred miles long by one hundred and twenty broad, lying parallel and east of that of the washoes.... south of walker lake are the mono pi utes.... they are closely allied to the walker river or ocki pi utes ... located in the vicinity of walker river and lake and carson river and upper lake.... at the lower carson lake are the toy pi utes.' _campbell_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'upon the colorado river, in the northern part of the territory lives a band, or some bands, of pi utes, occupying both sides of the river, roaming to the limit of arizona on the west, but on the east, for some miles, how far cannot be determined.' _whittier_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the pi ute 'range extends north to the beaver, south to fort mojave, east to the little colorado and san francisco mountains, and on the west through the southern part of nevada as far as the california line ... the larger portion living in nevada.' _fenton_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the pi utes inhabit the south-west portion of utah. _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the pi ute indians are scattered over a large extent of country in southeastern nevada and southwestern utah.' _powell_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the pi utes inhabit the south-eastern part of nevada. _walker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _gosh utes_ inhabit the country west of great salt lake, and extend to the pah utes. they are said by most writers to be of mixed breed, between the snakes, or shoshones proper, and the utahs: 'the goshautes live about forty miles west' of salt lake city. _forney_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the goships, or gosha utes, range west of salt lake. _cooley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the goships 'range between the great salt lake and the land of the western shoshones.' _head_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the goship shoshones 'live in the western part of utah, between great salt lake and the western boundary of the territory,' (utah). _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the goshutes are located 'in the country in the vicinity of egan cañon.... in the shoshone range.' _douglas_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the goship shoshones inhabit that part of utah which lies between great salt lake and the western boundary of the territory (utah).' _tourtellotte_, in _id._, p. . the goshoots 'dr. hurt classes among the shoshones; but according to mr. g. w. bean, capt. simpson's guide in the fall of ... they are the offspring of a disaffected portion of the ute tribe, that left their nation, about two generations ago, under their leader or chief goship, whence their name goship utes since contracted into goshutes.... reside principally in the grassy valleys west of great salt lake, along and in the vicinity of capt. simpson's routes, as far as the ungoweah range.' _simpson's route to cal._, pp. - . the gosh yutas, 'a body of sixty under a peaceful leader were settled permanently on the indian farm at deep creek, and the remainder wandered to miles west of gt. s. l. city.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . the _toquimas_ live about the head of reese river valley, and in the country to the east of that point. _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _june , _. the _temoksees_ live about thirty miles south of jacobsville. _cal. farmer_, _june , ._ the _pah vants_ 'occupy the corn creek, paravan, and beaver valleys, and the valley of sevier.' _simpson's route to cal._, p. . half the pavants 'are settled on the indian farm at corn creek; the other wing of the tribe lives along sevier lake, and the surrounding country in the north-east extremity of filmore valley, fifty miles from the city, where they join the gosh yuta.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . although mr burton gives this as the fruit of his own observation, it is evidently taken from _forney's rept._, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , which reads as follows: 'about half of them (the pahvants) have their home on the corn creek indian farm. the other wing of the tribe lives along sevier lake and surrounding country, in the northeast extremity of fillmore valley, and about fifty miles from fillmore city.' the pah vants range 'through pah-vant and sevier valleys, and west to the white mountains.' _cooley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the pahvents occupy the territory in the vicinity of corn creek reservation, and south of the goship shoshones.' _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the pah vant indians inhabit the country south of the goship shoshones.' _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _pi edes_ 'are a band ranging through beaver and little salt lake valley, and on the virgin and santa clara rivers, down to the muddy, embracing the whole southern portion of utah territory.' _irish_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the py edes live adjoining the pahvants, down to the santa clara.' _simpson's route to cal._, p. . 'the pi ede indians inhabit the country south of the pah vants.' _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the piede indians inhabit the extreme southern portion of the territory (utah) on the santa clara and muddy rivers.' _armstrong_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the piede indians live on rio virgin and santa clara river. _carvalho's incid. of trav._, p. . [sidenote: washoes and sampitches.] the _washoes_ 'inhabit the country along the base of the sierra nevada mountains, from honey lake on the north to the west fork of walker's river the south.' _dodge_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . _simpson's route to cal._, on p. , and _burton's city of the saints_, p. , repeat this. the washoes 'are stated to have boundaries as high up as the oregon line, along the eastern flanks of the sierra nevada, as far to the east as two hundred miles and to the south to walker's river.' _cal. farmer_, _june , _. the washoes live in the extreme western part of nevada. _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'commencing at the western boundary of the state, we have first the washoe tribe, ... occupying a tract of country one hundred miles long, north and south, by twenty-five in width.' _campbell_, in _id._, p. . the washoes 'live along lake bigler and the headwaters of carson, walker, and truckee rivers, and in long and sierra valleys.' _wasson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _washoes_ 'are scattered over a large extent of country along the western border of the state' of nevada. _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the washoes 'frequent the settled portions of the state, principally the towns of virginia city, carson city, reno, washoe city, and genoa. in summer they betake themselves to the mountains in the vicinity of lake tahoe and hope valley.' _douglas_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _sampitches_ 'range through the sanpitch valley and creek on the sevier river.' _irish_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the sampiches are a tribe wandering on the desert to the south of youta lake.' _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. . burton mentions 'sampichyas' settled at san pete. _city of the saints_, p. . the san pitches 'live in the san pitch valley and along the sevier river.' _cooley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the san pitches occupy a territory south and east of the timpanagos.' _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, . p. . 'the san pitch indians inhabit the country about the san pete reservation.' _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'les sampectches, les pagouts et les ampayouts sont les plus proches voisins des serpents.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . the _uinta utes_ 'claim uinta valley and the country along green river.' _forney_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the uinta yutas live 'in the mountains south of fort bridger, and in the country along green river.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . the _yam pah utes_ 'inhabit the country south of the uinta valley reservation.' _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _id._, , p. . the _elk mountain utes_ live in the south-eastern portion of utah. _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _burton's city of the saints_, p. . repeats. the _tosawees_ or white knives, or as they are sometimes called shoshoteos or foot-men, on the humboldt and goose creek. _stuart's montana_, p. . 'the tosawitches, or white knives, inhabit the region along the humboldt river.' _simpson's shortest route_, p. . the indians about stony point are called tosawwitches (white knives). _hurt_, in _ind. aff. rept._, . the _weber utes_ 'live in the valley of salt lake.' _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , also in _id._, , p. . the weber utes live in the vicinity of salt lake city. _walker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the weber river yutas are principally seen in great salt lake city. their chief settlement is forty miles to the north. _burton's city of the saints_, p. . the _cum umbahs_ 'are mixed-bloods of the utes and shoshonees, and range in the region of salt lake, weber and ogden valleys in northern utah.' _irish_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _wimmenuches_ are 'a tribe of the ute indians, whose country is principally from tierra amarilla northward to ellos de los animas and thence also to the rio grande. they mix with the pi utes in utah.' _davis_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the wemenuche utes 'roam and hunt west of the san juan river, and their lodges are to be found along the banks of the rio de las animas, rio de la plata and rio mancos.' _hanson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the weminuche utes live near the san juan river. _armstrong_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _capote utes_ 'roam from within five to fifty miles of the agency, but the greater part of the time live in the vicinity of tierra amarilla, from five to ten miles distant, north and south along the rio charmer.' _hanson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _armstrong_, in _id._, , p. . 'the _sheberetches_ inhabit the country south of the yam pah utes.' _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _fish utes_ 'inhabit the country about red lake, south of the sheberetches.' _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _tash utes_ live near the navajos. _burton's city of the saints_, p. . the _tabechya_, or sun-hunters, 'live about tête de biche, near spanish lands.' 'timpenaguchya, or timpana yuta, corrupted into tenpenny utes, ... dwell about the kanyon of that name, and on the east of the sweetwater lake.' _burton's city of the saints_, pp. - . 'the timpanoge indians formerly resided at and about spanish fort reservation, but they are now scattered among other bands and do not now exist as a separate tribe.' _tourtellotte_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; see also _id._, , p. . the timpanogs inhabit 'utah valley, and the neighboring mountains.' _cooley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . footnotes: [ ] 'sometimes there is a tribal name for all who speak the same language; sometimes none, and only names for separate villages; sometimes a name for a whole tribe or family, to which is prefixed a separate word for each dialect, which is generally co-extensive with some valley. of the first, an instance is found in the cahrocs, on the klamath, who are a compact tribe, with no dialects; of the second, in the large tribe on the lower klamath, who have also no dialects, and yet have no name, except for each village; of the third, in the great family of the pomos on russian river, who have many dialects, and a name for each,--as ballo ki pomos, cahto pomos, etc.... some remnants of tribes have three or four names, all in use within a radius of that number of miles; some, again, are merged, or dovetailed, into others; and some never had a name taken from their own language, but have adopted that given them by a neighbor tribe, altogether different in speech.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. . [ ] the natives 'when asked to what tribe they belong, give the name of their chief, which is misunderstood by the inquirer to be that of the tribe itself.' _bartlett's nar._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'every fifteen or twenty miles of country seems to have been occupied by a number of small lodges or septs, speaking a different language or very divergent dialect.' _taylor_, in _bancroft's hand-book almanac_, , p. . beechey counted eleven different dialects in the mission of san carlos. _voyage_, vol. ii., p. . 'almost every or leagues, you find a distinct dialect; so different, that in no way does one resemble the other.' _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, p. . 'from the san joaquin northward to the klamath there are some hundreds of small tribes.' _henley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] hale calls them the _lutuami_, or _tlamatl_, and adds, 'the first of these names is the proper designation of the people in their own language. the second is that by which they are known to the chinooks, and through them, to the whites.' _ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . [ ] 'there true name is _moüdoc_--a word which originated with the shasteecas, who applied it indefinitely to all wild indians or enemies.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, , vol. x., p. . 'also called moahtockna.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _june , _. 'the word modoc is a shasta indian word, and means all distant, stranger, or hostile indians, and became applied to these indians by white men in early days, by hearing the shastas speak of them.' _steele_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] speaking of indians at the junction of the salmon and klamath rivers: 'they do not seem to have any generic appellation for themselves, but apply the terms "kahruk," up, and "youruk," down, to all who live above or below themselves, without discrimination, in the same manner that the others (at the junction of the trinity) do "peh-tsik," and "poh-lik."' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] 'the bay (humboldt) indians call themselves, as we were informed, wish-osk; and those of the hills te-ok-a-wilk; but the tribes to the northward denominate both those of the bay and eel river, we-yot, or walla-walloo.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] they are also called lototen or tututamy, totutime, toutouni, tootooton, tutoten, tototin, tototutna, etc. [ ] for further particulars as to location of tribes, see notes on tribal boundaries, at the end of this chapter. [ ] mr. gibbs, speaking of the tribes seen on the klamath and trinity rivers, says: 'in person these people are far superior to any we had met below; the men being larger, more muscular, and with countenances denoting greater force and energy of character, as well as intelligence. indeed, they approach rather to the races of the plains, than to the wretched "diggers" of the greater part of california.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'the indians in the northern portion of california and in oregon, are vastly superior in stature and intellect to those found in the southern part of california.' _hubbard_, in _golden era_, . the indians on the trinity 'are of another tribe and nature from those along the sacramento.' _kelly's excursion_, vol. ii., p. . speaking of the wallies, they, 'in many respects differ from their brethren in the middle and lower counties of the state. they are lighter colored and more intelligent.' _johnson_, in _overland monthly_, , vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'the males are tall, averaging in height about five feet eight inches, are well proportioned, athletic, and possess the power of endurance to a great degree.' _hubbard_, in _golden era_, march, . 'the people here (rogue river) were larger and stronger than those in south california, but not handsomer.' _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . speaking of indians on the klamath river, 'their stature is a trifle under the american; they have well-sized bodies, erect and strong-knit.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. . on the upper trinity they are 'large and powerful men, of a swarthier complexion, fierce and intractable.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . near mount shasta, 'a fine-looking race, being much better proportioned than those more to the northward, and their features more regular.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . at klamath lake, 'well-grown and muscular.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . on the trinity, 'majestic in person, chivalrous in bearing.' _kelly's excursion_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] in the vicinity of klamath lake 'the squaws are short in comparison with the men, and, for indians have tolerably regular features.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . in the rogue river region 'some of them are quite pretty, usually well-formed, handsomely developed, small features, and very delicate and well-turned hands and feet.... they are graceful in their movements and gestures, ... always timid and modest.' _hubbard_, in _golden era_, march, . on the klamath river, 'with their smooth, hazel skins, oval faces, plump and brilliant eyes, some of the young maidens,--barring the tattooed chins,--have a piquant and splendid beauty.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. . on the klamath and trinity rivers, many of the women 'were exceedingly pretty; having large almond-shaped eyes, sometimes of a hazel color, and with the red showing through the cheeks. their figures were full, their chests ample; and the younger ones had well-shaped busts, and rounded limbs.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . but as to the beauty of women tastes never agree; mr kelly in his _excursion to cal._, vol. ii., p. , speaking of a band of 'noble-looking indians' which he met near trinity river, says that they were 'accompanied by a few squaws, who, strange to say, in this latitude are ugly, ill-favoured, stunted in stature, lumpy in figure, and awkward in gait,' and concerning the rogue river indians a lady states that 'among the women ... there were some extremely clumsy figures.' _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . the pit-river indian girls 'have the smallest and prettiest feet and hands i have ever seen.' _miller's life amongst the modocs_, p. . [ ] at crescent city, mr powers saw some 'broad-faced squaws of an almost african blackness;' the patawats in the vicinity of mad river and humboldt bay are 'blackskinned, pudgy in stature; well cushioned with adipose tissue;' at redwood creek 'like most of the coast tribes they are very dark colored, squat in stature, rather fuller-faced than the interior indians.' _pomo, ms._ at trinidad bay 'their persons were in general indifferently, but stoutly made, of a lower stature than any tribe of indians we had before seen.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . at the mouth of eel river the weeyots 'are generally repulsive in countenance as well as filthy in person.... their heads are disproportionately large; their figures, though short, strong and well developed.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . carl meyer names the indians he saw at trinidad bay, _allequas_, or wood-indians (holzindianer). i do not find the name anywhere else, and judging by his description, they appear to differ considerably from the natives seen in the same vicinity by vancouver or mr powers; he, meyer, says; 'sie sind von unserm wuchse, starke und beleibte, kräftige gestalten. ihre haut ist wenig zimmet oder lohfarbig, eher weisslich, wie die der antisischen inkas gewesen sein soll; bei der jugend und besonders beim weiblichen geschlechte schimmert oft ein sanftes roth auf den wangen hervor. ihr kopf ist wenig gedrückt, die stirn hoch, der gesichtswinkel gegen grad, die nase römisch gekrümmt, das auge gross in wenig quadratisch erweiterten augenhöhlen und intelligent, die lippen nicht aufgetrieben, das kinn oval, und hände und füsse klein.' _nach dem sacramento_, p. . [ ] at pitt river they 'have no dress except a buckskin thrown around them.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ near mount shasta 'they can scarcely be said to wear any dress, except a mantle of deer or wolf skin. a few of them had deer-skins belted around their waists, with a highly ornamented girdle.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . near pitt river, the indians were nearly naked. _abbott_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. vi., p. . at trinidad bay 'their clothing was chiefly made of the skins of land animals, with a few indifferent small skins of the sea-otter.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'the men, however, do not wear any covering, except the cold is intense, when indeed they put upon their shoulders the skins of sea-wolves, otters, deer, or other animals.' _maurelle's jour._, p. . 'they were clothed, for the most part, in skins.' _greenhow's hist. ogn._, p. . on smith river they were 'in a complete state of nature, excepting only a kind of apology for an apron, worn by the women, sometimes made of elk's skin, and sometimes of grass.' _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . among the weeyots at eel river the men 'wore a deer-skin robe over the shoulder, and the women a short petticoat of fringe.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . on klamath river their only dress was the fringed petticoat, or at most, a deerskin robe thrown back over the shoulders, in addition. _id._, p. . 'the primitive dress of the men is simply a buckskin girdle about the loins; of the women, a chemise of the same material, or of braided grass, reaching from the breast to the knees.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. . 'were quite naked excepting the maro.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . the klamath lake indians 'wear little more than the breech-cloth.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . 'they were all well dressed in blankets and buckskin.' _abbott_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. vi., p. . carl meyer, speaking of a tribe he names allequas, at trinidad bay, says: 'der mann geht im sommer ganz nackt, im winter trägt er eine selbst gegerbte hirsch- oder rehdecke über die schultern.' 'die allequas-weiber tragen im sommer von bast-schnüren oder von rehfellstreifen, im winter von pelzwerk oder gänseflaum verfertigte schürzen, die bis auf die knie reichen.' _nach dem sacramento_, p. , . 'the klamaths, during the summer go naked, in winter they use the skins of rabbits and wild fowl for a covering.' _thompson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] 'an indian will trap and slaughter seventy-five rabbits for one of these robes, making it double, with fur inside and out.' _powers' pomo, ms._ [ ] _fremont's explor. ex._, p. ; _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. , ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., . [ ] _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _fremont's explor. ex._, p. . [ ] _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] _maurelle's jour._, p. ; _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. , ; _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. ; _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . 'die allequas (trinidad bay) haben starkes, ziemlich geschmeidiges haar, das der männer und der kinder wird bis auf einen zoll länge regelmässig abgebrannt, so dass sie das aussehen von titusköpfen erhalten. zuweilen sieht man die männer auch mit einem ziemlich langen, durch eine harzige flüssigkeit gesteiften, aufgerichteten zopf, der als schmuck betrachtet, bei festlichen anlässen, oder im kriege mit rothen oder weissen federn geziert wird, und alsdann dem schopf eines wiedehopfs gleicht.' _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, p. . 'both men and women part their hair in the middle, the men cut it square on the neck and wear it rather long, the women wear theirs long, plaited in two braids, hanging down the back.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ [ ] _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'barthaare haben sie, wie alle indianer nord-amerikas, nur wenig; sie werden ausgerupft, und nur in der trauer stehen gelassen.' _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, pp. - . [ ] the men tattoo so that they may 'be recognized if stolen by modocs.' 'with the women it is entirely for ornament.' _the shastas and their neighbors_, _ms_. at rogue river the women 'were tattooed on the hands and arms as well as the chin.' _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . at trinidad bay 'they ornamented their lower lip with three perpendicular columns of punctuation, one from each corner of the mouth and one in the middle, occupying three fifths of the chin.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . maurelle says the same, and adds that a space is left between each line, 'which is much larger in the young than in the older women, whose faces are generally covered with punctures.' _jour._, p. . at mad river and humboldt bay, the same, 'and also lines of small dots on the backs of their hands.' _powers' pomo_, _ms_. at mouth of eel river 'both sexes tattoo; the men on their arms and breasts; the women from inside the under lip down to and beneath the chin. the extent of this disfigurement indicates to a certain extent, the age and condition of the person.' 'in the married women the lines are extended up above the corners of the mouth.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. , . 'i have never observed any particular figures or designs upon their persons; but the tattooing is generally on the chin, though sometimes on the wrist and arm. tattooing has mostly been on the persons of females, and seems to be esteemed as an ornament, not apparently indicating rank or condition.' _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . the squaws among the cahrocs on the klamath 'tattoo, in blue, three narrow fern-leaves, perpendicularly on the chin.' 'for this purpose they are said to employ soot, gathered from a stove, mingled with the juice of a certain plant.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. . among the shastys the women 'are tattooed in lines from the mouth to the chin.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . among the allequas at trinidad bay: 'die mädchen werden im fünften jahre mit einem schwarzen streifen von beiden mundwinkeln bis unter das kinn tättowirt, welchem striche dann alle fünf jahre ein parallellaufender beigefügt wird, so dass man an diesen zeichnungen leicht das alter jeder indianerin übersehen kann.... die männer bemalen sich bei besondern anlässen mit einem tannenfirniss, den sie selbst bereiten, das gesicht, und zeichnen allerlei geheimnissvolle figuren und verzierungen auf wange, nase und stirn, indem sie mit einem hölzernen stäbchen den noch weichen firniss auf den einzelnen stellen von der haut wegheben.' _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, p. . [ ] 'i never saw two alike.' _the shastas and their neighbors_, _ms_. at klamath lake they are 'painted from their heads to their waists all colours and patterns.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . the modocs 'paint themselves with various pigments formed from rotten wood, different kinds of earth, &c.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. . kane 'took a sketch of a chastay (shasta) female slave (among the chinooks) the lower part of whose face, from the corners of the mouth to the ears and downwards, was tattooed of a bluish colour. the men of this tribe do not tattoo, but paint their faces like other indians.' _wand._, p. . ida pfeiffer, _second journ._, p. , saw indians on smith river, who painted their faces 'in a most detestable manner. they first smeared them with fish fat and then they rubbed in the paint, sometimes passing a finger over it in certain lines, so as to produce a pattern.' _miller's life amongst the modocs_, p. . [ ] 'no taste in bead work.' _the shastas and their neighbors_, _ms_. 'in den ohren tragen die allequas (at trinidad bay) schmucksachen, welche sie theils von den weissen erhalten, theils aus holz nachahmen; auch sind diese gegenstände zuweilen durch steinchen ersetzt, die talismanische kräfte besitzen sollen. nur die in den fernen bergen wohnenden tragen hölzerne oder auch eiserne ringe in den nasenwandungen.' _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, p. ; _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. ; _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. ; _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., plate xiv. [ ] _maurelle's jour._, p. . [ ] _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'the lodges are dome-shaped; like beaver-houses, an arched roof covers a deep pit sunk in the ground, the entrance to which is a round hole.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . 'large round huts, perhaps feet in diameter, with rounded tops, on which was the door by which they descended into the interior.' _fremont's explor. ex._, p. . 'the modoc excavates a circular space from two to four feet deep, then makes over it a conical structure of puncheons, which is strongly braced up with timbers, frequently hewn and a foot square.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. ; _id._, vol. ix., p. . 'the style was very substantial, the large poles requiring five or six men to lift.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'have only an opening at the summit.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . on the inside of the door they frequently place a sliding panel. 'the kailtas build wigwams in a conical shape--as all tribes on the trinity do--but they excavate no cellars.' _powers' pomo_, _ms_. see full description of dwellings, by _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . the entrance is a 'round hole just large enough to crawl into, which is on a level with the surface of the ground, or is cut through the roof.' _johnson_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ii., p. ; _miller's life amongst the modocs_, p. . [ ] 'built of plank, rudely wrought.' the roofs are not 'horizontal like those at nootka, but rise with a small degree of elevation to a ridge in the middle.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., pp. - . well built, of boards; often twenty feet square; roof pitched over a ridge-pole; ground usually excavated or feet; some cellars floored and walled with stone. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'the dwellings of the hoopas were built of large planks, about ½ inches thick, from two to four feet wide, and from six to twelve feet in length.' _trinity journal_, _april, _. 'the floors of these huts are perfectly smooth and clean, with a square hole two feet deep in the centre, in which they make their fire.' _maurelle's jour._, p. . 'the huts have never but one apartment. the fire is kindled in the centre, the smoke escaping through the crevices in the roof.' _hubbard_, in _golden era_, _march, _. the houses of the eurocs and cahrocs 'are sometimes constructed on the level earth, but oftener they excavate a round cellar, four or five feet deep, and twelve or fifteen feet in diameter.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. ; _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, p. ; _the shastas and their neighbors, ms_. [ ] kit carson says of lodges seen near klamath lake: 'they were made of the broad leaves of the swamp flag, which were beautifully and intricately woven together.' _peters' life of carson_, p. . 'the wild sage furnishes them shelter in the heat of summer, and, like the cayote, they burrow in the earth for protection from the inclemencies of winter.' _thompson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'their lodges are generally mere temporary structures, scarcely sheltering them from the pelting storm.' _palmer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] 'slightly constructed, generally of poles.' _emmons_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'the earth in the centre scooped out, and thrown up in a low, circular embankment.' _turner_, in _overland monthly_, p. xi., p. . [ ] _powers' pomo, ms._ [ ] 'the rocks supply edible shell-fish.' _schumacher's oregon antiquities, ms._ 'the deer and elk are mostly captured by driving them into traps and pits.' 'small game is killed with arrows, and sometimes elk and deer are dispatched in the same way.' _hubbard_, in _golden era_, _april, _. 'the elk they usually take in snares.' _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . 'the mountain indians subsisted largely on game, which of every variety was very abundant, and was killed with their bows and arrows, in the use of which they were very expert.' _wiley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'die indianer am pittflusse machen graben oder löcher von circa kubikfuss, bedecken diese mit zweigen und gras ganz leicht, sodass die thiere, wenn sie darüber gejagt werden, hinein fallen und nicht wieder herauskönnen. wilde gänse fangen sie mit netzen ... nur selten mögen indianer den grauen bär jagen.' _wimmel_, _californien_, p. ; _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ [ ] schumacher, _oregon antiquities, ms._, classifies their ancient arrow and spear points thus: long barbs with projections, short barbs with projections, and long and short barbs without projections. 'the point of the spear is composed of a small bone needle, which sits in a socket, and pulls out as soon as the fish starts. a string connecting the spear handle and the center of the bone serves, when pulled, to turn the needle cross wise in the wound.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _march , _; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._; _hubbard_, in _golden era_, _april, _; _wiley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'in spawning-time the fish school up from clear lake in extraordinary numbers, so that the indians have only to put a slight obstruction in the river, when they can literally shovel them out.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. ; _schumacher's oregon antiquities, ms._ [ ] 'the camas is a bulbus root, shaped much like an onion.' _miller's life amongst the modocs_, p. . [ ] 'a root about an inch long, and as large as one's little finger, of a bitter-sweetish and pungent taste, something like ginseng.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. . [ ] 'an aquatic plant, with a floating leaf, very much like that of a pond-lily, in the centre of which is a pod resembling a poppy-head, full of farinaceous seeds.' _ib._ see also _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, p. . 'their principal food is the kamas root, and the seed obtained from a plant growing in the marshes of the lake, resembling, before hulled, a broom-corn seed.' _palmer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] the klamaths 'subsist upon roots and almost every living thing within their reach, not excepting reptiles, crickets, ants, etc.' _thompson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _heintzelman_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _roseborough's letter to the author, ms._ [ ] _turner_, in _overland monthly_, vol. xi., p. . [ ] at rogue river, 'the men go in the morning into the river, but, like the malays, bring all the dirt out on their skins that they took in.' _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . at pitt river they are 'disgusting in their habits.' _abbott_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. vi., p. ; _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ 'of the many hundreds i have seen, there was not one who still observed the aboriginal mode of life, that had not a sweet breath. this is doubtless due to the fact that, before they became civilized, they ate their food cold.' _powers' pomo, ms._ 'they always rise at the first dawn of day, and plunge into the river.' _hubbard_, in _golden era_, _march, _. 'their persons are unusually clean, as they use both the sweat-house and the cold-bath constantly.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'mit tagesanbruch begibt sich der allequa (trinidad bay) in jeder jahreszeit zur nahen quelle, wo er sich am ganzen leibe wäscht und in den strahlen der aufsteigenden sonne trocknen lässt.' _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, p. ; _roseborough's letter to the author, ms._ [ ] carl meyer, after describing the bow, adds: 'fernere waffen der allequas sind; das obsidian-beil oder tomahawk, die keule, die lanze und der wurfspiess.' _nach dem sacramento_, p. . this statement, i think, may be taken with some allowance, as nowhere else do i find mention of a tomahawk being used by the californians. [ ] schumacher, _oregon antiquities, ms._, speaking of an ancient spear-point, says, 'the pointed teeth show it to have been a very dangerous weapon.' _roseborough's letter to the author, ms._ on the klamath river, 'among the skins used for quivers, i noticed the otter, wild-cat, fisher, fawn, grey fox and others.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . near mt shasta, 'bows and arrows are very beautifully made: the former are of yew, and about three feet long ... backed very neatly with sinew, and painted.... the arrows are upwards of thirty inches long.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . at port trinidad, 'arrows are carried in quivers of wood or bone, and hang from their wrist or neck.' _maurelle's jour._, p. . on pigeon river 'their arrows were in general tipped with copper or iron.' _greenhow's hist. ogn._, p. . the pit river 'arrows are made in three parts.' _abbott_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. vi., p. . the allequas at trinidad bay, described by carl meyer, carried their arrows either 'schussfertig in der hand oder in einem über die schultern geworfenen köcher aus fuchs- oder biberpelz. der bogen ist aus einer starken, elastischen rothtannenwurzel verfertigt, etwa ½ fuss lang und auf der rückseite mit einer bärensehne überklebt.' _nach dem sacramento_, p. . see _mofras_, _explor._, _atlas_, plate xxv. speaking of the quiver, mr powers says: 'in the animal's head they stuff a quantity of grass or moss, as a cushion for the arrow-heads to rest in, which prevents them from being broken.' _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. . 'their arrows can only be extracted from the flesh with the knife.' _cutts' conquest of cal._, p. . 'am oberen theile (california) ist der bogen von einer lage von hirsch-sehnen verstärkt und elastisch gemacht. die pfeile bestehen aus einem rohrartigen gewächse von mässiger länge, an der spitze mit obsidian ... versehen, ihre länge ist zoll, ihre breite zoll und die dicke / zoll, scharfkantig und spitz zulaufend.' _wimmel_, _californien_, p. . [ ] _powers' pomo, ms._; _schumacher's oregon antiquities, ms._; _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ [ ] _hist. mag._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] _johnson_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ii., p. . at trinidad bay 'zuweilen werden die pfeile mit dem safte des sumachbaumes vergiftet, und alsdann nur zum erlegen wilder raubthiere gebraucht.' _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, p. . 'einige stämme vergiften die spitzen ihrer pfeile auf folgende weise: sie reizen nämlich eine klapperschlange mit einer vorgehaltenen hirschleber, worin sie beisst, und nachdem nun die leber mit dem gifte vollständig imprägnirt ist, wird sie vergraben und muss verfaulen; hierin wird nun die spitze eingetaucht und dann getrocknet.' _wimmel_, _californien_, p. . the pitt river indians 'use the poison of the rattle-snake, by grinding the head of that reptile into an impalpable powder, which is then applied by means of the putrid blood and flesh of the dog to the point of the weapon.' _gross' system of surgery_, vol. i., p. . 'the pitt river indians poisoned their arrows in a putrid deer's liver. this is a slow poison, however, and sometimes will not poison at all.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._; _schumacher's oregon antiquities, ms._ [ ] among other things seen by meyer were, 'noch grössere bogen, die ihnen als bedeutende ferngeschosse dienen. ein solcher ist fuss lang, und der indianer legt sich auf die erde, um denselben zu spannen, indem er das rechte knie in den bogen einstemmt und mit beiden armen nachhilft.' the bow and arrow, knife, and war-club, constitute their weapons. in one of their lodges i noticed an elk-skin shield, so constructed as to be impervious to the sharpest arrows. _palmer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . miller mentions a modoc who was 'painted red, half-naked, and held a tomahawk in his hand.' _life amongst the modocs_, p. . [ ] _salem statesman_, _april, _. [ ] hence, if we may credit miller, _life amongst the modocs_, p. , the name pitt river. [ ] the hoopas exacted tribute from all the surrounding tribes. at the time the whites arrived the chimalaquays were paying them tribute in deer-skins at the rate of twenty-five cents per head. _powers' pomo_, _ms_. the hoopahs have a law requiring those situated on the trinity, above them to pay tribute. _humboldt times_, _nov. _; _s. f. evening bulletin_, _nov. , _. [ ] the sassics, cahrocs, hoopahs, klamaths and rogue river indians, take no scalps, but decapitate the slain, or cut off their hands and feet. _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . [ ] the veeards on lower humboldt bay 'took elk-horns and rubbed them on stones for days together, to sharpen them into axes and wedges.' _powers' pomo, ms._ on the klamath river they had 'spoons neatly made of bone and horn.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] 'for basket making, they use the roots of pine-trees, the stem of the spice-bush, and ornament with a kind of grass which looks like a palm leaf, and will bleach white. they also stain it purple with elder berries, and green with soapstone.' ... 'the pitt river indians excel all others in basket-making, but are not particularly good at bead work.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._, _fremont's explor. ex._, p. ; _johnson_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ii., p. ; _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. ; _powers' pomo, ms._ [ ] _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. ; _emmons_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] the boats formerly used by the modocs were 'quite rude and unshapely concerns, compared with those of the lower klamath, but substantial and sometimes large enough to carry pounds of merchandise.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. , vol. x., p. . 'blunt at both ends, with a small projection in the stern for a seat.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'those on rogue river were roughly built--some of them scow fashion, with flat bottom.' _emmons_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the pitt river indians 'used boats made from pine; they burn them out ... about twenty feet long, some very good ones.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ [ ] _chase_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ii., p. . 'a kind of bead made from a shell procured on the coast. these they string and wear about the neck.... another kind is a shell about an inch long, which looks like a porcupine quill. they are more valuable than the other. they also use them as nose-ornaments.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ 'the unit of currency is a string of the length of a man's arm, with a certain number of the longer shells below the elbow, and a certain number of the shorter ones above.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. . 'a rare shell, spiral in shape, varying from one to two inches in length, and about the size of a crowquill, called by the natives, _siwash_, is used as money.' _hubbard_, in _golden era_, march, . [ ] 'the ownership of a (white) deer-skin, constitutes a claim to chieftainship, readily acknowledged by all the dusky race on this coast.' _humboldt times_, _dec., _. [ ] 'property consists in women, ornaments made of rare feathers and shells, also furs and skins.' _hubbard_, in _golden era_, march, . their wealth 'consisted chiefly of white deerskins, canoes, the scalp of the red-headed woodpecker, and _aliquachiek_.' _wiley_, in _ind. aff. rept. joint spec. com._, , p. . [ ] 'have no tribal organization, no such thing as public offence.' _roseborough's letter to the author, ms._ a pitt river chief tried the white man's code, but so unpopular was it, that he was obliged to abandon it. _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ among the klamath and trinity tribes the power of the chief 'is insufficient to control the relations of the several villages, or keep down the turbulence of individuals.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. - . the cahrocs, eurocs, hoopas, and kailtas, have a nominal chief for each village, but his power is extremely limited and each individual does as he likes. among the tolewas in del norte county, money makes the chief. the modocs and patawats have an hereditary chieftainship. _powers' pomo, ms._ at trinidad bay they were 'governed by a ruler, who directs where they shall go both to hunt and fish.' _maurelle's jour._, p. . 'der häuptling ist sehr geachtet; er hat über handel und wandel, leben und tod seiner unterthanen zu verfügen, und seine macht vererbt sich auf seinen erstgebornen.' _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, p. . the chief 'obtains his position from his wealth, and usually manages to transmit his effects and with them his honors, to his posterity.' _hubbard_, in _golden era_, march, . formerly 'the different rancherias had chiefs, or heads, known as mow-wee-mas, their influence being principally derived from their age, number of relatives, and wealth.' _wiley_, in _ind. aff. rept. joint. spec. com._, p. . [ ] the cahrocs compound for murder by payment of one string. among the patawats the average fine for murdering a man is ten strings, for killing a woman five strings, worth about $ and $ respectively. 'an average patawut's life is considered worth about six ordinary canoes, each of which occupies two indians probably three months in making, or, in all, tantamount to the labor of one man for a period of three years.' 'the hoopas and kailtas also paid for murder, or their life was taken by the relatives of the deceased.' _powers' pomo, ms._ 'they seem to do as they please, and to be only governed by private revenge. if one man kills another the tribe or family of the latter kill the murderer, unless he buy himself off.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ [ ] _drew's owyhee reconnaissance_, p. . [ ] the cahrocs, eurocs, hoopahs, and patawats, all acquire their wives by purchase. _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._; _powers' pomo, ms._ 'wenn ein allequa seine künftige lebensgefährtin unter den schönen seines stammes erwählt hat und sich verheirathen will, muss er dem mauhemi (chief) eine armslange muschelschnur vorzeigen.' _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, p. . the mountain indians seldom, if ever, intermarry with those on the coast. _wiley_, in _ind. aff. rept. joint. spec. com._, , p. ; _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . buy wives with shell-money. _pfeiffer's second journ._ among the modocs 'the women are offered for sale to the highest buyer.' _meacham's lecture_, in _s. f. alta california_, oct. , ; _miller's life amongst the modocs_. [ ] polygamy is common among the modocs. _meacham's lecture_, in _s. f. alta california_, _oct. , _. on pitt river a chief sometimes has five wives. 'the most jealous people in the world.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._; _roseborough's letter to the author, ms._ 'among the tribes in the north of the state adultery is punished by the death of the child.' _taylor_, in _california farmer_, _march , _. 'the males have as many wives as they are able to purchase;' adultery committed by a woman is punished with death. _hubbard_, in _golden era_, _march, _. among the cahrocs polygamy is not tolerated; among the modocs polygamy prevails, and the women have considerable privilege. the hoopa adulterer loses one eye, the adulteress is exempt from punishment. _powers' pomo, ms._ the weeyots at eel river 'have as many wives as they please.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . at trinidad bay 'we found out that they had a plurality of wives.' _maurelle's jour._, p. . [ ] all the young unmarried women are a common possession. _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. . the women bewail their virginity for three nights before their marriage. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . if we believe powers, they cannot usually have much to bewail. [ ] boys are disgraced by work. _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ women work, while men gamble or sleep. _wiley_, in _ind. aff. rept. joint spec. com._, , p. ; _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _roseborough's letter to the author, ms._ [ ] _kane's wand._, p. . [ ] for the god chareya, see _bancroft's nat. races_, vol. iii., pp. , . [ ] _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . the pitt river indians 'sing as they gamble and play until they are so hoarse they cannot speak.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ [ ] _chase_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'they used tobacco, which they smoaked in small wooden pipes, in form of a trumpet, and procured from little gardens, where they had planted it.' _maurelle's jour._, p. . [ ] the pitt river indians 'give no medicines.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ 'the prevailing diseases are venereal, scrofula and rheumatism.' many die of consumption. _force_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . at the mouth of eel river 'the principal diseases noticed, were sore eyes and blindness, consumption, and a species of leprosy.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . they suffer from a species of lung fever. _geiger_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'a disease was observed among them (the shastas) which had the appearance of the leprosy.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . [ ] 'the only medicine i know of is a root used for poultices, and another root or plant for an emetic.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ 'the root of a parasite fern, found growing on the tops of the fir trees (collque nashul), is the principal remedy. the plant in small doses is expectorant and diurtetic; hence it is used to relieve difficulties of the lungs and kidneys; and, in large doses, it becomes sedative and is an emmenagogue; hence, it relieves fevers, and is useful in uterine diseases, and produces abortions. the squaws use the root extensively for this last mentioned purpose.' _hubbard_, in _golden era_, _march, _. [ ] a pitt river doctor told his patient that for his fee 'he must have his horse or he would not let him get well.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._; _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. viii., p. ; _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._; _rector_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _ostrander_, in _id._, , p. ; _miller_, in _id._, p. . [ ] _temescal_ is an aztec word defined by molina, _vocabulario_, 'temazcalli, casilla como estufa, adonde se bañan y sudan.' the word was brought to this region and applied to the native sweat-houses by the franciscan fathers. _turner_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. , gives 'sweat-house' in the chemehuevi language, as _pahcaba_. [ ] _roseborough's letter to the author, ms._; _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._; _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. ; _powers' pomo, ms._; _chase_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] _meacham's lecture on the modocs_, in _s. f. alta california_, _oct. , _; _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ [ ] on pitt river they burn their dead and heap stones over the ashes for a monument. 'no funeral ceremonies.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ on the ocean frontier of south oregon and north california 'the dead are buried with their faces looking to the west.' _hubbard_, in _golden era_, _march, _. the patawats and chillulas bury their dead. the tolewahs are not allowed to name the dead. _powers' pomo, ms._ 'it is one of the most strenuous indian laws that whoever mentions the name of a deceased person is liable to a heavy fine, the money being paid to the relatives.' _chase_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ii., p. . 'the bodies had been doubled up, and placed in a sitting posture in holes. the earth, when replaced, formed conical mounds over the heads.' _abbott_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. vi., p. . 'they bury their dead under the noses of the living, and with them all their worldly goods. if a man of importance, his house is burned and he is buried on its site.' _johnson_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ii., p. . 'the chick or ready money, is placed in the owner's grave, but the bow and quiver become the property of the nearest male relative. chiefs only receive the honors of a fence, surmounted with feathers, round the grave.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'upon the death of one of these indians they raised a sort of funeral cry, and afterward burned the body within the house of their ruler.' _maurelle's jour._, p. . [ ] _muck-a-muck_, food. in the chinook jargon 'to eat; to bite; food. muckamuck chuck, to drink water.' _dict. chinook jargon, or indian trade language_, p. . [ ] in the vicinity of nootka sound and the columbia river, the first united states traders with the natives were from boston; the first english vessels appeared about the same time, which was during the reign of george iii. hence in the chinook jargon we find '_boston_, an american; _boston illahie_, the united states;' and '_king george_, english--_king george man_, an englishman.' [ ] 'they will often go three or four miles out of their way, to avoid passing a place which they think to be haunted.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ [ ] the pitt river indians 'are very shrewd in the way of stealing, and will beat a coyote. they are full of cunning.' _the shastas and their neighbors, ms._ they 'are very treacherous and bloody in their dispositions.' _abbott_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. vi., p. . 'the indians of the north of california stand at the very lowest point of culture.' _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . 'incapable of treachery, but ready to fight to the death in avenging an insult or injury. they are active and energetic in the extreme.' _kelly's excursion to cal._, vol. ii., p. . at klamath lake they are noted for treachery. _fremont's explor. ex._, p. . 'the tolowas resemble the hoopas in character, being a bold and masterly race, formidable in battle, aggressive and haughty.' the patawats are 'extremely timid and inoffensive.' the chihulas, like most of the coast tribes 'are characterized by hideous and incredible superstitions.' the modocs 'are rather a cloddish, indolent, ordinarily good-natured race, but treacherous at bottom, sullen when angered, and notorious for keeping punic faith. their bravery nobody can dispute.' the yukas are a 'tigerish, truculent, sullen, thievish, and every way bad, but brave race.' _powers' pomo, ms._ on trinity river 'they have acquired the vices of the whites without any of their virtues.' _heintzelman_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . above the forks of the main trinity they are 'fierce and intractable.' on the klamath they 'have a reputation for treachery, as well as revengefulness; are thievish, and much disposed to sulk if their whims are not in every way indulged.' they 'blubber like a schoolboy at the application of a switch.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. , , . the rogue river indians and shastas 'are a warlike race, proud and haughty, but treacherous and very degraded in their moral nature.' _miller_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . at rogue river they are 'brave, haughty, indolent, and superstitious.' _ostrander_, in _id._, , p. ; _roseborough's letter to the author, ms._ [ ] these are not to be confounded with the yukas in round valley, tehama county. [ ] spelled walhalla on some maps. [ ] in the vicinity of fort ross, 'die indianer sind von mittlerem wuchse, doch trifft man auch hohe gestalten unter ihnen an; sie sind ziemlich wohl proportionirt, die farbe der haut ist bräunlich, doch ist diese farbe mehr eine wirkung der sonne als angeboren; die augen und haare sind schwarz, die letzteren stehen straff.... beide geschlechter sind von kräftigem körperbau.' _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. u. ethn._, p. . 'quoique surpris dans un très-grand négligé, ces hommes me parurent beaux, de haute taille, robustes et parfaitement découplés ... traits réguliers ... yeux noirs ... nez aquilin surmonté d'un front élevé, les pommettes des joues arrondies, ... fortes lèvres ... dents blanches et bien rangées ... peau jaune cuivré, un cou annonçant la vigueur et soutenu par de larges épaules ... un air intelligent et fier à la fois.... je trouvai toutes les femmes horriblement laides.' _laplace_, _circumnav._, tom. vi., - . at the head of the eel river 'the average height of these men was not over five feet four or five inches. they were lightly built, with no superfluous flesh, but with very deep chests and sinewy legs.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'the clear lake indians are of a very degraded caste; their foreheads naturally being often as low as the compressed skulls of the chinooks, and their forms commonly small and ungainly.' _id._, p. . at bodega bay 'they are an ugly and brutish race, many with negro profiles.' _id._, p. . 'they are physically an inferior race, and have flat, unmeaning features, long, coarse, straight black hair, big mouths, and very dark skins.' _revere's tour_, p. . 'large and strong, their colour being the same as that of the whole territory.' _maurelle's jour._, p. . it is said of the natives of the sacramento valley, that 'their growth is short and stunted; they have short thick necks, and clumsy heads; the forehead is low, the nose flat with broad nostrils, the eyes very narrow and showing no intelligence, the cheek-bones prominent, and the mouth large. the teeth are white, but they do not stand in even rows: and their heads are covered by short, thick, rough hair.... their color is a dirty yellowish-brown.' _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . 'this race of indians is probably inferior to all others on the continent. many of them are diminutive in stature, but they do not lack muscular strength, and we saw some who were tall and well-formed.... their complexion is a dark mahogany, or often nearly black, their faces round or square, with features approximating nearer to the african than the indian. wide, enormous mouth, noses nearly flat, and hair straight, black, and coarse.... small, gleaming eyes.' _johnson's cal. and ogn._, pp. - . of good stature, strong and muscular. _bryant's cal._, p. . 'rather below the middle stature, but strong, well-knit fellows.... good-looking, and well limbed.' _kelly's excursion to cal._, vol. ii., pp. , . 'they were in general fine stout men.' a great diversity of physiognomy was noticeable. _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., pp. , . on the sacramento 'were fine robust men, of low stature, and badly formed.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . 'the mouth is very large, and the nose broad and depressed.' 'chiefly distinguished by their dark color ... broad faces, a low forehead.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'their features are coarse, broad, and of a dark chocolate color.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _nov. , _. at drake's bay, just above san francisco, the men are 'commonly so strong of body, that that which two or three of our men could hardly beare, one of them would take vpon his backe, and without grudging carrie it easily away, vp hill and downe hill an english mile together.' _drake's world encomp._, p. . 'los naturales de este sitio y puerto son algo trigueños, por lo quemados del sol, aunque los venidos de la otra banda del puerto y del estero ... son mas blancos y corpulentos.' _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. . 'ugly, stupid, and savage; otherwise they are well formed, tolerably tall, and of a dark brown complexion. the women are short, and very ugly; they have much of the negro in their countenance.... very long, smooth, and coal-black hair.' _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., pp. - . 'they all have a very savage look, and are of a very dark color.' _chamisso_, in _kotzebue's voy._, vol. iii., p. . 'ill made; their faces ugly, presenting a dull, heavy, and stupid countenance.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . the tcholovoni tribe 'differe beaucoup de toutes les autres par les traits du visage par sa physionomie, par un extèrieur assez agréable.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, part iii., p. ., plate vi., vii., xii. 'the alchones are of good height, and the tuluraios were thought to be, generally, above the standard of englishmen. their complexion is much darker than that of the south-sea islanders, and their features far inferior in beauty.' _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., p. . at santa clara they are 'of a blackish colour, they have flat faces, thick lips, and black, coarse, straight hair.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'their features are handsome, and well-proportioned; their countenances are cheerful and interesting.' _morrell's voy._, p. . at placerville they are 'most repulsive-looking wretches.... they are nearly black, and are exceedingly ugly.' _borthwick's three years in cal._, p. . in the yosemite valley 'they are very dark colored,' and 'the women are perfectly hideous.' _kneeland's wonders of yosemite_, p. . the monos on the east side of the sierra are 'a fine looking race, straight, and of good height, and appear to be active.' _von schmidt_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. - . at monterey 'ils sont en général bien faits, mais faibles d'esprit et de corps.' in the vicinity of san miguel, they are 'généralement d'une couleur foncée, sales et mal faits ... à l'exception tout fois des indiens qui habitent sur les bords de la rivière des tremblements de terre, et sur la côte voisine. ceux-ci sont blancs, d'une joli figure, et leurs cheveux tirent sur le roux.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., pp. , ; also quoted in _marmier_, _notice sur les indiens_, p. . 'sont généralement petits, faibles ... leur couleur est très-approchante de celle des nègres dont les cheveux ne sont point laineux: ceux de ces peuples sont longs et très-forts.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'la taille des hommes est plus haute (than that of the chilians), et leurs muscles mieux prononcés.' the figure of the women 'est plus élevée (than that of the chilian women), et la forme de leurs membres est plus régulière; elles sont en général d'une stature mieux développée et d'une physionomie moins repoussante.' _rollin_, in _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. iv., p. . at san josé 'the men are almost all rather above the middling stature, and well built; very few indeed are what may be called undersized. their complexions are dark but not negro like ... some seemed to possess great muscular strength; they have very coarse black hair.' some of the women were more than five feet six inches in height. and speaking of the californian indians, in general, 'they are of a middling, or rather of a low stature, and of a dark brown colour, approaching to black ... large projecting lips, and broad, flat, negro-like noses; ... bear a strong resemblance to the negroes.... none of the men we saw were above five feet high ... ill-proportioned ... we had never seen a less pleasing specimen of the human race.' _langsdorff's voy._, vol. ii., pp. - , , see plate. and speaking generally of the californian indians: 'die männer sind im allgemeinen gut gebaut und von starker körperbildung,' height 'zwischen fünf fuss vier zoll und fünf fuss zehn oder eilf zoll.' complexion 'die um ein klein wenig heller als bei den mulatten, also weit dunkler ist, als bei den übrigen indianerstämmen.' _osswald_, _californien_, p. . the coast indians 'are about five feet and a half in height, and rather slender and feeble,' in the interior they 'are taller and more robust.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . 'cubische schädelform, niedrige stirn, breites gesicht, mit hervorragendem jochbogen, breite lippen und grosser mund, mehr platte nase und am innenwinkel herabgezogene augen.' _wimmel_, _californien_, pp. v, . 'les californiens sont presque noirs; la disposition de leur yeux et l'ensemble de leur visage leur donnent avec les européens une ressemblance assez marquée.' _rossi_, _souvenirs_, pp. - . 'they are small in stature; thin, squalid, dirty, and degraded in appearance. in their habits little better than an ourang-outang, they are certainly the worst type of savage i have ever seen.' _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. . 'more swarthy in complexion, and of less stature than those east of the rocky mountains ... more of the asiatic cast of countenance than the eastern tribe.' _delano's life on the plains_, p. . 'dépasse rarement la hauteur de cinq pieds deux ou trois pouces; leur membres sont grêles et médiocrement musclés. ils ont de grosses lévres qui se projettent en avant, le nez large et aplati comme les ethiopiens; leurs cheveux sont noirs, rude et droits.' _auger_, _voy. en cal._, p. . 'generally of small stature, robust appearance, and not well formed.' _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. ii., p. . 'schön gewachsen und von schwärtzlich-brauner farbe.' _mühlenpfordt mejico_, tom. ii., part ii., p. . 'low foreheads and skins as black as guinea negroes.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. . 'en naissant les enfants sont presque blancs ... mais ils noircissent en grandissant.' 'depuis le nord du rio sacramento jusqu'au cap san lucas ... leurs caractères physique, leurs moeurs et leurs usages sont les mêmes.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., pp. , . 'skin of such a deep reddish-brown that it seems almost black.' _figuier's human race_, p. ; _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. sprache_, p. ; _forbes' cal._, pp. - ; _harper's monthly_, vol. xiii., p. . 'a fine set of men, who, though belonging to different nationalities, had very much the same outward appearance; so that when you have seen one you seem to have seen them all.' _pim and seemann's dottings_, p. . [ ] on the sacramento river 'the men universally had some show of a beard, an inch or so in length, but very soft and fine.' _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . 'they had beards and whiskers an inch or two long, very soft and fine.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . on russian river 'they have quite heavy moustaches and beards on the chin, but not much on the cheeks, and they almost all suffer it to grow.' the clear lake indians 'have also considerable beards, and hair on the person.' at the head of south fork of eel river, 'they pluck their beards.' gibbs, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. - . at monterey 'plusieurs ont de la barbe; d'autres, suivant les pères missionaires, n'en ont jamais eu, et c'est un question qui n'est pas même décidée dans le pays.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'les californiens ont la barbe plus fournie que les chiliens, et les parties génitales mieux garnies: cependant j'ai remarqué, parmi les hommes, un grand nombre d'individus totalement dépourvus de barbe; les femmes ont aussi peu de poil au pénil et aux aisselles.' _rollin_, in _la pérouse_, _voy._, vol. iv., p. . 'they have the habit common to all american indians of extracting the beard and the hair of other parts of their body.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . beards 'short, thin, and stiff.' _bartlett's nar._, vol. ii., p. . 'in general very scanty, although occasionally a full flowing beard is observed.' _forbes' cal._, pp. - . 'beards thin; many shave them close with mussel-shells.' _langsdorff's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'ihr bart ist schwach.' _wimmel_, _californien_, vol. v. at san antonio, 'in the olden times, before becoming christians, they pulled out their beards.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _april , _. choris in his _voy. pitt._, plates vi., vii., xii., of part iii., draws the indians with a very slight and scattered beard. 'pluck out their beard.' _auger_, _voy. in cal._, p. . 'wear whiskers.' _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. ii., p. . 'les indiens qui habitent dans la direction du cap de nouvel-an (del año nuevo) ... ont des moustaches.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. . mühlenpfordt mentions that at the death of a relation, 'die männer raufen haupthaar und bart sich aus.' _mejico_, vol. ii., part ii., p. . [ ] at fort ross 'die männer gehen ganz nackt, die frauen hingegen bedecken nur den mittleren theil des körpers von vorne und von hinten mit den fellen wilder ziegen; das haar binden die männer auf dem schopfe, die frauen am nacken in büschel zusammen; bisweilen lassen sie es frei herunter wallen; die männer heften die büschel mit ziemlich künstlich, aus einer rothen palme geschnitzten hölzchen fest.' _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, p. . at clear lake 'the women generally wear a small round, bowl-shaped basket on their heads; and this is frequently interwoven with the red feathers of the woodpecker, and edged with the plume tufts of the blue quail.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . see also p. , plate xiv., for plate of ornaments. at kelsey river, dress 'consists of a deer-skin robe thrown over the shoulders.' _id._, p. . in the sacramento valley 'they were perfectly naked.' _kelly's excursion to cal._, vol. ii., p. . 'both sexes have the ears pierced with large holes, through which they pass a piece of wood as thick as a man's finger, decorated with paintings or glass beads.' _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . 'the men go entirely naked; but the women, with intuitive modesty, wear a small, narrow, grass apron, which extends from the waist to the knees, leaving their bodies and limbs partially exposed.' _delano's life on the plains_, pp. , . 'they wear fillets around their heads of leaves.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . 'the dress of the women is a cincture, composed of narrow slips of fibrous bark, or of strings of 'californian flax,' or sometimes of rushes.' men naked. _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . at bodega they 'most liberally presented us with plumes of feathers, rosaries of bone, garments of feathers, as also garlands of the same materials, which they wore round their head.' _maurelle's jour._, p. . 'the women wore skins of animals about their shoulders and waists;' hair 'clubbed behind.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . around san francisco bay: 'in summer many go entirely naked. the women, however, wear a deer-skin, or some other covering about their loins; but skin dresses are not common.' to their ears the women 'attach long wooden cylinders, variously carved, which serve the double purpose of ear-rings and needle-cases.' _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'all go naked.' _chamisso_, in _kotzebue's voy._, vol. iii., p. . 'the men either go naked or wear a simple breech-cloth. the women wear a cloth or strips of leather around their loins.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. . three hundred years ago we are told that the men in the vicinity of san francisco bay 'for the most part goe naked; the women take a kinde of bulrushes, and kembing it after the manner of hemp, make themselues thereof a loose garment, which being knitte about their middles, hanges downe about their hippes, and so affordes to them a couering of that which nature teaches should be hidden; about their shoulders they weare also the skin of a deere, with the haire vpon it.' the king had upon his shoulders 'a coate of the skins of conies, reaching to his wast; his guard also had each coats of the same shape, but of other skin.... after these in their order, did follow the naked sort of common people, whose haire being long, was gathered into a bunch behind, in which stucke plumes of feathers; but in the forepart onely single feathers like hornes, every one pleasing himselfe in his owne device.' _drake's world encomp._, pp. , . 'asi como adamitas se presentan sin el menor rubor ni vergüenza (esto es, los hombres) y para librarse del frio que todo el año hace en esta mision (san francisco), principalmente las mañanas, se embarran con lodo, diciendo que les preserva de él, y en quanto empieza á calentar el sol se lavan: las mugeres andan algo honestas, hasta las muchachas chiquitas: usan para la honestidad de un delantar que hacen de hilos de tule, ó juncia, que no pasa de la rodilla, y otro atrás amarrados á la cintura que ambos forman como unas enaguas, con que se presentan con alguna honestidad, y en las espaldas se ponen otros semejantes para librarse en alguna manera del frio.' _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. . at monterey, and on the coast between monterey and santa barbara the dress 'du plus riche consiste en un manteau da peau de loutre qui couvre ses reins et descend au dessous des sines.... l'habillement des femmes est un manteau de peau de cerf mal tannée.... les jeunes filles au-dessous de neuf ans n'ont qu'une simple ceinture et les enfans de l'autre sexe sont tout nus.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., pp. - . 'ils se percent aussi les oreilles, et y portent des ornemens d'un genre et d'un gout trés-variés.' _rollin_, in _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'those between monterey and the extreme northern boundary of the mexican domain, shave their heads close.' _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, p. . on the coast between san diego and san francisco 'presque tous ... vont entierement nus; ceux qui ont quelques vêtements, n'ont autre chose qu'une casaque faite de courroies de peau de lapins, de lièvres ou de loutres tressés ensemble, et qui ont conservé le poil. les femmes ont une espèce de tablier de roseaux tressés qui s'attache autour de la taille par un cordon, et pend jusqu'aux genoux; une peau de cerf mal tannée et mal préparée, jetée sur leurs épaules en guise de manteau, compléte leur toilette.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. ; see also _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . 'sont tres peu couverts, et en été, la plupart vont tout nus. les femmes font usage de peaux de daim pour se couvrir.... ces femmes portent encore comme vêtement des espèces de couvertures sans envers, faites en plumes tissues ensemble ... il a l'avantage d'être très-chaud.... elles portent généralement, au lieu de boucles d'oreilles, des morceaux d'os ou de bois en forme de cylindre et sculptés de différentes manières. ces ornements sont creux et servent également d'étuis pour renfermer leurs aiguilles.' _petit-thouars_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . speaking generally of the californian indians, 'both sexes go nearly naked, excepting a sort of wrapper round the waist, only in the coldest part of the winter they throw over their bodies a covering of deer-skin, or the skin of the sea-otter. they also make themselves garments of the feathers of many different kinds of water fowl, particularly ducks and geese, bound together fast in a sort of ropes, which ropes are then united quite close so as to make something like a feather skin.' it is very warm. 'in the same manner they cut the sea-otter skins into small strips, which they twist together, and then join them as they do the feathers, so that both sides have the fur alike.' _langsdorff's voy._, vol. ii., pp. - . see also _farnham's life in cal._, p. , and _forbes' cal._, p. . 'im winter selbst tragen sie wenig bekleidung, vielleicht nur eine hirschhaut, welche sie über die schulter werfen; männer, frauen und kinder gehen selbst im winter im schnee barfuss.' _wimmel_, _californien_, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; _patrick, gilbert, heald, and von schmidt_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - ; _choris_, _voy. pitt._, part iii., p. , and plate xii.; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, vol. ii., part ii., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. ; _shea's catholic missions_, p. ; _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. ; _augur_, _voy. en cal._, p. . after having collated the above notes i was rather taken aback by meeting the following: 'the general costume of nearly all the californian indians gives them rather an interesting appearance; when fully dressed, their hair, which has been loose, is tied up, either with a coronet of silver, or the thongs of skin, ornamented with feathers of the brightest colours; bracelets made in a similar manner are wore; breeches and leggings of doe-skin, sewed, not unfrequently with human hair; a kind of kilt of varied coloured cloth or silk (!), fastened by a scarf, round their waist; ... the women wear a cloth petticoat, dyed either blue or red, doe-skin shirt, and leggings, with feathered bracelets round their waist.' _coulter's adventures_, vol. i., pp. - . surely mr coulter should know an indian dress from one composed of mexican cloth and trinkets. [ ] at bodega the women 'were as much tatooed or punctured as any of the females of the sandwich islands.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . in the sacramento valley 'most of the men had some slight marks of tattooing on the breast, disposed like a necklace.' _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . dana, in a note to hale, says: 'the faces of the men were colored with black and red paint, fancifully laid on in triangles and zigzag lines. the women were tattooed below the mouth.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'most of them had some slight marks of tattooing on their breast; somewhat similar to that of the chinooks.... the face was usually painted, the upper part of the cheek in the form of a triangle, with a blue-black substance, mixed with some shiny particles that looked like pulverized mica.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., pp. , . 'their faces daubed with a thick dark glossy substance like tar, in a line from the outside corners of the eyes to the ends of the mouth, and back from them to the hinge of the jawbone ... some also had their entire foreheads coated over.' _kelly's excursion to cal._, vol. ii., p. . 'the women are a little tattooed on the chin.' _pfeiffer's second journ._, p. . at monterey and vicinity, 'se peignent le corps en rouge, et en noir lorsqu'ils sont en deuil.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'se peignent la peau pour se parer.' _rollin_, in _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. iv., p. . 'this one thing was obserued to bee generall amongst them all, that euery one had his face painted, some with white, some blacke, and some with other colours.' _drake's world encomp._, p. . 'tattooing is practised in these tribes by both sexes, both to ornament the person and to distinguish one clan from another. it is remarkable that the women mark their chins precisely in the same way as the esquimaux.' _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'les indigènes indepéndents de la haute-californie sont tatoués ... ces signes servent d'ornement et de distinction, non seulement d'une tribu à une autre tribu, mais encore, d'une famille à une autre famille.' _petit-thouars_, _voy._, tom. ii., pp. - . 'tattooing is also used, but principally among the women. some have only a double or triple line from each corner of the mouth down to the chin; others have besides a cross stripe extending from one of these stripes to the other; and most have simple long and cross stripes from the chin over the neck down to the breast and upon the shoulders.' _langsdorff's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; see plate, p. . when dancing, 'ils se peignent sur le corps des lignes régulières, noires, rouges et blanches. quelques-uns ont la moitié du corps, depuis la tête jusqu'en bas, barbouillée de noir, et l'autre de rouge; le tout croisé par des raies blanches, d'autres se poudrent les cheveux avec du duvet d'oiseaux.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, part iii., p. ; see also plate xii. 'i have never observed any particular figured designs upon their persons, but the tattooing is generally on the chin, though sometimes on the wrist and arm.' mostly on the persons of the females. _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'les femmes seules emploient le tatouage.' _auger_, _voy. en cal._, p. . [ ] 'il est bien rare qu'un indien passe la nuit dans sa maison. vers le soir chacun prend son arc et ses flèches et va se réunir aux autres dans de grandes cavernes, parce-qu'ils craignent d'être attaqués a l'improviste par leurs ennemis et d'être surpris sans défense au milieu de leurs femmes et de leurs enfants.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., pp. - . [ ] two authors describe their dwellings as being much smaller than i have stated them to be: 'leur maisons ont quatre pieds de diamètre.' _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . their wigwams have 'une élévation au-dessus du sol de cinq à huit pieds et une circonférence de dix à douze.' _holinski_, _la californie_, p. . the authorities i have followed, and who agree in essential particulars, are: _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., pp. , ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. ; _pfeiffer's second journ._, pp. - ; _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. ; _fremont's explor. ex._, p. ; _kelly's excursion to cal._, vol. ii., pp. , ; _choris_, _voy. pitt._, part iii., p. ; _drake's world encomp._, p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. , with cut; _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., pp. , ; _palou_, _noticias_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., vol. vi., pp. , ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. ; _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. ; _delano's life on the plains_, p. ; _gerstäcker's journ._, p. ; _gilbert_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _patrick_, in _id._, p. ; _jewett_, in _id._, p. ; _bailey_, in _id._, , p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; _langsdorff's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _wimmel_, _californien_, pp. , ; _farnham's life in cal._, p. ; _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _baer_, _stat. und ethno._, p. ; _kostromitonow_, in _id._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., p. ; _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. ii., p. ; _roquefeuil's voy. round the world_, p. ; _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., pp. , . [ ] wilkes, and the majority of writers, assert that the acorns are sweet and palatable in their natural state; kostromitonow, however, says: 'nachdem die eicheln vom baume gepflückt sind, werden sie in der sonne gedörrt, darauf gereinigt und in körben mittelst besonders dazu behauener steine gestossen, dann wird im sande oder sonst wo in lockerer erde eine grube gegraben, die eicheln werden hineingeschüttet und mit wasser übergossen, welches beständig von der erde eingezogen wird. dieses ausspülen wiederholt man so lange bis die eicheln alle ihre eigenthümliche bitterkeit verloren haben.' _baer_, _stat. und ethno._, p. . the acorn bread 'looks and tastes like coarse black clay, strongly resembling the soundings in hampton roads, and being about as savory and digestible.' _revere's tour_, p. . never having eaten 'coarse black clay,' i cannot say how it tastes, but according to all other authorities, this bread, were it not for the extreme filthiness of those who prepare it, would be by no means disagreeable food. [ ] pinole is an aztec word, and is applied to any kind of grain or seeds, parched and ground, before being made into dough. '_pinolli_, la harina de mayz y chia, antes que la deslian.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. the aztecs made pinole chiefly of maize or indian corn. [ ] 'nos trageron su regalo de tamales grandes de mas de á tercia con su correspondiente grueso, amasados de semillas silvestres muy prietas que parecen brea; los probé y no tienen mal gusto y son muy mantecosos.' _palou_, _noticias_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. vii., p. . among the presents given to drake by the indians was 'a roote which they call petáh, whereof they make a kind of meale, and either bake it into bread or eate it raw; broyled fishes, like a pilchard; the seede and downe aforenamed, with such like.' _drake's world encomp._, p. . catch salmon in baskets. 'they neither sow nor reap, but burn their meadows from time to time to increase their fertility.' _chamisso_, in _kotzebue's voy._, vol. iii., p. . 'les rats, les insectes, les serpentes, tout sans exception leur sert de nourriture.... ils sont trop maladroits et trop paresseux pour chasser.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, part iii., p. . 'entre ellas tienen una especie de semilla negra, y de su harina hacen unos tamales, á modo de bolas, de tamaño de una naranja, que son muy sabrosos, que parecen de almendra tostada muy mantecosa.' _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. ; _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'their fastidiousness does not prompt them to take the entrails out' of fishes and birds. _delano's life on the plains_, p. . 'live upon various plants in their several seasons, besides grapes, and even use the artemesia.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., pp. , . 'ils trouvent aussi autour d'eux une quantité d'aloès dont ils font un fréquent usage.... ils utilisent éncore la racine d'une espèce de roseau.... ils mangent aussi une fleur sucrée qui ressemble à celle de l'églantier d'espagne, et qui croît dans les endroits marécageux.' _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, pp. - , . were cannibals and their sorcerers still eat human flesh. _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., pp. , - . the meewocs 'eat all creatures that swim in the waters, all that fly through the air, and all that creep, crawl, or walk upon the earth, with, perhaps a dozen exceptions.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. . 'ils se nourrissent également d'une espèce de gâteaux fabriqués avec du gland, et qu'ils roulent dans le sable avant de le livrer à la cuisson; de là vient qu'ils sont, jeunes encore, les dents usées jusqu'à la racine, et ce n'est pas, comme le dit malte-brun, parce qu'ils ont l'habitude de les limer.' _auger_, _voy. en cal._, p. . 'while i was standing there a couple of pretty young girls came from the woods, with flat baskets full of flower-seed, emitting a peculiar fragrance, which they also prepared for eating. they put some live coals among the seed, and swinging it and throwing it together, to shake the coals and the seed well, and bring them in continual and close contact without burning the latter, they roasted it completely, and the mixture smelled so beautiful and refreshing that i tasted a good handful of it, and found it most excellent.' _gerstaecker's journ._, p. . see farther: _humboldt_, _pol._, tom. i., pp. - ; _holinski_, _la californie_, p. ; _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. - , ; _wimmel_, _californien_, pp. , ; _kelly's excursion to cal._, vol. ii., p. ; _taylor's el dorado_, vol. i., p. ; _king's rept._, in _taylor's el dorado_, vol. ii., p. ; _langsdorff's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. ; _petit-thouars_, _voy._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _fremont's explor. ex._, pp. , ; _johnson's cal. and ogn._, p. ; _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. ; _placerville index_, _aug., _; _henley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _patrick, mcdermott, gilbert, benitz, jannson, von schmidt, mcadam, bowlby, and jewett_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , - ; _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. ; _helper's land of gold_, pp. - ; _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. iii., pp. - ; _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - ; _thornton's ogn. and cal._, pp. - , , ; _yate's sketch of the sacramento valley in , ms._; _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. ; _mcdaniels' early days of cal. ms._; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., pp. , ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., pp. - ; _knight's pioneer life, ms._ [ ] when the indian finds a tree stocked by the carpenter bird he 'kindles a fire at its base and keeps it up till the tree falls, when he helps himself to the acorns.' _helper's land of gold_, p. . [ ] _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'when a sturgeon is caught, the spinal marrow, which is considered a delicacy, is drawn out whole, through a cut made in the back, and devoured raw.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] _browne_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xxiii., p. . [ ] 'they cook the flesh of this animal in holes dug in the ground and curbed up with stone like wells. over this they build large fires, heat them thoroughly, clean out the coals and ashes, fill them with whale flesh, cover the opening with sticks, leaves, grass and earth, and thus bake their repast.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. - . 'ils font rôtir cette chair dans des trous creusés en terre.' _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . [ ] _johnson's cal. and ogn._, p. ; _powers' account of john a. sutter, ms._; and _id._, _letter to the author, ms._ [ ] 'reinlichkeit kennen sie nicht, und in ihren hütten sind die diversesten parasiten vertreten.' _wimmel_, _californien_, p. . 'i have seen them eating the vermin which they picked from each other's heads, and from their blankets. although they bathe frequently, they lay for hours in the dirt, basking in the sun, covered with dust.' _delano's life on the plains_, p. . 'in their persons they are extremely dirty.' eat lice like the tartars. _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'very filthy, and showed less sense of decency in every respect than any we had ever met with.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] 'ein bogen mit pfeilen und ein spiess sind ihre waffen; alles dieses wird meistens aus jungem tannenholz verfertigt. die spitzen der pfeile und spiesse bestehen aus scharfen, künstlich behauenen steinen, zur bogensehne nehmen sie die sehnen wilder ziegen; ausserdem führen sie in kriegszeiten eine art von schleuder, mit welcher sie steine auf eine grosse entfernung werfen.' _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, p. . bow 'from three to four and a half feet long.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . 'their arms are clubs, spears of hard wood, and the bow and arrow.... arrows are mostly made of reeds.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _feb. , _. 'die einzige waffe zur erlegung des wildes ist ihnen der bogen und pfeil.' _wimmel_, _californien_, p. . 'their only arms were bows and arrows.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . bows 'about thirty inches long ... arrows are a species of reed ... spears are pointed with bone.' _delano's life on the plains_, p. . 'the quiver of dressed deer-skin, holds both bow and arrows.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'the point (of the arrow) itself is a piece of flint chipped down into a flat diamond shape, about the size of a diamond on a playing-card; the edges are very sharp, and are notched to receive the tendons with which it is firmly secured to the arrow.' _borthwick's three years in cal._, p. . 'arrows are pointed with flint, as are also their spears, which are very short. they do not use the tomahawk or scalping knife.' _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. ii., p. . 'leurs armes sont l'arc et les flèches armées d'un silex très-artistement travaillé.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'ces arcs sont encore garnis, au milieu, d'une petite lanière de cuir, qui a pour object d'empêcher la flèche de dévier de la position qu'on lui donne en la posant sur l'arc.... ils prétendent que cette précaution rend leurs coups encore plus sûrs. les flèches sont moins longues que l'arc, elles ont ordinairement de à centimètres de long, elles sont faites d'un bois très-léger et sont égales en grosseur à chaque extrémité ... l'autre extrémité de la flèche est garnie, sur quatre faces, de barbes en plumes qui ont centimètres de longueur sur , millimètres de hauteur.' _petit-thouars_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . they 'maintain armories to make their bows, and arrows, and lances.' arrows 'are tipped with barbed obsidian heads ... the shaft is ornamented with rings of the distinguishing paint of the owner's rancheria. their knives and spear-points are made of obsidian and flint.' arrows are of two kinds, 'one short and light for killing game, and the other a war-shaft measuring a cloth-yard in length.' _revere's tour_, pp. - . 'ces flèches offrent peu de danger à une certaine distance, à cause de la parabole qu'elles sont forcées de décrire, et qui donne à celui que les voit venir la temps de les éviter.' _auger_, _voy. en cal._, p. . 'la corde, faite avec du chanvre sylvestre, est garnie d'un petit morceau de peau qui en étouffe le sifflement.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. ; see _atlas_, plate . 'ihre waffen bestehen nur in bogen und pfeil.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., part ii., p. . 'they have no offensive arms at all, except bows and arrows, and these are small and powerless.... arrows are about two feet long.' _gerstaecker's journ._, p. . 'sometimes the bow is merely of wood and rudely made.' _chamisso_, in _kotzebue's voy._, vol. iii., p. . 'their weapons consist only of bows and arrows; neither the tomahawk nor the spear is ever seen in their hands.' _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'a portion of the string is covered with downy fur' to deaden the sound. arrows are invariably pointed with flint. they have 'sometimes wooden barbs.' javelins pointed with flint, or sometimes simply sharpened at the end. _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . arrows were about three feet long, and pointed with flint. short spears also pointed with flint. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . 'traian unas lanzas cortas con su lengüeta de pedernal tan bien labradas como si fuesen de hierro ó acero, con solo la diferencia de no estar lisas.' _palou_, _noticias_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. vii., p. . 'los mas de ellos traian varas largas en las manos á modo de lanzas.' _id._, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; _langsdorff's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _life of gov. l. w. boggs, by his son, ms._ [ ] _petit-thouars_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. ; _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . it is impossible to locate with certainty the san miguel of fages. there are now several places of the name in california, of which the san miguel in san luis obispo county comes nearest the region in which, to agree with his own narrative, fages must have been at the time. the cimeter mentioned by him, must have strongly resembled the _maquahuitl_ of the ancient mexicans, and it was possibly much farther south that he saw it. [ ] _powers' pomo, ms._; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . [ ] _butte record_, _aug., ._ [ ] 'suelen entrar en ella entonando cánticos militares mezclados de extraños alaridos; y acostumbran formarse los campeones en dos lineas muy próximas para empezar disparándose flechazos. como uno de sus principales ardides consiste en intimidar al enemigo, para conseguirlo procura cada partido que oiga el contrario los preparativos de la batalla.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . 'on coming in sight of the enemy they form in an extended line, something like light infantry, and shouting, like bacchanals dance from side to side to prevent the foe from taking deliberate aim.' _revere's tour_, p. . [ ] in the vicinity of fort ross: 'in ihren kriegen wird unerschrockenheit geachtet; gefangene feinde tödtet man nicht, sondern wechselt sie nach beendigtem kampfe aus; nie verurtheilt man sie zu sklaven.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, p. . near feather river 'they carry off their dead to prevent their being scalped, which next after death they are most fearful of.' _kelly's excursion to cal._, vol. ii., p. . in the sacramento valley 'the californians differ from the other north american tribes in the absence of the tomahawk and of the practice of scalping.' _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . at clear lake, 'they do not scalp the slain.' _revere's tour_, p. . in the vicinity of san francisco 'occasionally, they appear to have eaten pieces of the bodies of their more distinguished adversaries killed in battle.' _soulé's annals of san francisco_, p. . at monterey, 'lorsqu'ils avaient vaincu et mis à mort sur le champ de bataille des chefs ou des hommes très-courageux, ils en mangeaient quelques morceaux, moins en signe de haine et de vengeance, que comme un hommage qu'ils rendaient à leur valeur, et dans la persuasion qua cette nourriture était propre à augmenter leur courage.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'muchos indios armados de arco y flechas y llamándolos vinieron luego y me regularon muchos de ellos flechas, que es entre ellos la mayor demostracion de paz.' _palou_, _noticias_, in _doc. mex. hist._, serie iv., tom. vii., p. . at santa cruz they eat slices of the flesh of a brave fallen enemy, thinking to gain some of his valour. they 'take the scalps of their enemies ... they pluck out the eyes of their enemies.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . 'gefangene werden nicht lange gehalten, sondern gleich getödtet.' _wimmel_, _californien_, p. . in order to intimidate their enemies 'cometen con el propio fin en las primeras víctimas las crueldades mas horrorosas.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_ p. . [ ] _drake's world encomp._, p. . [ ] 'make baskets of the bark of trees.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . 'make a very ingenious straw box for keeping their worm bait alive; burying it in the earth, yet not allowing the worms to escape.' _kneeland's wonders of yosemite_, p. . 'die gewöhnlichste form für den korb ist halbconisch, fuss lang und zoll breit.' _wimmel_, _californien_, p. . 'their baskets, made of willows, are perfectly water-tight.' _delano's life on the plains_, p. . 'they sometimes ornament the smaller ones with beads, pearl-shell, feathers, &c.' _revere's tour_, p. 'leurs mortiers de pierre et divers autres utensiles sont artistiquement incrustés de morceaux de nacre de perle ... garnissent leur calebasses et leur cruches d'ouvrages de vannerie brodés avec des fils-déliés qu'elles tirent de diverses racines.' _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. ; _langsdorff's voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _fremont's explor. ex._, p. ; _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. ; _chamisso_, in _kotzebue's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _borthwick's three years in cal._, p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _maurelle's jour._, p. . at clear lake 'their canoes or rather rafts are made of bundles of the tulé plant.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . at san francisco bay and vicinity 'the only canoes of the indians are made of plaited reeds.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'they do not possess horses or canoes of any kind; they only know how to fasten together bundles of rushes, which carry them over the water by their comparative lightness.' _chamisso_, in _kotzebue's voy._, vol. iii., p. . 'les indiens font leur pirogues à l'instant où ils veulent entreprendre un voyage par eau; elles sont en roseaux. lorsque l'on y entre elles s'emplissent à moitié d'eau; de sorte qu'assis, l'on en a jusqu'au gras de la jambe; on les fait aller avec des avirons extrêmement longs, et pointus aux deux extremités.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, part iii., p. . had no boats, but it was reported that they had previously used boats made of rushes. _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . 'the most rude and sorry contrivances for embarcation i had ever beheld.... they were constructed of rushes and dried grass of a long broad leaf, made up into rolls the length of the canoe, the thickest in the middle and regularly tapering to a point at each end ... appeared to be very ill calculated to contend with wind and waves.... they conducted their canoe or vessel by long double-bladed paddles, like those used by the esquimaux.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'the balsas are entirely formed of the bulrush ... commonly the rowers sit on them soaked in water, as they seldom rise above the surface.' _forbes' cal._, p. . build no canoes, but occasionally make use of rafts composed of one or two logs, generally split. _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . 'the "balsa" is the only thing of the boat kind known among them. it is constructed entirely of bulrushes ... sit flat upon the craft, soaked in water, plying their paddles ... most of them in all kinds of weather, are either below, or on a level with the water.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . 'my opinion is that the indians of california, previous to the occupation by the jesuit fathers had no other boats than those made from the tule, and even as late as , i never knew or heard of an indian using any other.' _phelps' letter, ms._ [ ] _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. ; _cronise's nat. wealth_, p. . [ ] _roquefeuil's voy._, pp. - . tule is an aztec word, from _tollin_, signifying rushes, flags, or reeds. _molina_, _vocabulario._ mendoza says that when the ancient mexicans arrived at the site of mexico, it was a complete swamp, covered 'con grandes matorrales de enea, que llaman _tuli_.' _esplicacion del codice_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. . that the spaniards themselves had not boats at this time is also asserted by kotzebue: 'that no one has yet attempted to build even the simplest canoe in a country which produces a superabundance of the finest wood for the purpose, is a striking proof of the indolence of the spaniards, and the stupidity of the indians.' _new voy._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] _phelps' letter, ms._ [ ] _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'sending off a man with great expedition, to vs in a canow.' _drake's world encomp._, p. . [ ] the shells 'they broke and rubbed down to a circular shape, to the size of a dime, and strung them on a thread of sinews.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _march , _. 'three kinds of money were employed ... white shell-beads, or rather buttons, pierced in the centre and strung together, were rated at $ a yard; periwinkles, at $ a yard; fancy marine shells, at various prices, from $ to $ , or $ , according to their beauty.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. . [ ] the office of chief is hereditary in the male line only. the widows and daughters of the chiefs are, however, treated with distinction, and are not required to work, as other women. _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., p. . in one case near clear lake, when 'the males of a family had become extinct and a female only remained, she appointed a chief.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . at the port of sardinas 'durmió dos noches en la capitana una india anciana, que era señora de estos pueblos, acompañada de muchos indios.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. xxxii. [ ] the kainameahs had three hereditary chiefs. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] in russian river valley and the vicinity: 'die achtung die man für den vater hegte, geht häufig auf den sohn über; aber die gewalt des oberhauptes ist im allgemeinen sehr nichtig; denn es steht einem jeden frei, seinen geburtsort zu verlassen und einen anderen aufenthalt zu wählen.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, pp. - . 'derjenige, der am meisten anverwandte besitzt, wird als häuptling oder tojon anerkannt; in grösseren wohnsitzen giebt es mehrere solcher tojone, aber ihre autorität ist nichts sagend. sie haben weder das recht zu befehlen, noch den ungehorsam zu züchtigen.' _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, p. . at clear lake chiefdom was hereditary. _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . see also pp. , . among the gualalas and gallinomeros, chieftainship was hereditary. the sanéls live in large huts, each containing or persons related to each other, each of these families has its own government. the comachos paid voluntary tribute for support of chief. _powers' pomo, ms._ in the sacramento valley a chief has more authority than that arising merely from his personal character. _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . on the coast between san diego and san francisco, in the vicinity of san miguel 'chaque village est gouverné despotiquement par un chef qui est seul arbitre de la paix et de la guerre.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. . see also _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. ; _jewett_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _gerstaecker's journ._, p. ; _histoire chrétienne de la cal._, p. ; _wimmel_, _californien_, pp. - . [ ] 'el robo era un delito casi desconocido en ambas naciones. entre los runsienes se miraba quasi con indiferencia el homicidio; pero no así entre los eslenes, los quales castigaban al delinquente con pena de muerte.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . 'im fall ein indianer ein verbrechen in irgend einem stamme verübt hat, und die häuptlinge sich bestimmt haben ihn zu tödten, so geschieht dies durch bogen und pfeil.' _wimmel_, _californien_, pp. - ; _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. xii., p. . [ ] _drake's world encomp._, pp. - . [ ] _wimmel_, _californien_, p. . [ ] near san francisco, 'teniendo muchas mugeres, sin que entre ellas se experimente la menor emulacion.' _palou_, _vida de junipero serra_, p. . at monterey 'la polygamie leur était permise.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . in tuolumne county 'polygamy is practiced.' _healey_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . at clear lake 'polygamy is practiced only by the chiefs.' _revere's tour_, p. . 'bei manchen stämmen wird vielweiberei gestattet.' _wimmel_, _californien_, p. . 'a man often marries a whole family, the mother and her daughters.... no jealousies ever appear among these families of wives.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . 'an indian man may have as many wives as he can keep; but a woman cannot have a plurality of husbands, or men to whom she owes obedience.' _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . in the sacramento valley 'the men in general have but one wife.' _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., p. . 'of these indians it is reported that no one has more than one wife.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . 'entre los runsienes y eslenes no era permitido á cada hombre tener mas de una muger.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . at clear lake and down the coast to san francisco bay 'they have but one wife at a time.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . in the vicinity of fort ross 'es ist nicht erlaubt mehr als eine frau zu haben.' _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, p. . in the country round san miguel 'non-seulement ce capitaine a le droit d'avoir deux femmes, tandis que les autres indiens n'en ont qu'une, mais il peut les renvoyer quand cela lui plaît, pour en prendre d'autres dans le village.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. . see also _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . [ ] at monterey, 'ils étaient même dans l'usage d'épouser toutes les soeurs d'une famille.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . near fort ross, 'die blutsverwandtschaft wird streng beachtet und es ist nicht gestattet aus dem ersten oder zweiten grade der verwandtschaft zu heirathen; selbst im falle einer scheidung darf der nächste anverwandte die frau nicht ehelichen, doch giebt es auch ausnahmen.' _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, p. . at san francisco 'no conocen para sus casamientos el parentezco de afinidad; antes bien este los incita á recibir por sus propias mugeres á sus cuñadas, y aun á las suegras, y la costumbre que observan es, que el que logra una muger, tiene por suyas á todas sus hermanas.' _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. . 'parentage and other relations of consanguinity are no obstacles to matrimony.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . 'souvent une femme presse son mari d'épouser ses soeurs, et même sa mère, et cette proposition est fréquemment acceptée.' _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . 'este método de comprar las mugeres era comun á entrambas naciones (runsienes y eslenes), bien que entre los runsienes hacia mucho mas solemne el contrato la intervencion de los parientes de los novios, contribuyendo los del varon con su quota, la qual se dividia entre los de la novia al tiempo de entregar á esta.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage._ p. . [ ] _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . [ ] _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. xii., p. . [ ] _delano's life on the plains_, p. . at santa cruz, 'the gentile indian, when he wishes to marry, goes to the hut of her he desires for a wife, and sitting himself close by her, sighs without speaking a word, and casting at her feet some beads on a string, goes out, and without further ceremony he is married.' _comellas' letter_, in _cal. farmer_, _april , _. at clear lake 'rape exists among them in an authorized form, and it is the custom for a party of young men to surprise and ravish a young girl, who becomes the wife of one of them.' _revere's tour_, pp. - . [ ] _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . at clear lake 'if the parties separate the children go with the wife.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] _powers' pomo, ms._ [ ] 'the yukas are often brutal and cruel to their women and children, especially to the women.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ix., p. . in the vicinity of fort ross, 'sie lieben ihre kinder mit grosser zärtlichkeit.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, p. . [ ] _wimmel_, _californien_, p. . 'the practice of abortion, so common among the chinooks and some other tribes in oregon, is unknown here.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. - . [ ] mr powers, in his _pomo, ms._, makes this assertion upon what he states to be reliable authority. [ ] for a full account of this custom of the couvade, as it existed in various parts of the world, see _tylor's researches_, pp. - , and _max müller's chips_, vol. ii., pp. - . for its observance in california, see _venagas_, _noticias de cal._, tom. i., p. , and _farnham's life in cal._, p. . [ ] 'it was not a thing at all uncommon, in the days of the indians' ancient prosperity, to see a woman become a mother at twelve or fourteen. an instance was related to me where a girl had borne her first-born at ten, as nearly as her years could be ascertained, her husband, a white man, being then sixty-odd.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ix., p. . [ ] for further authorities on family and domestic affairs, see: _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _delano's life on the plains_, pp. ; _forbes' cal._, p. ; _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., pp. - . also quoted in _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, pp. - ; _wimmel_, _californien_, p. ; _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - ; _comellas' letter_, in _cal. farmer_, _april , _; _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. ; _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ix., pp. , - , vol. x., p. ; _pickering's races_, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. ix., pp. - ; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - ; _borthwick's three years in cal._, p. ; _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. ; _rollin_, in _id._, tom. iv., pp. - ; _laplace_, _circumnav._, tom. vi., p. ; _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. - ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., pp. , ; _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. ; _gilbert, mcadam, and jewett_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - ; _revere's tour_, p. ; _reid_, in _los angeles star_, ; _farnham's life in cal._, pp. - ; _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, p. ; _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, pp. - . [ ] every traveler who has seen them dance enters into details of dress, etc.; but no two of these accounts are alike, and the reason of this is that they have no regular figures or costumes peculiar to their dances, but that every man, when his dress is not paint only, wears all the finery he possesses with an utter disregard for uniformity. 'at some of their dances we were told that they avoid particular articles of food, even fowls and eggs.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . dancing is executed at santa cruz, by forming a circle, assuming a stooping posture, raising a loud, discordant chant, and, without moving from their places, lifting and lowering a foot, and twisting the body into various contortions. _archives of santa cruz mission._ 'in their dances they sometimes wear white masks.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . 'se poudrent les cheveux avec du duvet d'oiseaux.' _choris_, _voy. pitt._, part iii., p. . when a wallie chief 'decides to hold a dance in his village, he dispatches messengers to the neighboring rancherias, each bearing a string whereon is tied a certain number of knots. every morning thereafter the invited chief unties one of the knots, and when the last but one is reached, they joyfully set forth for the dance.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. . for descriptions of dances of neeshenams, see _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. xii., pp. - . [ ] 'each one had two and sometimes three whistles, made of reeds, in his mouth.' _san francisco bulletin_, _oct. , ._ 'some had whistles or double flageolets of reed which were stuck into their noses.' _revere's tour_, p. . 'the gentiles do not possess any instrument whatever.' _comellas' letter_, in _cal. farmer_, _april , _. 'their own original instrument consists of a very primitive whistle, some double, some single, and held in the mouth by one end, without the aid of the fingers; they are about the size and length of a common fife, and only about two notes can be sounded on them.' _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _. [ ] 'they use a species of native tobacco of nauseous and sickening odour.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'they burned the aulone shell for the lime to mix with their tobacco, which they swallowed to make them drunk.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _april , _. 'a species of tobacco is found on the sandy beaches which the indians prepare and smoke.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. . 'se pusieron á chupar y reparé en ellos la misma ceremonia de esparcir el humo hácia arriba diciendo en cada bocanada unas palabras; solo entendí una que fué _esmen_ que quiere decir sol; observé la misma costumbre de chupar primero el mas principal, luego da la pipa á otro, y da vuelta á otros.' _palou_, _noticias_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. vii., p. ; see also p. . [ ] on the subject of amusements, see _kotzebue's voy._, vol. i., p. . _delano's life on the plains_, p. ; _helper's land of gold_, pp. - ; _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, pp. , - ; _kostromitonow_, in _id._, pp. - ; _holinski_, _la californie_, p. ; _comellas' letter_, in _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _; _wimmel_, _californien_, p. ; _drake's world encomp._, p. ; _revere's tour_, pp. - ; _san francisco bulletin_, _oct. , _, _nov. , _; _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ix., pp. - , - , vol. x., pp. - ; _power's pomo, ms._; _laplace_, _circumnav._, tom. vi., p. ; _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. ; _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. iii., pp. - ; _farnham's life in cal._, p. ; _hist. chrétienne_, pp. - ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pp. ii., p. ; _choris_, _voy. pitt._, pt. iii., pp. - ; _la pérouse_, _voy._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] the meewocs 'believe that their male physicians, who are more properly sorcerers, can sit on a mountain top fifty miles distant from a man they wish to destroy, and compass his death by filliping poison towards him from their finger-ends.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. . [ ] 'i incautiously entered one of these caverns during the operation above described, and was in a few moments so nearly suffocated with the heat, smoke, and impure air, that i found it difficult to make my way out.' _bryant's cal._, p. . [ ] 'zur heilung bedienen sich die schamane der kräuter und wurzeln, grösstentheils aber saugen sie mit dem munde das blut aus der kranken stelle aus, wobei sie steinchen oder kleine schlangen in den mund nehmen und darauf versichern, sie hätten dieselben aus der wunde herausgezogen.' _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, p. ; see also pp. , , - . 'until now it has not been ascertained that the indians had any remedy for curing the sick or allaying their sufferings. if they meet with an accident they invariably die.' _comellas' letter_, in _cal. farmer_, _april , _. 'ring-worm is cured by placing the milk of the poison oak in a circle round the affected part.' _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. iii., p. . 'among the meewocs stomachic affections and severe travail are treated with a plaster of hot ashes and moist earth spread on the stomach.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. x., p. . see further: _petit-thouars_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. ; _farnham's life in cal._, p. ; _holinski_, _la californie_, p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. ; _beechey's voy._, vol. ii., pp. , ; _san joaquin republican_, _sept., _; _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. iv., p. ; _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., pp. , ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. ; _pickering's races_, in _id._, vol. ix., p. ; _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. ; also quoted in _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. ; _kneeland's wonders of yosemite_, p. ; _kelly's excursion to cal._, vol. ii., p. ; _powers' pomo, ms._; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. ; _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. ii., p. ; _delano's life on the plains_, p. ; _laplace_, _circumnav._, tom. vi., p. . [ ] 'from north to south, in the present california, up to the columbia river they burnt the dead in some tribes, and in others buried them. these modes of sepulture differed every few leagues.' _taylor's indianology_, in _cal. farmer_, _june , _. a dead oleepa was buried by one woman in 'a pit about four feet deep, and ten feet in front of the father's door.' _delano's life on the plains_, p. . at santa cruz 'the gentiles burn the bodies of their warriors and allies who fall in war; those who die of natural death they inter at sundown.' _comellas' letter_, in _cal. farmer_, _april , _. the indians of the bay of san francisco burned their dead with everything belonging to them, 'but those of the more southern regions buried theirs.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . in the vicinity of clear lake all the tribes with the exception of the yubas bury their dead. _geiger_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] 'los runsienes dividian últimamente entre los parientes las pocas cosas que componian la propiedad del difunto. los eslenes, al contrario, no solo no repartian cosa alguna, sino que todos sus amigos y súbditos debian contribuir con algunos abalorios que enterraban con el cadáver del fallecido.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . 'if a woman dies in becoming a mother, the child, whether living or dead, is buried with its mother.' _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] 'die nächsten anverwandten schneiden sich das haar ab und werfen es ins feuer, wobei sie sich mit steinen an die brust schlagen, auf den boden stürzen, ja bisweilen aus besonderer anhänglichkeit zu dem verstorbenen sich blutrünstig oder gar zu tode stossen; doch sind solche fälle selten.' _kostromitonow_, in _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, p. . 'the body is consumed upon a scaffold built over a hole, into which the ashes are thrown and covered.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . see also: _tehama gazette_, _may, _; _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. - ; _powers' pomo, ms._; also in _overland monthly_, vol. ix., p. , vol. x., p. , vol. xii., p. ; _san francisco evening bulletin_, _april , _; _macfie's vanc. isl._, pp. - ; _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. ; _placerville index_, ; _marmier_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, pp. , ; _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. iii., p. ; _wimmel_, _californien_, p. ; _farnham's life in cal._, p. ; _folsom dispatch_, in _cal. farmer_, _nov. , _; _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. ; _henley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _forbes' cal._, p. . [ ] in the russian river valley the indians 'sind weichherzig, und von natur nicht rachsüchtig ... sie erlernen mit leichtigkeit mancherlei handarbeiten und gewerbe.' _baer_, _stat. u. ethno._, pp. - . near fort ross 'sind sie sanft und friedfertig, und sehr fähig, besonders in der auffassung sinnlicher gegenstände. nur in folge ihrer unmässigen trägheit und sorglosigkeit scheinen sie sehr dumm zu seyn.' _kostromitonow_, in _id._, pp. - . 'they appear ... by no means so stupid' as those at the missions. _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . at bodega bay 'their disposition is most liberal.' _maurelle's jour._, p. . at clear lake 'they are docile, mild, easily managed ... roguish, ungrateful, and incorrigibly lazy ... cowardly and cringing towards the whites ... thorough sensualists and most abandoned gamblers ... wretchedly improvident.' _revere's tour_, pp. - . in the sacramento valley they are 'excessively jealous of their squaws ... stingy and inhospitable.' _kelly's excursion to cal._, vol. ii., p. . 'a mirthful race, always disposed to jest and laugh.' _dana_, in _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'possessed of mean, treacherous, and cowardly traits of character, and the most thievish propensities.' _johnson's cal. and ogn._, p. . in the vicinity of san francisco bay 'they are certainly a race of the most miserable beings i ever saw, possessing the faculty of human reason.' _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . 'for the most part an idle, intemperate race.' _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. ii., p. . 'they are a people of a tractable, free, and louing nature, without guile or treachery.' _drake's world encomp._, p. . 'bastantes rancherias de gentiles muy mansos y apacibles.' _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. vi., p. . 'son muy mansos, afables, de buenas caras y los mas de ellos barbados.' _palou_, _noticias_, in _id._, tom. vii., p. . at monterey they 'étaient lourds et peu intelligents.' those living farther from the missions were not without 'une certaine finesse, commune à tous les hommes élevés dans l'état de nature.' _petit-thouars_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'ces peuples sont si peu courageux, qu'ils n'opposent jamais aucune résistance aux trois ou quatre soldats qui violent si évidement à leur égard le droit des gens.' _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'the yukas are a tigerish, truculent, sullen, thievish, and every way bad, but brave race.' _powers_, in _overland monthly_, vol. ix., p. . the tahtoos were very cowardly and peace-loving. _powers' pomo, ms._ than the oleepas 'a more jolly, laughter-loving, careless, and good-natured people do not exist.... for intelligence they are far behind the indians east of the rocky mountains.' _delano's life on the plains_, p. . the kannimares 'were considered a brave and warlike indian race.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _march , _. the condition of the wallas 'is the most miserable that it is possible to conceive; their mode of living, the most abject and destitute known to man.' _henley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the fresno river indians 'are peaceable, quiet and industrious.' _henley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . a rational, calculating people, generally industrious. _lewis_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . on the coast range north and east of mendocino 'they are a timid and generally inoffensive race.' _bailey_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . in placer county they are industrious, honest, and temperate; the females strictly virtuous. _brown_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . lazy, trifling, drunken. _applegate_, _ib._ in tuolumne: friendly, generally honest, truthful; men lazy, women industrious. _jewett_, _id._, p. . in the yosemite valley, 'though low in the scale of man, they are not the abject creatures generally represented; they are mild, harmless, and singularly honest.' _kneeland's wonders of yosemite_, p. . at santa clara they have no ambition, are entirely regardless of reputation and renown. _vancouver's voy._, vol. ii., p. . in stupid apathy 'they exceed every race of men i have ever known, not excepting the degraded races of terra del fuego or van dieman's land.' _kotzebue's new voy._, vol. ii., p. . at santa cruz 'they are so inclined to lying that they almost always will confess offences they have not committed;' very lustful and inhospitable. _comellas' letter_, in _cal. farmer_, _april , _. at kelsey river they are 'amiable and thievish.' _gibbs_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . 'in general terms, the california indians are more timid, peaceable, and joyous than any of their neighbors.' _stephens_, in _powers' pomo, ms._ 'their stupidity, insensibility, ignorance, inconstancy, slavery to appetite, excessive sloth and laziness, being absorbed for the time in the stir and din of night-watching and battle, give them a new existence.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . 'faul und jeder anstrengung abgeneigt.' _osswald_, _californien_, p. . 'stupidity seemed to be their distinctive character.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. . 'loose, lazy, careless, capricious, childish and fickle.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _march , _. 'they are really the most harmless tribes on the american continent.' _gerstaecker's nar._, p. . revengeful, timid, treacherous and ungrateful. _kelly's excursion to cal._, vol. ii., p. . 'cowardly, treacherous, filthy and indolent.' _johnston_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'dull, indolent, phlegmatic, timid and of a gentle, submissive temper.' _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. . 'in stature no less than in mind are certainly of a very inferior race of human beings.' _langsdorff's voy._, pt. ii., p. . 'pusillanimous.' _forbes' cal._, p. . 'ils sont également extrêmes dans l'expression de la joie et de la colère.' _rollin_, in _la pérouse_, _voy._, tom. iv., p. . 'seemed to be almost of the lowest grade of human beings.' _king's rept._, in _bayard taylor's el dorado, appendix_, vol. ii., p. . 'die indianer von californien sind physisch und moralisch den andern indianern untergeordnet.' _wimmel_, _californien_, p. . 'su estupidez mas parece un entorpecimiento de las potencias por falta de accion y por pereza característica, que limitacion absoluta de sus facultades intelectuales; y así quando se las pone en movimiento, y se les dan ideas, no dexan de discernir y de aprender lo que se les enseña.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. . 'i noticed that all the indians from southern to northern california were low, shiftless, indolent, and cowardly.' _miller's life amongst the modocs_, p. . cowardly and treacherous in the extreme. _life of gov. l. w. boggs, by his son, ms._ [ ] at santa catalina 'las mujeres son muy hermosas y honestas, los niños son blancos y rubios y muy risueños.' _salmeron_, _relaciones_, p. , in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv. see also _farnham's life in cal._, p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . at santa barbara, 'son mas altos, dispuestos, y membrados, que otros, que antes se avian visto.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . on the coast from san diego to san francisco they are 'd'une couleur foncée, de petite taille, et assez mal faits.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. ; see also _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . at san luis rey, 'sont bien faits et d'une taille moyenne.' _id._, p. ; quoted in _marmier_, p. . an indian seen at santa inez mission 'was about twenty-seven years old, with a black thick beard, iris of the eyes light chocolate-brown, nose small and round, lips not thick, face long and angular.' _cal. farmer_, _may , _. the noches 'aunque de buena disposicion son delgados y bastante delicados para andar á pié.' _garces_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., p. . 'well proportioned in figure, and of noble appearance.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'the women (of the diegeños) are beautifully developed, and superbly formed, their bodies as straight as an arrow.' _michler_, in _emory's u. s. and mex., bound. survey_, vol. i., p. . the cahuillas 'are a filthy and miserable-looking set, and great beggars, presenting an unfavorable contrast to the indian upon the colorado.' _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] the ordinary cloak descends to the waist: 'le chef seul en a une qui lui tombe jusqu'au jarret, et c'est là la seule marque de distinction.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. ; see also _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . [ ] these capes father crespi describes as being 'unos capotillos hechos de pieles de liebres y conejos de que hacen tiras y tercidas como mecate; cosen uno con otro y las defienden del frio cubriéndolas por la honestidad.' _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. vi., pp. - ; see also _id._, p. . [ ] the lobo marino of the spanish is the common seal and sea calf of the english; le veau marin and phoque commun of the french; vecchio marino of the italians; meerwolf and meerhund of the germans; zee-hund of the dutch; sael-hund of the danes; sial of the swedes; and moelrhon of the welsh. _knight's eng. encyc. nat. hist._, vol. iv., p. . [ ] _reid_, in _los angeles star_. [ ] _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . [ ] this hair turban or coil 'sirve de bolsa para guardar en la cabeza los abalorios y demas chucherias que se les dá.' _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. . the same custom seems to prevail among the cibolos of new mexico, as marmier, in his additional chapter in the french edition of _bryant's cal._, p. , says: 'les hommes du peuple tressent leurs cheveux avec des cordons, et y placent le peu d'objets qu'ils possèdent, notamment la corne qui renferme leur tabac à fumer.' [ ] on the subject of dress see also _navarrete_, _introd._, in _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. lxiv.; _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, p. ; _farnham's life in cal._, p. ; _garces_, in _doc. mex. hist._, serie ii., tom. i., p. ; _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . [ ] on the los angeles coast: 'la ranchería se compone de veinte casas hechas de zacate de forma esférica á modo de uno media naranja con su respiradero en lo alto por donde les entra la luz y tiene salida el humo.' _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. vi., p. ; _hoffmann_, in _san francisco medical press_, vol. v., p. . [ ] 'partiéron de allí el , entráron en una ensenada espaciosa, y siguiendo la costa viéron en ella un pueblo de indios junto á la mar con casas grandes á manera de las de nueva-españa.' _navarrete_, _introd._, in _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, pp. xxix., xxxi., xxxvi. the accounts of cabrillo's voyage are so confused that it is impossible to know the exact locality in which he saw the people he describes. on this point compare _cabrillo_, _relacion_, in _col. doc. hist. florida_, tom. i., p. ; _browne's lower cal._, pp. , ; _burney's chron. hist. discov._, vol. i., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., pp. - ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - ; _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'nur um die meerenge von santa barbara fand man, , die bewohner ein wenig gesittigter. sie bauten grosse häuser von pyramidaler form, in dörfer vereint.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., pp. - . [ ] _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, p. ; _bancroft's nat. races_, vol. iii., pp. - . [ ] 'one of their most remarkable superstitions is found in the fact of their not eating the flesh of large game. this arises from their belief that in the bodies of all large animals the souls of certain generations, long since past, have entered.... a term of reproach from a wild tribe to those more tamed is, "they eat venison."' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., pp. - ; see also _reid_, in _los angeles star_. [ ] 'all their food was either cold or nearly so.... salt was used very sparingly in their food, from an idea that it had a tendency to turn their hair gray.' _reid_, in _los angeles star_. 'i have seen many instances of their taking a rabbit, and sucking its blood with eagerness, previous to consuming the flesh in a crude state.' _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, p. . 'viven muy regalados con varias semillas, y con la pesca que hacen en sus balsas de tule ... y queriendoles dar cosa de comida, solian decir, que de aquello no, que lo que querian era ropa; y solo con cosa de este género, eran los cambalaches que hacian de su pescado con los soldados y arrieros.' _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. . see also _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _farnham's life in cal._, p. ; _stanley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _id._, , pp. - ; _walker_, in _id._, , p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. ; _hoffmann_, in _san francisco medical press_, vol. v., p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, vol. i., pp. - . [ ] _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, pp. - . [ ] _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, pp. - . [ ] the baskets, though water-proof, 'were used only for dry purposes. the vessels in use for liquids were roughly made of rushes and plastered outside and in with bitumen or pitch, called by them _sanot_.' _reid_, in _los angeles star_; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, vol. ii., pt. ii., pp. - ; and _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'leurs mortiers de pierre et divers autres ustensiles sont incrustés avec beaucoup d'art de morceaux de nacre de perle.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. . 'mortars and pestles were made of granite, about sixteen inches wide at the top, ten at the bottom, ten inches high and two thick.' soapstone pots were 'about an inch in thickness, and procured from the indians of santa catalina; the cover used was of the same material.' _reid_, in _los angeles star_. on the eastern slopes of the san bernardino mountains, blankets are made which will easily hold water. _taylor_, in _san francisco bulletin_, , also quoted in _shuck's cal. scrap book_, p. . 'todas sus obras son primorosas y bien acabadas.' _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. vi., p. . [ ] _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., pp. - . [ ] 'the planks were bent and joined by the heat of fire, and then paved with asphaltum, called by them chapapote.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _june , _. [ ] at santa catalina vizcaino saw 'vnas canoguelas, que ellos vsan, de tablas bien hechas, como barquillos, con las popas, y proas levantadas, y mas altas, que el cuerpo de la barca, ò canoa.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; see also _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . on the coast of los angeles father crespi saw 'canoas hechas de buenas tablas de pino, bien ligadas y de una forma graciosa con dos proas.... usan remos largos de dos palas y vogan con indecible lijeriza y velocidad.' _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. vi., p. . at san diego palou describes 'balsas de tule, en forma de canoas, con lo que entran muy adentro del mar.' _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. ; _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, p. ; _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . description of balsas, which differ in no respect from those used north. [ ] 'the worth of a rial was put on a string which passed twice and a-half round the hand, i. e., from end of middle finger to wrist. eight of these strings passed for the value of a silver dollar.' _cal. farmer_, _june , _. 'eight yards of these beads made about one dollar of our currency.' _id._, _jan. , _. [ ] 'if a quarrel occurred between parties of distinct lodges (villages), each chief heard the witnesses produced by his own people; and then, associated with the chief of the opposite side, they passed sentence. in case they could not agree, an impartial chief was called in, who heard the statements made by both, and he alone decided. there was no appeal from his decision.' _reid_, in _los angeles star_. [ ] 'pour tout ce qui concerne les affaires intérieures, l'influence des devins est bien supérieure à la leur.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . at san diego 'chaque village est soumis aux ordres absolus d'un chef.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. ; or see _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . 'i have found that the captains have very little authority.' _stanley_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, pp. - . [ ] dr. hoffman states that in the vicinity of san diego 'their laws allow them to keep as many wives as they can support.' _san francisco medical press_, vol. vi., p. . fages, speaking of the indians on the coast from san diego to san francisco, says: 'ces indiens n'ont qu'une seule femme à la fois, mais ils en changent aussi souvent que cela leur convient.' _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. . of those in the vicinity of san luis rey the same author says: 'les chefs de ce district ont le privilége de prendre deux on trois femmes, de les répudier ou de les changer aussi souvent qu'ils le veulent; mais les autres habitants n'en ont qu'une seule et ne peuvent les répudier qu'en cas d'adultère.' _id._, p. . [ ] 'les veufs des deux sexes, qui veulent se remarier, ne peuvent le faire qu'avec d'autres veufs.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. ; see also _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . [ ] 'the perverse child, invariably, was destroyed, and the parents of such remained dishonored.' _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, p. . 'ils ne pensent pas à donner d'autre éducation à leurs enfants qu'à enseigner aux fils exactement ce que faisait leur père; quant aux filles, elles ont le droit de choisir l'occupation qui leur convient le mieux.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. . [ ] the intoxicating liquor was 'made from a plant called _pibat_, which was reduced to a powder, and mixed with other intoxicating ingredients.' _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, p. . [ ] _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . for other descriptions of ceremony observed at age of puberty, see: _hoffman_, in _san francisco medical press_, vol. vi., pp. - ; _mckinstry_, in _san francisco herald_, _june, _. [ ] 'pero en la mision de s. antonio se pudo algo averiguar, pues avisando á los padres, que en una de las casas de los neófitos se habian metido dos gentiles, el uno con el traje natural de ellos, y el otro con el trage de muger, expresándolo con el nombre de joya (que dicen llamarlos asi en su lengua nativa) fué luego el p. misionero con el cabo y un soldado á la casa á ver lo que buscaban, y los hallaron en el acto de pecado nefando. castigáronlos, aunque no con la pena merecida, y afearonles el hecho tan enorme; y respondió el gentil, que aquella joya era su muger.... solo en el tramo de la canal de santa bárbara, se hallan muchos joyas, pues raro es el pueblo donde no se vean dos ó tres.' _palou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. . 'así en esta ranchería como en otros de la canal, hemos visto algunos gentiles con traje de muger con sus nagüitas de gamusa, y muy engruesadas y limpias; no hemos podido entender lo que significa, ni á qué fin.' _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. vi., p. . see also _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, pp. - ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. ; _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. . [ ] 'in some tribes the men and the women unite in the dance; in others the men alone trip to the music of the women, whose songs are by no means unpleasant to the ear.' _mckinstry_, in _s. francisco herald_, _june _. 'in their religious ceremonial dances they differ much. while, in some tribes, all unite to celebrate them, in others, men alone are allowed to dance, while the women assist in singing.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. - . [ ] 'la danse est exécutée par deux couples au son d'une espèce de flûte, les autres restent simples spectateurs et se contentent d'augmenter le bruit en frappant des roseaux secs.' _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., p. ; _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, pp. - ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., pp. - ; _mckinstry_, in _s. francisco herald_, _june _; _reid_, in _los angeles star_; _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. vi., p. . [ ] _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., p. . 'when the new year begun, no thought was given to the past; and on this account, even amongst the most intelligent, they could not tell the number of years which had transpired, when desirous of giving an idea of any remote event.' _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, p. . [ ] 'for gonorrhoea they used a strong decoction of an herb that grows very plentifully here, and is called by the spanish "chancel agua," and wild pigeon manure, rolled up into pills. the decoction is a very bitter astringent, and may cure some sores, but that it fails in many, i have undeniable proof. in syphilis they use the actual cautery, a living coal of fire applied to the chancer, and a decoction of an herb, said to be something like sarsaparilla, called rosia.' _hoffman_, in _san francisco medical press_, vol. v., p. - . [ ] i am indebted for the only information of value relating to the medical usages of the southern california tribes, to _boscana's ms._, literally translated by robinson in his _life in cal._, pp. - , and also given in substance in _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., pp. - , and to reid's papers on the indians of los angeles county, in the _los angeles star_, also quoted in _cal. farmer_, _jan. , ._ [ ] see _mofras_, _explor._, tom. ii., pp. - , and plate, p. , and hoffmann, in _san francisco medical press_, vol. v., p. . [ ] 'the same custom is now in use, but not only applied to deaths, but to their disappointments and adversities in life, thus making public demonstration of their sorrow.' _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, pp. - . [ ] _california farmer_, _may , _. [ ] _reid_, in _los angeles star_. [ ] the latitude of which he fixes at ° ´. [ ] _fages_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. ci., pp. - . quoted almost literally by _marmier_, _notice_, in _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, p. . [ ] _boscana_, in _robinson's life in cal._, p. . [ ] in spelling the word shoshone, i have followed the most common orthography. many, however, write it shoshonee, others, shoshonie, either of which would perhaps give a better idea of the pronunciation of the word, as the accent falls on the final _e_. the word means 'snake indian,' according to stuart, _montana_, p. ; and 'inland,' according to ross, _fur hunters_, vol. i., p. . i apply the name shoshones to the whole of this family; the shoshones proper, including the bannacks, i call the snakes; the remaining tribes i name collectively utahs. [ ] see _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - ; _remy and brenchley's journey_, vol. i., p. ; _chandless' visit_, p. ; _farnham's life in cal._, p. ; _carvalho's incid. of trav._, p. ; _graves_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _beckwith_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. ii., p. ; _farley's sanitary rept._, in _san francisco medical press_, vol. iii., p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. ; _hesperian magazine_, vol. x., p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _prince_, quoted in _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _; _townsend's nar._, pp. , ; _bryant_, _voy. en cal._, pp. , ; _coke's rocky mountains_, p. ; _fremont's explor. ex._, pp. , ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. ; _figuier's human race_, p. ; _burton's city of the saints_, p. . mention is made by salmeron of a people living south of utah lake, who were 'blancas, y rosadas las mejillas como los franceses.' _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . escalante, speaking of indians seen in the same region, lat. ° ´ ´´, says: 'eran estos de los barbones, y narices agujeradas, y en su idioma se nombran tirangapui, tian los cinco, que con su capitan venieron primero, tan crecida la barba, que parecian padres capuchinos ó belemitas.' _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., p. . wilkes writes, 'southwest of the youta lake live a tribe who are known by the name of the monkey indians; a term which is not a mark of contempt, but is supposed to be a corruption of their name.... they are reported to live in fastnesses among high mountains; to have good clothing and houses; to manufacture blankets, shoes, and various other articles, which they sell to the neighboring tribes. their colour is as light as that of the spaniards; and the women in particular are very beautiful, with delicate features, and long flowing hair.... some have attempted to connect these with an account of an ancient welsh colony, which others had thought they discovered among the mandans of the missouri; while others were disposed to believe they might still exist in the monkeys of the western mountains. there is another account which speaks of the monquoi indians, who formerly inhabited lower california, and were partially civilized by the spanish missionaries, but who have left that country, and of whom all traces have long since been lost.' _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. iv., pp. - . 'on the southern boundary of utah exists a peculiar race, of whom little is known. they are said to be fair-skinned, and are called the "white indians;" have blue eyes and straight hair, and speak a kind of spanish language differing from other tribes.' _san francisco evening bulletin_, _may , _. taylor has a note on the subject, in which he says that these fair indians were doubtless the moquis of western new mexico. _cal. farmer_, _june , _. although it is evident that this mysterious and probably mythic people belong in no way to the shoshone family, yet as they are mentioned by several writers as dwelling in a region which is surrounded on all sides by shoshones, i have given this note, wherefrom the reader can draw his own conclusions. [ ] _beckwith_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. ii., p. ; _heap's cent. route_, p. . [ ] speaking of women: 'their breasts and stomachs were covered with red mastic, made from an earth peculiar to these rocks, which rendered them hideous. their only covering was a pair of drawers of hare-skin, badly sewn together, and in holes.' _remy and brenchley's journ._, vol. ii., p. ; see also vol. i., p. , and vol. ii., pp. , , . 'the women often dress in skirts made of entrails, dressed and sewed together in a substantial way.' _prince_, in _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _. hareskins 'they cut into cords with the fur adhering; and braid them together so as to form a sort of cloak with a hole in the middle, through which they thrust their heads.' _farnham's life and adven._, p. . the remaining authorities describe them as naked, or slightly and miserably dressed; see _stansbury's rept._, pp. , - ; _chandless' visit_, p. ; _heap's cent. route_, p. ; _irving's bonneville's adven._, p. ; _bryant's cal._, p. ; _forney_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _dodge_, _ib._, pp. - ; _fenton_, in _id._, , p. ; _graves_, in _id._, , p. ; _burton's city of the saints_, pp. - , - , , ; _fremont's explor. ex._, pp. , - , , , , , ; _bulfinch's oregon_, p. ; _saxon's golden gate_, p. ; _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. ; _brownell's ind. races_, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, p. . [ ] _townsend's nar._, pp. , ; _de smet_, _voy._, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - , - ; _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., pp. - , - , vol. ii., pp. - ; _chandless' visit_, p. ; _carvalho's incid. of trav._, p. ; _white's ogn._, p. ; _lord's nat._, vol. i., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. , . [ ] 'the ermine is the fur known to the north-west traders by the name of the white weasel, but is the genuine ermine.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . [ ] _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - . [ ] 'on y rencontre aussi des terres métalliques de différentes couleurs, telles que vertes, bleues, jaunes, noires, blanches, et deux sortes d'ocres, l'une pâle, l'autre d'un rouge brillant comme du vermillion. les indiens en font très-grand cas; ils s'en servent pour se peindre le corps et le visage.' _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xii., p. . [ ] 'they remain in a semi-dormant, inactive state the entire winter, leaving their lowly retreats only now and then, at the urgent calls of nature, or to warm their burrows.... in the spring they creep from their holes ... poor and emaciated, with barely flesh enough to hide their bones, and so enervated from hard fare and frequent abstinence, that they can scarcely move.' _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. . stansbury mentions lodges in utah, east of salt lake, which were constructed of 'cedar poles and logs of a considerable size, thatched with bark and branches, and were quite warm and comfortable.' _stansbury's rept._, p. ; _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; _irving's bonneville's adven._, p. ; _remy and brenchley's journ._, vol. i., pp. - , , vol. ii., pp. , ; _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _farley_, in _san francisco medical press_, vol. iii., p. ; _farnham's life in cal._, p. ; _brownell's ind. races_, p. ; _heap's cent. route_, pp. - ; _de smet_, _voy._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., pp. - ; _coke's rocky mountains_, p. ; _ross' fur hunters_, vol. ii., p. ; _white's ogn._, p. ; _irving's astoria_, pp. , ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. ; _fremont's explor. ex._, - , pp. , , ; _townsend's nar._, p. ; _dunn's oregon_, pp. , - , - ; _bulfinch's oregon_, p. ; _farnham's trav._, pp. , - ; _simpson's route to cal._, p. ; _burton's city of the saints_, p. ; _knight's pioneer life, ms._ [ ] _coke's rocky mts._, p. ; _de smet_, _voy._, p. ; _dennison_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _saint-amant_, _voyages_, p. . [ ] 'they eat the seed of two species of conifers, one about the size of a hazel-nut, the other much smaller. they also eat a small stone-fruit, somewhat red, or black in colour, and rather insipid; different berries, among others, those of _vaccinium_. they collect the seed of the _atriplex_ and _chenopodium_, and occasionally some grasses. among roots, they highly value that of a bushy, yellowish and tolerably large broomrape, which they cook or dry with the base, or root-stock, which is enlarged, and constitutes the most nutritious part. they also gather the napiform root of a _cirsium acaule_, which they eat raw or cooked; when cooked, it becomes quite black, resinous as pitch and rather succulent; when raw, it is whitish, soft, and of a pleasant flavour.' _remy and brenchley's journey_, vol. i., p. . the shoshones of utah and nevada 'eat certain roots, which in their native state are rank poison, called tobacco root, but when put in a hole in the ground, and a large fire burned over them, become wholesome diet.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. vi., p. . 'of the roots used ... the pap-pa, or wild potatoe, is abundant.' _id._, vol. iv., p. ; see also, _id._, vol. v., pp. - . at bear river, 'every living animal, thing, insect, or worm they eat.' _fremont's explor. exp._, p. , see also pp. , , - , , - , , . inland savages are passionately fond of salt; those living near the sea detest it. _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xii., p. . the utahs eat 'the cactus leaf, piñon-nut, and various barks; the seed of the bunch-grass, and of the wheat, or yellow grass, somewhat resembling rye, the rabbit-bush twigs, which are chewed, and various roots and tubers; the soft sego bulb, the rootlet of the cat-tail flag, and of the tule, which when sun-dried and powdered to flour, keeps through the winter and is palatable even to white men.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. , see also pp. , . the pi-edes 'live principally on lizards, swifts, and horned toads.' _ind. aff. rept._, . p. ; see also _id._, , p. ; , p. ; , p. ; , p. ; , pp. ; , pp. , ; , pp. , ; , p. . the snakes eat a white-fleshed kind of beaver, which lives on poisonous roots, whose flesh affects white people badly, though the indians roast and eat it with impunity. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. ii., p. , see also vol. i., p. - ; _brownell's ind. races_, p. ; _farnham's life and adven._, pp. , - ; _irving's bonneville's adven._, pp. , , - ; _wilkes' nar._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. v., p. ; _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. ; _bryant's cal._, p. ; _stansbury's rept._, pp. , , ; _kelly's excursion_, vol. i., p. ; _saxon's golden gate_, p. ; _smith_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xxxvii., p. ; _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. - ; _townsend's nar._, p. ; _white's ogn._, p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, p. - , ; _coke's rocky mts._, p. ; _irving's astoria_, pp. , ; _de smet_, _voy._, pp. - , ; _stevens_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. i., p. ; _farnham's trav._, pp. , ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., pp. , , vol. ii., pp. , , , , , ; _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. ii., p. ; _simpson's route to pac._, pp. - ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , - , - ; _bigler's early days in utah and nevada, ms._ [ ] the wararereeks are 'dirty in their camps, in their dress, and in their persons.' _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. . the persons of the piutes are 'more disgusting than those of the hottentots. their heads are white with the germs of crawling filth.' _farnham's trav._, p. . 'a filthy tribe--the prey of idleness and vermin.' _farnham's life and adven._, p. . bryant says, of the utahs between salt lake and ogden's hole, 'i noticed the females hunting for the vermin in the heads and on the bodies of their children; finding which they ate the animals with an apparent relish.' _bryant's cal._, p. . the snakes 'are filthy beyond description.' _townsend's nar._, p. . 'j'ai vu les sheyennes, les serpents, les youts, etc., manger la vermine les uns des autres à pleins peignes.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . 'the snakes are rather cleanly in their persons.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'a weapon called by the chippeways, by whom it was formerly used, the poggamoggon.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . bulfinch, _oregon_, p. , says the stone weighs about two pounds. salmeron also mentions a similar weapon used by the people living south of utah lake; concerning whom see note , p. . [ ] the utahs 'no usan mas armas que las flechas y algunas lanzas de perdernal, ni tienen otro peto, morrion ni espaldar que el que sacaron del vientre de sus madres.' _escalante_, quoted in _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, ser. iii., part iv., p. . 'bows made of the horns of the bighorn ... are formed by cementing with glue flat pieces of the horn together, covering the back with sinewes and glue, and loading the whole with an unusual quantity of ornaments.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . at ogden river, in utah, they work obsidian splinters 'into the most beautiful and deadly points, with which they arm the end of their arrows.' _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., p. . 'pour toute arme, un arc, des flèches et un bâton pointu.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . 'bows and arrows are their (banattees) only weapons of defence.' _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. . the arrows of the pa-utes 'are barbed with a very clear translucent stone, a species of opal, nearly as hard as the diamond; and, shot from their long bow, are almost as effective as a gunshot.' _fremont's expl. ex._, p. . the pi-utes and pitches 'have no weapon of defence except the club, and in the use of that they are very unskilful.' _farnham's trav._, p. . southwest of great salt lake, 'their arms are clubs, with small bows and arrows made of reeds.' _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. . the pi-utes 'make some weapons of defence, as bows and arrows. the bows are about six feet long; made of the savine (juniperus sabina).' _farnham's life and adven._, p. ; see farther, _remy and brenchley's journ._, vol. ii., pp. , ; _stansbury's rept._, p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _heap's cent. route_, pp. , , , , ; _palmer's jour._, p. ; _bulfinch's oregon_, p. ; _irving's bonneville's adven._, pp. , , ; _hale's ethnog._, in _u. s. ex. ex._, vol. vi., p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - , ; _irving's astoria_, p. ; _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xiii., p. ; _bigler's early days in utah and nevada, ms._; _knight's pioneer life, ms._ [ ] _remy and brenchley's jour._, vol. ii., p. ; _heap's cent. route_, p. ; _thornton's ogn. and cal._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'taking an enemy's scalp is an honour quite independent of the act of vanquishing him. to kill your adversary is of no importance unless the scalp is brought from the field of battle, and were a warrior to slay any number of his enemies in action, and others were to obtain the scalps or first touch the dead, they would have all the honours, since they have borne off the trophy.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. ; see also p. . the utahs 'will devour the heart of a brave man to increase their courage, or chop it up, boil it in soup, engorge a ladleful, and boast they have drunk the enemy's blood.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. ; see also p. . the utahs never carry arrows when they intend to fight on horseback. _heap's cent. route_, p. ; see also p. ; _remy and brenchley's journ._, pp. , ; _stansbury's rept._, p. ; _de smet_, _voy._, pp. - ; _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., pp. - ; _bulfinch's oregon_, p. ; _farnham's trav._, p. . [ ] the pipe of the chief 'was made of a dense transparent green stone, very highly polished, about two and a half inches long, and of an oval figure, the bowl being in the same situation with the stem. a small piece of burnt clay is placed in the bottom of the bowl to separate the tobacco from the end of the stem.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . pots made of 'a stone found in the hills ... which, though soft and white in its natural state, becomes very hard and black after exposure to the fire.' _id._, p. . 'these vessels, although rude and without gloss, are nevertheless strong, and reflect much credit on indian ingenuity.' _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. . pipe-stems 'resemble a walking-stick more than anything else, and they are generally of ash, and from two-and-a-half to three feet long.' _id._, vol. ii., p. . 'cooking vessels very much resembling reversed bee-hives, made of basket work covered with buffalo skins.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . stansbury discovered pieces of broken indian pottery and obsidian about salt lake. _stansbury's rept._, p. . the material of baskets 'was mostly willow twig, with a layer of gum, probably from the pine tree.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . the utahs 'manufacture very beautiful and serviceable blankets.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'considering that they have nothing but stone hammers and flint knives it is truly wonderful to see the exquisite finish and neatness of their implements of war and hunting, as well as their ear-rings and waist-bands, made of an amalgam of silver and lead.' _prince_, in _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _. 'les indiens en font des jarres, des pots, des plats de diverses formes. ces vaisseaux communiquent une odeur et une saveur très-agréables à tout ce qu'ils renferment; ce qui provient sans doute de la dissolution de quelque substance bitumineuse contenue dans l'argile.' _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xii., p. . 'the pipes of these indians are either made of wood or of red earth; sometimes these earthen pipes are exceedingly valuable, and indians have been known to give a horse in exchange for one of them.' _remy and brenchley's journ._, vol. i., p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - , - , . [ ] _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. . [ ] among the snakes in idaho garments of four to five beaver-skins were sold for a knife or an awl, and other articles of fur in proportion. horses were purchased for an axe each. a ship of seventy-four guns might have been loaded with provision, such as dried buffalo, bought with buttons and rings. articles of real value they thus disposed of cheaply, while articles of comparatively no value, such as indian head-dress and other curiosities, were held high. a beaver-skin could thus be had for a brass-ring, while a necklace of bears' claws could not be purchased for a dozen of the same rings. axes, knives, ammunition, beads, buttons and rings, were most in demand. clothing was of no value; a knife sold for as much as a blanket; and an ounce of vermilion was of more value than a yard of fine cloth. _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., pp. - . see further, _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. ; _townsend's nar._, pp. , ; _prince_, in _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _; _farnham's trav._, p. . [ ] 'they inflict no penalties for minor offences, except loss of character and disfellowship.' _prince_, in _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - ; _remy and brenchley's journ._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'it is virtuous to seize and ravish the women of tribes with whom they are at war, often among themselves, and to retain or sell them and their children as slaves.' _drews' owyhee recon._, p. . the pi-edes 'barter their children to the utes proper for a few trinkets or bits of clothing, by whom they are again sold to the navajos for blankets.' _simpson's route to cal._, p. . 'some of the minor tribes in the southern part of the territory (utah), near new mexico, can scarcely show a single squaw, having traded them off for horses and arms.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . 'viennent trouver les blancs, et leur vendent leurs enfants pour des bagatelles.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. ; _knight's pioneer life, ms._; _utah, acts, resolutions, etc._, p. . [ ] 'a refusal in these lands is often a serious business; the warrior collects his friends, carries off the recusant fair, and after subjecting her to the insults of all his companions espouses her.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . [ ] 'the women are exceedingly virtuous ... they are a kind of mercantile commodity in the hands of their masters. polygamy prevails among the chiefs, but the number of wives is not unlimited.' _remy and brenchley's journ._, vol. i., pp. - . they are given to sensual excesses, and other immoralities. _farnham's trav._, p. ; see also p. . 'prostitution and illegitimacy are unknown ... they are not permitted to marry until eighteen or twenty years old ... it is a capital offence to marry any of another nation without special sanction from their council and head chief. they allow but one wife.' _prince_, in _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _. at the time of their confinement the women 'sit apart; they never touch a cooking utensil, although it is not held impure to address them, and they return only when the signs of wrath have passed away.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . 'infidelity of the wife, or prostitution of an unmarried female, is punishable by death.' _davies_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'our pi-ute has a peculiar way of getting a foretaste of connubial bliss, cohabiting experimentally with his intended for two or three days previous to the nuptial ceremony, at the end of which time, either party can stay further proceedings, to indulge other trials until a companion more congenial is found.' _farley_, in _san francisco medical press_, vol. iii., p. ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. - , ; _de smet_, _voy._, p. . [ ] the snakes 'ont une sorte de tabac sauvage qui croît dans les plaines contiguës aux montagnes du spanish-river, il a les feuilles plus étroites que le nôtre, il est plus agréable à fumer, ses effets étant bien moins violens.' _stuart_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xii., pp. - . the kinik-kinik 'they obtain from three different plants. one is a _cornus_, resembling our _cornus sanguinea_; after having detached the epidermic cuticle, they scrape the bark and dry it, when it is ready for use. another is a vaccinium with red berries; they gather the leaves to smoke them when dry; the third is a small shrub, the fruit and flower of which i have never seen, but resembles certain species of daphnads (particularly that of kauai), the leaves of which are in like manner smoked.' _remy and brenchley's journ._, vol. i., p. ; see also p. ; _ross' fur hunters_, vol. i., p. ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. ; _fremont's explor. ex._, p. ; _de smet_, _voy._, pp. - ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - , , - . [ ] 'en deux occasions diverses, je comptai cinq personnes ainsi montées, dont deux, certes, paraissaient aussi capables, chacune à elle seule, de porter la pauvre bête, que le cheval était à même de supporter leurs poids.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. ; _lewis and clarke's trav._, pp. , - , ; _graves_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] 'with strong constitutions generally, they either die at once or readily recover.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . 'there is no lack of pulmonary difficulties among them.' _farley_, in _san francisco medical press_, vol. iii., p. . syphilis usually kills them. _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . 'the _convollaria stellata_ ... is the best remedial plant known among those indians.' _fremont's explor. ex._, p. ; _davies_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _prince_, in _cal. farmer_, _oct. , _; _coke's rocky mts._, p. ; _parker's explor. tour_, pp. - , - . [ ] 'the yutas make their graves high up the kanyons, usually in clefts of rock.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . at the obsequies of a chief of the timpenaguchya tribe 'two squaws, two pa yuta children, and fifteen of his best horses composed the "customs."' _id._, p. . 'when a death takes place, they wrap the body in a skin or hide, and drag it by the leg to a grave, which is heaped up with stones, as a protection against wild beasts.' _id._, p. ; _remy and brenchley's journ._, vol. i., pp. , ; _de smet_, _voy._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. , . [ ] the shoshones of carson valley 'are very rigid in their morals.' _remy and brenchley's journ._, vol. i., p. . at haw's ranch, 'honest and trustworthy, but lazy and dirty.' _id._, p. . these kusi-utahs 'were very inoffensive and seemed perfectly guileless.' _id._, vol. ii., p. . the pai-uches are considered as mere dogs, the refuse of the lowest order of humanity. _farnham's life and adven._, p. . the timpanigos yutas 'are a noble race ... brave and hospitable.' _id._, p. . the pi-utes are 'the most degraded and least intellectual indians known to the trappers.' _farnham's trav._, p. . 'the snakes are a very intelligent race.' _id._, p. . the bannacks are 'a treacherous and dangerous race.' _id._, p. . the pi-edes are 'timid and dejected;' the snakes are 'fierce and warlike;' the tosawitches 'very treacherous;' the bannacks 'treacherous;' the washoes 'peaceable, but indolent.' _simpson's route to cal._, p. - . the utahs 'are brave, impudent, and warlike ... of a revengeful disposition.' _graves_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'industrious.' _armstrong_, in _id._, , p. . 'a race of men whose cruelty is scarcely a stride removed from that of cannibalism.' _hurt_, in _id._, p. . 'the pah-utes are undoubtedly the most interesting and docile indians on the continent.' _dodge_, in _id._, , p. . the utahs are 'fox-like, crafty, and cunning.' _archuleta_, in _id._, , p. . the pi-utes are 'teachable, kind, and industrious ... scrupulously chaste in all their intercourse.' _parker_, in _id._, , p. . the weber-utes 'are the most worthless and indolent of any in the territory.' _head_, in _id._, p. . the bannocks 'seem to be imbued with a spirit of dash and bravery quite unusual.' _campbell_, in _id._, p. . the bannacks are 'energetic and industrious.' _danilson_, in _id._, , p. . the washoes are docile and tractable. _douglas_, in _id._, , p. . the pi-utes are 'not warlike, rather cowardly, but pilfering and treacherous.' _powell_, in _id._, , p. . the shoshokoes 'are extremely indolent, but a mild, inoffensive race.' _irving's bonneville's adven._, p. . the snakes 'are a thoroughly savage and lazy tribe.' _franchère's nar._, p. . the shoshones are 'frank and communicative.' _lewis and clarke's trav._, p. . the snakes are 'pacific, hospitable and honest.' _dunn's oregon_, p. . 'the snakes are a very intelligent race.' _white's ogn._, p. . the pi-utes 'are as degraded a class of humanity as can be found upon the earth. the male is proud, sullen, intensely insolent.... they will not steal. the women are chaste, at least toward their white brethren.' _farley_, in _san francisco medical jour._, vol. iii., p. . the snakes have been considered 'as rather a dull and degraded people ... weak in intellect, and wanting in courage. and this opinion is very probable to a casual observer at first sight, or when seen in small numbers; for their apparent timidity, grave, and reserved habits, give them an air of stupidity. an intimate knowledge of the snake character will, however, place them on an equal footing with that of other kindred nations, either east or west of the mountains, both in respect to their mental faculties and moral attributes.' _ross' fur hunters_, vol. ii., p. . 'les sampectches, les pagouts et les ampayouts sont ... un peuple plus misérable, plus dégradé et plus pauvre. les français les appellent communément les dignes-de-pitié, et ce nom leur convient à merveille.' _de smet_, _voy._, p. . the utahs 'pariassent doux et affables, très-polis et hospitaliers pour les étrangers, et charitables entre eux.' _id._, p. . 'the indians of utah are the most miserable, if not the most degraded, beings of all the vast american wilderness.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . the utahs 'possess a capacity for improvement whenever circumstances favor them.' _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. . the snakes are 'la plus mauvaise des races des peaux-rouges que j'ai fréquentées. ils sont aussi paresseux que peu prévoyants.' _saint-amant_, _voy._, p. . the shoshones of idaho are 'highly intelligent and lively ... the most virtuous and unsophisticated of all the indians of the united states.' _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _april , _. the washoes have 'superior intelligence and aptitude for learning.' _id._, _june , _; see also _id._, _june , _. the nevada shoshones 'are the most pure and uncorrupted aborigines upon this continent ... they are scrupulously clean in their persons, and chaste in their habits ... though whole families live together, of all ages and both sexes, in the same tent, immorality and crime are of rare occurrence.' _prince_, in _id._, _oct. , _. the bannacks 'are cowardly, treacherous, filthy and indolent.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'the utahs are predatory, voracious and perfidious. plunderers and murderers by habit ... when their ferocity is not excited, their suspicions are so great as to render what they say unreliable, if they do not remain altogether uncommunicative.' _id._, vol. v., pp. - . the pa-vants 'are as brave and improvable as their neighbours are mean and vile.' _burton's city of the saints_, p. . 'the yuta is less servile, and consequently has a higher ethnic status than the african negro; he will not toil, and he turns at a kick or a blow.' _id._, p. . the shoshokoes 'are harmless and exceedingly timid and shy.' _brownell's ind. races_, p. . [illustration: native races of the pacific states new mexican group] chapter v. new mexicans. geographical position of this group, and physical features of the territory--family divisions: apaches, pueblos, lower californians, and northern mexicans--the apache family: comanches, apaches proper, hualapais, yumas, cosninos, yampais, yalchedunes, yamajabs, cochees, cruzados, nijoras, navajos, mojaves, and their customs--the pueblo family: pueblos, moquis, pimas, maricopas, papagos, and their neighbours--the cochimis, waicuris, pericuis, and other lower californians--the seris, sinaloas, tarahumares, conchos, tepehuanes, tobosos, acaxes, and others in northern mexico. the new mexicans, under which name i group the nations of new mexico, arizona, lower california, sonora, sinaloa, chihuahua, durango, coahuila, nuevo leon, northern zacatecas, and western texas, present some peculiarities not hitherto encountered in this work. as a groupal designation, this name is neither more nor less appropriate than some others; all i claim for it is that it appears as fit as any. the term mexican might with propriety be applied to this group, as the majority of its people live within the mexican boundary, but that word is employed in the next division, which is yet more strictly of mexico. the territory of the new mexicans, which lies for the most part between the parallels ° and ° and the meridians ° and °, presents a great diversity of climate and aspect. on reaching the northern extremity of the gulf of california, the sierra nevada and coast ranges of mountains join and break up into detached upheavals, or as they are called 'lost mountains'; one part, with no great elevation, continuing through the peninsula, another, under the name of sierra madre, extending along the western side of mexico. the rocky mountains, which separate into two ranges at about the forty-fifth parallel, continue southward, one branch, known in utah as the wahsatch, merging into the sierra madre, while the other, the great cordillera, stretches along the eastern side of mexico, uniting again with the sierra madre in the mexican table-land. besides these are many detached and intersecting ranges, between which lie arid deserts, lava beds, and a few fertile valleys. from the sterile sandy deserts which cover vast areas of this territory, rise many isolated groups of almost inaccessible peaks, some of which are wooded, thus affording protection and food for man and beast. two great rivers, the colorado and the rio grande del norte flow through this region, one on either side, but, except in certain spots, they contribute little to the fertilization of the country. in the more elevated parts the climate is temperate, sometimes in winter severely cold; but on the deserts and plains, with the scorching sun above and the burning sand beneath, the heat is almost insupportable. the scanty herbage, by which the greater part of this region is covered, offers to man but a transient food-supply; hence he must move from place to place or starve. thus nature, more than elsewhere on our coast, invites to a roving life; and, as on the arabian deserts, bands of american bedouins roam over immense tracts seeking what they may devour. here it is that many a luckless miner and ill-protected traveler pays the penalty of his temerity with his life; here it is, more than elsewhere within the temperate zones of the two americas, that the natives bid defiance to the encroachments of civilization. sweeping down upon small settlements and isolated parties, these american arabs rob, murder, and destroy, then fleeing to their strongholds bid defiance to pursuers. in the midst of all this we find another phenomenon in the semi-civilized towns-people of new mexico and arizona; a spontaneous awakening from the ruder phases of savagism. the families of this division may be enumerated as follows: the _apaches_, under which general name i include all the savage tribes roaming through new mexico, the north-western portion of texas, a small part of northern mexico, and arizona; the _pueblos_, or partially cultivated towns-people of new mexico and arizona, with whom i unite, though not town-builders, the non-nomadic pimas, maricopas and pápagos of the lower gila river; the _lower californians_, who occupy the peninsula; and the _northern mexicans_, which term includes the various nations scattered over the states of sonora, sinaloa, chihuahua, durango, coahuila, nuevo leon and northern zacatecas. [sidenote: the apaches.] to the apaches, using the term in the signification of a family of this division, no accurate boundaries can be assigned. owing to their roving proclivities and incessant raids they are led first in one direction and then in another. in general terms they may be said to range about as follows: the _comanches_, jetans, or nauni, consisting of three tribes, the comanches proper, the yamparacks, and tenawas, inhabiting northern texas, eastern chihuahua, nuevo leon, coahuila, durango, and portions of south-western new mexico,[ ] by language allied to the shoshone family;[ ] the _apaches_, who call themselves shis inday, or 'men of the woods,'[ ] and whose tribal divisions are the chiricaguis, coyoteros, faraones, gileños, lipanes, llaneros, mescaleros, mimbreños, natages, pelones, pinaleños, tejuas, tontos and vaqueros, roaming over new mexico, arizona, north-western texas, chihuahua and sonora,[ ] and who are allied by language to the great tinneh family;[ ] the _navajos_, or tenuai, 'men,' as they designate themselves, having linguistic affinities with the apache nation, with which indeed they are sometimes classed, living in and around the sierra de los mimbres;[ ] the _mojaves_, occupying both banks of the colorado in mojave valley; the _hualapais_, near the headwaters of bill williams fork; the _yumas_, on the east bank of the colorado, near its junction with the rio gila;[ ] the _cosninos_, who like the hualapais are sometimes included in the apache nation, ranging through the mogollon mountains;[ ] and the _yampais_, between bill williams fork and the rio hassayampa.[ ] of the multitude of names mentioned by the early spanish authorities, i only give in addition to the above the _yalchedunes_, located on the west bank of the colorado in about latitude ° ´, the _yamajabs_, on the east bank of the same river, in about latitude °- °; the _cochees_, in the chiricagui mountains of arizona, the _cruzados_[ ] in new mexico, and finally the _nijoras_,[ ] somewhere about the lower colorado.[ ] the apache country is probably the most desert of all, alternating between sterile plains and wooded mountains, interspersed with comparatively few rich valleys. the rivers do little to fertilize the soil except in spots; the little moisture that appears is quickly absorbed by the cloudless air and arid plains which stretch out, sometimes a hundred miles in length and breadth, like lakes of sand. in both mountain and desert the fierce, rapacious apache, inured from childhood to hunger and thirst, and heat and cold, finds safe retreat. it is here, among our western nations, that we first encounter thieving as a profession. no savage is fond of work; indeed, labor and savagism are directly antagonistic, for if the savage continues to labor he can but become civilized. now the apache is not as lazy as some of his northern brothers, yet he will not work, or if he does, like the pueblos who are nothing but partially reclaimed apaches or comanches, he forthwith elevates himself, and is no longer an apache; but being somewhat free from the vice of laziness, though subject in an eminent degree to all other vices of which mankind have any knowledge, he presents the anomaly of uniting activity with barbarism, and for this he must thank his thievish propensities. leaving others to do the work, he cares not whom, the agriculturists of the river-bottoms or the towns-people of the north, he turns ishmaelite, pounces upon those near and more remote, and if pursued retreats across the _jornadas del muerte_, or 'journeys of death' as the mexican calls them, and finds refuge in the gorges, cañons, and other almost impregnable natural fortresses of the mountains. [sidenote: physique of apaches.] [sidenote: physical peculiarities.] the disparity in physical appearance between some of these nations, which may be attributed for the most part to diet, is curious. while those who subsist on mixed vegetable and animal food, present a tall, healthy, and muscular development, hardly excelled by the caucasian race, those that live on animal food, excepting perhaps the comanches, are small in stature, wrinkled, shriveled, and hideously ugly.[ ] all the natives of this family, with the exception of the apaches proper, are tall, well-built, with muscles strongly developed, pleasing features, although at times rather broad faces, high foreheads, large, clear, dark-colored eyes, possessing generally extraordinary powers of vision, black coarse hair and, for a wonder, beards. taken as a whole, they are the most perfect specimens of physical manhood that we have yet encountered. while some, and particularly females, are of a light copper color, others again approach near to the dark californian. women are generally plumper, inclining more to obesity than the men. some comely girls are spoken of amongst them, but they grow old early.[ ] in contradistinction to all this the apaches proper, or apache nation, as we may call them, are slim, ill developed, but very agile. their height is about five feet four to five inches; features described as ugly, repulsive, emotionless, flat, and approaching the mongol cast, while the head is covered with an unkempt mass of coarse, shocky, rusty black hair, not unlike bristles. the women are not at all behind the men in ugliness, and a pleasing face is a rarity. a feature common to the family is remarkably small feet; in connection with which may be mentioned the peculiarity which obtains on the lower colorado, of having the large toe widely separated from the others, which arises probably from wading in marshy bottoms. all the tribes whose principal subsistence is meat, and more particularly those that eat horse and mule flesh, are said to exhale a peculiar scent, something like the animals themselves when heated.[ ] [sidenote: dress of apaches and mojaves.] all the natives of this region wear the hair much in the same manner, cut square across the forehead, and flowing behind.[ ] the mojave men usually twist or plait it, while with the women it is allowed to hang loose. tattooing is common, but not universal; many of the mojave women tattoo the chin in vertical lines like the central californians, except that the lines are closer together.[ ] paint is freely used among the mojaves, black and red predominating, but the apaches, yumas, and others use a greater variety of colors.[ ] breech-cloth and moccasins are the ordinary dress of the men,[ ] while the women have a short petticoat of bark.[ ] the dress of the mojaves and apaches is often more pretentious, being a buckskin shirt, skull-cap or helmet, and moccasins of the same material; the latter, broad at the toes, slightly turned up, and reaching high up on the leg, serve as a protection against cacti and thorns.[ ] it is a common practice among these tribes to plaster the head and body with mud, which acts as a preventive against vermin and a protection from the sun's rays.[ ] in their selection of ornaments the mojaves show a preference for white, intermixed with blue; necklaces and bracelets made from beads and small shells, usually strung together, but sometimes sewed on to leather bands are much in vogue. the apache nation adopt a more fantastic style in painting and in their head-dress; for ornament they employ deer-hoofs, shells, fish-bones, beads, and occasionally porcupine-quills, with which the women embroider their short deer-skin petticoats.[ ] the navajoes, both men and women, wear the hair long, tied or clubbed up behind; they do not tattoo or disfigure themselves with paint.[ ] the ordinary dress is a species of hunting-shirt, or doublet, of deer-skin, or a blanket confined at the waist by a belt; buckskin breeches, sometimes ornamented up the seams with pieces of silver or porcupine-quills; long moccasins, reaching well up the leg, and a round helmet-shaped cap, also of buckskin, surmounted with a plume of eagle or wild turkey feathers, and fastened with a chin-strap. the women wear a blanket and waist-belt, breeches and moccasins. the belts, which are of buckskin, are frequently richly ornamented with silver. they sometimes also use porcupine-quills, with which they embroider their garments.[ ] [sidenote: comanche dress and ornament.] the comanches of both sexes tattoo the face, and body generally on the breast.[ ] the men do not cut the hair, but gather it into tufts or plaits, to which they attach round pieces of silver graduated in size from top to bottom; those who cannot obtain or afford silver use beads, tin, or glass.[ ] much time is spent by them in painting and adorning their person--red being a favorite color; feathers also form a necessary adjunct to their toilet.[ ] some few wear a deer-skin shirt, but the more common dress is the buffalo-robe, which forms the sole covering for the upper part of the body; in addition, the breech-cloth, leggins, and moccasins are worn. the women crop the hair short, and a long shirt made of deer-skin, which extends from the neck to below the knees, with leggins and moccasins, are their usual attire.[ ] [sidenote: dwellings of the apaches.] nomadic and roving in their habits, they pay little attention to the construction of their dwellings. seldom do they remain more than a week in one locality;[ ] hence their lodges are comfortless, and diversified in style according to caprice and circumstances. the frame-work everywhere is usually of poles, the comanches placing them erect, the lipans bringing the tops together in cone-shape, while the apaches bend them over into a low oval;[ ] one or other of the above forms is usually adopted by all this family,[ ] with unimportant differences depending on locality and variations of climate. the framework is covered with brushwood or skins, sometimes with grass or flat stones. they are from twelve to eighteen feet in diameter at the widest part, and vary from four to eight feet in height,[ ] which is sometimes increased by excavation.[ ] a triangular opening serves as a door, which is closed with a piece of cloth or skin attached to the top.[ ] when on or near rocky ground they live in caves, whence some travelers have inferred that they build stone houses.[ ] a few of the mojave dwellings are so superior to the others that they deserve special notice. they may be described as a sort of shed having perpendicular walls and sloping roof, the latter supported by a horizontal beam running along the center, the roof projecting in front so as to form a kind of portico. the timber used is cottonwood, and the interstices are filled up with mud or straw.[ ] none of their houses have windows, the door and smoke-hole in the roof serving for this purpose; but, as many of them have their fires outside, the door is often the only opening.[ ] [sidenote: new mexican dwellings.] small huts about three feet in height constitute their medicine-lodges, or bath-houses, and are generally in form and material like their other structures.[ ] the mojaves also build granaries in a cylindrical form with conical, skillfully made osier roofs.[ ] [sidenote: food and agriculture.] the food of all is similar;[ ] most of them make more or less pretentions to agriculture, and are habituated to a vegetable diet, but seldom do any of them raise a sufficient supply for the year's consumption, and they are therefore forced to rely on the mesquit-bean, the piñon-nut and the maguey-plant, _agave mexicana_, and other wild fruits, which they collect in considerable quantities.[ ] they are but indifferent hunters, and secure only a precarious supply of small game, such as rabbits and squirrels, with ultimate recourse to rats, grasshoppers, lizards and other reptiles.[ ] a few fish are taken by those living in the neighborhood of rivers.[ ] the navajos, mojaves, and yumas, have long been acquainted with the art of agriculture and grow corn, beans, pumpkins, melons, and other vegetables, and also some wheat; some attempt a system of irrigation, and others select for their crops that portion of land which has been overflowed by the river. the navajos possess numerous flocks of sheep, which though used for food, they kill only when requiring the wool for blankets. although in later years they have cows, they do not make butter or cheese, but only a curd from sour milk, from which they express the whey and of which they are very fond.[ ] their method of planting is simple; with a short sharp-pointed stick small holes are dug in the ground into which they drop the seeds, and no further care is given to the crop except to keep it partially free from weeds.[ ] maize soaked in water is ground to a paste between two stones. from this paste tortillas, or thin cakes, are made which are baked on a hot stone. to cook the maguey, a hole is made in the ground, in which a fire is kindled; after it has burned some time the maguey-bulb is buried in the hot ashes and roasted. some concoct a gypsy sort of dish or ollapodrida; game, and such roots or herbs as they can collect, being put in an earthen pot with water and boiled.[ ] as before mentioned, the roving apaches obtain most of their food by hunting and plunder; they eat more meat and less vegetable diet than the other arizona tribes. they have a great partiality for horse-flesh, seldom eat fish, but kill deer and antelope.[ ] when hunting they frequently disguise themselves in a skin, and imitating closely the habits and movements of the animal, they contrive to approach within shooting-distance.[ ] whether it be horse or deer, every portion of the carcass with the exception of the bones, is consumed, the entrails being a special delicacy. their meat they roast partially in the fire, and eat it generally half raw. when food is plenty they eat ravenously and consume an enormous quantity; when scarce, they fast long and stoically. most of them hate bear-meat and pork. so jew-like is the navajo in this particular that he will not touch pork though starving.[ ] [sidenote: buffalo hunting.] the comanches do not cultivate the soil, but subsist entirely by the chase. buffalo, which range in immense herds throughout their country, are the chief food, the only addition to it being a few wild plants and roots; hence they may be said to be almost wholly flesh-eaters.[ ] in pursuit of the buffalo they exhibit great activity, skill, and daring. when approaching a herd, they advance in close column, gradually increasing their speed, and as the distance is lessened, they separate into two or more groups, and dashing into the herd at full gallop, discharge their arrows right and left with great rapidity; others hunt buffalo with spears, but the common and more fatal weapon is the bow and arrow. the skinning and cutting up of the slain animals is usually the task of the women.[ ] the meat and also the entrails are eaten both raw and roasted. a fire being made in a hole, sticks are ranged round it, meeting at the top, on which the meat is placed. the liver is a favorite morsel, and is eaten raw; they also drink the warm blood of the animal.[ ] no provision is made for a time of scarcity, but when many buffalo are killed, they cut portions of them into long strips, which, after being dried in the sun, are pounded fine. this pemican they carry with them in their hunting expeditions, and when unsuccessful in the chase, a small quantity boiled in water or cooked with grease, serves for a meal. when unable to procure game, they sometimes kill their horses and mules for food, but this only when compelled by necessity.[ ] in common with all primitive humanity they are filthy--never bathing except in summer[ ]--with little or no sense of decency.[ ] [sidenote: weapons.] [sidenote: bow and lance.] throughout arizona and new mexico, the bow and arrow is the principal weapon, both in war and in the chase; to which are added, by those accustomed to move about on horseback, the shield and lance;[ ] with such also the mexican riata may now occasionally be seen.[ ] in battle, the colorado river tribes use a club made of hard heavy wood, having a large mallet-shaped head, with a small handle, through which a hole is bored, and in which a leather thong is introduced for the purpose of securing it in the hand.[ ] they seldom use the tomahawk. some carry slings with four cords attached.[ ] the bows are made of yew, bois d'arc, or willow, and strengthened by means of deer-sinews, firmly fastened to the back with a strong adhesive mixture. the length varies from four to five feet. the string is made from sinews of the deer.[ ] a leathern arm-guard is worn round the left wrist to defend it from the blow of the string.[ ] the arrows measure from twenty to thirty inches, according to length of bow, and the shaft is composed of two pieces; the notch end, which is the longer, consisting of a reed, into which is fitted a shorter piece made of acacia, or some other hard wood, and tipped with obsidian, agate, or iron. it is intended that when an object is struck, and an attempt is made to draw out the arrow, the pointed end shall remain in the wound. there is some difference in the feathering; most nations employing three feathers, tied round the shaft at equal distances with fine tendons. the tontos have their arrows winged with four feathers, while some of the comanches use only two. all have some distinguishing mark in their manner of winging, painting, or carving on their arrows.[ ] the quiver is usually made of the skin of some animal, deer or sheep, sometimes of a fox or wild-cat skin entire with the tail appended, or of reeds, and carried slung at the back or fastened to a waist-belt.[ ] the lance is from twelve to fifteen feet long, the point being a long piece of iron, a knife or sword blade socketed into the pole.[ ] previous to the introduction of iron, their spears were pointed with obsidian or some other flinty substance which was hammered and ground to a sharp edge. the frame of the shield is made of light basket-work, covered with two or three thicknesses of buffalo-hide; between the layers of hide it is usual with the comanches to place a stuffing of hair, thus rendering them almost bullet proof. shields are painted in various devices and decorated with feathers, pieces of leather, and other finery, also with the scalps of enemies, and are carried on the left arm by two straps.[ ] [sidenote: apache warriors.] their fighting has more the character of assassination and murder than warfare. they attack only when they consider success a foregone conclusion, and rather than incur the risk of losing a warrior will for days lie in ambush till a fair opportunity for surprising the foe presents itself.[ ] the ingenuity of the apache in preparing an ambush or a surprise is described by colonel cremony as follows: "he has as perfect a knowledge of the assimilation of colors as the most experienced paris modiste. by means of his acumen in this respect, he can conceal his swart body amidst the green grass, behind brown shrubs, or gray rocks, with so much address and judgment that any but the experienced would pass him by without detection at the distance of three or four yards. sometimes they will envelop themselves in a gray blanket, and by an artistic sprinkling of earth, will so resemble a granite boulder as to be passed within near range without suspicion. at others, they will cover their persons with freshly gathered grass, and lying prostrate, appear as a natural portion of the field. again they will plant themselves among the yuccas, and so closely imitate the appearance of that tree as to pass for one of its species." before undertaking a raid they secrete their families in the mountain fastnesses, or elsewhere, then two by two, or in greater numbers, they proceed by different routes, to a place of rendezvous, not far from where the assault is to be made or where the ambuscade is to be prepared. when, after careful observation, coupled with the report of their scouts, they are led to presume that little, if any, resistance will be offered them, a sudden assault is made, men, women and children are taken captives, and animals and goods secured, after which their retreat is conducted in an orderly and skillful manner, choosing pathways over barren and rugged mountains which are known only to themselves.[ ] held asunder from congregating in large bodies by a meagerness of provisions, they have recourse to a system of signals which facilitates intercourse with each other. during the day one or more columns of smoke are the signals made for the scattered and roaming bands to rendezvous, or they serve as a warning against approaching danger. to the same end at night they used a fire beacon; besides these, they have various other means of telegraphing which are understood only by them, for example, the displacement and arrangement of a few stones on the trail, or a bended twig, is to them a note of warning as efficient, as is the bugle-call to disciplined troops.[ ] they treat their prisoners cruelly; scalping them, or burning them at the stake; yet, ruled as they are by greediness, they are always ready to exchange them for horses, blankets, beads, or other property. when hotly pursued, they murder their male prisoners, preserving only the females and children, and the captured cattle, though under desperate circumstances they do not hesitate to slaughter the latter.[ ] the apaches returning to their families from a successful expedition, are received by the women with songs and feasts, but if unsuccessful they are met with jeers and insults. on such occasions says colonel cremony, "the women turn away from them with assured indifference and contempt. they are upbraided as cowards, or for want of skill and tact, and are told that such men should not have wives, because they do not know how to provide for their wants. when so reproached, the warriors hang their heads and offer no excuse for their failure. to do so would only subject them to more ridicule and objurgation; but indian-like, they bide their time in the hope of finally making their peace by some successful raid." if a mojave is taken prisoner he is forever discarded in his own nation, and should he return his mother even will not own him.[ ] [sidenote: comanche warriors.] the comanches, who are better warriors than the apaches, highly honor bravery on the battle-field. from early youth, they are taught the art of war, and the skillful handling of their horses and weapons; and they are not allowed a seat in the council, until their name is garnished by some heroic deed.[ ] before going on the war-path they perform certain ceremonies, prominent among which is the war-dance.[ ] they invariably fight on horseback with the bow and arrow, spear and shield, and in the management of these weapons they have no superiors. their mode of attack is sudden and impetuous; they advance in column, and when near the enemy form subdivisions charging on the foe simultaneously from opposite sides, and while keeping their horses in constant motion, they throw themselves over the side, leaving only a small portion of the body exposed, and in this position discharge their arrows over the back of the animal or under his neck with great rapidity and precision.[ ] a few scalps are taken, for the purpose of being used at the war or scalp dance by which they celebrate a victory. prisoners belong to the captors and the males are usually killed, but women are reserved and become the wives or servants of their owners, while children of both sexes are adopted into the tribe.[ ] peace ceremonies take place at a council of warriors, when the pipe is passed round and smoked by each, previous to which an interchange of presents is customary.[ ] [sidenote: implements.] household utensils are made generally of wickerwork, or straw, which, to render them watertight, are coated with some resinous substance. the mojaves and a few of the apache tribes have also burnt-clay vessels, such as water-jars and dishes.[ ] for grinding maize, as before stated, a kind of metate is used, which with them is nothing more than a convex and a concave stone.[ ] of agricultural implements they know nothing; a pointed stick, crooked at one end, which they call _kishishai_, does service as a corn-planter in spring, and during the later season answers also for plucking fruit from trees, and again, in times of scarcity, to dig rats and prairie dogs from their subterranean retreats. their cradle is a flat board, padded, on which the infant is fastened; on the upper part is a little hood to protect the head, and it is carried by the mother on her back, suspended by a strap.[ ] their saddles are simply two rolls of straw covered with deer or antelope skin, which are connected by a strap; a piece of raw hide serves for girths and stirrups. in later years the mexican saddle, or one approaching it in shape, has been adopted, and the navajos have succeeded in making a pretty fair imitation of it, of hard ash. their bridles, which consist of a rein attached to the lower jaw, are very severe on the animal.[ ] although not essentially a fish-eating people, the mojaves and axuas display considerable ingenuity in the manufacture of fishing-nets, which are noted for their strength and beauty. plaited grass, or the fibry bark of the willow, are the materials of which they are made.[ ] fire is obtained in the old primitive fashion of rubbing together two pieces of wood, one soft and the other hard. the hard piece is pointed and is twirled on the softer piece, with a steady downward pressure until sparks appear.[ ] [sidenote: navajo blankets.] the navajos excel all other nations of this family in the manufacture of blankets.[ ] the art with them is perhaps of mexican origin, and they keep for this industry large flocks of sheep.[ ] some say in making blankets cotton is mixed with the wool, but i find no notice of their cultivating cotton. their looms are of the most primitive kind. two beams, one suspended and the other fastened to the ground, serve to stretch the warp perpendicularly, and two slats, inserted between the double warp, cross and recross it and also open a passage for the shuttle, which is simply a short stick with some thread wound around it. the operator sits on the ground, and the blanket, as the weaving progresses, is wound round the lower beam.[ ] the wool, after being carded, is spun with a spindle resembling a boy's top, the stem being about sixteen inches long and the lower point made to revolve in an earthen bowl by being twirled rapidly between the forefinger and thumb. the thread after being twisted is wound on the spindle, and though not very even, it answers the purpose very well.[ ] the patterns are mostly regular geometrical figures, among which diamonds and parallels predominate.[ ] black and red are the principal variations in color, but blue and yellow are at times seen. their colors they obtain mostly by dyeing with vegetable substances, but in later years they obtain also colored manufactured materials from the whites, which they again unravel, employing the colored threads obtained in this manner in their own manufactures.[ ] they also weave a coarse woolen cloth, of which they at times make shirts and leggins.[ ] besides pottery of burnt clay, wickerwork baskets, and saddles and bridles, no general industry obtains in this family.[ ] featherwork, such as sewing various patterns on skins with feathers, and other ornamental needlework, are also practiced by the navajos.[ ] of the comanches, the abbé domenech relates that they extracted silver from some mines near san saba, from which they manufactured ornaments for themselves and their saddles and bridles.[ ] [sidenote: property.] they have no boats, but use rafts of wood, or bundles of rushes fastened tightly together with osier or willow twigs, and propelled sometimes with poles; but more frequently they place upon the craft their property and wives, and, swimming alongside of it, with the greatest ease push it before them.[ ] for their maintenance, especially in latter days, they are indebted in a great measure to their horses, and accordingly they consider them as their most valuable property. the navajos are larger stock owners than any of the other nations, possessing numerous flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle as well as horses and mules. these, with their blankets, their dressed skins, and peaches which they cultivate, constitute their chief wealth.[ ] certain bands of the apache nation exchange with the agriculturists pottery and skins for grain.[ ] among the navajos, husband and wife hold their property separate, and at their death it becomes the inheritance of the nephew or niece. this law of entail is often eluded by the parents, who before death give their goods to their children.[ ] their exchanges are governed by caprice rather than by established values. sometimes they will give a valuable blanket for a trifling ornament. the mojaves have a species of currency which they call _pook_, consisting of strings of shell beads, whose value is determined by the length.[ ] at the time of coronado's expedition, in , the comanches possessed great numbers of dogs, which they employed in transporting their buffalo-skin tents and scanty household utensils.[ ] when a buffalo is killed, the successful hunter claims only the hide; the others are at liberty to help themselves to the meat according to their necessities.[ ] in their trading transactions they display much shrewdness, and yet are free from the tricks usually resorted to by other nations.[ ] [sidenote: arts and calendar.] their knowledge of decorative art is limited; paintings and sculptures of men and animals, rudely executed on rocks or walls of caverns are occasionally met with; whether intended as hieroglyphical representations, or sketched during the idle moments of some budding genius, it is difficult to determine, owing to the fact that the statements of the various authors who have investigated the subject are conflicting.[ ] the comanches display a certain taste in painting their buffalo-robes, shields, and tents. the system of enumeration of the apaches exhibits a regularity and diffusiveness seldom met with amongst wild tribes, and their language contains all the terms for counting up to ten thousand.[ ] in this respect the comanches are very deficient; what little knowledge of arithmetic they have is decimal, and when counting, the aid of their fingers or presence of some actual object is necessary, being, as they are, in total ignorance of the simplest arithmetical calculation. the rising sun proclaims to them a new day; beyond this they have no computation or division of time. they know nothing of the motions of the earth or heavenly bodies, though they recognise the fixedness of the polar star.[ ] their social organization, like all their manners and customs, is governed by their wild and migratory life. government they have none. born and bred with the idea of perfect personal freedom, all restraint is unendurable.[ ] the nominal authority vested in the war chief, is obtained by election, and is subordinate to the council of warriors.[ ] every father holds undisputed sway over his children until the age of puberty. his power, importance, and influence at the council-fire is determined by the amount of his slaves and other property.[ ] those specially distinguished by their cunning and prowess in war, or success in the chase, are chosen as chiefs. [sidenote: comanche government.] a chief may at any time be deposed.[ ] sometimes it happens that one family retains the chieftaincy in a tribe during several generations, because of the bravery or wealth of the sons.[ ] in time of peace but little authority is vested in the chief; but on the war path, to ensure success, his commands are implicitly obeyed. it also frequently happens that chiefs are chosen to lead some particular war or marauding expedition, their authority expiring immediately upon their return home.[ ] among the comanches public councils are held at regular intervals during the year, when matters pertaining to the common weal are discussed, laws made, thefts, seditions, murders, and other crimes punished, and the quarrels of warrior-chiefs settled. smaller councils are also held, in which, as well as in the larger ones, all are free to express their opinion.[ ] questions laid before them are taken under consideration, a long time frequently elapsing before a decision is made. great care is taken that the decrees of the meeting shall be in accordance with the opinion and wishes of the majority. laws are promulgated by a public crier, who ranks next to the chief in dignity.[ ] ancestral customs and traditions govern the decisions of the councils; brute force, or right of the strongest, with the law of talion in its widest acceptance, direct the mutual relations of tribes and individuals.[ ] murder, adultery, theft, and sedition are punished with death or public exposure, or settled by private agreement or the interposition of elderly warriors. the doctor failing to cure his patient must be punished by death. the court of justice is the council of the tribe, presided over by the chiefs, the latter with the assistance of sub-chiefs, rigidly executing judgment upon the culprits.[ ] all crimes may be pardoned but murder, which must pay blood for blood if the avenger overtake his victim.[ ] all the natives of this family hold captives as slaves;[ ] some treat them kindly, employing the men as herders and marrying the women; others half-starve and scourge them, and inflict on them the most painful labors.[ ] nothing short of crucifixion, roasting by a slow fire, or some other most excruciating form of death, can atone the crime of attempted escape from bondage. they not only steal children from other tribes and sell them, but carry on a most unnatural traffic in their own offspring.[ ] [sidenote: treatment of women.] [sidenote: marriage and child-birth.] womankind as usual is not respected. the female child receives little care from its mother, being only of collateral advantage to the tribe. later she becomes the beast of burden and slave of her husband. some celebrate the entry into womanhood with feasting and dancing.[ ] courtship is simple and brief; the wooer pays for his bride and takes her home.[ ] every man may have all the wives he can buy. there is generally a favorite, or chief wife, who exercises authority over the others. as polygamy causes a greater division of labor, the women do not object to it.[ ] sometimes a feast of horse-flesh celebrates a marriage.[ ] all the labor of preparing food, tanning skins, cultivating fields, making clothes, and building houses, falls to the women, the men considering it beneath their dignity to do anything but hunt and fight. the women feed and saddle the horses of their lords; oftentimes they are cruelly beaten, mutilated, and even put to death.[ ] the marriage yoke sits lightly; the husband may repudiate his wife at will and take back the property given for her; the wife may abandon her husband, but by the latter act she covers him with such disgrace that it may only be wiped out by killing somebody[ ]--anybody whom he may chance to meet. in the event of a separation the children follow the mother. they are not a prolific race; indeed, it is but seldom that a woman has more than three or four children. as usual parturition is easy; but owing to unavoidable exposure many of their infants soon die. the naming of the child is attended with superstitious rites, and on reaching the age of puberty they never fail to change its name.[ ] immediately after the birth of the child, it is fastened to a small board, by bandages, and so carried for several months on the back of the mother. later the child rides on the mother's hip, or is carried on her back in a basket or blanket, which in travelling on horseback is fastened to the pommel of the saddle. boys are early taught the use of weapons, and early learn their superiority over girls, being seldom or never punished.[ ] it is a singular fact that of all these people the thievish meat-eating apache is almost the only one who makes any pretentions to female chastity. all authorities agree that the apache women both before and after marriage are remarkably pure.[ ] yuma husbands for gain surrender not only their slaves, but their wives. hospitality carries with it the obligation of providing for the guest a temporary wife. the usual punishment for infidelity is the mutilation of the nose or ears, which disfigurement prevents the offender from marrying, and commonly sends her forth as a public harlot in the tribe.[ ] the seducer can appease the anger of an injured husband by presents, although before the law he forfeits his life. even sodomy and incestuous intercourse occur among them. old age is dishonorable.[ ] [sidenote: amusements.] [sidenote: smoking and dancing.] they are immoderately fond of smoking, drinking, feasting, and amusements which fill up the many hours of idleness. dancing and masquerading is the most favorite pastime. they have feasts with dances to celebrate victories, feasts given at marriage, and when girls attain the age of puberty; a ceremonial is observed at the burial of noted warriors, and on other various occasions of private family life, in which both men and women take part. the dance is performed by a single actor or by a number of persons of both sexes to the accompaniment of instruments or their own voices.[ ] all festivities are incomplete without impromptu songs, the music being anything but agreeable, and the accompaniment corn-stalk or cane flutes, wooden drums, or calabashes filled with stone and shaken to a constantly varying time.[ ] they also spend much time in gambling, often staking their whole property on a throw, including everything upon their backs. one of these games is played with a bullet, which is passed rapidly from one hand to the other, during which they sing, assisting the music with the motion of their arms. the game consists in guessing in which hand the bullet is held. another comanche game is played with twelve sticks, each about six inches in length. these are dropped on the ground and those falling across each other are counted for game, one hundred being the limit.[ ] horse-racing is likewise a passion with them;[ ] as are also all other athletic sports.[ ] when smoking, the comanches direct the first two puffs, with much ceremony and muttering, to the sun, and the third puff with a like demonstration is blown toward the earth. when short of tobacco, they make use of the dried leaves of the sumach, of willow-bark, or other plants.[ ] the comanches are remarkable for their temperance, or rather abhorrence for intoxicating drink; all the other nations of this family abandon themselves to this subtle demoralization, and are rapidly sinking under it. they make their own spirits out of corn and out of agave americana, the pulque and mescal, both very strong and intoxicating liquors.[ ] of all north american indians the comanches and cheyennes are said to be the most skillful riders, and it would be difficult to find their superiors in any part of the world. young children, almost infants, are tied by their mothers to half-wild, bare-backed mustangs, which place thenceforth becomes their home. they supply themselves with fresh horses from wild droves wandering over the prairies, or from mexican rancherías. a favorite horse is loved and cherished above all things on earth, not excepting wives or children. the women are scarcely behind the men in this accomplishment. they sit astride, guide the horses with the knee like the men, and catch and break wild colts. in fighting, the comanches throw the body on one side of the horse, hang on by the heel and shoot with great precision and rapidity. it is beneath the dignity of these horsemen to travel on foot, and in their sometimes long and rapid marches, they defy pursuit.[ ] before horses were known they used to transport their household effects on the backs of dogs, which custom even now prevails among some nations.[ ] [sidenote: comanche customs.] the comanche observes laws of hospitality as strictly as the arab, and he exacts the observance of his rules of etiquette from strangers. when a visitor enters his dwelling, the master of the house points to him a seat, and how to reach it, and the host is greatly offended if his directions are not strictly followed. meeting on the prairie, friends as well as enemies, if we may believe colonel marcy, put their horses at full speed. "when a party is discovered approaching thus, and are near enough to distinguish signals, all that is necessary to ascertain their disposition is to raise the right hand with the palm in front, and gradually push it forward and back several times. they all understand this to be a command to halt, and if they are not hostile, it will at once be obeyed. after they have stopped, the right hand is raised again as before, and slowly moved to the right and left, which signifies, i do not know you. who are you? they will then answer the inquiry by giving their signal." then they inflict on strangers the hugging and face-rubbing remarked among the eskimos, demonstrating thereby the magnitude of their joy at meeting.[ ] the various tribes of the yuma and mojave nations hold communication with one another by means of couriers or runners, who quickly disseminate important news, and call together the various bands for consultation, hunting, and war. besides this, there is used everywhere on the prairies, a system of telegraphy, which perhaps is only excelled by the wires themselves. smoke during the day, and fires at night, perched on mountain-tops, flash intelligence quickly and surely across the plains, giving the call for assistance or the order to disperse when pursued. the advanced posts also inform the main body of the approach of strangers, and all this is done with astonishing regularity, by either increasing or diminishing the signal column, or by displaying it only at certain intervals or by increasing the number.[ ] in cold weather many of the nations in the neighborhood of the colorado, carry firebrands in their hands, as they assert for the purpose of warming themselves, which custom led the early visitors to name the colorado the rio del tizon.[ ] [sidenote: diseases and medicine.] the comanches stand in great dread of evil spirits, which they attempt to conciliate by fasting and abstinence. when their demons withhold rain or sunshine, according as they desire, they whip a slave, and if their gods prove obdurate, their victim is almost flayed alive. the navajos venerate the bear, and as before stated, never kill him nor touch any of his flesh.[ ] although early writers speak of cannibalism among these people, there is no evidence that they do or ever did eat human flesh.[ ] in their intercourse they are dignified and reserved, and never interrupt a person speaking. unless compelled by necessity, they never speak any language but their own, it being barbarous in their eyes to make use of foreign tongues.[ ] [sidenote: burial of the dead.] although endowed generally with robust and healthy constitutions, bilious and malarial fever, pneumonia, rheumatism, dysentery, ophthalmia, measles, small-pox, and various syphilitic diseases are sometimes met among them; the latter occurring most frequently among the navajos, mojaves, yumas, and comanches. whole bands are sometimes affected with the last-mentioned disease, and its effects are often visible in their young. a cutaneous ailment, called _pintos_, also makes its appearance at times.[ ] for these ailments they have different remedies, consisting of leaves, herbs, and roots, of which decoctions or poultices are made; scarification and the hunger cure are resorted to as well. among the mojaves the universal remedy is the sweat-house, employed by them and the other nations not only as a remedy for diseases, but for pleasure. there is no essential difference between their sweat-houses and those of northern nations--an air-tight hut near a stream, heated stones, upon which water is thrown to generate steam, and a plunge into the water afterward. as a cure for the bite of a rattlesnake they employ an herb called _euphorbia_. broken or wounded limbs are encased in wooden splints until healed. but frequently they abandon their sick and maimed, or treat them with great harshness.[ ] priests or medicine-men possess almost exclusively the secrets of the art of healing. when herbs fail they resort to incantations, songs, and wailings. they are firm believers in witchcraft, and wear as amulets and charms, feathers, stones, antelope-toes, crane's bills, bits of charred wood and the like. their prophets claim the power of foretelling future events, and are frequently consulted therefor.[ ] most of the nations in the vicinity of the colorado, burn their dead as soon as possible after death, on which occasion the worldly effects of the deceased are likewise spiritualized; utensils, property, sometimes wives, are sent with their master to the spirit land.[ ] those that do not burn the dead, bury them in caves or in shallow graves, with the robes, blankets, weapons, utensils, and ornaments of the deceased. the comanches frequently build a heap of stones over the grave of a warrior, near which they erect a pole from which a pair of moccasins is suspended.[ ] after burying the corpse, they have some mourning ceremonies, such as dances and songs around a fire, and go into mourning for a month. as a sign of grief they cut off the manes and tails of their horses, and also crop their own hair and lacerate their bodies in various ways; the women giving vent to their affliction by long continued howlings. but this applies only to warriors; children, and old men, are not worth so ostentatious a funeral.[ ] the name of a deceased person is rarely mentioned, and the apaches are shy of admitting strangers to a celebration of funeral ceremonies, which mostly take place at night. in general they are averse to speaking upon the subject of death at all. the navajos, says mr davis, "have a superstitious dread of approaching a dead body, and will never go near one when they can avoid it."[ ] [sidenote: new mexican character.] in the character of the several nations of this division there is a marked contrast. the apaches as i have said, though naturally lazy like all savages, are in their industries extremely active,--their industries being theft and murder, to which they are trained by their mothers, and in which they display consummate cunning, treachery, and cruelty.[ ] the navajos and mojaves display a more docile nature; their industries, although therein they do not claim to eschew all trickery, being of a more peaceful, substantial character, such as stock-raising, agriculture, and manufactures. professional thieving is not countenanced. though treacherous, they are not naturally cruel; and though deaf to the call of gratitude, they are hospitable and socially inclined. they are ever ready to redeem their pledged word, and never shrink from the faithful performance of a contract. they are brave and intelligent, and possess much natural common sense.[ ] the tamajabs have no inclination to share in marauding excursions. though not wanting in courage, they possess a mild disposition, and are kind to strangers.[ ] the comanches are dignified in their deportment, vain in respect to their personal appearance, ambitious of martial fame, unrelenting in their feuds, always exacting blood for blood, yet not sanguinary. they are true to their allies, prizing highly their freedom, hospitable to strangers, sober yet gay, maintaining a grave stoicism in presence of strangers, and a spartan indifference under severe suffering or misfortune. formal, discreet, and arab-like, they are always faithful to the guest who throws himself upon their hospitality. to the valiant and brave is awarded the highest place in their esteem. they are extremely clannish in their social relations. quarrels among relatives and friends are unheard of among them.[ ] [sidenote: the pueblos.] the non-nomadic semi-civilized town and agricultural peoples of new mexico and arizona, the second division of this group, i call the pueblos, or towns-people, from _pueblo_, town, population, people, a name given by the spaniards to such inhabitants of this region as were found, when first discovered, permanently located in comparatively well-built towns. strictly speaking, the term pueblos applies only to the villagers settled along the banks of the rio grande del norte and its tributaries, between latitudes ° ´ and ° ´, and although the name is employed as a general appellation for this division, it will be used, for the most part, only in its narrower and popular sense. in this division, besides the before-mentioned _pueblos_ proper, are embraced the _moquis_, or villagers of eastern arizona, and the non-nomadic agricultural nations of the lower gila river,--the _pimas_, _maricopas_, _pápagos_, and cognate tribes. the country of the towns-people, if we may credit lieutenant simpson, is one of "almost universal barrenness," yet interspersed with fertile spots; that of the agricultural nations, though dry, is more generally productive. the fame of this so-called civilization reached mexico at an early day; first through alvar nuñez cabeza de vaca and his companions, who belonged to the expedition under the unfortunate pámphilo de narvaez, traversing the continent from florida to the shore of the gulf of california; they brought in exaggerated rumors of great cities to the north, which prompted the expeditions of marco de niza in , of coronado in , and of espejo in . these adventurers visited the north in quest of the fabulous kingdoms of quivira, tontonteac, marata and others, in which great riches were said to exist. the name of quivira was afterwards applied by them to one or more of the pueblo cities. the name cíbola, from _cíbolo_, mexican bull, _bos bison_, or wild ox of new mexico, where the spaniards first encountered buffalo, was given to seven of the towns which were afterwards known as the seven cities of cíbola. but most of the villages known at the present day were mentioned in the reports of the early expeditions by their present names. the statements in regard to the number of their villages differed from the first. castañeda speaks of seven cities.[ ] the following list, according to lieutenant whipple's statement, appears to be the most complete. commencing north, and following the southward course of the rio grande del norte; shipap, acoti, taos, picuris, san juan, pojuaque, santa clara, san ildefonso, nambe, tesuque, cochite, pecos, santo domingo, cuyamanque, silla, jemez, san felipe, galisteo, santa ana, zandia, laguna, acoma, zuñi, isleta, and chilili.[ ] the moquis who speak a distinct language, and who have many customs peculiar to themselves, inhabit seven villages, named oraibe, shumuthpa, mushaiina, ahlela, gualpi, siwinna, and tegua.[ ] by the spanish conquest of new mexico the natives were probably disturbed less than was usually the case with the vanquished race; the pueblos being well-domiciled and well-behaved, and having little to be stolen, the invaders adopted the wise policy of permitting them to work in peace, and to retain the customs and traditions of their forefathers as they do, many of them, to this day. attempts have been made to prove a relationship with the civilized aztecs of mexico, but thus far without success. no affinities in language appear to exist; that of the moquis, indeed, contains a few faint traces of and assimilations to aztec words, as i shall show in the third volume of this work, but they are not strong enough to support any theory of common origin or relationship.[ ] [sidenote: pimas and pÁpagos.] the pimas inhabit the banks of the gila river about two hundred miles above its confluence with the colorado. their territory extends from about the bend of the gila up the river to a place called maricopa coppermine; northward their boundary is the salt river, and south the picacho. they are generally divided, and known as the upper and lower pimas, which branches show but slight dialectic differences. when first seen their territory extended further southward into sonora. the pápagos, their neighbors, are closely allied to them by language. in nowise related to them, but very similar in their manners and customs, are the maricopas, who reside in their immediate vicinity, and who claim to have migrated to that place some centuries ago, from a more westerly territory. all these people, although not dwelling in houses built, like those of the pueblos, of solid materials, have settled villages in which they reside at all times, and are entirely distinct from the roving and nomadic tribes described in the apache family. when first found by the spaniards, they cultivated the soil, and knew how to weave cotton and other fabrics; in fact it was easily observable that they had made a step toward civilization. i therefore describe them together with the pueblos. the region occupied by them, although containing some good soil, is scantily provided with water, and to enable them to raise crops, they are obliged to irrigate, conducting the water of the gila to their fields in small canals. the water obtained by digging wells is frequently brackish, and in many places they are forced to carry all the water needed for household purposes quite a long distance. the climate is claimed to be one of the hottest on the american continent. the pueblos, and moqui villagers, are a race of small people, the men averaging about five feet in height, with small hands and feet, well-cut features, bright eyes, and a generally pleasing expression of countenance.[ ] their hair is dark, soft, and of fine texture, and their skin a clear shade of brown.[ ] the woman seldom exceed four feet in height, with figure rotund, but a graceful carriage, and face full, with pretty, intelligent features and good teeth.[ ] albinos are at times seen amongst them, who are described as having very fair complexions, light hair, and blue or pink eyes.[ ] [sidenote: dress of the pueblos.] [sidenote: pima and maricopa dwellings.] the pimas and their neighbors are men of fine physique, tall and bony, many of them exceeding six feet in height, broad-chested, erect, and muscular, but frequently light-limbed with small hands, though the feet of both sexes are large. they have large features, expressive of frankness and good nature, with prominent cheek-bones and aquiline nose, those of the women being somewhat retroussés.[ ] the females are symmetrically formed, with beautifully tapered limbs, full busts, pleasing features, embellished with white and evenly set teeth.[ ] their coarse hair grows to a great length and thickness, and their dark complexion becomes yet darker toward the south.[ ] the ordinary dress of the pueblos is the breech-cloth and blanket; some add a blouse of cotton or deer-skin, a waist-belt, and buckskin leggins and moccasins. the women wear a long, cotton, sleeveless tunic, confined round the waist by a colored girdle, a species of cape bordered in different colors, fastened round the neck at the two corners, and reaching down to the waist, while over the head a shawl is thrown. the feet are protected by neat moccasins of deer-skin or woolen stuff, surmounted by leggins of the same material. they have a habit of padding the leggins, which makes them appear short-legged with small feet.[ ] the men bind a handkerchief or colored band round the head. young women dress the hair in a peculiarly neat and becoming style. parting it at the back, they roll it round hoops, when it is fastened in two high bunches, one on each side of the head, placing sometimes a single feather in the center; married women gather it into two tight knots at the side or one at the back of the head; the men cut it in front of the ears, and in a line with the eye-brows, while at the back it is plaited or gathered into a single bunch, and tied with a band.[ ] on gala occasions they paint and adorn themselves in many grotesque styles; arms, legs, and exposed portions of the body are covered with stripes or rings, and conical-shaped head-dresses; feathers, sheep-skin wigs, and masks, are likewise employed.[ ] the habiliments of the pimas are a cotton serape of their own manufacture, a breech-cloth, with sandals of raw-hide or deer-skin. women wear the same kind of serape, wound round the loins and pinned, or more frequently tucked in at the waist, or fastened with a belt in which different-colored wools are woven; some wear a short petticoat of deer-skin or bark.[ ] they wear no head-dress. like the pueblos, the men cut the hair short across the forehead, and either plait it in different coils behind, which are ornamented with bits of bone, shells, or red cloth, or mix it with clay, or gather it into a turban shape on top of the head, leaving a few ornamented and braided locks to hang down over the ears.[ ] each paints in a manner to suit the fancy; black, red, and yellow are the colors most in vogue, black being alone used for war paint. some tattoo their newly born children round the eyelids, and girls, on arriving at the age of maturity, tattoo from the corners of the mouth to the chin. some tribes oblige their women to cut the hair, others permit it to grow.[ ] for ornament, shell and bead necklaces are used; also ear-rings of a blue stone found in the mountains.[ ] the dwellings of the agricultural pimas, maricopas, and pápagos consist of dome-shaped huts, either round or oval at the base. there are usually thirty or more to a village, and they are grouped with some regard to regularity. strong forked stakes are firmly fixed in the ground at regular distances from each other, the number varying according to the size of the hut, cross-poles are laid from one to the other, around these are placed cotton-wood poles, which are bent over and fastened to the transverse sticks, the structure is then wattled with willows, reeds, or coarse straw, and the whole covered with a coat of mud. the only openings are an entrance door about three feet high, and a small aperture in the center of the roof that serves for ventilation. their height is from five to seven feet, and the diameter from twenty to fifty. outside stands a shed, open at all sides with a roof of branches or corn-stalks, under which they prepare their food. their houses are occupied mainly during the rainy season; in summer they build light sheds of twigs in their corn-fields, which not only are more airy, but are also more convenient in watching their growing crops. besides the dwelling-place, each family has a granary, similar in shape and of like materials but of stronger construction; by frequent plastering with mud they are made impervious to rain.[ ] the towns of the pueblos are essentially unique, and are the dominant feature of these aboriginals. some of them are situated in valleys, others on mesas; sometimes they are planted on elevations almost inaccessible, reached only by artificial grades or by steps cut in the solid rock. some of the towns are of an elliptical shape, while others are square, a town being frequently but a block of buildings. thus a pueblo consists of one or more squares, each enclosed by three or four buildings of from three to four hundred feet in length, and about one hundred and fifty feet in width at the base, and from two to seven stories of from eight to nine feet each in height. the buildings forming the square do not meet, but in some cases are connected by bridges or covered gangways, and in some instances the houses project over the streets below, which being narrow, are thus given an underground appearance. the stories are built in a series of gradations or retreating surfaces, decreasing in size as they rise, thus forming a succession of terraces. [sidenote: pueblo houses.] in some of the towns these terraces are on both sides of the building; in others they face only toward the outside; while again in others they are on the inside. in front of the terraces is a parapet, which serves as a shelter for the inhabitants when forced to defend themselves against an attack from the outside. these terraces are about six feet wide, and extend round the three or four sides of the square, forming a walk for the occupants of the story resting upon it, and a roof for the story beneath; so with the stories above. as there is no inner communication with one another, the only means of mounting to them is by ladders which stand at convenient distances along the several rows of terraces, and they may be drawn up at pleasure, thus cutting off all unwelcome intrusion. the outside walls of one or more of the lower stories are entirely solid, having no openings of any kind, with the exception of, in some towns, a few loopholes. all the doors and windows are on the inside opening on the court. the several stories of these huge structures are divided into multitudinous compartments of greater or lesser size, which are apportioned to the several families of the tribe. access is had to the different stories by means of the ladders, which at night and in times of danger are drawn up after the person entering. to enter the rooms on the ground floor from the outside, one must mount the ladder to the first balcony or terrace, then descend through a trap door in the floor by another ladder on the inside. the roofs or ceilings, which are nearly flat, are formed of transverse beams which slope slightly outward, the ends resting on the side walls; on these, to make the floor and terrace of the story above, is laid brush wood, then a layer of bark or thin slabs, and over all a thick covering of mud sufficient to render them water-tight. the windows in the upper stories are made of flakes of selenite instead of glass. the rooms are large, the substantial partitions are made of wood, and neatly whitewashed. the apartments on the ground floor are gloomy, and generally used as store-rooms; those above are sometimes furnished with a small fireplace, the chimney leading out some feet above the terrace. houses are common property, and both men and women assist in building them; the men erect the wooden frames, and the women make the mortar and build the walls. in place of lime for mortar, they mix ashes with earth and charcoal. they make adobes or sun-dried bricks by mixing ashes and earth with water, which is then moulded into large blocks and dried in the sun. some of the towns are built with stones laid in mud. captain simpson describes several ruined cities, which he visited, which show that the inhabitants formerly had a knowledge of architecture and design superior to any that the pueblos of the present day possess. yet their buildings are even now well constructed, for although several stories in height, the walls are seldom more than three or four feet in thickness. the apartments are well arranged and neatly kept; one room is used for cooking, another for grinding corn and preserving winter supplies of food, others for sleeping-rooms. on the balconies, round the doors opening upon them, the villagers congregate to gossip and smoke, while the streets below, when the ladders are drawn up, present a gloomy and forsaken appearance. sometimes villages are built in the form of an open square with buildings on three sides, and again two or more large terraced structures capable of accommodating one or two thousand people are built contiguous to each other, or on opposite banks of a stream. in some instances the outer wall presents one unbroken line, without entrance or anything to indicate the busy life within; another form is to join the straight walls, which encompass three sides of a square, by a fourth circular wall; in all of which the chief object is defense. the pueblos take great pride in their picturesque and, to them, magnificent structures, affirming that as fortresses they have ever proved impregnable. to wall out black barbarism was what the pueblos wanted, and to be let alone; under these conditions time was giving them civilization.[ ] [sidenote: pueblo estufas.] the sweat-house, or as the spaniards call it, the _estufa_, assumes with the pueblos the grandest proportions. every village has from one to six of these singular structures. a large, semi-subterranean room, it is at once bath-house, town-house, council-chamber, club-room, and church. it consists of a large excavation, the roof being about on a level with the ground, sometimes a little above it, and is supported by heavy timbers or pillars of masonry. around the sides are benches, and in the center of the floor a square stone box for fire, wherein aromatic plants are kept constantly burning. entrance is made by means of a ladder, through a hole in the top placed directly over the fire-place so that it also serves as a ventilator and affords a free passage to the smoke. usually they are circular in form and of both large and small dimensions; they are placed either within the great building or underground in the court without. in some of the ruins they are found built in the center of what was once a pyramidal pile, and four stories in height. at jemez the estufa is of one story, twenty-five feet wide by thirty feet high. the ruins of chettro kettle contain six estufas, each two or three stories in height. at bonito are estufas one hundred and seventy-five feet in circumference, built in alternate layers of thick and thin stone slabs. in these subterranean temples the old men met in secret council, or assembled in worship of their gods. here are held dances and festivities, social intercourse, and mourning ceremonies. certain of the pueblos have a custom similar to that practiced by some of the northern tribes, the men sleeping in the sweat-house with their feet to the fire, and permitting women to enter only to bring them food. the estufas of tiguex were situated in the heart of the village, built underground, both round and square, and paved with large polished stones.[ ] [sidenote: how food is obtained.] from the earliest information we have of these nations they are known to have been tillers of the soil; and though the implements used and their methods of cultivation were both simple and primitive, cotton, corn, wheat, beans, with many varieties of fruits, which constituted their principal food, were raised in abundance. the pueblos breed poultry to a considerable extent; fish are eaten whenever obtainable, as also a few wild animals, such as deer, hares, and rabbits, though they are indifferent hunters.[ ] the pápagos, whose country does not present such favorable conditions for agriculture are forced to rely for a subsistence more upon wild fruits and animals than the nations north of them. they collect large quantities of the fruit of the pitahaya (_cereus giganteus_), and in seasons of scarcity resort to whatever is life-sustaining, not disdaining even snakes, lizards, and toads.[ ] most of these people irrigate their lands by means of conduits or ditches, leading either from the river or from tanks in which rain-water is collected and stored for the purpose. these ditches are kept in repair by the community, but farming operations are carried on by each family for its own separate benefit, which is a noticeable advance from the usual savage communism.[ ] fishing nets are made of twisted thread or of small sticks joined together at the ends. when the rivers are low, fish are caught in baskets or shot with arrows to which a string is attached.[ ] the corn which is stored for winter use, is first par-boiled in the shuck, and then suspended from strings to dry; peaches are dried in large quantities, and melons are preserved by peeling and removing the seeds, when they are placed in the sun, and afterward hung up in trees. meal is ground on the metate and used for making porridge, tortillas, and a very thin cake called _guayave_, which latter forms a staple article of food amongst the pueblos. the process of making the guayave, as seen by lieutenant simpson at santo domingo on the rio grande, is thus described in his journal. "at the house of the governor i noticed a woman, probably his wife, going through the process of baking a very thin species of corn cake, called, according to gregg, guayave. she was hovering over a fire, upon which lay a flat stone. near her was a bowl of thin corn paste, into which she thrust her fingers; allowing then the paste to drip sparingly upon the stone, with two or three wipes from the palm of her hand she would spread it entirely and uniformly over the stone; this was no sooner done than she peeled it off as fit for use; and the process was again and again repeated, until a sufficient quantity was obtained. when folded and rolled together, it does not look unlike (particularly that made from the blue corn) a hornet's nest--a name by which it is sometimes called." the pimas do all their cooking out of doors, under a shed erected for the purpose. they collect the pulp from the fruit of the pitahaya, and boiling it in water, make a thick syrup, which they store away for future use. they also dry the fruit in the sun like figs.[ ] the pueblos and moquis are remarkable for their personal cleanliness and the neatness of their dwellings.[ ] [sidenote: pueblo weapons.] their weapons are bows and arrows, spears, and clubs. the pueblos use a crooked stick, which they throw somewhat in the manner of the boomerang; they are exceedingly skillful in the use of the sling, with a stone from which they are said to be able to hit with certainty a small mark or kill a deer at the distance of a hundred yards. for defense, they use a buckler or shield made of raw hide. their arrows are carried in skin quivers or stuck in the belt round the waist.[ ] bows are made of willow, and are about six feet in length, strung with twisted deer-sinews; arrows are made of reeds, into which a piece of hard wood is fitted.[ ] the pimas wing their war arrows with three feathers and point them with flint, while for hunting purposes they have only two feathers and wooden points.[ ] it has been stated that they poison them, but there does not appear to be good foundation for this assertion.[ ] clubs, which are used in hand-to-hand combats, are made of a hard, heavy wood, measuring from twenty to twenty-four inches in length. in former days they were sharpened by inserting flint or obsidian along the edge.[ ] [sidenote: war ceremonies.] the pimas wage unceasing war against the apaches, and the pueblos are ever at enmity with their neighbors, the navajos. the pueblos are securely protected by the position and construction of their dwellings, from the top of which they are able to watch the appearance and movements of enemies, and should any be daring enough to approach their walls, they are greeted by a shower of stones and darts. as an additional protection to their towns, they dig pitfalls on the trails leading to them, at the bottom of which sharp-pointed stakes are driven, the top of the hole being carefully covered.[ ] expeditions are sometimes organized against the navajos for the recovery of stolen property. on such occasions the towns-people equip themselves with the heads, horns, and tails of wild animals, paint the body and plume the head.[ ] lieutenant simpson mentions a curious custom observed by them, just previous to going into action. "they halted on the way to receive from their chiefs some medicine from the medicine bags which each of them carried about his person. this they rubbed upon their heart, as they said, to make it big and brave." the pueblos fight on horseback in skirmishing order, and keep up a running fight, throwing the body into various attitudes, the better to avoid the enemies' missiles, at the same time discharging their arrows with rapidity.[ ] the pimas, who fight usually on foot, when they decide on going to war, select their best warriors, who are sent to notify the surrounding villages, and a place of meeting is named where a grand council is held. a fire being lighted and a circle of warriors formed, the proceedings are opened by war songs and speeches, their prophet is consulted, and in accordance with his professional advice, their plan of operations is arranged.[ ] the attack is usually made about day-break, and conducted with much pluck and vigor. they content themselves with proximate success, and seldom pursue a flying foe.[ ] during the heat of battle they spare neither sex nor age, but if prisoners are taken, the males are crucified or otherwise cruelly put to death, and the women and children sold as soon as possible.[ ] the successful war party on its return is met by the inhabitants of the villages, scalps are fixed on a pole, trophies displayed, and feasting and dancing indulged in for several days and nights; if unsuccessful, mourning takes the place of feasting, and the death-cries of the women resound through the villages.[ ] [sidenote: pueblo trade.] for farming implements they use plows, shovels, harrows, hatchets, and sticks, all of wood.[ ] baskets of willow-twigs, so closely woven as to be water-tight, and ornamented with figures; and round, baked, and glazed earthen vessels, narrow at the top, and decorated with paintings or enamel, are their household utensils.[ ] for mashing hulled corn they used the metate, a mexican implement, made of two stones, one concave and the other convex, hereafter more fully described. among their household utensils there must also be mentioned hair sieves, hide ropes, water-gourds, painted fans, stone pipes, and frame panniers connected with a netting to carry loads on their backs.[ ] in their manufacture of blankets, of cotton and woolen cloths, and stockings, the pueblos excel their neighbors, the navajos, although employing essentially the same method, and using similar looms and spinning instruments, as have been described in the preceding pages. although the women perform most of this work, as well as tanning leather, it is said that the men also are expert in knitting woolen stockings. according to mühlenpfordt the pimas and maricopas make a basket-boat which they call _cora_, woven so tight as to be water-proof without the aid of pitch or other application.[ ] all these nations, particularly the pueblos, have great droves of horses, mules, donkeys, cattle, sheep, and goats grazing on the extensive plains, and about their houses poultry, turkeys, and dogs. the flocks they either leave entirely unprotected, or else the owner herds them himself, or from each village one is appointed by the war captain to do so. the pápagos carry on an extensive trade in salt, taken from the great inland salt lakes. besides corn, they manufacture and sell a syrup extracted from the pitahaya.[ ] the laws regulating inheritance of property are not well defined. among some there is nothing to inherit, as all is destroyed when the person dies; among others the females claim the right of inheritance; at other times the remaining property is divided among all the members of the tribe. in general they care but little for gold, and all their trade, which at times is considerable, is carried on by barter; a kind of blue stone, often called turquoise, beads, skins, and blankets, serving the purpose of currency.[ ] the pueblos display much taste in painting the walls of their estufas, where are represented different plants, birds, and animals symmetrically done, but without any scenic effect. hieroglyphic groupings, both sculptured and painted, are frequently seen in the ancient pueblo towns, depicting, perhaps, their historical events and deeds. with colored earths their pottery is painted in bright colors.[ ] many spanish authors mention a great many gold and silver vessels in use amongst them, and speak of the knowledge they had in reducing and working these metals; but no traces of such art are found at present.[ ] [sidenote: laws of the pueblos.] among the pueblos an organized system of government existed at the time of coronado's expedition through their country; castañeda, speaking of the province of tiguex, says that the villages were governed by a council of old men; and a somewhat similar system obtains with these people at the present time. each village selects its own governor, frames its own laws, and in all respects they act independently of each other. the governor and his council are elected annually by the people; all affairs of importance and matters relating to the welfare of the community are discussed at the estufa; questions in dispute are usually decided by a vote of the majority. all messages and laws emanating from the council-chamber are announced to the inhabitants by town criers. the morals of young people are carefully watched and guarded by a kind of secret police, whose duty it is to report to the governor all irregularities which may occur; and especial attention is given that no improper intercourse shall be allowed between the young men and women, in the event of which the offending parties are brought before the governor and council and, if guilty, ordered to marry, or if they refuse they are restricted from holding intercourse with each other, and if they persist they are whipped. among their laws deserves to be particularly mentioned one, according to which no one can sell or marry out of the town until he obtains permission from the authorities.[ ] in the seven confederate pueblos of the moquis, the office of chief governor is hereditary; it is not, however, necessarily given to the nearest heir, as the people have the power to elect any member of the dominant family. the governor is assisted by a council of elders, and in other respects the moqui government is similar to that of the other towns.[ ] the pimas and maricopas have no organized system of government, and are not controlled by any code of laws; each tribe or village has a chief to whom a certain degree of respect is conceded, but his power to restrain the people is very limited; his influence over them is maintained chiefly by his oratorical powers or military skill. in war the tribe is guided by the chief's advice, and his authority is fully recognized, but in time of peace his rule is nominal; nor does he attempt to control their freedom or punish them for offences. the chief's office is hereditary, yet an unpopular ruler may be deposed and another chosen to fill his place.[ ] [sidenote: women among the pueblos.] among the pueblos the usual order of courtship is reversed; when a girl is disposed to marry she does not wait for a young man to propose to her, but selects one to her own liking and consults her father, who visits the parents of the youth and acquaints them with his daughter's wishes. it seldom happens that any objections to the match are made, but it is imperative on the father of the bridegroom to reimburse the parents of the maiden for the loss of their daughter. this is done by an offer of presents in accordance with his rank and wealth. the inhabitants of one village seldom marry with those of another, and, as a consequence, intermarriage is frequent among these families--a fertile cause of their deterioration. the marriage is always celebrated by a feast, the provisions for which are furnished by the bride, and the assembled friends unite in dancing and music. polygamy is never allowed, but married couples can separate if they are dissatisfied with each other; in such a contingency, if there are children, they are taken care of by the grandparents, and both parties are free to marry again; fortunately, divorces are not of frequent occurrence, as the wives are always treated with respect by their husbands.[ ] to the female falls all indoor work, and also a large share of that to be done out of doors. in the treatment of their children these people are careful to guide them in the ways of honesty and industry, and to impress their minds with chaste and virtuous ideas. mothers bathe their infants with cold water, and boys are not permitted to enter the estufas for the purpose of warming themselves; if they are cold they are ordered to chop wood, or warm themselves by running and exercise.[ ] a girl's arrival at the age of puberty among the gila nations is a period of much rejoicing; when the first symptoms appear, all her friends are duly informed of the important fact, and preparations are made to celebrate the joyful event. the girl is taken by her parents to the prophet, who performs certain ceremonies, which are supposed to drive the evil out of her, and then a singing and dancing festival is held. when a young man sees a girl whom he desires for a wife, he first endeavors to gain the good will of the parents; this accomplished, he proceeds to serenade his lady-love, and will often sit for hours, day after day, near her house, playing on his flute. should the girl not appear it is a sign she rejects him; but if, on the other hand, she comes out to meet him, he knows that his suit is accepted, and he takes her to his house. no marriage ceremony is performed. among the pápagos the parents select a husband for their daughter to whom she is, so to say, sold. it not unfrequently happens that they offer their daughter at auction, and she is knocked down to the highest bidder. however, among all the nations of this family, whether the bridegroom makes a love-match or not, he has to recompense the parents with as much as his means will permit.[ ] although polygamy is not permitted, they often separate and marry again at pleasure. women, at the time of their confinement as well as during their monthly periods, must live apart; as they believe that if any male were to touch them, he would become sick. the children are trained to war, and but little attention given to teaching them useful pursuits. all the household labor is performed by the women; they also assist largely in the labors of the field; severe laws oblige them to observe the strictest chastity, and yet, at their festivals, much debauchery and prostitution take place.[ ] [sidenote: pueblo dances.] with but few exceptions, they are temperate in drinking and smoking. intoxicating liquors they prepare out of the fruits of the pitahaya, agave, aloe, corn, mezcal, prickly pear, wild and cultivated grapes. colonel cremony says that the pimas and maricopas 'macerate the fruit of the pitahaya (species of cactus) in water after being dried in the sun, when the saccharine qualities cause the liquid to ferment, and after such fermentation it becomes highly intoxicating. it is upon this liquor that the maricopas and pimas get drunk once a year, the revelry continuing for a week or two at a time; but it is also an universal custom with them to take regular turns, so that only one third of the party is supposed to indulge at one time, the remainder being required to take care of their stimulated comrades, and protect them from injuring each other or being injured by other tribes.'[ ] all are fond of dancing and singing; in their religious rites, as well as in other public and family celebrations, these form the chief diversion. different dances are used on different occasions; for example, they have the arrow, scalp, turtle, fortune, buffalo, green-corn, and montezuma dances. their costumes also vary on each of these occasions, and not only are grotesque masks, but also elk, bear, fox, and other skins used as disguises. the dance is sometimes performed by only one person, but more frequently whole tribes join in, forming figures, shuffling, or hopping about to the time given by the music. lieutenant simpson, who witnessed a green-corn dance at the jemez pueblo, describes it as follows: 'when the performers first appeared, all of whom were men, they came in a line, slowly walking and bending and stooping as they approached. they were dressed in a kirt of blanket, the upper portion of their bodies being naked and painted red. their legs and arms, which were also bare, were variously striped with red, white and blue colors; and around their arms, above the elbow, they wore a green band, decked with sprigs of piñon. a necklace of the same description was worn around the neck. their heads were decorated with feathers. in one hand they carried a dry gourd, containing some grains of corn; in the other, a string from which were hung several tortillas. at the knee were fastened small shells of the ground turtle and antelope's feet; and dangling from the back, at the waist, depended a fox-skin. the party was accompanied by three elders of the town, whose business it was to make a short speech in front of the different houses, and, at particular times, join in the singing of the rest of the party. thus they went from house to house, singing and dancing, the occupants of each awaiting their arrival in front of their respective dwellings.' a somewhat similar moqui dance is described by mr ten broeck. some of the pueblo dances end with bacchanalia, in which not only general intoxication, but promiscuous intercourse between the sexes is permitted.[ ] 'once a year,' says kendall, 'the keres have a great feast, prepared for three successive days, which time is spent in eating, drinking and dancing. near this scene of amusement is a dismal gloomy cave, into which not a glimpse of light can penetrate, and where places of repose are provided for the revellers. to this cave, after dark, repair grown persons of every age and sex, who pass the night in indulgences of the most gross and sensual description.' reed flutes and drums are their chief instruments of music; the former they immerse in a shallow basin of water, and thereby imitate the warbling of birds. the drum is made of a hollow log, about two and a half feet long and fifteen inches in diameter. a dried hide, from which previously the hair has been scraped, is stretched over either end, and on this the player beats with a couple of drumsticks, similar to those used on our kettle-drums. gourds filled with pebbles and other rattles, are also used as a musical accompaniment to their dances.[ ] [sidenote: customs of pimas and pÁpagos.] the cocomaricopas and pimas are rather fond of athletic sports, such as football, horse and foot racing, swimming, target-shooting, and of gambling.[ ] many curious customs obtain among these people. mr walker relates that a pima never touches his skin with his nails, but always uses a small stick for that purpose, which he renews every fourth day, and wears in his hair. among the same nation, when a man has killed an apache, he must needs undergo purification. sixteen days he must fast, and only after the fourth day is he allowed to drink a little pinole. during the sixteen days he may not look on a blazing fire, nor hold converse with mortal man; he must live in the woods companionless, save only one person appointed to take care of him. on the seventeenth day a large space is cleared off near the village, in the center of which a fire is lighted. the men form a circle round this fire, outside of which those who have been purified sit, each in a small excavation. certain of the old men then take the weapons of the purified and dance with them in the circle; for which service they receive presents, and thenceforth both slayer and weapon are considered clean, but not until four days later is the man allowed to return to his family. they ascribe the origin of this custom to a mythical personage, called szeukha, who, after killing a monster, is said to have fasted for sixteen days. the pápagos stand in great dread of the coyote, and the pimas never touch an ant, snake, scorpion, or spider, and are much afraid of thunderstorms. like the mojaves and yumas, the maricopas in cold weather carry a firebrand to warm themselves withal. in like manner the pueblos have their singularities and semi-religious ceremonies, many of which are connected with a certain mythical personage called montezuma. among these may be mentioned the perpetual watching of the eternal estufa-fire, and also the daily waiting for the rising sun, with which, as some writers affirm, they expectantly look for the promised return of the much-loved montezuma. the moqui, before commencing to smoke, reverently bows toward the four cardinal points.[ ] their diseases are few; and among these the most frequent are chills and fevers, and later, syphilis. the pueblos and moquis resort to the sweat-house remedy, but the pimas only bathe daily in cold running water. here, as elsewhere, the doctor is medicine-man, conjuror, and prophet, and at times old women are consulted. if incantations fail, emetics, purgatives, or blood-letting are prescribed.[ ] the pimas bury their dead immediately after death. at the bottom of a shaft, about six feet deep, they excavate a vault, in which the corpse is placed, after having first been tied up in a blanket. house, horses, and most personal effects are destroyed; but if children are left, a little property is reserved for them. a widow or a daughter mourns for three months, cutting the hair and abstaining from the bath during that time. the maricopas burn their dead. pueblo and moqui burials take place with many ceremonies, the women being the chief mourners.[ ] [sidenote: character of the pueblos.] industrious, honest, and peace-loving, the people of this division are at the same time brave and determined, when necessity compels them to repel the thieving apache. sobriety may be ranked among their virtues, as drunkenness only forms a part of certain religious festivals, and in their gambling they are the most moderate of barbarians.[ ] the lower californians present a sad picture. occupying the peninsula from the head of the gulf to cape san lucas, it is thought by some that they were driven thither from upper california by their enemies. when first visited by the missionary fathers, they presented humanity in one of its lowest phases, though evidences of a more enlightened people having at some previous time occupied the peninsula were not lacking. clavigero describes large caves or vaults, which had been dug out of the solid rock, the sides decorated with paintings of animals and figures of men, showing dress and features different from any of the inhabitants. whom they represented or by whom they were depicted there is no knowledge, as the present race have been unable to afford any information on the subject. [sidenote: lower california.] the peninsula extends from near ° to ° north latitude; in length it is about seven hundred, varying in width from thirty-five to eighty miles. its general features are rugged; irregular mountains of granite formation and volcanic upheavals traversing the whole length of the country, with barren rocks and sandy plains, intersected by ravines and hills. some fertile spots and valleys with clear mountain streams are there, and in such places the soil produces abundantly; then there are plains of greater or less extent, with rich soil, but without water; so that, under the circumstances, they are little more than deserts. these plains rise in places into mesas, which are cut here and there by cañons, where streams of water are found, which are again lost on reaching the sandy plains. altogether, lower california is considered as one of the most barren and unattractive regions in the temperate zone, although its climate is delightful, and the mountain districts especially are among the healthiest in the world, owing to their southern situation between two seas. a curious meteorological phenomenon is sometimes observed both in the gulf and on the land; it is that of rain falling during a perfectly clear sky. savants, who have investigated the subject, do not appear to have discovered the cause of this unusual occurrence. the greater part of the peninsula, at the time of its discovery, was occupied by the _cochimís_, whose territory extended from the head of the gulf to the neighborhood of loreto, or a little south of the twenty-sixth parallel; adjoining them were the _guaicuris_, living between latitude ° and ° ´; while the _pericúis_ were settled in the southern part, from about ° ´ or ° to cape san lucas, and on the adjacent islands.[ ] the lower californians are well formed, robust and of good stature, with limbs supple and muscular; they are not inclined to corpulence; their features are somewhat heavy, the forehead low and narrow, the nose well set on, but thick and fleshy; the inner corners of the eyes round instead of pointed; teeth very white and regular, hair very black, coarse, straight, and glossy, with but little on the face, and none upon the body or limbs. the color of the skin varies from light to dark brown, the former color being characteristic of the dwellers in the interior, and the latter of those on the sea-coast.[ ] [sidenote: cochimÍ and pericÚi dress.] adam without the fig-leaves was not more naked than were the cochimís before the missionaries first taught them the rudiments of shame. they ignored even the usual breech-cloth, the only semblance of clothing being a head-dress of rushes or strips of skin interwoven with mother-of-pearl shells, berries, and pieces of reed. the guaicuris and pericúis indulge in a still more fantastic head-dress, white feathers entering largely into its composition. the women display more modesty, for, although scantily clad, they at least essay to cover their nakedness. the pericúi women are the best dressed of all, having a petticoat reaching from the waist to the ankles, made from the fibre of certain palm-leaves, and rendered soft and flexible by beating between two stones. over the shoulders they throw a mantle of similar material, or of plaited rushes, or of skins. the cochimí women make aprons of short reeds, strung upon cords of aloe-plant fibres fastened to a girdle. the apron is open at the sides, one part hanging in front, the other behind. as they are not more than six or eight inches wide, but little of the body is in truth covered. when traveling they wear sandals of hide, which they fasten with strings passed between the toes.[ ] both sexes are fond of ornaments; to gratify this passion, they string together pearls, shells, fruit-stones and seeds in the forms of necklaces and bracelets. in addition to the head-dress the pericúis are distinguished by a girdle highly ornamented with pearls and mother-of-pearl shells. they perforate ears, lips, and nose, inserting in the openings, shells, bones, or hard sticks. paint in many colors and devices is freely used on war and gala occasions; tattooing obtains, but does not appear to be universal among them. mothers, to protect them against the weather, cover the entire bodies of their children with a varnish of coal and urine. cochimí women cut the hair short, but the men allow a long tuft to grow on the crown of the head. both sexes among the guaicuris and pericúis wear the hair long and flowing loosely over the shoulders.[ ] equally adamitic are their habitations. they appear to hold a superstitious dread of suffocation if they live or sleep in covered huts; hence in their rare and meagre attempts to protect themselves from the inclemencies of the weather, they never put any roof over their heads. roving beast-like in the vicinity of springs during the heat of the day, seeking shade in the ravines and overhanging rocks; at night, should they desire shelter, they resort to caverns and holes in the ground. during winter they raise a semi-circular pile of stones or brushwood, about two feet in height, behind which, with the sky for a roof and the bare ground for a bed, they camp at night. over the sick they sometimes throw a wretched hut, by sticking a few poles in the ground, tying them at the top and covering the whole with grass and reeds, and into this nest visitors crawl on hands and knees.[ ] [sidenote: lower californian food.] reed-roots, wild fruit, pine-nuts, cabbage-palms, small seeds roasted, and also roasted aloe and mescal roots constitute their food. during eight weeks of the year they live wholly on the redundant fat-producing _pitahaya_, after which they wander about in search of other native vegetable products, and when these fail they resort to hunting and fishing. of animal food they will eat anything--beasts, birds, and fishes, or reptiles, worms, and insects; and all parts: flesh, hide, and entrails. men and monkeys, however, as articles of food are an abomination; the latter because they so much resemble the former. the gluttony and improvidence of these people exceed, if possible, those of any other nation; alternate feasting and fasting is their custom. when so fortunate as to have plenty they consume large quantities, preserving none. an abominable habit is related of them, that they pick up the undigested seeds of the pitahaya discharged from their bowels, and after parching and grinding them, eat the meal with much relish. clavigero, baegert, and other authors, mention another rather uncommon feature in the domestic economy of the cochimís; it is that of swallowing their meat several times, thereby multiplying their gluttonous pleasures. tying to a string a piece of well-dried meat, one of their number masticates it a little, and swallows it, leaving the end of the string hanging out of the mouth; after retaining it for about two or three minutes in his stomach, it is pulled out, and the operation repeated several times, either by the same individual or by others, until the meat becomes consumed. here is father baegert's summary of their edibles: "they live now-a-days on dogs and cats; horses, asses and mules; item: on owls, mice and rats; lizards and snakes; bats, grasshoppers and crickets; a kind of green caterpillar without hair, about a finger long, and an abominable white worm of the length and thickness of the thumb."[ ] their weapon is the bow and arrow, but they use stratagem to procure the game. the deer-hunter deceives his prey by placing a deer's head upon his own; hares are trapped; the cochimís throw a kind of boomerang or flat curved stick, which skims the ground and breaks the animal's legs. fish are taken from pools left by the tide and from the sea, sometimes several miles out, in nets and with the aid of long lances. it is said that at san roche island they catch fish with birds. they also gather oysters, which they eat roasted, but use no salt. they have no cooking utensils, but roast their meat by throwing it into the fire and after a time raking it out. insects and caterpillars are parched over the hot coals in shells. fish is commonly eaten raw; they drink only water.[ ] it is said that they never wash, and it is useless to add that in their filthiness they surpass the brutes.[ ] besides bows and arrows they use javelins, clubs, and slings of cords, from which they throw stones. their bows are six feet long, very broad and thick in the middle and tapering toward the ends, with strings made from the intestines of animals. the arrows are reeds about thirty inches in length, into the lower end of which a piece of hard wood is cemented with resin obtained from trees, and pointed with flint sharpened to a triangular shape and serrated at the edges. javelins are sharpened by first hardening in the fire and then grinding to a point; they are sometimes indented like a saw. clubs are of different forms, either mallet-head or axe shape; they also crook and sharpen at the edge a piece of wood in the form of a scimeter.[ ] their wars, which spring from disputed boundaries, are frequent and deadly, and generally occur about fruit and seed time. the battle is commenced amidst yells and brandishing of weapons, though without any preconcerted plan, and a tumultuous onslaught is made without regularity or discipline, excepting that a certain number are held in reserve to relieve those who have expended their arrows or become exhausted. while yet at a distance they discharge their arrows, but soon rush forward and fight at close quarters with their clubs and spears; nor do they cease till many on both sides have fallen.[ ] [sidenote: implements in lower california.] their implements and household utensils are both rude and few. sharp flints serve them instead of knives; a bone ground to a point answers the purpose of a needle or an awl; and with a sharp-pointed stick roots are dug. fire is obtained in the usual way from two pieces of wood. when traveling, water is carried in a large bladder. the shell of the turtle is applied to various uses, such as a receptacle for food and a cradle for infants. the lower californians have little ingenuity, and their display of mechanical skill is confined to the manufacture of the aforesaid implements, weapons of war, and of the chase; they make some flat baskets of wicker work, which are used in the collection of seeds and fruits; also nets from the fibre of the aloe, one in which to carry provisions, and another fastened to a forked stick and hung upon the back, in which to carry children.[ ] for boats the inhabitants of the peninsula construct rafts of reeds made into bundles and bound tightly together; they are propelled with short paddles, and seldom are capable of carrying more than one person. in those parts where trees grow a more serviceable canoe is made from bark, and sometimes of three or more logs, not hollowed out, but laid together side by side and made fast with withes or pita-fibre cords. these floats are buoyant, the water washing over them as over a catamaran. on them two or more men will proceed fearlessly to sea, to a distance of several miles from the coast. to transport their chattels across rivers, they use wicker-work baskets, which are so closely woven as to be quite impermeable to water; these, when loaded, are pushed across by the owner, who swims behind.[ ] besides their household utensils and boats, and the feathers or ornaments on their persons, i find no other property. they who dwell on the sea-coast occasionally travel inland, carrying with them sea-shells and feathers to barter with their neighbors for the productions of the interior.[ ] they are unable to count more than five, and this number is expressed by one hand; some few among them are able to understand that two hands signify ten, but beyond this they know nothing of enumeration, and can only say much or many, or show that the number is beyond computation, by throwing sand into the air and such like antics. the year is divided into six seasons; the first is called mejibo, which is midsummer, and the time of ripe pitahayas; the second season amaddappi, a time of further ripening of fruits and seeds; the third amadaappigalla, the end of autumn and beginning of winter; the fourth, which is the coldest season, is called majibel; the fifth, when spring commences, is majiben; the sixth, before any fruits or seeds have ripened, consequently the time of greatest scarcity, is called majiibenmaaji.[ ] neither government nor law is found in this region; every man is his own master, and administers justice in the form of vengeance as best he is able. as father baegert remarks: 'the different tribes represented by no means communities of rational beings, who submit to laws and regulations and obey their superiors, but resembled far more herds of wild swine, which run about according to their own liking, being together to-day and scattered to-morrow, till they meet again by accident at some future time. in one word, the californians lived, _salva venia_, as though they had been free-thinkers and materialists.' in hunting and war they have one or more chiefs to lead them, who are selected only for the occasion, and by reason of superior strength or cunning.[ ] [sidenote: marriage.] furthermore, they have no marriage ceremony, nor any word in their language to express marriage. like birds or beasts they pair off according to fancy. the pericúi takes as many women as he pleases, makes them work for him as slaves, and when tired of any one of them turns her away, in which case she may not be taken by another. some form of courtship appears to have obtained among the guaicuris; for example, when a young man saw a girl who pleased him, he presented her with a small bowl or basket made of the pita-fibre; if she accepted the gift, it was an evidence that his suit was agreeable to her, and in return she gave him an ornamented head-dress, the work of her own hand; then they lived together without further ceremony. although among the guaicuris and cochimís some hold a plurality of wives, it is not so common as with the pericúis, for in the two first-mentioned tribes there are more men than women. a breach of female chastity is sometimes followed by an attempt of the holder of the woman to kill the offender; yet morality never attained any great height, as it is a practice with them for different tribes to meet occasionally for the purpose of holding indiscriminate sexual intercourse. childbirth is easy; the pericúis and guaicuris wash the body of the newly born, then cover it with ashes; as the child grows it is placed on a frame-work of sticks, and if a male, on its chest they fix a bag of sand to prevent its breasts growing like a woman's, which they consider a deformity. for a cradle the cochimís take a forked stick or bend one end of a long pole in the form of a hoop, and fix thereto a net, in which the infant is placed and covered with a second net. it can thus be carried over the shoulder, or when the mother wishes to be relieved, the end of the pole is stuck in the ground, and nourishment given the child through the meshes of the net. when old enough the child is carried astride on its mother's shoulders. as soon as children are able to get food for themselves, they are left to their own devices, and it sometimes happens that when food is scarce the child is abandoned, or killed by its parents.[ ] [sidenote: lower californian feast.] nevertheless, these miserables delight in feasts, and in the gross debauchery there openly perpetrated. unacquainted with intoxicating liquors, they yet find drunkenness in the fumes of a certain herb smoked through a stone tube, and used chiefly during their festivals. their dances consist of a series of gesticulations and jumpings, accompanied by inarticulate murmurings and yells. one of their great holidays is the pitahaya season, when, with plenty to eat, they spend days and nights in amusements; at such times feats of strength and trials of speed take place. the most noted festival among the cochimís occurs upon the occasion of their annual distribution of skins. to the women especially it was an important and enjoyable event. upon an appointed day all the people collected at a designated place. in an arbor constructed with branches, the road to which was carpeted with the skins of wild animals that had been killed during the year, their most skillful hunters assembled; they alone were privileged to enter the arbor, and in their honor was already prepared a banquet and pipes of wild tobacco. the viands went round as also the pipe, and, in good time, the partakers became partially intoxicated by the smoke; then one of the priests or sorcerers, arrayed in his robe of ceremony, appeared at the entrance to the arbor, and made a speech to the people, in which he recounted the deeds of the hunters. then the occupants of the arbor came out and made a repartition of the skins among the women; this finished, dancing and singing commenced and continued throughout the night. it sometimes happened that their festivals ended in fighting and bloodshed, as they were seldom conducted without debauchery, especially among the guaicuris and pericúis.[ ] when they have eaten their fill they pass their time in silly or obscene conversation, or in wrestling, in which sports the women often take a part. they are very adroit in tracking wild beasts to their lairs and taming them. at certain festivals their sorcerers, who were called by some _quamas_, by others _cusiyaes_, wore long robes of skins, ornamented with human hair; these sages filled the offices of priests and medicine-men, and threatened their credulous brothers with innumerable ills and death, unless they supplied them with provisions. these favored of heaven professed to hold communication with oracles, and would enter caverns and wooded ravines, sending thence doleful sounds, to frighten the people, who were by such tricks easily imposed upon and led to believe in their deceits and juggleries.[ ] as to ailments, lower californians are subject to consumption, burning fevers, indigestion, and cutaneous diseases. small pox, measles, and syphilis, the last imported by troops, have destroyed numberless lives. wounds inflicted by the bites of venomous reptiles may be added to the list of troubles. loss of appetite is with them, generally, a symptom of approaching death. they submit resignedly to the treatment prescribed by their medicine-men, however severe or cruel it may be. they neglect their aged invalids, refusing them attendance if their last sickness proves too long, and recovery appears improbable. in several instances they have put an end to the patient by suffocation or otherwise.[ ] diseases are treated externally by the application of ointments, plasters, and fomentations of medicinal herbs, particularly the wild tobacco. smoke is also a great panacea, and is administered through a stone tube placed on the suffering part. the usual juggleries attend the practice of medicine. in extreme cases they attempt to draw with their fingers the disease from the patient's mouth. if the sick person has a child or sister, they cut its or her little finger of the right hand, and let the blood drop on the diseased part. bleeding with a sharp stone and whipping the affected part with nettles, or applying ants to it, are among the remedies used. for the cure of tumors, the medicine-men burst and suck them with their lips until blood is drawn. internal diseases are treated with cold-water baths. the means employed by the medicine-man are repeated by the members of the patient's family and by his friends. in danger even the imitation of death startles them. if an invalid is pronounced beyond recovery, and he happens to slumber, they immediately arouse him with blows on the head and body, for the purpose of preserving life.[ ] [sidenote: death and burial in lower california.] death is followed by a plaintive, mournful chant, attended with howling by friends and relatives, who beat their heads with sharp stones until blood flows freely. without further ceremony they either inter or burn the body immediately, according to the custom of the locality: in the latter case they leave the head intact. oftentimes they bury or burn the body before life has actually left it, never taking pains to ascertain the fact.[ ] weapons and other personal effects are buried or burned with the owner; and in some localities, where burying is customary, shoes are put to the feet, so that the spiritualized body may be prepared for its journey. in colechá and guajamina mourning ceremonies are practiced certain days after death--juggleries--in which the priest pretends to hold converse with the departed spirit through the scalp of the deceased, commending the qualities of the departed, and concluding by asking on the spirit's behalf that all shall cut off their hair as a sign of sorrow. after a short dance, more howling, hair-pulling, and other ridiculous acts, the priest demands provisions for the spirit's journey, which his hearers readily contribute, and which the priest appropriates to his own use, telling them it has already started. occasionally they honor the memory of their dead by placing a rough image of the departed on a high pole, and a _quama_ or priest sings his praises.[ ] the early missionaries found the people of the peninsula kind-hearted and tractable, although dull of comprehension and brutal in their instincts, rude, narrow-minded, and inconstant. a marked difference of character is observable between the cochimís and the pericúis. the former are more courteous in their manners and better behaved; although cunning and thievish, they exhibit attachment and gratitude to their superiors; naturally indolent and addicted to childish pursuits and amusements, they lived among themselves in amity, directing their savage and revengeful nature against neighboring tribes with whom they were at variance. the pericúis, before they became extinct, were a fierce and barbarous nation, unruly and brutal in their passions, cowardly, treacherous, false, petulant, and boastful, with an intensely cruel and heartless disposition, often shown in relentless persecutions and murders. in their character and disposition the guaicuris did not differ essentially from the pericúis. in the midst of so much darkness there was still one bright spot visible, inasmuch as they were of a cheerful and happy nature, lovers of kind and lovers of country. isolated, occupying an ill-favored country, it was circumstances, rather than any inherent incapacity for improvement, that held these poor people in their low state; for, as we shall see at some future time, in their intercourse with civilized foreigners, they were not lacking in cunning, diplomacy, selfishness, and other aids to intellectual progress.[ ] [sidenote: northern mexicans.] the northern mexicans, the fourth and last division of this group, spread over the territory lying between parallels ° and ° of north latitude. their lands have an average breadth of about five hundred miles, with an area of some , square miles, comprising the states of sonora, sinaloa, chihuahua, durango, nuevo leon, and the northern portions of zacatecas, san luis potosí and tamaulipas. nearly parallel with the pacific seaboard, and dividing the states of sonora and sinaloa from chihuahua and durango, runs the great central cordillera; further to the eastward, passing through coahuila, nuevo leon, and san luis potosí, and following the shore line of the mexican gulf, the sierra madre continues in a southerly direction, until it unites with the first-named range at the isthmus of tehuantepec. all of these mountains abound in mineral wealth. the table-land between them is intersected by three ridges; one, the sierra mimbres, issuing from the inner flank of the western cordillera north of arispe, extending in a northerly direction and following the line of the rio grande. the middle mountainous divide crosses from durango to coahuila, while the third rises in the state of jalisco and taking an easterly and afterward northerly direction, traverses the table-land and merges into the sierra madre in the state of san luis potosí. on these broad table-lands are numerous lakes fed by the streams which have their rise in the mountains adjacent; in but few spots is the land available for tillage, but it is admirably adapted to pastoral purposes. the climate can hardly be surpassed in its tonic and exhilarating properties; the atmosphere is ever clear, with sunshine by day, and a galaxy of brilliant stars by night; the absence of rain, fogs, and dews, with a delicious and even temperature, renders habitations almost unnecessary. all this vast region is occupied by numerous tribes speaking different languages and claiming distinct origins. upon the northern seaboard of sonora and tiburon island are the _ceris_, _tiburones_, and _tepocas_; south of them the _cahitas_, or _sinaloas_, which are general names for the _yaquis_ and _mayos_, tribes so called from the rivers on whose banks they live. in the state of sinaloa there are also the _cochitas_, _tuvares_, _sabaibos_, _zuaques_, and _ahomes_, besides many other small tribes. scattered through the states of the interior are the _Ópatas_, _eudeves_, _jovas_, _tarahumares_, _tubares_, and _tepehuanes_, who inhabit the mountainous districts of chihuahua and durango. east of the tarahumares, in the northern part of the first-named state, dwell the _conchos_. in durango, living in the hills round topia, are the _acaxées_; south of whom dwell the _xiximes_. on the table-lands of mapimi and on the shores of its numerous lakes, the _irritilas_ and many other tribes are settled; while south of these again, in zacatecas and san luis potosí, are the _guachichiles_, _huamares_, and _cazcanes_, and further to the east, and bordering on the gulf shores we find the country occupied by scattered tribes, distinguished by a great variety of names, prominent among which are the _carrizas_ or _garzas_, _xanambres_, and _pintos_.[ ] [sidenote: physical peculiarities in north mexico.] most of these nations are composed of men of large stature; robust, and well formed, with an erect carriage; the finest specimens are to be found on the sea-coast, exceptions being the Ópatas and chicoratas, the former inclining to corpulency, the latter being short, although active and swift runners. the women are well limbed and have good figures, but soon become corpulent. the features of these people are quite regular, the head round and well shaped, with black and straight hair; they have high cheek-bones and handsome mouths, with a generally mild and pleasing expression of countenance. they have piercing black eyes, and can distinguish objects at great distances. the ceris see best toward the close of the day, owing to the strong reflection from the white sands of the coast during the earlier part of the day. the carrizas are remarkable for their long upper lip. the men of this region have little beard; their complexion varies from a light brown to a copper shade. many of them attain to a great age.[ ] for raiment the cahitas and ceris wear only a small rag in front of their persons, secured to a cord tied round the waist; the tarahumares, acaxées, and other nations of the interior use for the same purpose a square piece of tanned deer-skin painted, except in cold weather, when they wrap a large blue cotton mantle round the shoulders. the women have petticoats reaching to their ankles, made of soft chamois or of cotton or agave-fibre, and a _tilma_ or mantle during the winter. some wear a long sleeveless chemise, which reaches from the shoulders to the feet. the ceri women have petticoats made from the skins of the albatross or pelican, the feathers inside. the Ópata men, soon after the conquest, were found well clad in blouse and drawers of cotton, with wooden shoes, while their neighbors wore sandals of raw hide, cut to the shape of the foot.[ ] the cahitas, acaxées and most other tribes, pierce the ears and nose, from which they hang small green stones, attached to a piece of blue cord; on the head, neck, and wrists, a great variety of ornaments are worn, made from mother-of-pearl and white snails' shells, also fruit-stones, pearls, and copper and silver hoops; round the ankles some wear circlets of deer's hoofs, others decorate their heads and necks with necklaces of red beans and strings of paroquets and small birds; pearls and feathers are much used to ornament the hair. the practice of painting the face and body is common to all, the colors most in use being red and black. a favorite style with the ceris is to paint the face in alternate perpendicular stripes of blue, red, and white. the pintos paint the face, breast, and arms; the tarahumares tattoo the forehead, lips, and cheeks in various patterns; the yaquis the chin and arms; while other tribes tattoo the face or body in styles peculiar to themselves. both sexes are proud of their hair, which they wear long and take much care of; the women permit it to flow, in loose tresses, while the men gather it into one or more tufts on the crown of the head, and when hunting protect it by a chamois cap, to prevent its being disarranged by trees or bushes.[ ] [sidenote: northern mexican dwellings.] their houses are of light construction, usually built of sticks and reeds, and are covered with coarse reed matting. the chinipas, yaquis, Ópatas and conchos build somewhat more substantial dwellings of timber and adobes, or of plaited twigs well plastered with mud; all are only one story high and have flat roofs. although none of these people are without their houses or huts, they spend most of their time, especially during summer, under the trees. the tarahumares find shelter in the deep caverns of rocky mountains, the tepehuanes and acaxées place their habitations on the top of almost inaccessible crags, while the humes and batucas build their villages in squares, with few and very small entrances, the better to defend themselves against their enemies--detached buildings for kitchen and store-room purposes being placed contiguous.[ ] the northern mexicans live chiefly on wild fruits such as the pitahaya, honey, grain, roots, fish, and larvæ; they capture game both large and small, and some of them eat rats, mice, frogs, snakes, worms, and vermin. the ahomamas along the shores of lake parras, the yaquis, batucas, ceris, tarahumares, and the Ópatas since the conquest have become agriculturists and cattle-breeders, besides availing themselves of fishing and hunting as means of subsistence. on the coast of sonora, there being no maize, the natives live on pulverized rush and straw, with fish caught at sea or in artificial enclosures. the dwellers on the coast of sinaloa consume a large quantity of salt, which they gather on the land during the dry season, and in the rainy reason from the bottom of marshes and pools. it is said that the salineros sometimes eat their own excrement. according to the reports of the older historians, the tobosos, bauzarigames, cabezas, contotores, and acaxées, as well as other tribes of durango and sinaloa, formerly fed on human flesh,--hunted human beings for food as they hunted deer or other game. the flesh of their brave foes they ate, thinking thereby to augment their own bravery.[ ] [sidenote: methods of hunting.] the ceris of tiburon island depend for food entirely on fish and game. they catch turtle by approaching the animal and suddenly driving the point of their spear into its back, a cord being attached to the weapon by which they drag the prize on to the raft as soon as its strength has become exhausted. according to gomara, the natives of sonora in were caught poisoning the deer-pools, probably for the skins, or it may have been only a stupefying drink that the pools were made to supply. the sinaloans are great hunters; at times they pursue the game singly, then again the whole town turns out and, surrounding the thickest part of the forest, the people set fire to the underbrush and bring down the game as it attempts to escape the flames. a feast of reptiles is likewise thus secured. iguanas are caught with the hands, their legs broken, and thus they are kept until required for food. for procuring wild honey, a bee is followed until it reaches its tree, the sweet-containing part of which is cut off and carried away. the tarahumares hunt deer by driving them through narrow passes, where men are stationed to shoot them. others make use of a deer's head as a decoy. for fishing they have various contrivances; some fish between the rocks with a pointed stick; others, when fishing in a pool, throw into the water a species of cabbage or leaves of certain trees, that stupefy the fish, when they are easily taken with the hands; they also use wicker baskets, and near the pacific ocean they inclose the rivers, and catch enormous quantities of smelt and other fish, which have come up from the sea to spawn. the laguneros of coahuila catch ducks by placing a calabash on their heads, with holes through which to breathe and see; thus equipped, they swim softly among the ducks, and draw them under water without flutter or noise. tatéma is the name of a dish cooked in the ground by the tarahumares. the laguneros make tortillas of flour obtained from an aquatic plant. the zacatecs make the same kind of bread from the pulp of the maguey, which is first boiled with lime, then washed and boiled again in pure water, after which it is squeezed dry and made into cakes. most of the people use _pozole_, or _pinolatl_, both being a kind of gruel made of pinole, of parched corn or seeds ground, the one of greater thickness than the other; also _tamales_, boiled beans, and pumpkins. the ceris of tiburon eat fish and meat uncooked, or but slightly boiled. the salineros frequently devour uncooked hares and rabbits, having only removed their furs.[ ] [sidenote: how arrows were made and poisoned.] the weapons universally used by these nations were bows and arrows and short clubs, in addition to which the chiefs and most important warriors carried a short lance and a buckler. the arrows were carried in a quiver made of lion or other skins. the tarahumares and some others wore a leathern guard round the left wrist, to protect it from the blow of the bow-string. flint knives were employed for cutting up their slain enemies. the ceris, jovas, and other tribes smeared the points of their arrows with a very deadly poison, but how it was applied to the point, or whence obtained, it is difficult to determine; some travelers say that this poison was taken from rattlesnakes and other venomous reptiles, which, by teasing, were incited to strike their fangs into the liver of a cow or deer which was presented to them, after which it was left to putrefy, and the arrows being dipped into the poisonous mass, were placed in the sun to dry; but other writers, again, assert that the poison was produced from a vegetable preparation. the wound inflicted by the point, however slight, is said to have caused certain death. the arrows were pointed with flint, or some other stone, or with bone, fastened to a piece of hard wood, which is tied by sinews to a reed or cane, notched, and winged with three feathers; when not required for immediate use, the tying was loosed, and the point reversed in the cane, to protect it from being broken. the ceris and chicoratos cut a notch a few inches above the point, so that in striking it should break off and remain in the wound. their clubs were made of a hard wood called _guayacan_, with a knob at the end, and when not in use were carried slung to the arm by a leather thong. their lances were of brazil wood, bucklers of alligator-skin, and shields of bull's hide, sufficiently large to protect the whole body, with a hole in the top to look through. another kind of shield was made of small lathes closely interwoven with cords, in such a manner that, when not required for use, it could be shut up like a fan, and was carried under the arm.[ ] living in a state of constant war, arising out of family quarrels or aggressions made into each other's territories, they were not unskilled in military tactics. previous to admission as a warrior, a young man had to pass through certain ordeals; having first qualified himself by some dangerous exploit, or having faithfully performed the duty of a scout in an enemy's country. the preliminaries being settled, a day was appointed for his initiation, when one of the braves, acting as his godfather, introduced him to the chief, who, for the occasion, had first placed himself in the midst of a large circle of warriors. the chief then addressed him, instructing him in the several duties required of him, and drawing from a pouch an eagle's talon, with it proceeded to score his body on the shoulders, arms, breast, and thighs, till the blood ran freely; the candidate was expected to suffer without showing the slightest signs of pain. the chief then handed to him a bow and a quiver of arrows; each of the braves also presented him with two arrows. in the campaigns that followed, the novitiate must take the hardest duty, be ever at the post of danger, and endure without a murmur or complaint the severest privations, until a new candidate appeared to take his place.[ ] [sidenote: war customs in north mexico.] when one tribe desires the assistance of another in war, they send reeds filled with tobacco, which, if accepted, is a token that the alliance is formed; a call for help is made by means of the smoke signal. when war is decided upon, a leader is chosen, at whose house all the elders, medicine-men, and principal warriors assemble; a fire is then lighted, and tobacco handed round and smoked in silence. the chief, or the most aged and distinguished warrior then arises, and in a loud tone and not unpoetic language, harangues his hearers, recounting to them heroic deeds hitherto performed, victories formerly gained, and present wrongs to be avenged; after which tobacco is again passed round, and new speakers in turn address the assembly. war councils are continued for several nights, and a day is named on which the foe is to be attacked. sometimes the day fixed for the battle is announced to the enemy, and a spot on which the fight is to take place selected. during the campaign fasting is strictly observed. the acaxées, before taking the war-path, select a maiden of the tribe, who secludes herself during the whole period of the campaign, speaking to no one, and eating nothing but a little parched corn without salt. the ceris and Ópatas approach their enemy under cover of darkness, preserving a strict silence, and at break of day, by a preconcerted signal, a sudden and simultaneous attack is made. to fire an enemy's house, the tepagues and others put lighted corn-cobs on the points of their arrows. in the event of a retreat they invariably carry off the dead, as it is considered a point of honor not to leave any of their number on the field. seldom is sex or age spared, and when prisoners are taken, they are handed over to the women for torture, who treat them most inhumanly, heaping upon them every insult devisable, besides searing their flesh with burning brands, and finally burning them at the stake, or sacrificing them in some equally cruel manner. many cook and eat the flesh of their captives, reserving the bones as trophies. the slain are scalped, or a hand is cut off, and a dance performed round the trophies on the field of battle. on the return of an expedition, if successful, entry into the village is made in the day-time. due notice of their approach having been forwarded to the inhabitants, the warriors are received with congratulations and praises by the women, who, seizing the scalps, vent their spleen in frantic gestures; tossing them from one to another, these female fiends dance and sing round the bloody trophies, while the men look on in approving silence. should the expedition, however, prove unsuccessful, the village is entered in silence and during the dead of night. all the booty taken is divided amongst the aged men and women, as it is deemed unlucky by the warriors to use their enemy's property.[ ] their household utensils consist of pots of earthen ware and gourds, the latter used both for cooking and drinking purposes; later, out of the horns of oxen cups are made. the tarahumares use in place of saddles two rolls of straw fastened by a girdle to the animal's back, loose enough, however, to allow the rider to put his feet under them. emerging from their barbarism, they employ, in their agricultural pursuits, plows with shares of wood or stone, and wooden hoes. the ceris have a kind of double-pointed javelin, with which they catch fish, which, once between the prongs, are prevented from slipping out by the jagged sides.[ ] the ahomoas, eudebes, jovas, yaquis, and Ópatas weave fabrics out of cotton or agave-fibre, such as blankets or serapes, and cloth with colored threads in neat designs and figures; these nations also manufacture matting from reeds and palm-leaves. their loom consists of four short sticks driven into the ground, to which a frame is attached to hold the thread. the shuttle is an oblong piece of wood, on which the cross-thread is wound. after passing through the web, the shuttle is seized and pressed close by a ruler three inches in breadth, which is placed between the web and supplies the place of a comb. when any patterns are to be worked, several women assist to mark off with wooden pegs the amount of thread required. the yaquis and ceris manufacture common earthen ware, and the tarahumares twist horse-hair into strong cords; they also use undressed hides cut in strips, and coarse aloe-fibres.[ ] [sidenote: property of ceris, Ópatas, and yaquis.] no boats or canoes are employed by any of the natives of this region; but the ceris, the tiburones, and the tepocas make rafts of reeds or bamboos, fastened together into bundles. these rafts are about eighteen feet long and tapering toward both ends; some are large enough to carry four or five men; they are propelled with a double-bladed paddle, held in the middle and worked alternately on both sides.[ ] subsequent to the conquest, the Ópatas and yaquis accumulated large flocks of sheep, cattle, and bands of horses; the latter are good miners, and expert divers for pearls. their old communistic ideas follow them in their new life; thus, the landed property of the tarahumares is from time to time repartitioned; they have also a public asylum for the sick, helpless, and for orphans, who are taken care of by male and female officials called _tenanches_. pearls, turquoises, emeralds, coral, feathers, and gold were in former times part of their property, and held the place of money; trade, for the most part, was carried on by simple barter.[ ] the northern mexicans make no pretensions to art; nevertheless, guzman states that in the province of culiacan the walls of the houses were decorated with obscene paintings. they are all great observers of the heavenly bodies and the changes in the atmosphere; the yaquis count their time by the moon. they are good musicians, imitating to perfection on their own instruments almost any strain they happen to hear. their native melodies are low, sweet, and harmonious. in petatlan they embroidered dresses with pearls, and as they had no instrument for piercing the jewel, they cut a small groove round it, and so strung them. with pearls they formed on cloth figures of animals and birds.[ ] i find nowhere in this region any system of laws or government. there are the usual tribal chieftains, selected on account of superior skill or bravery, but with little or no power except in war matters. councils of war, and all meetings of importance, are held at the chief's house.[ ] [sidenote: marriage and polygamy.] the ceris and tepocas celebrate the advent of womanhood with a feast, which lasts for several days. the ahome maiden wears on her neck a small carved shell, as a sign of her virginity, to lose which before marriage is a lasting disgrace. on the day of marriage the bridegroom removes this ornament from his bride's neck. it is customary among most of the tribes to give presents to the girl's parents. the tahus, says castañeda, are obliged to purchase a maiden from her parents, and deliver her to the _cacique_,[ ] chief, or possibly high priest, to whom was accorded the _droit de seigneur_. if the bride proves to be no virgin, all the presents are returned by her parents, and it is optional with the bridegroom to keep her or condemn her to the life of a public prostitute. the bauzarigames, cabezas, contotores, and tehuecos practice polygamy and inter-family marriages, but these are forbidden by the ceris, chinipas, tiburones, and tepocas. different ceremonies take place upon the birth of the first child. among some, the father is intoxicated, and in that state surrounded by a dancing multitude, who score his body till the blood flows freely. among others, several days after the birth of a male child, the men visit the house, feel each limb of the newly born, exhort him to be brave, and finally give him a name; women perform similar ceremonies with female children. the couvade obtains in certain parts; as for instance, the lagunero and ahomama husbands, after the birth of a child, remain in bed for six or seven days, during which time they eat neither fish nor meat. the sisibotaris, ahomes, and tepehuanes hold chastity in high esteem, and both their maidens and matrons are remarkably chaste. the standard of morality elsewhere in this vicinity is in general low, especially with the acaxées and tahus, whose incestuous connections and system of public brothels are notorious. according to arlegui, ribas, and other authors, among some of these nations male concubinage prevails to a great extent; these loathsome semblances of humanity, whom to call beastly were a slander upon beasts, dress themselves in the clothes and perform the functions of women, the use of weapons even being denied them.[ ] drunkenness prevails to a great extent among most of the tribes; their liquors are prepared from the fruit of the pitahaya, mezquite-beans, agave, honey, and wheat. in common with all savages, they are immoderately fond of dancing, and have numerous feasts, where, with obscene carousals and unseemly masks, the revels continue, until the dancers, from sheer exhaustion or intoxication, are forced to rest. the Ópatas hold a festival called _torom raqui_, to insure rain and good crops. clearing a square piece of ground, they strew it with seeds, bones, boughs, horns, and shells; the actors then issue forth from huts built on the four corners of the square, and there dance from sunrise to sunset. on the first day of the year they plant in the ground a tall pole, to which are tied long ribbons of many colors. a number of young maidens, fancifully attired, dance round the pole, holding the ends of the ribbons, twisting themselves nearer or away from the center in beautiful figures. upon other occasions they commemorate, in modern times, what is claimed to be the journey of the aztecs, and the appearance of montezuma among them. hunting and war expeditions are inaugurated by dances. their musical instruments are flutes and hollow trunks beaten with sticks or bones, and accompanied with song and impromptu words, relating the exploits of their gods, warriors, and hunters. they are passionately fond of athletic sports, such as archery, wrestling, and racing; but the favorite pastime is a kind of foot-ball. the game is played between two parties, with a large elastic ball, on a square piece of ground prepared expressly for the purpose. the players must strike the ball with the shoulders, knees, or hips, but never with the hand. frequently one village challenges another as upon the occasion of a national festival, which lasts several days, and is accompanied with dancing and feasting. they have also games with wooden balls, in which sticks are used when playing. the players are always naked, and the game often lasts from sunrise to sunset, and sometimes, when the victory is undecided, the play will be continued for several successive days. bets are freely made, and horses and other property staked with the greatest recklessness.[ ] [sidenote: customs in northern mexico.] loads are carried on the head, or in baskets at the back, hanging from a strap that passes across the forehead. another mode of carrying burdens is to distribute equally the weight at both ends of a pole which is slung across the shoulder, _à la chinoise_. their conceptions of the supernatural are extremely crude; thus, the Ópatas, by yells and gesticulations, endeavor to dispel eclipses of the heavenly bodies; before the howling of the wind they cower as before the voice of the great spirit. the ceris superstitiously celebrate the new moon, and bow reverentially to the rising and setting sun. nuño de guzman states that in the province of culiacan tamed serpents were found in the dwellings of the natives, which they feared and venerated. others have a great veneration for the hidden virtues of poisonous plants, and believe that if they crush or destroy one, some harm will happen to them. it is a common custom to hang a small bag containing poisonous herbs round the neck of a child, as a talisman against diseases or attacks from wild beasts, which they also believe will render them invulnerable in battle. they will not touch a person struck by lightning, and will leave him to die, or, if dead, to lie unburied.[ ] [sidenote: medical treatment.] intermittent and other fevers prevail among the people of northern mexico. small-pox, introduced by europeans, has destroyed many lives; syphilis was introduced among the carrizos by the spanish troops. the tarahumares suffer from pains in the side about the end of the spring. the Ópatas of oposura are disfigured by goitres, but this disease seems to be confined within three leagues of the town. wounds inflicted by arrows, many of them poisoned, and bites of rattlesnakes are common. friends, and even parents and brothers leave to their fate such as are suffering from contagious diseases; they, however, place water and wild fruits within the sufferer's reach. to relieve their wearied legs and feet after long marches, they scarify the former with sharp flints. in extreme cases they rub themselves with the maguey's prickly leaf well pounded, which, acting as an emollient on their hardened bodies, affords them prompt relief. the carrizos cure syphilis with certain plants, the medicinal properties of which are known to them. as a purgative they use the grains of the _maguacate_, and as a febrifuge the _cenicilla_ (_teraina frutescens_). with the leaves of the latter they make a decoction which, mixed with hydromel, is an antidote for intermittent fevers. they also use the leaves of the willow in decoction, as a remedy for the same complaint. in sinaloa, the leaf and roots of the _guaco_ are used by the natives as the most efficacious medicine for the bites of poisonous reptiles. the Ópatas employ excellent remedies for the diseases to which they are subject. they have a singular method of curing rattlesnake bites, a sort of retaliative cure; seizing the reptile's head between two sticks, they stretch out the tail and bite it along the body, and if we may believe alegre, the bitten man does not swell up, but the reptile does, until it bursts. in some parts, if a venomous snake bites a person, he seizes it at both ends, and breaks all its bones with his teeth until it is dead, imagining this to be an efficacious means of saving himself from the effect of the wounds. arrow wounds are first sucked, and then _peyote_ powder is put into them; after two days the wound is cleaned, and more of the same powder applied; this operation is continued upon every second day, and finally powdered lechugilla-root is used; by this process the wound, after thoroughly suppurating, becomes healed. out of the leaves of the maguey, lechugilla, and date-palm, as well as from the rosemary, they make excellent balsams for curing wounds. they have various vegetable substances for appeasing the thirst of wounded persons, as water is considered injurious. the acaxées employ the sucking processes, and blowing through a hollow tube, for the cure of diseases. the yaquis put a stick into the patient's mouth, and with it draw from the stomach the disease; the ceris of tiburon island also employ charms in their medical practice.[ ] i find nothing of cremation in these parts. the dead body is brought head and knees together, and placed in a cave or under a rock. several kinds of edibles, with the utensils and implements with which the deceased earned a support while living, are deposited in the grave, also a small idol, to serve as a guide and fellow traveler to the departed on the long journey. on the lips of dead infants is dropped milk from the mother's breast, that these innocents may have sustenance to reach their place of rest. among the acaxées, if a woman dies in childbirth, the infant surviving is slain, as the cause of its mother's death. cutting the hair is the only sign of mourning among them.[ ] [sidenote: character.] the character of the northern mexicans, as portrayed by arlegui, is gross and low; but some of these tribes do not deserve such sweeping condemnation. the mayos, yaquis, acaxées, and Ópatas are generally intelligent, honest, social, amiable, and intrepid in war; their young women modest, with a combination of sweetness and pride noticed by some writers. the Ópatas especially are a hard-working people, good-humored, free from intemperance and thievishness; they are also very tenacious of purpose, when their minds are made up--danger often strengthening their stubbornness the more. the sisibotaris, ahomamas, onavas, and tarahumares are quiet and docile, but brave when occasion requires; the last-mentioned are remarkably honest. the tepocas and tiburones are fierce, cruel, and treacherous, more warlike and courageous than the ceris of the main land, who are singularly devoid of good qualities, being sullenly stupid, lazy, inconstant, revengeful, depredating, and much given to intemperance. their country even has become a refuge for evil-doers. in former times they were warlike and brave: but even this quality they have lost, and have become as cowardly as they are cruel. the tepehuanes and other mountaineers are savage and warlike, and their animosity to the whites perpetual. the laguneros and other tribes of coahuila are intelligent, domestic, and hospitable; the former especially are very brave. in chihuahua they are generally fierce and uncommunicative. at el paso, the women are more jovial and pleasant than the men; the latter speak but little, never laugh, and seldom smile; their whole aspect seems to be wrapped in melancholy--everything about it has a semblance of sadness and suffering.[ ] tribal boundaries. to the new mexican group belong the nations inhabiting the territory lying between the parallels ° and ° of north latitude, and the meridians ° and ° of west longitude; that is to say, the occupants of the states of new mexico, arizona, lower california, sonora, sinaloa, chihuahua, durango, coahuila, nuevo leon, northern zacatecas, and western texas. in the apache family, i include all the savage tribes roaming through new mexico, the north-western portion of texas, a small part of northern mexico, and arizona; being the comanches, apaches proper, navajos, mojaves, hualapais, yumas, cosninos, yampais, yalchedunes, yamajabs, cochees, cruzados, nijoras, cocopas, and others. the _comanches_ inhabit western texas, eastern new mexico, and eastern mexico, and from the arkansas river north to near the gulf of mexico south. range 'over the plains of the arkansas from the vicinity of bent's fort, at the parallel of °, to the gulf of mexico ... from the eastern base of the llano estacado to about the meridian of longitude th.' _pope_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. ii., p. . from the western border of the choctaw country 'uninterruptedly along the canadian to tucumcari creek and thence, occasionally, to rio pecos. from this line they pursue the buffalo northward as far as the sioux country, and on the south are scarcely limited by the frontier settlements of mexico.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'during summer ... as far north as the arkansas river, their winters they usually pass about the head branches of the brazos and colorado rivers of texas.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., p. . 'between ° and ° longitude and ° and ° north latitude.' _norton_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'about thirteen thousand square miles of the southern portion of colorado, and probably a much larger extent of the neighboring states of kansas and texas, and territory of new mexico and the "indian country," are occupied by the kioways and comanches.' _dole_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _evans and collins_, in _id._, pp. , ; _martinez_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. . 'en invierno se acercan á téjas, y en estío á la sierra de santa fe.' _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. . 'comanches ou hietans (eubaous, yetas), dans le nord-ouest du texas.' _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxiii., p. . 'originaire du nouveau-mexique; mais ... ils descendent souvent dans les plaines de la basse-californie et de la sonora.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. . 'range east of the mountains of new mexico.' _bent_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. . 'in dem uncultivirten theile des bolson de mapimi' (chihuahua). _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., pp. - . 'entre la rivière rouge et le missouri, et traversent el rio-bravo-del-norte.' _dufey_, _resumé de l'hist._, tom. i., p. . 'upon the south and west side' of the rio brazos. _marcy's rept._, p. ; _marcy's army life_, pp. - . 'im westen des mississippi und des arcansas ... und bis an das linke ufer des rio grande.' _ludecus_, _reise_, p. . 'range from the sources of the brazos and colorado, rivers of texas, over the great prairies, to the waters of the arkansas and the mountains of rio grande.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . concurrent statements in _wilson's amer. hist._, p. ; _prichard's nat. hist. man_, vol. ii., p. ; _ward's mexico_, vol. ii., p. ; _moore's texas_, p. ; _dewees' texas_, p. ; _holley's texas_, p. ; _dragoon camp._, p. . 'la nacion comanche, que está situada entre el estado de texas y el de nuevo méxico ... se compone de las siguientes tribus ó pueblos, á saber: yaparehca, cuhtzuteca, penandé, pacarabó, caiguarás, noconi ó yiuhta, napuat ó quetahtore, yapainé, muvinábore. sianábone, caigua, sarritehca y quitzaené.' _garcía rejon_, in _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . 'extends from the witchita mountains as far as new mexico, and is divided into four bands, called respectively the cuchanticas, the tupes, the yampaxicas, and the eastern comanches.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . see also: _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. , - ; _foote's texas_, vol. i., p. ; _frost's ind. wars_, p. . [sidenote: apache tribes.] the _apaches_ may be said to 'extend from the country of the utahs, in latitude ° north to about the th parallel.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . 'along both sides of the rio grande, from the southern limits of the navajo country at the parallel of °, to the extreme southern line of the territory, and from thence over the states of chihuahua, sonora, and durango, of mexico. their range eastward is as far as the valley of the pecos, and they are found as far to the west as the pimos villages on the gila.' _pope_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. ii., p. . scattered 'throughout the whole of arizona, a large part of new mexico, and all the northern portion of chihuahua and sonora, and in some parts of durango.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . range 'over some portions of california, most of sonora, the frontiers of durango, and ... chihuahua.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. . apatschee, a nation 'welche um ganz neu-biscaya, und auch an tarahumara gränzet.' _steffel_, in _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. . 'reicht das gebiet der apache-indianer vom . bis zum . grad westlicher länge von greenwich, und von den grenzen des utah-gebietes, dem . grad, bis hinunter zum . grad nördlicher breite.' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. . inhabit 'all the country north and south of the gila, and both sides of the del norte, about the parallel of the jornada and dead man's lakes.' _emory's reconnoissance_, p. . 'tota hæc regio, quam novam mexicanam vocant, ab omnibus pene lateribus ambitur ab apachibus.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'recorren las provincias del norte de méxico, llegando algunas veces hasta cerca de zacatecas.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . 'derramadas desde la intendencia de san luis potosí hasta la extremidad setentrional del golfo de california.' _balbi_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'se extienden en el vasto espacio ... que comprenden los grados á de latitud norte, y á de longitude de tenerife.' _cordero_, in _id._, p. ; see also _id._, p. . 'from the entrance of the rio grande to the gulf of california.' _pike's explor. trav._, p. . 'the southern and south-western portions of new mexico, and mainly the valley of the gila.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _bent_, in _id._, vol. i., p. . 'scarcely extends farther north than albuquerque ... nor more than two hundred miles south of el paso del norte; east, the vicinity of the white mountains; west, generally no further than the borders of sonora.' _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'ils ont principalement habité le triangle formé par le rio del norte, le gila et le colorado de l'ouest.' _turner_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxv., pp. , . concurrent authorities: _gallatin_, in _id._, , tom. cxxxi., pp. , ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, pp. , ; _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. ; _stanley's portraits_, p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _prichard's nat. hist. man_, vol. ii., p. ; _western scenes_, p. ; _mill's hist. mex._, p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. ; _conder's mex. guat._, vol. ii., p. - ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. - ; _graves_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _poston_, in _id._, , p. ; _clark_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. . the apache nation is divided into the following tribes; chiricagüis, coyoteros, faraones, gileños, copper mine apaches, lipanes, llaneros, mescaleros, mimbreños, natages, pelones, pinaleños, tontos, vaqueros, and xicarillas. the lipanes roam through western texas, coahuila, and the eastern portion of chihuahua. their territory is bounded on the west by the 'lands of the llaneros; on the north, the comanche country; on the east, the province of cohaguila; and on the south, the left bank of the rio grande del norte.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _id._; _pope_, in _id._, vol. ii., p. . the lee panis 'rove from the rio grande to some distance into the province of texas. their former residence was on the rio grande, near the sea shore.' _pike's explor. trav._, p. . su 'principal asiento es en coahuila, nuevo leon y tamaulipas.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . 'divídese en dos clases ... la primera ha estado enlazada con los mescaleros y llaneros, y ocupa los terrenos contiguos á aquellas tribus: la segunda vive generalmente en la frontera de la provincia de tejas y orillas del mar.... por el poniente son sus limites los llaneros; por el norte los comanches; por el oriente los carancaguaces y borrados, provincia de tejas, y por el sur nuestra frontera (mexico).' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'from time immemorial has roved and is yet roving over the bolson de mapimi.' _wislizenus' tour_, p. . 'frequented the bays of aransas and corpus christi, and the country lying between them and the rio grande.' _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. ; _foote's texas_, p. . see also: _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _moore's texas_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . the mescaleros inhabit 'the mountains on both banks of the river pecos, as far as the mountains that form the head of the bolson de mapimi, and there terminate on the right bank of the rio grande. its limit on the west is the tribe of the taracones; on the north, the extensive territories of the comanche people; on the east, the coast of the llanero indians; and on the south, the desert bolson de mapimi.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'im bolsón de mapimí und in den östlichen gränzgebirgen del chanáte, del diablo puerco und de los pílares.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. . 'occupent le bolson de mapimi, les montagnes de chanate, et celles de los organos, sur la rive gauche du rio grande del norte.' _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. . live 'east of the rio del norte.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. ; _carleton_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _western scenes_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. . 'on the east side of the rio grande, and on both sides of the pecos, extending up the latter river ... to about the thirty-fourth parallel.' _merriwether_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. - . see also: _steck_, in _id._, , pp. - , , p. ; _collins_, in _id._, , p. ; _cooley_, in _id._, , p. ; _norton_, in _id._, , p. . 'the copper mine apaches occupy the country on both sides of the rio grande, and extend west to the country of the coyoteros and pinalinos, near the eastern san francisco river.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . the faraones, pharaones or taracones, 'inhabit the mountains between the river grande del norte and the pecos.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . the following concur; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. . the 'xicarillas anciently inhabited the forests of that name in the far territories to the north of new mexico, until they were driven out by the comanches, and now live on the limits of the province, some of them having gone into the chasms (cañadas) and mountains between pecuries and taos, which are the last towns of the province.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'inhabiting the mountains north of taos.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. . 'les jicorillas, à l'extrémité nord du nouveau-mexique.' _turner_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxv., p. . 'from the rio grande eastward beyond the red river, between the thirty-fourth and thirty-seventh parallels.' _merriwether_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'in the mountains which lie between santa fé, taos, and abiquin.' _collins_, in _id._, , pp. - . 'at the cimarron.' _graves_, in _id._, , p. . 'upon rio ose, west of the rio grande.' _davis_, in _id._, , p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . the llaneros occupy 'the great plains and sands that lie between the pecos and the left bank of the river grande del norte.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . inhabit the 'cajones de la cabellera y pitaycachi, sierra de mimbres, laguna de guzman.' _barrangan_, in _el orden, mex._, _decemb. , _. 'ocupan ... los llanos y arenales situados entre el rio de pecos, nombrado por ellos tjunchi, y el colorado que llaman tjulchide.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; domenech's deserts, vol. ii., p. . the mimbreños have their hunting grounds upon the mimbres mountains and river, and range between the sierras san mateo and j'lorida on the north and south, and between the burros and mogoyen on the west and east. _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'südlich von den apáches gileños, an den gränzen von chihuáhua und neu-mejico jagen in den gebirgen im osten die apáches mimbreños.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. . 'la provincia de nuevo méxico es su confin por el norte; por el poniente la parcialidad mimbreña; por el oriente la faraona, y por el sur nuestra frontera.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . see also: _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'in the wild ravines of the sierra de acha.' _mill's hist. mex._, p. . the chiricaguis adjoin on the north 'the tontos and moquinos; on the east the gileños; and on the south and west the province of sonora.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'live in the mountains of that name, the sierra largua and dos cabaces.' _steck_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - . the tontos 'inhabit the northern side of the gila from antelope peak to the pimo villages.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . 'between rio verde and the aztec range of mountains,' and 'from pueblo creek to the junction of rio verde with the salinas.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. - ; in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _cortez_, in _id._, p. . 'südlich von den wohnsitzen der cocomaricópas und dem rio gila.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. . on the 'rio puerco.' _barrangan_, in _el orden, mex._, _decemb. , _. 'in the cañons to the north and east of the mazatsal peaks.' _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . see _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., p. . 'inhabit the tonto basin from the mogollon mountains on the north to salt river on the south, and between the sierra ancha on the east to the mazatsal mountains.' _colyer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'on both sides of the verde from its source to the east fork, and ... around the headwaters of the chiquito colorado, on the northern slope of the black mesa or mogollon mountains ... on the north, to salt river on the south, and between the sierra ancha on the east and the mazatsal mountains on the west.' _jones_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the pinaleños, piñols or piñals range 'over an extensive circuit between the sierra piñal and the sierra blanca.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . 'between the colorado chiquito and rio gila.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. see also: _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . in 'the country watered by the salinas and other tributaries of the gila.' _steck_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; also _whittier_, in _id._, , p. ; _colyer_, in _id._, , p. ; _jones_, in _id._, p. . the coyoteros 'live in the country north of the gila and east of the san carlos.' _colyer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'upon the rio san francisco, and head waters of the salinas.' _steck_, in _id._, , p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. . 'the gileños inhabit the mountains immediately on the river gila ... bounded on the west by the chiricagüìs; on the north by the province of new mexico; on the east by the mimbreño tribe.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'oestlich von diesem flusse (gila), zwischen ihm und dem südlichen fusse der sierra de los mimbres, eines theiles der sierra madre.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _maxwell_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the apache mojaves are 'a mongrel race of indians living between the verde or san francisco and the colorado.' _poston_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _navajos_ occupy 'a district in the territory of new mexico, lying between the san juan river on the north and northeast, the pueblo of zuñi on the south, the moqui villages on the west, and the ridge of land dividing the waters which flow into the atlantic ocean from those which flow into the pacific on the east.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'extending from near the th to th meridian, and from the th to the th parallel of latitude.' _clark_, in _hist. mag._, vol. viii., p. . northward from the th parallel 'to rio san juan, valley of tuñe cha, and cañon de chelle.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'between the del norte and colorado of the west,' in the northwestern portion of new mexico. _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'in the main range of cordilleras, to miles west of santa fé, on the waters of rio colorado of california.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. - . 'between the del norte and the sierra anahuac, situated upon the rio chama and puerco,--from thence extending along the sierra de los mimbros, into the province of sonora.' _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. . 'la provincia de navajoos, que está situada à la parte de el norte del moqui, y à la del noruest de la villa de santa fee.' _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., p. . 'esta nacion dista de las fronteras de nuevo-méxico como veinticinco leguas, entre los pueblos de moqui, zuñi y la capital (santa fé).' _barreiro_, _ojeada sobre n. mex._, app., p. . 'habita la sierra y mesas de navajó.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . see also: _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. iii., p. . 'along the th parallel, north latitude.' _mowry's arizona_, p. . 'on the tributaries of the river san juan, west of the rio grande, and east of the colorado, and between the thirty-fifth and thirty-seventh parallels of north latitude.' _merriwether_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'from cañon de chelly to rio san juan.' _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. . 'from the rio san juan to the gila.' _graves_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'directly west from santa fé, extending from near the rio grande on the east, to the colorado on the west; and from the land of the utahs on the north, to the apaches on the south.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'fifty miles from the rio del norte.' _pattie's pers. nar._, p. . 'from the ° to the ° of north latitude.' and 'from soccorro to the valley of taos.' _hughes' doniphan's ex._, p. . concurrent authorities: _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . [sidenote: mojaves and yumas.] the _mojaves_ dwell on the mojave and colorado rivers, as far up as black cañon. the word mojave 'appears to be formed of two yuma words--hamook (three), and häbî (mountains)--and designates the tribe of indians which occupies a valley of the colorado lying between three mountains. the ranges supposed to be referred to are: st, "the needles," which terminates the valley upon the south, and is called asientic-häbî, or first range; d, the heights that bound the right bank of the colorado north of the mojave villages, termed havic-häbî, or second range; and, d, the blue ridge, extending along the left bank of the river, to which has been given the name of hamook-häbî, or third range.' _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'von ° ´ nordwärts bis zum black cañon.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., pp. - . 'inhabit the cottonwood valley.' _ives' colorado riv._, p. . 'occupy the country watered by a river of the same name, which empties into the colorado.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. . 'the mohaves, or hamockhaves, occupy the river above the yumas.' _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . see further: _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. ; _cal. mercantile jour._, vol. i., p. ; _jones_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _willis_, in _id._, _spec. com._, , pp. - ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. . the _hualapais_ are 'located chiefly in the cerbat and aquarius mountains, and along the eastern slope of the black mountains. they range through hualapai, yampai, and sacramento valleys, from bill williams fork on the south to diamond river on the north.' _jones_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'in the almost inaccessible mountains on the upper colorado.' _poston_, in _id._, , p. . 'on the north and south of the road from camp mohave to prescott.' _whittier_, in _id._, , p. . 'in the northwest part of arizona.' _willis_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. . the _yumas_ or cuchans range 'from the new river to the colorado, and through the country between the latter river and the gila, but may be said to inhabit the bottom lands of the colorado, near the junction of the gila and the colorado.' _ind. traits_, vol. i., in _hayes collection_. 'both sides of the colorado both above and below the junction with the gila.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'from about sixty miles above fort yuma to within a few miles of the most southern point of that part of the colorado forming the boundary.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. . 'das eigentliche gebiet dieses stammes ist das thal des untern colorado; es beginnt dasselbe ungefähr achtzig meilen oberhalb der mündung des gila, und erstreckt sich von da bis nahe an den golf von californien.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, vol. i., pp. , - , . 'la junta del gila con el colorado, tierra poblada de la nacion yuma.' _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . 'le nord de la basse-californie, sur la rive droite du rio-colorado.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. . 'for ten or fifteen miles north and south' in the valley near the mouth of the gila. _ives' colorado riv._, p. . see _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _latham's comparative philology_, vol. viii., p. ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. ; _mowry's arizona_, p. ; _mckinstry_, in _san francisco herald_, _june, _; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. ; _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - ; _bailey_, in _id._, , p. ; _jones_, in _id._, , p. ; _howard_, in _id._, , pp. - ; _prichard's nat. hist. man_, vol. ii., p. . the _cosninos_ 'roam northward to the big bend of the colorado.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'in the vicinity of bill williams and san francisco mountains.' _jones_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . see also: _figuier's hum. race_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. . the _yampais_ inhabit the country west and north-west of the aztec range of mountains to the mouth of the rio virgen. _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'am obern colorado.' 'nördlich von den mohaves.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., pp. , . 'on the west bank of the colorado, about the mouth of bill williams's fork.' _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _poston_, in _id._, , p. . the _yalchedunes_ or talchedunes 'live on the right bank of the colorado, and their tribes first appear in lat. ° ´.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . the _yamajabs_ or tamajabs 'are settled on the left bank of the colorado from ° of latitude to °.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . the _cochees_ are in the 'chiricahua mountains, southern arizona and northern sonora.' _whittier_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the _nijoras_ dwell in the basin of the rio azul. 'petite tribu des bords du gila.' _ruxton_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxvi., p. ; _gallatin_, in _id._, , tom. cxxxi., p. . the _soones_ live 'near the head waters of the salinas.' emory's reconnoissance, p. ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. . the _cocopas_ 'live along the colorado for fifty miles from the mouth.' _ives' colorado riv._, p. . 'on the colorado bottoms were the cocopahs, the southern gulf tribes of which consag calls the bagiopas, hebonomas, quigyamas, cuculetes, and the alchedumas.' _browne's explor. of lower cal._, p. . 'on the right bank of the river colorado, from lat. ° ´ upward.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'range all the way from port isabel, upon the east bank of the river (colorado), to the boundary line between the republic of mexico and the united states.' _johnson's hist. arizona_, p. . 'between the gila and the gulf, and near the latter.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. . see also: _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. ; _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _poston_, in _id._, , p. ; _bailey_, in _id._, , p. ; _howard_, in _id._, , p. . without definitely locating them, salmeron enumerates the following nations, seen by oñate during his trip through new mexico: the cruzados, somewhere between the moquis and the rio gila, near a river which he calls the rio sacramento. 'dos jornadas de allí (cruzados) estaba un rio de poco agua, por donde ellos iban á otro muy grande que entra en la mar, en cuyas orillas habia una nacion que se llama amacava.' 'pasada esta nacion de amacabos ... llegaron á la nacion de los bahacechas.' 'pasada esta nacion de bahacecha, llegaron á la nacion de los indios ozaras.' 'la primera nacion pasado el rio del nombre de jesus, es halchedoma.' 'luego está la nacion cohuana.' 'luego está la nacion haglli.' 'luego los tlalliquamallas.' _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . 'la nacion excanjaque que habita cien leguas del nuevo-méxico, rumbo nordeste.' _id._, p. . 'habitan indios excanjaques aquel tramo de tierra que en cuarenta y seis grados de altura al polo y ciento sesenta y dos de longitud, se tiende oblícuamente al abrigo que unas serranías hacen á un rio que corre norueste, sur deste á incorporarse con otro que se va á juntar con el misissipi, son contérmino de los pananas.' _id._, p. . 'cerca de este llano de matanza, está otro llano de esa otra parte del rio en que hay siete cerros, habitados de la nacion aixas.' _id._, p. . 'la nacion de los aijados, que hace frente por la parte del oriente y casi confina con la nacion quivira por la parte del norte, estando vecina de los tejas por levante.' _paredes_, in _id._, p. . [sidenote: pueblo family.] in the pueblo family, besides the inhabitants of the villages situated in the valley of the rio grande del norte, i include the seven moqui villages lying west of the former, and also the pimas, the maricopas, the pápagos, and the sobaipuris with their congeners of the lower gila river. 'the number of inhabited pueblos in the territory [new mexico] is twenty-six.... their names are taos, picoris, nambé, tezuque, pojuaque, san juan, san yldefonso, santo domingo, san felipe, santa ana, cochiti, isleta, silla, laguna, acoma, jemez, zuñi, sandia, and santa clara.... in texas, a short distance below the southern boundary of new mexico, and in the valley of the del norte, is a pueblo called isleta of the south,' and another called los lentes. _davis' el gringo_, pp. - . san gerónimo de taos, san lorenzo de picuries, san juan de los caballeros, santo tomas de abiquiu, santa clara, san ildefonso, san francisco de nambé, nuestra señora de guadalupe de pojuaque, san diego de tesuque, n. s. de los angeles de tecos, san buena ventura de cochiti, santo domingo, san felipe, n. s. de los dolores de sandia, san diego de jemes, n. s. de la asumpcion de zia, santa ana, san augustin del isleta, n. s. de belem, san estevan de acoma, san josef de la laguna, n. s. de guadalupe de zuñi. _alencaster_, in _meline's two thousand miles_, p. . taos, eighty-three miles north north-east of santa fé; picuris, on rio picuris, sixty miles north by east of santa fé; san juan, on the rio grande, thirty-four miles north of santa fé, on road to taos; santa clara, twenty-six miles north north-west of santa fé; san ildefonso, on rio grande, eighteen miles north of santa fé; nambe, on nambe creek, three miles east of pojuaque; pojuaque, sixteen miles north of santa fé; tesuque, eight miles north of santa fé; cochiti, on west bank of rio grande, twenty-four miles south-west of santa fé; santo domingo, on rio grande, six miles south of cochiti; san felipe, on rio grande, six miles south of santo domingo; sandia, on rio grande, fifteen miles south of san felipe; isleta, on rio grande, thirty miles south of sandia; jemes, on jemes river, fifty miles west of santa fé; zia, near jemes, fifty-five miles west of santa fé; santa ana, near zia, sixty-five miles west of santa fé; laguna, west of albuquerque forty-five miles, on san josé river; acoma, one hundred and fifteen miles west of santa fé, on a rock five hundred feet high, fifteen miles south-west of laguna; zuñi, one hundred and ninety miles west south-west of santa fé, in the navajo country, on zuñi river. _meline's two thousand miles_, p. . see _abert_, in _emory's reconnoissance_, pp. - ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, pp. - , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _ward_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , - ; _barreiro_, _ojeada sobre n. mex._, p. . 'la primera, entrando sur á norte, es la nacion tigua.... están poblados junto á la sierra de puruai, que toma el nombre del principal pueblo que se llama asi, y orillas del gran rio ... fueran de éste, pueblan otros dos pueblos, el uno san pedro, rio abajo de puruai y el otro santiago, rio arriba.... la segunda nacion es la de tahanos, que al rumbo oriental y mano derecha del camino, puebla un rio que de la parte del oriente ... viene á unirse con el rio grande; su pueblo principal es zandia con otros dos pueblos.... la tercera nacion es la de los gemex, que á la parte occidua puebla las orillas del rio-puerco cuyo principal pueblo qicinzigua.... la cuarta nacion es de los teguas, que están poblados al norte de los tahanas, de esa otra parte del rio, su principal es galisteo ... con otros dos pueblos, y hay al rumbo oriental, encaramada en una sierra alta, la quinta de navon de los pecos, su principal pueblo se llama así, otro se llama el tuerto, con otras rancherías en aquellos picachos.... la sesta nacion es la de los queres.... el pueblo principal de esta nacion es santo domingo ... la sétima nacion al rumbo boreal es la de los tahos.... la octava nacion es la de los picuries, al rumbo norueste de santa cruz, cuyo pueblo principal es san felipe, orillas del rio zama, y su visita cochite, orilla del mismo rio.... la última nacion es la de los tompiras, que habita de esa otra parte de la cañada de santa clara y rio zama, en un arroyo que junta al dicho rio, y es las fronteras de los llanos de cíbola ó zuñi.' _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . 'some sixty miles to the south southeast of fort defiance is situated the pueblo of zuñi, on a small tributary of the colorado chiquito.' _davis' el gringo_, p. . 'on the rio de zuñi.' _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. . 'to the n. e. of the little colorado, about lat. °, are the zunis.' _prichard's nat. hist. man_, vol. ii., p. . the _moquis_, are settled 'west from the navajos, and in the fork between the little and the big colorados.' the names of their villages are, according to mr leroux, 'Óráibè, shúmuthpà, múshàilnà, ahlélà, guálpí, shiwinnà, téquà.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'westward of the capital of new mexico ... oraibe, taucos, moszasnavi, guipaulavi, xougopavi, gualpi.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'desde estos parages (zuñi) corriendo para el vest noruest, empiezan los pueblos, y rancherías de las provincias de moqui oraybe: los pueblos moquinos son: hualpi, tanos, moxonavi, xongopavi, quianna, aguatubi, y rio grande de espeleta.' _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. ii., p. . 'the five pueblos in the moqui are orayxa, masanais, jongoapi, gualpa, and another, the name of which is not known.' _ruxton's adven. mex._, p. . 'the three eastern villages are located on one bluff, and are named as follows: taywah, sechomawe, jualpi.... five miles west of the above-named villages ... is ... the village of meshonganawe.... one mile west of the last-named village ... is ... shepowlawe. five miles, in a northwestern direction, from the last-named village is ... shungopawe. five miles west of the latter ... is the oreybe village.' _crothers_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . further authorities: _palmer_, in _id._, , p. ; _browne's apache country_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, p. ; _marcy's life on the border_, p. . [sidenote: the pimas of arizona.] 'the _pimas_ inhabit the country on both banks of the gila river, two hundred miles above its mouth. they claim the territory lying between the following boundaries: commencing at a mountain about twelve miles from the bend of the gila river, the line runs up said river to the maricopa coppermine. the north line extends to salt river and the southern one to the picacho.' _walker's pimas, ms._ 'la partie la plus septentrionale de l'intendance de la sonora porte le nom de la pimeria.... on distingue la pimeria alta de la pimeria baxa.' _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. . 'corre, pues, esta pimería alta, de sur á norte desde los grados hasta los que se cuentan desde esta mision de nuestra señora de los dolores hasta el rio del gila ... y de oriente á poniente desde el valle de los pimas, llamados sobaipuris, hasta las cercanías y costas del seno del mar californio, habitadas de los pimas sobas.... por el sur tiene el resto de las naciones ópata, endeves, pertenecientes á dicha provincia y entre ellas y la sierra-madre, de oriente á poniente, la pimería baja.' _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., pp. - . 'los pueblos de pimas bajos son ... desde taraitzi hasta cumuripa, onapa, nuri, movas y oanbos lo son hàcia el sur de cumuripa, suaqui, san josé de pimas, santa rosalía, ures y nacameri hácia el poniente, son la frontera contra los seris.... los pimas altos ocupan todo el terreno que hay desde de cucurpe por santa ana caborca hasta la mar de oriente á poniente y sur norte, todo lo que desde dicha mision tirando por dolores, remedios, cocospera el presidio de terrenate, y desde éste siguiendo el rio de san pedro ó de los sobaipuris hasta su junta con el rio xila, y por ambas orillas de este hasta el colorado y entre la mar, ó seno de californias se encierra.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . 'from the river yaqui in sonora, northward to the gila and even beyond the tomosatzi (colorado) eastward beyond the mountains in the province of taraumara, and westward to the sea of cortez.' _smith_, _grammar of the pima or névome language_, p. viii; _id._, _heve language_, pp. - ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. ii., p. . 'nördlich vom flusse yaqui, vom dorfe s. josé de pimas bis zu dem über leguas nördlicher gelegenen dorfe cucurápe, bewohnen die pimas bajas die mitte des landes.' 'nördlich vom fluss ascensión, von der küste weit ins land hinein, treffen wir die pimas altas.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., pp. - . 'pimérie haute et basse. la première s'étend depuis les rios colorado et gila jusqu'à la ville de hermosillo et au rio de los ures, et la seconde depuis cette limite jusqu'au rio del fuerte qui la sépare de sinaloa.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. i., p. . 'los pimas altos ocupan los partidos de la magdalena y del altar; lindan al norte con el gila; al este con los apaches y con los ópatas, sirviendo de limite el rio san pedro ó de sobaipuris; al oeste el mar de cortés, y al sur el terreno que ocuparon los séris.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . see also: _malte-brun_, _sonora_, pp. - ; _mill's hist. mex._, p. ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. ; _cutts' conq. cal._, p. ; _stanley's portraits_, p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. ; _cremony's apaches_, pp. - ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . the _maricopas_ inhabit both sides of the gila river, for about leagues in the vicinity of its junction with the asuncion river. _apostólicos afanes_, p. . 'on the northern bank of the gila, a few miles west of that of the pimas, in about west longitude °.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'desde stue cabitic, se estienden à lo largo del rio (gila) como treinta y seis leguas.' _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., pp. - . 'vom südlichen ufer des gila bis zum östlichen des colorádo.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _emory's reconnoissance_, pp. - ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. . 'au sud du rio gila, sur une étendue de près de milles, en remontant depuis l'embouchure.' _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _escudero_, _noticias de chihuahua_, p. . the pimas and maricopas live 'on the gila, one hundred and eighty miles from its junction with the colorado.' _mowry's arizona_, p. . 'wo der te grad westlicher länge den gila-strom kreuzt, also ungefähr auf der mitte der strecke, die der gila, fast vom rio grande del norte bis an die spitze des golfs von kalifornien, zu durchlaufen hat, liegen die dörfer der pimos und coco-maricopas.' _möllhausen_, _flüchtling_, tom. iv., p. . 'non loin du confluent du rio salinas, par ° environ de longitude.' _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., pp. - . 'on the gila river, about one hundred miles above the confluence of that stream with the colorado.' _dole_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'claimed as their own property the entire gila valley on both sides, from the piñal mountains to the tesotal.' _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'from maricopa wells to a short distance beyond sacaton.' _whittier_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . limits also given in _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, p. ; _bailey_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. ; _poston_, in _id._, , p. . the _pápagos_ 'inhabit that triangular space of arid land bounded by the santa cruz, gila, and colorado rivers, and the mexican boundary line.' _poston_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'nördlich von diesen (pimas altas) hausen im osten der sierra de santa clara, welche sich unter ½° nördlicher breite dicht am östlichen ufer des meerbusens von californien erhebt, die papágos oder papábi-ootam.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. . 'junto al rio de san marcos: leguas mas arriba habita la nacion de los papagos.' _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. iv., p. . 'in the country about san xavier del baca, a few miles from tucson.' _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _jones_, in _id._, p. ; _dole_, in _id._, , p. . 'wander over the country from san javier as far west as the tinajas altas.' _emory's rept. mex. and u. s. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. . see also: _davidson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. . the _sobaipuris_, a nation related to the pimas, live among the lower pimas. 'por una sierrezuela que hay al oriente de este rio y sus rancherías, se dividen éstas del valle de los pimas sobaipuris, que á poca distancia tienen las suyas muchas y muy numerosas, las mas al poniente y pocas al oriente del rio, que naciendo de las vertientes del cerro de terrenate, que está como treinta leguas al norte de esta mision, corre de sur à norte hasta juntarse con el tantas veces nombrado de gila y juntos corren al poniente.' _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. . reference also in _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. iv., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. . [sidenote: lower californians.] the lower californian family includes all the nations inhabiting the peninsula of lower california, northward to the mouth of the colorado river. the _cochimís_ inhabit the peninsula north of the twenty-sixth degree of north latitude. 'i cochimí ne presero la parte settentrionale da gr. sino a , e alcune isole vicine del mar pacifico.' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., p. . 'desde el territorio de loreto, por todo lo descubierto al norte de la nacion cochimí, ó de los cochimies.' 'la nacion, y lengua de los cochimies ázia el norte, despues de la ultima mission de san ignacio.' 'los laymones son los mismos, que los cochimies del norte.' _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., pp. - . 'los cochimíes ocupaban la peninsula desde loreto hasta poco mas allá de nuestra frontera. los de las misiones de san francisco javier y san josé comondú se llamaban edúes; los de san ignacio didúes.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _forbes' cal._, p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, pp. , ; _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. ; _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. spr._, pp. - . 'between san fernando and moleje were the limonies, divided (going from north) into the cagnaguets, adacs and kadakamans.' 'from santo tomas to san vicente they were termed icas.' _browne's lower cal._, p. ; _hist. chrétienne de la cal._, p. . 'nördlich von loréto schwärmt der zahlreiche stamm der cochimíes, auch cochimas oder colimíes genannt. zu ihnen gehören die laimónes und die icas.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. . the _guaicuris_ roam south of the cochimís, as far as magdalena bay. 'si stabilirono tra i gr. ½ e .' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., p. . 'los guaicuras se subdividen en guaicuras, coras, conchos, uchitas, y aripas. los guaicuras vivian principalmente en la costa del pacífico, desde el puerto de san bernabe hasta el de la magdalena. los coras en la costa del golfo, desde los pericúes hasta la mision de los dolores, comprendiendo el puerto de la paz. entre los guaicuras, los coras, y los pericúes estaban los uchitas ó uchities. hasta el mismo loreto, ó muy cerca llegaban los conchos ó monquies, á quienes los jesuitas pusieron lauretanos, ... una rama de su nacion nombrada monquí-laimon ó monquíes del interior, porque vivian lejos de la costa, y se encuentran tambien nombrados por solo laimones. los aripas al norte de los guaicuras.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . 'desde la paz hasta mas arriba del presidio real de loreto, es de los monquis ... à si mismos se llaman con vocablo general monqui, ó monquis ... los vehities, que pueblan las cercanías de la bahía y puerto de la paz; y la de los guaycúras, que desde la paz se estienden en la costa interior hasta las cercanías de loreto. los monquis mismos se dividen en liyùes, didiùs, y otras ramas menores.' _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., pp. - . 'los guaicuras se establecieron entre el paralelo de ° ´ y el de °.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . 'von la paz bis über den presidio von loréto dehnt der stamm monqui, moqui oder mongui sich aus, welchem die familien guaycùra und uchíti oder vehíti angehören, die jedoch von einigen reisenden für ganz verschiedene stämme gehalten werden.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. spr._, p. ; _forbes' cal._, p. ; _browne's lower cal._, p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'la nacion ya nombrada guaicure, que habita el ramalde la sierra giganta, que viene costeando el puerto de la magdalena hasta el de san bernabé.' _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . the _pericúis_ live in the southern portion of the peninsula from cape san lucas northward to la paz. 'desde el cabo de san lucas, hasta mas acà del puerto de la paz de la nacion pericù.... a los indios, que caen al sùr, ò mediodia de su territorio, llaman edù, ó equù, ó edùes ... se divide en varias nacioncillas pequeñas, de las quales la mas nombrada es la de los coras, nombre propio de una ranchería, que se ha comunicado despues à algunos pueblos, y al rio, que desagua en la bahía de san bernabé.' _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., pp. - . 'los pericúes habitan en la mision de santiago, que tiene sujeto á san josé del cabo y en las islas de cerralvo, el espíritu santo y san josé.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'i pericui ne occuparono la parte australe dal c. di s. luca sino a gr. , e le isole adjacenti di cerralvo, dello spirito santo, e di s. giuseppe.' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., p. . 'im süden, vom cap san lucas bis über den hafen los pichilingues und die mission la paz hinaus wohnen die perícues zu welchen die familien edú oder equu und cora gerechnet werden.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. . see also: _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. ; _californias, noticias_, carta i., p. ; _browne's lower cal._, p. ; _forbes' cal._, p. ; _buschmann_, _spuren der aztek. spr._, p. . the northern mexican family is composed of the inhabitants of the states of sonora, sinaloa, chihuahua, coahuila, nuevo leon, and portions of tamaulipas, durango, and zacatecas, south as far as ° north latitude, divided as follows: [sidenote: ceris and Ópatas.] the _seris_ 'live towards the coast of sonora, on the famous cerro prieto, and in its immediate neighborhood.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'reside in the village near hermosillo, occupy the island of tiburon in the gulf of california, north of guaymas.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . 'son las islas nombradas s. antonio, taburon, s. estevan, bocalinas, salsipuedes, la tortuga, la ensenada de la concepcion, habitadas de indios de la nacion seris.' _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. . 'su principal abrigo es el famoso cerro prieto, al poniente de san josé de los pimas, doce leguas, y doce casi al sur del pitic; del mar como cerca de catorce leguas al oriente, y de la boca del rio hiaqui al norte, treinta leguas.... otro asilo tienen, así en su isla del tiburon, casi como cuarenta leguas al poniente de la hacienda del pitic y como una legua de la costa, en el seno de californias; como en la de san juan bautista, cerca de nueve leguas del tiburon al sud-sudueste y á mas de dos leguas de tierra.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., vol. iv., pp. - . 'los ceris ... [ ] estaban situados en la villa de horcasitas en un pueblo llamado el pópulo, una legua hácia el este de dicha villa, camino para nacameri. de allí se trasladaron en al pueblo de ceris.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . 'the céres are confined to the island of tiburon, the coast of tépoca, and the pueblo of los céres, near pitic.' _hardy's trav._, p. . 'zwischen dem flecken petíc und der küste, und diese hinauf bis zum flusse ascensión.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. . the country adjacent to the bay of san juan bautista was occupied by the ceris. _browne's apache country_, p. . 'sus madrigueras las han tenido en el famoso cerro prieto, doce leguas al oeste de san josé de los pimas, en la cadena que se extiende hácia guaymas, en el rincon de márcos, en las sierras de bocoatzi grande, en la sierra de picu cerca de la costa, y sobre todo en la isla del tiburon, situada en el golfo de californias, á una legua de la playa.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _pajaken_, in _cal. farmer_, _june , _. concurrent authorities: _lachappelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. ; _dillon_, _hist. mex._, p. ; _ward's mexico_, vol. i., p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. i., p. ; _stone_, in _hist. mag._, vol. v., p. . the salineros 'hácia los confines de la pimeria alta.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the tepocas are south of the latter. 'ordinarily live on the island of tiburon.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'los mas próximos á la isla del tiburon.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _malte-brun_, _sonora_, pp. - ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. i., p. . the guaymas and upanguaymas live near the like-named port. 'ocupaban el terreno en que ahora se encuentra el puerto de ese nombre, y que se redujeron al pueblo de belen.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _Ópatas_ occupy central and eastern sonora. 'in the eastern part of the state, on the banks of the sonora and oposura, and in the vicinity of the town of arispe and the mineral region of nocasari.' _mayer's mex., aztec, etc._, vol. ii., p. . 'leurs villages couvrent les bords des rivières de yaqui, de sonora et de nacaméri, ainsi que la belle vallée d'oposura.' _zuñiga_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xciii., pp. - . 'im osten des staats, an den ufern der flüsse sonóra und oposúra und bis gegen die stadt aríspe und den minendistrict von nacosári hinauf.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. . 'habita el centro del estado de sonora.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . 'le long des rivières de san miguel de horcasitas, d'arispe, de los ures et d'oposura.' _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcv., p. . 'confinan al norte con los pimas y con los apaches; al este con la tarahumara; al sur con la pimeria baja, y al oeste con los pimas y con los séris.' 'ocupan en el estado de sonora los actuales partidos de sahuaripa, oposura, ures, arizpe y parte del de magdalena.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , - . the Ópatas, eudebes, and jovas 'pueblan la mayor parte de la sonora, desde muy adentro de la sierra, son sus terrenos hácia al sur desde este que pusimos por lindero al oriente, por el desierto pueblo de natora, aribetzi, bacanora, tonitzi, soyopa, nacori, alamos, parte de ures, nacameri, opodepe, cucurpe hácia el poniente; desde aquí arispe, chinapa, bacoatzi, cuquiaratzi hasta babispe hácia el norte, y desde esta mision la poco ha citado sierra hasta natora, los que la terminan hácia el oriente.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . see also: _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. i., p. ; _malte-brun_, _sonora_, p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. ; _pajaken_, in _cal. farmer_, _june , _; _prichard's nat. hist. man_, tom. ii., p. ; _ward's mexico_, vol. i., p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. ; _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, pp. , . in early days 'they occupied the whole western slope of the sierra, from the headquarters of the sonora river to nuri, near the yaqui towns. they were then esteemed different tribes in different localities, and are named in the old records as jobas, teqüimas, teguis, and cogüinachies.' _stone_, in _hist. mag._, vol. v., p. . 'la nacion ópata se subdivide en ópatas tegüis, avecindados en los pueblos de opodepe, terrapa, cucurpe, alamos, batuco. en opatas tegüimas en sinoquipe, banamichi, huepaca, aconchi, babiacora, chinapa, bacuachi, cuquiarachi, cumpas. Ópatas cogüinachis en toniche, matape, oputo, oposura, guasavas, bacadeguachi, nacori (otro), mochopa. los del pueblo de santa cruz se dice que son de nacion contla. los batucas, en el pueblo de batuco corresponden tambien á los ópatas, así como los sahuaripas, los himeris y los guasabas.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - , and _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, pp. - . to the jovas 'pertenecen los pueblos de san josé teopari, los dolores, sahuaripa, donde hay tambien ópatas, pónida, santo tomas, arivetzi, san mateo malzura.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . ovas, 'esta nacion está poblada á orillas del rio papigochic, variedad de algunos pueblos y corre hasta cerca del partido de samaripa y uno de sus pueblos llamado teopari (que es de nacion ova su gente) y corre como se ha dicho poblada en este rio hasta cerca de la mision de matachic.' _zapata_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. . 'los ovas, tribu que vive principalmente en sonora ... en chihuahua está poblada orillas del rio papigochi (el yaqui), llegando hasta cerca de yepomera, de la mision de tarahumares de matachic; sus rancherías se llamaron oparrapa, natora, bacaniyahua ó baipoa, orosaqui y xiripa.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the sobas 'ocuparon à caborca, encontrándose tambien en los alrededores.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the potlapiguas, 'nacion gentil cerca de babispe y de bacerac, colocada en la frontera.' _ib._ the tepahues were 'habitadores de una península que forman dos rios ó brazos del mayo al oriente de los de esta nacion.' _id._, p. . the tecayaguis, cues or macoyahuis were 'en las vertientes del rio, antes de los tepahues ... sus restos se encuentran en el pueblo de la concepcion de macoyahui.' _ib._ the hymeris, 'nacion situada en los varios valles que forma la sierra madre entre occidente y norte del valle de sonora.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. ii., p. . the _sonoras_ inhabit the valley of soñora, which 'cae a la banda del norte, apartado de la villa (sinaloa) ciento y treinta leguas.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . the eudeves, eudebes, hegues, hequis, heves, eudevas or dohme dwell in the villages 'matape, nacori, los alamos, robesco, bacanora, batuco, tepuspe, cucurpe, saracatzi, toape, and opodepe.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the sibubapas 'del pueblo de suaqui.' _id._, p. . the nures, 'habitadores del pueblo de nuri.' _ib._ 'habita cerca de la de los nebomes.' _alcedo_, _diccionario_, vol. iii., p. . the hios, 'á ocho leguas al este de tepahue.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the huvagueres and tehuisos are neighbors of the hios. _ib._ the basiroas and teatas, 'más al este.' _ib._ the tupocuyos are four leagues northwest of santa magdalena. 'de santa magdalena en ... el rumbo al noroeste ... á leguas de distancia llegamos á la ranchería del tupocuyos.' _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. . [sidenote: sinaloas and mayos.] 'the indians of the state of cinaloa belong to different tribes: towards the south, in the country and in the sierra, the coras, najarites, and hueicolhues are to be found; to the north of culiacan, the cinaloas, cochitas and tuvares; and towards the town of el fuerte, and farther north, we find the mayos indians, to which belong also the tribes quasare, ahome, and ocoronis.' _sevin_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxx., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. . the _sinaloas_ 'tiene su assiento y poblaciones en el mismo rio de tegueco, y cuaque, en lo mas alto dél, y mas cercanas a las haldas de serranias de topia; y sus pueblos comiençan seis leguas arriba del fuerte de montesclaros.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , . 'los mas orientales de las gentes que habitaban las riberas del que ahora llamamos rio del fuerte.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. . 'avecindados en una parte de las orillas, hácia las fuentes del rio del fuerte.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _mayos_ occupy the banks of the rivers mayo and fuerte. the mayo river 'baña todos los pueblos de indígenas llamados los mayos.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . 'die eigentlichen mayos wohnen hauptsächlich westlich and nordwestlich von der stadt alamos.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. . 'los mayos, sobre el rio mayo ... están distribuidos en los pueblos de santa cruz de mayo, espíritu santo echojoa ó echonova, natividad navajoa ó navohoua, concepcion cuirimpo, san ignacio de tesia, santa catalina cayamoa ó camoa, san bartolomé batacosa, masiaca.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , ; _malte-brun_, _sonora_, p. . 'the mayos on the river mayo inhabit the following towns: tepágue, conecáre, camóa, tésia, navahóa, curinghóa, echehóa, and santa cruz de mayo, a seaport. towns of the same nation on the rio del fuerte: tóro, báca, chóis, omi, san miguel, charác, sivilihóa, and teguéco.' _hardy's trav._, pp. , ; _ward's mexico_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., p. ; also: _stone_, in _hist. mag._, vol. v., p. ; _mayer's mex., aztec, etc._, vol. ii., p. . the _yaquis_ are settled on the rio yaqui and between it and the rio mayo. on the yaqui river at a distance of twelve leagues from the sea, 'está poblada la famosa nacion de hiaquis.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . 'lista de los pueblos del rio yaqui, contados desde cocori, primer pueblo al otro lado del rio de buenavista, al este del estado, camino para la ciudad de alamos, y rio abajo hasta belen: cocori, bacum, torin, bicam, potam, rahum, huirivis.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . 'zwischen den flüssen mayo und yaquí.... die ortschaften des stammes yaquí (hiaquí) sind besonders: belén, huadíbis, raún, potan, bican, torin, bacún und cocorún.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _malte-brun_, _sonora_, p. . 'les habitations des yaquis commencent, à partir de la rivière de ce nom, et s'étendent également sur le rio de mayo fuerte et de sinaloa, sur une étendue de plus de lieues.' _zuñiga_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xciii., p. ; _ternaux-compans_, in _id._, tom. xcv., p. . 'taraumara es la residencia de los indios yaquis.' 'are still farther north (than the mayos), and belong entirely to the state of sonora.' _sevin_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxx., p. ; _stone_, in _hist. mag._, vol. v., pp. - ; _pajaken_, in _cal. farmer_, _june , _; _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. v., p. . 'occupent le pays situé au sud de guaymas jusqu'au rio del fuerte.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. i., p. . see further: _ferry_, _scènes de la vie sauvage_, pp. , ; _ward's mexico_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., p. ; _hardy's trav._, pp. - ; _combier_, _voy._, p. ; _mex. in _, pp. - ; _hist. chrétienne de la cal._, p. . the _zuaques_ have their villages between the mayo and yaqui rivers. 'los zuaques estaban adelante, á cinco leguas de los tehuecos, y sus tierras corrian por espacio de diez leguas.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'sus pueblos ... eran tres ... el principal dellos, llamado mochicaui.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. . the _tehuecos_ are west of the sinaloas. 'seis leguas al oeste del último de sus pueblos (sinaloas) seguian los teguecos ó tehuecos.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'los pueblos desta nacion, que en sus principios fueron tres, començauan quatro leguas rio arriba del vltimo de los Çuaques.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . the _ahomes_ dwell on the rio zuaque four leagues from the sea. 'la nacion ahome, y su principal pueblo.... dista quatro leguas de la mar de californias.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _alcedo_, _diccionario_, vol. i., p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . the _vacoregues_ 'vivian en las playas del mar y en los médanos, ... un pueblo, orillas del rio (fuerte), no lejos de ahome.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _batucaris_ 'frecuentaban un lagunazo á tres leguas de ahome.' _ib._ the _comoporis_ 'existian en una península, siete leguas de ahome.' _ib._ 'en vna peninsula retirada, y en los medanos, ó montes de arena del mar, viuian las rancherias de la gente fiera destos comoporis.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . the _guazaves_ 'distante diez, y doze leguas de la villa' (cinaloa). _id._, p. . 'habitadores de san pedro guazave y de tamazula, orillas del rio sinaloa.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _zoes_ 'eran indios serranos, que tenian sus poblaciones en lo alto del mismo rio de los cinaloas, y a las haldas de sus serranias.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . 'se establecieron á las faldas de la sierra, en las fuentes del rio del fuerte cercanos á los sinaloas.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'confinan con los tubares.' _zapata_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. . the _huites_ 'vivian en la sierra, à siete leguas de los sinaloas.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _ohueras_ and _cahuimetos_ dwell at 'san lorenzo de oguera ... situado á seis leguas al e. de la villa de sinaloa y sobre el rio.' _id._, p. . the _chicoratos_ and _basopas_, 'en la sierra, y á siete leguas al e. de oguera, se encuentra la concepcion de chicorato.... cinco leguas al norte tiene à san ignacio de chicuris, en que los habitantes son tambien basopas.' _ib._ the _chicuràs_ 'eran vecinos de los chicoratos.' _ib._ the _tubares_ or tovares live in the 'pueblos de concepcion, san ignacio y san miguel.' 'habitan uno de los afluentes del rio del fuerte.' _id._, pp. - . 'poblada en varias rancherias sobre los altos del rio grande de cinaloa.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . 'en el distrito de mina.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . the _chinipas_, _guailopos_, and _maguiaquis_ live 'en san andres chinipas.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . the _hizos_ are in 'nuestra señora de guadalupe de voragios ó taraichi.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _varogios_, _husorones_, _cutecos_ and _tecàrgonis_ are in 'nuestra señora de loreto de voragios ó sinoyeca y en santa ana.' _ib._ the _tarahumares_ inhabit the district of tarahumara in the state of chihuahua. 'provincia ... confina por el o con la de sonora, por el e con el nuevo méxico, sirviéndole de límites el rio grande del norte, por este rumbo no están conocidos aun sus términos, por el s o con la de cinaloa ... toma el nombre de la nacion de indios así llamada, que confinaba con la de los tepeguanes.' _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. v., p. ; _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . 'in den tiefen und wilden schluchten von tararécua und santa sinforósa, jagen verschiedene familien der tarahumáras.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _mexikanische zustände_, tom. i., p. . 'bewohnen einen theil des berglandes im w. der hauptstadt, wo sie namentlich in dem schönen hochthale des rio papigóchic in allen ortschaften einen theil der bevölkerung bilden.' _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. . 'inhabit the towns in mulatos.' _hardy's trav._, p. . 'en la raya que divide los reynos de la vizcaya y de la galicia no en los terminos limitados que hoy tiene que es acaponeta, sino en los que antes tubo hasta cerca de sinaloa.' _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. . 'al oriente tienen el rio de los conchos y al poniente la sinaloa, sonora y las regiones del nuevo méxico, al norte y al austro la nacion de los tepehuanes. 'se estiendan por el norte hasta mas abajo de san buenaventura.' 'vivian en s. josé de bocas, cabecera de una de las misiones de los jesuitas,' in durango. _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . 'Á tres leguas de san josé temaichic está otro pueblo y mucha gente en él llamada taraumar pachera.' _zapata_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. ; _richthofen_, _mexico_, p. . 'les tahues étaient probablement les mêmes que ceux que l'on désigne plus tard sous le nom de tarahumaras.' 'leur capitale était téo-colhuacan.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, preface, p. . the _conchos_ inhabit the banks of the rio conchos, near its confluence with the rio del norte. 'endereço su camino hazia el norte, y a dos jornadas topo mucha cantidad de indios de los que llaman conchos.' _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., pp. , . 'en en real del parral.' _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, p. . 'se estiende hasta las orillas del rio grande del norte. por la parte del septentrion confina con los laguneros, y al mediodia tiene algunos pueblos de los tepehuanes y valle de santa bárbara.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. ii., p. . the _passaguates_ live twenty-four leagues north of the conchos. 'andadas las veinte y quatro leguas dichas (from the conchos), toparon otra nacion de indios, llamados passaguates.' _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., pp. , . the mamites, colorados, arigames, otaquitamones, pajalames, poaramas were in the neighborhood of the conchos. _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _guazapares_ are 'a veinte leguas de distancia del pueblo y partido de loreto al sur, reconociendo al oriente, y solas diez del pueblo y partido de santa inés, caminando derecho al oriente, está el pueblo y partido de santa teresa de guazapares, llamado en su lengua guazayepo.' _zapata_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. . the _temoris_ dwell in the 'pueblo de santa maría magdalena de temoris.... a cinco leguas de distancia hácia el norte del pueblo y cabecera de santa teresa está el pueblo llamado nuestra señora del valle humbroso.' _id._, p. . the _tobosos_ are north of the tarahumares and in the mission of san francisco de coahuila, in the state of coahuila. 'se extendian por el bolson de mapimí, y se les encuentra cometiendo depredaciones así en chihuahua y en durango, como en las misiones de parras, en las demas de coahuila y en el norte de nuevo leon.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - , , . in coahuila, 'un paraje ... que llaman la cuesta de los muertos, donde tienen habitacion los indios tobosos.' _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., pp. - , - . 'a un paraje que hoy es la mision del santo nombre de jesus.' _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia_, p. . the sisimbres, chizos, cocoyomes, coclamas, tochos, babos, and nures live near the tobosos. _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'valle de san bartholome, presidio de la provincia de tepeguana ... antigua residencia de los indios infieles cocoyomes.' _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. i., pp. - . the _tepagues_ are 'cinco leguas arriba del rio de mayo, en vn arroyo.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . the _conicaris_ live 'distante de chinipa diez y seis leguas.' _id._, pp. , . [sidenote: north-eastern mexican tribes.] a multitude of names of nations or tribes are mentioned by different authorities, none of which coincide one with the other. but few nations are definitely located. i therefore first give the different lists of names, and afterwards locate them as far as possible. 'babeles, xicocoges, gueiquizales, goxicas, manos prietas, bocoras, escabas, cocobiptas, pinanacas, codames, cacastes, colorados, cocomates, jaímamares, contores, filifaes, babiamares, catujanes, apes, pachagues, bagnames, isipopolames, piez de benado. chancafes, payaguas, pachales, jumes, johamares, bapancorapinamacas, babosarigames, pauzanes, paseos, chahuanes, mescales, xarames, chachaguares, hijames, iedocodamos, xijames, cenízos, pampapas, gavilanes. sean estos nombres verdaderos, ó desfigurados segun la inteligencia, caprichos, ó voluntariedad de los que se emplearon en la pacificacion del pais, ó de los fundadores de las doctrinas, parece mas creible que los mencionados yndios, fuesen pequeñas parcialidades, ó ramos de alguna nacion cayo nombre genérico no ha podido saberse.' _revillagigedo_, _carta, ms._ 'pacpoles, coaquites, zíbolos, canos, pachoches, sicxacames, siyanguayas, sandajuanes, liguaces, pacuazin, pajalatames y carrizos.' _padilla_, cap. lxix., quoted in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'negritos, bocalos, xanambres, borrados, guanipas, pelones, guisoles, hualahuises, alasapas, guazamoros, yurguimes, mazames, metazures, quepanos, coyotes, bguanas, zopilotes, blancos, amitaguas, quimis, ayas, comocabras, mezquites.' _archivo general, mss._, tom. xxxi., fol. , quoted in _ib._ 'paogas, caviseras, vasapalles, ahomamas, yanabopos, daparabopos, mamazorras, neguales, salineros y baxaneros, conocidos generalmente bajo la apelacion de laguneros.' _id._, p. . 'rayados y cholomos.' _id._, p. . 'las tribus que habitaban el valle (del rio nazas) se nombraban irritilas, miopacoas, meviras, hoeras y maiconeras, y los de la laguna' [laguna grande de san pedro or tlahuelila]. _id._, p. . 'pajalates, orejones, pacoas, tilijayas, alasapas, pausanes, y otras muchas diferentes, que se hallan en las misiones del rio de san antonio y rio grande ... como son; los pacúaches, mescales, pampopas, tácames, chayopines, venados, pamaques, y toda la juventud de pihuiques, borrados, sanipáos y manos de perro.' _id._, p. ; _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . 'Á media legua corta ... [de san juan bautista] se fundó la mision de san bernardo ... con las naciones de ocanes, canuas, catuxanes, paxchales, pomulumas, pacuaches, pastancoyas, pastalocos y pamasus, á que se agregaron despues los pacuas, papanacas, tuancas y otras.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the gijames are in the mountains near the mission of el santo nombre de jesus de peyotes. _morfi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . the pitas and pasalves at the mission of 'nuestra señora de los dolores de la punta.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the pampopas 'habitaban en el rio de las nueces, à leguas al sur de la mision de san juan bautista; los tilijaes mas abajo de los anteriores; al sur de estos los patacales, y los cachopostales cerca de los pampopas. los pajalaques vivian en el rio de san antonio como à leguas de la mision de san bernardo; los pacos y los pastancoyas à leguas en el paraje nombrado el carrizo; los panagues à leguas de la mision sobre el rio de las nueces; los pauzanes sobre el rio de san antonio, y los paguachis à leguas del mismo san bernardo.' ... 'con indios de la naciones mahuames, pachales, mescales, jarames, ohaguames y chahuames ... con ellos y con las tribus de pampopas, tilofayas, pachalocos y tusanes situó de nuevo la mision de san juan bautista, junto al presidio del mismo nombre, cerca del rio bravo.' 'a tiro de escopeta [from santo nombre de jesus peyotes] se encuentra san francisco vizarron de los pausanes ... con familias de tinapihuayas, pihuiques y julimeños, aunque la mayor parte fueron pauzanes.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . 'en el valle de santo domingo, á orilla del rio de sabinas ... san juan bautista ... lo pobló con indios chahuanes, pachales, mescales y jarames, à que se agregaron despues algunos pampopas, tilofayas, pachalocos y tusanes.' _morfi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . the cabesas, contotores, bazaurigames and others were at the mission san buenaventura. _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. . the gabilanes and tripas blancas roamed over a stretch of country situated north of the presidio of mapimi, between the rivers san pedro and conchos to their confluence with the rio grande. _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., pp. - . the _laguneros_ 'poblados à las margenes de la laguna que llaman grande de san pedro, y algunos dellos en las isletas que haze la misma laguna.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . los misioneros franciscanos atrajeron de paz las tribus siguientes, con los cuales fundaron cinco misiones. san francisco de coahuila, un cuarto de legua al norte de monclova, con indios boboles y obayas, à los cuales se agregaron algunos tobosos y tlaxcaltecas conducidas de san esteban del saltillo. santa rosa de nadadores, puesta en à cuarenta leguas al noroeste de coahuila, de indios cotzales y manosprietas, trasladada junto al rio de nadadores para huir de la guerra de los tobosos, y colocada al fin, en , à siete leguas al noroeste de coahuila: se le agregaron ocho familias tlaxcaltecas. san bernardo de la candela, con indios catujanes, tilijais y milijaes, y cuatro familias tlaxcaltecas. san buenaventura de las cuatro ciénegas, veinte leguas al oeste de coahuila, con indios cabezas, contores y bauzarigames: la mision repuesta en con los tocas y los colorados. _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _irritilas_ occupy 'la parte del partido de mapimí al este.' _id._, p. . the _pisones_ and _xanambres_ roam 'al sur del valle de la purísima y al norte hasta rio blanco, confinando al oeste con los cuachichiles.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . other names which cannot be located are: cadimas, pelones, nazas, pamoranos, quedexeños, palmitos, pintos, quinicuanes, maquiapemes, seguyones, ayagua, zima, canaina, comepescados, aguaceros, vocarros, posuamas, zalaias, malahuecos, pitisfiafuiles, cuchinochis, talaquichis, alazapas, pafaltoes. _id._, pp. - . [sidenote: tribes of tamaulipas.] the nations or tribes of tamaulipas, although very numerous, are mostly located. the _olives_ live in horcasitas. _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _palagueques_ are at the mission of san francisco xavier. _ib._ the _anacanas_, 'a una legua de altamira.' _ib._ the _aretines_, _panguais_, and _caramiguais_ in the 'sierra del chapopote, que remata en la barra del tordo.' _ib._ the _mapulcanas_, _cataicanas_, _caramiguais_, _panguais_, and _zapoteros_ live near the salinas, which are between the cerro del maiz and the sea. _ib._ the _caribays_, _comecamotes_, _ancasiguais_, _tagualilos_, and _pasitas_ are near de soto la marina and santander. _ib._ the _moraleños_ and _panguajes_ live on the coast between marina and altamirano. _ib._ the _martinez_, 'en la sierra de tamaulipa vieja.' _ib._ the _mariguanes_, _caramariguanes_, _aretines_, 'habitada desde el cerro de s. josé á la mar.' _ib._ the _tumapacanes_, 'en el camino para santander.' _ib._ the _inapanames_, 'á una y media leguas de la primera villa (santillana).' _ib._ the _pintos_ and _quinicuanes_ dwell near san fernando de austria. _ib._ the _tedexeños_, 'en las lagunas de la barra.' _ib._ the _comecrudos_, 'donde el rio se vacia en sus crecientes.' _ib._ the _tamaulipecos_ and _malincheños_ live at the mission of s. pedro alcántara. _ib._ the _guixolotes_, _cadimas_, _canaynes_, and _borrados_ are 'al pié de la sierra de tamaulipas, teniendo al sur el terreno que se llama la tamaulipa moza.' _id._, pp. - . the _nazas_, _narices_, _comecrudos_, and _texones_ are at the mission of reynosa. _id._, p. . the _tanaquiapemes_, _saulapaguemes_, _auyapemes_, _uscapemes_, _comesacapemes_, _gummesacapemes_, _catanamepaques_ are 'rumbo al este y sobre el rio, à seis leguas de la mision ... se internan à las tierras llegando en sus correrías únicamente hasta el mar.' _ib._ the _carrizos_, _cotomanes_, and _cacalotes_ are at 'camargo, situado sobre el rio da s. juan ... al otro lado del bravo ... los cuales por fuera del rio grande llegan hasta revilla.' _ib._ the _garzas_ and _malaguecos_ live near rio alamo. _id._, p. . no location for the following can be found: politos, mulatos, pajaritos, venados, payzanos, cuernos quemados. _id._, pp. - . the _tepehuanes_ inhabit the mountains of southern chihuahua and the northern portions of durango, a district commonly called the partido de tepehuanes. 'estiende desde la sierra del mezquital hasta el parral ... hasta adelante de topia, muy cerca de caponeta.' _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, pp. - . 'se extiende esta region desde la altura misma de guadiana, á poco ménos de grados hasta los de latitud septentrional. sus pueblos comienzan á las veinticinco leguas de la capital de nueva-vizcaya, ácia el noroeste en santiago de papásquiaro. al norte tiene á la provincia de taraumara, al sur la de chiametlán y costa del seno californio, al oriente los grandes arenales y naciones vecinas á la laguna de s. pedro, y al poniente la sierra madre de topía, que la divide de esta provincia y la de sinaloa.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. . 'sus pueblos, parte en llanos, y parte en sierra, a las vertientes de la de topia, y san andres.... y por essa parte vezinos a las naziones xixime, y acaxee, y aun a las de la tierra mas adentro de cinaloa.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . for concurrent testimony see: _zapata_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. ; _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . the _acaxées_ inhabit the valleys of the mountain regions of topia and s. andres in durango and sinaloa. 'la principal nacion, en cuyas tierras está el real de topia, es la acaxee.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . 'lo limitan al norte y al este el tepehuan, al sur el xixime y al oeste el sabaibo y el tebaca.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , , ; _zapata_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., pp. - . 'san pedro valle de topia, el mineral de topia, asuncion sianori, san antonio tahuahueto y los dolores de agua caliente, las cuales poblaciones marcan los terrenos habitados por los acaxees.' _tamaron_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _tebacas_ lived among the acaxees in the mountain districts of topia and s. andres. _id._, p. . the _sabaibos_ 'habitaban en el partido de san ignacio otatitlan y pueblos de piaba, alaya y quejupa.' _ib._ the _cácaris_ dwell in cacaria. _id._, p. . the _papudos_ and _tecayas_ were settled in the district of san andres. _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., pp. - . the _xiximes_ inhabited 'en el coraçon desta sierra' de san andres. _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . 'ocupan el partido de san dimas.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . the _hinas_ 'habitan la mayor parte en profundísimas quebradas del centro de la sierra, y muchos á las márgenes del rio de humace, que en su embocadura llaman de piaxtla, muy cerca de su nacimiento, como á cinco leguas de yamoriba.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. ii., p. . 'habitantes de las márgenes del rio de piaztla.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _humes_ are in the sierra de san andres. 'como nueue leguas del pueblo de quilitlan, y en lo mas alto de toda esta sierra, caminando al oriente.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . 'nueve leguas mas adelante del lugar de queibos ó de santiago.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. ii., p. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , . the _zacatecos_ inhabit the like-named state, and particularly near the rio nazas. 'baxò la sierra, que oy llaman del calabazal, y parò â las orillas de un rio, que oy llaman de suchil.' _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, p. . 'los que habitan en el rio de las nasas son indios zacatecos.' _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. . 'se extendian hasta el rio nazas. cuencamé, cerro gordo, s. juan del rio, nombre de dios, quedaban comprendidos en esta demarcacion.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _guachichiles_, cuachichiles, or huachichiles 'corrian por zacatecas hasta san potosí y coahuila.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'la villa del saltillo está fundada sobre el terreno que en lo antiguo ocuparon los indios cuachichiles.' _id._, pp. , ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . footnotes: [ ] the comanches 'are divided into three principal bands, to wit: the comanche, the yamparack and the tenawa.' _burnet_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; 'ietans, termed by the spaniards comanches, and in their own language na-uni, signifying "life people."' _prichard's nat. hist._, vol. ii., p. . 'the comanches and the numerous tribes of chichimecas ... are comprehended by the spaniards under the vague name of mecos.' _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. . 'the tribe called themselves niyuna.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., pp. - ; _parker's notes on tex._, p. ; _neighbors_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _french's hist. la._, p. . 'se divide en cuatro ramas considerables bajo los nombres de cuchanticas, jupes, yamparicas y orientales.' _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., p. ; see also _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . the jetans or camanches, as the spaniards term them, or padoucas, as they are called by the pawnees. _pike's explor. trav._, p. . [ ] _turner_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'los indios yutas, ... son los mismos que los comanches ó cumanches, pues yuta eso quiere decir en la lengua de los lipanes. por consiguente no se pueden distinguir esos nombres, que aunque de dos lenguas diferentes espresan una misma nacion.' _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. . 'the comanches are a branch of the shoshones or snakes.' _ruxton's adven._, p. . 'the pawnees are descended from a cousin-germanship of the same stock.' _edward's hist. tex._, pp. - . 'si le sang des aztéques existe encore sans mélange en amerique, il doit couler dans les veines des comanches.' _domenech's jour._, p. ; see also _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _buschmann_, _spuren der azt. spr._, p. . [ ] 'probably because their winter quarters are always located amid the forests which grow upon the sierras.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . [ ] cordero gives the following tribal names, which he says are used among themselves: vinni ettinenne, tontos; segatajenne, chiricaguis; tjuiccujenne, gileños; iccujenne, mimbreños; yutajenne, faraones; sejenne, mescaleros; cuelcajenne, llaneros; lipajenne and yutajenne, lipans and navajos. _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , - . 'los pimas gileños llaman á los yavipais taros ó nifores; los jamajabs les llaman yavipais y nosotros apaches.' _garces_, _diario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., pp. , - . 'yavipais tejua que son los indómitos apaches.' _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. . 'yavapais, or apache mohaves, as they are more generally called.' _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'pueden dividirse en nueve tribus principales ... tontos, chirocahues, gileños, mimbreños, faraones, mezcaleros, llaneros, lipanes y navajoes. todos hablan un mismo idioma.... no componen una nacion uniforme en sus usos y costumbres, pero coinciden en la major parte de sus inclinaciones, variando en otras con proporcion á los terrenos de su residencia, á las necesidades que padecen.' _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., p. . apaches, 'their name is said to signify 'men.'' mescaleros, 'the meaning of the name, probably, is drinkers of mescal.' _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., pp. - . _froebel's central amer._, pp. , , ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., pp. , , ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. ; _wislizenus' tour_, p. ; _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. ; _ruxton's adven._, p. ; _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., pp. - ; _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _steck_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , and _id._, , p. , , p. ; _bailey_, in _id._, , p. ; _clum_, in _id._, , p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . called coyoteros, because it is believed that 'they feed upon the flesh of the coyote.' _hardy's trav._, p. . 'les gileños ... avec les axuas et les apaches qui viennent de la sierra madre sont confondus sous le nom de pápagos.' _mofras_, _explor._, tom. i., p. ; _bustamante_, in _cavo_, _tres siglos_, tom. iii., pp. - . 'tonto, in spanish means stupid.' 'tonto is a spanish corruption of the original indian name.' _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. - ; _ayers_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _collins_, in _id._, , p. ; _id._, , p. ; _maxwell_, in _id._, , p. ; _parker_, in _id._, , p. ; _walker_, in _id._, , p. ; _clum_, in _id._, , p. ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _turner_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxv., p. . [ ] 'the apaches and their congeners belong to the athapascan family.' _turner_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. , and in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxv., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'the apaches call the navajoes yútahkah. the navajoes call themselves, as a tribe, tenúai (man). the appellation návajo was unquestionably given them by the spaniards.' _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. , . 'the navajoes and apaches are identically one people.' _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _ruxton's adven._, p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _poston_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'navajoes and apaches have descended from the same stock.' _carleton_, in _ind. aff., rept. spec. com._, , p. . 'the navajoes are a pueblo indian.' _griner_, in _id._, p. . 'allied to the crow indians.' _fitzpatrick_, in _emory's reconnoissance_, p. ; _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. . 'most civilized of all the wild indians of north america.' _farnham's life in cal._, p. . the navajoes 'are a division of the ancient mexicans.' _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. . [ ] '"yumah," signifies "son of the river," and is only applied to the indians born on the banks of the colorado. this nation is composed of five tribes ... among which ... the yabipaïs (yampaïs or yampaos).' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'the cajuenches and cuchans ... belong to two different divisions of one tribe, which forms part of the great nation of the yumas.' _id._, p. . [ ] cosninos, 'es ist mehrfach die ansicht ausgesprochen worden, dass die meisten derselben zu dem stamme der apaches gehören, oder vielmehr mit ihnen verwandt sind.' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. - ; _figuier's human race_, p. . [ ] 'the yampais form a connecting link between the gila, colorado, and pueblo indians.' _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . yampais are related to the yumas. _möllhausen_, _reisen_, tom. i., p. . yampais: 'unable to separate them from the tonto-apaches.' _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] 'llaman á estos indios los cruzados, por unas cruces que todos, chicos y grandes se atan del copete, que les viene á caer en la frente; y esto hacen cuando ven á los españoles.' _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'unos dicen que á un lado de estas naciones (yutas) para hácia al poniente está la nacion de los nijoras, y otros afirman que no hay tal nacion nijora, sino que esta palabra nijor quiere decir cautivo, y que los cocomaricopas les dan de noche á las naciones mas inmediatas y les quitan sus hijos, los que cautivan y venden á los pimas y éstos á los españoles; si es asi que hay tal nacion, está en esta inmediacion del rio colorado para el rio salado ó rio verde.' _noticias de la pimeria_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . 'todos estos cautivos llaman por acá fuera nijores, aunque hay otra nacion hijeras á parte.' _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . [ ] for further particulars as to location of tribes, see notes on tribal boundaries, at the end of this chapter. [ ] 'besonders fiel uns der unterschied zwischen den im gebirge, ähnlich den wölfen lebenden yampays und tontos ... und den von vegetabilischen stoffen sich nährenden bewohnern des colorado-thales auf, indem erstere nur kleine hässliche gestalten mit widrigem tückischem ausdruck der physiognomie waren, die anderen dagegen wie lauter meisterwerke der schöpferischen natur erschienen.' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. . [ ] the navajos are 'of good size, nearly six feet in height, and well proportioned; cheek-bones high and prominent, nose straight and well shaped; hair long and black; eyes black; ... feet small; lips of moderate size; head of medium size and well shaped; forehead not small but retreating.' _lethermann_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'fine looking, physically.' 'most symmetrical figure, combining ease, grace and power, and activity.' and the comanches 'about five feet ten inches in height, with well proportioned shoulders, very deep chest, and long, thin, but muscular arms.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. , , . the mojave 'men are tall, erect, and finely proportioned. their features are inclined to european regularity; their eyes large, shaded by long lashes.' the cuchans are 'a noble race, well formed, active and intelligent.' _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., pp. , . the navajos are distinguished 'by the fullness and roundness of their eyes.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'the camanches are small of stature ... wear moustaches and heads of long hair.' _pope_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. ii., p. . the comanches 'que da un aspecto bien particular á estas naciones, es la falta completa de cejas, pues ellos se las arrancan; algunos tienen una poca barba.' _berlandier and thovel_, _diario_, p. . the yumas 'if left to their natural state, would be fine looking,' but the hualpais 'were squalid, wretched-looking creatures, with splay feet, large joints and diminutive figures ... features like a toad's.... they present a remarkable contrast to our tall and athletic mojaves.' the navajos are 'a fine looking race with bold features.' 'the mojaves are perhaps as fine a race of men physically, as there is in existence.' _ives' colorado river_, pp. , , - , , , , , , , , plate p. . the comanches are 'de buena estatura.' _beaumont_, _crónica de mechoacan, ms._, p. . the people between the colorado and gila rivers. 'es gente bien agestada y corpulenta, trigueños de color.' _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . the cruzados are described as 'bien agestados y nobles y ellas hermosas de lindos ojos y amorosas.' _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; see also _cordoue_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, serie i., tom. x., p. . in new mexico allegre describes them as 'corpulentos y briosos, pero mal agestados, las orejas largas ... tienen poco barba.' _allegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; and of the same people alcedo writes 'son de mejor aspecto, color y proporcion que los demás.' _diccionario_, tom. iii., p. . and lieut. möllhausen, who frequently goes into ecstasies over the splendid figures of the lower colorado people, whom he calls the personification of the ancient gods of the romans and greeks, says further that they are 'grosse, schön gewachsene leute,' and describes their color as 'dunkelkupferfarbig.' of the women he adds 'ganz im gegensatze zu den männern sind die weiber der indianer am colorado durchgängig klein, untersetzt und so dick, dass ihr aussehen mitunter an's komische gränzt.' comparing the hualapais with the mojaves he writes 'auf der einen seite die unbekleideten, riesenhaften und wohlgebildeten gestalten der mohaves ... auf der andern seite dagegen die im vergleich mit erstern, zwergähnlichen, hagern.... figuren der wallpays, mit ihren verwirrten, struppigen haaren, den kleinen, geschlitzten augen und dem falschen, gehässigen ausdruck in ihren zügen.' the cosninos he calls 'hässlich und verkümmert.' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. , - ; _möllhausen_, _reisen_, tom. i., pp. - , , , , , , tom. ii., pp. , , and plate frontispiece. _möllhausen_, _mormonenmädchen_, tom. ii., p. . the comanche 'men are about the medium stature, with bright copper-coloured complexions ... the women are short with crooked legs ... far from being as good looking as the men.' in the colorado valley 'are the largest and best-formed men i ever saw, their average height being an inch over six feet.' _marcy's army life_, pp. , . 'les comanchés ont la taille haute et élancée, et sont presque aussi blancs que les européens.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, serie v., no. , p. . and of the comanches see further. _dragoon camp._, p. . 'robust, almost herculean race.' _foote's texas_, vol. i., p. . 'exceedingly handsome.' _calderon de la barca's life in mex._, vol. ii., p. ; _hartmann and millard's texas_, p. . 'women are ugly, crooklegged, stoop-shouldered.' _parker's notes on tex._, pp. , , ; _mexikanische zustände_, tom. i., p. ; _froebel's cent. am._, p. ; see also _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., pp. - ; _domenech_, _journ._, p. . the yuma 'women are generally fat.' 'the men are large, muscular, and well formed.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., pp. , . navajo women are 'much handsomer and have lighter complexions than the men.' _pattie's pers. nar._, pp. - ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. , , , , plate . the navajos have 'light flaxen hair, light blue eyes ... their skin is of the most delicate whiteness.' _brownell's ind. races_, p. ; _hughes' doniphan's ex._, p. . on the mojaves see further, _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. ; _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, p. ; _cal. mercantile jour._, vol. i., p. , plate; _clum_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . and on the yumas. _poston_, in _ind. rept. aff._, , p. ; _browne's apache country_, p. ; _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _feb. , _. women's 'feet are naturally small.' _emory's rept._, in _u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. . the yampais are broad-faced, and have 'aquiline noses and small eyes.' _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. . _indian traits_, in _hayes col._ [ ] 'their average height is about five feet four or five inches. they are but slimly built, and possess but little muscular development ... light brownish red color.' some have 'a chinese cast of countenance ... rusty black hair.' _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . their 'features were flat, negro-like ... small legged, big-bellied and broad-shouldered.' _emory's reconnoissance_, p. . 'more miserable looking objects i never beheld;' legs, 'large and muscular.' _fremont and emory's notes of trav._, p. . 'widerliche physiognomien und gestalten ... unter mittlerer grösse ... grosse köpfe, vorstehende stirn und backenknochen, dicke nasen, aufgeworfene lippen und kleine geschlitzte augen.... ihr gesicht war dunkler als ich es jemals bei indianern gefunden.' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. . 'von zottigen weit abstehenden haupthaaren bedeckt.' _möllhausen_, _flüchtling_, tom. iii., p. . 'ill-formed, emaciated, and miserable looking race ... had all a treacherous-fiendish look.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . 'physically of a slighter build than any indians i have seen.' _clum_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'most wretched looking indians i have ever seen.' _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, p. . 'small in stature.... coal-black eye.' _peters' life of carson_, p. . 'hair is very black and straight, much resembling horse hair ... appears to belong to the asiatic type.' _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'gipsy looking with an eye singularly wild and piercing.' _houstoun's texas_, p. . 'have very light complexions.' _ward's mexico_, vol. i., p. . 'die lipanis haben blondes haar, und sind schöne leute.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pt. ii., p. . 'sont des beaux hommes.' _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. . 'tall, majestic in figure; muscular.' _brantz-mayer's mex. aztec., etc._, vol. ii., p. . 'fine physical conformation.' _foote's texas_, vol. i., p. . 'their skin looked whiter than i have ever seen it in the indians.' _wizlizenus' tour_, p. . 'crian pié menor que los otros indios.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . 'todos son morenos, cuerpo bien proporcionado, ojos vivos, cabello largo y lampiños.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . 'su talla y color diferencian algo en cada tribu, variando este desde el bronceado al moreno. son todos bien proporcionados ... y ninguna barba.' _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., p. ; see also _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . 'though not tall, are admirably formed, with fine features and a bright complexion, inclining to yellow.' _pattie's pers. nar._, p. . 'son altos, rubios y de bellisimas proporciones.' _revista científica_, tom. i., p. . 'taille ordinaire, de couleur foncé.' 'comme ces indiens ne font leur nourriture que de chair et principalement de celle de l'âne et du mulet, ils exhalent une odeur si pénétrante que les chevaux et surtout les mules rebroussent chemin aussitôt qu'ils les éventent.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. . [ ] 'cut their hair short over the forehead, and let it hang behind.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . distinguished 'durch den vollständig gleichmässigen schnitt ihrer schwarzen haare.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _browne's apache country_, ; _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, pp. , ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., pp. , ; _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., pp. , . [ ] mojave girls, after they marry, tattoo the chin 'with vertical blue lines.' _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. . yumas: 'doch ist ihnen das tätowiren nicht fremd; dieses wird indessen mehr von den frauen angewendet welche sich die mundwinkel und das kinn mit blauen punkten und linien schmücken.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, pp. - ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., and plate; _michler_, in _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _treasury of trav._, p. . [ ] 'das gesicht hatten sich alle vier (mojaves) auf gleiche weise bemalt, nämlich kohlschwarz mit einem rothen striche, der sich von der stirne über nase, mund und kinn zog.' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. , , ; plate, . 'painted perfectly black, excepting a red stripe from the top of his forehead, down the bridge of his nose to his chin.' _ives' colorado riv._, p. . the apaches 'se tiñen el cuerpo y la cara con bastantes colores.' _doc. hist. n. vizcaya, ms._, p. . 'pintura de greda y almagre con que se untan la cara, brazos y piernas.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. ; _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. ; _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. ; _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., and plate; _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _sedelmair_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., vol. iv., p. . [ ] 'naked with the exception of the breech-cloth.' _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, pp. , ; see also plates; mojave men 'simply a breech-cloth.' _touner_, in _ind. aff. rept._, . 'no clothing but a strip of cotton.... the yumas display 'a ludicrous variety of tawdry colors and dirty finery.' _ives' colorado rept._, pp. , , . see colored plates of yumas, mojaves, and hualpais, 'andan enteramente desnudos.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. iii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _hardy's trav._, pp. , ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _walker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _cremony's apaches_, pp. , ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _indian traits_, vol. i., in _hayes col._ [ ] 'a few stripes of the inner bark of the willow or acacia tied scantily round their waists.' _hardy's trav._, p. . 'long fringe of strips of willow bark wound around the waist.' _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, p. . the men wear 'a strip of cotton,' the women 'a short petticoat, made of strips of bark.' _ives' colorado riv._, p. . 'nude, with the exception of a diminutive breech cloth.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . 'las mas se cubren de la cintura hasta las piernas con la cáscara interior del sauce.' _sedelmair_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . 'las mugeres se cubren de la cintura á la rodilla con la cáscara interior del sauce.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. iii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, vol. i., p. ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., plate and cuts; _touner_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _michler_, in _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., pp. , , with plate. [ ] 'partly clothed like the spaniards, with wide drawers, moccasins and leggings to the knee ... their moccasins have turned-up square toes ... mostly they have no head-dress, some have hats, some fantastic helmets.' _cutts' conq. of cal._, p. . 'they prefer the legging and blanket to any other dress.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., pp. , . 'mexican dress and saddles predominated, showing where they had chiefly made up their wardrobe.' _emory's reconnoissance_, p. . 'los hombres, se las acomodan alrededor del cuerpo, dejando desambarazados los brazos. es en lo general la gamuza ó piel del venado la que emplean en este servicio. cubren la cabeza de un bonete ó gorra de lo mismo, tal vez adornado de plumas de aves, ó cuernos de animales.... el vestuario de las mujeres es igualmente de pieles.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'cervinis tergoribus amiciuntur tam foeminæ quam mares.' _benavides_, in _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _alarchon_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., pp. , ; _sonora, descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _doc. hist. n. vizcaya, ms._, p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _hughes' doniphan's ex._, p. ; _peters' life of carson_, p. ; _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., pp. , ; _walker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _roedel_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _niza_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., pp. , ; see also _froebel's cent. am._, pp. , ; _garcía conde_, in _album mex._, tom. i., pp. , , ; _linati_, _costumes_, plate xxii.; _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _flüchtling_, tom. ii., p. ; _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. . [ ] the hair of the mohaves is occasionally 'matted on the top of the head into a compact mass with mud.' _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, p. . 'their pigments are ochre, clay, and probably charcoal mingled with oil.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, pp. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'ihr hauptschmuck dagegen sind die langen, starken haare, die mittelst nasser lehmerde in rollen gedreht.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. . the axuas 'beplastered their bodies and hair with mud.' _hardy's trav._, pp. - , , , ; _browne's apache country_, pp. , . [ ] small white beads are highly prized by the mohaves. _ives' colorado river_, pp. - . 'the young girls wear beads ... a necklace with a single sea-shell in front.' the men 'leather bracelets, trimmed with bright buttons ... eagles' feathers, called "sormeh," sometimes white, sometimes of a crimson tint ... strings of wampum, made of circular pieces of shell.' _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., pp. , . 'shells of the pearl-oyster, and a rough wooden image are the favorite ornaments of both sexes' with the apaches. _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'sus adornos en el cuello y brazos son sartas de pesuñas de venado y berrendos, conchas, espinas de pescado y raices de yerbas odoríferas. las familias mas pudientes y aseadas bordan sus trajes y zapatos de la espina del puerco-espin.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'adórnanse con gargantillas de caracolillos del mar, entreverados de otras cuentas, de conchas coloradas redondas.' _sedelmair_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . 'las mugeres por arracadas ó aretes, se cuelgan conchas enteras de nácar, y otras mayores azules en cada oreja.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. iii., p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _emory's reconnoissance_, p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _garcía conde_, in _album mex._, tom. i., pp. , ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. ; _almanza_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. ; _browne's apache country_, pp. - ; _michler_, in _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, pp. - ; _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. , , ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. ; _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , pp. - ; _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, serie i., tom. ix., pp. , , ; _alarchon_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _mexikanische zustände_, tom. i., p. . [ ] the 'hair is worn long and tied up behind' by both sexes; _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'langes starkes haar in einen dicken zopf zusammengeknotet.' _möllhausen_, _flüchtling_, tom. iv., p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'tolerably well dressed, mostly in buckskin.... they dress with greater comfort than any other tribe, and wear woolen and well-tanned buckskin ... the outer seams are adorned with silver or brass buttons.' _davis' el gringo_, pp. , , . leggins made of deer-skin with thick soles ... a leathern cap shaped like a helmet, decorated with cocks', eagles' or vultures' feathers. _figuier's hum. race_, pp. , . 'auf dem kopfe tragen sie eine helmartige lederkappe die gewöhnlich mit einem busch kurzer, glänzender truthahnfedern und einigen geier oder adlerfedern geschmückt ist.' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. , . 'a close banded cap is worn by the men which is gracefully ornamented by feathers, and held under the chin by a small throat-latch.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. , and plate vii., fig. , p. . 'their wardrobes are never extravagantly supplied.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . the women 'wear a blanket.' _ives' colorado riv._, p. , and plate. the women 'wore blankets, leggins and moccasons.' _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, pp. , , . 'over all is thrown a blanket, under and sometimes over which is worn a belt, to which are attached oval pieces of silver.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . the women's dress is 'chiefly composed of skins ... showily corded at the bottom, forming a kind of belt of beads and porcupine quills.' _pattie's pers. nar._, pp. - . _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., pp. , , ; _möllhausen_, _flüchtling_, tom. iv., pp. , ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _bristol_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. . [ ] 'tattooed over the body, especially on the chest.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'tattoo their faces and breasts.' _marcy's army life_, p. . 'mares juxta atque foeminæ facies atque artus lineis quibusdam persignant.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _warden_, _recherches_, p. ; _farnham's trav._, p. . [ ] 'they never cut the hair, but wear it of very great length, and ornament it upon state occasions with silver and beads.' _marcy's army life_, p. . 'their heads are covered with bits of tin and glass.' _shepard's land of the aztecs_, p. . 'der dicke und lang über den rücken hinabhängende zopf mit abwärts immer kleiner werdenden silbernen scheiben belastet, die, im nacken mit der grösse einer mässigen untertasse beginnend, an der spitze des zopfes mit der grösse eines halben thalers endigten.' _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. , and _froebel's cent. am._, p. . they 'never cut their hair, which they wear long, mingling with it on particular occasions silver ornaments and pearls.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'todos ellos llevan la cabeza trasquilada desde la mitad hasta la frente, y dejan lo demas del pelo colgando.' _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. ; _revista cientifica_, tom. i., p. ; _parker's notes on tex._, p. ; _dragoon camp._, p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _garcía conde_, in _album mex._, tom. i., p. ; _combier_, _voy._, p. . [ ] 'im gesichte mit zinnober bemalt, auf dem kopfe mit adlerfedern geschmückt.' _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. . 'it takes them a considerable time to dress, and stick feathers and beads in their hair.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'fond of decking themselves with paint, beads and feathers.' _marcy's army life_, pp. , , . 'vederbosschen op't hoofd.' _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. . 'en quanto á los colores, varian mucho, no solamente en ellos, sino tambien en los dibujos que se hacen en la cara.' _garcía conde_, in _album mex._, tom. i., p. . the comanches 'de tout sexe portent un miroir attaché au poignet, et se teignent le visage en rouge.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, pp. , ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. ; _parker's notes on tex._, pp. , , , ; _wislizenus' tour_, p. ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; _combier_, _voy._, p. ; _hartmann and millard_, _texas_, p. ; _larenaudière_, _mex. et guat._, p. , plate; _tempsky's mitla_, p. ; _gilliam's trav._, p. ; _horn's captivity_, p. . [ ] 'the camanches prefer dark clothes.' _parker's notes on tex._, pp. , , . 'les guerriers portent pour tout vêtement une peau de buffle en manteau.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. . 'las mugeres andan vestidas de la cintura para abajo con unos cueros de venado adobado en forma de faldellines, y cubren el cuerpo con unos capotillos del mismo cuero.' _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. . 'vistense galanos ... asi hombres como mugeres con mantas pintadas y bordadas.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'sus vestidos se componen de unas botas, un mediano delantal que cubre sus vergüenzas, y un coton, todo de pieles: las mugeres usan una manta cuadrada de lana negra muy estrecha.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. . 'tam mares quam foeminæ gossypinis tunicis et ferarum exuviis vestiebantur ad mexicanorum normam et quod insolens barbaris, ideoque hispanis novum visum, utebantur calceis atque ocreis quæ è ferarum tergoribus et taurino corio consuta erant. foeminis capillus bene pexus et elegantur erat dispositus, nec ullo præterea velamine caput tegebant.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, pp. , ; _dragoon camp._, p. ; _warden_, _recherches_, pp. , ; _garcía conde_, in _album mex._, tom. i., p. ; _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. , , ; _revista cientifica_, tom. i., p. ; _horn's captivity_, p. ; _marcy's army life_, pp. , , ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _larenaudière_, _mex. et guat._, p. , plate; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., pp. , , ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. , and _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. iv., p. ; _wislizenus' tour_, p. ; _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _escudero_, _noticias de chihuahua_, p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., pp. , , ; _foster's pre-hist. races_, p. ; _hartmann and millard_, _texas_, p. ; _domenech_, _jour._, pp. , ; _maillard_, _hist. tex._, p. , _jaramillo_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , ; _castaño de soza_, in _pacheco_, _col. doc. inéd._, tom. iv., p. ; _houstoun's tex._, p. ; _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. iii., p. ; _farnham's trav._, p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] the apaches 'rarely remain more than a week in any one locality.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . 'cette nation étant nomade et toujours à la poursuite du gibier.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. p. ; _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. ; _marcy's army life_, p. ; _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _backus_, in _id._, vol. iv., p. ; _ten broeck_, in _id._, vol. iv., p. ; _bailey_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. ; _foote's texas_, p. ; _carleton_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _holley's texas_, p. ; _dragoon camp._, p. ; _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, pt. x., p. . [ ] 'the principal characteristic i believe, is the form of their wigwams; one sets up erect poles, another bends them over in a circular form, and the third gives them a low oval shape.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . other tribes make their lodges in a different way, by a knowledge of which circumstance, travelers are able to discover on arriving at a deserted camp whether it belongs to a hostile or friendly tribe. _parker's notes on texas_, p. ; _hartmann and millard_, _texas_, p. ; _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _bulletin_, tom. v., p. . [ ] 'sus chozas ó jacales son circulares, hechas de ramas de los árboles, cubiertas con pieles de caballos, vacas, ó cíbolos.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'i did expect ... to find that the navajos had other and better habitations than the conical, pole, brush, and mud lodge.' _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. . 'the camanches make their lodges by placing poles in the ground in a circle and tying the tops together.' _parker's notes on texas_, p. . huts are only temporary, conical, of sticks. _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'sie bestanden einfach aus grossen lauben von cedernzweigen, deren wölbung auf starken pfählen ruhte, und von aussen theilweise mit erde, lehm, und steinen bedeckt war.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., pp. , - . 'un grand nombre de forme ronde.' _jaramillo_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . 'their lodges are rectangular.' _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. ; _ives' colorado river_, p. ; _figuier's hum. race_, p. . [ ] 'they make them of upright poles a few feet in height ... upon which rest brush and dirt.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., pp. - . 'the very rudest huts hastily constructed of branches of cedar trees, and sometimes of flat stones for small roofs.' _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . these huts are about eight feet high, eighteen feet in diameter at base, the whole being covered with bark or brush and mud. _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. . 'exceedingly rude structures of sticks about four or five feet high.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'the comanches make their lodges ... in a conical shape ... which they cover with buffalo hides.' _parker's notes on tex._, p. . 'ils habitent sous des tentes.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., tom. , p. ; _davis' el gringo_, p. ; _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _bent_, in _id._, vol. i., p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. ; _browne's apache country_, p. ; _farnham's trav._, p. ; _mange_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. ; _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., p. ; _dufey_, _résumé de l'hist._, tom. i., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _domenech_, _jour._, p. ; _dillon_, _hist. mex._, p. ; _ludecus_, _reise_, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. ; _emory's recon._, p. ; _marcy's rept._, p. ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cli., p. ; _jaramillo_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, serie i., tom. ix., pp. - ; _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan_, p. ; _alarchon_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. ; see also, _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. - ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. ; _cordoue_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _brownell's ind. races_, p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. . [ ] _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, p. . 'this compels the navajoes to erect substantial huts of an oval form, the lower portion of the hut being excavated.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . 'they live in brush houses, in the winter time, digging a hole in the ground and covering this with a brush roof.' _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _hughes' doniphan's ex._, p. ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. ; _maillard's hist. tex._, p. . [ ] 'their lodges are ... about four or five feet high, with a triangular opening for ingress or egress.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . the most they do is to build small huts ... with thick poles for the arches and a small door through which a single person can hardly pass. _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . a ranchería of the cuabajai is described as 'formada como una grande galeria en una pieza muy larga adornada con arcos de sauz, y cubierta con esteras de tule muy delgadas y bien cocidas; tenia ventanas para la luz y desahogar el humo y dos puertas, una al oriente y otra al poniente, ... á los dos lados de la pieza habia varios cámaras ó alojamientos para dormir.' _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, pp. - . [ ] 'some live in caves in the rocks.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'they do not live in houses built of stone as has been repeatedly represented, but in caves, caverns, and fissures of the cliffs.' _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'ils habitaient des cavernes et des lieux souterrains, où ils déposaient leurs récoltes.' _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. . most of the navajos 'live in houses built of stone.' _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. ; _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. ; _almanza_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _sanchez_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. ; _gordon's hist. and geog. mem._, p. . [ ] 'the large cottonwood posts and the substantial roof of the wide shed in front, are characteristic of the architecture of this people.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'they are built upon sandy soil and are thirty or forty feet square; the sides about two feet thick of wicker-work and straw ... their favorite resort seems to be the roof, where could usually be counted from twenty to thirty persons, all apparently at home.' _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. . [ ] see plate in _marcy's army life_, p. . 'the fire is made in the front of the lodge.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] 'in every village may be seen small structures, consisting of a frame-work of slight poles, bent into a semi-spherical form and covered with buffalo hides. these are called medicine lodges and are used as vapor-baths.' _marcy's army life_, p. . 'they make huts three feet high for bath-rooms and heat them with hot stones.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xviii., p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. [ ] 'ils sont très-laborieux; ils cultivent les melons, les haricots, et d'autres légumes; ils récoltent aussi en abondance le maïs.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. . 'bohnen, mais, weizen, feingeriebenes mehl, kürbisse und melonen.' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. , - . 'the yumas and other tribes on the colorado, irrigate their lands, and raise wheat, corn, melons, &c.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., pp. , , ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; _ives' colorado river_, pp. , , , ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., pp. , , ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. , , ; _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, p. ; _browne's apache country_, pp. , , ; _mowry's arizona_, p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _mexicanische zustände_, tom. i., p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. ; _champagnac_, _voyageur_, p. ; _bent_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, pp. , , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., pp. - ; _prichard's nat. hist. man_, vol. ii., p. ; _farnham's life in cal._; _davis' el gringo_, p. ; _clark_, in _hist. mag._, vol. viii., p. ; _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . [ ] 'a small but agreeable nut called the piñon, grows abundantly in this country; and during a period of scarcity, it sometimes constitutes the sole food of the poorer class of natives for many successive weeks.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'living upon the fruit of the mezquit and tornilla trees.' _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, pp. , ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. . 'tambien tienen para su sustento mescali, que es conserva de raiz de maguey.' _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _hardy's trav._, pp. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. , , , , ; _cordoue_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _castañeda_, in _id._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'the quail and hare of the valley, and the deer and lizards of the plains, together furnish but a scanty supply.' _ehrenberg_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'they ate worms, grasshoppers, and reptiles.' _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, pp. - . 'an den dünnen gurt hatten unsere besucher noch ratten, grosse eidechsen und frösche befestigt.' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. . 'depending upon game and roots for food.' _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , and , p. . 'mas para ellos es plato regaladísimo el de ratones del campo asados ó cocidos y toda especie de insectos.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, pp. , ; _figuier's hum. race_, p. ; _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. . [ ] on the rivers colorado and gila. 'usan de hilo torcido unas redes y otras de varios palitos, que los tuercen y juntan por las puntas, en que forman á modo de un pequeño barquito para pescar del infinito pescado que hay en el rio.' _sedelmair_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . the cajuenches when the produce is insufficient, live on fish. _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . the navajos 'live by raising flocks and herds, instead of hunting and fishing.' _davis' el gringo_, p. . the apaches 'no comen pescado alguno, no obstante de lo que abundan sus rios.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'el apache no come el pescado, aunque los hay abundantes en sus rios.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] 'they do not make butter and cheese.... some who own cattle make from the curd of soured milk small masses, which some have called cheese.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'they never to my knowledge make butter or cheese, nor do i believe they know what such things are.' _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . the navajoes 'make butter and cheese.' _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. . some of the 'men brought into camp a quantity of cheese.' _ives' colorado river_, pp. , . [ ] _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. . 'they plant corn very deep with a stake and raise very good crops.' _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. ; _merriwether_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] 'the metate is a slightly hollowed hard stone, upon which soaked maize is laid and then reduced to paste.... the paste so formed is then patted between the hands until it assumes a flat, thin and round appearance when it is laid on a hot pan and baked into a tortilla.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. - . 'ils récoltent aussi en abondance le maïs dont ils font de tortillas.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. . 'their meat was boiled with water in a tusquin (clay kettle) and this meat-mush or soup was the staple of food among them.' _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, pp. , . 'a large echino cactus ... hollowed so as to make a trough. into this were thrown the soft portions of the pulpy substance which surrounds the heart of the cactus; and to them had been added game and plants gathered from the banks of the creek. mingled with water, the whole had been cooked by stirring it up with heated stones.' _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'ils mangent des pains de maïs cuits sous la cendre, aussi gros que les gros pains de castille.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. ; _castaño de soza_, in _pacheco_, _col. doc. inéd._, tom. iv., pp. - . [ ] 'the apaches rely chiefly upon the flesh of the cattle and sheep they can steal ... they are said, however, to be more fond of the meat of the mule than that of any other animal.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., pp. - . 'a nonproductive race, subsisting wholly on plunder and game.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . the jicarilla apaches: 'the chase is their only means of support.' _carson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'they live entirely by hunting.' _delgado_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'die nahrung der apaches besteht hauptsächlich in dem fleische der rinder und schafe ... doch soll, wie man sagt, maulthierfleisch ihre lieblingsspeise sein.' _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. . 'ihre besten leckerbissen sind pferde und mauleselfleisch, welches sie braten und dem rindfleische vorziehen.' _ochs_, in _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. . their daintiest food is mule and horseflesh. _apostólicos afanes_, p. . 'anteriormente antes que en la frontera abundase el ganado, uno de sus alimentos era la came del caballo, y la caza de diferentes animales.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, pp. - ; _edward's hist. texas_, p. ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. ; _ward's mexico_, vol. i., p. ; _armin_, _das heutige mexiko_, p. ; _stanley's portraits_, p. ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _edwards' campaign_, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; see further _ind. aff. repts._, from - ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. ; _peters' life of carson_, p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'what i would have sworn was an antelope, proved to be a young indian, ... who having enveloped himself in an antelope's skin with head, horns and all complete, had gradually crept up to the herd under his disguise.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. , . 'se viste de una piel de los mismos animales, pone sobre su cabeza otra de la clase de los que va á buscar, y armado de su arco y flechas andando en cuatro piés, procura mezclarse en una banda da ellos.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _garcía conde_, in _album mex._, tom. i., p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _ferry_, _scènes de la vie sauvage_, p. . [ ] 'they always asked if we had bear on the table, for they wished to avoid it.... i found they had some superstitious prejudice against it.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . 'the apaches are rather fond of lion and panther meat, but seldom touch that of the bear.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . 'tambien matan para comer osos.' _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . the navajoes 'never kill bears or rattlesnakes unless attacked.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'sie verehren den bären, der nie von ihnen getödtet wird, und dessen fleisch zu essen sie sich scheuen. schweinefleisch verschmähen sie desgleichen; beim ärgsten hunger können sie es nicht über sich gewinnen, davon zu kosten.' _armin_, _das heutige mexiko_, p. ; _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . [ ] 'the northern and middle comanches ... subsist almost exclusively upon the flesh of the buffalo, and are known among the indians as buffalo-eaters.' _marcy's army life_, pp. , , . 'they plant no corn, and their only food is meat, and a few wild plants that grow upon the prairies.' _marcy's rept._, p. . the comanches are a 'nation subsisting solely by the chase.' _pike's explor. trav._, p. . 'subsist mainly upon the buffalo.' _graves_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'acknowledge their entire ignorance of even the rudest methods of agriculture.' _baylor_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _bent_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. , and _froebel's cent. amer._, p. ; _combier_, _voy._, p. ; _french's hist. coll. la._, pt. ii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, pp. - , ; _figuier's hum. race_, p. ; _ludecus_, _reise_, p. ; _dragoon camp._, p. ; _foote's texas_, p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _domenech_, _jour._, p. ; _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. ; _holley's texas_, p. ; _dufey_, _résumé_, tom. i., p. ; _dewees' texas_, p. ; _frost's ind. battles_, p. . [ ] 'luego que los cíbolos echan á huir, los cazadores sin apresurarlos demasiado los persiguen á un galope corto, que van activando mas y mas hasta que rompen en carrera ... el indio sin cesar de correr, dispara su arco en todas direcciones, y va sembrando el campo de reses.... las indias al mismo tiempo van dessollando cada una de aquellas reses, recogiendo la piel y la carne.' _revista científica_, tom. i., pp. - . 'at a suitable distance from their prey they divide into two squadrons, one half taking to the right, and the other to the left, and thus surround it.' _edward's hist. tex._, p. ; _french's hist. coll. la._, pt. ii., p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., pp. - . women when they perceive a deer or antelope 'give it chase, and return only after capturing it with the lasso.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'when any game was killed, the indians would tear out the heart, liver, and entrails, and eat them raw.' _frost's ind. battles_, p. . 'ces indiens se nourissent de viande crue et boivent du sang.... ils coupent la viande en tranches très-minces et la font sécher au soleil; ils la réduisent ensuite en poudre pour la conserver.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. - . 'they "jerked" or dried the meat and made the pemmican.' _marcy's army life_, p. . 'comen las criadillas crudas, recogiendo la sangre que corre del cuerpo con unas tutundas ó jicaras, se la beben caliente.' _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. ; _farnham's trav._, p. ; _horn's captivity_, pp. , ; _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'at one time their larder is overstocked and they gorge themselves to repletion.' _marcy's army life_, pp. , , . 'catch and tame these wild horses, and when unsuccessful in chase, subsist upon them.' _holley's texas_, p. . 'when pressed by hunger from scarcity of game, they subsist on their young horses and mules.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'have a rare capacity for enduring hunger, and manifest great patience under its infliction. after long abstinence they eat voraciously.' _burnet_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; _parker's notes on tex._, p. ; _edward's hist. tex._, p. . [ ] the tribe 'lived in the most abject condition of filth and poverty.' _browne's apache country_, p. . 'with very few exceptions, the want of cleanliness is universal--a shirt being worn until it will no longer hang together, and it would be difficult to tell the original color.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'they are fond of bathing in the summer, ... but nothing can induce them to wash themselves in winter.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . they give off very unpleasant odors. _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. . 'they seem to have a natural antipathy against water, considered as the means of cleansing the body ... water is only used by them in extreme cases; for instance, when the vermin become too thick on their heads, they then go through an operation of covering the head with mud, which after some time is washed out.' _dodt_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, ; _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _parker's notes on tex._, p. ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. . [ ] 'they defecate promiscuously near their huts; they leave offal of every character, dead animals and dead skins, close in the vicinity of their huts.' _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. . [ ] the mojave 'arms are the bow and arrow, the spear and the club.' _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, p. . 'armed with bows and arrows.' _fremont and emory's notes of trav._, p. . the querechos 'use the bow and arrow, lance and shield.' _marcy's army life_, pp. , . 'the apache will invariably add his bow and arrows to his personal armament.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. , - , , . 'neben bogen und pfeilen führen sie noch sehr lange lanzen.' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. . 'they use the bow and arrow and spear.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'armed with bows and arrows, and the lance.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . for colored lithograph of weapons see _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'el armamento de los apaches se componen de lanza, arco y flechas.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'las armas de los apaches son fusil, flechas y lanza.' _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., p. . 'los yumas son indios ... de malas armas, muchos no llevan arco, y si lo llevan es mal dispuesto, y con dos ó tres flechas.' _garces_, in _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. ; _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. iii., p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _parker's notes on tex._, p. ; _drew_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _odin_, in _domenech_, _jour._, p. ; _wislizenus' tour_, p. ; _dewees' texas_, p. ; _holley's texas_, p. ; _brownell's ind. races_, p. ; _dragoon camp._, p. ; _moore's texas_, p. ; _ward's mexico_, vol. ii., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. ; _combier_, _voy._, p. ; _brantz-mayer's mex., aztec, etc._, vol. ii., p. ; _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. ; _peters' life of carson_, p. ; _cutts' conq. of cal._, p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., pp. - , ; _pagés' travels_, vol. i., p. ; _linati_, _costumes_, plate xxii.; _armin_, _das heutige mexiko_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _mormonenmädchen_, tom. ii., p. ; _figuier's hum. race_, pp. - , with cut. [ ] 'their weapons of war are the spear or lance, the bow, and the laso.' _hughes' doniphan's ex._, p. . [ ] among 'their arms of offence' is 'what is called macána, a short club, like a round wooden mallet, which is used in close quarters.' _hardy's trav._, p. . 'war clubs were prepared in abundance.' _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. . die apachen 'nur bogen, pfeile und keulen.' _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. . 'their clubs are of mezquite wood (a species of acacia) three or four feet long.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. . 'ils n'ont d'autre arme qu'un grand croc et une massue.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. . 'arma sunt ... oblongi lignei gladii multis acutis silicibus utrimque muniti.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'sus armas son flechas, y macanas.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . among the comanches: 'leur massue est une queue de buffle à l'extrémité de laquelle ils insèrent une boule en pierre on en métal.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] 'mit vierstreifigen strickschleudern bewaffnet.' _mexikanische zustände_, tom. i., p. . 'sie fechten mit lanzen, büchsen, pfeilen und tamahaks.' _ludecus_, _reise_, p. . 'une petite hache en silex.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., p. ; _treasury of trav._, p. ; _escudero_, _noticias de chihuahua_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] the querecho 'bows are made of the tough and elastic wood of the "bois d'arc" or osage orange (maclura aurantiaca), strengthened and reenforced with the sinews of the deer wrapped firmly around them, and strung with a cord made of the same material.' _marcy's army life_, p. . the tonto 'bow is a stout piece of tough wood ... about five feet long, strengthened at points by a wrapping of sinew ... which are joined by a sinew string.' _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . the navajo 'bow is about four feet in length ... and is covered on the back with a kind of fibrous tissue.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . the yuma 'bow is made of willow.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. . 'langen bogen von weidenholz.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. . apaches: 'the bow forms two semicircles, with a shoulder in the middle; the back of it is entirely covered with sinews, which are laid on ... by the use of some glutinous substance.' _pike's explor. trav._, p. . 'los tamaños de estas armas son differentes, segun las parcialidades que las usan.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, pp. , ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. . [ ] the apaches: 'tous portaient au poignet gauche le bracelet de cuir ... ce bracelet de cuir est une espèce de paumelle qui entoure la main gauche, ... le premier sert à amortir le coup de fouet de la corde de l'arc quand il se détend, la seconde empêche les pennes de la flèche de déchirer la peau de la main.' _ferry_, _scènes de la vie sauvage_, p. . 'with a leather bracelet on one wrist and a bow and quiver of arrows form the general outfit.' _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] the coyoteros 'use very long arrows of reed, finished out with some hard wood, and an iron or flint head, but invariably with three feathers at the opposite end.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . navajoes: 'the arrow is about two feet long and pointed with iron.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . the querechos 'arrows are twenty inches long, of flexible wood, with a triangular point of iron at one end, and two feathers ... at the opposite extremity.' _marcy's army life_, p. . the apache 'arrows are quite long, very rarely pointed with flint, usually with iron. the feather upon the arrow is placed or bound down with fine sinew in threes, instead of twos.... the arrow-shaft is usually made of some pithy wood, generally a species of yucca.' _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'sagittæ acutis silicibus asperatæ.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'arrows were ... pointed with a head of stone. some were of white quartz or agate, and others of obsidian.' _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . the tonto 'arrows ... are three feet long ... the cane is winged with four strips of feather, held in place by threads of sinew ... which bears on its free end an elongated triangular piece of quartz, flint, or rarely iron.' _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . the lipan arrows 'have four straight flutings; the comanches make two straight black flutings and two red spiral ones.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, p. ; _tempsky's mitla_, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _conder's mex. guat._, vol. ii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _flüchtling_, tom. iv., p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. . [ ] the apache 'quivers are usually made of deer-skin, with the hair turned inside or outside, and sometimes of the skin of the wild-cat, with the tail appended.' _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'quiver of sheep-skin.' _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. . 'quiver of fresh-cut reeds.' _fremont and emory's notes of trav._, p. . 'un carcax ó bolsa de piel de leopardo en lo general.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _tempsky's mitla_, p. . [ ] 'the spear is eight or ten feet in length, including the point, which is about eighteen inches long, and also made of iron.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . should the apaches possess any useless firearms, 'generalmente vienen á darles nuevo uso, haciendo de ellas lanzas, cuchillos, lengüetas de flechas.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'la lanza la usan muy larga.' _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., p. . 'lance of fifteen feet in length.' _pike's explor. trav._, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _holley's texas_, p. ; _cutts' conq. of cal._, p. ; _revista científica_, tom. i., p. ; _parker's notes on tex._, p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. . [ ] the comanche 'shield was round ... made of wicker-work, covered first with deer skins and then a tough piece of raw buffalo-hide drawn over, ... ornamented with a human scalp, a grizzly bear's claw and a mule's tail ... for the arm were pieces of cotton cloth twisted into a rope.' _parker's notes on tex._, p. . 'en el brazo izquierdo llevaba el chimal, que es un escudo ovalado, cubierto todo de plumas, espejos, chaquiras y adornos de paño encarnado.' _revista científica_, tom. i., p. . their shield 'is generally painted a bright yellow.' _domenech's deserts_ vol. ii., p. . 'shield of circular form, covered with two thicknesses of hard, undressed buffalo hide, ... stuffed with hair ... a rifle-ball will not penetrate it unless it strikes perpendicular to the surface.' _marcy's army life_, pp. - ; _möllhausen_, _flüchtling_, tom. iv., p. ; _tempsky's mitla_, p. . a 'navajo shield ... with an image of a demon painted on one side ... border of red cloth, ... trimmed with feathers.' _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _linati_, _costumes_, plate xxii.; _shepard's land of the aztecs_, p. ; _edward's hist. tex._, p. . [ ] 'wherever their observations can be made from neighboring heights with a chance of successful ambush, the apache never shows himself.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. , . 'attacking only when their numbers, and a well-laid ambush, promise a certainty of success.' _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'colocan de antemano una emboscada.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. - , ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _emory's reconnoissance_, p. ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _davis_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] 'salen ... generalmente divididos en pequeñas partidas para ocultar mejor sus rastros.... es imponderable la velocidad con que huyen despues que han ejecutado un crecido robo ... las montañas que encumbran, los desiertos sin agua que atraviesan.' _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., p. . 'they steal upon their enemies under the cover of night.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. ; _apostólicos afanes_, p. ; _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - ; _browne's apache country_, p. ; _figuier's hum. race_, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. . [ ] 'la practica, que observan para avisarse los unos à los otros ... es levantar humaredas.' _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., p. . 'smokes are of various kinds, each one significant of a particular object.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. - . 'in token of retreate sounded on a certaine small trumpet ... made fires, and were answered againe afarre off ... to giue their fellowes vnderstanding, how wee marched and where we arriued.' _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, tom. iii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _flüchtling_, tom. ii., p. ; _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] 'la suma crueldad con que tratan á los vencidos atenaccandolos vivos y comiendose los pedazos de la carne que la arrancan.' _doc. hist. n. vizcaya, ms._, p. . 'their savage and blood-thirsty natures experience a real pleasure in tormenting their victim.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . 'hang their victims by the heels to a tree and put a slow fire under their head.' _browne's apache country_, pp. , , . among the navajos, 'captives taken in their forays are usually treated kindly.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'ils scalpent avec la corde de leur arc, en la tournant rapidement autour de la tête de leur victime.' _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, pp. - , , , ; _farnham's trav._, p. ; _graves_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _labadi_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. ; _stone_, in _hist. mag._, vol. v., p. ; _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. . [ ] _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] 'obran en la guerra con mas táctica que los apaches.' _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., p. . 'a young man is never considered worthy to occupy a seat in council until he has encountered an enemy in battle.' _marcy's army life_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _domenech_, _jour._, pp. - ; _foote's texas_, vol. i., p. ; _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. ; _maillard's hist. tex._, p. . [ ] 'when a chieftain desires to organize a war-party, he ... rides around through the camp singing the war-song.' _marcy's army life_, p. . 'when a chief wishes to go to war ... the preliminaries are discussed at a war-dance.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. ; _armin_, _das heutige mexiko_, p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'they dart forward in a column like lightning.... at a suitable distance from their prey, they divide into two squadrons.' _holley's texas_, p. . 'a comanche will often throw himself upon the opposite side of his charger, so as to be protected from the darts of the enemy.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., pp. - ; _dewees' texas_, p. ; _shepard's land of the aztecs_, p. ; _ludecus_, _reise_, p. . [ ] 'ils tuent tous les prisonniers adultes, et ne laissent vivre que les enfants, qu'ils élèvent avec soin pour s'en servir comme d'esclaves.' _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. . 'invariably kill such men as offer the slightest impediment to their operations, and take women and children prisoners.' _marcy's army life_, pp. , . 'prisoners of war belong to the captors.' _burnet_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; _farnham's trav._, p. ; _figuier's hum. race_, p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _foote's texas_, vol. i., p. ; _horn's captivity_, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. . [ ] 'ten chiefs were seated in a circle within our tent, when the pipe, the indian token of peace, was produced ... they at first refused to smoke, their excuse being, that it was not their custom to smoke until they had received some presents.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'i saw no earthenware vessels among them; the utensils employed in the preparation of food being shallow basins of closely netted straw. they carried water in pitchers of the same material, but they were matted all over with a pitch.' _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'aus binsen und weiden geflochtene gefässe, mitunter auch einige aus thon geformte;' ... by the door stood 'ein breiter stein ... auf welchem mittelst eines kleineren die mehlfrüchte zerrieben wurden.' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. , . 'panniers of wicker-work, for holding provisions, are generally carried on the horse by the women.' _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _neighbors_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. . 'their only implements are sticks.' _greene_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'they (the axuas of colorado river) had a beautiful fishing-net made out of grass.' ... 'they had also burnt earthen jars, extremely well made. the size of each of them might be about two feet in diameter in the greatest swell; very thin, light, and well formed.' _hardy's trav._, p. . 'nets wrought with the bark of the willow.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. ; _browne's apache country_, p. . 'tienen mucha loza de las coloradas, y pintadas y negras, platos, caxetes, saleros; almofias, xicaras muy galanas: alguna de la loza está vidriada. tienen mucho apercibimiento de leña, é de madera, para hacer sus casas, en tal manera, á lo que nos dieron á entender, que cuando uno queria hacer casa, tiene aquella madera allí de puesto para el efecto, y hay mucha cantidad. tiene dos guaxexes á los lados del pueblo, que le sirven para se bañar, porque de otros ojos de agua, á tiro de arcabuz, beben y se sirven. a un cuarto de legua va el rio salado, que decimos, por donde fué nuestro camino, aunque el agua salada se pierde de muchas leguas atrás.' _castaño de sosa_, in _pacheco_, _col. doc. inéd._, tom. iv., p. ; _taylor_, in _cal. farmer_, _feb. th, _; _browne's apache country_, p. . 'their only means of farming are sharpened sticks.' _colyer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] 'their utensils for the purpose of grinding breadstuff, consist of two stones; one flat, with a concavity in the middle; the other round, fitting partly into the hollow of the flat stone.' _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . [ ] 'the cradle of the navajo indians resembles the same article made by the western indians. it consists of a flat board, to support the vertebral column of the infant, with a layer of blankets and soft wadding, to give ease to the position, having the edges of the frame-work ornamented with leather fringe. around and over the head of the child, who is strapped to this plane, is an ornamented hoop, to protect the face and cranium from accident. a leather strap is attached to the vertebral shell-work, to enable the mother to sling it on her back.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - , and plate p. . [ ] 'the saddle is not peculiar but generally resembles that used by the mexicans. they ride with a very short stirrup, which is placed further to the front than on a mexican saddle. the bit of the bridle has a ring attached to it, through which the lower jaw is partly thrust, and a powerful pressure is exerted by this means when the reins are tightened.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'sa selle est faite de deux rouleaux de paille reliés par une courroie et maintenus par une sangle de cuir.' _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. ; _tempsky's mitla_, p. . the navajos have 'aus zähem eschenholz gefertigten sattelbogen.' _möllhausen_, _flüchtling_, tom. iv., p. . [ ] 'das netz war weitmaschig, aus feinen, aber sehr starken bastfäden geflochten, vier fuss hoch, und ungefähr dreissig fuss lang. von vier zu vier fuss befanden sich lange stäbe an demselben, mittelst welcher es im wasser, zugleich aber auch auf dem boden und aufrecht gehalten wurde.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'el apache para sacar lumbre, usa ... un pedazo de sosole y otro de lechuguilla bien secos. al primero le forman una punta, lo que frotan con la segunda con cuanta velocidad pueden á la manera del ejercicio de nuestros molinillos para hacer el chocolate: luego que ambos palos se calientan con la frotacion, se encienden y producen el fuego.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . [ ] the navajos 'manufacture the celebrated, and, for warmth and durability, unequaled, navajo blanket. the navajo blankets are a wonder of patient workmanship, and often sell as high as eighty, a hundred, or a hundred and fifty dollars.' _walker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'navajo blankets have a wide and merited reputation for beauty and excellence.' _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _ind. aff. rept., spec. com._, , p. ; _turner_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxv., p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, pp. , , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _davis' el gringo_, p. ; _hughes' doniphan's ex._, p. ; _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. ; _figuier's hum. race_, p. ; _peters' life of carson_, p. ; _prichard's nat. hist. man_, vol. ii., p. ; _farnham's life in cal._, pp. - . [ ] 'this art may have been acquired from the new mexicans, or the pueblo indians.' _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'this manufacture of blankets ... was originally learned from the mexicans when the two people lived on amicable terms.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . [ ] 'the blanket is woven by a tedious and rude process, after the manner of the pueblo indians.... the manner of weaving is peculiar, and is, no doubt, original with these people and the neighboring tribes.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . [ ] 'the spinning and weaving is done ... by hand. the thread is made entirely by hand, and is coarse and uneven.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'the wool or cotton is first prepared by carding. it is then fastened to the spindle near its top, and is held in the left hand. the spindle is held between the thumb and the first finger of the right hand, and stands vertically in the earthen bowl. the operator now gives the spindle a twirl, as a boy turns his top, and while it is revolving, she proceeds to draw out her thread, precisely as is done by our own operatives, in using the common spinning-wheel. as soon as the thread is spun, the spindle is turned in an opposite direction, for the purpose of winding up the thread on the portion of it next to the wooden block.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . [ ] _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'the colors are woven in bands and diamonds. we have never observed blankets with figures of a complicated pattern.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] 'the colors, which are given in the yarn, are red, black, and blue. the juice of certain plants is employed in dyeing, but it is asserted by recent authorities that the brightest red and blue are obtained by macerating strips of spanish cochineal, and altamine dyed goods, which have been purchased at the towns.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'the colors are red, blue, black, and yellow; black and red being the most common. the red strands are obtained by unravelling red cloth, black by using the wool of black sheep, blue by dissolving indigo in fermented urine, and yellow is said to be by coloring with a particular flower.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . the women 'welche sich in der wahl der farben und der zusammenstellung von bunten streifen und phantastischen figuren in dem gewebe gegenseitig zu übertreffen suchen. ursprünglich trugen die decken nur die verschiedenen farben der schafe in breiten streifen, doch seit die navahoes farbige, wollene stoffe von neu-mexiko beziehen können, verschaffen sie sich solche, um sie in fäden aufzulösen, und diese dann zu ihrer eigenen weberei zu verwenden.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., p. ; _ruxton's adven. mex._, p. . [ ] 'ils (the apaches) travaillent bien les cuirs, font de belles brides.' _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. . 'they manufacture rough leather.' _pike's explor. trav._, p. . 'man macht leder.' _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. . 'it has been represented that these tribes (the navajos) wear leather shoes.... inquiry from persons who have visited or been stationed in new mexico, disaffirms this observation, showing that in all cases the navajo shoes are skins, dressed and smoked after the indian method.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. . they 'knit woolen stockings.' _davis' el gringo_, p. . 'they also manufacture ... a coarse woolen cloth with which they clothe themselves.' _clark_, in _hist. mag._, vol. viii., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., pp. - . 'the navajoes raise no cotton.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'sie sind noch immer in einigen baumwollengeweben ausgezeichnet.' _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. . 'these people (the inhabitants of arizona in ) had cotton, but they were not very carefull to vse the same: because there was none among them that knew the arte of weauing, and to make apparel thereof.' _alarchon_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _bent_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. iii., p. . [ ] the xicarillas, 'manufacture a sort of pottery which resists the action of fire.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _graves_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the yuma 'women make baskets of willow, and also of tule, which are impervious to water; also earthen ollas or pots, which are used for cooking and for cooling water.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. ; _revillagigedo_, _carta, ms._, p. . 'figure . a scoop or dipper, from the mohave tribe, and as neat and original an article in earthenware as could well be designed by a civilized potter.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'professor cox was informed that the new mexican indians colored their pottery black by using the gum of the mezquite, which has much the appearance and properties of gum arabic, and then baking it. much of the ancient pottery from the colorado chiquito is colored, the prevailing tints being white, black, and red.' _foster's pre-hist. races_, p. ; _ruxton's adven. mex._, p. . the yampais had 'some admirably made baskets of so close a texture as to hold water; a wicker jar coated with pine tree gum.' _sitgreaves' zuñi. ex._, p. ; _bent_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. . [ ] _gregg's com. prairies_, p. . 'in regard to the manufacture of plumage, or feather-work, they certainly display a greater fondness for decorations of this sort than any indians we have seen.... i saw no exhibition of it in the way of embroidery.' _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. ; _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. . [ ] 'mines d'argent exploitées par les comanches, qui en tirent des ornements pour eux et pour leurs chevaux, ainsi que des balles pour leurs fusils.' _domenech_, _jour._, p. . [ ] the mescaleros had 'a raft of bulrush or cane, floated and supported by some twenty or thirty hollow pumpkins fastened together.' _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. iii., p. . the yumas had 'batteaus which could hold or pounds weight.' _id._, vol. iv., p. . the mojaves had 'flössen, die von binsen-bündeln zusammengefügt waren (die einzige art von fahrzeug, welche ich bei den bewohnern des colorado-thales bemerkte).' _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. . 'merely bundles of rushes placed side by side, and securely bound together with willow twigs ... their owners paddled them about with considerable dexterity.' _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. , and plate. _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., pp. , ; _ives' colorado riv._, p. . [ ] 'immense numbers of horses and sheep, attesting the wealth of the tribe.' _ives' colorado riv._, pp. , . 'they possess more wealth than all the other wild tribes in new mexico combined.' _graves_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'they are owners of large flocks and herds.' _bent_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. , ; _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. ; _davis' el gringo_, p. ; _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , pp. - ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. ; _prichard's nat. hist. man_, vol. ii., p. ; _hughes' doniphan's ex._, p. ; _peters' life of carson_, p. ; _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _emory's reconnoissance_, p. . [ ] the jicarilla apaches 'manufacture a species of coarse earthenware, which they exchange for corn and wheat.' _keithly_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. . [ ] 'das eigenthum des vaters nicht auf den sohn übergeht, sondern dass neffen und nichten als die rechtmässigen erben anerkannt werden wenn nicht der vater bei lebzeiten schon seine habe an die eigenen kinder geschenkt hat.' _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., p. . 'the husband has no control over the property of his wife.... property does not descend from father to son, but goes to the nephew of the decedent, or, in default of a nephew, to the niece ... but if, while living, he distributes his property to his children, that disposition is recognised.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , pp. - . 'when the father dies ... a fair division is not made; the strongest usually get the bulk of the effects.' _bristol_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. . [ ] 'the blankets, though not purchasable with money ... were sold, in some instances, for the most trifling article of ornament or clothing.' _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. . shell beads, which they call 'pook,' are their substitute for money.' _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] the querechos encountered by coronado had with them 'un grand troupeau de chiens qui portaient tout ce qu'ils possédaient.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . 'the only property of these people, with the exception of a few articles belonging to their domestic economy, consists entirely in horses and mules.' _marcy's army life_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. ; _marcy's rept._, p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. - . [ ] 'there are no subdivisions of land acknowledged in their territory, and no exclusive right of game.' _neighbors_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. . 'their code is strictly spartan.' _marcy's army life_, p. . [ ] 'they are sufficiently astute in dealing.' _burnet_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. . 'le chef des indiens choisit, parmi ces objets, ceux qui sont nécessaires à sa tribu.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. . 'in comanche trade the main trouble consists in fixing the price of the first animal. this being settled by the chiefs.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., p. ; _parker's notes on tex._, pp. , ; _burnet_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; _domenech_, _jour._, p. ; _dewees' texas_, p. . [ ] mr bartlett, describing an excursion he made to the sierra waco near the copper mines in new mexico, says, he saw 'an overhanging rock extending for some distance, the whole surface of which is covered with rude paintings and sculptures, representing men, animals, birds, snakes, and fantastic figures ... some of them, evidently of great age, had been partly defaced to make room for more recent devices.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., pp. - , with cuts. in arizona, emory found 'a mound of granite boulders ... covered with unknown characters.... on the ground nearby were also traces of some of the figures, showing some of the hieroglyphics, at least, to have been the work of modern indians.' _emory's reconnoissance_, pp. , , with cut. the comanches 'aimaient beaucoup les images, qu'ils ne se lassaient pas d'admirer.' _domenech_, _jour._, p. . [ ] 'the apaches count ten thousand with as much regularity as we do. they even make use of the decimal sequences.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . [ ] 'they have no computation of time beyond the seasons ... the cold and hot season ... frequently count by the caddo mode--from one to ten, and by tens to one hundred, &c.... they are ignorant of the elements of figures.' _neighbors_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., pp. - . 'ce qu'ils savent d'astronomie se borne à la connaissance de l'étoile polaire.... l'arithmétique des sauvages est sur leurs doigts; ... il leur faut absolument un objet pour nombrer.' _hartmann and millard_, _tex._, pp. - . [ ] the navajos have no tribal government, and in reality no chiefs. _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'their form of government is so exceedingly primitive as to be hardly worthy the name of a political organization.' _davis' el gringo_, pp. , ; _ives' colorado riv._, p. . 'ils n'ont jamais connu de domination.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série. v., no. , p. . 'each is sovereign in his own right as a warrior.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . [ ] 'it is my opinion that the navajo chiefs have but very little influence with their people.' _bennett_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , and , p. ; _bristol_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. . [ ] 'los padres de familia ejercen esta autoridad en tanto que los hijos no salen de la infancia, porque poco antes de salir de la pubertad son como libres y no reconocen mas superioridad que sus propias fuerzas, ó la del indio que los manda en la campaña.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, pp. - . 'every rich man has many dependants, and these dependants are obedient to his will, in peace and in war.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'every one who has a few horses and sheep is a "head man."' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., p. . the rule of the querechos is 'essentially patriarchal.' _marcy's army life_, p. . [ ] 'when one or more (of the navajos) are successful in battle or fortunate in their raids to the settlements on the rio grande, he is endowed with the title of captain or chief.' _bristol_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'en cualquiera de estas incorporaciones toma el mando del todo por comun consentimiento el mas acreditado de valiente.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the comanches have 'a right to displace a chief, and elect his successor, at pleasure.' _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. . a chief of the comanches is never degraded 'for any private act unconnected with the welfare of the whole tribe.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] the office of chief is not hereditary with the navajos. _cremony's apaches_, p. . the wise old men of the querechos 'curb the impetuosity of ambitious younger warriors.' _marcy's army life_, p. . 'i infer that rank is (among the mojaves), to some extent, hereditary.' _ives' colorado riv._, pp. , . 'this captain is often the oldest son of the chief, and assumes the command of the tribe on the death of his father,' among the apaches. _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . [ ] the mescaleros and apaches 'choose a head-man to direct affairs for the time being.' _carleton_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'es gibt auch stämme, an deren spitze ein kriegs- sowie ein friedens-häuptling steht.' _armin_, _das heutige mexiko_, p. ; _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., p. . [ ] when col. langberg visited the comanches who inhabit the bolson de mapimi, 'wurde dieser stamm von einer alten frau angeführt.' _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _id._, _cent. amer._, p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. . 'i have never known them (comanches) to make a treaty that a portion of the tribe do not violate its stipulations before one year rolls around.' _neighbors_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] the chiefs of the comanches 'are in turn subject to the control of a principal chief.' _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. . 'la autoridad central de su gobierno reside en un gefe supremo.' _revista científica_, tom. i., p. ; _escudero_, _noticias de chihuahua_, p. . the southern comanches 'do not of late years acknowledge the sovereignty of a common ruler and leader in their united councils nor in war.' _marcy's army life_, p. . the gila apaches acknowledge 'no common head or superior.' _merriwether_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . [ ] the comanches 'hold regular councils quarterly, and a grand council of the whole tribe once a year.' _edward's hist. tex._, p. . 'at these councils prisoners of war are tried, as well as all cases of adultery, theft, sedition and murder, which are punished by death. the grand council also takes cognizance of all disputes between the chiefs, and other matters of importance.' _maillard's hist. tex._, p. . 'their decisions are of but little moment, unless they meet the approbation of the mass of the people; and for this reason these councils are exceedingly careful not to run counter to the wishes of the poorer but more numerous class, being aware of the difficulty, if not impossibility, of enforcing any act that would not command their approval.' _collins_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'singulis pagis sui reguli erant, qui per praecones suos edicta populo denuntiabant.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'tienen otra persona, que llaman pregonero, y es la segunda persona de la república; el oficio de este, es manifestar al pueblo todas las cosas que se han de hacer.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _id._, tom. i., p. . they recognize 'no law but that of individual caprice.' _steck_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the comanches 'acknowledge no right but the right of the strongest.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'la loi du talion est la base fondamentale du code politique, civil et criminel de ces diverses peuplades, et cette loi reçoit une rigoureuse application de nation à nation, de famille à famille, d'individu à individu.' _hartmann and millard_, _tex._, p. . [ ] the comanches punish 'adultery, theft, murder, and other crimes ... by established usage.' _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. . among the navajos, 'lewdness is punished by a public exposure of the culprit.' _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. . _marcy's army life_, pp. , . navajoes 'regard each other's right of property, and punish with great severity any one who infringes upon it. in one case a navajo was found stealing a horse; they held a council and put him to death.' _bristol_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. . a cuchano young boy who frightened a child by foretelling its death, which accidentally took place the next day, 'was secretly accused and tried before the council for "being under the influence of evil spirits,"' and put to death. _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. iii.; _feudge_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . among the yumas, 'each chief punishes delinquents by beating them across the back with a stick. criminals brought before the general council for examination, if convicted, are placed in the hands of a regularly appointed executioner of the tribe, who inflicts such punishment as the council may direct.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. iii. [ ] the apache chief ponce, speaking of the grief of a poor woman at the loss of her son, says: 'the mother of the dead brave demands the life of his murderer. nothing else will satisfy her.... would money satisfy me for the death of my son? no! i would demand the blood of the murderer. then i would be satisfied.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . 'if one man (apache) kills another, the next of kin to the defunct individual may kill the murderer--if he can. he has the right to challenge him to single-combat.... there is no trial, no set council, no regular examination into the crime or its causes; but the ordeal of battle settles the whole matter.' _id._, p. . [ ] _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'ils (comanches) tuent tous les prisonniers adultes, et ne laissent vivre que les enfans.' _dillon_, _hist. mex._, p. . the navajos 'have in their possession many prisoners, men, women, and children, ... whom they hold and treat as slaves.' _bent_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. . [ ] one boy from mexico taken by the comanches, said, 'dass sein geschäft in der gefangenschaft darin bestehe die pferde seines herrn zu weiden.' _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., p. . the natives of new mexico take the women prisoners 'for wives.' _marcy's rept._, p. . some prisoners liberated from the comanches, were completely covered with stripes and bruises. _dewees' texas_, p. . miss olive oatman detained among the mohaves says: 'they invented modes and seemed to create necessities of labor that they might gratify themselves by taxing us to the utmost, and even took unwarranted delight in whipping us on beyond our strength. and all their requests and exactions were couched in the most insulting and taunting language and manner, as it then seemed, and as they had the frankness soon to confess, to fume their hate against the race to whom we belonged. often under the frown and lash were we compelled to labor for whole days upon an allowance amply sufficient to starve a common dandy civilized idler.' _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, pp. - , . [ ] 'it appeared that the poor girl had been stolen, as the indian (axua) said, from the yuma tribe the day before, and he now offered her for sale.' _hardy's trav._, p. . 'the practice of parents selling their children is another proof of poverty' of the axuans. _id._, p. . [ ] 'according to their (tontos') physiology the female, especially the young female, should be allowed meat only when necessary to prevent starvation.' _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. . the comanches 'enter the marriage state at a very early age frequently before the age of puberty.' _neighbors_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. . whenever a jicarilla female arrives at a marriageable age, in honor of the 'event the parents will sacrifice all the property they possess, the ceremony being protracted from five to ten days with every demonstration of hilarity.' _steck_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _marcy's army life_, p. - . among the yumas, the applicant for womanhood is placed in an oven or closely covered hut, in which she is steamed for three days, alternating the treatment with plunges into the near river, and maintaining a fast all the time.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., pp. - . the apaches celebrate a feast with singing, dancing, and mimic display when a girl arrives at the marriageable state, during which time the girl remains 'isolated in a huge lodge' and 'listens patiently to the responsibilities of her marriageable condition,' recounted to her by the old men and chiefs. 'after it is finished she is divested of her eyebrows.... a month afterward the eye lashes are pulled out.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. , - . [ ] there is no marriage ceremony among the navajoes 'a young man wishing a woman for his wife ascertains who her father is; he goes and states the cause of his visit and offers from one to fifteen horses for the daughter. the consent of the father is absolute, and the one so purchased assents or is taken away by force. all the marriageable women or squaws in a family can be taken in a similar manner by the same individual; i. e., he can purchase wives as long as his property holds out.' _bristol_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. ; _marcy's army life_, p. ; _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _parker's notes on tex._, p. . [ ] among the apaches, the lover 'stakes his horse in front of her roost.... should the girl favor the suitor, his horse is taken by her, led to water, fed, and secured in front of his lodge.... four days comprise the term allowed her for an answer.... a ready acceptance is apt to be criticised with some severity, while a tardy one is regarded as the extreme of coquetry.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. - ; _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _marcy's army life_, pp. , . the apache 'who can support or keep, or attract by his power to keep, the greatest number of women, is the man who is deemed entitled to the greatest amount of honor and respect.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. , . un comanche, 'peut épouser autant de femmes qu'il veut, à la seule condition de donner à chacune un cheval.' _domenech_, _jour._, p. . among the navajoes, 'the wife last chosen is always mistress of her predecessors.' _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. they seldom, if ever, marry out of the tribe. _ward_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. . 'in general, when an indian wishes to have many wives he chooses above all others, if he can, sisters, because he thinks he can thus secure more domestic peace.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'i think that few, if any, have more than one wife,' of the mojaves. _ives' colorado riv._, p. . [ ] 'the navajo marriage-ceremony consists simply of a feast upon horse-flesh.' _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. . when the navajos desire to marry, 'they sit down on opposite sides of a basket, made to hold water, filled with atole or some other food, and partake of it. this simple proceeding makes them husband and wife.' _davis' el gringo_, p. . [ ] the comanche women 'are drudges.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _dufey_, _résumé de l'hist._, tom. i., p. ; _neighbors_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _escudero_, _noticias de chihuahua_, p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . labor is considered degrading by the comanches. _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. . the apache men 'no cuidan de otras cosas, sino de cazar y divertirse.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _marcy's army life_, pp. , , . 'la femme (du comanche) son esclave absolue, doit tout faire pour lui. souvent il n'apporte pas même le gibier qu'il a tué, mais il envoie sa femme le chercher au loin.' _dubuis_, in _domenech_, _jour._, p. . the navajos 'treat their women with great attention, consider them equals, and relieve them from the drudgery of menial work.' _hughes' doniphan's ex._, p. . the navajo women 'are the real owners of all the sheep.... they admit women into their councils, who sometimes control their deliberations; and they also eat with them.' _davis' el gringo_, p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. ., in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'de aquí proviene que sean árbitros de sus mugeres, dandoles un trato servilísimo, y algunas veces les quitan hasta la vida por celos.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . 'les comanches, obligent le prisonnier blanc, dont ils ont admiré le valeur dans le combat, á s'unir aux leurs pour perpétuer sa race.' _fossey_, _mexique_, p. . [ ] among the apaches, 'muchas veces suele disolverse el contrato por unánime consentimiento de los desposados, y volviendo la mujer á su padre, entrega este lo que recibió por ella.' _cordero_. in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . when the navajo women abandon the husband, the latter 'asks to wipe out the disgrace by killing some one.' _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. ; _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . [ ] navajo women, 'when in parturition, stand upon their feet, holding to a rope suspended overhead, or upon the knees, the body being erect.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'previous to a birth, the (yuma) mother leaves her village for some short distance and lives by herself until a month after the child is born; the band to which she belongs then assemble and select a name for the little one, which is given with some trivial ceremony.' _emory's rept._, vol. i., p. ; _marcy's army life_, p. . 'si el parto es en marcha, se hacen á un lado del camino debajo de un árbol, en donde salen del lance con la mayor facilidad y sin apuro ninguno, continuando la marcha con la criatura y algun otro de sus chiquillos, dentro de una especie de red, que á la manera de una canasta cargan en los hombros, pendiente de la frente con una tira de cuero ó de vaqueta que la contiene, en donde llevan ademas alunos trastos ó cosas que comer.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. ; _fossey_, _mexique_, p. . 'luego que sale á luz esta, sale la vieja de aquel lugar con la mano puesta en los ojos, y no se descubre hasta que no haya dado una vuelta fuera de la casa, y el objeto que primero se le presenta á la vista, es el nombre que se le pone á la criatura.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. . [ ] _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. ; _ives' colorado river_, pp. , ; _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'quand les indiennes (comanches) voyagent avec leurs enfants en bas âge, elles les suspendent à la selle avec des courroies qu'elles leur passent entre les jambes et sous les bras. les soubresauts du cheval, les branches, les broussailles heurtent ces pauvres petits, les déchirent, les meurtrissent: peu importe, c'est une façon de les aguerrir.' _domenech_, _journ._, p. ; _emory's reconnoissance_, p. . 'a la edad de siete años de los apaches, ó antes, lo primero que hacen los padres, es poner á sus hijos el carcax en la mano enseñándoles á tirar bien, cuya táctica empiezan á aprender en la caza.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . the apaches, 'juventutem sedulo instituunt castigant quod aliis barbaris insolitum.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . male children of the comanches 'are even privileged to rebel against their parents, who are not entitled to chastise them but by consent of the tribe.' _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. - . in fact a navajo indian has said, 'that he was afraid to correct his own boy, lest the child should wait for a convenient opportunity, and shoot him with an arrow.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. . [ ] 'the navajo women are very loose, and do not look upon fornication as a crime.' _guyther_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. . 'prostitution is the rule among the (yuma) women, not the exception.' _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _browne's apache country_, p. . 'prostitution prevails to a great extent among the navajoes, the maricopas, and the yuma indians; and its attendant diseases, as before stated, have more or less tainted the blood of the adults; and by inheritance of the children.' _carleton_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. . among the navajoes, 'the most unfortunate thing which can befall a captive woman is to be claimed by two persons. in this case, she is either shot or delivered up for indiscriminate violence.' _emory's reconnoissance_, p. . the colorado river indians 'barter and sell their women into prostitution, with hardly an exception.' _safford_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'the comanche women are, as in many other wild tribes, the slaves of their lords, and it is a common practice for their husbands to lend or sell them to a visitor for one, two, or three days at a time.' _marcy's rept._, p. ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. . 'las faltas conyugales no se castigan por la primera vez; pero á la segunda el marido corta la punta de la nariz á su infiel esposa, y la despide de su lado.' _revista científica_, vol. i., p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. . 'the squaw who has been mutilated for such a cause, is _ipso facto_ divorced, and, it is said, for ever precluded from marrying again. the consequence is, that she becomes a confirmed harlot in the tribe.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., pp. , - , . 'el culpable, segun dicen, jamas es castigado por el marido con la muerte; solamente se abroga el derecho de darle algunos golpes y cogerse sus mulas ó caballos.' _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. ; _marcy's army life_, p. . 'these yung men may not haue carnall copulation with any woman: but all the yung men of the countrey which are to marrie, may company with them.... i saw likewise certaine women which liued dishonestly among men.' _alarchon_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] 'they tolde mey that ... such as remayned widowes, stayed halfe a yeere, or a whole yeere before they married.' _alarchon_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. ; _marcy's army life_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., p. ; _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., p. . [ ] 'en las referidas reuniones los bailes son sus diversiones favoritas. los hacen de noche al son de una olla cubierta la boca con una piel tirante, que suenan con un palo, en cuya estremidad lian un boton de trapos. se interpolan ambos secsos, saltan todos a un mismo tiempo, dando alaridos y haciendo miles de ademanes, en que mueven todos los miembros del cuerpo con una destreza extraordinaria, arremedando al coyote y al venado. desta manera forman diferentes grupos simétricamente.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. ; _marcy's army life_, p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. . 'este lo forma una junta de truhanes vestidos de ridiculo y autorizados por los viejos del pueblo para cometer los mayores desórdenes, y gusten tanto de estos hechos, que ni los maridos reparan las infamias que cometen con sus mugeres, ni las que resultan en perjuicio de las hijas.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. . 'the females (of the apaches) do the principal part of the dancing.' _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'among the abenakis, chactas, comanches, and other indian tribes, the women dance the same dances, but after the men, and far out of their sight ... they are seldom admitted to share any amusement, their lot being to work.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. , . 'de éstos vinieron cinco danzas, cada una compuesta de treinta indias; de éstas, veintiseis como de à años, y las cuatro restantes de mas edad, que eran las que cuidaban y dirigian à las jóvenes.' _museo mex._, tom. i., p. . 'the dance (of the tontos) is similar to that of the california indians; a stamp around, with clapping of hands and slapping of thighs in time to a drawl of monotones.' _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. . the yumas 'sing some few monotonous songs, and the beaux captivate the hearts of their lady-loves by playing on a flute made of cane.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. iii. 'no tienen mas orquesta que sus voces y una olla ó casco de calabazo à que se amarra una piel tirante y se toca con un palo.' _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, pp. - ; _garcía conde_, in _album mex._, tom. i., pp. , . [ ] _stanley's portraits_, p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. . 'y el vicio que tienen estos indios, es jugar en las estufas las mantas, y otras preseas con vnas cañuelas, que hechan en alto (el qual juego vsaban estos indios mexicanos) y al que no tiene mas que vna manta, y la pierde, se la buelven; con condicion, que ha de andar desnudo por todo el pueblo, pintado, y embijado todo el cuerpo, y los muchachos dandole grita.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'the players generally take each about ten arrows, which they hold with their bows in the left hand; he whose turn it is advances in front of the judges, and lances his first arrow upwards as high as possible, for he must send off all the others before it comes down. the victory belongs to him who has most arrows in the air together, and he who can make them all fly at once is a hero.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'the indians amuse themselves shooting at the fruit (pitaya), and when one misses his aim and leaves his arrow sticking in the top of the cactus, it is a source of much laughter to his comrades.' _browne's apache country_, p. ; _armin_, _das heutige mexiko_, p. . the hoop and pole game of the mojaves is thus played. 'the hoop is six inches in diameter, and made of elastic cord; the poles are straight, and about fifteen feet in length. rolling the hoop from one end of the course toward the other, two of the players chase it half-way, and at the same time throw their poles. he who succeeds in piercing the hoop wins the game.' _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. iii.; _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., pp. , ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'tienen unas pelotas de materia negra como pez, embutidas en ella varias conchuelas pequeñas del mar, con que juegan y apuestan arrojándola con el pié.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. iii., p. ; _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., vol. iv., p. . [ ] 'los salvages recogen sus hojas generalmente en el otoño, las que entónces están rojas y muy oxidadas: para hacer su provision, la secan al fuego ó al sol, y para fumarlas, las mezclan con tabaco.' _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. . the comanches smoke tobacco, 'mixed with the dried leaves of the sumach, inhaling the smoke into their lungs, and giving it out through their nostrils.' _marcy's army life_, pp. , ; _alarchon_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. . the comanches 'avoid the use of ardent spirits, which they call "fool's water."' _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., p. . _dubuis_, in _domenech_, _jour._, p. . 'in order to make an intoxicating beverage of the mescal, the roasted root is macerated in a proportionable quantity of water, which is allowed to stand several days, when it ferments rapidly. the liquor is boiled down and produces a strongly intoxicating fluid.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . 'when its stem (of the maguey) is tapped there flows from it a juice which, on being fermented, produces the pulque.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. . the apaches out of corn make an intoxicating drink which they called "teeswin," made by boiling the corn and fermenting it. _murphy_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. ; _hardy's trav._, pp. , . [ ] _jones_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. ; _domenech_, _jour._, p. ; _turner_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. , p. ; _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _garcía conde_, in _album mex._, , tom. i., p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _shepard's land of the aztecs_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. - ; _emory's reconnoissance_, p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. . the apache women, 'son tan buenas ginetas, que brincan en un potro, y sin mas riendas que un cabrestillo, saben arrendarlo.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _marcy's army life_, p. ; _figuier's hum. race_, p. . 'a short hair halter was passed around under the neck of the horse, and both ends tightly braided into the mane, on the withers, leaving a loop to hang under the neck, and against the breast, which, being caught up in the hand, makes a sling into which the elbow falls, taking the weight of the body on the middle of the upper arm. into this loop the rider drops suddenly and fearlessly, leaving his heel to hang over the back of the horse, to steady him, and also to restore him when he wishes to regain his upright position on the horse's back.' _brownell's ind. races_, p. ; _davis' el gringo_, p. . les comanches 'regardent comme un déshonneur d'aller à pied.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. . the comanches, for hardening the hoofs of horses and mules, have a custom of making a fire of the wild rosemary--artemisia--and exposing their hoofs to the vapor and smoke by leading them slowly through it. _parker's notes on tex._, p. . [ ] _marcy's army life_, p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. ; _cordoue_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. . 'les teyas et querechos ont de grands troupeaux de chiens qui portent leur bagage; ils l'attachent sur le dos de ces animaux au moyen d'une sangle et d'un petit bât. quand la charge se dérange les chiens se mettent à hurler, pour avertir leur maître de l'arranger.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , , . 'on the top of the bank we struck a camanche trail, very broad, and made by the lodge poles, which they transport from place to place ... by fastening them on each side of their pack horses, leaving the long ends trailing upon the ground.' _parker's notes on tex._, p. . 'si carecen de cabalgaduras, cargan los muebles las mujeres igualmente que sus criaturas.' _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, p. . [ ] _neighbors_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, p. ; _marcy's army life_, pp. , , ; _marcy's rept._, p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., pp. , ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, pp. , ; _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . when the yampais 'wish to parley they raise a firebrand in the air as a sign of friendship.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'these messengers (of the mohaves) were their news-carriers and sentinels. frequently two criers were employed (sometimes more) one from each tribe. these would have their meeting stations. at these stations these criers would meet with promptness, and by word of mouth, each would deposit his store of news with his fellow expressman, and then each would return to his own tribe with the news.' _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, pp. , . 'el modo de darse sus avisos para reunirse en casos de urgencia de ser perseguidos, es por medio de sus telégrafos de humos que forman en los cerros mas elevados formando hogueras de los palos mas humientos que ellos conocen muy bien.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'para no detenerse en hacer los humos, llevan los mas de los hombres y mujeres, los instrumentos necessarios para sacar lumbre; prefieren la piedra, el eslabon, y la yesca; pero si no tienen estos útiles, suplen su falta con palos preparados al efecto bien secos, que frotados se inflaman.' _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., p. . [ ] _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, p. . 'su frazada en tiempo de frio es un tizon encendido que aplicándolo á la boca del estómago caminan por los mañanas, y calentando ya el sol como a las ocho tiran los tizones, que por muchos que hayan tirado por los caminos, pueden ser guias de los caminantes.' _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., vol. iv., p. . [ ] the comanches 'have yearly gatherings to light the sacred fires; they build numerous huts, and sit huddled about them, taking medicine for purification, and fasting for seven days. those who can endure to keep the fast unbroken become sacred in the eyes of the others.' _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. . if a yuma kills one of his own tribe he keeps 'a fast for one moon; on such occasions he eats no meat--only vegetables--drinks only water, knows no woman, and bathes frequently during the day to purify the flesh.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. . 'it was their (mojaves,) custom never to eat salted meat for the next moon after the coming of a captive among them.' _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _domenech_, _jour._, p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. - . [ ] 'entre cuyas tribus hay algunas que se comen á sus enemigos.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. . 'los chirumas, que me parecen ser los yumas, no se que coman carne humana como dijo el indio cosnina.' _garces_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., p. . 'among the spoil which we took from these camanches, we found large portions of human flesh evidently prepared for cooking.' _dewees' texas_, p. - . certain europeans have represented the comanches 'as a race of cannibals; but according to the spaniards ... they are merely a cruel, dastardly race of savages.' _pagés' travels_, vol. i., p. . [ ] _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _davis' el gringo_, p. . [ ] _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'gonorrhoea and syphilis are not at all rare' among the navajos. _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _marcy's army life_, p. . [ ] _hardy's trav._, p. - . 'los comanches la llaman puip; y cuando uno de entre ellos está herido, mascan la raiz (que es muy larga) y esprimen el yugo y la saliva en la llaga.' _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. ; _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. ; _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _browne's apache country_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _id._, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _neighbors_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. ; _parker's notes on tex._, p. . the apaches: 'cuando se enferma alguno á quien no han podido hacer efecto favorable la aplicacion de las yerbas, único antidoto con que se curan, lo abandonan, sin mas diligencia ulterior que ponerle un monton de brasas á la cabecera y una poca de agua, sin saberse hasta hoy qué significa ésto ó con qué fin la hacen.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . [ ] _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _domenech_, _jour._, pp. , ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _parker's notes on tex._, p. - . among the comanches during the steam bath, 'the shamans, or medicine-men, who profess to have the power of communicating with the unseen world, and of propitiating the malevolence of evil spirits, are performing various incantations, accompanied by music on the outside.' _marcy's army life_, p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. ; _bristol_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. . 'de aquí ha sucedido que algunos indios naturalmente astutos, se han convertido en adivinos, que han llegado á sostener como á sus oràculos. estos mismos adivinos hacen de médicos, que por darse importancía á la aplicacion de ciertas yerbas, agregan porcion de ceremonias supersticiosas y ridiculas, con cánticos estraños, en que hablan á sus enfermos miles de embustes y patrañas.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . [ ] at the colorado river they 'burned those which dyed.' _alarchon_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _browne's apache country_, p. ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. - . 'it is the custom of the mojaves to burn their property when a relation dies to whose memory they wish to pay especial honor.' _ives' colorado riv._, p. . 'die comanches tödteten früher das lieblingsweib des gestorbenen häuptlings.' _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, p. . 'no navajo will ever occupy a lodge in which a person has died. the lodge is burned.' _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'when a death occurs they (yumas) move their villages, although sometimes only a short distance, but never occupying exactly the same locality.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'when a comanche dies ... he is usually wrapped in his best blankets or robes, and interred with most of his "jewelry," and other articles of esteem.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. ii., pp. , . 'cuando muere algun indio, ... juntando sus deudos todas las alhajas de su peculio, se las ponen y de esta manera lo envuelven en una piel de cíbolo y lo llevan á enterrar.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; _kennedy's texas_, vol. i., p. ; _wislizenus' tour_, p. . the comanches cover their tombs 'with grass and plants to keep them concealed.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _id._, _jour._, p. . the apaches: 'probably they bury their dead in caves; no graves are ever found that i ever heard of.' _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . see also _james' exped._, vol. ii., p. . 'on the highest point of the hill, was a comanche grave, marked by a pile of stones and some remnants of scanty clothing.' _parker's notes on tex._, pp. , . the custom of the mescalero apaches 'heretofore has been to leave their dead unburied in some secluded spot.' _curtis_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. . [ ] among the navajos 'immediately after a death occurs a vessel containing water is placed near the dwelling of the deceased, where it remains over night; in the morning two naked indians come to get the body for burial, with their hair falling over and upon their face and shoulders. when the ceremony is completed they retire to the water, wash, dress, do up their hair, and go about their usual avocations.' _bristol_, in _ind. aff. rept. spec. com._, , p. . the navajos 'all walked in solemn procession round it (the grave) singing their funeral songs. as they left it, every one left a present on the grave; some an arrow, others meat, moccasins, tobacco, war-feathers, and the like, all articles of value to them.' _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _revista científica_, tom. i., p. . 'a los niños y niñas de pecho les llevan en una jicara la leche ordenada de sus pechos las mismas madres, y se las echan en la sepultura; y esto lo hacen por algunos dias continuos.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _neighbors_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., p. ; _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. ; _marcy's army life_, p. . 'when a young warrior dies, they mourn a long time, but when an old person dies, they mourn but little, saying that they cannot live forever, and it was time they should go.' _parker's notes on tex._, pp. , . [ ] _davis' el gringo_, pp. - ; _cremony's apaches_, pp. , . [ ] 'the quality of mercy is unknown among the apaches.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. - , , - , - . 'perfectly lawless, savage, and brave.' _marcy's rept._, p. . 'for the sake of the booty, also take life.' _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'inclined to intemperance in strong drinks.' _henry_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. v., p. . 'ferocísimos de condicion, de naturaleza sangrientos.' _almanza_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . 'sumamente vengativo.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . 'alevoso y vengativo caracte ... rastutos ladrones, y sanguinarios.' _bustamante_, in _cavo_, _tres siglos_, tom. iii., p. . 'i have not seen a more intelligent, cheerful, and grateful tribe of indians than the roving apaches.' _colyer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , , ; _garcía conde_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. v., pp. - , ; _doc. hist. n. vizcaya, ms._, p. ; _cordero_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., pp. , - ; _smart_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _apostólicos afanes_, p. ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. ; _turner_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxv., pp. , ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., pp. , , ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. i., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. , ; _bent_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; _ward's mexico_, vol. i., p. ; _mowry's arizona_, pp. - ; _pope_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. ii., p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., pp. , ; _hist. chrétienne de la cal._, p. ; _edward's hist. tex._, p. ; _peters' life of carson_, p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _pike's explor. trav._, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., pp. - ; _figuier's hum. race_, pp. , ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. ii., p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, p. ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., pp. - , and _cent. amer._, p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; see further, _ind. aff. repts._, from to ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, pp. , . [ ] the navajos: 'hospitality exists among these indians to a great extent.... nor are these people cruel.... they are treacherous.' _letherman_, in _smithsonian rept._, , pp. , . 'brave, hardy, industrious.' _colyer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . 'tricky and unreliable.' _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. . the mojaves: 'they are lazy, cruel, selfish; ... there is one good quality in them, the exactitude with which they fulfil an agreement.' _ives' colorado riv._, pp. , - ; _backus_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., p. ; _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - ; _hughes' doniphan's ex._, p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. . [ ] _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. . 'estos indios se aventajan en muchas circunstancias á los yumas y demas naciones del rio colorado; son menos molestos y nada ladrones.' _garces_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., p. ; also in _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'grave and dignified ... implacable and unrelenting ... hospitable, and kind ... affectionate to each other ... jealous of their own freedom.' _marcy's army life_, pp. , - , , - , , . 'alta estima hacen del valor estas razas nomadas.' _museo mex._, tom. ii., p. . 'loin d'être cruels, ils-sont très-doux et très-fidèles dans leurs amitiés.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, serie i., tom. ix., p. ; _payno_, in _revista científica_, tom. i., p. ; _escudero_, _noticias de chihuahua_, pp. - ; _domenech_, _jour._, pp. , , ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, tom. v., no. , p. ; _neighbors_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. ii., pp. - ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., pp. , ; vol. ii., pp. , ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. ; _shepard's land of the aztecs_, p. ; _pagés' travels_, vol. i., p. ; _calderon de la barca's life in mex._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'tiguex est situé vers le nord, à environ quarante lieues,' from cíbola. _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . 'la province de cibola contient sept villages; le plus grand se nomme muzaque.' _id._, p. . of two provinces north of tiguex, 'l'une se nommait hemes, et renfermait sept villages; l'autre yuque-yunque.' _id._, p. . 'plus au nord (of tiguex) est la province de quirix ... et celle de tutahaco.' _id._, p. . from cicuyé to quivira, 'on compte sept autres villages.' _id._, p. . 'il existe aussi, d'après le rapport ... un autre royaume très-vaste, nommé villes, et la capitale. acus sans aspiration est un royaume.' _niza_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . 'the kingdome of totonteac so much extolled by the father prouinciall, ... the indians say is a hotte lake, about which are five or sixe houses; and that there were certaine other, but that they are ruinated by warre. the kingdome of marata is not to be found, neither haue the indians any knowledge thereof. the kingdome of acus is one onely small citie, where they gather cotton which is called acucu, and i say that this is a towne. for acus with an aspiration nor without, is no word of they countrey. and because i gesse that they would deriue acucu of acus, i say that it is this towne whereinto the kingdom of acus is conuerted.' _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _espeio_, in _id._, pp. - ; _mendoza_, _lettre_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _escalante_, in _id._, pp. - ; _pike's explor. trav._, pp. - ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., pp. - ; _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. . [ ] _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, pp. - , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, pp. - ; _hezio_, _noticia de las misiones_, in _meline's two thousand miles_, pp. - ; _chacon_, in _id._, pp. - ; _alencaster_, in _id._, p. ; _davis' el gringo_, p. ; _calhoun_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii. 'los nombres de los pueblos del moqui son, segun lengua de los yavipais, sesepaulabá, masagneve, janogualpa, muqui, concabe y muca á quien los zuñís llaman oraive, que es en el que estuve.' _garces_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., p. ; _ruxton's adven. mex._, p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, p. . [ ] affirmations are abundant enough, but they have no foundation whatever in fact, and many are absurd on their face. 'nous affirmons que les indiens pueblos et les anciens mexicains sont issus d'une seule et même souche.' _ruxton_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxvi., p. . 'these indians claim, and are generally supposed, to have descended from the ancient aztec race.' _merriwether_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'they are the descendants of the ancient rulers of the country.' _davis' el gringo_, p. . 'they are the remains of a once powerful people.' _walker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _colyer_, in _id._, , p. . 'they (moquis) are supposed by some to be descended from the band of welsh, which prince madoc took with him on a voyage of discovery, in the twelfth century; and it is said that they weave peculiarly and in the same manner as the people of wales.' _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'il est assez singulier que les moquis soient désignés par les trappers et les chasseurs américains, qui pènètrent dans leur pays ... sous le nom d'indiens welches.' _ruxton_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxvi., p. . 'moques, supposed to be vestiges of aztecs.' _amer. quart. register_, vol. i., p. ; _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. . [ ] 'les hommes sont petits.' _mendoza_, _lettre_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . the moquis are 'of medium size and indifferently proportioned, their features strongly marked and homely, with an expression generally bright and good-natured.' _ives' colorado riv._, pp. - , - . the keres 'sind hohen wuchses.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., p. ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. - ; _ruxton_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxvi., pp. - ; _pike's explor. trav._, p. . [ ] 'the people are somewhat white.' _niza_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. . 'much fairer in complexion than other tribes.' _ruxton's adven. mex._, p. ; _kendall's nar._, vol. i., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _prichard's researches_, vol. v., pp. , ; _walker_, in _s. f. herald_, _oct. , _; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'prettiest squaws i have yet seen.' _marcy's army life_, p. . good looking and symmetrical. _davis' el gringo_, pp. - . [ ] _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . 'many of the inhabitants have white skin, fair hair, and blue eyes.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., p. ; _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. . [ ] 'a robust and well-formed race.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. , . 'well built, generally tall and bony.' _walker's pimas, ms._ the maricopas 'sont de stature plus haute et plus athlétique que les pijmos.' _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. ; see also _emory_, in _fremont and emory's notes of trav._, pp. , ; _id._, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. ii., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. iii., p. ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. ; _emory's reconnoissance_, p. ; _bigler's early days in utah and nevada, ms._; _johnson's hist. arizona_, p. ; _brackett_, in _western monthly_, p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _san francisco bulletin_, _july, _. [ ] 'las mujeres hermosas.' _mange_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., pp. , . 'rather too much inclined to embonpoint.' _ives' colorado riv._, pp. , , ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'ambos secsos ... no mal parecidos y muy melenudos.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, pp. , . 'trigueños de color.' _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . 'die masse, dicke und länge ihres haupthaares grenzt an das unglaubliche.' _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _id._, _cent. amer._, p. ; _prichard's nat. hist. man_, vol. ii., p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, pp. - , ; _stratton's capt. oatman girls_, p. . [ ] 'heads are uncovered.' _ruxton's adven. mex._, p. . 'los hombres visten, y calçan de cuero, y las mugeres, que se precian de largos cabellos, cubren sus cabeças y verguenças con lo mesmo.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . 'de kleeding bestond uit kotoene mantels, huiden tot broeken, genaeyt, schoenen en laerzen van goed leder.' _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , - . the women 'having the calves of their legs wrapped or stuffed in such a manner as to give them a swelled appearance.' _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, pp. , ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, pp. - , , , - ; _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., pp. , ; _espejo_, in _id._, pp. - ; _niza_, in _id._, pp. , ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, pp. , , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., pp. , , vol. ii., pp. , ; _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - ; _wizlizenus' tour_, p. ; _larenaudière_, _mex. et gaut._, p. ; _warden_, _recherches_, p. ; _marcy's army life_, pp. - , - ; _foster's pre-hist. races_, p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. - , , , , ; _jaramillo_, in _id._, pp. - ; _ives' colorado riv._, pp. - ; _ruxton_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxvi., p. ; _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _abert_, in _emory's reconnoissance_, p. ; _mayer's mex., aztec, etc._, vol. ii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. , ; _kendall's nar._, vol. i., p. ; _revilla-gigedo_, _carta, ms._; _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. iv., p. ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., pp. , - ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., pp. , . [ ] both sexes go bareheaded. 'the hair is worn long, and is done up in a great queue that falls down behind.' _davis' el gringo_, pp. , - , . the women 'trençan los cabellos, y rodeanse los à la cabeça, por sobre las orejas.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . 'llevan las viejas el pelo hecho dos trenzas y las mozas un moño sobre cada oreja.' _garces_, _diario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., pp. - ; _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . [ ] 'van vestidos estos indios con frazadas de algodon, que ellos fabrican, y otras de lana.' _garces_, _diario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., p. . their dress is cotton of domestic manufacture. _emory's reconnoissance_, p. . 'kunstreich dagegen sind die bunten gürtel gewebt, mit denen die mädchen ein stück zeug als rock um die hüften binden.' _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., pp. , ; _browne's apache country_, p. ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., pp. - , ; _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. iii., p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, pp. , ; _mowry's arizona_, p. ; _mange_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., pp. - ; _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. ; _briefe aus den verein. staat._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'men never cut their hair.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . they plait and wind it round their heads in many ways; one of the most general forms a turban which they smear with wet earth. _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _fremont and emory's notes of trav._, p. ; _emory_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. ii., p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, pp. , , ; _browne's apache country_, p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . 'all of them paint, using no particular design; the men mostly with dark colors, the women, red and yellow.' _walker's pimas, ms._; _johnson's hist. arizona_, p. . 'the women when they arrive at maturity, ... draw two lines with some blue-colored dye from each corner of the mouth to the chin.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'adornanse con gargantillas de caracolillos del mar, entreverados de otras cuentas de concha colorada redonda.' _mange_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. . 'they had many ornaments of sea shells.' _emory's reconnoissance_, p. . 'some have long strings of sea-shells.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. - . 'rarely use ornaments.' _walker's pimas, ms._; _murr_, _nachrichten_, pp. - ; _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . [ ] _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. , p. ; _browne's apache country_, p. . the maricopas 'occupy thatched cottages, thirty or forty feet in diameter, made of the twigs of cotton-wood trees, interwoven with the straw of wheat, corn-stalks, and cane.' _emory's reconnoissance_, p. ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. ; _mange_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., pp. , - . 'leurs (pápagos) maisons sont de formes coniques et construites en jonc et en bois.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _walker's pimas, ms._; _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., p. ; _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, pp. , . 'andere, besonders die dummen papagos, machten löcher und schliefen des nachts hierinnen; ja im winter machten sie in ihren dachslöchern zuvor feuer, und hitzten dieselben.' _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. . 'their summer shelters are of a much more temporary nature, being constructed after the manner of a common arbor, covered with willow rods, to obstruct the rays of the vertical sun.' _hughes' doniphan's ex._, p. . in front of the pimo house is usually 'a large arbor, on top of which is piled the cotton in the pod, for drying.' _emory_, in _fremont and emory's notes of trav._, p. . the pápagos' huts were 'fermées par des peaux de buffles.' _ferry_, _scènes de la vie sauvage_, p. . granary built like the mexican _jakals_. they are better structures than their dwellings, more open, in order to give a free circulation of air through the grain deposited in them. _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., p. ; _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, pp. , , , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. ii.; _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. ; _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. , - . 'ellas son las que hacen, y edifican las casas, assi de piedra, como de adove, y tierra amasada; y con no tener la pared mas de vn pie de ancho, suben las casas dos, y tres, y quatro, y cinco sobrados, ó altos; y á cada alto, corresponde vn corredor por de fuera; si sobre esta altura hechan mas altos, ó sobrados (porque ay casas que llegan á siete) son los demás, no de barro, sino de madera.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . for further particulars, see _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , , , , , , , , , , ; _niza_, in _id._, pp. , , , ; _diaz_, in _id._, pp. , ; _jaramillo_, in _id._, pp. , _cordoue_, in _id._, tom. x., pp. - ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, pp. , , ; _bent_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; _ten broeck_, in _id._, vol. iv., pp. , , and plates, pp. , ; _warden_, _recherches_, p. ; _ruxton's adven. mex._, p. ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _mayer's mex., aztec, etc._, vol. ii., p. ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., pp. , ; _hughes' doniphan's ex._, p. ; _garces_, _diario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, pp. , , ; _marcy's army life_, pp. , , , ; _ruxton_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxvi., pp. , , , ; _gallatin_, in _id._, , tom. cxxxi., pp. , , , , , , ; _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., pp. , , - ; _coronado_, in _id._, vol. iii., pp. , ; _niza_, in _id._, vol. iii., pp. , ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., p. ; _id._, _tagebuch_, pp. - , ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , , . the town of cíbola 'domos è lapidibus et caemento affabre constructas et conjunctim dispositas esse, superliminaria portarum cyaneis gemmis, (turcoides vocant) ornata.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, pp. , - ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. . 'the houses are well distributed and very neat. one room is designed for the kitchen, and another to grind the grain. this last is apart, and contains a furnace and three stones made fast in masonry.' _davis' el gringo_, pp. - , , , , , , ; _castaño de sosa_, in _pacheco_, _col. doc. inéd._, tom. iv., pp. - ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. ; _foster's pre-hist. races_, p. . [ ] in the province of tucayan, 'domiciliis inter se junctis et affabre constructis, in quibus et tepidaria quae vulgo stuvas appellamus, sub terra constructa adversus hyemis vehementiam.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'in the centre was a small square box of stone, in which was a fire of guava bushes, and around this a few old men were smoking.' _marcy's army life_, p. . 'estufas, que mas propiamente deberian llamar sinagogas. en estas hacen sus juntas, forman sus conciliábulos, y ensayan sus bailes á puerta cerrada.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, pp. , ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , , - , ; _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., pp. - ; _niel_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . [ ] 'magna ipsis mayzü copia et leguminum.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, pp. , , - , . 'hallaron en los pueblos y casas muchos mantenimientos, y gran infinidad de gallinas de la tierra.' _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., pp. , . 'criaban las indias muchas gallinas de la tierra.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'zy leven by mair, witte orweten, haesen, konynen en vorder wild-braed.' _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. , and _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. . compare _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. ; _marcy's army life_, pp. - , , ; _cortez_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, pp. - ; _jaramillo_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. - ; _diaz_, in _id._, pp. - ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., pp. , ; _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, pp. , , , ; _wislizenus' tour_, p. ; _bent_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; ruxton, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxvi., p. ; _gallatin_, in _id._, , tom. cxxxi., pp. - , , - , , ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., pp. , , ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in the felsengeb._, tom. ii., pp. , ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., pp. , - , - ; _browne's apache country_, pp. , , - , - , - ; _sedelmair_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. , ; _id._, serie iv., tom. i., p. ; _emory's reconnoissance_, p. ; _mowry's arizona_, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _hughes' doniphan's ex._, pp. , ; _eaton_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _ind. aff. repts._, from to . [ ] 'para su sustento no reusa animal, por inmundo que sea.' _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., p. . 'los pápagos se mantienen de los frutos silvestres.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, pp. - . 'hatten grossen appetit zu pferd- und mauleselfleisch.' _murr_, _nachrichten_, pp. - , , - ; _sonora_, _descrip., geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _stone_, in _hist. mag._, vol. v., p. . [ ] the pimas 'hacen grandes siembras ... para cuyo riego tienen formadas buenas acequias.' _garces_, _diario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., pp. , . 'we were at once impressed with the beauty, order, and disposition of the arrangements for irrigating.' _emory_, in _fremont and emory's notes of trav._, pp. - . with the pueblos: 'regen-bakken vergaederden 't water: of zy leiden 't uit een rievier door graften.' _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, tom. iii., pp. - , - ; _cutts' conq. of cal._, p. . [ ] _walker's pimas, ms._; _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. . 'usan de hilo torcido unas redes y otras de varios palitos, que los tuercen y juntan por las puntas.' _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . [ ] 'hacen de la masa de ma'z por la mañana atole.... tambien hacen tamales, y tortillas.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'the fruit of the petajaya ... is dried in the sun.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. , , , - . 'from the suwarrow (cereus giganteus) and pitaya they make an excellent preserve.' _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. . see also _ives' colorado riv._, pp. , , , , ; _carleton_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. , ; _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, tom. iii., p. ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, pp. , ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , , , - ; _davis' el gringo_, pp. , , - , - ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. - , . [ ] _ives' colorado riv._, pp. - , . 'ils vont faire leurs odeurs au loin, et rassemblent les urines dans de grands vases de terre que l'on va vider hors du village.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . [ ] 'the only defensive armor they use is a rude shield made of raw bull-hide.' _davis' el gringo_, pp. - . 'bows and arrows, and the wooden boomerang.' _colyer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the papagos 'armes sont la massue, la lance et l'arc; ils portent aussi une cuirasse et un bouclier en peau de buffle.' _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. . for further comparisons see _whipple, ewbank, and turner's rept._, p. , in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii.; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _larenaudière_, _mex. et guat._, p. ; _pike's explor. trav._, p. ; _niza_, in _hakluyt's voy._, tom. iii., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. .; _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. ; _sedelmair_, in _id._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _id._, p. ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., pp. , . [ ] bows 'of strong willow-boughs.' _walker's pimas, ms._ 'bows are six feet in length, and made of a very tough and elastic kind of wood, which the spaniards call tarnio.' _pattie's pers. nar._, pp. , . [ ] the pima 'arrows differ from those of all the apache tribes in having only two feathers.' _cremony's apaches_, p. . 'war arrows have stone points and three feathers; hunting arrows, two feathers and a wooden point.' _walker's pimas, ms._; _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] the pimas: 'flechas, ennervadas con el eficaz mortífero veneno que componen de varias ponzoñas, y el zumo de la yerba llamada en pima _usap_.' _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. . 'die spitzen ihrer pfeile ... welche mit einer dunklen substanz überzogen waren. sie behaupteten, dass diese aus schlangengift bestehe, was mir indess unwahrscheinlich ist.' _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , , . [ ] 'una macana, como clava ó porra.... estas son de un palo muy duro y pesado.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . 'macanas, que son vnas palos de media vara de largo, y llanos todos de pedernales agudos, que bastan a partir por medio vn hombre.' _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, tom. iii., pp. , . [ ] 'de grosses pierres avaient été rassemblées au sommet, pour les rouler sur quiconque attaquerait la place.' _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. . 'they have placed around all the trails leading to the town, pits, ten feet deep.' _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . see further, _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _browne's apache country_, p. ; _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . [ ] 'painted to the eyes, their own heads and their horses covered with all the strange equipments that the brute creation could afford.' _emory's reconnoissance_, p. . [ ] 'sometimes a fellow would stoop almost to the earth, to shoot under his horse's belly, at full speed.' _emory's reconnoissance_, p. . [ ] _walker's pimas, ms._ [ ] _cremony's apaches_, p. . [ ] _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., pp. - ; _browne's apache country_, p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, pp. , ; _cutts' conq. of cal._, p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, serie v., no. , p. . [ ] _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. ; _cremony's apaches_, pp. - . [ ] _walker's pimas, ms._; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., pp. - . [ ] baskets and pottery 'are ornamented with geometrical figures.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., pp. - , . 'schüsselförmige runde körbe (coritas), diese flechten sie aus einem hornförmigen, gleich einer ahle spitzigen unkraute.' _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. . the pueblos had 'de la vaiselle de terre très-belle, bien vernie et avec beaucoup d'ornements. on y vit aussi de grands jarres remplies d'un métal brillant qui servait à faire le vernis de cette faïence.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , , ; see also _niza_, in _id._, p. . 'they (pueblos) vse vessels of gold and siluer.' _niza_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, pp. , , , ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _marcy's army life_, pp. , ; _carleton_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., pp. , ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. ; _foster's pre-hist. races_, p. ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _browne's apache country_, pp. , , , . [ ] 'all the inhabitants of the citie (cíbola) lie vpon beddes raysed a good height from the ground, with quilts and canopies ouer them, which couer the sayde beds.' _niza_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _id._, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . the quires had 'umbracula (vulgo tirazoles) quibus sinenses utuntur solis, lunæ, et stellarum imaginibus eleganter picta.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. . the moquis' chief men have pipes made of smooth polished stone. _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, p. . [ ] _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. , , . 'sie flechten von zartgeschlitzten palmen auf damastart die schönsten ganz leichten hüthe, aus einem stücke.' _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. . the maricopa blankets will turn rain. _cremony's apaches_, pp. , . the moquis wove blankets from the wool of their sheep, and made cotton cloth from the indigenous staple. _poston_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the maricopas make a heavy cloth of wool and cotton, 'used by the women to put around their loins; and an article from to inches wide, used as a band for the head, or a girdle for the waist.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. . 'rupicaprarum tergora eminebant (among the yumanes) tam industriè præparata ut cum belgicis certarent.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . [ ] _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., pp. , ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, pp. , , ; _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. , ; _eaton_, in _id._, vol. iv., p. ; _emory_, in _fremont and emory's notes of trav._, p. ; see further _ind. aff. reports_, from to ; _browne's apache country_, p. . 'these papagos regularly visit a salt lake, which lies near the coast and just across the line of sonora, from which they pack large quantities of salt, and find a ready market at tubac and tucson.' _walker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. , and , p. . 'many pimas had jars of the molasses expressed from the fruit of the cereus giganteus.' _emory_, in _fremont and emory's notes of trav._, p. . [ ] 'die vernichtung des eigenthums eines verstorbenen,--einen unglücklichen gebrauch der jeden materiellen fortschritt unmöglich macht.' _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. i., p. . 'the right of inheritance is held by the females generally, but it is often claimed by the men also.' _gorman_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'all the effects of the deceased (pima) become common property: his grain is distributed; his fields shared out to those who need land; his chickens and dogs divided up among the tribe.' _browne's apache country_, pp. , ; _ives' colorado riv._, p. ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. ; _niza_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , , , ; _id._, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. . the zuñis 'will sell nothing for money, but dispose of their commodities entirely in barter.' _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. . the pimos 'wanted white beads for what they had to sell, and knew the value of money.' _cutts' conq. of cal._, p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. xi., pp. , . 'ils apportèrent des coquillages, des turquoises et des plumes.' _cabeza de vaca_, _relation_, in _id._, tom. vii., p. ; _diaz_, in _id._, tom. xi., p. ; _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. . many of the pueblo indians are rich, 'one family being worth over one hundred thousand dollars. they have large flocks.' _colyer_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. . [ ] _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. ; _davis' el gringo_, p. ; _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, tom. iii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. . [ ] 'estos ahijados tienen mucho oro y lo benefician.' _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. i., p. . 'they vse vessels of gold and siluer, for they have no other mettal.' _niza_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , ; _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., pp. - , - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _diaz_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . [ ] pueblo government purely democratic; election held once a year. 'besides the officers elected by universal suffrage, the principal chiefs compose a "council of wise men."' _davis' el gringo_, pp. - . 'one of their regulations is to appoint a secret watch for the purpose of keeping down disorders and vices of every description.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. . see further: _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , ; _niza_, in _id._, p. ; _palmer_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xvii., p. ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _wislizenus' tour_, p. ; _mayer's mex., aztec, etc._, vol. ii., p. ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxi., p. ; _stanley's portraits_, p. . [ ] _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. , ; _marcy's army life_, p. . [ ] 'gobierno no tienen alguno, ni leyes, tradiciones ó costumbres con que gobernarse.' _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. . 'cada cual gobernado por un anciano, y todas por el general de la nacion.' _escudero_, _noticias de sonora y sinaloa_, p. ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. . compare: _grossman_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _walker's pimas, ms._ [ ] 'un homme n'épouse jamais plus d'une seule femme.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. ; _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - ; _ward_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . [ ] 'ils traitent bien leurs femmes.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . 'desde que maman los niños, los laban sus madres con nieve todo el cuerpo.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, p. ; _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. . [ ] 'early marriages occur ... but the relation is not binding until progeny results.' _poston_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'no girl is forced to marry against her will, however eligible her parents may consider the match.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. - ; _davis' el gringo_, p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _browne's apache country_, p. . [ ] 'si el marido y mujer se desavienen y los hijos non pequeños, se arriman á cualquiera de los dos y cada uno gana por su lado.' _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. . 'tanto los pápagos occidentales, como los citados gilas desconocen la poligamia.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . 'among the pimas loose women are tolerated.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. - ; _ruxton_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxvi., p. ; _emory's rept. u. s. and mex. boundary survey_, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'the pimas also cultivate a kind of tobacco, this, which is very light, they make up into cigaritos, never using a pipe.' _walker's pimas, ms._ the pueblos 'sometimes get intoxicated.' _walker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . the pueblos 'are generally free from drunkenness.' _davis' el gringo_, p. . _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. . [ ] _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. . 'their hair hung loose upon their shoulders, and both men and women had their hands painted with white clay, in such a way as to resemble open-work gloves. the women ... were bare-footed, with the exception of a little piece tied about the heel.... they all wore their hair combed over their faces, in a manner that rendered it utterly impossible to recognize any of them.... they keep their elbows close to their sides, and their heels pressed firmly together, and do not raise the feet, but shuffle along with a kind of rolling motion, moving their arms, from the elbows down, with time to the step. at times, each man dances around his squaw; while she turns herself about, as if her heels formed a pivot on which she moved.' _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. . the dresses of the men were similar to those worn on other festivities, 'except that they wear on their heads large pasteboard towers painted typically, and curiously decorated with feathers; and each man has his face entirely covered by a vizor made of small willows with the bark peeled off, and dyed a deep brown.' _id._, p. . 'such horrible masks i never saw before--noses six inches long, mouths from ear to ear, and great goggle eyes, as big as half a hen's egg, hanging by a string partly out of the socket.' _id._, p. . 'each pueblo generally had its particular uniform dress and its particular dance. the men of one village would sometimes disguise themselves as elks, with horns on their heads, moving on all-fours, and mimicking the animal they were attempting to personate. others would appear in the garb of a turkey, with large heavy wings.' _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., pp. , . 'festejo todo (pimas) el dia nuestra llegada con un esquisito baile en forma circular, en cuyo centro figaraba una prolongada asta donde pendian trece cabelleras, arcos, flechas y demas despojos de otros tantos enemigos apaches que habian muerto.' _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. . 'este lo forma una junta de truhanes vestidos de ridículo y autorizados por los viejos del pueblo para cometer los mayores desórdenes, y gustan tanto de estos hechos, que ni los maridos reparan las infamias que cometen con sus mugeres, ni las que resultan en perjuicio de las hijas.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., pp. - . for further particulars see _kendall's nar._, vol. i., p. ; _marcy's army life_, pp. - ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _davis' el gringo_, pp. - ; _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _sitgreaves' zuñi ex._, plates , , ; _whipple_, in _pac. r. r. rept._, vol. iii., p. ; _pike's explor. trav._, p. . [ ] _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - ; _johnson's hist. arizona_, p. . 'their instruments consisted, each of half a gourd, placed before them, with the convex side up; upon this they placed, with the left hand, a smooth stick, and with their right drew forward and backwards upon it, in a sawing manner, a notched one.' _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. . 'i noticed, among other things, a reed musical instrument with a bell-shaped end like a clarionet, and a pair of painted drumsticks tipped with gaudy feathers.' _ives' colorado riv._, p. . 'les indiens (pueblos) accompagnent leurs danses et leur chants avec des flûtes, où sont marqués les endroits où il faut placer les doigts.... ils disent que ces gens se réunissent cinq ou six pour jouer de la flûte; que ces instruments sont d'inégales grandeurs.' _diaz_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. ; _castañeda_, in _id._, pp. , ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _garces_, _diario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., p. . 'while they are at work, a man, seated at the door, plays on a bagpipe, so that they work keeping time: they sing in three voices.' _davis' el gringo_, p. . [ ] the cocomaricopas, 'componen unas bolas redondas del tamaño de una pelota de materia negra como pez, y embutidas en ellas varias conchitas pequeñas del mar con que hacen labores y con que juegan y apuestan, tirándola con la punta del pié corren tres ó cuatro leguas y la particularidad es que el que da vuelta y llega al puesto donde comenzaron y salieron á la par ese gana.' _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . 'it is a favorite amusement with both men [maricopas] and boys to try their skill at hitting the pitahaya, which presents a fine object on the plain. numbers often collect for this purpose; and in crossing the great plateau, where these plants abound, it is common to see them pierced with arrows.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. ; _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'amusements of all kinds are universally resorted to [among the pueblos]; such as foot-racing, horse-racing, cock-fighting, gambling, dancing, eating, and drinking.' _ward_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., pp. , . [ ] _walker's pimas, ms._ 'the papago of to-day will on no account kill a coyote.' _davidson_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. . 'eben so abergläubischen gebrauch hatten sie bey drohenden kieselwetter, da sie den hagel abzuwenden ein stück von einem palmteppiche an einem stecken anhefteten und gegen die wolken richteten.' _murr_, _nachrichten_, pp. , ; _arny_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , pp. , . 'a sentinel ascends every morning at sunrise to the roof of the highest house, and, with eyes directed towards the east, looks out for the arrival of the divine chieftain, who is to give the sign of deliverance.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., p. , , , , and vol. ii., p. . 'on a dit que la coutume singulière de conserver perpétuellement un feu sacré près duquel les anciens mexicains attendaient le retour du dieu quetzacoatl, existe aussi chez les pueblos.' _ruxton_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxvi., p. ; _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv.. p. ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. ; _cremony's apaches_, p. ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, p. . 'i, however, one night, at san felipe, clandestinely witnessed a portion of their secret worship. one of their secret night dances is called tocina, which is too horrible to write about.' _arny_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _ward_, in _id._, , p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, p. ; _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. , ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. . 'ils ont des prêtres ... ils montent sur la terrasse la plus élevée du village et font un sermon au moment où le soleil se lève.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , , . [ ] _walker's pimas, ms._; _mowry_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _ruggles_, in _id._, , p. ; _andrews_, in _id._, , p. ; _ward_, in _id._, , p. ; _davis' el gringo_, pp. , . the cause of the decrease of the pecos indians is 'owing to the fact that they seldom if ever marry outside of their respective pueblos.' _parker_, in _ind. aff. rept._, , p. ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. . 'au milieu [of the estufa] est un foyer allumé, sur lequel on jette de temps en temps une poignée de thym, ce qui suffit pour entretenir la chaleur, de sorte qu'on y est comme dans un bain.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . [ ] _walker's pimas, ms._ the pimas, 'usan enterrar sus varones con su arco y flechas, y algun bastimento y calabazo de agua, señal que alcanzan vislumbre de la immortalidad, aunque no con la distincion de prémio ó castigo.' _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. . 'the maricopas invariably bury their dead, and mock the ceremony of cremation.' ... 'sacrifice at the grave of a warrior all the property of which he died possessed, together with all in possession of his various relatives.' _cremony's apaches_, pp. , . 'the pimos bury their dead, while the coco-maricopas burn theirs.' _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. ii., p. . 'the females of the family [pueblo] approached in a mournful procession (while the males stood around in solemn silence), each one bearing on her head a tinaja, or water-jar, filled with water, which she emptied into the grave, and whilst doing so commenced the death-cry. they came singly and emptied their jars, and each one joined successively in the death-cry; ... they believe that on a certain day (in august, i think) the dead rise from their graves and flit about the neighboring hills, and on that day, all who have lost friends, carry out quantities of corn, bread, meat, and such other good things of this life as they can obtain, and place them in the haunts frequented by the dead, in order that the departed spirits may once more enjoy the comforts of this nether world.' _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - . if the dead pima was a chief, 'the villagers are summoned to his burial. over his grave they hold a grand festival. the women weep and the men howl, and they go into a profound mourning of tar. soon the cattle are driven up and slaughtered, and every body heavily-laden with sorrow, loads his squaw with beef, and feasts for many days.' _browne's apache country_, pp. - ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, pp. , , ; _ferry_, _scènes de la vie sauvage_, p. ; _froebel's cent. amer._, p. ; _id._, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . [ ] 'though naturally disposed to peaceful pursuits, the papagoes are not deficient in courage.' _browne's apache country_, pp. , , - , , ; _johnson's hist. arizona_, p. ; _stone_, in _hist. mag._, vol. v., p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _escudero_, _noticias de sonora y sinaloa_, p. ; _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, pp. , ; _froebel's cent. amer._, pp. , , ; _id._, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., pp. , , ; _garces_, _diario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie ii., tom. i., p. ; _sedelmair_, _relacion_, in _id._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _gallardo_, in _id._, p. . 'the peaceful disposition of the maricopas is not the result of incapacity for war, for they are at all times enabled to meet, and vanquish the apaches in battle.' _emory_, in _fremont and emory's notes of trav._, p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. iii., pp. , ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. ; _hardy's trav._, pp. , ; _mange_, _itinerario_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., pp. - ; _mowry's arizona_, p. ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, pp. , ; _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - , . 'the pueblos were industrious and unwarlike in their habits.' _marcy's army life_, pp. , . the moquis 'are a mild and peaceful race of people, almost unacquainted with the use of arms, and not given to war. they are strictly honest.... they are kind and hospitable to strangers.' _davis' el gringo_, pp. , . 'c'est une race (pueblos) remarquablement sobre et industrieuse, qui se distingue par sa moralité.' _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., pp. , , ; _ruxton_, in _id._, , tom. cxxvi., pp. , , ; _ruxton's adven. mex._, p. ; _ives' colorado riv._, pp. , , , , - ; _gregg's com. prairies_, vol. i., p. , , ; _pike's explor. trav._, p. ; _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. iv., p. ; _champagnac_, _voyageur_, p. ; _hughes' doniphan's ex._, pp. , ; _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _wislizenus' tour_, p. ; _pattie's pers. nar._, p. ; _ten broeck_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. , ; _eaton_, in _id._, p. ; _bent_, in _id._, vol. i., p. ; _kendall's nar._, vol. i., p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _möllhausen_, _tagebuch_, p. ; _möllhausen_, _reisen in die felsengeb._, tom. ii., p. . the pueblos 'are passionately fond of dancing, and give themselves up to this diversion with a kind of frenzy.' _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., pp. , , , , and vol. ii., pp. , - ; _cutts' conq. of cal._, pp. - , ; _simpson's jour. mil. recon._, pp. , , , ; _scenes in the rocky mts._, p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - ; _mayer's mex. as it was_, p. ; _id._, _mex., aztec etc._, vol. ii., p. . see further: _ind. aff. rept._, from to . [ ] _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _forbes' cal._, pp. - ; _mofras_, _explor._, tom. i., p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _gleeson's hist. cath. church_, vol. i., pp. - ; _prichard's researches_, vol. v., p. . 'esse sono tre nella california cristiana, cioè quelle de' pericui, de' guaicuri, e de' cochimì.' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., p. . venegas, in giving the opinion of father taravàl, says: 'tres son (dice este habil missionero) las lenguas: la cochimi, la pericù, y la de loreto. de esta ultima salen dos ramos, y son: la guaycùra, y la uchiti; verdad es, que es la variacion tanta, que el que no tuviere connocimiento de las tres lenguas, juzgara, no solo que hay quatro lenguas, sino que hay cinco.... està poblada la primera àzia el medioda, desde el cabo de san lucas, hasta mas acá del puerto de la paz de la nacion pericú, ó siguiendo la terminacion castellana de los pericúes: la segunda desde la paz, hasta mas arriba del presidio real de loreto, es de los monquis; la tercera desde el territorio de loreto, por todo lo descubierto al norte de la nacion cochimi, ó de los cochimíes.' _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., pp. - . 'auf der halbinsel alt-californien wohnen: an der südspitze die perícues, dann die monquis oder menguis, zu welchen die familien der guaycúras und coras gehören, die cochímas oder colímiës, die laimónes, die utschítas oder vehítis, und die icas.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. . 'all the indian tribes of the peninsula seem to be affiliated with the yumas of the colorado and with the coras below la paz ... in no case do they differ in intellect, habits, customs, dress, implements of war, or hunting, traditions, or appearances from the well-known digger indians of alta-california, and undoubtedly belong to the same race or family.' _browne's lower cal._, pp. - . [ ] 'di buona statura, ben fatti, sani, e robusti.' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., pp. - . 'el color en todos es muy moreno ... no tienen barba ni nada de vello en el cuerpo.' _californias, noticias_, carta i., pp. , , carta ii., p. . compare: _kino_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. ; _crespi_, in _id._, serie iv., tom. vii., p. ; _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. , ; _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., p. ; _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., pp. - ; _gleeson's hist. cath. church_, p. . [ ] 'siendo de gran deshonra en los varones el vestido.' _salvatierra_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. v., p. . 'aprons are about a span wide, and of different length.' _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , pp. - . consult further: _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., pp. - , ; _gleeson's hist. cath. church_, pp. - , - ; _forbes' cal._, pp. , ; _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., pp. - , , ; _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. , and in _berenger_, _col. de voy._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'unos se cortan un pedazo de oreja, otros las dos; otros agugerean el labio inferior, otros las narizes, y es cosa de risa, pues allí llevan colgando ratoncillos, lagartijitas, conchitas. &c.' _californias, noticias_, carta i., pp. , . 'it has been asserted that they also pierce the nose. i can only say that i saw no one disfigured in that particular manner.' _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'nudi agunt, genas quadratis quibusdam notis signati.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . further reference: _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., pp. , ; _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. - , and in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. . [ ] _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., p. ; _campbell's hist. span. amer._, p. ; _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. , ; _californias, noticias_, carta i., p. ; _lockman's trav. jesuits_, vol. i., p. . 'le abitazioncelle più comuni sono certe chiuse circolari di sassi sciolti, ed ammucchiati, le quali hanno cinque piedi di diametro, e meno di due d'altezza.' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., p. . 'i am certainly not much mistaken in saying that many of them change their night-quarters more than a hundred times in a year.' _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] 'twenty-four pounds of meat in twenty-four hours is not deemed an extraordinary ration for a single person.' _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , pp. - . 'no tienen horas señaladas para saciar su apetito: comen cuanto hallan por delante; hasta las cosas mas sucias sirven á su gula.' _californias, noticias_, carta i., pp. - , ; see also: _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _salvatierra_, in _id._, serie iv., tom. v., p. ; _crespi_, in _id._, serie iv., tom. vii., pp. , , ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., pp. - ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. iii., p. ; _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'la pesca si fa da loro in due maniere, o con reti nella spiaggia, o ne' gorghi rimasi della marea, o con forconi in alto mare.' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., pp. , - ; 'use neither nets nor hooks, but a kind of lance.' _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'forman los indios redes para pescar, y para otros usos.' _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'poichè le stesse donne si lavavano, e si lavano anche oggidì con essa (orina) la faccia.' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. ; _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. , ; _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _kino_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. i., p. ; _crespi_, in _id._, serie iv., tom. vii., p. . 'si trovarono altre spezie d'armi per ferir da vicino, ma tutte di legno. la prima è un mazzapicchio, simile nella forma a una girella col suo manico tutta d'un pezzo. la seconda è a foggia d'un ascia di legnajuolo tutta anch'essa d'un sol pezzo. la terza ha la forma d'una piccola scimitara.' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., pp. , . [ ] 'el modo de publicar la guerra era, hacer con mucho estruendo gran provision de cañas, y pedernales para sus flechas, y procurar, que por varios caminos llegassen las assonadas à oídos de sus contrarios.' _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., pp. - . referring to venegas' work, baegert, _smithsonian rept._, , p. , says: 'all that is said in reference to the warfare of the californians is wrong. in their former wars they merely attacked the enemy unexpectedly during the night, or from an ambush, and killed as many as they could, without order, previous declaration of war, or any ceremonies whatever.' see also: _apostólicos afanes_, pp. - , and _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'in lieu of knives and scissors they use sharp flints for cutting almost everything--cane, wood, aloë, and even their hair.' _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'le loro reti, tanto quelle da pescare, quanto quelle, che servono a portare checchessia, le fanno col filo, che tirano dalle foglie del mezcal.' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., p. . further notice in _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. . [ ] vancouver, _voy._, vol. ii., p. , speaking of lower california says: 'we were visited by one of the natives in a straw canoe.' 'vedemmo che vsci vna canoua in mare con tre indiani dalle lor capanne.' _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. - , , , and in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. . see further: _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., p. ; _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. , and in _berenger_, _col. de voy._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'tienen trato de pescado con los indios de tierra adentro.' _salmeron_, _relaciones_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; also, _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. - . [ ] 'su modo de contar es muy diminuto y corto, pues apénas llegan á cinco, y otros á diez, y van multiplicando segun pueden.' _californias, noticias_, carta i., p. . 'non dividevano l'anno in mesi, ma solamente in sei stagioni.' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia della, cal._, tom. i., pp. - . _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., p. . 'entre ellos siempre hay alguno mas desahogado y atrevido, que se reviste con el caracter de capitan: pero ni este tiene jurisdiccion alguna, ni le obedecen, y en estando algo viejo lo suelen quitar del mando: solo en los lances que les tiene cuenta siguen sus dictámenes.' _californias, noticias_, carta i., pp. , . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., pp. - ; _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_ tom. iii., fol. ; _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., p. ; _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , pp. - . 'sus casamientos son muy ridiculos: unos para casarse enseñan sus cuerpos á las mugeres, y estas á ellos; y adoptándose á su gusto, se casan: otros en fin, que es lo mas comun, se casan sin ceremonia.' _californias, noticias_, carta i., pp. , - . 'el adulterio era mirado como delito, que por lo menos daba justo motivo á la venganza, á excepción de dos ocasiones: una la de sus fiestas, y bayles: y otra la de las luchas.' _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., p. . 'les hommes s'approchaient des femmes comme des animaux, et les femmes se mettaient publiquement à quatre pattes pour les recevoir.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . this method of copulation is by no means peculiar to the lower californians, but is practiced almost universally by the wild tribes of the pacific states. writers naturally do not mention this custom, but travellers are unanimous in their verbal accounts respecting it. [ ] 'fiesta entre los indios gentiles no es mas que una concurrencia de hombres y mugeres de todas partes para desahogar los apetitos de luxuria y gula.' _californias, noticias_, carta i., pp. - . 'una de las fiestas mas celebres de los cochimies era la del dia, en que repartian las pieles à las mugeres una vez al año.' _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., pp. - , ; _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _salvatierra_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. v., pp. , . [ ] _californias, noticias_, carta i., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., pp. , . 'there existed always among the californians individuals of both sexes who played the part of sorcerers or conjurers, pretending to possess the power of exorcising the devil.' _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , pp. - . 'las carreras, luchas, peleas y otras trabajos voluntarios les ocasionan muchos dolores de pecho y otros accidentes.' _californias, noticias_, carta i., pp. - . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., pp. - , - ; _apostólicos afanes_, pp. - ; _salvatierra_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. v., p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., pp. - . 'rogaba el enfermo, que le chupassen, y soplassen de el modo mismo, que lo hacian los curanderos. executaban todos por su orden este oficio de piedad, chupando, y soplando primero la parte lesa, y despues todos los otros organos de los sentidos.' _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] baegert says: 'it seems tedious to them to spend much time near an old, dying person that was long ago a burden to them and looked upon with indifference. a person of my acquaintance restored a girl to life that was already bound up in a deer-skin, according to their custom, and ready for burial.' _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . [ ] 'solevano essi onorar la memoria d'alcuni defunti ponendo sopra un' alta pertica la loro figura gossamente formata di rami, presso alla quale si metteva un guama a predicar le loro lodi.' _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. . [ ] 'la estupidèz è insensibilidad: la falta de conocimiento, y reflexion: la inconstancia, y volubilidad de una voluntad, y apetitos sin freno, sin luz, y aun sin objeto: la pereza, y horror à todo trabajo, y fatiga à la adhesion perpetua à todo linage de placer, y entretenimiento puerìl, y brutàl: la pusilanimidad, y flaqueza de animo; y finalmente, la falta miserable de todo lo que forma à los hombres esto es racionales, politicos, y utiles para sì, y para la sociedad.' _venegas_, _noticia de la cal._, tom. i., pp. - , - . 'las naciones del norte eran mas despiertas, dóciles y fieles, ménos viciosas y libres, y por tanto mejor dispuestas para recibir el cristianismo que las que habitaban al sur.' _sutil y mexicana_, _viage_, p. lxxxix. 'eran los coras y pericues, y generalmente las rancherias del sur de california, mas ladinos y capaces; pero tambien mas viciosos é inquietos que las demas naciones de la península.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. iii., p. . 'ces peuples sont d'une tres-grande docilité, ils se laissent instruire.' _californie, nouvelle descente_, in _voy. de l'empereur de la chine_, p. . other allusions to their character may be found in _calderon de la barca's life in mex._, vol. i., p. ; _villa-señor y sanchez_, _theatro_, tom. ii., p. ; _baegert_, in _smithsonian rept._, , pp. - ; _crespi_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. vii., pp. , - ; _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. ; _clavigero_, _storia della cal._, tom. i., pp. - ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. . [ ] father ribas, the first priest who visited the yaquis, was surprised at the loud rough tone in which they spoke. when he remonstrated with them for doing so, their reply was, 'no vés que soy hiaqui: y dezianlo, porque essa palabra, y nombre, significa, el que habla a gritos.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. . mayos: 'their name comes from their position, and means in their own language boundary, they having been bounded on both sides by hostile tribes.' _stone_, in _hist. mag._, vol. v., p. . 'segun parece, la palabra _talahumali ó tarahumari_ significa, "_corredor de a pié_;" de _tala ó tara_, pié, _y huma_, correr'. _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . 'la palabra _tepehuan_ creen algunos que es mexicana, y corrupcion de _tepehuani_, conquistador; ó bien un compuesto de _tepetl_, monte, y _hua_, desinencia que en mexicano indica posesion, como si dijéramos señor ó dueño del monte. otros, acaso con mas exactitud, dicen que _tepchuan_ es voz tarahumar, derivada de _pehua_ ó pegua, que significa _duro_, lo cual conviene con el carácter de la nacion.' _id._, tom. ii., p. . 'la palabra _acaxee_ parece ser la misma que la de _acaxete_, nombre de un pueblo perteneciente al estado de _puebla_, ambos corrupcion de la palabra mexicana _acaxitl_, compuesta de _atl_ (agua,) y de _caxitl_ (cazuela ó escudilla), hoy tambien corrompida, _cajete_: el todo significa _alberca_, nombre perfectamente adecuado á la cosa, pues que alcedo, [_diccion. geográf. de américa_] dice que en _acaxete_, "hay una caja ó arca de agua de piedra de cantería, en que se recogen las que bajan de la sierra y se conducen à _tepeaca_: el nombre, pues, nos dice que si no la obra arquitectónica, á lo menos la idea y la ejecucion, vienen desde los antiguos mexicanos."' _diccionario universal de hist. geog._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'las mugeres son notables por los pechos y piés pequeños.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . 'tienen la vista muy aguda.... el oido es tambien vivissimo.' _arlegui_, _crón. de zacatecas_, pp. - . see also, _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , , , ; _zuñiga_, in _escudero_, _noticias de sonora y sinaloa_, p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , pp. , ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans._, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , ; _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, pp. - ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. ; _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. ; _hardy's trav._, pp. , ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., pp. , ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., pp. - , tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _guzman_, _rel. anon._, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. ii., fol. ; _sevin_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxx., p. ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, pp. - ; _ward's mexico_, vol. i., pp. , ; _prichard's nat. hist. man_, vol. ii., p. ; _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] 'no alcanzan ropa de algodon, si no es algunas pampanillas y alguna manta muy gruesa; porque el vestido de ellos es de cuero de venados adobados, y el vestido que dellos hacen es coser un cuero con otro y ponérselos por debajo del brazo atados al hombro, y las mujeres traen sus naguas hechas con sus jirones que les llegan hasta los tobillos como faja.' _guzman_, _rel. anón._, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. ii., pp. , , . the ceri women wear 'pieles de alcatras por lo general, ó una tosca frazada de lana envuelta en la cintura.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, pp. , , . [ ] the temoris had 'las orejas cercadas de los zarcillos que ellos vsan, adornados de conchas de nacar labradas, y ensartadas en hilos azules, y cercan toda la oreja.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , , . near culiacan, nuño de guzman met about , warriors who 'traian al cuello sartas de codornices, pericos pequeños y otros diferentes pajaritos.' _tello_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. ii., p. . the humes, 'coronadas sus cabezas de diademas de varias plumas de papagayos, guacamayas con algunos penachos de hoja de plata batida.' _ahumada_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. . 'los indios de este nuevo reyno son de diversas naciones que se distinguen por la diversidad de rayas en el rostro.' _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, pp. , . 'no hemos visto á ningun carrizo pintado con vermellon, tal como lo hacen otros.' _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. . for further description see _hardy's trav._, pp. - , ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., p. ; _combier_, _voy._, pp. - ; _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., pp. - ; _espejo_, in _id._, pp. , - ; _cabeza de vaca_, _relation_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. vii., p. ; _castañeda_, in _id._, tom. ix., p. ; _jaramillo_, in _id._, p. ; _ward's mexico_, vol. i., p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , pp. - , ; _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. ; _arnaya_, in _id._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. ; _descrip. top._, in _id._, serie iv., tom. iv., pp. - ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, pp. - ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., pp. - , ; _sevin_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxx., pp. , - ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., pp. , , and ii., pp. , ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , , ; and _dapper_, _neue welt_, pp. , - ; _cabeza de vaca_, _relation_, pp. - ; _garcía conde_, in _album mex._, tom. i., p. ; _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, pp. - ; _hazart_, _kirchen-geschichte_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'todos los pueblos de los indios cobiertas las casas de esteras, á las cuales llaman en lengua de méxico _petates_, y por esta causa le llamamos petatlan.' _guzman_, _rel. anón._, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. ii., p. . compare _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , ; _combier_, _voy._, pp. , , , ; _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _niza_, in _id._, p. ; _espejo_, in _id._, p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , , - ; and _dapper_, _neue welt_, pp. , ; _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , , , , , ; _cabeza de vaca_, _relation_, pp. , ; _id._, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , , ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; _azpilcueta_, in _id._, tom. ii., p. ; _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. . [ ] 'comian inmundas carnes sin reservar la humana.' _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, pp. , , , . 'ils mangent tous de la chair humaine, et vont à la chasse des hommes.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , - . see also, _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, pp. , - ; _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , , , , , , , , . [ ] poçolatl, 'beuida de mayz cozido.' pinolatl, 'beuida de mayz y chia tostado.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. the batucas 'cuanto siembran es de regadío ... sus milpas parecen todas huertas.' _azpilcueta_, in _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. ii., p. , see also p. ; acaxées, mode of fishing, etc., in _id._, tom. i., pp. - , also - , , - ; tarahumaras, mode of fishing, hunting, and cooking. _murr_, _nachrichten_, pp. , , - , , . the yaquis 'fields and gardens in the highest state of cultivation.' _ward's mexico_, vol. ii., p. . for further account of their food and manner of cooking, etc., see _revista mexicana_, tom. i., pp. - ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _zepeda_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. ; _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, pp. , - ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., pp. , ; _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._ serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - ; _jaramillo_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. ; _cabeza de vaca_, in _id._, tom. vii., pp. - , - , ; _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, tom. iii., p. ; _coronado_, in _id._, pp. , ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _combier_, _voy._, pp. - , , , , ; _guzman_, _rel. anón._, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. ii., p. ; _tello_, in _id._, p. ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, pp. , ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. - ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., pp. , ; _zuñiga_, in _id._, , tom. xciii., p. ; _stone_, in _hist. mag._, vol. v., p. ; _malte-brun_, _sonora_, pp. - . [ ] of the ceris it is said that 'la ponzoña con que apestan las puntas de sus flechas, es la mas activa que se ha conocido por acá ... no se ha podido averiguar cuáles sean á punto fijo los mortíferos materiales de esta pestilencial maniobra? y aunque se dicen muchas cosas, como que lo hacen de cabezas de víboras irritadas cortadas al tiempo que clavan sus dientes en un pedazo de bofes y de carne humana ya medio podrida ... pues no es mas que adivinar lo que no sabemos. sin duda su principal ingrediente será alguna raíz.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - , . 'el magot es un árbol pequeño muy losano y muy hermoso á la vista; pero á corta incision de la corteza brota una leche mortal que les servia en su gentilidad para emponzoñar sus flechas.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. ii., p. . see also _hardy's trav._, pp. - , ; _stone_, in _hist. mag._, vol. v., p. ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. ii., p. ; _cabeza de vaca_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. vii., pp. - ; _castañeda_, in _id._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , - ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , pp. - , ; _arlegui_, _chron. de zacatecas_, p. ; _tello_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. ii., p. ; _guzman_, _rel. anón._, in _id._, p. , ; _descrip. topog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iv., p. ; _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , , , ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, pp. , , , ; _sevin_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxx., pp. , ; _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. ; _ramirez_, in _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; _combier_, _voy._, pp. , ; _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., pp. , ; _niza_, in _id._, p. ; _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , ; and _dapper_, _neue welt_, pp. , ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . [ ] 'el jóven que desea valer por las armas, ántes de ser admitido en toda forma á esta profesion, debe hacer méritos en algunas campañas ... despues de probado algun tiempo en estas experiencias y tenida la aprobacion de los ancianos, citan al pretendiente para algun dia en que deba dar la última prueba de su valor.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. ii., pp. - , - , and tom. i., pp. - . examine _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - ; _lizasoin_, in _id._, pp. - . [ ] as to the mayos, 'eran estos indios en sus costumbres y modo de guerrear como los de sinaloa, hacian la centinela cada cuarto de hora, poniendose en fila cincuenta indios, uno delante de otro, con sus arcos y flechas y con una rodilla en tierra.' _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. . see also _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , , , - ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. ; _guzman_, _rel. anón._, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _hazart_, _kirchen-geschichte_, tom. ii., p. ; _ferry_, _scènes de le vie sauvage_, p. ; _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, p. ; _coronado_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _gallatin_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxxxi., p. . [ ] see _combier_, _voy._, p. ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, pp. , , ; _descrip. topog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iv., p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. . [ ] 'vsauan el arte de hilar, y texer algodon, ó otras yeruas siluestres, como el cañamo de castilla, o pita.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , . for the yaquis, see _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. ; for the Ópatas and jovas, _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - ; and for the tarahumares, _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. ; _cabeza de vaca_, _relation_, pp. , ; id., in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, pp. - . [ ] 'el indio tomando el asta por medio, boga con gran destreza por uno y otro lado.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. iii., p. . 'an indian paddles himself ... by means of a long elastic pole of about twelve or fourteen feet in length.' _hardy's trav._, pp. , . see also _niza_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., pp. ; _cabeza de vaca_, _relation_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. vii., p. ; _ulloa_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . [ ] the carrizos 'no tienen caballos, pero en cambio, sus pueblos están llenos de perros.' _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. . the tahus 'sacrifiaient une partie de leurs richesses, qui consistaient en étoffes et en turquoises.' _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. . compare further, _combier_, _voy._, pp. - ; _zuñiga_, in _escudero_, _noticias de sonora y sinaloa_, p. ; _mex. in _, p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _id._, _cent. amer._, p. ; _cabeza de vaca_, _relation_, p. . [ ] 'son grandes observadores de los astros, porque como siempre duermen á cielo descubierto, y estan hechos â mirarlos, se marabillan de qualquier nueva impression, que registran en los cielos.' _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, p. . among the yaquis, 'hay asimismo músicos de violin y arpa, todo por puro ingenio, sin que se pueda decir que se les hayan enseñado las primeras reglas.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, p. . see also _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. ; _combier_, _voy._, p. ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. . [ ] 'leyes, ni reyes que castigassen tales vicios y pecados, no los tuuieron, ni se hallaua entre ellos genero de autoridad y gouierno politico que los castigasse.' _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. ; _combier_, _voy._, p. ; _ahumada_, _carta_, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iv., tom. iii., p. ; _espejo_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] the word _cacique_, which was used by the spaniards to designate the chiefs and rulers of provinces and towns throughout the west indies, central america, mexico, and peru, is originally taken from the cuban language. oviedo, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. , explains it as follows: 'cacique: señor, jefe absoluto ó rey de una comarca ó estado. en nuestros dias suele emplearse esta voz en algunas poblaciones de la parte oriental de cuba, para designar al regidor decano de un ayuntamiento. asi se dice: regidor cacique. metafóricamente tiene aplicacion en nuestra península, para designar á los que en los pueblos pequeños llevan la voz y gobiernan á su antojo y capricho.' [ ] 'juntos grandes y pequeños ponen á los mocetones y mujeres casaderas en dos hileras, y dada una seña emprenden á correr éstas; dada otra siguen la carrera aquellos, y alcanzándolas, ha de cojer cada uno la suya de la tetilla izquierda; y quedan hechos y confirmados los desposorios.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. - . 'unos se casan con una muger sola, y tienen muchas mancebas.... otras se casan con quantas mugeres quieren.... otras naciones tienen las mugeres por comunes.' _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, pp. - . for further account of their family relations and marriage customs, see _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , , , , , ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. , p. ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., pp. , , , ; _hazart_, _kirchen-geschichte_, tom. ii., p. ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; _arista_, in _id._, p. ; _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. ; _combier_, _voy._, p. ; _löwenstern_, _mexique_, p. . [ ] les yaquis 'aiment surtout une danse appelée _tutuli gamuchi_ ... dans laquelle ils changent de femmes en se cédant réciproquement tous leurs droits conjugaux.' _zuñiga_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xciii., pp. - . the sisibotaris; 'en las danzas ... fué muy de notar que aunque danzaban juntos hombres y mugeres, ni se hablaban ni se tocaban inmediatamente las manos.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. ii., p. , and tom. i., pp. - . in the province of pánuco, 'cuando estan en sus borracheras é fiestas, lo que no pueden beber por la boca, se lo hacen echar por bajo con un embudo.' _guzman_, _rel. anón._, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. ii., p. . see further, _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , , , ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, pp. , , ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, pp. , ; _castañeda_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ix., p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. ; _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, pp. , ; _donnavan's adven._, pp. , ; _las casas_, _hist. indias, ms._, lib. iii., cap. ; _garcía conde_, in _album mex._, tom. i., p. ; _soc. géog._, _bulletin_, série v., no. . p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. ii., p. ; _id._, _cent. amer._, p. ; _sevin_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxx., p. . [ ] the Ópatas have 'grande respeto y veneracion que hasta hoy tienen á los hombrecitos pequeños y contrahechos, á quienes temen y franquean su casa y comida.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., p. . 'angulis atque adytis angues complures reperti, peregrinum in modum conglobati, capitibus supra et infra exsertis, terribili rictu, si quis propuis accessisset, cæterum innocui; quos barbari vel maxime venerabantur, quod diabolus ipsis hac forma apparere consuesset: eosdem tamen et manibus contrectabant et nonnunquam iis vescebantur.' _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . further reference in _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. ; _cabeza de vaca_, _relation_, p. ; _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, pp. - ; _sevin_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxx., p. . [ ] 'quando entre los indios ay algun contagio, que es el de viruelas el mas continuo, de que mueren innumerables, mudan cada dia lugares, y se van á los mas retirados montes, buscando los sitios mas espinosos y enmarañados, para que de miedo de las espinas, no entren (segun juzgan, y como cierto lo afirman) las viruelas.' _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, pp. - , . see also, _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, pp. - ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. - , - ; _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , - ; _löwenstern_, _mexique_, p. ; _hardy's trav._, p. ; _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . [ ] see _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iii., p. ; _villa_, in _prieto_, _viajes_, p. . [ ] 'las mas de las naciones referidas son totalmente barbaras, y de groseros entendimientos; gente baxa.' _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, p. . the yaquis: 'by far the most industrious and useful of all the other tribes in sonora ... celebrated for the exuberance of their wit.' _hardy's trav._, pp. , . 'los ópatas son tan honrados como valientes ... la nacion ópata es pacífica, dócil, y hasta cierto punto diferente de todas los demas indígenas del continente ... son amantes del trabajo.' _zuñiga_, in _escudero_, _noticias de sonora y sinaloa_, pp. - . 'la tribu ópata fué la que manifestó un carácter franco, dócil, y con simpatías á los blancos ... siempre fué inclinada al órden y la paz.' _velasco_, _noticias de sonora_, pp. , . the Ópatas 'son de génio malicioso, disimulados y en sumo grado vengativos; y en esto sobresalen las mujeres.' _sonora_, _descrip. geog._, in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . see also: _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, pp. , , , , ; _bartlett's pers. nar._, vol. i., pp. - ; _ward's mexico_, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., p. ; _combier_, _voy._, pp. - ; _malte-brun_, _sonora_, pp. - ; _browne's apache country_, p. ; _lachapelle_, _raousset-boulbon_, p. ; _cabeza de vaca_, _relation_, pp. , ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, pp. , ; _alegre+, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., pp. , - , , , and tom. ii., p. ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, pp. , ; _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, pp. - ; _garcía conde_, in _album mex._, tom. i., p. . [illustration: native races of the pacific states mexican group] chapter vi. wild tribes of mexico. territorial aspects--two main divisions; wild tribes of central mexico, and wild tribes of southern mexico--the coras and others in jalisco--descendants of the aztecs--the otomÍs and mazahuas adjacent to the valley of mexico--the pames--the tarascos and matlaltzincas of michoacan--the huaztecs and totonacs of vera cruz and tamaulipas--the chontales, chinantecs, mazatecs, cuicatecs, chatinos, miztecs, zapotecs, mijes, huaves, chiapanecs, zoques, lacandones, choles, mames, tzotziles, tzendales, chochones, and others of southern mexico. the term wild tribes of mexico, which i employ to distinguish this from the other groupal divisions of the native races of the pacific states needs some explanation. the territory embraced under this title extends from latitude ° north, to the eighteenth parallel on the atlantic, and the fifteenth on the pacific; that is to the central american line, including yucatan and excluding guatemala. at the time of the conquest, a large portion of this region as well as part of central america was occupied by those nations that we call civilized, which are fully described in the second volume of this work. these several precincts of civilization may be likened to suns, shining brightly at their respective centres, and radiating into the surrounding darkness with greater or less intensity according to distance and circumstances. the bloody conquest achieved, these suns were dimmed, their light went out; part of this civilization merged into that of the conquerors, and part fell back into the more distant darkness. later many of the advanced aboriginals became more and more identified with the spaniards; the other natives soon came to be regarded as savages, who, once pacified, spread over the seat of their nation's former grandeur, obliterating many of the traces of their peoples' former high advancement;--so that very shortly after the spaniards became masters of the land, any description of its aborigines could but be a description of its savage nations, or of retrograded, or partially obliterated peoples of higher culture. and thus i find it, and thus must treat the subject, going over the whole territory almost as if there had been no civilization at all. for variety and striking contrasts the climate and scenery of central and southern mexico is surpassed by no region of equal extent in the world. it is here that the tierra caliente, or hot border-land of either ocean, the tierra templada, or temperate belt adjacent, and the tierra fria, or cool elevated table-land assume their most definite forms. the interior table-lands have an average elevation above the sea of from , to , feet. the geological formation is on a titanic scale; huge rocks of basalt, granite, and lava rise in fantastic shapes, intersected by deep barrancas or ravines presenting unparalleled scenes of grandeur. prominent among the surrounding mountains tower the snow-clad crests of orizaba and popocatepetl,--volcanic piles whose slumbering fires appear to be taking but a temporary rest. the plateau is variegated with many lakes; the soil, almost everywhere fertile, is overspread with a multitudinous variety of nopal, maguey, and forests of evergreen, among which the graceful fir and umbrageous oak stand conspicuous. seasons come and go and leave no mark behind; or it may be said that spring, satisfied with its abode, there takes up its perpetual rest; the temperature is ever mellow, with resplendent sunshine by day, while at night the stars shine with a brilliancy nowhere excelled. the limits of the tierra templada it is impossible to define, as the term is used in a somewhat arbitrary manner by the inhabitants of different altitudes. on the lowlands along the coast known as the tierra caliente, the features of nature are changed; vegetation assumes a more luxuriant aspect; palms, parasitical plants and trees of a tropical character, take the place of the evergreens of a colder clime; the climate is not salubrious, and the heat is oppressive. on the atlantic side furious storms, called 'northers,' spring up with a suddenness and violence unexampled in other places, often causing much destruction to both life and property. [sidenote: tribes of central mexico.] for the purpose of description, i separate the wild tribes of mexico in two parts,--the _wild tribes of central mexico_, and the _wild tribes of southern mexico_. the first of these divisions extends from ° north latitude to the northern boundary of the state of oajaca, or rather to an imaginary line, taking as its base said boundary and running from the pacific ocean to the gulf of mexico, that is to say from vera cruz to acapulco. to enumerate and locate all the nations and tribes within this territory, to separate the uncivilized from the civilized, the mythical from the real, is not possible. i have therefore deferred to the end of this chapter such authorities as i have on the subject, where they will be found ranged in proper order under the head of tribal boundaries. of the tribes that are known to have possessed no civilization, such as was found among the aztecs and other cultivated nations, i will only mention the people denominated _chichimecs_, under which general name were designated a multitude of tribes inhabiting the mountains north of the valley of mexico, all of which were prominently dependent on the result of the chase for their subsistence; the ancient _otomís_ who mostly occupied the mountains which inclose the valley of mexico; and the _pames_ in querétaro. south of mexico were numerous other nations who were more or less intermixed with those more civilized. finally, i shall describe those people who, since they came in contact with the whites, have retrograded in such a degree, that their manners and customs can only be given in connection with those of the wild tribes, and which comprise a large proportion of all the present aborigines of mexico.[ ] [sidenote: physical features in northern mexico.] the natives of the valley of mexico are represented by some authorities as tall, by others as of short stature; but from what i gather we may conclude that on the whole they are over rather than under the middle height, well made and robust. in vera cruz they are somewhat shorter, say from four feet six inches to five feet at most, and clumsily made, having their knees further apart than europeans and walking with their toes turned in; the women are shorter than the men and become fully developed at a very early age. in jalisco both sexes are tall; they are also well built, and among the women are found many forms of such perfection that they might well serve as models for sculpture. throughout the table-lands, the men are muscular and well proportioned. their skin is very thick and conceals the action of the muscles; they are out-kneed, turn their toes well in, and their carriage is anything but graceful.[ ] various opinions have been advanced by competent persons in regard to the features of the natives of mexico. baron von humboldt describes them as resembling the aborigines of canada, peru, florida, and brazil; having elongated eyes, the corners turned towards the temples, prominent cheek-bones, large lips, and a sweet expression about the mouth, forming a strong contrast with their otherwise gloomy and severe aspect. rossi says that their eyes are oval, and that their physiognomy resembles that of the asiatics. according to prescott, they bear a strong resemblance to the egyptians, and viollet le duc asserts that the malay type predominates. they have generally a very narrow forehead, an oval face, long black eyes set wide apart, large mouth with thick lips, teeth white and regular, the nose small and rather flat. the general expression of the countenance is melancholy, and exhibits a strange combination of moroseness and gentleness. although some very handsome women are to be found among them, the majority of the race, both men and women, are ugly, and in old age, which with the women begins early, their faces are much wrinkled and their features quite harsh. they have acute senses, especially that of sight, which remains unimpaired to a very advanced age. long, straight, black, thick, and glossy hair is common to all; their beard is thin, and most of them, especially in the capital and its vicinity, have a small moustache; but very few, if any, have hair on their legs, thighs, or arms. it is very seldom that a gray-haired native is found. all the people referred to, are remarkable for their strength and endurance, which may be judged of by the heavy burdens they carry on their backs. the inhabitants of the table-lands are of various hues; some are olive, some brown, others of a red copper color. in the sierras some have a bluish tint as if dyed with indigo. the natives of the tierras calientes are of a darker complexion, inclining to black. there are some called _indios pintos_, whose cuticle is of a less deep color, inclining more to yellowish and marked with dark copper-colored spots.[ ] [sidenote: mexican costumes.] [sidenote: dress in michoacan.] in the valley of mexico the natives wear the _ichapilli_, or a sort of shirt without sleeves, made of white and blue striped cotton, which reaches to the knees and is gathered round the waist with a belt. this is frequently the only garment worn by the aborigines of the mexican valley. in lieu of the ancient feather ornaments for the head, they now use large felt or straw hats, the rim of which is about nine inches in width; or they bind round the head a colored handkerchief. most of the men and women go barefooted, and those who have coverings for their feet, use the _cacles_, or _huaraches_, (sandals) made of tanned leather and tied with thongs to the ankles. the dress of the women has undergone even less change than that of the men, since the time of the spanish conquest. many of them wear over the ichapilli a cotton or woolen cloth, bound by a belt just above the hips; this answers the purpose of a petticoat; it is woven in stripes of dark colors or embellished with figures. the ichapilli is white, with figures worked on the breast, and is longer than that worn by the men. in puebla the women wear very narrow petticoats and elegant _quichemels_ covering the breast and back and embroidered all over with silk and worsted. in the state of vera cruz and other parts of the tierra caliente the men's apparel consists of a short white cotton jacket or a dark-colored woolen tunic, with broad open sleeves fastened round the waist with a sash, and short blue or white breeches open at the sides near the knee; these are a spanish innovation, but they continue to wear the square short cloak, _tilma_ or _tilmatli_, with the end tied on one of the shoulders or across the breast. sometimes a pair of shorter breeches made of goat or deer skin are worn over the cotton ones, and also a jacket of the same material. the women wear a coarse cotton shift with large open sleeves, often worked about the neck in bright colored worsted, to suit the wearer's fancy; a blue woolen petticoat is gathered round the waist, very full below, and a blue or brown rebozo is used as a wrapper for the shoulders. sometimes a muffler is used for the head and face.[ ] they bestow great care on their luxuriant hair, which they arrange in two long braids that fall from the back of the head, neatly painted and interwoven with worsted of lively colors, and the ends tied at the waist-band or joined behind; others bind the braids tightly round the head, and occasionally add some wild flowers.[ ] in the tierra fria, a thick dark woolen blanket with a hole in the centre through which passes the head protects the wearer during the day from the cold and rain, and serves at night for a covering and often for the bed itself. this garment has in some places taken the place of the tilmatli. children are kept in a nude state until they are eight or ten years old, and infants are enveloped in a coarse cotton cloth, leaving the head and limbs exposed. the huicholas of jalisco have a peculiar dress; the men wear a short tunic made of coarse brown or blue woolen fabric, tightened at the waist with a girdle hanging down in front and behind, and very short breeches of poorly dressed goat or deer skin without hair, at the lower edges of which are strung a number of leathern thongs. married men and women wear straw hats with high pointed crowns and broad turned-up rims; near the top is a narrow and handsomely woven band of many colors, with long tassels. their long bushy hair is secured tightly round the crown of the head with a bright woolen ribbon. many of the men do up the hair in queues with worsted ribbons, with heavy tassels that hang below the waist.[ ] de laet, describing the natives of jalisco early in the seventeenth century, speaks of square cloths made of cotton and maguey tied on the right or left shoulder, and small pebbles or shells strung together as necklaces. mota padilla, in his history of new galicia, says that the chichimecs at xalostitlan, in , went naked. the inhabitants of alzatlan about that time adorned themselves with feathers. in zacualco, the common dress of the women about the same period, particularly widows, was the _huipil_, made of fine cotton cloth, generally black. the natives of the province of pánuco, for many years after the spanish conquest, continued to go naked; they pulled out the beard, perforated the nose and ears, and, filing their teeth to a sharp point, bored holes in them and dyed them black. the slayer of a human being used to hang a piece of the skin and hair of the slain at the waist, considering such things as very valuable ornaments. their hair they dyed in various colors, and wore it in different forms. their women adorned themselves profusely, and braided their hair with feathers. sahagun, speaking of the matlaltzincas, says that their apparel was of cloth made from the maguey; referring to the tlahuicas, he mentions among their faults that they used to go overdressed; and of the macoaques, he writes: that the oldest women as well as the young ones paint themselves with a varnish called _tecocavitl_, or with some colored stuff, and wear feathers about their arms and legs. the tlascaltecs in wore cotton-cloth mantles painted in various fine colors. the inhabitants of cholula, according to cortés, dressed better than the tlascaltecs; the better class wearing over their other clothes a garment resembling the moorish cloak, yet somewhat different, as that of cholula had pockets, but in the cloth, the cut, and the fringe, there was much resemblance to the cloak worn in africa. old spanish writers tell us that the natives of michoacan made much use of feathers for wearing-apparel and for adorning their bodies and heads. at their later religious festivals, both sexes appear in white, the men with shirt and trowsers, having a band placed slantingly across the breast and back, tied to a belt round the waist, and on the head a small red cloth arranged like a turban, from which are pendent scarlet feathers, similar to those used by the ancient aztec warriors. the man is also adorned with a quantity of showy beads, and three small mirrors, one of which is placed on his breast, another on his back, and the third invariably on his forehead. at his back he carries a quiver, and in his hand a bow, adorned with bright colored artificial flowers, or it may be the aztec axe, so painted and varnished as to resemble flint. at the present time, a native woman, however poor, still wears a necklace of coral or rows of red beads. the unmarried women of chilpanzinco used to daub their faces with a pounded yellow flower. in durango, the natives were accustomed to rub their swarthy bodies with clay of various colors, and paint reptiles and other animals thereon.[ ] the dwellings of the wild tribes of central mexico vary with climate and locality. in the lowlands, sheds consisting of a few poles stuck in the ground, the spaces between filled with rushes, and the roof covered with palm-leaves, afforded sufficient shelter. in the colder highlands they built somewhat more substantial houses of trunks of trees, tied together with creeping plants, the walls plastered with mud or clay, the roof of split boards kept in place with stones. in treeless parts, houses were constructed of adobe or sun-dried bricks and stones, and the interior walls covered with mats; the best houses were only one story high, and the humbler habitations too low to allow a man to stand erect. the entire house constituted but one room, where all the family lived, sleeping on the bare ground. a few stones placed in the middle of the floor, served as a fireplace where food was cooked. in vera cruz there is a separate small hut for cooking purposes. the wild nomadic chichimecs lived in caverns or fissures of rocks situated in secluded valleys, and the pames contented themselves with the shade afforded by the forest-trees.[ ] [sidenote: food and agriculture.] corn, beans, tomatoes, chile, and a variety of fruits and vegetables constitute the chief subsistence of the people, and in those districts where the banana flourishes, it ranks as an important article of food. the natives of vera cruz and tamaulipas gather large quantities of the pitahaya, by means of an osier basket attached to a long pole; round the brim are arranged several forks, for the purpose of detaching the fruit, which then drops into the basket. from the blossoms and buds they make a ragout, and also grind the seeds for bread. from the sea and rivers they obtain a plentiful supply of fish, and they have acquired from childhood a peculiar habit of eating earth, which is said to be injurious to their physical development. it has been stated that in former days they used human flesh as food. the otomís and tribes of jalisco cultivated but little grain, and consumed that little before it ripened, trusting for a further supply of food to the natural productions of the soil and to game, such as rabbits, deer, moles, and birds, and also foxes, rats, snakes and other reptiles. corn-cobs they ground, mixed cacao with the powder, and baked the mixture on the fire. from the lakes in the valley of mexico they gathered flies' eggs, deposited there in large quantities by a species of flies called by the mexicans _axayacatl_, that is to say, 'water-face,' and by mm. meneville and virlet d'aoust _corixa femorata_ and _notonecta unifasciata_. the eggs being pounded, were moulded into lumps and sold in the market-place; they were esteemed a special delicacy, and were eaten fried. these people are also accused by some authors of having eaten human flesh.[ ] other tribes, inhabiting the valley of mexico, puebla, michoacan, and querétaro, show a greater inclination to cultivate the soil, and live almost wholly on the products of their own industry. they plant corn by making a hole in the ground with a sharp-pointed stick, into which the seed is dropped and covered up. honey is plentiful, and when a tree is found where bees are at work, they stop the entrance with clay, cut off the branch and hang it outside their huts; after a short time they remove the clay, and the bees continue their operations in their new locality, as if they had not been disturbed.[ ] gemelli careri thus describes a novel method of catching ducks: "others contrive to deceive ducks, as shy as they are; for when they have us'd 'em to be frequently among calabashes left floating on the lake for that purpose, they make holes in those calabashes, so that putting their heads in them, they can see out of them, and then going up to the neck in the water, they go among the ducks and draw 'em down by the feet." for making tortillas, the corn is prepared by placing it in water, to which a little lime is added, and allowing it to soak all night, or it is put to simmer over a slow fire; the husk is then easily separated and the corn mashed or ground on the metate. from this paste the tortilla is formed by patting it between the hands into a very thin cake, which is cooked on an earthern pan placed over the fire; the tortilla is eaten with boiled beans, and a mixture of chile and lard. the ground corn is also mixed with water and strained through a sieve; of this liquor they make a gruel, to which is added a little cacao or sugar. the sediment which remains in the sieve is used to make tamales, which are a combination of chopped meat, chile, and onions, which ingredients are covered with the corn paste, and the whole enveloped in corn or plantain leaves and boiled or baked. the mexicans are very moderate eaters, but have an insatiable passion for strong liquors.[ ] laziness and filth follow us as we proceed southward in our observations; among the mexicans, the poorer classes especially are filthy in their persons, and have a disgusting appearance, which increases with the infirmities of age. many of them indulge freely in the use of a steam-bath called _temazcalli_, similar to the russian vapor-bath, but it does not appear to have the effect of cleansing their persons.[ ] [sidenote: weapons and shields.] all these tribes use bows and arrows; the latter carried in a quiver slung at the back, a few spare ones being stuck in the belt for immediate use. a heavy club is secured to the arm by a thong, and wielded with terrible effect at close quarters. in battle, the principal warriors are armed with spears and shields. another weapon much in use is the sling, from which they cast stones to a great distance and with considerable accuracy. the natives of the valley of mexico kill birds with small pellets blown through a hollow tube.[ ] the clubs, which are from three to four feet in length, are made of a species of heavy wood, some having a round knob at the end similar to a mace, others broad and flat, and armed with sharp pieces of obsidian, fastened on either side. acosta states that with these weapons they could cut off the head of a horse at one stroke. spears and arrows are pointed with flint or obsidian, the latter having a reed shaft with a piece of hard wood inserted into it to hold the point. their quivers are made of deer-skin, and sometimes of seal or shark-skin. shields are ingeniously constructed of small canes so woven together with thread that they can be folded up and carried tied under the arm. when wanted for use they are loosed, and when opened out they cover the greater part of the body.[ ] [sidenote: war and treatment of captives.] aboriginally, as with most northern nations, warfare was the normal state of these people. the so-called chichimecs attacked all who entered their domain, whether for hunting, collecting fruit, or fighting. war once declared between two tribes, each side endeavors to secure by alliance as many of their neighbors as possible; to which end ambassadors are despatched to the chiefs of adjacent provinces, each bearing in his hand an arrow of the make peculiar to the tribe of the stranger chief. arriving at the village, the messenger seeks out the chief and lays the arrow at his feet; if the proposal of his master be accepted by the stranger chief, the rendezvous is named and the messenger departs. the ambassadors having returned with their report, preparations are at once made for the reception of the allies, a feast is prepared, large quantities of game and intoxicating drink are made ready, and as soon as the guests arrive the viands are placed before them. then follow eating and drinking, concluding with drunken orgies; this finished, a council is held, and the assault planned, care being taken to secure places suitable for an ambuscade and stones for the slingers. a regular organization of forces is observed and every effort made to outflank or surround the enemy. archers and slingers march to an attack in single file, always occupying the van, while warriors armed with clubs and lances are drawn up in the rear; the assault is commenced by the former, accompanied with furious shouts and yells. during the period of their wars against the spaniards, they often expended much time and labor in the fortification of heights by means of tree-trunks, and large rocks, which were so arranged, one on top of another, that at a given signal they might be loosened, and let fall on their assailants. the chiefs of the tepecanos and contiguous tribes carried no weapons during the action, but had rods with which they chastised those who exhibited symptoms of cowardice, or became disorderly in the ranks.[ ] the slain were scalped or their heads cut off, and prisoners were treated with the utmost barbarity, ending invariably in the death of the unfortunates; often were they scalped while yet alive, and the bloody trophy placed upon the heads of their tormentors. the heads of the slain were placed on poles and paraded through their villages in token of victory, the inhabitants meanwhile dancing round them. young children were sometimes spared, and reared to fight in the ranks of their conquerors; and in order to brutalize their youthful minds and eradicate all feelings of affection toward their own kindred, the youthful captives were given to drink the brains and blood of their murdered parents. the chichimecs carried with them a bone, on which, when they killed an enemy, they marked a notch, as a record of the number each had slain. mota padilla states that when nuño de guzman arrived in the valley of coynan, in jalisco, the chiefs came out to meet him, and, as a sign of peace and obedience, dropped on one knee; upon being raised up by the spaniards, they placed round their necks strings of rabbits and quails, in token of respect.[ ] as the wants of the people are few and simple, so is the inventory of their implements and household furniture. every family is supplied with the indispensable metate, an oblong stone, about twelve by eighteen inches, smooth on the surface and resting upon three legs in a slanting position; with this is used a long stone roller, called the _metlapilli_, for rubbing down the maize, and a large earthen pan, called the _comalli_, on which to bake the tortillas. their bottles, bowls, and cups are made from gourds, often prettily painted, and kept hanging round the walls; some unglazed earthenware vessels, ornamented with black figures on a dull red ground, are used for cooking, a block of wood serves for a stool and table, and lastly a few petates (aztec, _petlatl_, 'palm-leaf mat'), are laid upon the ground for beds. these comprise the whole effects of a native's house. for agricultural purposes, they have wooden spades, hoes, and sharp stakes for planting corn. their products are carried home or to market in large wicker-work frames, often five feet high by two and a half feet broad, made from split palm-leaves.[ ] in the state of jalisco, the natives are celebrated for the manufacture of blankets and woolen mantas; in other parts of the country they continue to weave cotton stuffs in the same manner as before the conquest, all on very primitive hand-looms. the common designs are in blue or red and white stripes, but they are sometimes neatly worked with figures, the juice from the murex or purple shell supplying the vermilion color for the patterns. the inhabitants of tonala exhibit much taste and excellence in the production of pottery, making a great variety of toys, masks, figures, and ornaments, besides the vessels for household use. in the vicinity of santa cruz, the fibres of the aloe, crushed upon the metate, are employed for the manufacture of ropes, nets, bags, and flat round pelotas, used in rubbing down the body after a bath. palm-leaf mats and dressed skins also figure largely among the articles of native industry.[ ] in vera cruz, they have canoes dug out of the trunk of a mahogany or cedar tree, which are capable of holding several persons, and are worked with single paddles.[ ] [sidenote: trade and arts.] a considerable trade is carried on in pottery, mats, dressed skins, and manufactures of the aloe-fibre; also fruit, feathers, vegetables, and fish. all such wares are packed in light osier baskets, which, thrown upon their backs, are carried long distances to the several markets. in the province of vera cruz, vanilla, jalap, and other herbs are important articles of native commerce, and all the interior tribes place a high value on salt, for which they readily exchange their products.[ ] the natives display much patience and skill in ornamental work, especially carvings in stone, and in painting; although the figures, their gods bearing witness, are all of grotesque shapes and appearance. with nothing more than a rude knife, they make very ingenious figures, of wax, of the pith of trees, of wood, charcoal, clay, and bone. they are fond of music, and readily imitate any strain they hear. from time immemorial they have retained a passion for flowers, in all seasons of the year tastefully decorating therewith their dwellings and shops. the art of working in gold and silver is well known to the natives of jalisco, who execute well-shaped specimens of cups and vases, beautifully engraved and ornamented.[ ] the wild tribes surrounding, and in places intermixed with, the civilized nations of central mexico, as far as i can learn, do not appear to have had any systematic tribal government; at least, none of the old historians have given any account of such. some of the tribes attach themselves to chiefs of their own choice, to whom they pay a certain tribute from the produce of their labor or hunting expeditions, while others live without any government or laws whatsoever, and only elect a chief on going to war.[ ] [sidenote: marriage customs.] marriage takes place at an early age, and girls are seldom found single after they attain fourteen or fifteen years. gomara, however, says that women in the district of tamaulipas are not married till they reach the age of forty. the otomís marry young, and if, when arrived at the age of puberty, a young girl has not found a mate, her parents or guardians select one for her, so that none shall remain single. among the guachichiles, when a young man has selected a girl, he takes her on trial for an indefinite period; if, afterwards, both parties are satisfied with each other, the ceremony of marriage is performed; should it happen, however, that the man be not pleased, he returns the girl to her parents, which proceeding does not place any obstacle in the way of her obtaining another suitor. the chichimecs cannot marry without the consent of parents; if a young man violates this law and takes a girl without first obtaining the parental sanction, even with the intention of marrying her, the penalty is death; usually, in ancient times, the offender was shot with arrows. when one of this people marries, if the girl proves not to be a virgin, the marriage is null, and the girl is returned to her parents. when a young man desires to marry, his parents make a visit to those of the intended bride, and leave with them a bouquet of flowers bound with red wool; the bride's parents then send round to the houses of their friends a bunch of mariguana, a narcotic herb, which signifies that all are to meet together at the bride's father's on the next night. the meeting is inaugurated by smoking; then they chew mariguana, during which time all preliminaries of the marriage are settled. the following day the resolutions of the conclave are made known to the young man and woman, and if the decision is favorable, the latter sends her husband a few presents, and from that time the parties consider themselves married, and the friends give themselves up to feasting and dancing.[ ] a plurality of wives was found among all the inhabitants of this region at the time of the spanish conquest, the first wife taking precedence of those who came after her. many had concubines who, it may be said, ranked third in the family circle. the missionary fathers, however, soon put an end to the custom of more than one wife, whenever they had the power to do so. herrera says that the chichimecs indulged in one wife only, but that they had the habit of repudiating her for any slight cause, and of taking another. the women are kept under subjection by their husbands, and not only have all the indoor work to do, such as cooking, spinning, and mat-making, but they are also required to carry heavy burdens home from the market, and bring all the wood and water for household use. infants are carried on the mother's back, wrapped in a coarse cotton cloth, leaving the head and legs free. among the chichimecs, when a woman goes out of her house, she places her child in a wicker basket, and there leaves it, usually suspending it from the branch of a tree. a child is suckled by the mother until another comes on and crowds it out. mühlenpfordt relates that he saw a boy of seven or eight years of age demanding suck and receiving it from his mother. a woman near her time of confinement, retires to a dark corner of the house, attended by some aged woman, who sings to her, and pretends to call the baby from afar. this midwife, however, does not in any way assist at the birth, but as soon as the child is born she goes out, meanwhile covering her face with her hands, so that she may not see. having walked once round the house, she opens her eyes, and the name of the first object she sees is chosen as the name of the child. among the otomís, a young woman about to become a mother is the victim of much unnecessary suffering arising from their superstitious practices; loaded with certain amulets and charms, she must carefully avoid meeting certain individuals and animals whose look might produce evil effects--a black dog especially must be avoided. the song of a mocking-bird near the house is held to be a happy omen. at certain hours the mother was to drink water which had been collected in the mountains, and previously presented to the gods; the phases of the moon were carefully watched. she was obliged to undergo an examination from the old crone who attended her, and who performed certain ceremonies, such as burning aromatic herbs mingled with saltpetre. sometimes, amidst her pains, the ancient attendant obliged her charge to jump about, and take powerful medicines, which frequently caused abortion or premature delivery. if the child was a boy, one of the old men took it in his arms and painted on its breast an axe or some implement of husbandry, on its forehead a feather, and on the shoulders a bow and quiver; he then invoked for it the protection of the gods. if the child proved to be a female, the same ceremony was observed, with the exception that an old woman officiated, and the figure of a flower was traced over the region of the heart, while on the palm of the right hand a spinning-wheel was pictured, and on the left a piece of wool, thus indicating the several duties of after life. according to the _apostólicos afanes_, the coras call the child after one of its uncles or aunts. in twelve months' time a feast is prepared in honor of said young, and the mother and child, together with the uncle or aunt, placed in the middle of the circle of relatives. upon these occasions much wine is drunk, and for the first time salt is placed in the child's mouth. as soon as the child's teeth are all cut, a similar meeting takes place, and the child is then given its first meal; and again, at the age of twelve, the ancients come together, when the youth is first given wine to drink. as a rule, young people show great respect and affection for their parents; all their earnings being at once handed over to them.[ ] in early times, immorality and prostitution existed among these nations to an unparalleled extent. gomara says that in the province of tamaulipas there were public brothels, where men enacted the part of women, and where every night were assembled as many as a thousand, more or less, of these worse than beastly beings, according to the size of the village. it is certain that incest and every species of fornication was commonly practiced, especially in the districts of vera cruz, tamaulipas, and querétaro.[ ] [sidenote: children and amusements.] their amusements are stamped with the general melancholy of their character. dancing, accompanied with music and singing, is their favorite pastime, but it is seldom indulged in without the accompanying vice of intoxication. when the totonacs join in their national dances, they attach a kind of rattle called _aiacachtli_ to a band round the head, that produces a peculiar sound during the performance. among some tribes women are not permitted to join in the dances. they make various kinds of drinks and intoxicating liquors. one is made from the fruit of the nopal or prickly pear, which is first peeled and pressed; the juice is then passed through straw sieves, and placed by a fire or in the sun, where in about an hour it ferments. another drink, called chicha, is made from raw sugar-cane, which is mashed with a wooden mallet and passed through a pressing-machine. their principal and national drink is pulque, made from the agave americana, and is thus prepared: when the plant is about to bloom, the heart or stalk is cut out, leaving a hole in the center, which is covered with the outer leaves. every twenty-four hours, or in the hotter climates twice a day, the cavity fills with the sap from the plant, which is taken out and fermented by the addition of some already-fermented pulque, and the process is continued until the plant ceases to yield a further supply. the liquor obtained is at first of a thick white color, and is at all times very intoxicating.[ ] [sidenote: making an alliance.] father joseph arlegui, in his _chrónica de la provincia de zacatecas_, which province then comprised a much larger extent of territory than the present state of zacatecas, describes a singular ceremony nowhere else mentioned. it is employed when one nation wishes to form a close connection, friendship, alliance, family or blood relationship, so to say (tratan de hacerse parientes), with another nation; and the process is as follows: from the tribe with which the alliance is desired, a man is seized, and a feast or drunken carousal commenced. meanwhile the victim destined to form the connecting link between the two bands, and whose blood is to cement their friendship, is kept without food for twenty-four hours. into him is then poured of their execrable beverages until he is filled, and his senses are deadened, when he is stretched before a fire, built in a wide open place, where all the people may have access to him. having warmed well his body, and rubbed his ears, each aspirant to the new friendship, armed with a sharp awl-shaped instrument, made of deer's bone, proceeds to pierce the ears of the prostrate wretch, each in turn forcing his sharpened bone through some new place, which causes the blood to spurt afresh with every incision. with the blood so drawn, the several members of the tribe anoint themselves, and the ceremony is done. on the spot where the relative of a cora is killed in a fight, a piece of cloth is dipped in blood, and kept as a remembrance, until his death be avenged by killing the slayer, or one of the males of his family. when meeting each other on a journey, they make use of many complimentary salutations, and a kind of freemasonry appears to exist among them. major brantz mayer mentions a tribe at cuernavaca that, in the event of a white man arriving at their village, immediately seize and place him under guard for the night in a large hut; he and his animals are carefully provided for until the following day, when he is despatched from the village under an escort, to wait upon him until far beyond the limits of the settlement. the custom, at the present day, of hiding money in the ground is universal; nothing would induce a native to entrust his savings with another. the inhabitants of querétaro spend much of their time basking in the sun, and if the sun does not yield sufficient warmth, they scoop out a hole in the ground, burn in it branches and leaves of the maguey, and when properly heated, lay themselves down in the place, and cover themselves with a mat or the loose earth.[ ] the mexicans are not subject to many diseases. small-pox, brought into the country at the time of the conquest, typhoid fever, and syphilis are those which cause the greatest destruction of life; the two former are aggravated by the filthy condition of the villages. yellow fever, or black vomit, very rarely attacks the aborigines. the measles is a prevalent disease. death is likewise the result of severe wounds, fractures, or bruises, most of which end in mortification, owing to neglect, or to the barbarous remedies applied to combat them. the huastecs of vera cruz suffer from certain worms that breed in their lips, and highly esteem salt for the curative properties they believe it to possess against this disorder. at the village of comalá, in the state of colima, a considerable number of the children are born deaf and dumb, idiots, or deformed; besides which, when they reach a mature age, if we may believe the early chroniclers, the goitres are more or less developed on them, notwithstanding humboldt's assertion that the aborigines never suffer from this disorder. there is another disease, cutaneous in its character, which is quite prevalent in many parts of the country, and is supposed to be contracted under the influence of a warm, humid, and unhealthy climate, and may be described as follows: without pain the skin assumes a variety of colors, the spots produced being white, red, brownish, or blue. the pintos, as south-western coast-dwellers are called, the chief victims to this disorder, experience no physical pain, except when they go into a cold climate; then they feel twitchings in the places where the skin has changed color. the disease is declared to be contagious: and from all accounts no remedy for it has been as yet discovered. formerly, an epidemic called the _matlalzahuatl_ visited the country at long intervals and caused terrible havoc. all the spanish writers who speak of it call it the _peste_, and suppose it to be the same scourge that destroyed nearly the whole population of the toltec empire in the eleventh century. others believe it to have borne a greater similarity to yellow fever. the disease, whatever it is, made its appearance in , , and , since which date i find no mention of it, destroying each time an immense number of people; but upon no occasion did it attack the pure whites or the mestizos. its greatest havoc was in the interior, on the central plateau, and in the coldest and most arid regions, the lowlands of the coast being nearly, if not entirely, free from its effects.[ ] [sidenote: medical treatment.] when small-pox was first introduced, the natives resorted to bathing as a cure, and a very large number succumbed to the disease. an old spanish author, writing in , states that the natives of the kingdom of new spain had an extensive knowledge of medicinal herbs; that they seldom resorted to bleeding or compound purgatives, for they had many simple cathartic herbs. they were in the habit of making pills with the india-rubber gum mixed with other substances, which they swallowed, and rubbed themselves withal, to increase their agility and suppleness of body. cold water baths are commonly resorted to when attacked with fever, and they cannot be prevailed upon to abandon the practice. the _temazcalli_ or sweat-bath, is also very much used for cases of severe illness. the bath-house stands close to a spring of fresh water, and is built and heated not unlike a european bake-oven. when up to the required temperature the fire is taken out, and water thrown in; the patient is then thrust into it naked, feet foremost and head near the aperture, and laid on a mat that covers the hot stones. the hole that affords him air for breathing is about eighteen inches square. when sufficiently steamed, and the body well beaten with rushes, a cold water bath and a brisk rubbing complete the operation.[ ] in michoacan, the natives believe that the leaves of a plant called _cozolmecatl_ or _olcacaran_ applied to a sore part of the body will foretell the result of the disorder; for if the leaves adhere to the spot, it is a sure sign that the sufferer will get well, but if they fall off, the contrary will happen. when prostrated with disease, the nearest relatives and friends surround the patient's couch and hold a confab upon the nature of his ailment and the application of the remedy. old sorceresses and charlatans put in practice their spells; fumigations and meltings of saltpetre abound; and by some jugglery, out of the crystallized saltpetre is brought a monstrous ant, a horrible worm, or some other object, which, as they allege, is the cause of the disorder. as the disease progresses, the friends of the sufferer severally recommend and apply, according to the judgment each may have formed of the matter, oil of scorpions or of worms, water supposed to produce miraculous effects on fevers, or like applications, and these empirical remedies, most of which are entirely useless, and others extremely barbarous, are applied together without weight or measure.[ ] [sidenote: burial and character.] in common with other peoples, it is usual with these nations to place several kinds of edibles in the grave with the deceased. among the coras, when one died, the corpse was dressed and wrapped in a mantle; if a man, with bow and arrows, and if a woman, with her distaff, etc., and in this manner the body was buried in a cave previously selected by the deceased. all his worldly goods were placed at the door of his former house, so that he might come and take them without crossing the threshold, as they believed the dead returned to see about property. if the deceased had cattle, his friends and relatives every now and then placed some meat upon sticks about the fields, for fear he might come for the cattle he formerly owned. five days after death a hired wizard essayed to conjure away the shade of the departed property-holder. these spirit-scarers went smoking their pipes all over the dead man's house, and shook zapote-branches in the corners, till they pretended to have found the fancied shadow, which they hurled headlong to its final resting-place. upon the second of november most of the natives of the mexican valley bring offerings to their dead relatives and friends, consisting of edibles, live animals, and flowers, which are laid on or about the graves. the anniversary or commemoration of the dead among the ancient aztecs occurred almost upon the same day.[ ] the thick-skinned, thoughtful and reserved aboriginals of central mexico are most enigmatical in their character. their peculiar cast of features, their natural reserve, and the thickness of their skin, make it extremely difficult to ascertain by the expression of the face what their real thoughts are. the general characteristics of this people may be summed up as follows: peaceable, gentle and submissive to their superiors, grave even to melancholy, and yet fond of striking exhibitions and noisy revelry; improvident but charitable, sincerely pious, but wallowing in ignorance and superstitions; quick of perception, and possessed of great facility for acquiring knowledge, especially of the arts, very imitative, but with little originality, unambitious, unwilling to learn, and indifferent to the comforts of life. irascibility is by no means foreign to their nature, but it seems to lie dormant until awakened by intoxication or some powerful impulse, when the innate cruelty flames forth, and they pass suddenly from a state of perfect calmness to one of unrestrained fierceness. courage and cowardice are so blended in their character that it is no easy matter to determine which is the predominant trait. a fact worthy of notice is that upon many occasions they have proved themselves capable of facing danger with the greatest resolution, and yet they will tremble at the angry frown of a white man. laziness, and a marked inclination to cheating and stealing are among the other bad qualities attributed to them; but there is abundant evidence to show, that although naturally averse to industry, they work hard from morning till night, in mining, agriculture, and other occupations, and in their inefficient way accomplish no little labor. murder and highway robbery are crimes not generally committed by the pure aboriginal, who steals rarely anything but food to appease his hunger or that of his family. a mexican author says, the indian cuts down a tree to pick its fruit, destroys an oak of ten years growth for a week's firewood; in other words, he produces little, consumes little, and destroys much. another mexican writer affirms that the indian is active, industrious, handy in agricultural labor, a diligent servant, a trusty postman, humble, hospitable to his guests, and shows a sincere gratitude to his benefactors.[ ] [sidenote: character in northern mexico.] the pames, otomís, pintos, and other nations north of the mexican valley were, at the time of the conquest, a barbarous people, fierce and warlike, covetous even of trifles and fond of display. the michoacaques or tarascos are warlike and brave, and for many years after the conquest showed themselves exceedingly hostile to the whites, whom they attacked, plundered, and frequently murdered, when traveling through their country. in they were already quiet, and gave evidences of being intelligent and devoted to work. the men in the vicinity of the city of vera cruz are careless, lazy, and fickle; much given to gambling and drunkenness; but the women are virtuous, frugal, cleanly, and extremely industrious. the natives of jalapa, judging by their countenance, are less intelligent, and lack the sweetness of character that distinguishes the inhabitants of the higher plateau; they are, however, peaceable and inoffensive. the wild tribes of the north are rude, revengeful, dull, irreligious, lazy, and given to robbery, plunder, and murder. such are the characteristics attributed to them under the name of chichimecs by old spanish authors and others. indeed, the only creditable traits they were allowed to possess, were, in certain parts, courage and an independent spirit. of the nations of jalisco, both ancient and modern writers bear testimony to their bravery. they are also sagacious and somewhat industrious, but opposed to hard labor (as what savage is not), and not easily kept under restraint. those who dwell on lake chapala are quiet and mild, devoted to agricultural pursuits. they indeed proved themselves high-spirited and efficient in defending their rights, when long oppression had exhausted their forbearance. the coras were hardy and warlike, averse to any intercourse with the whites and to the christian religion, but by the efforts of the missionaries, and the heavy blows of the spanish soldiers, they were brought under subjection, and became tractable.[ ] [sidenote: the nations of southern mexico.] the southern mexicans, under which name i group the people inhabiting the present states of oajaca, guerrero, chiapas, the southern portion of vera cruz, tabasco, and yucatan, constitute the second and last division of this chapter. much of this territory is situated within the _tierras calientes_, or hot lands, wherein every variety of tropical vegetation abounds in luxuriant profusion. the heat, especially along the coast, to the unacclimated is most oppressive. the great chain of the cordillera in its transit across the tehuantepec isthmus, approaches nearer to the pacific seaboard than to the atlantic, and dropping from the elevated table-land of central mexico, seeks a lower altitude, and breaks into cross-ridges that traverse the country in an east and west direction. upon the northern side of the isthmus are plains of considerable extent, of rich alluvial soil, through which several rivers, after draining the mountain districts, discharge into the mexican gulf. these streams, in their course through the table-lands, are bordered by rich lands of greater or lesser extent. on the southern side, nature puts on a bolder aspect and a narrower belt of lowlands is traversed by several rivers, which discharge the drainage of the southern slope into the pacific ocean, and into the lagoons that border the ocean. one of the most important features of yucatan is the absence of any important river. the coast, which is of great extent, has in general a bleak and arid appearance, and is little broken except on the north-west, where it is indented by the laguna de terminos, and on the eastern side by the bays of ascension, espíritu santo, and chetumel. the central part of the yucatan peninsula is occupied by a low ridge of mountains, of barren aspect. a short distance from the coast the general appearance of the country improves, being well-wooded, and containing many fertile tracts. many of the nations occupying this region at the time of the conquest may be called cultivated, or at least, progressive, and consequently belong to the civilized nations described in the second volume of this work; others falling back into a state of wildness after the central civilization was extinguished, makes it extremely difficult to draw any line separating civilization from savagism. nevertheless we will examine them as best we may; and if it be found that what we learn of them refers more to the present time than has been the case with nations hitherto treated, the cause will be obvious. the _zapotecs_, who were in former times a very powerful nation, still occupy a great portion of oajaca, surrounded by the ruins of their ancient palaces and cities. the whole western part of the state is taken up by the _miztecs_. tributary to the above before the conquest, were the _mijes_ and other smaller tribes now residing in the mountain districts in the centre of the isthmus. the _huaves_, who are said to have come by sea from the south, and to have landed near the present city of tehuantepec, spread out over the lowlands and around the lagoons on the south-western coast of oajaca. in the province of goazacoalco, and in tabasco, are the _ahualulcos_, and _chontales_, who occupy a large portion of the latter state. south of them in chiapas are the _choles_, _tzendales_, _zotziles_, _alames_, and _quelenes_, and in the extreme south-eastern end of the same state, and extending into central america, some tribes of the _lacandones_ are located. the extensive peninsula of yucatan, the ancient name of which was mayapan, formed the independent and powerful kingdom of the mayas, who held undisputed possession of the country until, after a heroic resistance, they were finally compelled to yield to the superior discipline and weapons of the spanish invaders.[ ] [sidenote: physique in oajaca and yucatan.] the zapotecs proper are well-formed and strong; the features of the men are of a peculiar cast and not pleasing; the women, however, are delicately formed, and graceful with handsome features. another tribe of the same nation, the zapotecs of tehuantepec, are rather under the medium height, with a pleasing oval face and present a fine personal appearance. not a few of them have light-colored hair, and a somewhat fair complexion. their senses, especially that of sight, are acute, and the constitution sound and robust, notwithstanding their habits of intoxication. the females have regular and handsome features, and though of small stature and bizarre in their carriage, are truly graceful and seductive. dark lustrous eyes, long eye-lashes, well defined eye-brows, luxuriant and glossy jet-black hair, play havoc with the men. those of acayucan village are particularly noted for their beauty. but not all are thus; instance the chatinos who are remarkably ugly. the natives of oajaca are generally large and well-formed; those of sierra are of a light-yellow complexion, and their women are tolerably white with mild features. some branches of the miztecs and mazatecs carry upon their shoulders very large loads. father burgoa writing of the miztecs, of yangüistlan, in the year , speaks of their beautiful complexion and fine forms. the mijes are of good height, strongly built, hardy, and active; they wear a beard, and altogether their aspect is repulsive. the zoques are very much like the mijes, their features are as prominent and unprepossessing; but they are probably more athletic. the chontales are tall and very robust. in the village of tequisistlan, oajaca, shortly after the spanish conquest, they were all reported as of a gigantic stature. the huaves present a different appearance from any of the other natives of the isthmus of tehuantepec. they are generally well-made, and of strong constitutions. the natives of tabasco who dwell in the country bordering on the river of that name, are of medium height, and with well-developed limbs. both men and women have round flat faces, low foreheads, small eyes, flattish noses, thick lips, small but quite full mouths, white teeth, and tawny complexions. the ahualulcos are rather under the middle height, but of great physical strength. they have a low narrow forehead, salient cheek-bones, full lips, white teeth, small beard, and coarse hair. their features are aquiline, and the expression of their countenance is melancholy, one of gentleness blended with sternness. they strongly resemble the descendants of the aztecs of mexico. the women are more delicately made, and some beautiful ones are seen among them. they move quickly and with much natural grace.[ ] the descendants of the mayas are of medium size, with good limbs, large faces and mouth, the upper lip slightly arched, and a marked tendency to stoutness; the nose is somewhat flat, eyes sleepy-looking and hair black and glossy, which rarely turns gray; complexion of a copper color, and in some instances yellowish. naturally strong, the maya or yucatec can carry heavy loads long distances, and perform a great deal of hard labor without showing signs of fatigue. an old spanish writer mentions that they were generally bow-legged, and many of them squint-eyed. the same author says they had good faces, were not very dark, did not wear a beard, and were long-lived. the women are plump, and generally speaking not ugly.[ ] [sidenote: dress in oajaca and yucatan.] very scanty was the dress of the dwellers on tehuantepec isthmus. in oajaca and chiapas, the men wore a piece of deer or other skin fastened round the waist, and hanging down in front, and the women wore aprons of maguey-fibre. montanus in describing the mijes says they were quite naked, but that some wore round the waist a white deer-skin dressed with human hearts. the lacandones, when going to war, wore on their shoulders the skin of a tiger, lion, or deer. the quelenes wrapped round their head a colored cloth, in the manner of a turban, or garland of flowers. at present, the usual dress of the zapotecs is a pair of wide mexican drawers, and short jacket of cotton, with a broad-brimmed hat, made of felt or straw--yet the huaves and many of the poorer class, still wear nothing but a breech-cloth. the costume of the women is simple, and not without elegance. that of the miztecs, zapotecs, and others dwelling in the city of tehuantepec is a skirt made of cotton,--sometimes of wool--that reaches nearly to the ankles, prettily and often elaborately worked in various designs and colors. the upper part of the body is covered with a kind of chemisette, with short sleeves called the _huipil_, of fine texture, and adorned with lace and gold or silk threads. on the head is a white cotton covering, made like a narrow sack or sleeve, which is drawn on and hangs down over the back. in tabasco, the dress of the men differs little from that of the people of tehuantepec; the tabascan women wear a cotton petticoat or a few yards of calico wrapped round the waist, and reaching below the knees. over the petticoat they wear a frock with sleeves to the wrist, leaving the bosom and neck exposed. children and boys go naked; indeed, whenever clothing to any extent is found in this region, we may be sure that the foreign trader is at the bottom of it.[ ] both sexes usually wear the hair long, parting it in the middle, and either permit it to hang in loose tresses over the shoulders, or, binding it with gay colored ribbons, loop it up on the back of the head, where it is fastened with a large comb. on festive occasions they interweave flowers with the hair, and also mingle with it a species of shining beetle, called _cucullo_, which emits a phosphorescent light, and produces a very pretty effect. among the zoques who reside at san miguel and santa maría chimalapa, the males shave the crown of the head, a custom of possible monkish origin peculiar to themselves. feather tufts and skins of green birds were formerly much used for ornaments; they had also necklaces made of pieces of gold joined together, and amber beads. nose and ears were pierced, and pieces of stone or amber or gold rings or a bit of carved wood inserted. montanus describes a kind of snake called _ibobaca_, which he says the inhabitants of chiapas wore round the neck.[ ] they also painted and stained the face. when fernandez de córdova explored the northern coast of yucatan, he found the people clad in cotton garments, and at the present day this forms the principal material from which their clothing is made. men now wear a cotton shirt or blouse, usually without sleeves, and wide drawers; round the waist is tied a white or colored sash; for protection from the sun, a straw hat is worn, or perhaps a piece of colored calico, and their sandals are made from deer-skin. instead of drawers, they used to wear a broad cotton band passed round the loins, the ends of which were arranged to hang one in front and the other behind; a cloak or mantle of cotton called _zugen_ was thrown over the shoulders. colonel galindo mentions that they used the bark of the india-rubber tree for making garments, and cogolludo says that when the spaniards arrived at aké, in the year , the army of natives were in a state of nudity, with only their privy parts covered, and the whole body besmeared with clay of different colors. the women display considerable taste in the style of their garments; over a petticoat, which reaches to their ankles, and prettily bordered at the bottom, they have a dress with sleeves down to the elbow; the skirt is open at the sides, and does not fall as low as the petticoat, so that the border of the latter may be seen, the bosom of the dress is open, and on each side of the breast and round the neck it is embroidered with coarse silk, as in tehuantepec; the huipil (aztec, _vipilli_) is also worn. in country places women wear the petticoat alone, using the overskirt or huipil only on special occasions. when out of doors, they cover the head and part of the face with a piece of cotton cloth.[ ] all permit the hair to attain to its full length; the men plait theirs and wind it round the head, leaving a short end to hang down behind, while that of the women hangs in dark masses over their shoulders, or is neatly bound up behind and decorated with flowers or feathers. herrera states that it was customary to scorch the faces of young children to prevent the growth of their beards, and the men allowed the hair to grow down over the eyebrows, making their heads and foreheads flat on purpose. they pierced nose and ears, ornamenting them with rings set with pearls and bits of amber, and wore collars and bracelets of gold. some among them filed their teeth. they painted the face and all exposed parts of the body in many colors, using white or yellow with black and red, covering themselves from the waist upward with a variety of designs and figures. when going to battle paint was much used, in order to render their appearance more formidable; men tattooed on the chest, and the women mixed liquid amber with their pigments, which, when rubbed over the body, emitted a perfume.[ ] [sidenote: zapotec buildings.] the better class of zapotecs of the present day build their houses in a substantial manner of adobes; the common people construct a more simple dwelling with branches arranged in a double row, and the space between filled in with earth; they also make them of wattled cane-work plastered with clay. such dwellings are cool and proof against the frequent earthquakes that occur in their territory. roofs are thatched with palmetto-leaves without opening, nor are there any windows in the walls. the interior is divided into several compartments, according to size and necessity.[ ] the mijes thatch their houses with bundles of coarse straw. the chinantecs, chochos, and chontales originally built no houses, but sought out the most shady forests, where they dwelt, or they located themselves in ravines and rocky parts, living in caverns or holes under the rocks; the tzendales of chiapas had many towns and painted their houses; the ahualulcos lived together in communities, and had commodious, well-built houses of interwoven cane, plastered on the inside with mud, the roof thatched with palmetto.[ ] [sidenote: preparation of food.] from the earliest times of which we have any record, the natives of oajaca and the isthmus of tehuantepec cultivated corn and vegetables, and likewise followed the chase; those who dwelt on the borders of the sea or lakes applied themselves to fishing. the zapotecs now raise wheat, and build mills. it is asserted by an old spanish chronicler that this nation exceeded all others in eating and drinking. as early as , they gathered crops of maguey, maize, spanish peas, chile, potatoes, and pumpkins, and bred swine and poultry. of late they cultivate rice, sugar-cane, and other tropical productions, as also do the inhabitants of tehuantepec. primitive agriculture has undergone but little alteration; deer are caught by means of traps and nets. the miztecs, mijes, and cuicatecs have from the earliest times been cultivators of the soil. the mijes make a coarse or impure sugar from sugar-cane; their corn-fields are often many miles distant from their dwellings. the huaves, the greater portion of whom are on the borders of the lagoons on the isthmus of tehuantepec, live mostly on the proceeds of their fisheries, although they raise a small supply of grain and fruit. their fishing is almost exclusively done with sweep-nets in shallow waters, and during one month of the year they catch large schools of shrimps in traps. the zoques produce the small quantity of corn that they need, some _achote_, many very fine oranges, and tobacco. they are fond of iguanas and their eggs, and of parrots, killing the latter with stones. the chontales of tabasco and tehuantepec use maize and cocoa as food. they eat flesh only upon great religious festivals, marriages, or other celebrations, but are fond of fish. in olden times they were cannibals, and antonio de herrera, the chief chronicler of the indies, accused also the natives of chiapas of being eaters of human flesh. since the conquest the natives have lived mostly on corn and other vegetable productions, cultivated by themselves. a large portion of the mayas and of the other aborigines of yucatan are to-day engaged in the cultivation of the soil, they also breed such domestic animals as they need for themselves. they are very simple and frugal in their eating.[ ] all the natives of this section of the mexican republic grind their maize in the same manner; after first soaking it in lye or in lime and water, it is bruised on the metate, or rubbing-stone, being wet occasionally, until it becomes a soft paste. with this they make their tortillas and other compounds, both to eat and drink. to make tortillas the maize paste is shaped into thin cakes with the palms of the hands and cooked upon a flat clay pan. the _totoposte_ is a smaller cake used for journeys in lieu of the tortillas. the difference between them is in the manner of preparation; the totopostes are cooked one side only and laid near the fire which makes them crisp, and require to be moistened in order to render them eatable. tamales are a favorite dish and are made of pork, game, or poultry. the meat is cut up in small pieces and washed; a small quantity of the maize paste seasoned with cinnamon, saffron, cloves, pimento, tomatoes, coarse pepper, salt, red coloring matter, and some lard added to it, is placed on the fire in a pan and as soon as it has acquired the consistency of a thick gruel, it is removed, mixed with the meat, some more lard and salt added, and the mass kneaded for a few moments. it is then divided into small portions, which are enveloped in a thin paste of maize. the tamales thus prepared are covered with a banana-leaf or corn-husk and placed in a pot or pan over which large leaves are laid. they are allowed to boil from one hour and a half to two hours. the _posole_ is a nourishing drink made of sour maize paste mixed with water; sometimes they add a little honey to it. they also prepare a drink by parching corn and grinding it to powder on the metate, and mixing it with water and a little _achote_. this last drink they prefer to the posole, for long journeys.[ ] the natives of tehuantepec and especially those who reside in the goazacoalco district are neat and clean in regard to their personal habits. they observe the custom of bathing daily. in their ablutions they make use of a plant called _chintule_ the root of which they mix with water, thereby imparting to their bodies a strong aromatic odor. the same plant is used when they wash their clothes, the scent from which remains on them for some time. a pleasing feature in the appearance of these people is the spotless whiteness of their cotton dresses and the care they bestow on their luxuriant hair. the other tribes who inhabit this isthmus as well as those of chiapas are not so clean in their persons, and as a consequence are much infested with vermin which the women have a disgusting habit of eating when picked from the heads of their children. the mayas make frequent use of cold water, but this practice appears to be more for pleasure than for cleansing purposes, as neither in their persons nor in their dwellings do they present an appearance of cleanliness.[ ] [sidenote: weapons and war.] the weapons of the southern mexicans were in most respects similar to those used by the central mexicans, namely, bows and arrows, macanas, and lances, the latter of great length and very strong. in tabasco they carried turtle-shell shields highly polished so as to reflect the sun; they also had flint stones for lances and arrow-points, but sometimes weapon-points were made from strong thorns and fish-bones. the hard wooden sword of the maya was a heavy and formidable weapon, and required the use of both hands to wield it; the edge was grooved for the purpose of inserting the sharp flint with which it was armed. slings were commonly used by all these nations. in addition to shields the mayas had for defensive armor garments of thickly quilted cotton called _escaupiles_, which covered the body down to the lower part of the thigh, and were considered impervious to arrows. the flint knife of former days has now been replaced by the machete which serves the purpose of both cutlass and chopping-knife, and without it no native ever goes into the woods.[ ] when the spaniards first arrived at tabasco, they encountered a people well-skilled in the art of war, with a fair knowledge of military tactics, who defended their country with much bravery; their towns and villages were well fortified with intrenchments or palisades, and strong towers and forts were built on such places as presented the most favorable position for resisting attacks. to their forts they retired when invaded by a superior force, and from the walls they hurled large rocks with damaging effect against their foes. cortés found erected on the bank of the tabasco river, in front of one of their towns, a strong wooden stockade, with loopholes through which to discharge arrows; and subsequently, during his march through their country, they frequently set fire to their villages, with the object of harassing his troops. when advancing to battle they maintained a regular formation, and they are described as having met francisco montejo in good order, drawn up in three columns, the centre under the command of their chief, accompanied by their chief priest. the combatants rushed forward to the attack with loud shouts, cheered on by the blowing of horns and beating of small drums called _tunkules_. prisoners taken in battle were sacrificed to their gods.[ ] the furniture of their houses is of the plainest description, and limited to their absolute wants. their tables or benches are made of a few rough boards, and a mat called _petate_, spread on the floor, serves for a bed, while a coarse woolen blanket is used for covering; some few have small cane bedsteads. the natives of tabasco and yucatan more commonly have a network _hamaca_ or hammock, suspended from two posts or trees. their cooking-utensils consist of the metate, pots made of earthenware, and gourds. the universal machete carried by man and boy serves many purposes, such as chopping firewood, killing animals, eating, and building houses. burgoa describes nets of a peculiar make used by the zapotecs for catching game; in the knots of the net were fixed the claws of lions, tigers, bears, and other wild beasts of prey, and at intervals were fastened a certain number of small stones; the object of such construction being probably to wound or disable the animal when caught.[ ] [sidenote: oajacan manufactures.] the zapotecs, miztecs, mayas, and others, since the conquest, have long been justly celebrated for the manufacture of cotton stuffs, a fact that is all the more surprising when we consider the very imperfect implements they possessed with which to perform the work. burgoa speaks of the excellence and rich quality of their manufactures in cotton, silk, and gold thread, in , and thomas gage, writing about the same time, says "it is rare to see what works those indian women will make in silk, such as might serve for patterns and samplers to many schoolmistresses in england." all the spinning and weaving is done by the women; the cotton clothes they make are often interwoven with beautiful patterns or figures of birds and animals, sometimes with gold and silk thread. a species of the agave americana is extensively cultivated through the country, from the fibres of which the natives spin a very strong thread that is used chiefly for making hammocks; the fibre is bleached and then dyed in different rich tints. the materials they have for dyeing are so good that the colors never fade. the zapotecs have also an intimate knowledge of the process of tanning skins, which they use for several domestic purposes.[ ] notwithstanding their proximity to the sea-coast, and although their country is in many parts intersected by rivers and lagoons, they have a surprisingly slight knowledge of navigation, few having any vessels with which to venture into deep water. the inhabitants of tabasco, the yucatan coast, and cozumel island possess some canoes made from the single trunk of a mahogany-tree, which they navigate with small lateen sails and paddles. the huaves and others are in complete ignorance of the management of any description of boats.[ ] the zoques make from the ixtle and pita thread and superior hammocks, in which they have quite a trade. in the neighborhood of santa maría they grow excellent oranges, and sell them throughout all the neighboring towns. the zapotecs have, many of them, a considerable commerce in fruits, vegetables, and seeds. in the city of tehuantepec the business of buying and selling is conducted exclusively by women in the market-place. the ahualulcos are chiefly employed in cutting planks and beams, with which they supply many places on this isthmus; they also trade to some extent in seeds and cotton cloths. different kinds of earthenware vessels for domestic purposes are made by the natives of chiapas, and by them exchanged for salt, hatchets, and glass ornaments. the mayas have an extensive business in logwood, which, besides maize and poultry, they transport to several places along the coast. mr stephens describes a small community of the maya nation, numbering about a hundred men with their families, living at a place called schawill, who hold and work their lands in common. the products of the soil are shared equally by all, and the food for the whole settlement is prepared at one hut. each family contributes its quota of provisions, which, when cooked, are carried off smoking hot to their several dwellings. many of the natives of tabasco earn a livelihood by keeping bee-hives; the bees are captured wild in the woods, and domesticated. the huaves breed cattle and tan hides; cheese and tasajo, or jerked meat, are prepared and exported by them and other tribes on the isthmus of tehuantepec. at the present day cochineal is cultivated to a considerable extent, and forms an important article of commerce among the inhabitants. a rather remarkable propensity to the possession of large numbers of mules is peculiar to the mijes; such property in no way benefits them, as they make no use of them as beasts of burden; indeed, their owners seem to prefer carrying the loads on their own backs.[ ] [sidenote: zapotec government.] formerly the zapotecs were governed by a king, under whom were caciques or governors who ruled over certain districts. their rank and power descended by inheritance, but they were obliged to pay tribute to the king, from whom they held their authority in fief. at the time of the conquest the most powerful among them was the lord of cuicatlan; for the service of his household, ten servants were furnished daily, and he was treated with the greatest respect and homage. in later years a cacique was elected annually by the people, and under him officers were appointed for the different villages. once a week these sub-officers assembled to consult with and receive instructions from the cacique on matters relating to the laws and regulations of their districts. in the towns of the miztecs a municipal form of government was established. certain officials, elected annually, appointed the work which was to be done by the people, and every morning at sunrise the town-criers from the tops of the highest houses called the inhabitants to their allotted tasks. it was also the duty of the town-criers to inflict the punishment imposed on all who from laziness or other neglect failed to perform their share of work. a somewhat similar system appears to have prevailed in chiapas, where the people lived under a species of republican government.[ ] the mayas were at one time governed by a king who reigned supreme over the whole of yucatan. internal dissensions and wars, however, caused their country to be divided up into several provinces, which were ruled over by lords or petty kings, who held complete sway, each in his own territory, owing allegiance to none, and recognizing no authority outside of their own jurisdiction. these lords appointed captains of towns, who had to perform their duties subject to their lord's approval. disputes arising, the captains named umpires to determine differences, whose decisions were final. these people had also a code of criminal laws, and when capital punishment was ordered, public executioners carried the sentence into effect. the crime of adultery in the man was punishable by death, but the injured party could claim the right to have the adulterer delivered to him, and he could kill or pardon him at pleasure; disgrace was the punishment of the woman. the rape of a virgin was punished by stoning the man to death.[ ] [sidenote: slavery and marriage.] slavery existed among the tribes of goazacoalco and tabasco. doña marina was one of twenty female slaves who were presented to cortés by the cacique of the latter place; and when her mother, who lived in the province of goazacoalco, gave her away to some traveling merchants, she, to conceal the act, pretended that the corpse of one of her slaves who died at that time was that of her own daughter.[ ] [sidenote: weddings and fathers-in-law.] among the zapotecs and other nations who inhabit the isthmus of tehuantepec, marriages are contracted at a very early age; it happens not unfrequently that a youth of fourteen marries a girl of eleven or twelve. polygamy is not permissible, and gentleness, affection, and frugality characterize the marital relations. certain superstitious ceremonies formerly attended the birth of children, which, to a modified extent, exist at the present day. when a woman was about to be confined, the relatives assembled in the hut, and commenced to draw on the floor figures of different animals, rubbing each one out as soon as it was completed. this operation continued till the moment of birth, and the figure that then remained sketched upon the ground was called the child's _tona_ or second self. when the child grew old enough, he procured the animal that represented him and took care of it, as it was believed that health and existence were bound up with that of the animals, in fact, that the death of both would occur simultaneously. soon after the child was born, the parents, accompanied by friends and relatives, carried it to the nearest water, where it was immersed, while at the same time they invoked the inhabitants of the water to extend their protection to the child; in like manner they afterwards prayed for the favor of the animals of the land. it is a noticeable trait, much to the credit of the parents, that their children render to them as well as to all aged people the greatest respect and obedience. that the women are strictly moral cannot be asserted. voluptuous, with minds untrained, and their number being greatly in excess of the men, it is not surprising that travelers have noted an absence of chastity among these women; yet few cases of conjugal infidelity occur, and chastity is highly esteemed. illegitimate children are not common, partly the result, perhaps, of early marriages.[ ] among the quelenes, when a contract of marriage was made, the friends and relatives collected at the assembly-house common to every village. the bride and bridegroom were then introduced by the parents, and in the presence of the cacique and priest confessed all the sins of which they were guilty. the bridegroom was obliged to state whether he had had connection with the bride or with other women, and she, on her part, made a full confession of all her shortcomings; this ended, the parents produced the presents, which consisted of wearing-apparel and jewelry, in which they proceeded to array them; they were then lifted up and placed upon the shoulders of two old men and women, who carried them to their future home, where they laid them on a bed, locked them in, and there left them securely married.[ ] among the mayas early marriage was a duty imposed by the spanish fathers, and if a boy or girl at the age of twelve or fourteen had not chosen a mate, the priest selected one of equal rank or fortune and obliged them to marry. the usual presents were dresses; and a banquet was prepared, of which all present partook. during the feast the parents of the parties addressed them in speeches applicable to the occasion, and afterwards the house was perfumed by the priest, who then blessed the company and the ceremony ended. previous to the wedding-day the parents fasted during three days. the young man built a house in front of that of his father-in-law, in which he lived with his wife during the first years of his servitude, for he was obliged to work for his father-in-law four or five years. if he failed to perform faithful service, his father-in-law dismissed him, and gave his daughter to another. widowers were exempt from this servitude, and could choose whom they pleased for a wife without the interference of relatives. it was forbidden a man to marry a woman of the same name as his father. they married but one wife, though the lords were permitted to make concubines of their slaves. mr stephens, in his description of the inhabitants of the village of schawill, says: "every member must marry within the rancho, and no such thing as a marriage out of it had ever occurred. they said it was impossible; it could not happen. they were in the habit of going to the villages to attend the festivals; and when we suggested a supposable case of a young man or woman falling in love with some village indian, they said it might happen; there was no law against it; but none could marry out of the rancho. this was a thing so little apprehended, that the punishment for it was not defined in their penal code; but being questioned, after some consultations, they said that the offender, whether man or woman would be expelled. we remarked that in their small community constant intermarriages must make them all relatives, which they said was the case since the reduction of their numbers by the cholera. they were in fact all kinsfolk, but it was allowable for kinsfolk to marry, except in the relationship of brothers and sisters." in divisions of property women could not inherit; in default of direct male heirs the estate went to the brothers or nearest male relatives. when the heir was a minor, one of his male relatives was appointed guardian, until the days of his minority should have passed, when the property was delivered up to him. the southern mexicans were particular to keep a strict chronology of their lineage. young children underwent a kind of baptismal ceremony. the mayas believed that ablution washed away all evil; and previous to the ceremony the parents fasted three days, and they were particular to select for it what they considered a lucky day. the age at which the rite was performed was between three and twelve years, and no one could marry until he had been baptized. habits of industry as well as respect for parents and aged people was strongly impressed upon the minds of the children.[ ] the southern mexicans are fond of singing and dancing, though there is not much variety either in their melancholy music or monotonous dances. their favorite instrument is the _marimba_, composed of pieces of hard wood of different lengths stretched across a hollowed-out canoe-shaped case. the pieces of wood or keys are played upon with two short sticks, one held in each hand. the sound produced is soft and pleasing, and not unlike that of a piano. another instrument is the _tunkul_ or drum, made of a hollow log with sheep-skin stretched over the end; it is struck with the fingers of the right hand, the performer holding it under his left arm. their movements during their dances are slow and graceful. the men are addicted to intoxication at their feasts, the liquor in common use among them being mescal and aguardiente, a colorless spirit made from the sugar-cane. many of the natives have a small still in their houses.[ ] [sidenote: customs in oajaca.] the zapotecs are exceedingly polite to one another in their common salutations, calling each other brother, and to the descendants of their ancient caciques or lords the utmost reverence is paid. it is related by a mexican writer that in a village not distant from the city of oajaca, whenever an aged man, the son of one of their ancient lords was seen by the natives out walking, with a majesty that well became his fine form, position, and age, they uncovered their heads, kissed his hands, which he held out to them, with much tenderness, calling him _daade_ (father), and remained uncovered until he was lost to sight. they are a theocratic people, much addicted to their ancient religious belief and customs. those who live in the vicinity of mitla entertain a peculiar superstition; they will run to the farthest villages and pick up even the smallest stones that formed a part of the mosaic work of that famous ruin, believing that such stones will in their hands turn into gold. some of them hold the belief that anyone who discovers a buried or hidden treasure has no right to appropriate to his own use any portion of it, and that if he does, death will strike him down within the year, in punishment of the sacrilege committed against the spirit of the person who hid or buried the treasure. one of the first priests that lived among the zapotecs says that after they had entered the pale of the church, they still clung to their old religious practices, and made offerings of aromatic gums, and living animals; and that when the occasion demanded a greater solemnity, the officiating priest drew blood from the under part of his tongue, and from the back part of his ears, with which he sprinkled some thick coarse straw, held as sacred and used at the sacrifices. to warm themselves, the chochos, or chuchones, of oajaca used, in cold weather, towards the evening, to burn logs and dry leaves close to the entrance of their caves, and blow the smoke into their dwellings, which being quite full, all the family, old and young, males and females, rushed in naked and closed the entrance. the natives of goazacoalco and other places practiced some of the jewish rites, including a kind of circumcision, which custom they claimed to have derived from their forefathers; hence have arisen innumerable analogies to prove the jewish origin of these peoples. the huaves still preserve ancient customs at their feasts. it is a remarkable fact that although nearly all these people are fishermen, very few of them can swim. the mijes have a habit of speaking in very loud tones; this is attributed by some to their haughty spirit, and by others to their manner of life in the most rugged portion of the mountains. when bound upon a journey, if they have no other load to carry, they fill their _tonates_, or nets, with stones. this is generally done by them on the return home from the market-place of tehuantepec. these loads rest upon their backs, and hang by a band from their foreheads. in ancient times, when they were in search of a new country to settle in, they subjected the places they had devastated to the fire proof. this was done by putting a firebrand over night into a hole, and if it was found extinguished in the morning, they considered that the sun desired his children (that is themselves) to continue their journey. they are much given, even at the present time, to idolatrous practices, and will make sacrifices in their churches, if permitted, of birds as offerings to the false gods they worshiped before their partial conversion to christianity. the natives attribute eclipses of the moon to an attempt by the sun to destroy their satellite, and to prevent the catastrophe make a frightful uproar, employing therefor everything they can get hold of.[ ] [sidenote: diseases and medical treatment.] the diseases most prevalent among the southern mexicans are fevers, measles, and severe colds. all these people possess an excellent knowledge of medicinal herbs, and make use of them in cases of pains and sickness. they still practice some of their mysterious ceremonies, and are inclined to attribute all complaints to the evil influence of bewitchments. father baeza, in the _registro yucateco_, says they consulted a crystal or transparent stone called _zalzun_, by which they pretended to divine the origin and cause of any sickness. when suffering with fever or other disorders, the disease is often much aggravated and death caused by injudicious bathing in the rivers. in ancient times tobacco was much used as a specific against pains arising from colds, rheumatism, and asthma; the natives found that it soothed the nerves and acted as a narcotic. they also practiced bleeding with a sharp flint or fish-bone. the zapotecs attempted cures by means of a blow-pipe, at the same time invoking the assistance of the gods.[ ] when a death occurs the body is wrapped in a cotton cloth, leaving the head and face uncovered, and in this condition is placed in a grave. very few of the ancient funeral usages remain at the present day, though some traces of superstitious ceremonies may still be observed among them; such as placing food in the grave, or at different spots in its immediate vicinity. sometimes a funeral is conducted with a certain degree of pomp, and the corpse carried to its last resting-place followed by horn-blowers, and tunkul-drummers. as in the case of the central mexicans, a memorial day is observed, when much respect is shown for the memory of the dead, at which times fruits, bread, and cakes are placed upon the graves.[ ] [sidenote: character of southern mexicans.] the character of the inhabitants of the tehuantepec isthmus and yucatan is at the present day one of docility and mildness. with a few exceptions they are kind-hearted, confiding, and generous, and some few of them evince a high degree of intelligence, although the majority are ignorant, superstitious, of loose morality as we esteem it, yet apparently unconscious of wrong. cayetano moro says they are far superior to the average american indian. the zapotecs are a bold and independent people, exhibit many intellectual qualities, and are of an impatient disposition, though cheerful, gentle, and inoffensive; they make good soldiers; they are fanatical and superstitious like their neighbors. the women are full of vivacity, of temperate and industrious habits, their manners are characterized by shyness rather than modesty, and they are full of intrigue. to this nation the mijes present a complete contrast; of all the tribes who inhabit the isthmus, they are the most brutal, degraded, and idolatrous; they are grossly stupid, yet stubborn and ferocious. the chontales and choles are barbarous, fierce, and quarrelsome, and greatly addicted to witchcraft. the cajonos and nexitzas, of oajaca, are of a covetous and malicious nature, dishonest in their dealings, and much inclined to thieving. the zoques are more rational in their behavior; although they are ignorant and intemperate in their habits, they are naturally kind and obliging, as well as patient and enduring. the huaves are deficient in intelligence, arrogant and inhospitable to strangers, and of a reticent and perverse disposition. the miztecs are grave and steady; they exhibit many traits of ingenuity, are industrious, hospitable, and affable in their manners, and retain an ardent love for liberty.[ ] the mayas exhibit many distinguished characteristics. although of limited intelligence, and more governed by their senses than their reason, their good qualities predominate. formerly they were fierce and warlike, but these characteristics have given place to timidity, and they now appear patient, generous, and humane; they are frugal and satisfied with little, being remarkably free from avarice. herrera describes them as fierce and warlike, much given to drunkenness and other sins, but generous and hospitable. doctor young, in his history of mexico, says: "they are not so intelligent or energetic, though far more virtuous and humane than their brethren of the north." the women are industrious, have pleasing manners, and are inclined to shyness. to sum it all up, i may say that the besetting vice of these nations is intemperance, but the habit of drinking to excess is found to be much more common among the mountain tribes than among the inhabitants of the lowlands. quarrels among themselves seldom occur, and there is abundant evidence to show that many of them possess excellent natural qualifications both for common labor, and artistic industry; and that there is no cause to prevent their becoming, under favorable circumstances, useful citizens.[ ] tribal boundaries. under the name wild tribes of mexico, i include all the people inhabiting the mexican territory from ocean to ocean, between latitude ° north and the central american boundary line south, including yucatan and tehuantepec. the southernmost point of this division touches the fifteenth degree of north latitude. a subdivision of this group is made and the parts are called the _central mexicans_, and the _southern mexicans_, respectively. in the former i include the nations north of an imaginary line, drawn from the port of acapulco, on the pacific coast, to vera cruz, on the gulf of mexico, and in the latter all those south of this line. going to the fountain-head of mexican history, i find mentioned certain names, of which it is now impossible to determine whether they are different names applied to the same people or different peoples, or whether they are mythical and apply to no really existing nations. still less is it possible to give these strange names any definite location; instance the toltecs and the chichimecs, and indeed almost all early designations, very common names used to denote very uncommon people. sahagun is the only one of the oldest writers who mentions the name of toltecs, which in later years was used by ixtlilxochitl and boturini, and after them bandied about more freely by modern writers. after the conquest, the name chichimecs was applied to all uncivilized and unsettled people north of the valley of mexico, extending to the farthest discovered region. of still other nations nothing further can be said than that they occupied the cities to which their name was applied; such were the mexicans, or aztecs, the tlascaltecs, the cholultecs, and many others. some general remarks respecting the location of the principal civilized nations, will be found in vol. ii., chap. ii., of this work; and all obtainable details concerning the many tribes that cannot be definitely located here are given in volume v. [sidenote: olmecs and xicalancas.] the _quinames_ or giants are mentioned as the first inhabitants of mexico. 'los quinametin, gigantes que vivian en esta rinconada, que se dice ahora nueva españa.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _id._, _hist. chichimeca_, in _id._, p. . 'los que hasta ahora se sabe, aver morado estas estendidas, y ampliadisimas tierras, y regiones, de la nueva españa, fueron vnas gentes mui crecidas de cuerpo, que llamaron despues otros, qainametin.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'les quinamés, la plus ancienne des races connues de ces contrées, étaient encore en possession de quelques localités de peu d'importance près des villes de huitzilapan, de cuetlaxcohuapan et de totomihuacan.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . 'sa domination s'étendait sur les provinces intérieures du mexique et du guatémala, et, à l'époque du débarquement des olmèques et des xicalancas, les histoires nous la montrent encore en possession du plateau aztèque et des contrées voisines du fleuve tabasco.' _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. clviii., p. . 'vivian hácia las riberas del rio atoyac, entre la ciudad de tlaxcala y la de la puebla de los angeles.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. , - . the _olmecs_ and _xicalancas_ were 'los que poseian este nuevo mundo, en esta tercera edad.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chichimeca_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . 'olmecas, vixtoti, y mixtecas. estos tales así llamados, están ácia el nacimiento del sol, y llámanles tambien _tenime_, porque hablan lengua bárbara, y dicen que son tultecas.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . 'estos poblaron, donde aora està edificada, y poblada la ciudad de los angeles, y en totomihuacan.... los xicalancas, fueron tambien poblando, ácia cuathazualco (que es ácia la costa del norte) y adelante en la misma costa, está oi dia vn pueblo, que se dice xicalanco.... otro pueblo ai del mismo nombre, en la provincia de maxcaltzinco, cerca del puerto de la vera-cruz, que parece averlo tambien poblado los xicalancas.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'atravesando los puertos del bolcan, y sierra-nevada, y otros rodeandolos por la parte de el mediodia, hasta que venieron à salir à vn lugar, que de presente se llama tochmilco. de alli, pasaron á atlixco, calpan, y huexotzinco, hasta llegar al parage, y tierras de la provincia de tlaxcallan; y haciendo asiento en el principio, y entrada de la dicha tierra, hicieron su fundacion en el pueblo, que aora se llama nuestra señora de la natividad (y en lengua mexicana yancuictlalpan.) de alli, pasaron à otro poblado, el referido, llamado huapalcalco, junto à vna hermita, que llaman de santa cruz, al qual llaman los naturales, texoloc, mizco, y xiloxuchitla, donde aora es la hermita de san vicente, y el cerro de la xochitecatl, y tenayacac, donde estàn otras dos hermitas, à poco trecho vna de otra, que las llaman de san miguél, y de san francisco, enmedio de las quales, pasa el rio, que viene de la sierra nevada de huexotzinco. y aqui en este sitio, hicieron los hulmecas, su principal asiento, y poblaçon.' _id._, p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . 'vlmecatlh poblo tambien muchos lugares en aquella parte, a do agora esta la ciudad de los angeles. y nombro los totomiuacan, vicilapan, cuetlaxcoapan, y otros assi. xicalancatlh anduuo mas tierra, llego a la mar del norte, y en la costa hizo muchos pueblos. pero a los dos mas principales llamo de su mesmo nombre. el vn xicalanco esta en la prouincia de maxcalcinco, que es cerca de la vera cruz, y el otro xicalanco esta cerca de tauasco.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'hácia atlisco y itzucan los xicalancas: y en el territorio de la puebla, chollolan y tlaxcallan los ulmecas, cuya primitiva y principal poblacion dicen haber sido la ciudad de chollolan.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. - , ; _id._, _popol vuh_, introd., p. xxx.; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. iii., p. . the _coras_ constitute the north-westernmost nation of the central mexicans, inhabiting the district of 'nayarit ó reino de nuevo toledo.... al oeste tiene los pueblos de la antigua provincia de acaponeta; al este los de colotlan, y al sur quieren algunos que se extienda hasta las orillas del rio grande ó tololotlan ... el nayarit se extiende entre los ° ´ y ° de lat., y entre los ° y ° de long. occidental de méxico.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'en la sierra del nayarit.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . 'los indios que viven en el centro de la sierra, llamados muutzizti.... los llamados teakuaeitzizti viven en las faldas de la sierra que mira al poniente ... los coras que viven á la orilla del rio nayarit ó de jesus maría, conocidos por ateakari.' _id._, p. . the _tecoxines_ 'tenian su principal asiento en el valle de cactlan ... y se extendian à la magdalena, analco, hoxtotipaquillo y barrancas de mochitiltic.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _cocotlanes_ were at the missions of 'apozolco y en comatlan.' _id._, p. . the _maraveres_ reside in tlajomulco. _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. ii., p. . the _thorames_ and _tzayaquecas_ dwell near the town of zentipac. 'dos leguas apartado del mar, la nacion thorama ... diez leguas de zentipac habia otros indios de nacion tzayaqueca.' _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. . 'la gran poblacion y valle de tzenticpac, cuyo pueblo principal está situado punto á la mar del sur, dos leguas antes á orillas del rio grande, y que la gente de esta provincia era de la nacion totorame.' _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. . the _corarus_ 'habitaban ... hacia la parte del norte, diez leguas del dicho pueblo de tzenticpac.' _ib._ the _guicholas_ 'are settled in the village of san sebastian, which lies eighteen leagues to the westward of bolaños.' _lyon's journal_, vol. i., p. ; _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xl., p. . 'en santa catarina, s. sebastian, s. andres coamiat, soledad y tezompan, pertenecientes á colotlan.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _coronados_ 'son los del pueblo de tuito al sur del valle de banderas.' _id._, p. . the _tiaxomultecs_ 'habitaban en tlajomulco.' 'estos tecuexes ... llaman à los indios cocas de toda la provincia de tonalan, que no eran de su lengua, tlaxomultecas.' _id._, p. . the _cocas_ and _tecuexes_ 'eran los de la provincia de tonalan.... los tecuexes pasaban del otro lado de tololotlan hasta ocupar parte de zacatecas, derramándose por los pueblos de tecpatitlan, teocaltiche, mitic, jalostotitlan, mesticatan, yagualica, tlacotlan, teocaltitlan, ixtlahuacan, cuautla, ocotic y acatic.' _id._, pp. - . the _mazapiles_ are 'al n. e. de la zacateca.' _hervas_, in _id._, p. . the _cazcanes_ 'habitan hasta la comarca de zacatecas.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. ix., cap. xiii.; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'ocupaba el terreno desde el rio grande, confinando con los tecuexes y los tepecanos.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , . the _mecos_ live in the pueblo soledad de las canoas, in the state of querétaro. _alcedo_, _dicc._, tom. iv., p. . the _pames_ inhabit the state of querétaro, 'treinta leguas distante de la expresada ciudad de querétaro, y se estiende á cien leguas de largo, y treinta de ancho, en cuyas breñas vivian los indios de la nacion pame.' _paiou_, _vida de junípero serra_, p. . 'en la mision de cerro prieto del estado de méxico, se extiende principalmente por los pueblos de san luis potosí, y tambien se le encuentra en querétaro y en guanajuato.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , , , . 'en san luis de la paz, territorio de la sierra gorda ... en la ciudad del maiz, departamento de san luis potosí ... en la purísima concepcion de arnedo, en la sierra gorda.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . [sidenote: the otomÍs.] the _otomís_ are one of the most widely dispersed nations of mexico. 'todo lo alto de las montañas, ó la mayor parte, á la redonda de méxico, están llenas de ellos. la cabeza de su señorío creo que es xilotepec, que es una gran provincia, y las provincias de tollan y otompa casi todas son de ellos, sin contar que en lo bueno de la nueva españa hay muchas poblaciones de estos otomíes, de los quales proceden los chichimecas.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . the above is copied by torquemada, in his _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'estos teochichimecas son los que aora se llaman otomies.... tlaixpan, es de los que hablan esta lengua otomi.' _id._, p. . 'la grandisima provincia, ò reino de los otomies, que coge à tepexic, tula, xilotepec, cabeça de este reyno, chiapa, xiquipilco, atocpan, y queretaro, en cuio medio de estos pueblos referidos, ai otro inumerables, porque lo eran sus gentes.' _id._, p. . 'xilotepeque provincia otomiis habitata.' _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'la provincia degli otomiti cominciava nella parte settentrionale della valle messicana, e si continuava per quelle montagne verso tramontana sino a novanta miglia dalla capitale. sopra tutti i luoghi abitati, che v'erano ben molti, s'innalzava l'antica e celebre città di tollan [oggidì tula] e quella di xilotepec.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . in ancient times they 'occuparono un tratto di terra di più di trecento miglia dalle montagne d'izmiquilpan verso maestro, confinando verso levante, e verso ponente con altre nazioni parimente selvaggie.' later: 'fondarono nel paese d'anahuac, ed anche nella stessa valle di messico infiniti luoghi; la maggior parte d'essi, e spezialmente i più grandi, come quelli di xilotopec e di huitzapan nelle vicinanze del paese, che innanzi occupavano: altri sparsi fra i matlatzinchi, ed i tlascallesi, ed in altre provincie del regno.' _id._, p. . 'los indios de este pais (querétaro) eran por la mayor parte otomites.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. ii., p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. . 'sous le nom d'othomis, on comprenait généralement les restes des nations primitives, répandus dans les hautes vallées qui bornent l'anahuac à l'occident.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . 'les traditions les plus anciennes du mexique nous montrent les othomis en possession des montagnes et de la vallée d'anahuac, ainsi que des vastes contrées qui s'étendent au delà, dans le michoacan, jusqu'aux frontières de xalizco et de tonalàn; ils étaient également les maîtres du plateau de tlaxcallan.' _id._, tom. i., p. . 'ils occupaient la plus grande partie de la vallée d'anahuac, avec ses contours jusqu'aux environs de cholullan, ainsi que les provinces que s'étendent au nord entre la michoacan et tuilantzinco.' _id._, p. . 'otompan, aujourd'hui otumba, fut leur capitale.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, introd., pp. xxx., cx. querétaro 'fue siempre domicilio de los esforzados othomites.... tienen poblado todo lo alto de las montañas, que circundan á mexico, siendo cabecera de toda la provincia othomí xilotepec, que la hacen numerosa los pueblos de tepexic, tula, huichiapan, xiquilpo, atocpan, el mexquital, s. juan del rio, y queretaro.' _espinosa_, _chrón. apostólica_, pp. - . the otomí language 'se le encuentra derramado por el estado de méxico, entra en san luis potosí, abraza todo querétaro y la mayor parte de guanajuato, limitándose al o. por los pueblos de los tarascos; reaparece confundido con el tepehua cerca del totonaco, y salpicado aquí y allá se tropieza con él en puebla y en veracruz.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , - , , - , - , . 'en todo el estado de querétaro y en una parte de los de san luis, guanajuato, michoacan, méxico, puebla, veracruz y tlaxcala.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . concurrent authorities: _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. ; _ward's mexico_, vol. ii., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. , , - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., p. ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. ; _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, tom. iv., p. . 'habitait les bords du golfe du mexique, depuis la province de panuco jusqu'au nueces.' _domenech_, _jour._, p. . the _mazahuas_ 'furono tempo fa parte della nazione otomita.... i principali luoghi da loro abitati erano sulle montagne occidentali della valle messicana, e componevano la provincia di mazahuacan, appartenente alla corona di tacuba.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - ; copied in _heredia y sarmiento_, _sermon de guadalupe_, p. . 'mazahua, mazahui, matzahua, matlazahua mozahui, en mexico y en michoacan. en tiempos del imperio azteca esta tribu pertenecia al reino de tlacopan; sus pueblos marcaban los límites entre su señorío y michoacan.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'parece que solo quedan algunos restos de la nacion mazahua en el distrito ixtlahuaca, perteneciente al departamento de méxico.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . 'au nord ils étendaient leurs villages jusqu'à peu de distance de l'ancien tollan.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . the _huastecs_, huaxtecs, guastecs, or cuextecas inhabit portions of the states of vera cruz and tamaulipas. 'a los mismos llamaban panteca ó panoteca, que quiere decir hombres del lugar pasadero, los cuales fueron así llamados, y son los que viven en la provincia de panuco, que propiamente se llaman pantlan, ó panotlan.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . 'el huaxtecapan se extendió de veracruz á san luis potosí, y corria á lo largo de la costa del golfo, hácia el norte, prolongándose probablemente muy adentro de tamaulipas, por lugares en donde ahora no se encuentra ni vestigio suyo.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , . 'cuando llegaron los españoles, el lugar que ocupaban era la frontera norte del reino de texcoco, y parte de la del mexicano.... hoy se conoce su pais con el nombre de la huaxteca: comprende la parte norte del estado de veracruz y una fraccion lindante del de san luis, confinando, al oriente, con el golfo de méxico, desde la barra de tuxpan hasta tampico.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . further mention in _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. - ; _squier's cent. amer._, p. ; _villa-señor_, _theatro_, tom. i., p. . [sidenote: totonacs and nahuatlacs.] the _totonacs_ occupy the country east of the valley of mexico down to the sea-coast, and particularly the state of veracruz and a portion of puebla. 'estos totonaques estan poblados á la parte del norte, y se dice ser guastemas.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - . 'totonachi. questa grande provincia, ch'era per quella parte l'ultima dell' imperio, si stendeva per ben centocinquanta miglia, cominciando dalla frontiera di zacatlan ... e terminando nel golfo messicano. oltre alla capitale mizquihuacan, quindici miglia a levante da zacatlan, v'era la bella città di cempoallan sulla costa del golfo.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . 'raccontavano dunque, que essendosi eglino da principio per qualche tempo stabiliti su le rive del lago tezcucano, quindi si portarono a popolare quelle montagne, che da loro presero il nome di totonacapan.' _id._, tom. iv., p. . 'en puebla y en veracruz. los totonacos ocupan la parte norte del departamento, formando un solo grupo con sus vecinos de veracruz; terminan sobre la costa del golfo, en toda la zona que se extiende entre los rios de chachalacas y de cazones ó s. márcos.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , . 'están estendidos, y derramados por las sierras, que le caen, al norte, à esta ciudad de mexico.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . 'in the districts of zacatlan, state of puebla, and in the state of vera cruz.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. ; _villa-señor_, _theatro_, tom. i., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. . the _meztitlanecs_ inhabited the region north of tezcuco, between the sierra madre and the territory occupied by the huastecs. 'al norte de tetzcoco existia el señorío independiente de meztitlan, que hoy corresponde al estado de méxico.... obedecian á meztitlan, cabecera principal, las provincias de molango, malila, tlanchinolticpac, ilamatlan, atlihuetzian, suchicoatlan, tianguiztengo, guazalingo, yagualica. el señorío, pues, se extendia por toda la sierra, hasta el limite con los huaxtecos: en yahualica estaba la guarnicion contra ellos, por ser la frontera, comenzando desde allí las llanuras de huaxtecapan. xelitla era el punto mas avanzado al oeste y confinaba con los bárbaros chichimecas: el término al sur era zacualtipan y al norte tenia á los chichimecas.' _chavez_, _relacion de meztitlan_, quoted in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _nahuatlacs_ 'se diuiden en siete linajes.... los primeros fueron los suchimilcos, que quiere dezir, gente de sementeras de flores. estos poblaron a la orilla de la gran laguna de mexico hazia el mediodia, y fundaron vna ciudad de su nombre, y otros muchos lugares. mucho despues llegaron los del segundo linage llamados chalcas, que significa gente de las bocas, y tambien fundaron otra ciudad de su nombre, partiendo terminos con los suchimílcos. los terceros fueron los tepanecas, que quiere dezir, gente de la puente. y tambien poblaron en la orilla de la laguna al occidente.... la cabeça de su provincia la llamaron azcapuzàlco.... tras estos vinieron, los que poblaron a tezcùco, que son los de cùlhua, que quiere dezir, gente corua.... y assi quedò la laguna cercada de estas quatro naciones, poblando estos al oriente, y los tepanècas al norte.... despues llegaron los tlatluìcas, que significa gente de la sierra.... y como hallaron ocupados todos los llanos en contorno de la laguna hasta las sierras, passaron de la otra parte de la sierra.... y a la cabeça de su prouincia llamaron quahunahuàc ... que corrompidamente nuestro vulgo llama quernauaca, y aquella prouincia es, la que oy se dize el marquesado. los de la sexta generacion, que son los tlascaltècas, que quiere dezir gente de pan, passaron la serrania hazia el oriente atrauessando la sierra neuada, donde està el famoso bolcan entre mexico y la ciudad de los angeles ... la cabeça de su prouincia llamaron de su nombre tlascàla.... la septima cueua, o linage, que es la nacion mexicana, la qual como las otras, salio de las prouincias de aztlan, y teuculhuàcan.' _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - . repeated in _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. x. also in _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - , and in _heredia y sarmiento_, _sermon de guadalupe_, p. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . the _acolhuas_ inhabited the kingdom of acolhuacan. 'su capital era tetzcoco, á la orilla del lago de su nombre.... la extension del reino era: desde el mar del n. á la del sur, con todo lo que se comprende á la banda del poniente hasta el puerto de la veracruz, salvo la cuidad de tlachcala y huexotzinco.' _pomar_, _relacion de texcoco_, quoted in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . 'juan b. pomar fija los límites del reino con toda la exageracion que puede infundir el orgullo de raza. por nuestra parte, hemos leido con cuidado las relaciones que á la monarquía corresponden, y hemos estudiado en el plano los lugares á que se refieren, y ni de las unas ní de los otros llegamos á sacar jamas que los reyes de aculhuacan mandaran sobre las tribus avecindadas en la costa del pacífico, no ya á la misma altura de méxico, sino aun á menores latitudes.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . see further: _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . the _ocuiltecs_ 'viven en el distrito de toluca, en tierras y terminos suyos.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . the _macaoaquez_ 'viven en una comarca de toluca, y están poblados en el pueblo de xocotitlan. _ib._ the _tarascos_ dwell chiefly in the state of michoacan. 'la provincia de estos, es la madre de los pescados, que es michoacan: llámase tambien quaochpanme.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . repeated in _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . their territory is bounded: 'au nord-est, le royaume de tonalan et le territoire maritime de colima eu sont séparés par le rio pantla et le fleuve coahuayana, auquel s'unit cette rivière, dix lieues avant d'aller tomber dans la mer pacifique, dont le rivage continue ensuite à borner le michoacan, au sud-ouest, jusqu'à zacatollan. là les courbes capricieuses du mexcala lui constituent d'autres limites, à l'est et au sud, puis, à l'est encore, les riches provinces de cohuixco et de matlatzinco.... plus au nord, c'étaient les mazahuas, dont les fertiles vallées, ainsi que celles des matlatzincas, s'étendent dans les régions les plus froides de la cordillère; enfin le cour majestueux du tololotlan et les rives pittoresques du lac chapala formaient une barrière naturelle entre les tarasques et les nombreuses populations othomies et chichimèques des états de guanaxuato et de queretaro.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. , . 'el tarasco se habla en el estado de michoacan, exceptuando la parte sur-oeste que linda con el pacífico donde se habla el mexicano, una pequeña parte al nor-este, donde se acostumbra el othomí ó el mazahua, y otra parte donde se usa el matlatzinca. tambien se habla en el estado de guanajuato, en la parte que linda con michoacan y guadalajara, limitada al oriente por una línea que puede comenzar en acámbaro, seguir á irapuato y terminar en san felipe, es decir, en los límites con san luis potosí.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . 'en michoacan, guerrero, guanajuato y jalisco.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , , , - , . concurrent authorities: _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. ; _figuier's hum. race_, p. ; _ward's mexico_, vol. ii., p. [sidenote: matlaltzincas and tlapanecs.] the _matlaltzincas_, pirindas, or tolucas inhabited the valley of toluca, situated between the valley of mexico and michoacan. 'la provincia dei matlatzinchi comprendeva, oltre la valle di tolocan, tutto quello spazio, che v'è infino a tlaximaloyan (oggi taximaroa) frontiera del regno di michuacan.... nelle montagne circonvicine v'erano gli stati di xalatlauhco, di tzompahuacan, e di malinalco; in non molta lontananza verso levante dalla valle quello d'ocuillan, e verso ponente quelli di tozantla, e di zoltepec.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - , . 'antiguamente en el valle de toluca; pero hoy solo se usa en charo, lugar perteneciente al estado de michoacan.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . 'in the district of that name, sixty miles south-west of mexico.' _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, tom. i., p. . also in _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . the _chumbias_ inhabit the pueblos ciutla, axalo, ihuitlan, vitalata, guaguayutla and coyuquilla in the state of guerrero. _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _tlapanecs_, coviscas, yopes, yopis, jopes, yopimes, tenimes, pinomes, chinquimes, chochontes, pinotl-chochons, chochos, chuchones, popolocas, tecos, tecoxines, or popolucas are one and the same people, who by different writers are described under one or the other of these names. 'estos coviscas y tlapanecas, son unos ... y están poblados en tepecuacuilco y tlachmalacac, y en la provincia de chilapan.' 'estos yopimes y tlapanecas, son de los de la comarca de yopitzinco, llámenles yopes ... son los que llaman propiamente tenimes, pinome, chinquime, chochonti.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. ; quoted also in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - , , . 'la provincia de los yopes lindaba al oeste con los cuitlateques, al sur con el pacífico, al este con los mixtecos y al norte con los cohuixcas: la division por esta parte la representaria una linea de este à oeste, al sur de xocolmani y de amatlan, y comprendiera à los actuales tlapanecos.' _montufar_, in _id._, pp. - . 'confinava colla costa dei cohuixchi quella dei jopi, e con questa quella dei mixtechi, conosciuta ai nostri tempi col nome di xicayan.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. . 'tecamachalco era su poblacion principal, y se derramaban al sur hasta tocar con los mixtecos. durante el siglo xvi se encontraban aún popolocos en tlacotepec y en san salvador (unidos con los otomíes), pueblo sujeto á quecholac.... por la parte de tehuacan, el límite de esta tribu se hallaba en coxcatlan.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . the chochos dwell in sixteen pueblos in the department of huajuapan in the state of oajaca. _id._, p. . the _cohuixcas_ dwelt in the province of the same name, which 'confinava a settentrione coi matlatzinchi, e coi tlahuichi, a ponente coi cuitlatechi, a levante coi jopi e coi mixtechi, ed a mezzogiornio si stendeva infino al mar pacifico per quella parte, dove presentemente vi sono il porto e la città d'acapulco.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . 'la provincia comenzaba en zacualpa, límite con los matlaltzincas, y que, por último, los confines de esa porcion antigua del imperio mexicano, eran al norte los matlaltzinques; los tlahuiques, al este los mixtecos y los tlapanecos, al sur los yopes, y al oeste los cuitlateques.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . their country lies 'between tesitzlan and chilapan.' _ker's travels_, p. . the _cuitlatecs_ inhabit the country between the cohuixcas and the pacific coast. 'i cuitlatechi abitavano un paese, che si stendeva più di dugento miglia da maestro a scirocco dal regno di michuacan infino al mar pacifico. la loro capitale era la grande e popolosa città di mexcaltepec sulla costa, della quale appena sussistono le rovine.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . 'en ajuchitlan, san cristóbal y poliutla en la municipalidad de ajuchitlan, distrito del mismo nombre, y en atoyac, distrito y municipalidad de tecpan. la provincia de los cuitlateques ó cuitlatecos, sujeta en lo antiguo á los emperadores de méxico, quedaba comprendida entre las de zacatula y de los cohuixques.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . proceeding southward, among the southern mexicans, we first encounter the _miztecs_, whose province, miztecapan, was in the present states of oajaca and guerrero. 'la mixtecapan, o sia provincia dei mixtechi si stendeva da acatlan, luogo lontano cento venti miglia dalla corte verso scirocco, infino al mar pacifico, e conteneva più città e villaggi ben popolati, e di considerabile commercio.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . 'le mixtecapan comprenait les régions occidentales de l'état d'oaxaca, depuis la frontière septentrionale d'acatlan, qui le séparait des principautés des tlahuicas et de mazatlan, jusque sur le rivage de l'océan pacifique. elles se divisaient en haute et basse mixtèque, l'une et l'autre également fertiles, la première resserrèe entre les montagnes qui lui donnaient son nom; la seconde, occupant les riches territoires des bords de la mer, ayant pour capitale la ville de tututepec (à l'embouchure du rio verde).' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . 'les mixtèques donnaient eux-mêmes à leur pays le nom de gnudzavui-gnuhu, terre de pluie, pour le haute mixtèque, et gnuundaa, côte de la mer, à la basse.' _id._, pp. - . 'en la antigua provincia de este nombre, situada sobre la costa del mar pacifico, que comprende actualmente, hácia el norte, una fraccion del estado de puebla; hácia el este, una del de oajaca, y al oeste, parte del estado de guerrero. divídese la mixteca en alta y baja, estando la primera en la serranía, y la segunda en las llanuras contiguas á la costa.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . 'westlich der zapotécos, bei san francisco huizo im norden und bei santa cruz miztepéc im süden des grossen thales von oajáca beginnen die mistéken, welche den ganzen westlichen theil des staats einnehmen, und südlich bis an die küste des austral-oceans bei jamiltepéc und tututepéc hinabreichen.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., pp. , , - , - , - . also in _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. . [sidenote: zapotecs and mijes.] the _zapotecs_ occupy the large valley of oajaca. 'fue la zapotecapan señora, y tan apoderada de las demas de su orizonte, que ambiciosos sus reyes, rompieron los terminos de su mando, y se entraron ferozes, y valientes, por chontales, mijes, y tierras maritimas de ambos mares del sur, y del norte ... y venciendo, hasta señorear los fertiles llanos de teguantepeque, y corriendo hasta xoconusco.' _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt. ii., fol. , tom. ii., fol. . 'hasta tepeiac, techamachalco, quecholac y teohuacan, que por aquí dicen que hicieron sus poblaciones los zapotecas.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. . 'a levante de' mixtechi erano i zapotechi, cosí chiamati dalla loro capitale teotzapotlan. nel loro distretto era la valle di huaxyacac, dagli spagnuoli detta oaxaca o guaxaca.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . 'en una parte del estado de oajaca, limitada al sur por el pacífico, exceptuando una pequeña fraccion de terreno ocupada por los chontales.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . see also: _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - ; _murguía y galardi_, in _soc. mex. geog._, _boletin_, tom. vii., pp. - . 'the zapotecs constitute the greater part of the population of the southern division of the isthmus (of tehuantepec).' _barnard's tehuantepec_, p. . 'inhabit the pacific plains and the elevated table-lands from tarifa to petapa.' _shufeldt's explor. tehuantepec_, pp. , - ; _garay's tehuantepec_, p. ; _fossey_, _mexique_, pp. , . 'zapotécos, welche die mitte des staates, das grosse thal von oajáca bewohnen, sich im osten über die gebirge von huixázo, iztlán und tanétze und die thäler los cajónos ausbreiten, und im süden, im partido quíechápa (depart. tehuantepéc) mit den mijes, im partido von pochútla (depart. ejútla) aber mit den chontáles, nachbaren jener, gränzen.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., pp. , , - , - , , , , - ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. . 'les zapotèques appelaient leur pays lachea.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _macgregor's progress of america_, p. . the _mijes_ dwell in the mountains of southern oajaca and in a small portion of tehuantepec. 'antérieurement à la ruine de l'empire toltèque ... les mijes occupaient tout le territoire de l'isthme de tehuantepec, d'une mer à l'autre.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _voy. tehuantepec_, pp. - . 'toute cette région, comprenant, à l'est, les cimes de la sierra de macuilapa que domine le village actuel de zanatepec et les montagnes qui s'étendent, du côté opposé, vers lachixila, baignées par la rivière de tehuantepec, au sud, et, au nord, par celle de la villa-alta, jusqu'aux savanes, oú roulent les affluents de l'alvarado et du guazacoalco, appartenait à la même nation des mixi ou mijes ... les mijes vaincus demeurèrent soumis dès lors aux rois de la mixtèque et du zapotecapan, à l'exception d'un petit nombre qui, jusqu'à l'époque espagnole, continuérent dans leur résistance dans les cantons austères qui environnent le cempoaltepec. ce qui reste de cette nation sur l'isthme de tehuantepec est disséminé actuellement en divers villages de la montagne. entre les plus importants est celui de guichicovi que j'avais laissé à ma droite en venant de la plaine de xochiapa au barrio.' _id._, pp. - . 'les mixi avaient possédé anciennement la plus grande partie des royaumes de tehuantepec, de soconusco et du zapotecapan; peut-être même les rivages de tututepec leur devaient-ils leur première civilisation.' _id._, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . 'en algunos lugares del departamento de oajaca como juquila, quezaltepec y atilan.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . 'les indiens mijes habitent une contrée montagneuse, au sud-ouest du goatzacoalco et au nord-ouest de tehuantepec.... de la chaîne des monts mijes descend la rivière de sarrabia, qui traverse la belle plaine de boca-del-monte.' _fossey_, _mexique_, p. . 'the mijes, once a powerful tribe, inhabit the mountains to the west, in the central division of the isthmus, and are now confined to the town of san juan guichicovi.' _barnard's tehuantepec_, p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _hermesdorf_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. . 'the mijes constituted formerly a powerful nation, and they still occupy the land from the sierra, north of tehuantepec, to the district of chiapas. in the isthmus they only inhabit the village of guichicovi, and a small portion of the sierra, which is never visited.' _garay's tehuantepec_, p. . also _macgregor's progress of america_, p. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . the _huaves_, huavi, huabi, huabes, guavi, wabi, etc., live on the isthmus of tehuantepec. 'les wabi avaient été, dans les siècles passés, possesseurs de la province de tehuantepec.... ils avaient été les maîtres du riche territoire de soconusco (autrefois xoconochco ... espèce de nopal), et avaient étendu leurs conquêtes jusqu'au sein même des montagnes, où ils avaient fondé ou accru la ville de xalapa la grande (xalapa-del-marques).' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . 'the huaves are in all little more than three thousand, and occupy the four villages of the coast called san mateo, santa maria, san dionisio, and san francisco.' _garay's tehuantepec_, p. . 'scattered over the sandy peninsulas formed by the lakes and the pacific. at present they occupy the four villages of san mateo, santa maria, san dionisio, and san francisco.' _barnard's tehuantepec_, p. . 'san francisco istaltepec is the last village, inhabited by the descendants of a tribe called huaves.' _hermesdorf_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. . 'habitent les villages du bord de la mer au sud de guichicovi.' _fossey_, _mexique_, p. . _shufeldt's explor. tehuantepec_, p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., p. . 'se extienden en tehuantepec, desde las playas del pacífico hasta la cordillera interior.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . the _beni-xonos_ 'composaient une province nombreuse, occupant en partie les routes qui conduisaient au mexique et aux montagnes des mixi.... leur ville principale, depuis la conquête, s'appelait san-francisco, à l. n. o. de la cité d'oaxaca.' 'habitant sur les confins des mixi et des zapotêques.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . 'les beni-xono sont appelés aussi nexicha et cajones.' _ib._ the _mazatecs_ live in the state of oajaca, near the puebla boundary. 'a tramontana dei mixtechi v'era la provincia di mazatlan, e a tramontana, e a levante dei zapotechi quella di chinantla colle loro capitali dello stesso nome, onde furono i loro abitanti mazatechi e chinantechi appellati.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . 'in den partidos teutitlán und teutíla, departement teutitlán del camíno.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., pp. , , . 'en el departamento de teotitlan, formando una pequeña fraccion en el límite con el estado de veracruz.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . [sidenote: tribes of oajaca and chiapas.] the _cuicatecs_ dwell 'en una pequeña fraccion del departamento de oajaca.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . 'in den partidos teutitlán und teutíla, departement teutitlán del camíno.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., p. ; repeated in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. . the _pabucos_ live in the 'pueblo de elotepec, departamento del centro.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., p. . the _soltecs_ are in the pueblo de sola. _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the _pintos_ are a people inhabiting small portions of guerrero and tehuantepec. 'a l'ouest, sur le versant des cordillères, une grande partie de la côte baignée par le pacifique, habitée par les indiens pintos.' _kératry_, in _revue des deux mondes_, sept. , , p. . 'on trouve déjà dans la plaine de tehuantepec quelques échantillons de cette race toute particulière au mexique, appelée pinto, qui appartient principalement à l'état de guerrero.' _charnay_, _ruines américaines_, p. . the _chiapanecs_ inhabit the interior of the state of chiapas. 'dans l'intérieur des provinces bordant les rives du chiapan, à sa sortie des gouffres d'où il s'élance, en descendant du plateau de zacatlan.' (guatemalan name for chiapas,) and they extended over the whole province, later on. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . 'À l'ouest de ce plateau, entre les zotziles ou quélènes du sud et les zoqui du nord, habitaient les chiapanèques.' _id._, _popol vuh_, introd., pp. , . also in _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'en acala, distrito del centro, y en la villa de chiapa y en suchiapa, distrito del oeste.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'le principali città dei chiapanechi erano teochiapan, (chiamata dagli spagnuoli chiapa de indios), tochtla, chamolla, e tzinacantla.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . the _tzendales_ are in chiapas. 'de l'etat de chiapas.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, p. . 'the province called zeldales lyeth behind this of the zoques, from the north sea within the continent, running up towards chiapa and reaches in some parts near to the borders of comitlan, north-westward.' _gage's new survey_, p. . also in _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. ; _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. xi.; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . the _zotziles_ inhabit a small district in chiapas. 'la ciudad de tzinacantlan, que en mexicano significa "lugar de murciélagos," fué la capital de los quelenes, y despues de los tzotziles quienes la llamaban zotzilhá, que significa lo mismo; de zotzil, murciélago.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . tzinacantan (quiche zotzilha) 'doit avoir été le berceau de la nation zotzil, l'une des nombreuses populations du chiapas.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . the _chatinos_ live in the 'departamentos del centro y de jamiltepee.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., pp. - . the _chinantecs_, or tenez, are in the 'departamento de teotitlan.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., p. . 'in the partidos of quiechapa, jalalog, and chuapan.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . the _ahualulcos_ inhabit san francisco de ocuapa which 'es la cabeza de partido de los indios ahualulcos.' _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. iii., p. . the _quelenes_ occupied a district in chiapas near the guatemala boundary line. 'la nation des quelènes, dont la capitale était comitan, occupait la frontière guatémalienne.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . 'au temps de la conquête, la ville principale des quelènes était copanahuaztlan.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, introd., p. . 'Établies entre le haut plateau de ghovel ou de ciudad-real et les montagnes de soconusco au midi.' _ib._; and _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. . the _zoques_ are scattered over portions of tabasco, chiapas, oajaca, and tehuantepec. 'se encuentran derramados en chiapas, tabasco y oaxaca; tienen al norte el mexicano y el chontal, al este el tzendal, el tzotzil y el chiapaneco, al sur el mexicano, y al oeste el huave, el zapoteco y el mixe.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'occupy the mountain towns of santa maria and san miguel, and number altogether about two thousand souls.' _shufeldt's explor. tehuantepec_, p. . 'les zotziles et les zoqui, confinant, au sud-est, avec les mixi montagnards, au nord avec les nonohualcas, et les xicalancas, qui habitaient les territoires fertiles de tabasco.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . 'quorum præcipuum tecpatlan.' _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'the soques, who came originally from chiapas, inhabit in the isthmus only the villages of san miguel and santa maría chimalapa.' _garay's tehuantepec_, p. . 'la mayor de ellas está situada á tres leguas de tacotalpa, aguas arriba del rio de la sierra. ocupa un pequeño valle causado por el descenso de varios cerros y colinas que la circuyen.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., pp. - ; _macgregor's progress of america_, pp. - . 'the zoques inhabit the mountainous region to the east, from the valley of the chiapa on the south, to the rio del corte on the north. originally occupying a small province lying on the confines of tabasco, they were subjugated by the expedition to chiapas under luis marin. at present they are confined to the villages of san miguel and santa maria chimalapa.' _barnard's tehuantepec_, p. . 'near the arroyo de otates, on the road from tarifa to santa maria, stands a new settlement, composed of a few shanties, inhabited by zoques, which is called tierra blanca.' _hermesdorf_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. . the _choles_, _manches_, and _mopanes_ are scattered through small portions of chiapas and vera paz in guatemala. ' leagues from cahbón, in the midst of inaccessible mountains and morasses, dwell the chóls and manchés.' _escobar_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., pp. - . residen en la 'provincia del manché.' _alcedo_, _dicc._, tom. iii., p. . also in _boyle's ride_, vol. i., preface, p. ; _dunlop's cent. amer._, p. ; _gavarrete_, in _panamá star and herald_, _dec. , _. 'los choles forman una tribu establecida desde tiempos remotos en guatemala; dividos en dos fracciones ... la una se encuentra al este de chiapas, y la otra muy retirada en la verapaz.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'tenia por el sur la provincia del chòl: por la parte del oriente, y de el norte, de igual modo, las naciones de los itzaex petenes: y por el poniente, las de los lacandones, y xoquinoès.' _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. - . 'the nation of the chol indians is settled in a country about or leagues distant from cahabon, the last village in verapaz, and far removed from the manchés.' _juarros' hist. guat._, p. . [sidenote: mayas and itzas.] the _mayas_ inhabit the peninsula of yucatan. 'avant la conquête des espagnols, les mayas occupaient toute la presque'île d'yucatan, y compris les districts de peten, le honduras anglais, et la partie orientale de tabasco.... la seule portion de pure race restant de cette grande nation, se réduit à quelques tribus èparses, habitant principalement les bords des rivières usumasinta, san pedro et pacaitun; la totalitè de leur territoire fait, politiquement parlant, partie du peten.' _galindo_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. lxiii., pp. - , and in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, tom. iii., p. . 'en todo el estado de yucatan, isla del cármen, pueblo de montecristo en tabasco, y del palenque en chiapas.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. ; _crowe's cent. america_, pp. - ; _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. - . the _itzas_ occupy a like-named district in the centre of yucatan. 'los que poblaron a chicheniza, se llaman los yzaes.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii. 'tienen por la parte del mediodia, la provincia de la vera-paz, y reyno de guatimala; por el norte, las provincias de yucatán; por la parte del oriente, el mar; por la de el occidente, la provincia de chiapa; y al sueste, la tierra, y provincia de honduras.' _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, p. . footnotes: [ ] otomí;--'_otho_ en la misma lengua othomí quiere decir _nada_, y _mi_, quieto, ó sentado, de manera que traducida literalmente la palabra, significa nada-quieto, cuya idea pudiéramos expresar diciendo _peregrino ó errante_.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . chichimecs;--'los demas indios les llamaban chichimecos (que hoy lo mismo es chichi que perros altaneros) por la ninguna residencia.' _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. . speaking of chichimecs, 'debaxo deste nombre estan muchas naciones con dierencias de lenguas como son pamies, capuzes, samues, zancas, maiolias, guamares, guachichiles, y otros, todos diferentes aunque semejantes en las costumbres.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. viii., lib. vi., cap. xiv. for further etymology of tribes, see _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_. [ ] 'hanno d'altezza più di cinque piedi parigini.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. iv., p. . 'de pequeña estatura [cuatro piés seis pulgadas, á cinco piés cuando mas.]' _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. . in yalisco 'casi en todo este reyno, son grandes, y hermosas.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . 'son de estatura alta, bien hechos y fornidos.' _ulloa_, _noticias americanas_, p. ; _tylor's anahuac_, p. ; _burkart_, _mexico_, tom. i., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. . [ ] 'in complexion, feature, hair and eyes, i could trace a very great resemblance between these indians and the esquimaux.' _lyon's journal_, vol. i., p. , see also vol. ii., pp. , . 'son de la frente ancha, y las cabezas chatas.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , . see further, _prichard's nat. hist. man_, vol. ii., p. ; _calderon de la barca's life in mex._, vol. i., p. ; _almaraz_, _memoria_, p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., pp. , ; _rossi_, _souvenirs_, p. ; _viollet-le-duc._, in _charnay_, _ruines américaines_, p. ; _poinsett's notes on mex._, pp. - ; _ottavio_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. lix., pp. - ; _fossey_, _mexique_, p. ; _vigneaux_, _souv. mex._, p. ; _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. ; _bonnycastle's span. am._, vol. i., pp. - ; _figuier's hum. race_, p. ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. - ; _bullock's mexico_, vol. i., pp. , ; _mayer's mex. as it was_, pp. , , . [ ] in mexico in the costume was a 'short doublet and wide breeches. on their shoulders they wear a cloak of several colours, which they call _tilma_.... the women all wear the _guaipil_, (which is like a sack) under the _cobixa_, which is a fine white cotton cloth; to which they add another upon their back.... their coats are narrow with figures of lions, birds, and other creatures, adorning them with curious ducks' feathers, which they call _xilotepec_.' _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. . dress of a native girl of mexico, 'enaguas blanquísimas, el _quisquemel_ que graciosamente cubre su pecho y espalda ... dos largas trenzas color de ébano caen á los lados del cuello.' _prieto_, _viajes_, pp. , - , - . 'leur costume varie selon le terrain et le climat.' _löwenstern_, _mexique_, pp. , . [ ] see _calderon de la barca's life in mex._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] 'usan de una especie de gran paño cuadrado, que tiene en el centro una abertura por donde pasa la cabeza.' _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. . [ ] 'yuan muy galanes, y empenachados.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. i. 'señores ó principales, traían en el labio un bezote de chalchivite ó esmeralda, ó de caracol, ó de oro, ó de cobre.... las mugeres cuando niñas, tambien se rapaban la cabeza, y cuando ya mosas dejaban criar los cabellos ... cuando alguna era ya muger hecha y habia parido, tocabase el cabello. tambien traían sarcillos ó orejeras, y se pintaban los pechos y los brazos, con una labor que quedaba de azul muy fino, pintada en la misma carne cortándola con una navajuela.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - , - . 'en el pueblo de juito salieron muchos yndios de paz con escapularios blancos al pecho, cortado el cabello en modo de cerquillo como religiosos, todos con unas cruces en las manos que eran de carrizos, y un yndio que parecia el principal ó cacique con un vestuario de tunica talan.' _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. , also, pp. , , , , , . for further description of dress and ornaments see _nebel_, _viaje_, plates, nos. xxvi., xxxi., xxxvi., xli., xlvi.; _thompson's recollections mexico_, p. ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, pp. , , ; _lafond_, _voyages_, tom. i., p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., pp. , ; _lyon's journal_, vol. ii., pp. , ; _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, p. ; _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. ; _apostólicos afanes_, pp. , ; _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. iii., p. ; _vigneaux_, _souv. mex._, pp. , ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. - ; _biart_, in _revue française_, dec. , pp. - ; _ottavio_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. lix., p. ; _tylor's anahuac_, p. ; _burkart_, _mexico_, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] 'les cabanes sont de véritables cages en bambous.' _vigneaux_, _souv. mex._, p. ; _mayer's mex. as it was_, p. ; _ward's mexico_, vol. ii., pp. , ; _bustamante_, in _prieto_, _viajes_, pp. , , , , ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., pp. - ; _beaufoy's mex. illustr._, p. ; _pagés travels_, vol. i., p. ; _dillon_, _hist. mex._, p. . [ ] _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; and _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. . 'estos otomies comian los zorrillos que hieden, culebras y lirones, y todo género de ratones, comadrejas, y otras sabandijas del campo y del monte, lagartijas de todas suertes, y abejones y langostas de todas maneras.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - , - . in jalisco 'los indios de aquellas provincias son caribes, que comen carne humana todas las veçes que la pueden aver.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] in puebla 'los indios se han aplicado mas al cultivo de la tierra y plantío de frutas y legumbres.' in michoacan 'cultivan mucho maiz, frixoles y ulgodon.' _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. i., pp. , . in querétaro 'viven del cultivo de las sementeras.' _id._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'they boil the indian wheat with lime, and when it has stood a-while grind it, as they do the cacao.' _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. v., pp. , , ; _walton's span. col._, p. . for further account of food see _tylor's anahuac_, pp. - , ; _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, pp. , , , , ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., pp. , ; _larenaudière_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xxiii., p. ; _prieto_, _viajes_, pp. - , ; _mex. in _, pp. , , ; _mayer's mex., aztec, etc._, vol. ii., p. ; _albornoz_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., pp. , - ; _armin_, _das heutige mexiko_, p. , with plate; _mendoza_, _hist. de las cosas_, p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. . [ ] _ward's mexico_, vol. ii., pp. - . 'one would think the bath would make the indians cleanly in their persons, but it hardly seems so, for they look rather dirtier after they have been in the _temazcalli_ than before.' _tylor's anahuac_, p. . [ ] _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, pp. , - ; _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. . 'el arco y la flecha eran sus armas en la guerra, aunque para la caza los caciques y señores usaban tambien de cervatanas.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. . 'i saw some indians that kill'd the least birds upon the highest trees with pellets shot out of trunks.' _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. , and in _berenger_, _col. de voy._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _west und ost indischer lustgart_, pt. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , with plate; _cartas al abate de pradt_, p. ; _helps' span. conq._, vol. ii., p. ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. , ; _lyon's journal_, vol. i., pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. ii.; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. . 'una macana, á manera de porra, llena de puntas de piedras pedernales.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . 'en schilden uit stijve stokjens gevlochten, van welke sick verwonderens-waerdig dienen in den oorlog.' _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - , and _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. . [ ] 'siempre procuran de acometer en malos pasos, en tierras dobladas y pedregosas.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. vii., lib. ii., cap. xii. 'tres mil yndios formaban en solo una fila haciendo frente á nuestro campo.' _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. ; see further, _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, p. . [ ] the chichimecs 'flea their heads, and fit that skin upon their own heads with all the hair, and so wear it as a token of valour, till it rots off in bits.' _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. , and _berenger_, _col. de voy._, tom. ii., p. . 'quitandoles los cascos con el pelo, se los llevan á su pueblo, para baylar el mitote en compañia de sus parientes con las cabezas de sus enemigos en señal del triunfo.' _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, pp. , - . further reference in _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. . [ ] _cassel_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xlv., p. ; _vigneaux_, _souv. mex._, p. ; _prieto_, _viajes_, p. ; _tylor's anahuac_, pp. - ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., pp. - , ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; and _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. . [ ] 'the indians of this countrie doe make great store of woollen cloth and silkes.' _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., lib. vii., p. . the otomís 'sabian hacer lindas labores en las mantas, enaguas, y vipiles que tejian muy curiosamente; pero todas ellas labraban lo dicho de hilo de maguéy que sacaban y beneficiaban de las pencas.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. ; see also, _tylor's anahuac_, p. ; _bustamante_, in _prieto_, _viajes_, p. ; _carpenter's trav. mex._, p. ; _mex. in _, p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _lyon's journal_, vol. ii., p. ; _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. . [ ] _dale's notes_, p. . [ ] 'in those countreys they take neither golde nor silver for exchange of any thing, but onley salt.' _chilton_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; compare _lyon's journal_, vol. i., p. , and vol. ii., p. ; and _tylor's anahuac_, p. . [ ] _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. ; _tylor's anahuac_, p. ; _ward's mexico_, vol. ii., p. ; _lafond_, _voyages_, tom. i., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. ; _mill's hist. mex._, p. ; _carpenter's trav. mex._, p. . 'les mexicains ont conservé un goût particulier pour la peinture et pour l'art de sculpter en pierre et en bois.' _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. . 'lo particular de michoacan era el arte de pintar con las plumas de diversos colores.' _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. . 'son muy buenos cantores y tañedores de toda suerte de instrumentos.' _mendoza_, _hist. de las cosas_, p. . [ ] _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. viii., lib. vi., cap. xv.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, pp. , ; _ottavio_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. lix., p. . [ ] _mayer's mex., aztec, etc._, vol. ii., p. ; _villa_, in _prieto_, _viajes_, pp. - . 'tenian uso y costumbre los otomíes, de que los varones siendo muy muchachos y tiernos se casasen, y lo mismo las mugeres.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . chichimecs 'casanse con las parientas mas cercanas, pero no con las hermanas.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. viii., lib. vi., cap. xv. [ ] _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., pp. - ; _bullock's mexico_, vol. i., p. ; _apostólicos afanes_, pp. - ; _rittner_, _guatimozin_, p. . 'el amancebamiento no es deshonra entre ellos.' _zarfate_, in _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., pp. , . 'zlingerden de kinderen in gevlochte korven aen boomtakken.' _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; and _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. . [ ] 'la mancebía, el incesto, y cuanto tiene de mas asquerosamente repugnante el desarreglo de la concupiscencia, se ha convertido en hábito.' _prieto_, _viajes_, p. ; _fossey_, _mexique_, p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . [ ] _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. ; _apostólicos afanes_, p. ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia_, pp. , ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. ; _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. ; _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. ii., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. ; _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. . [ ] _arlegui_, _chrón. de zacatecas_, pp. - ; _mayer's mex. as it was_, pp. - ; _mendoza_, _hist. de las cosas_, p. ; _prieto_, _viajes_, p. ; _apostólicos afanes_, p. . 'los indios, si no todos en su mayor parte, viven ligados por una especie de masonería.' _bustamante_, in _prieto_, _viajes_, p. . 'wenn mehrere in gesellschaft gehen, nie neben, sondern immer hinter einander und selten ruhig schreitend, sondern fast immer kurz trabend.' _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. . 'l'indien enterre son argent, et au moment de sa mort il ne dit pas à son plus proche parent oú il a déposé son trésor, afin qu'il ne lui fasse pas faute quand il ressuscitera.' _cassel_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xlv., p. . [ ] 'la petite vérole et la rougeole sont deux maladies très communes.' _chappe d'auteroche_, _voyage_, p. . the pintos 'marked with great daubs of deep blue ... the decoration is natural and cannot be effaced.' _tylor's anahuac_, p. . see further: _fossey_, _mexique_, pp. - , - . compare _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., pp. , - , ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. ; _cassel_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xlv., p. ; _löwenstern_, _mexique_, p. ; _charnay_, _ruines américaines_, pp. - ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. . [ ] 'los indios son grandes herbolarios, y curan siempre con ellas.' _mendoza_, _hist. de las cosas_, p. . 'for fevers, for bad colds, for the bite of a poisonous animal, this (the temazcalli) is said to be a certain cure; also for acute rheumatism.' _calderon de la barca's life in mex._, vol. i., p. ; _helps' span. conq._, vol. ii., p. ; _menonville_, _reise_, p. ; _murr_, _nachrichten_, p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'notant barbari, folia parti affectæ aut dolenti applicata, de eventu morbi præjudicare: nam si firmiter ad hæreant, certum signum esse ægrum convaliturum, sin decidant, contra.' _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _villa_, in _prieto_, _viajes_, pp. - . [ ] the remains of one of their ancient kings found in a cave is thus described; 'estaba cubierto de pedreria texida segun su costumbre en la manta con que se cubria desde los hombros hasta los pies, sentado en la misma silla que la fingieron el solio, con tahalí, brazaletes, collares, y apretadores de plata; y en la frente una corona de hermosas plumas, de varios colores mezcladas, la mano izquierda puesta en el brazo de la silla, y en la derecha un alfange con guarnicion de plata.' _alcedo_, _diccionario_, tom. iii., p. . see also: _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., pp. - ; _apostólicos afanes_, p. ; _armin_, _das heutige mexiko_, p. . [ ] _d'orbigny_, _voy._, p. ; _calderon de la barca's life in mex._, vol. i., p. ; _mayer's mex. as it was_, pp. , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _voy. tehuantepec_, pp. , ; _larenaudière_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xxiii., p. ; _ottavio_, in _id._, , tom. lix., p. ; _rittner_, _guatimozin_, pp. - ; _villa_, in _prieto_, _viajes_, pp. - ; _arizcorreta_, _respuesta á_, pp. , ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. , ; _rossi_, _souvenirs_, p. ; _lafond_, _voyages_, tom. i., p. ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. - ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia, ms._, p. ; _poinsett's notes mex._, pp. , ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. ; _berenger_, _col. de voy._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _bonnycastle's span. am._, vol. i., pp. - . 'l'indigène mexicain est grave, mélancolique, silencieux, aussi long-temps que les liqueurs enivrantes n'ont pas agi sur lui.' _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., pp. , . 'the most violent passions are never painted in their features.' _mill's hist. mex._, pp. - , . 'of a sharpe wit, and good vnderstanding, for what soeuer it be, sciences or other arts, these people are very apt to learne it with small instructing.' _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., p. . [ ] the pintos of guerrero are 'most ferocious savages.' _tylor's anahuac_, p. . the chichimecs are 'los peores de todos y los mayores homicidas y salteadores de toda la tierra.' _zarfate_, in _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. . see further, _almaraz_, _memoria_, p. ; _kératry_, in _revue des deux mondes_, sept., , p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, pp. , ; _combier_, _voy._, p. ; _biart_, in _revue française_, dec., , pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. viii., lib. vi., cap. xvi.; _ribas_, _hist. de los triumphos_, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan, ms._, pp. , ; _pagés' travels_, vol. i., p. . [ ] the mayas, 'sie selbst nennen sich heute noch _macegual_, d. h. eingeborene vom maya-lande, nie yucatanos oder yucatecos, was spanischer ausdruck für die bewohner des staates ist.' _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. - . see also _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , , , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, preface, p. clvii.; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. ; tom. ii., pt. i., pp. - ; _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. , - ; _remesal_, _hist. de chyapa_, pp. - ; _juarros' hist. guat._, p. . [ ] _barnard's tehuantepec_, pp. , , ; _moro_, in _garay_, _reconocimiento_, pp. - ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., p. ; _macgregor's progress of america_, pp. , ; _hermesdorf_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. ; _charnay_, _ruines américaines_, pp. , - ; _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. ii., p. . zapotecs 'bien tallados,' mijes 'arrogantes, altiuos de condicion, y cuerpo,' miztecs 'linda tez en el rostro, y buena disposicion en el talle.' _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. , , , , tom. i., pt. ii., p. . 'tehuantepec women: jet-black hair, silky and luxuriant, enframes their light-brown faces, on which, in youth, a warm blush on the cheek heightens the lustre of their dark eyes, with long horizontal lashes and sharply-marked eyebrows.' _tempsky's mitla_, p. . the soques, 'short, with large chests and powerful muscles.... both men and women have very repulsive countenances.' _shufeldt's explor. tehuantepec_, p. . [ ] 'es gente la de yucatan de buenos cuerpos, bien hechos, y rezios'.... the women 'bien hechas, y no feas ... no son blancas, sino de color baço.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. iii., cap. iv. see further: _dampier's voyages_, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. ; _tylor's anahuac_, p. . [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _voy. de tehuantepec_, p. ; _palacios_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _leon_, in _id._, p. ; _museo mex._, tom. ii., p. . 'muchachos ya mayorcillos. todos desnudos en carnes, como nacieron de sus madres.... tras ellos venian muchos indios mayores, casi tan desnudos como sus hijos, con muchos sartales de flores ... en la cabeza, rebuxada una toca de colores, como tocado de armenio.' _remesal_, _hist. chyapa_, p. . [ ] 'with their hair ty'd up in a knot behind, they think themselves extream fine.' _dampier's voyages_, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. . 'muy empenachados y pintados.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iv., cap. xi.; _barnard's tehuantepec_, pp. - , . [ ] 'their apparell was of cotton in manifold fashions and colours.' _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. v., p. . the maya woman's dress 'se reduce al hipil que cubre la parte superior del cuerpo, y al fustan ó enagua, de manta de algodon.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . of the men 'un calzoncillo ancho y largo hasta media pierna, y tal vez hasta cerca del tobillo, de la misma manta, un ceñidor blanco ó de colores, un pañuelo, y un sombrero de paja, y á veces una alpargata de suela, con sus cordones de mecate.' _registro yucateco_, tom. i., pp. - . see further: _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _galindo_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. iii., p. ; _wilson's amer. hist._, pp. , ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., pp. , . [ ] 'tous portaient les cheveux longs, et les espagnols ont eu beaucoup de peine à les leur faire couper; la chevelure longue est encore aujourd'hui le signe distinctif des indiens insoumis.' _waldeck_, _voy. pitt._, p. . 'las caras de blanco, negro, y colorado pintadas, que llaman embijarse, y cierto parecen demonios pintados.' _cogolludo_, _hist. de yucathan_, p. . compare above with _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. ; _helps' span. conq._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'the buildings of the lower class are thatched with palm-leaves, and form but one piece, without window or chimney.' _hermesdorf_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. . 'cubrense las casas de vna cuchilla que los indios hazen de pajas muy espessas y bien assentadas, que llaman en esta tierra jacales.' _dávila padilla_, _hist. fund. mex._, p. . see also: _museo mex._, tom. ii., p. ; _barnard's tehuantepec_, pp. , , with cut; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt. ii., fol. . [ ] the chochos and chontales 'no tenian pueblo fundado, si no cobachuelas estrechas en lo mas escondido de los montes.' _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. . the chinantecs lived 'en rancherias entre barrancas, y espessuras de arboles.' _burgoa_, _palestra_, _hist._, pt. i., fol. ; _charnay_, _ruines américaines_, p. . [ ] zapotecs; 'se dan con gran vicio sus sementeras.' miztecs, 'labradores de mayz, y frizol.' _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt. ii., fol. , and , - , , tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. - , , , , , , . zapotecs, 'grande inclinacion, y exercicio á la caza, y monteria de animales campesinos en especial de venados.' _burgoa_, _palestra hist._, pt. i., fol. . see further: _barnard's tehuantepec_, pp. - , - ; _moro_, in _garay_, _reconocimiento_, pp. , - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _voy. tehuantepec_, p. ; _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. , ; _galindo_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] tabasco: 'comen a sus horas concertadas, carnes de vaca, puerco, y aues, y beué vna beuida muy sana, hecha de cacao, mayz, y especia de la tierra, la qual llaman zocolate.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. vii., cap. iii. tortillas, 'when they are baked brown, they are called "totoposti," and taste like parched corn.' _shufeldt's explor. tehuantepec_, p. . the chontales, 'su alimento frecuente es el posole ... rara vez comen la carne de res.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. - ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. ii., pt. ii., pp. - ; _hermesdorf_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., pp. - . [ ] sr moro, speaking of the chintule, says: 'una infusion de estas raices comunica su fragancia al agua que los tehuantepecanos emplean como un objeto de lujo sumamente apreciado, tanto para labar la ropa de uso, como para las abluciones personales.' _moro_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'toutes les parties de leur vêtement sont toujours nouvellement blanchies. les femmes se baignent au moins une fois par jour.' _fossey_, _mexique_, p. . at chiapas, 'tous ces indiens, nus ou en chemise, répandaient dans l'atmosphère une odeur sui _generis_ qui soulevait le coeur.' _charnay_, _ruines américaines_, p. . the women are 'not very clean in their habits, eating the insects from the bushy heads of their children.' _hermesdorf_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. . 'no son muy limpias en sus personas, ni en sus casas, con quanto se laban.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'peleauan con lanças, armadas las puntas con espinas y huessos muy agudos de pescados.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iv., cap. xi. 'usaban de lanzas de desmesurado tamaño para combatir.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . see also: _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. de yucathan_, pp. - , , ; _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. - ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'tienen enfrente deste pueblo vn cerro altissimo, con vna punta que descuella soberviamente, casi entre la region de las nubes, y coronase con vna muy dilatada muralla de lossas de mas de vn estado de alto, y quentan de las pinturas de sus characteres historiales, que se retiraban alli, para defenderse de sus enemigos.' _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt. ii., fol. . 'començaron luego á tocar las bozinas, pitos, trompetillas, y atabalejos de gente de guerra.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. ii., cap. xvii., and lib. iv., cap. xi. also see _cogolludo_, _hist. de yucathan_, pp. , - ; _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. - ; _helps' span. conq._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] _dampier's voyages_, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _burgoa_, _palestra hist._, pt. i., fol. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _voy. tehuantepec_, p. ; _charnay_, _ruines américaines_, p. . 'sobre vna estera si la tiene, que son muy pocos los que duermen en alto, en tapescos de caña ... ollas, ó hornillos de tierra ... casolones, ò xicaras.' _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. , . [ ] 'los zoques cultivan ... dos plantas pertenecientes á la familia de las _bromelias_, de las cuales sacan el _ixtle_ y la _pita_ cuyas hebras saben blanquear, hilar y teñir de varios colores. sus hilados y las hamacas que tejen con estas materias, constituyen la parte principal de su industria y de su comercio'.... the zapotecs, 'los tejidos de seda silvestre y de algodon que labran las mugeres, son verdaderamente admirables.' _moro_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , . of the miztecs it is said that 'las mugeres se han dado á texer con primor paños, y huepiles, assi de algodon como de seda, y hilo de oro, muy costosos.' _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt. ii., fol. , and tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. . further reference in _barnard's tehuantepec_, pp. - ; _chilton_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. ii., p. ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. ; _waldeck_, _voy. pitt._, p. ; _gage's new survey_, p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., pp. , . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. ii., lib. iv., cap. xi.; _cogolludo_, _hist. de yucathan_, p. ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., pp. , ; _shufeldt's explor. tehuantepec_, p. . 'their canoes are formed out of the trunk of a single mahogany or cedar tree.' _dale's notes_, p. . when grijalva was at cozumel 'vino una canoa.' _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., p. . the huaves 'no poseyendo embarcaciones propias para arriesgarse en aguas de algun fondo, y desconociendo hasta el uso de los remos, no frecuentan mas que los puntos que por su poca profundidad no ofrecen mayor peligro.' _moro_, in _garay_, _reconocimiento_, p. . [ ] _mill's hist. mex._, p. ; _palacios_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _hermesdorf_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _voy. tehuantepec_, p. ; _hutchings' cal. mag._, vol. ii., p. ; _macgregor's progress of america_, vol. i., p. ; _moro_, in _garay_, _reconocimiento_, p. ; _stephens' yucatan_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'les seigneurs de cuicatlan étaient, au temps de la conquête très-riches et très-puissants, et leurs descendants en ligne directe, décorés encore du titre de caciques.' _fossey_, _mexique_, pp. - . at etla 'herren des ortes waren caziken, welche ihn als eine art von mannlehen besassen, und dem könige einen gewissen tribut bezahlen mussten.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., p. . the miztecs 'tenian señalados como pregoneros, officiales que elegian por año, para que todas las mañanas al despuntar el sol, subidos en lo mas alto de la casa de su republica, con grandes vozes, llamasen, y exitasen á todos, diziendo salid, salid á trabajar, á trabajar, y con rigor executivo castigaban al que faltaba de su tarea.' _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt. ii., fol. , also _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. xi. [ ] 'estava sujeta á diuersos señores, que como reyezuelos dominaban diuersos territorios ... pero antes auia sido toda sujeta á vn señor, y rey supremo, y asi gouernada con gouierno monarquico.' _cogolludo_, _hist. de yucathan_, p. . 'en cada pueblo tenian señalados capitanes a quienes obedecian.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii-iv. for old customs and new, compare above with _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. , and _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. . [ ] 'with other presents which they brought to the conqueror were twenty female slaves.' _helps' span. conq._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'vbo en esta juridicion grandes errores, y ritos con las paridas, y niños recien nacidos, lleuandolos á los rios, y sumergiendolos en el agua, hazian deprecacion á todos los animales aquatiles, y luego á los de tierra le fueran fauorables, y no le ofendieran.' _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. . 'consérvase entre ellos la creencia de que su vida está unida á la de un animal, y que es forzoso que mueran ellos cuando éste muere.' _museo mex._, tom. ii., pp. - . 'between husband and wife cases of infidelity are rare.... to the credit of the indians be it also said, that their progeny is legitimate, and that the vows of marriage are as faithfully cherished as in the most enlightened and favored lands. youthful marriages are nevertheless of frequent occurrence.' _barnard's tehuantepec_, p. . women of the japateco race: 'their manners in regard to morals are most blameable.' _hermesdorf_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. . moro, referring to the women of jaltipan, says: 'son de costumbres sumamente libres: suele decirse ademas que los jaltipanos no solo no las celan, sino que llevan las ideas de hospitalidad á un raro exceso.' _garay_, _reconocimiento_, p. ; _ferry_, _costal l'indien_, pp. - ; _registro yucateco_, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'iuntauanse en el capul, que es vna casa del comun, en cada barrio, para hazer casamientos, el cazique, el papa, los desposados, los parientes: estando sentados el señor, y el papa, llegauan los contrayentes, y el papa les amonestaua que dixessen las cosas que auian hecho hasta aquella hora.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. xi. [ ] _dampier's voyages_, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.; _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. ; _stephens' yucatan_, vol. ii., pp. - ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _dicc. univ._, tom. iv., p. ; _baeza_, in _registro yucateco_, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'their amusements are scarcely worthy of note ... their liveliest songs are sad, and their merriest music melancholy.' _barnard's tehuantepec_, p. . 'afectos á las bebidas embriagantes, conocen dos particulares, el _chorote_, y el _balché ó guarapo_, compuesto de agua, caña de azúcar, palo-guarapo y maiz quemado.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . see also: _fossey_, _mexique_, pp. , ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. ; _stephens' yucatan_, vol. i., pp. - ; _charnay_, _ruines américaines_, pp. - . [ ] 'provinciæ guazacualco atque ylutæ nec non et cueztxatlæ indiginæ, multas ceremonias iudæorum usurpabant, nam et circumcidebantur, more à majoribus (ut ferebant) accepto, quod alibi in hisce regionibus ab hispanis hactenus non fuit observatum.' _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'they appear to regard with horror and avoid with superstitious fear all those places reputed to contain remains or evidences of their former religion.' _shufeldt's explor. tehuantepec_, p. . see further: _museo mex._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _charnay_, _ruines américaines_, pp. , ; _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. - , , , , - , ; _id._, _palestra hist._, fol. ; _moro_, in _garay_, _reconocimiento_, pp. , ; _dicc. univ._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. ; _baeza_, in _registro yucateco_, tom. i., p. ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. ; _hermesdorf_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. . 'ay en esta tierra mucha diuersidad de yeruas medicinales, con que se curan los naturales.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. vii., cap. iii. the maya 'sabe las virtudes de todas las plantas como si hubiese estudiado botánica, conoce los venenos, los antídotos, y no se lo ocultan los calmantes.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. , , . [ ] _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. ; _museo mex._, tom. ii., p. . 'en tamiltepec, los indios usan de ceremonias supersticiosas en sus sepulturas. se les ve hacer en los cementerios pequeños montones de tierra, en los que mezclan víveres cada vez que entierran alguno de ellos.' _berlandier y thovel_, _diario_, p. . [ ] the miztecs 'siempre de mayor reputacion, y mas políticos.' zapotecs 'naturalmente apazibles, limpios, lucidos, y liberales.' nexitzas 'astutos, maliciosos, inclinados á robos, y desacatos, con otros cerranos supersticiosos, acostumbrados á aleuosias, y hechizeros.' _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt. ii., fol. , tom. ii., pt. ii., fol. , , also fol. , , , , , , , . choles, 'nacion ... feroz, guerrera é independiente.' _balbi_, in _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'siendo los indios mixes de natural feroz, barbaro, y duro, que quieren ser tratados con aspereza, y rigor.' _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. . see further: _burgoa_, _palestra hist._, pt. i., fol. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - , - ; _torres_, in _id._, p. ; _museo mex._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _tempsky's mitla_, p. ; _hermesdorf_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. ; _barnard's tehuantepec_, pp. - ; _charnay_, _ruines américaines_, pp. - , ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., p. ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. ii., pt. ii., pp. - ; _dávila padilla_, _hist. fund. mex._, p. ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . [ ] 'es el indio yucateco un monstruoso conjunto de religion é impiedad, de virtudes y vicios, de sagacidad y estupidez ... tiene ideas exactas precisas de lo bueno y de lo malo.... es incapaz de robar un peso, y roba cuatro veces dos reales.... siendo honrado en casi todas sus acciones ... se puede decir que el único vicie que le domina es el de la embriaguez.' _registro yucateco_, tom. i., pp. - ; _baeza_, in _id._, tom. i., pp. - , ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.; _mill's hist. mex._, p. ; _moro_, in _garay_, _reconocimiento_, pp. - ; _müller_, _reisen_, tom. ii., p. . [illustration: native races of the pacific states central american group] chapter vii. wild tribes of central america. physical geography and climate--three groupal divisions; first, the nations of yucatan, guatemala, salvador, western honduras, and nicaragua; second, the mosquitos of honduras; third, the nations of costa rica and the isthmus of panamÁ--the popolucas, pipiles, and chontales--the descendants of the maya-quichÉ races--the natives of nicaragua--the mosquitos, poyas, ramas, lencas, towkas, woolwas, and xicaques of honduras--the guatusos of the rio frio--the caimanes, bayamos, dorachos, goajiros, mandingos, savanerics, sayrones, viscitas, and others living in costa rica and on the isthmus. of the wild tribes of central america, which territorial group completes the line of our pacific states seaboard, i make three divisions following modern geographical boundaries, namely, the aborigines of guatemala, salvador, and nicaragua, which i call _guatemalans_; the people of the mosquito coast and honduras, _mosquitos_; and the nations of costa rica and the isthmus of darien, or panamá, _isthmians_. [sidenote: physical geography of central america.] the territory occupied by this group of nations lies between the eighteenth and the seventh parallels of north latitude, that is to say, between the northern boundary of the central american states, and the river atrato, which stream nearly severs the isthmus from the south american continent. this continental tract is a narrow, irregular, indented coast-country of volcanic character, in which guatemala and honduras alone present any considerable breadth. the two cordilleras, running through mexico and meeting on the isthmus of tehuantepec, continue their course through guatemala, where they form a broken table-land studded with elevations, of less height than the plateaux of mexico. after sinking considerably at the isthmus formed by the gulf of honduras, this mountain range takes a fresh start and offers a formidable barrier along the pacific coast, which sends a number of transverse ranges into the interior of honduras, and gives rise to countless rivers, chiefly emptying into the atlantic. the chain passes at a diminished altitude through nicaragua, where it forms a large basin, which holds the lakes of nicaragua and managua; but on reaching costa rica it again becomes a bold, rugged range, capped by the volcano of cartago. seemingly exhausted by its wild contortions, it dwindles into a series of low ridges on entering veragua, and passes in this form through the isthmus of panamá, until it unites with the south american andes. the scenery of this region is extremely varied, uniting that of most countries of the globe; lakes, rivers, plains, valleys, and bays abound in all forms and sizes. the north-east trade winds blow the greater part of the year, and, meeting the high ranges, deposit their superabundant moisture upon the eastern side, which is damp, overgrown with rank vegetation, filled with marshes, and unhealthful. the summer here, is hot and fever-breeding. relieved of their moisture, and cooled by the mountains, the trade winds continue their course through the gaps left here and there, and tend materially to refresh the atmosphere of the pacific slope for a part of the year; while the south-west winds, blowing from may to october, for a few hours at a time, bring short rains to temper what would otherwise be the hot season on this coast. dew falls everywhere, except in the more elevated regions, and keeps vegetation fresh. palms, plantains, mahogany, and dye-woods abound in the hot district; maize flourishes best in the temperate parts, while cedars, pines, and hardier growths find a home in the tierra fria. the animal kingdom is best represented on the atlantic side, for here the puma, the tiger-cat, and the deer, startled only by the climbing opossum or the chattering monkey, find a more secure retreat. birds of brilliant plumage fill the forests with their songs, while the buzz of insects everywhere is heard as they swarm over sweltering alligators, lizards, and snakes. the manifold productions, and varied features of the country have had, no doubt, a great influence in shaping the destiny of the inhabitants. the fine climate, good soil, and scarcity of game on the pacific side must have contributed to the allurements of a settled life and assisted in the progress of nations who had for centuries before the conquest lived in the enjoyment of a high culture. it is hard to say what might have been the present condition of a people so happily situated, but the advent of the white race, bent only upon the acquirement of present riches by means of oppression, checked the advancement of a civilization which struck even the invaders with admiration. crossing to the atlantic side we find an over-abundant vegetation, whose dark recesses serve as a fitting shelter for the wild beast. here man, imbibing the wildness of his surroundings, and oppressed by a feverish climate, seems content to remain in a savage state depending upon natural fruits, the chase, and fishing for his subsistence. of a roaming disposition, he objects to the restraint imposed by government and forms. the natives of costa rica and the isthmus of darien escaped the civilizing influence of foreign intercourse,--thanks to their geographical isolation,--and remain on about the same level of culture as in their primitive days. [sidenote: central american nations.] under the name of guatemalans, i include the natives of guatemala, salvador, and nicaragua. i have already pointed out the favorable features of the region inhabited by them. the only sultry portion of guatemala is a narrow strip along the pacific; it is occupied by a few planters and fishermen, who find most of their requirements supplied by the palms that grow here in the greatest luxuriance. the chief part of the population is concentrated round the various lakes and rivers of the table-land above, where maize, indigo, cochineal, and sugar-cane are staple products. in the altos, the banana is displaced by hardier fruits sheltered under the lofty cedar, and here we find a thrifty and less humble people who pay some attention to manufactures. salvador presents less abrupt variation in its features. although outside of the higher range of mountains, it still possesses a considerable elevation running through its entire length, which breaks out at frequent intervals into volcanic peaks, and gives rise to an abundant and well-spread water system. such favorable conditions have not failed to gather a population which is not only the most numerous comparatively, but also the most industrious in central america. northern nicaragua is a continuation of salvador in its features and inhabitants; but the central and southern parts are low and have more the character of the guatemalan coast, the climate being hot, yet not unhealthful. its atlantic coast region, however, partakes of the generally unfavorable condition described above. the spanish rulers naturally exercised a great influence upon the natives, and their ancient civilization was lost in the stream of caucasian progress, a stream which, in this region, itself flowed but slowly in later times. oppressed and despised, a sullen indifference has settled upon the race, and caused it to neglect even its traditions. the greater portion still endeavor to keep up tribal distinctions and certain customs; certain tribes of lesser culture, as the cognate _manches_ and _lacandones_, retired before the spaniards to the north and north-east, where they still live in a certain isolation and independence. the name lacandones has been applied to a number of tribes, of which the eastern are described to be quite harmless as compared with the western. the _quichés_, a people living in the altos, have also surrounded themselves with a certain reserve, and are truer to their ancient customs than the _zutugils_, _cakchiquels_, and many others related by language to the quichés surrounding them. the _pipiles_, meaning children, according to molina, are the chief people in salvador, where their villages are scattered over a large extent of territory. in nicaragua we find several distinct peoples. the aboriginal inhabitants seem to have been the different peoples known as _chorotegans_, who occupy the country lying between the bay of fonseca and lake nicaragua. the _chontales_ (strangers, or barbarians) live to the north-east of the lakes, and assimilate more to the barbarous tribes of the mosquito country adjoining them. the _cholutecs_ inhabit the north from the gulf of fonseca towards honduras. the _orotiñans_ occupy the country south of the lake of nicaragua and around the gulf of nicoya. further information about the location of the different nations and tribes of this family will be found at the end of this chapter.[ ] [sidenote: physique and dress.] the guatemalans, that is to say the aborigines of guatemala, salvador, and nicaragua, are rather below the middle size, square and tough, with a finely developed physique. their hue is yellow-brown, in some parts coppery, varying in shade according to locality, but lighter than that of the standard american type. the full round face has a mild expression; the forehead is low and retiring, the cheek-bones protruding, chin and nose short, the latter thick and flat, lips full, eyes black and small, turned upwards at the temples, with a stoical, distrustful look. the cranium is slightly conical; hair long, smooth, and black, fine but strong, retaining its color well as old age approaches, though sometimes turning white. although the beard is scanty, natives may be seen who have quite a respectable moustache. the limbs are muscular, the calf of the leg being especially large; hands and feet small; a high instep, which, no doubt, partly accounts for their great endurance in walking. the women are not devoid of good looks, especially in nicaragua, where, in some districts, they are said to be stronger and better formed than the men. the custom of carrying pitchers of water upon the head, gives to the women an erect carriage and a firm step. the constitution of the males is good, and, as a rule, they reach a ripe old age; the females are less long-lived. deformed persons are extremely rare. guatemala, with its varied geographical aspects, presents striking differences in physique; the highlanders being lighter in complexion, and finer in form and features than the inhabitants of the lowlands.[ ] [sidenote: guatemalan dress and ornaments.] intercourse with spaniards seems to have produced little change in the dress of the guatemalans, which is pretty much the same as that of the mexicans. the poorer class wear a waist-cloth of white cotton, or of _pita_, which is a kind of white hemp, or a long shirt of the same material, with short sleeves, partly open at the sides, the ends of which are passed between the legs, and fastened at the waist; a strip of cotton round the head, surmounted by a dark-colored hat of straw or palm-leaves, with a very wide brim, completes the attire. this cotton cap or turban is an indispensable article of dress to the highlander, who passes suddenly from the cold air of the hilly country, to the burning plains below. sumptuary regulations here obtain, as aboriginally the lower classes were not allowed to wear anything better than pita clothing, cotton being reserved for the nobles. the primitive dress of the nobility is a colored waist-cloth, and a mantle ornamented and embroidered with figures of birds, tigers, and other designs, and, although they have adopted much of the spanish dress, the rich and fanciful stitchings on the shirt, still distinguish them from their inferiors. on feast-days, and when traveling, a kind of blanket, commonly known as _serape_, _manga_, or _poncho_, is added to the ordinary dress. the serape, which differs in style according to locality, is closer in texture than the ordinary blanket and colored, checked, figured, or fringed, to suit the taste. it has an opening in the centre, through which the head is passed, and hanging in loose folds over the body it forms a very picturesque attire. some fasten it with a knot on one shoulder, leaving it to fall over the side from the other. the serape also serves for rain-coat and wrapper, and, at night, it is wound round the head and body, serving for bed as well as covering, the other portion of the dress being made into a pillow. the carriers of guatemala use a rain-proof palm-leaf called _suyacal_. shepherds are distinguished by a black and white checked apron, somewhat resembling the scotch kilt. the hair, which, before the conquest of guatemala, was worn long, and hung in braids down the back, is now cut short, except in the remote mountain districts, where long loose hair is still the fashion. in salvador and nicaragua, on the other hand, the front part of the hair used to be shaved off, the brave often appearing perfectly bald. most natives go bare-footed, except when traveling; they then put on sandals, which consist of a piece of hide fastened by thongs. the women, when at home, content themselves with a waist-cloth, generally blue-checked, secured by a twisted knot; but, on going abroad, they put on the huipil, which is a piece of white cotton, having an opening in the middle for the head, and covering the breast and back, as far as the waist. some huipils are sewed together at the sides and have short sleeves. on this part of their dress the women--who, for that matter, attend to the manufacture and dyeing of all the clothing--expend their best efforts. they embroider, or dye, the neck and shoulders with various designs, whose outlines and coloring often do great credit to their taste. in guatemala, the colors and designs are distinct for different villages, so that it may at once be seen to which tribe the wearer belongs. the hair is plaited into one or two braids, interlaced with bright-colored ribbons, and usually wreathed turban-fashion round the head. the quichés, whose red turban-dress is more pronounced than others, sometimes vary it by adding yellow bands and tassels to the braids, which are permitted to hang down to the heels. thomas gage, who lived in guatemala from about to , relates that on gala-days the fair natives were arrayed in cotton veils reaching to the ground. the ancient custom of painting, and of piercing the ears and lip, to hold pendants, is now restricted to the remote hill country, and ornaments are limited to a few strings of beads, shells, and metal for the arms and neck, with an occasional pair of ear-rings; the women add flowers and garlands to their head-dress, especially on feast-days. some mountain tribes of guatemala wear red feathers in their cotton turbans--the nobles and chiefs using green ones--and paint the body black: the paint being, no doubt, intended for a protection against mosquitos. the apron worn by the women is made of bark, which, after being soaked and beaten, assumes the appearance of chamois leather. the lacandones also wore cotton sacks adorned with tassels, and the women had bracelets of cords with tassels. in nicaragua, tattooing seems to have been practiced, for oviedo says that the natives cut their faces and arms with flint knives, and rubbed a black powder obtained from pine gum into the scars. children wear no other dress than that provided by nature: here and there, however, the girls are furnished with a strip of cotton for the waist.[ ] [sidenote: guatemalan dwellings.] the conquerors have left numerous records of large cities with splendid palaces and temples of stone, but these exist now only in their ruins. the masses had, doubtless, no better houses than those we see at present. their huts are made of wooden posts and rafters supporting a thatched roof of straw or palm-leaves, the side being stockaded with cane, bamboo, or rush, so as to allow a free passage to the air. generally they have but one room; two or three stones in the centre of the hut compose the fireplace, and the only egress for the smoke is through the door. the room is scantily furnished with a few mats, a hammock, and some earthenware. their villages are generally situated upon rising ground, and, owing to the houses being so scattered, they often extend over a league, which gives some foundation to the statements of the conquerors reporting the existence of towns of enormous size. the better kind of villages have regular streets, a thing not to be seen in the ordinary hamlets; and the houses, which are often of _adobes_ (sun-burnt bricks), or of cane plastered over, containing two or three rooms and a loft, are surrounded by neatly kept gardens, enclosed within hedges. when a guatemalan wishes to build a hut, or repair one, he notifies the chief, who summons the tribe to bring straw and other needful materials, and the work is finished in a few hours; after which the owner supplies the company with chocolate. some of the vera paz tribes are of a roaming disposition. they will take great trouble in clearing and preparing a piece of ground for sowing, and, after one or two harvests, will leave for another locality. their dwellings, which are often grouped in hamlets, are therefore of a more temporary character, the walls being of maize-stalks and sugar-cane, surmounted by a slight palm-leaf roof. during an expedition into the country of the lacandones, the spaniards found a town of over one hundred houses, better constructed than the villages on the guatemalan plateau. in the centre of the place stood three large buildings, one a temple, and the other two assembly houses, for men and women respectively. all were enclosed with fences excellently varnished. the nicaraguan villages seem to be the neatest; the houses are chiefly of plaited cane or bamboo frame-work, raised a few feet from the ground, and standing in the midst of well-arranged flowers and shrubbery. dollfus describes a simple but ingenious method used by the guatemalans to cross deep rivers. a stout cable of aloe-fibres is passed over the stream, and fixed to the banks at a sufficient height from the surface of the water. to this rope bridge, called _garucha_, is attached a running strap, which the traveler passes round his body, and is pulled across by men stationed on the opposite side.[ ] these natives are essentially agricultural, but, like all who inhabit the warm zone, desire to live with the least possible labor. most of them are content with a small patch of ground round their huts, on which they cultivate, in the same manner as did their forefathers, the little maize, beans, and the banana and plantain trees necessary for their subsistence. there are, however, a number of small farmers, who raise cochineal, cacao, indigo, and cotton, thereby adding to their own and their country's prosperity. in the more thinly settled districts, hunting enables them to increase the variety of their food with the flesh of wild hogs, deer, and other game, which are generally brought down with stone-headed arrows. when hunting the wild hog, they stretch a strong net, with large meshes, in some part of the woods, and drive the animals towards it. these rush headlong into the meshes, and are entangled, enabling their pursuers to dispatch them with ease. [sidenote: food of the guatemalans.] beans, and tortillas of maize, with the inevitable chile for seasoning, and plantains or bananas are their chief food. to these may be added meat in small quantities, fish, eggs, honey, turtle, fowl, and a variety of fruit and roots. salt is obtained by boiling the soil gathered on the sea-shore. maize is prepared in several ways. when young and tender, the ears are boiled, and eaten with salt and pepper; or a portion of them are pressed, and the remainder boiled with the juice thus extracted. when ripe, the fruit is soaked and then dried between the hands, previous to being crushed to flour between two stones. it is usually made into tortillas, which are eaten hot, with a strong sprinkling of pepper and occasionally a slight addition of fat. _tamales_ is the name for balls of cooked maize mixed with beef and chile, and rolled in leaves. a favorite dish is a dumpling made of maize and frijoles. the frijoles, or beans, of which a stock is always kept, are boiled a short time with chile; they are then mixed with maize, and again put into the pot until thoroughly cooked, when they are eaten with a sauce made of salt, chile, and water. there are a number of fluid and solid preparations made chiefly from maize, and known as _atole_, to which name various prefixes are added to denote the other ingredients used. meat, which is usually kept jerked, is a feast-day food. gage describes the jerking process as follows: fresh meat is cut into long strips, salted, and hung between posts to dry in the sun for a week. the strips are then smoked for another week, rolled up in bundles, which become quite hard, and are called _tassajo_ or _cesina_. another mode of preparing meat is described by the same author: when a deer has been shot, the body is left until decay and maggots render it appetizing; it is then brought home and parboiled with a certain herb until the flesh becomes sweet and white. the joint is afterwards again boiled, and eaten with chile. the lacandones preserve meat as follows: a large hole is made in the ground, and lined with stones. after the hole has been heated, the meat is thrown in, and the top covered with leaves and earth, upon which a fire is kept burning. the meat takes four hours to cook, and can be preserved for eight or ten days. cacao forms an important article of food, both as a drink and as bread. the kernel is picked when ripe, dried on a mat, and roasted in an earthen pan, previous to being ground to flour. formerly, cacao was reserved for the higher classes, and even now the poor endeavor to economize it by adding _sapuyal_, the kernel of the _sapote_. they observe no regularity in their meals, but eat and drink at pleasure. when traveling, some roasted maize paste called _totoposte_, crumbled in boiling water with an addition of salt and pepper, and a cup of warm water, suffice for a repast. fire is obtained in the usual primitive manner, by rubbing two sticks together.[ ] most authorities agree that they are clean in their habits, and that frequent bathing is the rule, yet it is hinted that leprosy is caused partially by uncleanliness.[ ] [sidenote: war, weapons, and implements.] since the spaniards assumed control of the country, weapons, as applied to war, have fallen into disuse, and it is only in the mountain districts that we meet the hunter armed with bow and spear, and slung over his shoulder a quiver full of reed arrows, pointed with stone. in salvador and nicaragua, the natives are still very expert in the use of the sling, game often being brought down by it.[ ] i find no record of any wars among the aborigines since the conquest, and the only information relating to their war customs, gathered from the account of skirmishes which the spaniards have had with some of the tribes in eastern guatemala, is, that the natives kept in the back-ground, hidden by rocks or trees, waiting for the enemy to approach. as soon as the soldiers came close enough, a cloud of arrows came whizzing among them, and the warriors appeared, shouting with all their might. the lacandones occasionally retaliate upon the planters on their borders for ill-treatment received at their hands. a number of warriors set out at night with faggots of dry sticks and grass, which are lighted as they approach the plantation, and thrown into the enemy's camp; during the confusion that ensues, the proposed reprisal is made. one writer gives a brief description of the ceremonies preceding and following their expeditions. in front of the temple are burning braziers filled with odoriferous resin; round this the warriors assemble in full dress, their arms being placed behind them. a smaller brazier of incense blazes in front of each warrior, before which he prostrates himself, imploring the aid of the great spirit in his enterprise. on their return, they again assemble, disguised in the heads of various animals, and go through a war dance before the chief and his council. sentinels are always pacing the summit of the hills, and give notice to one another, by trumpet blast, of the approach of any stranger. if it is an enemy, they speedily form ambuscades to entrap him.[ ] i have already referred to the bare interior of their dwellings: a few mats, a hammock, and some earthenware being the only apology for furniture. the mats are plaited of bark or other fibres, and serve, among other purposes, as a bed for the children, the grown persons generally sleeping in hammocks attached to the rafters. scattered over the floor may be seen the earthen jar which the women so gracefully balance on their head when bringing it full of water from the well; the earthen pot for boiling plantains, with its folded banana-leaf cover; cups made from clay, calabash, cocoa-nut, or wacal shells, with their stands, often polished and bearing the marks of native sculpture; the metate for grinding the family flour; the _comal_, a clay plate upon which the tortilla is baked. a banana-leaf serves for a plate, and a fir-stick does the duty of a candle. their hunting or bag nets are made of pita or bark-fibres. the steel machete and the knife have entirely displaced their ancient silex tools, of which some relics may still be found among the lacandones. valenzuela mentions that in the meeting-house of this tribe, the conquerors found two hundred hanging seats.[ ] these natives still excel in the manufacture of pottery, and produce, without the aid of tools, specimens that are as remarkable for their fanciful forms, as for their elegance and coloring. water-jars are made sufficiently porous to allow the water to percolate and keep the contents cool; other earthenware is glazed by rubbing the heated vessel with a resinous gum. nor are they behind-hand in the art of weaving, for most of the fabrics used in the country are of native make. the aboriginal spinning machine is not yet wholly displaced, and consists, according to squier, of a thin spindle of wood, fifteen or sixteen inches in length, which is passed through a wheel of hard, heavy wood, six inches in diameter, and resembles a gigantic top. when used, it is placed in a hollowed piece of wood, to prevent it from toppling over. a thread is attached to the spindle just above the wheel, and it is then twirled rapidly between the thumb and forefinger. the momentum of the wheel keeps it in motion for half a minute, and meantime the thread is drawn out by the operator from the pile of prepared cotton in her lap. their mode of weaving is the same as that of the mexicans, and the fabrics are not only durable, but tastefully designed and colored to suit the quality and price. the dyes used are, indigo for blue, cochineal for red, and indigo mixed with lemon juice for black. the nicaraguans obtain a highly prized purple by pressing the valve of a shell-fish found on the sea-shore. baily says that they take the material to the seaside, and, after procuring a quantity of fresh coloring matter, dip each thread singly into it, and lay it aside to dry. from the aloe, and pita, or silk-grass, which are very strong and can easily be bleached, they obtain a very fine thread, suitable for the finest weaving. reeds and bark give material for coarser stuff, such as ropes and nets. mats and hammocks, which are made from any of the last-mentioned fibres, are often interwoven with gray colors and rich designs. some idea may be formed of the patient industry of the native when we learn that he will work for months upon one of the highly prized hats made from the fibre of the half-formed _carludovica palmata_ leaf. they drill holes in stones, for pipes and other objects, by twirling a stick rapidly between the hands in some sand and water placed upon the stone.[ ] [sidenote: guatemalan canoes.] canoes are the usual 'dug-outs,' made from a single cedar or mahogany log, cedar being liked for its lightness, mahogany for its durability. they are frequent enough on the coast, and even the north-eastern guatemalans used to muster fleets of several hundred canoes on their lakes and rivers, using them for trade as well as war. pim, when at greytown, particularly observed the hollowed-out boats, some upwards of fifty feet in length, and straight as an arrow. he says that they are very skillfully handled, and may be seen off the harbor in any weather. the paddles, which are used both for steering and propelling, are of light mahogany, four feet long, with very broad blades, and a cross at the handle.[ ] their wealth, which, since the conquest, mostly consists of household goods, is the product of their farms and industry mentioned under food, implements, and manufactures. the coast tribes, in salvador, have a source of wealth not yet referred to--balsam--and they are very jealous of their knowledge of obtaining it. the process, as described by dollfus, is to make several deep incisions in the trunk of the balsam-tree, and stuff the holes with cotton rags. when these have absorbed sufficient balm, they are placed in jars of water, and submitted to a moderate heat. the heat separates the substance from the rags, and the balsam rises to the surface to be skimmed and placed in well-closed jars for shipment. these people possess no written records to establish ownership to their property, but hold it by ancient rights transmitted from father to son, which are transferable. the right of first discovery, as applied to fruit-trees and the like, is respected, and can be transmitted. goods and lands are equally divided among the sons. there is a general interchange of products on a small scale, and as soon as the farm yield is ready, or a sufficient quantity of hammocks, mats, hats, and cups have been prepared, the native will start on a short trading-tour, with the load on his back--for they use no other mode of transport. the ancient custom of holding frequent markets in all towns of any importance has not quite disappeared, for masaya, among other places, continues to keep a daily _tianguez_. cacao-beans, which were formerly the chief currency, are still used for that purpose to a certain extent, and make up a large item in their wealth. the lacandones at one time drove a brisk trade on the rio de la pasion, employing several hundred canoes, but this has now greatly diminished, and they seem to grow less and less inclined to intercourse. hardcastle relates that two shy mountain tribes of guatemala "exchange dogs and a species of very sharp red pepper, by leaving them on the top of the mountain, and going to the spot in turn."[ ] [sidenote: art and government.] the native's aptitude for art is well illustrated by the various products of his industry, decorated as they are with fanciful designs, carvings, and coloring. the calabash cups are widely circulated, and the artistic carving of leaves, curious lines, and figures of all descriptions, in relief, with which the outside is ornamented, has been much admired. no less esteemed are the small guatemalan earthen figures, painted in natural colors, representing the various trades and occupations of the people, which may be said to rival european productions of the same character. the ornaments on their pottery bear some resemblance to the etruscan. they are equally advanced in painting, for many of the altar-pieces in central america are from the native brush, and their dishes are often richly colored in various designs. original lyric poetry seems to flourish among them, and is not wanting in grace, although the rendering of it may not be exactly operatic. the subject generally refers to victorious encounters with monsters, but contains also sarcasms on government and society.[ ] a reverential respect for authority is innate with these people, and the chief, usually a descendant of the ancient caciques, who is also the head of the municipal government introduced among them by the spaniards, receives the homage paid him with imperturbable gravity. these chiefs form a proud and powerful noblesse, who rule with an iron hand over their submissive followers. although governed to all appearance by the code of the country, they have their own laws based on custom and common sense, which are applied to civil as well as criminal cases. among the lacandones, the chief is elected by a council of old men, when death, misconduct, or the superior abilities of some one else call for such a step. pontelli adds that the new chief is invested with lion-skins and a collar of human teeth to represent his victories; a crown of feathers or a lion-skin is his usual distinctive head-dress. the wife of the chief is required to possess some rare qualities. these people are very strict in executing the law; the offender is brought before the old men, and if the crime is serious his relatives have often to share in his punishment. the people of salvador, according to dollfus, have frequent reunions in their council-house at night. the hall is then lighted up by a large fire, and the people sit with uncovered heads, listening respectfully to the observations and decisions of the _ahuales_--men over forty years of age, who have occupied public positions, or distinguished themselves in some way. gage makes a curious statement concerning the rio lempa that may be based upon some ancient law. any man who committed a heinous crime on the one side of the river, and succeeded in escaping to the other, was allowed to go unmolested, provided he did not return.[ ] [sidenote: marriage and childbirth.] marriages take place at an early age, often before puberty, and usually within the tribe. when the boy, in guatemala and salvador, has attained the age of nine, his parents begin to look around for a bride for him, the mother having a good deal to say in this matter. presents are made to the parents of the girl chosen, and she is transferred to the house of her future father-in-law, where she is treated as a daughter, and assists in the household duties, until she is old enough to marry. it sometimes happens that she has by this time become distasteful to the affianced husband, and is returned to her parents. the presents given for her are then demanded back, a refusal naturally follows, and feuds result, lasting for generations. gage states that when the parties to the betrothal are of different tribes, the chiefs are notified, and meet in solemn conclave to consult about the expediency of the alliance. the consultations often extend over a period of several months, during which the parents of the boy supply the council with refreshments, and make presents to the girl's family for her purchase. if the council disagree, the presents are returned, and the matter drops. when the youth has reached his sixteenth or eighteenth year, and the maid her fourteenth, they are considered able to take care of themselves; a house is accordingly built, and the father gives his son a start in life. the cacique and relations are summoned to witness the marriage ceremony, now performed by the priest, after which the pair are carried upon the shoulders of their friends to the new house, placed in a room, and shut in. the bride brings no dowry, but presents are made by the friends of the families. several tribes in guatemala are strictly opposed to marriages outside of the tribe, and destroy the progeny left by a stranger. the lacandones still practice polygamy, each wife having a separate house and field for her support. in nicaragua, where women are more independent, and fewer of the ancient marriage customs have been retained than elsewhere, the ceremony is often quickly disposed of, the husband and wife returning to their avocations immediately after. the life of the woman is one of drudgery; household duties, weaving, and the care of children keeping her constantly busy, while the husband is occupied in dolce far niente; yet their married life is not unhappy. although the female dresses scantily and is not over shy when bathing, she is by no means immodest or unchaste, but bears rather a better character than women of the superior race. childbirth is not attended with any difficulties, for it sometimes happens that the woman, after being delivered on the road, will wash the child and herself in the nearest stream, and proceed on her journey, as if nothing had occurred. the quichés, among others, still call in the sorcerer to take the horoscope of the new-born, and to appeal to the gods in its behalf. he also gives the infant the name of some animal, which becomes its guardian spirit for life. belly states that more boys are born to the natives, while the whites have more girls. the mother invariably nurses the child herself until its third year, and, when at work, carries it on her back in a cloth passed round her body; the movements of the mother in washing or kneading tending to rock the infant to sleep. otherwise the child is little cared for, and has to lie on the bare ground, or, at most, with a mat under it. as the boy grows older the father will take him into the field and forest, suiting the work to his strength, and instructing him in the use of tools, while the mother takes charge of the girl, teaching her to cook, spin, and weave. respect for parents and older people is inculcated, and children never presume to speak before a grown person unless first addressed. they remain under the parents' roof until married, and frequently after, several generations often living together in one house under the rule of the eldest. the native is fond of home, for here he escapes from the contempt of the other races, and reigns supreme over a family which is taught to respect him: patriotism has been replaced by love of home among this oppressed people.[ ] [sidenote: guatemalan music.] their amusements are less common and varied than among the whites, and are generally reserved for special occasions, when they are indulged in to excess. still, they have orderly gatherings round the hearth, at which wondrous and amusing stories form the chief part of the entertainment. songs follow in natural order, and are loudly applauded by the listeners, who join in repeating the last words of the verse. the subject, as given by some local poet, or transmitted from an ancient bard, is pleasing enough, but the rendering is in a plaintive, disagreeable monotone. their instrumental music is an improvement on the vocal, in some respects, and practice has enabled the player to execute pieces from memory with precision and accord. the _marimba_, a favorite instrument, consists of a series of vertical tubes of different length but equal diameter, fastened together in a line by bark fibre, and held firm between two pieces of wood. the tubes have a lateral opening at the base covered with a membrane, and the upper end is closed by a small, movable elastic plate, upon which the performer strikes with light drumsticks. the play of the plates causes a compression of air in the tube, and a consequent vibration of the membrane, which produces a sound differing in character according to the length of the tube. all the parts are of wood, the tube being, however, occasionally of terra-cotta, or replaced by calabash-shells. the marimba of usual size is over a yard in length, and consists of twenty-two tubes ranging from four to sixteen inches in length, forming three complete octaves. the pitch is regulated by a coating of wax on the key-plates. some drumsticks are forked to strike two plates at once. occasionally, several persons join in executing an air upon the instrument, or two marimbas are played in perfect accord with some song. their usual drum is called _tepanabaz_, described by gage as a smooth hollow trunk with two or three clefts on the upper side and holes at the ends. it is beaten with two sticks, and produces a dull heavy sound. other drums covered with wild goat skin, tortoise-shells, pipes, small bells, and rattles, are chiefly used at dances. the lacandones possess a kind of mandolin, a double-necked, truncated cone, with one string, made to pass four times over the bridge; also a clarionet-like instrument named _chirimiya_; their drum is called _tepanahuaste_. a dance is generally a grand affair with the native, combining as it does dress with dramatic and saltatory exhibitions. at the _tocontin_ dance, in guatemala, from twenty to forty persons dressed in white clothes richly embroidered, and bedecked with gaudy bands, colored feathers in gilt frames fastened on the back, fanciful helmets topped with feathers, and feathers, again, on their legs, in form of wings. the conductor stands in the centre beating time on the tepanabaz, while the dancers circle round him, one following the other, sometimes straight, sometimes turning half-way, at other times fully round, and bending the body to the ground, all the time shouting the fame of some hero. this continues for several hours, and is often repeated in one house after another. in another dance they disguise themselves with skins of different animals, acting up to the character assumed, and running in and out of the circle formed round the musicians, striking, shrieking, and hotly pursuing some particular performer. there are also several dances like those of the mexicans, in which men dress in women's clothes and other disguises. the nicaraguan dances vary but little from the above. several hundred people will gather in some well-cleared spot, their arms and legs ornamented with strings of shells, their heads with feathers, and with fans in their hands. the leader, walking backwards, commences some movements to be imitated by the dancers, who follow in threes and fours, turning round, intermingling, and again uniting. the musicians beat drums and sing songs to which the leader responds, the dancers taking up the refrain in their turn, and shaking their calabash rattles. after a while they pass round each other and perform the most curious antics and grimaces, crying, laughing, posturing, acting lame, blind, and so on. drinking is inseparable from these reunions, and they do not usually break up until all have attained the climax of their wishes--becoming helplessly drunk. the principal drinks are, atole made from maize, but which assumes different prefixes, according to the additional ingredients used, as _istatole_, _jocoatole_, etc.; pulque, chiefly used in the highlands; and, not least, _chicha_, made from maize and various fruits and roots, fermented with honey or sugar-cane juice. gage states that tobacco-leaves and toads were added to increase the flavor. the nicaraguans make their favorite drink from a wild red cherry. it takes several weeks to prepare these liquors, but by the generous aid of friends the stock is often consumed at one carousal.[ ] [sidenote: customs in guatemala and nicaragua.] ignorant and oppressed as they are, superstition is naturally strong among them, the evil eye, ominous import of animals and the like being firmly believed in. nicaraguans gave as a reason for speaking in whispers at night, that loud talking attracts mosquitos. the quichés, of istlávacan, among others, believe in certain evil and certain good days, and arrange their undertakings accordingly. when meeting a stranger, they present the forehead to be touched, thinking that a beneficial power is imparted to them by this means. they still adhere to their sorcerers, who are called in upon all important occasions, to predict the future, exorcise evil spirits and the like, with the aid of various decoctions and incantations. the chontales have diviners who, with the aid of drugs, taken after a fast, fall into a trance, during which they prophesy. they form a sort of guild, and live alone in the mountains with a few pupils, who support them in return for the instruction received. although idolatry proper is abolished, some ancient practices still live, blended with their christian worship, and it is said that tribes inhabiting the remote mountain regions still keep up their old rites in secret. dollfus is apparently inclined to believe that the songs he heard the natives chant every morning and evening may be the relic of some ancient religious ceremony. the itzas hold deer sacred, and these animals were consequently quite familiar with man, before the conquerors subdued the country. the lacandones are said to have been the last who publicly worshiped in their temple, and whose priests sacrificed animals to idols. by the side of the temple stood two other large buildings used as meeting-houses, one for men, the other for women. dogs and tame parrots formed part of their domestic establishment. the native is very taciturn before strangers, but on paying a visit to friends he will deliver long harangues full of repetition. it is almost impossible to obtain a direct answer from him to any question. another peculiarity with many is to hoard money at the expense of bodily comfort. it is buried in some secret place, and the owner dies without even caring to inform his kin of the whereabouts of his treasures. the favorite occupation of the people is to act as porters, and guatemala certainly possesses the most excellent carriers, who are trained for the business from an early age. they usually go in files, headed by a chief, all armed with long staffs and water-proof palm-leaf mats, and travel from twenty to thirty miles a day, for days in succession, without suffering any inconvenience. the weight varies from one hundred to two hundred and fifty pounds, according to road and distance, and is carried on the back, supported by straps passed over the forehead and shoulders. they are very moderate in eating, and never drink cold water if they can avoid it; when tired, they stretch themselves at full length on the ground, and are speedily refreshed. women are also accustomed to carry burdens, and may frequently be seen taking several filled pitchers to market in nets suspended from their forehead and shoulders. water they usually bring in jars balanced on the head.[ ] [sidenote: medical practice.] the ruling diseases are small-pox, which makes yearly havoc; dysentery, which is also not uncommon in the highlands during the summer; and leprosy, manifested by wounds and eruptions, and caused by filth, immoral habits, and bad food. in some parts of nicaragua, the latter disease breaks out in horny excrescences, similar in appearance to the tips of cow-horns. rheumatism and chest diseases are rare, in spite of their rough life. superstitious practices and empirical recipes transmitted from their ancestors are the remedies resorted to. hot bathing is the favorite treatment. they are skillful at blood-letting, making very small punctures, and applying a pinch of salt to them after the operation is ended. cauterizing wounds to prevent inflammation is not uncommon, and does not affect the patient much. the principal remedy of the chorotegans consists of a decoction from various herbs injected by means of a tube. some tribes of the highlands call in sorcerers to knead and suck the suffering part. after performing a variety of antics and grimaces, the wise man produces a black substance from the mouth, which he announces as the cause of the sickness; the friends of the patient take this matter and trample it to pieces amidst noisy demonstrations.[ ] their dead are washed, and dressed in a fresh suit; friends then assemble to express their regard and sorrow by burning copal and performing a wild dance round the corpse, which is buried with all its belongings, as well as food for sustenance on the long journey. the itzas, inhabiting the islands in the lake peten, are said to have thrown their dead into the lake, for want of room.[ ] the character of the guatemalans exhibits a number of excellent traits. they have always been a gentle race, and easily led by kindness, but centuries of oppression have thrown over them a timid, brooding spirit. far from warlike, they have nevertheless proved themselves efficient soldiers during the late civil wars. their honesty and faithfulness to a trust or engagement is universally admitted, and every traveler bears witness to their hospitality and obliging disposition. although taciturn before strangers, whom they naturally distrust, they are quite voluble and merry among themselves, especially the women; their mirth, however, wants the ring of true happiness. looking at the darker side, it is found that drunkenness stands preëminent, and if the native is not oftener drunk, it is because the means for carousing are wanting. surrounded by a bountiful nature, he is naturally lazy and improvident, whole days being passed in dreamy inaction, without a symptom of ennui. he is obstinate, and clings to ancient customs, yet he will not dispute with you, but tacitly forms his own opinion. taught to be humble, he does not possess much manliness, has a certain cunning, will weep at trifles, and is apt to be vindictive, especially if his jealousy is aroused. the highlanders form an exception to these general characteristics in many respects. the purer air of the mountain has infused in them a certain independent energy, and industry. nor are the women to be classed as lazy, for their position is rather that of slaves than of wives, yet they are vivacious and not devoid of coquetry, but of undisputed modesty. many of the remoter tribes are brave, and the manches, for instance, behaved lately in so spirited a manner as to compel the government to treat with them. the itzas are said to have been warlike and cruel, but their neighbors the lacandones are not so ferocious as supposed. the quichés bear a high character for industry, and intelligence, while those of rabinal excel in truthfulness, honesty, and morality. the vera paz tribes are less active and industrious than those of the plateau; this applies especially to the eastern nations who are also more stupid than the western. the salvador people are noted for their phlegmatic temperament, and the provoked stranger who seeks to hurry them, is merely laughed at; otherwise they, as well as the nicaraguans, are more docile and industrious than the guatemalans, but also more superstitious. scherzer thinks that they have all the inclination for becoming robbers, but want the energy. the aztec remnants in nicaragua are particularly patient and thrifty, but extremely shy and brooding. the chontales, on the other hand, are said to have been a savage and debased race, while the cholutecs were brave and cruel but subject to petticoat rule. opinions concerning the intelligence of the natives and their prospect of advancement are varied, some affirming that they are dull and spiritless, incapable of making any progress, while others assign them a high character and intelligence, which, properly directed, would give them a prominent position.[ ] [sidenote: the mosquitos.] [sidenote: mosquito nations.] the mosquitos, the second division of the central american group, are at the present day composed in part of an incongruous mixture of carib colonists and negro importations, and in part of a pure native element. owing to the independent spirit of the tribes along the central chain of mountains, which successfully resisted the attempts of spaniards to penetrate the territory, and to the unhealthy climate of the coast, this country, with the exception of the northern part of honduras, has as yet escaped subjection to the white race. the country, aside from the sea-shore, possesses many attractive features. the transverse ranges, radiating from the principal chain, form a series of terraces which gradually lessen in elevation, until they disappear in a low coast region. between them innumerable rivers, fed by the moisture-laden sea-winds, now rushing boisterously from heavily wooded heights, now sluggishly wending their way through luxuriant prairie-land, flow through a region of most pleasing variety, and at last empty into vast lagoons bordering the ocean. the aborigines still form the greater part of the population, and are composed of a large number of tribes which, while practicing agriculture to a limited extent, subsist chiefly on natural fruits and on the products of the chase. excepting the small tribes of the eastern mosquito country, mr squier, who has given much patient research to their languages, includes the natives of this sub-division among the lenca family, at the head of which stand the _guajiqueros_ in western honduras, essentially an agricultural people. east of these are the _xicaques_, and _poyas_, names given to a collection of closely related tribes, some of which have been brought under the subjugating influences of the missionary fathers, while others still keep their ancient customs intact. the _secos_ on black river are included by some writers with the poyas. south and west of these are the _moscos_, and in the western part of the mosquito coast, the _woolwas_, who still cherish a tradition of their emigration from the north-west. east of the latter live the _towkas_ and _cookras_, who extend to blewfields, and speak dialects varying little from the woolwa tongue, but stand lower in the scale of humanity. bell states that the towkas are merely a branch of the _smoos_, who have many points in common with the poyas, though differing from them in language. among other aborigines may be mentioned the _albatuinas_, _tahuas_, _panamekas_, _jaras_, _taos_, _gaulas_, _itziles_, _motucas_, and the _ramas_ on the blewfields lagoon; of several others the names are either lost or unknown. following the coast southward we meet the _caribs_, a strong, hardy, but crude race at present, of varied negro admixture, chiefly descended from the turbulent natives of san vicente island, whom the english transported in to the island of roatan, whence they were brought over to honduras. the caribs, who have within a few decades spread from a small colony over the whole northern coast, driving other nations into the interior and southward, appear to be superseding the aborigines, now fast disappearing under the annihilating effect of drink and disease. south of the caribs round cape gracias á dios are the _sambos_, or _mosquitos_ proper, said to have sprung from the union of native women with negro slaves wrecked on the coast during the seventeenth century. owing to their geographical position they were brought in contact with the buccaneers, and placed in a position to gain ascendancy over other tribes from the poyas southward, but were at the same time inoculated with the degrading vices and disorders which are now so rapidly bringing about their extinction. elated by their position as masters of the coast, they assumed the proud title of _waiknas_, or men, in which conceit they have been imitated by the subjected tribes, which are gradually adopting the sambo tongue. adjacent to them are the _toonglas_, a not very numerous offshoot of smoos and sambos.[ ] race-mixtures in certain localities have almost obliterated aboriginal types, which are portrayed as of medium stature, regular form, and varying in color from light brown to dark coppery. the people about cape gracias á dios are represented by the first voyagers to have been nearly as dark as negroes. the face is rather flat and oval, the head smaller than among europeans; forehead high and cheek-bones not very prominent; hair long, straight, coarse, and black; beard scanty; nose very small, thin, and usually aquiline among the coast people, but larger and broader toward the interior. the iris of the eye is generally black, but often verges toward brown; mouth broad, with thin lips and regular teeth. the women present a full bust and abdomen; they are called pretty, but early marriages soon make them old. it is suspected that infant murder has something to do with the rarity of deformed people. the towkas and ramas present the finest pure-blooded type, the former being very fair, while the latter are large, athletic, and stern-looking. the poyas are copper-colored, short, but muscular, broad-faced, with large forehead, bent nose, and small, mild eyes. the toonglas are duskier; the smoos approach the fair towkas in hue, though they have a flatter head, accompanied by a stolid look. the darkest of all are the woolwas, whose color seems a mixture of yellow ochre and india ink. proceeding to honduras, we meet the caribs, whose varied admixture of negro blood separates them into yellow and black caribs. the former are distinguished by a somewhat ruddy hue, with a hooked nose; while his duskier brother is taller, hardier, and longer-lived; with a nose inclining to aquiline. children are prettier as they approach the negro type. the hair varies in curl and gloss according to purity of blood. the mosquitos proper are more uniform in appearance, and buccaneers have no doubt assisted in bringing out many of the characteristics that have obtained for the sambo race the leading position on the coast. they are all well-built, raw-boned, nimble, and of a dull, dark, copper color. the face is oval, with a coarse, lustful expression, the hair rough, wavy, and black, eyes bright and remarkably strong; women pretty, with large eyes, and small feet and ankles.[ ] [sidenote: mosquito physique and dress.] [sidenote: mosquito head-flattening.] a piece of cloth fastened at the waist in a twist or by a cord, and reaching to the knee, constitutes the native male costume in these parts, that of the women being somewhat shorter. this cloth is either of cotton, sometimes woven with down, or of fibres from the inner bark of the caoutchouc tree, beaten on stones till they become soft, and is often large enough to serve for a covering at night. some are quite fanciful in color and design, and formerly they were painted. those of the woolwas are usually six feet long by three broad, striped blue and yellow; they are passed between the legs and fastened at the waist by a thong. the xicaques, on the contrary, wear the cloth serape-fashion, by passing the head through a slit in the centre, and tying the folds round the waist. even this scanty covering is often reduced to the smallest apron, and is dispensed with altogether in some parts, for modern travelers speak of natives in a naked state. women occasionally wear a small square cloth, having an opening for the head, one part of which covers the breast, the other the back. in some parts chiefs are distinguished by a cotton cap, and a long sleeveless robe, open in front and often nicely ornamented; in other places men of rank wear turbans decorated with plumes and feathers, and dress in skins of eagles, tigers, and other animals; these are also used by the common people on festive occasions. the smoos' head-dress is especially pretty, with its embroidery and feather-work. ordinarily the long loose hair is deemed sufficient to protect the head, and is kept sleek and shining by palm-oil, which they say furthers its growth. the women have longer hair than the men, and often dress it in ringlets, seldom in a knot or wreath. the people of northern honduras wear a lock hanging over the forehead; some highland chieftains, on the contrary, shave the front of the head, but allow the back hair to grow long, while the poyas part theirs in the middle, keeping it in position with a band. that of the religious men reaches to the waist, and generally falls in braids behind. in mourning, both sides of the head are shaved, a bushy comb being left along the middle. formerly all hair except that on the head, even eyebrows and lashes, was pulled out, because it was thought fit for animals only to have hair on the body. all go barefooted, and it is only where the native has to travel over a rough road that he puts on _alparagats_, or sandals of bark, wood, or skin, which are fastened by thongs round the foot. whatever is wanting in actual dress, however, is made up by paint and ornaments, of which both sexes are equally fond. the face and upper part of the body are either uniformly daubed over or tattooed with rays, fanciful lines, and designs representing animals and the like, chiefly in red and black. taste is not wanting in this adornment, for the tint is often delicate, and the black circles round the eyes indicate that they understand effect, increasing as they do the lustre of the orbs. esquemelin states that when visitors were expected, the men combed the hair, and smeared the face with an ointment of oil and black powder, the women using a red admixture. tattooing figures on the body by cauterization, as seen by columbus on the mosquito coast, is still practiced in certain parts of the interior. aboriginal mosquitos also perforated ears, lips, and cheeks, to hold pendants of fish-bones and green stones; the holes in the ears being as large as eggs. the natives of corn island not only carried large pieces of wood in the ears, but gradually enlarged the hole in the lower lip; at fifteen years of age the wood was removed and a tortoise-shell inserted. women wore a tight bandage round the ankle to increase the size of their calves. strings of tastefully arranged beads, bones, shells, and stones, and gaily colored bandages, were worn round the neck and wrist; the women adorning the legs and ankles in a similar manner, and also using feathers and flowers. certain interior tribes, as the smoos, esteem a round forehead as a reproach, and hence the head is flattened, the effect of which would be more noticeable, were it not for the thick bushy hair. this head-flattening fashion here appears for the first time since we left the columbian group; we shall see it once again further south, and that is all. the process here is essentially similar to that of the columbians. when the infant is a month old, it is tied to a board, and a flat piece of wood, kept firm by bands, is placed upon the forehead. the child remains in this painful position for several months, the pressure increasing as the head grows.[ ] towns there are none, except in certain parts; seldom do more than four or five houses stand in a group; the locality being changed at intervals for sanitary or superstitious purposes. a few upright posts planted in parallel lines, or in a circle, and occasionally interwoven with cane or leaves, support what may be called the hut proper, which is a sharply sloping, well-thatched palm-leaf roof with projecting eaves, reaching to within three or four feet of the ground. there is usually but one apartment, the floor of which is often coated with clay, and raised a little to avoid dampness. in the center is the fireplace, surrounded by household ware and cackling hens, and all round may be seen hammocks and nets suspended from the bamboo rafters. some sleep on a frame-work of bamboo placed upon posts. the better class of houses contain partitions for the several families occupying it, and stand in fields enclosed by stalk fences. a village with many of the interior tribes consists of one large building, often one hundred feet long by thirty feet wide. the front and end of these structures are open, but the back is partitioned off into small closets with the bark of the cabbage-palms, each serving as a bedroom for a married couple, or for unmarried women. a platform immediately under the roof is used as a sleeping-place for the boys, and an apartment at the end of the hut is set apart for women about to be confined. some of the guajiquero villages contain over a hundred substantial huts of mud, or of cane plastered over and whitewashed. the toonglas and cookras, erect temporary sheds near the streams, during the summer, but seek more secure huts in the winter. carib dwellings are the neatest of all; some are of cane, others of frame-work filled with mud. cockburn relates that, during his journey through honduras, he came across a bridge made of a net-work of cane, which was suspended between trees so that the centre hung forty feet above the surface of the stream. he found it very old and shaky, and concluded that it belonged to the remote past.[ ] [sidenote: food in honduras.] [sidenote: mosquito cookery.] redundant nature here leaves man so little to do, as scarcely to afford an opportunity for development. the people of northern honduras, according to herrera, cleared the ground with stone axes, and turned the sod by main strength with a forked pole or with sharp wooden spades, and by this means secured two or three yields every year; but the present occupants scarcely take so much trouble. on marrying, the men prepare a small field for a few beds of yams, beans, cassava, and squash, some pepper, and pine-apples, besides twenty to thirty plantain and cocoa-nut trees, leaving their wives to give it such further care as may be required. where maize is cultivated it is either sown two or three grains in holes two feet apart, or broadcast over freshly cleared woodland a little before the rainy season. the poyas are the only people who cultivate respectable farms. fishing is the favorite occupation of the coast tribes, and their dexterity with the spear and harpoon is quite remarkable. the proper time for catching the larger species of fish, such as the tarpom and palpa, is at night, when a fleet of pitpans, each with a pitch-pine torch in the bow, may be seen on the lagoon intermingling in picturesque confusion. one or two paddlers propel the boat, another holds the torch, while the harpooneer stands at the bow with a _waisko-dusa_, or staff, having a loosely fitting, barbed harpoon at one end, and a piece of light wood at the other. a short line attached to the harpoon, passes along the staff, and is rolled round this float for convenience. the glare of the torch attracts the fish and enables the bowman to spy his prey, which is immediately transfixed by the harpoon. away it darts, but the float retards its progress, and points out its whereabouts to the boatmen, who again seize the line, and drag it to the shore. occasionally the tarpom is taken in strong nets, the meshes of which require to be six inches square in order to entangle it. manatees or sea-cows are caught in the early morning, and to get within striking distance of the wary animal, it is necessary to deck the canoe with bushes and leaves, giving it the appearance of a floating tree. the line attached to the harpoon is in this case payed out from the canoe, which is often trailed by the manatee in a lively manner. it generally takes several harpoons as well as lances to kill it. smaller harpoons, without barb, with merely quadrangular points an inch and a half long and nearly as wide, are used for catching turtles so that the shell may not be damaged. as the canoe approaches, the turtle slides under the water; the bowman signalizes the oarsman how to steer, and when the turtle rises to breathe, it is speared, dragged into the canoes, and placed on its back. some fishermen will jump into the water after the animal, and bring it up in their hands, but this feat is attended with danger, from bites and sharp coral. the hawk-bill turtle is set free after the shell has been stripped of its scales, but the green species is eaten, and its eggs, which are esteemed a dainty, are sought for in the sand by poking suspected places with a stick. smaller fish are speared with the _sinnock_, a long pole with a fixed point. the river people take less pleasure in fishing, and resort thereto only as driven by necessity. weirs of branches and clay are constructed, with a small outlet in the middle, where men are stationed to catch the passing fish with nets and spears. the poyas employ a still surer method. the water is beaten with sticks for some distance above the weir, so as to drive the fish together; a quantity of juice extracted from a wild vine called _pequine_, which has a stupefying effect, is thrown into the water, and the men have merely to select the best looking, the smaller ones being allowed to float away and recover in the unadulterated waters below. the preserving of fish is the work of women, who cut them in slices,--sometimes rubbing them with salt,--and place the pieces on a framework of cane over the fire to be smoke-dried; after which they are exposed to the sun for a day or two. part of the fish is cooked, or baked in oil, and eaten at once. if we except the smoos and xicaques, who follow game with true precision and patience, the usual mode of hunting is as primitive as weir-fishing. a number of men assemble and set fire to the grass, which drives the terrified animals into a corner, where they are shot or struck down, or the game is entrapped in holes partly filled with water. the wild hog, the tapir, and deer supply most of the meat, which is cured in the same way as fish: some cutting the meat in strips, and curing it on the _buccan_, or grate of sticks, while others prefer the barbecue method which is to smoke-dry the whole animal. certain old writers state that human flesh was eaten, but this is discredited by others, who think that the error arose from seeing the natives feast on monkeys, which, skinned, have much the appearance of humans. the statement of their eating raw fish may also be wrong, for the natives of the present day are very careful about thoroughly cooking their food, and even avoid fruit not fully ripened. a well-known article of food is the carib bread, a sort of white hard biscuit made from cassava or mandioc roots, which are skinned, washed, and grated on a board set with sharp stones. the pulp is rinsed in water to extract the poisonous juice, and when it is sufficiently whitened by this means, the water is carefully pressed out, and the substance set to dry in the sun. the sifted flour is made into large round thin cakes, which, after being exposed to the sun for a while, are slowly baked over the fire. the poyas make large rolls, which are wrapped in leaves and baked in the ashes. these soon become sour, and are then eaten with a relish. others grind cassava or maize on the metate, and bake tortillas. a gruel is also made of the flour, and eaten with salt and chile, or syrup. one of their dainties is _bisbire_, the name given to plantains kept in leaves till putrid, and eaten boiled. scalding hot cacao mixed with chile is the favorite stimulant, of which large quantities are imbibed, until the perspiration starts from every pore. cacao-fruit is also eaten roasted. notwithstanding the richness of the soil and the variety of its productions, the natives are accused of resorting to insects for food, and of eating their own vermin. the coast people have the greater selection, but trust mostly to fishing, while the interior tribes after natural products depend upon the chase. the cookras subsist chiefly on the cabbage-palm. sambo girls have a peculiar fancy for eating charcoal and sand, believing that their charms are improved thereby. no regularity is observed in eating, but food is taken at any hour, and with voracity; nor will they take the trouble to procure more, until the whole stock is consumed, and hunger drives them from their hammocks. the poyas and guajiqueros seem to be the only tribes who have any idea of providing for the future; the latter laying up a common reserve.[ ] frequent bathing is the rule, yet the sambos, who have a better opportunity for this, perhaps, than other tribes, are described as dirty in their surroundings, and, when warmed by motion, emit a disagreeable odor, arising from the use of ointments and powders. the poyas, xicaques, secos, and especially the caribs are, on the contrary, very cleanly in their habits.[ ] [sidenote: mosquito weapons and war.] the bow and arrow figures as the chief weapon of the mosquitos, the former being usually of iron-wood, spanned with twisted mahoe-bark, and often six feet in length; the latter of reed or wood, hardened in fire, and pointed with hard wood, flint, fish-bones, or teeth. they not only handle the bow well, but some are expert in the art of defense. to attain this dexterity, children are taught to turn aside, with a stick, the blunt darts thrown at them, and in time they become sufficiently expert to ward off arrows in the same manner. they also fight with cane lances about nine feet long, with oblong diamond points, javelins, clubs, and heavy sharp-pointed swords made of a poisonous wood, a splinter from which causes first madness and then death. the milky juice of the manzanilla-tree is used to poison arrows and darts. blowpipes, whose light arrows surely and silently bring down birds at a hundred feet and over, are in great favor with the youth. armor is made of plaited reeds covered with tiger-skins, and ornamented with feathers; besides which, the northern mosquitos employ a breastplate of twisted cotton, like that of the mexicans. mosquito women are said to be as good archers as the men.[ ] aboriginal wars were continually waged in honduras without any other object than to avenge the death of an ancestor, or to retaliate on those who had carried away friends into slavery. neighboring tribes, however, agreed to a truce at certain times, to allow the interchange of goods. previous to starting on an expedition, turkeys, dogs, and even human beings were sacrificed to influence the gods; blood was drawn from tongue and ears, and dreams carefully noted, and their import determined. ambassadors were sent to challenge the enemy to a pitched battle, and, if they were not responded to, the country was ravaged. when prisoners were taken they were usually held as slaves, after having the nose cut off. forty thousand men sometimes composed an expedition, operating without chief or order, devising ambushes and stratagems as it suited them, and accompanied by women to act as porters. mosquito warriors blacken the face, and place themselves under the temporary command of the bravest and most experienced. the coast people are bold and unyielding, and usually kill their prisoners. when the sambos confederate with their neighbors, they expect their allies to pay for friends lost in battle.[ ] domestic utensils in the homes of the mosquitos consist of stones for grinding grain and roots, clay pots and plates for cooking purposes, and gourds, calabashes, and nets for holding food and liquids. the stone hatchet, which is fast becoming a relic, is ten inches long, four broad, and three thick, sharp at both ends, with a groove to hold the handle which is firmly twisted round its centre. besides the implements already referred to under fishing and weapons, may be mentioned the lasso, in the use of which they are very expert, and the _patapee_, a pretty water-tight basket that the caribs plait of reeds. the men usually sleep in hammocks, or on mats spread on the ground near the fire, with a stick for a pillow, while the women prefer a platform of cane raised a few feet from the ground, and covered with a mat or a skin.[ ] fibres of mahoe and ule bark, pisang-leaves and silk-grass furnish material for ropes, nets, mats, and coarse fabrics. most of the mosquitos grow a little cotton, which the women spin on a rude wheel, like that of the guatemalans, and weave on a frame loom into strong and neat cloths. the favorite blue color for dyeing is obtained from the _jiquilite_ plant; the yellow from the _achiolt_ tree. pottery is a very ancient art among them, as may be seen from the fine specimens discovered in the graves and ruins of honduras. their red cooking-pots are very light but strong, and the water-jars, which are only slightly burnt to permit percolation, show considerable taste in design.[ ] [sidenote: boats and fisheries.] nowhere do we find more daring and expert boatmen than the mosquitos, who will venture out upon the roughest sea in a boat barely large enough to hold a man and a boy. if the boat capsize it is at once righted, bailed out, and the voyage resumed, and seldom is any part of the cargo lost. the _dory_, or ordinary sea-boat is a hollowed-out tree, often twenty-five to fifty feet long, four to six wide, and four to five deep, round-bottomed, buoyant, and with good handling safe. the best are made by the up-river tribes, especially the towkas, who prepare them roughly with axe and fire, and sell them to the coast people to be finished according to fancy. after the dug-out has been trimmed, it is often soaked in water for a time, so that the sides may be stretched and secured with knees. the _pitpan_, which is used on rivers and lagoons, differs from the dory in being flat-bottomed, with broad and gradually rounded ends, and of less depth and width. cedar is chiefly used for pitpans on account of its lightness, and the stronger mahogany for dories; but the latter are, however, soon injured by worms if kept in the water. small boats are propelled by a single broad-bladed paddle; sails also are employed with the _crean_ or keeled canoe.[ ] harpoon and canoe are the basis of the mosquito's wealth, for with them he obtains his food and the tortoise-shell, the principal article of traffic. the season for catching hawk-bill turtles is from april to august, when fleets of canoes, each manned by about twelve men, proceed to different parts of the coast, as far south as chiriquí, and bring home ten thousand pounds of shell on an average. green turtles, which are caught near reefs, also find a good market in blewfields and elsewhere. all keep hogs, the caribs more than others; many possess cattle and horses, which are allowed to run wild over the prairies, the horses being lassoed whenever required for riding. their manner of breaking them is unique. one man leads the horse with the lasso into water, to a depth of three or four feet, when another jumps upon his back, and responds to buckings and skittishness with blows on the head, until in about half an hour the exhausted animal surrenders. a line of bark-fibre serves for reins, and a few plaited palm-leaves for saddle. preservation of wealth is little thought of, for cattle are most recklessly slaughtered at feasts and for offences, and fruit-trees, as well as other property are, as a rule, destroyed on the death of the owner. quite a trade is carried on in these parts, the inland tribes bringing rough canoes, calabashes, skins, cloth, honey, and cacao to the coast people, and receiving therefor turtles, salt, english fancy and useful articles; while many of the latter undertake lengthy coast trips to dispose of the bartered produce, as well as their own. the wankees deal heavily in _bisbire_, or decomposed plantains, while sarsaparilla and honey are the staple articles of the secos and poyas. a mixture of shrewdness and simplicity characterizes their dealings. a party wishing to dispose of hides, for instance, first produces the worst ones, which are thrown aside by the buyer until those of the standard quality are brought out; a sum is then offered for the whole, which is often unhesitatingly accepted by the native who is too dazzled by the apparently high price to consider the amount of produce given for it. very little value is placed upon labor, for canoes, which have taken a considerable time to prepare, are often bartered for a mere trifle. the people of honduras have always a stock of cloth and honey to pay taxes with, and set a high value on colored feathers obtained from yucatec coast traders, who take cacao for return cargoes.[ ] [sidenote: mosquito calendar and art.] although versatile enough in handicrafts, their mental faculties are exceedingly crude. with the aid of fingers and toes the sambo is able to count to twenty, but anything beyond that confuses him. time is reckoned by _kates_, or moons, thirteen of which make a _mani_, or year. when asked to fix the date of an event, he will say that it occurred so many sleeps or moons ago; but when the time exceeds a year or two, the answer is given in the rather indefinite term of "many, many years;" consequently he is unable to tell his age. his ideas of cosmology are equally vague; thus, stars are held to be glowing stones. the people of honduras call the year _iolar_, and divide it in the same manner as the mexicans, by whom the system has, no doubt, been introduced. they reckon time by so many nights or twilights, not by days, and determine the hour by the height of the sun. the song-language of the mosquitos differs greatly from that employed in conversation, a quaint old-time style being apparently preserved in their lyrics.[ ] the art of extracting and melting gold has long been known to them, but, although they wear a few ornaments of this metal, they do not seem to prize it very highly. at the time of cockburn's visit to honduras, dams were used in mining, and instruments of cane to sift the gold. the mode employed by the poyas to separate gold from sand is the one known in california as panning, and is thus described by squier: "scooping up some of the sand in his bowl, and then filling it with water, he whirled it rapidly, so that a feathery stream of mingled sand and water flew constantly over its edge. he continued this operation until the sand was nearly exhausted, and then filled the bowl again. after repeating this process several times, he grew more careful, balancing the bowl skillfully, and stopping occasionally to pick out the pebbles ... after the process was complete, the poyer showed me a little deposit of gold, in grains, at the bottom of the calabash." the gold dust passes into the hands of the white trader.[ ] [sidenote: government, slavery, polygamy.] the mosquitos proper are ruled by a hereditary king, who claims sovereignty over the interior tribes of the mosquito coast, which, in many cases, is merely nominal. before the english made their influence felt, this monarch, who, in these latter degenerate days, does not possess many prerogatives, seems to have had but a small extent of territory, for among the earlier travelers some assert that the inhabitants of this coast lived under a republican rule, while others observed no form of government. each village or community has a principal man, or judge, selected from the eldest and ablest, who settles minor grievances, referring weightier matters to the king, and superintends the contribution of canoes, tortoise-shells, and produce for the support of the monarch and chiefs--for regular taxes are not collected. among the poyas, the old men, who are highly respected by their juniors, assemble every evening to deliberate upon the duties of the following day; all members of the tribe take part in the work, and share alike in the results. according to young, the mosquitos had an officer, in whom was vested certain authority. the caribs are also ruled by elders, dignified by the title of captains. their laws are in some respects harsh: for instance, a woman who has had intercourse with a man of another race is whipped slowly to death. sambos are less particular in this matter, the adulterer being merely mulcted in a cow. if the decision of a chief be not satisfactory, the contestants resort to trial by combat. the xicaques live in communities of from seventy to one hundred persons ruled by chiefs elected for life. the insignia of a judge or ruler in honduras are a white staff, often elaborately ornamented with a golden head and tassels. formerly each town or province was ruled by an hereditary cacique, who administered justice with four nobles as counselors. theft was punished by confiscation of property, and in graver cases the ears and hands of the culprit were cut off; the adulterer caught in the act had his ear-rings forcibly torn out; then he was whipped by the relatives of the injured, and deprived of his possessions. the woman went free on the supposition that she, as the weaker party, was not responsible.[ ] one principal object of war among the ancient nations of honduras was to make slaves, but the mosquito coast was free from this scourge, according to all accounts.[ ] [sidenote: mosquito marriage customs.] [sidenote: mosquito courtship.] polygamy obtains, some men having six wives each, and the king yet more. the first wife, who as a rule, is betrothed from early infancy, is mistress commanding; her marriage is attended with festivities, and later additions to the harem are subject to her. the custom is to marry early, often before puberty, and it is not unusual to see a girl of thirteen with an offspring in her arms; but the marriage tie is not very binding, for the wife may be discarded or sold at will, on the slightest pretence, especially if children do not follow the union. the interior tribes, which are less given to plurality of wives, bear a pretty good character for female chastity. the cacique of ancient honduras married among his own class. on behalf of a suitor not previously engaged, an old man was dispatched with presents to the father of the chosen girl, before whom he made a long harangue on the ancestry and qualities of the youth. if this proved satisfactory, the presents were accepted, and bacchanalia followed. next morning the bride was closely wrapped in a gorgeously painted cloth, and, seated upon the shoulder of a man, was conveyed to the bridegroom, a number of friends accompanying her, dancing and singing along the road, drinking out of every rivulet, and feasting at every stopping-place. on arrival, she was received by the female friends of the groom, and subjected to a cleaning and perfuming process, lasting three days, during which the friends of the two families held a grand feast to celebrate the approaching union. she was then delivered to the husband, who kept her three nights at his home, and then proceeded to the house of his father-in-law, where the couple remained three other nights, after which they returned to their own house and renewed festivities. these were the ceremonies attending the marriage of nobles only. an old woman acted as messenger for common swains, and brought a present of cacao to the bride's parents, which was consumed at the preliminary feast. the girl was then delivered to the old woman, together with a return present of cacao to serve for two feasts, one taking place at the house of the bridegroom, the other at the bride's. relationship was no impediment to marriage, and widows were received among the wives of the late husband's brother. immorality ruled, and the most lascivious performances prevailed at their festivals. on the islands in the gulf of honduras and on the belize coast, the suitor had to undergo a preliminary examination by the proposed father-in-law as to his ability to perform the duties of husband; if satisfactory, a bow and arrow were handed him, and he at once presented himself before the object of his affection with a garland of leaves and flowers, which she placed upon her head instead of the wreath always worn by a virgin. friends thereupon met at the home of the bride to discuss the prospects of the couple, and to witness the act of giving her to the bridegroom, partaking, meanwhile, of some cheering liquid. the next day the bride appeared before the mother, and tore off her garland with much lamentation. among the sambos the betrothed suitor must give presents of food and other articles to the parents of his intended, as payment for their care of her until she attains the marriageable age, when he comes to claim her. should the parents then refuse to give up the girl, they are bound to refund the value of the presents twice or thrice told. the usual price paid for a wife is a cow or its equivalent, which is also exacted from any man infringing on the marital right, while the female for such offence is merely beaten. esquemelin adds that when the young man came to claim his bride, he was questioned as to his ability to make nets and arrows, and if all went well, the daughter was summoned to bring a calabash of wine, which the three drained between them in token of the new relationship. the widow was bound to supply the grave of her husband with provisions for a year, after which she took up the bones and carried them with her for another year, at last placing them upon the roof of her house, and then only was she allowed to marry again. the carib must provide a separate house and field for each of his wives, where she not only supports herself, her children, and her husband, but can, if she pleases, accumulate property. the husband is expected to spend his time equally between his wives, but not to assist in providing necessities after the marriage day; should his help be required, the wife must pay him the customary rate of wages. the several wives compete jealously with each other to provide the best for their husband, and are comparatively well-behaved, owing, perhaps, to the severe punishment of infidelity. among the smoos, wives of one husband generally live together, each wife bringing her share to make up her lord's dinner. widows are the property of the relatives of the husband, to whom 'widow-money' must be paid before they are allowed to marry again. the method of courtship among the woolwas is to place a deer's carcass and some firewood at the door of the intended; if accepted, marriage ensues. each wife has usually a separate establishment. the towkas, who are more inclined to monogamy, have an interesting marriage ceremony, of which squier gives a long account. on the betrothal of children a corresponding cotton band is fastened above the elbow or below the knee of each. these bands are selected by the old men so as to be distinct from others in color, and are renewed when worn out. they also wear necklaces to which a shell or bead is added every year, and when the boy has ten added to his string, he is called _muhasal_, or ten, signifying half a man; when the twentieth and final shell is added, he is considered a full man, and is called _all_, meaning twenty. if his intended has by this time attained her fifteenth year, preparations are at once made for the marriage. a general holiday is taken by the villagers, who clear from grass a circular piece of ground, which is defined by a ring of stones, and trampled smooth; a little hut is then erected in the centre having a small opening at the top, and another at the side facing the east. within the hut, the entrance of which is covered with a mat, is a heap of copal-twigs, and without, at the edge of the circle, a canoe filled with palm-wine is placed, having a large pile of white calabashes by its side. at noon the villagers proceed to the home of the bridegroom, who is addressed in turn by the old men; they then start with the youth for the house of the bride where the young man seats himself before the closed entrance on a bundle of presents intended for the bride. the father raps at the door which is partly opened by an old woman who asks his business, but the reply does not seem satisfactory, for the door is slammed in his face. the old men try their power of persuasion with the same result, and at last determine to call orpheus to their aid. music hath charms! the door is seen to open, and a female peeps timidly out: louder swells the music, and the bridegroom hastens to unroll his bundle containing beads and other articles. the door opens wider and wider as each present is handed in by the father, until it is entirely thrown back, revealing the bride arrayed in her prettiest, seated on a crickery, in the remotest corner. while all are absorbed in examining the presents, the bridegroom dashes in, shoulders the girl like a sack, and trots off for the mystic circle, which, urged on by the frantic cries of the women, he reaches before the crowd can rescue her. the females, who cannot pass the ring, stand outside giving vent to their despairing shrieks, while the men squat within the circle in rows, facing outward. the old men alone remain standing, and one of them hands a lighted stick to the couple inside the hut, with a short speech. soon an aromatic smoke curls up from the copal pile, whereat the women grow silent, but when it subsides, a sudden gayety takes possession of them, and the music is again heard. the reason for this is that the bridegroom, if he has any objections to the girl, may expel her while the gum is burning, but if it burns out quietly, the groom is supposed to be satisfied and the marriage complete. the women now pass filled calabashes to the men, who soon become excited and start a dance which increases in wildness with each additional cup, and does not end till most of them have bitten the dust. after dark the crowd proceeds with lighted torches to the hut, which is torn down, disclosing the married pair sitting demurely side by side. the husband shoulders his new baggage and is escorted to his home. the following day everybody presents a gift of some kind, so as to place the couple on an equal footing with the rest of the villagers.[ ] the position of a wife is not an enviable one, as the care of the household, the farm, and all hard and degrading work fall to her share, while her liege lord spends most of his time in idling. when about to be confined, she proceeds to a hut erected for this purpose in the forest, a short distance from the village, where she remains from a week to two months, according to the custom of the tribe, attended by female friends who supply all her wants, since she is not allowed to handle food herself. no one must pass to the windward of the hut, because an obstruction of the air might cause the death of the mother and child, and for thus offending the guilty party must pay the damages. in such seclusion it is easy to dispose of deformed children, and it is believed that this is done to avoid the disgrace of a nickname, which might otherwise attach to the family. at the expiration of the period of purification, the mother returns to the village carrying the infant tied to her back in a cloth. the village witch has in the meantime fastened round its neck, a _pew_ or charm, consisting of a bag of small seeds with which to pay old charon for ferriage across the river, in case of an early death. the child is suckled for about two years; yucca-root pap also forms a great part of its food in some parts, but otherwise it receives little care. the mother delivers herself, cutting the navel-string with her own hand; she also washes the infant's clothes, for it is believed that the child will die if this is done by another; after washing herself and suckling the child she returns to the village. formerly all children born within the year were taken to the temple by the parents, wrapped in a net and painted cloth, and laid to sleep under a cake made of honey and iguana-flesh. notice was taken of dreams, and if the child appeared well and happy, they augured riches and long life for it, if weak and sorrowful, it would be poor and unfortunate; if no dreams occurred, it betokened an early death. acting on this superstition, parents often became careless about the future of their children, and suffered them to grow up without attention. priests were not allowed to marry, and the care and education of the sons of prominent men were entrusted to them.[ ] [sidenote: mosquito diversions.] drinking is the chief amusement, and to become helplessly drunk is the sum of all enjoyment. frequent _sihkrans_ or feasts are held, lasting for days, at which large numbers assist to drain the canoeful of liquor prepared for the occasion. occasionally surrounding villagers are invited, and a drinking-bout is held, first in one house and then in another, until the climax is reached in a debauch by both sexes of the most revolting character. quarrels are generally put off for these occasions, but, as the wives have carefully hidden all weapons, recourse is had to the fist, with which the combatants exchange blows in turn until one has had enough. these trials of endurance are also held in sport; the smoo or woolwa, for instance, who wishes to be held most worthy of the fair sex, engages in a _lowta_ or striking-match with a rival, each one presenting his bent back to the other in turn, until the bravest stands declared. death is not unfrequently the result of such trials. even boys, carried away by emulation, hold lighted sticks to each other's skin. in early times the people of honduras held regular festivals at the beginning of each month, at the time of electing officers, at harvest time, and three other grand celebrations during the year, for which much food and drink were prepared. as the wine took effect, the participants were seized with a desire to move to the exhilarating sound of drum, flute, and rattle, and a simple dance was organized. that of the carib is merely a forward and backward movement of hands and feet, accompanied by a peculiar intonation of voice, and at their _seekroes_, or festivals in commemoration of the departed, they stalk in a circle, one following the other, and singing in a loud and uncouth tone. their pas seul is livelier, however, the performer skipping up and down, bending the body in different ways, and making the most grotesque movements. they are not satisfied with a mere drinking-bout at their reunions, but spread a good table, to which guests often bring their own liquor. the towkas and others prefer the circle dance, walking at a slow, swinging pace, beating their knuckles against emptied calabashes, and joining in a refrain, at the end of which they strike their cups one against another's. at each additional potation, the walk is increased in speed, until it assumes a trot and ends in a gallop, the calabashes rattling in accordance. the sambo dance is like a minuet, in which the performers advance and recede, making strange gesticulations. the women have also a dance among themselves,--for they are not allowed to join with the men,--in which they form a ring, holding each other round the waist with the left hand, bending, wriggling, shaking calabash rattles, and singing until exhausted. dramatic representations usually accompany these saltatory exhibitions, wherein the various phases of a lover's trials, comical sketches, or battles are depicted. the people of honduras are fond of disguising themselves with feather tufts, and skins of animals, whose actions and cries they imitate. the favorite entertainment of the sambos is to put on a head-dress of thin strips of wood painted in various colors to represent the beak of a sword-fish, fasten a collar of wood round the neck, from which a number of palm-leaves are suspended, and to daub the face red, black, and yellow. two men thus adorned advance toward one another and bend the fish-head in salute, keeping time with a rattle and singing, "shovel-nosed sharks, grandmother!" after which they slide off crab-like, making the most ludicrous gestures imaginable. this fun exhausted, fresh men appear, introducing new movements, and then the spectators join in a 'walk around,' flourishing white sticks in their hands, and repeating the above-mentioned refrain in a peculiar buzzing tone produced by placing in the mouth a small tube covered with the membrane of a nut.[ ] [sidenote: guajiquero dance.] the guajiqueros in an interesting performance described by squier, depict incidents from their history. a square piece of ground having a tree in the centre is marked off, and two poles adorned with feathers are erected in opposite corners, one bearing the head of a deer, the other that of a tiger. a dull, monotonous music is heard, and two parties of youth, fantastically dressed up and painted, move up to the square in a slow, but not ungraceful dance, and station themselves round the poles that bear their respective insignia. a man, stooping as if bent with age, starts out from the deers, dances round the ground, trying to arouse the mirth of the spectators with his grotesque movements. the tigers also dispatch a man, who does his best to excel the other one in contortions and grimaces. after a while they meet, and commence a discussion which ends in open rupture, the rising passions being well delineated. the two men who represent ambassadors then return to their party with an account of the mission, the result of which is a general excitement, both factions starting out, dancing backwards and forwards, up and down the square, until they meet under the tree, in the centre. the leader of each then steps out and recites the glories and prowess of his tribe, amidst the applause of his own men, and the disapproval of the others. as soon as they are worked up to the requisite pitch of irritation, the dialogue ceases, the music strikes up, and a mimic combat ensues, in which the armies advance and retreat, close and separate, using short canes for weapons. at last the tigers lose their standard and take to flight, whereat the victors execute a dance of triumph; but finding how dearly the victory has been bought, their joy is turned into sorrow, and they bend their head upon the knees, breaking out in loud lament. in a few moments one of them starts up and begins a panegyric on the fallen brave, which is followed by a mimic sacrifice and other ceremonies. the vanquished are now seen to approach with downcast eyes, bringing tribute, which they lay at the feet of the victors, who receive it with imperious bearing. the music at these entertainments is not of a very inspiring nature; drums, consisting of a section of hollow tree covered with skin, which are generally beaten with the hand, and flutes of bamboo with four stops on which eight notes are played with different degrees of speed for variety, being the usual instruments. the guajiqueros also use the _chirimaya_, two flutes joined in one mouthpiece; the _syrinx_, or pan's pipe; a long calabash with a narrow opening at the small end, into which the performer blows suddenly, at intervals, to mark time; and a sort of drum consisting of a large earthen jar, over the mouth of which a dressed skin is tightly stretched. to the centre of the skin, and passing through an opening in the bottom, is attached a string which the performer pulls, the rebound of the membrane producing a very lugubrious sound. in western honduras the so-called strum-strum is much used. this is a large gourd cut in the middle, and covered with a thin board having strings attached. the _marimba_, and the jews-harp which has been introduced by the trader, are, however, the favorite instruments for a quiet reunion, and the few tunes known to them are played thereon with admirable skill and taste. songs always accompany their dances and are usually impromptu compositions on suitable subjects, gotten up for the occasion by the favorite singers of the village, and rendered in a soft, but monotonous and plaintive tone. they have no national melodies, but on the receipt of any good or bad message, their feelings generally find vent in a ditty embodying the news. talking is a passion with them, and as soon as a piece of news is received at a village, two or three younger men will start with their women and children for the next hamlet, where it is discussed for hours by the assembled population, who in their turn dispatch a messenger to the next village, and thus spread the news over the whole country in a very short time. in story-telling, those who concoct the biggest lies receive the most applause. of course, the pipe must be smoked on these occasions, but as their own tobacco has become too mild for them, recourse is had to the vilest description of american leaf. when this is wanting, the smoke-dried leaves of the trumpet and papah-tree are used by men as well as women. the favorite drink is _mishla_, prepared chiefly from cassava-roots; but others from bananas, pine-apples, and other fruits are also used. a number of young women provided with good teeth, untiring jaws, and a large supply of saliva, are employed to chew about half of the boiled and peeled roots requisite to make a canoeful of liquor, the remainder being crushed in a mortar. this delectable compound is stirred with cold water, and allowed to ferment for a day or two, when it assumes a creamy appearance, and tastes very strong and sour. plantains are kneaded in warm water, and then allowed to stand for a few days till the mixture ferments, or the fruit is left in the water in small pieces, and the kneading performed in the cup previous to drinking. a fermented drink from powdered cacao and indigenous sugar-cane juice is called _ulung_, and _pesso_ is the name given to another made from crushed lime-rinds, maize and honey; in early times mead was a favorite drink in honduras. the cocoa-nut palm yields monthly a large quantity of liquor known as _caraca_. the tip of the undeveloped shoots are cut off, and the branch bent down so as to allow the fluid to drip into a calabash placed beneath. its seeds, when crushed and steeped in hot water give the _acchioc_.[ ] [sidenote: beverages of honduras.] [sidenote: mosquito customs.] no name for a supreme good spirit is found in the vocabulary of the mosquitos; all their appeals are addressed to wulasha, the devil, the cause of all misfortunes and contrarieties that happen. the intercessors with this dread being are the _sukias_, or sorceresses, generally dirty, malicious old hags, who are approached with gifts by the trembling applicant, and besought to use their power to avert impending evils. they are supposed to be in partnership with their devil, for whom they always exact the half of the fee before entering upon any exorcising or divination. these witches exercise a greater power over the people than the chief--a power which is sustained by the exhibition of certain tricks, such as allowing poisonous snakes to bite them, and handling fire, which they have learned from predecessors during their long preparation for the office, passed amidst exposure and fasts in the solitude of the wilderness. the people of honduras had also evil sorcerers who possessed the power of transforming men into wild beasts, and were much feared and hated accordingly; but their priests or hermits who live in communion with materialized gods, in small, elevated huts, apart from the villages, enjoyed the respect of all, and their advice was applied for on every matter of importance. none but the principal men could approach them without the necessary offering of maize and fowl, and they humbly knelt before them to receive their oracular answer. preparatory to important undertakings, dogs, cocks, and even men were sacrificed to obtain the favor of their idols, and blood was drawn from tongue, ears, and other members of the body. they thought it likewise necessary to their welfare to have _naguals_, or guardian spirits, whose life became so bound up with their own that the death of one involved that of the other. the manner of obtaining this guardian was to proceed to some secluded spot and offer up a sacrifice: with the beast or bird which thereupon appeared, in dream or in reality, a compact for life was made, by drawing blood from various parts of the body. caribs and woolwas assemble at certain periods every year, to propitiate controlling spirits with ceremonies transmitted from their forefathers. a variety of ghosts, as lewire, the spirit of the water, are supposed to play their pranks at night, and it is difficult to induce anyone to leave the hut after dark, unless in company. the belief in dreams is so firmly rooted that their very course of life is influenced by it. every dream has a direct or indirect meaning; thus, a broken calabash betokens loss of wife; a broken dish, the death of a mother. among other superstitions, it was believed that the lighting of an owl upon the house-top would be followed by the death of an inmate; when thunder roared, cotton-seed was burned; broken egg-shells and deer-bones were carefully preserved lest the chickens or the deer should die or disappear. aware of the peculiar influence of the moon on man and matter, they are careful not to sleep in its glare, nor to fish when it is up, and mahogany-cutters abstain from felling trees at certain periods for fear the wood may spoil. they are wonderfully good pathfinders, and will pass through the densest forest without guiding marks; as swimmers they are not to be surpassed. their mode of greeting a friend is very effusive, according to dampier. one will throw himself at the feet of another, who helps him up, embraces him, and falls down in his turn to be assisted up and comforted with a pressure. cockburn says that the honduras people bend one knee to the ground and clap their hands in token of farewell.[ ] [sidenote: mosquito medical treatment.] their licentious life, and fruit and fish diet, with limited use of salt, have left their constitution very susceptible to epidemics as well as other diseases. the most common disorders are affections of the bowels, such as dysentery and diarrhoea, but chills, rheumatism, consumption, and measles are not unfrequent. children suffer much from worms, and their abdomen is sometimes enormously swollen. a very painful, though not dangerous eye-disease termed _unkribikun_ is prevalent; and the burrowing of the tick in the skin causes wounds and inflammation if the fly be not speedily removed; the _chegoe_, or sand-flea, attacks the feet in the same manner. but small-pox and leprosy are the greatest scourges of this country, the former having here as elsewhere in america committed enormous ravages among the population. leprosy--that living death reflecting the sins of former generations, so capricious in the selection of its victims, taking the parent, yet leaving the child intact, or seizing upon the offspring without touching its mother--may certainly be less destructive, but it is nevertheless fearful in its effect; half of the natives of the mosquito country being more or less marked by it, either in the shape of white or livid spots, or red, white, and scabbed _bulpis_. all sickness and affliction is supposed to be the work of the evil spirit who has taken possession of the affected part; sukias must, therefore, be called in to use their incantations and herbs against the enemy. the witch appears with her face painted in hideous devices, and begins operations by placing some herbs beneath the pillow of the patient, blowing smoke over him, rubbing the body with the hands, and muttering strange words. if this is not effective, a decoction is made from the herbs, to be used as a drink or fomentation, and the patient is fenced in with painted sticks, with strict orders to let no one approach; the witch herself bringing the food to the patient, whistling a plaintive strain and muttering over the invalid for some time to chase away the evil. no pregnant woman, or person who has lately buried a friend, must come near the house during the illness, nor must any one pass to the windward of it, lest the sick be deprived of breath; any presumed breach of these injunctions leaving a safe loophole for the sorceress, in case her remedies fail. during epidemics, the sukias consult together and note their dreams, to ascertain the nature and disposition of the spirit. after muttering incantations all night, and invoking all sorts of terrible monsters, they plant small painted sticks, mounted by grotesque figures, to the windward of the village, and announce the expulsion of the evil. should the scourge continue, it is supposed that the spirits are obstinate, and the people remove to other parts, burning the village. the instructions of the sukia are always scrupulously followed, and the credulous native may be seen lying on the beach for days, exposed to all weathers, smeared with blood and waiting for restoration from ills. scarifications are much resorted to, and fever patients throw themselves into cold water, where they remain until dead or until the fever leaves them. in honduras, on the other hand, the patient is taken out of the water after a short immersion, and rolled to and fro before a fire, until half dead with fatigue, when he was left to be restored by sleep; blood is let from the thighs, legs, and shoulders; vomiting is promoted by certain herbs; vermin are administered for jaundice. in sickness a rigid diet is observed, the patient subsisting chiefly on iguana broth. snake-bites are cured by chewing the guaco-root, and poulticing the wound therewith; the caribs apply an oil obtained from the head of the tommy-goff as an antidote for its bite. herrera states that the comfort of a sick person was but little regarded; bread and drink were placed near the patient's head, and if strong enough to partake thereof, well and good, but if not he might die; nobody took any notice of him after this. the mosquitos are not entirely devoid of affection; but their grief seems to be reserved for the dead, not the dying.[ ] the corpse is wrapped in a cloth and placed in one half of a pitpan which has been cut in two; friends assemble for the funeral and drown their grief in mushla, the women giving vent to their sorrow by dashing themselves on the ground until covered with blood, and inflicting other tortures, occasionally even committing suicide. as it is supposed that the evil spirit seeks to obtain possession of the body, musicians are called in to lull it to sleep, while preparations are made for its removal; all at once four naked men, who have disguised themselves with paint, so as not to be recognized and punished by wulasha, rush out from a neighboring hut, and, seizing the rope attached to the canoe, drag it into the woods, followed by the music and the crowd. here the pitpan is lowered into the grave with bow, arrow, spear, paddle, and other implements to serve the departed in the land beyond; then the other half of the boat is placed over the body. a rude hut is constructed over the grave, serving as a receptacle for the choice food, drink, and other articles placed there from time to time by relatives. the water that disappears from the porous jars is thought to have been drunk by the deceased, and if the food is nibbled by birds it is held to be a good sign. on returning from the grave the property of the deceased is destroyed, the cocoa-palms being cut down, and all who have taken part in the funeral undergo a lustration in the river. relatives cut off the hair, the men leaving a ridge along the middle from the nape of the neck to the forehead; widows, according to some old writers, after supplying the grave with food for a year, take up the bones, and carry them on the back in the daytime, sleeping with them at night, for another year, after which they are placed at the door, or upon the house-top. on the anniversary of death, friends of the deceased hold a feast called _seekroe_, at which large quantities of liquor are drained to his memory. squier, who witnessed the ceremonies on an occasion of this kind, says that males and females were dressed in _ule_ cloaks fantastically painted black and white, while their faces were correspondingly streaked with red and yellow, and they performed a slow walk-around, the immediate relatives prostrating themselves at intervals, calling loudly upon the dead, and tearing the ground with their hands. at no other time is the departed referred to, the very mention of his name being superstitiously avoided. some tribes extend a thread from the house of death to the grave, carrying it in a straight line over every obstacle. froebel states that among the woolwas all property of the deceased is buried with him, and that both husband and wife cut the hair and burn the hut on the death of either, placing a gruel of maize upon the grave for a certain time.[ ] [sidenote: character of the mosquitos.] hospitality, a gentle and obliging disposition, faithfulness in the fulfilling of engagements, honesty and docility, balanced by an inaptness to make any avail of natural benefits, and a supineness in matters of veracity and judgment, by reason of which they fall into many excesses, especially in drink, characterize both mosquitos and caribs. the apathy and slowness of the unadulterated aboriginal are, however, in striking contrast to the vivacious and impressible nature of the caribs, whose versatility evidences a rather higher intelligence, which is again overshadowed by an inordinate vanity, based chiefly upon their greater strength and stature. both possess a certain industry, the one being more plodding, the other more energetic though less patient; this trait is also noticeable in their pastimes, where the native is far less exuberant and noisy than his darker neighbor. with regard to the effect of negro admixture on character, comparisons may be made among the caribs themselves, when it will be found that the black race is much more mercurial and vehement than the purer type, and possesses greater volubility. the severe discipline kept up, and the disposition, among the women at least, to provide for the morrow, augurs well for their future. the bravery and love of freedom which so long kept the spanish invaders at bay both on the western and northern borders and on the coast was subsequently subdued, instance the mild disposition of the independent xicaques, poyas, and secos, who are now inclined rather to peaceful diplomacy than to warlike demonstrations; yet the caribs manifested considerable spirit during a late conflict with the honduras government, and proved themselves efficient soldiers. the character given to the nations of this subdivision by ancient writers, contains many unenviable qualities, for not only are they described as lazy, vicious, lying, inconstant, but as cruel, void of affection, and of less intelligence than the mexicans; nevertheless they are obedient, peaceable, and quiet. the only characteristic we have concerning the albatuins is that they were savage, and until of late the ramas bore the same character. among the industrious towkas we find that gentle melancholy which characterizes some of the guatemalans; while their brothers, the smoos, have the reputation of being a very simple people whom the neighbors take delight in imposing upon, yet their women are said to be more ingenious than the sambo women. proceeding to the toonglas and sambos, we observe a preponderance of bad qualities, attributable, no doubt, to their intercourse with buccaneers and traders. by most writers they are characterized as a lazy, drunken, debauched, audacious race, given to thieving; capricious, quarrelsome, treacherous and exacting among themselves, though obliging to strangers, their only redeeming traits being hospitality, and a certain impulsiveness which is chiefly exhibited in grief, and indicates something good at heart. their want of energy, which deters them alike from household work and the commission of great crimes, will not prevent them from undertaking wearisome voyages to dispose of mere trifles; and their superstitious fears and puerility under affliction, are entirely lost when facing the raging surf or hungry shark. other writers take advantage of this trait to show that they are high-spirited enough to carry anything through when once aroused, and add that they have proved themselves faithful to their masters, are docile and intelligent, abhorring to appear mean and cowardly.[ ] [sidenote: the isthmians.] the isthmians, by which name i designate all the nations occupying the territory lying between the san juan river and the southern shore of lake nicaragua on the north, and the gulf of urabá, or darien, and the river atrato on the south, present several peculiarities when compared with the other nations of central america. the inhabitants of these regions are a hardy and active race, jealous of their independence and ever hostile to those who attempt to penetrate their country. their resoluteness in excluding all foreigners is materially strengthened by the rugged and malarious nature of the country, by its deep ravines, its miasmatic swamps, its abrupt heights, its rapid streams, its tangled undergrowth, and densely wooded districts. the air of the table-lands and valleys is hot and moist, the soil exceedingly fertile, but the interior and mountainous localities have a milder and more temperate climate with but little variation except that of the dry and wet seasons. in the lowlands of panamá, the swampy nature of the surface, with the great humidity of the atmosphere, produces a luxuriant vegetation, and the consequent quantity of decomposed vegetable matter under the influence of a vertical sun, engenders a miasma deadly to the unacclimated. the rich and marshy nature of the soil, however, sends forth immense palm-trees, in the branches of which the natives build their houses, thus obtaining a purer air and greater safety from the numerous wild animals and dangerous reptiles that infest that region. a great portion of the territory is rich in minerals which were once produced by the natives in great quantities, but which, unfortunately, were the loadstone that drew upon them the ruthless spanish plunderers. [sidenote: isthmian nations.] in the northern part of costa rica along the head waters of the rio frio the _guatusos_, or _pranzas_, are located. mr squier is inclined to think they are of the same stock as the nahuas. some striking physical peculiarities observed among them have given rise to various surmises and startling conclusions regarding their origin. dwelling in the western part of the state are the _terrabas_ and the _changuenes_, fierce and barbarous nations, at constant enmity with their neighbors. in the south-east and extending to the borders of chiriquí dwell the _talamancas_ composed of a number of different tribes and declared by some to be allied in race with the guatusos. besides these are the _buricas_, _torresques_, _toxas_, and others.[ ] in the mountains of chiriquí are the _valientes_, so called by the spaniards from their heroic resistance to the invaders. many of the warlike nations who occupied the country at the time of the discovery derived their names from the caciques that governed them. the people who dwell along the shore of the caribbean sea, between portobello and urabá, and occupy the limones, sasardi, and pinos islands are supposed to be a branch of the once powerful darien nations who to the present day remain unconquered. their province is situated on the western shore of the gulf of urabá, and their town was originally near the mouth of the river atrato. the town and the river as well as the province were called by the natives darien. this town was conquered in by a little band of shipwrecked spaniards under the bachiller enciso. vasco nuñez de balboa, francisco pizarro, and men of like metal were there, and this was the first successful conquest and settlement on tierra firme. whence, as the conquests of the spaniards widened, the name darien was at length applied to the greater part of the isthmus. still further westward were the once powerful province of _cueva_, and the site of the ancient city of panamá, discovered in by tello de guzman. this was a famous fishing-station, the word panamá signifying in the native tongue a place where many fish are taken. along the western shore of the bay of panamá dwelt several independent and warlike nations, those of _cutara_, _paris_, _escoria_, besides many others who waged continual war against each other with the object of increasing their territories and adding lustre to their names.[ ] slight differences only are observable in the isthmian physique. the people are generally well-built, muscular, and of average height, although old authorities, such as herrera, andagoya, and gomara, describe a tribe, whom they locate near escoria and quarecas, as being very tall--veritable giants. women, as a rule, are small and of delicate proportions, but after attaining a certain age, incline to obesity. the mountain tribes are generally shorter in stature, with more pleasing features than the coast-dwellers. a notable difference between the isthmians and the other aborigines of the pacific states, is the short, rather flat nose, in contradistinction to the almost universal aquiline cast. in color they are of a medium bronze tint, varying according to localities, the mountain tribes being the darker. black, straight, and very abundant coarse hair, black or dark eyes, and excellent teeth predominate.[ ] in costa rica, on the rio frio, is the frequently spoken of but never accurately described nation--the _guatusos_--whom somewhat mythical accounts describe as of fair complexions, with light hair and blue eyes. likewise albinos are spoken of by wafer, who relates having seen people "milk white, lighter than the colour of any europeans, and much like that of a white horse." furthermore, it is said that their bodies were covered with a milk-white down, which added to the whiteness of their skin; hair and eyebrows white, and eyes oblong, with the corners pointing downwards. during daylight they were weak-sighted, restive, and lacking energy, but after sundown, their cheerfulness, activity, and eyesight returned--the latter being apparently as good as that of other people.[ ] [sidenote: dress of the isthmians.] cotton textures and the bark of a certain tree, beaten in a wet state until soft and pliant, were the materials used by the isthmians to cover their nakedness, if, indeed, they covered it at all. where cotton was used, as in parts of costa rica, the costume was simply a small strip of cloth which both men and women wound round the loins or, as on the islands in the gulf of nicoya, the women passed it between the legs, and fastened it to a string round the waist. these latter ornamented their scanty raiment prettily with various designs painted in colors, and also with seeds and shells. near the bay of herradura the men wore a kind of mantle covering the whole front and back of the wearer, made of the above-mentioned bark, in the centre of which was a hole through which the head passed. the women of this locality only wrap themselves in a piece of bark, without taking the trouble to fashion a mantle of it. yet more simple was the dress of the men near cartago; a few cotton strings wound round the foreskin of their virile member, sufficed them.[ ] near panamá and darien, the caciques only wore long cotton mantles thrown over the shoulder and reaching nearly to the feet, the common people going naked, only encasing their privy parts in a kind of funnel made of gold, silver, shell, or bamboo, according to the wealth of the wearer, and which was held in place by a string fastened to two holes in the sides which was passed round the waist. women in the same localities wore cotton petticoats reaching to the knees, or, if ladies of quality, to the ankles. near the gulf of nicoya, women wore the long hair parted in the middle from the front to the back of the head, and plaited into two braids which hung down on either side over the ears. the men tied the hair up in a stiff queue with a cotton band, which was at times arranged so as to rise straight over the crown of the head. necklaces of colored beads or of tiger's teeth were worn as ornaments. like many nations of the hyperborean group, the chorotegans of nicoya pierced the lower lip and inserted a round piece of bone. their arms they painted with a mixture of their own blood and charcoal. in portions of veragua and behetrias even the funnel or cotton strings were omitted, and the gugures, mandingos, and many others on the pacific seaboard, like the people of veragua, went entirely naked, the chiefs only wearing long mantles. all of the isthmians were fond of ornaments; among those which deserve special notice is the nose-pendant. this was a crescent-shaped piece of gold or silver, of various sizes for different occasions, those used on holidays hanging down so as to cover the mouth, while those for ordinary use only reached the upper lip. besides the nose-pendant were ear-rings and a number of heavy necklaces of gold, silver, tiger's teeth, colored seeds, shells, and coral, according to the wealth of the wearer. under their breasts the richer women also wore gold bars as a support, which were held up by strings passed over the shoulders. _guanines_, or figures of animals made of gold, were worn around the neck by the men on the coast of veragua, chiriquí, and urabá; others again wore on their heads fillets or crowns of gold or of the claws of wild beasts, or of feathers. thus did these naked savages decorate themselves, often to the extent of several pounds weight. women considered it a mark of beauty to have thick legs, and to that end wore bandages round them. another hyperborean custom is here met with--the anointing of the body with oil--which in these tropics is extracted from the _bixa_ or seed of the _arnotto_, and over which they sprinkled down and feathers. painting the body was everywhere practiced, and was carried to a great extent, the different colors and figures employed each having its peculiar significance. [sidenote: isthmian body-painting.] on going to war, paint was used more freely than at other times, and the greater the warrior the thicker the paint. among the men of cueba painting had a double object; it served as an ornament to the person, and also as a mark of distinction of rank. the chief, when he inherited or attained his title, made choice of a certain device, which became that of all his house. freemen were painted from the mouth downward, and on the arms and chest, while slaves were only painted or tattooed from the mouth upward. all the lords, servitors, and vassals who were freemen, were painted in exactly the same manner. if the son of a chief adopted the ancestral totem, he could not afterward change it on coming into his inheritance, but if during his father's life-time he declined to use the distinctive badge of his house, he could, when he became chief, choose any new device he might fancy. a son who did not adopt his father's totem was always hateful to him during his lifetime. the natives on the northern coast of chiriquí painted the body in wavy lines, from the shoulders to the heels; through the cartilage of the nose they stuck a porcupine-quill, and in the chin the tooth of a wild beast. the women had holes made in their cheeks through which they stuck little bunches of feathers; they also wore tiger's claws in their ears. at san blas, some of the men painted themselves in black streaks, and the women in red. at porto belo, the king was painted black and all his subjects red. the natives of escoria tattooed breast and arms; the women of darien across the bridge of the nose from one cheek to the other; they also blacken their teeth. others have figures of birds, animals, or trees painted all over the body, according to fancy; their favorite colors being black, red, and yellow, which are laid on with pencils made of wood, chewed at the end till they become soft.[ ] all the isthmians pull out the hair from every part of the body except the head, and rub themselves with herbs, which prevent its further growth. both sexes pride themselves on the length of the hair, and most of them allow it to grow to its full length and hang loose over their shoulders, but keep it cut on the forehead as low as the eyebrows. the men of cariai and some parts of chiriquí, bind it with fillets and wind it in rolls round the head, fastening it with a comb made of the heart of the palm-tree; others wear round their head a band made of bark or certain fibres of plants, and at festivals they often wear high caps, made from the gaudy feathers of parrots. at tanela married women cut their hair short. it appears that head-flattening again crops out in these parts. las casas states that infants had their heads placed between two pads, one in front and another behind, in order to increase the length of the head and width of the forehead.[ ] [sidenote: dwellings on the isthmus.] in costa rica many of the natives live in small huts built of plaited rushes. in the year , diego gutierrez, governor of nueva cartago, in costa rica, attempted to explore that territory. arriving at the province of suere upon a river of that name at a point some twelve leagues distant from the north sea, he came to a village, and there occupied a house belonging to the chief of the district. the old milanese chronicler, girolamo benzoni, who accompanied the expedition, describing the dwelling of the cacique, says it was shaped like an egg and was forty-five paces in length and nine in breath. the sides were of reeds and the roof of palm-leaves all interlaced and well executed. there were but few other houses in the village and those of inferior character. padre zepeda, a jesuit, who in lived among the guatusos for several months, speaking of their towns and gardens, says that when the rains commence, they construct small huts in the trees, where they live safe from the danger of floods.[ ] unlike most other nations, the isthmians do not build their villages in squares, but generally form long streets, keeping the houses well apart from each other, probably as a precaution against conflagrations. on many parts of the coast of darien and on the gulf of urabá, the villages are built in the water. others are on the banks of rivers, and many of them are spacious and constructed with great skill and attention to details. the supporting posts of the roof are large bamboos or palm-trees. three or four of these are driven into the ground at equal distances, proportioned according to the intended length of the house, and across the top is laid the ridge-pole; on each side a number of shorter posts are sunk, from which long rafters are laid to the ridge-pole; the whole is then covered with palm-leaves, both roof and sides. other houses are plastered inside and outside with mud, and these have a flooring of open bamboo work, raised six or eight feet from the ground. the dwellings are divided into two or more rooms, having no doors to the entrances, which are reached by ladders. sometimes the house is built without walls, in which case the roof descends to below the level of the floor, and the structure is left open at both ends, having the appearance of an elevated platform. the savanerics and some others on the coast of veragua build circular or pyramidal dwellings, by driving strong posts into the ground sloping toward each other, so as to unite in a point where they are strongly bound with withes or vines, across which are tied small sticks, some peeled, others with the bark on, or blackened, thereby producing a pleasing effect. the walls inside are lined with reeds beautifully interwoven. the upper portion of the structure is thatched on the outside with straw and on the apex is placed an ornament of baked clay. in the centre of the dwelling is a spacious apartment, and round the walls are small rooms in which different families reside.[ ] each village has a public, town, or council house, or fort, one hundred or more feet in length, constructed in the same manner as the dwellings, but with no interior partitions; in the walls are loop-holes for the discharge of arrows. there is an entrance at each end, and thick doors, made of split palm-tree and bamboo strongly bound together with withes, are kept in readiness to shut out the enemy. the doors are kept in position by strong posts set in the ground behind them. in the province of veragua they build strong wooden fences or palisades round some of the villages, to protect them from attacks of enemies and wild beasts. during the expedition of gaspar de espinosa in , diego de albitez, who invaded the province of a cacique named tabraba, some distance south-west from panamá, found the inhabitants protected by strong fortifications. their forts are built with much skill. the ground is first enclosed by a deep trench, upon the inner bank of which trees are planted, and the interstices filled up with logs and rocks. in many parts of the country the inhabitants were found living in the tops of trees like birds, laying sticks across from one branch to another, and building their houses upon them. in , vasco nuñez de balboa surveyed several channels at the mouth of the river atrato in quest of gold and plunder. the surrounding country was low and marshy, but the soil sent forth immense palm-trees, in the branches of which the natives built their houses. vasco nuñez, entering an affluent of the rio negro, discovered a large tree-top village, the name of whose ruler was abieiba. the houses were divided into several apartments, each of a size sufficient to accommodate several families. they were built of wood and willows, and were so pliable and yet so strong, that the swaying to and fro of the branches, to which the elastic tenement yielded, did not in the least interfere with the safety of the occupants. ladders, made of a single large bamboo split in two, were used in making the ascent and descent. these were drawn up at night, or in case of the invasion of an enemy. on the coast of veragua columbus discovered similar dwellings, and he says that he could not account for the custom, unless it was through fear of griffins which abound in that country, or of enemies, each tribe being at war with every other tribe along the coast. the true cause, however, of their taking to trees for places of residence, is to place themselves beyond the reach of sudden and violent floods, which are caused by the swelling of streams after storms in the mountains, and also in order to be out of the reach of reptiles and wild beasts in which that country abounds.[ ] some of the isthmians built large enclosures for the chiefs, which early contemporary writers call the king's palace. vasco nuñez de balboa, on his march through the province of comagre, situated on the northern coast of darien about thirty leagues from the gulf of urabá, relates that he visited the dwelling or palace of the cacique comagre, which he describes as follows: it was one hundred and fifty by eighty paces in dimension, constructed upon heavy posts, which stood within a stone wall. the upper part of the building was beautifully finished with timbers, interlaced in such a manner as to strike the beholder with amazement. the building contained various apartments--chambers, pantry, and wine-cellar. in one very large apartment were sacredly kept the remains of the king's ancestors arranged round the walls.[ ] [sidenote: food of the isthmians.] the costa ricans live chiefly by hunting and fishing, and many of them cultivate maize, beans, and bananas; the talamancas, especially, are agriculturists. according to father zepeda, and others who penetrated some distance into the country of the guatusos, they had large fields under cultivation. salt is seldom used by any of these tribes, and none of them ever eat dogs, as they keep them for hunting purposes. their chief game is wild hogs and deer, but they are not very particular as to their animal diet, for they eat whatever they can catch, including reptiles. their mode of cooking fish renders them exceedingly palatable, which is by roasting them wrapped in plantain-leaves. bananas are usually pulled when green, and buried in sand to ripen.[ ] many of the other isthmians are agriculturists, and grow considerable quantities of maize, plantains, cacao, pimiento, and cocoa-nuts; their means of subsistence are further largely supplemented by game and fish. a staple article of food among the coast tribes is turtle, of which they capture large numbers. monkeys afford them a favorite meal, and they are especially fond of iguanas, young alligators, and their eggs. from the yucca as well as corn they make a good quality of bread. the doraches and guaimies of veragua subsist mainly on wild roots and a fruit called _pixbaex_, somewhat resembling dates, which toasted, makes an agreeable and wholesome food. most of their dishes are highly seasoned with pimiento, a kind of pepper produced by a small shrub which is very abundant on tierra firme. the toocan bird lives chiefly on the berry, which it discharges from the stomach almost immediately after swallowing it; the natives prefer it thus, as its bitterness is partly absorbed by the bird. it is said that the caribs ate human flesh whenever they had an opportunity. herrera says that some of the isthmians purchased slaves, whom they sold to the caribs for food, and the inhabitants of paria supplied boys to the natives of tubrabá for the same purpose. they cooked the flesh of their enemies, and ate it seasoned with salt and _ají_ (chile).[ ] when a piece of ground is to be planted, a number of the villagers collect and cut down the brushwood on a selected spot; the seed is then scattered among the wood as it lies. in due time the grain, which is well sheltered from the sun by the branches, springs up and overtops them, and when fit for harvesting the ears are gathered. after this, the underwood and corn-stalks are set on fire, and the ground continues to be used for agricultural purposes. in hunting deer and wild swine, dogs are used to drive them out of the dense forest; at other times they set fire to a part of the woods, and as the animals try to escape, they kill them with spears and arrows. birds are killed with a blow-pipe. when fishing they use nets made of mahoe-bark or silk-grass, and in places where rocks prevent their using a net, they catch them with their hands or shoot them with arrows. fishing by torchlight with spears is frequently practiced. the savanerics poison pools with pounded leaves of the barbasco, and thus obtain fish without much labor. for duck-hunting they also employ the often-described trick of placing a calabash on the head, and in this manner approach the game. the men of cueba are celebrated for making pure white salt from sea water--an article much used in this locality. in the same province a kind of communism obtained; all provisions were delivered to the chief, who distributed to each his share. part of the community were employed as agriculturists, and part as hunters and fishermen. at his meals the cacique was served by women, some of his principal men eating with him.[ ] in their personal habits the isthmians are cleanly; they bathe generally twice a day and sometimes oftener; but commonly at sunrise and sunset. the interior of their dwellings has a neat appearance, and order and cleanliness prevail in all their domestic arrangements.[ ] [sidenote: weapons of the isthmians.] bows and arrows, long spears, javelins, flint-edged clubs, and blow-pipes, are the weapons used in these parts. the bows are beautifully made, those of the costa ricans being about seven feet long, of a dark-colored, very hard wood, with the string of well-twisted silk-grass. arrows are of the same wood, very long, and pointed with a porcupine-quill or fish-bone. the bows and arrows of those farther south are much shorter, and of black palm-wood, as are also their lances and javelins. the arrows are pointed with flint or fish-bone, or are hardened in the fire and barbed; the shaft is of reed having a piece of hard wood eight or ten inches in length inserted in the end. the inhabitants of coiba and some of the tribes on the western shore of the gulf of urabá, do not use bows and arrows. in this respect, so far as i have observed, they form an exception; as among the almost innumerable tribes situated between the gulf of urabá and the arctic ocean i know of none others where bows and arrows are not used. these people in battle employ a long wooden sword, and wooden spears, the ends of which are hardened in the fire and tipped with bone; they also make use of slings and darts. their javelins are thrown with much force and dexterity by means of a stick slightly grooved to hold the projectile. it is called _estorica_ and is held between the thumb and two fingers, there being a small loop on the side, near the centre, in which the forefinger is placed; the dart is cast straight from the shoulder, while the projector is retained in the hand. i have noticed a somewhat similar contrivance employed by the aleutian islanders.[ ] the blow-pipe which is used with much effect, is about six or seven feet long, and the darts shot from it are made of mucaw-wood, very thin with an exceedingly sharp point, notched, so that when an object is struck it breaks off and it is almost impossible to extract the broken point; others are poisoned so that a slight wound causes death in a short time. one end is wrapped with a little cotton, until it fits the tube which is placed to the mouth and the dart blown out. it is quite effective for a distance of one hundred yards. different varieties of poison have been described by writers and travelers. herrera speaks of one which he says was made with certain grey roots found along the coast, which were burnt in earthen pipkins and mixed with a species of poisonous black ant; to this composition were added large spiders, some hairy caterpillars, the wings of a bat, and the head and tail of sea-fish called _tavorino_, very venomous, besides toads, the tails of snakes, and manzanillas. all these ingredients were set over a fire in an open field and well boiled in pots by a slave till they were reduced to a proper consistency. the unfortunate slave who attends to the boiling almost invariably dies from the fumes. another poisonous composition is spoken of as having been made of fourteen different ingredients and another of twenty-four, one that kills in three days, another in five, and another later, and when one was employed it was stated that sometimes the wounded lived as many days as the poison had been made. the natives said that fire, sea water, and continency were the antidotes against the venom, others affirmed that the dung of the wounded person taken in pills or otherwise was a cure. peter martyr writes that the poison was made by old women skilled in the art, who were shut up for two days in a house where they boiled the ingredients; if at the expiration of the time, the women were found in good health instead of being half dead, they were punished and the ointment was thrown away. captain cochrane in his _journal in colombia_, says that they obtain the poison from a small frog called the _rana de veneno_. these frogs are kept in a hollow cane and regularly fed. when required for use, they take one and pass a pointed stick down its throat and out at one of its legs. the pain brings to the back of the toad a white froth, which is a deadly poison and in it the darts are rubbed; below the froth a yellow oily matter is found which is carefully scraped off, as it is also a powerful poison, but not so lasting as the first substance, which will retain its deadly properties for a year while the yellow matter looses its strength after five or six months.[ ] the javelins used by the caribs were not made pointed but square at the end, they also have very long pikes and heavy clubs. when bartolomé hurtado in visited the island of caubaco he relates that the cacique presented him with a golden armor valued at one thousand castellanos. at the island of cabo seven leagues distant, the warriors wore a thick matted armor of cotton impervious to arrows; they were armed with pikes and in their march were accompanied with drums, conchs, and fifes.[ ] [sidenote: weapons, armor, and wars.] wars arise chiefly from the jealousies and ambition of rival chieftains. battles are frequent and sanguinary, often lasting for many days, and are fought with tenacious courage. throughout darien it is customary to place sentinels at night in the highest houses of the towns, to keep watch and give warning of the approach of an enemy. at the commencement of a campaign, chiefs and captains experienced in war are nominated by the head of the tribe, to lead the men in battle and conduct the operations; they wear certain insignia, so as to be distinguished from the rest of the men, lofty plumes on the head, and a quantity of golden ornaments and jewels, besides which they are painted in a different style. all, however, adorn themselves when going to battle, with a profusion of necklaces, bracelets, and golden corselets. the men are cheered on to battle and encouraged during the fight by the blowing of large shells and the beating of drums. in the province of cueba, women accompany the men, fighting by their side and sometimes even leading the van. the action is commenced with the slings and estoricas, but they soon meet at close quarters, when the heavy wooden swords and javelins are brought into use. certain rules and military regulations are observed whereby the brave are rewarded, and offenders against military discipline punished. nobility is conferred on him who is wounded in war, and he is further rewarded with lands, with some distinguished woman, and with military command; he is deemed more illustrious than others, and the son of such a father, following the profession of arms, may inherit all the father's honors. he who disobeys the orders of his chief in battle is deprived of his arms, struck with them, and driven from the settlement. all booty is the property of him who captured it. the prisoner is the slave of the captor; he is branded on the face and one of his front teeth knocked out. the caribs, however, used to kill and eat their prisoners. wafer mentions that upon some occasions, he who had killed an enemy cut off his own hair as a distinguishing mark of triumph, and painted himself black, continuing so painted until the first new moon.[ ] [sidenote: isthmian dishes and implements.] the isthmians sleep in hammocks, often beautifully made, and suspended between two trees or upright posts. owing to the material of which they are composed they are exceedingly cool and well adapted to the climate. gourds, calabashes, and cocoa-nut shells are employed for water-bowls and drinking-cups. their other household utensils consist of earthen jars, flint knives, stone hatchets and boxes ingeniously made of palm-leaves, and covered with deer or other skins. drums of different sizes, some very large, others small, are made of the hollow trunk of a tree covered at the ends with deer's hide. those of the largest size are kept at the chief's residence or at the town-house. hammocks are made of finely woven cloth, or more frequently of plaited grass of various colors and curiously ornamented. wooden mortars, made from the knotty part of a tree, are used to pound yucca, from which they make their cassava. the metate or rubbing-stone is also in use among them. they have nets of different kinds for both fishing and hunting. at night, as a light for their dwellings they use torches made from palm-wood dipped in oil and beeswax. the lords and principal men of the provinces of darien and urabá are reputed to have drunk from golden cups of rich and beautiful workmanship. peter martyr gives an account of golden trumpets and a great number of bells found by the spaniards in a town situated on the river dabaiba (atrato). the bells were used at ceremonies and festivals, giving forth a sweet and pleasant sound; the tongues or clappers were beautifully made, of fish-bones. in another part of the country, on the gulf of urabá, says peter martyr, as rendered by the ancient translator: "they founde also a great multitude of shetes, made of the silke or cotton of the gossampine tree; likewise diuers kindes of vessels and tooles made of wood, and many of earth; also many brest plates of gold, and ouches wrought after their manner."[ ] they manufacture strong cords from the bark of the mahoe-tree, which is taken off in long strips, beaten with sticks, cleaned, and then twisted. a finer description of thread is made from a species of pita, of which the leaves undergo a somewhat similar process in preparation as flax, being steeped in water for several days, then dried in the sun and afterwards beaten, producing fine silky threads, from which their hammocks and finer kinds of nets for catching small fish are made. from the same plant they make excellent baskets and matting; the materials are first dyed in different colors, prettily mixed and woven together so closely as to hold water. they are of a soft texture and exceedingly durable. the dorachos are famed for the manufacture of pottery, water-bottles, and other household utensils, elegantly shaped and prettily painted. cotton cloths are woven by women, and considering the rude and simple implements they work with, the fineness of texture and blending of colors present a marvel of skill and patience. the process of weaving is thus described by wafer: "the women make a roller of wood, about three foot long, turning easily about between two posts. about this they place strings of cotton, of or yards long, at most, but oftner less, according to the use the cloth is to be put to, whether for a hammock, or to tie about their waists, or for gowns, or for blankets to cover them in their hammocks, as they lie in them in their houses; which are all the uses they have for cloth: and they never weave a piece of cotton with a design to cut it, but of a size that shall just serve for the particular use. the threads thus coming from the roller are the warp; and for the woof, they twist cotton-yarn about a small piece of _macaw_-wood, notch'd at each end; and taking up every other thread of the warp with the fingers of one hand, they put the woof through with the other hand, and receive it out on the other side: and to make the threads of the woof lie close in the cloth, they strike them at every turn with a long and thin piece of _macaw_-wood like a ruler, which lies across between the threads of the warp for that purpose."[ ] [sidenote: isthmian boats and navigation.] the canoes and rafts of the isthmians are admirably adapted to the navigation of their rivers and gulfs, and the men who manage them are skillful boatmen. the canoes vary in size; some are dug out from the single trunk of a tree, others are constructed of bark. the largest are thirty-five feet in length by three in breadth, and are capable of carrying many persons, besides a considerable amount of cargo. they are so lightly built that little difficulty is experienced in passing them over obstructions, and those of smaller size are often carried on the head. they draw very little water, and are propelled with paddles by two persons, one in the stern, the other in the bow. when passing over rapids, palancas, or poles, are used, with crotchets attached, which answer the purpose of a boat-hook in laying hold of the bank or overhanging branches of trees, where the depth of water prevents the pole reaching the bottom. the rafts are made from an exceedingly light and soft timber similar to cork-wood. three or four logs are bound together with ropes and across them are laid smaller timbers of the same wood, fastened down with hard wooden pegs that are easily driven through. the rafts are chiefly employed for fishing or crossing large rivers. canoes are, however, quite as frequently used for fishing purposes.[ ] the native products are gold, pearls, tortoise-shell, ivory-nuts, cacao, caoutchouc, corozo-nuts, cocoa-nuts, dried venison, lard, and deer-skins; these are offered in considerable quantities to foreigners, and in exchange they receive salt and ironware, besides various trinkets and such domestic utensils as they are in need of. the value of the pearls was lessened on account of their practice of throwing oysters into the fire in order to open them, which partially destroyed their lustre. the natives of the coast carry into the interior dried fish and salt, which they barter for gold dust and other products. at pueblo nuevo sarsaparilla forms a principal article of trade. the native traders are very shrewd, and as a rule practice fair dealing. on his march through the country, vasco nuñez de balboa found the people in possession of large quantities of gold, jewelry, and pearls. everywhere along his route he received presents of gold; indeed, in some places he found this metal in greater abundance than food.[ ] the streams of this region are subject to frequent swellings, caused by heavy rains. after the subsiding of these floods, the natives procure gold from the river-beds; they also burn the grass in the mountains and pick up the metal left exposed on the surface in large quantities. in the district of veragua and in darien they have workers in gold, crucibles for melting metals, and implements of silversmiths. they understand the alloying of gold, from which they make vases and many kinds of ornaments in the shape of birds and different varieties of animals. the relics which from time to time have been exhumed in chiriquí and other parts of the isthmus, prove that the natives had an excellent knowledge of the art of working and also of sculpturing in gold and stone. painting and glazing on jars and other descriptions of pottery was an art in which the men of chiriquí were famous.[ ] the isthmians possessed only a very slight knowledge of the computation of time. they calculate the hour of the day by the height of the sun in the heavens, and have no division of time into years, months, or weeks. their enumeration is limited to twenty, and beyond that they count by twenties to one hundred; their knowledge of numbers does not go further.[ ] [sidenote: arts and government.] in the provinces of cueba, comagre, and other parts of darien the eldest son succeeded to the government upon the death of his father. as soon as the funeral ceremonies were over, the heir received the congratulations of the attendant nobles, the highest and most aged of whom conducted him to a chamber and laid him in a hammock. his subjects then came to offer their submission accompanied with presents, which consisted of large stores of edibles and fruits of every kind. they greeted him with triumphal songs in which they recounted the deeds of his ancestors, as well as those of other lords of the land, telling him who were his friends and who his enemies. much wine was consumed and the rejoicing lasted several days. afterwards ambassadors were dispatched to inform all the neighboring caciques of the new accession, desiring their good will and friendship for the future. in the province of panamá upon the death of the lord, the eldest brother succeeded him, and if there were no brothers the succession went to a nephew by the sister's side. the chiefs held undisputed authority over their people and were implicitly obeyed. they received no tribute but required personal service for house-building, hunting, fishing, or tilling the ground; men so employed were fed and maintained by the chief. in cueba the reigning lord was called _quebi_, in other parts he was called _tiba_. the highest in rank after the _tiba_ had the title of _sacos_, who commanded certain districts of the country. _piraraylos_ were nobles who had become famous in war. subject to the sacos were the _cabras_ who enjoyed certain lands and privileges not accorded to the common people. any one wounded in battle, when fighting in presence of the _tiba_, was made a cabra and his wife became an _espave_ or principal woman. a constable could not arrest or kill a cabra; this could be done only by the tiba; once struck by the tiba, however, any person might kill him, for no sooner was he wounded by his chief than his title and rank dropped from him. constables were appointed whose duty it was to arrest offenders and execute judgment on the guilty. justice was administered without form by the chief in person who decided all controversies. the cases must be stated truthfully, as the penalty for false testimony was death. there was no appeal from the decision of the chief. theft was punishable with death and anyone catching a thief in flagrante delicto, might cut off the offender's hands and hang them to his neck. murder was also punished by death; the penalty for adultery was death to both parties. in darien, he who defloured a virgin had a brier thrust up his virile member, which generally caused death. the facts had to be proved on oath, the form of taking which was to swear by their tooth. as i have said, a constable could not arrest or kill a noble; consequently if one committed a crime punishable with death, the chief must kill him with his own hand, and notice was given to all the people by beating the large war drum so that they should assemble and witness the execution. the chief then in presence of the multitude recited the offence, and the culprit acknowledged the justice of the sentence. this duty fulfilled, the chief struck the culprit two or three blows on the head with a macana until he fell, and if he was not killed, any one of the spectators gave him the finishing stroke. criminals who were executed were denied the right of burial. the caribs had no chiefs, every man obeyed the dictates of his own passions, unrestrained by either government or laws.[ ] [sidenote: punishments and slavery.] slavery was in force among the various nations inhabiting the isthmus, and every principal man retained a number of prisoners as bondsmen; they were called _pacos_, and, as i have already mentioned, were branded or tattooed with the particular mark of the owner on the face or arm, or had one of their front teeth extracted. when traveling, the slaves had to carry their lord's effects, and a dozen or more were detailed to carry his litter or hammock, which was slung on a pole and borne on the shoulders of two men at a time, who were relieved at intervals by two others, the change being made without stopping. on his march across the isthmus in , vasco nuñez found some negro slaves belonging to the cacique of quarecas, but the owner could give no information relative to them, except that there were more of that color near the place, with whom they were continually at war.[ ] [sidenote: family relations of the isthmians.] caciques and lords married as many wives as they pleased. the marriage of the first wife was celebrated with a great banquet, at the close of which the bride was handed over to her husband. subsequent wives were not married with ceremonies or rejoicings, but took the place of concubines, and were subject to the orders of the first wife. the number of wives was limited only by the wealth of the lord. vasco nuñez took prisoner the cacique tumanamá with all his family, among which were eighty wives. the children of the first wife were legitimate, while those of others were bastards and could not inherit. marriage was not contracted with strangers or people speaking a different language, and the tiba and lords only married with the daughters of noble blood. divorces were brought about by mutual consent and for slight causes, and sometimes wives were exchanged. if a woman was barren, they promptly agreed upon a separation, which took place when the woman had her menstrual period, in order that there might be no suspicion of pregnancy. when a maiden reached the age of puberty, she was kept shut up, sometimes for a period of two years. in some parts of darien, when a contract of marriage was made, all the neighbors brought presents of maize or fruits, and laid them at the door of the bride's father; when the offerings were all made, each one of the company was given a calabash of liquor; then followed speeches and dancing, and the bridegroom's father presented his son to the bride, and joined their hands; after which the bride was returned to her father, who kept her shut up in a house with him for seven days. during that time all the friends assisted in clearing a plantation and building a house for the couple, while the women and children planted the ground. the seven days having elapsed, another merrymaking took place, at which much liquor was drunk. the bridegroom took the precaution to put away all weapons which were hung to the ridge-pole of his house, in order to prevent any serious fighting during their drunken orgies, which lasted several days, or until all the liquor was consumed. if a man had several wives, he often kept each one in a separate house, though sometimes they all lived together; a woman who was pregnant always occupied a house to herself.[ ] women are easily delivered, and the young infant is tied to a board on its back or between two pillows, and is kept so confined until able to walk, the board being removed only to wash the child. male children are early accustomed to the use of weapons, and when able to carry a few provisions for themselves, they accompany their fathers on hunting expeditions. girls are brought up to household duties, cooking, weaving, and spinning. prostitution was not infamous; noble ladies held as a maxim, that it was plebeian to deny anything asked of them, and they gave themselves up to any person that wooed them, willingly, especially to principal men. this tendency to licentiousness carried with it extremes in the use of abortives whereby to avoid the consequence of illicit pleasures, as well that they might not be deprived of them, as to keep their breasts from softening; for, said they, old women should bear children, not young ones, who have to amuse themselves. sodomy was practiced by the nations of cueba, careta, and other places. the caciques and some of the head men kept harems of youths, who, as soon as destined to the unclean office, were dressed as women, did women's work about the house, and were exempt from war and its fatigues. they went by the name of _camayoas_, and were hated and detested by the women.[ ] [sidenote: intoxicating liquors.] their public amusements were called _areitos_, a species of dance very nearly resembling some in the northern provinces of spain. they took place upon occasions of a marriage or birth, or when they were about to go forth on a hunting expedition, or at the time of harvest. one led the singing, stepping to the measure, and the rest followed, imitating the leader. others again engaged in feats of arms and sham battles, while singers and improvisatori related the deeds of their ancestors and historical events of the nation. the men indulged freely in fermented liquors and wines, the drinking and dancing lasting many hours and sometimes whole days, until drunk and exhausted they fell to the ground. actors in appropriate costumes counterfeited the various pursuits of fishing, hunting, and agriculture, while others, in the guise of jesters and fools, assisted in enlivening the scene. their principal musical instruments were drums and small whistles made of reeds; they had also javelins with holes pierced in them near the end, so that when cast into the air a loud whistling noise was produced.[ ] they have various kinds of wines and liquors both sweet and sour. one is obtained from a species of palm-tree, by tapping the trunk near the top, and inserting a leaf into the cut. the liquor drawn off soon ferments, and in two or three days is fit to drink; or it is boiled with water and mixed with spices. another kind called _chicha_ is made from maize; a quantity of the grain is soaked in water, then taken out and left to sprout, when it is bruised and placed in a large vessel filled with water, where it is allowed to remain until it begins to turn sour. a number of old women then collect and chew some of the grain, which they spit out into large gourds until they have a sufficient quantity; this, as soon as it ferments, is added to the water in the vessel, and in a short time the whole undergoes fermentation. when the liquor is done working it is drawn off from the sediment, and a strongly intoxicating liquor is thus produced, which is their favorite beverage. they have another method of making chicha, by boiling the sprouted grain in water till the quantity is considerably reduced; it is then removed from the fire and left to settle and cool. in two days it becomes clear and fit to drink, but after five or six days it begins to acidify so that only a moderate quantity is made at a time. different varieties of wines and liquors are made from dates, bananas, pineapples, and other fruits, and we are told that the first spanish explorers of the country found large quantities of fermented liquors buried beneath the ground under their house-tree, because if stored in their houses the liquor became turbid from constant agitation. the cellar of the king comagre is described as being filled with great vessels of earth and wood, containing wine and cider. peter martyr, in his account of the visit of vasco nuñez and his company to the king, says "they drunke wines of sundry tastes both white and black." tobacco is much used by the isthmians; the natives of costa rica roll the leaf up in the form of a cigar, and tie it with grass threads; they inhale the smoke, and, retaining it for a short time, pass it out through the mouth and nostrils. the cigar used by the natives of the isthmus of panamá is much larger. mr wafer thus describes their manner of making and smoking it: "laying two or three leaves upon one another, they roll up all together side-ways into a long roll, yet leaving a little hollow. round this they roll other leaves one after another, in the same manner but close and hard, till the roll be as big as ones wrist, and two or three feet in length. their way of smoaking when they are in company together is thus: a boy lights one end of a roll and burns it to a coal, wetting the part next it to keep it from wasting too fast. the end so lighted he puts into his mouth, and blows the smoak through the whole length of the roll into the face of every one of the company or council, tho' there be or of them. then they, sitting in their usual posture upon forms, make, with their hands held hollow together, a kind of funnel round their mouths and noses. into this they receive the smoak as 'tis blown upon them, snuffing it up greedily and strongly as long as ever they are able to hold their breath, and seeming to bless themselves, as it were, with the refreshment it gives them." after eating heartily, more especially after supper, they burn certain gums and herbs and fumigate themselves to produce sleep.[ ] the isthmians are good walkers, their tread firm, but light and soft as a cat, and they are exceedingly active in all their movements. when traveling they are guided by the sun, or ascertain their course by observing the bark of the trees; the bark on the south side being always the thickest. when fatigued by travel they scarify their legs with a sharpened reed or snakes' teeth. they are very expert swimmers and the dwellers on the coast pass much of their time in the water. in salutation they turn their backs to each other. no one will accept a gift from a stranger unless with the especial permission of the chief.[ ] [sidenote: isthmian sorcerers.] they believe largely in spirits and divinations, and have sorcerers called _piaces_ who are held in much respect and awe. the piaces profess to have the power of foretelling the future and raising spirits. when putting in practice their arts they retire to a solitary place, or shut themselves up in a house, where, with loud cries and unearthly sounds they pretend to consult the oracle. boys destined to be piaces are taken at the age of ten or twelve years to be instructed in the office; they are selected for the natural inclination or the peculiar aptitude and intelligence which they display for the service. those so chosen are confined in a solitary place where they dwell in company with their instructors. for two years they are subjected to severe discipline, they must not eat flesh nor anything having life, but live solely on vegetables, drink only water, and not indulge in sexual intercourse. during the probationary term neither parents nor friends are permitted to see them; at night only are they visited by professional masters, who instruct them in the mysteries of the necromantic arts. in the province of cueba masters in these arts are called _tequinas_. it is asserted of the piaces that they could foretell an eclipse of the moon three months before the time. the people were much troubled with witches, who were supposed to hold converse with evil spirits, and inflicted many ills especially upon children.[ ] [sidenote: medical practice.] the isthmians are a healthful and long-lived race. the ills most common to them are fevers and venereal disease. the latter, as oviedo affirms, was introduced into europe from hayti, or española, where it was prevalent as well as throughout tierra firme. this is a subject that has given rise to much contention among authors, but the balance of testimony seems to indicate that the venereal disease in europe was not of american origin, although the disease probably existed in america before the coming of europeans. the remedies employed by the isthmians for the complaint were _guayacan_ wood, and other medicinal herbs known to them. they are much troubled with a minute species of tick-lice that cover their limbs in great numbers, from which they endeavor to free themselves by applying burning straw. another insect, more serious in its consequences and penetrating in its attacks, is the _chegoe_, or _pulex penetrans_; it burrows under the skin, where it lays its eggs, and if not extracted will in time increase to such an extent as to endanger the loss of the limb. the natives remove it with any sharp-pointed instrument. they are liable to be bitten by venomous snakes, which are numerous in the country and frequently cause death. whenever one is bitten by such a reptile, the sufferer immediately ties above the wounded part a ligature made from plants well known to the natives, and which they usually carry with them; this enables him to reach a village, where he procures assistance, and by means of herbal applications is often cured. some of them are subject to a skin disease somewhat similar in its appearance to ringworm; it spreads over the whole body until eventually the skin peels off. those who are thus afflicted are called _carates_. these people are generally very hardy and strong, with great powers of endurance. the piaces, as medicine-men, consult their oracles for the benefit of all those who require their services. the sucking cure obtains in these parts as well as northward. when summoned to attend a patient, if the pain or disease is slight, the medicine-man takes some herbs in his mouth, and applying his lips to the part affected, pretends to suck out the disorder; suddenly he rushes outside with cheeks extended, and feigns to spit out something, cursing and imprecating at the same time; he then assures his patient that he has effected a cure by extracting the cause of the pain. when the sickness is of a more serious nature, more elaborate enchantments are enacted, ending in the practitioner sucking it out from the sick person's body, not, however, without undergoing infinite trouble, labor, and contortions, till at last the piace thrusts a small stick down his own throat, which causes him to vomit, and so he casts up that which he pretends to have drawn out from the sufferer. should his conjurations and tricks not prove effectual, the physician brings to his aid certain herbs and decoctions, with which he is well acquainted; their knowledge of medicine is, however, more extensive in the treatment of external than of internal diseases. the compensation given to the piace is in proportion to the gravity of the case, and the ability of the individual to reward him. in cases of fever, bleeding is resorted to; their mode of practicing phlebotomy is peculiar and attended with much unnecessary suffering. the operator shoots a small arrow from a bow into various parts of the patient's body until a vein be accidentally opened; the arrow is gauged a short distance from the point to prevent its penetrating too far.[ ] oviedo tells us that in the province of cueba the practice of sucking was carried on to a fearful extent, and with dire consequences. the persons, men and women, who indulged in the habit were called by the spaniards _chupadores_. they belonged to a class of sorcerers, and the historian says they went about at night visiting certain of the inhabitants, whom they sucked for hours, continuing the practice from day to day, until finally the unfortunate recipients of their attentions became so thin and emaciated that they often died from exhaustion.[ ] [sidenote: isthmian graves and mourning.] [sidenote: funeral rites on the isthmus.] among certain nations of costa rica when a death occurs the body is deposited in a small hut constructed of plaited palm-leaves; food, drink, as well as the weapons and implements that served the defunct during life are placed in the same hut. here the body is preserved for three years, and upon each anniversary of the death it is redressed and attended to amidst certain ceremonies. at the end of the third year it is taken out and interred. among other tribes in the same district, the corpse after death is covered with leaves and surrounded with a large pile of wood which is set on fire, the friends dancing and singing round the flames until all is consumed, when the ashes are collected and buried in the ground. in veragua the dorachos had two kinds of tombs, one for the principal men constructed with flat stones laid together with much care, and in which were placed costly jars and urns filled with food and wines for the dead; those for plebeians were merely trenches, in which were deposited with the occupant some gourds of maize and wine and the place filled with stones. in some parts of panamá and darien only the chiefs and lords received funeral rites. among the common people a person feeling his end approaching either went himself or was led to the woods by his wife, family, and friends, who, supplying him with some cake or ears of corn and a gourd of water, there left him to die alone, or to be assisted by wild beasts. others with more respect for their dead, buried them in sepulchres made with niches where they placed maize and wine and renewed the same annually. with some, a mother dying while suckling her infant, the living child was placed at her breast and buried with her in order that in her future state she might continue to nourish it with her milk. in some provinces when the cacique became sick, the priests consulted their oracles as to his condition and if they received for answer that the illness was mortal, one half of his jewelry and gold was cast into the river as a sacrifice to the god they reverenced, in the belief that he would guide him to his final rest; the other half was buried in the grave. the relatives of the deceased shaved the head as a sign of mourning and all his weapons and other property were consumed by fire in order that nothing should remain as a remembrance of him. in panamá, nata, and some other districts, when a cacique died, those of his concubines that loved him enough, those that he loved ardently and so appointed, as well as certain servants, killed themselves and were interred with him. this they did in order that they might wait upon him in the land of spirits. they held the belief that those who did not accompany him then, would, when they died a natural death, lose the privilege of being with him afterwards, and in fact that their souls would die with them. the privilege of attending on the cacique in his future state was believed to be only granted to those who were in his service during his lifetime, hence such service was eagerly sought after by natives of both sexes, who made every exertion to be admitted as servants in his house. at the time of the interment, those who planted corn for him during his lifetime had some maize and an implement of husbandry buried with them in order that they might commence planting immediately on arrival in the other world. in comagre and other provinces the bodies of the caciques were embalmed by placing them on a cane hurdle, hanging them up by cords, or placing them on a stone, or log; and round or below the body they made a slow fire of herbs at such a distance as to dry it gradually until only skin and bone remained. during the process of embalming, twelve of the principal men sat round the body, dressed in black mantles which covered their heads, letting them hang down to their feet; at intervals one of them beat a drum and when he ceased he chanted in monotonous tones, the others responding. day and night the twelve kept watch and never left the body. when sufficiently dried it was dressed and adorned with many ornaments of gold, jewels, and feathers, and set up in an apartment of the palace where were kept ranged round the walls the remains of his ancestors, each one in his place and in regular succession. in case a cacique fell in battle and his body could not be recovered, or was otherwise lost, the place he would have occupied in the row was always left vacant. among other tribes the body after being dried by fire was wrapped in several folds of cloth, put in a hammock, and placed upon a platform in the air or in a room. the manner in which the wives, attendants, and servants put themselves to death was, with some, by poison; in such case, the multitude assembled to chant the praises of their dead lord, when those who were to follow drank poison from gourds, and dropped dead instantly. in some cases they first killed their children. with others the funeral obsequies of a principal chief were conducted differently. they prepared a large grave twelve or fifteen feet square and nine or ten feet deep; round the sides they built a stone bench and covered it with painted cloth; in the middle of the grave they placed jars and gourds filled with maize, fruit, and wines, and a quantity of flowers. on the bench was laid the dead chief dressed, ornamented, and jeweled, while around him sat his wives gaily attired with ear-rings and bracelets. all being prepared the assembled multitude raised their voices in songs declaring the bravery and prowess of the deceased; they recounted his liberality and many virtues and highly extolled the affection of his faithful wives who desired to accompany him. the singing and dancing usually lasted two days and during its continuance wine was freely served to the performers and also to the women who were awaiting their fate. at the expiration of such time they became entirely inebriated and in a senseless condition, when the final act was consummated by throwing dead and doomed into the grave, and filling it with logs, branches, and earth. the spot was afterwards held in sacred remembrance and a grove of trees planted round it. at the end of a year funeral honors were celebrated in memory of the dead. a host of friends and relatives of equal rank with the deceased were invited to participate, who upon the day appointed brought quantities of food and wine such as he whose memory they honored delighted in, also weapons with which he used to fight, all of which were placed in a canoe prepared for the purpose; in it was also deposited an effigy of the deceased. the canoe was then carried on men's shoulders round the court of the palace or house, in presence of the deceased, if he was embalmed, and afterwards brought out to the centre of the town where it was burned with all it contained,--the people believing that the fumes and smoke ascended to the soul of the dead and was pleasing and acceptable to him.[ ] if the body had been interred they opened the sepulchre; all the people with hair disheveled uttering loud lamenting cries while the bones were being collected, and these they burned all except the hinder part of the skull, which was taken home by one of the principal women and preserved by her as a sacred relic. [sidenote: isthmian character.] the character of the costa ricans has ever been that of a fierce and savage people, prominent in which qualities are the guatusos and buricas, who have shown themselves strongly averse to intercourse with civilization. the talamancas are a little less untameable, which is the best, or perhaps the worst, that can be said. the terrabas, also a cruel and warlike nation, are nevertheless spoken of by fray juan domingo arricivita as endowed with natural docility. the natives of boca del toro are barbarous and averse to change. in chiriquí they are brave and intelligent, their exceeding courage having obtained for them the name of _valientes_ or _indios bravos_ from the early discoverers; they are also noted for honesty and fair dealing. the same warlike and independent spirit and fearlessness of death prevails among the nations of veragua, panamá, and darien. the inhabitants of panamá and cueba are given to lechery, theft, and lying; with some these qualities are fashionable; others hold them to be crimes. the mandingos and natives of san blas are an independent and industrious people, possessing considerable intelligence, and are of a docile and hospitable disposition. the inhabitants of darien are kind, open-hearted, and peaceable, yet have always been resolute in opposing all interference from foreigners; they are fond of amusements and inclined to indolence; the latter trait is not, however, applicable to all, a noticeable exception being the cunas and chocos of the atrato valley, who are of a gentle nature, kind, hospitable, and open-hearted when once their confidence is gained; they are likewise industrious and patient, and m. lucien de puydt says of the former: "theft is altogether unknown amongst the cunas." colonel alcedo, speaking of their neighbors, the idibaes, calls them treacherous, inconstant, and false. in the interior and mountain districts the inhabitants are more fierce than those from the coast; the former are shy and retiring, yet given to hospitality. on the gulf of urabá the people are warlike, vainglorious, and revengeful.[ ] thus from the icy regions of the north to the hot and humid shores of darien i have followed these wild tribes of the pacific states, with no other object in view than faithfully to picture them according to the information i have been able to glean. and thus i leave them, yet not without regret: for notwithstanding all that has been said i cannot but feel how little we know of them. of their mighty unrecorded past, their interminable intermixtures, their ages of wars and convulsions, their inner life, their aspirations, hopes, and fears, how little do we know of all this! and now as the eye rests upon the fair domain from which they have been so ignobly hurried, questions like these arise: how long have these backings and battlings been going on? what purpose did these peoples serve? whence did they come and whither have they gone?--questions unanswerable until omniscience be fathomed and the beginning and end made one. tribal boundaries. the wild tribes of central america, the last groupal division of this work, extend from the western boundary of guatemala, south and eastward, to the rio atrato. i have divided the group into three subdivisions, namely: the _guatemalans_, the _mosquitos_, and the _isthmians_. the guatemalans, for the purposes of this delineation, embrace those nations occupying the present states of guatemala, salvador, and portions of nicaragua. the _lacandones_ are a wild nation inhabiting the chammá mountains on the boundary of guatemala and chiapas. 'mountains of chammá, inhabited by the wild indians of lacandón ... a distinction ought to be drawn between the western and eastern lacandónes. all the country lying on the w., between the bishopric of ciudad real and the province of vera paz, was once occupied by the western lacandónes.... the country of the eastern lacandónes may be considered as extending from the mountains of chammá, a day and a half from cobán, along the borders of the river de la pasion to petén, or even further.' _escobar_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., pp. - . upon the margin of the rio de la passion. _juarros' hist. guat._, p. . 'un tribu de mayas sauvages appelés lacandons, qui habitent un district immense dans le centre du continent, embrasse toute la partie occidentale du peten; erre sur les bords supérieurs de l'usumasinta et le pays qui se trouve au sud de l'endroit d'où j'écris.' _galindo_, in _antiq. mex._, tom. i., div. ii., p. . 'the vast region lying between chiapa, tabasco, yucatan, and the republic of guatemala ... is still occupied by a considerable body of indians, the lacandones and others.' _squier_, in _hist. mag._, vol. iv., p. , 'the vast region embracing not less than from to , square miles, surrounding the upper waters of the river usumasinta, in which exist the indomitable lacandones.' _id._, p. . 'mais la contrée qui s'étendait au nord de cahabon, siége provisoire des dominicains, et qui comprenait le pays de dolores et celui des itzas, était encore à peu près inconnue. là vivaient les choles, les belliqueux et féroces mopans, les lacandons et quelques tribus plus obscures, dont l'histoire a négligé les noms.' _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., p. , tom. i., p. . 'they are reduced to-day to a very insignificant number, living on and near passion river and its tributaries.' _berendt_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. . 'in the north of vera paz, to the west of peten, and all along the usumacinta, dwell numerous and warlike tribes, called generally lacandones.' _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pref., p. xvi.; _fossey_, _mexique_, p. ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. . [sidenote: the mames of guatemala.] the _mames_ 'occupied the existing district of güegüetenango, a part of quezaltenango, and the province of soconusco, and in all these places the mam or pocoman language is vernacular. it is a circumstance not a little remarkable, that this idiom is also peculiar to places very distant from the country of the mams: viz. in amatitan, mixco, and petapa, in the province of sacatepeques; chalchuapa, in st. salvador; mita, jalapa, and xilotepeque, in chiquimula.' _juarros' hist. guat._, p. . 'el mame ó pocoman le usan los mames ó pocomanes, que parecen no ser mas que dos tribus de una misma nacion, la cual formaba un estado poderoso en guatemala. se extendió por el distritó de huehuetenango, en la provincia de este nombre, y por parte de la de quetzaltenango, así como por el distrito de soconusco en chiapas. en todos estos lugares se hablaba mame ó pocoman, lo mismo que en amatitlan, mixco y petapa, de la provincia de zacatepec ó guatemala; en chalchuapa, perteneciente á la de san salvador; y en mita, jalapa y jiloltepec, de la de chiquimula.' _balbi_, in _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . 'leur capitale était gueguetenango, au nord-est de la ville actuelle de guatemala, et les villes de masacatan, cuilco, chiantla et istaguacan étaient enclavées dans leur territoire.' _squier_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cliii., p. . 'a l'ouest, jusqu'aux frontières de chiapas, s'étendaient les mams, proprement dits mam-yoc, dans leurs histoires, partagés en plusieurs familles également puissantes qui gouvernaient souverainement cette contrée, alors désignée sous le nom commun d'otzoya (de otzoy, sortes d'écrevisses d'or): c'étaient d'un côté les chun-zak-yoc, qui avaient pour capitale qulaha, que son opulence et son étendue avaient fait surnommer nima-amag ou la grande-ville, dite depuis xelahun-quieh, ou xelahuh, et quezaltenango; les tzitzol, dont la capitale était peut-être chinabahul ou huehuetenango, les ganchebi (see note below under ganchebis) et les bamaq. ceux-ci, dont nous avons connu les descendants, étaient seigneurs d'iztlahuacan (san-miguel-iztlahuacan), dont le plateau est encore aujourd'hui parsemé de ruines au milieu desquelles s'élève l'humble bourgade de ce nom: au dessus domine, à une hauteur formidable, xubiltenam (ville du souffle).... ganchebi, écrit alternativement canchebiz, canchevez et ganchebirse. rien n'indique d'une manière précise où régnait cette famille: mais il se pourrait que ce fût à zipacapan ou à chivun, dont les ruines existent à trois lieues au sud de cette dernière localité; là était l'ancien oztoncalco.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, introd., pp. - . 'habitaban el soconusco, desde tiempos remotos, y era un pueblo autócton; los olmecas que llegaron de la parto de méxico, les redujeron á la servidumbre, y una fraccion de los vencidos emigró hasta guatemala.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . the mamey, achi, cuaahtemalteca, hutateca, and chirichota 'en la de los suchitepeques y cuaahtemala.' _palacio_, in _pacheco_, _col. doc. inéd._, tom. vi., p. . mame 'parlé dans les localités voisines de huehuetenango.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _ms. troano_, tom. ii., p. viii. 'on retrouve encore aujourd'hui leurs restes parmi les indiens de la province de totonicapan, aux frontières de chiapas et des lacandons, an nord-ouest de l'état de guatémala. la place forte de zakuléu (c'est-à-dire, terre blanche, mal à propos orthographié socoléo), dont on admire les vastes débris auprès de la ville de huéhuétenango, resta, jusqu'au temps de la conquête espagnole, la capitale des mems. cette race avait été antérieurement la maîtresse de la plus grande partie de l'état de guatémala.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . the _pokomams_, or pokonchis, lived in the district of vera paz in guatemala, 'sous le nom d'uxab et de pokomam, une partie des treize tribus de tecpan, dont la capitale était la grande cité de nimpokom, était maîtresse de la verapaz et des provinces situées au sud du motagua jusqu'à palin' ( leagues n. w. of rabinal). _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, introd., p. . ils 'paraissent avoir occupé une grande partie des provinces guatémaliennes.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. , . 'toute la rive droite du chixoy (lacandon ou haut uzumacinta), depuis coban (écrit quelquefois coboan) jusqu'au fleuve motagua, les montagnes et les vallées de gagcoh (san-cristoval), de taltic, de rabinal et d'urran, une partie des départements actuels de zacatépec, de guatémala et de chiquimulà, jusqu'au pied des volcans de hunahpu (volcans d'eau et de feu), devinrent leur proie.' _id._, pp. - . 'le pocomchi, le pokoman, le cakchi, semés d'amatitan à coban.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _ms. troano_, tom. ii., introd., p. viii. in 'la verapaz, la poponchi, caechi y colchi.' _palacio_, in _pacheco_, _col. doc. inéd._, tom. vi., p. . 'la lengua pocomana se habla en amatitán, petapa, san chrisobal, pinula, y hermita ó llano de la culebra de guatemala.' _hervás_, _catálogo_, tom. i., p. . 'a la nacion poconchi pertenecen los lugares ó misiones ... llamadas santa cruz, san christobal, taktik, tucurú, y tomasiú.' _ib._ the _quichés_ inhabit the centre of the state of guatemala. 'quiché then comprehended the present districts of quiché, totonicapan, part of quezaltenango, and the village of rabinal; in all these places the quiché language is spoken. for this reason, it may be inferred with much probability, that the greater part of the province of sapotitlan, or suchiltepeques, was a colony of the quichées, as the same idiom is made use of nearly throughout the whole of it.' _juarros' hist. guat._, p. . 'les quichés, or utletecas, habitaient la frontière du sud, les chefs de sacapulus et uspatan à l'est, et les lacandones indépendants au nord. ils occupaient probablement la plus grande partie du district actuel de totonicapan et une portion de celui de quesaltenango.' _squier_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cliii., p. . 'leurs postes principaux furent établis sur les deux côtés du chixoy, depuis zacapulas jusqu'à zactzuy.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. , , . the _cakchiquels_ are south of the quichés. 'the territory of the kachiqueles was composed of that which now forms the provinces of chimaltenango and sacatepeques, and the district of sololá; and as the kachiquel language is also spoken in the villages of patulul, cotzumalguapan, and others along the same coast, it is a plausible supposition that they were colonies settled by the kachiquels, for the purpose of cultivating the desirable productions of a warmer climate than their own.' _juarros' hist. guat._, p. . 'la capitale fut, en dernier lieu, iximché ou tecpan-guatemala, lors de la déclaration de l'indépendence de cette nation.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, introd., p. . 'der westliche theil der provinz [atitan] mit dörfern in kirchspielen, von nachkommen der kachiquelen und zutugilen bewohnt.' _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. . 'los paises de la nacion cakchiquila son chimaltenango, zumpango, tejar, santo domingo, san pedro las huertas, san gaspar, san luis de las carretas, y otros diez lugares, todos pertenecientes á las misiones de los pp. dominicos; y á las de los pp. observantes de san francisco pertenecen isapa, pason, tepan-guatemalan comalapa, san antonio, san juan del obispo, y otros quince lugares á lo menos de la misma nacion cakchiquila, cuyas poblaciones estan al rededor de guatemala.' _hervás_, _catálogo_, tom. i., p. . the _zutugils_ dwelt near the lake of atitlan. 'the dominion of the zutugiles extended over the modern district of atitan, and the village of san antonio, suchiltepeques.' _juarros' hist. guat._, p. . 'la capital de los cachiqueles era patinamit ó tecpanguatemala, ciudad grande y fuerte; y la de los zutuhiles, atitan, cerca de la laguna de este nombre y que se tenia por inexpugnable.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., pp. - . the _chortis_ live on the banks of the motagua river. the chiquimula 'indians belong to the chorti nation.' _gavarrete_, in _panamá star and herald_, dec. , ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . [sidenote: guatemalans.] brasseur de bourbourg describes quite a number of very ancient nations, of some of which he endeavors to fix the localities, and which i insert here. dan or tamub founded a monarchy on the guatemalan plateau. their 'capitale, amag-dan, existait, suivant toute apparence, entre les monts tohil et mamah, à trois lieues à peine au nord d'utlatlan.' _popol vuh_, introd., pp. , . 'ilocab étendait sa domination à l'ouest et au sud de tamub, et la cité d'uquincat, siége principale de cette maison, occupait un plateau étroit, situé entre les mêmes ravins qui ceignent un peu plus bas les ruines d'utlatlan.' 'la ville d'uquincat (forme antique). avec le filet (à mettre le maïs), était sur un plateau au nord-ouest de ceux d'utlatlan, dont elle n'était séparée que par ses ravins; on en voit encore les ruines connues aujourd'hui sous le nom de p'-ilocab, en ilocab.' _id._, p. . agaab, 'dont les possessions s'étendaient sur les deux rives du chixoy ou lacandon.' 'c'était une nation, puissante dont les principales villes existaient à peu de distance de la rive gauche du fleuve chixoy ou lacandon (rio grande de sacapulas). l'une d'elles était carinal, dont j'ai visité le premier, en , les belles ruines, situées sur les bords du pacalag, rivière qui se jette dans le lacandon, presque vis-à-vis l'embouchure de celle de rabinal, dans la vérapaz.' _ib._ cabinal, 'la capitale était à zameneb, dans les montagnes de xoyabah ou xolabah, [entre les rochers].' _id._, p. . ah-actulul, 'sept tribus de la nation ah-actulul, qui s'étaient établies sur des territoires dépendants de la souveraineté d'atitlan.' 'ces sept tribus sont: ah-tzuque, ah-oanem, manacot, manazaquepet, vancoh, yabacoh et ah-tzakol-quet ou queh.--ac-tulul peut-être pour ah-tulul.' _id._, p. . 'ah-txiquinaha, ceux ou les habitants de tziquinaha (nid d'oiseau), dont la capitale fut atitlan, sur le lac du même nom.' _id._, p. . acutee, 'nom aussi d'une ancienne tribu dont on retrouve le souvenir dans chuvi-acutec, au-dessus d'acutec, sur le territoire de chalcitan, près de malacatan et de huehuetenango.' _id._, pp. - . cohah, 'nom d'une tribu antique dans l'orient des quichés.' _id._, p. . the _chontales_ dwell in the mountain districts n.e. of lake nicaragua, besides having miscellaneous villages in guerrero, oajaca, tabasco, guatemala, and honduras. 'en el departamento de tlacolula ... y se encuentran chontales en guerrero, en tabasco y en guatemala.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . in san salvador, choluteca, honduras, nicaragua. _palacio_, in _pacheco_, _col. doc. inéd._, tom. vi., pp. , , . 'quiéchápa leguas südöstlich von oajáca und leguas südwestlich von nejápa.... an den gränzen des landes der chontáles.' ... 'tlapalcatepéc. hauptort im lande der chontáles.' _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., pp. - , , . 'les chontáles s'étaient vus en possession de toute la contrée qui s'étend entre la mer et la chaîne de quyecolani ... étaient en possession non seulement de nexapa, mais encore de la portion la plus importante de la montagne de quiyecolani.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. , . 'au nord-ouest du grand lac, les chondals occupaient le district montagneux appelé encore aujourd'hui chontales, d'après eux.' _holinski_, _la californie_, p. . 'inhabitants of the mountainous regions to the north-east of the lake of nicaragua.' _froebel's cent. amer._, p. . 'au nord des lacs, les chontales barbares habitaient la cordillère.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . 'the chontals covered chontales, northward of lake nicaragua, and lying between the tribes already given, and those on the caribbean sea.' _stout's nicaragua_, p. . 'bewohner der gebirgsgegenden nordöstlich vom see von nicaragua.' _froebel_, _aus amer._, tom. i., p. . 'in nicaragua die chontales im hochlande im n. des managua-sees.' _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. . 'deste lugar [yztepeque] comiençan los chontales.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x. 'the chondals or chontals, the third great division mentioned by oviedo, occupied the wide, mountainous region, still bearing the name of chontales, situated to the northward of lake nicaragua, and midway between the nations already named and the savage hordes bordering the caribbean sea.' _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . 'on the northern shores of the lake of nicaragua.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'the lencas ... under the various names of chontals, and perhaps xicaques and payas, occupying what is now the department of san miguel in san salvador, of comayagua, choluteca, tegucigalpa, and parts of olancho and yoro in honduras, including the islands of roatan, guanaja, and their dependencies.' _squier's cent. amer._, p. . the _pipiles_ 'n'y occupaient guère quelques cantons sur les côtes de l'océan pacifique, dans la province d'itzcuintlan et ne s'internaient que vers les frontières de l'état de san-salvador, le long des rives du rio paxa.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . 'welche den ganzen westlichen theil des heutigen staates von s. salvador südlich vom rio lampa, das sogen. reich cozcotlan bewohnten.' _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. , . 'are settled along the coasts of the pacific, from the province of escuintla to that of st. salvador.... in a short time these pipiles multiplied immensely, and spread over the provinces of zonzonate, st. salvador, and st. miguel.' _juarros' hist. guat._, pp. , . among 'los izalcos y costa de guazacapan ... san salvador ... honduras ... nicaragua.' _palacio_, in _pacheco_, _col. doc. inéd._, tom. vi., p. . _nonohualcas._ 'Á la falda de un alto volcan (san vicente) están cuatro lugares de indios, que llaman los nunualcos.' _id._, p. . _tlascaltecs._ 'in mehreren puncten san salvadors, wie z. b. in isalco, mexicanos, nahuisalco leben noch jetzt indianer vom stamme der tlaskalteken.' _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, p. . [sidenote: nations of nicaragua.] the _cholutecs_ 'occupied the districts north of the nagrandans, extending along the gulf of fonseca into what is now honduras territory.' _stout's nicaragua_, p. . 'the cholutecans, speaking the cholutecan dialect, situated to the northward of the nagrandans, and extending along the gulf of fonseca, into what is now the territory of honduras. a town and river in the territory here indicated, still bear the name of choluteca, which however is a mexican name.' _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . these soconusco exiles settled 'dans les terres qui s'étendent au nord et à l'ouest du golfe de conchagua, aux frontières de honduras et de nicaragua.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . 'beyond them (nagrandans) on the gulf of fonseca, a nation called the cholutecans had their seats.' _froebel's cent. amer._, p. . _maribios_, a tribe formerly inhabiting the mountain region about leon. 'ihre wohnsitze bildeten die provinz maribichoa.' _froebel_, _aus amer._, tom. i., p. . 'ay en nicaragua cinco leguajes ... coribici ... chorotega ... chondal ... orotiña ... mexicano.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . 'hablauan en nicaragua, cinco lenguas diferentes, coribizi, que lo hablan mucho en chuloteca ... los de chontal, ... la quarta es orotina, mexicana es la quinta.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii. 'in nicaragua there were fiue linages, and different languages: the coribici, ciocotoga, ciondale, oretigua, and the mexican.' _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. v., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . the _chorotegans_ 'occupied the entire country north of the niquirans, extending along the pacific ocean, between it and lake managua, to the borders, and probably for a distance along the shores of the gulf of fonseca. they also occupied the country south of the niquirans, and around the gulf of nicoya, then called orotina.' _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . 'welche die gegenden zwischen der südsee und dem managua-see von der fonseca-bai südwärts bis zu den aztekisch sprechenden indianern bewohnen und auch südlich von den niquirians bis zur bai von nicoya sich ausbreiten.' _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. . 'north of the mexican inhabitants of nicaragua (the niquirans), between the pacific ocean, lake managua, and the gulf of fonseca.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . before the conquest they occupied 'les régions aujourd'hui à peu près désertes qui s'étendent entre le territoire de tehuantepec et celui de soconusco, sur les bords de l'océan pacifique.' ... to escape the olmec tyranny they emigrated to 'golfe de nicoya; de là, ils retournèrent ensuite, en passant les monts, jusqu'au lac de nicaragua et se fixèrent sur ses bords.' driven off by the nahuas 'les uns, se dirigeant au nord-ouest, vont fonder nagarando, au bord du lac de managua, tandis que les autres contournaient les rivages du golfe de nicoya, que l'on trouve encore aujourd'hui habités par leurs descendants.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, introd., pp. cc., ccii. 'als die spanier nach nicaragua kamen, war diess volk an der küste verbreitet ... wohnten längs der küste des austroloceans.' _hassel_, _mex. guat._, pp. - . the _dirians_ 'occupied the territory lying between the upper extremity of lake nicaragua, the river tipitapa, and the southern half of lake managua and the pacific, whose principal towns were situated where now stand the cities of granada, (then called salteba,) masaya, and managua, and the villages of tipitapa, diriomo and diriamba.' _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . 'groupés dans les localités encore connues de liria, de diriomé, de diriamba, de monbacho et de lenderi, sur les hauteurs qui forment la base du volcan de mazaya.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . 'occupied masaya, managua, tipitapa, diriomo, and diriamba.' _stout's nicaragua_, p. ; _froebel_, _aus amer._, tom. i., p. . the _nagrandans_. 'entre les dirias et la choluteca était située la province des mangnés ou nagarandas (torquemada dit que nagarando est un mot de leur langue. oviedo les appelle nagrandas), dont les fertiles campagnes s'étendaient, au nord et à l'ouest du lac de managua, jusqu'à la mer; on y admirait les cités florissantes de chinandéga, de chichigalpa, de pozoltega, de telica, de subtiaba, de nagarando, appelée aussi xolotlan, de matiares et une foule d'autres, réduites maintenant, pour la plupart, à de misérables bourgades.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . 'the nagrandans occupied the plain of leon between the northern extreme of lake managua and the pacific.' _stout's nicaragua_, p. . 'an welche sich weiter nordwestwärts (the last mention was dirians) die bewohner der gegend von leon, welche squier nagrander nennt ... anschlossen.' _froebel_, _aus amer._, tom. i., p. . 'chorotega tribe of the plains of leon, nicaragua.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . the _niquirans_ 'settled in the district of nicaragua, between the lake of nicaragua and the pacific ocean.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'au centre du pays, sur le lac nicaragua, appelé cocibolca par les indigènes, vivaient les niquirans.' _holinski_, _la californie_, p. . ometepec. 'this island was occupied by the niquirans.' _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., p. . the _orotiñans_ occupied 'the country around the gulf of nicoya, and to the southward of lake nicaragua.' _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . 'am golfe von orotina oder nicoya.... unter den geographischen namen im lande der orotiner stösst man auf den vulkan orosi, im jetzigen costa rica, während einer der vulkane in der kette der maribios, bei leon, also im lande der nagrander, orota heisst.' _froebel_, _aus amer._, tom. i., p. . 'les orotinas, voisins du golfe de nicoya, dont les villes principales étaient nicoya, orotina, cantren et choroté.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. . 'settled the country south of lake nicaragua around the gulf of nicoya.' _stout's nicaragua_, p. . [sidenote: mosquito nations.] the mosquitos, as a subdivision of this group, inhabit the whole of honduras, the eastern portion of nicaragua, and all that part of the coast on the caribbean sea known as the mosquito coast. the _xicaques_ 'exist in the district lying between the rio ulua and rio tinto.... it seems probable that the xicaques were once much more widely diffused, extending over the plains of olancho, and into the department of nueva segovia, in nicaragua.' _squier's cent. amer._, p. . 'se rencontrent principalement dans le département de yoro ... (some) à l'embouchure de la rivière choloma, et le reste est dispersé dans les montagnes à l'ouest de la plaine de sula. dans le département de yoro, ils sont répandus dans le pays depuis la rivière sulaco jusqu'à la baie de honduras.' _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. clx., pp. - . yoro department; 'welche am oberen lauf der flüsse und in dem berg- und hügellande zwischen der küste und dem thale von olancho wohnen.' _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. . the _poyas_. 'in the triangle between the tinto, the sea, and the rio wanks, or segovia.' _squier's cent. amer._, p. . 'inhabit the poyer mountains, beyond the embarcadero on the polyer river.' _young's narrative_, p. . 'den westlichen theil des distrikts taguzgalpa, zwischen den flüssen aguan und barbo.' _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. . 'inhabit the heads of the black and patook rivers.' _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. . the _towkas_, 'bewohnen die südlichen gegenden des distrikts (taguzgalpa) und das gebirge.' _hassel_, _mex. guat._, pp. - . 'their principal residence is at the head of patook river.' _young's narrative_, p. . 'they dwell along the twaka river which is a branch of the prinz awala.' _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. . the '_toonglas_ inhabit along the other branch of the same river.' _ib._ the _smoos_ 'inhabit the heads of all the rivers from blewfields to patook.' _id._, p. . the _cookras_ 'reside about one hundred and thirty miles from its mouth' (the rio escondido). _strangeways' mosquito shore_, p. . the _caribs_ 'now occupy the coast from the neighborhood of the port of truxillo to carataska lagoon.... their original seat was san vincent, one of what are called the leeward islands, whence they were deported in a body, by the english, in , and landed upon the then unoccupied island of roatan, in the bay of honduras.' they afterwards removed to the main land 'in the vicinity of truxillo, whence they have spread rapidly to the eastward. all along the coast, generally near the mouths of the various rivers with which it is fringed, they have their establishments or towns.' _bard's waikna_, p. . 'now settled along the whole extent of coast from cape gracias à dios to belize.' _froebel's cent. amer._, p. . 'dwell on the sea coast, their first town, cape town, being a few miles to the westward of black river.' _young's narrative_, pp. , , . in roatan: 'die volksmenge besteht aus caraiben und sambos, deren etwa , auf der insel seyn sollen.' _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. . 'unter den caraibendörfern sind zu nennen: stanu creek ... unfern im s. von belize und von da bis zur südgrenze settee, lower stanu creek, silver creek, seven hills und punta gorda.' _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. . see also: _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, pp. , ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., p. . the _ramas_ extend from greytown to blewfields, a region 'uninhabited except by the scanty remnant of a tribe called ramas.' 'inhabit a small island at the southern extremity of blewfields lagoon; they are only a miserable remnant of a numerous tribe that formerly lived on the st. john's and other rivers in that neighbourhood. a great number of them still live at the head of the rio frio, which runs into the st. john's river at san carlos fort.' _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., pp. , . 'rama cay, in blewfiels lagoon. this small island is the refuge of a feeble remnant of the once powerful rama tribe.' _pim and seemann's dottings_, p. . the _mosquitos_ inhabit 'the whole coast from pearl key lagoon to black river, and along the banks of the wawa and wanx, or wanks rivers for a great distance inland.' _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. . 'l'intérieur du pays est occupé par la nation sauvage et indomptable des mosquitos-sombos. les côtes, surtout près le cap gracias à dios, sont habitées par une autre tribu d'indiens que les navigateurs anglais ont appelés mosquitos de la côte.' _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. . 'an dem ende dieser provinz (honduras), nahe bey dem cap, gratias-a-dios, findet man die berühmte nation der mosquiten.' _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. . 'nearly the whole coast of honduras; and their most numerous tribe exists near the cape gracios á dios.' _bonnycastle's span. amer._, vol. i., p. . 'ocupan el terreno de mas de sesenta leguas, que corren desde la jurisdiccion de comaniagua, hasta la de costa-rica.' _revista mex._, tom. i., p. . 'die sambo, oder eigentlichen mosquitoindianer welche den grössten theil der seeküste bis zum black river hinauf und die an derselben gelegenen savannen bewohnen.' _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, p. . 'inhabiting on the main, on the north side, near cape gratia dios; between cape honduras and nicaragua.' _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., p. . 'inhabit a considerable space of country on the continent of america, nearly extending from point castile, or cape honduras, the southern point of the bay of truxillo, to the northern branch of the river nicaragua, called usually st. juan's; and comprehending within these limits nearly leagues of land on the sea coast, from latitude to deg.' _henderson's honduras_, pp. - . the sambos 'inhabit the country from sandy bay to potook.' _strangeways' mosquito shore_, p. . 'the sambos, or mosquitians, inhabit the sea coast, and the savannas inland, as far west as black river.' _young's narrative_, p. . 'the increase and expansion of the caribs has already driven most of the sambos, who were established to the northward and westward of cape gracias á dios, into the territory of nicaragua, southward of the cape.' _squier's honduras_ [lond., ,] p. ; _id._, _cent. amer._, p. . [sidenote: isthmian nations.] the isthmians, the last sub-division of this group, embrace the people of costa rica, together with the nations dwelling on the isthmus of panamá, or darien, as far as the gulf of urabá, and along the river atrato to the mouth of the napipi, thence up the last-named river to the pacific ocean. 'the indian tribes within the territory of costarrica, distinguished by the name of parcialidades, are the valientes, or most eastern people of the state; the tiribees, who occupy the coast from bocatoro to the banana; the talamancas and blancos, who inhabit the interior, but frequent the coast between the banana and salt creek; the montaños and cabecares, who are settled in the neighbourhood of the high lands bounding veragua, and the guatusos, inhabiting the mountains and forest between esparsa and bagases, and towards the north of these places.' _galindo_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. vi., p. . from boca del toro towards the west coast dwell the viceitas, blancos, valientes, guatusos, tiribis, and talamancas. _wagner and scherzer_, _costa rica_, p. . blancos, valientes, and talamancas 'entlang der ostküste zwischen dem rio zent und boca del toro, im staate costa rica.' _id._, p. . the _guatusos_ 'vom nicaragua-see an den rio frio aufwärts und zwischen diesem und dem san carlos bis zum hochlande.' _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. . 'inhabit a territory lying between the merivales mountains on the west, the lake of nicaragua and the san juan river on the north, the atlantic shore on the east, and the table land of san josé upon the south.' ... the rio frio 'head-waters are the favorite haunt or habitation of the guatusos ... occupy the north-east corner of costa rica.' _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pref., pp. xii., xix., p. . they inhabit 'the basin of the rio frio.' _squier's cent. amer._, p. ; _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cli., p. ; _id._, in _hist. mag._, vol. iv., p. ; _vigne's travels_, vol. i., p. . the _guetares_ 'viven ençima de las sierras del puerto de la herradora é se extienden por la costa deste golpho al poniente de la banda del norte hasta el confin de los chorotegas.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . the _blancos_ 'welche ungefähr tagereisen südöstlich von angostura in den bergen hausen.' _wagner and scherzer_, _costa rica_, pp. , . the _valientes_ and _ramas_, 'zwischen dem punta gorda und der lagune von chiriqui.' _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, p. . inhabiting the isthmus were numerous tribes speaking different languages, mentioned by early writers only by the name of the chief, which was usually identical with that of both town and province. in the province of panamá there were 'quatro señores de lenguas diferentes.... de alli se baxaua a la prouincia de natá ... treynta leguas de panamá ... otro llamado escoria, ocho leguas de natá.... ocho leguas mas adelante, la buelta de panamá, auia otro cazique dicho chirú, de lengua diferente: y otras siete leguas mas adelante, házia panamá, estaua el de chamé, que era el remate de la lengua de coyba: y la prouincia de paris se hallaua doze leguas de natá, les hueste.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. vi. westward from the gulf of urabá 'hay una provincia que se dice careta ... yendo mas la costa abajo, fasta cuarenta leguas desta villa, entrando la tierra adentro fasta doce leguas, está un cacique que se dice comogre y otro que se dice poborosa.' _balboa_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., p. . 'en la primera provincia de los darieles hay las poblaciones siguientes: seraque, surugunti, queno, moreri, agrazenuqua, occabayanti y uraba.' _hervás_, _catálogo_, tom. i., p. . 'treinta y tantas leguas del darien habia una provincia que se decia careta, y otra cinco leguas de ella que se dice acla.... la primera provincia desde acla hácia el ueste es comogre.... en esta tierra está una provincia que se llama peruqueta, de una mar á otra, y la isla de las perlas, y golfo de s. miguel, y otra provincia, que llamamos las behetrías por no haber en ella ningun señor, se llama cueva: es toda una gente y de una lengua.... desde esta provincia da peruqueta hasta adechame que son cerca de leguas todavía al ueste, se llama la provincia de coiba, y la lengua es la de cueva ... desde burica hasta esta provincia, que se dice tobreytrota, casi que cada señor es diferente de lengua uno de otro.... desde aquí tornando á bajar cerca de la mar, venimos á la provincia de nata ... está leguas de panamá ... tenia por contrario á un señor que se decia escoria, que tenia sus poblaciones en un rio grande ocho leguas de meta.... esta es lengua por sí. y ocho leguas de allí hácia panamá está otro señor que se dice chiru, lengua diferente. siete leguas de chiru, hácia panamá, está la provincia de chame: es el remate de la lengua de coiba ... chiman ... dos leguas de comogre ... desde esto chiman ... la provincia de pocorosa, y de allí dos leguas la vuelta del ueste ... la de paruraca, donde comienza la de coiba, y de allí la misma via cuatro leguas ... la de tubanamá, y de allí á ocho leguas todo á esta via ... la de chepo, y seis leguas de allí ... la de chepobar, y dos leguas delante ... la de pacora, y cuatro de allí ... la de panamá, y de allí otras cuatro ... la de periquete, y otras cuatro adelante ... la de tabore, y otras cuatro adelante ... la de chame, que es remate de la lengua y provincia de coiba ... de chame á la provincia del chiru hay ocho leguas ... y este chiru es otra lengua por sí.' _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. - , - , . the _guaimies_. 'en la provincia de veraguas, situada á grados de latitud boreal, está la nacion de los guaimies ó huamies.' _hervás_, _catálogo_, tom. i., pp. - . 'los quales indios, segun decian, no eran naturales de aquella comarca: ántes era en antigua patria la tierra que está junto al rio grande de darien.' _cieza de leon_, in _id._, p. . 'the indians who at present inhabit the isthmus are scattered over bocas del toro, the northern portions of veraguas, the north-eastern shores of panamá, and almost the whole of darien, and consist principally of four tribes, the savanerics, the san blas indians, the bayanos, and the cholos. each tribe speaks a different language.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., p. . 'les goajiros, les motilones, les guainetas et les cocinas, dans les provinces de rio-hacha, de upar et de santa-marta; et les dariens, les cunas et les chocoes, sur les rives et les affluents de l'atrato et les côtes du darien.' _roquette_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxlvii., pp. - . 'the _savanerics_ occupy the northern portion of veraguas.' _ib._ the _dorachos_ occupied western veragua. _id._, p. . the _manzanillo_, or san blas indians, 'inhabit the north-eastern portion of the province of panama.' _id._, p. . 'the chief settlement is about san blas, the rest of the coast being dotted over with small villages.' _gisborne's darien_, p. . 'their principal settlements are on the upper branches of the chepo, chiman, and congo, on the tuquesa, ucurganti, jubuganti, and chueti, branches of the chuquanaqua, and on the pucro and paya.' _cullen's darien_, p. . 'the whole of the isthmus of darien, except a small portion of the valley of the tuyra, comprising the towns of chipogana, pinogana, yavisa, and santa maria, and a few scattering inhabitants on the bayamo near its mouth, is uninhabited except by the san blas or darien indians.... they inhabit the whole atlantic coast from san blas to the tarena, mouth of the atrato, and in the interior from the sucubti to the upper parts of the bayamo.' _selfridge's darien surveys_, p. . the _mandingos_ 'occupy the coast as far as the bay of caledonia.' _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. ; _reichardt_, _cent. amer._, p. ; _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . the _bayanos_, 'about the river chepo.' _id._, p. ; _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., p. . the _cholos_, 'extending from the gulf of san miguel to the bay of choco, and thence with a few interruptions to the northern parts of the republic of ecuador.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., p. . 'inhabiting part of the isthmus of darien, east of the river chuquanaqua, which is watered by the river paya and its branches in and about lat. ° ´ n., and long. ° ´ w.' _latham_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xx., p. . 'the _cunas_ have established themselves on the shores of the gulf of urabá, near the outlets of the atrato.' _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. . the _cunacunas_, 'on the south-easterly side of the isthmus.' _ludewig's ab. lang._, p. . 'the remnants of the chucunaquese who in dwelt on the banks of the river which bears their name ... have gone up towards the north.' _ib._ the _chocos_, 'on the leon and the different tributaries of the atrato.' _michler's darien_, p. . the _caimanes_, 'between punta arenas and turbo.' _ib._ the _urabás_, 'en las selvas y bosques de la provincia de urabá.' _alcedo_, _dicc._, tom. v., p. . the _idibas_ 'del reyno de tierra-firme y gobierno de panamá, son confinantes con los chocoes y los tatabes.' _id._, tom. ii., p. . the _payas_ 'on the river of that name.' _selfridge's darien surveys_, p. . footnotes: [ ] the lacandones are of one stock with the manches, and very numerous. they were highly civilized only one hundred and fifty years ago. _boyle's ride_, vol. i., preface, pp. - . 'the old chontals were certainly in a condition more civilised.' _id._, pp. - , - . 'die chontales werden auch caraiben genannt.' _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. - , , - , , , , , . it seems there existed in nicaragua: chorotegans, comprising dirians, nagrandans, and orotiñans; cholutecans and niquirans, mexican colonies; and chondals. _squier's nicaragua_, vol. ii., pp. - . examine further: _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. i., pp. - ; _puydt_, _rapport_, in _amérique centrale_, p. ; _benzoni_, _hist. del mondo nuovo_, fol. ; _malte-brun_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. clviii., p. ; _berendt_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _crowe's cent. amer._, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, pp. - , ; _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, pp. - ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., pp. , , , tom. ii., pp. , , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. , - ; _valois_, _mexique_, pp. , - ; _escobar_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., pp. - . [ ] _crowe's cent. amer._, pp. - ; _squier's nicaragua_, pp. , - ; _froebel's cent. amer._, pp. - ; _dunn's guatemala_, pp. - ; _reichardt_, _nicaragua_, pp. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _lafond_, _voyages_, tom. i., p. ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. , ; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., p. ; _belly_, _nicaragua_, tom. i., pp. - ; _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, pp. - ; _foote's cent. amer._, p. . round leon 'hay más indios tuertos ... y es la causa el contínuo polvo.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . in guatemala, 'los hombres muy gruessos.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. v., caps. xi., xii., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. xiv. 'ceux de la tierra fria sont petits, trapus, bien membrés, susceptibles de grandes fatigues ... ceux de la tierra caliente sont grands, maigres, paresseux.' _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, pp. , . 'kurze schenkel, langen oberleib, kurze stirne und langes struppiges haar.' _bülow_, _nicaragua_, p. . 'the disproportionate size of the head, the coarse harsh hair, and the dwarfish stature,' of the masayas. _boyle's ride_, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. , . in salvador, the women's 'only garment being a long straight piece of cotton cloth without a seam.' _foote's cent. amer._, pp. - . the nicaraguans 'se rasent la barbe, les cheueux, et tout le poil du corps, et ne laissent que quelques cheueux sur le sommet de la teste.... ils portent des gabans, et des chemises sans manches.' _d'avity_, _l'amérique_, tom. ii., p. . 'the custom of tattooing, it seems, was practiced to a certain extent, at least so far as to designate, by peculiarities in the marks, the several tribes or caziques ... they flattened their heads.' _squier's nicaragua_, vol. ii., pp. , ; _id._, _nicaragua_, pp. - ; _valenzuela_, in _id._, _cent. amer._, p. ; _tempsky's mitla_, pp. - , ; _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, pp. - , - , - ; _juarros' hist. guat._, pp. - ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, pp. - ; _valois_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _gage's new survey_, pp. - ; _montgomery's guatemala_, pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., pp. , , , , , , ; _galindo_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. lxiii., p. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . [ ] the lacandones have 'floating gardens which can navigate the lagoons like bolsas,' and are often inhabited. they have stone sepulchres highly sculptured. _pontelli_, in _cal. farmer_, _nov. , _. 'in these ancient chontales villages the houses were in the centre, and the tombs, placed in a circle around.... the indians who before the spanish conquest inhabited nicaragua did not construct any large temples or other stone buildings.' _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. - . they live like their forefathers 'in buildings precisely similar ... some huts of a single room will monopolise an acre of land.' _boyle's ride_, vol. ii., pp. - ; _gage's new survey_, pp. - ; _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, pp. , , ; _puydt_, _rapport_, in _amérique centrale_, pp. - ; _valois_, _mexique_, p. ; _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_., fol. , ; _froebel's cent. amer._, pp. , ; _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _berendt_, in _smithsonian rept._, , p. ; _west und ost indischer lustgart_, pt. ii., pp. , ; _valenzuela_, in _squier's cent. amer._, p. . [ ] they 'vivent le plus souvent de fruits et de racines.' _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, pp. , - , . 'tout en faisant maigre chère, ils mangent et boivent continuellement, comme les animaux.' _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., pp. , , , , , , , tom. i., pp. - . nicaraguans 'essen auch menschenfleisch ... alle tag machet nur ein nachbar ein fewer an, dabei sie alle kochen, vnd dann ein anderer.' _west und ost indischer lustgart_, pt. i., p. . 'perritos pequeños que tambien los comian, y muchos venados y pesquerías.' _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. - , . hunting alligators: a man dives under, and fastens a noose round the leg of the sleeping monster; his companions then haul it on shore and kill it. _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, pp. , . compare further: _findlay's directory_, vol. i., p. ; _gage's new survey_, pp. - ; _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, pp. - , ; _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. - ; _juarros' hist. guat._, pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. vii.-ix., lib. x., cap. xiv.; _escobar_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _waldeck_, _voy. pitt._, pp. - . [ ] _dunlop's cent. amer._, p. ; _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, p. . [ ] the lacandones 'emploient des flèches de canne ayant des têtes de cailloux.' _galindo_, in _antiq. mex._, tom. i., div. ii., p. . see also, _bülow_, _nicaragua_, pp. - ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _juarros' hist. guat._, pp. , ; _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, pp. , ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. i., p. . [ ] _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., p. ; _pontelli_, in _cal. farmer_, _nov. , , _. [ ] _valois_, _mexique_, pp. , ; _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, p. ; _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, pp. - ; _valenzuela_, in _id._, _cent. amer._, p. . the lacandon hut contained 'des métiers à tisser, des sarbacanes, des haches et d'autres outils en silex.' _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., pp. , , , . 'duermen en vna red, que se les entra por las costillas, o en vn cañizo, y por cabecera vn madero: ya se alumbran con teas.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. xiv., dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. vi. at masaya, 'leur mobilier se compose de nattes par terre, de hamacs suspendus, d'un lit de cuir et d'une caisse en cèdre, quelquefois ornée d'incrustations de cuivre.' _belly_, _nicaragua_, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] 'le principe colorant est fixé an moyen d'une substance grasse que l'on obtient par l'ébullition d'un insecte nommé age.' _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., pp. , . consult further, _squier's nicaragua_, pp. - ; _baily's cent. amer._, pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. vii., ix., lib. x., cap. xiv.; _crowe's cent. amer._, pp. ; _squier_, in _hist. mag._, vol. v., p. ; _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, p. ; _dunlop's cent. amer._, p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. . [ ] _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. - ; _lafond_, _voyages_, tom. i., p. ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., p. ; _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, pp. - . in their trade, the lacandones 'are said to have employed not less than canoes.' _juarros' hist. guat._, p. . [ ] the quichés 'portent jusqu'au nicaragua des hamacs en fil d'agave.' _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., pp. , , - , , tom. i., pp. , , ; _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. v., cap. xii.; _juarros' hist. guat._, pp. , , ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. , ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _hardcastle_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vi., p. ; _gage's new survey_, p. . [ ] among the nahuatls 'mechanical arts are little understood, and, of course, the fine arts still less practiced.' _squier's cent. amer._, p. ; _id._, _nicaragua_, pp. - . the masayans have 'une caisse en cèdre, quelquefois ornée d'incrustations de cuivre.' _belly_, _nicaragua_, pp. - . see also, _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., p. ; _puydt_, _rapport_, in _amérique centrale_, p. ; _gage's new survey_, p. ; _valois_, _mexique_, pp. , - ; _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, pp. , ; _funnell's voy._, p. ; _dunn's guatemala_, p. ; _pontelli_, in _cal. farmer_, _nov. , _. [ ] _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, pp. , - ; _puydt_, _rapport_, in _amérique centrale_, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _gage's new survey_, pp. - , ; _pontelli_, in _cal. farmer_, _nov. , _. 'chacun d'eux vint ensuite baiser la main du chef, hommage qu'il reçut avec une dignité imperturbable.' _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., pp. - , . [ ] 'leur dernier-né suspendu à leurs flancs.' _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., pp. , , tom. i., pp. - , . in salvador, the 'bridegroom makes his wife's trousseau himself, the women, strange to say, being entirely ignorant of needlework.' _foote's cent. amer._, p. . further reference in _valois_, _mexique_, pp. , ; _belly_, _nicaragua_, pp. - , ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, pp. - ; _revue brit._, , in _amérique centrale_, p. ; _bülow_, _nicaragua_, p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _gage's new survey_, p. ; _juarros' hist. guat._, pp. - ; _tempsky's mitla_, p. ; _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, pp. , ; _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, p. ; _id._, _die indianer von istlávacan_, p. . [ ] _gage's new survey_, pp. , - ; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., p. ; _valois_, _mexique_, pp. - , - ; _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, p. ; _froebel's cent. amer._, pp. - ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, pp. , ; _valenzuela_, in _squier's cent. amer._, p. ; _juarros' hist. guat._, pp. - ; _coreal_, _voyages_, tom. i., pp. - ; _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. - ; _pontelli_, in _cal. farmer_, _nov. , _. 'les indiens ne fument pas.' _belly_, _nicaragua_, p. . 'ihr gewöhnliches getränke ist wasser.' _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. . 'je n'ai entendu qu'à flores, pendant le cours de mon voyage, des choeurs exécutés avec justesse.' _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., pp. - , , tom. i., p. . [ ] the lacandon chief received me with 'the emblem of friendship (which is a leaf of the fan-palm).' _pontelli_, in _cal. farmer_, _nov. , _. see _tempsky's mitla_, pp. - ; _valois_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _escobar_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. ; _thümmel_, _mexiko_, p. ; _juarros' hist. guat._, p. ; _foote's cent. amer._, p. ; _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, pp. - ; _scherzer_, _die indianer von istlávacan_, pp. - ; _reichardt_, _nicaragua_, pp. , ; _valenzuela_, in _squier's cent. amer._, pp. - ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. , - , , ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pp. - , vol. ii., pp. - , . [ ] at masaya, 'the death-rate among children is said to be excessive.' _boyle's ride_, vol. ii., p. . 'alle glieder der familie hatten ein äusserst ungesundes aussehen und namentlich die kinder, im gesicht bleich und mager, hatten dicke, aufgeschwollene bäuche,' caused by yucca-roots. _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, pp. , - ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., pp. - , ; _gage's new survey_, p. ; _puydt_, _rapport_, in _amérique centrale_, p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. i., pp. - ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, pp. , ; _escobar_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xi., p. ; _scherzer_, _die indianer von istlávacan_, pp. - . [ ] _scherzer_, _die indianer von istlávacan_, pp. - ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., p. ; _valois_, _mexique_, p. . [ ] 'la somme des peines est donc limitée comme celle des jouissances; ils ne ressentent ni les unes ni les autres avec beaucoup de vivacité.' _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., pp. - , , tom. ii., pp. , , , , . 'when aroused, however, they are fierce, cruel, and implacable ... shrewd ... cringing servility and low cunning ... extreme teachableness.' _crowe's cent. amer._, pp. - . 'melancholy ... silent ... pusillanimous ... timid.' _dunn's guatemala_, p. . 'imperturbability of the north american indian, but are a gentler and less warlike race.' _foote's cent. amer._, pp. - . nicaraguans 'are singularly docile and industrious ... not warlike but brave.' _squier's nicaragua_, p. . for further reference concerning these people see _squier's cent. amer._, p. ; _bülow_, _nicaragua_, pp. - ; _juarros' hist. guat._, pp. - ; _belly_, _nicaragua_, pp. , ; _puydt_, _rapport_, in _amérique centrale_, pp. , - ; _t' kint_, in _id._, pp. - ; _fossey_, _mexique_, p. ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pref., p. xiv., and p. ; _gage's new survey_, pp. - , ; _valois_, _mexique_, pp. - , , , , ; _dollfus and mont-serrat_, _voy. géologique_, pp. - , ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, pp. , , , - ; _dunlop's cent. amer._, pp. , - . the lacandones are very laconic, sober, temperate and strict. _pontelli_, in _cal. farmer_, _nov. , _. [ ] the name mosquito is generally supposed to have arisen from the numerous mosquito insects to be found in the country; others think that the small islands off the coast, "which lie as thick as mosquitoes," may have caused the appellation; while a third opinion is that the name is a corruption of an aboriginal term, and to substantiate this opinion it is said that the natives call themselves distinctly misskitos. _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. , - . the carib name is pronounced "kharibees" on the coast. _macgregor's progress of america_, vol. i., pp. , . 'il existe chez eux des langues très différentes, et nous avons remarqué qu'à cent lieues de distance ils ne se comprennent plus les uns les autres.' _varnhagen_, _prem. voy. de amerigo vespucci_, p. . see further: _stout's nicaragua_, p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, vol. ii., p. ; _id._, _cent. amer._, pp. , - ; - ; _bülow_, _nicaragua_, p. ; _juarros' hist. guat._, p. ; _galindo_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. iii., p. ; _bell_, in _id._, vol. xxxii., pp. - ; _bard's waikna_, pp. , - , ; _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. - ; _young's narrative_, pp. , ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. - , , - ; _henderson's honduras_, p. ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pp. xii-xiii., , ; _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, pp. - , - . [ ] 'die backenknochen treten nicht, wie bei andern amerikanischen stämmen, auffallend hervor ... starke oberlippe.' _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. - , , , . consult also: _squier's cent. amer._, pp. , , - ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, pp. - ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. i., pp. - ; _varnhagen_, _prem. voy. de amerigo vespucci_, pp. - . the pure type has 'schlichte, gröbere, schwarze haare und feinere lippen.' _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, pp. , , , - ; _young's narrative_, pp. , - , , , , , , ; _uring's hist. voy._, p. ; _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., pp. - ; _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. , , ; _colon_, _hist. almirante_, in _barcia_, _historiadores_, tom. i., p. ; _bard's waikna_, pp. , , ; _strangeways' mosquito shore_, p. . the natives of corn island are 'of a dark copper-colour, black hair, full round faces, small black eyes, their eye-brows hanging over their eyes, low foreheads, short thick noses, not high, but flattish; full lips, and short chins.' _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., pp. - , - . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. i., cap. vi., lib. viii., cap. iii., v.; _esquemelin_, _zee-roovers_, pp. - ; _squier_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xix., p. ; _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. clx., p. ; _martin's brit. col._, vol. ii., p. ; _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. - , , , , ; _macgregor's progress of amer._, vol. i., p. ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., pp. , ; _bard's waikna_, pp. , - , ; _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. - , - ; _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., pp. - ; _young's narrative_, pp. , , , , , , , , . 'alcuni vsano certe camiciuole com'quelle, che vsiamo noi, lunghe sino al belico, e senza manche. portano le braccia, e il corpo lauorati di lauori moreschi, fatti col fuoco.' _colombo_, _hist. del ammiraglio_, pp. - . [ ] _strangeways' mosquito shore_, p. ; _froebel's cent. amer._, p. ; _squier's cent. amer._, p. ; _id._, in _harper's mag._, vol. xix., p. ; _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. clx., p. ; _young's narrative_, pp. , , - , ; _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. , , - ; _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., pp. - ; _bard's waikna_, pp. - , - ; _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. , - ; _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, pp. , ; _cockburn's journey_, pp. , - . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iii.-v.; _macgregor's progress of amer._, vol. i., pp. - ; _squier_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xix., p. ; _young's narrative_, pp. , , , , - , , , ; _bard's waikna_, pp. - , - , - , ; _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, pp. - , , - . the woolwas had fish 'which had been shot with arrows.' _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. , - , - , , - ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., pp. - , - . [ ] _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pref., p. ; _young's narrative_, pp. , , ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] of the people of las perlas islands it is said; 'aen't endt van haer geweer een hay-tandt, schieten met geen boogh.' _esquemelin_, _zee-roovers_, pp. , . also see: _colon_, _hist. almirante_, in _barcia_, _historiadores_, tom. i., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ix., cap. x., and dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iii.; _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., pp. - ; _bard's waikna_, pp. , . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iii.; _esquemelin_, _zee-roovers_, p. ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. ; _strangeways' mosquito shore_, p. . [ ] 'hammocks, made of a sort of rushes.' _cockburn's journey_, pp. , . 'el almohada vn palo, o vna piedra: los cofres son cestillos, aforrados en cueros de venados.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. v. consult also: _young's narrative_, pp. - ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., p. ; _squier's cent. amer._, p. ; _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. , , , , . [ ] _sivers, mittelamerika_, p. ; _bard's waikna_, pp. , - . 'auf irgend eine zubereitung (of skins) verstehen sich die indianer nicht.' _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. , . 'they make large jars here, one of which will hold ten gallons, and not weigh one pound.' _cockburn's journey_, p. . [ ] _young's narrative_, pp. , , , - ; _martin's west indies_, vol. i., pp. - ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., pp. , . 'der tuberose tree der engländer liefert die stärksten baumstämme, deren die indianer sich zur anfertigung ihrer grössten wasserfahrzeuge bedienen.' _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. , , . [ ] the mosquitos have 'little trade except in tortoise-shells and sarsaparilla.' _squier's cent. amer._, p. . compare _bard's waikna_, p. ; _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. ; _strangeways' mosquito shore_, p. ; _young's narrative_, pp. , , - , , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iii., v.; _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. , - , . [ ] the mosquitos 'divisaient l'année en mois de jours, et ils appellaient les mois _ioalar_.' _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. . 'dit konense reeckenen by de maen, daer van sy vyftien voor een jaer reeckenen.' _esquemelin_, _zee-roovers_, p. . 'für die berechnung der jahre existirt keine aera. daher weiss niemand sein alter.' _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. , - . see also _bard's waikna_, pp. - ; _young's narrative_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. vi. [ ] _bard's waikna_, pp. - ; _cockburn's journey_, p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . the natives of honduras had 'pedaços de tierra, llamada _calcide_, con la qual se funde el metal.' _colon_, _hist. almirante_, in _barcia_, _historiadores_, tom. i., p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. v.; _cockburn's journey_, p. ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., pp. - ; _esquemelin_, _zee-roovers_, p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. ; _froebel's cent. amer._, p. ; _crowe's cent. amer._, p. ; _winterfeldt_, _mosquito-staat_, p. ; _bard's waikna_, pp. , - ; _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, pp. - ; _squier_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xix., p. ; _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. clx., p. ; _young's narrative_, pp. , ; _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. - . 'sie stehen unter eignen kaziken, die ihre anführer im kriege machen und welchen sie unbedingt gehorchen.' poyas, 'ihre regierungsform ist aristokratisch.' _hassel_, _mex. guat._, pp. , . mosquito 'conjurers are in fact the priests, the lawyers and the judges ... the king is a despotic monarch.' _bonnycastle's span. amer._, vol. i., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _bard's waikna_, pp. , - , - , , , - , - ; _strangeways' mosquito shore_, pp. , ; _froebel's cent. amer._, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . 'they marry but one wife, with whom they live till death separates them.' _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., p. . 'doch besitzen in der that die meisten männer nur ein weib.' _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. - , - ; _salazar y olarte_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] esquemelin relates that the natives on the belize coast and adjacent islands carried the new-born infant to the temple, where it was placed naked in a hole filled with ashes, exposed to the wild beasts, and left there until the track of some animal was noticed in the ashes. this became patron to the child who was taught to offer it incense and to invoke it for protection. _zee-roovers_, pp. - , . the genitals are pierced as a proof of constancy and affection for a woman. _id._, pp. - . compare _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. i., cap. vi., lib. viii., cap. iii.-vi.; _young's narrative_, pp. , , , ; _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., pp. , - , - ; _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. , - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. ; _crowe's cent. amer._, pp. , - . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iii., vi.; _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. - . the woolwas 'haben gewisse jahresfeste bei welchen weder ein fremder noch weiber und kinder des eignen stammes zugelassen werden. bei diesen festen führen sie mit lautem geschrei ihre tänze auf, "wobei ihnen ihr gott gesellschaft leistet."' _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _squier_, in _harper's mag._, vol. xix., pp. - , ; _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, pp. - , - ; _martin's west indies_, vol. i., p. ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _uring's hist. voy._, pp. - ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., pp. , ; _bard's waikna_, pp. - , - , - , ; _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. , - , - , , - , ; _crowe's cent. amer._, p. ; _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. , ; _young's narrative_, pp. - , , - , , - ; _esquemelin_, _zee-roovers_, pp. - . the natives of honduras kept small birds which 'could talk intelligibly, and whistle and sing admirably.' _cockburn's journey_, pp. - , , - , - . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iv.-vi.; _cockburn's journey_, pp. , - ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., pp. - , ; _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. - ; _martin's brit. col._, vol. ii., p. ; _bard's waikna_, pp. - , - , - , - . sivers was thought possessed of the devil, and carefully shunned, because he imitated the crowing of a cock. _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. v., dec. v., lib. i., cap. x.; _crowe's cent. amer._, pp. - ; _young's narrative_, pp. , , , , ; _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., pp. , - ; _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. , - ; _bard's waikna_, pp. - . [ ] the dead 'are sewed up in a mat, and not laid in their grave length-ways, but upright on their feet, with their faces directly to the east.' _amer. span. settl._, p. . 'ein anderer religionsgebrauch der alten mosquiten war, dass sie bey dem tode eines hausvaters alle seine bedienten mit ihm begruben.' _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. . _bard's waikna_, pp. - , - ; _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. , - ; _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. - ; _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., p. ; _froebel_, _aus amerika_, tom. i., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. v.-vi.; _esquemelin_, _zee-roovers_, pp. - . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. viii., cap. vii., dec. iv., lib. i., cap. vi., lib. viii., cap. iii., v.; _young's narrative_, pp. - , , , , ; _bell_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxii., pp. - , - ; _bard's waikna_, pp. , , ; _mosquitoland_, _bericht_, pp. , - , - , ; _strangeways' mosquito shore_, p. ; _puydt_, _rapport_, in _amérique centrale_, p. ; _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. - , , - ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pref., pp. , ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. ii., pp. , , ; _crowe's cent. amer._, pp. , . [ ] the guatusos 'are said to be of very fair complexion, a statement which has caused the appellation of _indios blancos_, or _guatusos_--the latter name being that of an animal of reddish-brown colour, and intended to designate the colour of their hair.' _froebel's cent. amer._, p. ; _id._, _aus amer._, tom. i., p. . speaking of sir francis drake's mutineers and their escape from esparsa northward, he says: 'it is believed by many in costa rica that the white indians of the rio frio, called pranzos, or guatusos ... are the descendants of these englishmen.' _boyle's ride_, vol. ii., pp. , , and vol. i., pref., pp. xx-xxii. 'talamanca contains different tribes of indians; besides which there are several neighbouring nations, as the changuenes, divided into thirteen tribes; the terrabas, the torresques, urinamas, and cavecaras.' _juarros' hist. guat._, p. ; _squier's cent. amer._, p. ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] 'the indians who at present inhabit the isthmus are scattered over bocas del toro, the northern portions of veraguas, the north-eastern shores of panama and almost the whole of darien, and consist principally of four tribes, the savanerics, the san blas indians, the bayanos, and the cholos.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., p. . 'at the time of the conquest of darien, the country was covered with numerous and well-peopled villages. the inhabitants belonged to the carribbee race, divided into tribes, the principal being the maudinghese, chucunaquese, dariens, cunas, anachacunas, &c. on the eastern shore of the gulf of uraba dwelt the immense but now nearly exterminated tribe of the caimans,--only a few remnants of the persecutions of the spaniards, having taken refuge in the choco mountains, where they are still found.... the dariens, as well as the anachacunas, have either totally disappeared or been absorbed in other tribes.' _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., pp. - ; _fitz-roy_, in _id._, vol. xx., pp. - ; _roquette_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cxlvii., p. ; _bateman_, in _n. y. century_, _ th decem., _; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., p. ; _macgregor's progress of amer._, vol. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, introd., p. ccii. see tribal boundaries. [ ] savanerics, 'a fine athletic race.' _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., p. . 'tienen los cascos de la cabeça gruessos.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . 'the chocós are not tall nor remarkable in appearance, but always look well conditioned.' _michler's darien_, p. . 'son apersonados.' _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. ii., fol. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. , ; _selfridge's darien surveys_, pp. , ; _colon_, _hist. almirante_, in _barcia_, _historiadores_, tom. i., p. ; _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., pp. - ; _peter martyr_, dec. viii., lib. vi; _gisborne's darien_, p. ; _cockburn's journey_, p. ; _d'avity_, _l'amérique_, tom. ii., p. ; _winthrop's canoe and saddle_, p. ; _macgregor's progress of amer._, vol. i., p. ; _fransham's world in miniature_, p. . 'afirmaua pasqual de andagoya, auer visto algunos tan grandes, que los otros hombres eran enanos con ellos, y que tenian buenas caras, y cuerpos.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. vi.; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., p. ; _gage's new survey_, p. ; _darien_, _defence of the scots' settlement_, pp. - ; _cullen's darien_, pp. , . [ ] golfo dulce. 'modicæ sunt staturæ, bene compositis membris, moribus blandis et non invenustis.' _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'it is a universal belief along the atlantic coast, from belize to aspinwall, that the frio tribe have white complexions, fair hair, and grey eyes.' _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pp. , , and pref., pp. xxi-xxii.; _squier_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cli., pp. , ; _id._, in _hist. mag._, vol. iv., p. ; _wafer's new voy._, pp. - . [ ] 'el miembro generativo traen atado por el capullo, haçiéndole entrar tanto adentro, que á algunos no se les paresçe de tal arma sino la atadura, que es unos hilos de algodon allí revueltos.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - , . see also: _cockburn's journey_, pp. - , ; _wagner and scherzer_, _costa rica_, pp. - ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., p. . referring to vasco nuñez de balboa, 'la gente que hallo andaua en cueros, sino eran señores, cortesanos, y mugeres.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. , , . urabá; 'ex gentibus ijs mares nudos penitus, foeminas uero ab umbilico gossampina contectas multitia repererunt.' _peter martyr_, dec. ii., lib. i., also dec. iii., lib. iv., dec. vii., lib. x., dec. viii., lib. vi., viii.; _quintana_, _vidas de españoles_ (_balboa_), p. ; _wafer's new voy._, pp. , , , plate, - , - , plate; _wallace_, in _miscellanea curiosa_, vol. iii., p. ; _warburton's darien_, p. ; _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., p. ; _andagoya_, in _id._, pp. - , , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. v., vi., and dec. iv., lib. i., cap. x.; _michler's darien_, pp. , - , . [ ] _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., pp. , ; _porras_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. i., p. ; _colon_, in _id._, p. ; _cockburn's journey_, pp. - ; _gage's new survey_, p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , ; and _dapper_, _neue welt_, pp. , ; _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., pp. - ; _selfridge's darien surveys_, p. ; _cullen's darien_, pp. - ; _esquemelin_, _zee-roovers_, p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética, ms._, cap. ccxlii.-ccxliv. the women of cueba 'se ponian una barra de oro atravessada en los pechos, debaxo de las tetas, que se las levanta, y en ella algunos páxaros é otras figuras de relieve, todo de oro fino: que por lo menos pessaba çiento é çinqüenta é aun dosiçentos pessos una barreta destas.... destos caracoles grandes se haçen unas conteçicas blancas de muchas maneras, é otras coloradas, é otras negras, é otras moradas, é cañuticos de lo mesmo: é haçen braçaletes en que con estas qüentas mezclan otras, é olivetas de oro que se ponen en las muñecas y ençima de los tobillos é debaxo de las rodillas por gentileça: en espeçial las mugeres.... traen assimesmo çarçillos de oro en las orejas, é horádanse las nariçes hecho un agugero entre las ventanas, é cuelgan de allí sobre el labio alto otro çarçillo.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , . [ ] their hair 'they wear usually down to the middle of the back, or lower, hanging loose at its full length.... all other hair, except that of their eye-brows and eye-lids, they eradicate.' _wafer's new voy._, pp. - ; _gisborne's darien_, p. ; _macgregor's progress of amer._, p. ; _d'avity_, _l'amérique_, tom. i., p. . [ ] _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. ; _squier_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cli., p. ; _froebel_, _aus amer._, tom. i., p. ; _id._, _cent. amer._, p. ; _wagner and scherzer_, _costa rica_, p. . [ ] _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. ; _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., pp. , - ; _pim and seemann's dottings_, p. ; _michler's darien_, p. ; _wafer's new voy._, pp. - ; _cockburn's journey_, pp. - . on the banks of the rio grande, the spaniards under johan de tavira found 'muchas poblaçiones en barbacoas ó casas muy altas, fechas é armadas sobre postes de palmas negras fortíssimas é quassi inexpugnables'.... 'hay otra manera de buhíos ó casas en nata redondos, como unos chapiteles muy altos.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , , , . 'en otras muchas partes hacian sus casas de madera y de paja de la forma de una campana. estas eran muy altas y muy capaces que moraban en cada una de ellas diez y mas vecinos.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética, ms._, cap. . [ ] 'hallaron muchos pueblos cercados, con palenques de madera.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. ix., dec. i., lib. ix., cap. ii., vi. 'tengano le lor case in cima de gli alberi.' _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. . see also: _irving's columbus_, vol. iii., p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _colon_, _hist. almirante_, in _barcia_, _historiadores_, tom. i., p. . [ ] of comagre's palace it is said, 'longitudinem dimensi passuum centum quinquaginta, latitudinem uero pedum octoginta, in uacuo dinumerarunt: laquearibus et pauimentis arte eximia laboratis.' _peter martyr_, dec. ii., lib. iii. compare further: _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - , ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, pp. - , ; _darien_, _defence of the scots' settlement_, p. . [ ] _squier_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. cli., p. ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pref., pp. xii., xxiii.; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _cockburn's journey_, pp. , - ; _wagner and scherzer_, _costa rica_, pp. - . on the chara islands, 'comen los indios en estas islas muchos venados é puercos, que los hay en grandissima cantidad, é mahiz, é fésoles muchos é de diversas maneras, é muchos é buenos pescados, é tambien sapo ... é ninguna cosa viva dexan de comer por suçia que sea.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'hanno la maggior parte di questa costiera per costume di mangiar carne humana e quando mangiauano de gli spagnuoli, v'erano di coloro che ricusauano di cibarsene, temendo ancora che nel lor corpo, non gli facessero quelle carni qualche danno.' _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. . on the coast 'they live principally upon fish, plantains, and bananas, with indian corn and a kind of cassava.' _selfridge's darien surveys_, pp. , . compare _colon_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. i., p. ; _balboa_, in _id._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _alcedo_, _dicc._, tom. v., p. ; _cullen's darien_, pp. , - ; _colombo_, _hist. ammiraglio_, p. ; _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, pp. - . [ ] 'cogen dos y tres vezes al año maiz, y por esto no lo engraneran.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. , . 'seguian mucho la caça de venados, y de aquellos puercos con el ombligo al espinazo.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. v., xv. for further details see _michler's darien_, pp. , , ; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. , ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; and _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. ; _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., pp. , ; _peter martyr_, dec. viii., lib. vii.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - , , ; _wafer's new voy._, pp. , , - , - , - , - . [ ] _michler's darien_, p. ; _cockburn's journey_, p. . 'tienen por costumbre, assi los indios como las indias, de se bañar tres ó quatro veçes al dia, por estar limpios é porque diçen que descansan en lavarse.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] in cueva, 'no son flecheros, é pelean con macanas é con lanças luengas y con varas que arrojan, como dardos con estóricas (que son cierta manera de avientos) de unos bastones bien labrados.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , . 'sunt autem ipsorum arma, non arcus, non sagittæ uenenatæ, uti habere indígenas illos trans sinum orientales diximus. cominus hi certant ut plurimum, ensibus oblongis, quos macanas ipsi appellant, ligneis tamen, quia ferrum non assequuntur: et præustis sudibus aut osseis cuspidibus, missilibus etiam ad præluim utuntur.' _peter martyr_, dec. ii., lib. iii., also, dec. iv., lib. x., dec. v., lib. ix. compare further, _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. ix., cap. vi., lib. x., cap. i.; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., p. ; _parras_, in _id._, tom. i., p. ; _cockburn's journey_, p. ; _d'avity_, _l'amérique._, p. ; _otis' panamá_, pp. - ; _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., pp. , . [ ] 'the pipe was made of two pieces of reed, each forming a half circle; these being placed together left a small hole, just large enough for the admission of the arrow.... the arrows are about eight inches long ... the point very sharp, and cut like a corkscrew for an inch up.... this is rolled in the poison.... the arrow will fly one hundred yards, and is certain death to man or animal wounded by it; no cure as yet having been discovered. a tiger, when hit, runs ten or a dozen yards, staggers, becomes sick, and dies in four or five minutes. a bird is killed as with a bullet, and the arrow and wounded part of the flesh being cut out, the remainder is eaten without danger.' _cochrane's journal in colombia_, vol. ii., pp. - . 'that poyson killeth him that is wounded, but not suddenly.... whoso is wounded, liues a miserable and strict life after that, for he must abstaine from many things.' _peter martyr_, dec. viii., lib. viii. 'some woorali (corova) and poisoned arrows that i obtained from the indians of the interior were procured by them from choco ... their deadly effect is almost instantaneous.' _cullen's darien_, p. . 'we inquired of all the indians, both men and boys, at caledonia bay and at san blas for the "curari" or "urari" poison ... they brought us what they represented to be the _bona-fide_ poison.... it turned out to be nothing but the juice of the manzanillo del playa. so, if this is their chief poison, and is the same as the "curari", it is not so much to be dreaded.' _selfridge's darien surveys_, pp. - . see further, _fitz-roy_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xx., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. vii., cap. xvi.; _michler's darien_, p. ; _dampier's voyages_, vol. i., p. . [ ] _acosta_, _n. granada_, p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _carli_, _cartas_, pt. i., p. . 'traian suscoseletes fechos de algodon, que les llegaban é abaxaban de las espaldas dellos, é les llegaban á las rodillas é dende abaxo, é las mangas fasta los codos, é tan gruesos como un colchon de cama, son tan fuertes, que una ballesta no los pasa.' _pacheco_, _col. doc. inéd._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'cuando iban á la guerra llevaban coronas de oro en las cabezas y unas patenas grandes en los pechos y braceletes y otras joyas en otros lugares del cuerpo.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética, ms._, cap. lxv., ccxliv. 'el herido en la guerra es hidalgo, y goza de grandes franquezas.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . 'a los que pueden matar matan, é á los que prenden los hierran é se sirven dellos por esclavos.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , . see further: _quintana_, _vidas españoles_ (_balboa_), p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. v.; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. , , ; _peter martyr_, dec. iii., lib. iv., dec. viii., lib. viii.; _wafer's new voy._, p. . [ ] 'la manta de la hamaca no es hecha red, sino entera é muy gentil tela delgada é ancha.... hay otras, que la manta es de paja texida é de colores é labores.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , , , , . 'muy buenas redes con anzuelos de hueso que hacen de concha de tortuga.' _vega_, _hist. descub. amer._, p. . 'tenian los reyes y señores ricos y señalados vasos con que bebian.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética, ms._, cap. lxv. compare further: _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. vii., cap. xvi., lib. ix., cap. i., dec. ii., lib. ii., cap. i.; _peter martyr_, dec. ii., lib. i., dec. vii., lib. x.; _michler's darien_, pp. , ; _meyer_, _nach dem sacramento_, pp. - . [ ] _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., p. ; _pim and seemann's dottings_, p. ; _cockburn's journey_, pp. - , - ; _wafer's new voy._, pp. - , - . referring to chiriquí earthen relics; 'the vessels ... are neatly and sometimes very gracefully formed of clay.... several bear resemblance to roman, grecian, and etruscan jars.... dr. merritt mentioned that the natives of the isthmus now make their rude earthen utensils of a peculiar black earth, which gives them the appearance of iron.' _hist. mag._, vol. iv., p. . in veragua 'vide sábanas grandes de algodon, labradas de muy sotiles labores; otras pintadas muy sútilmente a colores con pinceles.' _colon_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'en estas islas de chara é pocosi no tienen canoas, sino balsas'.... in the province of cueba 'tienen canoas pequeñas, tambien las usan grandes ... hay canoa que lleva çinquenta ó sessenta hombres é mas.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , . see also: _michler's darien_, pp. , - ; _wafer's new voy._, p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; and _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. ; _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. ; _acosta_, _n. granada_, p. . [ ] _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. , ; _balboa_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. - ; _peter martyr_, dec. viii., lib. vi.; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. vii., cap. xvi., lib. x., cap. iii.; _belcher's voyage_, vol. i., p. ; _selfridge's darien surveys_, pp. - ; _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. ; _gisborne's darien_, p. ; _otis' panamá_, p. ; _cullen's darien_, pp. - . 'quando los indios no tienen guerra, todo su exerciçio es tractar é trocar quanto tienen unos con otros ... unos llevan sal, otros mahiz, otros mantas, otros hamacas, otros algodon hilado ó por hilar, otros pescados salados; otros llevan oro.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. , tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'este cacique davaive tiene grand fundicion de oro en su casa; tiene cient hombres á la contina que labran oro.' _balboa_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. - . 'hay grandes mineros de cobre: hachas de ello, otras cosas labradas, fundidas, soldadas hube, y fraguas con todo su aparejo de platero y los crisoles.' _colon_, in _id._, tom. i., p. . in panamá, 'grandes entalladores, y pintores.' _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. ii., fol. . compare further: _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. ii., cap. x.; _pim and seemann's dottings_, pp. - ; _peter martyr_, dec. iii., lib. iv.; _bidwell's isthmus_, p. . [ ] _wafer's new voy._, pp. - ; _lussan_, _jour. du voy._, p. ; _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. . [ ] 'besan los pies al hijo, o sobrino, que hereda, estando en la cama: que vale tanto como juramento, y coronacion.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. - , . 'todos tenian sus reies, y señores, á quien obedecian.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . 'los hijos heredauan a los padres, siendo auidos en la principal muger.... los caziques y señores eran muy tenidos y obedecidos.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. vii., cap. xvi., dec. iv., lib. i., cap. x. see also, _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - , , - ; _quintana_, _vidas de españoles_, (_balboa_), p. ; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., p. ; _wafer's new voy._, p. ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. ; _wallace_, in _miscellanea curiosa_, vol. iii., p. ; _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. ; _funnell's voyage_, pp. - ; _selfridge's darien surveys_, p. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , , ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. . [ ] _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. ; _macgregor's process of amer._, pp. - , ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética, ms._, cap. ccxliv. 'casauanse con hijas de sus hermanas: y los señores tenian muchas mugeres.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. vii., cap. xvi., dec. iv., lib. i., cap. x. 'de las mugeres principales de sus padres, y hermanas ó hijas guardan que no las tomen por mugeres, porque lo tienen por malo.' _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. - . of wives: 'they may haue as many as they please, (excepting their kindred, and allies) vnlesse they be widdowes ... in some place a widdow marryeth the brother of her former husband, or his kinsman, especially if hee left any children.' _peter martyr_, dec. vii., lib. x., dec. viii., lib. viii. [ ] the women 'observe their husbands with a profound respect and duty upon all occasions; and on the other side their husbands are very kind and loving to them. i never knew an indian beat his wife, or give her any hard words.... they seem very fond of their children, both fathers and mothers.' _wafer's new voy._, pp. - . 'tienen mancebias publicas de mugeres, y aun de hombres en muchos cabos.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . see also: _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , , - ; _quintana_, _vidas de españoles_, (_balboa_), pp. - . [ ] 'pipes, or fluites of sundry pieces, of the bones of deere, and canes of the riuer. they make also little drummes or tabers beautified with diuers pictures, they forme and frame them also of gourdes, and of an hollowe piece of timber greater than a mannes arme.' _peter martyr_, dec. viii., lib. viii. see also: _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , , , ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _darien_, _defence of the scots' settlement_, pp. - ; _macgregor's progress of amer._, pp. , ; _warburton's darien_, p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética, ms._, cap. ccxliii. [ ] in comagre, 'vinos blancos y tintos, hechos de mayz, y rayzes de frutas, y de cierta especie de palma, y de otras cosas: los quales vinos loauan los castellanos quando los beuian.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. ix., cap. ii. 'tenia vna bodega con muchas cubas y tinajas llenas de vino, hecho de grano, y fruta, blanco, tinto, dulce, y agrete de datiles, y arrope.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . 'hacian de maiz vino blanco i tinto.... es de mui buen sabor aunque como unos vinos bruscos ó de gascuña.' _las casas_, _hist. ind., ms._, tom. ii., cap. xxvi. see also: _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - , - ; tom. iv., pp. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, pp. , ; _wafer's new voy._, pp. , - , - , , - ; _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. . [ ] 'quando hablan vno con otro, se ponen do espaldas.' _colon_, _hist. almirante_, in _barcia_, _historiadores_, tom. i., p. ; _wafer's new voy._, pp. - . [ ] _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _peter martyr_, dec. vii., lib. x., dec. viii., lib. viii.; _wafer's new voy._, pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. v.; _selfridge's darien surveys_, pp. - ; _vega_, _hist. descub. amer._, p. . 'deste nombre tequina se haçe mucha diferençia; porque á qualquiera ques mas hábil y experto en algun arte, ... le llaman tequina, que quiere deçir lo mesmo que maestro: por manera que al ques maestro de las responsiones é inteligencias con el diablo, llámenle tequina en aquel arte, porque aqueste tal es el que administra sus ydolatrías é çerimonias é sacrifiçios, y el que habla con el diablo.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . 'tenian ó habia entre estas gentes unos sacerdotes que llamaban en su lengua "piachas" muy espertos en el arte mágica, tanto que se revestia en ellos el diabolo y hablaba por boca de ellos muchas falsedades, conque los tenia cautivos.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética, ms._, cap. ccxlv. [ ] the priests 'comunmente eran sus médicos, é conosçian muchas hiervas, de que usaban, y eran apropriadas á diversas enfermedades.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , - , , tom. i., pp. - . 'according to the diuers nature, or qualitie of the disease, they cure them by diuers superstitions, and they are diuersly rewarded.' _peter martyr_, dec. viii., cap. viii. compare further; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética, ms._, cap. ccxlv.; _wafer's new voy._, p. ; _selfridge's darien surveys_, p. ; _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. ; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. v., p. . [ ] 'quédame de deçir que en aquesta lengua de cueva hay muchos indios hechiçeros é en espeçial un çierto género de malos, que los chripstianos en aquella tierra llaman chupadores.... estos chupan á otros hasta que los secan é matan, é sin calentura alguna de dia en dia poco á poco se enflaquesçen tanto, que se les pueden contar los huesos, que se les paresçen solamente cubiertos con el cuero; y el vientre se les resuelve de manera quel ombligo traen pegado á los lomos y espinaço, é se tornan de aquella forma que pintan á la muerte, sin pulpa ni carne. estos chupadores, de noche, sin ser sentidos, van á haçer mal por las casas agenas: é ponen la boca en el ombligo de aquel que chupan, y están en aquel exerçiçio una ó dos horas ó lo que les paresçe, teniendo en aquel trabaxo al paçiente, sin que sea poderoso de se valer ni defender, no dexando de sufrir su daño con silençio. É conosçe el assi ofendido, é vee al malhechor, y aun les hablan: lo qual, assi los que haçen este mal como los que le padesçen, han confessado algunos dellos; é diçen questos chupadores son criados é naborias del tuyra, y quél se los manda assi haçer, y el tuyra es, como está dicho, el diablo.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] 'ay muchos, que piensan, que no ay mas de nacer, y morir: y aquellos tales no se entierran con pan, y vino, ni con mugeres, ni moços. los que creen la immortalidad del alma, se entierra: si son señores, con oro, armas, plumas, si no lo son, con mayz, vino, y mantas.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. , . 'huius reguli penetrale ingressi cameram reperiunt pensilibus repletam cadaueribus, gossampinis funibus appensis. interrogati quid sibi uellet ea superstitio: parentum esse et auorum atauorumque comogri regulea cadauera, inquiunt. de quibus seruandis maximam esse apud eos curami et pro religione eam pietatem haberi recensent: pro cuiusque gradu indu, menta cuique cadaueri imposita, auro gemmisque superintexta.' _peter martyr_, dec. ii., lib. iii., dec. iii., lib. iv., dec. vii., lib. x., dec. viii., lib. ix. 'viendo la cantidad é número de los muertos, se conosçe qué tantos señores ha avido en aquel estado, é quál fué hijo del otro ó le subçedió en el señorio segund la órden subçesiva en que están puestos.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - , . for further accounts see _wagner and scherzer_, _costa rica_, pp. , ; _cockburn's journey_, p. ; _seemann's voy. herald_, vol. i., pp. , , ; _pim and seemann's dottings_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. vii., cap. xvi., lib. ix., cap. ii., dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. v., dec. iv., lib. i., cap. xi.; _quintana_, _vidas de españoles_, (_balboa_), p. ; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., pp. - ; _carli_, _cartas_, pt. i., pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética, ms._, cap. ccxlii., ccxlvii.; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. v., p. . [ ] the terrabas 'naciones ... las mas braves é indómitas de todas ... indios dotados de natural docilidad y dulzura de genio.' _arricivita_, _crónica seráfica_, p. . speaking of the natives of panamá; 'muy deuotos del trabajo, y enemigos de la ociosidad.' _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. ii., p. . darien: 'son inclinados a juegos y hurtos, son muy haraganes.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . san blas tribes: 'they are very peaceable in their natures'.... chucunas and navigandis: 'the most warlike' ... coast tribes, 'from contact with foreigners, are very docile and tractable'.... the sassardis: 'as a whole, this tribe are cowardly, but treacherous.' _selfridge's darien surveys_, pp. - , . compare further, _froebel's cent. amer._, p. ; _squier_, in _nouvelles annales voy._, , tom. cli., p. ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pref., p. xii.; _wagner and scherzer_, _costa rica_, p. ; _gage's new survey_, p. ; _michler's darien_, p. ; _alcedo_, _dicc._, tom. ii., p. ; _puydt_, in _lond. geog. soc., jour._, vol. xxxviii., p. ; _macgregor's progress of amer._, p. ; _otis' panamá_, p. ; _cullen's darien_, pp. - , - . end of the first volume. ( st-hand-history.org) transcriber's note: inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. obvious typographical errors have been corrected. italic text is denoted by _underscores_. the character e-breve (e with a small curved line over) is represented in the text by [)e]. the character m-macron is represented in the text by [|m]. italics in the footnote citations were inconsistently applied by the typesetter. on page , a word is possibly missing in the phrase "we will pass over third force, 'la race';" in footnote , the citation for herrera is missing a book name. on the fold-out chart between pages and , clavigero, month may be "xocohuetzl". in footnote , a reference to leon y gama, dos piedras, is incomplete. the works of hubert howe bancroft. volume ii. the native races. vol. ii. civilized nations. san francisco: a. l. bancroft & company, publishers. . entered according to act of congress in the year , by hubert h. bancroft, in the office of the librarian of congress, at washington. _all rights reserved._ contents of this volume. chapter i. savagism and civilization. page. definition of the terms -- the universal soul of progress -- man the instrument and not the element of progress -- origin of progressional phenomena -- the agency of evil -- is civilization conducive to happiness? -- objective and subjective humanity -- conditions essential to progress -- continental configurations -- food and climate -- wealth and leisure -- association -- war, slavery, religion, and government -- the development of progressional law chapter ii. general view of the civilized nations. the american civilization of the sixteenth century -- its disappearance -- the past, a new element -- dividing line between savage and civilized tribes -- bounds of american civilization -- physical features of the country -- maya and nahua branches of aboriginal culture -- the nahua civilization -- the aztecs its representatives -- limits of the aztec empire -- ancient history of anáhuac in outline -- the toltec era -- the chichimec era -- the aztec era -- extent of the aztec language -- civilized peoples outside of anáhuac -- central american nations -- the maya culture -- the primitive maya empire -- nahua influence in the south -- yucatan and the mayas -- the nations of chiapas -- the quiché empire in guatemala -- the nahuas in nicaragua and salvador -- etymology of names chapter iii. government of the nahua nations. system of government -- the aztec confederacy -- order of succession -- election of kings among the mexicans -- royal prerogatives -- government and laws of succession among the toltecs, and in michoacan, tlascala, cholula, huexotzinco, and oajaca -- magnificence of the nahua monarchs -- ceremony of anointment -- ascent to the temple -- the holy unction -- address of the high-priest to the king -- penance and fasting in the house called tlacatecco -- homage of the nobles -- general rejoicing throughout the kingdom -- ceremony of coronation -- the procuring of sacrifices -- description of the crown -- coronation feasts and entertainments -- hospitality extended to enemies -- coronation speech of nezahualpilli, king of tezcuco, to montezuma ii. of mexico -- oration of a noble to a newly elected king chapter iv. palaces and households of the nahua kings. extent and interior of the great palace in mexico -- the palace of nezahualcoyotl, king of tezcuco -- the zoölogical collections of the nahua monarchs -- montezuma's oratory -- royal gardens and pleasure-grounds -- the hill of chapultepec -- nezahualcoyotl's country residence at tezcozinco -- toltec palaces -- the royal guard -- the king's meals -- an aztec cuisine -- the audience chamber -- after-dinner amusements -- the royal wardrobe -- the king among his people -- meeting of montezuma ii. and cortés -- the king's harem -- revenues of the royal household -- policy of aztec kings chapter v. the privileged classes among the nahuas. titles of the nobility and gentry -- the power of the nobles -- the aristocracy of tezcuco -- the policy of king techotlalatzin -- privileges of the nobles -- montezuma's policy -- rivalry between nobles and commons -- the knightly order of tecuhtli -- ceremony of initiation -- origin of the order -- the nahua priesthood -- the priests of mexico -- dedication of children -- priestesses -- priesthood of miztecapan -- the pontiff of yopaa -- tradition of wixipecocha -- the cave of yopaa -- the zapotec priests -- toltec priests -- totonac priests -- priests of michoacan, puebla, and tlascala chapter vi. plebeians, slaves, tenure of lands, and taxation. influence of the commoners -- oppression by nobles -- deprived of office by montezuma ii. -- classes of slaves -- penal slaves -- voluntary slavery -- slave market at azcapuzalco -- punishment and privileges of slaves -- division of lands -- crown lands -- lands of the nobles -- municipal property -- property of the temples -- tenure of lands in zapotecapan, miztecapan, michoacan, tlascala, cholula, and huexotzinco -- similarity to feudal system of europe -- system of taxation -- municipal taxes -- lice tribute -- tribute from conquered provinces -- revenue officers -- injustice of montezuma ii. chapter vii. education, marriage, concubinage, childbirth, and baptism. education of the nahua youth -- manner of punishment -- marriage preliminaries -- nuptial ceremony -- observance after marriage -- mazatec, otomí, chichimec, and toltec marriages -- divorce -- concubinage -- ceremonies preliminary to childbirth -- treatment of pregnant women -- proceedings of midwife -- superstitions with regard to women who died in childbed -- abortion -- baptism -- speeches of midwife -- naming of children -- baptism among the tlascaltecs, mixtecs, and zapotecs -- circumcision and scarification of infants chapter viii. nahua feasts and amusements. excessive fondness for feasts -- manner of giving feasts -- serving the meal -- professional jesters -- parting presents to guests -- royal banquets -- tobacco smoking -- public dances -- manner of singing and dancing -- the neteteliztli -- the drama among the nahuas -- music and musical instruments -- nahua poetry -- acrobatic feats -- the netololiztli, or 'bird dance' -- professional runners -- the game of tlactli -- games of chance -- the patoliztli, or 'bean game' -- totoloque, montezuma's favorite game chapter ix. public festivals. frequent occurrence of religious feasts -- human sacrifices -- feasts of the fourth year -- monthly festivals -- sacrifice of children -- feast of xipe -- manner of sacrifice -- feasts of camaxtli, of the flower dealers, of centeotl, of tezcatlipoca, and of huitzilopochtli -- festival of the salt makers -- the sacrifice by fire -- feast of the dead -- the coming of the gods -- the footprints on the mat -- hunting feast -- the month of love -- hard times -- nahua lupercalia -- feasts of the sun, of the winter solstice -- harvest and eight-year festivals -- the binding of the sheaf chapter x. food of the nahua nations. origin of agriculture -- floating gardens -- agricultural products -- manner of preparing the soil -- description of agricultural implements -- irrigation -- granaries -- gardens -- the harvest feast -- manner of hunting -- fishing -- methods of procuring salt -- nahua cookery -- various kinds of bread -- beans -- pepper -- fruit -- tamales -- miscellaneous articles of food -- eating of human flesh -- manufacture of pulque -- preparation of chocolatl -- other beverages -- intoxicating drinks -- drunkenness -- time and manner of taking meals chapter xi. dress of the nahua nations. progress in dress -- dress of the pre-aztec nations -- garments of the chichimecs and toltecs -- introduction of cotton -- the maxtli -- the tilmatli -- dress of the acolhuas -- origin of the tarascan costume -- dress of the zapotecs and tabascans -- dress of women -- the huipil and cueitl -- sandals -- manner of wearing the hair -- painting and tattooing -- ornaments used by the nahuas -- gorgeous dress of the nobles -- dress of the royal attendants -- names of the various mantles -- the royal diadem -- the royal wardrobe -- costly decorations chapter xii. commerce of the nahua nations. the main features of nahua commerce -- commerce in pre-aztec times -- outrages committed by aztec merchants -- privileges of the merchants of tlatelulco -- jealousy between merchants and nobles -- articles used as currency -- the markets of anáhuac -- arrangement and regulations of the market-places -- number of buyers and sellers -- transportation of wares -- traveling merchants -- commercial routes -- setting out on a journey -- caravans of traders -- the return -- customs and feasts of the merchants -- nahua boats and navigation chapter xiii. war-customs of the nahuas. importance of the military profession -- indications of rank -- education of warriors -- rewards for valor -- military orders and their dress -- gorgeous war-dresses of montezuma and the aztec nobility -- dress of the common soldiers -- armor and defensive weapons -- offensive weapons -- standards -- ambassadors and couriers -- fortifications -- the military council -- articles of war -- declaration of war -- spies -- order of march and battle -- war customs of the tlascaltecs and tarascos -- return of the conquering army -- celebration of feats of arms chapter xiv. nahua laws and law courts. general remarks -- the cihuacoatl, or supreme judge -- the court of the tlacatecatl -- jurisdiction of the tecuhtlis -- the centectlapixques and topillis -- law courts and judges of tezcuco -- eighty-day council -- tribunal of the king -- court proceedings -- lawyers -- witnesses -- remuneration of judges -- justice of king nezahualpilli -- he orders his son's execution -- montezuma and the farmer -- jails -- laws against theft, murder, treason, kidnapping, drunkenness, witchcraft, adultery, incest, sodomy, fornication, and other crimes -- story of nezahualcoyotl and the boy chapter xv. nahua arts and manufactures. metals used and manner of obtaining them -- working of gold and silver -- wonderful skill in imitating gilding and plating -- working in stone -- lapidary work -- wood carving -- manufacture of pottery -- various kinds of cloth -- manufacture of paper and leather -- preparation of dyes and paints -- the art of painting -- feather mosaic work -- leaf-mats -- manner of kindling fire -- torches -- soap -- council of arts in tezcuco -- oratory and poetry -- nezahualcoyotl's odes on the mutability of life, and the tyrant tezozomoc -- aztec arithmetical system chapter xvi. the aztec calendar. astronomical knowledge of the aztecs -- contradictions of authors respecting the calendar -- value of the researches of various writers -- the first regular calendar -- the mexican cycle -- the civil year -- the aztec months -- names of the days and their signification -- the commencement of the aztec year -- the ritual calendar -- gama's arrangement of the months -- the calendar-stone -- the four destructions of the world -- the calendar of michoacan -- reckoning of the zapotecs chapter xvii. the aztec picture-writing. hieroglyphic records -- the native books -- authorities -- destruction of the native archives by zumárraga and his confrères -- picture-writings used after the conquest for confession and law-suits -- value of the records -- documents sent to spain in the sixteenth century -- european collections -- lord kingsborough's work -- picture-writings retained in mexico -- collections of ixtlilxochitl, sigüenza, gemelli careri, boturini, veytia, leon y gama, pichardo, aubin, and the national museum of mexico -- process of hieroglyphic development -- representative, symbolic, and phonetic picture-writing -- origin of modern alphabets -- the aztec system -- specimen from the codex mendoza -- specimen from gemelli careri -- specimen from the boturini collection -- probable future success of interpreters -- the nepohualtzitzin chapter xviii. architecture and dwellings of the nahuas. architecture of the ancient nations -- general features of nahua architecture -- the arch -- exterior and interior decorations -- method of building -- inclined planes -- scaffolds -- the use of the plummet -- building materials -- position and fortification of towns -- mexico tenochtitlan -- the great causeways -- quarters and wards of mexico -- the market place -- fountains and aqueducts -- light-houses and street-work -- city of tezcuco -- dwellings -- aztec gardens -- temple of huitzilopochtli -- temple of mexico -- other temples -- teocalli at cholula and tezcuco chapter xix. medicine and funeral rites among the nahuas. mexican contributions to medical science -- the botanical gardens -- longevity -- prevalent diseases -- introduction of small-pox and syphilis -- medical treatment -- the temazcalli -- aboriginal physicians -- the aztec faculty -- standard remedies -- surgery -- superstitious ceremonies in healing -- funeral rites of aztecs -- cremation -- royal obsequies -- embalming -- the funeral pyre -- human sacrifice -- disposal of the ashes and ornaments -- mourners -- funeral ceremonies of the people -- certain classes buried -- rites for the slain in battle -- burial among the teo-chichimecs and tabascans -- cremation ceremonies in michoacan -- burial by the miztecs in oajaca chapter xx. government, social classes, property, and laws of the maya nations. introductory remarks -- votan's empire -- zamná's reign -- the royal families of yucatan, cocomes, tutul xius, itzas, and cheles -- titles and order of succession -- classes of nobles -- the quiché-cakchiquel empire in guatemala -- the ahau ahpop and succession to the throne -- privileged classes -- government of the provinces -- the royal council -- the chiapanecs -- the pipiles -- nations of nicaragua -- the maya priesthood -- plebeian classes -- slaves -- tenure of lands -- inheritance of property -- taxation -- debtors and creditor -- laws and the administration of justice chapter xxi. education and family matters among the mayas. education of youth -- public schools of guatemala -- branches of study in yucatan -- marrying-age -- degrees of consanguinity allowed in marriage -- preliminaries of marriage -- marriage ceremonies -- the custom of the droit du seigneur in nicaragua -- widows -- monogamy -- concubinage -- divorce -- laws concerning adultery -- fornication -- rape -- prostitution -- unnatural crimes -- desire for children -- childbirth ceremonies -- rite of circumcision -- manner of naming children -- baptismal ceremonies chapter xxii. feasts and amusements of the mayas. special observances -- fixed feasts -- sacrifice of slaves -- monthly feasts of the yucatecs -- renewal of the idols -- feast of the chacs -- hunting festival -- the tuppkak -- feast of the cacao-planters -- war feast -- the maya new year's day -- feasts of the hunters, fishers, and apiarists -- ceremonies in honor of cukulcan -- feast of the month of mol -- feasts of the years kan, muluc, ix, and cauac -- yucatec sacrifices -- the pit of chichen -- sacrifices of the pipiles -- feast of victory -- feasts and sacrifices in nicaragua -- banquets -- dances -- musical instruments -- games chapter xxiii. food, dress, commerce, and war customs of the mayas. introduction of agriculture -- quiché tradition of the discovery of maize -- maize culture -- superstitions of farmers -- hunting and fishing -- domestic animals, fowl, and bees -- preservation and cooking of food -- meals -- drinks and drinking -- habits -- cannibalism -- dress of the mayas -- maxtlis, mantles, and sandals -- dress of kings and priests -- women's dress -- hair and beard -- personal decoration -- head-flattening, perforation, tattooing, and painting -- personal habits -- commerce -- currency -- markets -- superstitions of travelers -- canoes and balsas -- war -- military leaders -- insignia -- armor -- weapons -- fortifications -- battles -- treatment of captives chapter xxiv. maya arts, calendar, and hieroglyphics. scarcity of information -- use of metals -- gold and precious stones -- implements of stone -- sculpture -- pottery -- manufacture of cloth -- dyeing -- system of numeration -- maya calendar in yucatan -- days, weeks, months, and years -- indictions and katunes -- perez' system of ahau katunes -- statements of landa and cogolludo -- intercalary days and years -- days and months in guatemala, chiapas, and soconusco -- maya hieroglyphic system -- testimony of early writers on the use of picture-writing -- destruction of documents -- specimens which have survived -- the dresden codex -- manuscript troano -- tablets of palenque, copan, and yucatan -- bishop landa's key -- brasseur de bourbourg's interpretation chapter xxv. buildings, medicine, burial, physical peculiarities, and character of the mayas. scanty information given by the early voyagers -- private houses of the mayas -- interior arrangement, decoration, and furniture -- maya cities -- description of utatlan -- patinamit, the cakchiquel capital -- cities of nicaragua -- maya roads -- temples at chichen itza and cozumel -- temples of nicaragua and guatemala -- diseases of the mayas -- medicines used -- treatment of the sick -- propitiatory offerings and vows -- superstitions -- dreams -- omens -- witchcraft -- snake-charmers -- funeral rites and ceremonies -- physical peculiarities -- character [illustration: native races of the pacific states showing the location of the civilized nations] the native races of the pacific states. civilized nations. chapter i. savagism and civilization. definition of the terms -- force and nature -- the universal soul of progress -- man the instrument and not the element of progress -- origin of progressional phenomena -- the agency of evil -- is civilization conducive to happiness? -- objective and subjective humanity -- conditions essential to progress -- continental configurations -- food and climate -- wealth and leisure -- association -- war, slavery, religion, and government -- morality and fashion -- the development of progressional law. the terms savage and civilized, as applied to races of men, are relative and not absolute terms. at best these words mark only broad shifting stages in human progress; the one near the point of departure, the other farther on toward the unattainable end. this progress is one and universal, though of varying rapidity and extent; there are degrees in savagism and there are degrees in civilization; indeed, though placed in opposition, the one is but a degree of the other. the haidah, whom we call savage, is as much superior to the shoshone, the lowest of americans, as the aztec is superior to the haidah, or the european to the aztec. looking back some thousands of ages, we of to-day are civilized; looking forward through the same duration of time, we are savages. nor is it, in the absence of fixed conditions, and amidst the many shades of difference presented by the nations along our western seaboard, an easy matter to tell where even comparative savagism ends and civilization begins. in the common acceptation of these terms, we may safely call the central californians savage, and the quichés of guatemala civilized; but between these two extremes are hundreds of peoples, each of which presents some claim for both distinctions. thus, if the domestication of ruminants, or some knowledge of arts and metals, constitute civilization, then are the ingenious but half-torpid hyperboreans civilized, for the eskimos tame reindeer, and the thlinkeets are skillful carvers and make use of copper; if the cultivation of the soil, the building of substantial houses of adobe, wood, and stone, with the manufacture of cloth and pottery, denote an exodus from savagism, then are the pueblos of new mexico no longer savages; yet in both these instances enough may be seen, either of stupidity or brutishness, to forbid our ranking them with the more advanced aztecs, mayas, and quichés. we know what savages are; how, like wild animals, they depend for food and raiment upon the spontaneous products of nature, migrating with the beasts and birds and fishes, burrowing beneath the ground, hiding in caves, or throwing over themselves a shelter of bark or skins or branches or boards, eating or starving as food is abundant or scarce; nevertheless, all of them have made some advancement from their original naked, helpless condition, and have acquired some aids in the procurement of their poor necessities. primeval man, the only real point of departure, and hence the only true savage, nowhere exists on the globe to-day. be the animal man never so low--lower in skill and wisdom than the brute, less active in obtaining food, less ingenious in building his den--the first step out of his houseless, comfortless condition, the first fashioning of a tool, the first attempt to cover nakedness and wall out the wind, if this endeavor spring from intellect and not from instinct, is the first step toward civilization. hence the modern savage is not the pre-historic or primitive man; nor is it among the barbarous nations of to-day that we must look for the rudest barbarism. [sidenote: definition of the terms.] often is the question asked, what is civilization? and the answer comes, the act of civilizing; the state of being civilized. what is the act of civilizing? to reclaim from a savage or barbarous state; to educate; to refine. what is a savage or barbarous state? a wild uncultivated state; a state of nature. thus far the dictionaries. the term civilization, then, popularly implies both the transition from a natural to an artificial state, and the artificial condition attained. the derivation of the word civilization, from _civis_, citizen, _civitas_, city, and originally from _coetus_, union, seems to indicate that culture which, in feudal times, distinguished the occupants of cities from the ill-mannered boors of the country. the word savage, on the other hand, from _silva_, a wood, points to man primeval; _silvestres homines_, men of the forest, not necessarily ferocious or brutal, but children of nature. from these simple beginnings both words have gradually acquired a broader significance, until by one is understood a state of comfort, intelligence, and refinement; and by the other, humanity wild and bestial. guizot defines civilization as an "improved condition of man resulting from the establishment of social order in place of the individual independence and lawlessness of the savage or barbarous life;" buckle as "the triumph of mind over external agents;" virey as "the development more or less absolute of the moral and intellectual faculties of man united in society;" burke as the exponent of two principles, "the spirit of a gentleman and the spirit of religion." "whatever be the characteristics of what we call savage life," says john stuart mill, "the contrary of these, or the qualities which society puts on as it throws off these, constitute civilization;" and, remarks emerson, "a nation that has no clothing, no iron, no alphabet, no marriage, no arts of peace, no abstract thought, we call barbarous." men talk of civilization and call it liberty, religion, government, morality. now liberty is no more a sign of civilization than tyranny; for the lowest savages are the least governed of all people. civilized liberty, it is true, marks a more advanced stage than savage liberty, but between these two extremes of liberty there is a necessary age of tyranny, no less significant of an advance on primitive liberty than is constitutional liberty an advance on tyranny. nor is religion civilization, except in so far as the form and machinery of sacerdotal rites, and the abandonment of fetichism for monotheism become significant of intenser thought and expansion of intellect. no nation ever practiced grosser immorality, or what we of the present day hold to be immorality, than greece during the height of her intellectual refinement. peace is no more civilization than war, virtue than vice, good than evil. all these are the incidents, not the essence, of civilization. that which we commonly call civilization is not an adjunct nor an acquirement of man; it is neither a creed nor a polity, neither science nor philosophy nor industry; it is rather the measure of progressional force implanted in man, the general fund of the nation's wealth, learning, and refinement, the storehouse of accumulated results, the essence of all best worth preserving from the distillations of good and the distillations of evil. it is a something between men, no less than a something within them; for neither an isolated man nor an association of brutes can by any possibility become civilized. [sidenote: civilization a working principle.] further than this, civilization is not only the measure of aggregated human experiences, but it is a living working principle. it is a social transition; a moving forward rather than an end attained; a developing vitality rather than a fixed entity; it is the effort or aim at refinement rather than refinement itself; it is labor with a view to improvement and not improvement consummated, although it may be and is the metre of such improvement. and this accords with latter-day teachings. although in its infancy, and, moreover, unable to explain things unexplainable, the science of evolution thus far has proved that the normal condition of the human race, as well as that of physical nature, is progressional; that the plant in a congenial soil is not more sure to grow than is humanity with favorable surroundings certain to advance. nay, more, we speak of the progress of civilization as of something that moves on of its own accord; we may, if we will, recognize in this onward movement, the same principle of life manifest in nature and in the individual man. to things we do not understand we give names, with which by frequent use we become familiar, when we fancy that we know all about the things themselves. at the first glance civilization appears to be a simple matter; to be well clad, well housed, and well fed, to be intelligent and cultured are better than nakedness and ignorance; therefore it is a good thing, a thing that men do well to strive for,--and that is all. but once attempt to go below this placid surface, and investigate the nature of progressional phenomena, and we find ourselves launched upon an eternity of ocean, and in pursuit of the same occult cause, which has been sought alike by philosophic and barbaric of every age and nation; we find ourselves face to face with a great mystery, to which we stand in the same relation as to other great mysteries, such as the origin of things, the principle of life, the soul-nature. when such questions are answered as what is attraction, heat, electricity; what instinct, intellect, soul? why are plants forced to grow and molecules to conglomerate and go whirling in huge masses through space?--then we may know why society moves ever onward like a river in channels predetermined. at present, these phenomena we may understand in their action partially, in their essence not at all; we may mark effects, we may recognize the same principle under widely different conditions though we may not be able to discover what that principle is. science tells us that these things are so; that certain combinations of certain elements are inevitably followed by certain results, but science does not attempt to explain why they are so. nevertheless, a summary of such few simple thoughts as i have been able to gather upon the subject, may be not wholly valueless. * * * * * [sidenote: force and matter.] and first, to assist our reflections, let us look for a moment at some of the primal principles in nature, not with a view to instruct in that direction, but rather to compare some of the energies of the material world with the intellectual or progressional energy in man; and of these i will mention such only as are currently accepted by latter-day science. within the confines of the conceivable universe one element alone is all-potential, all-pervading,--force. throughout the realms of space, in and round all forms of matter, binding minutest atoms, balancing systems of worlds, rioting in life, rotting in death, under its various aspects mechanical and chemical, attractive and repulsive, this mighty power is manifest; a unifying, coalescing, and flowing power, older than time, quicker than thought, saturating all suns and planets and filling to repletion all molecules and masses. worlds and systems of worlds are sent whirling, worlds round worlds and systems round systems, in a mazy planetary dance, wherein the slightest tripping, the least excess of momentum or inertia, of tension or traction, in any part, and chaos were come again. every conceivable entity, ponderable and imponderable, material and immaterial, is replete with force. by it all moving bodies are set in motion, all motionless bodies held at rest; by it the infinitesimal atom is held an atom and the mass is held concrete, vapory moisture overspreads the land, light and heat animate senseless substance; by it forms of matter change, rocks grow and dissolve, mountains are made and unmade, the ocean heaves and swells, the eternal hills pulsate, the foundations of the deep rise up, and seas displace continents. one other thing we know, which with the first comprises all our knowledge,--matter. now force and matter are interdependent, one cannot exist without the other; as for example, all substance, unless held together--which term obviously implies force--would speedily dissolve into inconceivable nothingness. but no less force is required to annihilate substance than to create it; force, therefore, is alike necessary to the existence or non-existence of matter, which reduces the idea of a possible absence of either force or matter to an absurdity; or, in other words, it is impossible for the human mind to conceive of a state of things wherein there is no matter, and consequently no force. force has been called the soul of nature, and matter the body, for by force matter lives and moves and has its being. force like matter, is divisible, infinitely so, as far as human experience goes; for, though ultimates may exist, they have never yet been reached; and it would seem that all physical phenomena, endlessly varied and bewildering as they may appear, spring from a few simple incomprehensible forces, the bases of which are attraction and repulsion; which may yet, indeed, derive their origin from one only source. in the morphological and geometrical displays of matter these phenomena assume a multitude of phases; all are interactive and interdependent, few are original or primary,--for example, heat and electricity are the offspring of motion which is the result of attractive and repulsive force. what is force and what matter, whether the one is the essence of a self-conscious creator and the other his handiwork, or whether both are the offspring of a blind chance or fate--which latter hypothesis is simply unthinkable--it is not my purpose here to consider. i propose in this analysis to take things as i find them, to study the operations rather than the origin of phenomena, to determine what man does rather than what he ought to do, and to drop the subject at the confines of transcendentalism. when, therefore, i speak of force as the life of matter, it no more implies a self-existant materialism in man, than the soul of man implies a pantheistic self-existant soul in nature. omnipotence can as easily create and sustain a universe through the media of antagonistic and interdependent forces as through any other means, can as easily place nature and man under the governance of fixed laws as to hold all under varying arbitrary dispensations, and can reconcile these laws with man's volition. wells of bitterness are dug by disputants under meaningless words; scientists are charged with materialism and religionists with fanaticism, in their vain attempts to fathom the ways of the almighty and restrict his powers to the limits of our weak understanding. it has been said that, in the beginning, the sixty and odd supposed several elements of matter were in a chaotic state; that matter and force were poised in equilibrium or rioted at random throughout space, that out of this condition of things sprang form and development; regular motion and time began; matter condensed into revolving masses and marked off the days, and months, and years; organization and organisms were initiated and intellectual design became manifest. the infinitesimal molecules, balanced by universal equilibrium of forces, which before motion and time were but chaotic matter and force, were finally supposed to have been each endowed with an innate individuality. however this may be, we now see every atom in the universe athrill with force, and possessed of chemical virtues, and, under conditions, with the faculty of activity. as to the force behind force, or how or by what means this innate energy was or is implanted in molecules, we have here nothing to do. it is sufficient for our purpose that we find it there; yet, the teachings of philosophy imply that this innate force is neither self-implanted nor self-operative; that whether, in pre-stellar times, infinitesimal particles of matter floated in space as nebulous fluid or objectless vapor without form or consistence, or whether all matter was united in one mass which was set revolving, and became broken into fragments, which were sent whirling as suns and planets in every direction; that in either case, or in any other conceivable case, matter, whether as molecules or masses, was primordially, and is, endowed and actuated by a creative intelligence, which implanting force, vitality, intellect, soul, progress, is ever acting, moving, mixing, unfolding, and this in every part and in all the multitudinous combinations of matter; and that all forces and vitalities must have co-existed in the mass, innate in and around every atom. [sidenote: theories of newton and laplace.] thus, in his great theory of the projectile impulse given to heavenly bodies in counteraction of the attractive impulse, sir isaac newton assumes that both impulses were given from without; that some power foreign to themselves projected into space these heavenly bodies and holds them there. so, too, when laplace promulgated the idea that in pre-planetary times space was filled with particles and vapors, solar systems existing only in a nebulous state and this nebula set revolving in one mass upon its own axis from west to east, and that as the velocity of this mass increased suns and planets were, by centrifugal force, thrown off and condensed into habitable but still whirling worlds, some impulse foreign to the revolving mass setting it in motion is implied. with organization and motion, the phases of force, called heat, light, electricity and magnetism, hitherto held dormant in molecules are engendered; composition and decomposition ensue; matter assumes new and varying forms; a progressional development, which is nothing but intelligently directed motion, is initiated, and motion becomes eternal. it is a well-established principle of physics that force cannot be created or lost. the conservation of force is not affected by the action or energies of moving bodies. force is not created to set a body in motion, nor when expended, as we say, is it lost. the sum of all potential energies throughout the universe is always the same, whether matter is at rest or in motion. it is evident that so long as every molecule is charged with attractive force no atom can drop out into the depths of unoccupied and absolute space and become lost or annihilated; and so long as force is dependent on matter for its perceivable existence, force cannot escape beyond the confines of space and become lost in absolute void. not only are forces interdependent, but they are capable of being metamorphosed one into another. thus intellectual energy invents a machine which drives a steamship across the ocean. this invention or creation of the mind is nothing else than a vitalization or setting at liberty of mechanical forces, and without this vitalization or applied intellectual force such mechanical force lies dormant as in so-called dead matter. gravitation is employed to turn a water-wheel, caloric to drive a steam-engine, by means of either of which weights may be raised, heat, electricity, and light produced, and these new-created forces husbanded and made to produce still other forces or turned back into their original channels. and so in chemical and capillary action, the correlation of forces everywhere is found. [sidenote: intimacy of mind and matter.] between mind and matter there exists the most intimate relationship. immateriality, in its various phases of force, life, intellect, so far as human consciousness can grasp it, is inseparable from materiality. the body is but part of the soil on which it treads, and the mind can receive no impressions except through the organs of the body. the brain is the seat of thought and the organ of thought; neither can exist in a normal state apart from the other. as a rule, the power of the intellect is in proportion to the size and quality of the brain. among animals, those of lowest order have the least brains; man, the most intellectual of animals, has relatively, if not absolutely, the largest brain. true, in some of the largest animals the cerebral mass is larger than in man, but, in its chemical composition, its convolutions, shape, and quality, that in man is superior; and it is in the quality, rather than in the quantity of the nervous tissues, that their superiority consists. intelligence enters the brain by the organs of the senses, and through the nervous system its subtle influence radiates to every part of the body. all human activities are either mental or mechanical; nor will it be denied that mental activity is produced by mechanical means, or, that mechanical activity is the result of mental force. corporeal motion is mental force distributed to the various parts of the body. the action of immaterial forces on the material substances of the human body manifestly accords with the action of immaterial forces elsewhere. all the physical and mechanical actions of the human body accord with the physical and mechanical forces elsewhere displayed. man, we are told, was the last of all created things, but in the making of man no new matter was employed; nor in setting the body in motion can we discover that any new force was invented. thus the heart beats upon mechanical principles; the eye sees, and the voice speaks in accordance with the general laws of optics and acoustics. to the observer, organic activity is but the product of combined inorganic forces. the same processes are at work, and in the same manner, in living and in so-called dead matter. life, to all appearance, is but the result of combined chemical and mechanical processes. assimilation, digestion, secretion, are explainable by chemistry, and by chemistry alone. the stomach is a chemical retort, the body a chemical laboratory. carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, combine and separate in the body as out of the body. the blood circulates upon purely mechanical principles; all muscular action is mechanical. in the phenomena of life, the only perceptible difference is in the combinations of fundamental elements; yet chemistry and mechanics cannot produce a live body. with the foregoing well-recognized principles before us, let us now notice some few parallelisms between mechanical and social energetics. man, like every other natural substance, is a compound of force and matter. "respiration," says liebig, "is the falling weight, the bent spring, which keeps the clock in motion; the inspirations and respirations are the strokes of the pendulum which regulates." atoms of matter, through the instrumentality of living force, cohere and coalesce under endless complex conditions into endless varieties of form and substance; so also the activities of man, corporeal and intellectual, result in vast accumulations of experiences, which accumulations become the property of the whole society. society, like matter, is composed of units, each possessing certain forces, attractive and repulsive; societies act upon each other, like celestial bodies, in proportion to their volume and proximity, and the power of the unit increases with the increase of the mass. in association there is a force as silent and as subtle as that which governs atoms and holds worlds in equipoise; its grosser forms are known as government, worship, fashion, and the like; its finer essence is more delicate than thought. it is this social force, attractive and repulsive, that binds men together, tears them asunder, kneads, and knits, and shapes, and evolves; it is the origin of every birth, the ultimate of every activity. mechanical forces are manifest in machines, as the lever, the wheel, the inclined plane; professional force is manifest in intellectual ingenuity, literature, art, science, which are the machines of human progress. [sidenote: materiality acting on the mind.] how many of all our joys and sorrows, our loves and hates, our good and evil actions, spring from physical causes only? even material substances display moods and affections, as when heated, electrified, decomposed, or set in motion; the sea at rest presents a different mood from the sea raging. jean-jacques rousseau's idea that the soul might be governed for its good by material things working through the media of the senses, is not so extravagant after all. "the gospel according to jean-jacques," as carlyle puts it, runs as follows on this point--and, indeed, the great genevan evangelist at one time intended to devote a book to the subject under the title of _la morale sensitive_:--"the striking and numerous observations that i had collected were beyond all dispute; and, in their physical origin, they appeared to me proper for furnishing an exterior regimen, which, varied according to circumstances, should be able to place or maintain the soul in the state most favorable to virtue. how many wanderings one might save the reason, how many vices might be hindered birth, if one could but force the animal economy to favor the moral order that it troubles so often. climates, seasons, sounds, colors, darkness, light, the elements, food, noise, silence, movement, repose, all act on our bodily frame, and, by consequence, on our soul; all offer us a thousand firm holds to govern, in their origin, those sentiments by which we allow ourselves to be dominated." in contemplating the numerous activities by which we are surrounded, again and again we are called upon to wonder at the marvelous regularity which characterizes all their movements. so regular are these movements, so sure are certain conditions to accompany certain results, that in physics, in chemistry, in physiology, and even in society, facts are collected and classified, and from them laws are discovered as fixed and irrevocable as the facts themselves, which laws, indeed, are themselves facts, no less than the facts from which they are deduced. highly cultivated nations frame laws that provide for many contingencies, but the code of nature has yet finer provisions. there are conditions that neither political nor social laws reach, there are none not reached by physical law; in society, criminals sometimes evade the law; in nature, never. so subtle are the laws of nature, that even thought cannot follow them; when we see that every molecule, by virtue of its own hidden force, attracts every other molecule, up to a certain point, and then from the same inherent influence every atom repels every other atom; when by experiments of physicists it has been proved that in polarization, crystallization, and chemical action, there is not the slightest deviation from an almost startling regularity, with many other facts of like import, how many natural laws do we feel to be yet unrevealed and, from the exquisite delicacy of their nature, unrevealable to our present coarse understanding. it would be indeed strange, if, when all the universe is under the governance of fixed laws--laws which regulate the motion of every molecule, no less than the revolutions of suns--laws of such subtle import, as for instance, regulate the transformations of heat, the convertibility and correlation of force; it would be strange, i say, if such laws as these, when they reached the domain of human affairs should pause and leave the world of man alone in purposeless wanderings. [sidenote: analogies between man and nature.] to continue our analogies. as, latent in the atom, or in the mass, there are energies releasable only by heat or friction,--as in charcoal, which holds, locked up, muriatic acid gas equivalent to ninety times its volume; or in spongy platinum, which holds in like manner oxygen, equal to eight hundred times its volume; so, latent in every individual, are numberless energies, which demand the friction of society to call them out. force comprises two elements, attraction and repulsion, analagous to the principles commonly called good and evil in the affairs of human society; take away from mechanical force either of these two oppugnant elements, and there could be neither organism nor life, so without both good and evil in human affairs there could be no progress. if none of the forces of nature are dissipated or lost, and if force can no more be extinguished than matter, and like matter passes from one form into another, we may conclude that intellectual force is never dissipated or lost, but that the potential energies of mind and soul perpetually vibrate between man and nature. or, again, if, as we have seen, energy of every kind is clothed in matter, and when employed and expended returns again to its place in matter; and if the mind draws its forces from the body, as it appears to do, both growing, acting, and declining simultaneously; and if the body draws its energy from the earth, which is no less possible; then may not intellectual and progressional force be derived from man's environment, and return thither when expended? every created being borrows its material from the storehouse of matter, and when uncreated restores it again; so every individual born into society becomes charged with social force, with progressional energy, which, when expended, rests with society. winslow's opinion on this subject is, that "all electric and magnetic currents originate in--are inducted from--and radiate either directly or indirectly out of the globe as the fountain of every form and constituency of mechanical force, and that abstract immaterial mechanical energy, as we have thus far discussed and developed its dual principles, is absolutely convertible through molecular motion into every form and expansion of secondary force, passing successively from heat through electricity, magnetism, etc., and _vice versa_, it follows that this same mechanical energy itself, as hypostatical motive power, must proceed out of the globe also." thus is loaded with potential energy the universe of matter, generating life, mind, civilization, and hence we may conclude that whatever else it is, civilization is a force; that it is the sum of all the forces employed to drive humanity onward; that it acts on man as mechanical force acts on matter, attracting, repelling, pressing forward yet holding in equilibrium, and all under fixed and determined laws. * * * * * from all which it would appear that nothing is found in man that has not its counterpart in nature, and that all things that are related to man are related to each other; even immortal mind itself is not unlike that subtle force, inherent in, and working round every atom. in this respect physical science is the precursor of social science. nature produces man; man in his earlier conception of nature, that is in his gods, reproduces himself; and later, his knowledge of intrinsic self depends upon his knowledge of extrinsic agencies, so that as the laws that govern external nature are better understood, the laws that govern society are more definitely determined. the conditions of human progress can be wrought into a science only by pursuing the same course that raises into a science any branch of knowledge; that is, by collecting, classifying, and comparing facts, and therefrom discovering laws. society must be studied as chemistry is studied; it must be analyzed, and its component parts--the solubilities, interactions, and crystallizations of religions, governments and fashions, ascertained. as in the earlier contemplations of physical nature, the action of the elements was deemed fortuitous, so in a superficial survey of society, all events appear to happen by chance; but on deeper investigation, in society as in physics, events apparently fortuitous, may be reduced to immutable law. to this end the life of mankind on the globe must be regarded as the life of one man, successions of societies as successions of days in that life; for the activities of nations are but the sum of the activities of the individual members thereof. [sidenote: physical laws and social laws.] we have seen that man's organism, as far as it may be brought under exact observation, is governed by the same processes that govern elemental principles in inorganic nature. the will of man attempting to exert itself in antagonism to these laws of nature is wholly ineffectual. we are all conscious of a will, conscious of a certain freedom in the exercise of our will, but wholly unconscious as to the line of separation between volition and environment. part of our actions arise from fixed necessity, part are the result of free will. statistics, as they are accumulated and arranged, tend more and more to show that by far the greater part of human actions are not under individual control, and that the actions of masses are, in the main, wholly beyond the province of the human will. take the weather for a single day, and note the effect on the will. the direction of the wind not unfrequently governs one's train of thought; resolution often depends upon the dryness of the atmosphere, benevolence upon the state of the stomach; misfortunes, arising from physical causes, have ere now changed the character of a ruler from one of lofty self-sacrifice, to one of peevish fretfulness, whereat his followers became estranged and his empire lost in consequence. in the prosecution of an enterprise, how often we find ourselves drifting far from the anticipated goal. the mind is governed by the condition of the body, the body by the conditions of climate and food; hence it is that many of our actions, which we conceive to be the result of free choice, arise from accidental circumstances. it is only in the broader view of humanity that general laws are to be recognized, as dr draper remarks: "he who is immersed in the turmoil of a crowded city sees nothing but the acts of men; and, if he formed his opinion from his experience alone, must conclude that the course of events altogether depends on the uncertainties of human volition. but he who ascends to a sufficient elevation loses sight of the passing conflicts, and no longer hears the contentions. he discovers that the importance of individual action is diminishing as the panorama beneath him is extending; and if he could attain to the truly philosophical, the general point of view, disengage himself from all terrestrial influences and entanglements, rising high enough to see the whole at a glance, his acutest vision would fail to discern the slightest indication of man, his free will, or his works." * * * * * let us now glance at some of the manifestations of this progressional influence; first in its general aspects, after which we will notice its bearing on a few of the more important severalties intimately affecting humanity, such as religion, morality, government, and commerce,--for there is nothing that touches man's welfare, no matter how lightly, in all his long journey from naked wildness to clothed and cultured intelligence, that is not placed upon him by this progressional impulse. [sidenote: manifestations of progressional impulse.] in every living thing there is an element of continuous growth; in every aggregation of living things there is an element of continuous improvement. in the first instance, a vital actuality appears; whence, no one can tell. as the organism matures, a new germ is formed, which, as the parent stock decays, takes its place and becomes in like manner the parent of a successor. thus even death is but the door to new forms of life. in the second instance, a body corporate appears, no less a vital actuality than the first; a social organism in which, notwithstanding ceaseless births and deaths, there is a living principle. for while individuals are born and die, families live; while families are born and die, species live; while species are born and die, organic being assumes new forms and features. herein the all-pervading principle of life, while flitting, is nevertheless permanent, while transient is yet eternal. but above and independent of perpetual birth and death is this element of continuous growth, which, like a spirit, walks abroad and mingles in the affairs of men. "all our progress," says emerson, "is an unfolding, like the vegetable bud. you have first an instinct; then an opinion, then a knowledge, as the plant has root bud and fruit." under favorable conditions, and up to a certain point, stocks improve; by a law of natural selection the strongest and fittest survive, while the ill-favored and deformed perish; under conditions unfavorable to development, stocks remain stationary or deteriorate. paradoxically, so far as we know, organs and organisms are no more perfect now than in the beginning; animal instincts are no keener, nor are their habitudes essentially changed. no one denies that stocks improve, for such improvement is perceptible and permanent; many deny that organisms improve, for if there be improvement it is imperceptible, and has thus far escaped proof. but, however this may be, it is palpable that the mind, and not the body, is the instrument and object of the progressional impulse. man in the duality of his nature is brought under two distinct dominions; materially he is subject to the laws that govern matter, mentally to the laws that govern mind; physiologically he is perfectly made and non-progressive, psychologically he is embryonic and progressive. between these internal and external forces, between moral and material activities there may be, in some instances, an apparent antagonism. the mind may be developed in excess and to the detriment of the body, and the body may be developed in excess and to the detriment of the mind. the animal man is a bundle of organs, with instincts implanted that set them in motion; man intellectual is a bundle of sentiments, with an implanted soul that keeps them effervescent; mankind in the mass, society,--we see the fermentations, we mark the transitions; is there, then, a soul in aggregated humanity as there is in individual humanity? the instincts of man's animality teach the organs to perform their functions as perfectly at the first as at the last; the instincts of man's intellectuality urge him on in an eternal race for something better, in which perfection is never attained nor attainable; in society, we see the constant growth, the higher and yet higher development; now in this ever-onward movement are there instincts which originate and govern action in the body social as in the body individual? is not society a bundle of organs, with an implanted soul of progress, which moves mankind along in a resistless predetermined march? nations are born and die; they appear first in a state of infancy or savagism; many die in their childhood, some grow into manhood and rule for a time the destinies of the world; finally, by sudden extinction, or a lingering decrepitude, they disappear, and others take their place. but in this ceaseless coming and going there is somewhere a mysterious agency at work, making men better, wiser, nobler, whether they will or not. this improvement is not the effect of volition; the plant does not will to unfold, nor the immature animal to grow; neither can the world of human kind cease to advance in mind and in manners. development is the inevitable incident of being. nations, under normal conditions, can no more help advancing than they can throw themselves into a state of non-existence; than can the individual stop his corporeal growth, or shut out from the intellect every perception of knowledge, and become a living petrification. and in whatever pertains to intellectual man this fundamental principle is apparent. it underlies all moralities, governments, and religions, all industries, arts, and commerce; it is the mainspring of every action, the consequence of every cause; it is the great central idea toward which all things converge; it is the object of all efforts, the end of all successes; it absorbs all forces, and is the combined results of innumerable agencies, good and evil. before the theory of dr von martius and his followers, that the savage state is but a degeneration from something higher, can become tenable, the whole order of nature must be reversed. races may deteriorate, civilized peoples relapse into barbarism, but such relapse cannot take place except under abnormal conditions. we cannot believe that any nation, once learning the use of iron would cast it away for stone. driven from an iron-yielding land, the knowledge of iron might at last be forgotten, but its use would never be voluntarily relinquished. and so with any of the arts or inventions of man. societies, like individuals, are born, mature, and decay; they grow old and die; they may pause in their progress, become diseased, and thereby lose their strength and retrograde, but they never turn around and grow backward or ungrow,--they could not if they would. [sidenote: brutes cannot progress.] in the brute creation this element of progress is wanting. the bird builds its nest, the bee its cell, the beaver its dam, with no more skill or elaboration to-day, than did the bird or bee or beaver primeval. the instinct of animals does not with time become intellect; their comforts do not increase, their sphere of action does not enlarge. by domestication, stocks may be improved, but nowhere do we see animals uniting for mutual improvement, or creating for themselves an artificial existence. so in man, whose nature comprises both the animal and the intellectual, the physical organism neither perceptibly advances nor deteriorates. the features may, indeed, beam brighter from the light of a purer intellectuality cast upon them from within, but the hand, the eye, the heart, so far as we know, is no more perfect now than in the days of adam. as viewed by mr bagehot, the body of the accomplished man "becomes, by training, different from what it once was, and different from that of the rude man, becomes charged with stored virtue and acquired faculty which come away from it unconsciously." but the body of the accomplished man dies, and the son can in no wise inherit it, whereas the soul of his accomplishments does not die, but lives in the air, and becomes part of the vital breath of society. and, again, "power that has been laboriously acquired and stored up as statical in one generation" sometimes, says maudsley, "becomes the inborn faculty of the next; and the development takes place in accordance with that law of increasing speciality and complexity of adaption to external nature which is traceable through the animal kingdom; or, in other words, that law of progress, from the general to the special, in development, which the appearance of nerve force amongst natural forces and the complexity of the nervous system of man both illustrate." on the other side john stuart mill is just as positive that culture is not inherent. "of all vulgar modes," he remarks, "of escaping from the consideration of the effect of social and moral influences on the human mind, the most vulgar is that of attributing the diversities of conduct and character to inherent natural differences;" and, says mr buckle, "we cannot safely assume that there has been any permanent improvement in the moral or intellectual faculties of man, nor have we any decisive ground for saying that those faculties are likely to be greater in an infant born in the most civilized part of europe, than in one born in the wildest region of a barbarous country." whether or not the nervous system, which is the connective tissue between man's animality and his intellectuality, transmits its subtle forces from one generation to another, we may be sure that the mind acts on the nerves, and the nerves on every part of the system, and that the intelligence of the mind influences and governs the materialism of the body, and the consequences in some way are felt by succeeding generations; but that the mind becomes material, and its qualities transmitted to posterity, is an hypothesis yet unestablished. [sidenote: improvement purely intellectual.] moreover we may safely conclude that the improvement of mankind is a phenomenon purely intellectual. not that the improvement of the mind is wholly independent of the condition of the body; for, as we shall hereafter see, so intimate is the connection between the mind and the body, that the first step toward intellectual advancement cannot be taken until the demands of the body are satisfied. nervous phenomena are dependent upon the same nutritive processes that govern physical development; and that this nerve force, through whose agency the system is charged with intellectuality, as the molecule is charged with mechanical force, does exist, is capable, to some extent, of transmitting acquirements or artificial instincts from parent to child, we have every reason to believe; but, so far as we know, intellectual force, _per se_, is no more a transmittable entity than is the flesh-quivering of the slain ox life. the strangest part of it all is, that though wrought out by man as the instrument, and while acting in the capacity of a free agent, this spirit of progress is wholly independent of the will of man. though in our individual actions we imagine ourselves directed only by our free will, yet in the end it is most difficult to determine what is the result of free will, and what of inexorable environment. while we think we are regulating our affairs, our affairs are regulating us. we plan out improvements, predetermine the best course and follow it, sometimes; yet, for all that, the principle of social progress is not the man, is not in the man, forms no constituent of his physical or psychical individual being; it is the social atmosphere into which the man is born, into which he brings nothing and from which he takes nothing. while a member of society he adds his quota to the general fund and there leaves it; while acting as a free agent he performs his part in working out this problem of social development, performs it unconsciously, willing or unwilling he performs it, his baser passions being as powerful instruments of progress as his nobler; for avarice drives on intellect as effectually as benevolence, hate as love, and selfishness does infinitely more for the progress of mankind than philanthropy. thus is humanity played upon by this principle of progress, and the music sometimes is wonderful; green fields as if by magic take the place of wild forests, magnificent cities rise out of the ground, the forces of nature are brought under the dominion of man's intelligence, and senseless substances endowed with speech and action. it is verily as carlyle says; "under the strangest new vesture, the old great truth (since no vesture can hide it) begins again to be revealed: that man is what we call a miraculous creature, with miraculous power over men; and, on the whole, with such a life in him, and such a world round him, as victorious analysis, with her physiologies, nervous systems, physic and metaphysic, will never completely name, to say nothing of explaining." thus, to sum up the foregoing premises: in society, between two or more individuals, there is at work a mysterious energy, not unlike that of force between molecules or life in the organism; this social energy is under intelligent governance, not fortuitous nor causeless, but reducible to fixed law, and capable of being wrought into a science; is, moreover, a vital actuality, not an incident nor an accident, but an entity, as attraction and repulsion are entities; under this agency society, perforce, develops like the plant from a germ. this energy acts on the intellect, and through the intellect on the organism; acts independently of the will, and cannot be created or destroyed by man; is not found in the brute creation, is not transmittable by generation through individuals, is wrought out by man as a free-will agent, though acting unconsciously, and is the product alike of good and evil. * * * * * [sidenote: causes of man's development.] as to the causes which originate progressional phenomena there are differences of opinion. one sees in the intellect the germ of an eternal unfolding; another recognizes in the soul-element the vital principle of progress, and attributes to religion all the benefits of enlightenment; one builds a theory on the ground-work of a fundamental and innate morality; another discovers in the forces of nature the controlling influence upon man's destiny; while yet others, as we have seen, believe accumulative and inherent nervous force to be the media through which culture is transmitted. some believe that moral causes create the physical, others that physical causes create the moral. thus mr buckle attempts to prove that man's development is wholly dependent upon his physical surroundings. huxley points to a system of reflex actions,--mind acting on matter, and matter on mind,--as the possible culture-basis. darwin advances the doctrine of an evolution from vivified matter as the principle of progressive development. in the transmution of nerve-element from parents to children, bagehot sees "the continuous force which binds age to age, which enables each to begin with some improvement on the last, if the last did itself improve; which makes each civilization not a set of detached dots, but a line of color, surely enhancing shade by shade." some see in human progress the ever-ruling hand of a divine providence, others the results of man's skill; with some it is free will, with others necessity; some believe that intellectual development springs from better systems of government, others that wealth lies at the foundation of all culture; every philosopher recognizes some cause, invents some system, or brings human actions under the dominion of some species of law. as in animals of the same genus or species, inhabiting widely different localities, we see the results of common instincts, so in the evolutions of the human race, divided by time or space, we see the same general principles at work. so too it would seem, whether species are one or many, whether man is a perfectly created being or an evolution from a lower form, that all the human races of the globe are formed on one model and governed by the same laws. in the customs, languages, and myths of ages and nations far removed from each other in social, moral, and mental characteristics, innumerable and striking analogies exist. not only have all nations weapons, but many who are separated from each other by a hemisphere use the same weapon; not only is belief universal, but many relate the same myth; and to suppose the bow and arrow to have had a common origin, or that all flood-myths, and myths of a future life are but offshoots from noachic and biblical narratives is scarcely reasonable. it is easier to tell what civilization is not, and what it does not spring from, than what it is and what its origin. to attribute its rise to any of the principles, ethical, political, or material, that come under the cognizance of man, is fallacy, for it is as much an entity as any other primeval principle; nor may we, with archbishop whately, entertain the doctrine that civilization never could have arisen had not the creator appeared upon earth as the first instructor; for, unfortunately for this hypothesis, the aboriginals supposedly so taught, were scarcely civilized at all, and compare unfavorably with the other all-perfect works of creation; so that this sort of reasoning, like innumerable other attempts of man to limit the powers of omnipotence, and narrow them down to our weak understandings, is little else than puerility. [sidenote: society essential to intellect.] nor, as we have seen, is this act of civilizing the effect of volition; nor, as will hereafter more clearly appear, does it arise from an inherent principle of good any more than from an inherent principle of evil. the ultimate result, though difficult of proof, we take for granted to be good, but the agencies employed for its consummation number among them more of those we call evil than of those we call good. the isolated individual never, by any possibility, can become civilized like the social man; he cannot even speak, and without a flow of words there can be no complete flow of thought. send him forth away from his fellow-man to roam the forest with the wild beasts, and he would be almost as wild and beastlike as his companions; it is doubtful if he would ever fashion a tool, but would not rather with his claws alone procure his food, and forever remain as he now is, the most impotent of animals. the intellect, by which means alone man rises above other animals, never could work, because the intellect is quickened only as it comes in contact with intellect. the germ of development therein implanted cannot unfold singly any more than the organism can bear fruit singly. it is a well-established fact that the mind without language cannot fully develop; it is likewise established that language is not inherent, that it springs up between men, not in them. language, like civilization, belongs to society, and is in no wise a part or the property of the individual. "for strangely in this so solid-seeming world," says carlyle, "which nevertheless is in continual restless flux, it is appointed that sound, to appearance the most fleeting, should be the most continuing of all things." and further, as remarked by herbert spencer: "now that the transformation and equivalence of forces is seen by men of science to hold not only throughout all inorganic actions, but throughout all organic actions; now that even mental changes are recognized as the correlatives of cerebral changes, which also conform to this principle; and now that there must be admitted the corollary, that all actions going on in a society are measured by certain antecedent energies, which disappear in effecting them, while they themselves become actual or potential energies from which subsequent actions arise; it is strange that there should not have arisen the consciousness that these higher phenomena are to be studied as lower phenomena have been studied--not, of course, after the same physical methods, but in conformity with the same principles." we may hold then, a priori, that this progressional principle exists; that it exists not more in the man than around him; that it requires an atmosphere in which to live, as life in the body requires an atmosphere which is its vital breath, and that this atmosphere is generated only by the contact of man with man. under analysis this social atmosphere appears to be composed of two opposing principles--good and evil--which, like attraction and repulsion, or positive and negative electricity, underlie all activities. one is as essential to progress as the other; either, in excess or disproportionately administered, like an excess of oxygen or of hydrogen in the air, becomes pernicious, engenders social disruptions and decay which continue until the equilibrium is restored; yet all the while with the progress of humanity the good increases while the evil diminishes. every impulse incident to humanity is born of the union of these two opposing principles. for example, as i have said, and will attempt more fully to show further on, association is the first requisite of progress. but what is to bring about association? naked nomads will not voluntarily yield up their freedom, quit their wanderings, hold conventions and pass resolutions concerning the greatest good to the greatest number; patriotism, love, benevolence, brotherly kindness, will not bring savage men together; extrinsic force must be employed, an iron hand must be laid upon them which will compel them to unite, else there can be no civilization; and to accomplish this first great good to man,--to compel mankind to take the initial step toward the amelioration of their condition,--it is ordained that an evil, or what to us of these latter times is surely an evil, come forward,--and that evil is war. [sidenote: evil as a stimulant of progress.] primeval man, in his social organization, is patriarchal, spreading out over vast domains in little bands or families, just large enough to be able successfully to cope with wild beasts. and in that state humanity would forever remain did not some terrible cause force these bands to confederate. war is an evil, originating in hateful passions and ending in dire misery; yet without war, without this evil, man would forever remain primitive. but something more is necessary. war brings men together for a purpose, but it is insufficient to hold them together; for when the cause which compacted them no longer exists, they speedily scatter, each going his own way. then comes in superstition to the aid of progress. a successful leader is first feared as a man, then reverenced as a supernatural being, and finally himself, or his descendant, in the flesh or in tradition, is worshiped as a god. then an unearthly fear comes upon mankind, and the ruler, perceiving his power, begins to tyrannize over his fellows. both superstition and tyranny are evils; yet, without war superstition and tyranny, dire evils, civilization, which many deem the highest good, never by any possibility, as human nature is, could be. but more of the conditions of progress hereafter; what i wish to establish here is, that evil is no less a stimulant of development than good, and that in this principle of progress are manifest the same antagonism of forces apparent throughout physical nature; the same oppugnant energies, attractive and repulsive, positive and negative, everywhere existing. it is impossible for two or more individuals to be brought into contact with each other, whether through causes or for purposes good or evil, without ultimate improvement to both. i say whether through causes or for purposes good or evil, for, to the all-pervading principle of evil, civilization is as much indebted as to the all-pervading principle of good. indeed, the beneficial influences of this unwelcome element have never been generally recognized. whatever be this principle of evil, whatever man would be without it, the fact is clearly evident that to it civilization, whatever that may be, owes its existence. "the whole tendency of political economy and philosophical history," says lecky, "which reveal the physiology of society, is to show that the happiness and welfare of mankind are evolved much more from our selfish than what are termed our virtuous acts." no wonder that devil-worship obtains, in certain parts, when to his demon the savage finds himself indebted for skill not only to overthrow subordinate deities, but to cure diseases, to will an enemy to death, to minister to the welfare of departed friends, as well as to add materially to his earthly store of comforts. the world, such as it is, man finds himself destined for a time to inhabit. within him and around him the involuntary occupant perceives two agencies at work; agencies apparently oppugnant, yet both tending to one end--improvement; and night or day, love or crime, leads all souls to the good, as emerson sings. the principle of evil acts as a perpetual stimulant, the principle of good as a reward of merit. united in their operation, there is a constant tendency toward a better condition, a higher state; apart, the result would be inaction. for, civilization being a progression and not a fixed condition, without incentives, that is without something to escape from and something to escape to, there could be no transition, and hence no civilization. had man been placed in the world perfected and sinless, obviously there would be no such thing as progress. the absence of evil implies perfect good, and perfect good perfect happiness. were man sinless and yet capable of increasing knowledge, the incentive would be wanting, for, if perfectly happy, why should he struggle to become happier? the advent of civilization is in the appearance of a want, and the first act of civilization springs from the attempt to supply the want. the man or nation that wants nothing remains inactive, and hence does not advance; so that it is not in what we have but in what we have not that civilization consists. these wants are forced upon us, implanted within us, inseparable from our being; they increase with an increasing supply, grow hungry from what they feed on; in quick succession, aspirations, emulations, and ambitions spring up and chase each other, keeping the fire of discontent ever glowing, and the whole human race effervescent. the tendency of civilizing force, like the tendency of mechanical force, is toward an equilibrium, toward a never-attainable rest. obviously there can be no perfect equilibrium, no perfect rest, until all evil disappears, but in that event the end of progress would be attained, and humanity would be perfect and sinless. man at the outset is not what he may be, he is capable of improvement or rather of growth; but childlike, the savage does not care to improve, and consequently must be scourged into it. advancement is the ultimate natural or normal state of man; humanity on this earth is destined some day to be relatively, if not absolutely, good and happy. the healthy body has appetites, in the gratification of which lies its chiefest enjoyment; the healthy mind has proclivities, the healthy soul intuitions, in the exercise and activities of which the happiest life is attainable; and in as far as the immaterial and immortal in our nature is superior to the material and mortal, in so far does the education and development of our higher nature contribute in a higher degree to our present benefit and our future well-being. [sidenote: labor a civilizing agent.] there is another thought in this connection well worthy our attention. in orthodox and popular parlance, labor is a curse entailed on man by vindictive justice; yet viewed as a civilizing agent, labor is man's greatest blessing. throughout all nature there is no such thing found as absolute inertness; and, as in matter, so with regard to our faculties, no sooner do they begin to rest than they begin to rot, and even in the rotting they can obtain no rest. one of the chief objects of labor is to get gain, and dr johnson holds that "men are seldom more innocently employed than when they are making money." human experience teaches, that in the effort is greater pleasure than in the end attained; that labor is the normal condition of man; that in acquisition, that is progress, is the highest happiness; that passive enjoyment is inferior to the exhilaration of active attempt. now imagine the absence from the world of this spirit of evil, and what would be the result? total inaction. but before inaction can become more pleasurable than action, man's nature must be changed. not to say that evil is a good thing, clearly there is a goodness in things evil; and in as far as the state of escaping from evil is more pleasurable than the state of evil escaped from, in so far is evil conducive to happiness. the effect of well-directed labor is twofold; by exercise our faculties strengthen and expand, and at the same time the returns of that labor give us leisure in which to direct our improved faculties to yet higher aims. by continual efforts to increase material comforts, greater skill is constantly acquired, and the mind asserts more and more its independence. increasing skill yields ever increased delights, which encourage and reward our labor. this, up to a certain point; but with wealth and luxury comes relaxed energy. without necessity there is no labor; without labor no advancement. corporeal necessity first forces corporeal activity; then the intellect goes to work to contrive means whereby labor may be lessened and made more productive. [sidenote: evil tends to disappear.] the discontent which arises from discomfort, lies at the root of every movement; but then comfort is a relative term and complete satisfaction is never attained. indeed, as a rule, the more squalid and miserable the race, the more are they disposed to settle down and content themselves in their state of discomfort. what is discomfort to one is luxury to another; "the mark of rank in nature is capacity for pain"; in following the intellectual life, the higher the culture the greater the discontent; the greater the acquisition, the more eagerly do men press forward toward some higher and greater imaginary good. we all know that blessings in excess become the direst curses; but few are conscious where the benefit of a blessing terminates and the curse begins, and fewer still of those who are able thus to discriminate have the moral strength to act upon that knowledge. as a good in excess is an evil, so evil as it enlarges outdoes itself and tends toward self-annihilation. if we but look about us, we must see that to burn up the world in order to rid it of gross evil--a dogma held by some--is unnecessary, for accumulative evils ever tend towards reaction. excessive evils are soonest remedied; the equilibrium of the evil must be maintained, or the annihilation of the evil ensues. institutions and principles essentially good at one time are essential evils at another time. the very aids and agencies of civilization become afterward the greatest drags upon progress. at one time it would seem that blind faith was essential to improvement, at another time skepticism, at one time order and morality, at another time lawlessness and rapine; for so it has ever been, and whether peace and smiling plenty, or fierce upheavals and dismemberments predominate, from every social spasm as well as fecund leisure, civilization shoots forward in its endless course. the very evils which are regarded as infamous by a higher culture were the necessary stepping-stones to that higher life. as we have seen, no nation ever did or can emerge from barbarism without first placing its neck under the yokes of despotism and superstition; therefore, despotism and superstition, now dire evils, were once essential benefits. no religion ever attained its full development except under persecution. our present evils are constantly working out for humanity unforeseen good. all systems of wrongs and fanaticisms are but preparing us for and urging us on to a higher state. if then civilization is a predestined, ineluctable, and eternal march away from things evil toward that which is good, it must be that throughout the world the principle of good is ever increasing and that of evil decreasing. and this is true. not only does evil decrease, but the tendency is ever toward its disappearance. gradually the confines of civilization broaden; the central principle of human progress attains greater intensity, and the mind assumes more and more its lordly power over matter. the moment we attempt to search out the cause of any onward movement we at once encounter this principle of evil. the old-time aphorism that life is a perpetual struggle; the first maxim of social ethics 'the greatest happiness to the greatest number'; indeed, every thought and action of our lives points in the same direction. from what is it mankind is so eager to escape; with what do we wrestle; for what do we strive? we fly from that which gives pain to that which gives pleasure; we wrestle with agencies which bar our escape from a state of infelicity; we long for happiness. [sidenote: is civilization conducive to happiness?] then comes the question, what is happiness? is man polished and refined happier than man wild and unfettered; is civilization a blessing or a curse? rousseau, we know, held it to be the latter; but not so virey. "what!" he exclaims, "is he happier than the social man, this being abandoned in his maladies, uncared for even by his children in his improvident old age, exposed to ferocious beasts, in fear of his own kind, even of the cannibal's tooth? the civilized man, surrounded in his feebleness by affectionate attention, sustains a longer existence, enjoys more pleasure and daily comforts, is better protected against inclemencies of weather and all external ills. the isolated man must suffice for himself, must harden himself to endure any privation; his very existence depends upon his strength, and if necessity requires it of him, he must be ready to abandon wife and children and life itself at any moment. such cruel misery is rare in social life, where the sympathies of humanity are awakened, and freely exercised." continue these simple interrogatories a little farther and see where we land. is the wild bird, forced to long migrations for endurable climates and food, happier than the caged bird which buys a daily plentiful supply for a song? is the wild beast, ofttimes hungry and hunted, happier than its chained brother of the menagerie? is the wild horse, galloping with its fellows over the broad prairie, happier than the civilized horse of carriage, cart, or plow? may we not question whether the merchant, deep in his speculating ventures, or the man of law, poring over his brain-tearing brief, derives a keener sense of enjoyment than does the free forest-native, following the war-path or pursuing his game? as i have attempted to show, civilization is not an end attained, for man is never wholly civilized,--but only the effort to escape from an evil, or an imaginary evil--savagism. i say an evil real or imaginary, for as we have seen, the question has been seriously discussed whether civilization is better or worse than savagism. for every advantage which culture affords, a price must be paid,--some say too great a price. the growth of the mind is dependent upon its cultivation, but this cultivation may be voluntary or involuntary, it may be a thing desired or a thing abhorred. every nation, every society, and every person has its or his own standard of happiness. the miser delights in wealth, the city belle in finery, the scholar in learning. the christian's heaven is a spiritual city, where they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; the norse-man's a valhalla of alternate battle and wassail; the mahometan's, a paradise of houris and lazy sensuality. the martyr at the stake, triumphant in his faith, may be happier than the man of fashion dying of ennui and gout; the savage, wandering through forest and over plain in pursuit of game, or huddled in his hut with wives and children, may be happier than the care-laden speculator or the wrangling politician. content, the essence of all happiness, is as prevalent among the poor and ill-mannered, as among the rich, refined and civilized. _ubi bene, ibi patria_, where it is well with me, there is my country, is the motto of the indian,--and to be well with him signifies only to be beyond the reach of hunger and enemies. ask the savage which is preferable, a native or a cultured state, and he will answer the former; ask the civilized man, and he will say the latter. i do not see any greater absurdity in the wild man saying to the tamed one: give up the despotisms and diseases of society and throw yourself with me upon beauteous, bounteous nature; than in the european saying to the american: if you would find happiness, abandon your filth and naked freedom, accept christianity and cotton shirts, go to work in a mission, rot on a reservation, or beg and starve in civilized fashion! of all animals, man alone has broken down the barriers of his nature in civilizing, or, as rousseau expresses it, in denaturalizing himself; and for this denaturalization some natural good must be relinquished; to every infringement of nature's law, there is a penalty attached; for a more delicate organism the price is numberless new diseases; for political institutions the price is native freedom. with polished manners the candidate for civilization must accept affectation, social despotism; with increasing wealth, increasing wants; civilization engenders complexity in society, and in its turn is engendered thereby. peoples the most highly cultured are moved by the most delicate springs; a finer touch, the result of greater skill, with a finer tone, the result of greater experience, produces music more and yet more exquisite. [sidenote: subjective and objective humanity.] were man only an animal, this denaturalization and more, would be true. the tamed brute gives up all the benefits of savagism for few of the blessings of civilization; in a cultured state, as compared to a state of wild freedom, its ills are numberless, its advantages infinitesimal. but human nature is twofold, objective and subjective, the former typical of the savage state, the latter of the civilized. man is not wholly animal; and by cultivating the mind, that is, by civilizing himself, he is no more denaturalized than by cultivating the body, and thereby acquiring greater physical perfection. we cannot escape our nature; we cannot re-create ourselves; we can only submit ourselves to be polished and improved by the eternal spirit of progress. the moral and the intellectual are as much constituents of human nature as the physical; civilization, therefore, is as much the natural state of man as savagism. another more plausible and partially correct assertion is, that by the development of the subjective part of our nature, objective humanity becomes degenerated. the intellectual cannot be wrought up to the highest state of cultivation except at the expense of the physical, nor the physical fully developed without limiting the mental. the efforts of the mind draw from the energies of the body; the highest and healthiest vigor of the body can only be attained when the mind is at rest, or in a state of careless activity. in answer to which i should say that beyond a certain point, it is true; one would hardly train successfully for a prize fight and the tripos at the same time; but that the non-intellectual savage, as a race, is physically superior, capable of enduring greater fatigue, or more skillful in muscular exercise than the civilized man is inconsistent with facts. civilization has its vices as well as its virtues, savagism has its advantages as well as its demerits. the evils of savagism are not so great as we imagine; its pleasures more than we are apt to think. as we become more and more removed from evils their magnitude enlarges; the fear of suffering increases as suffering is less experienced and witnessed. if savagism holds human life in light esteem, civilization makes death more hideous than it really is; if savagism is more cruel, it is less sensitive. combatants accustomed to frequent encounter think lightly of wounds, and those whose life is oftenest imperiled think least of losing it. indifference to pain is not necessarily the result of cruelty; it may arise as well from the most exalted sentiment as from the basest. civilization not only engenders new vices, but proves the destroyer of many virtues. among the wealthier classes energy gives way to enjoyment, luxury saps the foundation of labor, progress becomes paralyzed, and with now and then a noble exception, but few earnest workers in the paths of literature, science, or any of the departments which tend to the improvement of mankind, are to be found among the powerful and the affluent, while the middle classes are absorbed in money-getting, unconsciously thereby, it is true, working toward the ends of civilization. that civilization is expedient, that it is a good, that it is better than savagism, we who profess to be civilized entertain no doubt. those who believe otherwise must be ready to deny that health is better than disease, truth than superstition, intellectual power than stupid ignorance; but whether the miseries and vices of savagism, or those of civilization are the greater, is another question. the tendency of civilization is, on the whole, to purify the morals, to give equal rights to man, to distribute more equally among men the benefits of this world, to melioriate wholesale misery and degradation, offer a higher aim and the means of accomplishing a nobler destiny, to increase the power of the mind and give it dominion over the forces of nature, to place the material in subservience to the mental, to elevate the individual and regulate society. true, it may be urged that this heaping up of intellectual fruits tends toward monopoly, toward making the rich richer and the poor poorer, but i still hold that the benefits of civilization are for the most part evenly distributed; that wealth beyond one's necessity is generally a curse to the possessor greater than the extreme of poverty, and that the true blessings of culture and refinement like air and sunshine are free to all. civilization, it is said, multiplies wants, but then they are ennobling wants, better called aspirations, and many of these civilization satisfies. if civilization breeds new vices, old ones are extinguished by it. decency and decorum hide the hideousness of vice, drive it into dark corners, and thereby raise the tone of morals and weaken vice. thus civilization promotes chastity, elevates woman, breaks down the barriers of hate and superstition between ancient nations and religions; individual energy, the influence of one over the many, becomes less and less felt, and the power of the people becomes stronger. civilization in itself can not but be beneficial to man; that which makes society more refined, more intellectual, less bestial, more courteous; that which cures physical and mental diseases, increases the comforts and luxury of life, purifies religions, makes juster governments, must surely be beneficial: it is the universal principle of evil which impregnates all human affairs, alloying even current coin, which raises the question. that there are evils attending civilization as all other benefits, none can deny, but civilization itself is no evil. * * * * * [sidenote: conditions essential to progress.] if i have succeeded in presenting clearly the foregoing thoughts, enough has been said as to the nature and essence of civilization; let us now examine some of the conditions essential to intellectual development. for it must not be forgotten that, while every department of human progress is but the unfolding of a germ; while every tendency of our life, every custom and creed of our civilization finds its rudiment in savagism; while, as man develops, no new elements of human nature are created by the process; while, as the organism of the child is as complex and complete as the organism of the man, so is humanity in a savage state the perfect germ of humanity civilized,--it must not be forgotten in all this, that civilization cannot unfold except under favorable conditions. just as the plant, though endowed with life which corresponds to the mind-principle in progress, requires for its growth a suitable soil and climate, so this progressional phenomenon must have soil and sunshine before it yields fruit; and this is another proof that civilization is not in the man more than around him; for if the principle were inherent in the individual, then the hyperborean, with his half year of light and half year of underground darkness, must of necessity become civilized equally with the man born amidst the sharpening jostles of a european capital, for in all those parts that appertain solely to the intrinsic individual, the one develops as perfectly as the other. a people undergoing the civilizing process need not necessarily, does not indeed, advance in every species of improvement at the same time; in some respects the nation may be stationary, in others even retrograde. every age and every nation has its special line of march. literature and the fine arts reached their height in pagan greece; monotheism among the hebrews; science unfolded in egypt, and government in rome. in every individual there is some one talent that can be cultivated more advantageously than any other; so it is with nations, every people possesses some natural advantage for development in some certain direction over every other people, and often the early history of a nation, like the precocious proclivities of the child, points toward its future; and in such arts and industries as its climate and geographical position best enable it to develop, is discovered the germ of national character. seldom is the commercial spirit developed in the interior of a continent, or the despotic spirit on the border of the sea, or the predatory spirit in a country wholly devoid of mountains and fastnesses. it cannot be said that one nation or race is inherently better fitted for civilization than another; all may not be equally fitted for exactly the same civilization, but all are alike fitted for that civilization which, if left to itself, each will work out. mankind, moreover, advances spasmodically, and in certain directions only at a time, which is the greatest drawback to progress. as lecky remarks: "special agencies, such as religious or political institutions, geographical conditions, traditions, antipathies, and affinities, exercise a certain retarding, accelerating, or deflecting influence, and somewhat modify the normal progress." perfect development only is permanent, and that alone is perfect which develops the whole man and the whole society equally in all its parts; all the activities, mental, moral, and physical, must needs grow in unison and simultaneously, and this alone is perfect and permanent development. should all the world become civilized there will still be minor differences; some will advance further in one direction and some in another, all together will form the complete whole. civilization as an exotic seldom flourishes. often has the attempt been made by a cultivated people to civilize a barbarous nation, and as often has it failed. true, one nation may force its arts or religion upon another, but to civilize is neither to subjugate nor annihilate; foreigners may introduce new industries and new philosophies, which the uncultured may do well to accept, but as civilization is an unfolding, and not a creation, he who would advance civilization must teach society how to grow, how to enlarge its better self; must teach in what direction its highest interests lie. * * * * * thus it appears that, while this germ of progress is innate in every human society, certain conditions are more favorable to its development than others,--conditions which act as stimulants or impediments to progress. often we see nations remain apparently stationary, the elements of progress evenly balanced by opposing influences, and thus they remain until by internal force, or external pressure, their system expands or explodes, until they absorb or are absorbed by antagonistic elements. the intrinsic force of the body social appears to demand extrinsic prompting before it will manifest itself. like the grains of wheat in the hand of belzoni's mummy, which held life slumbering for three thousand years, and awoke to growth when buried in the ground, so the element of human progress lies dormant until planted in a congenial soil and surrounded by those influences which provoke development. this stimulant, which acts upon and unfolds the intellect, can be administered only through the medium of the senses. nerve force, which precedes intellectual force, is supplied by the body; the cravings of man's corporeal nature, therefore, must be quieted before the mind can fix itself on higher things. the first step toward teaching a savage is to feed him; the stomach satisfied he will listen to instruction, not before. cultivation of at least the most necessary of the industrial arts invariably precedes cultivation of the fine arts; the intellect must be implanted in a satisfied body before it will take root and grow. the mind must be allowed some respite from its attendance on the body, before culture can commence; it must abandon its state of servitude, and become master; in other words, leisure is an essential of culture. as association is the primal condition of progress, let us see how nature throws societies together or holds them asunder. in some directions there are greater facilities for intercommunication (another essential of improvement) than in other directions. wherever man is most in harmony with nature, there he progresses most rapidly; wherever nature offers the greatest advantages, such as a sea that invites to commerce, an elevated plateau lifting its occupants above the malaria of a tropical lowland, a sheltering mountain range that wards off inclement winds and bars out hostile neighbors, there culture flourishes best. * * * * * [sidenote: objective and subjective stimulants.] so that humanity, in its twofold nature, is dependent for its development upon two distinct species of stimulants, objective and subjective. material causations, or those forces which minister to the requirements of man's material nature but upon which his intellectual progress is dependent, are configurations of surface, soil, climate, and food. those physical conditions which, when favorable, give to their possessors wealth and leisure, are the inevitable precursors of culture. immaterial causations are those forces which act more directly upon man's immaterial nature, as association, religion, wealth, leisure, and government. continuing the analysis, let us first examine physical stimulants. admitting readily two of m. taine's primordial humanity-moving forces, 'le milieu' or environment, and his 'le moment' or inherited impulse, we will pass over the third force 'la race';--for inherent differences in race, in the present stage of science, are purely hypothetical; it remains yet to be proved that one nation is primarily inherently inferior or superior to another nation. that man once created is moulded and modified by his environment, there can be no doubt. even a cursory survey of the globe presents some indications favorable and unfavorable to the unfolding of the different forms of organic being. great continents, for instance, appear to be congenial to the development of animal life; islands and lesser continents to the growth of exuberant vegetation. thus, in the eastern hemisphere, which is a compact oval, essentially continental, with vast areas far removed from the influence of the ocean, flourish the elephant, the hippopotamus, the rhinoceros, the courageous lion, the fierce tiger, the largest and lordliest of animal kind, while in the more oceanic western hemisphere inferior types prevail. cold and dryness characterize the one; heat and humidity the other; in one are the greatest deserts, in the other the greatest lakes and rivers. warm oceanic currents bathe the frosty shores of the northern extremities of the continents and render them habitable; the moisture-laden equatorial atmosphere clothes the adjacent islands and firm land in emerald verdure. upon the same parallel of latitude are the great sahara desert of africa, and the wilderness of luxuriant billowy foliage of the american isthmus. in warm, moist climates, such species of animal life attain the fullest development as are dependent upon the aqueous and herbous agencies. in tropical america are seen the largest reptiles, the most gorgeous insects,--there the inhabitants of warm marshes and sluggish waters assume gigantic proportions, while only upon the broad inland prairies or upon elevated mountain ranges, away from the influences of warm waters and humid atmospheres, are found the buffalo, bear, and elk. the very complexion and temperament of man are affected by these vegetative and umbrageous elements. unprotected from the perpendicular rays of the sun, the african is black, muscular, and cheerful; under the shadow of primeval forest, man assumes a coppery hue, lacking the endurance of the negro, and becomes in disposition cold and melancholy. and again, if we look for the natural causes which tend to promote or retard association, we find in climates and continental configurations the chief agencies. the continent of the two americas, in its greatest length, lies north and south, the eastern continental group extends east and west. primitive people naturally would spread out in those directions which offered the least change of climate from that of the primitive centre. obviously, variations of climate are greater in following a meridian than along a parallel of latitude. thus, the tropical man passing along a meridian is driven back by unendurable cold, while a continent may be traversed on any parallel, elevations excepted, with but little variation in temperature. a savage, exposed and inexperienced, not knowing how to protect himself against severe changes of climate, could not travel far in a northerly or southerly direction without suffering severely from the cold or heat; hence, other things being equal, the inhabitants of a country whose greatest length lay east and west, would intermingle more readily than those whose territory extended north and south. [sidenote: climate and mountain ranges.] that the eastern hemisphere attained a higher degree of civilization than the western, may be partly due to the fact, that the former presents wider spaces of uniform climate than the latter. the climatic zones of the new world, besides being shorter, are intersected by mountain barriers, which tend to retard the intercourse that would otherwise naturally follow. thus the mexican table-land, the seat of aztec civilization, is a _tierra fria_ situated above the insalubrious _tierra caliente_ of either coast and the healthful _tierra templada_ of the slopes, but below the mountain ranges which rise from this table-land, forming a _tierra frígida_, a region of perpetual snow. to this day, the natives of the mexican plateau cannot live on the sea-coast, though less than a day's journey distant. between the climatic zones which extend through europe and asia, there are contrasts as marked and changes as sudden, but these differences are between the different zones rather than between longitudinal sections of the same zone. hence, in the old world, where climatic zones are separated by mountain ranges which make the transition from one to the other sudden and abrupt, we see a greater diversity of race than in america, where the natural barriers extend north and south and intersect the climatic zones, thereby bringing the inhabitants along a meridian in easier communication than those who live in the same latitude but who are separated by mountains, table-lands and large rivers. that is, if color and race are dependent on climate, america should offer greater varieties in color and race than europe, for america traverses the most latitudes; but the mountain barriers of america extend north and south, thereby forcing its people to intermingle, if at all, in that direction, while the chief ranges of the eastern continent extend east and west, parallel with climatic zones, thereby forming in themselves distinctly marked lines between peoples, forcing the african to remain under his burning sun, and the northmen in their cooler latitudes; so that in the several climatic zones of the old world, we see the human race distinctly marked, aryan, semitic, and turanian--white, black, and yellow--while throughout the two americas, from alaska to tierra del fuego, type and color are singularly uniform. * * * * * who can picture the mighty tide of humanity, which, while the eastern hemisphere has been developing so high a state of culture, in america has ebbed and flowed between barbarisms and civilizations? through what long and desperate struggles, continuing age after age through the lives of nations, now advancing, now receding, have these peoples passed? asia, from its central position and favorable climate, would seem naturally to encourage a redundant population and a spontaneous civilization; the waters of the mediterranean invite commerce and intercommunication of nations, while the british isles, from their insular situation and distance from hypothetical primitive centres, would seem necessarily to remain longer in a state of barbarism. in the pacific states of north america we find the densest population north along the shores of the ocean, and south on the cordillera table-land, from the fact that the former offers the best facilities for food and locomotion until the latter is reached, when the interior presents the most favorable dwelling-place for man. climate affects both mental and moral endowments, the temperament of the body, and the texture of the brain; physical energy, and mental vigor. temperate climates are more conducive to civilization, not for the reason given by mr harris, "as developing the higher qualities, and not invigorating the baser feelings", for the hyperborean is as unchaste and as great a slave to passion as the sub-equatorial man--but because a temperate climate, while it lures to exertion, rewards the laborer. * * * * * [sidenote: the influence of food.] next, let us consider the agency of food in human development. the effect of food is to supply the body with caloric, which is essential to its life, and to repair the muscular fibres which are constantly undergoing waste in our daily activities. these two effects are produced by two different kinds of diet; carbonized food, such as animal flesh, fish, oils and fats, and oxidized food, which consists chiefly of vegetables. in hot climates, obviously, less carbonized food is required to keep up the necessary temperature of the body than in cold climates. hence it is, that hyperborean nations subsist on whale's blubber, oil, and flesh, while the tropical man confines himself almost exclusively to a vegetable diet. it is not my purpose here to enter into the relative effects of the different kinds of food on physiological and mental development; i desire, however, to call attention to the comparative facility with which carbonized and oxidized food is procured by man, and to note the effect of this ease or difficulty in obtaining a food supply, upon his progress. in warm, humid climates vegetation is spontaneous and abundant; a plentiful supply of food may, therefore, be obtained with the smallest expenditure of labor. the inhabitants of cold climates, however, are obliged to pursue, by land and water, wild and powerful animals, to put forth all their strength and skill in order to secure a precarious supply of the necessary food. then, again, besides being more difficult to obtain, and more uncertain as to a steady supply, the quantity of food consumed in a cold climate is much greater than that consumed in a hot climate. now as leisure is essential to cultivation, and as without a surplus of food and clothing there can be no leisure, it would seem to follow naturally that in those countries where food and clothing are most easily obtained culture should be the highest; since so little time and labor are necessary to satisfy the necessities of the body, the mind would have opportunity to expand. it would seem that a fertile soil, an exuberant vegetation, soft skies and balmy air, a country where raiment was scarcely essential to comfort, and where for food the favored inhabitant had but to pluck and eat, should become the seat of a numerous population and a high development. is this the fact? "wherever snow falls," emerson remarks, "there is usually civil freedom. where the banana grows, the animal system is indolent, and pampered at the cost of higher qualities; the man is sensual and cruel;" and we may add that where wheat grows, there is civilization, where rice is the staple, there mental vigor is relaxed. heat and moisture being the great vegetative stimulants, tropical lands in proximity to the sea are covered with eternal verdure. little or no labor is required to sustain life; for food there is the perpetually ripening fruit, a few hours' planting, sometimes, being sufficient to supply a family for months; for shelter, little more than the dense foliage is necessary, while scarcely any clothing is required. but although heat and moisture, the great vegetative stimulants, lie at the root of primitive progress, these elements in superabundance defeat their own ends, and in two ways: first, excessive heat enervates the body and prostrates the mind, languor and inertia become chronic, while cold is invigorating and prompts to activity. and in tropical climates certain hours of the day are too hot for work, and are, consequently, devoted to sleep. the day is broken into fragments; continuous application, which alone produces important results, is prevented, and habits of slackness and laxity become the rule of life. satisfied, moreover, with the provisions of nature for their support, the people live without labor, vegetating, plant-like, through a listless and objectless life. secondly, vegetation, stimulated by excessive heat and moisture, grows with such strength and rapidity as to defy the efforts of inexperienced primitive man; nature becomes domineering, unmanageable, and man sinks into insignificance. indeed the most skillful industry of armed and disciplined civilization is unable to keep under control this redundancy of tropical vegetation. the path cleared by the pioneer on penetrating the dense undergrowth, closes after him like the waters of the sea behind a ship; before the grain has time to spring up, the plowed field is covered with rank weeds, wild flowers, and poisonous plants no less beautiful than pernicious. i have seen the very fence-posts sprouting up and growing into trees. so destructive is the vegetation of the central american lowlands, that in their triumphal march the persistent roots penetrate the crevices of masonry, demolish strong walls, and obliterate stupendous tumuli. the people whose climate makes carbonized food a necessity, are obliged to call into action their bolder and stronger faculties in order to obtain their supplies, while the vegetable-eater may tranquilly rest on bounteous nature. the eskimo struggles manfully with whale, and bear, and ice, and darkness, until his capacious stomach is well filled with heat-producing food, then he dozes torpidly in his den while the supply lasts; the equatorial man plucks and eats, basks in the open air, and sleeps. [sidenote: unmanageableness of redundant nature.] here we have a medley of heterogeneous and antagonistic elements. leisure is essential to culture; before leisure there must be an accumulation of wealth; the accumulation of wealth is dependent upon the food-supply; a surplus of food can only be easily obtained in warm climates. but labor is also essential to development, and excessive heat is opposed to labor. labor, moreover, in order to produce leisure must be remunerative, and excessive cold is opposed to accumulation. it appears, therefore, that an excess of labor and an excess of leisure are alike detrimental to improvement. again, heat and moisture are essential to an abundant supply of oxidized food. but heat and moisture, especially in tropical climates, act as a stimulant upon other rank productions, engendering dense forests, tangled brush-wood, and poisonous shrubs, and filling miasmatic marshes with noxious reptiles. these enemies to human progress the weaponless savage is unable to overcome. it is, therefore, neither in hot and humid countries, nor in excessively cold climates, that we are to look for a primitive civilization; for in the latter nature lies dormant, while in the former the redundancy of nature becomes unmanageable. it is true that in the tropics of america and asia are found the seats of many ancient civilizations, but if we examine them one after the other, we shall see, in nearly every instance, some opposite or counteracting agency. thus, the aztecs, though choosing a low latitude in proximity to both oceans, occupied an elevated table-land, in a cool, dry atmosphere, seven or eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. the river nile, by its periodic inundations, forced the ancient egyptians to lay by a store of food, which is the very first step toward wealth. the rivers of india are, some of them, subject to like overflowings, while the more elevated parts are dry and fertile. egypt was the cradle of european development. long before the advent of christianity, the fertile banks of the nile, for their pyramidal tombs, their colossi, their obelisks and catacombs and sphinxes and temples, were regarded by surrounding barbarians as a land of miracles and marvels. thence greece derived her earliest arts and maxims. the climate of egypt was unchangeable, and the inundations of the nile offered a less uncertain water-supply than the rains of many other districts, and thus agriculture, while offering to the laborer the greater part of the year for leisure, was almost certain to be remunerative. common instincts and common efforts, uniformity of climate and identity of interests produced a homogeneous people, and forty centuries of such changeless coming and going could not fail to result in improvement. [sidenote: mr buckle's theory.] mr buckle, in his attempt to establish a universal theory that heat and moisture inevitably engender civilization, and that without those combined agencies no civilization can arise, somewhat overreaches himself. "in america, as in asia and africa," he says, "all the original civilizations were seated in hot countries; the whole of peru, proper, being within the southern tropic, the whole of central america and mexico within the northern tropic." the fact is, that cuzco, the capital city of the incas, is in the cordilleras, three hundred miles from and eleven thousand feet above the sea. for the latitude the climate is both cold and dry. the valley of mexico is warmer and moister, but cannot be called hot and humid. palenque and copan approach nearer mr buckle's ideal than cuzco or mexico, being above the tierra caliente proper, and yet in a truly hot and humid climate. the hawaiian islands,--an isolated group of lava piles, thrown up into the trade winds on the twentieth parallel, and by these winds deluged on one side with rain, while the other is left almost dry, with but little alluvial soil, and that little exceedingly fertile,--at the time of their discovery by captain cook appeared to have made no inconsiderable advance toward feudalism. systems of land tenure and vassalage were in operation, and some works for the public weal had been constructed. here were the essentials for a low order of improvement such as was found there, but which never, in all probability, would have risen much higher. again, mr buckle declares that, "owing to the presence of physical phenomena, the civilization of america was, of necessity, confined to those parts where alone it was found by the discoverers of the new world." an apparently safe postulate; but, upon any conceivable hypothesis, there are very many places as well adapted to development as those in which it was found. once more: "the two great conditions of fertility have not been united in any part of the continent north of mexico." when we consider what it is, namely, heat and humidity, upon which mr buckle makes intellectual evolution dependent, and that not only the mexican plateau lacked both these essentials, in the full meaning of the term, but that both are found in many places northward, as for instance, in some parts of texas and in louisiana, a discrepancy in his theory becomes apparent. "the peculiar configuration of the land," he continues, "secured a very large amount of coast, and thus gave to the southern part of north america the character of an island." an island, yes, but, as m. guyot terms it, an "aerial island;" bordered on either side by sea-coast, but by such sea-coast as formed an almost impassable barrier between the table-land and the ocean. "while, therefore," adds mr buckle, "the position of mexico near the equator gave it heat, the shape of the land gave it humidity; and this being the only part of north america in which these two conditions were united it was likewise the only part which was at all civilized. there can be no doubt, that if the sandy plains of california and southern columbia, instead of being scorched into sterility, had been irrigated by the rivers of the east, or if the rivers of the east had been accompanied by the heat of the west, the result of either combination would have been that exuberance of soil, by which, as the history of the world decisively proves, every early civilization was preceded. but inasmuch as, of the two elements of fertility, one was deficient in every part of america north of the twentieth parallel, it followed that, until that line was passed, civilization could gain no resting place; and there never has been found, and we may confidently assert never will be found, any evidence that even a single ancient nation, in the whole of that enormous continent, was able to make much progress in the arts of life, or organize itself into a fixed and permanent society." this is a broad statement embodying precipitate deductions from false premises, and one which betrays singular ignorance of the country and its climate. these same "sandy plains of california" so far from being "scorched into sterility", are to-day sending their cereals in every direction--to the east and to the west--and are capable of feeding all europe. [sidenote: why were californians not civilized?] i have often wondered why california was not the seat of a primitive civilization; why, upon every converging line the race deteriorates as this centre is approached; why, with a cool, salubrious seaboard, a hot and healthful interior, with alternate rainy and dry seasons, alternate seasons of labor and leisure which encourage producing and hoarding and which are the primary incentives to accumulation and wealth, in this hot and cool, moist and dry, and invigorating atmosphere, with a fertile soil, a climate which in no part of the year can be called cold or inhospitable, should be found one of the lowest phases of humanity on the north american continent. the cause must be sought in periods more remote, in the convulsions of nature now stilled; in the tumults of nations whose history lies forgotten, forever buried in the past. theories never will solve the mystery. indeed, there is no reason why the foundations of the aztec and maya-quiché civilizations may not have been laid north of the thirty-fifth parallel, although no architectural remains have been discovered there, nor other proof of such an origin; but upon the banks of the gila, the colorado, and the rio grande, in chihuahua, and on the hot dry plains of arizona and new mexico, far beyond the limits of mr buckle's territory where "there never has been found, and we may confidently assert never will be found" any evidence of progress, are to-day walled towns inhabited by an industrial and agricultural people, whose existence we can trace back for more than three centuries, besides ruins of massive buildings of whose history nothing is known. thus, that california and many other parts of north america could not have been the seat of a primitive civilization, cannot be proved upon the basis of any physical hypothesis; and, indeed, in our attempt to elucidate the principles of universal progress, where the mysterious and antagonistic activities of humanity have been fermenting all unseen for thousands of ages, unknown and unknowable, among peoples of whom our utmost knowledge can be only such as is derived from a transient glimpse of a disappearing race, it is with the utmost difficulty that satisfactory conclusions can in any instance be reached. it is in a temperate climate, therefore, that man attains the highest development. on the peninsulas of greece and italy, where the mediterranean invites intercourse; in iran and armenia, where the climate is cold enough to stimulate labor, but not so cold as to require the use of all the energies of body and mind in order to acquire a bare subsistence; warm enough to make leisure possible, but not so warm as to enervate and prostrate the faculties; with a soil of sufficient fertility to yield a surplus and promote the accumulation of wealth, without producing such a redundancy of vegetation as to be unmanageable by unskilled, primitive man--there it is that we find the highest intellectual culture. it sometimes happens that, in those climates which are too vigorous for the unfolding of the tender germ, cultivation is stimulated into greater activity than in its original seats. it sometimes happens that, when the shell of savagism is once fairly broken, a people may overcome a domineering vegetation, and flourish in a climate where by no possibility could their development have originated. even in the frozen regions of the north, as in scandinavia, man, by the intensity of his nature, was enabled to surmount the difficulties of climate and attain a fierce, rude cultivation. the regions of northern europe and northern america, notwithstanding their original opposition to man, are to-day the most fruitful of all lands in industrial discoveries and intellectual activities, but in the polar regions, as in the equatorial, the highest development never can be reached. the conditions which encourage indigenous civilization are not always those that encourage permanent development, and vice versa. thus, great britain in her insulation, remained barbarous long after greece and italy had attained a high degree of cultivation, yet when once the seed took root, that very insulation acted as a wall of defense, within which a mighty power germinated and with its influence overspread the whole earth. thus we have seen that a combination of physical conditions is essential to intellectual development. without leisure, there can be no culture, without wealth no leisure, without labor no wealth, and without a suitable soil and climate no remunerative labor. now, throughout the material universe, there is no object or element which holds its place, whether at rest or in motion, except under fixed laws; no atom of matter nor subtle mysterious force, no breath of air, nor cloudy vapor nor streak of light, but in existing obeys a law. the almighty fiat: be fruitful and multiply, fruitful in increase, intellectual as well as physical, was given alike to all mankind; seeds of progress were sown broadcast throughout all the races human; some fell on stony places, others were choked with weeds, others found good soil. when we see a people in the full enjoyment of all these physical essentials to progress yet in a state of savagism, we may be sure that elements detrimental to progress have, at some period of their history, interposed to prevent natural growth. war, famine, pestilence, convulsions of nature, have nipped in the bud many an incipient civilization, whose history lies deep buried in the unrecorded past. * * * * * [sidenote: association an element of progress.] the obvious necessity of association as a primary condition of development leaves little to be said on that subject. to the manifestation of this soul of progress a body social is requisite, as without an individual body there can be no manifestation of an individual soul. this body social, like the body individual, is composed of numberless organs, each having its special functions to perform, each acting on the others, and all under the general government of the progressional idea. civilization is not an individual attribute, and though the atom, man, may be charged with stored energy, yet progress constitutes no part of individual nature; it is something that lies between men and not within them; it belongs to society and not to the individual; man, the molecule of society, isolate, is inert and forceless. the isolated man, as i have said, never can become cultivated, never can form a language, does not possess in its fullness the faculty of abstraction, nor can his mind enter the realm of higher thought. all those characteristics which distinguish mankind from animal-kind become almost inoperative. without association there is no speech, for speech is but the conductor of thought between two or more individuals; without words abstract thought cannot flow, for words, or some other form of expression, are the channels of thought, and with the absence of words the fountain of thought is in a measure sealed. at the very threshold of progress social crystallization sets in; something there is in every man that draws him to other men. in the relationship of the sexes, this principle of human attraction reaches its height, where the husband and wife, as it were, coalesce, like the union of one drop of water with another, forming one globule. as unconsciously and as positively are men constrained to band together into societies as are particles forced to unite and form crystals. and herein is a law as palpable and as fixed as any law in nature; a law, which if unfulfilled, would result in the extermination of the race. but the law of human attraction is not perfect, does not fulfill its purpose apart from the law of human repulsion, for as we have seen, until war and despotism and superstition and other dire evils come, there is no progress. solitude is insupportable, even beasts will not live alone; and men are more dependent on each other than beasts. solitude carries with it a sense of inferiority and insufficiency; the faculties are stinted, lacking completeness, whereas volume is added to every individual faculty by union. [sidenote: coÖperation and the division of labor.] but association simply, is not enough; nothing materially great can be accomplished without union and coöperation. it is only when aggregations of families intermingle with other aggregations, each contributing its quota of original knowledge to the other; when the individual gives up some portion of his individual will and property for the better protection of other rights and property; when he entrusts society with the vindication of his rights; when he depends upon the banded arm of the nation, and not alone upon his own arm for redress of grievances, that progress is truly made. and with union and coöperation comes the division of labor by which means each, in some special department, is enabled to excel. by fixing the mind wholly upon one thing, by constant repetition and practice, the father hands down his art to the son, who likewise, improves it for his descendants. it is only by doing a new thing, or by doing an old thing better than it has ever been done before, that progress is made. under the régime of universal mediocrity the nation does not advance; it is to the great men,--great in things great or small, that progress is due; it is to the few who think, to the few who dare to face the infinite universe of things and step, if need be, outside an old-time boundary, that the world owes most. originally implanted is the germ of intelligence, at the first but little more than brute instinct. this germ in unfolding undergoes a double process; it throws off its own intuitions and receives in return those of another. by an interchange of ideas, the experiences of one are made known for the benefit of another, the inventions of one are added to the inventions of another; without intercommunication of ideas the intellect must lie dormant. thus it is with individuals, and with societies it is the same. acquisitions are eminently reciprocal. in society, wealth, art, literature, polity, and religion act and react on each other; in science a fusion of antagonistic hypotheses is sure to result in important developments. before much progress can be made, there must be established a commerce between nations for the interchange of aggregated human experiences, so that the arts and industries acquired by each may become the property of all the rest, and thus knowledge becomes scattered by exchange, in place of each having to work out every problem for himself. thus viewed, civilization is a partnership entered into for mutual improvement; a joint stock operation, in which the product of every brain contributes to a general fund for the benefit of all. no one can add to his own store of knowledge without adding to the general store; every invention, and discovery, however insignificant, is a contribution to civilization. in savagism, union and coöperation are imperfectly displayed. the warriors of one tribe unite against the warriors of another; a band will coöperate in pursuing a herd of buffalo; even one nation will sometimes unite with another nation against a third, but such combinations are temporary, and no sooner is the particular object accomplished than the confederation disbands, and every man is again his own master. the moment two or more persons unite for the accomplishment of some purpose which shall tend permanently to meliorate the condition of themselves and others, that moment progress begins. the wild beasts of the forest, acting in unison, were physically able to rise up and extirpate primitive man, but could beasts in reality confederate and do this, such confederation of wild beasts could become civilized. [sidenote: the savage hates civilization.] but why does primitive man desire to abandon his original state and set out upon an arduous never-ending journey? why does he wish to change his mild paternal government, to relinquish his title to lands as broad as his arm can defend, with all therein contained, the common property of his people? why does he wish to give up his wild freedom, his native independence, and place upon his limbs the fetters of a social and political despotism? he does not. the savage hates civilization as he hates his deadliest foe; its choicest benefits he hates more than the direst ills of his own unfettered life. he is driven to it; driven to it by extraneous influences, without his knowledge and against his will; he is driven to it by this soul of progress. it is here that this progressional phenomenon again appears outside of man and in direct opposition to the will of man; it is here that the principle of evil again comes in and stirs men up to the accomplishment of a higher destiny. by it adam, the first of recorded savages, was driven from eden, where otherwise he would have remained forever, and remained uncivilized. by it our ancestors were impelled to abandon their simple state, and organize more heterogeneous complex forms of social life. and it is a problem for each nation to work out for itself. millions of money are expended for merely proselyting purposes, when if the first principles of civilization were well understood, a more liberal manner of teaching would prevail. every civilization has its peculiarities, its idiosyncrasies. two individuals attempting the same thing differ in the performance; so civilization evolving under incidental and extraneous causes takes an individuality in every instance. this is why civilizations will not coalesce; this is why the spaniards could make the aztecs accept their civilization only at the point of the sword. development engendered by one set of phenomena will not suit the developments of other circumstances. the government, religion, and customs of one people will not fit another people any more than the coat of one person will suit the form of another. thought runs in different channels; the happiness of one is not the happiness of another; development springs from inherent necessity, and one species cannot be engrafted on another. * * * * * let us now examine the phenomena of government and religion in their application to the evolution of societies, and we shall better understand how the wheels of progress are first set in motion,--and by religion i do not mean creed or credulity, but that natural cultus inherent in humanity, which is a very different thing. government is early felt to be a need of society; the enforcement of laws which shall bring order out of social chaos; laws which shall restrain the vicious, protect the innocent, and punish the guilty; which shall act as a shield to inherent budding morality. but before government, there must arise some influence which will band men together. an early evil to which civilization is indebted is war; the propensity of man--unhappily not yet entirely overcome--for killing his fellow-man. [sidenote: government and religion.] the human race has not yet attained that state of homogeneous felicity which we sometimes imagine; upon the surface, we yet bear many of the relics of barbarism; under cover of manners, we hide still more. war is a barbarism which civilization only intensifies, as indeed civilization intensifies every barbarism which it does not eradicate or cover up. the right of every individual to act as his own avenger; trial by combat; justice dependent upon the passion or caprice of the judge or ruler and not upon fixed law; hereditary feuds and migratory skirmishes; these and the like are deemed barbarous, while every nation of the civilized world maintains a standing army, applies all the arts and inventions of civilization to the science of killing, and upon sufficient provocation, as a disputed boundary or a fancied insult, no greater nor more important than that which moved our savage ancestors to like conduct, falls to, and after a respectable civilized butchery of fifty or a hundred thousand men, ceases fighting, and returns, perhaps, to right and reason as a basis for the settlement of the difficulty. war, like other evils which have proved instruments of good, should by this time have had its day, should have served its purpose. standing armies, whose formation was one of the first and most important steps in association and partition of labor, are but the manifestation of a lingering necessity for the use of brute force in place of moral force in the settlement of national disputes. surely, rational beings who retain the most irrational practices concerning the simplest principles of social life cannot boast of a very high order of what we are pleased to call civilization. morality, commerce, literature, and industry, all that tends toward elevation of intellect, is directly opposed to the warlike spirit. as intellectual activity increases, the taste for war decreases, for an appeal to war in the settlement of difficulties is an appeal from the intellectual to the physical, from reason to brute force. despotism is an evil, but despotism is as essential to progress as any good. in some form despotism is an inseparable adjunct of war. an individual or an idea may be the despot, but without cohesion, without a strong central power, real or imaginary, there can be no unity, and without unity no protracted warfare. in the first stages of government despotism is as essential as in the last it is noxious. it holds society together when nothing else would hold it, and at a time when its very existence depends upon its being so held. and not until a moral inherent strength arises sufficient to burst the fetters of despotism, is a people fit for a better or milder form of government; for not until this inherent power is manifest is there sufficient cohesive force in society to hold it together without being hooped by some such band as despotism. besides thus cementing society, war generates many virtues, such as courage, discipline, obedience, chivalrous bearing, noble thought; and the virtues of war, as well as its vices, help to mould national character. slavery to the present day has its defenders, and from the first it has been a preventive of a worse evil,--slaughter. savages make slaves of their prisoners of war, and if they do not preserve them for slaves they kill them. the origin of the word, _servus_, from _servare_, to preserve, denotes humane thought rather than cruelty. discipline is always necessary to development, and slavery is another form of savage discipline. then, by systems of slavery, great works were accomplished, which, in the absence of arts and inventions, would not have been possible without slavery. and again, in early societies where leisure is so necessary to mental cultivation and so difficult to obtain, slavery, by promoting leisure, aids elevation and refinement. slaves constitute a distinct class, devoted wholly to labor, thereby enabling another class to live without labor, or to labor with the intellect rather than with the hands. primordially, society was an aggregation of nomadic families, every head of a family having equal rights, and every individual such power and influence as he could acquire and maintain. in all the ordinary avocations of savage life this was sufficient; there was room for all, and the widest liberty was possessed by each. and in this happy state does mankind ever remain until forced out of it. in unity and coöperation alone can great things be accomplished; but men will not unite until forced to it. now in times of war--and with savages war is the rule and not the exception--some closer union is necessary to avoid extinction; for other things being equal, the people who are most firmly united and most strongly ruled are sure to prevail in war. the idea of unity in order to be effectual must be embodied in a unit; some one must be made chief, and the others must obey, as in a band of wild beasts that follow the one most conspicuous for its prowess and cunning. but the military principle alone would never lay the foundation of a strong government, for with every cessation from hostilities there would be a corresponding relaxation of government. [sidenote: government forced upon man.] another necessity for government here arises, but which likewise is not the cause of government, for government springs from force and not from utility. these men do not want government, they do not want culture; how then is an arm to be found sufficiently strong to bridle their wild passions? in reason they are children, in passion men; to restrain the strong passions of strong non-reasoning men requires a power; whence is this power to come? it is in the earlier stage of government that despotism assumes its most intense forms. the more passionate, and lawless, and cruel the people, the more completely do they submit to a passionate, lawless, and cruel prince; the more ungovernable their nature, the more slavish are they in their submission to government; the stronger the element to be governed, the stronger must be the government. the primitive man, whoever or whatever that may be, lives in harmony with nature; that is, he lives as other animals live, drawing his supplies immediately from the general storehouse of nature. his food he plucks from a sheltering tree, or draws from a sparkling stream, or captures from a prolific forest. the remnants of his capture, unfit for food, supply his other wants; with the skin he clothes himself, and with the bones makes implements and points his weapons. in this there are no antagonisms, no opposing principles of good and evil; animals are killed not with a view of extermination, but through necessity, as animals kill animals in order to supply actual wants. but no sooner does the leaven of progress begin to work than war is declared between man and nature. to make room for denser populations and increasing comforts, forests must be hewn down, their primeval inhabitants extirpated or domesticated, and the soil laid under more direct contribution. union and coöperation spring up for purposes of protection and aggression, for the accomplishment of purposes beyond the capacity of the individual. gradually manufactures and commerce increase; the products of one body of laborers are exchanged for the products of another, and thus the aggregate comforts produced are doubled to each. absolute power is taken from the hands of the many and placed in the hands of one, who becomes the representative power of all. men are no longer dependent upon the chase for a daily supply of food; even agriculture no longer is a necessity which each must follow for himself, for the intellectual products of one person or people may be exchanged for the agricultural products of another. with these changes of occupation new institutions spring up, new ideas originate, and new habits are formed. human life ceases to be a purely material existence; another element finds exercise, the other part of man is permitted to grow. the energies of society now assume a different shape; hitherto the daily struggle was for daily necessities, now the accumulation of wealth constitutes the chief incentive to labor. wealth becomes a power and absorbs all other powers. the possessor of unlimited wealth commands the products of every other man's labor. but in time, and to a certain extent, a class arises already possessed of wealth sufficient to satisfy even the demands of avarice, and something still better, some greater good is yet sought for. money-getting gives way before intellectual cravings. the self-denials and labor necessary to the acquisition of wealth are abandoned for the enjoyment of wealth already acquired and the acquisition of a yet higher good. sensual pleasure yields in a measure to intellectual pleasure, the acquisition of money to the acquisition of learning. where brute intelligence is the order of the day, man requires no more governing than brutes, but when lands are divided, and the soil cultivated, when wealth begins to accumulate and commerce and industry to flourish, then protection and lawful punishment become necessary. like the wild horse, leave him free, and he will take care of himself; but catch him and curb him, and the wilder and stronger he is the stronger must be the curb until he is subdued and trained, and then he is guided by a light rein. the kind of government makes little difference so that it be strong enough. * * * * * [sidenote: the supernatural in civilization.] granted that it is absolutely essential to the first step toward culture that society should be strongly governed, how is the first government to be accomplished; how is one member of a passionate, unbridled heterogeneous community to obtain dominion absolute over all the others? here comes in another evil to the assistance of the former evils, all for future good,--superstition. never could physical force alone compress and hold the necessary power with which to burst the shell of savagism. the government is but a reflex of the governed. not until one man is physically or intellectually stronger than ten thousand, will an independent people submit to a tyrannical government, or a humane people submit to a cruel government, or a people accustomed to free discussion to an intolerant priesthood. at the outset, if man is to be governed at all, there must be no division of governmental force. the cause for fear arising from both the physical and the supernatural must be united in one individual. in the absence of the moral sentiment the fear of legal and that of spiritual punishments are identical, for the spiritual is feared only as it works temporal or corporal evil. freedom of thought at this stage is incompatible with progress, for thought without experience is dangerous, tending towards anarchy. before men can govern themselves they must be subjected to the sternest discipline of government, and whether this government be just or humane or pleasant is of small consequence so that it be only strong enough. as with polity so with morality and religion; conjointly with despotism there must be an arbitrary central church government, or moral anarchy is the inevitable consequence. at the outset it is not for man to rule but to obey; it is not for savages, who are children in intellect to think and reason, but to believe. and thus we see how wonderfully man is provided with the essentials of growth. this tender germ of progress is preserved in hard shells and prickly coverings, which, when they have served their purpose are thrown aside as not only useless but detrimental to further development. we know not what will come hereafter, but up to the present time a state of bondage appears to be the normal state of humanity; bondage, at first severe and irrational, then ever loosening, and expanding into a broader freedom. as mankind progresses, moral anarchy no more follows freedom of thought than does political anarchy follow freedom of action. in germany, in england, in america, wherever secular power has in any measure cut loose from ecclesiastical power and thrown religion back upon public sentiment for support, a moral as well as an intellectual advance has always followed. what the mild and persuasive teachings and lax discipline of the present epoch would have been to the christians of the fourteenth century, the free and lax government of republican america would have been to republican rome. therefore, let us learn to look charitably upon the institutions of the past, and not forget how much we owe to them; while we rejoice at our release from the cruelty and ignorance of mediæval times, let us not forget the debt which civilization owes to the rigorous teachings of both church and state. [sidenote: morality and creed.] christianity, by its exalted un-utilitarian morality and philanthropy, has greatly aided civilization. indeed so marked has been the effect in europe, so great the contrast between christianity and islamism and the polytheistic creeds in general, that churchmen claim civilization as the offspring of their religion. but religion and morality must not be confounded with civilization. all these and many other activities act and react on each other as proximate principles in the social organism, but they do not, any or all of them, constitute the life of the organism. long before morality is religion, and long after morality religion sends the pious penitent to his knees. religious culture is a great assistant to moral culture as intellectual training promotes the industrial arts, but morality is no more religion than is industry intellect. when christianity, as in the early settlement of mexico and central america, falls into the hands of unprincipled adventurers or blind zealots who stand up in deadly antagonism to liberty, then christianity is a drag upon civilization; and therefore we may conclude that in so far as christianity grafts on its code of pure morality the principle of intellectual freedom, in so far is civilization promoted by christianity, but when christianity engenders persecution, civilization is retarded thereby. then protestantism sets up a claim to the authorship of civilization, points to spain and then to england, compares italy and switzerland, catholic america and puritan america, declares that the intellect can never attain superiority while under the dominion of the church of rome; in other words, that civilization is protestantism. it is true that protestation against irrational dogmas, or any other action that tends toward the emancipation of the intellect, is a great step in advance; but religious belief has nothing whatever to do with intellectual culture. religion from its very nature is beyond the limits of reason; it is emotional rather than intellectual, an instinct and not an acquisition. between reason and religion lies a domain of common ground upon which both may meet and join hands, but beyond the boundaries of which neither may pass. the moment the intellect attempts to penetrate the domain of the supernatural all intellectuality vanishes, and emotion and imagination fill its place. there can be no real conflict between the two, for neither, by any possibility, can pass this neutral ground. before the mind can receive christianity, or mahometanism, or any other creed, it must be ready to accept dogmas in the analysis of which human reason is powerless. among the most brilliant intellects are found protestants, romanists, unitarians, deists, and atheists; judging from the experiences of mankind in ages past, creeds and formulas, orthodoxy and heterodoxy, have no inherent power to advance or retard the intellect. some claim, indeed, that strong doctrinal bias stifles thought, fosters superstition, and fetters the intellect; still religious thought, in some form, is inseparable from the human mind, and it would be very difficult to prove that belief is more debasing than non-belief. * * * * * [sidenote: development of the religious ideal.] religion at first is a gross fetichism, which endows every wonder with a concrete personality. within every appearance is a several personal cause, and to embody this personal cause in some material form is the first effort of the savage mind. hence, images are made in representation of these imaginary supernatural powers. man, of necessity, must clothe these supernatural powers in the elements of some lower form. the imagination cannot grasp an object or an idea beyond the realms of human experience. unheard-of combinations of character may be made, but the constituent parts must, at some time and in some form, have had an existence in order to be conceivable. it is impossible for the human mind to array in forms of thought anything wholly and absolutely new. this state is the farthest remove possible from a recognition of those universal laws of causation toward which every department of knowledge is now so rapidly tending. gods are made in the likeness of man and beast, endowed with earthly passions, and a sensual polytheism, in which blind fate is a prominent element, becomes the religious ideal. religious conceptions are essentially material; all punishments and rewards are such as effect man as a material being; morality, the innate sense of right and wrong, lies stifled, almost dormant. thrown wholly upon himself, without experience to guide him, the savage must, of necessity, invest nature with his own qualities, for his mind can grasp none other. but when experience dispels the nearer illusions, objects more remote are made gods; in the sun and stars he sees his controlling destinies; the number of his gods is lessened until at last all merge into one god, the author of all law, the great and only ruler of the universe. in every mythology we see this impersonation of natural phenomena; frost and fire, earth and air and water, in their displays of mysterious powers, are at once deified and humanized. these embodiments of physical force are then naturally formed into families, and their supposed descendants worshiped as children of the gods. thus, in the childhood of society, when incipient thought takes up its lodgment in old men's brains, shadows of departed heroes mingle with shadows of mysterious nature, and admiration turns to adoration. next arises the desire to propitiate these unseen powers, to accomplish which some means of communication must be opened up between man and his deities. now, as man in his gods reproduces himself, as all his conceptions of supernatural power must, of necessity, be formed on the skeleton of human power, naturally it follows that the strongest and most cunning of the tribe, he upon whom leadership most naturally falls, comes to be regarded as specially favored of the gods. powers supernatural are joined to powers temporal, and embodied in the chieftain of the nation. a grateful posterity reveres and propitiates departed ancestors. the earlier rulers are made gods, and their descendants lesser divinities; the founder of a dynasty, perhaps, the supreme god, his progeny subordinate deities. the priesthood and kingship thus become united; religion and civil government join forces to press mankind together, and the loose sands of the new strata cohere into the firm rock, that shall one day bear alone the wash of time and tide. hence arise divine kingship, and the divine right of kings, and with the desire to win the favor of this divine king, arise the courtesies of society, the first step toward polish of manners. titles of respect and worship are given him, some of which are subsequently applied to the deity, while others drop down into the common-place compliments of every-day life. here then, we have as one of the first essentials of progress the union of church and state, of superstition and despotism, a union still necessarily kept up in some of the more backward civilizations. excessive loyalty and blind faith ever march hand in hand. the very basis of association is credulity, blind loyalty to political powers and blind faith in sacerdotal terrors. in all mythologies at some stage temporal and spiritual government are united, the supernatural power being incarnated in the temporal chief; political despotism and an awful sanguinary religion,--a government and a belief, to disobey which was never so much as thought possible. see how every one of these primary essentials of civilization becomes, as man advances, a drag upon his progress; see how he now struggles to free himself from what, at the outset, he was led by ways he knew not to endure so patiently. government, in early stages always strong and despotic, whether monarchical, oligarchical, or republican, holding mankind under the dominion of caste, placing restrictions upon commerce and manufactures, regulating social customs, food, dress,--how men have fought to break loose these bonds! religion, not that natural cultus instinctive in humanity, the bond of union as well under its most disgusting form of fetichism, as under its latest, loveliest form of christianity; but those forms and dogmas of sect and creed which stifle thought and fetter intellect,--how men have lived lives of sacrifice and self-denial as well as died for the right to free themselves from unwelcome belief! [sidenote: relation of government to civilization.] in primeval ages, government and religion lay lightly on the human race; ethnology, as well as history, discloses the patriarchal as the earliest form of government, and a rude materialism as the earliest religious ideal; these two simple elements, under the form of monsters, became huge abortions, begotten of ignorance, that held the intellect in abject slavery for thousands of years, and from these we, of this generation, more than any other, are granted emancipation. even wealth, kind giver of grateful leisure, in the guise of avarice becomes a hideous thing, which he who would attain the higher intellectual life, must learn to despise. * * * * * government, as we have seen, is not an essential element of collective humanity. civilization must first be awakened, must even have passed the primary stages before government appears. despotism, feudalism, divine kingship, slavery, war, superstition, each marks certain stages of development, and as civilization advances all tend to disappear; and, as in the early history of nations the state antedates the government, so the time may come in the progress of mankind when government will be no longer necessary. government always grows out of necessity; the intensity of government inevitably following necessity. the form of government is a natural selection; its several phases always the survival of the fittest. when the federalist says to the monarchist, or the monarchist to the federalist: my government is better than yours, it is as if the eskimo said to the kaffir: my coat, my house, my food, is better than yours. the government is made for the man, and not the man for the government. government is as the prop for the growing plant; at first the young shoot stands alone, then in its rapid advancement for a time it requires support, after which it is able again to stand alone. what we term the evils of government are rather its necessities, and are, indeed, no evils at all. the heavy bit which controls the mouth of an untamed horse is to that horse an evil, yet to the driver a necessity which may be laid aside as the temper of the animal is subdued. so despotism, feudalism, slavery, are evils to those under their dominion, yet are they as necessary for the prevention of anarchy, for the restraint of unbridled passions, as the powerful bit to the horse, and will as surely be laid aside when no longer required. shallow-minded politicians talk of kingcraft, arbitrary rule, tyrants, the down-trodden masses, the withholding of just rights; as though the government was some independent, adverse element, wholly foreign to the character of the people; as though one man was stronger than ten thousand; as though, if these phases of society were not the fittest, they would be tolerated for a moment. the days of rigorous rule were ever the best days of france and spain, and so it will be until the people become stronger than the strength of rulers. republicanism is as unfit for stupid and unintellectual populations, as despotism would be for the advanced ideas and liberal institutions of anglo-saxon america. the subject of a liberal rule sneeringly crying down to the subject of an absolute rule his form of government, is like the ass crying to the tiger: leave blood and meat; feed on grass and thistles, the only diet fit for civilized beasts! our federal government is the very best for our people, when it is not so it will speedily change; it fits the temper of american intelligence, but before it can be planted in japan or china the traditions and temper of the asiatics must change. we of to-day are undergoing an important epoch in the history of civilization. feudalism, despotism, and fanaticism have had each its day, have each accomplished its necessary purpose, and are fast fading away. ours is the age of democracy, of scientific investigation, and freedom of religious thought; what these may accomplish for the advancing intellect remains to be seen. our ancestors loved to dwell upon the past, now we all look toward the future. [sidenote: latter-day progression.] the sea of ice, over which our forefathers glided so serenely in their trustful reliance, is breaking up. one after another traditions evaporate; in their application to proximate events they fail us, history ceases to repeat itself as in times past. old things are passing away, all things are becoming new; new philosophies, new religions, new sciences; the industrial spirit springs up and overturns time-honored customs; theories of government must be reconstructed. thus, says experience, republicanism, as a form of government, can exist only in small states; but steam and electricity step in and annihilate time and space. the roman republic, from a lack of cohesive energy, from failure of central vital power sufficient to send the blood of the nation from the heart to the extremities, died a natural death. the american republic, covering nearly twice the territory of republican rome in her palmiest days, is endowed with a different species of organism; in its physiological system is found a new series of veins and arteries, the railway, the telegraph, and the daily press,--through which pulsates the life's blood of the nation, millions inhaling and exhaling intelligence as one man. by means of these inventions all the world, once every day, are brought together. by telegraphic wires and railroad iron men are now bound as in times past they were bound by war, despotism, and superstition. the remotest corners of the largest republics of to-day, are brought into closer communication than were the adjoining states of the smallest confederations of antiquity. a united germany, from its past history held to be an impossibility, is, with the present facilities of communication, an accomplished fact. england could as easily have possessed colonies in the moon, as have held her present possessions, three hundred years ago. practically, san francisco is nearer washington than was philadelphia when the foundations of the capitol were laid. what is to prevent republics from growing, so long as intelligence keeps pace with extension? the general of an army may now sit before his maps, and manoeuvre half a score of armies a hundred or a thousand miles apart, know hourly the situation of every division, the success of every battle, order an advance or a retreat, lay plots and make combinations, with more exactness than was once possible in the conduct of an ordinary campaign. * * * * * [sidenote: morals, manners, and fashion.] a few words about morals, manners, and fashion, will further illustrate how man is played upon by his environment, which here takes the shape of habit. in their bearing on civilization, these phenomena all come under the same category; and this, without regard to the rival theories of intuition and utility in morals. experience teaches, blindly at first yet daily with clearer vision, that right conduct is beneficial, and wrong conduct detrimental; that the consequences of sin invariably rest on the evil-doer; that for an unjust act, though the knowledge of it be forever locked in the bosom of the offender, punishment is sure to follow; yet there are those who question the existence of innate moral perceptions, and call it all custom and training. and if we look alone to primitive people for innate ideas of morality and justice i fear we shall meet with disappointment. some we find who value female chastity only before marriage, others only after marriage,--that is, after the woman and her chastity both alike become the tangible property of somebody. some kindly kill their aged parents, others their female infants; the successful apache horse-thief is the darling of his mother, and the hero of the tribe; often these american arabs will remain from home half-starved for weeks, rather than suffer the ignominy of returning empty-handed. good, in the mind of the savage, is when he steals wives; bad, is when his own wives are stolen. where it is that inherent morality in savages first makes its appearance, and in what manner, it is often difficult to say; the most hideous vices are everywhere practiced with unblushing effrontery. take the phenomena of shame. go back to the childhood of our race, or even to our own childhood, and it will be hard to discover any inherent quality which make men ashamed of one thing more than another. nor can the wisest of us give any good and sufficient reason why we should be ashamed of our body any more than of our face. the whole man was fashioned by one creator, and all parts equally are perfect and alike honorable. we cover our person with drapery, and think thereby to hide our faults from ourselves and others, as the ostrich hides its head under a leaf, and fancies its body concealed from the hunter. what is this quality of shame if it be not habit? a female savage will stand unblushingly before you naked, but strip her of her ornaments and she will manifest the same appearance of shame, though not perhaps so great in degree, that a european woman will manifest if stripped of her clothes. it is well known how civilized and semi-civilized nations regard this quality of propriety. custom, conventional usage, dress and behavior, are influences as subtle and as strong as any that govern us, weaving their net-work round man more and more as he throws off allegiance to other powers; and we know but little more of their origin and nature than we do of the origin and nature of time and space, of life and death, of origin and end. every age and every society has its own standard of morality, holds up some certain conduct or quality as a model, saying to all, do this, and receive the much-coveted praise of your fellows. often what one people deem virtue is to another vice; what to one age is religion is to another superstition; but underlying all this are living fires, kindled by omnipotence, and destined to burn throughout all time. in the spartan and roman republics the moral ideal was patriotism; among mediæval churchmen it took the form of asceticism; after the elevation of woman the central idea was female chastity. in this national morality, which is the cohesive force of the body social, we find the fundamental principle of the progressional impulse, and herein is the most hopeful feature of humanity; mankind must progress, and progress in the right direction. there is no help for it until god changes the universal order of things; man must become better in spite of himself; it is the good in us that grows and ultimately prevails. as a race we are yet in our nonage; fearful of the freedom given us by progress we cling tenaciously to our leading-strings; hugging our mother, custom, we refuse to be left alone. liberty and high attainments must be meted out to us as we are able to receive them, for social retchings and vomitings inevitably follow over-feedings. hence it is, that we find ourselves escaped from primeval and mediæval tyrannies only to fall under greater ones; society is none the less inexorable in her despotisms because of the sophistry which gives her victims fancied freedom. for do we not now set up forms and fashions, the works of our own hands, and bow down to them as reverently as ever our heathen ancestors did to their gods of wood and stone? who made us? is not the first question of our catechism, but what will people say? * * * * * [sidenote: origin and significance of dress.] of all tyrannies, the tyranny of fashion is the most implacable; of all slaveries the slavery to fashion is the most abject; of all fears the fear of our fellows is the most overwhelming; of all the influences that surround and govern man the forms and customs which he encounters in society are the most domineering. it is the old story, only another turn of the wheel that grinds and sharpens and polishes humanity,--at the first a benefit, now a drag. forms and fashions are essential; we cannot live without them. if we have worship, government, commerce, or clothes, we must have forms; or if we have them not we still must act and do after some fashion; costume, which is but another word for custom, we must have, but is it necessary to make the form the chief concern of our lives while we pay so little heed to the substance? and may we not hope while rejoicing over our past emancipations, that we shall some day be free from our present despotisms? dress has ever exercised a powerful influence on morals and on progress; but this vesture-phenomenon is a thing but imperfectly understood. clothes serve as a covering to the body of which we are ashamed, and protect it against the weather, and these, we infer, are the reasons of our being clothed. but the fact is, aboriginally, except in extreme cases, dress is not essential to the comfort of man until it becomes a habit, and as for shame, until told of his nakedness, the primitive man has none. the origin of dress lies behind all this; it is found in one of the most deep-rooted elements of our nature, namely, in our love of approbation. before dress is decoration. the successful warrior, proud of his achievement, besmears his face and body with the blood of the slain, and straightway imitators, who also would be thought strong and brave, daub themselves in like manner; and so painting and tattooing become fashionable, and pigments supply the place of blood. the naked, houseless californian would undergo every hardship, travel a hundred miles, and fight a round with every opposing band he met, in order to obtain cinnabar from the new almaden quicksilver mine. so when the hunter kills a wild beast, and with the tail or skin decorates his body as a trophy of his prowess, others follow his example, and soon it is a shame to that savage who has neither paint, nor belt, nor necklace of bears' claws. and so follow head-flattenings, and nose-piercings, and lip-cuttings, and, later, chignons, and breast-paddings, and bustles. some say that jealousy prompted the first benedicks to hide their wives' charms from their rivals, and so originated female dress, which, from its being so common to all aborigines, is usually regarded as the result of innate modesty. but whatever gave us dress, dress has given much to human progress. beneath dress arose modesty and refinement, like the courtesies that chivalry threw over feudalism, covering the coarse brutality of the barons, and paving the way to real politeness. [sidenote: etiquette, morality, laws.] from the artificial grimaces of fashion have sprung many of the natural courtesies of life; though here, too, we are sent back at once to the beginning for the cause. from the ages of superstition and despotism have descended the expressions of every-day politeness. thus we have sir, from _sieur_, _sire_, _seigneur_, signifying ruler, king, lord, and aboriginally father. so madam, _ma dame_, my lady, formerly applied only to women of rank. in place of throwing ourselves upon the ground, as before a god or prince, we only partially prostrate ourselves in bowing, and the hat which we touch to an acquaintance we take off on entering a church in token of our humility. again, the captive in war is made a slave, and as such is required to do obeisance to his master, which forms of servility are copied by the people in addressing their superiors, and finally become the established usage of ordinary intercourse. our daily salutations are but modified acts of worship, and our parting word a benediction; and from blood, tomahawks, and senseless superstitions we turn and find all the world of humanity, with its still strong passions and subtle cravings, held in restraint by a force of which its victims are almost wholly unconscious,--and this force is fashion. in tribunals of justice, in court and camp etiquette, everywhere these relics of barbarism remain with us. even we of this latter-day american republicanism, elevate one of our fellows to the chieftainship of a federation or state, and call him excellency; we set a man upon the bench and _plead_ our cause before him; we send a loafer to a legislature, and straightway call him honorable,--such divinity doth hedge all semblance of power. self-denial and abstinence lie at the bottom of etiquette and good manners. if you would be moral, says kant, you must "act always so that the immediate motive of thy will may become a universal rule for all intelligent beings," and goethe teaches that "there is no outward sign of courtesy that does not rest on a deep, moral foundation." fine manners, though but the shell of the individual, are, to society, the best actions of the best men crystallized into a mode; not only the best thing, but the best way of doing the best thing. good society is, or ought to be, the society of the good; but fashion is more than good society, or good actions; it is more than wealth, or beauty, or genius, and so arbitrary in its sway that, not unfrequently, the form absorbs the substance, and a breach of decorum becomes a deadly sin. thus we see in every phase of development the result of a social evolution; we see men coming and going, receiving their leaven from the society into which by their destiny they are projected, only to fling it back into the general fund interpenetrated with their own quota of force. meanwhile, this aggregation of human experiences, this compounding of age with age, one generation heaping up knowledge upon another; this begetting of knowledge by knowledge, the seed so infinitesimal, the tree now so rapidly sending forth its branches, whither does it tend? running the eye along the line of progress, from the beginning to the end, the measure of our knowledge seems nearly full; resolving the matter, experience assures us that, as compared with those who shall come after us, we are the veriest barbarians. the end is not yet; not until infinity is spanned and eternity brought to an end, will mankind cease to improve. * * * * * out of this conglomeration of interminable relationships concordant and antagonistic laws are ever evolving themselves. like all other progressional phenomena, they wait not upon man; they are self-creative, and force themselves upon the mind age after age, slowly but surely, as the intellect is able to receive them; laws without law, laws unto themselves, gradually appearing as from behind the mists of eternity. at first, man and his universe appear to be regulated by arbitrary volitions, by a multitude of individual minds; each governs absolutely his own actions; every phenomenon of nature is but the expression of some single will. as these phenomena, one after another, become stripped of their mystery, there stands revealed not a god, but a law; seasons come and go, and never fail; sunshine follows rain, not because a pacified deity smiles, but because the rain-clouds have fallen and the sun cannot help shining. proximate events first are thus made godless, then the whole host of deities is driven farther and farther back. finally the actions of man himself are found to be subject to laws. left to his own will, he wills to do like things under like conditions. as to the nature of these laws, the subtle workings of which we see manifest in every phase of society, i cannot even so much as speak. an infinite ocean of phenomena awaits the inquirer; an ocean bottomless, over whose surface spreads an eternity of progress, and beneath whose glittering waves the keenest intellect can scarcely hope to penetrate far. the universe of man and matter must be anatomized; the functions of innumerable and complex organs studied; the exercise and influence of every part on every other part ascertained, and events apparently the most capricious traced to natural causes; then, when we know all, when we know as god knoweth, shall we understand what it is, this soul of progress. chapter ii. general view of the civilized nations. the american civilization of the sixteenth century--its disappearance--the past, a new element--dividing line between savage and civilized tribes--bounds of american civilization--physical features of the country--maya and nahua branches of aboriginal culture--the nahua civilization--the aztecs its representatives--limits of the aztec empire--ancient history of anÁhuac in outline--the toltec era--the chichimec era--the aztec era--extent of the aztec language--civilized peoples outside of anÁhuac--central american nations--the maya culture--the primitive maya empire--nahua influence in the south--yucatan and the mayas--the nations of chiapas--the quichÉ empire in guatemala--the nahuas in nicaragua and salvador--etymology of names. in the preceding volume i have had occasion several times to remark that, in the delineation of the wild tribes of the pacific states, no attempt is made to follow them in their rapid decline, no attempt to penetrate their past or prophesy a possible future, no profitless lingering over those misfortunes that wrought among them such swift destruction. to us the savage nations of america have neither past nor future; only a brief present, from which indeed we may judge somewhat of their past; for the rest, foreign avarice and interference, european piety and greed, saltpetre, steel, small-pox, and syphilis, tell a speedy tale. swifter still must be the hand that sketches the incipient civilization of the mexican and central american table-lands. for although here we have more past, there is still less present, and scarcely any future. those nations raised the highest by their wealth and culture, were the first to fall before the invader, their superior attainments offering a more shining mark to a rapacious foe; and falling, they were the soonest lost,--absorbed by the conquering race, or disappearing in the surrounding darkness. although the savage nations were rapidly annihilated, traces of savagism lingered, and yet linger; but the higher american culture, a plant of more delicate growth and more sensitive nature, withered at the first rude touch of foreign interference. instead of being left to its own intuitive unfoldings, or instead of being fostered by the new-comers, who might have elevated by interfusion both their own culture and that of the conquered race, the spirit of progress was effectually stifled on both sides by fanatical attempts to substitute by force foreign creeds and polities for those of indigenous origin and growth. and now behold them both, the descendants of conquerors and of conquered, the one scarcely less denaturalized than the other, the curse inflicted by the invaders on a flourishing empire returning and resting with crushing weight on their own head. scarce four centuries ago the empire of charles the fifth, and the empire of montezuma the second, were brought by the force of progress most suddenly and unexpectedly face to face; the one then the grandest and strongest of the old world as was the other of the new. since which time the fierce fanaticism that overwhelmed the new world empire, has pressed like an incubus upon the dominant race, and held it fast while all the world around were making the most rapid strides forward. [sidenote: the past, a new element.] no indigenous civilization exists in america to-day, yet the effects of a former culture are not altogether absent. the descendant of the aztec, maya, and quiché, is still of superior mind and haughtier spirit than his roving brother who boasts of none but a savage ancestry. still, so complete has been the substitution of foreign civil and ecclesiastical polities, and so far-reaching their influence on native character and conduct; so intimate the association for three and more centuries with the spanish element; so closely guarded from foreign gaze has been every manifestation of the few surviving sparks of aboriginal modes of thought, that a study of the native condition in modern times yields, by itself, few satisfactory results. this study, however, as part of an investigation of their original or normal condition, should by no means be neglected, since it may furnish illustrative material of no little value. back of all this lies another element which lends to our subject yet grander proportions. scattered over the southern plateaux are heaps of architectural remains and monumental piles. furthermore, native traditions, both orally transmitted and hieroglyphically recorded by means of legible picture-writings, afford us a tolerably clear view of the civilized nations during a period of several centuries preceding the spanish conquest, together with passing glances, through momentary clearings in the mythologic clouds, at historical epochs much more remote. here we have as aids to this analysis,--aids almost wholly wanting among the so-called savage tribes, antiquities, tradition, history, carrying the student far back into the mysterious new world past; and hence it is that from its simultaneous revelation and eclipse, american civilization would otherwise offer a more limited field for investigation than american savagism, yet by the introduction of this new element the field is widely extended. nor have we even yet reached the limits of our resources for the investigation of this new world civilization. in these relics of architecture and literature, of mythology and tradition, there are clear indications of an older and higher type of culture than that brought immediately to the knowledge of the invaders; of a type that had temporarily deteriorated, perhaps through the influence of long-continued and bloody conflicts, civil and foreign, by which the more warlike rather than the more highly cultured nations had been brought into prominence and power. but this anterior and superior civilization, resting largely as it does on vague tradition, and preserved to our knowledge in general allusions rather than in detail, may, like the native condition since the conquest, be utilized to the best advantage here as illustrative of the later and better-known, if somewhat inferior civilization of the sixteenth century, described by the conqueror, the missionary, and the spanish historian. antique remains of native skill, which have been preserved for our examination, may also be largely used in illustration of more modern art, whose products have disappeared. these relics of the past are also of the highest value as confirming the truth of the reports made by spanish writers, very many, or perhaps most, of whose statements respecting the wonderful phenomena of the new world, without this incontrovertible material proof, would find few believers among the sceptical students of the present day. these remains of antiquity, however, being fully described in another volume of this work, may be referred to in very general terms for present purposes. [sidenote: origin of american civilization.] of civilization in general, the nature of its phenomena, the causes and processes by which it is evolved from savagism, i have spoken sufficiently in the foregoing chapter. as for the many theories respecting the american civilization in particular, its origin and growth, it is not my purpose to discuss them in this volume. no theory on these questions could be of any practical value in the elucidation of the subject, save one that should stand out among the rest so preëminently well-founded as to be generally accepted among scientific men, and no one of all the multitude proposed has acquired any such preëminence. a complete résumé of all the theories on the subject, with the foundations which support them, is given elsewhere in connection with the ancient traditionary history of the aboriginal nations. it is well, however, to remark that our lack of definite knowledge about the origin of this civilization is not practically so important as might appear at first thought. true, we know not for certain whether it is indigenous or exotic; and if the former, whether to ascribe its cradle to the north or south, to one locality or many; or if the latter, whether contact with the old world was effected at one or many points, on one occasion or at divers epochs, through the agency of migrating peoples or by the advent of individual civilizers and teachers. yet the tendency of modern research is to prove the great antiquity of the american civilization as well as of the american people; and if either was drawn from a foreign source, it was at a time probably so remote as to antedate any old-world culture now existing, and to prevent any light being thrown on the offspring by a study of the parent stock; while if indigenous, little hope is afforded of following rationally their development through the political convulsions of the distant past down to even a traditionally historic epoch. i may then dispense with theories of origin and details of past history as confusing rather than aiding my present purpose, and as being fully treated elsewhere in this work. neither am i required in this treatment of the civilized races to make an accurate division between them and their more savage neighbors, to determine the exact standard by which savagism and civilization are to be measured, or to vindicate the use of the word civilized as applied to the american nations in preference to that of semi-civilized, preferred by many writers. we have seen that civilization is at best only a comparative term, applied to some of the ever-shifting phases of human progress. in many of the wild tribes already described some of its characteristics have been observed, and the opposite elements of savagism will not be wanting among what i proceed to describe as the civilized nations. there is not a savage people between anáhuac and nicaragua that has not been influenced in its institutions by intercourse, warlike, social, or commercial, with neighbors of higher culture, and has not exerted in its turn a reflex influence on the latter. the difficulty of drawing division-lines between nations thus mutually acting on each other is further increased in america by the fact that two or three nations constitute the central figure of nearly all that has been observed or written by the few that came in actual contact with the natives. this volume will, therefore, deal rather with the native civilization than with the nations that possessed it. while, however, details on all the points mentioned, outside of actual institutions found existing in the sixteenth century, would tend to confusion rather than to clearness, besides leading in many cases to endless repetition, yet a general view of the whole subject, of the number, extent, location, and mutual relations of the nations occupying the central portions of the continent at its discovery, as well as of their relations to those of the more immediate past, appears necessary to an intelligent perusal of the following pages. in this general view i shall avoid all discussion of disputed questions, reserving arguments and details for future volumes on antiquities and aboriginal history. * * * * * [sidenote: home of the american culture.] that portion of what we call the pacific states which was the home of american civilization within historic or traditionally historic times, extends along the continent from north-west to south-east, between latitudes ° and °. on the atlantic side the territory stretches from tamaulipas to honduras, on the pacific from colima to nicaragua. not that these are definitely drawn boundaries, but outside of these limits, disregarding the new mexican pueblo culture, this civilization had left little for europeans to observe, while within them lived few tribes uninfluenced or unimproved by contact with it. no portion of the globe, perhaps, embraces within equal latitudinal limits so great a variety of climate, soil, and vegetation; a variety whose important bearing on the native development can be understood in some degree, and which would doubtless account satisfactorily for most of the complications of progressional phenomena observed within the territory, were the connection between environment and progress fully within the grasp of our knowledge. all the gradations from a torrid to a temperate clime are here found in a region that lies wholly within the northern tropic, altitudinal variations taking the place of and producing all the effects elsewhere attributable to latitude alone. these variations result from the topography of the country as determined by the conformation given to the continent by the central cordillera. the sierra madre enters this territory from the north in two principal ranges, one stretching along the coast of the pacific, while the other and more lofty range trends nearer the atlantic, the two again uniting before reaching the isthmus of tehuantepec. this eastern branch between ° ´ and ° ´ opens out into a table-land of some seventy-five by two hundred miles area, with an altitude of from six to eight thousand feet above the sea level. this broad plateau or series of plateaux is known as the tierra fria, while the lower valleys, with a band of the surrounding slopes, at an elevation of from three to five thousand feet, including large portions of the western lands of michoacan, guerrero, and oajaca, between the two mountain branches, constitute the tierra templada. from the surface of the upper table-land rise sierras and isolated peaks of volcanic origin, the highest in north america, their summits covered with eternal snow, which shelter, temper, and protect the fertile plateaux lying at their base. centrally located on this table-land, surrounded by a wall of lofty volcanic cliffs and peaks, is the most famous of all the valley plateaux, something more than one hundred and sixty miles in circuit, the valley of mexico, anáhuac, that is to say, 'country by the waters,' taking its name from the lakes that formerly occupied one tenth of its area. anáhuac, with an elevation of , feet, may be taken as representative of the tierra fria. it has a mean temperature of °, a climate much like that of southern europe, although dryer, and to which the term 'cold' can only be comparatively applied. the soil is fertile and productive, though now generally presenting a bare and parched surface, by reason of the excessive evaporation on lofty plains exposed to the full force of a tropical sun, its natural forest-covering having been removed since the spanish conquest, chiefly, it is believed, through artificial agencies. oak and pine are prominent features of the native forest-growth, while wheat, barley, and all the european cereals and fruits flourish side by side with plantations of the indigenous maize, maguey, and cactus. from may to october of each year, corresponding nearly with the hot season of the coast, rains or showers are frequent, but rarely occur during the remaining months. trees retain their foliage for ten months in the year, and indeed their fading is scarcely noticeable. southward of °, as the continent narrows, this eastern table-land contracts into a mountain range proper, presenting a succession of smaller terraces, valleys, and sierras, in place of the broader plateaux of the region about anáhuac. trending south-eastward toward the pacific, and uniting with the western sierra madre, the chain crosses the isthmus of tehuantepec at a diminished altitude, only to rise again and expand laterally into the lofty guatemalan ranges which stretch still south-eastward to lake nicaragua, where for the second time a break occurs in the continental cordillera at the southern limit of the territory now under consideration. from this central cordillera lateral subordinate branches jut out at right angles north and south toward either ocean. as we go southward the vegetation becomes more dense, and the temperature higher at equal altitudes, but the same gradations of 'fria' and 'templada' are continued, blending into each other at a height of , to , feet. the characteristics of the cordillera south of the mexican table-land are lofty volcanic peaks whose lower bases are clothed with dense forests, fertile plateaux bounded by precipitous cliffs, vertical fissures or ravines of immense depth torn in the solid rock by volcanic action, and mountain torrents flowing in deep beds of porphyry and forming picturesque lakes in the lower valleys. indeed, in guatemala, where more than twenty volcanoes are in active operation, all these characteristic features appear to unite in their highest degree of perfection. one of the lateral ranges extends north-eastward from the continental chain, forming with a comparatively slight elevation the back-bone of the peninsula of yucatan. [sidenote: the tierra caliente.] at the bases of the central continental heights, on the shores of either ocean, is the tierra caliente, a name applied to all the coast region with an elevation of less than , feet, and also by the inhabitants to many interior valleys of high temperature. so abruptly do the mountains rise on the pacific side that the western torrid band does not perhaps exceed twenty miles in average width for its whole length, and has exerted comparatively little influence on the history and development of the native races. but on the atlantic or gulf coast is a broad tract of level plain and marsh, and farther inland a more gradual ascent to the interior heights. this region presents all the features of an extreme tropical climate and vegetation. in the latitude of vera cruz barren and sandy tracts are seen; elsewhere the tierra caliente is covered with the densest tropical growth of trees, shrubs, vines, and flowers, forming in their natural state an almost impenetrable thicket. cocoa, cotton, cacao, sugar-cane, indigo, vanilla, bananas, and the various palms are prominent among the flora; while the fauna include birds in infinite variety of brilliant plumage, with myriads of tormenting and deadly insects and reptiles. the atmosphere is deadly to all but natives. the moist soil, enriched by the decay of vegetable substances, breathes pestilence and malaria from every pore, except during the winter months of incessant winds, which blow from october to march. southern vera cruz and tabasco, the tierra caliente par excellence, exhibit the most luxuriant display of nature's prodigality. of alluvial and comparatively recent formation this region is traversed by the goazacoalco, alvarado, usumacinta, and other noble rivers, which rise in the mountains of guatemala, chiapas, and tehuantepec. river-banks are crowded with magnificent forest-trees, and the broad savanas farther back marked off into natural plantations of the valuable dye-woods which abound there, by a network of branch streams and canals, which serve both for irrigation and as a medium of transport for the native products that play no unimportant rôle in the world's commerce. each year inundations are expected between june and october, and these transform the whole system of lagoons into a broad lake. farther up the course of the rivers on the foothills of the cordillera, are extensive forests of cedar, mahogany, zapote, brazil, and other precious woods, together with a variety of medicinal plants and aromatic resins. the whole of yucatan may, by reason of its temperature and elevation above the sea, be included in the tierra caliente, but its climate is one of the most healthful in all tropical america. the whole north and west of the peninsula are of fossil shell formation, showing that at no very distant date this region was covered by the waters of the sea. there are no rivers that do not dry up in winter, but by a wonderful system of small ponds and natural wells the country is supplied with water, the soil being moreover always moist, and supporting a rich and vigorous vegetation. * * * * * [sidenote: the nahua and maya elements.] notwithstanding evident marks of similarity in nearly all the manifestations of the progressional spirit in aboriginal america, in art, thought, and religion, there is much reason for and convenience in referring all the native civilization to two branches, the maya and the nahua, the former the more ancient, the latter the more recent and wide-spread. it is important, however, to understand the nature and extent of this division, and just how far it may be considered real and how far ideal. of all the languages spoken among these nations, the two named are the most wide-spread, and are likewise entirely distinct. in their traditional history, their material relics, and, above all, in their methods of recording events by hieroglyphics, as well as in their several lesser characteristics, these two stocks show so many and so clear points of difference standing prominently out from their many resemblances, as to indicate either a separate culture from the beginning, or what is more probable and for us practically the same thing, a progress in different paths for a long time prior to the coming of the europeans. very many of the nations not clearly affiliated with either branch show evident traces of both cultures, and may be reasonably supposed to have developed their condition from contact and intermixture of the parent stocks with each other, and with the neighboring savage tribes. it is only, however, in a very general sense that this classification can be accepted, and then only for practical convenience in elucidating the subject; since there are several nations that must be ranked among our civilized peoples, which, particularly in the matter of language, show no maya nor nahua affinities. nor is too much importance to be attached to the names maya and nahua by which i designate these parallel civilizations. the former is adopted for the reason that the maya people and tongue are commonly regarded as among the most ancient in all the central american region, a region where formerly flourished the civilization that left such wonderful remains at palenque, uxmal, and copan; the latter as being an older designation than either aztec or toltec, both of which stocks the race nahua includes. the civilization of what is now the mexican republic, north of tehuantepec, belonged to the nahua branch, both at the time of the conquest and throughout the historic period preceding. very few traces of the maya element occur north of chiapas, and these are chiefly linguistic, appearing in two or three nations dwelling along the shores of the mexican gulf. in published works upon the subject the aztecs are the representatives of the nahua element; indeed, what is known of the aztecs has furnished material for nine tenths of all that has been written on the american civilized nations in general. the truth of the matter is that the aztecs were only the most powerful of a league or confederation of three nations, which in the sixteenth century, from their capitals in the valley, ruled central mexico. this confederation, moreover, was of comparatively recent date. these three nations were the acolhuas, the aztecs, and the tepanecs, and their respective capitals, tezcuco, mexico, and tlacopan (tacuba) were located near each other on the lake borders, where, except mexico, they still are found in a sad state of dilapidation. within the valley, in general terms, the eastern section belonged to tezcuco, the southern and western to mexico, and a limited territory in the north-west to tlacopan. at the time when the confederation was formed, which was about one hundred years before the advent of the spaniards, tezcuco was the most advanced and powerful of the allies, maintaining her precedence nearly to the end of the fifteenth century. tlacopan was far inferior to the other two. her possessions were small, and according to the terms of the compact, which seem always to have been strictly observed, she received but one fifth of the spoils obtained by successful war. while keeping within the boundaries of their respective provinces, so far as the valley of mexico was concerned, these three chief powers united their forces to extend their conquests beyond the limits of the valley in every direction. thus under the leadership of a line of warlike kings mexico extended her domain to the shores of either ocean, and rendered the tribes therein tributary to her. during this period of foreign conquest, the aztec kings, more energetic, ambitious, warlike, and unscrupulous than their allies, acquired a decided preponderance in the confederate councils and possessions; so that, originally but a small tribe, one of the many which had settled in the valley of anáhuac, by its valor and success in war, by the comparatively broad extent of its domain, by the magnificence of its capital, the only aboriginal town in america rebuilt by the conquerors in anything like its pristine splendor, and especially by being the people that came directly into contact with the invaders in the desperate struggles of the conquest, the aztecs became to europeans, and to the whole modern world, the representatives of the american civilized peoples. hence, in the observations of those who were personally acquainted with these people, little or no distinction is made between the many different nations of central mexico, all being described as aztecs. indeed, many of the lesser nations favored this error, being proud to claim identity with the brave and powerful people to whose valor they had been forced to succumb. while this state of things doubtless creates some confusion by failing to show clearly the slight tribal differences that existed, yet the difficulty is not a serious one, from the fact that very many of these nations were unquestionably of the same blood as the aztecs, and that all drew what civilization they possessed from the same nahua source. i may therefore continue to speak of the aztecs in their representative character, including directly in this term all the nations permanently subjected to the three ruling powers in anáhuac, due care being taken to point out such differences as may have been noticed and recorded. [sidenote: the aztecs the nahua representatives.] to fix the limits of the aztec empire with any approximation to accuracy is exceedingly difficult, both by reason of conflicting statements, and because the boundaries were constantly changing as new tribes were brought under aztec rule, or by successful revolt threw off the mexican yoke. clavigero, followed by prescott, gives to the empire the territory from ° to ° on the atlantic, and ° to ° on the pacific, exclusive, according to the latter author, of the possessions of tezcuco and tlacopan. but this extent of territory, estimated at nearly twice that of the state of california, gives an exaggerated idea of anáhuac, even when that term is applied to the conquered territory of the whole confederacy. the limits mentioned are in reality the extreme points reached by the allied armies in their successful wars, or rather, raids, during the most palmy days of aztec rule. within these bounds were several nations that were never conquered, even temporarily, by the arms of anáhuac, as for example the tlascaltecs, the tarascos, and the chiapanecs. many nations, indeed most of those whose home was far from the central capitals, were simply forced on different occasions by the presence of a conquering army to pay tribute and allegiance to the aztec kings, an allegiance which they were not slow to throw off as soon as the invaders had withdrawn. such were the nations of northern guatemala and soconusco, whose conquest was in reality but a successful raid for plunder and captives; such the nations of tehuantepec, such the miztecs and zapotecs of oajaca, the latter having completely regained their independence and driven the aztecs from their soil before the coming of the spaniards. other nations were conquered only in the years immediately preceding the spanish conquest; instance the matlaltzincas just west of anáhuac, and the huastecs and totonacs of vera cruz. by their successful raids among these latter peoples, the aztecs only sealed their own doom, making inveterate foes of the coast nations, whose services would have been most efficacious in resisting the fatal progress of the castilian arms. but other tribes less warlike and powerful, or nearer the strongholds of their conquerors, were, by means of frequent military expeditions made to check outbreaking rebellion, kept nominally subject to the aztecs during fifty years, more or less, preceding the coming of the spaniards, paying their annual tribute with some regularity. outside the rocky barriers of their valley, the mexicans maintained their supremacy only by constant war; and even within the valley their sway was far from undisputed, since several tribes, notably the chalcas on the southern lake, broke out in open rebellion whenever the imperial armies were elsewhere occupied. [sidenote: extent of the aztec empire.] the aztec empire proper, not restricting it to its original seat in the valley of mexico, nor including within its limits all the nations which were by the fortunes of war forced at one time or another to pay tribute, may then be said to have extended from the valley of mexico and its immediate environs, over the territories comprised in the present states of mexico (with its modern subdivisions of hidalgo and morelos), puebla, southern vera cruz, and guerrero. of all the nations that occupied this territory, most of them, as i have said, were of one blood and language with their masters, and all, by their character and institutions, possessed in greater or less degree the nahua culture. of many of the multitudinous nations occupying the vast territory surrounding the valley of mexico, nothing is known beyond their names and their likeness, near or remote, to the aztecs. for a statement of their names and localities in detail, the reader is referred to the tribal boundaries following the chapter on the central mexicans in the first volume of this work. let it be understood, therefore, that the description of aztec institutions contained in this volume applies to all the nations of the empire as bounded above, except where special limitation is indicated; besides which it has a general application to a much wider region, in fact to the whole country north of the isthmus of tehuantepec. [sidenote: the nahuas in anÁhuac.] in this connection, and before attempting a description of the mexican nations beyond the limits of the empire, nations more or less independent of aztec sway, a glance at ancient mexican history seems necessary, as well to throw light on the mutual relations of the peoples of anáhuac, as to partially explain the broad extent of the nahua civilization and of the aztec idiom. the old-time story, how the toltecs in the sixth century appeared on the mexican table-land, how they were driven out and scattered in the eleventh century, how after a brief interval the chichimecs followed their footsteps, and how these last were succeeded by the aztecs who were found in possession,--the last two, and probably the first, migrating in immense hordes from the far north-west,--all this is sufficiently familiar to readers of mexican history, and is furthermore fully set forth in the fifth volume of this work. it is probable, however, that this account, accurate to a certain degree, has been by many writers too literally construed; since the once popular theory of wholesale national migrations of american peoples within historic times, and particularly of such migrations from the north-west, may now be regarded as practically unfounded. the sixth century is the most remote period to which we are carried in the annals of anáhuac by traditions sufficiently definite to be considered in any proper sense as historic records. at this period we find the nahua civilization and institutions established on the table-land, occupied then as at every subsequent time by many tribes more or less distinct from each other. and there this culture remained without intermixture of essentially foreign elements down to the sixteenth century; there the successive phases of its development appeared, and there the progressional spirit continued to ferment for a period of ten centuries, which fermentation constitutes the ancient mexican history. during the course of these ten centuries we may follow now definitely now vaguely the social, religious, and political convulsions through which these aboriginals were doomed to pass. from small beginnings we see mighty political powers evolved, and these overturned and thrown into obscurity by other and rival unfoldings. religious sects in like manner we see succeed each other, coloring their progress with frequent persecutions and reformations, not unworthy of old-world mediæval fanaticism, as partisans of rival deities shape the popular superstition in conformity with their creeds. wars, long and bloody, are waged for plunder, for territory, and for souls; now, to quell the insurrection of a tributary prince, now to repel the invasion of outer barbarian hordes. leaders, political and religious, rising to power with their nation, faction, city, or sect, are driven at their fall into exile, and thereby forced to seek their fortunes and introduce their culture among distant tribes. outside bands, more or less barbarous, but brave and powerful, come to settle in anáhuac, and to receive, voluntarily or involuntarily, the benefits of its arts and science. i have no disposition unduly to magnify the new world civilization, nor to under-rate old world culture, but during these ten centuries of almost universal mediæval gloom, the difference between the two civilizations was less than most people imagine. on both sides of the dark sea humanity lay floundering in besotted ignorance; the respective qualities of that ignorance it is hardly profitable to analyze. the history of all these complicated changes, so far as it may be traced, separates naturally into three chronologic periods, corresponding with what are known as the toltec, the chichimec, and the aztec empires. prior to the sixth century doubtless there were other periods of nahua greatness, for there is little evidence to indicate that this was the first appearance in mexico of this progressive people, but previous developments can not be definitely followed, although affording occasional glimpses which furnish interesting matter for antiquarian speculation. at the opening then, of the historic times, we find the toltecs in possession of anáhuac and the surrounding country. though the civilization was old, the name was new, derived probably, although not so regarded by all, from tollan, a capital city of the empire, but afterward becoming synonymous with all that is excellent in art and high culture. tradition imputes to the toltecs a higher civilization than that found among the aztecs, who had degenerated with the growth of the warlike spirit, and especially by the introduction of more cruel and sanguinary religious rites. but this superiority, in some respects not improbable, rests on no very strong evidence, since this people left no relics of that artistic skill which gave them so great traditional fame; there is, however, much reason to ascribe the construction of the pyramids at teotihuacan and cholula to the toltec or a still earlier period. among the civilized peoples of the sixteenth century, however, and among their descendants down to the present day, nearly every ancient relic of architecture or sculpture is accredited to the toltecs, from whom all claim descent. in fact the term toltec became synonymous in later times with all that was wonderful or mysterious in the past; and so confusing has been the effect of this universal reference of all traditional events to a toltec source, that, while we can not doubt the actual existence of this great empire, the details of its history, into which the supernatural so largely enters, must be regarded as to a great extent mythical. [sidenote: the toltec empire.] there are no data for fixing accurately the bounds of the toltec domain, particularly in the south. there is very little, however, to indicate that it was more extensive in this direction than that of the aztecs in later times, although it seems to have extended somewhat farther northward. on the west there is some evidence that it included the territory of michoacan, never subdued by the aztecs; and it probably stretched eastward to the atlantic, including the totonac territory of vera cruz. of the tribes or nations that made up the empire none can be positively identified by name with any of the later peoples found in anáhuac, though there can be little doubt that several of the latter were descended directly from the toltecs and contemporary tribes; and indeed it is believed with much reason that the semi-barbarous otomís of anáhuac, and several nations beyond the limits of the valley, may date their tribal history back to a period even preceding the toltec era. during the most flourishing period of its traditional five centuries of duration, the toltec empire was ruled by a confederacy similar in some respects to the alliance of later date between mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan. the capitals were culhuacan, otompan, and tollan, the two former corresponding somewhat in territory with mexico and tezcuco, while the latter was just beyond the limits of the valley toward the north-west. each of these capital cities became in turn the leading power in the confederacy. tollan reached the highest eminence in culture, splendor, and fame, and culhuacan was the only one of the three to survive by name the bloody convulsions by which the empire was at last overthrown, and retain anything of her former greatness. long-continued civil wars, arising chiefly from dissensions between rival religious factions, resulting naturally in pestilence and famine, which in the aboriginal annals are attributed to the direct interposition of irate deities, gradually undermine the imperial thrones. cities and nations previously held in subjection or overshadowed by the splendor and power of tollan, take advantage of her civil troubles to enlarge their respective domains and to establish independent powers. distant tribes, more or less barbarous, but strong and warlike, come and establish themselves in desirable localities within the limits of an empire whose rulers are now powerless to repel invasion. so the kings of tollan, culhuacan, and otompan lose, year by year, their prestige, and finally, in the middle of the eleventh century, are completely overthrown, leaving the mexican table-land to be ruled by new combinations of rising powers. thus ends the toltec period of ancient anáhuac history. the popular account pictures the whole toltec population, or such part of it as had been spared by war, pestilence, and famine, as migrating en masse southward, and leaving anáhuac desolate and unpeopled for nearly a half century, to be settled anew by tribes that crowded in from the north-west when they learned that this fair land had been so strangely abandoned. this account, like all other national migration-narratives pertaining to the americans, has little foundation in fact or in probability. the royal families and religious leaders of the toltecs were doubtless driven into perpetual exile, and were accompanied by such of the nobility as preferred, rather than content themselves with subordinate positions at home, to try their fortunes in new lands, some of which were perhaps included in the southern parts of the empire concerning which so little is known. that there was any essential or immediate change in the population of the table-land beyond the irruption of a few tribes, is highly improbable. the exiled princes and priests, as i have said, went southward, where doubtless they played an important part in the subsequent history of the maya-quiché nations of central america, a history less fully recorded than that of anáhuac. that these exiles were the founders of the central american civilization, a popular belief supported by many writers, i cannot but regard as another phase of that tendency above-mentioned to attribute all that is undefined and ill-understood to the great and wonderful toltecs; nor do i believe that the evidence warrants such an hypothesis. if the pioneer civilizers of the south, the builders of palenque, copan, and other cities of the more ancient type, were imbued with or influenced by the nahua culture, as is not improbable, it certainly was not that culture as carried southward in the eleventh century, but a development or phase of it long preceding that which took the name of toltec on the mexican plateaux. with the destruction of the empire the term toltec, as applied to an existing people, disappeared. this disappearance of the name while the institutions of the nation continued to flourish, may indicate that the designation of the people--or possibly of the ruling family--of tollan, was not applied contemporaneously to the whole empire, and that in the traditions and records of later times, it has incidentally acquired a fictitious importance. of the toltec cities, culhuacan, on the lake border, recovered under the new political combinations something of her old prominence; the name culhuas applied to its people appears much more ancient than that of toltecs, and indeed the mexican civilization as a whole might perhaps as appropriately be termed culhua as nahua. [sidenote: the chichimec empire.] the new era succeeding the toltec rule is that of the chichimec empire, which endured with some variations down to the coming of cortés. the ordinary version of the early annals has it, that the chichimecs, a wild tribe living far in the north-west, learning that the fertile regions of central mexico had been abandoned by the toltecs, came down in immense hordes to occupy the land. numerous other tribes came after them at short intervals, were kindly received and granted lands for settlement, and the more powerful of the new comers, in confederation with the original chichimec settlers, developed into the so-called empire. now, although this occupation of the central table-lands by successive migrations of foreign tribes cannot be accepted by the sober historian, and although we must conclude that very many of the so-called new comers were tribes that had occupied the country during the toltec period,--their names now coming into notice with their increasing importance and power,--yet it is probable that some new tribes, sufficiently powerful to exercise a great if not a controlling influence in building up the new empire, did at this time enter anáhuac from the immediately bordering regions, and play a prominent part, in conjunction with the rising nations within the valley, in the overthrow of the kings of tollan. these in-coming nations, by alliance with the original inhabitants, infused fresh life and vigor into the worn-out monarchies, furnishing the strength by which new powers were built up on the ruins of the old, and receiving on the other hand the advantages of the more perfect nahua culture. if one, and the most powerful, of these new nations was, as the annals state, called the chichimec, nothing whatever is known of its race or language. the chichimecs, their identity, their idiom, and their institutions, if any such there were, their name even, as a national appellation, were merged into those of the nahua nations that accompanied or followed them, and were there lost. the ease and rapidity with which this tribal fusion of tongue and culture is represented to have been accomplished would indicate at least that the chichimecs, if a separate tribe, were of the same race and language as the toltecs; but however this may be, it must be conceded that, while they can not have been the wild cave-dwelling barbarians painted by some of the historians, they did not introduce into anáhuac any new element of civilization. [sidenote: no such nation as the chichimec.] the name chichimec at the time of the spanish conquest, and subsequently, was used with two significations, first, as applied to the line of kings that reigned at tezcuco, and second, to all the wild hunting tribes, particularly in the broad and little-known regions of the north. traditionally or historically the name has been applied to nearly every people mentioned in the ancient history of america. this has caused the greatest confusion among writers on the subject, a confusion which i believe can only be cleared up by the supposition that the name chichimec, like that of toltec, never was applied as a tribal or national designation proper to any people, while such people were living. it seems probable that among the nahua peoples that occupied the country from the sixth to the eleventh centuries, a few of the leading powers appropriated to themselves the title toltecs, which had been at first employed by the inhabitants of tollan, whose artistic excellence soon rendered it a designation of honor. to the other nahua peoples, by whom these leading powers were surrounded, whose institutions were identical but whose polish and elegance of manner were deemed by these self-constituted autocrats somewhat inferior, the term chichimecs, barbarians, etymologically 'dogs,' was applied. after the convulsions that overthrew tollan and reversed the condition of the nahua nations, the 'dogs' in their turn assumed an air of superiority and retained their designation chichimecs as a title of honor and nobility. the names of the tribes represented as entering anáhuac after the chichimecs, but respecting the order of whose coming there is little agreement among authors, are the following: matlaltzincas, tepanecs, acolhuas, teo-chichimecs (tlascaltecs), malinalcas, cholultecs, xochimilcas, chalcas, huexotzincas, cuitlahuacs, cuicatecs, mizquicas, tlahuicas, cohuixcas, and aztecs. some of these, as i have said, may have entered the valley from the immediate north. which these were i shall not attempt to decide, but they were nearly all of the same race and language, all lived under nahua institutions, and their descendants were found living on and about the aztec plateau in the sixteenth century, speaking, with one or two exceptions, the aztec tongue. in the new era of prosperity that now dawned on anáhuac, culhuacan, where some remnants even of the toltec nobility remained, under chichimec auspices regained to a great extent its old position as a centre of culture and power. among the new nations whose name now first appears in history, the acolhuas and tepanecs soon rose to political prominence in the valley. the acolhuas were the chichimecs par excellence, or, as tradition has it, the chichimec nation was absorbed by them, giving up its name, language, and institutions. the capitals which ruled the destinies of anáhuac down to the fifteenth century, besides culhuacan, were tenayocan, xaltocan, coatlychan, tezcuco, and azcapuzalco. these capitals being governed for the most part by branches of the same royal chichimec family, the era was one of civil intrigue for the balance of power and for succession to the throne, rather than one of foreign conquest. during the latter part of the period, tezcuco, the acolhua capital under the chichimec kings proper, azcapuzalco the capital of the tepanecs, and culhuacan held the country under their sway, sometimes allied to meet the forces of foreign foes, but oftener plotting against each other, each, by alliance with a second against the third, aiming at universal dominion. at last in this series of political manoeuvres culhuacan was permanently overthrown, and the chichimec ruler at tezcuco was driven from his possessions by the warlike chief of the tepanecs, who thus for a short time was absolute master of anáhuac. but with the decadence of the culhua power at culhuacan, another of the tribes that came into notice in the valley after the fall of the toltecs, had been gradually gaining a position among the nations. this rising power was the aztecs, a people traditionally from the far north-west, whose wanderings are described in picture-writings shown in another part of this volume. their migration is more definitely described than that of any other of the many who are said to have come from the same direction, and has been considered by different writers to be a migration from california, new mexico, or asia. later researches indicate that the pictured annals are intended simply as a record of the aztec wanderings in the valley of mexico and its vicinity. whatever their origin, by their fierce and warlike nature and bloody religious rites, from the first they made themselves the pests of anáhuac, and later its tyrants. for some centuries they acquired no national influence, but were often conquered, enslaved, and driven from place to place, until early in the fourteenth century, when mexico or tenochtitlan was founded, and under a line of able warlike kings started forward in its career of prosperity unequaled in the annals of aboriginal america. at the fall of culhuacan, mexico ranked next to tezcuco and azcapuzalco, and when the armies of the latter prevailed against the former, mexico was the most powerful of all the nations that sprang to arms, and pressed forward to humble the tepanec tyrant, to reïnstate the acolhua monarch on his throne, and to restore tezcuco to her former commanding position. the result was the utter defeat of the tepanecs, and the glory of azcapuzalco departed forever. [sidenote: the aztec era.] thus ended in the early part of the fifteenth century the chichimec empire,--that is, it nominally ended, for the chichimec kings proper lost nothing of their power,--and, by the establishment of the confederacy already described, the aztec empire was inaugurated. under the new dispensation of affairs, mexico, by whose aid chiefly azcapuzalco had been humbled, received rank and dominion at least equal to that of tezcuco, while from motives of policy, and in order, so far as possible, to conciliate the good will of a strong though conquered people, tlacopan, under a branch of the tepanecs, with a less extensive domain, was admitted to the alliance. the terms of the confederacy seem, as i have said, never to have been openly violated; but in the first years of the sixteenth century the aztecs had not only excited the hatred of the most powerful nations outside the bounds of anáhuac by their foreign raids, but by their arrogant overbearing spirit had made themselves obnoxious at home. their aim at supreme power was apparent, and both tezcuco and the independent republic of tlascala began to tremble at the dangerous progress of their mighty neighbor. a desperate struggle was imminent, in which the aztecs, pitted against all central mexico, by victory would have grasped the coveted prize of imperial power, or crushed as were the tepanecs before them by a coalition of nations, would have yielded their place in the confederacy to some less dangerous rival. at this juncture cortés appeared. this renowned chieftain aided montezuma's foes to triumph, and in turn fastened the shackles of european despotism on all alike, with a partial exception in favor of brave tlascala. the nations which formed the aztec empire proper, were the tribes for the most part that have been named as springing into existence or notice in anáhuac early in the chichimec period, and the names of most of them have been preserved in the names of modern localities. it will be seen, in treating of the languages of the pacific states, that the aztec tongue, in a pure state, in distinct verbal or grammatical traces, and in names of places, is spread over a much wider extent of territory than can be supposed to have ever been brought under subjection to anáhuac during either the toltec, chichimec, or aztec phases of the nahua domination. to account for this we have the commercial connections of the aztecs, whose traders are known to have pushed their mercantile ventures far beyond the regions subjected by force of arms; colonies which, both in toltec and aztec times, may be reasonably supposed to have sought new homes; the exile of nobles and priests at the fall of the toltec empire, and other probable migrations, voluntary and involuntary, of princes and teachers; the large detachments of aztecs who accompanied the spaniards in the expeditions by which the continent was brought under subjection; and finally, if all these are not sufficient, the unknown history and migrations of the nahua peoples during the centuries preceding the toltec era. [sidenote: the tarascos of michoacan.] i will now briefly notice the civilized nations beyond the limits of anáhuac, and more or less independent of the aztec rule, concerning whose institutions and history comparatively little or nothing is known, except what is drawn from the aztec annals, with some very general observations on their condition made by their spanish conquerors. westward of the mexican valley was the flourishing independent kingdom of michoacan, in possession of the tarascos, whose capital was tzintzuntzan on lake patzcuaro. their country, lying for the most part between the rivers mexcala and tololotlan, is by its altitude chiefly in the tierra templada, and enjoys all the advantages of a tropical climate, soil, and vegetation. topographically it presents a surface of undulating plains, intersected by frequent mountain chains and by the characteristic ravines, and well watered by many streams and beautiful lakes; hence the name michoacan, which signifies 'land abounding in fish.' the lake region of patzcuaro, the seat of the tarasco kings, is described as unsurpassed in picturesque beauty, while in the variety of its agricultural products and in its yield of mineral wealth, michoacan was equaled by few of the states of new spain. if we may credit the general statements of early authors, who give us but few details, in their institutions, their manners, wealth, and power, the tarascos were at least fully the equals of the aztecs, and in their physical development were even superior. that they successfully resisted and defeated the allied armies of anáhuac is sufficient proof of their military prowess, although they yielded almost without a struggle to the spaniards after the fall of mexico. with respect to their civilization we must accept the statements of their superiority as the probably correct impression of those who came first in contact with this people, notwithstanding which i find no architectural or artistic relics of a high culture within their territory. all that is known on the subject indicates that their civilization was of the nahua type, although the language is altogether distinct from the aztec, the representative nahua tongue. the history of michoacan, in the form of any but the vaguest traditions, does not reach back farther than the thirteenth century; nevertheless, as i have said, there is some reason to suppose that it formed part of the toltec empire. the theory has even been advanced that the tarascos, forming a part of that empire, were not disturbed by its fall, and were therefore the best representatives of the oldest nahua culture. their reported physical superiority might favor this view, but their distinct language on the contrary would render it improbable. a careful study of all that is known of this people convinces me that they had long been settled in the lands where they were found, but leaves on the mind no definite idea of their earlier history. their later annals are made up of tales, partaking largely of the marvelous and supernatural, of the doings of certain demi-gods or priests, and of wars waged against the omnipresent chichimecs. branches of the great and primitive otomí family are mentioned as having their homes in the mountains, and there are traditions that fragments of the aztecs and other tribes which followed the chichimecs into anáhuac, lingered on the route of their migration and settled in the fertile valleys of michoacan. between the tarascos and the aztecs, speaking a language different from either but allied more or less intimately with the former, were the matlaltzincas, whose capital was in the plateau valley of toluca, just outside the bounds of anáhuac. this was one of the tribes that have already been named as coming traditionally from the north-west. for a long time they maintained their independence, but in the last quarter of the fifteenth century were forced to yield to the victorious arms of axayacatl, the aztec warrior king. immediately below the mouth of the mexcala, on the border of the pacific, were the lands of the cuitlatecs, and also the province or kingdom of zacatollan, whose capital was the modern zacatula. of these two peoples absolutely nothing is known, save that they were tributary to the aztec empire, the latter having been added to the domain of tezcuco in the very last years of the fifteenth century. the provinces that extended south-westward from anáhuac to the ocean, belonging chiefly to the modern state of guerrero and included in what i have described as the aztec empire proper, were those of the tlahuicas, whose capital was cuernavaca, the cohuixcas, capital at acapulco, the yoppi on the coast south of acapulco, and the province of mazatlan farther inland or north-east. the name tlapanecs is also rather indefinitely applied to the people of a portion of this territory in the south, including probably the yoppi. of the names mentioned we have met those of the tlahuicas and cohuixcas among the tribes newly springing into notice at the beginning of the chichimec period. it is probable that nearly all were more or less closely allied in race and language to their mexican masters, their political subjection to whom dates from about the middle of the fifteenth century. [sidenote: miztecs and zapotecs.] the western slope of the cordillera still farther south-west, comprising in general terms the modern state of oajaca, was ruled and to a great extent inhabited by the miztecs and zapotecs, two powerful nations distinct in tongue from the aztecs and from each other. western oajaca, the home of the miztecs, was divided into upper and lower miztecapan, the latter toward the coast, and the former higher up in the mountains, and sometimes termed cohuaixtlahuacan. the zapotecs in eastern oajaca, when first definitely known to history, had extended their power over nearly all the tribes of tehuantepec, besides encroaching somewhat on the miztec boundaries. the miztecs, notwithstanding the foreign aid of tlascaltecs and other eastern foes of the aztec king, were first defeated by the allied forces of anáhuac about ; and from that date the conquerors succeeded in holding their stronger towns and more commanding positions down to the conquest, thus enforcing the payment of tribute and controlling the commerce of the southern coast, which was their primary object. tehuantepec and soconusco yielded some years after to the conquering axayacatl, and zapotecapan still later to his successor ahuitzotl; but in the closing years of the fifteenth century the zapotecs recovered their country with tehuantepec, leaving socunusco, however, permanently in aztec possession. the history of the two nations takes us no farther back than the fourteenth century, when they first came into contact with the peoples of anáhuac; it gives a record of their rulers and their deeds of valor in wars waged against each other, against the neighboring tribes, and against the mexicans. prior to that time we have a few traditions of the vaguest character preserved by burgoa, the historian of oajaca. these picture both miztecs and zapotecs as originally wild, but civilized by the influence of teachers, priests, or beings of supernatural powers, who came among them, one from the south, and others from the direction of anáhuac. their civilization, however received, was surely nahua, as is shown by the resemblances which their institutions, and particularly their religious rites, bear to those of the aztecs. being of the nahua type, its origin has of course been referred to that inexhaustible source, the dispersion of the toltecs, or to proselyting teachers sent southward by that wonderful people. indeed, the miztec and zapotec royal families claimed a direct toltec descent. it is very probable, however, that the nahua element here was at least contemporaneous in its introduction with the same element known as toltec in anáhuac, rather than implanted in oajaca by missionaries, voluntary or involuntary, from tollan. i have already remarked that the presence of nahua institutions in different regions is too often attributed to the toltec exiles, and too seldom to historical events preceding the sixth century. the oajacan coast region or tierra caliente, if we may credit the result of researches by the abbé brasseur de bourbourg, was sometimes known as anáhuac ayotlan, as the opposite coast of tabasco was called anáhuac xicalanco. both these anáhuacs were inhabited by enterprising commercial peoples, whose flourishing centres of trade were located at short intervals along the coast. material relics of past excellence in architecture and other arts of civilization abound in oajaca, chief among which stand the remarkable structures at mitla. [sidenote: nations of tehuantepec.] although tehuantepec in the later aboriginal times was subject to the kings of zapotecapan, yet within its limits, besides the chontales,--a name resembling in its uncertainty of application that of chichimecs farther north,--were the remnants of two old nations that still preserved their independence. these were the mijes, living chiefly by the chase in the mountain fastnesses of the north, and the huaves, who held a small territory on the coast and islands of the lagoons just east of the city of tehuantepec. the mijes, so far as the vague traditions of the country reveal anything of their past, were once the possessors of zapotecapan and the isthmus of tehuantepec, antedating the zapotecs and perhaps the nahua culture in this region, being affiliated, as some believe, in institutions and possibly in language, with the maya element of central america. while this connection must be regarded as somewhat conjectural, we may nevertheless accept as probably authentic the antiquity, civilization, and power of this brave people. the huaves were traditionally of southern origin, having come to tehuantepec by sea from nicaragua or a point still farther south. in navigation and in commerce they were enterprising, as were indeed all the tribes of this southern-coast anáhuac, and they took gradually from the mijes, whom they found in possession, a large extent of territory, which as we have seen they were finally forced to yield up to their zapotec conquerors. crossing now to the atlantic or gulf shores we have from the past nothing but a confused account of olmecs, xicalancas, and nonohualcas, who may have been distinct peoples, or the same people under different names at different epochs, and who at some time inhabited the lowlands of tehuantepec and vera cruz, as well as those of tabasco farther south. at the time of the conquest we know that this region was thickly inhabited by a people scarcely less advanced than those of anáhuac, and dotted with flourishing towns devoted to commerce. but neither in the sixteenth nor immediately preceding centuries can any one civilized nation be definitely named as occupying this anáhuac xicalanco. we know, however, that this country north of the goazacoalco river formed a portion of the aztec empire, and that its inhabitants spoke for the most part the aztec tongue. these provinces, known as cuetlachtlan and goazacoalco, were conquered, chiefly with a view to the extension of the aztec commerce, as early as the middle of the fifteenth century, notwithstanding the assistance rendered by the armies of tlascala. [sidenote: the tlascaltecs.] the plateau east of anáhuac sometimes known as huitzilapan was found by the spaniards in the possession of the independent republics, or cities, of tlascala, huexotzinco, and cholula. the people who occupied this part of the table-land were the teo-chichimecs, of the same language and of the same traditional north-western origin as the aztecs, whom they preceded in anáhuac. late in the thirteenth century they left the valley of mexico, and in several detachments established themselves on the eastern plateau, where they successfully maintained their independence of all foreign powers. as allies of the chichimec king of tezcuco they aided in overturning the tepanec tyrant of azcapuzalco; but after the subsequent dangerous development of aztec ambition, the tlascaltec armies aided in nearly every attempt of other nations to arrest the progress of the mexicans toward universal dominion. their assistance, as we have seen, was unavailing except in the final successful alliance with the forces of cortés; for, although secure in their small domain against foreign invasion, their armies were often defeated abroad. tlascala has retained very nearly its original bounds, and the details of its history from the foundation of the city are, by the writings of the native historian camargo, more fully known than those of most other nations outside of anáhuac. this author, however, gives us the annals of his own and the surrounding peoples from a tlascaltec stand-point only. before the teo-chichimec invasion of huitzilapan, cholula had already acquired great prominence as a toltec city, and as the residence of the great nahua apostle quetzalcoatl, of which era, or a preceding one, the famous pyramid remains as a memento. outside of cholula, however, the ancient history of this region presents but a blank page, or one vaguely filled with tales of giants, its first reputed inhabitants, and of the mysterious olmecs, from some remaining fragments of which people the tlascaltecs are said to have won their new homes. these olmecs seem to have been a very ancient people who occupied the whole eastern region, bordering on or mixed with the xicalancas in the south; or rather the name olmec seems to have been the designation of a phase or era of the nahua civilization preceding that known as the toltec. it is impossible to determine accurately whether the xicalancas should be classed with the nahua or maya element, although probably with the former. the coast region east of tlascala, comprising the northern half of the state of vera cruz, was the home of the totonacs, whose capital was the famous cempoala, and who were conquered by the aztecs at the close of the fifteenth century. they were probably one of the ancient pre-toltec peoples like the otomís and olmecs, and they claimed to have occupied in former times anáhuac and the adjoining territory, where they erected the pyramids of the sun and moon at teotihuacan. their institutions when first observed by europeans seem to have been essentially nahua, and the abundant architectural remains found in totonac territory, as at papantla, misantla, and tusapan, show no well-defined differences from aztec constructions proper. whether this nahua culture was that originally possessed by them or was introduced at a comparatively late period through the influence of the teo-chichimecs, with whom they became largely consolidated, is uncertain. the totonac language is, however, distinct from the aztec, and is thought to have some affinity with the maya. north of the totonacs on the gulf coast, in the present state of tamaulipas, lived the huastecs, concerning whose early history nothing whatever is known. their language is allied to the maya dialects. they were a brave people, looked upon by the mexicans as semi-barbarous, but were defeated and forced to pay tribute by the king of tezcuco in the middle of the fifteenth century. * * * * * [sidenote: nations of central america.] the difficulties experienced in rendering to any degree satisfactory a general view of the northern nations, are very greatly augmented now that i come to treat of the central american tribes. the causes of this increased difficulty are many. i have already noticed the prominence of the aztecs in most that has been recorded of american civilization. during the conquest of the central portions of the continent following that of mexico, the spaniards found an advanced culture, great cities, magnificent temples, a complicated system of religious and political institutions; but all these had been met before in the north, and consequently mere mention in general terms of these later wonders was deemed sufficient by the conquerors, who were a class of men not disposed to make minute observations or comparisons respecting what seemed to them unimportant details. as to the priests, their duty was clearly to destroy rather than to closely investigate these institutions of the devil. and in the years following the conquest, the association between the natives and the conquerors was much less intimate than in anáhuac. these nations in many instances fought until nearly annihilated, or after defeat retired in national fragments to the inaccessible fastnesses of the cordillera, retaining for several generations--some of them permanently--their independence, and affording the spaniards little opportunity of becoming acquainted with their aboriginal institutions. in the south, as in anáhuac, native writers, after their language had been fitted to the spanish alphabet, wrote more or less fully of their national history; but all such writings whose existence is known are in the possession of one or two individuals, and, excepting the popol vuh translated by ximenes as well as brasseur de bourbourg, and the perez maya manuscript, their contents are only vaguely known to the public through the writings of their owners. another difficulty respecting these writings is that their dependence on any original authority more trustworthy than that of orally transmitted traditions, is at least doubtful. the key to the hieroglyphics engraved on the stones of palenque and copan, and painted on the pages of the very few ancient manuscripts preserved, is now practically lost; that it was possessed by the writers referred to is, although not impossible, still far from proven. again, chronology, so complicated and uncertain in the annals of anáhuac, is here, through the absence of legible written records, almost entirely wanting, so that it is in many cases absolutely impossible to fix even an approximate date for historical events of great importance. the attempts of authors to attach some of these events, without sufficient data, to the nahua chronology, have done much to complicate the matter still further. the only author who has attempted to treat of the subject of central american civilization and antiquity comprehensively as a whole is the abbé brasseur de bourbourg. the learned abbé, however, with all his research and undoubted knowledge of the subject, and with his well-known enthusiasm and tact in antiquarian engineering, by which he is wont to level difficulties, apparently insurmountable, to a grade which offers no obstruction to his theoretical construction-trains, has been forced to acknowledge at many points his inability to construct a perfect whole from data so meagre and conflicting. such being the case, the futility must be apparent of attempting here any outline of history which may throw light on the institutions of the sixteenth century. i must be content, for the purposes of this chapter, with a mention of the civilized nations found in possession of the country, and a brief statement of such prominent points in their past as seem well-authenticated and important. [sidenote: the ancient maya empire.] closely enveloped in the dense forests of chiapas, guatemala, yucatan, and honduras, the ruins of several ancient cities have been discovered, which are far superior in extent and magnificence to any seen in aztec territory, and of which a detailed description may be found in the fourth volume of this work. most of these cities were abandoned and more or less unknown at the time of the conquest. they bear hieroglyphic inscriptions apparently identical in character; in other respects they resemble each other more than they resemble the aztec ruins--or even other and apparently later works in guatemala and honduras. all these remains bear evident marks of great antiquity. their existence and similarity, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, would indicate the occupation of the whole country at some remote period by nations far advanced in civilization, and closely allied in manners and customs, if not in blood and language. furthermore, the traditions of several of the most advanced nations point to a wide-spread civilization introduced among a numerous and powerful people by votan and zamná, who, or their successors, built the cities referred to, and founded great allied empires in chiapas, yucatan and guatemala; and moreover, the tradition is confirmed by the universality of one family of languages or dialects spoken among the civilized nations, and among their descendants to this day. i deem the grounds sufficient, therefore, for accepting this central american civilization of the past as a fact, referring it not to an extinct ancient race, but to the direct ancestors of the peoples still occupying the country with the spaniards, and applying to it the name maya as that of the language which has claims as strong as any to be considered the mother tongue of the linguistic family mentioned. as i have said before, the phenomena of civilization in north america may be accounted for with tolerable consistency by the friction and mixture of this maya culture and people with the nahua element of the north; while that either, by migrations northward or southward, can have been the parent of the other within the traditionally historic past, i regard as extremely improbable. that the two elements were identical in their origin and early development is by no means impossible; all that we can safely presume is that within historic times they have been practically distinct in their workings. there are also some rather vague traditions of the first appearance of the nahua civilization in the regions of tabasco and chiapas, of its growth, the gradual establishment of a power rivalling that of the people i call mayas, and of a struggle by which the nahuas were scattered in different directions, chiefly northward, to reappear in history some centuries later as the toltecs of anáhuac. while the positive evidence in favor of this migration from the south is very meagre, it must be admitted that a southern origin of the nahua culture is far more consistent with fact and tradition than was the north-western origin, so long implicitly accepted. there are no data by which to fix the period of the original maya empire, or its downfall or breaking-up into rival factions by civil and foreign wars. the cities of yucatan, as is clearly shown by mr stephens, were, many of them, occupied by the descendants of the builders down to the conquest, and contain some remnants of wood-work still in good preservation, although some of the structures appear to be built on the ruins of others of a somewhat different type. palenque and copan, on the contrary, have no traces of wood or other perishable material, and were uninhabited and probably unknown in the sixteenth century. the loss of the key to what must have been an advanced system of hieroglyphics, while the spoken language survived, is also an indication of great antiquity, confirmed by the fact that the quiché structures of guatemala differed materially from those of the more ancient epoch. it is not likely that the maya empire in its integrity continued later than the third or fourth century, although its cities may have been inhabited much later, and i should fix the epoch of its highest power at a date preceding rather than following the christian era. a maya manuscript fixes the date of the first appearance in yucatan of the tutul xius at a. d. the abbé brasseur therefore makes this the date of the nahua dispersion, believing, on apparently very slight foundation, the tutul xius to be one of the nahua fragments. with the breaking-up of this empire into separate nations at an unknown date, the ancient history of central america as a whole ceases, and down to a period closely preceding the conquest we have only an occasional event preserved in the traditions of two or three nations. [sidenote: maya nations of yucatan.] yucatan was occupied in the sixteenth century by the mayas proper, all speaking the same language, and living under practically the same institutions, religious and political. the chief divisions were the cocomes, tutul xius, itzas, and cheles, which seem to have been originally the designations of royal or priestly families, rather than tribal names proper of the peoples over whom they held sway. each of these had their origin-traditions of immigrating tribes or teachers who came in the distant past to seek new homes, escape persecution, or introduce new religious ideas, in the fertile maya plains. some of these stranger apostles of new creeds are identified by authors with toltec missionaries or exiles from anáhuac. the evidence in favor of this identity in any particular case is of course unsatisfactory, but that it was well-founded in some cases is both probable,--commercial intercourse having undoubtedly made the two peoples mutually acquainted with each other,--and is supported by the presence of nahua names of rulers and priests, and of nahua elements in the yucatec religion, the same remark applying to all central america. the ancient history of yucatan is an account of the struggles, alliances, and successive domination of the factions mentioned. to enumerate here, in outline even, these successive changes so vaguely and confusedly recorded would be useless, especially as their institutions, so far as can be known, were but slightly affected by political changes among people of the same blood, language, and religion. the cocomes were traditionally the original maya rulers of the land, and the tutul xius first came into notice in the second century, the itzas and cheles appearing at a much later date. one of the most prosperous eras in the later history of the peninsula of yucatan is represented to have followed the appearance of cuculcan, a mysterious stranger corresponding closely in his teachings, as in the etymology of his name, with the toltec quetzalcoatl. he became the head of the cocome dynasty at mayapan, and ruled the country as did his successors after him in alliance with the tutul xius at uxmal, the itzas at chichen itza, and the cheles at izamal. but later the cocomes were overthrown, and mayapan destroyed by a revolution of the allies. the tutul xius now became the leading power, a position which they held down to the time, not long before the conquest, when the country was divided by war and civil dissensions into numerous petty domains, each ruled by its chief and independent of the rest, all in a weak and exhausted condition compared with their former state, and unable to resist by united effort the progress of the spanish invaders whom individually they fought most bravely. three other comparatively recent events of some importance in yucatec history may be noticed. the cocomes in the struggle preceding their fall called in the aid of a large force of xicalancas, probably a nahua people, from the tabascan coast region, who after their defeat were permitted by the conquerors to settle in the country. a successful raid by some foreign people, supposed with some reason to be the quichés from guatemala, is reported to have been made against the mayas with, however, no important permanent results. finally a portion of the itzas migrated southward and settled in the region of lake peten, establishing their capital city on an island in the lake. here they were found, a powerful and advanced nation, by hernan cortés in the sixteenth century, and traces of their cities still remain, although it must be noted that another and older class of ruins are found in the same region, dating back perhaps to a time when the glory of the maya empire had not wholly departed. [sidenote: chiapas and guatemala.] chiapas, politically a part of the mexican republic, but belonging geographically to central america, was occupied by the chiapanecs, tzendales, and quelenes. the tzendales lived in the region about palenque, and were presumably the direct descendants of its builders, their language having nearly an equal claim with the maya to be considered the mother tongue. the chiapanecs of the interior were a warlike tribe, and had before the coming of the spaniards conquered the other nations, forcing them to pay tribute, and successfully resisting the attacks of the aztec allies. they also are a very old people, having been referred even to the tribes that preceded the establishment of votan's empire. statements concerning their history are numerous and irreconcilable; they have some traditions of having come from the south; their linguistic affinity with the mayas is at least very slight. the quelenes or zotziles, whose past is equally mysterious, inhabited the southern or guatemalan frontier. guatemala and northern honduras were found in possession of the mames in the north-west, the pocomams in the south-east, the quichés in the interior, and the cakchiquels in the south. the two latter were the most powerful and ruled the country from their capitals of utatlan and patinamit, where they resisted the spaniards almost to the point of annihilation, retiring for the most part after defeat to live by the chase in the distant mountain gorges. guatemalan history from the votan empire down to an indefinite date not many centuries before the conquest is a blank. it recommences with the first traditions of the nations just mentioned. these traditions, as in the case of every american people, begin with the immigration of foreign tribes into the country as the first in the series of events leading to the establishment of the quiché-cakchiquel empire. assuming the toltec dispersion from anáhuac in the eleventh century as a well-authenticated fact, most writers have identified the guatemalan nations, except perhaps the mames by some considered the descendants of the original inhabitants, with the migrating toltecs who fled southward to found a new empire. i have already made known my scepticism respecting national american migrations in general, and the toltec migration southward in particular, and there is nothing in the annals of guatemala to modify the views previously expressed. the quiché traditions are vague and without chronologic order, much less definite than those relating to the mythical aztec wanderings. the sum and substance of the quiché and toltec identity is the traditional statement that the former people entered guatemala at an unknown period in the past, while the latter left anáhuac in the eleventh century. that the toltecs should have migrated en masse southward, taken possession of guatemala, established a mighty empire, and yet have abandoned their language for dialects of the original maya tongue is in the highest degree improbable. it is safer to suppose that the mass of the quichés and other nations of guatemala, chiapas, and honduras, were descended directly from the maya builders of palenque, and from contemporary peoples. yet the differences between the quiché-cakchiquel structures, and the older architectural remains of the maya empire indicate a new era of maya culture, originated not unlikely by the introduction of foreign elements. moreover, the apparent identity in name and teachings between the early civilizers of the quiché tradition and the nahua followers of quetzalcoatl, together with reported resemblances between actual quiché and aztec institutions as observed by europeans, indicate farther that the new element was engrafted on maya civilization by contact with the nahuas, a contact of which the presence of the exiled toltec nobility may have been a prominent feature. after the overthrow of the original empire we may suppose the people to have been subdivided during the course of centuries by civil wars and sectarian struggles into petty states, the glory of their former greatness vanished and partially forgotten, the spirit of progress dormant, to be roused again by the presence of the nahua chiefs. these gathered and infused new life into the scattered remnants; they introduced some new institutions, and thus aided the ancient people to rebuild their empire on the old foundations, retaining the dialects of the original language. [sidenote: nicaraguans and pipiles.] in addition to the peoples thus far mentioned, there were undoubtedly in nicaragua, and probably in salvador, nations of nearly pure aztec blood and language. the former are known among different authors as nicaraguans, niquirans, or cholutecs, and they occupied the coast between lake nicaragua and the ocean, with the lake islands. their institutions, political and religious, were nearly the same as those of the aztecs of anáhuac, and they have left abundant relics in the form of idols and sepulchral deposits, but no architectural remains. these relics are moreover hardly less abundant in the territory of the adjoining tribes, nor do they differ essentially in their nature; hence we must conclude that some other nicaraguan peoples, either by aztec or other influence, were considerably advanced in civilization. the nahua tribes of salvador, the ancient cuscatlan, were known as pipiles, and their culture appears not to have been of a high order. both of these nations probably owe their existence to a colony sent southward from anáhuac; but whether in aztec or pre-aztec times, the native traditions, like their interpretation by writers on the subject, are inextricably confused and at variance. for further details on the location of central american nations i refer to the statement of tribal boundaries at the end of chapter vii., volume i., of this work. * * * * * i here close this general view of the subject, and if it is in some respects unsatisfactory, i cannot believe that a different method of treatment would have rendered it less so. to have gone more into detail would have tended to confuse rather than elucidate the matter in the reader's mind, unless with the support of extensive quotations from ever-conflicting authorities, which would have swollen this general view from a chapter to a volume. as far as antiquity is concerned, the most intricate element of the subject, i shall attempt to present--if i cannot reconcile--all the important variations of opinion in another division of this work. in the treatment of my subject, truth and accuracy are the principal aim, and these are never sacrificed to graphic style or glowing diction. as much of interest is thrown into the recital as the authorities justify, and no more. often may be seen the more striking characteristics of these nations dashed off with a skill and brilliance equaled only by their distance from the facts; disputed points and unpleasing traits glossed over or thrown aside whenever they interfere with style and effect. it is my sincere desire, above all others, to present these people as they were, not to make them as i would have them, nor to romance at the expense of truth; nevertheless, it is to be hoped that in the truth enough of interest will remain to command the attention of the reader. my treatment of the subject is essentially as follows: the civilized peoples of north america naturally group themselves in two great divisions, which for convenience may be called the nahuas and the mayas respectively; the first representing the aztec civilization of mexico, and the second the maya-quiché civilization of central america. in describing their manners and customs, five large divisions may be made of each group. the first may be said to include the systems of government, the order of succession, the ceremonies of election, coronation, and anointment, the magnificence, power, and manner of life of their kings; court forms and observances; the royal palaces and gardens. the second comprises the social system; the classes of nobles, gentry, plebeians and slaves; taxation, tenure, and distribution of lands; vassalage and feudal service; the inner life of the people; their family and private relations, such as marriage, divorce, and education of youth; other matters, such as their dress, food, games, feasts and dances, knowledge of medicine, and manner of burial. the third division includes their system of war, their relations with foreign powers, their warriors and orders of knighthood, their treatment of prisoners of war and their weapons. the fourth division embraces their system of trade and commerce, the community of merchants, their sciences, arts, and manufactures. the fifth and last considers their judiciary, law-courts, and legal officials. i append as more appropriately placed here than elsewhere, a note on the etymological meaning and derivation, so far as known, of the names of the civilized nations. etymology of names. acolhuas;--possibly from _coloa_, 'to bend,' meaning with the prefix _atl_, 'water-colhuas,' or 'people at the bend of the water.' not from _acolli_, 'shoulder,' nor from _colli_, 'grandfather.' _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, pp. , . '_coloa_, encoruar, o entortar algo, o rodear yendo camino.' '_acolli_, ombro.' '_culhuia_, lleuar a otro por rodeos a alguna parte.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. _colli_, 'grand-father,' plural _colhuan_. _colhuacan_, or _culiacan_, may then mean 'the land of our ancestors.' _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. - . 'el nombre de _aculhuas_, ó segun la ortografía mexicana, _aculhuaque_, en plural, y no _aculhuacanes_, ni _aculhues_.' _dicc. univ._, tom. i., p. . 'col, chose courbe, faisant _coloa_, _colua_, ou _culhua_, nom appliqué plus tard dans le sens d'ancêtre, parce que du _colhuacan_ primitif, des îles de la courbe, vinrent les émigrés qui civilisèrent les habitants de la vallée d'anahuac.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _quatre lettres_, p. . '_colhua_, ou _culhua_, _culua_, de _coltic_, chose courbée. de là le nom de la cité de _colhuacan_, qu'on traduit indifféremment, ville de la courbe, de choses recourbées (des serpents), et aussi des aïeux, de _coltzin_, aïeul.' _id._, _popol vuh_, p. xxix. aztecs;--from _aztlan_, the name of their ancient home, from a root _aztli_, which is lost. it has no connection with _azcatl_, 'ant,' but may have some reference to _iztac_, 'white.' _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, pp. - . 'de _aztlan_ se deriva el nacional _aztecatl_.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . '_az_, primitif d'_azcatl_, fourmi, est le mot qui désigne, à la fois, d'une manière générale, la vapeur, le gaz, ou toute chose légère, comme le vent ou la pluie; c'est l'aile, _aztli_ qui désigne aussi la vapeur, c'est le héron dans _aztatl_. il se retrouve, avec une légère variante, dans le mot nahuatl composé, _tem-az-calli_, bain de vapeur, dans _ez-tli_, le sang ou la lave; dans les vocables quichés _atz_, bouffée du fumée, épouvantail, feu-follet.... ainsi les fourmis de la tradition haïtienne, comme de la tradition mexicaine, sont à la fois des images des feux intérieurs de la terre et de leurs exhalaisons, comme du travail des mines et de l'agriculture. du même primitif _az_ vient _aztlan_ "le pays sur ou dans le gaz, _az-tan_, _az-dan_, la terre sèche, soulevée par les gaz ou remplie de vapeurs."' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _quatre lettres_, p. . chalcas;--'il nome _chalcho_ vale, nella gemma. il p. acosta dice, che _chalco_ vuol dire, nelle bocche.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . buschmann believes acosta's definition 'in the mouths' to be more correct. _ortsnamen_, p. . 'chalca, ce qui est le calcaire; c'est l'examen de tous les vocables mexicains, commençant en _chal_, qui m'a fait découvrir le sens exact de ce mot; il se trouve surtout dan _chal-chi-huitl_, le jade, littéralement ce qui est sorti du fond du calcaire.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _quatre lettres_, pp. , . cheles;--'le _chel_ dans la langue maya est une espèce d'oiseaux particuliers à cette contrée.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . chiapanecs;--_chiapan_, 'locality of the chia' (oil-seed). _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . '_chiapanèque_, du nahuatl _chiapanecatl_, c'est-à-dire homme de la rivière chiapan (eau douce), n'est pas le nom véritable de ce peuple; c'est celui que lui donnèrent les mexicains.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . chichimecs;--'_chichi_, perro, o perra.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. _chichi_, 'dog'; perhaps as inhabitants of _chichimecan_, 'place of dogs.' _mecatl_ may mean 'line,' 'row,' 'race,' and _chichimecatl_, therefore 'one of the race of dogs.' _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, pp. , . 'chichimèque veut dire, à proprement parler, homme sauvage.... ce mot désigne des hommes qui mangent de la viande crue et sucent le sang des animaux; car _chichiliztli_ veut dire, en mexicain, sucer; _chichinaliztli_, la chose que l'on suce, et _chichihualli_, mamelle.... toutes les autres nations les redoutaient et leur donnaient le nom de suceurs, en mexicain, _chichimecatechinani_. ... les mexicains nomment aussi les chiens chichime, parce qu'ils lèchent le sang des animaux et le sucent.' _camargo_, _hist. tlaxcallan_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . '_teuchichimecas_, que quiere decir _del todo barbados_, que por otro nombre se decian cacachimecas, ó sea hombres silvestres.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . '_chichimec_ ou _chichimetl_, suceur de maguey, et de là les chichimèques.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. , . other derivations are from _chichen_, a city of yucatan, and from _chichiltic_ 'red,' referring to the color of all indians. _id._, _popol vuh_, p. lxiii. '_chi_ ... selon vetancourt, c'est une préposition, exprimant ce qui est tout en bas, au plus profond, comme _aco_ signifie ce qui est au plus haut.... _chichi_ est un petit chien (_chi-en_), de ceux qu'on appelle de chihuahua, qui se creusent des tanières souterraines.... _chichi_ énonce tout ce qui est amer, aigre ou âcre, tout ce qui fait tache: il a le sens de sucer, d'absorber; c'est la salive, c'est le poumon et la mamelle. si maintenant ... j'ajoute _me_, primitif de _metl_, aloès, chose courbée, vous aurez _chichime_, choses courbes, tortueuses, suçantes, absorbantes, amères, âcres ou acides, se cachant, comme les petits chiens terriers, sous le sol où elles se concentrent, commes des poumons ou des mamelles.... or, puisqu'il est acquis, d'après ces peintures et ces explications, que tout cela doit s'appliquer à une puissance tellurique, errante, d'ordinaire, comme les populations nomades, auxquelles on attacha le nom de _chichimeca_.' _id._, _quatre lettres_, pp. - . cholultecs;--from _choloa_, meaning 'to spring,' 'to run,' 'to flee,' or 'place where water springs up,' 'place of flight,' or 'fugitives.' _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . 'c'est du lieu d'où ils étaient sortis primitivement, ou plutôt à cause de leur qualité actuelle d'exilés, qu'ils prirent ensuite le nom de _cholutecas_.' '_cholutecas_, mieux _cholultecas_, c'est-à-dire, exilés, et aussi, habitants de cholullan.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . chontales;--'_chontalli_, estrangero o forastero.' _molina_, _vocabulario_; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . cocomes;--'_cocom_ signifie écouteur, croyant.' _landa_, _rel. de las cosas de yucatan_, p. . 'cocom est un nom d'origine nahuatl; il est le pluriel de cohuatl, serpent.... dans la langue maya, le mot cocom a la signification d'écouteur, celui qui entend; cette étymologie nous paraît plus rationnelle que la première.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . cohuixcas;--ayala translates the name of their province cuixca, 'tierra de lagartijas.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . cuitlahuacs;--'_cuitlatl_, excremento, y genéricamente cosa sucia.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . '_cuitlahuac_, dans celui qui a les excréments, de cuitlatl, excrément, déjection de l'homme ou de l'animal, mais que le chroniste mexicain applique ici aux déjections du volcan voisin de la grande-base ... de là le nom de _teo-cuitlatl_, excréments divins, donné aux métaux précieux, l'or avec l'adjectif jaune, l'argent avec l'adjectif blanc.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _quatre lettres_, p. . cuitlatlan, 'locality of dirt.' _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . '_cuitlatl_, mierda.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. the name of the cuitlatecs seems to have no separate etymological meaning. culhuas;--see acolhuas. the two people are not supposed to have been the same, but it is probable that they are identical in the derivation of their names. huastecs;--'_huaxtlan_ es una palabra mexicana que significa, "donde hay, ó abunda el _huaxi_," fruto muy conocido en méxico con el nombre castellanizado de _guaje_. compónese aquella palabra de _huaxin_, perdiendo _in_ por contraccion, muy usada en mexicano al componerse las palabras, y de _tlan_, partícula que significa "donde hay, ó abunda algo," y que sirve para formar colectivos. de _huaxtlan_ es de donde, segun parece, viene el nombre gentilicio _huaxtecatl_, que los españoles convirtieron en _huaxteca_ ó _huaxteco_.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., pp. - ; _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, pp. - . 'el que es inhábil ó tosco, le llaman ... _cuextecatl_.' from the name of their ruler, who took too much wine. 'así por injuria, y como alocado, le llamaban de cuextecatl.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - , - . huexotzincas;--diminutive of _huexotla_, 'willow-forest.' _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . itzas;--from the name of zamná, the first yucatan civilizer. 'le llamaban tambien ytzamná, y le adoraban por dios.' _cogolludo_, _hist. de yucathan_, p. . '_itzmat-ul_, que quiere dezir el que recibe y posee la gracia, ó rozio, ó sustancia del cielo.' '_ytzen caan, ytzen muyal_, que era dezir yo soy el rozio ó sustancia del cielo y nubes.' _lizana_, in _landa_, _rel. de las cosas de yucatan_, p. . 'suivant ordoñez, le mot itza est composé de itz, doux, et de hà, eau.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . malinalcas;--'_malina_, nitla, torcer cordel encima del muslo.' '_malinqui_, cosa torcida.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. '_malinal_ est le nom commun de la liane, ou des cordes tordues.' '_malina_, tordre, qui fait _malinal_, liane ou corde. ou bien plus littéralement de choses tournées, percée à jour, de _mal_, primitif de _mamali_, percer, tarauder, et de _nal_, de part en part, tout autour.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _quatre lettres_, pp. - . mames;--'el verdadero nombre de la lengua y de la tribu es mem, que quiere decir tartamudos porque los pueblos que primero les oyeron hablar, encontraron semejanza entre los tardos para pronunciar, y la manera con que aquellos decian su lengua.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. . 'a esta lengua llaman _mame_, é indios _mames_ á los de esta sierra, porque ordinariamente hablan y responden con esta palabra _man_, que quiere decir _padre_.' _reynoso_, in _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., pp. - . '_mem_ veut dire bègue et muet.' '"mem", mal à propos défiguré dans mame par les espagnols, servit depuis généralement à désigner les nations qui conservèrent leur ancienne langue et demeurèrent plus ou moins indépendantes des envahisseurs étrangers.' mam 'veut dire ancien, vieillard.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . mam sometimes means grand-son. _id._, _popol vuh_, p. . matlaltzincas;--'el nombre _matlalcincatl_, tomóse de _matlatl_ que es la red con la cual desgranaban el maiz, y hacian otras cosas.... tambien se llaman _matlatzincas_ de hondas que se dicen _tlematlate_, y así _matlatzincas_ por otra interpretacion quiere decir, honderos ó fondibularios; porque los dichos _matlatzincas_ cuando muchachos, usaban mucho traer las hondas, y de ordinario las traían consigo, como los _chichimecas_ sus arcos, y siempre andaban tirando con ellas. tambien les llamaban del nombre de red por otra razon que és la mas principal, porque cuando à su idolo sacrificaban alguna persona, le echaban dentro en una red, y allí le retorcian y estrujaban con la dicha red, hasta que le hacian echar los intestinos. la causa de llamarse _coatl_ (ramirez) dice que "debe leerse _cuaitl_ (cabeza). coatl significa culebra," cuando es uno, y _qüaqüatas_ cuando son muchos és, porque siempre traían la cabeza ceñida con la honda; por lo cual el vocablo se decia _qüa_ por abreviatura, que quiere decir _quaitl_ que es la cabeza, _yta_ que quiere decir _tamatlatl_ (molina says 'honda para tirar es _tematlatl, tlatematlauiloni_') ques es la honda, y así quiere decir _quatlatl_ hombre que trae la honda en la cabeza por guirnalda: tambien se interpreta de otra manera, que quiere decir hombre de cabeza de piedra.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. , and _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . '_matlatzinia_, dar palmadas.' '_matlatepito_, red pequeña.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. from _matlatl_, 'net', meaning therefore 'small place of nets'. _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . 'de _matlatl_, le filet, les mailles.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _quatre lettres_, p. . '_matlatzinco_ es una palabra mexicana que significa "lugarcito de las redes", pues se compone de _matlat_, red, y la partícula _tzinco_ que expresa diminucion. fácilmente se comprende, pues, que _matlatzinca_ viene de _matlatzinco_, y que la etimología exige que estas palabras se escriban con _c_ (mejor _k_) y no con _g_ como hacen algunos autores', _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . mayas;--'"_mai_", une divinité ou un personnage des temps antiques, sans doute celui à l'occasion duquel le pays fut appelé _maya_.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _rel. de las cosas de yucatan_, p. . '_maya_ ou _maïa_, nom antique d'une partie du yucatan, paraît signifier aussi la terre.' _id._, p. lxx. 'maayhà, non adest aqua, suivant ordoñez, c'est-à-dire, terre sans eau.' _id._, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . the terminations _a_ and _o_ of this name are spanish. _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . mizquicas;--'_mizquitl_, arbol de goma para tinta.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. _mizquitl_, a tree yielding the pure gum arabic, a species of acacia. _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . miztecs;--'la palabra mexicana _mixtecatl_, es nombre nacional, derivado de _mixtlan_, lugar de nubes ó nebuloso, compuesto de _mixtli_, nube, y de la terminacion _tlan_.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . _mixtlan_, 'place of clouds.' _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . '_mixtecapan_ ... pays des brouillards.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . nahuas;--'todos los que hablan claro la lengua mexicana que les llaman _nahóas_, son descendientes de los tultecas.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . '_nahoatl_ ó _nahuatl_, segun el diccionario de molina, significa _cosa que suena bien_, de modo que viene à ser un adjetivo que aplicado al sustantivo _idioma_, creo que puede traducirse por _armonioso_.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . something of fine, or clear, or loud sound; _nahuatlato_ means an interpreter; _nahuati_, to speak loud; _nahuatia_, to command. the name has no connection whatever with _anáhuac_. _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, pp. - . 'molina le traduit par ladino, instruit, expert, civilisé, et lui donne aussi un sens qui se rapporte aux sciences occultes. on n'en trouve pas, toutefois, la racine dans le mexicain. la langue quichée en donne une explication parfaite: il vient du verbe _nao_ ou _naw_, connaître, sentir, savoir, penser; _tin nao_, je sais; _naoh_, sagesse, intelligence. il y a encore le verbe radical _na_, sentir, soupçonner. le mot _nahual_ dans son sens primitif et véritable, signifie donc littéralement "qui sait tout"; c'est la même chose absolument que le mot anglais _know-all_, avec lequel il a tant d'identité. le quiché et le cakchiquel l'emploient fréquemment aussi dans le sens de mystérieux, extraordinaire, merveilleux.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. - , . nonohualcas;--the tutul-xius, chiefs of a nahuatl house in tulan, seem to have borne the name of _nonoual_, which may have given rise to _nonohualco_ or _onohualco_. '_nonoual_ ne serait-il pas une altération de _nanaual_ ou _nanahuatl_?' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _rel. de las cosas de yucatan_, p. . olmecs;--olmecatl was the name of their first traditionary leader. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . _olmecatl_ may mean an inhabitant of the town of _olman_; but as _mecatl_ is also used for 'shoot', 'offspring', 'branch', the word probably comes from _olli_, and means 'people of the gum'. _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . otomÍs;--'el vocablo _otomitl_, que es el nombre de los _otomies_, tomáronlo de su caudillo, el cual se llamaba _oton_.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . not a native word, but mexican, derived perhaps from _otli_, 'road', and _tomitl_, 'animal hair', referring possibly to some peculiar mode of wearing the hair. _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, pp. - . '_otho_ en la misma lengua othomí quiere decir _nada_, y _mi_, quieto, ó sentado, de manera que traducida literalmente la palabra, significa nada-quieto, cuya idea pudiéramos expresar diciendo _peregrino_ ó _errante_.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. ; _náxera_, _disertacion_, p. . 'son étymologie mexicaine, otomitl, signifie la flèche d'oton.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . pipiles;--a reduplication of _pilli_, which has two meanings, 'noble' and 'child', the latter being generally regarded as its meaning in the tribal name. _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, pp. - . so called because they spoke the mexican language with a childish pronunciation. _juarros' hist. guat._, p. . pokomams;--'_pokom_, dont la racine _pok_ désigne une sorte de tuf blanc et sablonneux.... la termination _om_ est un participe présent. de _pokom_ vient le nom de pokomam et de pokomchi, qui fut donné à ces tribus de la qualité du sol où ils bâtirent leur ville.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . quichÉs;--'la palabra _quiché_, _kiché_, ó _quitze_, significa _muchos árboles_.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . 'de _quï_ beaucoup, plusieurs, et de _che_, arbre, ou de _queche_, _quechelah_, _qechelah_, la forêt.' _ximenez_, in _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, p. cclxv. tarascos;--'tarasco viene de _tarhascue_, que en la lengua de michoacan significa suegro, ó yerno segun dice el p. lagunas en su gramática.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . '_taras_ en la lengua mexicana se dice _mixcoatl_, que era el dios de los _chichimecas_.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . 'Á quienes dieron el nombre de tarascos, por el sonido que les hacian las partes genitales en los muslos al andar.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. des nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . tepanecs;--_tepan_, 'stony place', from _tetl_, or _tecpan_, 'royal palace'. _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . '_tecpantlan_ signifie auprès des palais.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, p. cx. 'cailloux roulés sur la roche, _te-pa-ne-ca_, littéralement ce qui est mêlé ensemble sur la pierre; ou bien _te-pan-e-ca_, c'est-à-dire avec des petites pierres sur la roche ou le solide, _e_, pour _etl_, le haricot, frijol, étant pris souvent dans le sens d'une petite pierre sur une surface, etc.' _id._, _quatre lettres_, p. . tlahuicas;--from _tlahuitl_, 'cinnabar', from this mineral being plentiful in their country. _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . _tlahuilli_, 'poudres brillantes.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _quatre lettres_, p. . '_tlauia_, alumbrar a otros con candela o hacha.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. tlapanecs;--'y llámanlos tambien tlapanecas que quiere decir _hombres almagrados_, porque se embijaban con color.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . from _tlalpantli_, 'ground'; may also come from _tlalli_, 'land'. _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . _tlapallan_, 'terre colorée'. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, p. lxiii. tla, 'feu'. _id._, _quatre lettres_, p. . '_tlapani_, quebrarse algo, o el tintorero que tiñe paños.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. probably a synonym of yoppi, q. v. _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . tlascaltecs;--'_tlaxcalli_, tortillas de mayz, o pan generalmente.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. _tlaxcalli_, 'place of bread or tortillas', the past participle of _ixca_, 'to bake or broil'. _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . toltecs;--'_toltecayotl_, maestria de arte mecanica. _toltecatl_, official de arte mecanica. _toltecauia_, fabricar o hazer algo el maestro.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. 'los _tultecas_ todos se nombraban _chichimecas_, y no tenian otro nombre particular sino este que tomaron de la curiosidad, y primor de las obras que hacian, que se llamaron obras _tultecas_ ó sea como si digesemos, oficiales pulidos y curiosos como ahora los de flandes, y con razon, porque eran sutiles y primorosos en cuanto ellos ponian la mano, que todo era muy bueno.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . toltecs, 'people of tollan'. tollan, 'place of willows or reeds', from _tolin_, 'willow, reed.' _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . '_toltecatl_ était le titre qu'on donnait à un artiste habile.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . tollan: 'elle est frappante ... par l'identité qu'elle présente avec le nom de _metztli_ ou le croissant. en effet, ce qu'elle exprime, d'ordinaire, c'est l'idée d'un "pays recourbé" ou incliné. sa première syllabe _tol_, primitif de _toloa_, "abaxar, inclinar la cabeça," dit molina, "entortar, encorvar," dit-il ailleurs, signifie donc baisser, incliner la tête, se tortuer, courber, ce qui, avec la particule locale _lan_ pour _tlan_ ou _tan_, la terre, l'endroit, annonce une terre ou un pays recourbé, sens exact du mot _tollan_. du même verbe vient _tollin_, le jonc, le roseau, dont la tête s'incline au moindre vent; de là, le sens de jonquière, de limné, que peut prendre _tollan_, dont le hiéroglyphe représente précisément le son et la chose, et qui paraît exprimer doublement l'idée de cette terre fameuse de la courbe ou du croissant, basse et marécageuse en beaucoup d'endroits suivant la tradition.... dans sa (the word _toloa_) signification active, molina le traduit par "tragar", avaler, engloutir, ce qui donne alors pour _tollan_, le sens de terre engloutie, abîmée, qui, comme vous le voyez, convient on ne peut mieux dans le cas présent. mais si _tollan_ est la terre engloutie, si c'est en même temps le pays de la courbe, metztli ou le croissant, ces deux noms, remarquez-le, peuvent s'appliquer aussi bien au lieu où il a été englouti, à l'eau qui se courbait le long des rivages du croissant, soit à l'intérieur des grandes golfes du nord et du midi, soit au rivage convexe, tourné comme le genou de la jambe, vers l'orient. c'est ainsi qu'on retrouve l'identification continuelle de l'idée mâle avec l'idée femelle, du contenu et du contenant, de _tollan_, le pays englouti, avec _tollan_, l'océan engloutisseur, de l'eau qui est contenue et des continents qui l'enserrent dans leurs limites. ajoutons, pour compléter cette analyse, que _tol_, dans la langue quichée, est un verbe, dont _tolan_ est le passé, et qu'ainsi que _tulan_ il signifie l'abandon, la nudité, etc. de _tol_, faites _tor_, dans la même langue, et vous aurez avec _toran_, ce qui est tourné ou retourné, comme en mexicain, de même que dans _turn_ (touran) vous trouverez ce qui a été renversé, bouleversé de fond en comble, noyé sous les eaux, etc. dans la langue maya, _tul_ signifie remplir, combler, et _an_, comme en quiché, est le passé du verbe: mais si à _tul_ on ajoute _ha_ ou _a_, l'eau, nous avons _tuhla_ ou _tula_, rempli, submergé d'eau. en dernière analyse, _tol_ ou _tul_ paraît avoir pour l'origine _ol_, _ul_, couler, venir, suivant le quiché encore; primitif d'_olli_, ou bien d'_ulli_, en langue nahuatl, la gomme élastique liquide, la boule noire du jeu de paume, qui devient le hiéroglyphe de l'eau, remplissant les deux golfes. le préfixe _t_ pour _ti_ serait une préposition; faisant _to_, il signifie l'orbite de l'oeil, en quiché, image de l'abîme que la boule noire remplit comme sa prunelle, ce dont vous pouvez vous assurer dans la figure de la page suivante; _to_ est, en outre, l'aide, l'instrument, devenant _tool_; mais en mexicain, _to_, primitif de _ton_, est la chaleur de l'eau bouillante. _tol_, contracté de _to-ol_, pourrait donc avoir signifié "le liquide bouillant", ou la venue de la chaleur bouillante, de l'embrasement. avec _teca_, étendre, le mot entier _tolteca_, nous aurions donc, étendre le courbé, etc., et _tol-tecatl_, le toltèque, serait ce qui étend le courbé ou l'englouti, on bien l'eau bouillante, etc. ces étymologies rentrent donc toutes dans la même idée qui, sous bien des rapports, fait des toltèques, une des puissances telluriques, destructrices de la terre du croissant.' _id._, _quatre lettres_, pp. - . totonacs;--from _tototl_ and _nacatl_, 'bird-flesh'; or from _tona_, 'to be warm'. _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . '_totonaco_ significa á la letra, tres corazones en un sentido, y tres panales en otro,' from _toto_, 'three', and _naco_, 'heart', in the totonac language. _dominguez_, in _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., pp. - . '_totonal_, el signo, en que alguno nasce, o el alma y espiritu.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. tutul-xius;--'le nom des tutul-xiu paraît d'origine nahuatl; il serait dérivé de _totol_, _tototl_, oiseau, et de _xíuitl_, ou _xíhuitl_, herbe.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _rel. de las cosas de yucatan_, p. . xicalancas;--'_xicalli_, vaso de calabaça.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. _xicalli_, 'place of this species of calabash or drinking-shell.' _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . 'xicalanco, la ville des courges ou des tasses faites de la courge et appelée xicalli dans ces contrées, et dont les espagnols ont fait xicara.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . xochimilcas;--from _xochitl_, 'flower', and _milli_, 'piece of land', meaning 'place of flower-fields.' _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . '_xochimicque_ captiuos en guerra.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. '_xochimilca_, habitants de _xochimilco_, lieu où l'on sème tout en bas de la base, nom de la terre végétale et fertile où l'on ensemençait, _m'il_, qu'on retourne, d'où le mot _mil_ ou _milli_, champ, terre ensemencée, et sans doute aussi le latin _milium_, notre _míl_ et _millet_.' 'j'ajouterai seulement que ce nom signifie dans le langage ordinaire, ceux qui cultivent de fleurs, de _xochitl_, fleur, littéralement, ce qui vit sous la base.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _quatre lettres_, pp. - . yoppi;--'llámanles _yopes_ porque su tierra se llama _yopinzinco_.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . 'inferimos ... que yope, yopi, jope, segun se encuentra escrita la palabra en varios lugares, es sinónimo de tlapaneca.' _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . _yopaa_, 'land of tombs.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . zapotecs;--'_tzapotl_, cierta fruta conocida.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. _tzapotlan_, 'place of the zapotes, trees or fruits.' _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, p. . 'derivado de la palabra mexicana _tzapotlan_, que significa "lugar de los _zapotes_", nombre castellanizado de una fruta muy conocida.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. i., p. . '_zapotecapan_ est le nom que les mexicains avaient donné à cette contrée, à cause de la quantité et de la qualité supérieure de ses fruits.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . zotziles;--'_zotzil_, murciélago.' _pimentel_, _cuadro_, tom. ii., p. . zotzilha 'signifie la ville des chauves-souris.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . chapter iii. government of the nahua nations. system of government--the aztec confederacy--order of succession--election of kings among the mexicans--royal prerogatives--government and laws of succession among the toltecs and in michoacan, tlascala, cholula, huexotzinco, and oajaca--magnificence of the nahua monarchs--ceremony of anointment--ascent to the temple--the holy unction--address of the high-priest to the king--penance and fasting in the house called tlacatecco--homage of the nobles--general rejoicing throughout the kingdom--ceremony of coronation--the procuring of sacrifices--description of the crown--coronations, feasts, and entertainments--hospitality extended to enemies--coronation-speech of nezahualpilli, king of tezcuco, to montezuma ii. of mexico--oration of a noble to a newly elected king. the prevailing form of government among the civilized nations of mexico and central america was monarchical and nearly absolute, although some of the smaller and less powerful states, as for instance, tlascala, affected an aristocratic republican system. the three great confederated states of mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan were each governed by a king, who had supreme authority in his own dominion, and in matters touching it alone. where, however, the welfare of the whole allied community was involved, no one king could act without the concurrence of the others; nevertheless, the judgment of one who was held to be especially skilful and wise in any question under consideration, was usually deferred to by his colleagues. thus in matters of war, or foreign relations, the opinion of the king of mexico had most weight, while in the administration of home government, and in decisions respecting the rights of persons, it was customary during the reigns of the two royal sages of tezcuco, nezahualcoyotl and nezahualpilli, to respect their counsel above all other.[ ] the relative importance of these three kingdoms must, however, have shown greater disparity as fresh conquests were made, since in the division of territory acquired by force of arms, tlacopan received only one fifth, and of the remainder, judging by the relative power and extent of the states when the spaniards arrived, it is probable that mexico took the larger share.[ ] [sidenote: election of kings.] [sidenote: order of succession.] in tezcuco and tlacopan the order of succession was lineal and hereditary, in mexico it was collateral and elective. in the two former kingdoms, however, although the sons succeeded their fathers, it was not according to birth, but according to rank; the sons of the queen, or principal wife, who was generally a daughter of the royal house of mexico, being always preferred to the rest.[ ] in mexico, the eldest surviving brother of the deceased monarch was generally elected to the throne, and when there were no more brothers, then the nephews, commencing with the eldest son of the first brother that had died; but this order was not necessarily observed, since the electors, though restricted in their choice to one family, could set aside the claims of those whom they considered incompetent to reign; and, indeed, it was their particular duty to select from among the relatives of the deceased king the one best fitted to bear the dignity and responsibility of supreme lord.[ ] during the early days of the mexican monarchy the king was elected by vote of the whole people, who were guided in their choice by their leaders; even the women appear to have had a voice in the matter at this period.[ ] afterwards, the duty of electing the king of mexico devolved upon four or five of the chief men of the empire. the kings of tezcuco and tlacopan were also electors, but with merely an honorary rank; they ratified the decision of the others, but probably took no direct part in the election, although their influence and wishes doubtless carried great weight with the council. as soon as the new king had been chosen the body of electors was dissolved, and others were appointed in their place, whose duties also terminated with their first electoral vote.[ ] this plan of election was not without its advantages. as the persons to whom the choice was entrusted were great ministers or lords who lived at court, they had better opportunities of observing the true character of the future candidates for the throne than the common people, who are ever too apt to judge, by pleasing exterior rather than by real merit, those with whose private life they can have no acquaintance. in the next place, the high private rank of the mexican electors placed them beyond the ordinary influence of bribery or threats; and thus the state was in a measure free from that system of corruption which makes the voice of the people a mockery in more democratic communities, and which would have prevailed to a far greater extent in a country where feudal relations existed between lord and vassal. then again, the freedom of choice accorded to electors enabled them to prevent imbeciles from assuming the responsibilities of kingship, and thus the most conspicuous evil of an hereditary monarchy was avoided. [sidenote: power of the mexican kings.] the almost absolute authority vested in the person of the sovereign rendered great discrimination necessary in his selection. it was essential that the ruler of a people surrounded by enemies and continually bent upon conquest, should be an approved and valiant warrior; having the personal direction of state affairs, it was necessary that he should be a deep and subtle politician; the gross superstition and theocratic tendencies of the governed required the governor to be versed in religion, holding the gods in reverence; and the records of the nation prove that he was generally a man of culture, and a patron of art and science. in its first stages the mexican monarchy partook rather of an aristocratic than of an absolute nature. though the king was ostensibly the supreme head of the state, he was expected to confer with his council, which was composed of the royal electors, and other exalted personages, before deciding upon any important step;[ ] and though the legislative power rested entirely in his hands, the executive government was entrusted to regularly appointed officials and courts of justice. as the empire, owing to the able administration of a succession of conquering princes, increased in greatness, the royal power gradually increased, although i find nothing of constitutional amendments or reconstructions until the time of montezuma ii., when the authority of all tribunals was reduced almost to a dead letter, if opposed to the desires or commands of the king. the neighboring independent and powerful kingdom of michoacan was governed by an absolute monarch, who usually resided at his capital, on lake patzcuaro. over each province was placed a governor, chosen from the first ranks of the nobility, who ruled with great if not absolute authority, in the name of the king, and maintained a court that was in almost every respect a miniature of that of his sovereign. the order of succession was hereditary and lineal, the eldest son generally succeeding to the throne. the selection of a successor, however, was left to the reigning king, who, when he felt himself to be near his end, was at liberty to choose from among his sons the one whom he thought best fitted to govern. in order to test his capability and accustom him to handling the reigns of government, and that he might have the old monarch's advice, the chosen heir immediately began to exercise the functions of king. a custom similar to this existed among the ancient toltecs. their kings were only permitted to reign for a _xiuhmolpilli_, that is to say an 'age,' which was fifty-two years, after which time the eldest son was invested with royal authority and commenced to reign.[ ] when the old michoacan monarch fell sick, the son who had been nominated as his successor immediately dispatched messengers to all the grandees of the kingdom, with orders to repair immediately to the capital. none was exempt from being present, and a failure to comply with the summons was held to be lèse-majesté. having assembled at the palace, if the invalid is able to receive them, the nobles pass one by one through his chamber and with words of condolence and encouragement seek to comfort him. before leaving the palace each mourner deposits in the throne-room certain presents, brought for the occasion as a more substantial testimonial of his sorrow. if, however, the physicians pronounce the royal patient beyond hope of recovery, no one is allowed to see him.[ ] [sidenote: government in tlascala.] [sidenote: the pontiff of yopaa.] he who reads the romantic story of the conquest, feels his heart warm towards that staunch little nation of warriors, the tlascaltecs. there is that about the men who ate their meat saltless for fifty years rather than humble themselves before the mighty despots of mexico, that savors of the same material that defied the persian host at thermopylæ. had the tlascaltecs steadily opposed the spaniards, cortés never could have gone forward to look upon the face of king montezuma, nor backward to king charles as the conqueror of new spain; the warriors who routed their allied enemies on the bloody plains of poyauhtlan, assuredly could have offered the hearts of the invaders an acceptable sacrifice to the gods of tlascala. the state of tlascala, though invariably spoken of as a republic, was certainly not so in the modern acceptation of the term. at the time of the conquest it was governed by four supreme lords, each independent in his own territory, and possessed of equal authority with the others in matters concerning the welfare of all.[ ] a parliament or senate, composed of these four lords and the rest of the nobility, settled the affairs of government, especially those relating to peace and war. the law of succession was much the same as in michoacan. the chief before his death named the son whom he wished to succeed him, who, however, did not, as in michoacan, commence to govern until after his father's death. the old chief's choice was restricted in two ways: in the first place the approval of his three colleagues was necessary; and secondly, legitimate sons, that is the sons of a wife to whom he had been united according to certain forms, must take precedence of his other children. in default of sons, the brothers of the deceased chief succeeded.[ ] in any event the property of the late ruler was inherited by his brothers, who also, according to a custom which we shall find to be almost universal among the civilized peoples of the new world, married his widows.[ ] such information as i find upon the subject ascribes the same form of government to cholula and huexotzinco, that was found in tlascala.[ ] the miztecs and zapotecs acknowledged one supreme chief or king; the law of inheritance with them was similar to that of tlascala, except that in default of sons a daughter could inherit.[ ] the zapotecs appear, at least in the more ancient times, to have been, if possible, even more priest-ridden than their neighbors; the orders of priests existing among them were, as will be seen elsewhere, numerous, and seem to have possessed great power, secular as well as sacerdotal. yopaa, one of their principal cities, was ruled absolutely by a pontiff, in whom the zapotec monarchs had a powerful rival. it is impossible to overrate the reverence in which this spiritual king was held. he was looked upon as a god, whom the earth was not worthy to hold, nor the sun to shine upon. he profaned his sanctity if he so much as touched the ground with his foot. the officers who bore his palanquin upon their shoulders were members of the first zapotec families; he scarcely deigned to look upon anything about him. he never appeared in public, except with the most extraordinary pomp, and all who met him fell with their faces to the ground, fearing that death would overtake them were they to look upon the face of the holy wiyatao, as he was called. the most powerful lords never entered his presence except with eyes lowered and feet bared, and even the zapotec princes of the blood must occupy a seat before him lower than his own. continence was strictly imposed upon the zapotec priests, and especially was it incumbent upon the pontiff of yopaa, from the eminence of his position, to be a shining light of chastity for the guidance of those who looked up to him; yet was the pontifical dignity hereditary in the family of the wiyatao. the way in which this paradox is explained is as follows: on certain days in each year, which were generally celebrated with feasts and dances, it was customary for the high-priest to become drunk. while in this state, seeming to belong neither to heaven nor to earth, one of the most beautiful of the virgins consecrated to the service of the gods was brought to him. if the result of this holy debauch proved to be a male infant, the child was brought up with great care as a prince of the royal family. the eldest son of the reigning pontiff inherited the throne of yopaa, or in default of children, the high-priest's nearest relative succeeded. the younger children devoted themselves to the service of the gods, or married and remained laymen, according to their inclination or the paternal wish; in either case the most honorable and important positions usually fell to their lot.[ ] * * * * * the pomp and circumstance which surrounded the aztec monarchs, and the magnificence of their every-day life was most impressive. from the moment of his coronation the aztec sovereign lived in an atmosphere of adulation unknown to the mightiest potentate of the old world. reverenced as a god, the haughtiest nobles, sovereigns in their own land, humbled themselves before him; absolute in power, the fate of thousands depended upon a gesture of his hand. [sidenote: ceremony of anointment.] the ceremony of anointment, which preceded and was entirely distinct from that of coronation, was an occasion of much display. in mexico, as soon as the new king was elected, which was immediately after the funeral of his predecessor, the kings of tezcuco and tlacopan were sent for to be present at the ceremony of anointment; all the great feudatory lords, who had been present at the funeral of the late king, were also invited to attend. when all are assembled the procession sets out for the temple of huitzilopochtli, the god of war. the kings of tezcuco and tlacopan, surrounded by all the most powerful nobles of the realm, bearing their ensigns and insignia of rank, lead the van. next comes the king elect, naked, excepting only the maxtli, or cloth about the loins; following these are the lesser nobles, and after them the common people. silently the procession wends its way along the streets; no beat of drum nor shout of people is heard above the tramping. the road in advance is as free from obstruction as a corridor in the royal palace; no one moves among the multitude that string along its edges, but all stand with bended head and eyes downcast until the solemn pageant has passed, when they close in with the jostling and whispering crowd that follows. arrived at the temple the king and that part of the procession which precedes him ascend to the summit. during the ascent he is supported on either side by a great lord, and such aid is not superfluous, for the staircases, having in all one hundred and fourteen steps, each a foot high, are so arranged that it is necessary to go completely round the building several times before reaching the top. on the summit the king is met by the high-priest and his colleagues, the people meanwhile waiting below. his first action upon reaching the summit is to pay reverence to the image of the god of battles by touching the earth with his hand and then carrying it to his mouth. the high-priest now anoints the king throughout his entire body with a certain black ointment, and sprinkles him with water which has been blessed at the grand feast of huitzilopochtli, using for this purpose branches of cedar and willow and leaves of maize;[ ] at the same time he addresses a few words of counsel to him. the newly anointed monarch is next clothed with a mantle, on which are represented skulls and bones, to remind him, we are told, that even kings are mortal; his head is covered with two cloths, or veils, one blue and the other black, and decorated in a similar manner; about his neck is tied a small gourd, containing a certain powder, which is esteemed a strong preservative against disease, sorcery, and treason. a censer containing live coals is put into his right hand, and into his left a bag of copal, and thus accoutred and provided he proceeds to incense the god huitzilopochtli.[ ] this act of worship he performs on his knees, amid the cheers of the people below, and the playing of musical instruments. he has concluded now, and the high-priest again addresses a short speech to him. consider well, sire, he says, the great honor which your subjects have conferred upon you, and remember now that you are king, that it is your duty to watch over your people with great care, to look upon them as your children, to preserve them from suffering, and to protect the weak from the oppression of the strong. behold before you the chiefs of your kingdom together with all your subjects, to whom you are both father and mother, for it is to you they turn for protection. it is now your place to command and to govern, and most especially is it your duty to bestow great attention upon all matters relating to war, to search out and punish criminals without regard to rank, to put down rebellion, and to chastise the seditious. let not the strength of religion decline during your reign, see that the temples are well cared for, let there be ever an abundance of victims for sacrifice, and so will you prosper in all your undertakings and be beloved of the gods. gomara affirms that the high-priest imposed an oath upon the king that during his reign he would maintain the religion of his ancestors, and observe their laws; that he would give offence to none, and be valiant in war; that he would make the sun to shine, the clouds to give rain, the rivers to flow, and the earth to bring forth fruits in abundance.[ ] the allied kings and the nobles next address him to the same purpose; to which the king answers with thanks and promises to exert himself to the utmost of his power for the happiness of the state. the speeches being ended the procession again winds round the temple until, following terrace after terrace, it finally reaches the ground in the same order that it went up. the king now receives homage and gifts from the rest of the nobility, amidst the loud acclaims of the people. he is next conducted to a temple called tlacatecco, where during four days he remains alone, doing penance and eating but once a day, with the liberty, however, of choosing his own food. twice in each twenty-four hours he bathes, once at noon and once at midnight, and after each bath he draws blood from his ears and offers it, together with some burnt copal, to huitzilopochtli. the remainder of his time during these four days he occupies in praying the gods to endow him with the wisdom and prudence necessary to the ruler of a mighty kingdom. on the fifth day he is conducted in state to the royal palace, where the feudatory lords come to renew the investiture of their feifs. then follow great public rejoicings, with games, feasts, dances, and illuminations. * * * * * [sidenote: coronation ceremony.] the coronation was, as i have stated, a ceremony distinct from the anointment. to prepare for it, it was necessary that the newly elected king should go out to war, to procure victims for the sacrifices necessary on such an occasion. they were never without enemies upon whom war might be made; either some province of the kingdom had rebelled, or mexican merchants had been unjustly put to death, or insult had been offered to the royal ambassadors, or, if none of these excuses was at hand, the importance of the occasion alone rendered war justifiable. of the manner in which war was waged, and of the triumphal return of the victorious army, i shall speak in another place. it appears that when a king of mexico was crowned, the diadem was placed upon his head by the king of tezcuco. the crown, which was called by the mexicans _copilli_, was in shape like a small mitre, the fore part of which stood erect and terminated in a point, while the hinder part hung down over the neck. it was composed of different materials, according to the pleasure of the wearer; sometimes it was of thin plates of gold, sometimes it was woven of golden thread and adorned with beautiful feathers.[ ] accounts of the particular ceremonies used at the coronation are wanting, but all agree that they were of unparalleled splendor. the new king entertained most sumptuously at his own palace all the great nobles of his realm; honors were conferred with a lavish hand, and gifts were made in profusion both by and to the king. splendid banquets were given in which all the nobility of the kingdom participated, and the lower classes were feasted and entertained with the greatest liberality. the fondness of the aztecs for all kinds of public games and festivals is evidenced in the frequency of their feasts, and in no way could a newly elected monarch better secure a place in the affections of his subjects than by inaugurating his reign with a series of splendid entertainments. the strange fascination which this species of enjoyment possessed for them is shown by the fact that strangers and foreigners came from afar to witness the coronation feasts, and it is related that members of hostile nations were frequently discovered disguised among the crowd, and were not only allowed by the clemency of the king to pass unmolested, but were provided with seats, from which they could obtain a good view of the proceedings and where they would be secure from insult.[ ] one of the principal features of the day was the congratulatory speech of one monarch to another, which was courteous and flattering and filled with good advice; the following address of nezahualpilli, king of tezcuco, to montezuma ii., on the occasion of the accession of the latter to the throne of mexico, will illustrate. [sidenote: address to the king.] the great good fortune, most mighty lord, which has befallen this kingdom in deserving thee for its monarch, is plainly shown by the unanimity with which thou wast elected, and by the general rejoicing of thy people thereat. and they have reason to rejoice; for so great is the mexican empire that none possessed of less wisdom, prudence, and courage, than thou, were fit to govern it. truly is this people beloved of the gods, in that they have given it light to choose that which is best; for who can doubt that a prince who, before he came to the throne, made the nine heavens his study,[ ] will, now that he is king, obtain the good things of the earth for his people? who can doubt that his well-tried courage will be even greater now that it is so much needed? who can believe that so mighty and powerful a prince will be found wanting in charity toward the orphan and the widow? who can doubt that the mexican people are favored of the gods, in having for a king one to whom the great creator has imparted so much of his own glory that by simply looking upon his face we are made to partake of that glory? rejoice, o happy land! for the gods have given thee a prince who will be a firm pillar for thy support, a father and a refuge for thy succor, a more than brother in pity and mercy toward his people. verily thou hast a king who will not avail himself of his high place to give himself up to sloth and pleasure, but who, rather, will lie sleepless through the night, pondering thy welfare. tell me, then, most fortunate land, have i not reason for saying, rejoice and be happy! and thou most noble and puissant lord, be of good heart, for as the high gods have appointed thee to this office, so will they grant thee strength to fill it; and be well assured that the gods who have been so gracious to thee during these many years, will not now fail in their goodness; by them hast thou been raised to thy present exalted position; we pray that with their help thou mayest continue to hold it during many happy years to come.[ ] it is probable that the orations used upon those occasions by the aztecs were, like their prayers, not spoken ex tempore, nor even prepared beforehand by the speaker; most likely they were in the form of a fixed ritual, each being prepared to suit a special occasion, such as the coronation or burial of a monarch, and repeated as often as such an occasion occurred. some orations must be delivered by particular persons; others needed only an eloquent speaker. sahagun gives us a speech which was addressed to a newly elected king. it could be delivered, he says, by one of the high-priests, or by a noble noted for his eloquence, or by some delegate from the provinces who was an eloquent speaker, or possibly by some learned senator, or other person well versed in the art of speech-making. the language is constrained and quaint, and possibly tiresome, but as a specimen of aztec oratory i give it in full, adhering to the sense, and as clearly as possible to the words of the original: o king, most pitiful, most devout, and best beloved, more worthy to be esteemed than precious stones or choice feathers, thou art here by the will of the lord our god, who has appointed thee to rule over us in the place of the kings thy ancestors, who, dying, have let fall from their shoulders the burden of government under which they labored, even as one who toils up a hill heavy-laden. perchance these dead ones still remember and care for the land which they governed, now, by the will of god, a desert, in darkness, and desolate without a king; peradventure they look with pity upon their country, which is become a place of briars and barren, and upon their poor people who are orphans, fatherless and motherless, knowing not nor understanding those things which are best; who are unable to speak for dumbness, who are as a body without a head. he who has lately left us was strong and valorous: for a few short days he was lent to us, then like a vision he slipped from our midst, and his passing was as a dream, for the lord our god hath called him to rest with the dead kings, his ancestors, who are to-day in a manner shut from our sight in a coffer. thus was he gathered to his people, and is even now with our father and mother, the god of hell, who is called mictlantecutli. will he, peradventure, return from the place to which he is gone? may it not be that he will come back to us? gone is he forever, and his kingdom has lost him. never again, through all coming time, may we see his face, nor those who come after us. he is gone from our sight forever. our light is put out; we, whom he illumined, whom he carried, as it were, upon his shoulders, are abandoned, and in darkness, and in great peril of destruction. behold he has left his people and the throne and seat whereon our lord god placed him, and which he made it his constant aim to hold in peace and quietness. he did not cover his hands and feet with his mantle for laziness, but with diligence did he work for the good of his people. in thee, o most compassionate king, we have a great solace and joy; in thee hath the lord god given us a sun-like glory and splendor. god points at thee with his finger, he hath written down thy name in red letters. it is fixed above and below, in heaven and in hell, that thou shalt be king and possess the throne and seat and dignity of this kingdom, the root of which was deep planted long ago by thine ancestors, they themselves being its first branches. to thee, sire, is entrusted the care of the seignory. thou art the successor of the lords, thy predecessors, and must bear the burden they bore; upon thy back must thou place the load of this kingdom; to the strength of thy thighs and thine arms does the lord god entrust the government of the common people, who are capricious and hard to please. for many years must thou support and amuse them as though they were young children; during all thy life must thou dandle them in thine arms, nurse them on thy lap and soothe them to sleep with a lullaby. o, our lord, most serene and estimable, this thing was determined in heaven and in hell; this matter was considered and thou wast signaled out, upon thee fell the choice of the lord our god. was it possible that thou couldst hide thyself or escape this decision? in what esteem dost thou hold the lord god? with what respect dost thou consider the kings and great nobles who have been inspired by god to choose thee for our father and mother, whose election is divine and irrevocable? this being so, o our lord, see that thou girdest thyself for thy task, that thou puttest thy shoulder to the burden which has been imposed upon thee. let the will of god be obeyed. perchance thou wilt carry this load for a space, or it may be that death will cut thee off, and thy election be as a dream. take heed, therefore, that thou art not ungrateful, setting small store by the benefits of god. be assured that he sees all secret things, and that he will afflict thee in such manner as may seem good to him. peradventure he will send thee into the mountains and waste places, or he will cast thee upon dirt and filthiness, or some fearful and ugly thing will happen to thee; perchance thou shalt be defamed and covered with shame, or discord and revolt shall arise in thy kingdom, so that thou shalt fall into contempt and be cast down; perhaps other kings, thine enemies, may rise up against thee and conquer thee; or possibly the lord may suffer famine and want to desolate thy kingdom. what wilt thou do if in thy time thy kingdom should be destroyed, and the wrath of our god should visit thee in a pestilence? or if the light of thy splendor should be turned into utter darkness, and thy dominions laid waste? or if death should come upon thee while thou art yet young, or the lord god should set his foot upon thee before thou hast fully gathered up the reins of government? what wilt thou do if god on a sudden should send forth armies of enemies against thee, from the wilderness or from the sea, from the waste and barren places where men wage war and shed blood that the thirst of the sun and the earth may be slaked? manifold are the punishments of god for those that offend him. wherefore, o our king, it behoves thee with all thy strength to do that which is right in the fulfilment of thine office, taking care that this be done with tears and sighs, and continual prayer to the lord our god, the invisible, the impalpable. draw near to him, sire, weeping, and in all sincerity, that he may help thee to govern in peace. beware that thou receivest with kindness and humility those that approach thee in grief and despair. neither speak nor act rashly, but hear calmly and to the end all complaints brought before thee; do not harshly interrupt the words of the speaker, for thou art the image of the lord god, in thee is represented his person, thou art his reliance, with thy mouth he speaks, with thine ear he listens. be no respecter of persons, sire, but punish all alike, and justly, for thou hast thy power of god, thy right hand to punish is as the claws and teeth of god, for thou art his judge and executioner. do justice, therefore, heeding the wrath of none; this is the command of god, who hath given the doing of these things into thine hand. take care that in the high places of the lords and judges there be nothing done snatchingly nor in haste, that there be no hot words nor deeds done in anger. say not now in thine heart, i am the lord, my will is law, but rather let this be an occasion for the humbling of thy valor and the lowering of thy self-esteem. look to it that thy new dignities be not the means of puffing thee up with pride and haughtiness, but in place thereof ponder often on thy former lowly estate, from which, without desert, thou wast taken and placed where thou now art. say to thine heart, who was i? who am i? not by mine own deserts did i attain this high place, but by the will of god; verily all this is a dream, and not sober truth. be watchful, sire, that thou dost not rest free from care, that thou dost not grow heedless with pleasure, and become a glutton and wine-bibber, spending in feasting and drunkenness that which is earned by the sweat of thy subjects; let not the graciousness which god has shown in electing thee king, be repaid with profanity, folly, and disturbances. o king and grandchild of ours, god watches over those that govern his kingdoms, and when they do wrong he laughs at them; he mocks and is silent; for he is the lord our god, he does what he pleases, he scoffs at whom he pleases; we are the work of his hand, in the hollow of his palm he tosses us to and fro even as balls and playthings, he makes a mockery of us as we stumble and fall, he uses us for his ends as we roll from side to side. strive hard, o king, to do what thou hast to do little by little. perchance the number of our sins has rendered us unworthy, and thy election will be to us a vision that passes; or perchance it may be the will of the lord that thou possess the royal dignity for a time; perchance he will prove thee, and put thee to the test, and, if thou art found wanting will set up another in thy place. are not the friends of the lord great in number? art thou the only one whom he holds dear? many are the friends of the lord; many are those that call upon him; many are those that lift up their voices before him; many are those that weep before him; many are those that tearfully pray to him; many are those that sigh in his presence; verily all these are uncountable. there are many generous and prudent men of great ability and power, who pray to the lord and cry aloud to him; behold, therefore, there are not lacking others beside thyself on whom to confer the dignity of king. peradventure as a thing that endures not, as a thing seen in sleep, the lord gives thee this great honor and glory; peradventure he gives thee to smell of his tender sweetness, and passes it quickly over thy lips. o king, most fortunate, bow down and humble thyself; weep with sadness and sigh; pray fervently and do the will of the lord by night as well as by day, during the time he sees fit to spare thee. act thy part with calmness, continually praying on thy throne with kindness and softness. take heed that thou givest none cause for pain or weariness or sorrow, that thou settest thy foot upon none, that thou frightest none with angry words or fierce looks. refrain also, o our king, from all lewd jests and converse, lest thou bring thy person into contempt; levity and buffoonery are not fit for one of thy dignity. incline not thine ear to ribaldry, even though it come from a near relative, for though as a man thou art mortal, yet in respect to thine office thou art as god. though thou art our fellow-creature and friend, our son and our brother, yet are we not thine equals, nor do we look upon thee as a man, in that thou now art the image of the lord god; he it is that speaks within thee, instructing us and making himself heard through thy lips; thy mouth is his mouth, thy tongue is his tongue, thy face is his face. already he has graced thee with his authority, he has given thee teeth and claws that thou mayest be feared and respected. see to it, sire, that thy former levity be now laid aside, that thou take to thyself the heart of an old man, of one who is austere and grave. look closely to thine honor, to the decency of thy person, and the majesty of thine office; let thy words be few and serious, for thou art now another being. behold the place on which thou standest is exceeding high, and the fall therefrom is perilous. consider that thou goest on a lofty ridge and upon a narrow path having a fearful depth sheer down on either side, so that it is impossible to swerve to the right or to the left without falling headlong into the abyss. it also behoves thee, sire, to guard thyself against being cross-grained and fierce and dreaded as a wild beast by all. combine moderation with rigor, inclining rather to mercy than to pitilessness. never show all thy teeth nor put forth the full length of thy claws. never appear startled or in fear, harsh or dangerous; conceal thy teeth and claws; assemble thy chief men together, make thyself acceptable to them with gifts and kind words. provide also for the entertainment of the common people according to their quality and rank; adapt thyself to the different classes of the people and ingratiate thyself with them. have a care and concern thyself about the dances, and about the ornaments and instruments used at them, for they are the means of infusing a warlike spirit into men. gladden the hearts of the common people with games and amusements, for thus wilt thou become famous and be beloved, and even after death thy fame will live and the old men and women who knew thee will shed tears of sorrow for thine absence. o most fortunate and happy king, most precious treasure, bear in mind that thou goest by a craggy and dangerous road, whereon thou must step with firmness, for in the path of kings and princes there are many yawning gulfs, and slippery places, and steep, pathless slopes, where the matted thorn-bushes and long grass hide pitfalls having pointed stakes set upright in them. wherefore it behoves thee to call upon thy god with moanings and lamentations, to watch constantly, and to shun the harlot, who is a curse and a sickness to man. sleep not lightly in thy bed, sire, but rather lie and ponder the affairs of thy kingdom; even in thy slumbers let thy dreams be of the good things in thy charge, that thou mayest know how best to distribute them among thy lords and courtiers, for there are many who envy the king, and would fain eat as he eats and drink as he drinks, wherefore is it said that kings 'eat the bread of grief.' think not, sire, that the royal throne is a soft and pleasant seat, for there is nothing but trouble and penitence. o blessed and most precious king, it is not my wish to cause pain to thine heart nor to excite thy wrath and indignation; it is sufficient for me that i have many times stumbled and slipped, aye, and have even fallen, during this discourse of mine; enough for me are the faults of the speech which i have spoken, going, in a manner, with jumps like a frog before our lord god, the invisible, the impalpable, who is here and listening to us, who has heard distinctly the slightest of the words which i have spoken stammeringly and with hesitation, in bad order and with unapt gestures; but in doing this i have complied with the custom which obliges the aged men of the state to address a newly elected king. in like manner have i done my duty to our god who hears me, to whom i make an offering of this my speech. long mayest thou live and reign, o lord and king. i have spoken. footnotes: [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxi.; _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] ixtlilxochitl, for whose patriotism due allowance must be made, writes: 'es verdad, que el de mexico y tezcuco fueron iguales en dignidad señorío y rentas; y el de tlacopan solo tenia cierta parte como la quinta, en lo que era rentas y despues en los otros dos.' _hist. chichimeca_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . zurita also affirms this: 'dans certaines, les tributs étaient répartis en portions égales, et dans d'autres on en faisait cinq parts: le souverain de mexico et celui de tezcuco en prélevaient chacun deux, celui de tacuba une seule.' _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., p. . 'quedó pues determinado que á los estados de tlacopan se agregase la quinta parte de las tierras nuevamente conquistadas, y el resto se dividiese igualmente entre el príncipe y el rey de méjico.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . brasseur de bourbourg agrees with and takes his information from ixtlilxochitl. _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . torquemada makes a far different division: 'concurriendo los tres, se diese la quinta parte al rei de tlacupa, y el tercio de lo que quedase, à neçalhualcoiotl; y los demas, à itzcohuatzin, como à cabeça maior, y suprema.' _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . as also does clavigero: 'si diede quella corona (tlacopan) a totoquihuatzin sotto la condizione di servir con tutte le sue truppe al re di messico, ogni volta che il richiedesse, assegnando a lui medesimo per ciò la quinta parte delle spoglie, che si avessero dai nemici. similmente nezahualcojotl fu messo in possesso del trono d'acolhuacan sotto la condizione di dover soccorrere i messicani nella guerra, e perció gli fu assegnata la terza parte della preda, cavatane prima quella del re di tacuba, restando l'altre due terze parti pel re messicano.' _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . prescott says it was agreed that 'one fifth should be assigned to tlacopan, and the remainder be divided, in what proportion is uncertain, between the other powers.' _mex._, vol. i., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] torquemada writes: 'esta fue costumbre de estos mexicanos, en las elecciones, que hacian, que fuesen reinando sucesivamente, los hermanos, vnos despues de otros, y acabando de reinar el vltimo, entraba en su lugar, el hijo de hermano maior, que primero avia reinado, que era sobrino de los otros reies, qui à su padre avian sucedido.' _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'los reies (of mexico) no heredaban, sino que eran elegidos, y como vimos en el libro de los reies, quando el rei moria, si tenia hermano, entraba heredando; y muerto este, otro, si lo avia; y quando faltaba, le sucedia el sobrino, hijo de su hermano maior, à quien, por su muerte, avia sucedido, y luego el hermano de este, y así discurrian por los demas.' _id._, tom. ii., p. . zurita states that in tezcuco and tlacopan, and their dependent provinces, 'le droit de succession le plus ordinaire était celui du sang en ligne directe de père en fils; mais tous les fils n'héritaient point, il n'y avait que le fils aîné de l'épouse principale que le souverain avait choisie dans cette intention. elle jouissait d'une plus grande considération que les autres, et les sujets la respectaient davantage. lorsque le souverain prenaient une de ses femmes dans la famille de mexico, elle occupait le premier rang, et son fils succédait, s'il était capable.' then, without definitely stating whether he is speaking of all or part of the three kingdoms in question, the author goes on to say, that in default of direct heirs the succession became collateral; and finally, speaking in this instance of mexico alone, he says, that in the event of the king dying without heirs, his successor was elected by the principal nobles. in a previous paragraph he writes: 'l'ordre de succession variait suivant les provinces; les mêmes usages, à peu de différence prés, étaient reçus à mexico, à tezcuco et à tacuba.' afterward we read: 'dans quelques provinces, comme par exemple à mexico, les frères étaient admis à la succession, quoiqu'il y eût des fils, et ils gouvernaient successivement.' _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., pp. - . m. l'abbé brasseur de bourbourg, taking his information from zurita, and, indeed, almost quoting literally from the french translation of that author, agrees that the direct line of succession obtained in tlacopan and tezcuco, but asserts, regarding mexico, that the sovereign was elected by the five principal ministers of the state, who were, however, restricted in their choice to the brothers, nephews, or sons of the deceased monarch. _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . pimentel also follows zurita. _memoria_, p. . prescott affirms that 'the sovereign was selected from the brothers of the deceased prince, or, in default of them, from his nephews.' _mex._, vol. i., p. . sahagun merely says: 'escogian uno de los mas nobles de la linea de los señores antepasados,' who should be a valiant, wise, and accomplished man. _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. . 'per non lasciar troppa libertà agli elettori, e per impedire, quanto fosse possibile, gl'inconvenienti de' partiti, o fazioni, fissarono la corona nella casa d'acamapitzin; e poi stabilirono per legge, che al re morto dovesse succedere uno de'suoi fratelli, e mancando i fratelli, uno de'suoi nipoti, e se mai non ve ne fossero neppur di questi, uno de'suoi cugini restando in balìa degli elettori lo scegliere tra i fratelli, o tra i nipoti del re morto colui, che riconoscessero più idoneo pel governo, schivando con sí fatta legge parecchj inconvenienti da noi altrove accennati.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . leon carbajal quotes this almost literally. _discurso_, pp. - . that the eldest son could put forward no claim to the crown by right of primogeniture, is evident from the following: 'quando algun señor moria y dexava muchos hijos, si alguno se alzava en palacio y se queria preferir á los otros, aunque fuese el mayor, no lo consentia el señor á quien pertenecia la confirmacion, y menos el pueblo. antes dexavan pasar un año, ó mas de otro, en el qual consideravan bien que era mejor para regir ó governar el estado, y aquel permanecia por señor.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii. señor carbajal espinosa says that from the election of chimalpopoca, who succeeded his brother huitzilihuitl, and was the third king of mexico, 'quedó establecida la ley de elegir uno de los hermanos del rey difunto, y á falta de éstos un sobrino, cuya práctica se observó constantemente, como lo harémos ver, hasta la ruina del imperio mexicano.' _hist. de mex._, tom. i., p. . 'el imperio era monárquico, pero no hereditario. muriendo el emperador los gefes del imperio antiguamente se juntaban y elegian entre sí mismos al que creian mas digno, y por el cual la intriga, el manejo, la supersticion, eran mas felizmente reconocidas.' _carli_, _cartas_, pt i., p. . 'tambien auia sucession por sangre, sucedia el hijo mayor, siendo para ello, y sino el otro: en defeto de los hijos sucedian nietos, y en defeto dellos yua por elecion.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. xv. as the order in which the mexican kings actually did follow each other should be stronger proof of what was the law than any other evidence, i take from the codex mendoza the following list: acamapichtli, who is usually spoken of as the first king, succeeded tenuch, although it is not stated that he was related to him in any way; then came huicilyhuitl, son of acamapichtli; chimalpupuca, son of huicilyhuitl, yzcoaci, son of acamapichtli; huehuemoteccuma, son of huicilyhuitl; axayacaci, son of tecocomochtli, and grandson of yzcoaci; tiçoçicatzi, son of axayacaci; ahuiçoçin, brother of tiçoçicatzi; motecçuma, son of axayacaci; thus, according to this author, we see, out of nine monarchs, three succeeded directly by their sons, and three by their brothers. _esplicacion_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., pp. - . see further, _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, and _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._ these writers differ slightly from the collection above quoted, but in no important respect. [ ] after the death of acamapichtli, the first king of mexico, a general council was held, and the people were addressed as follows: 'ya es fallido nuestro rey acamapichtli, á quien pondremos en su lugar, que rija y gobierne este pueblo mexicano? pobres de los viejos, niños y mugeres viejas que hay: que será de nosotros á donde irémos á demandar rey que sea de nuestra patria y nacion mexicana? hablen todos para de cual parte elegirémos rey, é ninguno puede dejar de hablar, pues á todos nos importa para el reparo, y cabeza de nuestra patria mexicana esté.' upon huitzilihuitl being proposed, 'todos juntos, mancebos, viejos y viejas respondieron á una: que sea mucho de enhorabuena, que á él quieren por señor y rey.' _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . sahagun's description of their manner of electing kings, appears also to be more appropriate to this early period than to a later date: 'cuando moria el señor ó rey para elegir otro, juntábanse los senadores que llamaban _tecutlatoque_, y tambien los viejos del pueblo que llamaban _achcacauhti_, y tambien los capitanes soldados viejos de la guerra que llamaban _iauiequioaque_, y otros capitanes que eran principales en las cosas de la guerra, y tambien los sátrapas que llamaban _tlenamacazque ó papaoaque_: todos estos se juntaban en las casas reales, y allí deliberaban y determinaban quien habia de ser señor.' _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . [ ] the exact number and rank of these electors is hard to determine. 'si le souverain de mexico mourait sans héritier, les principaux chefs lui choisissaient un successeur dont l'élection était confirmée par les chefs supérieurs de tezcuco et tacuba.' _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., pp. - . pimentel follows this, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. : 'tutti e due i re (of tezcuco and tlacopan) furono creati elettori onorarj del re di messico, il qual onore soltanto riducevasi a ratificare l'elezion fatta da quattro nobili messicani, ch'erano i veri elettori.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . 'despues en tiempo de izcoatl quarto rey, por consejo y orden de vn sabio y valeroso hombre, que tuuieron a llamado tlacaellèl se señalaron quatro electores, y a estos juntamente con dos señores, o reyes sujetos al mexicano, que eran el de tezcùco, y el de tacuba, tocaua hazer la elecion.' _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . these four electors 'de ordinario eran hermanos, o parientes muy cercanos del rey. llamauan a estos tlacohecalcàtl, que significa el príncipe de los lanças arrojadizas, que era vn genero de armas que ellos mucho vsauan.' _id._, p. . 'seis electores elegian el emperador, dos de cuales eran siempre los príncipes de tescuco á de acolhuacan y de tacuba, y un príncipe de la sangre real.' _carli_, _cartas_, pt i., p. . 'four of the principal nobles, who had been chosen by their own body in the preceding reign, filled the office of electors, to whom were added, with merely an honorary rank however, the two royal allies of tezcuco and tlacopan.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. . brasseur de bourbourg gives the style and title of each elector, and says they were five in number, but does not state his authority: 'les principaux dignitaires du royaume, le cihuacohuatl ou ministre suprême de la justice et de la maison du roi, le tlacochcalcatl, généralissime ou maître de la maison des armes, l'atempanecatl, ou grand-maître des eaux, l'ezhuahuacatl, ou le maître du sang, et le tlillancalqui, ou chef de la maison-noire, composant entre eux le conseil de la monarchie, élisaient celui qui leur paraissait le plus apte aux affaires publiques, et lui donnaient la couronne.... il est douteux que les rois de tetzcuco et de tlacopan aient jamais pris une part directe à ce choix.' _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . at the foot of the same page is the following note: 'si havia duda ó diferencia quien debia de ser rey, averiguase lo mas aina que podian, y sino poco tenian que hacer (los señores de tetzcuco y tlacapan).' _gomara_, _crónica de nueva-españa, ap. barcia_, cap. . this quotation is not to be found, however in the place indicated. 'crearon cuatro electores, en cuya opinion se comprometian todos los votos del reino. eran aquellos funcionarios, magnates y señores de la primera nobleza, comunmente de sangre real, y de tanta prudencia y probidad, cuanta se necesitaba para un cargo tan importante.' _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . 'fue el quinto rey, motezuma primero deste nombre; y porque, para la elecion auia quatro eletores, con los quales interuenian los reyes tezcuco y de tacuba. se juntò con ellos tlacaellel como capitan general, y saliò elegido su sobrino motezuma.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xiii. after the king in rank, 'eran los quatro electores del rey, que tambien sucedian por elecion, y de ordinario eran hermanos, o parientes cercanos del rey, y a estos llamauan en su lengua, principes de las lanças arrojadizas, armas que ellos vsauan.' _id._, cap. xix. [ ] acosta, _hist. de las ynd._, p. , gives the names of three military orders, of which the four royal electors formed one; and of a fourth, which was of a sacerdotal character. all these were of the royal council, and without their advice the king could do nothing of importance. herrera helps himself to this from acosta almost word for word: dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xix. sahagun implies that this supreme council was composed of only four members: 'elegido el señor, luego elegian otros cuatro que eran como senadores que siempre habian de estar al lado de él, y entender en todos los negocios graves de reino, (estos cuatro tenian en diversos lugares diversos nombres).' _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. . according to ixtlilxochitl the council whose duties corresponded to this in tezcuco, was composed of fourteen members. _hist. chichimeca_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _beaumont_, _crón. de mechoacan_, pp. , - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. , ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. ; _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. raza indígena_, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . in the _west-indische spieghel_, pp. - , we read: 'dese stadt ende provincie wierden voor de comste der spaenjaerden soo treffelick gheregeert, als eenighe van die landen, daer was een cacique die absolutelick regeerde, staende onder de ghehoorsaemheydt van de groote heere van tenoxtitlan.' the old chronicler is mistaken here, however, as the kingdom of michoacan was never in any way subject to mexico. [ ] clavigero says that the city of tlascala was divided into four parts, each division having its lord, to whom all places dependent on such division were likewise subject. _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , , tom. ii., pp. - ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. ii.; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _pimentel_, _mem. raza indígena_, p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. . [ ] _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii. brasseur de bourbourg writes: 'dans les divers états du mixtecapan, les héritages passaient de mâle en mâle, sans que les femmes pussent y avoir droit.' _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; this may, however, refer merely to private property. [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, cap. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] acosta, _hist. de las ynd._, p. , writes: 'pusieronle corona real, y vngieronle, como fue costumbre hazerlo con todos sus reyes, con vna vncion que llamauan diuina, porque era la misma con que vngian su ydolo.' torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. , says that acosta is mistaken, for, he observes that 'la corona que llamaba copilli, no se daba en esta ocasión, sino que en lugar de ella, le ponían las mantas dichas sobre la cabeça, ni tampoco era la vncion la misma que la de los idolos; porque la divina, que èl [acosta] nombra, era de ulli, y sangre de niños, con que tambien vngian al sumo sacerdote;' but torquemada here directly contradicts a previous statement of his own, tom. i., p. , where he says that immediately after the election, having seated the king elect upon a throne, 'le pusieron la corona real en su cabeça, y le vntaron todo el cuerpo, con la vncion, que despues acostumbraron, que era la misma con que vngian à su dios,' thus using almost the same words as acosta. leon y gama, _dos piedras_, says that the water used at the anointing was drawn from the fountain tozpalatl, which was held in great veneration, and that it was first used for this purpose at the anointment of huitzilihuitl, second king of mexico. [ ] sahagun states that the king was dressed upon this occasion in a tunic of dark green cloth, with bones painted upon it; this tunic resembled the huipil, or chemise of the women, and was usually worn by the nobles when they offered incense to the gods. the veil was also of green cloth ornamented with skulls and bones, and in addition to the articles described by other writers, this author mentions that they placed dark green sandals upon his feet. he also affirms that the four royal electors were confirmed in their office at the same time as the king, being similarly dressed, save that the color of their costume was black, and going through the same performances after him, except, of course, the anointment. _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., p. . gomara says they hung upon the king's neck 'vnas correas coloradas largas y de muchos ramales: de cuios cabos colgauan ciertas insignias de rei, como pinjantes.' _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] the crown used by the early chichimec sovereigns was composed of a herb called _pachxochitl_, which grew on the rocks, surmounted by plumes of the royal eagle, and green fathers called _tecpilotl_, the whole being mounted with gold and precious stones, and bound to the head with strips of deer-skin. _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chichimeca_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. xi., p. . in another place, _relaciones_, in _id._, p. , the same writer says that the crown differed according to time and season. in time of war it was composed of royal eagle feathers, placed at the back of the head, and held together with clasps of gold and precious stones; in time of peace the crown was made of laurel and green feathers of a very rare bird called quezaltotolc; in the dry season it was made of a whitish moss which grew on the rocks, with a flower at the junction called _teoxuchitl_. [ ] concerning anointment and coronation, see _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; tom. ii., pp. , - ; _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. xv.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. , - , ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _tezozomoc_, _crón. mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., p. - . in addition to the numerous works of acknowledged authority on the subject of aboriginal american civilization there are a number of others, chiefly of modern date, that treat more or less completely of the matter. many of these are mere compilations, put together without regard to accuracy or consistency; others are works which deal ostensibly with other spanish american matters and only refer to the ancient civilization in passing; their accounts are usually copied bodily from one or two of the old writers; some few profess to exhaust the subject; in these latter, however, the authors have failed to cite their authorities, or at best have merely given a list of them. to attempt to note all the points on which these writers have fallen into error, or where they differ from my text, would prove as tiresome to the reader as the result would lie useless. it will therefore be sufficient to refer to this class of books at the conclusion of the large divisions into which this work naturally falls. about the system of government, laws of succession, ceremonies of election, anointment and coronation, of the aztecs and other nations included in this division, see: _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , ; _soden_, _spanier in peru_, tom. ii., pp. - , - ; _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. - , - ; _baril_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mexicain_, pp. , - , - , ; _lafond_, _voyages_, tom. i., p. ; _poinsett's notes mex._, _app._, pp. - ; _macgregor's progress of america_, p. ; _dillon_, _hist. mex._, pp. - , - ; _hassel_, _mex. guat._, p. ; _dilworth_, _conq. mex._, p. ; _pradt_, _cartas_, pp. , ; _monglave_, _résumé_, pp. , - , - , - , ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - , ; _cortés_, _aventuras_, _pref._, pp. - ; _chamber's jour._, vol. iv., p. ; _west und ost indischer lustgart_, p. . [ ] 'que antes de reinar avia investigado los nueve dobleces de el cielo.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . ortega, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. , writes: 'quel el que siendo particular supo penetrar los secretos del cielo;' 'that he who, being a private individual, could penetrate the secrets of heaven,' which appears more intelligible. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - . chapter iv. palaces and households of the nahua kings. extent and interior of the great palace in mexico--the palace of nezahualcoyotl, king of tezcuco--the zoÖlogical collections of the nahua monarchs--montezuma's oratory--royal gardens and pleasure-grounds--the hill of chapultepec--nezahualcoyotl's country residence at tezcozinco--toltec palaces--the royal guard--the king's meals--an aztec cuisine--the audience chamber--after-dinner amusements--the royal wardrobe--the king among his people--meeting of montezuma ii. and cortÉs--the king's harem--revenues of the royal household--policy of aztec kings. [sidenote: reliability of authorities.] in the preceding chapter we have seen how the monarchs were chosen, and anointed, and crowned, and feasted, and lectured; now let us follow them to their homes. and here i must confess i am somewhat staggered by the recitals. it is written that as soon as the new king was formally invested with the right of sovereignty, he took possession of the royal palaces and gardens, and that these abodes of royalty were on a scale of magnificence almost unparalleled in the annals of nations. how far we may rely on these accounts it is difficult to say; how we are to determine disputed questions is yet more difficult. in the testimony before us, there are two classes of evidence: one having as its base selfishness, superstition, and patriotism; the other disaffection, jealousy, and hatred. between these contending evils, fortunately, we may at least approximate to the truth. to illustrate: there can be no doubt that much concerning the aztec civilization has been greatly exaggerated by the old spanish writers, and for obvious reasons. it was manifestly to the advantage of some, both priests and adventurers, to magnify the power and consequence of the people conquered, and the cities demolished by them, knowing full well that tales of mighty realms, with countless man-eaters and fabulous riches, would soonest rouse the zeal and cupidity of the spaniards, and best secure to them both honors and supplies. gathered from the lips of illiterate soldiers little prone to diminish the glory of their achievements in the narration, or from the manuscripts of native historians whose patriotic statements regarding rival states no longer in existence could with difficulty be disproved, these accounts passed into the hands of credulous writers of fertile imagination, who drank in with avidity the marvels that were told them, and wrote them down with superhuman discrimination--with a discrimination which made every so-called fact tally with the writings of the fathers. these writers possessed in an eminent degree the faculty called by latter-day scholars the imaginative in history-writing. whatever was told them that was contrary to tradition was certainly erroneous, a snare of the devil; if any facts were wanting in the direction pointed out by doctrines or dogmas, it was their righteous duty to fill them in. thus it was in certain instances. but to the truth of the greater part of these relations, testimony is borne by the unanimity of the authors, though this is partly owing to their copying each from the writings of the others, and, more conclusively, by the architectural remains which survived the attacks of the iconoclastic conquerors, and the golden and bejeweled ornaments of such exquisite workmanship as to equal if not surpass anything of the kind in europe, which ornaments were sent to spain as proofs of the richness of the country. at this distance of time it is impossible to draw a definite line between the true and the false; nor do i feel it my duty to dogmatize in these matters, but rather to tell the tale as i find it, at the same time laying every shade of evidence before the reader. * * * * * [sidenote: royal palace at mexico.] the principal palace in the city of mexico was an irregular pile of low buildings, enormous in extent, constructed of huge blocks of _tetzontli_, a kind of porous stone common to that country, cemented with mortar. the arrangement of the buildings was such that they enclosed three great plazas or public squares, in one of which a beautiful fountain incessantly played. twenty great doors opened on the squares, and on the streets, and over these was sculptured in stone the coat of arms of the kings of mexico,--an eagle gripping in his talons a jaguar.[ ] in the interior were many halls, each of immense size, and one in particular is said by a writer who accompanied cortés, known as the anonymous conqueror, to have been of sufficient extent to contain three thousand men; while upon the terrace that formed its roof thirty men on horseback could have gone through the spear exercise.[ ] in addition to these there were more than one hundred smaller rooms, and the same number of marble baths, which together with the fountains, ponds, and basins in the gardens, were supplied with water from the neighboring hill of chapultepec. there were also splendid suites of apartments retained for the use of the kings of tezcuco and tlacopan, and their attendants, when they visited mexico, and for the ministers and counselors, and the great lords and their suites, who constantly resided at the capital. besides these, the private attendants of the king--and their name was legion--had to be provided for; so that when we consider the other extensive buildings, such as the harem, in which, according to some authorities, were nearly three thousand women; the armory, the granaries, storehouses, menageries, and aviaries, which either formed part or were in the immediate vicinity of the palace buildings, we are prepared somewhat to credit the anonymous conqueror aforesaid when he affirms that, although he four times wandered about the palace until he was tired, with no other purpose than to view its interior, yet he never succeeded in seeing the whole of it.[ ] the walls and floors of halls and apartments were many of them faced with polished slabs of marble, porphyry, jasper, obsidian, and white tecali;[ ] lofty columns of the same fine stones supported marble balconies and porticoes, every niche and corner of which was filled with wondrous ornamental carving, or held a grinning grotesquely sculptured head. the beams and casings were of cedar, cypress, and other valuable woods, profusely carved and put together without nails. the roofs of the palace buildings formed a suite of immense terraces, from which a magnificent view of the whole city could be obtained. superb mats of most exquisite finish were spread upon the marble floors; the tapestry that draped the walls and the curtains that hung before the windows were made of a fabric most wonderful for its delicate texture, elegant designs and brilliant colors; through the halls and corridors a thousand golden censers, in which burned precious spices and perfumes, diffused a subtle odor.[ ] the palace built by nezahualcoyotl, king of tezcuco, even surpassed that of montezuma in many respects. the tezcucan historian, ixtlilxochitl, has given a full description of it, which i partially translate. the collection of buildings, which composed not only the royal residence, but also the public offices and courts of law, extended from east to west twelve hundred and thirty-four and a half yards, and from north to south, nine hundred and seventy-eight yards. these were encompassed by a wall made of adobes strongly cemented together, and standing on a foundation of very hard mortar, six feet in width at the base. on its southern and eastern sides the wall was three times a man's stature in height; on the western side, towards the lake, and on the northern side it rose to the height of five times a man's stature.[ ] for one third of the distance from the base to the top, the wall grew gradually thinner, while the remainder was of one thickness.[ ] within this inclosure were the royal dwelling, the council-chambers, and other halls and apartments. there were also two large plazas, the outer one of which served as the public market-place. the inner court-yard was surrounded by the various courts of justice, and other halls where matters relative to science, art, and the army were judicially and otherwise considered, all of which will be described in their place, and also a hall where the archives of the kingdom were preserved. in the centre of the court-yard, which was also used as a market-place, was a tennis-court; on the west side were the apartments of the king, more than three hundred in number, all admirably arranged; here were also storehouses for tribute, and splendid suites of apartments reserved for the use of the kings of mexico and tlacopan when they visited tezcuco. these apartments led into the royal pleasure-gardens, which were artistically laid out with labyrinthian walks winding through the dark foliage, where often the uninitiated would lose themselves; then there were sparkling fountains, and inviting baths, and shady groves of cedar and cypress, and ponds well stocked with fish, and aviaries filled with birds of every hue and species, besides extensive menageries.[ ] the city of mexico, however, furnished the largest collection of animals, or at all events it is more fully described by the conquerors than others. the aztec monarchs took special pleasure in maintaining zoölogical collections on an immense scale, which fancy was probably more fully indulged by montezuma ii. than by any other. that prince caused to be erected in the city of mexico an immense edifice, surrounded by extensive gardens, which was used for no other purpose than to keep and display all kinds of birds and beasts. [sidenote: montezuma's menagerie.] one portion of this building consisted of a large open court, paved with stones of different colors, and divided into several compartments, in which were kept wild beasts, birds of prey, and reptiles. the larger animals were confined in low wooden cages made of massive beams. they were fed upon the intestines of human sacrifices, and upon deer, rabbits, and other animals. the birds of prey were distributed according to their species, in subterranean chambers, which were more than seven feet deep, and upwards of seventeen feet in length and breadth. half of each chamber was roofed with slabs of stone, under which perches were fixed in the wall, where the birds might sleep and be protected from the rain; the other half was covered only with a wooden grating, which admitted air and sunlight. five hundred turkeys were daily killed for food for these birds. alligators were kept in ponds walled round to prevent their escape, and serpents in long cages or vessels, large enough to allow them to move about freely. these reptiles were also fed on human blood and intestines. mr prescott tells us that the whole of this menagerie "was placed under the charge of numerous keepers, who acquainted themselves with the habits of their prisoners, and provided for their comfort and cleanliness." thomas gage, the shrewd old english heretic, takes another view. in his quaint though free and slashing style he writes: "but what was wonderful to behold, horrid to see, hideous to hear in this house, was the officers' daily occupations about these beasts, the floor with blood like a gelly, stinking like a slaughter-house, and the roaring of the lions, the fearful hissing of the snakes and adders, the doleful howling and barking of the wolves, the sorrowful yelling of the ownzes and tigres, when they would have meat. and yet in this place, which in the night season seemed a dungeon of hell, and a dwelling place for the devil, could a heathen prince pray unto his gods and idols; for near unto this hall was another of a hundred and fifty foot long and thirty foot broad, where was a chappel with a roof of silver and gold in leaf, wainscotted and decked with great store of pearl and stone, as agats, cornerines, emeralds, rubies, and divers other sorts; and this was the oratory where montezuma prayed in the night season, and in that chappel the devil did appear unto him, and gave him answer according to his prayers, which as they were uttered among so many ugly and deformed beasts, and with the noise of them which represented hell it self, were fitted for a devil's answer."[ ] [sidenote: zoÖlogical collection of montezuma.] in another part of the building was an immense hall which served as an aviary, in which were collected specimens of all the birds in the empire, excepting those of prey. they were of infinite variety and splendid plumage; many specimens were so difficult to obtain that their feathers brought almost fabulous prices in the mexican market; while some few, either because of their extreme rarity or their inability to live in confinement, did not appear even in the royal aviary, except in imitation, for we are told that, both in mexico and tezcuco, all kinds of birds and animals that could not be obtained alive were represented in gold and silver so skillfully that they are said to have served the naturalist hernandez for models. but to attain this honor, a bird must indeed have been a rara avis, a very phoenix, for it is related by torquemada and many others, on the authority of a spanish eye-witness, that the emperor montezuma ii. happening one day to see a sparrow-hawk soaring through the air, and "taking a fancy to its beauty and mode of flight," ordered his followers to catch it without delay and bring it alive to his hand; and such were the efforts made and care used, that in an incredibly short space of time "they captured that fierce and haughty hawk as though it had been but a gentle domestic pigeon, and brought it to the king."[ ] marble galleries, supported upon jasper pillars, all of one piece, surrounded this building, and looked out upon a large garden, wherein were groves of rare trees, choice shrubbery and flowers, and fountains filled with fish. but the prominent feature of the garden was ten large ponds for the use of water-fowl, some of which were filled with fresh and some with salt water, according to the nature of the birds that frequented them. each pond was surrounded with tessellated marble pavement and shaded by clumps of trees. as often as the water began to stagnate it was drained off and renewed. montezuma is said to have passed much of his time here, alone or with his women, seated in the shade, amid the plashing of fountains and odor of flowers, musing upon affairs of state or diverting his mind from such cares by watching the motions of the strange birds upon the water. no less than three hundred persons were employed in attending upon the water-fowl and the birds in the aviary; feeding them and in the moulting season carefully gathering the gorgeous plumes, which served as material for the celebrated aztec feather-work. the habits of the birds were closely studied, and great care was taken that every species should be supplied with the food best suited to its taste, whether it consisted of worms, insects, or seeds. the fish with which the water-fowl were supplied amounted to one hundred and fifty pounds daily. in another hall a collection of human monstrosities was kept. as we shall presently see, many of these unfortunate creatures were trained to play the part of jesters at the royal table. yet another hall contained a number of albinos, or white indians, who were considered a great curiosity. in addition to these city palaces the aztec monarchs had numerous equally splendid country residences, besides whole tracts of country set apart as royal hunting-grounds. in these parts timber was not allowed to be cut nor game disturbed, which regulations were enforced with great rigor. [sidenote: the hill of chapultepec.] the principal country villa of montezuma ii., and the only one of which any signs are yet visible, was situated upon the hill of chapultepec, which stood in a westerly direction from the city of mexico. in the days of the aztec kings, the lake of tezcuco washed the base of the hill, round which the royal grounds stretched for miles in every direction. the gardens were laid out in terraces, that wound down the hillside amid dense groves of pepper-trees, myrtles, and cypresses, innumerable fountains and artificial cascades. little of the ancient glory of either palace or gardens is now left, except the natural beauty of the foliage that clothes the hill, and the magnificent view to be obtained from the summit. two statues of montezuma ii. and his father, cut in bas relief on the porphyry rock, were still to be seen, gama tells us, in the middle of the last century, but these are now gone, swept away by the same ruthless hands that laid waste the hanging gardens and tore down halls and monuments until the groves of gigantic cypresses are all that is left standing in the gardens of chapultepec that ministered to the pleasure of the ancient owners. peter martyr, describing the palace at iztapalapan, writes, in the language of an early translator: "that house also hath orchardes, finely planted with diuers trees, and herbes, and flourishing flowers, of a sweete smell. there are also in the same, great standing pooles of water with many kindes of fish, in the which diuers kindes of all sortes of waterfoule are swimminge. to the bottome of these lakes, a man may descend by marble steppes brought farr of. they report strange thinges of a walke inclosed with nettinges of canes, least any one should freely come within the voyde plattes of grounde, or to the fruite of the trees. those hedges are made with a thousande pleasant deuises, as it falleth out in those delicate purple crosse alleyes, of mirtle, rosemary, or boxe, al very delightfull to behold."[ ] nezahualcoyotl, the tezcucan solomon, was no whit behind his royal brother of mexico in the matter of splendid country residences and gardens. not content with the royal pleasure-grounds called huectecpan, writes the chichimec historian,[ ] this great king made others, such as the forest so famous in tezcotzincan history, and those called cauchiacac, tzinacamoztoc, cozcaquauhco, cuetlachatitlan, or tlateitec, and those of the lake acatelelco, and tepetzinco; he likewise marked out a large tract, where he might pass his leisure moments in hunting. these gardens were adorned with fountains, drains, sewers, ponds, and labyrinths, and were planted with all kinds of flowers and trees, both indigenous and foreign. but nezahualcoyotl was not one to overlook utility in laying out his grounds. five large patches of the most fertile lands lying near the capital were brought under cultivation and the products appropriated exclusively to the use of the royal household. certain towns and provinces in the vicinity of the court furnished attendants and laborers for the palaces, gardens, and plantations. in return for such service said towns and provinces were exempt from taxation and enjoyed certain privileges. the manner of service was divided; thus twenty-eight towns supplied those who attended to the cleanliness and order of the royal buildings and waited upon the king and his suite; fourteen of these towns[ ] did service during one half of the year and the remainder[ ] during the other half. five towns provided attendants for the king's chamber,[ ] and eight provinces,[ ] with their dependent towns, furnished, each in its turn, foresters, gardeners, and agricultural laborers for the woods and gardens, ornamental or otherwise. [sidenote: summer palace at tezcozinco.] king nezahualcoyotl's favorite country residence, some remains of which are still visible, was at tezcozinco, on a conical hill lying about two leagues from tezcuco. a broad road, running between high hedges, and probably winding spirally round the hill, appears to have led up to the summit,[ ] which, however, could be reached in a shorter time by means of a flight of steps, many of which were cut into the living rock, and the remainder made of pieces of stone firmly cemented together. dávila padilla, who wrote in the latter part of the sixteenth century, says that he counted five hundred and twenty of these steps, without reckoning those that had already crumbled to pieces.[ ] he furthermore adds that for the last twelve steps in the ascent the staircase was tunneled through the solid rock, and became so narrow that only one person could pass at a time. dávila padilla inquired the reason of this of the natives, and was told by them, as they had heard it from their fathers, that this narrow passage enabled the tezcucan monarch to assert his rank by taking precedence of his royal visitors when they went in a body to worship the idol that stood upon the summit; not a very polite proceeding certainly.[ ] water was brought over hill and dale to the top of the mountain by means of a solid stone aqueduct. here it was received in a large basin, having in its centre a great rock, upon which were inscribed in a circle the hieroglyphics representing the years that had elapsed since nezahualcoyotl's birth, with a list of his most noteworthy achievements in each.[ ] within this circle the royal coat of arms was sculptured, the elaborate device of which it is almost impossible to imagine from the clumsy description of it given by ixtlilxochitl. as nearly as i can make it out, certain figures representing a deer's foot adorned with feathers and having a precious stone tied to it, a hind supporting an arm which grasps a bow and arrows, and a corseleted warrior, wearing a helmet with its ear-pieces, formed the centre; these were flanked by two houses, one in flames and falling to pieces, the other whole and highly ornamented; two tigers of the country, vomiting fire and water, served as supporters; the whole was surrounded by a border composed of twelve heads of kings and great nobles. from this basin the water was distributed through the gardens in two streams, one of which meandered down the northern side of the hill, and the other down the southern side. dávila padilla relates that there also stood upon the summit an image of a coyote, hewn from the living rock, which represented a celebrated fasting indian.[ ] there were likewise several towers or columns of stone, having their capitals made in the shape of a pot, from which protruded plumes of feathers, which signified the name of the place. lower down was the colossal figure of a winged beast, called by ixtlilxochitl a lion,[ ] lying down, with its face toward the east, and bearing in its mouth a sculptured portrait of the king; this statue was generally covered with a canopy adorned with gold and feather-work.[ ] [sidenote: ornamental gardens at tezcozinco.] a little lower yet were three basins of water, emblematic of the great lake, and on the borders of the middle one three female figures were sculptured on the solid rock, representing the heads of the confederated states of mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan.[ ] upon the northern side of the hill was another pond; and here upon the rock was carved the coat of arms of the city of tollan, which was formerly the chief town of the toltecs; upon the southern slope of the hill was yet another pond, bearing the coat of arms and the name of the city of tenayuca, which was formerly the head town of the chichimecs. from this basin a stream of water flowed continually over the precipice, and being dashed into spray upon the rocks, was scattered like rain over a garden of odorous tropical plants.[ ] in the garden were two baths, dug out of one large piece of porphyry,[ ] and a flight of steps also cut from the solid rock, worked and polished so smooth that they looked like mirrors, and on the front of the stairs were carved the year, month, day, and hour in which information was brought to king nezahualcoyotl of the death of a certain lord of huexotzinco, whom he esteemed very highly, and who died while the said staircase was being built.[ ] the garden is said to have been a perfect little paradise. the gorgeous flowers were all transplanted from the distant tierra caliente; marble pavilions, supported on slender columns, with tesselated pavements and sparkling fountains, nestled among the shady groves and afforded a cool retreat during the long summer days. at the end of the garden, almost hidden by the groups of gigantic cedars and cypresses that surrounded it, was the royal palace,[ ] so situated that while its spacious halls were filled with the sensuous odors of the tropics, blown in from the gardens, it remained sheltered from the heat.[ ] [sidenote: toltec palaces.] if the ancient traditions may be believed, the toltec monarchs built as magnificent palaces as their aztec successors. the sacred palace of that mysterious toltec priest-king, quetzalcoatl, had four principal halls, facing the four cardinal points. that on the east was called the hall of gold, because its halls were ornamented with plates of that metal, delicately chased and finished; the apartment lying toward the west was named the hall of emeralds and turquoises, and its walls were profusely adorned with all kinds of precious stones; the hall facing the south was decorated with plates of silver and with brilliant-colored sea-shells, which were fitted together with great skill. the walls of the fourth hall, which was on the north, were red jasper, covered with carving and ornamented with shells. another of these palaces or temples, for it is not clear which they were, had also four principal halls decorated entirely with feather-work tapestry. in the eastern division the feathers were yellow; in the western they were blue, taken from a bird called xiuhtototl; in the southern hall the feathers were white, and in that on the north they were red.[ ] the number of attendants attached to the royal houses was very great. every day from sunrise until sunset the antechambers of montezuma's palace in mexico were occupied by six hundred noblemen and gentlemen, who passed the time lounging about and discussing the gossip of the day in low tones, for it was considered disrespectful to speak loudly or make any noise within the palace limits. they were provided with apartments in the palace,[ ] and took their meals from what remained of the superabundance of the royal table, as did, after them, their own servants, of whom each person of quality was entitled to from one to thirty, according to his rank. these retainers, numbering two or three thousand, filled several outer courts during the day. [sidenote: montezuma at table.] [sidenote: the royal wardrobe.] the king took his meals alone, in one of the largest halls of the palace. if the weather was cold, a fire was kindled with a kind of charcoal made of the bark of trees, which emitted no smoke, but threw out a delicious perfume; and that his majesty might suffer no inconvenience from the heat, a screen ornamented with gold and carved with figures of the idols[ ] was placed between his person and the fire. he was seated upon a low leather cushion, upon which were thrown various soft skins, and his table was of a similar description, except that it was larger and rather higher, and was covered with white cotton cloths of the finest texture. the dinner-service was of the finest ware of cholula, and many of the goblets were of gold and silver, or fashioned of beautiful shells. he is said to have possessed a complete service of solid gold, but as it was considered below a king's dignity to use anything at table twice, montezuma with all his extravagance, was obliged to keep this costly dinner-set in the temple. the bill of fare comprised everything edible of fish, flesh, and fowl, that could be procured in the empire or imported from beyond it. relays of couriers were employed in bringing delicacies from afar, and as the royal table was every day supplied with fresh fish brought, without the modern aids of ice and air-tight packing, from a sea-coast more than two hundred miles distant, by a road passing chiefly through a tropical climate, we can form some idea of the speed with which these couriers traveled. there were cunning cooks among the aztecs, and at these extravagant meals there was almost as much variety in the cooking as in the matter cooked. sahagun[ ] gives a most formidable list of roast, stewed, and boiled dishes of meat, fish, and poultry, seasoned with many kinds of herbs, of which, however, the most frequently mentioned is chile.[ ] he further describes many kinds of bread, all bearing a more or less close resemblance to the modern mexican tortilla,[ ] and all most tremendously named; imagine, for instance, when one wished for a piece of bread, having to ask one's neighbor to be good enough to pass the totanquitlaxcallitlaquelpacholli; then there were tamales of all kinds,[ ] and many other curious messes, such as frog-spawn, and stewed ants cooked with chile, but more loathsome to us than even such as these, and strangest of all the strange compounds that went to make up the royal carte, was one highly seasoned, and probably savory-smelling dish, so exquisitely prepared that its principal ingredient was completely disguised, yet that ingredient was nothing else than human flesh.[ ] each dish was kept warm by a chafing-dish placed under it. writers do not agree as to the exact quantity of food served up at each meal, but it must have been immense, since the lowest number of dishes given is three hundred,[ ] and the highest three thousand.[ ] they were brought into the hall by four hundred pages of noble birth, who placed their burdens upon the matted floor and retired noiselessly. the king then pointed out such viands as he wished to partake of, or left the selection to his steward, who doubtless took pains to study the likes and dislikes of the royal palate. this steward was a functionary of the highest rank and importance; he alone was privileged to place the designated delicacies before the king upon the table; he appears to have done duty both as royal carver and cup-bearer, and, according to torquemada, to have done it barefooted and on his knees.[ ] everything being in readiness, a number of the most beautiful of the king's women[ ] entered, bearing water in round vessels called xicales, for the king to wash his hands in, and towels that he might dry them, other vessels being placed upon the ground to catch the drippings. two other women at the same time brought him some small loaves of a very delicate kind of bread made of the finest maize-flour, beaten up with eggs. this done, a wooden screen, carved and gilt, was placed before him, that no one might see him while eating.[ ] there were always present five or six aged lords, who stood near the royal chair barefooted, and with bowed heads. to these, as a special mark of favor, the king occasionally sent a choice morsel from his own plate. during the meal the monarch sometimes amused himself by watching the performances of his jugglers and tumblers, whose marvelous feats of strength and dexterity i shall describe in another place; at other times there was dancing, accompanied by singing and music; there were also present dwarfs, and professional jesters, who were allowed to speak, a privilege denied all others under penalty of death, and, after the manner of their kind, to tell sharp truths in the shape of jests. the more solid food was followed by pastry, sweetmeats, and a magnificent dessert of fruit. the only beverage drank at the meal was chocolate,[ ] of which about fifty jars were provided;[ ] it was taken with a spoon, finely wrought of gold or shell, from a goblet of the same material. having finished his dinner, the king again washed his hands in water brought to him, as before, by the women. after this, several painted and gilt pipes were brought, from which he inhaled, through his mouth or nose, as suited him best, the smoke of a mixture of liquid-amber, and an herb called tobacco.[ ] his siesta over, he devoted himself to business, and proceeded to give audience to foreign ambassadors, deputations from cities in the empire, and to such of his lords and ministers as had business to transact with him. before entering the presence-chamber, all, no matter what their rank might be, unless they were of the blood-royal, were obliged to leave their sandals at the door, to cover their rich dresses with a large coarse mantle, and to approach the monarch, barefooted and with downcast eyes, for it was death to the subject who should dare to look his sovereign in the face.[ ] the king usually answered through his secretaries,[ ] or when he deigned to speak directly to the person who addressed him, it was in such a low tone as scarcely to be heard;[ ] at the same time he listened very attentively to all that was communicated to him, and encouraged those who, from embarrassment, found difficulty in speaking. each applicant, when dismissed, retired backward, keeping his face always toward the royal seat. the time set apart for business having elapsed, he again gave himself up to pleasure, and usually passed the time in familiar badinage with his jesters, or in listening to ballad-singers who sang of war and the glorious deeds of his ancestors, or he amused himself by looking on at the feats of strength and legerdemain of his jugglers and acrobats; or, sometimes, at this hour, he would retire to the softer pleasures of the harem. he changed his dress four times each day, and a dress once worn could never be used again. concerning this custom, peter martyr, translated into the quaintest of english, writes: "arising from his bed, he is cloathed after one maner, as he commeth forth to bee seene, and returning backe into his chamber after he hath dined, he changeth his garments: and when he commeth forthe againe to supper, hee taketh another, and returning backe againe the fourth which he weareth vntill he goe to bed. but concerning . garments, which he changeth euery day, many of them that returned haue reported the same vnto me, with their owne mouth: but howsoeuer it be, all agree in the changing of garmentes, that being once taken into the wardrope, they are there piled vp on heaps, not likely to see the face of muteczuma any more: but what manner of garmentes they be, we will elswhere declare, for they are very light. these things being obserued, it wil not be wondred at, that we made mention before concerning so many garments presented. for accounting the yeares, and the dayes of the yeares, especially, wherein muteczuma hath inioyed peace & howe often he changeth his garments euery daye, all admiration will cease. but the readers will demand, why he heapeth vp so great a pile of garments, & that iustly. let them knowe that muteczuma vsed to giue a certeine portion of garments to his familiar friends, or well deseruing soldiers, in steed of a beneuolence, or stipend, when they go to the wars, or returne from ye victory, as augustus cæsar lord of the world, a mightier prince than muteczuma, commanded only a poore reward of bread to be giuen ouer & aboue to such as performed any notable exployt, while being by maro admonished, that so smal a larges of bread was an argument yet he was a bakers son: then although it be recorded in writing that cæsar liked ye mery conceit, yet it is to be beleued yet he blushed at that diuination, because he promised virgil to alter his disposition & that hereafter he would bestow gifts worthy a great king, & not a bakers son."[ ] [sidenote: the king out of doors.] the kings did not often appear among their people,[ ] though we are told that they would sometimes go forth in disguise to see that no part of the religious feasts and ceremonies was omitted, to make sure that the laws were observed, and probably, as is usual in such cases, to ascertain the true state of public opinion with regard to themselves.[ ] whenever they did appear abroad, however, it was with a parade that corresponded with their other observances. upon these occasions the king was seated in a magnificent litter, overshadowed by a canopy of feather-work, the whole being adorned with gold and precious stones, and carried upon the shoulders of four noblemen. he was attended by a vast multitude of courtiers of all ranks, who walked without speaking, and with their eyes bent upon the ground. the procession was headed by an official carrying three wands, whose duty it was to give warning of the king's approach, and by others who cleared the road of all obstructions.[ ] all who chanced to meet the royal party, instantly stopped, and remained motionless with heads bent down, like friars chanting the gloria patri, says father motolinia, until the procession had passed. when the monarch alighted, a carpet was spread upon the ground for him to step on. the meeting of montezuma ii. and cortés, as described by bernal diaz, will show the manner in which the aztec kings were attended when out of doors: "when we arrived at a spot where another narrow causeway led towards cuyoacan, we were met by a number of caciques and distinguished personages, all splendidly dressed. they had been sent by montezuma to meet us and welcome us in his name; and as a sign of peace each touched the earth with his hand and then kissed it.[ ] while we were thus detained, the lords of tezcuco, iztapalapa, tacuba, and cuyoacan, advanced to meet the mighty montezuma, who was approaching seated on a splendid litter, and escorted by a number of powerful nobles. when we arrived at a place not far from the capital, where were certain fortifications, montezuma, descending from his litter, came forward leaning on the arms of some of the attendant lords, while others held over him a canopy of rich feather-work ornamented with silver and gold, having an embroidered border from which hung pearls and chalchihuis stones.[ ] montezuma was very sumptuously dressed, according to his custom, and had on his feet a kind of sandals, with soles of gold, the upper part being studded with precious stones. the four grandees[ ] who supported him were also very richly attired, and it seemed to us that the clothes they now wore must have been held in readiness for them somewhere upon the road, for they were not thus dressed when they first came out to meet us. and besides these great lords there were many others, some of whom held the canopy over the king's head, while others went in advance, sweeping the ground over which he was to walk, and spreading down cotton cloths that his feet might not touch the earth. excepting only the four nobles upon whose arms he leaned, and who were his near relatives, none of all his followers presumed to look in the king's face, but all kept their eyes lowered to the ground in token of respect."[ ] [sidenote: the royal harem.] besides the host of retainers already mentioned there were innumerable other officers attached to the royal household, such as butlers, stewards, and cooks of all grades, treasurers, secretaries, scribes, military officers, superintendents of the royal granaries and arsenals, and those employed under them. a great number of artisans were constantly kept busy repairing old buildings and erecting new ones, and a little army of jewelers and workers in precious metals resided permanently at the palace for the purpose of supplying the king and court with the costly ornaments that were eventually such a windfall for the conquerors, and over the description of which they one and all so lovingly linger. nor was the softer sex unrepresented at court. the aztec sovereigns were notorious for their uxoriousness. montezuma ii. had in his harem at least one thousand women, and this number is increased by most of the historians to three thousand, including the female attendants and slaves. of these we are told on good authority that he had one hundred and fifty pregnant at one time, all of whom killed their offspring in the womb;[ ] yet notwithstanding this wholesale abortion, he had more than fifty sons and daughters. his father had one hundred and fifty children, of whom montezuma ii. killed all his brothers and forced his sisters to marry whom he pleased;--at least such is the import of oviedo's statement.[ ] nezahualpilli, of tezcuco, had between seventy and one hundred children.[ ] camargo tells us that xicotencatl, one of the chiefs of tlascala had a great number of sons by more than fifty wives or concubines.[ ] these women were the daughters of the nobles, who thought themselves honored by having a child in the royal harem. occasionally the monarch presented one of his concubines to some great lord or renowned warrior, a mark of favor which thenceforth distinguished the recipient as a man whom the king delighted to honor. the seraglio was presided over by a number of noble matrons, who kept close watch and ward over the conduct of their charges and made daily reports to the king, who invariably caused the slightest indiscretion to be severely punished. whether eunuchs were employed in the aztec harems is uncertain; this, however, we read in motolinia: "moteuczomatzin had in his palace dwarfs and little hunchbacks, who when children were with great ingenuity made crook-backed, ruptured,[ ] and disjointed, because the lords in this country made the same use of them as at the present day the grand turk does of eunuchs."[ ] the enormous expenditure incurred in the maintenance of such a household as this, was defrayed by the people, who, as we shall see in a future chapter, were sorely oppressed by over-taxation. the management of the whole was entrusted to a head steward or majordomo, who, with the help of his secretaries, kept minute hieroglyphic accounts of the royal revenue. bernal diaz tells us that a whole apartment was filled with these account-books.[ ] in tezcuco, writes ixtlilxochitl, the food consumed by the court was supplied by certain districts of the kingdom, in each of which was a gatherer of taxes, who besides collecting the regular tributes, was obliged to furnish the royal household, in his turn, with a certain quantity of specified articles, for a greater or less number of days, according to the wealth and extent of his department. the daily supply amounted to thirty-one and a quarter bushels of grain; nearly three bushels and three quarters of beans;[ ] four hundred thousand ready-made tortillas; four xiquipiles[ ] of cocoa, making in all thirty-two thousand cocoa-beans;[ ] one hundred cocks of the country;[ ] twenty loaves of salt; twenty great baskets of large chiles, and twenty of small chiles; ten baskets of tomatoes; and ten of seed.[ ] all this was furnished daily for seventy days by the city of tezcuco and its suburbs, and by the districts of atenco, and tepepulco; for sixty-five days by the district of quauhtlatzinco; and for forty-five days by the districts of azapocho and ahuatepec.[ ] [sidenote: aztec kings and their subjects.] such, as full in detail as it is handed down to us, was the manner in which the aztec monarchs lived. the policy they pursued toward their subjects was to enforce obedience and submission by enacting laws that were calculated rather to excite awe and dread than to inspire love and reverence. to this end they kept the people at a distance by surrounding themselves with an impassable barrier of pomp and courtly etiquette, and enforced obedience by enacting laws that made death the penalty of the most trivial offenses. there was little in common between king and people; as is ever the case between a despot and his subjects. the good that the kings did by their liberality and love of justice, and the success they nearly all achieved by their courage and generalship, merited the admiration of their subjects. on the other hand, the oppression which they made their vassals feel, the heavy burdens they imposed upon them, their own pride and arrogance, and their excessive severity in punishments, engendered what we should now call a debasing fear, but which is none the less an essential element of progress at certain stages.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. ix. though it is more than probable that gomara means the same thing, yet the manner in which he expresses it leaves us in some doubt whether the tiger might not have been standing over the eagle. 'el escudo de armas, que estaua por las puertas de palacio y que traen las vanderas de motecçuma, y las de sus antecessores, es vna aguila abatida a vn tigre, las manos y vñas puestas como para hazer presa.' _conq. mex._, fol. . 'het wapen dat boven de poorte stont, was een arent die op een griffioen nederdaelde, met open clauwen hem ghereet maeckende, om syn roof te vatten.' _west-indische spieghel_, p. . [ ] _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . [ ] _ib._ [ ] 'le tecali paraît être la pierre transparente semblable à l'albâtre oriental, dont on faisait un grand usage à mexico, et dont les réligieux se servirent même pour faire une espèce de vitres à leurs fenêtres. on en trouve encore de ce genre dans plusieurs couvents de la puebla de los angeles.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] incense-offering among the mexicans, and other nations of anáhuac, was not only an act of religion towards their gods, but also a piece of civil courtesy to lords and ambassadors. _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . cortés during his march to the capital was on more than one occasion met by a deputation of nobles, bearing censers which they swung before him as a mark of courtesy. [ ] prescott, _mex._, vol. i., p. , makes in both cases the 'estado' the same measure as the 'vara,' that is three feet, a clumsy error certainly, when translating such a sentence as this: 'que tenia de grueso dos varas, y de alto tres estados.' [ ] 'Á manera de estribo,' writes ixtlilxochitl. [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., pp. - . [ ] _gage's new survey_, p. . concerning this oratory, see _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., tom. i., cap. l. torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , asserts that the gold and silver plates with which the walls and roof were coated, were almost as thick as a finger, and that the first conquerors did not see this chapel or oratory, because montezuma always went to the temple to pray, and probably, as the natives declared, knowing the covetousness of the spaniards, he purposely concealed all this wealth from them; it is also said that when mexico was taken the natives destroyed this chapel, and threw its treasures into the lake. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. ii. [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - . [ ] their names, as given by ixtlilxochitl, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. , were: huexotla, coatlichan, coatapec, chimalhuacan, ytztapalocan, tepetlaoztoc, acolman, tepechpan, chiuhnauhtlan, teioiocan, chiauhtla, papalotlan, xaltocan, and chalco. [ ] otompan, teotihuacan, tepepolco, cempoalon, aztaquemecan, ahuatepec, axapochoc, oztoticpac, tizayocan, tlalanapan, coioac, quatlatlauhcan, quauhtlacca, and quatlatzinco. _ib._ [ ] 'para la recámara del rey,' namely: calpolalpan, mazaapan, yahualiuhcan, atenco, and tzihuinquilocan. _ib._ it is unreasonable to suppose that these so-called 'towns' were really more than mere villages, since the kingdoms proper of mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan, of which they formed only a fraction, were all contained in a valley not two hundred miles in circumference. [ ] tolantzinco, quauhchinanco, xicotepec, pauhatla, yauhtepec, tepechco, ahuacaiocan, and quauhahuac. _ib._; see also _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'la cerca tan grande que tenia para subir á la cumbre de él y andarlo todo.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] 'para subir hasta esta cumbre se passan quinientos y veynte escalones, sin algunos que estan ya deshechos, por auer sido de piedras sueltas y puestas à mano: que otros muchos escalones ay, labrados en la propia peña con mucha curiosidad. el año pasado los anduue todos, y los contè, para deponer de vista.' _dávila padilla_, _hist. fvnd. mex._, p. . prescott, _mex._, vol. i., p. , citing the above author, gives five hundred and twenty as the whole number of steps, without further remark. [ ] torquemada also mentions this staircase. _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'esculpida en ella en circunferencia los años desde que habia nacido el rey nezahualcoiotzin, hasta la edad de aquel tiempo.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . prescott says that the hieroglyphics represented the 'years of nezahualcoyotl's reign.' _mex._, vol. i., p. . [ ] _hist. fvnd. mex._, p. . 'this figure was, no doubt, the emblem of nezahualcoyotl himself, whose name ... signified "hungry fox."' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. , note . [ ] 'un leon de mas de dos brazas de largo con sus alas y plumas.' _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] these figures were destroyed by order of fr juan de zumárraga, first bishop of mexico. _dávila padilla_, _hist. fvnd. mex._, p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . the injury wrought by this holy iconoclast is incalculable. blinded by the mad fanaticism of the age, he saw a devil in every aztec image and hieroglyph; his hammers did more in a few years to efface all vestiges of aztec art and greatness than time and decay could have done in as many centuries. it is a few such men as this that the world has to thank for the utter extinction in a few short years of a mighty civilization. in a letter to the franciscan chapter at tolosa, dated june , , we find the old bigot exulting over his vandalism. 'very reverend fathers,' he writes: 'be it known to you that we are very busy in the work of converting the heathen; of whom, by the grace of god, upwards of one million have been baptized at the hands of the brethren of the order of our seraphic father saint francis; five hundred temples have been leveled to the ground, and more than twenty thousand figures of the devils they worshiped have been broken to pieces and burned.' and it appears that the worthy zealot had even succeeded in bringing the natives themselves to his way of thinking, for further on he writes: 'they watch with great care to see where their fathers hide the idols, and then with great fidelity they bring them to the religious of our order that they may be destroyed; and for this many of them have been brutally murdered by their parents, or, to speak more properly, have been crowned in glory with christ.' _dicc. univ._, app., tom. iii., p. . [ ] there is a singular confusion about this passage. in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. , ixtlilxochitl is made to write: 'un poquito mas abajo estaban tres albercas de agua, y en la del medio estaban en sus bordos tres damas esculpidas y labradas en la misma peña, que significaban la gran laguna; y las _ranas_ los cabezas del imperio.' in _prescott's mex._, app., vol. iii., pp. - , ixtlilxochitl's description of tezcozinco is given in full; the above-quoted passage is exactly the same here except that for _ranas_, frogs, we read _ramas_, branches. either of these words would render the description incomprehensible, and in my description i have assumed that they are both misprints for _damas_. mr prescott, _mex._, vol. i., pp. - , surmounts the difficulty as follows: 'on a lower level were three other reservoirs, _in each of which stood a marble statue of a woman_, emblematic of the three states of the empire.' this is inaccurate as well as incomplete, inasmuch as the figures were not statues, each standing in a basin, but were all three cut upon the face of the rock-border of the middle basin. [ ] i have no doubt that this is the basin known to modern travelers as the 'baths of montezuma,' of which ward says that it is neither of the proper shape, nor large enough for a bath, but that it more probably 'served to receive the waters of a spring, since dried up, as its depth is considerable, while the edge on one side is formed into a spout.' _mexico_, vol. ii., p. . of late years this excavation has been repeatedly described by men who claim to have visited it, but whose statements it is hard to reconcile. bullock mentions having seen on this spot 'a beautiful basin about twelve feet long by eight wide, having a well about five feet by four deep in the centre, surrounded by a parapet or rim two feet six inches high, with a throne or chair, such as is represented in ancient pictures to have been used by the kings. there are steps to descend into the basin or bath; the whole cut out of the living porphyry rock with the most mathematical precision, and polished in the most beautiful manner.' _mexico_, vol. ii., pp. - . latrobe says there were 'two singular basins, of perhaps two feet and a half in diameter, not big enough for any monarch bigger than oberon to take a duck in.' _rambler_, p. ; _vigne's travels_, vol. i., p. , mentions 'the remains of a circular stone bath ... about a foot deep and five in diameter, with a small surrounding and smoothed space cut out of the solid rock.' brantz mayer, who both saw it and gives a sketch of it, writes: 'the rock is smoothed to a perfect level for several yards, around which, seats and grooves are carved from the adjacent masses. in the centre there is a circular sink, about a yard and a half in diameter, and a yard in depth, and a square pipe, with a small aperture, led the water from an aqueduct, which appears to terminate in this basin.' _mex. as it was_, p. . beaufoy says that two-thirds up the southern side of the hill was a mass of fine red porphyry, in which was an excavation six feet square, with steps leading down three feet, having in the centre a circular basin four and a half feet in diameter and five deep also with steps. _mex. illustr._, p. . 'on the side of the hill are two little circular baths, cut in the solid rock. the lower of the two has a flight of steps down to it; the seat for the bather, and the stone pipe which brought the water, are still quite perfect.' _tylor's anahuac_, p. . [ ] 'tras este jardin se seguian los baños hechos y labrados de peña viva, que con dividirse en dos baños era de una pieza.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] _ib._ [ ] dávila padilla says that some of the gateways of this palace were formed of one piece of stone, and he saw one beam of cedar there which was almost ninety feet in length and four in breadth. _hist. fvnd. mex._, p. . [ ] concerning the royal buildings, gardens, &c., of the aztecs, compare _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., tom. i., cap. l.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , - ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - , - ; _dávila padilla_, _hist. fvnd. mex._, pp. - ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _acosta's hist. nat. ind._, p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - , ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. ix.-xi.; _west-indische spieghel_, pp. - , ; _gage's new survey_, pp. - ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iii., iv., x.; _chevalier_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - , vol. ii., pp. , - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _raza indígena_, p. ; _tápia_, _relacion_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. ii., pp. - . other works of no original value, which touch on this subject, are: _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. , , - , - ; _ranking's hist. researches_, pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mexicain_, pp. - , ; _macgregor's progress of america_, p. ; _dilworth's conq. mex._, pp. , ; _west und ost indischer lustgart_, pt i., p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - . [ ] close to the great audience hall was a very large court-yard, 'en que avia çient aposentos de veynte é çinco ó treynta piés de largo cada uno sobre sí en torno de dicho patio, é allí estaban los señores prinçipales apossentados, como guardas del palacio ordinarias.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'vna como tabla labrada con oro, y otras figuras de idolos.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - . [ ] this pungent condiment is at the present day as omnipresent in spanish american dishes as it was at the time of the conquest; and i am seriously informed by a spanish gentleman who resided for many years in mexico, and was an officer in maximilian's army, that while the wolves would feed upon the dead bodies of the french that lay all night upon the battle-field, they never touched the bodies of the mexicans, because the flesh of the latter was completely impregnated with chile. which, if true, may be thought to show that wolves do not object to a diet seasoned with garlic. [ ] described too frequently in vol. i., of this series, to need repetition. [ ] the tamale is another very favorite modern mexican dish. the natives generally make them with pork; the bones are crushed almost to powder; the meat is cut up in small pieces, and the whole washed; a small quantity of maize paste, seasoned with cinnamon, saffron, cloves, pimento, tomatoes, coarse pepper, salt, red coloring matter, and some lard added to it, is placed on the fire in a pan; as soon as it has acquired the consistency of a thick gruel it is removed, mixed with the meat, some more lard and salt added, and the mass kneaded for a few moments; it is then divided into small portions, which are enveloped in a thin paste of maize. the tamales thus prepared are covered with a banana-leaf or a corn-husk, and placed in a pot or pan over which large leaves are laid. they are allowed to boil from one hour and a half to two hours. game, poultry, vegetables, or sweetmeats are often used instead of pork. [ ] torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , regrets that certain persons, out of the ill-will they bore the mexicans, have falsely imputed to montezuma the crime of eating human flesh without its being well seasoned, but he admits that when properly cooked and disguised, the flesh of those sacrificed to the gods appeared at the royal board. some modern writers seem to doubt even this; it is, however, certain that cannibalism existed among the people, not as a means of allaying appetite, but from partly religious motives, and there seems no reason to doubt that the king shared the superstitions of the people. i do not, however, base the opinion upon oviedo's assertion, which smacks strongly of the 'giant stories' of the nursery, that certain 'dishes of tender children' graced the monarch's table. _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . bernal diaz, _hist. conq._, fol. , also cannot withstand the temptation to deal in the marvelous, and mentions 'carnes de muchachos de poca edad;' though it is true the soldier-like bluntness the veteran so prided himself upon, comes to his aid, and he admits that perhaps after all montezuma was not an ogre. [ ] _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] bernal diaz, _hist. conq._, fol. , says there were four of these women; torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , says there were twenty. [ ] 'e ya que començaua á comer, echauanle delante vna como puerta de madera muy pintada de oro, porque no le viessen comer.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . 'luego que se sentaba à la mesa, cerraba el maestre-sala vna varanda de madera, que dividia la sala, para que la nobleça de los caballeros, _que acudia à verle comer_, no embaraçase la mesa.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'tosto che il re si metteva a tavola, chiudeva lo scalco la porta della sala, acciocchè nessuno degli altri nobili lo vedesse mangiare.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'a potation of chocolate, flavored with vanilla and other spices, and so prepared as to be reduced to a froth of the consistency of honey, which gradually dissolved in the mouth.' _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. . 'this was something like our chocolate, and prepared in the same way, but with this difference, that it was mixed with the boiled dough of maise, and was drunk cold.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, [lockhart's translation lond., , vol. i., note, p. ]. 'la bebida es agua mezclada con cierta harina de unas almendras que llaman _cacao_. esta es de mucha sustancia, muy fresca, y sabrosa y agradable, y no embriaga.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxi. [ ] 'entonces no mirauamos en ello; mas lo que yo vi, que traian sobre cincuenta jarros grandes hechos de buen cacao con su espuma, y de lo que bebia.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . oviedo, as usual, is content with no number less than three thousand: 'É luego venian tres mill _xícalos_ (cántaros ó ánforas) de brevage.' _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . las casas makes it three hundred: 'a su tiempo, en medio ò en fin de los manjares segun la costumbre que tenian, entravan otros trescientos pajes, cada uno con un vaso grande que cabia medio azumbre, (about a quart), y aun tres quartillos de la bebida en el mismo, y servia el un vaso al rey el maestresala, de que bebia lo que le agradava.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxi. [ ] 'vnas yervas que se dize tabaco.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] only five persons enjoyed the privilege of looking montezuma ii. in the face: the kings of tezcuco and tlacopan, and the lords of quauhtitlan, coyouacan, and azcapuzalco. _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxi. bernal diaz says that all who approached the royal seat made three reverences, saying in succession, 'lord,' 'my lord,' 'sublime lord.' _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] this custom of speaking through a secretary was adopted by the other aztec monarchs as well as montezuma, and was also imitated by many of the great tributary lords and governors of provinces who wished to make as much display of their rank and dignity as possible. see _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxi.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'lo que los señores hablaban y la palabra que mas ordinariamente decian al fin de las pláticas y negocios que se les comunicaban, eran decir con muy baja voz _tlaa_, que quiere decir "sí, ó bien, bien."' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iv. [ ] torquemada writes of montezuma ii.: 'su trato con los suios era poco: raras veces se dejaba vèr, y estabase encerrado mucho tiempo, pensando en el govierno de su reino.' _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] picking up straws, says las casas: 'É iban estos oficiales delante quitando las pajas del suelo por finas que fuesen.' _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxi. [ ] this was the aztec manner of salutation, and is doubtless what bernal diaz means where he writes: 'y en señal de paz tocauan con la mano en el suelo, y besauan la tierra con la mesma mano.' _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] green stones, more valued than any other among the aztecs. [ ] cortés himself says that the king was supported by two grandees only; one of whom was his nephew, the king of tezcuco, and the other his brother, the lord of iztapalapa. _cartas_, p. . [ ] _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. ix.; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _west-indische spieghel_, p. . clavigero disbelieves the report that montezuma had one hundred and fifty women pregnant at once. _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . oviedo makes the number of women four thousand. _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . [ ] 'quebraban,' which probably here means 'castrated.' [ ] 'tenia moteuczomatzin en su palacio enanos y corcobadillos, que de industria siendo niños los hacian jibosos, y los quebraban y descoyuntaban, porque de estos se servian los señores en esta tierra como ahora hace el gran turco de eunucos.' _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - . torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , uses nearly the same words. [ ] _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] 'otros tres tlacopintlix de frisoles.' the tlacopintlix was one 'fanega,' and three 'almudes,' or, one bushel and a quarter. [ ] 'xiquipilli, costal, talega, alforja, o bolsa.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. [ ] 'treinta y dos mil cacaos,' possibly cocoa-pods instead of cocoa-beans. [ ] 'cien gallos.' probably turkeys. [ ] probably pumpkin or melon seed. [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] concerning the king's manner of living and the domestic economy of the royal household, see: _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. - , - ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxi.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - , - , - , , tom. ii., p. ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iii., iv.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - , - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , , ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. v., vii., ix., xii-xiii., dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xiv.; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _ortega_, in _id._, pp. - ; _west-indische spieghel_, p. ; _gage's new survey_, pp. , - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. , tom. iv., pp. - ; _prescott's mex._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _carli_, _cartas_, pt i., pp. - . other works of more or less value bearing on this subject are: _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. - , - , ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. , - , - ; _baril_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _dufey_, _résumé_, tom. i., pp. - ; _brownell's ind. races_, pp. , - ; _ranking's hist. researches_, pp. - , - , - , ; _soden_, _spanier in peru_, p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _lafond_, _voyages_, tom. i., pp. - ; _cooper's hist. n. amer._, pp. - ; _dilworth's conq. mex._, pp. - , - ; _hawks_, in _hakluyt's voy._, vol. iii., p. ; _monglave_, _résumé_, pp. , - ; _incidents and sketches_, p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - , - , , ; _dillon_, _hist. mex._, p. ; _west und ost indischer lustgart_, pp. - . chapter v. the privileged classes among the nahuas. titles of the nobility and gentry--the power of the nobles--the aristocracy of tezcuco--the policy of king techotlalatzin--privileges of the nobles--montezuma's policy--rivalry between nobles and commons--the knightly order of tecuhtli--ceremony of initiation--origin of the order--the nahua priesthood--the priests of mexico--dedication of children--priestesses--priesthood of miztecapan--the pontiff of yopaa--tradition of wixipecocha--the cave of yopaa--the zapotec priests--toltec priests--totonac priests--priests of michoacan, puebla, and tlascala. [sidenote: the aztec aristocracy.] descending in due order the social scale of the aztecs, we now come to the nobility, or, more properly speaking, the privileged classes. the nobles of mexico, and of the other nahua nations, were divided into several classes, each having its own peculiar privileges and badges of rank. the distinctions that existed between the various grades, and their titles, are not, however, clearly defined. the title of tlatoani was the highest and most respected; it signified an absolute and sovereign power, an hereditary and divine right to govern. the kings, and the great feudatory lords who were governors of provinces, and could prove their princely descent and the ancient independence of their families, belonged to this order. the title of tlatopilzintli was given to the eldest son of the king, and that of tlatoque to all the princes in general. tlacahua signified a lord without sovereignty, but who had vassals under his orders, and was, to a certain extent, master of his people. the appellation of pilli was given to all who were noble, without regard to rank. axcahua, was a rich man, a proprietor of wealth in general, and tlaquihua, a landed proprietor, or almost the same thing as an english country gentleman. the title of tlatoani was invariably hereditary, but many of the others were conferred only for life, as a reward for important military or other services to the state. of the tenure by which they held their lands i shall have occasion to speak hereafter. the power of the nobles, as a body, was very great; according to some accounts there were, in montezuma's realms, thirty great lords who each controlled one hundred thousand vassals, and three thousand other lords also very powerful. a number of nobles possessing such formidable power as this, would, if permitted to live on their estates, some of which were a long distance from the capital, have been a constantly threatening source of danger to the crown; at any moment an aztec runnimede might have been expected. to guard against any such catastrophe, the more powerful nobles were required to reside in the capital, at least during the greater part of each year; and permission to return to their homes for a short time, could only be obtained on condition that they left a son or brother as a guarantee of good faith during their absence.[ ] in the kingdom of tezcuco were twenty-six great fiefs,[ ] each independent of the rest and having several fiefs of less importance subjected to it. the greater part of these great chiefs bore the sovereign title of tlatoani, or a similar one. they recognized no prerogative of the king except his right to preside at their grand assemblies, to receive their homage upon his accession to the throne, to levy certain tributes in their provinces, and to call upon them to appear in the field with a contingent of troops in case of war. for the rest, each tlatoani was perfectly independent in his own domain, which he governed with the same omnipotence as the king of tezcuco himself. notwithstanding the precautions taken, it frequently happened that one of these great feudatories would feel himself strong enough to set the authority of the king at defiance, but as their private feuds generally prevented any number of the tlatoanis from uniting their forces against the crown, the rebels were in most instances speedily reduced to subjection; in which event the leaders either suffered death or were degraded from their rank. they were an unruly family, these overgrown vassals, and the aztec monarchs were often at their wit's end in endeavors to conciliate and keep them within bounds. torquemada tells us that techotlalatzin, king of tezcuco, was sorely harassed by the powerful nobles of his realm. he accordingly set about remedying the evil with great prudence and perseverance. his first step was to unite, by strong bonds of interest, the less important nobles to the crown. to this end he heaped favors upon all. the vanity of some he flattered by conferring the dignity and title of tlatoani upon them, to others he gave wealth and lands. by this means he weakened the individual power of the great vassals by increasing their number, a policy the efficiency of which has been frequently proved in the old world as well as in the new. techotlalatzin next proceeded to summon them one after another to court, and then under pretense of being in constant need of their advice, he formed twenty-six of their number into a council of state, obliging them by this means to reside constantly in the capital. with this council he conferred upon all grave and difficult questions, whatever might be their nature. it was the duty of its members to draw up and issue ordinances, both for the general government and for the administration of affairs in particular provinces; and to enact laws for enforcing good order in towns and villages, as well as those relating to agriculture, science and art, military discipline, and the tribunals of justice. [sidenote: orders of nobility.] at the same time techotlalatzin created a large number of new offices and honorary trusts, which were dependent on the crown. four of the most powerful nobles were invested with the highest dignities. the first, with the title tetlahto, was made commander-in-chief of the army, and president of the military council. the second was entitled yolqui; his office was that of grand master of ceremonies; it was his duty to receive and introduce the ambassadors and ministers of foreign princes, to conduct them to court, to lodge them and provide for their comfort, and to offer them the presents appointed by the king. the third lord received the title of tlami or calpixcontli; he was master of the royal household, and minister of finance, and was assisted in his functions by a council of other nobles. it was the duty of this body to keep strict account of all taxes paid by the people; its members were required to be well informed as to the exact condition of each town and province, with the nature of its produce, and the fertility of its soil; they had also to distribute the taxes with equality and justice, and in proportion to the resources of the people. the care and management of the interior of the palace was also intrusted to them, and it was their place to provide all the food for the consumption of the royal household. the fourth great officer was styled amechichi; he acted as grand chamberlain, and attended to the king's private apartments. like the tlami, he was assisted by other nobles. a fifth officer was afterward appointed, who bore the title of cohuatl, and superintended the workers in precious metals, jewels, and feathers, who were employed by the court. at first sight it may appear that such duties as these would be below the dignity of a haughty aztec grandee, yet we find the nobles of europe during the middle ages not only filling the same positions, but jealous of their right to do so, and complaining loudly if deprived of them. sismondi tells us that the count of anjou, under louis vi., claimed the office of grand seneschal of france; that is, to carry dishes to the king's table on state days. the court of charlemagne was crowded with officers of every rank, some of the most eminent of whom exercised functions about the royal person which would have been thought fit only for slaves in the palace of augustus or antonine. the free-born franks saw nothing menial in the titles of cup-bearer, steward, marshal, and master of the horse, which are still borne by some of the noblest families in many parts of europe. as soon as habits of submission and an appreciation of the honors showered upon them had taken root among his great vassals, techotlalatzin subdivided the twenty-six provinces of his kingdom into sixty-five departments. the ancient lords were not by this measure despoiled of all their authority, nor of those estates which were their private property; but the jurisdiction they exercised in person or through their officials was greatly diminished by the nomination of thirty-five new governors, chosen by the king, and of whose fidelity he was well assured. this was a mortal blow to the great aristocrats, and a preliminary step toward the total abolition of feudal power. but the master-stroke was yet to come. the inhabitants of each province were carefully counted and divided into sections. they were then changed about from place to place, in numbers proportioned to the size and population of the territory. for example, from a division containing six thousand people, two thousand were taken and transported into the territory of another lord, from the number of whose vassals two thousand were also taken and placed upon the vacated land in the first lord's possessions; each noble, however, retained his authority over that portion of his vassals which had been removed. by this means, although the number of each lord's subjects remained the same, yet as a large portion of each territory was occupied by the vassals of another, a revolt would be difficult. nor could two nobles unite their forces against the crown, as care was taken that the interchange of dependents should not be effected between two estates adjoining each other. these measures, despotic as they were, were nevertheless executed without opposition from either nobles or people,--such was the awe in which the sovereign was held and his complete ascendancy over his subjects.[ ] [sidenote: privileges of the nobles.] the privileges of the nobles were numerous. they alone were allowed to wear ornaments of gold and gems upon their clothes, and, indeed, in their entire dress, as we shall presently see, they were distinguished from the lower classes. the exact limits of the power they possessed over their vassals is not known, but it was doubtless nearly absolute. fuenleal, bishop of santo domingo, writes to charles v. of the lower orders, that "they were, and still are, so submissive that they allow themselves to be killed or sold into slavery without complaining."[ ] in mexico their power and privileges were greatly augmented by montezuma ii., who we are told ousted every plebeian that held a position of high rank, and would allow none who were not of noble birth to be employed in his palace or about his person. at the time of this monarch's accession there were many members of the royal council who were men of low extraction; all these he dismissed and supplied their places with creatures of his own. it is related that an old man who had formerly been his guardian or tutor had the boldness to remonstrate with him against such a course; telling him with firmness that he acted contrary to his own interests, and advising him to weigh well the consequences of the measures he was adopting. to banish the plebeians from the palace, added the old man, was to estrange them forever from the king; and the time would come when the common people would no longer either wish or dare to look upon him. montezuma haughtily made answer, that this was precisely what he wished; it was a burning shame, he said, that the low and common people should be allowed to mix with the nobles in the royal service; he was astonished and indignant that his royal predecessors had so long suffered such a state of things to be.[ ] by these measures the services of many brave soldiers, promoted, as a reward for their gallantry, from the ranks of the people, were lost to the crown; nor were such men likely to be slow to show their discontent. the new policy, incited by a proud aristocracy, struck exactly those men who had the best right to a share in the government. it was the officers promoted for their merits from the ranks who had contributed most to the success of the mexican arms; it was the great merchants who, by their extended commerce, had made the wealth of the country. a spirit of rivalry had long existed between the poor well-born nobles, and the wealthy base-born merchants. during many successive reigns the importance of the latter class had been steadily increasing, owing to the valuable services they had rendered the state. from the earliest times they were permitted a certain degree of familiarity with the kings, who took great delight in hearing them recount the wonderful adventures they had met with while on their long expeditions into strange parts. doubtless the royal ear did not always meet the truth unembellished, any more than did that of haroun alraschid upon similar occasions, but probably the monarchs learned many little secrets in this way that they could never know by other means. afterward these merchants were admitted to the royal councils, and during the latter years of the reign of ahuitzotl we find them enjoying many of the exclusive privileges hitherto reserved to the warrior aristocracy. [sidenote: class conflicts.] the merchants appear to have partly brought upon themselves the misfortunes which subsequently overtook them, by aggravating the envious feelings with which they were already regarded. not content with being admitted to equal privileges with the nobles, and vexed at not being able to vie with them in brilliant titles and long lines of illustrious ancestry, they did their utmost to surpass them in the magnificence of their houses, and in the pomp which they displayed upon every occasion. at the public feasts and ceremonies these parvenus outshone the proudest nobles by the profuseness of their expenditure; they strove for and obtained honors and exalted positions which the aristocracy could not accept for lack of wealth; they were sparing of money in no place where it could be used for their own advancement. it is easy to conceive the effect such a state of things had on the proud and overbearing nobles of mexico. on several occasions they complained to their kings that their order was losing its prestige by being obliged to mix on equal terms with the plebeians; but the services that the great commercial body rendered every day to the crown were too material to allow the kings to listen patiently to such complaints. during the reign of ahuitzotl, the pride of the merchants had reached its zenith; it is not therefore surprising that the leaders of the aristocratic party, when that monarch was dead, elected as his successor montezuma ii., a prince well known for his partiality for the higher classes. his policy, as events proved, was a far less wise one than that of techotlalatzin of tezcuco, of which we have already spoken. by not restraining his overweening pride he prepared the way for disaffection and revolt; he furnished his enemies with weapons which they were not slow to use; he alienated the affections of his subjects, so that when aid was most needed there was none to help him, and when, fettered and a prisoner in the hand of the spaniards, he called upon his people, the only replies were hoots and missiles. the generals of the army and military officers of the higher ranks, must of course be included among the privileged classes; usually, indeed, they were noble by birth as well as influential by position, and in mexico, from the time of montezuma's innovations this was always the case. there were several military orders and titles which were bestowed upon distinguished soldiers for services in the field or the council. of those which were purely the reward of merit, and such as could be attained by a plebeian, i shall speak in a future chapter. there was one, however, the membership of which was confined to the nobility; this was the celebrated and knightly order of the tecuhtli. to obtain this rank it was necessary to be of noble birth, to have given proof in several battles of the utmost courage, to have arrived at a certain age, and to have sufficient wealth to support the enormous expenses incurred by members of the order. [sidenote: ceremony of initiating a tecuhtli.] for three years before he was admitted, the candidate and his parents busied themselves about making ready for the grand ceremony, and collecting rich garments, jewels, and golden ornaments, for presents to the guests. when the time approached, the auguries were consulted, and a lucky day having been fixed upon, the relations and friends of the candidate, as well as all the great nobles and tecuhtlis that could be brought together, were invited to a sumptuous banquet. on the morning of the all-important day the company set out in a body for the temple of camaxtli,[ ] followed by a multitude of curious spectators, chiefly of the lower orders, intent upon seeing all there is to see. arrived at the summit of the pyramid consecrated to camaxtli, the aspirant to knightly honors bows down reverently before the altar of the god. the high-priest now approaches him, and with a pointed tiger's bone or an eagle's claw perforates the cartilage of his nose in two places, inserting into the holes thus made small pieces of jet or obsidian,[ ] which remain there until the year of probation is passed, when they are exchanged for beads of gold and precious stones. this piercing the nose with an eagle's claw or a tiger's bone, signifies, says torquemada, that he who aspires to the dignity of tecuhtli must be as swift to overtake an enemy as the eagle, as strong in fight as the tiger. the high-priest, speaking in a loud voice, now begins to heap insults and injurious epithets upon the man standing meekly before him. his voice grows louder and louder; he brandishes his arms aloft, he waxes furious. the assistant priests are catching his mood; they gather closer about the object of the pontiff's wrath; they jostle him, they point their fingers sneeringly at him, and call him coward. for a moment the dark eyes of the victim gleam savagely, his hands close involuntarily, he seems about to spring upon his tormentors; then with an effort he calms himself and is passive as ever. that look made the taunters draw back, but it was only for a moment; they are upon him again; they know now that he is strong to endure, and they will prove him to the uttermost. screaming insults in his ears, they tear his garments piece by piece from his body until nothing but the maxtli is left, and the man stands bruised and naked in their midst. but all is useless, their victim is immovable, so at length they leave him in peace. he has passed safely through one of the severest ordeals of the day, but that fierce look a while ago was a narrow escape; had he lifted a finger in resistance, he must have gone down from the temple to be scorned and jeered at by the crowd below as one who had aspired to the dignity of tecuhtli, yet who could restrain his temper no better than a woman. the long months of careful preparation would have been all in vain, his parents would have spat upon him for vexation and shame, perchance he would have been punished for sacrilege. but he is by no means a member of the coveted order yet. he is next conducted to another hall of the temple,[ ] where he commences his noviciate, which is to last from one to two years, by four days of penance, prayer, and fasting. as soon as he is conducted to this hall the banquet which has been prepared for the guests commences, and after a few hours of conviviality each returns to his home. during these first four days the candidate's powers of endurance are sorely taxed. the only articles of furniture allowed him are a coarse mat and a low stool; his garments are of the coarsest description. when night comes, the priests bring him a black preparation, with which to besmear his face, some spines of the maguey-plant to draw blood from his body with, a censer and some incense. his only companions are three veteran warriors, who instruct him in his duties and keep him awake, for during the four days he is only allowed to sleep for a few minutes at a time, and then it must be sitting upon his stool. if, overcome by drowsiness, he exceed this time, his guardians thrust the maguey-thorns into his flesh, crying: awake, awake! learn to be vigilant and watchful; keep your eyes open that you may look to the interests of your vassals. at midnight he goes to burn incense before the idol, and to draw blood from different parts of his body as a sacrifice. he then walks round the temple, and as he goes he burns paper and copal in four holes in the ground, which he makes at the four sides of the building, facing the cardinal points; upon each of these fires he lets fall a few drops of blood drawn from his body. these ceremonies he repeats at dawn and sunset. he breaks his fast only once in twenty-four hours, at midnight: and then his repast consists merely of four little dumplings of maize-meal, each about the size of a nut, and a small quantity of water; but even this he leaves untasted if he wishes to evince extraordinary powers of endurance. the four days having elapsed, he obtains permission from the high-priest to complete his time of probation in some temple of his own district or parish; but he is not allowed to go home, nor, if married, to see his wife during this period. [sidenote: final ceremonies.] for two or three months preceding his formal admission into the order, the home of the postulant is in a bustle of preparation for the coming ceremony. a grand display is made of rich stuffs and dresses, and costly jewels, for the use of the new knight when he shall cast off his present chrysalis-husk of coarse nequen and emerge a full-blown tecuhtli. a great number of presents are provided for the guests; a sumptuous banquet is prepared, and the whole house is decorated for the occasion. the oracles are again consulted, and upon the lucky day appointed the company assemble once more at the house of the candidate, in the same manner as at the commencement of his noviciate. in the morning the new knight is conducted to a bath, and after having undergone a good scrubbing, he is again carried, in the midst of music and dancing, to the temple of camaxtli. accompanied by his brother tecuhtlis he ascends the steps of the teocalli. after he has respectfully saluted the idol, the mean garments he has worn so long are taken off, and his hair is bound up in a knot on the top of his head with a red cord, from the ends of which hang some fine feathers; he is next clad in garments of rich and fine materials, the principal of which is a kind of tunic, ornamented with a delicately embroidered device, which is the insignia of his new rank; in his right hand he receives some arrows and in his left a bow. the high-priest completes the ceremony with a discourse, in which he instructs the new knight in his duties, tells him the names which he is to add to his own, as a member of the order; describes to him the signs and devices which he must emblazon on his escutcheon, and impresses upon his memory the advantages of being liberal and just, of loving his country and his gods. as soon as the newly made tecuhtli has descended into the court of the temple, the music and dancing recommence, and are kept up until it is time to begin the banquet. this is served with great magnificence and liberality, and, to the guests at least, is probably the most interesting feature of the day. in front of each person at table are placed the presents intended for him, consisting of costly stuffs and ornaments in such quantity that each bundle was carried with difficulty by two slaves; each guest is also given a new garment, which he wears at table. the value of the gifts was proportioned to the rank of the receiver, and such distinctions must be made with great care, for the aztec nobility were very jealous of their rights of precedence. the places of such nobles as had been invited to the feast but were from illness or other cause unable to attend were left vacant, and their share of presents and food was placed upon the table exactly as if they had been present; torquemada tells us, moreover, that the same courtesy was extended to the empty seat as to the actual guest.[ ] upon these occasions the absent noble generally sent a substitute, whose seat was placed next to that of the person he represented. on the following day the servants and followers of the guests were feasted and presented with gifts, according to the means and liberality of the donor. the privileges of the tecuhtlis were important and numerous. in council they took the first places, and their votes outweighed all others; in the same manner at all feasts and ceremonies, in peace or in war, they were always granted preëminence. as before remarked, the vast expenses entailed upon a tecuhtli debarred the honor from many who were really worthy of it. in some instances, however, when a noble had greatly distinguished himself in war, but was too poor to bear the expenses of initiation, these were defrayed by the governor of his province, or by the other tecuhtlis.[ ] [sidenote: origin of the order.] the origin of the order of tecuhtli is not known. both the toltecs and the tlascaltecs claim to have established it. veytia, however, asserts that this was not the case, but that it was first instituted by xolotl, king of the chichimecs.[ ] m. l'abbé brasseur de bourbourg infers from ancient toltec history that the ceremony of initiation and the probation of the candidate derive their origin from the mysterious rites of which traces are still found among the nations of mexico and central america. the traditions relating to votan and quetzalcoatl, or gucumatz, evidently allude to it. the birth of ceacatl-quetzalcoatl is celebrated by his father, mixcohua-camaxtli, at culhuacan, with great rejoicings and the creation of a great number of knights; it is these same knights who are afterwards sent to avenge his death upon his assassins at cuitlahuac, a town which appears, since that time, to have been always the principal place of residence of the order. after the separation of cholula from the rest of the toltec empire by ceacatl-quetzalcoatl, that town, together with huexotzinco and tlascala, appears to have had special privileges in this particular. it is in these places that after the conquest of the aztec plateau by the teo-chichimecs, we find most of their chiefs bearing the title of tecuhtli; it may be that the priests were forced into confirming their warlike conquerors in the honor, or it may be that they did so voluntarily, hoping by this means to submit the warriors to their spiritual power. this, however, is certain, that the rank of tecuhtli remained to the last the highest honor that a prince or soldier could acquire in the states of tlascala, cholula, and huexotzinco.[ ] [sidenote: the mexican priesthood.] the priesthood filled a very important place among the privileged classes, but as a succeeding volume has been set apart for all matters relating to religion, i will confine myself here to such an outline of the sacerdotal system as is necessary to make our view of aztec social distinctions complete. the learned abbé, m. brasseur de bourbourg, gives us a very correct and concise account of the mexican priesthood, a partial translation of which will answer the present purpose. among the nations of mexico and central america, whose civilization is identical, the priesthood always occupied a high rank in the state, and up to the last moment its members continued to exercise a powerful influence in both public and private affairs. in anáhuac the priestly offices do not appear to have been appropriated exclusively by an hereditary caste; all had an equal right to fill them, with the exception of the offices about the temple of huitzilopochtli, at mexico, which were granted to some families dwelling in certain quarters of that city.[ ] the ministers of the various temples, to be fitted for an ecclesiastical career, must be graduates of the calmecac, colleges or seminaries to which they had been sent by their parents in their infancy. the dignities of their order were conferred by vote; but it is evident that the priests of noble birth obtained almost invariably the highest honors. the quarrels between the priest and warrior classes, which, in former times, had brought so much harm to the mexican nation, had taught the kings to do their best to effect a balance of power between the rival bodies; to this end they appropriated to themselves the privilege of electing priests, and placed at the head of the clergy a priest or a warrior of high rank, as they saw fit; this could be all the more easily done, as both classes received the same education in the same schools. the august title of topiltzin, which in ancient times expressed the supreme military and priestly power, came to mean, in after years, a purely ecclesiastical authority. in tezcuco and tlacopan, where the crown was inherited in a direct line by one of the sons of the deceased monarch, the supreme pontiff was usually selected from among the members of the royal family; but in mexico, where it involved, almost always, the duties of tlacochcalcatl, or commander-in-chief of the army, and, eventually, succession to the throne, the office of high-priest, like that of king, was elective. the election of the spiritual king, for so we may call him, generally followed close upon that of the temporal monarch, and such was the honor in which the former was held, that he was consecrated with the same sacred unguent with which the king was anointed. in this manner axayacatl, montezuma ii., and quauhtemoc, were each made pontiff before the royal crown was placed upon their head. the title of him who held this dignity was mexicatl-teohuatzin, that is to say, the 'mexican lord of sacred things;' he added also, besides a great number of other titles, that of teotecuhtli, or 'divine master,' and he was, by right, high-priest of huitzilopochtli; he was the 'head of the church,' and of all its branches, not only at mexico, but in all the provinces of the mexican empire; he had absolute authority over all priests, of whatever rank, and the colleges and monasteries of every class were under his control. he was elected by the two dignitaries ranking next to himself in the aboriginal hierarchy. the mexicatl-teohuatzin was looked upon as the right arm of the king, particularly in all matters of war and religion, and it rarely happened that any important enterprise was set on foot without his advice. at the same time it is evident that the high-priest was, after all, only the vicar and lieutenant of the king, for on certain solemn occasions the monarch himself performed the functions of grand sacrificer. the quetzalcoatl, that is, the high-priest of the god of that name, was almost equal in rank to the mexicatl-teohuatzin; but his political influence was far inferior. the ordinary title of the priests was teopixqui, or 'sacred guardian;' those who were clothed with a higher dignity were called huey-teopixqui, or 'great sacred guardian.' the huitznahuac-teohuatzin and the tepan-teohuatzin followed, in priestly rank, the high-priest of huitzilopochtli; they were his vicars, and superintended the colleges and monasteries in every part of his kingdom. the tlaquimilol-tecuhtli, or 'grand master of relics,'[ ] took charge of the ornaments, furniture, and other articles specially relating to worship. the tlillancalcatl, or 'chief of the house of tlillan,' exercised the functions of principal sacristan; he took care of the robes and utensils used by the high-priest. the choristers were under the orders of the ometochtli, the high-priest of the god so named, who had, as director of the singing-schools, an assistant styled tlapitzcatzin; it was this latter officer's duty to instruct his pupils in the hymns which were chanted at the principal solemnities. the tlamacazcatlotl, or 'divine minister' overlooked the studies in the schools; another priest discharged the duties of grand master of the pontifical ceremonies; another was archdeacon and judge of the ecclesiastical courts; the latter had power to employ and discharge the attendants in the temples; besides these there was a crowd of other dignitaries, following each other rank below rank in perfect order. [sidenote: sacerdotal offices.] in mexico and the other towns of the empire, there were as many complete sets of priests as there were temples. besides the seventy-eight sanctuaries dedicated to huitzilopochtli, which were in part directed by the priests we have already enumerated, the capital contained many others. each had jurisdiction in its own section, which corresponded to our parish; the priests and their pupils dwelling in a school or college which adjoined the temple. it was the province of the priests to attend to all matters relating to religion and the instruction of youth. some took charge of the sacrifices, others were skilled in the art of divination; certain of them were entrusted with the arrangement of the festivals and the care of the temple and sacred vessels, others applied themselves to the composition of hymns and attended to the singing and music. the priests who were learned in science superintended the schools and colleges, made the calculations for the annual calendar, and fixed the feast-days; those who possessed literary talent compiled the historical works, and collected material for the libraries. to each temple was attached a monastery, or we might call it a chapter, the members of which enjoyed privileges similar to those of our canons. the tlamacazqui, 'deacons' or 'ministers' and the quaquacuiltin, 'herb-eaters,' were those who dedicated themselves to the service of the gods for life. they led a very ascetic life; continence was strictly imposed upon them, and they mortified the flesh by deeds of penance in imitation of quetzalcoatl, who was their patron deity. the name of tlamacazcayotl, signifying 'government of the religious,' was given to these orders, and they had monasteries for the reception of both sexes. the high-priest of the god quetzalcoatl was their supreme lord; he was a man of great authority, and never deigned to put his foot out of doors unless it was to confer with the king. when a father of a family wished to dedicate one of his children to the service of quetzalcoatl, he with great humility advised the high-priest of his intention. that dignitary deputed a tlamacazqui to represent him at the feast which was given in his honor, and to bring away the child. if at this time the infant was under four years of age, a slight incision was made on his chest, and a few drops of blood were drawn as a token of his future position. four years was the age requisite for admission into the monastery. some remained there until they were of an age to enter the world, some dedicated their whole lives to the service of the gods; others vowed themselves to perpetual continence. all were poorly clothed, wore their hair long, lived upon coarse and scanty fare, and did all kinds of work. at midnight they arose and went to the bath; after washing, they drew blood from their bodies with spines of the maguey-plant; then they watched and chanted praises of the gods until two in the morning. notwithstanding this austerity, however, these monks could betake themselves alone to the woods, or wander through the mountains and deserts, there in solitude to spend the time in holy contemplation. [sidenote: mexican priestesses.] females were consecrated to the service of the gods in several ways. when a girl was forty days old, the father carried her to the neighboring temple; he placed in her little hands a broom and a censer, and thus presented her to the teopixqui, or priest; who by accepting these symbols of his future state, bound himself to perform his part of the engagement. as soon as the little one was able to do so in person, she carried a broom and a censer to the temple, with some presents for the priest; at the required age she entered the monastery. some of the girls took an oath of perpetual continence; others, on account of some vow which they had made during sickness, or that the gods might send them a good husband, entered the monastery for one, two, three, or four years. they were called cihuatlamacasque, 'deaconesses,' or cihuaquaquilli, 'eaters of vegetables.' they were under the surveillance of a number of staid matrons of good character; upon entering the monastery each girl had her hair cut short.[ ] they all slept in one dormitory, and were not allowed to disrobe before retiring to rest, in order that they might always be ready when the signal was given to rise. they occupied themselves with the usual labors of their sex; weaving and embroidering the tapestry and ornamental work for the temple. three times during the night they rose to renew the incense in the braziers, at ten o'clock, at midnight, and at dawn.[ ] on these occasions a matron led the procession; with eyes modestly bent upon the ground, and without daring to cast a glance to one side or the other, the maidens filed up one side of the temple, while the priests did the same on the other, so that all met before the altar. in returning to the dormitory the same order was observed. they spent part of the morning in preparing bread and confectionery, which they placed, while warm, in the temple, where the priests partook of it after sacrifice.[ ] the young women, for their part, fasted strictly; they first broke their fast at noon, and with the exception of a scanty meal in the evening, this was all they ate during the twenty-four hours. on feast-days they were permitted to taste meat, but at all other times their diet was extremely meagre. while sweeping the temple they took great care never to turn their back to the idol, lest the god should be insulted. if one of these young women unhappily violated her vows of chastity she redoubled her fasting and severity, in the fear that her flesh would rot, and in order to appease the gods and induce them to conceal her crime, for death was the punishment inflicted on the mexican vestal who was convicted of such a trespass. the maiden who entered the service of the gods for a certain period only, and not for life, did not usually leave the monastery until she was about to be married. at that time the parents, having chosen a husband for the girl, and gotten everything in readiness, repaired to the monastery, taking care first to provide themselves with quails, copal, hollow canes filled with perfume, which torquemada says they called _poquietl_, a brassier for incense, and some flowers. the girl was then clothed in a new dress, and the party went up to the temple; the altar was covered with a cloth, upon which were placed the presents they had brought with them, accompanied by sundry dishes of meats and pastry. a complimentary speech was next made by the parents to the tequaquilli, or chief priest of the temple, and when this was concluded the girl was taken away to her father's house. but of those young men and maidens who stayed in the temple-schools for a time only, and received a regular course of instruction at the hands of the priests, it is my intention to speak further when treating of the education of the mexican youth. the original accounts are rather confused on this point, so that it is difficult to separate with accuracy those who entered with the intention of becoming permanent priests from those who were merely temporary scholars. [sidenote: dress of the mexican priests.] the ordinary dress of the mexican priests differed little from that of other citizens; the only distinctive feature being a black cotton mantle, which they wore in the manner of a veil thrown back upon the head. those, however, who professed a more austere life, such as the quaquaquiltin and tlamacazqui before mentioned, wore long black robes; many among them never cut their hair, but allowed it to grow as long as it would; it was twisted with thick cotton cords, and bedaubed with unctuous matter, the whole forming a weighty mass, as inconvenient to carry as it was disgusting to look at. the high-priest usually wore, as a badge of his rank, a kind of fringe which hung down over his breast, called xicolli; on feast-days he was clothed in a long robe, over which he wore a sort of chasuble or cope, which varied in color, shape, and ornamentation, according to the sacrifices he made and the divinity to which he offered them.[ ] among the miztecs and zapotecs the priests had as much or even more influence than among the mexicans. in briefly reviewing the sacerdotal system of these nations, let us once more take m. brasseur de bourbourg for our guide. the kingdom of tilantongo, which comprised upper miztecapan, was spiritually governed by the high-priest of achiuhtla; he had the title of taysacaa,[ ] and his power equalled, if it did not surpass, that of the sovereign. this office, it appears, was reserved for the royal family, and was transmitted from male to male; a member of any free family could, however, become a sacaa, or simple priest. all, even to the successor of the taysacaa, had to submit to a vigorous noviciate of one year's duration, and to this rule no exceptions were made. up to the time of commencing his noviciate, and for four years after it was ended, the candidate for the priesthood was supposed to have led a perfectly chaste life, otherwise he was judged unworthy to be admitted into the order. his only food during the year of probation was herbs, wild honey, and roasted maize; his life was passed in silence and retirement, and the monotony of his existence was only relieved by waiting on the priests, taking care of the altars, sweeping the temple, and gathering wood for the fires. when four years after his admission to the priesthood had elapsed, during which time he seems to have served a sort of apprenticeship, he was permitted to marry if he saw fit, and at the same time to perform his priestly functions. if he did not marry he entered one of the monasteries which were dependent on the temples, and while performing his regular duties, increased the austerity of his life. those priests who were entrusted with the higher and more important offices, such as the instruction of youth or a seat in the royal council, were selected from the latter class. the king, or the nobles, each in his own state, provided for their wants, and certain women, sworn to chastity, prepared their food. they never left the monastery except on special occasions, to assist at some feast, to play at ball in the court of their sovereign lord, to go on a pilgrimage for the accomplishment of a vow made by the king or by themselves, or to take their place at the head of the army, which, on certain occasions, they commanded. if one of these monks fell sick, he was well cared for in the monastery; if he died he was interred in the court of the building. if one of them violated his vow of chastity, he was bastinadoed to death. [sidenote: the pontiff of yopaa.] [sidenote: the cave of yopaa.] in zapotecapan the supreme pontiff was called the wiyatao;[ ] his residence was in the city of yopaa,[ ] and there he was from time immemorial spiritual and temporal lord, though, indeed, he made his temporal power felt more or less throughout the whole kingdom; and he appears in the earliest history of this country as master and lord of both the princes and the people of those nations who acknowledged him as the supreme head of their religion. the origin of the city of yopaa is not known; it was situated on the slope of mount teutitlan,[ ] which in this place formed a valley, shut in by overshadowing rocks, and watered by a stream which lower down flowed into the river xalatlaco. the original inhabitants of this region were the disciples and followers of a mysterious, white-skinned personage named wixipecocha. what race he belonged to, or from what land he came when he presented himself to the zapotecs, is not known; a certain vague tradition relates that he came by sea from the south, bearing a cross in his hand, and debarked in the neighborhood of tehuantepec;[ ] a statue representing him is still to be seen, on a high rock near the village of magdalena. he is described as a man of a venerable aspect, having a bushy, white beard, dressed in a long robe and a cloak, and wearing a covering upon his head resembling a monk's cowl. the statue represents him seated in a pensive attitude, apparently occupied in hearing the confession of a woman who kneels by his side.[ ] his voice, to accord with his appearance, must have been of remarkable sweetness. wixipecocha taught his disciples to deny themselves the vanities of this world, to mortify the flesh with penance and fasting, and to abstain from all sensual pleasures. adding example to precept, he utterly abjured female society, and suffered no woman to approach him except in the act of auricular confession, which formed part of his doctrine.[ ] this extraordinary conduct caused him to be much respected; especially as it was an unheard-of thing among these people for a man to devote his life to celibacy. nevertheless, he was frequently persecuted by those whose vices and superstitions he attacked. passing through one province after another he at length arrived in the zapotec valley, a large portion of which was at that time occupied by a lake named rualo. afterwards, being entered into the country of the miztecs, to labor for their conversion, the people sought to take his life. those who were sent to take him prisoner, overtook him at the foot of cempoaltepec, the most lofty peak in the country; but at the moment they thought to lay hands upon him, he disappeared suddenly from their sight, and soon afterwards, adds the tradition, his figure was seen standing on the summit of the highest peak of the mountain. filled with astonishment, his persecutors hastened to scale the rocky height. when after great labor they arrived at the point where they had seen the figure, wixipecocha appeared to them again for a few instants, then as suddenly vanished, leaving no traces of his presence save the imprints of his feet deeply impressed upon the rock where he had stood.[ ] since then we do not know that wixipecocha reappeared in the ordinary world, though tradition relates that he afterwards showed himself in the enchanted island of monapostiac, near tehuantepec, whither he probably went for the purpose of obtaining new proselytes. in spite of the silence which history maintains concerning the time of his advent and the disciples which he left behind him, there can be no doubt that the priests of yopaa did not continue to promulgate his doctrines, or that the wiyatao, the supreme pontiff in zapotecapan, was not there as the vicar and successor of the prophet of monapostiac. like the ancient brahmans of hindustan, the first disciples of wixipecocha celebrated the rites of their religion in a deep cave, which m. de bourbourg thinks was most probably hollowed out in the side of the mountain by the waters of the flood. this was afterwards used as a place of worship by the wiyataos, who, as the number of their proselytes increased, brought art to the aid of nature, and under the hands of able architects the cave of yopaa was soon turned into a temple, having halls, galleries, and numerous apartments all cut in the solid rock. it was into the gloomy recesses of this temple that the priests descended on solemn feast-days to assist at those mysterious sacrifices which were sacred from the profane gaze of the vulgar, or to take part in the burial rites at the death of a king.[ ] the classes of religious men were as numerous and their names and duties as varied among the zapotecs as elsewhere. a certain order of priests who made the interpreting of dreams their special province were called colanii cobee pécala. each form of divination was made a special study. some professed to foretell the future by the aid of stars, earth, wind, fire, or water; others, by the flight of birds, the entrails of sacrificial victims, or by magic signs and circles. among other divinities a species of parroquet, with flaming plumage, called the _ara_,[ ] was worshiped in some districts. in this bird a god was incarnate, who was said to have descended from the sky like a meteor. there were among the zapotecs hermits or fakirs, who passed their entire lives in religious ecstasy and meditation, shut up in dark caves, or rude huts, with no other companion but an ara, which they fed respectfully upon a species of altar; in honor of the bird they lacerated their flesh and drew blood from their bodies; upon their knees they kissed it morning and evening, and offered it with their prayers sacrifices of flowers and copal. [sidenote: zapotec priests.] priests of a lower order were styled wiyana and wizaechi, and the monks copapitas. the influence which they were supposed to have with the gods, and the care which they took to keep their number constantly recruited with scions of the most illustrious families, gained them great authority among the people. no noble was so great but he would be honored by having a son in the temple. they added, also, to the credit of their profession by the strict propriety of their manners, and the excessive rigor with which they guarded their chastity. parents who wished to consecrate one of their children to the service of the gods, led him, while still an infant, to the chief priest of the district, who after carefully catechizing the little one, delivered him over to the charge of the master of the novices. besides the care of the sanctuary, which fell to their lot, these children were taught singing, the history of their country, and such sciences as were within their comprehension. these religious bodies were looked upon with much respect. their members were taught to bear themselves properly at home and in the street, and to preserve a modest and humble demeanor. the least infraction of the rules was severely punished; a glance or a sign which might be construed into a carnal desire, was punished as criminal, and those who showed by their actions a strong disposition to violate their vow of chastity were relentlessly castrated. the wiyanas were divided into several orders, but all were ruled in the most absolute manner by the pontiff of yopaa. i have already spoken of the veneration in which this spiritual monarch was held, and of the manner in which he surmounted the difficulty of having children to inherit the pontifical chair, when continence was strictly imposed upon him.[ ] the ordinary dress of the zapotec priests was a full white robe, with openings to pass the arms through, but no sleeves; this was girt at the waist with a colored cord. during the ceremony of sacrifice, and on feast-days, the wiyatao wore, over all, a kind of tunic, with full sleeves, adorned with tassels and embroidered in various colors with representations of birds and animals. on his head he wore a mitre of feather-work, ornamented with a very rich crown of gold; his neck, arms, and wrists were laden with costly necklaces and bracelets; upon his feet were golden sandals, bound to his legs with cords of gold and bright-colored thread.[ ] [sidenote: priests of michoacan.] the toltec sacerdotal system so closely resembled the mexican already described that it needs no further description in this volume. their priests wore a long black robe reaching to the ground; their heads were covered with a hood, and their hair fell down over their shoulders and was braided. they rarely put sandals on their feet, except when about to start on a long journey.[ ] among the totonacs six great ecclesiastics were elected, one as high-priest, one next to him in rank, and so on with the other four. when the high-priest died, the second priest succeeded him. he was anointed and consecrated with great ceremony; the unction used upon the occasion was a mixture of a fluid called in the totonac tongue _ole_, and blood drawn at the circumcision of children.[ ] there existed also among these people an order of monks devoted to their goddess centeotl. they lived a very austere and retired life, and their character, according to the totonac standard, was irreproachable. none but men above sixty years of age, who were widowers of virtuous life and estranged from the society of women, were admitted into this order. their number was fixed, and when one of them died another was received in his stead. they were so much respected that they were not only consulted by the common people, but likewise by the great nobles and the high-priest. they listened to those who consulted them, sitting upon their heels, with their eyes fixed upon the ground, and their answers were received as oracles even by the kings of mexico. they were employed in making historical paintings, which they gave to the high-priest that he might exhibit them to the people. the common totonac priests wore long black cotton robes with hoods; their hair was braided like the other common priests of mexico, and anointed with the blood of human sacrifices, but those who served the goddess centeotl were always dressed in the skins of foxes or coyotes.[ ] at izacapu, in michoacan, there was a pontiff named curinacanery, who was looked upon with such deep veneration that the king himself visited him once a year to offer him the first-fruits of the season, which he did upon his knees, having first respectfully kissed his hand. the common priests of michoacan wore their hair loose and disheveled; a leathern band encircled their foreheads; their robes were white, embroidered with black, and in their hands they carried feather fans.[ ] in puebla they also wore white robes, with sleeves, and fringed on the edges.[ ] the papas, or sacrificing priests of tlascala, allowed their hair to grow long and anointed it with the blood of their victims.[ ] much more might be written concerning the priests of these countries, but as it does not strictly come within the province of this volume, it is omitted here.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xii.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. , makes the number twenty-seven. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , _et seq._; see also _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. , _et seq._; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. , _et seq._; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. , _et seq._; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _herrera_, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xii. [ ] _lettre_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] camaxtli was the tlascaltec god of war, corresponding with and probably the same as the mexican huitzilopochtli. the order of tecuhtli being held in higher esteem in tlascala than elsewhere, the ceremony of initiation is generally described as it took place in that state. [ ] 'unas piedras chequitas de piedra negra, y creo eran de la piedra de que hacen las navajas.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxvii. [ ] 'se iba à vna de las salas, ò aposentos de los ministros que servian al demonio, que se llamaba tlamacazcalco.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . it seems unlikely, however, that the candidate would be taken to another temple at this juncture. brasseur explains the name of the hall to which he was taken as 'le lieu des habitations des ministres, prêtres de camaxtli.' _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'y à las sillas solas que representaban las personas ausentes, hacian tanta cortesia, y le captaban benevolencia, como si realmente estuvieran presentes los señores que faltaban.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] concerning the ceremony of initiation see: _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxvii.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., pp. - . [ ] _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xv. [ ] the tlaquimilloli, from whence the title is derived, was a sacred package or bundle, containing relics of gods and heroes. [ ] clavigero asserts that the hair of such only as entered the service on account of some private vow, was cut. [ ] clavigero says that only a part of them rose upon each occasion. 's'alzavano alcune due ore incirca innanzi alla mezza notte, altre alla mezza notte, ed altre allo spuntar del di per attizzar, e mantener vivo il fuoco, e per incensare gl'idoli.' _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'elles passaient une partie de la matinée à preparer le pain en galette et les pâtisseries qu'elles présentaient, toutes chaudes, dans le temple, où les prêtres allaient les prendre après l'oblation.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . clavigero says they prepared the offering of provisions which was presented to the idols: 'tutte le mattine preparavano l'obblazioni di commestibili da presentarsi agl'idoli.' _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] clavigero writes: 'l'insegna de' sommi sacerdoti di messico era un fiocco, o nappa di cotone pendente dal petto, e nelle feste principali vestivansi abiti sfarzosi, ne' quali vedevansi figurate le insegne di quel dio, la cui festa celebravano.' _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . the most important works that can be consulted concerning the mexican priesthood are: _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; from which i have principally taken my account; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, caps. cxxxiii., cxxxix., cxl.; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. et seq., - , tom. iii., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xv-xvii.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. et seq. [ ] this is the title given by the spanish authors; it is probably derived from _tay_, a man, and _sacaa_, a priest. _vocabul. en lengua mixteca, etc._, according to _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , note. [ ] wiyatao, burgoa writes _huijatoo_, and translates, 'great watchman;' the zapotec vocabulary translates it by the word _papa_, or priest. [ ] yopaa, burgoa also writes lyobaa and yobaa; it signifies the place of tombs, from _yo_, place, or ground, and _paa_, tomb, in the zapotec tongue, 'the centre of rest.' [ ] teutitlan was its name in the nahuatl language. its zapotecan name was xaquiya. [ ] _rasgos y señales de la primera predicacion en el nuevo-mundo_, ms. de don isidro gondra; _carriedo_, _estudios históricos y estadísticos del estado oaxaqueño_, _mexico_, , tom. i., cap. i.; quoted in _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt ii., cap. lxxii. [ ] _rasgos y señales de la primera predicacion en el nuevo-mundo_, ms. de don isidro gondra; quoted in _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt ii., cap. lxxii. [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt ii., cap. liii. [ ] so called from the cry of _ara_, _ara_, which it constantly repeats. [ ] see this vol., pp. - . [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., cap. liii. of the miztec high-priest torquemada writes: 'se vestia, para celebrar sus fiestas, de pontifical, de esta manera. unas mantas mui variadas de colores, matiçadas, y pintadas de historias acaecidas à algunos de sus dioses: poniase vnas como camisas, ò roquetes, sin mangas (à diferencia de los mexicanos) que llegaban mas abajo de la rodilla, y en las piernas vnas como antiparas, que le cubrian la pantorrilla; y era esto casi comun à todos los sacerdotes sumos, y calçado, con que adornaban las estatuas de los dioses; y en el braço izquierdo, vn pedaço de manta labrada, à manera de liston, como suelen atarse algunos al braço, quando salen à fiestas, ò cañas, con vna borla asida de ella, que parecia manipulo. vestia encima de todo vna capa, como la nuestra de coro, con vna borla colgando à las espaldas, y vna gran mitra en la cabeça, hecha de plumas verdes, con mucho artificio, y toda sembrada, y labrada de los mas principales dioses, que tenian. quando bailaban, en otras ocasiones, y patios de los templos (que era el modo ordinario de cantar sus horas, y reçar su oficio) se vestian de ropa blanca pintada, y vnas ropetas, como camisetas de galeote.' _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxxiii. [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxi.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. v., cap. xiv. [ ] _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., pp. - ; herrera says of the priests of mechoacan: 'trahian los cabellos largos, y coronas abiertas en la cabeça, como los de la yglesia catolica, y guirnaldas de fluecos colorados.' _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. x. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . [ ] less important, or more modern, authorities that treat of the privileged classes among the aztecs, are: _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _carli_, _cartas_, pt i., pp. - ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, pp. - ; _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., pp. - , ; _dilworth's conq. mex._, p. ; _monglave_, _résumé_, pp. - , - ; _hazart_, _kirchen-geschichte_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , - , - ; _west und ost indischer lustgart_, pt i., pp. - , - ; _cortés_, _aventuras_, pref., p. ; _baril_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - , - , - ; _soden_, _spanier in peru_, tom. ii., pp. - , ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien et mod._, pp. - . chapter vi. plebeians, slaves, tenure of lands, and taxation. influence of the commoners--oppression by nobles--deprived of office by montezuma ii.--classes of slaves--penal slaves--voluntary slavery--slave market at azcapuzalco--punishment and privileges of slaves--division of lands--crown lands--lands of the nobles--municipal property--property of the temples--tenure of lands in zapotecapan, miztecapan, michoacan, tlascala, cholula, and huexotzinco--similarity to feudal system of europe--system of taxation--municipal taxes--lice tribute--tribute from conquered provinces--revenue officers--injustice of montezuma ii. [sidenote: plebeians and slaves.] no writer seems to have thought it worth while to define the exact condition of the lower orders of free citizens among the aztecs. in mexico, under the earlier kings, they appear to have enjoyed considerable privileges. they were represented in the royal councils, they held high offices at court and about the king's person, their wishes were consulted in all affairs of moment, and they were generally recognized as an important part of the community. gradually, however, their power lessened as that of the nobles increased, until, in the time of montezuma ii., they were, as we have seen, deprived of all offices that were not absolutely menial, and driven from the palace. still, there is no doubt that from the earliest times the plebeians were always much oppressed by the nobles, or that, as the bishop of santo domingo, before quoted,[ ] remarks, "they were, and still are, so submissive that they allow themselves to be killed or sold into slavery without complaining." father acosta, also, writes that "so great is the authority which the caciques have assumed over their vassals that these latter dare not open their lips to complain of any order given them, no matter how difficult or disagreeable it may be to fulfill; indeed, they would rather die and perish than incur the wrath of their lord; for this reason the nobles frequently abuse their power, and are often guilty of extortion, robbery, and violence towards their vassals."[ ] camargo tells us that the plebeians were content to work without pay for the nobles, if they could only insure their protection by so doing.[ ] of those who stood below the macehuales, as the plebeians were called, and lowest of all in the social scale, the slaves, we have more definite information. slavery was enforced and recognized by law and usage throughout the entire country inhabited by the nahua nations. there were in ancient mexico three classes of slaves; namely, prisoners of war, persons condemned for crime to lose their freedom, and those who sold themselves, or children sold by their parents. the captor of a prisoner of war had an undisputed right to doom his prize to be sacrificed to the gods; this power he almost invariably exerted, and it was held a punishable crime for another to deprive him of it by rescuing the prisoner or setting him free.[ ] sahagun tells us that the captor could, if he chose, either sell or hold his prisoners as slaves; and if among them any man or woman showed unusual ability in music, embroidering, weaving, or other domestic occupation, he or she was frequently purchased by the king or some noble or wealthy man, and employed in his house, and thus saved from the sacrifice.[ ] the offences which the aztecs punished with slavery were the following: firstly, failure on the part of any relation of a person convicted of high treason, to give timely information of the plot to the proper authorities, provided he or she had knowledge of it, the wives and children of the traitor being also enslaved; secondly, the unauthorized sale of a free man or woman or of a free child kidnapped or found astray, the kidnapper fraudulently asserting such person to be a slave, or such child to be his own; thirdly, the sale or disposal, by a tenant or depositary, of another's property, without the permission of the owner or his representative, or of a proper legal authority; fourthly, hindering a collared slave from reaching the asylum of the sovereign's palace, provided it was the act of one who was not the owner or the owner's son; fifthly, stealing things of value, or being an inveterate thief; sixthly, stealing from a field a certain number of ears of corn or of useful plants, exception being made to this law when the act was committed by a child under ten years of age, or when the stolen property was paid for; seventhly, the impregnating, by a free man, of another's female slave, if the woman died during her pregnancy, or in consequence of it. this latter statement is contradicted by torquemada, upon the strength of information given him, as he alleges, by aztecs well acquainted with the laws of their country.[ ] gomara asserts, though he allows that others deny it, that when a man died insolvent, his son or his wife became the property of his creditors.[ ] torquemada affirms that it was customary for a creditor to look for payment of his claim to the estate, real or personal, if any there was, but no member of the debtor's family was awarded to him to cancel the debt.[ ] it sometimes happened that persons too poor to pay their taxes were put up for sale, but this mostly occurred in conquered provinces. penal slaves did not become the property of the king or the state, but were publicly sold to private persons, or assigned to the parties whom they had injured; nor were such offenders held to be slaves, or their punishment considered to have commenced until they had been formally delivered to the new owner. [sidenote: penal and voluntary slavery.] among those who voluntarily surrendered their freedom for a consideration, besides such as were driven by extreme poverty to do so, were the indolent who would not trust to their own exertions for a livelihood, gamesters, to obtain the wherewithal to satisfy their passion for gambling,[ ] and harlots, to provide themselves with showy clothing and finery. the two latter classes were not obliged to go into service until after the expiration of a year from the time of receiving the consideration for which they sold themselves. slaves were continually offered for sale in the public market-place of every town, but the principal slave-mart in the mexican empire seems to have been the town of azcapuzalco, which was situated about two leagues from the city of mexico; it occupied the site of the ancient capital of the tepanec kingdom, which was destroyed by king nezahualcoyotl of tezcuco. great numbers of slaves were brought to azcapuzalco from all the provinces; and it is said that the merchants who traded in them had to adopt great precautions to prevent their property from being stolen or rescued on the journey. with a view to advantageous sales the slaves thus exposed in the public markets were kept well clothed and fed, and were forced to dance and look cheerful. parents could pawn, or sell a son as a slave, but were allowed to take him back on surrendering another son to serve in his stead; on such occasions the master was wont to show his generosity by allowing an extra compensation for the new servant. there was yet another kind of slavery, called by the mexicans _huehuetlatlacolli_, meaning 'ancient servitude.' when one or more families were entirely destitute and famine-stricken, they sold a son to some noble, and bound themselves to always 'keep that slave alive,' that is to say, to supply another to fill his place if he died or became incapacitated. this obligation was binding upon each member of the families making the contract, but was null and void if the man who was actually serving died in his master's house, or if his employer took from him anything that he had lawfully acquired; therefore, to prevent this forfeiture of ownership, the master neither took from his slave anything but personal service, nor allowed him to dwell in his house. it frequently happened that as many as four or five families were bound in this manner to supply a noble and his heirs with a slave. but in or , a year of famine in the country, nezahualpilli of tezcuco, foreseeing the evils that this system of perpetual contract would entail upon his subjects if the scarcity of food continued long, repealed the law, and declared all families exempt from its obligations; it is recorded that montezuma ii. soon after followed his example.[ ] [sidenote: condition and treatment of slaves.] slavery in mexico was, according to all accounts, a moderate subjection, consisting merely of an obligation to render personal service, nor could that be exacted without allowing the slave a certain amount of time to labor for his own advantage. slaves were kindly treated and were allowed far greater privileges than any in the old world; they could marry and bring up families, hold property, including other slaves to serve them, and their children were invariably born free. there is, however, some obscurity on this point, as sahagun tells us that in the year ce tochtli, which came round every fifty-two years, there was generally a great famine in the land, and at that time many persons, driven to it by hunger, sold not only themselves as slaves, but also their children and descendants for countless generations.[ ] very young or poor slaves lived at the home of their master, and were treated almost as members of the family; the other slaves lived independently, either on their owner's land, or upon their own. it frequently happened that a master succumbed to the charms of one of his female slaves and made her his wife, or that a comely bondman found favor in the sight of his mistress, and became her lord; nor was this so strange as it may at first appear, there being no difference of race or color to make such alliances repugnant or shameful. feelings of affection and respect existed, as a rule, between master and servant. a slave who had served long and faithfully was often entrusted with the stewardship of his owner's household and property, and, on the other hand, if the master through misfortune should become poor, his bondmen would cheerfully labor for his support. no well-behaved slave could be sold without his consent unless his owner could prove that poverty or debt made such sale unavoidable; nor could such faults as laziness, disobedience, or running away, be punished without due warning, which the master for his own justification usually gave in the presence of respectable witnesses. if after this had occurred two or three times the slave continued refractory, a wooden collar was placed on his neck, and then his master was authorized to transfer him against his will. purchasers of a collared slave always inquired how many times he had been so disposed of before, and if after two or three such sales he continued incorrigible, he could be sold for the sacrifice. but even yet he has one chance left; if he can escape from his master's premises and gain the courtyard of the royal palace, he not only avoids punishment, but he is from that day forth a free man; moreover, no person, save his owner or his owner's sons, is allowed in any manner to prevent him from reaching the asylum, under penalty of being made the slave of him whom he attempts to deprive of his chance for freedom. the sale of a slave was conducted with much formality, and must be made in the presence of at least four respectable witnesses; in cases of self-sale the witnesses acted as conscientious arbitrators to secure the highest price and most favorable conditions for him who sold himself. the usual price for an average slave was twenty mantles, equivalent to one load of cotton cloth; some were worth less, while others brought as many as forty mantles. slavery among the nahua nations appears, then, to have been only a partial deprivation of a freeman's rights. as a slave was permitted to possess property and even other slaves of his own, and as his children were born free and he had complete control of his own family, we can scarcely say he lost his citizenship, although it is true he was not eligible for public office. it was a common practice for a master during his lifetime, or on his death-bed, to emancipate his slaves, but if no such provision were made they went to the heirs with the rest of the property. murder of a slave, even by his master, was a capital offence. yet in spite of all this testimony in favor of the mildness of slavery among the nahua nations, there is still room for some reasonable doubt concerning the patriarchal character of the system; inasmuch as we are told that many slaves, not mentioned as being prisoners of war or criminals, as well as servants, dwarfs, or deformed persons, and purchased children, were put to death at religious feasts and royal funerals.[ ] * * * * * [sidenote: tenure of lands.] the lands were divided between the crown, the nobility, the various tribes or clans of the people, and the temples. the division, however, was by no means equal, by far the greater portion being appropriated by the king and the aristocracy.[ ] all landed property was duly surveyed, and each estate was accurately marked out on maps, or paintings, kept on file by a competent officer in the district where they were situated. the crown lands were painted in purple, those of the nobility in scarlet, and those of the _calpullis_, or wards, in light yellow. certain portions of the crown property called _tecpantlalli_, or 'lands of the palace,' were granted to nobles of the rank of tecuhtli, who were called _tecpanpouhque_ or _tecpantlaca_, 'people of the palace.' they had the free use and enjoyment of such lands, and in return certain services were expected of them. it was their duty to attend to the repairs and proper arrangement of the royal residences, and to cultivate and keep in order the royal gardens, for all of which they had to provide the necessary number of workmen; besides this they were obliged to wait on the king and accompany him whenever he appeared in public. although in consideration of these services the 'people of the palace' paid no rent, yet the eminent domain of their lands was vested in the sovereign. when one of them died his eldest son inherited his privileges, subject to the same obligations, but if he changed his residence to another part of the country, or died without male issue, the usufruct was forfeited and the land reverted to the sovereign, who transferred it to another usufructuary, or left the choice of one to the community in whose district the property was situated.[ ] the produce of other lands belonging to the crown was set apart for the support of the royal household, and for benevolent purposes. [sidenote: landed property of the nobles.] in conquered provinces, the habits and customs and established form of government of the vanquished were usually respected. the sovereigns of anáhuac retained the native princes in power, and allowed the people to keep their property; but they invariably set apart a certain part of the territory, proportioned to the conquest, which became the property of the conquering monarch. these lands, called _yaotlalli_, which means 'war lands,' were cultivated by the conquered people for the benefit of their conqueror. if they belonged to mexico their name was _mexica-tlalli_; if to acolhuacan, _acolhua-tlalli_, and so on.[ ] [sidenote: inheritance of estates.] the lands of the nobility were called _pillalli_, and were either ancient possessions of the nobles transmitted by inheritance from father to son, or were rewards of valor granted by the king. they were held by various tenures; some of them could be alienated at the will of the owner, subject only to the restriction that they should not pass into the hands of a plebeian; others were entailed upon the eldest male issue and could not be otherwise disposed of. many of the aztec estates were of very ancient origin. after the chichimecs obtained undisputed possession of the valley of mexico, their chief or sovereign xolotl made grants of land to his own people, and to others who acknowledged him as their supreme lord, under the condition that the grantees should render service to the crown with their persons, vassals, and estates, whenever he should require it of them, and the same policy was adopted by his successors.[ ] sons generally inherited their father's estates by right of primogeniture, but if the eldest son was judged incapable of taking proper care of the property, the father left it to whichever son he pleased, stipulating, however, that the heir should insure a competency to him he had supplanted.[ ] in the republic of tlascala daughters could not inherit an estate, the object being to prevent landed property from going into the hands of strangers. in the kingdoms of mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan it is probable that the law was the same in this respect, but the authorities give us no information concerning the matter.[ ] these feudatories paid no rent for their lands, but were bound to assist their suzerain, the king, with their persons, vassals, and fortunes in all cases of foreign or civil war. each king, on his accession, confirmed the investiture of estates derived from the crown.[ ] the lands of the people were called _calpulli_, and every city was divided into as many of these as there were wards in it, and the whole number of calpulli being collectively named _altepatlalli_. the calpulli, as well as the _tlaxicalli_, or streets, were all measured out and their boundaries marked, so that the inhabitants of one ward or street could not invade the possessions of another. each of these divisions belonged to its respective community, and was of greater or less extent and importance according to the partition which had been made by the first settlers in anáhuac. the owners of a calpulli were all members of the same clan or tribe, and their district bore their name. the right of tenure was perpetual and inalienable, and was the common property of the community and not of individuals. any member of the community not possessed of any land, had the right to ask for a portion suitable to his position and requirements, which was granted him. this portion he was entitled to hold as long as he cultivated and improved it, and he could transmit it to his heirs; he had no authority to sell his portion, but he could let it to another for a number of years. if he neglected to cultivate it for two years the head man of the calpulli remonstrated with him; if he paid no heed to this warning he was ousted the following year in favor of some other person; a reasonable excuse for such neglect was, however, always accepted. if the land assigned to anyone proved unfruitful and barren, he was at liberty to abandon it and another portion was granted him. under no pretext whatever could any person settle upon the land lawfully occupied by another, nor could the authorities of the calpulli deprive the latter of his right. if a land-owner died without heirs, his portion was considered vacant and assigned to the first applicant for it. if a calpulli was in great need the authorities were allowed to lease its lands, but under no circumstances were the inhabitants permitted to work on the lands of another district. the elders of the tribe formed the council of the calpulli; this body elected a principal, called _calpullec_, whose duty it was to watch over the interests of the community; he acted only with the advice and consent of the council. each city set apart a piece of land in the suburbs wherefrom to supply the needs of the army in time of war. these portions were called _milchimalli_, or _cacalomilli_, according to the kind of grain they produced, and were cultivated jointly by all the calpullis. it was not unusual for the kings to make a life-grant of a portion of the people's property to some favorite noble, for though there is no doubt that the calpulli lands of right belonged to the people, yet in this respect as in others, the kings were wont to usurp a power not their own.[ ] every temple, great and insignificant, had its own lands and country estates, the produce of which was applied to the support of the priests and of public worship; the tenants who occupied these lands were looked upon as vassals of the temples. the chief priests, who, on the temple lands, exercised a power similar to that of the royal governors, frequently visited these estates to inspect their condition and to administer justice to their tenants. the temple of huitzilopochtli was considered the wealthiest in mexico. torquemada says that in tezcuco fifteen large cities furnished the temples of that kingdom with wood, provisions, and other necessaries.[ ] clavigero makes the number of towns twenty-nine.[ ] throughout zapotecapan and miztecapan landed property was invariably transmitted from male to male, females being excluded from the succession. no one had the right to sell his land in perpetuity; the law forbade its transfer out of a family either by marriage or otherwise; and if a proprietor was compelled by the force of necessity to dispose of his real estate, it returned after the lapse of some years to his son or his nearest relative, who paid to the holder the consideration for which it had been pledged or its equivalent.[ ] in miztecapan the first-born son, before taking possession of his inheritance, had to do penance for a year; he was confined in a religious house, clothed in rags, daubed with india-rubber juice, and his face and body rubbed with fetid herbs; during that time he had to draw blood repeatedly from his body and limbs, and was subjected to hard labor and privation. at the expiration of the year he was washed with odorous water by four girls, and then conducted by friends to his house with great pomp and festivity.[ ] [sidenote: estates in michoacan.] early writers say nothing about the tenure of lands among the tarascos of michoacan, but merely state in general terms that the sovereign's power over the lives and property of his subjects was unlimited.[ ] the tenure of lands in the republic of tlascala had its origin in the division made at the time when the country was first settled; which was as follows: any tecuhtli who established an entail, called _teccalli_, or _pilcalli_, took for his own use the best and largest part of the lands that fell to his lot or were awarded to him in the partition, including woods, springs, rivers, and lakes; of the remainder a fair division was made among his servitors and vassals, or, in other words, his soldiers, friends, and kinsmen. all were bound to keep the manor-house in repair and to supply their lord with game, flowers, and other comforts, and he in his turn, was expected to entertain, protect, and feed them in his house. to these kinsmen, friends, and servitors, was given the name of _teixhuihuan_, meaning the 'grand-children of the manor-house.' in this manner all the nobles divided their land. all were greatly respected by their vassals. they derived their income from the taxes that their tenants paid them out of what they obtained from the chase, from the soil, and by raising domestic animals.[ ] no information has reached us respecting the provisions under which land was held in cholula and huexotzinco, or among the totonacs. in the province of pánuco, the eldest son was the sole inheritor of land and, therefore, the only one that paid tribute; the other sons had to rent land from those who were in possession of it.[ ] there can be no doubt that in all this there is, as so many writers have observed, a strong resemblance to the feudal systems of europe. the obligation of military service, and other relations of lord and vassal smack strongly of the institutions of the middle ages, but, as mr prescott says, the minor points of resemblance "fall far short of that harmonious system of reciprocal service and protection, which embraced, in nice gradation, every order of a feudal monarchy. the kingdoms of anáhuac were, in their nature, despotic, attended, indeed, with many mitigating circumstances, unknown to the despotisms of the east; but it is chimerical to look for much in common--beyond a few accidental forms and ceremonies--with those aristocratic institutions of the middle ages, which made the court of every petty baron the precise image in miniature of that of his sovereign." i have no inclination to draw analogies, believing them, at least in a work of this kind, to be futile; and were i disposed to do so, space would not permit it. nations in their infancy are almost as much alike as are human beings in their earlier years, and in studying these people i am struck at every turn by the similarity between certain of their customs and institutions and those of other nations; comparisons might be happily drawn between the division of lands in anáhuac and that made by lycurgus and numa in laconia and rome, or between the relations of aztec master and slave and those of roman patron and client, for the former were nearly as mild as the latter; but the list of such comparisons would never be complete, and i am fain to leave them to the reader. [sidenote: system of taxation.] the people of anáhuac and of the surrounding countries paid taxes to the crown and to the temples, either with personal service or with the productions or results of their labor; in short, with everything useful. we have seen that in the kingdom of tezcuco twenty-nine cities were appointed to provide the king's household with everything requisite of food, furniture, and so forth, and were, consequently, exempt from all other taxes. fourteen of these cities served in this manner during one half of the year, and fifteen during the other half. they likewise furnished the workingmen and laborers, such as water-carriers, sweepers, tillers of the palace lands, and gardeners. boys who were too young to do men's work were required to provide annually four hundred armfuls of wood for the fires which were kept up day and night in the principal rooms of the palace. the young men of tollantzinco, either themselves or through their servants supplied fine rushes for mats, stools, or seats, called _icpalli_, pine-wood splinters for lighting fires, other wood for torches, _acayetl_, or pipes with tobacco, various kinds of dyes, liquid amber both in cakes and in vessels, copal incense in their golden cylinders, and a large quantity of other articles, which it is unnecessary to specify.[ ] manufacturers paid their taxes with the objects produced by their industry. journeymen mechanics, such as carpenters, masons, workers in feathers and precious metals, and musicians, were, according to oviedo, exempt from such tax, and in lieu thereof rendered personal service to the sovereign without remuneration.[ ] merchants paid their taxes with such articles as they traded in. the last class of tribute-payers were the _tlamaitl_, tenants attached to a nobleman's land, who tilled the same for their own benefit. they were obliged to do a certain amount of work every year for the landlord, and to render military service when it was required of them by the sovereign. brasseur says that these tenants paid no tribute to the king, but his statement is contradicted by clavigero.[ ] taxes paid in fruit and grain were collected immediately after harvest; other tributes were collected at different times through the year. in each town there was a magazine for storing the revenues, from which supplies were drawn as required. in the vicinity of mexico it was customary to convey the agricultural produce into the capital, in order that the inhabitants, who, being surrounded with the waters of the lake, had no land of their own to cultivate, might be regularly supplied with food. there was no uniform system of collecting taxes from the merchants and manufacturers. payments were made by them in accordance with their circumstances and the nature of the articles they contributed. there were about three hundred and seventy tributary towns in the mexican empire, some of which paid their taxes every twenty days, and some every four days, while others only did so once in six months, or even only once a year. the people of tlatelulco, says purchas,[ ] "were charged for tribute, alwayes to repaire the church called huiznahuac. item, fortie great baskets (of the bignesse of half a bushell) of cacao ground, with the meale of maiz (which they called _chianpinoli_,) and euery basket had sixteene hundred almonds of cacao. item, other fortie baskets of chianpinoli. item, eight hundred burthens of great mantels. item, eightie pieces of armour, of slight feathers, and as many targets of the same feathers, of the deuices & colours as they are pictured. all the which tribute, except the said armes and targets they gaue euery . dayes,[ ] and the said armes and targets they gaue for tribute but once in the whole yeere. the said tribute had his beginning since the time of quauhtlatoa and moquihuix, which were lords of tlatilulco. the lords of mexico, which first enioyned to those of tlatilulco, to pay tribute, and to acknowledge their subiection, were yzcoatçi and axiacaçi." sometimes merchants' guilds or individuals did not pay their taxes at the regular assessment of the town in which they lived, but did so according to prior arrangement made with the revenue officers. [sidenote: taxes paid by cities.] [sidenote: taxes paid in vermin.] in addition to the taxes levied upon private individuals, each town contributed a large number of cotton garments, with a certain quantity of breadstuffs and feathers and such other productions as were a specialty of the province in which it was situated. mazatlan, xoconocho, huehuetlan, and other towns on the pacific coast, paid, besides the cotton garments, four thousand bundles of fine feathers of divers colors, two hundred sacks of cocoa, forty tiger-skins, and one hundred and sixty birds of a certain species. coyolapan, atlacuechahuaxan, huaxyacac, and other towns of the zapotecs, forty pieces of gold of a specified size, and twenty sacks of cochineal. tlachquiauhco, ayotlan, and teotzapotlan, twenty vessels of a fixed size filled with gold dust. tochtepec, otlatitlan, cozamalloapan, michapan and other places on the gulf of mexico, besides cotton garments, cocoa, and gold, paid twenty-four thousand bundles of exquisite feathers of various qualities and colors, six necklaces, two of which were of the finest emerald, and four of the commoner description, twenty ear-rings of amber set in gold, and an equal number made of crystal rock, one hundred pots of liquid amber, and sixteen thousand loads of india-rubber. tepeyacac, quecholac, tecamachalco, acatzinco and other towns of that region of country, each contributed four thousand sacks of lime, four thousand loads of solid reed for building purposes, with as many of smaller reed for making darts, and eight thousand loads of reeds filled with aromatic substances. malinaltepec, tlalcozauhtitlan, olinallan, ichcatlan, qualac, and other southern towns situated in the warm region, paid each six hundred measures of honey, forty large jars of yellow ochre for paint, one hundred and sixty copper shields, forty round plates of gold of fixed dimensions, ten small measures of fine turquoises, and one load of smaller turquoises. quauhnahuac, panchimalco, atlacholoayan, xiuhtepec, huitzilac, and other towns of the tlahuicas, paid each sixteen thousand large leaves of paper, and four thousand _xicalli_, or gourds, of different sizes. quauhtitlan, tehuilloyocan, and other neighboring towns, each gave eight thousand mats and eight thousand _icpalli_, or stools. some cities paid their taxes with fire-wood, stone, and beams for building; others with copal-gum; others sent to the royal houses and forests a certain number of birds and animals, such as xilotepec, michmaloyan, and other cities of the otomís, which were each compelled to furnish yearly forty live eagles to the king. after the matlaltzincas were made subject to the mexican crown by king axayacatl, they were required not only to pay a heavy tax in kind, but also to keep under cultivation a field of seven hundred _toesas_[ ] by three hundred and fifty, for the benefit of the army. as the saxon king imposed a tax of wolves' heads upon his subjects for the purpose of ridding his kingdom of those ravenous animals, so did the mexican monarchs exact from those who were too poor to pay the regular taxes a certain quantity of snakes, scorpions, centipedes and other obnoxious creatures. lice, especially, were contributed in large numbers in mexico.[ ] it is related that soon after cortés arrived in the city of mexico, certain cavaliers of his force, among whom were alonso de ojeda and alonso de mata, were roaming through the royal palace, admiring its great extent and all its wonders, doubtless with an eye to plunder, when they came across some bags, filled with some soft, fine, and weighty material; never doubting but that it must be valuable, they hastened to untie the mouth of one of the sacks, when to their disgust and disappointment they found its contents to consist of nothing but lice, which, as they afterwards ascertained, had been paid as tribute by the poor.[ ] duties were levied upon property, manufactures, and articles exposed for sale in the market-places, in proportion to the wealth of the person taxed or the value of the merchandise sold. produce and merchandise of every description, carried into the city of mexico, was subject to toll duties, which were paid into the royal treasury. the proportion in which taxes were paid is stated at from thirty to thirty-three per cent., or about one third of everything made and produced. oviedo affirms that each taxpayer, in addition to one third of his property, delivered one out of every three of his children, or in lieu thereof a slave, for the sacrifice; if he failed to do this he forfeited his own life.[ ] the government had in the head town of each province large warehouses for the storage of breadstuffs and merchandise received by the tax-gatherers; also auditing offices to which the _calpixques_, or stewards of the revenue, were required to render a very strict account of their collections, and such as were convicted of embezzlement, were immediately put to death and their property confiscated.[ ] in the royal treasury were paintings by which were recorded the tributary towns, and the quantity and kind of tribute paid by each. in the codex mendoza may be seen thirty-six such paintings, each one of which represents the principal towns of one or of several provinces of the empire, together with the quantity and quality of the taxes and the time when they were paid.[ ] the personal and ordinary service consisted in providing every day the water and wood needed at the chiefs' houses; this was distributed from day to day among the towns or wards, and thus each individual was occupied in rendering such service once or twice in the year at the utmost. residents in the vicinity were the only ones so subjected, and then, in consideration of such service, were exempted from paying a portion of the imposts. other labor was mostly done by slaves, of whom there were large numbers. foreign provinces subjected by the empire without having made any resistance, were not required to pay a fixed tribute, but sent several times in the year whatever they thought proper, as a present to the king, who showed himself more or less gracious according to the value of the presents. no calpixques or tax-gatherers were placed in such provinces by the mexican sovereign, but they continued under the rule of their own chiefs. such countries as were reduced by war, had to submit to the rigorous conditions imposed by the conqueror, and bore the name of _tequitin tlacotl_, which means 'paying tribute like slaves.' over them were stationed stewards and calpixques, who had authority even over the lords of the country, and who besides recovering the tributes forced men to cultivate land, and women to spin, weave, and embroider for their private benefit; indeed, so great was their tyranny, that whatever they coveted they were sure to obtain by fair means or foul. the kings of tezcuco and tlacopan, and other sovereign lords, allies of the king of mexico, shared these tributes if they aided in the conquest.[ ] [sidenote: taxation under montezuma ii.] the sovereigns selected the calpixques from among the aztec _pilli_, or nobles of inferior rank. they were under the supervision of the chief treasurers or _hueycalpixques_, who resided at the several capitals, and it was their duty to gather the tributes or taxes, and to see that the lands belonging to the municipalities or to private persons were kept under cultivation. the duties of these calpixques were not very arduous at first, as the people generally hastened to pay their taxes before being called upon; but during the reign of montezuma ii. the taxes increased so enormously, owing to the great extravagance of the court, that this commendable zeal cooled down very considerably. the bulk of the immense wealth which the conquerors saw with so much admiration at montezuma's court was the result of this excessive taxation, and it was one of the main causes of that alienation of the people from their sovereign which rendered the conquest a possible achievement. notwithstanding the easy disposition of the taxpayers, they could not submit patiently to a yoke so onerous. the merchants, whose trading expeditions had been so useful to the state in former times, were no less overwhelmed by the taxes than the inhabitants of conquered provinces by the tributes. it was among that powerful class that the first symptoms of defection were noticed. to the main grievance was added the tyranny and harshness exhibited by the revenue officers in collecting the taxes. they carried a small rod in one hand and a feather fan in the other, and, accompanied by a large retinue of understrappers, went through cities and fields, unmercifully maltreating the unfortunate beings who could not promptly comply with their demands, and even selling them into slavery; at least it is certain that such sales occurred in conquered provinces. [sidenote: selfishness of montezuma ii.] from the first years of his reign montezuma ii. began to oppress the merchants with heavy taxation, even upon the most trifling things. the greatest sufferers were the retail dealers, who had to pay excessive duties upon the merchandise they introduced into the principal _tianguez_, or market-place, from which such merchandise was taken to the lesser market-places. but the king and his creatures finding that this did not directly injure the wholesale traders, among whom were the judges of the mercantile court,--that is to say, the consuls and syndics, so to name them, of the company of tlatelulco,--witnesses were soon found to trump up charges of high treason against them, which ended in their being put to death, and their goods and chattels confiscated and distributed among the people of the royal household. a very large portion of the taxes and tributes was expended in supporting the army, the public employees, the poor and destitute, such as widows, orphans, and the aged, and also in providing food for the people in times of great scarcity, but almost as large a portion was appropriated by the king to his own uses.[ ] it was by such acts as these that montezuma ii. undid the work of his fathers, and spoiled the harmony of his realm by caring only for his own glory and that of his court. footnotes: [ ] see page of this volume. [ ] _acosta_, _de procuranda, indorum salute_; quoted in _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. . [ ] _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcix., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _cortés_, _carta inéd._, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. i., pp. - ; see also, tom. ii., lib. vii., pp. - , lib. ix., pp. , . the anonymous conqueror agrees with sahagun: 'tutti quei che si pigliauano nella guerra, ò erano màgiati da loro, ò erano tenuti per schiaui.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . motolinia, however, asserts that _all_ prisoners of war were sacrificed: 'por que ningun esclavo se hacian en ellas, ni rescataban ninguno de los que en las guerras prendian, mas todos los guardavan para sacrificar.' _carta al emperador cárlos v._, jan. , , in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . gomara also confirms this with a grim joke: 'los catiuos en guerra no siruian de esclauos, sino de sacrificados: y no hazian mas de comer para ser comidos.' _conq. mex._, fol. - ; see also fol. . [ ] 'algunos quisieron decir, que si vn libre tenia acceso à alguna esclava, y quedaba preñada de la copula, era esclavo el varon que cometiò acto con esclava, y servia al señor de la esclava; pero esto no fue asi, segun confesion de los mismos indios sabios, que sabian sus leies, y las practicaban.' _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., cap. xxii., xxiii. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. . brasseur de bourbourg asserts that these contracts remained in force down to the time of the spanish conquest. _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'y cuando acontecia la dicha hambre, entónces se vendian por esclavos muchos pobres hombres y mugeres, y comprábanlos los ricos que tenian muchas provisiones allegadas, y no solamente los dichos pobres se vendian a sí mismos, sino que tambien vendian á sus hijos, y á sus descendientes, y á todo su linaje, y así eran esclavos perpetuamente, porque decian que esta servidumbre que se cobraba en tal tiempo, no tenia remedio para acabarse en algun tiempo, porque sus padres se habian vendido por escapar de la muerte, ó por librar su vida de la última necesidad.' _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vii., pp. - . [ ] 'vendian niños recien nacidos, y de dos años, para cumplir sus promesas, y ofrecer en los templos, como nosotros las candelas, y sacrificarlos para alcançar sus pretensiones.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvi. 'porque como andaban todos los reinos, con sus mercancias, traìan de todos ellos muchos esclavos, los quales, si no eran todos, à lo menos, los mas, sacrificaban.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . 'porque casi todos los que sacrificaban á los idolos eran los que prendian en las guerras ... mui poquitos eran los otros que sacrificavan.' _motolinia_, _carta al emperador cárlos v._, jan. , , in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. , . 'luego proponian un parlamento á los esclavos, enanos y corcobados, diciendo: hijos mios, id á la buena ventura con vuestro señor axayaca á la otra vida.... luego le abrieron el pecho, teniendolo seis ó siete sacerdotes, y el mayoral le sacaba el corazon, y todo el dia y toda la noche ardía el cuerpo del rey, con los corazones de los miserables esclabos que morian sin culpa.' _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , . 'sacrificando en sus honras doscientos esclavos, y cien esclavas.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chichimeca_, in _id._, pp. , . 'quando moria algun principal, matavan juntamente con él un esclavo, y enterravan con él para que le fuese á servir.' _codex telleriano-remensis_, in _id._, vol. v., p. . 'avec lui, de jeunes filles, des esclaves et des bossus.' _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . 'se quemaba junto con sus cuerpos y con los corazones de los cautivos y esclavos que mataban.' _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. , - ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. , ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. ; among those who in later times have treated of slavery among the nahua nations are the following: _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien et mod._, p. ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, pp. - ; _soden_, _spanier in peru_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _simon's ten tribes_, p. . [ ] _toribio and olarte_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, p. ; _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., p. . [ ] _boturini_, _idea_, p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , , - , ; _id._, _relaciones_, in _id._, pp. - , , , - , , , ; _heredia y sarmiento_, _sermon_, ms., pp. - ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro, mex._, pt ii., pp. - . [ ] herrera, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvii., says that brothers inherited estates and not sons; but this assertion is not borne out by any other authority. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _fuenleal_, _lettre_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., pp. - ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _witt_, _lettre_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., pp. - , ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro, mex._, pt ii., pp. - . [ ] 'ce n'est pas qu'ils eussent ces terres en propre; car, comme les seigneurs exerçaient un pouvoir tyrannique, ils disposaient des terrains et des vassaux suivant leur bon plaisir. les indiens n'étaient donc, proprement dit, ni propriétaires ni maîtres de ces villages; ils n'étaient que les laboureurs ou les amodiateurs des seigneurs terriers, de telle façon que l'on pourrait dire que tout le territoire, soit des plaines, soit des montagnes, dépendait du caprice des seigneurs et qu'il leur appartenait, puisqu'ils y exerçaient un pouvoir tyrannique, et que les indiens vivaient au jour le jour; les seigneurs partageant entre eux tous leurs produits.' _simancas_, _de l'ordre de succession_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., pp. - ; _zurita_, _rapport_, in _id._, série ii., tom. i., pp. - ; _fuenleal_, _lettre_, in _id._, tom. v., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _variedades civ._, tom. i., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - . [ ] _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . see further: _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, p. ; _soden_, _spanier in peru_, tom. ii., p. ; _dillon_, _hist. mex._, p. ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien et mod._, pp. - . [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt ii., fol. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - . [ ] _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., p. . [ ] _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _witt_, _lettre_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. - . [ ] _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , - . [ ] 'nè i vasalli de' feudatari erano esenti da' tributi, che pagavano al re gli altri vassalli della corona.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., p. . [ ] in the _codex mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. , we read that it was paid every eighty days. [ ] the toesa is the same thing as the french toise, which is . english feet, or seven castilian feet. [ ] _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. ; _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _cortés_, _hist. n. españa_, p. . [ ] torquemada adds: 'ai quien diga, que no eran piojos, sino gusanillos; pero alonso de ojeda en sus memoriales, lo certifica de vista, y lo mismo alonso de mata.' _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'dábanle sus vassallos en tributo ordinario de tres hijos uno, y el que no tenia hijos avia de dar un indio ó india para sacrificar á sus dioses, é si no lo daban, avian de sacrificarle á él.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . nowhere else do i find mention of such a custom, although in michoacan the despotic power of the king, and his tyrannous abuse of it, led to almost the same results. in michoacan: 'tributauan al rey quanto tenian y el queria, hasta las mugeres y hijos, si los queria; de manera que eran mas que esclauos, y viuian en terrible seruidumbre.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. x., dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xiii. 'si bien todas las atenciones dedicadas á los decorosos mugeriles privilegios destruian la sujecion del tributo á sus monarcas, sirviendolos en la ceguedad de ofrecerles no solo la hacienda, y la vida, sino á sus proprias mugeres, en caso de discurrir aceptable el vergonzoso obsequio.' _salazar y olarte_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. . [ ] _codex mendoza_, in _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., pp. - ; _id._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., pp. - , vol. i., plates xix-lvii; _cortés_, _hist. n. españa_, p. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] _tápia_, _relacion_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , , , , tom. ii., pp. - , ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxli.; _toribio and olarte_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., pp. - ; _fuenleal_, in _id._, pp. - ; _chaves_, _rapport_, in _id._, série ii., tom. v., p. ; _simancas_, in _id._, série i., tom. x., pp. - ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., pp. , - ; _witt_, _lettre_ in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., pp. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - , - ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - ; _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , , , , - , , tom. ii., p. ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _dicc. univ._, tom. x., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, pp. , - , ; _dillon_, _hist. mex._, pp. - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, pp. , , - , ; _baril_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _soden_, _spanier in peru_, tom. ii., p. ; _lang's polynesian nat._, p. ; _brownell's ind. races_, p. ; _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. - , ; _monglave_, _résumé_, pp. , . chapter vii. education, marriage, concubinage, childbirth, and baptism. education of the nahua youth--manner of punishment--marriage preliminaries--nuptial ceremony--observance after marriage--mazatec, otomÍ, chichimec, and toltec marriages--divorce--concubinage--ceremonies preliminary to childbirth--treatment of pregnant woman--proceedings of midwife--superstitions with regard to women who died in childbed--abortion--baptism--speeches of midwife--naming of children--baptism among the tlascaltecs, miztecs, and zapotecs--circumcision and scarification of infants. in examining the domestic customs of the nahua nations it will be as well to first inquire how their children were reared and instructed. the education of a child was commenced by its parents as soon as it was able to walk, and was finished by the priests. aside from the superstitious and idolatrous flavor with which everything aztec was more or less tainted, the care taken to mold aright the minds of the youth of both sexes is worthy of admiration. both parents and priests strenuously endeavored to inspire their pupils with a horror of vice and a love of truth. respect for their elders and modesty in their actions was one of their first lessons, and lying was severely punished. [sidenote: education of youth.] in a series of ancient aztec paintings, which give a hieroglyphical history of the aztecs, are represented the manner in which children were brought up, the portion of food allowed them, the labors they were employed in, and the punishments resorted to by parents for purposes of correction. purchas relates that the book containing this picture-history with interpretations made by natives, was obtained by the spanish governor, who intended it for a present to the emperor charles v. the ship on which it was carried was captured by a french man-of-war, and the book fell into the hands of the french king's geographer, andrew thevet. at his death it was purchased for twenty french crowns by richard hakluyt, then chaplain to the english ambassador at the french court, and was left by him in his last will and testament to samuel purchas, who had woodcut copies made from the original and published them, with explanatory text, for the benefit of science and learning. in that part of the work which relates to the bringing up and education of children,--a specimen page of which is given in the chapter of this volume which treats of hieroglyphics,--a boy and girl with their father and mother are depicted; three small circles, each of which represents one year, show that the children are three years of age, while the good counsel they are receiving issues visibly from the father's lips; half an oval divided in its breadth shows that at this age they were allowed half a cake of bread at each meal. during their fourth and fifth years the boys are accustomed to light bodily labor, such as carrying light burdens, while the girl is shown a distaff by her mother, and instructed in its use. at this age their ration of bread is a whole cake. during their sixth and seventh years the pictures show how the parents begin to make their children useful. the boy follows his father to the market-place, carrying a light load, and while there occupies himself in gathering up grains of corn or other trifles that happen to be spilt about the stalls. the girl is represented as spinning, under the close surveillance of her mother, who lectures and directs her at the same time. the allowance of bread is now a cake and a half, and continues to be so until the children have reached their thirteenth year. we are next shown the various modes of punishing unruly children. when eight years old they are merely shown the instruments of punishment as a warning. at ten, boys who were disobedient or rebellious were bound hand and foot and pricked in different parts of the body with thorns of the maguey; girls were only pricked in the hands and wrists; if this did not suffice they were beaten with sticks. if they were unruly when eleven years old they were held over a pile of burning chile, and forced to inhale the smoke, which caused great pain.[ ] at twelve years of age a bad boy was bound hand and foot and exposed naked in a damp place during an entire day; the naughty girl of the same age was obliged to rise in the night and sweep the whole house.[ ] from the age of thirteen years the allowance of bread was increased to two cakes. between the ages of thirteen and fifteen the boys were employed in bringing wood from the mountains by land or in canoes, or in catching fish; the girls spent their time in grinding corn, cooking, and weaving. at fifteen, the boys were delivered to the priests to receive religious instruction, or were educated as soldiers by an officer called achcauhtli.[ ] [sidenote: schools for youth.] the schools and seminaries were annexed to the temples, and the instruction of the young of both sexes was a monopoly in the hands of the priests. in general boys were sent to the colleges between the ages of six and nine years; they were dressed in black, their hair was left uncut,[ ] and they were placed under the charge of priests specially appointed for that purpose, who instructed them in the branches most suitable to their future calling. all were instructed in religion and particular attention was given to good behavior and morals. no women were permitted to enter the college, nor could the youths on any account have communication with the other sex. at certain seasons they were required to abstain from various kinds of food. the schools, or colleges, were of two distinct classes. those attended by the common people were called _telpochcalli_, or 'houses of the youths;' there was one of these in each quarter of the city, after the manner of our public schools, and the parents of the district were required to enter their children at the age of four or five years. the telpochtlato, or 'chief of youth,' instructed them how to sweep the sanctuary, to replenish the fire in the sacred censers, to clean the schoolhouse, to do penance, more or less severe according to their age, and to go in parties to the forest to gather wood for the temple. each pupil took his meals at the house of his parents, but all were obliged to sleep in the seminary. at nightfall all assembled in the _cuicacalco_, or 'house of song,' and were there taught the arts of singing and dancing, which formed part of a mexican education; they were also exercised here in the use of arms.[ ] at the age of fifteen or sixteen, or sometimes earlier, it was customary for the parents to withdraw their children from the telpochcalli that they might follow a trade or profession, but this was never done without first making a present to the telpochtlato. the schools at which the sons of the nobility and those destined to be priests were educated, were called _calmecac_, which means a college, or monastery. the pupils did not do as much manual labor as those educated in the telpochcalli, nor did they take their meals at home, but in the building. they were under the supervision of priests of the tlamacazqui order, who instructed them in all that the plebeians learned, besides many of the arts and sciences, such as the study of heroic songs and sacred hymns, which they had to learn by heart, history, religion, philosophy, law, astronomy, astrology, and the writing and interpreting of hieroglyphics. if not quick and diligent, they were given less food and more work; they were admonished to be virtuous and chaste, and were not allowed to leave the temple, until with their father's permission they went out from it to be married, or, in the case of a youth of strength and courage, to go to the wars; those who showed qualities fitted for a military life were exercised in gymnastics and trained to the use of weapons, to shoot with the bow, manage the shield, and to cast darts at a mark. their courage, strength, and endurance underwent severe tests; they were early afforded opportunities of realizing the hardships of camp life, and, while boys, were sent to carry provisions to the soldiers, upon which occasions their behavior was closely watched, and a display of courage met with suitable promotion and reward.[ ] [sidenote: female seminaries.] annexed to the temples were large buildings used as seminaries for girls. the maidens who were educated in them were principally the daughters of lords and princes. they were presided over by matrons or vestal priestesses, brought up in the temple, who watched over those committed to their care with great vigilance. day and night the exterior of the building was strictly guarded by old men, to prevent any intercourse between the sexes from taking place; the maidens could not even leave their apartments without a guard; if any one broke this rule and went out alone, her feet were pricked with thorns till the blood flowed. when they went out, it was together and accompanied by the matrons; upon such occasions they were not allowed to raise their eyes, or in any way take notice of anyone; any infringement of these rules was visited with severe punishment. the maidens had to sweep those precincts of the temple occupied by them, and attend to the sacred fire; they were taught the tenets of their religion and shown how to draw blood from their bodies when offering sacrifice to the gods. they also learned how to make feather-work, and to spin, and weave mantles; particular attention was given to their personal cleanliness; they were obliged to bathe frequently, and to be skilful and diligent in all household affairs. they were taught to speak with reverence, and to humble themselves in the presence of their elders, and to observe a modest and bashful demeanor at all times. they rose at day-break, and whenever they showed themselves idle or rude, punishment was inflicted. at night the pupils slept in large rooms in sight of the matrons, who watched them closely. the daughters of nobles, who entered the seminaries at an early age, remained there until taken away by their parents to be married.[ ] children brought up in the house of their parents were taught the worship of the gods, and were frequently conducted to the temple in order that they might witness the religious performances. military men instructed their sons in the use of weapons and the art of war, and lost no opportunity of inuring them to danger, always endeavoring to inspire courage and daring. laborers and artisans usually taught their children their own trade. the sons of the nobles who were placed in the seminaries were never permitted to go out unless accompanied by one of the superiors of the temple; their food was brought to them by their parents. the punishments inflicted were excessively severe. liars had thorns thrust into their lips; and sometimes, if the fault was frequent, their lips were slightly split. those who were negligent or disobedient were bound hand and foot, and pricked with thorns or badly pinched. a girl who was detected looking at or speaking to a man was severely punished; and if addicted to walking the streets, her feet were tied together, and pricked with sharp thorns.[ ] there was in tezcuco, during the reign of nezahualcoyotl, a large seminary, built upon the west side of the temple, which consisted of several spacious halls and rooms, with a courtyard, and was called the _tlacoteo_. here the king's sons were brought up and instructed. the guardians and tutors who had charge of them took much pains to instruct them in everything becoming their high estate. besides the use of arms, they were taught all the arts and sciences as far as then known, and were made fully acquainted with the practical working of precious metals and stones. separate rooms were devoted to the use of the king's daughters, where they were given an education fitting their station. in accordance with a law of the realm, the king, his children and relatives, with their guardians and masters, and the grandees of the kingdom, came together every eighty days, in a large hall of the tlacoteo; all were seated according to rank; the males on one side, and the females on the other. all the men, even those of royal blood, were dressed in coarse garments of _nequen_, or maguey-fibre. an orator ascended a sort of pulpit and commenced a discourse, in which he censured those who had done badly during the last eighty days, and praised those who had done well; this he did without favor, not even hesitating to blame the king if he saw fit. the discourse was delivered with such eloquence and feeling as generally to move the audience to tears.[ ] [sidenote: a parent's discourse to his sons.] sahagun, motolinia, mendieta, and other early writers, who were well acquainted with the mexican language, give us specimens of the exhortations delivered by parents to their children. i select one from the first-mentioned author, as an example: "give ear unto me and hearken, o my sons," says the mexican parent, "because i am your father; and i, though unworthy, am chosen by the gods to rule and govern this city. thou who art my first-born and the eldest of thy brothers; and thou the second, and thou the third, and thou the last and least--know that i am anxious and concerned, lest some of you should prove worthless in after life; lest, peradventure, not one among you should prove worthy to bear my dignities and honors after me; perhaps it is the will of the gods that the house which i have with so great labor built up, shall fall to the ground and remain a ruin and a dung-hill; that my name shall be no more remembered among men; that after my death no man shall speak well of me. hear now the words that i shall speak unto you, that you may learn how to be of use in the world, and how to draw near unto the gods that they may show favor to you; for this i say unto you, that those who weep and are grieved; those who sigh, pray and ponder; those who are watchful at night, and wakeful in the morning; those who diligently keep the temples cleanly and in order; those who are reverent and prayerful--all these find favor with the gods; to all such the gods give riches, honor, and prosperity, even as they give them to those who are strong in battle. it is by such deeds the gods know their friends, and to such they give high rank and military distinctions; success in battle, and an honorable place in the hall of justice; making them parents of the sun, that they may give meat and drink not only to the gods of heaven, but also to the gods of hell; and such as are thus honored are revered by all brave men and warriors: all men look on them as their parents, because the gods have shown them favor; and have rendered them fit to hold high offices and dignities and to govern with justice; they are placed near the god of fire, the father of all the gods, whose dwelling is in the water surrounded by turreted walls of flowers, and who is called ayamictlan and xiuhtecutli; or they are made lords of the rank of tlacatecutli or tlacochtecutli, or they are given some lower post of honor. perchance they are given some such office as i now hold, not through any merit of my own, but because the gods know not my unworthiness. i am not what i am by my own asking; never did i say, i wish to be so and so, i desire this or that honor; the gods have done me this honor of their own will, for surely all is theirs, and all that is given comes from their hand; nor shall any one say, i desire this or that honor, for the gods give as they please and to whom they please, and stand in need of counsel from none. harken, my sons, to another sorrow that afflicts me when i arise at midnight to pray and do penance. then i ponder many things, and my heart rises and sinks even as one who goes up and down mountains, for i am satisfied with no one of you. thou, my eldest son, dost not give any sign of improvement, i see in thee nothing manly, thou remainest ever a boy, thy conduct does not become an elder brother. and thou, my second son, and thou, my third, i see in you no discretion or manliness; peradventure it is because you are second and third that you have become careless. what will become of you in the world? lo, now, are you not the children of noble parents? your parents are not tillers of the soil or wood-cutters. what, i say again, will become of you? do you wish to be nothing but merchants, to carry a staff in your hands and a load on your backs? will you become laborers and work with your hands? harken, my sons, and give heed unto my words, and i will point out to you those things which you shall do. see to the proper observance of the dances, and the music, and the singing, for thus will you please both the people and the gods; for with music and singing are favors and riches gained. endeavor to learn some honorable trade or profession, such as working in feathers or precious metals; for by such means bread can be obtained in time of necessity. pay attention to every branch of agriculture, for the earth desires not food or drink, but only to bring forth and produce. your fathers sought to understand these things, for though they were gentlemen and nobles they took care that their estate should be properly cultivated. if you think only of your high rank and are unmindful of these things, how will you support your family, in no part of the world does anyone support himself by his gentility only. but above all study well to provide all those things which are necessary for the sustenance of the body, for these are the very foundation of our being, and rightly are they called _tonacaiutltomio_, that is to say our flesh and bones, because it is by them that we work, live, and are strong. there is no man in the world but what eats, for each one has a stomach and intestines. the greatest lords need food, the most valiant warrior must carry a bag of victuals. by the sustenance of the body life is upheld, by it the world is peopled. see, therefore, my sons, that you be careful to plant the corn and the magueys, for do we not know that fruit is the delight of children; truly it cools and quenches the thirst of the little ones. and you, boys, do you not like fruit? but how will you get it if you do not plant and grow it. give heed, my sons, to the conclusion of my discourse, and let it be written upon your hearts. many more things could i say, but my task would never be ended. a few more words only will i add that have been handed down to us from our forefathers. firstly, i counsel you to propitiate the gods, who are invisible and impalpable, giving them your whole soul and body. look to it that you are not puffed up with pride, that you are neither obstinate, nor of a weak, vacillating mind, but take heed to be meek and humble and to put your trust in the gods, lest they visit your transgressions upon you, for from them nothing can be hidden, they punish how and whom they please. secondly, my sons, endeavor to live at peace with your fellow-men. treat all with deference and respect; if any speak ill of you answer them not again; be kind and affable to all, yet converse not too freely with any; slander no man; be patient, returning good for evil, and the gods will amply avenge your wrongs. lastly, my children, be not wasteful of your goods nor of your time, for both are precious; at all seasons pray to the gods and take counsel with them; be diligent about those things which are useful. i have spoken enough, my duty is done. peradventure you will forget or take no heed of my words. as you will. i have done my duty, let him profit by my discourse who chooses."[ ] [sidenote: marriage.] the customary marrying-age for young men was from twenty to twenty-two, and for girls from eleven to eighteen.[ ] marriages between blood relations or those descended from a common ancestor were not allowed. a brother could, and was enjoined to, marry his deceased brother's wife, but this was only considered a duty if the widow had offspring by the first marriage, in order that the children might not be fatherless.[ ] when a youth reached a marriageable age, he or his parents asked permission of his teacher. he seldom was allowed any choice of his own, but was expected to abide by the selection of his parents. it rarely happened that a marriage took place without the sanction of parents or relatives, and he who presumed to choose his own wife, or married without such consent, had to undergo penance, and was looked upon as ungrateful, ill-bred, and apostate. in some parts the high priest commanded them to marry when they arrived at the proper age, and he who refused to comply was obliged to remain continent through life, and dedicate the remainder of his days to the service of the gods. should he afterward repent and desire to marry, he was despised by all his friends and publicly denounced as infamous, inasmuch as he had shown himself to be devoid of firmness, and unable to keep the vow of chastity to which he had voluntarily bound himself; nor would any respectable woman afterward accept him as a husband. in tlascala, if any one carelessly allowed the time to pass by without taking a wife, or deciding upon a life of chastity, his hair was cut short and he was driven out from the company of the youths with whom he was educated. cutting the hair formed a part of the marriage ceremony, but the mode of cutting was different from that of the penalty.[ ] when the time came for the parents to choose a wife for their son, all the relations were called together and informed by the father that the youth had now reached an age when he should be provided with a wife; for that he was now a man, and must learn how to perform the duties of a man, and refrain from boyish tricks and promiscuous intercourse with women. the youth was then summoned before his parents, and his father addressed him, saying: "my son, thou art now a man, and it seems to us proper to search among the maidens for a wife for thee. ask thy tutors for permission to separate thyself from thy friends, the youths with whom thou hast been educated. make known our wishes to those called telpuchtlatoque, who have the charge of thee." the youth in answer expressed his willingness and desire to enter into their plans. the parents then set about preparing a quantity of food, such as tamales, chocolate, and other dishes; and also provided a small axe, which was to bear a part in the next proceeding. the repast being prepared, an invitation was sent to the priests who were instructors of the youth, accompanied with presents of food and pipes of tobacco; all the relations were also invited. when the meal was finished, the relations, and guardians of the ward in which the parents of the pair lived, seated themselves. then one of the youth's relations, addressing the priestly instructors of the youth said: "here, in the presence of all, we beg of you not to be troubled because this lad, our son, desires to withdraw from your company, and to take a wife; behold this axe, it is a sign that he is anxious to separate from you; according to our mexican custom, take it, and leave us the youth." then the priest answered: "i, and the young men with whom your son has been educated have heard how that you have determined to marry him and that from henceforward, forever, he will be parted from us; let everything be done as you wish." the tutor of the youth next addressed him, entreating him to persevere in the paths of virtue, not to forget the teachings he has received, and to continue to be a zealous servant of the gods; he advised him that as he was now about to take a wife he must be careful to provide for her support, and to bring up and instruct his children in the same manner as he had been educated. he adjured him to be courageous in battle, to honor and obey his parents, to show respect to his seniors and all aged persons; and so the speaker ambled morally along at some length, but i spare the reader the remainder of the discourse.[ ] the priests then took their leave, bearing the axe with them, and the young man remained in his father's house. [sidenote: preliminaries to marriage ceremony.] soon after this the parents called the relations together once more to consult upon the selection of a maiden suitable to be the wife of their son. their first act, and one that was of paramount importance, was to ascertain the day and sign of his birth. if they were unable to remember or calculate the sign they called in the aid of astrologers, or soothsayers, who by certain reckonings and ceremonies interpreted all they sought to know. the birthday and sign of the damsel were in like manner ascertained. if the horoscope of both was favorable, the astrologers predicted a happy union with prosperity and good fortune to both, but if the signs did not agree they foretold adversity and evil fortune, and it became necessary to choose another maiden. once assured of a favorable combination according to the auguries, steps were taken to obtain the consent of the girl's parents. for this purpose the parents and relatives of the youth commissioned two old women, chosen from among the most discreet and virtuous of the district, who were to act as negotiators in the affair; these were called _cihuatlanque_. they went on the part of the bridegroom and conveyed the message to the parents or nearest relatives of the young girl. their first visit was made shortly after midnight or upon the following morning, upon which occasion they took with them some presents to offer to the girl's parents. upon their arrival they commenced a suitable address, in which they formally solicited the hand of the girl in marriage. the first overture was invariably rejected and some frivolous excuse given, even though the girl's relatives might be more desirous of the match than those who solicited it. the embassy was told that the girl was not yet of an age to marry, or that she was not worthy of the honor offered her. after some few more such compliments had been paid, the matrons returned to those who had sent them. a few days having elapsed, the old women were sent back bearing more presents, and with instructions to again solicit the alliance, and to define clearly the position of the suitor, his qualifications and riches. upon this second interview the negotiations assumed a more business-like aspect; the conversation turned upon the portion that each would bring to the other, and finally the relatives of the girl consented to consider the affair; yet they still maintained a semblance of reluctance, insisting that the girl was not worthy to become the wife of so estimable a young man; but adding that, as the matter was urged with so much importunity, they would on the morrow assemble all the relations of the young woman, that they might consult together about the affair; they then closed the conference by inviting their visitors to be present on that occasion and receive their final decision. [sidenote: marriage ceremonies.] the next day the parents of the girl called a meeting of all her relatives, at which the proposed alliance was discussed with due deliberation; and the girl being called before them, much good advice was given her; her duties as a wife were defined, she was charged to serve and please her husband, and not bring disgrace upon her parents. information of their decision was then sent to the parents of the young man, and preparations for a fitting celebration of the wedding commenced. the augurs were consulted and requested to name a lucky day for the ceremony; the signs _acatl_, _ozomatli_, _cipactli_, _quauhtli_, or _calli_, were deemed most favorable, and one or other of them was generally selected for the celebration of the nuptials. several ensuing days were spent by both families in preparing for the marriage celebration, and in issuing invitations to friends and relations. the ceremony was always performed at the house of the bridegroom's parents, where the best room was put in order for the occasion; the roof and walls were festooned with green branches and garlands of flowers, disposed with great taste, and the floor was strewn with the same. in the centre stood a brazier containing fire. when all the arrangements were completed, certain of the bridegroom's friends and relatives went to the house of his intended to conduct her to the room. if the distance was great, or the bride the daughter of a lord or great personage, she was borne upon a litter, otherwise she was carried on the back of the bride's-woman, or sponsor, accompanied by a large concourse of people, disposed in two rows and bearing torches. the bride occupied the centre of the procession, and immediately about her walked her nearest relatives. as the procession passed, many of the lookers-on profited by the occasion, to point her out to their own daughters as an example worthy of emulation. [sidenote: consummation of marriage.] [sidenote: dancing the chemise.] the bridegroom met his betrothed at the entrance of his house, preceded by four women bearing lighted torches; in his hands he carried a censer with burning incense, and another was given to the bride; with these they at once perfumed each other, and the groom, taking her by the hand, led her into the room prepared for the ceremony. they were then seated upon an ornamented and painted mat spread close to the fireplace, the woman being placed on the left of the man.[ ] the bridegroom's mother then came forward with presents for her daughter-in-law, and dressed her in a _huipil_, or short chemise, at the same time laying at her feet a _cuatli_, or skirt, richly embroidered and worked. next the bride's mother gave presents to the bridegroom; she covered him with a mantle, which she fastened at the shoulder, and placed a maxtli or breech-clout at his feet. the most important part in the ceremony was next performed by the priest, who made a long address to the betrothed couple, in which he defined the duties of the married state, and pointed out to them the obedience a wife should observe towards her husband, and the care and attention the latter should give to her, how that he was bound to maintain and support her, and the children they might have. he was enjoined to bring up and educate his children near him, teaching all according to their abilities, to make them useful members of society, and to instruct them in habits of industry. a wife's duties, he said, were to labor and aid her husband in obtaining sustenance for their family. both were exhorted to be faithful to one another, to maintain peace and harmony between themselves, to overlook each other's failings, and to help one another, ever bearing in mind that they were united for life by a tie which only death could sever. the rites of marriage were always conducted with much solemnity, and during the ceremony nothing was said or done contrary to the rules of modesty and decorum. at the conclusion of the address the couple stood up, and the priest tied the end of the man's mantle to the dress of the woman; they then walked seven times round the fire, casting therein copal and incense, and giving presents to each other, while their friends and relatives threw chains of flowers about their necks and crowned them with garlands.[ ] the mother-in-law of the bride now brought some food, and gave four mouthfuls to the bride to eat and afterwards gave the same quantity to the bridegroom. they then received the congratulations of their friends, while at the same time a dance was performed to the sound of musical instruments. accompanied by the dancers and musicians, the newly wedded pair was conducted to the temple, at the door of which the tlamacaxques, or priests, appeared to receive them. while the company remained below, the wedded couple with their sponsors and parents ascended the steps of the temple. the priest wore his robes of ceremony, and carried in his hand an incensory filled with incense, with which he proceeded to perfume them. he then placed himself between the two, with the man on his right and the woman on his left, and taking them by the hands led them to the altar of the idol, muttering prayers as he went. the altar reached, he placed upon each of the parties a very fine and showy shawl woven and variegated with many colors, in the centre of which was painted a skeleton, as a symbol that death only could now separate them from each other. he then perfumed them again with the incensory, and led them back to the door of the temple, where they were received by the assemblage and accompanied to their home with dancing and music. the marriage ceremonies being finished, the relatives and friends partook of a banquet, and amidst much rejoicing congratulated each other on the new relations they had acquired. in the feasting, drinking, and dancing the bridal pair took no part; they had now to enter upon a season of fasting and penance, which lasted four days, in the strict retirement of their room, where they were closely guarded by old women; on no account were they permitted to leave their room except for the necessary calls of nature, or to offer sacrifice to the gods; the time was to be passed in prayer, and on no account were they to allow their passions to get the better of them or indulge in carnal intercourse. such weakness on their part would, they believed, bring discord or death or some other dire misfortune between them. the close confinement, the watchful guard and imposed penances were intended to calm their passions and purify their minds, whereby they would be more fitted to undertake the duties before them, and not be led astray by unruly desires. what small supply of sustenance they received in the four days of their retirement was carried to them by the old women who had charge of them, and during this time they neither washed nor bathed themselves; they were dressed in new garments and wore certain charms and regalia pertaining to their patron idol. at midnight they came forth to offer sacrifice and burn incense on the altar in their house, in front of which they also left food offerings for their god; this they did during the four days of abstinence, while their friends and relatives continued their rejoicings, festivities, and dancing.[ ] upon the fourth night, when the marriage was to be consummated, two priests of the temple prepared a couch of two mats, between which were placed some feathers and a stone somewhat the color of an emerald, called _chalchiuite_; underneath they put a piece of tiger-skin, and on top of all they spread some cotton cloths. at the four corners of the bed were placed green reeds perfumed, and thorns of the maguey with which the pair were to draw blood from their tongues and ears when they sacrificed to the gods.[ ] the following morning the bridal pair took the bed on which they had lain, with the cloths, reeds, and food they had offered to their god during the four days of penance, to the temple and left them as a thanksgiving offering.[ ] if any charcoal or ashes were found in the bridal chamber they considered it an evil omen, but if, on the other hand, a grain of corn or other seed was found, they considered it a sign of a long and prosperous life and a happy union. a baptismal ceremony was next performed, the wedded pair being placed on green reed mats, while the priests poured water over them. nobles received four ablutions with water in honor of _chalchihuitlicue_, the goddess of waters, and four of wine, in reverence to _tezcatzoncatl_, the god of wine. after the bath they were dressed in new vestments, the bride's head was adorned with white feathers and her hands and feet with red. to her husband was given a thurible, filled with incense wherewith to perfume his household gods. at the conclusion of these ceremonies a further distribution of dresses and presents was made, and the company partook of food and wine, while the scene was enlivened with songs and dances. some more good advice, of which the aztecs seem to have had a never-failing store, was then given to the wedded pair by the mothers-in-law or nearest relatives, and thus ended the nuptial ceremonies, which were conducted in accordance with the means of the principal parties concerned.[ ] in some places, proof of the maiden's virginity was required on the morning following the consummation of the marriage. in such case the sponsors entered the room where the wedded pair had passed the night and demanded the bride's chemise; if they found it stained with blood they brought it out, placed it on a stick, and exhibited it to all present as an evidence that the bride was a virgin; then a dance was formed and the procession went through all the place, carrying the chemise on a stick, dancing and expressing their joy, and this was called 'dancing the chemise.' if it happened that the chemise was unstained, tears and lamentations took the place of rejoicing, abuse and insults were heaped upon the bride, and her husband was at liberty to repudiate her.[ ] in the kingdom of miztecapan, before the ceremony of tying their mantles together was performed it was customary to cut a lock of hair from the bridegroom's head and from the bride's, after which they took each other by the hand and their dresses were tied by the ends. the man then took the girl on his back and carried her a short distance; which proceeding terminated the nuptials. in ixcatlan, he who desired to get married presented himself before the priests, and they took him to the temple, where in presence of the idols he worshiped they cut off some of his hair, and showing it to the people, shouted "this man wishes to get married." from thence he was obliged to descend and take the first unmarried woman he met, in the belief that she was especially destined for him by the gods. they were then married according to the customary mexican rites. the mazatec bridegroom abstained for the first fifteen days of his wedded life from carnal knowledge of his wife, and both spent the time in fasting and penance. among the otomís it was not considered an offence for an unmarried man to deflour a single woman. the husband was permitted to repudiate the woman the day following his marriage if she did not please him; but if he remained satisfied upon that occasion he was not afterwards allowed to send her away. they had then to undergo a period of penance and abstinence and remain secluded for twenty or thirty days, during which time they were to abstain from all sexual intercourse, to draw blood from themselves as a sacrifice, and to bathe frequently. the chichimecs, although they contracted marriage at a very early age, could not have legitimate connection with their wives until the woman was forty years old. after their intercourse with the toltecs this custom began to be abolished, although the princes and nobles observed it rigorously for some time longer. marriage with near relatives was never permitted among them, and polygamy was strictly prohibited.[ ] [sidenote: divorce and division of property.] among the mexicans divorce was permitted, but as a general rule was discouraged. in the event of discord arising between man and wife so that they could not live together peacefully, or where one or other of the parties had just cause of complaint, they applied to a judge for permission to separate. such permission was not granted unless good and sufficient cause was shown in support of the application. the judge investigated the case with much care and attention, closely examining the parties in reference to their marital relations; whether they had been married with the consent of their parents, and if all the ceremonies of marriage had been fully observed. if the answers proved that the parties had not been married according to the usual rites and ceremonies, or if they had been living together in a state of fornication, the judge refused to interfere between them; but if he found they had properly complied with the regulations governing marriage, he used his best efforts to reconcile them; he reminded them of the solemn obligations appertaining to the marriage contract, and warned them not to bring disgrace upon themselves and their parents by breaking the bonds by which they were united, thereby creating a scandal in the community. if his endeavors to effect a reconciliation were of no avail, and he found that one or other of the parties had just cause of complaint, a license to separate could be issued, but more frequently the judge refused to interfere in the matter, and dismissed them with a stern reproval. marriage was looked upon as a solemn and binding tie only to be dissolved by death, and any attempt or desire to annul the contract was deemed a disgrace and a bad example. under these circumstances divorce was always discouraged both by the magistrates and the community. a judge was generally unwilling to sanction with the authority of the law the annulment of so binding an engagement; therefore only a tacit consent was given by the court, by which the whole onus of the disgrace attending a separation was thrown upon the parties themselves. when a dissolution took place between man and wife, they could not again under any circumstances be united; the divorce once effected, no subsequent condonation could authorize their living together.[ ] we have no information how or on what terms a division of property was made in the event of a dissolution of marriage, or to which of the parties the custody of the children belonged. the ancient historians throw no light upon the subject. as much deference and respect was shown to old age, it is probable that the decision of such matters was left to the influence and wisdom of the friends and relatives, and that through their intervention equitable arrangements were made. [sidenote: concubines in mexico.] concubinage, of which there were three classes, was permitted throughout the mexican empire. the first class was the union of young men with unmarried women, before they arrived at the age when they were expected to marry. all young men, with the exception of those who were consecrated to a perpetual chastity, were allowed to have concubines. the youth usually asked his parents to select a girl for him, and the one upon whom their choice fell cohabited with him. such women were called _tlacacavili_. no contract was made nor any ceremony performed; the connection was a simple private arrangement of the relatives on both sides. when a girl lived with an unmarried man as his concubine without the consent of her parents she was called _temecauh_, which had a more general signification. it does not appear, however, that concubinage among the unmarried men was common; on the contrary, the manner in which parents are reputed to have brought up their children, and the care taken by the priests in their education would seem to show that such a practice was discouraged, or rather tolerated than allowed, and it is probable the custom was chiefly confined to the sons of nobles and wealthy men. when a young man arrived at the age when he should marry, he was expected to dispense with his concubine that he might marry the girl selected by his parents to be his lawful wife. he could, however, legitimatize the connection between his concubine and himself by notifying his parents of his wishes and having the usual marriage ceremonies performed; she then became his lawful wife and was called _ciuatlantli_. if while they lived together in concubinage the woman had a child, her parents then required that he should at once restore her to them, or make her his wife, as they considered it proper that having a child she should also have a husband as a legal protector. young women were not dishonored by living in a state of concubinage, nor were their chances of contracting advantageous marriages in any degree lessened. the second order of concubines might rather be termed, perhaps, the less legitimate wives of married men; with them the tying of garments constituted the entire marriage ceremony; the husband could not repudiate them without just cause and the sanction of the courts, but neither they nor their children could inherit property; in this respect they were treated as concubines, but nevertheless they were called _ciuatlantli_, which corresponds with the latin word _uxor_, and was the title borne by the first and legitimate wife. the third class of concubines were merely kept mistresses; with them no marriage rite of any kind was performed. they were kept usually by the nobles and chief men who could afford to maintain large establishments; they occupied a third rank in the domestic circle after the principal wife and less legitimate ones, and were called _ciuanemactli_, or _tlaciuantli_, if their master had obtained them from their parents; those whom he took without such permission were called _tlaciuaantin_.[ ] the toltec kings could only marry one woman, and in case of her death could not marry again or live in concubinage with any woman; the same rule held good with their queens in the event of the king dying first. prostitution among the mexicans was tolerated, but at the same time was restrained within certain bounds; that is, the law took cognizance of the practice as regarded the women engaged in such traffic. it was looked upon as a necessary evil, and the law did not interfere with men who consorted with prostitutes; but the latter, if they plied their traffic too openly, or with too great frequency, so as to create a public scandal and become a nuisance, were punished according to the extent of the offence.[ ] * * * * * we may suppose that, the marriage ceremonies being concluded, the young couple were left in peace, and that for a time there was a truce to the speech-making and ever-ready advice of anxious parents and meddling relatives. but this respite was generally of brief duration. as soon as the woman found herself to be pregnant, all her friends and relations were immediately upon the tiptoe of expectation and interest again. the parents were at once informed of the interesting event, and a feast was prepared, of which all who had been present at the wedding partook. after the repast the inevitable speeches commenced. an old man, squatting on his hams, first spoke in behalf of the husband, referring to the precious burden carried by the pregnant woman and to the future prospects of the child; after a while another relieved the speaker and pursued the subject in the same strain; the man and his wife then responded, dwelling upon the pleasure in store for them, and expressing their hopes that, with the favor of the gods, it might be realized. the parents of the pair were next addressed directly by one of the guests upon the same theme and made a reply. certain elderly relatives then seized the opportunity to admonish and instruct the young woman, to which she made a suitable answer, thanking them for their solicitude on her behalf.[ ] [sidenote: pregnancy and childbirth.] during the months of her pregnancy the mother was very careful to insure the safety and health of the child, though many of the rules observed for this purpose were of a partly superstitious nature. thus, sleeping in the day-time would contort the child's face; approaching too near the fire or standing in the hot sun would parch the foetus; hard and continued work, lifting weights, running, mental excitement, such as grief, anger, or alarm, were particularly avoided; in case of an earthquake all the pots in the house were covered up or broken to stop the shaking; eating _tzictli_, or _chicle_, was thought to harden the palate of the unborn child, and to make its gums thick so that it would be unable to suck, and also to communicate to it a disease called _netentzzoponiztli_; neither must the edible earth, of which, as we shall see in a future chapter, the mexicans were very fond, be eaten by the mother, lest the child should prove weak and sickly; but everything else the woman fancied was to be given her, because any interference with her caprices might be hurtful to her offspring.[ ] moderation in sexual connection with her husband was recommended to a woman from one to three months advanced in pregnancy, but total abstinence in this respect was thought to be injurious to the unborn child; during the later stages of the woman's pregnancy, however, the husband abstained entirely from having intercourse with her.[ ] when the time for the confinement drew near another feast was prepared and the usual invitations were issued. when all were gathered an old man was the first to speak, on behalf of the married couple. by virtue of his long experience in these matters he recommended that the pregnant woman be placed in the _xuchicalli_, or bath, under the protection of xuchicaltzin, the god of the bath, and of yoalticitl, goddess of the bath and of childbirth. he further advised the parents to select a competent _ticitl_, or midwife. this functionary having been named, a female relative of the husband addressed her, asking her to accept the trust, praising her qualifications, and exhorting her to exert her utmost skill and care. the mother and relatives of the wife also made brief speeches to the same purpose. the midwife-elect then expressed her wish and intention to do all in her power.[ ] wealthy people frequently employed several midwives, who for some days prior to the birth busied themselves in waiting on their patient and putting everything in readiness for the important hour. zuazo states that some of these acted merely as witnesses to the fact of the birth.[ ] the 'hour of death,' as the time of confinement was named, having arrived, the patient was carried to a room previously set in order for the purpose; here her hair was soaped and she was placed in a bath to be washed. care was taken that the water should not be too hot, lest the foetus should be scalded; in some cases the woman was beaten on the back with maize leaves which had been boiled in the water used for the bath. the midwife next proceeded to rub and press the abdomen of the patient in order to set the child in place. if the pain grew worse, soothing remedies were administered. a decoction of _cihoapatli_ herbs was given to promote the delivery; should this not prove effective, however, a small piece, about an inch and a half long, of the tail of the _tlaquatzin_, or _tlaquatl_, was given, which is a very powerful emetic. if after all the woman got no ease, it was concluded that she would die. in cases of great danger prayers were addressed to cioacoatl, quilaztli, yoalticitl, and other deities. should the child die in the womb it was removed piecemeal, unless the parents objected, in which case the mother was left to die. [sidenote: ghastly talismans.] mocioaquezqui, 'brave woman,' was the name given to her who died in childbed. after death the body was washed, dressed in good, new clothes, and buried with great ceremony in the courtyard of the temple dedicated to the 'celestial women.'[ ] talismanic virtues were supposed to reside in the corpse; thus, the middle fingers of the left hand, and the hair, were thought to make their possessor irresistible in battle; soldiers, therefore, sought by every means, fair or foul, to procure them. thieves believed that the left hand and arm of the corpse would strike terror into their victims, and they therefore engaged sorcerers to procure it. the birth of twins was believed to foretell the death of one of the parents at the hands of their child; to prevent this, one of the infants was killed.[ ] abortion was not unusual, and was procured by taking a decoction of certain herbs; the crime was nevertheless punished with death.[ ] if everything went well, and the woman was easily delivered, the midwife gave a loud cry of triumph. she next addressed some words of counsel to the child, and then proceeded to wash it. turning to the water, she addressed the goddess of waters, chalchihuitlicue, asking her favor and protection for the child. then taking some water, the midwife breathed upon it, gave some to the infant to taste, and then touched its head and chest therewith, saying: "come, my son (or daughter) to chalchihuitlicue; it is for her to bear you on the back and in her arms throughout this life!" then, placing the infant in the water, she continued: enter thou into the water called _metlalac_ and _tuspalac_; may it wash thee, and may the omnipotent cleanse from thee all ill that is inherent in thee from the beginning of the world and from before the beginning. begone, all evil imparted to thee by thy father and thy mother.[ ] having washed the child, the midwife clothed it, addressing it meanwhile in whispers of welcome and admonition. then, raising her voice, she complimented the mother on her bravery and endurance.[ ] a female relative next praised the fortitude of the patient, who in her response dilated on the trouble and pain she had gone through, and expressed her joy at the treasure vouchsafed her by the gods. the midwife then closed the ceremony by congratulating the grandparents and assembled friends. a few days after the confinement the mother took a bath in the temazcalli, and indulged in rich food and wine; on this occasion a feast was also tendered to invited friends, who partook of it near the spot where the woman bathed. all these elaborate preparations and midwife ceremonies at birth could, however, only have been in vogue among the well-to-do classes, for the mexican women, were, as a rule, little affected by the troubles of child-bearing; their training and manner of life were not calculated to make them delicate. motolinia, and many with him, say, for instance, that the tlascaltec women delivered themselves, the mother applying to a neighbor only at the birth of her first child.[ ] [sidenote: casting the nativity of infants.] it was now time to cast the nativity of the infant. for this purpose the services of a _tonalpouhqui_, or horoscopist, were engaged. these tonalpouhquis were a highly respected class, and were therefore approached with much respect and liberally fed with mantles, food, and other articles. having been told the hour of birth, the horoscoper consulted his book for the sign of the day on which the infant was born.[ ] if the birth had taken place exactly at midnight, the signs for the closing and breaking day were combined. comparing the birthday sign with the other twelve signs, as well as with the principal sign of the group, he deduced the required fortune, and, if the augury was favorable, dwelt on the honors and happiness in store for the infant. should the augury prove unfavorable, as well as the sign for the fifth day after birth, which was the occasion of the second bath, or baptism, this ceremony was postponed to another day, generally the most favorable of the thirteen, in order to moderate, if possible, the threatened misfortune. the fortune-teller dilated upon the troubles in store for the infant and the vices it would develop, but 'hedged' his oracle by adding that the adjoining signs contained certain redeeming features which might have power to counterbalance the evil import of the birthday sign.[ ] [sidenote: baptism of infants.] preparations are now made for the baptism. the portals of the dwelling are decorated with green branches, flowers, and sweet-smelling herbs are scattered over the floors and courtyard, and the approaches to the house are carefully swept; tamales are cooked, maize and cacao ground, and delicacies of every description prepared for the table, not forgetting the liquors; for any shortcoming in this respect would reflect severely on the hospitality of the host.[ ] the relatives of the family assemble before sunrise, and other friends drop in as the day advances; each, as he congratulates the host, presents a gift of clothing for the infant, and receives in his turn a present of mantles, flowers, and choice food.[ ] in the course of the morning the midwife carries the infant to the courtyard, and places it upon a heap of leaves, beside which are set a new _apaxtle_, or earthenware vessel, filled with clear water, and several miniature implements, insignia of the father's trade or profession. if he is a noble or a warrior, the articles consist of a small shield, and a bow with arrows of a corresponding size, placed with their heads directed toward the four cardinal points. another set of arms made from dough of amaranth-seed, and bound together with the dried navel-string of the child, is also prepared. if the child is a girl, there are placed beside it, instead of the little weapons, a spindle and distaff, and some articles of girl's clothing. when the sun rises the midwife sets her face and the face of the child toward the west, and addressing the infant, says: "o eagle, o tiger, o brave little man and grandson of mine, thou hast been brought into the world by thy father and mother, the great lord and the great lady. thou wast created in that house which is the abode of the supreme gods that are above the nine heavens. thou art a gift from our son quetzalcoatl, the omnipresent; be joined to thy mother, chalchihuitlicue, the goddess of water." then placing her dripping fingers on the lips of the child, she continues: "take this, for upon it thou hast to live, to wax strong, and flourish; by it we obtain all necessary things; take it!" then touching the child on the breast with her moistened fingers, she says: "take this holy and pure water that thine heart may be cleansed." then the midwife pours water on the child's head, saying: "receive, o my son, the water of the lord of the world, which is our life, with which we wash and are clean; may this celestial light-blue water enter into thy body, and there remain; may it destroy and remove from thee all evil and adverse things that were given thee before the beginning of the world; behold, all of us are in the hands of chalchihuitlicue, our mother." she now washes the body of the child, exclaiming: "evil, wheresoever thou art, begone, avaunt; for the child liveth anew and is born again; once more it is purified; a second time is it renewed of our mother, chalchihuitlicue." then lifting up the little one toward heaven, she addresses ometochtli and omecioatl:[ ] "behold, o lord, the creature which thou hast sent to this place of sorrow, affliction, and anguish, to this world; give it, o lord, of thy gifts and inspiration, for thou art the great god and the great goddess." then stooping as if to set the child down, she raises it a second time, crying upon the goddess of the waters:[ ] "o lady goddess, mother of the gods, inspire this child with thy virtue." a third time she stoops and raising the child toward heaven, addresses the gods: "o lords celestial, and gods who dwell in heaven, behold this creature whom ye have sent among men, fill it with your spirit and mercy, that it may live." a fourth time she sets down and raises the babe, and calling now upon the sun and the earth she says:[ ] "o our lord, sun, father of all, and thou, o earth, our mother, take ye this child for your own, and, as it is born for war,[ ] so let it die defending the cause of the gods, and be permitted to enjoy the delights prepared in heaven for the brave." the midwife now takes the implements and prays to the patron deity of the trade or profession they represent on behalf of the child; then she places the mantle upon the shoulders of the infant, girds on the little maxtli, and asks the boys present to give the child a name. this was, however, merely a matter of form; the parents really had the choosing of the name and told it to the boys. it was usually taken either from the sign of the day, or from a bird or animal, in the case of a boy; the girls were named from flowers, and this rule was especially observed by the toltecs and miztecs. sometimes a child took its name from some important event which occurred at the time of its birth; as when the tlascaltec chief citlalpopoca, 'smoking star,' was so named because at his birth a flaming comet was seen in the sky. sometimes children were named after the feast held at the time of their nativity; thus, boys born during the festival of the renewal of the sacred fire, called _toxilmolpilia_, were named _molpilli_, 'a tied object,' and girls _xiuhnenetl_, 'little doll of the year of fire.' occasionally a child was named after some renowned ancestor. a second name could be acquired by valiant deeds in battle. motolinia adds that sons of prominent men took a surname from the dignity or office held by the father, either in youth or manhood; or they inherited it with the estate at the death of the parent. children born during the last five days of the year, called _nemontemi_, 'unlucky days,' were considered unfortunate; boys born under such circumstances were often named _nemoquichtli_, 'unlucky man,' and girls _nencihuatl_, 'unlucky woman.'[ ] the midwife, having baptized the child, now calls upon it three times by its new name; admonishing it to make good use of the implements or weapons placed in its hands.[ ] it is thereupon carried into the house, preceded by torch-bearers, and placed in the cradle, before which the midwife offers prayers to yoalticitl, 'goddess of the cradle,' commending the child to her care, and beseeching her to nourish and protect it; then, turning to the cradle, she adds: "o thou, the mother of the child, receive this babe with gentleness, taking heed not to injure it." then she places the child in the cradle, the parents meanwhile calling upon yoalticitl to protect it, and upon yoaltecutli, 'the god of night,' to lull it to sleep. during this ceremony, which is termed _tlacoculaquilo_, or 'the act of placing the child in the cradle,' the boys of the village, dressed to imitate soldiers, enter the house, seize certain food previously prepared for them, called the 'child's navel,' scatter the rest, and rush forth, munching and shouting the child's name and future destinies. the lights, called _ocote_, which have been used during the ceremonies, must be left to burn out, and the fire that was lighted on the birthday must be kept brightly burning until after the baptizing, nor is any one allowed to borrow from its flame, for that would injure the prospects of the child. the umbilical cord is buried with the mimic weapons in a place where a battle may be expected to take place on a future day. the girl's instruments and navel-string are buried under a metate. the afterbirth is interred in a corner of the house. after the cradling ceremony the guests proceed to the banqueting-room, where they seat themselves according to age and rank. the festivities lasted twenty days,[ ] or even longer, if the father was wealthy, during which time the house was kept open to all comers. each visitor presented his gifts and made a speech to the infant on the duties, honors, and happiness in store for it, and adorning his discourse according to the rank of the parents, or his own courtesy. he next congratulated the mother, then the midwife, urging her further care of the infant, and lastly the father, referring to his character and services, and wishing him joy. if the father was a lord, the neighboring princes sent an embassy, preceded by numerous presents, and a chosen orator delivered a congratulatory address before the father and those present, to which an old man responded on behalf of all, commenting upon the good wishes of the neighboring nobles. the orator of the embassy then begged that the shortcomings of his former speech might be excused, and was answered by the oldest or most respected person present, on the parent's behalf. the female friends who came to inspect the infant, rubbed the joints of the body, especially the knees, with ashes, thinking that this would strengthen them and prevent the bones from becoming loose. the same was done to the children who accompanied them.[ ] in some parts the baptismal ceremony consisted in putting some quicklime upon the child's knee, and saying to it: "o thou little one, that hast come into the world to suffer, suffer and be silent. thou livest, but thou shalt die; much pain and anguish shall come upon thee; thou shalt become dust, even as this lime, which was once stone."[ ] if a boy, an arrow or dart was then placed in the child's left hand, to indicate that he must be brave and defend his country; if a girl, she was given a distaff, as a sign that she must become industrious in all womanly pursuits.[ ] in tlascala and miztecapan the infant was bathed in a sacred spring, which, it was thought, would avert misfortune. mendieta says that the midwife merely sprinkled the child a certain number of times, first with wine and then with water.[ ] among the zapotecs both mother and child were washed in a river, and invocations were addressed to all land and aquatic animals, entreating their favor and deprecating their anger;[ ] it was also customary to assign some animal or bird to a child, as its _nagual_, or tutelary genius, and with the fortune of such creature its fate was supposed to be so intimately connected, that the death of one involved the death of the other.[ ] burgoa adds further that this was assigned by lot, but it is stated elsewhere, and with greater probability if we may judge by similar superstitions in the old world, that the first bird or beast that appeared after the birth of the child was appointed its spiritual protector.[ ] * * * * * [sidenote: circumcision and scarification.] whether the custom of circumcision, which has been the great prop of argument in favor of the jewish origin of the aztecs, really obtained among these people, has been doubted by numerous authors. although circumcision was certainly not by any means general, yet sufficient proof exists to show that it was in use in some form among certain tribes. las casas and mendieta state that the aztecs and totonacs practiced it, and brasseur de bourbourg has discovered traces of it among the mijes. las casas affirms that the child was carried to the temple on the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth day after birth; there the high-priest and his assistant placed it upon a stone, and cut off the prepuce at the root; the part amputated they afterward burned to ashes. girls of the same age were defloured by the finger of the priest, who ordered the mother to repeat the operation at the sixth year. zuazo adds that these rites were only performed upon the children of great men, and that there was no compulsion in the matter, the parents having the option of having their children defloured or circumcised at any time within five years.[ ] in the fifth month, at huitzilopochtli's festival, all children born during the year were scarified on the breast, stomach, or arms, and by this means received as followers of their god.[ ] at the festival in honor of teteionan or toci, 'mother of the gods,' in the eleventh month, the women delivered during the year underwent purification and presented their children. in the evening a signal was sounded from the temple, and the mothers, dressed in their best, accompanied by friends, and preceded by torch-bearers and servants carrying the babes, made the tour of the town or quarter; a halt was made at every temple to leave an offering and a lighted torch for the presiding goddess. at the temple of toci extra offerings were made, including _tzocoyotl_, cakes of flour and honey; and here the priest performed the ceremony of purification by pronouncing certain prayers over the women.[ ] in the eighteenth month of every fourth year, the children born since the last corresponding feast, were taken to the temple, where their ears were pierced with a sharp bone, and macaw-feathers, _tlachcayotl_, inserted; the god-father and god-mother, or, as they are termed, uncles and aunts, whose duty it was to initiate the children into the service of the gods, holding them during the operation.[ ] an offering of flour of the _chian_ seed was made, and the god-father was presented with a red robe, the god-mother with a huipil. each child was then passed through the flames of a fire prepared for the purpose; the priest next took its head between his hands, and in that manner lifted it bodily from the ground. everyone thereupon went home to feast, but at noon the god-father and god-mother returned to the temple and executed a dance, holding the children on their backs, and giving them pulque to drink, in very small cups. this went on till dusk, when they retired to their houses to continue the dancing and drinking. this feast and month, itzcalli, 'growth,' obtained its name from the ceremony of squeezing the heads of children, which, it was thought, would make them grow; but it was also called the 'feast of the intoxication of boys and girls.'[ ] [sidenote: head-flattening.] among the miztecs, the mother took hot baths for twenty days after delivery, at the end of which time a feast was held in honor of the goddess of the bath, the child sharing in the honors of the occasion.[ ] they also gave the child a feast on its first birthday. great care was exercised to make children hardy and strong, and no mother, however high in rank, allowed her child to be given to a nurse, unless her own health demanded such a step. the test of a wet nurse was to press out a drop of milk upon the nail, when if it did not run the milk was considered good.[ ] no food was given to the child the first day, in order to create an appetite.[ ] it was suckled for three years, in some places much longer;[ ] and, during this time the mother adhered to a diet that would keep up the quality of the milk; many abstained from intercourse with their husbands for the same period, to prevent the possibility of another child interfering with the proper nurture of the first one. another feast was given at the weaning of the child. gomara mentions that a kind of head-flattening was practiced; he says that the infants were so placed in the cradle as not to allow the occiput to grow, for such a development was considered ugly.[ ] humboldt, however, says that the aztecs never flattened the head. that it was practiced to a considerable extent in remote times by people inhabiting the country, seems to be shown by the deformed skulls found in their graves, and by the sculptured figures upon the ruins. klemm states that the cradle consisted of a hard board to which the infant was bound in such a manner as to cause the malformation. the cradle among the poor aztecs was generally of light cane, and could be tied to the back of the mother.[ ] footnotes: [ ] clavigero writes: 'nella dipintura cinquantesimaseconda si rappresentano due ragazzi d'undici anni, ai quali per non essersi emendati con altri gastighi, fanno i lor padri ricevere nel naso il fumo del _chilli_, o sia peverone.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . but this is a mistake; in this picture we see a girl being punished by her mother in the manner described, and a boy by his father. [ ] clavigero mentions this girl as 'una putta ... cui fa sua madre spazzar la notte tutta la casa, e parte della strada.' _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] for these picture-writings and the interpretations of them, see: _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., pp. - ; _codex bodleian_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. i., plates - ; _codex mendoza_, in _id._, vol. i., and vol. v., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] 'tenian estas gentes tambien por ley que todos los niños llegados à los seis años hasta los nueve habian de enviar los padres à los templos para ser instruidos en la doctrína y noticia de sus leyes las cuales contenian casi todas las virtudes esplicadas la en ley natural.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxv., ccxv. 'todos estos religiosos visten de negro y nunca cortan el cabello ... y todos los hijos de las personas principales, así señores como ciudadanos honrados, estan en aquellas religiones y hábito desde edad de siete ú ocho años fasta que los sacan para los casar.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . 'cuando el niño llegaba á diez ó doce años, metíanle en la casa de educacion ó _calmecac_.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] a native author asserts that this 'house of song' was frequently the scene of debauch and licentiousness. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'los hijos de los nobles no se libraban tampoco de faenas corporales, pues hacian zanjas, construian paredes y desempeñaban otros trabajos semejantes, aunque tambien se les enseñaba á hablar bien, saludar, hacer reverencias y, lo que es mas importante, aprendian la astronomía, la historia y demas conocimientos que aquellas gentes alcanzaban.' _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - . [ ] 'iban tan honestas que no alzaban los ojos del suelo, y si se descuidaban, luego les hacian señal que recogiesen la vista ... las mujeres estaban por si en piezas apartadas, no salian las doncellas de sus aposentos á la huerta ó verjeles sin ir acompañadas con sus guardas.... siendo las niños de cinco años las comenzaban á enseñar á hilar, tejer y labrar, y no las dejaban andar ociosas, y á la que se levantaba de labor fuera de tiempo, atábanle los piés, porque asentase y estuviese queda.' _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - . [ ] see further, for information on the education of the mexicans: _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xix.; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - ; _fuenleal_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iv.; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien et mod._, pp. - . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., pp. - . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - . a literal translation of sahagun would be unintelligible to the reader. i therefore have merely followed as closely as possible the spirit and sense of this discourse. for further exhortations and advice to children see _id._, pp. - ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] although gomara says 'casan ellos a los veinte años, y aun antes: y ellas á diez.' _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, p. . [ ] 'por otro respecto no era pena trasquilar los tales mancebos, sino ceremonia de sus casamientos: esto era, por que dejando la cabellera significaba dejar la lozania y liviandad de mancebo; y asi como desde adelante habia de criar nueva forma de cabellos, tuviese nueva seso y cordura para regir su muger y casa. bien creo que debia de haber alguna diferencia en estos trasquilados cuando se trasquilaban por ceremonia ó por pena.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxxix.; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i. p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxxix. [ ] 'venian los de la casa del mozo á llevar á la moza de parte de noche: llevábanla con gran solemnidad _acuestas_ de una matrona, y con muchas hachas de teas encendidas en dos rencles delante de ella.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. , . 'pronuba, quam _amantesam_ vocabant, sponsam tergo gestans, quatuor foeminis comitantibus quæ pineis tædis, prælucerent, illam post solis occasum, ad limen domus in qua parentes sponsi manebant, sistebat.' _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . 'la celebracion era que la desposada la llevaba á cuestas á prima noche una amanteca, que es medica, é hiban con ellas cuatro mujeres con sus achas de pino resinado encendidas, con que la hiban alumbrando, y llegada á casa del desposado, los padres del desposado la salian á recibir al patio de la casa, y la metian en una sala donde el desposado la estava aguardando.' _codex mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. . [ ] 'un sacerdote ataba una punta del _hueipilli_, ó camisa de la doncella, con otra del _tilmatli_, ó capa del jóven.' _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . 'al tiempo que los novios se avian de acostar é dormir en uno, tomaban la halda delantera de la camisa de la novia, é atábanla á la manta de algodon que tenia cubierta el novio.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . 'unas viejas que se llaman titici, ataban la esquina de la manta del mozo, con la falda del vipil de la moza.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . 'hechos los tratados, comparecian ambos contrayentes en el templo, y uno de los sacerdotes examinaba su voluntad con preguntas rituales; y despues tomaba con una mano el velo de la muger, y con otra el manto del marido, y los añudaba por los extremos, significando el vínculo interior de las dos voluntades. con este género de yugo nupcial volvian á su casa, en compañia del mismo sacerdote: donde ... entraban á visitar el fuego doméstico, que á su parecer, mediaban en la paz de los casados, y daban siete vueltas á él siguiendo al sacerdote.' _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] 'quedando los esposos en aquella estancia durante los cuatro dias siguientes, sin salir de ella, sino á media noche para incensar á los ídolos y hacerles oblaciones de diversas especies de manjares.' _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . 'Á la media noche y al medio dia salian de su aposento á poner encienso sobre un altar que en su casa tenian.' _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . 'los padrinos llevaban á los novios á otra pieza separada, donde los dejaban solos, encerrándolos por la parte de afuera, hasta la mañana siguiente, que venian á abrirles, y todo el concurso repetia las enhorabuenas, suponiendo ya consumado el matrimonio.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] the position of the tiger-skin is doubtful: 'ponian tambien vn pedaço de cuero de tigre, debajo de las esteras.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . 'ponian un pedazo de cuero de tigre encima de las esteras.' _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . 'la estera sobre que habian dormido, que se llamaba _petatl_, la sacaban al medio del patio, y allí la sacudian con cierta ceremonia, y despues tornaban á ponerla en el lugar donde habian de dormir.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., p. . [ ] 'otra ceremonia, casi como esta, vsaban los del pueblo de israèl, acerca del acostar los novios, la primera noche de sus bodas, que les ponian vna sabana, ó lienço, para que en èl se estampase el testimonio de la virginidad, que era la sangre, que del primer acto se vertìa, la qual se quitaba de la cama delante de testigos, que pudiesen afirmar haverla visto, con la señal de la sangre, que comprobaba la corrupcion de la doncella y embuelta, ó doblada, la ponian en cierto lugar, diputado para esto, donde quedaba guardada, en memoria de la limpieça, y puridad, con que la dicha doncella venia á poder de su marido. seria posible, que quisiese significar entre estos indios lo mismo, este cuidado de los viejos, de traer manta, ó sabana, y tenderla sobre la cama de los desposados, para los primeros actos matrimoniales; y es creible, que seria este el intento, pues la ropa, y esteras, que sirvieron en este sacrificio, se llevaban al templo, y no servian mas en casa, como ni mas, ni menos la ceremonia antigua de guardar la sabana, con sangre, entre los hebreos, en lugar particular, y seguro.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - , - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, p. . [ ] _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] for further information relating to marriage ceremonies and customs see _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. , , - , - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - , tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - , tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., pp. - , ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxxix., clxxv.; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _id._, _relaciones_, in _id._, pp. , , , ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. , tom. iii., pp. , - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. , - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvi., dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xvii.; _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., pp. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. ; _alegre_, _hist. comp. de jesus_, tom. i., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , ; _baril_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _simon's ten tribes_, pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , . [ ] 'nunca sentenciaban en disfavor del matrimonio, ni consentian, que por autoridad de justicia, ellos se apartasen; porque decian ser cosa ilicita, y de mucho escandalo para el pueblo, favorecer, con autoridad publica, cosa contraria à la raçon; pero ellos se apartaban de hecho, y este hecho se toleraba, aunque no en todos, segun el mas, ò menos escandalo, que se engendraba en el pueblo. otros dicen, que por sentencia difinitiva, se hacia este repudio, y divorcio ... los jueces sentenciaban (si acaso concedemos, que havia sentencia) que se apartasen, y quedasen libres, y sin obligacion el vno, al otro; pero no de la murmuracion del pueblo, que buelto contra ellos, decian ser dignos de grandisima pena, por haver quebrado la fè è integridad del matrimonio, y haver dado tan mal exemplo à la republica.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, pp. - ; _monglave_, _résumé_, p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'tengono molte moglie, & tante quante ne possono mantenere come i mori, però come si è detto, vna è la principale & patrona & i figliuoli di qsta hereditano, & quei dell'altre no, che non possono anzi son tenuti per bastardi. nelle nozze di questa patrona principale fanno alcune cirimonie, il che non si osserua nelle nozze dell'altre.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . see further, _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, cap. ccxiii., ccxiv., in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. - ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, pp. - ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., pp. , ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. iv., dec. v., lib. x. [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, cap. ccxiii., ccxiv., in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, pp. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] i have thought it unnecessary to give these speeches in full, but the reader can find them all together in _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - . [ ] sahagun adds: 'mandaba que á la preñada la diesen de comer suficientemente y buenos manjares, calientes y bien guisados, con especialidad cuando á la preñada le viene su purgacion, ó como dicen la regla, y esto llaman que la criatura se laba los pies, porque no se halle ésta en vacio, ó haya alguna vaciedad ó falta de sangre ó humor necesario, y así reciba algun daño.' _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., p. . [ ] sahagun's original ms. contains twenty-four additional lines on this subject, but these his editor deems too indelicate to print. _id._, p. . [ ] for these addresses see _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - . [ ] 'se llegan algunas mujeres como parteras, y otras como testigos para ver si el parto es supuesto ó natural; y al tiempo del nacer no permiten que la criatura llegue á la tierra con la vida; é antes que se la cortenle hacen ciertas señales en el corpezuelo.' _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _cihuapipiltin_, or _ciuapipilti_. a long description of the burial rites upon these occasions in _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - . these will, however, be described in a future chapter. [ ] motolinia, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. , and torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. , who seems to have copied from him, are the authorities for this, but the custom could not have been very general, for it is said that in tlascala the mother assigned a breast to each of the twins. [ ] the principal authority on the matter of pregnancy and childbirth, and the one whom i have thus far followed, is sahagun, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - . [ ] clavigero, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , differs from sahagun in these prayers or invocations; torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. , klemm, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., p. , and brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , follow clavigero more or less closely. [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] the teochichimec husband undertook the office of midwife when the birth took place on the road. he heated the back of his wife with fire, threw water over her in lieu of a bath, and gave her two or three kicks in the back after the delivery, in order to promote the issue of superfluous blood. the new-born babe was placed in a wicker basket, and thrown over the back of the mother, who proceeded on her journey. _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - ; also _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , , etc. the utensils which served at the birth of the child were, according to las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxix., offered at the fountain or river where the mother washed herself. [ ] by sahagun, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. iv., pp. - , and duran, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., cap. ii., the signs of the calendar and their subdivisions are described at length. each sign had thirteen sub-signs, representing the same number of days, by whom its good or bad import was moderated to a certain extent. under certain signs the child was liable to become a drunkard, under another a jester, under a third a warrior, and so on. brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , and espinosa, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , state that the sign which had been most frequent at this period during the past thirteen years was also considered by the astrologer. [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] a long description of this feast, the table, attendance, etc., is given by sahagun, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. iv., pp. - , and by torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . i shall have occasion to describe it in a future chapter of this volume, devoted to such matters. [ ] the poorer classes contented themselves with an interchange of flowers and food. [ ] a dual deity, uniting both sexes in one person. [ ] sahagun, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., p. , makes the midwife, in this instance, call upon citlalatonac. this goddess was, however, identical with ometochtli and omecioatl (see, more especially, _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. ), to whom the preceding prayer was directed. clavigero and torquemada assert that the prayer was addressed to the water-goddess. [ ] sahagun addresses the sun-god only. [ ] we may presume that the midwife is here addressing the child of a warrior. [ ] clavigero, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. , and brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , translate nemoquichtli and nencihuatl 'useless man' and 'useless woman.' torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. - , discusses names, why and how they were applied, in mexico and elsewhere. motolinia, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. , states that the name given at baptism was discarded for one applied by the priest, when the parents carried the child to the temple in the third month. see also _ritos antiguos_, p. , in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix. gomara, _conq. mex._, fol. , says that the name given by the priest was the surname, nobles sometimes taking a third name. brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , says that several additional names could be taken under various circumstances. in _codex mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. , it is stated that the name was given by three boys who sat by eating _yxcue_. [ ] boturini states that the infant is thereupon passed four times through the fire. _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; but this ceremony is described elsewhere in this volume as taking place in the temple. [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. iv., pp. - . [ ] it was believed, says torquemada, that this rubbing of their own limbs had a strengthening effect upon the new-born. _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _hist. ecles._, p. . [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. . [ ] _id._, fol. . [ ] the following are contradictory accounts of baptism. on the fourth day the child and mother took a purification bath, and the assembled guests were feasted on zamorra, a dish made from maize and the flesh of hens, deer, etc. three days after, the mother carried the child to the adjoining ward, accompanied by six little boys, if it was a male child, otherwise six girls went with her, to carry the implements or insignia of the father's trade. here she washed the child in a stream, and then returned home. two years after a feast was served in the house of the most intimate neighbor, who was asked to name the child, and with him it remained and was held as a member of his family. _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., pp. - . the infant was carried to the temple, where the priest made an oration on the miseries to be endured in this world, and placed a sword in the right hand of the child and a buckler in the left; or, if it was destined to be a mechanic, an artisan's tool; if a girl it received a distaff. the priest then took the child to the altar and drew a few drops of blood from its body with a maguey-thorn or knife, after which he threw water over it, delivering certain imprecations the while. _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. - . the implements were placed in the hands of the child by the priest before the idol. _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . also _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xvii. the child underwent three baptisms or baths. _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . on the seventh day the baptism took place, and a dart was placed in the hand of the child to signify that he should become a defender of his country. _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _id._, p. . in _spiegazione delle tavole del codice mexicano_ (vaticano), tav. xxxi., in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. , it is stated that the child was sprinkled with a bunch of ficitle dipped in water, and fumigated with incense before receiving its name. offerings were made at the temple which the priest divided among the school children. tylor, in his _anahuac_, p. , and _primitive culture_, vol. ii., pp. - gives short reviews of the baptismal ceremony and its moral import. [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxv.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . clavigero, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , reviews the subject of circumcision and denies that it was ever practiced. ternaux-compans, _voy._, série i., p. , tom. x., referring to diaz' statement that all indians of the vera cruz islands are circumcised, says that he must have confounded the custom of drawing blood from the secret organs with circumcision. cogolludo, _hist. yuc._, p. , says circumcision was unknown to the indians of yucatan. duran and brasseur evidently consider the slight incisions made for the purpose of drawing blood from the prepuce or ear, in the eleventh month, as the act. carbajal espinosa, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , following clavigero, holds the scarification of breast, stomach and arms to be the circumcision referred to by other authors. herrera, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xvii., and especially acosta, _hist. de las ynd._, p. , consider the incision on the prepuce and ear to have been mistaken for circumcision, and state that it was chiefly performed upon sons of great men; they do not state when the ceremony took place. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] this rite was followed by another, which usually took place in the temple of huitzilopochtli. the priest made a slight incision on the ear of the female child, and on the ear and prepuce of the male, with a new obsidian knife handed to him by the mother, then, throwing the knife at the feet of the idol, he gave a name to the infant, at the request of the parent, after duly considering the horoscope and signs of the time. _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., cap. iii., quoted by _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . duran really states that these ceremonies took place in the fourth month, but as toci's festival occurs in the eleventh month, brasseur alters the evident mistake. the naming of the infant may have been a mere confirmation of the name given by the midwife. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii. p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - . sahagun translates itzcalli by 'growth,' but other authors differ from him, as we shall see in a future chapter on the calendar. [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii. [ ] _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] the authorities on childbirth, baptism, and circumcision are: _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - , lib. iv., pp. - , tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - , tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , , , - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xvii., lib. iii., cap. xii., lib. iv., cap. xvi.; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxv., clxxix.; _codex mendoza_, pp. - , in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v.; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - , , ; _zuazo_, _carta_, in _id._, pp. - ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - , ; _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. , ; _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , - , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. , tom. iii., pp. , - , - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. , - ; _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., pp. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _d'avity_, _l'amérique_, tom. ii., p. ; _baril_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _ritos antiguos_, pp. - , in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix.; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _adair's amer. ind._, p. ; _müller_, _reisen_, tom. iii., pp. - ; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., pp. - , ; _carli_, _cartas_, pt i., p. ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., cap. iii.; _diaz_, _itinéraire_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. ; _morton's crania amer._, p. ; _delafield's antiq. amer._, p. . chapter viii. nahua feasts and amusements. excessive fondness for feasts--manner of giving feasts--serving the meal--professional jesters--parting presents to guests--royal banquets--tobacco smoking--public dances--manner of singing and dancing--the neteteliztli--the drama among the nahuas--music and musical instruments--nahua poetry--acrobatic feats--the netololiztli, or 'bird dance'--professional runners--the game of tlactli--games of chance--the patoliztli, or 'bean game'--totoloque, montezuma's favorite game. [sidenote: feasts and entertainments.] the excessive fondness of the aztecs for feasts and amusements of every kind seems to have extended through all ranks of society. every man feasted his neighbor and was himself in turn feasted. birthdays, victories, house-warmings, successful voyages or speculations, and other events too numerous to enumerate were celebrated with feasts. every man, from king to peasant, considered it incumbent upon him to be second to none among his equals in the giving of banquets and entertainments, and as these involved the distribution of costly presents among his guests, it often happened that the host ruined himself by his hospitality; indeed, it is said that many sold themselves into slavery that they might be able to prepare at least one feast that would immortalize their memory.[ ] moreover the priests, with the subtle policy characteristic of their class, took advantage of this disposition to ordain long and frequent celebrations in honor of innumerable gods; in short, it is difficult to conceive what part of the year could have been saved for business from what seems to have been a continual round of merry-making. the grandeur of the feast depended, of course, upon the wealth of the host, the rank of the guests, and the importance of the event celebrated. for many days before a noble or wealthy man entertained his friends, an army of servants were employed in sweeping the approaches to the house, decorating the halls and courts with branches and garlands, erecting _chinamas_, or arbors, and strewing the floors with flowers and sweet herbs; others prepared the table service, killed and dressed dogs, plucked fowls, cooked tamales, baked bread, ground cacao, brewed drinks, and manufactured perfumed cigarettes. invitations were in the meantime sent to the guests. these on their arrival were presented with flowers as a token of welcome. those of a superior condition to the host were saluted after the aztec fashion by touching the hand to the earth and then carrying it to the lips. on some occasions garlands were placed upon the heads of the guests and strings of roses about their necks, while copal was burnt before those whom the host delighted specially to honor. while waiting for the meal the guests employed their time in walking freely about the place, complimenting their host on the tasteful manner in which the house was decorated, or admiring the fine shrubbery, green grass plats, well-kept flower-beds, and sparkling fountains in the gardens. dinner being announced, all took their seats, according to rank and age, upon mats or _icpalli_, stools, ranged close along the walls.[ ] servants then entered with water and towels, with which each guest washed his hands and mouth. smoking-canes were next presented on _molcaxetes_, or plates, to stimulate the appetite. the viands, kept warm by chafing dishes, were then brought in upon artistically worked plates of gold, silver, tortoise-shell, or earthenware. each person before beginning to eat threw a small piece of food into a lighted brazier, in honor of xiuhtecutli, the god of fire,[ ] probably by way of grace. the numerous highly seasoned dishes of meat and fish having been duly discussed, the servants cleared the tables and feasted upon the remains of the banquet in company with the attendants of the guests.[ ] vessels called _teutecomatls_, filled with chocolate, each provided with a spoon to stir the fluid with, were then brought on, together with water for washing the hands and rinsing the mouth. the women who were present on these occasions, although they sat apart from the men, received a kind of spiced gruel instead of cacao. the old people, however, were plied with _octli_, a very potent beverage, until they became drunk, and this was held to be an indispensable part of the ceremony. the smoking-canes were now once more produced, and while the guests reclined luxuriously upon their mats enjoying the grateful influence of the fragrant leaf which we are told by bernal diaz they called 'tobacco,' and sipping their drinks, the music suddenly struck up, and the young folks, or perhaps some professionals, executed a dance, singing at the same time an ode prepared for the occasion, as well as other songs. dwarfs, deformed beings, and curious objects were also introduced to vary the entertainment; but the professional jesters were the favorites, and the jokes made by them raised many a laugh, though this was rather forced perhaps by those at whose expense said jokes were cracked, for these fools were fully as privileged as their contemporary european brothers of motley, and sometimes spoke very biting truths in the shape of a jest; in some cases they were disguised in the costume of a foreign nation, whose dialect and peculiarities they imitated; at other times they would mimic old women, well-known eccentric individuals, and so forth. the nobles kept a number of these jesters for their own amusement, and often sent them to a neighboring brother-noble to propound riddles; taking care to provide them with means to pay forfeit should the riddle be solved.[ ] these private banquets generally lasted till midnight, when the party broke up. each guest received at parting presents of dresses, gourds, cacao-beans, flowers, or articles of food. should any accident or shortcoming have marred the pleasure of the party, the host would sooner repeat the entertainment than have any slur rest upon his great social venture. in any case it was doubtless difficult for the good man to escape censure either for extravagance or stinginess. at the royal feasts given when the great vassals came to the capital to render homage to their sovereign, the people flocked in from the provinces in great numbers to see the sights, which consisted of theatrical representations, gladiatorial combats, fights between wild beasts, athletic sports, musical performances, and poetical recitations in honor of kings, gods, and heroes. the nobles, in addition to this, partook daily of banquets at the palace, and were presented by the monarch with costly gifts.[ ] [sidenote: tobacco in the new world.] to the tobacco-loving reader it will be interesting to learn how the weed was smoked in the new world before it was introduced into the old by the immortal jean nicot, whose name be forever blessed. the habit of smoking did not possess among the nahuas the peculiar character attached to it by the north american natives, as an indispensable accessory to treaties, the cementing of friendship, and so forth, but was indulged in chiefly by the sick, as a pastime and for its stimulating effect. the origin of the custom among the nahuas may be traced to the use of reed-grass, filled with aromatic herbs, which was lighted and given to guests that they might diffuse the perfume about them; gradually they came to puff the reeds and swallow the smoke, pretending to find therein a remedy against headache, fatigue, phlegm, sleeplessness, etc. three kinds of tobacco were used, the _yetl_, signifying tobacco in general, obtained from a large leaved plant, the _picyetl_, from a small but stronger species, and _quauyetl_, a less esteemed kind known later on as wild tobacco. clavigero asserts that the _picyetl_ and _quauyetl_ were the only species known among the mexicans. it was generally smoked after dinner in the form of paper, reed, or maize-leaf cigarettes, called _pocyetl_, 'smoking tobacco,' or _acayetl_, 'tobacco-reed,' the leaf being mixed in a paste, says veytia, with _xochiocotzotl_, liquid amber, aromatic herbs, and pulverized charcoal, so as to keep smouldering when once lighted, and shed a perfume. the picyetl tobacco was smoked later in the day, without admixture, and somewhat in the shape of cigars. the smoke was inhaled, and the nose closed, in order that none of the grateful qualities should be lost. wooden, metal, or bamboo tubes were sometimes used instead of cigarettes. snuffing the pulverized leaf is an ancient custom which we owe to them.[ ] dancing was the favorite aztec amusement, and the fanciful arrangement of their dances, as well as the peculiar grace of their motions, is highly praised by all the old chroniclers. dancing, and especially religious dances, formed an important part of an aztec youth's education, and much trouble was taken by the priests to instruct them in it. [sidenote: the mitote and ribbon dance.] the preparations for the great public dances, when the performers numbered thousands,[ ] were on an immense scale. the choirs and bands attached to the service of the various temples were placed under the supervision of a leader, usually a priest, who composed the ode of the day, set it to music, instructed the musicians, appointed the leaders of the dance, perfected the arrangements generally, observed that all did their duty, and caused every fault or negligence to be severely punished.[ ] the _neteteliztli_ dance took place either in the plaza or in the courtyard of the temple, in the centre of which mats were spread for the musicians. the nobles and aged men formed a circle nearest to the drums, the people of less importance formed another circle a little distance behind, and the young people composed the third ring. two leading dancers directed the movements, and whatever steps they made were imitated by the performers. when all was ready, a whistle gave the signal and the drums were beaten lightly to a well-known tune started by the leaders and taken up by the dancers, who at the same time began to move their feet, arms, heads and bodies in perfect accord. each verse or couplet was repeated three or four times, the dancers keeping time with their _ayacachtli_, or rattles. each must keep his relative position in the circle, and complete the circuit at the same time; the inner circle, therefore, moved at a slow, dignified pace, suited to the rank and age of the men composing it; the second proceeded somewhat faster, while the dancers in the outer circle approached a run as the dance became livelier. the motions were varied; at one time the dancers held one another by the hand, at another, round the waist; now they took the left hand neighbor for partner, now the right, sometimes facing one way, sometimes another. the first song ended, which referred to the event of the day, a popular ode, treating of their gods, kings, or heroes, was taken up and sung in a higher scale and to a livelier measure, the dance meanwhile constantly increasing in animation. this was the case with all the succeeding songs, each one becoming higher and shriller as it proceeded; flutes, trumpets, and sharp whistles were sometimes added to the band to increase the effect. when one set of dancers became tired, another took its place, and so the dance continued through the whole day, each song taking about an hour. jesters and clowns in various disguises circulated between the lines, cutting capers, cracking jokes, and serving refreshments. herrera states that the solemn _mitote_ was danced by twos in the outer circle.[ ] at private dances, two parallel lines were usually formed, the dancers turning in various directions, changing partners, and crossing from line to line.[ ] sometimes one stepped from each line, and performed a pas de deux while the others looked on. the 'ribbon dance,' resembled the english may-pole dance to a certain extent. a pole, fifteen to twenty feet high, was erected on a smooth piece of ground, and twenty or more persons, each seizing the end of a colored ribbon attached to its summit, began to dance about the mast, crossing each other and winding in apparent confusion, until the pole was covered with a motley texture of a certain design. when the band became too short, the plaiting was unwound by reversing the order of the dance. they had a number of other mitotes, or dances, varying chiefly in the colors worn by the dancers, the finery, painting, and disguises, and conforming to the text of the songs, such as the _huexotzincaiutl_, _anaoacaiutl_, _cuextecaiutl_, _tocotin_, and others to be described under religious festivals.[ ] children from four to eight years of age, the sons of nobles, took part in some dances and sang the soprano, and the priests joined in the solemn performances. certain dances, as the _netecuitotoli_,[ ] could only be performed by the king and nobles,[ ] a space being always set apart for the sovereign when he danced. women joined the men in some dances, but generally danced apart. certain dancing-houses of bad repute termed _cuicoyan_, 'great joy of women,' were open to females at night, and were then scenes of unmitigated debauch.[ ] great pains was taken to appear as fine as possible at the dances; noted warriors appeared magnificently dressed, and occasionally bearing shields set with feathers; nobles in court dress of rich mantles knotted at the shoulders, fanciful maxtlis round the loins, tassels of feathers and gold in the hair, lip-ornaments of gold and precious stones, gold rings in the ears, bracelets of the same metal set with plumes, or strings of chalchiuites and turquoises round the wrists and other parts of the arms, and some had gold bells attached to the ankles; the gaily colored dresses of the lower class were decorated with feathers and embroidery; garlands and flowers encircled the head, necklaces of shells and beans hung about the neck, bracelets clasped the arms and legs, and all carried nosegays. the women also shone in huipiles, gaily colored, fancifully embroidered, and set with fringes.[ ] [sidenote: the aboriginal drama.] the drama scarcely equaled in excellence the choral dance, yet in this respect, as in others, the nahuas showed considerable advancement. thalia presided more frequently than melpomene over the play, which generally took the character of a burlesque. the performers mostly wore masks of wood, or were disguised as animals. no special building was devoted to the drama, but the lower porch of a temple usually served as the stage; some large towns, however, boasted of a permanent stage, erected in the centre of the plaza. the principal of these was at tlatelulco, and consisted of a terrace of stone and lime, thirteen feet high, by thirty in breadth. when in use it was decorated with foliage, and mats of various colors, whereon was emblazoned the coat of arms of the city, were hung all round it. at cholula the porch of the temple of quetzalcoatl served as a stage; this was whitewashed and adorned with arches of branches, feathers, and flowers, from which hung birds, rabbits, and other curious objects. here the people congregated after dinner on gala-days to witness the performance, in which deaf, lame, blind, deformed, or sick people, or, sometimes, merchants, mechanics, or prominent citizens, were mimicked, burlesqued, and made fun of. each actor endeavored to represent his rôle in the most grotesque manner possible. he who was for the moment deaf gave nonsensical answers to questions put to him; the sick man depicted the effects of pain, and so forth. when these had exhausted their stock of jokes, others entered as beetles, frogs, or lizards, croaking, whistling, and skipping about the stage after the manner of the creatures they represented. the boys from the temples also appeared as birds and butterflies, and flocked into the trees in the courtyard. each performer rehearsed his part before appearing in public, and great care was taken that no blunder should mar the beauty of the plot. the priests added to the fun by blowing mud-balls at the actors through wooden tubes, and praising or censuring the performance in a jocular manner. the entertainment concluded with a ball, which was attended by all the actors.[ ] some authors have spoken very favorably of the dramatic skill of the nahuas. clavigero is not inclined to indorse this opinion, although he thinks a great advance would have been made in this direction had the mexican empire survived another century; a very natural conclusion, certainly. the ceremonies at the religious festivals often partook of a dramatic character, as will be seen presently.[ ] music, a principal attraction at our theatrical entertainments, did not play an important part on the nahua stage, and, though we hear of singers appearing, instrumental concert is not mentioned. aside from this, the high importance attached to music is evident from the myth of its origin. according to this myth no less a personage than tezcatlipoca[ ] brought, or sent for, music from the sun, and constructed a bridge of whales and turtles, symbols of strength, by which to convey it to the earth. [sidenote: musical instruments.] drums, horns, shells, trumpets, and shrill whistles made from cleft bones were the instruments most used. the drum was the favorite, and the beating of several in nice accord sufficed alone for an accompaniment to the song and the dance. two kinds of drum are mentioned; of these, the _huehuetl_[ ] was a hollow cylinder of wood, about three feet high, and a foot and a half in diameter, curiously carved and painted, and having its upper end covered with a dressed deer-skin, tightened or loosened in tuning, and played upon with the hands. the other kind of drum was called the _teponaztli_, 'wing of the stone-vapor;' this was entirely of wood, and had no opening but two parallel slits in one side, the enclosed piece being divided in the centre so as to form two tongues, each of which increased in thickness towards its extremity; the drum was placed in a horizontal position and the sound was produced by beating the tongues with sticks tipped with rubber balls. this drum varied in length from a toy of a few inches to five feet. sometimes it was carved in the shape of a man, woman, or animal, and lay lengthways on trestles. the huehuetl gave forth a dull sound resembling that of the east indian tom-tom. these drums, when of the largest size, could be heard at a distance of two miles.[ ] the teponaztli produced a melancholy sound, which is considered by brasseur de bourbourg to have been a symbol of the hollow warning noise preceding the annihilation of earth, which was symbolized by the instrument itself.[ ] the _tetzilacatl_ was a kind of gong made of copper and struck with a hammer of the same material. the _ayacachtli_ was a rattle of copper, perforated and filled with pebbles, used by dancers. the ancient writers unite in praising the perfect unison and good time observed by the singers, both in solo and quartette, with chorus and responses, and they mention particularly the little boys of from four to eight years of age, who rendered the soprano in a manner that reflected great credit on the training of their priestly tutors. each temple, and many noblemen kept choirs and bands of professional musicians, usually led by a priest, who composed odes appropriate to every occasion, and set them to music. bass singers were rare, and were prized in proportion to their rarity. they had a great number of popular songs or ballads, which were well known in all classes. young people were obliged to learn by heart long epics, in which were recounted the glorious deeds of heroes in battle and the chase; or didactic pieces, pointing some moral and inculcating a useful lesson; or hymns of praise and appeal for sacred festivals. clavigero, pimentel, and other authors extol the aboriginal muse highly, and describe the language used as pure, brilliant, figurative, and interwoven with allusions to the beauties of nature; unmeaning interjections scattered here and there to assist the metre, evince a lack of finish, however, and the long, compound words, a single one of which often formed a whole verse, certainly did not add to the harmony, yet they observed good metre and cadence.[ ] the art of music was under royal protection, and singers as well as musicians were exempt from taxation. nezahualcoyotl, the great tezcucan patron of art, himself composed a number of odes and elegies, and founded an academy of sciences and music, where the allied kings of mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan presided, and distributed prizes to the successful competitors. toltec songs are highly praised for their beauty and variety. the totonacs and tepanecs are said to have been as far advanced in music and singing as the aztecs;[ ] but concerning these arts i shall speak more at length in a future chapter. [sidenote: gymnastic performances.] the acrobatic feats performed by the nahuas excited the surprise and admiration of the conquerors, and the court of spain, before which some of these athletes were introduced, was no less astounded at the grace, daring, and strength displayed by them. some of these gymnastic performances have only of late become known to us; thus, the so-called chinese foot-balancing trick, in which a man lying on his back spins a heavy pole on the soles of his raised feet, throws it up, catches it, and twirls it in every direction, was a common feat with the nahua acrobat, who, indeed, excelled the circus-man of to-day, in that he twirled the pole while a man sat at each end of it. another feat was performed by three. one having braced himself firmly, another mounted on his shoulders, while the third climbed up and stood upon the head of the second. in this position the human column moved slowly about, the man on the top performing a kind of dance at the same time. again, a man would dance on the top of a beam, the lower end of which was forked and rested upon the shoulders of two other dancers. some raised a stick from the ground while a man balanced at the end of it; others leaped upon a stick set upright in the ground, or danced upon the tight-rope. another game involving an equal display of grace and daring was the _netotoliztli_, or 'bird dance,' known to the spaniards as the 'flying-game,' and performed especially during the laymen's feast. in the centre of an open place, generally a public square, a lofty pole was erected. on the top of this pole was placed a wooden, moveable cap, resembling an inverted mortar; to this were fastened four stout ropes which supported a wooden frame about twelve feet square. four other, longer ropes were carefully wound thirteen times about the pole just below the cap, and were thence passed through holes made one in each of the four sides of the frame. the ends of these ropes, while wound about the pole, hung several feet below the frame. four gymnasts, who had practiced some time previously, and were disguised as birds of different form, ascended by means of loops of cord tied about the pole, and each having fastened one of the ropes round his waist, they started on their circular flight with spread wings. the impulse of the start and the weight of the men set the frame in motion, and the rope unwound quicker and quicker, enabling the flyers to describe larger and larger circles. a number of other men, all richly dressed, sat perched upon the frame, whence they ascended in turn to the top of the revolving cap, and there danced and beat a drum, or waved a flag, each man endeavoring to surpass his predecessor in daring and skill.[ ] as the flyers neared the ground, and the ropes were almost untwisted, the men on the frame glided down the ropes so as to gain the ground at the same time, sometimes passing from one rope to the other in their descent and performing other tricks. the thirteen turns of the rope, with the four flyers, represented the cycle with its four divisions of thirteen years. running was practiced, not only for exercise, but as a profession; as the government employed a large number of couriers to run with messages, who were trained for the purpose from early childhood. to these i shall have occasion to refer again. races were held at the chief temple in mexico under the auspices of the priests,[ ] at which prizes were awarded to the four competitors who succeeded in first gaining the topmost of the one hundred and twenty steps. the nahuas must have been able swimmers, too, for it is said that travelers usually took to the water when crossing rivers, leaving the bridges to those who carried burdens. there were also sham fights and public reviews, both for the exercise of the army and the delectation of the masses. at these times the soldiers competed for prizes in shooting with the arrow or throwing the dart.[ ] on grand occasions, such as the coronation of a king, soldiers fought with wild beasts, or wrestled with one another, and animals were pitted against each other in fenced enclosures.[ ] [sidenote: the tlachtli, or national game.] [illustration: h] the national game of the nahuas was the _tlachtli_, which strongly resembled in many points our game of football, and was quite as lively and full of scuffle. it was common among all the nations whose cult was similar to the toltec, and was under special divine protection, though what original religious significance it had is not clear. indeed, for that matter, nearly every game enjoyed divine patronage, and _ometochtli_, 'two rabbits,' the god of games, according to duran, was generally invoked by athletes as well as gamblers, in conjunction with some special god. instruments of play, and natural objects were also conjured to grant good luck to the applicant. as an instance of the popularity of the game of tlachtli,[ ] it may be mentioned that a certain number of towns contributed annually sixteen thousand balls in taxes, that each town of any size had a special play-ground devoted to the game, and that kings kept professionals to play before them, occasionally challenging each other to a game besides. the ground in which it was played, called the _tlachco_,[ ] was an alley whose shape is shown in the cut; one hundred feet long[ ] and half as wide, except at each end where there were rectangular nooks, which doubtless served as resting-places for the players. the whole was enclosed by smooth whitewashed walls, from nine to twelve feet high on the sides, and somewhat lower at the ends, with battlements and turrets, and decreasing in thickness toward the top.[ ] at midnight, previous to the day fixed for the game, which was always fixed favorably by the augurs, the priests with much ceremony placed two idols--one representing the god of play, the other the god of the tlachtli[ ]--upon the side walls, blessed the edifice, and consecrated the game by throwing the ball four times round the ground, muttering the while a formula. the owner of the tlachco, usually the lord of the place, also performed certain ceremonies and presented offerings, before opening the game. the balls, called _ullamaloni_, were of solid india-rubber, three to four inches in diameter. the players were simply attired in the maxtli, or breech-clout, and sometimes wore a skin to protect the parts coming in contact with the ball, and gloves; they played in parties, usually two or three on each side. the rule was to hit the ball only with knee, elbow, shoulder, or buttock, as agreed upon, the latter was however the favorite way, and to touch the wall of the opposite side with the ball, or to send it over, either of which counted a point. he who struck the ball with his hand or foot, or with any part of his body not previously agreed upon, lost a point; to settle such matters without dispute a priest acted as referee. on each side-wall, equidistant from the ends, was a large stone, carved with images of idols, pierced through the centre with a hole large enough to just admit the passage of the ball;[ ] the player who by chance or skill drove the ball through one of these openings not only won the game for his side, but was entitled to the cloaks of all present, and the haste with which the spectators scrambled off in order to save their garments is said to have been the most amusing part of the entertainment. a feat so difficult was, of course, rarely accomplished, save by chance, and the successful player was made as much of as a prize-winner at the olympic games, nor did he omit to present thank offerings to the god of the game for the good fortune vouchsafed him. the possession of much property depended upon the issue of the game; the rich staked their gold and jewels, the poor their dresses, their food, or even their liberty.[ ] [sidenote: ball-playing and gambling.] gambling, the lowest yet most infatuating of amusements, was a passion with the nahuas, and property of all kinds, from ears of corn or cacao-beans, to costly jewelry and personal liberty, were betted upon the issue of the various games. professional gamesters went from house to house with dice and play-mats, seeking fresh victims. all gambling tools were formally charmed, and this charm was renewed and strengthened at intervals by presenting the instruments in the temple, with prayers that the blessing of the idol might descend upon them. [sidenote: popular amusements.] _patoliztli_, which somewhat resembled our backgammon, appears to have been the most popular game of chance. _patolli_, or large beans marked with dots, like dice, were shaken in the hand and thrown upon a mat, upon which was traced a square marked with certain transverse and diagonal lines. the thrower of the beans marked his points on these lines according to the number of spots which fell upward. he who first gained a certain score won the game. the players were usually surrounded by a crowd of interested spectators, who betted heavily on the result, and called loudly for the favor of macuilxochitl, the patron deity of the game. golden and jewelled dice were often used instead of beans by the rich.[ ] they had another game in which reeds took the place of dice. two players, each with ten pebbles by his side, shot split reeds in turn towards small holes made in the ground, by bending them between the fingers; if a reed fell over a hole a marker was placed on a square; this continued until the markers were all exhausted by the winner.[ ] montezuma's favorite game was called _totoloque_, and consisted in throwing small golden balls at pieces of the same metal set up as targets at a certain distance. five points won the stakes. peter martyr jumps at the conclusion that chess must have been known to the nahuas, because they possessed checkered mats.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _ritos antiguos_, p. , in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix. [ ] the highest in rank or consideration sat on the right side, and those of inferior degree on the left; young men sat at the ends on both sides, according to their rank. _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. ix., pp. - . [ ] speaking of this xiuhtecutli, torquemada says: 'honrabanlo como à dios, porque los calentaba, cocia el pan y guisaba la carne, y por esto en cada casa le veneraban; y en el mismo fogòn, ò hogar, quando querian comer, le daban el primer bocado de la vianda, para que alli se quemase; y lo que avian de beber, lo avia de gustar primero, hechando en el fuego parte de el licor.' _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . sahagun says the morsel of food was thrown into the fire in honor of the god tlaltecutli: 'antes que comenzasen á comer los convidados la comida que les habian puesto, tomaban un bocado de la comida, y arrojábanlo al fuego á honra del dios tlaltecutli, y luego comenzaban á comer.' _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. iv., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. . [ ] for description of feasts see: _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. iv., pp. - , tom. ii., lib. ix., pp. - , - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. clix., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, p. ; _baril_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _ritos antiguos_, p. , in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix. [ ] _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . _hernandez_, _nova plant._, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - . [ ] 'iuntauanse a este bayle, no mil hombres, como dize gomara, pero mas de ocho mil.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. viii. [ ] sahagun, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. , ever prepared with capital punishment, states that 'el señor les mandaba prender, y otro dia los mandaba matar.' [ ] _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xix. [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] netecuhytotiliztli, according to _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . [ ] _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'i plebei si travestivano in varie figure d'animali con abiti fatti di carta, e di penne, o di pelli'--no doubt to distinguish them from the gentry when they joined in the dance. _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , and others who follow him. in _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - , is a long description of feast-day dress. for description of dances see _id._, tom. ii., lib. viii. pp. - , - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _d'avity_, _l'amérique_, tom. ii., p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. viii., dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xix., and translation, lond. , vol. iii., p. , with cut. [ ] klemm, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - , has it that the audience also attended this ball. [ ] _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] for an account of tezcatlipoca see vol. iii. of this work. [ ] called _tlapanhuehuetl_ by tezozomoc and brasseur de bourbourg. [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , etc. [ ] _quatre lettres_, p. . [ ] gomara, _conq. mex._, fol. , states, 'y esto va todo en copla por sus consonantes,' but it is not likely that they were anything else than blank verse, for such a thing as rhyme is not mentioned by any other writer. [ ] concerning music and singing see: _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. , tom. iii., pp. , , - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., pp. - ; _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, p. ; _ranking's hist. researches_, p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - , ; _lenoir_, _parallèle_, p. ; _dupaix_, _rel., de expéd._, pl. - , in _antiq. mex._, tom. iii.; _fuenleal_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., pp. - ; _boturini_, _idea_, pp. - . [ ] espinosa seems to think that one man did all the dancing on the summit, and brasseur says that each of the flyers performed on the top of the mast before taking their flight. [ ] _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] sahagun calls it _tlaxtli_, or _tlachtl_; and tezozomoc _tlachco_, but this is shown by others to be the name of the play-ground. [ ] gomara says _tlachtli_, or _tlachco_; herrera, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. viii., _tlachtli_. [ ] duran makes it one hundred to two hundred feet, espinosa fifty varas, brasseur, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , sixty to eighty feet. [ ] carbajal espinosa, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , says that the side walls are lowest, 'de ménos altura los laterales que los dos de los extremos,' but this agrees neither with other statements, nor with the requirements of the play. sahagun's description of the tlachco gives two walls, forty to fifty feet long, twenty to thirty feet apart, and about nine feet high. [ ] carbajal espinosa thinks that one of them was _omeacatl_, 'the god of joy.' [ ] carbajal espinosa, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , states that the stones were in the centre of the ground, 'en el espacio que mediaba entre los jugadores,' but no other author confirms this. it is not unlikely that these stones are the idols placed upon the walls by the priests, for they are described as being decorated with figures of idols. for description and cuts of the ruins of what seem to have been similar structures in yucatan, see vol. iv., pp. , - , of this work. [ ] veytia, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. , says that the ball had to be kept up in the air a long time, and he who let it drop lost, which is unlikely, since the point was to drive it against the opponent's wall; it is possible, however, that this trial of skill formed a part of the play, at times. he also states that in the centre of the play-ground was a hole filled with water, and the player who sent the ball into it lost his clothes and had opprobrious epithets hurled at him, among which 'great adulterer' was the most frequent; moreover, it was believed that he would die by the hand of an injured husband. a hole filled with water does not, however, seem appropriate to a nice play-ground; besides, the ball would be very likely to roll into the pool, for the opponents would not prevent it. camargo, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. , and brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. , say that nobles only were allowed to play the game, which can only refer to certain play-grounds or occasions, for the number of the balls paid in taxes proves the game too general to have been reserved for nobles. [ ] gomara, _conq. mex._, fol. , is the authority for the names of the game and beans. torquemada affirms, however, 'y dicenle juego patolli, porque estos dados, se llaman asi.' _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . clavigero, on the other hand, says: 'patolli è un nome generico significante ogni sorta di giuoco.' carbajal espinosa translates him. referring to the dice, sahagun says that they were 'cuatro frisoles grandes, y cada uno tiene un ahugero;' afterwards he contradicts this by saying that they consisted of three large beans with 'ciertos puntos en ellos.' _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. , . brasseur de bourbourg describes the playing process as follows: 'ils jetaient les dés en l'air avec les deux mains, marquant les cases avec de petits signaux de diverses couleurs, et celui qui retournait le premier dans les cases gagnait la partie,' which agrees with torquemada's account. _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'hacian encima de un encalado unos hoyos pequeñitos ... y con unas cañuelas hendidas por medio daban en el suelo y saltaban en alto, y tantas cuantas en las cañuelas caian lo hueco por arriba tantas casas adelantaba sus piedras.' _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., cap. xxii. [ ] for nahua games and amusements, see: _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , , tom. ii., pp. - , - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - , - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., cap. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. vii-viii.; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. x.; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., pp. , - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. , , tom. iii., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ; _west und ost indischer lustgart_, pt i., pp. - ; _cortés_, _aven. y conq._, p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _dilworth's conq. mex._, p. ; _lenoir_, _parallèle_, pp. - , quoting _picart_, _cérémonies relig._, tom. ii., p. . chapter ix. public festivals. frequent occurrence of religious feasts--human sacrifices--feasts of the fourth year--monthly festivals--sacrifice of children--feast of xipe--manner of sacrifice--feasts of camaxtli, of the flower-dealers, of centeotl, of tezcatlipoca, and of huitzilopochtli--festival of the salt-makers--the sacrifice by fire--feast of the dead--the coming of the gods--the footprints on the mat--hunting feast--the month of love--hard times--nahua lupercalia--feasts of the sun, of the winter solstice--harvest and eight-year festivals--the binding of the sheaf. [sidenote: religious festivals.] the amusements described in the preceding chapter were chiefly indulged in during the great religious festivals, when the people flocked together from all quarters to propitiate or offer up thanks to some particular god. these festivals were of very frequent occurrence. the nahuas were close observers of nature; but like other nations in a similar or even more advanced stage of culture, the greeks and northmen for example, they entirely misunderstood the laws which govern the phenomena of nature, and looked upon every natural occurrence as the direct act of some particular divinity. the coming of the rains was held to be the coming of the rain-gods, with their heralds the thunder and lightning; the varying condition of the crops was ascribed to their ceres; drought, storms, eclipses, all were considered the acts of special deities. the religious machinery required to propitiate the anger, humor the whims, and beseech the favor of such a vast number of capricious divinities, was as intricate as it was ponderous. besides the daily services held in the various temples, prayers were offered several times during each day in that of the sun, special rites attended every undertaking, from the departure of a private traveler to the setting forth of an army for war, and fixed as well as movable feasts were held, the number of which was continually increased as opportunity offered. the priests observed fasts among themselves, attended with penance, scarifications, and mutilations sometimes so severe as to result fatally. thus, at the festival in honor of camaxtli, the priests fasted one hundred and sixty days, and passed several hundred sticks, varying in thickness from half an inch to an inch and a half through a hole freshly made in the tongue.[ ] the people imitated these penances in a less degree, and scarified the members of their bodies that had been the means of committing a sin. blood was drawn from the ears for inattention, or for conveying evil utterances to the mind; from the tongue for giving expression to bad words; the eyes, the arms, the legs, all suffered for any reprehensible act or neglect. the people of each province, says las casas, had a manner of drawing blood peculiar to themselves.[ ] at the public festivals each private person brought such offering to the god as his means allowed. the poor had often nothing to give but a flower, a cake, or personal service, but the wealthy gave rich robes, jewels, gold, and slaves. but no great feast seems to have been complete without human sacrifice. this was always the great event of the day, to which the people looked eagerly forward, and for which victims were carefully preserved. most of these miserable beings were captives taken in war, and it was rarely that the supply failed to be sufficient to the occasion, especially among the mexicans, since, as i have before said, there was nearly always trouble in some part of the empire, if not, a lack of victims for sacrifice was held good cause for picking a quarrel with a neighboring nation; besides, if the number of war prisoners was not sufficient there were never wanting refractory slaves to swell the number. we have it upon good authority that upon almost every monthly feast, and upon numerous other grand celebrations, several hundred human hearts were torn hot from living breasts as an acceptable offering to the nahua gods and a pleasant sight to the people.[ ] the grandest festivals were celebrated during the fourth year, called teoxihuitl, or 'divine year,' and at the commencement of every thirteenth year. on these occasions a greater number of victims bled and the penances were more severe than at other times. the nahuas also observed a grand festival every month in the year; but, as these feasts were closely connected with their religion, and therefore will be necessarily described at length in the next volume, i will confine myself here to such an outline description of them as will suffice to give the reader an idea of what they were.[ ] [sidenote: religious feasts.] the aztec feast that is mentioned first by the old writers, namely that of the month atlcahualco, 'the diminishing of the waters,' or, as it was called in some parts, quahuitlehua, 'burning of the trees or mountains,' was celebrated in honor of the tlalocs, gods of rains and waters. at this feast a great number of sucking infants were sacrificed, some upon certain high mountains, others in a whirlpool in the lake of mexico. the little ones were mostly bought from their mothers, though sometimes they were voluntarily presented by parents who wished to gain the particular favor of the god. those only who had two curls on the head, and who had been born under a lucky sign were thought acceptable to the gods. the sacrifices were not all made in one place, but upon six several mountains and in the lake. these were visited one after another by a great procession of priests attended by the music of flutes and trumpets, and followed by a vast multitude of people thirsting for the sight of blood; nay, more, literally hungering for the flesh of the babes, if we may credit the assertion of some authors, that the bodies were actually brought back and the flesh eaten as a choice delicacy by the priests and chief men. but of cannibalism more anon. the little ones were carried to their death upon gorgeous litters adorned with plumes and jewels, and were themselves dressed in a splendid manner in embroidered and jeweled mantles and sandals, and colored paper wings. their faces were stained with oil of india-rubber, and upon each cheek was painted a round white spot. no wonder that, as the old chroniclers say, the people wept as the doomed babes passed by; surely there was good cause for weeping in such a sight. gladiatorial combats and sacrifice of prisoners of war at the temple completed this feast.[ ] the next feast, that in the month of tlacaxipehualiztli, 'the flaying of men,' was held in honor of xipe, who was especially the patron deity of the goldsmiths.[ ] this god was thought to inflict sore eyes, itch, and other diseases upon those who offended him, and they were therefore careful to observe his feast with all due regularity and honor. on this occasion thieves convicted for the second time of stealing gold or jewels[ ] were sacrificed, besides the usual number of prisoners of war. the vigil of the feast, on the last day of the preceding month, began with solemn dances. at midnight the victims were taken from the chapel, where they had been compelled to watch, and brought before the sacred fire. here the hair was shaven from the top of their heads, the captors at the same time drawing blood from their own ears in honor of the idol; the severed topknot of each war prisoner was afterwards hung up at the house of his captor as a token and memorial of the father's bravery. towards daybreak some of the prisoners were taken up to the great temple to be sacrificed. but before we proceed farther it will be necessary to see how these human offerings were made. [sidenote: sacrificial rites.] sacrifices varied in number, place, and manner, according to the circumstances of the festival. in general the victims suffered death by having the breast opened, and the heart torn out; but others were drowned, others were shut up in caves and starved to death, others fell in the gladiatorial sacrifice, which will be described elsewhere. the customary place was the temple, on the topmost platform of which stood the altar used for ordinary sacrifices. the altar of the great temple at mexico, says clavigero, was a green stone, probably jasper, convex above, and about three feet high and as many broad, and more than five feet long. the usual ministers of the sacrifice were six priests, the chief of whom was the topiltzin, whose dignity was preëminent and hereditary; but at every sacrifice he assumed the name of that god to whom it was made. when sacrificing he was clothed in a red habit, similar in shape to a modern scapulary, fringed with cotton; on his head he wore a crown of green and yellow feathers, from his ears hung golden ear-ornaments and green jewels, and from his under lip a pendant of turquoise. his five assistants were dressed in white habits of the same make, but embroidered with black; their hair was plaited and bound with leather thongs, upon their foreheads were little patches of various-colored paper; their entire bodies were dyed black. the victim was carried naked up to the temple, where the assisting priests seized him and threw him prostrate on his back upon the altar, two holding his legs, two his feet, and the fifth his head; the high-priest then approached, and with a heavy knife of obsidian cut open the miserable man's breast; then with a dexterity acquired by long practice the sacrificer tore forth the yet palpitating heart, which he first offered to the sun and then threw at the foot of the idol; taking it up he again offered it to the god and afterwards burned it, preserving the ashes with great care and veneration. sometimes the heart was placed in the mouth of the idol with a golden spoon. it was customary also to anoint the lips of the image and the cornices of the door with the victim's blood. if he was a prisoner of war, as soon as he was sacrificed they cut off his head to preserve the skull, and threw the body down the temple steps, whence it was carried to the house of the warrior by whom the victim had been taken captive, and cooked and eaten at a feast given by him to his friends; the body of a slave purchased for sacrifice was carried off by the former proprietor for the same purpose. this is clavigero's account. the same writer asserts that the otomís having killed the victim, tore the body in pieces, which they sold at market. the zapotecs sacrificed men to their gods, women to their goddesses, and children to some other diminutive deities. at the festival of teteionan the woman who represented this goddess was beheaded on the shoulders of another woman. at the feast celebrating the arrival of the gods, the victims were burned to death. we have seen that they drowned children at one feast in honor of tlaloc; at another feast of the same god several little boys were shut up in a cavern, and left to die of fear and hunger.[ ] [sidenote: sacrifices in honor of xipe.] let us now proceed with the feast of xipe. we left a part of the doomed captives on their way to death. arrived at the summit of the temple each one is led in turn to the altar of sacrifice seized by the grim, merciless priests, and thrown upon the stone; the high priest draws near, the knife is lifted, there is one great cry of agony, a shuffle of feet as the assistants are swayed to and fro by the death struggles of their victim, then all is silent save the muttering of the high-priest as high in air he holds the smoking heart, while from far down beneath comes a low hum of admiration from the thousands of upturned faces. the still quivering bodies were cast down the temple steps, as at other times, but on this occasion they were not taken away until they had been flayed, for which reason these victims were called _xipeme_, 'flayed,' or _tototecti_, 'one who dies in honor of totec.' the remains were then delivered over to the captor by certain priests, at the chapel where he had made his vow of offering, a vow which involved a fast of twenty days previous to the festival. a thigh was sent to the king's table, and the remainder was cooked with maize and served up at the banquet given by the captors, to which their friends were invited. this dish was called _tlacatlaolli_; the giver of the feast, says sahagun, did not taste the flesh of his own captive, who was held, in a manner, to be his son, but ate of others. [sidenote: ghastly beggars.] [sidenote: the feast of camaxtli.] the next day another batch of prisoners, called _oavanti_, whose top hair had also been shaved, were brought out for sacrifice. in the meantime a number of young men also termed _tototecti_, began a gladiatorial game, a burlesque on the real combat to follow; dressing themselves in the skins of the flayed victims, they were teased to fight by a number of their comrades; these they pursued and put to flight, and thereupon turned against one another, dragging the vanquished to the guard-house, whence they were not discharged until a fine had been paid. a number of priests, each representing a god, now descended from the summit of the temple, and directed their steps to the stone of sacrifice, which stood below and must not be confounded with the altar, and seated themselves upon stools round about it, the high-priest taking the place of honor. after them came four braves, two disguised as eagles, and two as tigers, who performed fencing tactics as they advanced, and were destined to fight the captives. a band of singers and musicians, who were seated behind the priests, and bore streamers of white feathers mounted on long poles which were strapped to their shoulders, now began to sound flutes, shells, and trumpets, to whistle and to sing, while others approached, each dragging his own captive along by the hair. a cup of pulque was given to each of these poor wretches, which he presented toward the four quarters of the earth, and then sucked up the fluid by means of a tube. a priest thereupon took a quail, cut off its head before the captive, and taking the shield which he carried from him he raised it upwards, at the same time throwing the quail behind him--a symbol, perhaps, of his fate. another priest arrayed in a bear-skin, who stood as god-father to the doomed men, now proceeded to tie one of the captives to a ring fixed in the elevated flat stone upon which the combat took place; he then handed him a sword edged with feathers instead of flint, and four pine sticks wherewith to defend himself against the four braves who were appointed to fight with him, one by one. these advanced against him with shield and sword raised toward the sky, and executing all manner of capers; if the captive proved too strong for them, a fifth man who fought both with the right and left hand was called in.[ ] those who were too faint-hearted to attempt this hopeless combat, had their hearts torn out at once, whilst the others were sacrificed only after having been subdued by the braves. the bleeding and quivering heart was held up to the sun and then thrown into a bowl, prepared for its reception. an assistant priest sucked the blood from the gash in the chest through a hollow cane, the end of which he elevated towards the sun, and then discharged its contents into a plume-bordered cup held by the captor of the prisoner just slain. this cup was carried round to all the idols in the temples and chapels, before whom another blood-filled tube was held up as if to give them a taste of the contents; this ceremony performed, the cup was left at the palace. the corpse was taken to the chapel where the captive had watched, and there flayed, the flesh being consumed at a banquet as before.[ ] the skin was given to certain priests, or college youths, who went from house to house dressed in the ghastly garb, with the arms swinging, singing, dancing, and asking for contributions; those who refused to give anything received a stroke in the face from the dangling arm. the money collected was at the disposal of the captor, who gave it to the performers, and, no doubt, it eventually found its way to the temple or school treasury.[ ] after the sacrifice, the priests, chiefs, and owners of the captives commenced to dance the _motzontecomaitotia_, circling round the stone of combat, weeping and lamenting as if going to their death, the captors holding the heads of the dead men by the hair in their right hands, and the priests swinging the cords which had held them toward the four quarters of the compass, amid many ceremonies. the next morning solemn dances were held everywhere, beginning at the royal palaces, at which everybody appeared in his best finery, holding tamales or cakes in his hands in lieu of flowers, and wearing dry maize, instead of garlands, as appropriate to the season. they also carried imitations of amaranths made of feathers and maize-stalks with the ears. at noon the priests retired from the dance, whereupon the lords and nobles arranged themselves in front of the palace by threes, with the king at their head, holding the lord of tezcuco by the right hand and the lord of tlacopan by the left, and danced solemnly till sunset. other dances by warriors, and women, chiefly prostitutes, followed at the temple and lasted till midnight, the motions consisting of swinging of arms and interwinding. the festivities were varied by military reviews, sports, and concerts, and extended over the whole month. it was held incumbent upon everyone at this time to eat a kind of uncooked cake called _huilocpalli_. the tlascaltecs called this month cohuailhuitl, 'feast of the snake,' a name which truly indicates rejoicings, such as carnivals, sports, and banquets, participated in by all classes. celebrations in honor of camaxtli were also held at this time here as well as in huexotzinco and many other places, for which the priests prepared themselves by a severe fast. the ceremonies when they took place in the fourth year, called 'god's year,' were especially imposing. when the time came for the long fast which preceded the feast to begin, those of the priests who had sufficient courage to undergo the severe penance then exacted from the devout were called upon to assemble at the temple. here the eldest arose and exhorted them to be faithful to their vows, giving notice to those who were faint-hearted to leave the company of penance-doers within five days, for, if they failed, after that time by the rules of the fast they would be disgraced and deprived of their estates. on the fifth day they again met to the number of two or three hundred, although many had already deserted, fearing the severity of the rules, and repaired to mount matlalcueje, stopping half-way up to pray, while the high-priest ascended alone to the top, where stood a temple devoted to the divinity of this name. here he offered chalchiuite-stones and quetzal-feathers, paper and incense, praying to matlalcueje and camaxtli to give his servants strength and courage to keep the fast. other priests belonging to various temples in the meantime gathered loads of sticks, two feet long and as thick as the wrist, which they piled up in the chief temple of camaxtli. these were fashioned to the required form and size and polished by carpenters who had undergone a five days' fast, and were, in return for their services, fed outside the temple. flint-cutters, who had also undergone a fast to ensure the success of their work, were now summoned to prepare knives, which were placed upon clean cloths, exposed to the sun and perfumed; a broken blade was held as a sign of bad fasting, and the one who broke it was reprimanded. at sunset, on the day of the great penance, the _achcauhtli_, 'eldest brothers,' began chanting in a solemn tone and playing upon their drums.[ ] on the termination of the last hymn, which was of a very lugubrious character and delivered without accompaniment, the self-torture commenced. certain penance-doers seized each a knife and cut a hole in the tongue of each man, through which the prepared sticks were inserted, the smaller first and then the stouter, the number varying according to the piety and endurance of the penitent. the chief set the example by passing four hundred and fifty through his tongue,[ ] singing a hymn at the same time in spite of all. this was repeated every twenty days during the fast, the sticks decreasing in size and number as the time for the feast drew near. the sticks which had been used were thrown as an offering to the idol within a circle formed in the courtyard of the temple with a number of poles, six fathoms in height, and were afterwards burnt. after the lapse of eighty days, a branch was placed in the temple-yard, as a sign that all the people had to join in the fast for the remaining eighty days, during which nothing but maize-cakes, without chile--a severe infliction, indeed, for this people--were to be eaten, no baths taken and no communion with women indulged in.[ ] fires were to be kept alight the whole time, and so strict was this rule that the life of the slaves in great houses depended upon the proper attention paid to it. the chief achcauhtli went once more to the matlalcueje mountain[ ] escorted by four others, where, alone and at night, he offered copal, paper, and quails; he also made a tour round the province, carrying a green branch in his hand, and exhorting all to observe the fast. the devout seized this opportunity to make him presents of clothes and other valuables. shortly before the end of the fast all the temples were repaired and adorned, and three days previous to the festival the achcauhtlis painted themselves with figures of animals in various colors, and danced solemnly the whole day in the temple-yard. afterwards they adorned the image of camaxtli, which stood about seventeen feet high, and dressed the small idol by his side in the raiments of the god quetzalcoatl, who was held to be the son of camaxtli. this idol was said to have been brought to the country by the first settlers. the raiment was borrowed from the cholultecs, who asked the same favor when they celebrated camaxtli's feast. camaxtli was adorned with a mask of turquoise mosaic,[ ] green and red plumes waved upon his head, a shield of gold and rich feathers was fastened to his left arm, and in his right hand he held a dart of fine workmanship pointed with flint. he was dressed in several robes and a _tecucxicolli_, like a priest's vestment, open in front and finely bordered with cotton and rabbit-hair, which was spun and dyed like silk. a number of birds, reptiles, and insects were killed before him, and flowers offered. at midnight, a priest dressed in the vestments of the idol lighted a new fire, which was consecrated with the blood of the principal captive, called the son of the sun. all the other temples were supplied from this flame. a great number of captives were thereupon sacrificed to camaxtli as well as to other gods, and the bodies consumed at the banquets that followed. the number killed in the various towns of the province amounted to over one thousand, a number greatly increased by the numerous sacrifices offered at the same time in other places where camaxtli was worshiped.[ ] [sidenote: feast of the flower-dealers.] the next feast, which was that of the month called tozoztontli, or 'short vigil,' was characterized by a constant night watch observed by the priests in the various temples, where they kept fires burning and sounded the gongs to prevent napping. more of the children bought in the first month were now sacrificed, and offerings of fruit and flowers were made to induce the tlalocs to send rain.[ ] the chief event, however, of this month, was a fast given in honor of cohuatlicue, or coatlantona, by the _xochimanques_, or flower-dealers, of mexico. the celebration took place in the temple of yopico, which was under the special care and protection of the people of xochimilco and quauhnahuac, whose lands were renowned for the beauty and abundance of their flowers. here were offered the first flowers of the season, of which hitherto none might inhale the perfume, and here the people sat down and chanted hymns of praise to the goddess. cakes made of wild amaranth or savory, called _tzatzapaltamale_, were also offered. in this temple of yopico was a grotto in which the skins of the victims sacrificed at the feast of the preceding month were now deposited by the priests who had worn them continuously until this time. these marched in solemn procession to the grotto, accompanied by a number of people whom the angered xipe had smitten with itch, or eye diseases; this act of devotion would, it was thought, induce the god to relent and remove the curse. the owners of the captives to whom the skins had belonged, and their families, of whom none was permitted to wash his head during the month, in token of sorrow for the slain, followed the procession. the priests doffed their strange and filthy attire and deposited it in the grotto; they were then washed in water mixed with flour, their bodies at the same time being belabored and slapped with the moist hands of their assistants, to bring out the unhealthy matter left by the rotting skins. this was followed by a lustration in pure water. the diseased underwent the same washing and slapping. on returning home feasting and amusements broke out anew. among other sports the owners of the late prisoners gave the paper ornaments which had been worn by them to certain young men, who, having put them on, took each a shield in one hand and a bludgeon in the other; thus armed they ran about threatening to maltreat those whom they met. everybody fled before them, calling out "here comes the _tetzonpac_." those who were caught forfeited their mantles, which were taken to the house of the warrior, to be redeemed, perhaps, after the conclusion of the game. the paper ornaments were afterwards wrapped in a mat and placed upon a tripod in front of the wearer's house. by the side of the tripod a wooden pillar was erected, to which the thigh-bone of a victim, adorned with gaudy papers, was attached amid many ceremonies, and in the presence of the captor's friends. both these trophies commemorated the bravery of the owner. this lasted six days. about this time, says duran, certain old diviners went about provided with talismans, generally small idols, which they hung round the necks of boys by means of colored thread, as a security against evil, and for this service received presents from the parents.[ ] [sidenote: feast of centeotl.] the following month, which was called huey-tozoztli, 'great vigil,'[ ] a feast was celebrated in honor of centeotl, the god of cereals, and chicomecoatl, goddess of provisions. at this time both people and priest fasted four days. offerings of various kinds were made to the gods of the feast, and afterwards a procession of virgins strangely and gaudily attired carried ears of corn to be used as seed, to the temple to be blessed.[ ] the first half of the succeeding month, called toxcatl, was, among the mexicans, taken up with a continuous series of festivals in honor of tezcatlipoca; the latter half of the month was devoted to the worship of his brother-god huitzilopochtli. ten days before the feast began, a priest, arrayed in the vestments of tezcatlipoca, and holding a nosegay in one hand and a clay flute in the other, came out from the temple, and turning first to the east and then to the other three quarters, blew a shrill note on his instrument; then, stooping, he gathered some dust on his finger and swallowed it, in token of humility and submission. on hearing the whistle all the people knelt, ate dust, and implored the clemency and favor of the god. on the eve of the festival the nobles brought to the temple a present of a new set of robes, in which the priests clothed the idol, adorning it besides with its proper ornaments of gold and feathers; the old dress was deposited in the temple coffers as a relic. the sanctuary was then thrown open to the multitude. in the evening certain fancifully attired priests carried the idol on a litter round the courtyard of the temple, which was strewn with flowers for the occasion. here the young men and maidens devoted to the service of the temple formed a circle round the procession, bearing between them a long string of withered maize as a symbol of drought. some decked the idol with garlands, others strewed the ground with maguey-thorns, that the devout might step upon them and draw blood in honor of the god. the girls wore rich dresses, and their arms and cheeks were dyed; the boys were clothed in a kind of net-work, and all were adorned with strings of withered maize. two priests marched beside the idol, swinging their lighted censers now towards the image, now towards the sun, and praying that their appeals might rise to heaven, even as the smoke of the burning copal; and as the people heard and saw they knelt and beat their backs with knotted cords. as soon as the idol was replaced, offerings poured in of gold, jewels, flowers, and feathers, as well as toasted quails, corn, and other articles of food prepared by women who had solicited and obtained the privilege. this food was afterwards divided among the priests, who, in fact, seem to have really reaped the benefit on most religious occasions. it was carried to them by a procession of virgins who served in the temple. at the head of the procession marched a priest strangely attired in a white-bordered surplice, reaching to the knee, and a sleeveless jacket of red skin, with a pair of wings attached, to which hung a number of ribbons, suspending a gourd filled with charms. the food was set down at the temple stairway, whence it was carried to the priests by attendant boys. after a fast of five days these divine viands were doubtless doubly welcome. [sidenote: feast of tezcatlipoca.] among the captives brought out for sacrifice at the same festival a year before, the one who possessed the finest form, the most agreeable disposition, and the highest culture, had been selected to be the mortal representative of the god till this day. it was absolutely necessary, however, that he should be of spotless physique, and, to render him still more worthy of the divine one whom he personated, the calpixques, under whose care he was placed, taught him all the accomplishments that distinguished the higher class. he was regaled upon the fat of the land, but was obliged to take doses of salted water to counteract any tendency toward obesity; he was allowed to go out into the town day and night, escorted by eight pages of rank dressed in the royal livery, and received the adoration of the people as he passed along. his dress corresponded with his high position; a rich and curiously bordered mantle, like a fine net, and a maxtli with wide, embroidered margin, covered his body; white cock-feathers, fastened with gum, and a garland of _izquixuchitl_ flowers, encircled the helmet of sea-shells which covered his head; strings of flowers crossed his breast; gold rings hung from his ears, and from a necklace of precious stones about his neck dangled a valuable stone; upon his shoulders were pouch-like ornaments of white linen with fringes and tassels; golden bracelets encircled the upper part of his arms, while the lower part was almost covered with others of precious stones, called _macuextli_; upon his ankles golden bells jingled as he walked, and prettily painted slippers covered his feet. twenty days before the feast he was bathed, and his dress changed; the hair being cut in the style used by captains, and tied with a curious fringe which formed a tassel falling from the top of the head, from which two other tassels, made of feathers, gold, and _tochomitl_, and called _aztaxelli_, were suspended. he was then married to four accomplished damsels, to whom the names of four goddesses, xochiquetzal, xilonen, atlatonan, and huixtocioatl were given, and these remained with him until his death, endeavoring to render him as happy as possible. the last five days the divine honors paid to him became still more imposing, and celebrations were held in his honor, the first day in the tecanman district, the second in the ward where the image of tezcatlipoca stood, the third in the woods of the ward of tepetzinco, and the fourth in the woods of tepepulco; the lords and nobles gave, besides, solemn banquets followed by recreations of all kinds. at the end of the fourth feast, the victim was placed with his wives in one of the finest awning-covered canoes belonging to the king, and sent from tepepulco to tlapitzaoayan, where he was left alone with the eight pages who attended him during the year. these conducted him to the tlacochcalco, a small and plain temple standing near the road, about a league from mexico,[ ] which he ascended, breaking a flute against every step of the staircase. at the summit he was received by the sacrificing ministers, who served him after their manner, and held up his heart exultingly to the sun; the body was carried down to the courtyard on the arms of priests, and the head having been cut off was spitted at the tzompantli, or 'place of skulls;' the legs and arms were set apart as sacred food for the lords and people of the temple. this end, so terrible, signified that riches and pleasures may turn into poverty and sorrow; a pretty moral, truly, to adorn so gentle a tale. after the sacrifice, the college youths, nobles, and priests commenced a grand ball for which the older priests supplied the music; and at sunset the virgins brought another offering of bread made with honey. this was placed upon clay plates, covered with skulls and dead men's bones, carried in procession to the altar of tezcatlipoca, and destined for the winners in the race up the temple steps, who were dressed in robes of honor, and, after undergoing a lustration, were invited to a banquet by the temple dignitaries. the feast was closed by giving an opportunity to boys and girls in the college, of a suitable age, to marry. their remaining comrades took advantage of this to joke and make sport of them, pelting them with soft balls and reproving them for leaving the service of the god for the pleasures of matrimony.[ ] tezcatlipoca's representative was the only victim sacrificed at this festival, but every leap-year the blood flowed in torrents. [sidenote: feast of huitzilopochtli.] [sidenote: incensing of huitzilopochtli.] after this celebration commenced the festival in honor of the younger brother of tezcatlipoca, huitzilopochtli, the mexican god of war. the priests of the god prepared a life-size statue like his original image, the bones of which were composed of mezquite-wood, the flesh of _tzoalli_, a dough made from amaranth and other seeds. this they dressed in the raiments of the idol, viz: a coat decorated with human bones, and a net-like mantle of cotton and nequen, covered by another mantle, the _tlaquaquallo_, adorned with feather-work, and bearing a gold plate upon its front; its wide folds were painted with the bones and members of a human being, and fell over a number of men's bones made of dough, which represented his power over death. a paper crown, very wide at the top and set with plumes, covered this head, and attached to its feather-covered summit was a bloody flint-knife, signifying his fury in battle. the image was placed upon a stage of logs, formed to resemble four snakes whose heads and tails protruded at the four corners, and borne by four of the principal warriors[ ] to the temple of huitznahuac, attended by a vast number of people, who sang and danced along the road. a sheet of maguey-paper, twenty fathoms in length, one in breadth, and one finger in thickness, upon which were depicted the glorious deeds of the god, was carried before the procession on the points of darts ornamented with feathers, the bearers singing the praises of the deity to the sound of music.[ ] at sunset the stage was raised to the summit of the temple by means of ropes attached to the four corners, and placed in position. the paper painting was then rolled up in front of it, and the darts made into a bundle. after a presentation of offerings consisting of tamales and other food, the idol was left in charge of its priests. at dawn the next morning similar offerings, accompanied with incense, were made to the family image of the god at every house. that day the king himself appeared in the sacerdotal character. taking four quails, he wrenched their heads off one after another, and threw the quivering bodies before the idol; the priests did the same, and then the people. some of the birds were prepared and eaten by the king, priest, and principal men at the feast, the rest were preserved for another occasion. each minister then placed coals and _chapopotli_ incense[ ] in his _tlemaitl_,[ ] and wafted the disagreeable odor towards the idol. the ashes were then emptied from the censers into an immense brazier, called the _tlexictli_, or 'fire-navel.' this ceremony gave the name to the festival, which was known as the 'incensing of huitzilopochtli.' the girls devoted to the service of the temple now appeared, having their arms and legs decorated with red feathers, their faces painted, and garlands of toasted maize on their heads; in their hands they held split canes, upon which were flags of paper or cloth painted with vertical black bars. linking hands they joined the priests in the grand dance called _toxcachocholoa_. upon the large brazier, round which the dancers whirled, stood two shield-bearers with blackened faces, who directed the motions. these men had cages of candlewood tied to their backs after the manner of women. the priests who joined in the dance wore paper rosettes upon their foreheads, yellow and white plumes on their heads, and had their lips and their blackened faces smeared with honey. they also wore undergarments of paper, called _amasmaxtli_, and each held a palm wand in his hand, the upper part of which was adorned with flowers, while the lower end was tipped with a ball, both balls and flowers being made of black feathers; the part of the wand grasped in the hand was rolled in strips of black-striped paper. when dancing, they touched the ground with their wands as if to support themselves. the musicians were hidden from view in the temple. the courtiers and warriors danced in another part of the courtyard, apart from the priests, with girls attired somewhat like those already described. at the same time that the representative of tezcatlipoca was chosen, the year before, another youth was appointed to represent huitzilopochtli, to whom was given the name of ixteocale, that is, 'eyes of the lord of the divine house.'[ ] he always associated with the other doomed one of tezcatlipoca, and shared his enjoyments; but, as the representative of a less esteemed god, he was paid no divine honors. his dress was characteristic of the deity for whom he was fated to die. papers painted with black circles covered his body, a mitre of eagle-feathers, with waving plumes and a flint knife in the centre adorned his head, and a fine piece of cloth, a hand square, with a bag called _patoxin_ above it, was tied to his breast; on one of his arms he had an ornament made of the hair of wild beasts, like a maniple, called _imatacax_, and golden bells jingled about his ankles. thus arrayed he led the dance of the plebeians,[ ] like the god conducting his warriors to battle. this youth had the privilege of choosing the hour of his death, but any delay involved the loss to him of a proportionate amount of glory and happiness in the other world. when he delivered himself up to the sacrificers, they raised him on their arms, tore out his heart, beheaded him, and spitted the head at the place of skulls. after him several other captives were immolated, and then the priests started another dance, the _atepocaxixilihua_, which lasted the remainder of the day, certain intervals being devoted to incensing the idol. on this day the male and female children born during the year were taken to the temple and scarified on the chest, stomach, and arms, to mark them as followers of the god. the feast in honor of quetzalcoatl, as it was celebrated during this month in cholula, and the feast of the following month, called etzalqualiztli, dedicated to the tlalocs, or rain gods, the reader will find fully described in the next volume.[ ] [sidenote: small feast of the lords.] the next month was one of general rejoicing among the nahuas, and was for this reason called tecuilhuitzintli, or tecuilhuitontli, 'small feast of the lords.' the nobles and warriors exercised with arms to prepare for coming wars; hunting parties, open-air sports, and theatricals divided the time with banquets and indoor parties; and there was much interchanging of roses out of compliment. yet the amusements this month were mostly confined to the lower classes, the more imposing celebrations of the nobility taking place in the following month. the religious celebrations were in honor of huixtocihuatl, the goddess of salt, said to have been a sister to the rain gods, who quarreled with her, and drove her into the salt water, where she invented the art of making salt. her chief devotees were, of course, the salt-makers, mostly females, who held a ten-days' festival in her temple, singing and dancing every evening from dusk till midnight in company with the doomed captives. they were all adorned with garlands of a sweet-smelling herb called _iztauhiatl_, and danced in a ring formed by cords of flowers, led by some of their own sex; the music was furnished by two old men. the female who represented the goddess and was to die in her honor danced with them, generally in the centre of the circle, and accompanied by an old man holding a beautiful plume, called _huixtopetlacotl_; if very nervous she was supported by old women.[ ] she was dressed in the yellow robes of the goddess, and wore on her head a mitre surmounted by a number of green plumes; her huipil and skirt with net covering were worked in wavy outlines, and bordered with chalchiuites; ear-rings of gold in imitation of flowers hung from her ears; golden bells and white shells held by straps of tiger-skin, jingled and clattered about her ankles; her sandals were fastened with buttons and cords of cotton. on her arm she bore a shield painted with broad leaves, from which hung bits of parrot-feathers, tipped with flowers formed of eagle-plumage; it was also fringed with bright quetzal-feathers. in her hand she held a round bludgeon, one or two hands broad at the end, adorned with rubber-stained paper, and three flowers, at equal distances apart, filled with incense and set with quetzal-feathers; this shield she flourished as she danced. the priests who performed the sacrifice were dressed in an appropriate costume; on the great day, the priests performed another and solemn dance, devoting intervals to the sacrifice of captives, who were called huixtoti in honor of the deity. finally, towards evening, the female victim was thrown upon the stone by five young men, who held her while the priests cut open her breast, pressing a stick or a swordfish-bone against her throat to prevent her from screaming. the heart was held up to the sun and then thrown into a bowl. the music struck up and the people went home to feast.[ ] [sidenote: great feast of the lords.] the feast of the following month, hueytecuilhuitl, or 'great feast of the lords,' occurred at the time of the year when food was most scarce, the grain from the preceding harvest being nearly exhausted and the new crop not yet ripe for cutting. the nobles at this time gave great and solemn banquets among themselves, and provided at their personal expense feasts for the poor and needy. on the eleventh day a religious celebration took place in honor of centeotl, under the name of xilonen, derived from _xilotl_, which means a tender maize-ear, for this goddess changed her name according to the state of the grain. on this occasion, a woman who represented the goddess and was dressed in a similar manner, was sacrificed. the day before her death a number of women took her with them to offer incense in four places, which were sacred to the four characters of the divisions of the cycle, the reed, the flint, the house, and the rabbit. the night was spent in singing, dancing, and praying before the temple of the goddess.[ ] on the day of sacrifice certain priestesses and lay women whirled in a ring about the victim, and a number of priests and principal men who danced before her. the priests blew their shells and horns, shook their rattles and scattered incense as they danced, the nobles held stalks of maize in their hands which they extended toward the woman. the priest who acted as executioner wore a bunch of feathers on his shoulders, held by the claws of an eagle inserted in an artificial leg. towards the close of the dance this priest stopped at the foot of the temple, shook the rattle-board before the victim, scattered more incense, and turned to lead the way to the summit. this reached, another priest seized the woman, twisted her shoulders against his, and stooped over, so that her breast lay exposed. on this living altar she was beheaded and her heart torn out. after the sacrifice there was more dancing, in which the women, old and young, took part by themselves, their arms and legs decorated with red macaw-feathers, and their faces painted yellow and dusted with marcasite. the whole pleasantly finished with a feast. offerings were also presented to the household gods. this festival inaugurated the eating of corn.[ ] during the next month, which was called tlaxochimaco, or 'the distribution of flowers,'[ ] gifts of flowers were presented to the gods and mutually interchanged among friends. at noon on the day of the great feast, the signal sounded and a pompous dance was begun in the courtyard of the temple of huitzilopochtli, to whom the honors of the day were paid, in which the performers consisted of various orders of warriors led by the bravest among them. public women joined these dances, one woman going hand in hand with two men, and the contrary, or with their hands resting on each other's shoulders, or thrown round the waist.[ ] the musicians were stationed at a round altar, called _momuztli_. the motions consisted of a mere interwinding walk, to the time of a slow song. at sunset, after the usual sacrifices, the people went home to perform the same dance before their household idol; the old indulging in liquor as usual. the festival in honor of iyacacoliuhqui, the god of commerce, was, however, the event of the month, owing to the number and solemnity of the sacrifices of slaves, brought from all quarters by the wealthy merchants for the purpose, and the splendor of the attendant banquets. the tlascaltecs called this month miccailhuitzintli, 'the small festival of the dead,' and gathered in the temples to sing sorrowful odes to the dead, the priests, dressed in black mantles, making offerings of food to the spirit of the departed. this seems to have been a commemoration of the ordinary class only, for the departed heroes and great men were honored in the following month. duran and others assert, however, that the festival was devoted to the memory of the little ones who had died, and adds that the mothers performed thousands of superstitious ceremonies with their children, placing talismans upon them and the like, to prevent their death.[ ] [sidenote: feast of the fall of fruit.] the feast of the next month, called xocotlhuetzin, 'fall, or maturity of fruit,' was dedicated to xiuhtecutli, the god of fire. at the beginning of the month certain priests went out into the mountains and selected the tallest and straightest tree they could find. this was cut down and trimmed of all except its top branches.[ ] it was then moved carefully into the town upon rollers, and set up firmly in the courtyard of the temple, where it stood for twenty days. on the eve of the feast-day the tree was gently lowered to the ground; early the next morning carpenters dressed it perfectly smooth, and fastened a cross-yard five fathoms long, near the top, where the branches had been left. the priests now adorned the pole with colored papers, and placed upon the summit a statue of the god of fire, made of dough of amaranth-seeds, and curiously dressed in a maxtli, sashes, and strips of paper. three rods were stuck into its head, upon each of which was spitted a tamale, or native pie. the pole was then again hoisted into an erect position. those who had captives to offer now appeared, dancing side by side with the victims, and most grotesquely dressed and painted. at sunset the dance ceased, and the doomed men were shut up in the temple, while their captors kept guard outside, and sang hymns to the god. about midnight every owner brought out his captive and shaved off his top hair, which he carefully kept as a token of his valor. at dawn the human offerings were taken to the tzompantli, where the skulls of the sacrificed were spitted, and there stripped by the priests of their dress and ornaments. at a certain signal each owner seized his captive by the hair and dragged or led him to the foot of the temple-steps. thereupon those priests who were appointed to execute the fearful sacrifice descended from the temple, each bearing in his hand a bag filled with certain stupefying powder extracted from the _yiauhtli_ plant, which they threw into the faces of the victims to deaden somewhat the agony before them. each naked and bound captive was then borne upon the shoulders of a priest up to the summit of the temple, where smoldered a great heap of glowing coal. into this the bearers cast their living burdens, and when the cloud of dust was blown off the dull red mass could be seen to heave, human forms could be seen writhing and twisting in agony, the crackling of flesh could be distinctly heard.[ ] but the victims were not to die by fire; in a few moments, and before life was extinct, the blackened and blistered wretches were raked out by the watching priests, cast one after another upon the stone of sacrifice, and in a few moments all that remained upon the summit of the temple was a heap of human hearts smoking at the feet of the god of fire. these bloody rites over, the people came together and danced and sang in the courtyard of the temple. presently all adjourned to the place where the pole before mentioned stood. at a given signal the youths made a grand scramble for the pole, and he who first reached the summit and scattered the image and its accoutrements among the applauding crowd below, was reckoned the hero of the day. with this the festival ended, and the pole was dragged down by the multitude amid much rejoicing. [sidenote: feasts of tepanecs and tlascaltecs.] the tepanecs, according to duran, had a very similar ceremony. a huge tree was carried to the entrance of the town, and to it offerings and incense were presented every day during the month preceding the festival. then it was raised with many ceremonies, and a bird of dough placed at the top. food and wine were offered, and then the warriors and women, dressed in the finest garments and holding small dough idols in their hands, danced round the pole, while the youths struggled wildly to reach and knock down the bird image. lastly, the pole was overthrown.[ ] the tlascaltecs called the same month hueymiccailhuitl, 'the great festival of the dead,' and commemorated the event with much solemnity, painting their bodies black and making much lamentation. both here and in other parts of mexico the priests and nobles passed several days in the temple, weeping for their ancestors and singing their heroic deeds. the families of lately deceased persons assembled upon the terraces of their houses, and prayed with their faces turned towards the north, where the dead were supposed to sojourn. heroes who had fallen in battle, or died in captivity, defunct princes, and other persons of merit were, in a manner, canonized, and their statues placed among the images of the gods, whom, it was believed, they had joined to live in eternal bliss.[ ] the festival of the next month, called ochpaniztli, was held in honor of centeotl, the mother-goddess. fifteen days before the festival began those who were to take part in it commenced a dance, which they repeated every afternoon for eight days. at the expiration of this time the medical women and midwives brought forth the woman who was to die on this occasion, and dividing themselves into two parties, fought a sham battle by pelting each other with leaves. the doomed woman, who was called 'the image of the mother of the gods,' placed herself at the head of one party of the combatants, supported by three old women who guarded and attended upon her continually. this was repeated during four successive days. on the fifth day the unfortunate creature was conducted by her guardians and the medical women through the market-place. as she walked she scattered maize, and at the end of her journey she was received by the priests, who delivered her again to the women that they might console her (for it was necessary that she should be in a good humor, say the old chroniclers) and adorn her with the ornaments of the mother-goddess. at midnight she was carried to the summit of the temple, caught up upon the shoulders of a priest, and in this position beheaded. the body while yet warm was flayed, and the skin used in certain religious ceremonies which will be described at length elsewhere.[ ] in this month the temples and idols underwent a thorough cleansing and repairing, a sacred work in which everyone was eager to share according to his means and ability, believing that divine blessings would ensue. to this commendable custom is no doubt to be attributed the good condition in which the religious edifices were found by the conquerors. roads, public buildings, and private houses also shared in this renovation, and special prayers were offered up to the gods for the preservation of health and property. the festival of the succeeding month, called teotleco, 'coming of the gods,' was sacred to all the deities, though the principal honors were paid to tezcatlipoca as the supreme head. fifteen days of the month being passed, the college-boys prepared for the great event by decorating the altars in the temples, oratories, and public buildings, with green branches tied in bunches of three. in the same manner they decked the idols in private houses, receiving from the inmates, as their reward, baskets containing from two to four ears of maize; this gift was called _cacalotl_. [sidenote: footsteps of the gods.] tezcatlipoca, being younger and stronger than the other gods, and therefore able to travel faster, was expected to arrive during the night of the eighteenth. a mat, sprinkled with flour, was therefore placed on the threshold of his temple, and a priest set to watch for the footprints which would indicate the august arrival.[ ] he did not, however, remain constantly close to the mat; had he done so he would probably never have seen the longed-for marks, but he approached the spot from time to time, and immediately on perceiving the tracks he shouted: "his majesty has arrived;" whereupon the other priests arose in haste, and soon their shells and trumpets resounded through all the temples, proclaiming the joyful tidings to the expectant people. these now flocked in with their offerings, each person bringing four balls made of roasted and ground amaranth-seed kneaded with water; they then returned to their homes to feast and drink pulque. others beside the old people appear to have been permitted to indulge in libations on this occasion, which they euphoniously called 'washing the feet of the god' after his long journey. on the following day other deities arrived, and so they kept coming until the last divine laggard had left his footprints on the mat. every evening the people danced, feasted, 'washed the feet of the gods,' and made a sacrifice of slaves, who were thrown alive upon a great bed of live coal which glowed on the _tecalco_.[ ] at the head of the steps leading up to the place of sacrifice stood two young men, one of whom wore long, false hair, and a crown adorned with rich plumes; his face was painted black, with white curved stripes drawn from ear to forehead, and from the inner corner of the eye to the cheek; down his back hung a long feather, with a dried rabbit attached to it. the other man was dressed to resemble an immense bat, and held rattles like poppy-heads in his hands. whenever a victim was cast into the fire these weird figures danced and leaped, the one whistling with his fingers and mouth, the other shaking his rattles.[ ] after the sacrificing was ended, the priests placed themselves in order, dressed in paper stoles which crossed the chest from shoulder to armpit, and ascended the steps of the small edifice devoted to fire sacrifices; hand in hand they walked round, and then rushed suddenly down the steps, releasing each other in such a manner as to cause many to tumble. this game, which certainly was not very dignified for priests to play at, was called _mamatlavicoa_, and gave rise to much merriment, especially if any of the reverend players should lose his temper, or limp, or make a wry face after a fall. the festival closed with a general dance, which lasted from noon till night. at this season all males, young and old, wore feathers of various colors gummed to the arms and body, as talismans to avert evil.[ ] the festival of the next month, called tepeilhuitl, was sacred to the tlalocs, and is fully described elsewhere.[ ] the mexican bacchus, centzontotochtin, was also especially honored during this month, according to torquemada, and slaves were sacrificed to him. a captive was also sacrificed by night to a deity named nappatecutli.[ ] [sidenote: festival of the month quecholli.] the festivals of the ensuing month, which was called quecholli,[ ] were devoted to various deities, though mixcoatl, god of the chase, seems to have carried the honors in most parts of mexico. the first five days of the month were passed in repose, so far as religious celebrations were concerned, but on the sixth day the authorities of the city wards ordered canes to be gathered and carried to the temple of huitzilopochtli; there young and old assembled during the four days following, to share in the sacred work of making arrows. the arrows, which were all of uniform length, were then formed into bundles of twenty, carried in procession to the temple of huitzilopochtli, and piled up in front of the idol. the four days were, moreover, devoted to fasting and penance, involving abstinence from strong liquors, and separation of husbands from wives. on the second day of the fast, the boys were summoned to the temple, where, having first blown upon shells and trumpets, their faces were smeared with blood drawn from their ears. this sacrifice, called _momacaico_, was made to the deer which they proposed to hunt. the rest of the people drew blood from their own ears, and if any one omitted this act he was deprived of his mantle by the overseers. on the second day following, darts were made to be used in games and exercises, and shooting matches were held at which maguey-leaves served for targets. the next day was devoted to ceremonies in honor of the dead by rich and poor. the day after, a great quantity of hay was brought from the hills to the temple of mixcoatl. upon this certain old priestesses seated themselves, while mothers brought their children before them, accompanied by five sweet tamales. on this day were also ceremonies in honor of the god of wine, to whom sacrifices of male and female slaves were made by the pulque-dealers. on the tenth day of the month a number of hunters set out for mount cacatepec, near tacubaya, to celebrate the hunting festival of mixcoatl, god of the chase. on the first day they erected straw huts, in which they passed the night. the next morning, having broken their fast, they formed themselves into a great circle, and all advancing toward a common centre, the game was hemmed in and killed with ease. the spirits of the children sacrificed to the rain-gods, whose dwelling was upon the high mountains, were supposed to descend upon the hunters and make them strong and fortunate. having secured their game, the hunters started for home in grand procession, singing songs of triumph, and hymns to the mighty mixcoatl. after a solemn sacrifice of a portion of the game to the god, each took his share home and feasted upon it.[ ] the tlascaltecs sacrificed to the god at the place where the hunt took place, which was upon a neighboring hill. the way leading to the spot was strewn with leaves, over which the idol was carried with great pomp and ceremony.[ ] towards the close of the month male and female slaves were sacrificed before mixcoatl.[ ] in tlascala and the neighboring republics this was the 'month of love,' and great numbers of young girls were sacrificed to xochiquetzal, xochitecatl, and tlazolteotl, goddesses of sensual delights. among the victims were many courtesans, who voluntarily offered themselves, some to die in the temple, others on the battle-field, where they rushed in recklessly among the enemy. as no particular disgrace attended a life of prostitution, it seems improbable that remorse or repentance could have prompted this self-sacrifice; it must therefore be attributed to pure religious fervor. as a recompense for their devotion, these women before they went to their death had the privilege of insulting with impunity their chaster sisters. it is further said that a certain class of young men addicted to unnatural lusts, were allowed at this period to solicit custom on the public streets. at quauhtitlan, every fourth year, during this month, a festival was celebrated in honor of mitl, when a slave was bound to a cross and shot to death with arrows.[ ] the feast of the next month, called panquetzaliztli, was dedicated to huitzilopochtli, god of war; that of the following month, called atemoztli, was sacred to the tlalocs. both these festivals will be described elsewhere.[ ] [sidenote: feast of the month of hard times.] the ensuing month was named tititl, or the month of 'hard times,' owing to the inclement weather. the celebrations of this period were chiefly in honor of an aged goddess, named ilamatecutli, to whom a female slave was sacrificed. this woman represented the goddess and was dressed in white garments decorated with dangling shells and sandals of the same color; upon her head was a crown of feathers; the lower part of her face was painted black, the upper, yellow; in one hand she carried a white shield ornamented with feathers of the eagle and the night-heron, in the other she held a knitting stick. before going to her death she performed a dance, and was permitted, contrary to usual custom, to express her grief and fear in loud lamentations. in the afternoon she was conducted to the temple of huitzilopochtli, accompanied by a procession of priests, among whom was one dressed after the manner of the goddess ilamatecutli. after the heart of the victim had been torn from her breast, her head was cut off and given to this personage, who immediately placed himself at the head of the other priests and led them in a dance round the temple, brandishing the head by the hair the while. as soon as the performers of the _vecula_, as this dance was named, had left the summit of the temple, a priest curiously attired descended, and, proceeding to a spot where stood a cage made of candlewood adorned with papers, set fire to it. immediately upon seeing the flames the other priests, who stood waiting, rushed one and all up again to the temple-top; here lay a flower, which was secured by the first who could put hands upon it, carried back to the fire, and there burned. on the following day a game was played which resembled in some respects the roman lupercalia. the players were armed with little bags filled with paper, leaves, or flour, and attached to cords three feet long. with these they struck each other, and any girl or woman who chanced to come in their way was attacked by the boys, who, approaching quietly with their bags hidden, fell suddenly upon her, crying out: "this is the sack of the game." it sometimes happened, however, that the woman had provided herself with a stick, and used it freely, to the great discomfiture and utter rout of the urchins.[ ] a captive was sacrificed during this month to mictlantecutli, the mexican pluto, and the traders celebrated a grand feast in honor of yacatecutli.[ ] during the last aztec month, which was called itzcalli, imposing rites were observed throughout mexico in honor of xiuhtecutli, god of fire;[ ] in the surrounding states, such as tlacopan, coyuhuacan, azcapuzalco,[ ] quauhtitlan,[ ] and tlascala,[ ] ceremonies more or less similar were gone through, accompanied by much roasting and flaying of men and women. [sidenote: miscellaneous feasts.] besides these monthly festivals there were many others devoted to the patron deities of particular trades, to whom the priests and people interested in their worship made offerings, and, in some cases, human sacrifices. there were also many movable feasts, held in honor of the celestial bodies, at harvest time, and on other like occasions. these sometimes happened to fall on the same day as a fixed festival, in which case the less important was either set aside or postponed. it is related of the culhuas that on one occasion when a movable feast in honor of tezcatlipoca chanced to fall upon the day fixed for the celebration of huitzilopochtli, they postponed the former, and thereby so offended the god that he predicted the destruction of the monarchy and the subjugation of the people by a strange nation who would introduce a monotheistic worship.[ ] one of the most solemn of the movable feasts was that given to the sun, which took place at intervals of two or three hundred days, and was called netonatiuhqualo, or 'the sun eclipsed.' another festival took place when the sun appeared in the sign called nahui ollin tonatiuh,[ ] a sign much respected by kings and princes, and regarded as concerning them especially. at the great festival of the winter solstice, which took place either in the month of atemoztli or in that of tititl, all the people watched and fasted four days, and a number of captives were sacrificed, two of whom represented the sun and moon.[ ] about the same time a series of celebrations were held in honor of iztacacenteotl, goddess of white maize; the victims sacrificed on this occasion were lepers and others suffering from contagious diseases.[ ] whenever the sign of ce miquiztli, or one death, occurred, mictlantecutli, god of hades, was fêted, and honors were paid to the dead.[ ] of the heavenly bodies, they esteemed next to the sun a certain star, into which quetzalcoatl was supposed to have converted himself on leaving the earth. it was visible during about two hundred and sixty days of the year, and on the day of its first appearance above the horizon, the king gave a slave to be sacrificed, and many other ceremonies were performed. the priests, also, offered incense to this star every day, and drew blood from their bodies in its honor, acts which many of the devout imitated.[ ] at harvest-time the first-fruits of the season were offered to the sun. the sacrifice on this occasion was called tetlimonamiquian, 'the meeting of the stones.' the victim, who was the most atrocious criminal to be found in the jails, was placed between two immense stones, balanced opposite each other; these were then allowed to fall together. after the remains had been buried, the principal men took part in a dance; the people also danced and feasted during the day and night.[ ] every eight years a grand festival took place, called atamalqualiztli, 'the fast of bread and water,' the principal feature of which was a mask ball, at which people appeared disguised as various animals whose actions and cries they imitated with great skill.[ ] [sidenote: the binding of the years.] the most solemn of all the mexican festivals was that called xiuhmolpilli, that is to say, 'the binding-up of the years.' every fifty-two years was called a 'sheaf of years,' and it was universally believed that at the end of some 'sheaf' the world would be destroyed. the renewal of the cycle was therefore hailed with great rejoicing and many ceremonies.[ ] footnotes: [ ] see the totonac daily temple service, in _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxv. 'luego aquel viejo mas principal metia y sacaba por su lengua en aquel dia cuatro cientos y cincuenta palos de aquellos ... otros no tan viejos sacaban trescientos.... estos palos que metian y sacaban por las lenguas eran tan gordos como el dedo pulgar de la mano ... y otros tanto gruezos como las dos dedos de la mano pulgar y él con que señalamos podian abrazar.' _id._, cap. clxxii. [ ] 'en cada provincia tenian diferente costumbre porque unos de los brazos y otros de los pechos y otros de los muslos, &c. y en esto se cognoscian tambien de que provincia eran.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxx. [ ] 'en esta fiesta, y en todas las demàs, donde no se hiciere mencion de particulares sacrificios de hombres, los avia, por ser cosa general hacerlos en todas las festividades, y no era la que carecia de ello.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'le feste, che annualmente si celebravano, erano più solenni nel _teoxihuitl_, o anno divino, quali erano tutti gli anni, che aveano per carattere il coniglio.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . 'en cada principio del mes en el dia que nombramos cabeza de sierpe celebraban una fiesta solemnisima ... la cual era tan guardada y festejada que ni aun barrer la casa ni hacer de comer no se permitia.' _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., cap. ii. [ ] sahagun in his short résumé of the festival states that some hold this celebration to have been in honor of chalchihuitlicue, the water-goddess, and others in honor of quetzalcoatl; but thinks that it might have been in honor of all these deities, namely, the tlalocs, chalchihuitlicue, and quetzalcoatl. _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - , - . see also _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , . [ ] although sahagun states that huitzilopochtli also received honors this month, yet no direct ceremonies were observed before his image. the large number of captives sacrificed, however, the universality and length of the festivities, the royal dance, etc., would certainly point to a celebration in honor of a greater deity than xipe. he also says: 'en esta fiesta mataban todos los cautivos, hombres, mugeres, y niños,' which is not very probable. _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . [ ] thieves convicted the second time of stealing gold articles were sacrificed. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . the same author says with regard to the number of sacrifices made annually in the mexican empire, that he can affirm nothing, as the reports vary greatly. 'zumárraga, the first bishop of mexico, says, in a letter of the th of june, , addressed to the general chapter of his order, that in that capital alone twenty thousand human victims were annually sacrificed. some authors quoted by gomara, affirm that the number of the sacrificed amounted to fifty thousand. acosta writes that there was a certain day of the year on which five thousand were sacrificed in different places of the empire; and another day on which they sacrificed twenty thousand. some authors believe, that on the mountain tepeyacac alone, twenty thousand were sacrificed to the goddess tonantzin. torquemada, in quoting, though unfaithfully, the letter of zumárraga, says, that there were twenty thousand infants annually sacrificed. but, on the contrary, las casas, in his refutation of the bloody book, wrote by dr. sepulveda, reduces the sacrifices to so small a number, that we are left to believe, they amounted not to fifty, or at most not to a hundred. we are strongly of opinion that all these authors have erred in the number, las casas by diminution, the rest by exaggeration of the truth.' _id._, translation, lond. , vol. i., p. . [ ] this farce differed from the regular gladiatorial combat which will be described elsewhere. [ ] 'quedauan las cabeças coraçones para los sacerdotes.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] 'guardaban alguno que fuese principal señor para este dia; el cual dessolaban para que se vestiese montezuma gran rey de la tierra y con él baylaba con sus reales contenencias.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxx. 'embutian los cueros de algodon o paja, y, o los colgauan en el templo, o en palacio,' in the case of a prisoner of rank. _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . it is not stated that the persons who wore the skins and made the collection were connected with the temple, but this was no doubt the case, especially as many authors mention that priests had to dress themselves in the ghastly garb for a certain time. for representation of priest dressed in a flayed skin see _nebel_, _viaje_, pl. xxxiv. [ ] 'cuatro de ellos cantaban á las navajas.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'estos palos que metian y sacaban por las lenguas eran tan gordos como el dedo pulgar de la mano, y otros como el dedo pulgar del pie: y otros tanto gruezos como los dos dedos de la mano pulgar y él con que señalamos podian abrazar.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxii. [ ] motolinia conveys the idea that the people also performed the infliction on the tongue: 'aquella devota gente ... sacaban por sus lenguas otros palillos de á jeme y del gordor de un cañon de pato.' _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'cada dia de estos iba el viejo de noche á la sierra ya dicha y ofrecia al demonio mucho papel, y copalli, y cordonices.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'la cual decian que habia venido con el ídolo pequeño, de un pueblo que se dice tollan, y de otro que se dice poyauhtlan, de donde se afirma que fué natural el mismo ídolo.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] see also _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , - , . [ ] 'echaban por el pueblo cierto pecho ó derrama recogiendo tanto haber que pudiesen comprar cuatro niños esclavos de cinco á seis años. estos comprados ponianlos en una cueva y cerrabanla hasta otro año que hacian otro tanto.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxx. [ ] duran adds that all male children under twelve years of age were punctured in the ears, tongue, and leg, and kept on short allowance on the day of festival, but this is not very probable, for other authors name the fifth month for the scarification of infants. _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., appendix, cap. iii. for particulars of the feast see _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - , - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , ; _boturini_, _idea_, pp. - . [ ] boturini, _idea_, p. , translates this name as 'the great bleeding,' referring to the scarifications in expiation of sins. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - . according to duran, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., appendix, cap. iii., the tlalocs were worshiped this month also, and this involved bloody rites. _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. vii., pp. - . motolinia states that food was offered to the stalks: 'delante de aquellas cañas ofrecian comida y atolli.' _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . for a more detailed description of this feast see vol. iii. of this work, pp. - . [ ] 'le tlacochcalco, ou maison d'armes, était un arsenal, consacré à huitzilopochtli, dans l'enceinte du grand temple. il se trouvait à côté un teocalli où l'on offrait des sacrifices spéciaux à ce dieu et à tetzcatlipoca.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . this sanctuary outside the town was also dependent on the great temple, and, as the fate of the youth was to illustrate the miserable end to which riches and pleasures may come, it is, perhaps, more likely that this poor and lonely edifice was the place of sacrifice. clavigero, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , says 'conducevanlo ... al tempio di tezcatlipoca.' [ ] brasseur de bourbourg indicates that the race in the temple, and the liberation of the marriageable took place in leap-years only, but he evidently misunderstands his authority. prescott, _mex._, vol. i., pp. - , gives an account of this festival. [ ] contrary to the statement of others, brasseur de bourbourg says that the stage was borne by temple officers; surely, warriors were the fit persons to attend the god of war. [ ] 'llevábanle entablado con unas saetas que ellos llamaban _teumitl_, las cuales tenían plumas en tres partes junto el casquillo, y en el medio, y el cabo, iban estas saetas una debajo, y otra encima del papel; tomábanlas dos, uno de una parte, y otro de otra, llevándolas asidas ambas juntas con las manos, y con ellas apretaban el papelon una por encima, y otra por debajo.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - . [ ] 'el incienso no era del ordinario, que llaman copal blanco, ni de el incienso comun ... sino de vna goma, ò betun negro, à manera de pez, el qual licor se engendra en la mar, y sus aguas, y olas, lo hechan en algunas partes à sus riberas, y orillas, y le llaman chapopotli, el qual hecha de sì mal olor, para quien no le acostumbra à oler, y es intenso, y fuerte.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] a kind of perforated and ornamented censer, shaped like a large spoon. [ ] clavigero writes: '_ixteocale_, che vale, savio signor del cielo.' _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . several other names are also applied to him. [ ] 'mischiavasi nel ballo de'cortigiani.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] pp. - , - . [ ] 'se juntauan todos los caualleros y principales personas de cada prouincia ... vestian vna muger de la ropa y insignias de la diosa de la sal, y baylauan con ella todos.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] 'era esta fiesta de muy poca solemnidad y sin ceremonias, ni comidas, y sin muertes de hombres; en fin no era mas de una preparacion para la fiesta venidera del mes que viene.' _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., appendix, cap. iii.; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] duran says that the women took the victim to mount chapultepec, to the very summit, and said, 'my daughter, let us hasten back to the place whence we came,' whereupon all started back to the temple, chasing the doomed woman before them. _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., appendix, cap. iii. [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , - ; brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , says: 'les rois eux-mêmes prenaient alors part à la danse, qui avait lieu dans les endroits où ils pouvait s'assembler le plus de spectateurs.' [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'salian los hombres nobles, y muchas mugeres principales, y asianse de las manos los vnos, de los otros, mezclados hombres, y mugeres mui por orden, y luego se hechaban los braços al cuello, y asi abraçados, començaban à moverse mui paso à paso.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., appendix, cap. iii.; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - , - . [ ] 'cortaban un gran árbol en el monte, de veinte y cinco brazas de largo.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . 'l'emportaient (the tree) processionnellement au temple de huitzilopochtli, sans rien lui enlever de ses rameaux ni de son feuillage.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] clavigero says that the captors sprinkled the victims and threw them into the fire. _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., appendix, tom. iii., cap. iii. [ ] 'c'était l'époque où la noblesse célébrait la commémoration des princes et des guerriers qui les avaient précédés.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. , - ; _codex telleriano-remensis_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. v., pp. - . [ ] see volume iii., of this work, pp. - , where a detailed description of this festival is given. [ ] sahagun writes: 'Á la media noche de este mismo dia, molian un poco de harina de maíz, y hacian un montoncillo de ella bien tupida: y lo fabricaban de harina, redondo como un queso, sobre un petate. en el mismo veían cuando habian llegado todos los dioses, porque aparecia una pisada de un pie pequeño sobre la harina.' _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . [ ] these sacrifices by fire appear to have been made upon the summit of a small temple which stood within the courtyard of the larger one. [ ] 'ballavano attorno ad un gran fuoco molti giovani travestiti in parecchie forme di mostri, e frattanto andavano gettando de'prigionieri nel fuoco.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] the burning and dancing took place on the first two days of the following month, according to sahagun. 'estos dos dias postreros eran del mes que se sigue.' _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] see vol. iii., p. - . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] the name of a bird with red and blue plumage. [ ] 'al undécimo dia de este mes, iban á hacer una casa á aquella sierra que estaba encima de _atlacuioayan_, y esta era fiesta por sí, de manera que en este mes habia dos fiestas.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . 'no sacrificaban este dia hombres sino caza, y asi la caza servia de victimas á los dioses.' _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., appendix, tom. iii., cap. iii.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xv. [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. , - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] see vol. iii. of this work, pp. - , - , - . [ ] gomara says men and women danced two nights with the gods and drank until they were all drunk. _conq. mex._, fol. . according to duran, camaxtli was fêted in this month, and a bread called _yocotamally_ was eaten exclusively on the day of the festival. _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., appendix, cap. iii.; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] see vol. iii. of this work, pp. - . [ ] see _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxi. [ ] see _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxi.; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] see _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxi.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] '_nahui ollin tonatiuh_, esto es, el sol en sus cuatro movientos, acompañado de la _via lactea_.' _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt i., p. . [ ] 'mataban quatro cautivos de los que se llamaban chachame, que quiere decir: tontos; y mataban tambien la imagen del sol, y de la luna, que eran dos hombres.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . 'on immolait ensuite un grand nombre de captifs, dont les principaux, appelés chachamé, figuraient le soleil et la lune.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt i., p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'creen que topilcin su rey primero se conuertio en aquella estrella.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxiv. [ ] _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. - . 'papahua-tlamacazqui, ou ministres aux longs cheveux. c'est par leurs mains que passaient les prémices des fruits de la terre qu'on offrait aux astres du jour et de la nuit.... on immolait un grand nombre de captifs et, à leur défaut, les criminels.... sur leur sépulture on exécutait un ballet.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. - . for description of zapotec harvest-feast see _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - . [ ] for description of this feast see vol. iii. of this work, pp. - . the authorities on aztec festivals are: _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - , lib. i., pp. - ; _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. vii., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxix-clxxvii.; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., appendix, cap. iii.,; _leon_, _camino del cielo_, pp. - ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcix., pp. - ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - , - , - , - ; _boturini_, _idea_, pt i., pp. - , - ; _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xv-xvii.; _purchas his pilgrimes_, tom. iv., pp. - ; _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., pp. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , , - ; _west und ost indischer lustgart_, pt i., pp. - ; _codex telleriano-remensis_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. - , - , tom. ii., pp. - , tom. iii., pp. - , - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _lenoir_, _parallèle_, pp. - . chapter x. food of the nahua nations. origin of agriculture--floating gardens--agricultural products--manner of preparing the soil--description of agricultural implements--irrigation--granaries--gardens--the harvest feast--manner of hunting--fishing--methods of procuring salt--nahua cookery--various kinds of bread--beans--pepper--fruit--tamales--miscellaneous articles of food--eating of human flesh--manufacture of pulque--preparation of chocolatl--other beverages--intoxicating drinks--drunkenness--time and manner of taking meals. [sidenote: agriculture and civilization.] hunting, fishing, and agriculture furnished the nahua nations with means of subsistence, besides which they had, in common with their uncivilized brethren of the sierras and forests, the uncultivated edible products of the soil. among the coast nations, the dwellers on the banks of large streams, and the inhabitants of the lake regions of anáhuac and michoacan, fish constituted an important article of food. but agriculture, here as elsewhere, distinguished savagism from civilization, and of the lands of the so-called civilized nations few fertile tracts were found uncultivated at the coming of the spaniards. cultivation of the soil was doubtless the first tangible step in the progressive development of these nations, and this is indicated in their traditionary annals, which point, more or less vaguely, to a remote period when the quinames, or giants, occupied the land as yet untilled; which means that the inhabitants were savages, whose progress had not yet exhibited any change sufficiently marked to leave its imprint on tradition. at a time still more remote, however, the invention of bows and arrows is traditionally referred to.[ ] the gradual discovery and introduction of agricultural arts according to the laws of development, were of course unintelligible to the aboriginal mind; consequently their traditions tell us wondrous tales of divine intervention and instruction. nevertheless, the introduction of agriculture was doubtless of very ancient date. the olmecs and xicalancas, traditionally the oldest civilized peoples in mexico, were farmers back to the limit of traditional history, as were the lineal ancestors of all the nations which form the subject of this volume. indeed, as the nahua nations were living when the spaniards found them, so had they probably been living for at least ten centuries, and not improbably for a much longer period. it was, however, according to tradition, during the toltec period of nahua culture that husbandry and all the arts pertaining to the production and preparation of food, were brought to the highest degree of perfection. many traditions even attribute to the toltecs the invention or first introduction of agriculture.[ ] but even during this toltec period hunting tribes, both of nahua and other blood, were pursuing their game in the forests and mountains, especially in the northern region. despised by their more civilized, corn-eating brethren, they were known as barbarians, dogs, chichimecs, 'suckers of blood,' from the custom attributed to them of drinking blood and eating raw flesh. many tribes, indeed, although very far from being savages, were known to the aristocratic toltecs as chichimecs, by reason of some real or imaginary inferiority. by the revolutions of the tenth century, some of these chichimec nations, probably of the nahua blood and tillers of the soil, although at the same time bold hunters and valiant warriors, gained the ascendancy in anáhuac. hence the absurd versions of native traditions which represent the valley of mexico as occupied during the chichimec period by a people who, until taught better by the acolhuas, lived in caverns and subsisted on wild fruits and raw meat, while at the same time they were ruled by emperors, and possessed a most complicated and advanced system of government and laws. their barbarism probably consisted for the most part in resisting for a time the enervating influences of toltec luxury, especially in the pleasures of the table.[ ] [sidenote: chinampas, or floating gardens.] the aztecs were traditionally corn-eaters from the first, but while shut up for long years on an island in the lake, they had little opportunity for agricultural pursuits. during this period of their history, the fish, birds, insects, plants, and mud of the lake supplied them with food, until floating gardens were invented and subsequent conquests on the main land afforded them broad fields for tillage. as a rule no details are preserved concerning the pre-aztec peoples; where such details are known they will be introduced in their proper place as illustrative of later nahua food-customs. the _chinampas_, or floating gardens, cultivated by the aztecs on the surface of the lakes in anáhuac, were a most extraordinary source of food. driven in the days of their national weakness to the lake islands, too small for the tillage which on the main had supported them, these ingenious people devised the chinampa. they observed small portions of the shore, detached by the high water and held together by fibrous roots, floating about on the surface of the water. acting on the suggestion, they constructed rafts of light wood, covered with smaller sticks, rushes, and reeds, bound together with fibrous aquatic plants, and on this foundation they heaped two or three feet of black mud from the bottom of the lake. thus the broad surface around their island home was dotted with fertile gardens, self-irrigating and independent of rains, easily moved from place to place according to the fancy of the proprietor. they usually took the form of parallelograms and were often over a hundred feet long. all the agricultural products of the country, particularly maize, chile, and beans were soon produced in abundance on the chinampas, while the larger ones even bore fruit and shade trees of considerable size, and a hut for the convenience of the owner, or gardener. the floating gardens have remained in use down to modern times, but since the waters of the lakes receded so much from their former limits, they have been generally attached to the shore, being separated by narrow canals navigated by the canoes which bear their produce to the markets. in later times, however, only flowers and garden vegetables have been raised in this manner.[ ] on the mainland throughout the nahua territory few fertile spots were left uncultivated. the land was densely populated, and agriculture was an honorable profession in which all, except the king, the nobility, and soldiers in time of actual war, were more or less engaged.[ ] [sidenote: aboriginal agriculture.] agricultural products in the shape of food were not a prominent feature among articles of export and import, excepting, of course, luxuries for the tables of the kings and nobles. each province, as a rule, raised only sufficient supplies for its own ordinary necessities; consequently, when by reason of drought or other cause, a famine desolated one province, it was with the greatest difficulty that food could be obtained from abroad. the mexicans were an improvident people, and want was no stranger to them.[ ] the chief products of nahua tillage were maize, beans, magueyes, cacao, chian, chile, and various native fruits.[ ] the maize, or indian corn, the dried ears of which were called by the aztecs _centli_, and the dried kernels separated from the cob, _tlaolli_,[ ] was the standard and universal nahua food. indigenous to america, in the development of whose civilization, traditionally at least, it played an important part, it has since been introduced to the world. it is the subject of the new world traditions respecting the introduction of agriculture among men. tortillas, of maize, accompanied by the inevitable frijoles, or beans, seasoned with chile, or pepper, and washed down with drinks prepared from the maguey and cacao, were then, as now, the all-sustaining diet, and we are told that corn grew so strong and high in the fields that covered the surface of the country in some parts, as to seriously embarrass the conqueror cortés in his movements against the natives hidden in these natural labyrinths.[ ] [sidenote: cornfields and granaries.] respecting the particular methods of cultivation practiced by the nahuas, except in the raising of corn, early observers have left no definite information.[ ] the valleys were of course the favorite localities for cornfields, but the highlands were also cultivated. in the latter case the trees and bushes were cut down, the land burned over, and the seed put in among the ashes. such lands were allowed to rest several years--torquemada says five or six--after each crop, until the surface was covered with grass and bushes for a new burning. no other fertilizer than ashes, so far as known, was ever employed. fields were enclosed by stone walls and hedges of maguey, which were carefully repaired each year in the month of panquetzaliztli. they had no laboring animals, and their farming implements were exceedingly few and rude. three of these only are mentioned. the _huictli_ was a kind of oaken shovel or spade, in handling which both hands and feet were used. the _coatl_, or _coa_ (serpent), so called probably from its shape, was a copper implement with a wooden handle, used somewhat as a hoe is used by modern farmers in breaking the surface of the soil. another copper instrument, shaped like a sickle, with a wooden handle, was used for pruning fruit-trees. a simple sharp stick, the point of which was hardened in the fire, or more rarely tipped with copper, was the implement in most common use. to plant corn, the farmer dropped a few kernels into a hole made with this stick, and covered them with his foot, taking the greatest pains to make the rows perfectly straight and parallel; the intervals between the hills were always uniform, though the space was regulated according to the nature and fertility of the soil. the field was kept carefully weeded, and at a certain age the stalks were supported by heaping up the soil round them. at maturity the stalks were often broken two thirds up, that the husks might protect the hanging ear from rain. during the growth and ripening of the maize, a watchman or boy was kept constantly on guard in a sheltered station commanding the field, whose duty it was to drive away, with stones and shouts, the flocks of feathered robbers which abounded in the country. women and children aided the men in the lighter farm labors, such as dropping the seeds, weeding the plants, and husking and cleaning the grain. to irrigate the fields the water of rivers and of mountain streams was utilized by means of canals, dams, and ditches. the network of canals by which the cacao plantations of the tierra caliente in tabasco were watered, offered to cortés' army even more serious obstructions than the dense growth of the maizales, or cornfields. granaries for storing maize were built of _oyametl_, or _oxametl_, a tree whose long branches were regular, tough, and flexible. the sticks were laid in log-house fashion, one above another, and close together, so as to form a tight square room, which was covered with a water-tight roof, and had only two openings or windows, one at the top and another at the bottom. many of these granaries had a capacity of several thousand bushels, and in them corn was preserved for several, or, as brasseur says, for fifteen or twenty, years. besides the regular and extensive plantations of staple products, gardens were common, tastefully laid out and devoted to the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, medicinal herbs, and particularly flowers, of which the mexicans were very fond, and which were in demand for temple decorations and bouquets. the gardens connected with the palaces of kings and nobles, particularly those of tezcuco, iztapalapan, and huaxtepec, excited great wonder and admiration in the minds of the first european visitors, but these have been already mentioned in a preceding chapter.[ ] we shall find the planting and growth of maize not without influence in the development of the nahua calendars, and that it was closely connected with the worship of the gods and with religious ideas and ceremonies. father burgoa relates that in oajaca, the cultivation of this grain, the people's chief support, was attended by some peculiar ceremonies. at harvest-time the priests of the maize god in quegolani, ceremonially visited the cornfields followed by a procession of the people, and sought diligently the fairest and best-filled ear. this they bore to the village, placed it on an altar decked for the occasion with flowers and precious chalchiuites, sang and danced before it, and wrapped it with care in a white cotton cloth, in which it was preserved until the next seed-time. then with renewed processions and solemn rites the magic ear with its white covering was wrapped in a deer-skin and buried in the midst of the cornfields in a small hole lined with stones. when another harvest came, if it were a fruitful one, the precious offering to the earth was dug up and its decayed remains distributed in small parcels to the happy populace as talismans against all kinds of evil.[ ] [sidenote: the chase in anÁhuac.] the game most abundant was deer, hare, rabbits, wild hogs, wolves, foxes, jaguars, or tigers, mexican lions, coyotes, pigeons, partridges, quails, and many aquatic birds. the usual weapon was the bow and arrow, to the invention of which tradition ascribes the origin of the chase; but spears, snares, and nets were also employed, and the sarbacan, a tube through which pellets or darts were blown, was an effective bird-killer. game in the royal forests was protected by law, and many hunters were employed in taking animals and birds alive for the king's collections. among the peculiar devices employed for taking water-birds was that already mentioned in connection with the wild tribes; the hunter floating in the water, with only his head, covered with a gourd, above the surface, and thus approaching his prey unsuspected. young monkeys were caught by putting in a concealed fire a peculiar black stone which exploded when heated. corn was scattered about as a bait, and when the old monkeys brought their young to feed they were frightened by the explosion and ran away, leaving the young ones an easy prey. the native hunters are represented as particularly skillful in following an indistinct trail. according to sahagun, a superstition prevailed that only four arrows might be shot at a tiger, but to secure success a leaf was attached to one of the arrows, which, making a peculiar whizzing sound, fell short and attracted the beast's attention while the hunter took deliberate aim. crocodiles were taken with a noose round the neck and also, by the boldest hunters, by inserting a stick sharpened and barbed at both ends in the animal's open mouth. it is probable that, while a small portion of the common people in certain parts of the country sought game for food alone, the chase among the nahuas was for the most part a diversion of the nobles and soldiers. there were also certain hunts established by law or custom at certain periods of the year, the products of which were devoted to sacrificial purposes, although most likely eaten eventually. in the month quecholli a day's hunt was celebrated by the warriors in honor of mixcoatl. a large forest--that of zacatepec, near mexico, being a favorite resort--was surrounded by a line of hunters many miles in extent. in the centre of the forest various snares and traps were set. when all was ready, the living circle began to contract, and the hunters with shouts pressed forward toward the centre. to aid in the work, the grass was sometimes fired. the various animals were driven from their retreats into the snares prepared for them, or fell victims to the huntsmen's arrows. immense quantities of game were thus secured and borne to the city and to the neighboring towns, the inhabitants of which had assisted in the hunt, as an offering to the god. each hunter carried to his own home the heads of such animals as he had killed, and a prize was awarded to the most successful. in the month tecuilhuitontli also, while the warriors practiced in sham fights for actual war, the common people gave their attention to the chase. large numbers of birds were taken in nets spread on poles like spear-shafts. in earlier times, when the chase was more depended on for food, the first game taken was offered to the gods; or, by the chichimecs and xochimilcas, to the sun, as ixtlilxochitl informs us.[ ] [sidenote: fisheries and salt.] fish was much more universally used for food than game. torquemada tells us that the aztecs first invented the art of fishing prompted by the mother of invention when forced by their enemies to live on the lake islands; and it was the smell of roasted fish, wafted to the shore, that revealed their presence. this tradition is somewhat absurd, and it is difficult to believe that the art was entirely unknown during the preceding toltec and olmec periods of nahua civilization. besides the supply in lake and river, artificial ponds in the royal gardens were also stocked with fish, and we have seen that fresh fish from the ocean were brought to mexico for the king's table. respecting the particular methods employed by the nahua fishermen, save that they used both nets and hooks, the authorities say nothing. the tarascos had such an abundance of food in their lakes that their country was named michoacan, 'land of fish'; and the rivers of huastecapan are also mentioned as richly stocked with finny food.[ ] the nahuas had, as i have said, no herds or flocks, but besides the royal collections of animals, which included nearly every known variety of quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles, the common people kept and bred _techichi_ (a native animal resembling a dog), turkeys, quails, geese, ducks, and many other birds. the nobles also kept deer, hares, and rabbits.[ ] next to chile, salt, or _iztatl_, was the condiment most used, and most of the supply came from the valley of mexico. the best was made by boiling the water from the salt lake in large pots, and was preserved in white cakes or balls. it was oftener, however, led by trenches into shallow pools and evaporated by the sun. the work would seem to have been done by women, since sahagun speaks of the women and girls employed in this industry as dancing at the feast in honor of the goddess of salt in the month tecuilhuitontli. a poor quality of salt, _tequizquitl_, brick-colored and strongly impregnated with saltpetre, was scraped up on the flats around the lakes, and largely used in salting meats. las casas mentions salt springs in the bed of fresh-water streams, the water of which was pumped out through hollow canes, and yielded on evaporation a fine white salt; but it is not certain what part of the country he refers to. the aztec kings practically monopolized the salt market and refused to sell it to any except tributary nations. in consequence of this disposition, republican tlascala, one of the few nations that maintained its independence, was forced for many years to eat its food unsalted; and so habituated did the people become to this diet, that in later times, if we may credit camargo, very little salt was consumed.[ ] [sidenote: the nahua cuisine.] we now come to the methods adopted by the nahuas in preparing and cooking food. maize, when in the milk, was eaten boiled, and called _elotl_; when dry it was often prepared for food by simply parching or roasting, and then named _mumuehitl_. but it usually came to the aztec table in the shape of _tlaxcalli_, the spanish tortillas, the standard bread, then as now, in all spanish america. it would be difficult to name a book in any way treating of mexico in which tortillas are not fully described. the aborigines boiled the corn in water, to which lime, or sometimes nitre, was added. when sufficiently soft and free from hulls it was crushed on the _metlatl_, or metate, with a stone roller, and the dough, after being kneaded also on the metate, was formed by the hands of the women into very thin round cakes which were quickly baked on earthen pans, or _comalli_, and piled up one on another that they might retain their warmth, for when cold they lost their savor. peter martyr speaks of these tortillas as "bread made of maizium." they were sometimes, but rarely, flavored with different native plants and flowers. there was, however, some variety in their preparation, according to which they bore different names. for example _totanquitlaxcallitlaquelpacholli_ were very white, being folded and covered with napkins; _huietlaxcalli_ were large, thin, and soft; _quauhtlaqualli_ were thick and rough; _tlaxcalpacholli_, grayish; and _tlacepoallitlaxcalli_ presented a blistered surface. there were many other kinds. in addition to the tlaxcalli, thicker corn-bread in the form of long cakes and balls were made. _atolli_ varied in consistency from porridge, or gruel, to mush, and may consequently be classed either as a drink or as food. to make it, the hulled corn was mashed, mixed with water, and boiled down to the required consistency; it was variously sweetened and seasoned, and eaten both hot and cold. according to its condition and seasoning it received about seventeen names; thus _totonquiatolli_ was eaten hot, _nequatolli_ was sweetened with honey, _chilnequatolli_ was seasoned with chile, and _quauhnexatolli_ with saltpetre. beans, the _etl_ of the aztecs, the frijoles of the spaniards, were while yet green boiled in the pod, and were then called _exotl_; when dry they were also generally boiled; but ixtlilxochitl mentions flour made from beans. _chilli_, chile, or pepper, was eaten both green and dry, whole and ground. a sauce was also made from it into which hot tortillas were dipped, and which formed a part of the seasoning in nearly every nahua dish. "it is the principal sauce and the only spice of the indias," as acosta tells us. flesh, fowl, and fish, both fresh and salted, were stewed, boiled, and roasted, with the fat of the techichi, and seasoned with chile, _tomatl_ (since called tomatoes), etc. the larger roasted game preserved for eating from the sacrifices in the month of itzcalli is termed _calpuleque_ by sahagun. _pipian_ was a stew of fowl with chile, tomatoes, and ground pumpkin-seeds. deer and rabbits were barbecued. peter martyr speaks of "rost and sodden meates of foule." fruits, for the most part, were eaten as with us, raw, but some, as the plantain and banana, were roasted and stewed. so much for the plain nahua cookery. into the labyrinthine mysteries of the mixed dishes i shall not penetrate far. it is easier for the writer, and not less satisfactory to the reader, to dismiss the subject with the remark that all the articles of food that have been mentioned, fish, flesh, and fowl, were mixed and cooked in every conceivable proportion, the product taking a different name with each change in the ingredients. the two principal classes of these mixed dishes were the pot-stews, or cazuelas, of various meats with multitudinous seasonings; and the _tamalli_, or tamales, meat pies, to make which meats were boiled, chopped fine, and seasoned, then mixed with maize-dough, coated with the same, wrapped in a corn-husk, and boiled again. these also took different names according to the ingredients and seasoning. the tamale is still a favorite dish, like tortillas and frijoles. miscellaneous articles of food, not already spoken of, were _axayacatl_, flies of the mexican lakes, dried, ground, boiled, and eaten in the form of cakes; _ahuauhtli_, the eggs of the same fly, a kind of native caviar; many kinds of insects, ants, maguey-worms, and even lice; _tecuitlatl_, 'excrement of stone,' a slime that was gathered on the surface of the lakes, and dried till it resembled cheese; eggs of turkeys, iguanas, and turtles, roasted, boiled, and in omelettes; various reptiles, frogs, and frog-spawn; shrimps, sardines, and crabs; corn-silk, wild-amaranth seeds, cherry-stones, tule-roots, and very many other articles inexpressible; yucca flour, potoyucca, tunas; honey from maize, from bees, and from the maguey; and roasted portions of the maguey stalks and leaves. the women did all the work in preparing and cooking food; in tlascala, however, the men felt that an apology was due for allowing this work to be done by women, and claimed, as sahagun says, that the smoke of cooking would impair their eye-sight and make them less successful in the hunt. all these articles of food, both cooked and uncooked, were offered for sale in the market-places of each large town, of which i shall speak further when i come to treat of commerce. eating-houses were also generally found near the markets, where all the substantials and delicacies of the nahua cuisine might be obtained.[ ] [sidenote: eating of human flesh.] one article of nahua food demands special mention--human flesh. that they ate the arms and legs of the victims sacrificed to their gods, there is no room for doubt. this religious cannibalism--perhaps human sacrifice itself--was probably not practiced before the cruel-minded aztec devotees of huitzilopochtli came into power, or at least was of rare occurrence; but during the aztec dominion, the custom of eating the flesh of sacrificed enemies became almost universal. that cannibalism, as a source of food, unconnected with religious rites, was ever practiced, there is little evidence. the anonymous conqueror tells us that they esteemed the flesh of men above all other food, and risked their lives in battle solely to obtain it. bernal diaz says that they sold it at retail in the markets; and veytia also states that this was true of the otomís. father gand assures us that there were many priests that ate and drank nothing but the flesh and blood of children. but these ogreish tales are probably exaggerations, since those who knew most of the natives, sahagun, motolinia, and las casas, regard the cannibalism of the nahuas rather as an abhorrent feature of their religion than as the result of an unnatural appetite. that by long usage they became fond of this food, may well be believed; but that their prejudice was strong against eating the flesh of any but their sacrificed foes, is proven, as gomara says, by the fact that multitudes died of starvation during the siege of mexico by cortés. even the victims of sacrifice seem only to have been eaten in banquets, more or less public, accompanied with ceremonial rites. a number of infants sacrificed to the tlalocs were eaten each year, and the blood of these and of other victims was employed in mixing certain cakes, some of which were at one time sent as a propitiatory offering to cortés.[ ] [sidenote: drinks and drunkenness.] the most popular nahua beverages were those since known as pulque and chocolate. the former, called by the natives _octli_--pulque, or pulcre, being a south american aboriginal term applied to the liquor in some unaccountable way by the spaniards--was the fermented juice of the maguey. one plant is said to yield about one hundred pounds in a month. a cavity is cut at the base of the larger leaves, and allowed to fill with juice, which is removed to a vessel of earthen ware or of skin, where it ferments rapidly and is ready for use. in a pure state it is of a light color, wholesome, and somewhat less intoxicating than grape wine; but the aborigines mixed with it various herbs, some to merely change its color or flavor, and others to increase its intoxicating properties. this national drink was honored with a special divinity, ometochtli, one of the numerous nahua gods of wine. according to some traditions the quinames, or giants, knew how to prepare it, but its invention is oftener attributed to the toltecs, its first recorded use having been to aid in the seduction of a mighty monarch from his royal duties.[ ] _chocolatl_--the foundation of our chocolate--was made by pounding cacao to a powder, adding an equal quantity of a seed called _pochotl_, also powdered, and stirring or beating the mixture briskly in a dish of water. the oily foam which rose to the surface was then separated, a small quantity of maize flour was added, and the liquid which was set before the fire. the oily portion was finally restored and the beverage was drunk lukewarm, sweetened with honey and often seasoned with vanilla. this drink was nutritious, refreshing, and cooling, and was especially a favorite with those called upon to perform fatiguing labor with scant food.[ ] miscellaneous drinks were water, plantain-juice, the various kinds of porridge known as _atolli_, already mentioned, the juice of maize-stalks, those prepared from chian and other seeds by boiling, and fermented water in which corn had been boiled--a favorite tarasco drink. among the ingredients used to make their drinks more intoxicating the most powerful was the _teonanacatl_, 'flesh of god,' a kind of mushroom which excited the passions and caused the partaker to see snakes and divers other visions.[ ] the aztec laws against drunkenness were very severe, yet nearly all the authors represent the people as delighting in all manner of intoxication, and as giving way on every opportunity to the vice when the power of their rulers over them was destroyed by the coming of the spaniards. drinking to excess seems to have been with them a social vice, confined mostly to public feasts and private banquets. it may have been chiefly against intemperance among the working classes, and officials when on duty, that the stringent laws were directed. mendieta speaks of the people as very temperate, using pulque only under the direction of the chiefs and judges for medicinal purposes chiefly. the nobles made it a point of honor not to drink to excess, and all feared punishment. but motolinia and other good authorities take an opposite view of the native character in this respect.[ ] [sidenote: meals of the common people.] concerning the manner of serving the king's meals, as well as the banquets and feasts of nobles and the richer classes, enough has been already said. of the daily meals among the masses little is known. the nahuas seem to have confined their indulgence in rich and varied viands to the oft-recurring feasts, while at their homes they were content with plain fare. this is a peculiarity that is still observable in the country, both among the descendants of the nahuas and of their conquerors. the poorer people had in each house a metate for grinding maize, and a few earthen dishes for cooking tortillas and frijoles. they ate three meals a day, morning, noon, and night, using the ground for table, table-cloth, napkins, and chairs, conveying their tlaxcalli and chile to the mouth with the fingers, and washing down their simple food with water or atole. the richer nahuas were served with a greater variety on palm-mats often richly decorated, around which low seats were placed for their convenience; napkins were also furnished.[ ] footnotes: [ ] 'dicen que en aquellos principios del mundo se mantenian los hombres solamente con frutas y yerbas, hasta que uno á quien llaman tlaominqui, que quiere decir, _el que mató con flecha_ halló la invencion del arco y la flecha, y que desde entónces comenzaron á ejercitarse en la caza y mantenerse de carnes de los animales que mataban en ella.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. . the giants lived 'mas como brutos que como racionales: su alimento eran las carnes crudas de las aves y fieras que cazavan sin distincion alguna, las frutas y yerbas silvestres porque nada cultivaban;' yet they knew how to make pulque to get drunk with. _id._, p. . [ ] the olmecs raised at least maize, chile, and beans before the time of the toltecs. _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. . the toltec 'comida era el mismo mantenimiento que ahora se usa del maíz que sembraban y beneficiaban así el blanco como el de mas colores.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . to the toltec agriculture 'debitrici si riconobbero le posteriori nazioni del frumentone, del cotone, del peverone, e d'altri utilissimi frutti.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . the toltecs 'truxeron mays, algodon, y demas semillas.' _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. . 'tenian el maiz, algodon, chile, frijoles y las demas semillas de la tierra que hay.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., pp. , - . [ ] 'su comida era toda especie de caza, tanto cuadrúpeda como volátil, sin distincion ni otro condimento que asada, y las frutas ... pero nada sembraban, ni cultivaban.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. . 'no sembraban, ni cocian, ni asaban las carnes de la caza.' their kings and nobles kept forests of deer and hare to supply the people with food, until in nopaltzin's reign they were taught to plant by a descendant of the toltecs. _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , - , , . they were the first inhabitants of the country and 'solo se mantenian de caça.' 'caçauan venados, liebres, conejos, comadrejas, topos, gatos monteses, paxaros, y aun inmundicias como culebras, lagartos, ratones, langostas, y gusanos, y desto y de yeruas rayzes se sustentauan.' _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - . and to the same effect _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. ; _heredia y sarmiento_, _sermon_, p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., pp. , ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. . they began to till the ground in hotzin's reign, but before that they roasted their meat and did not, as many claim, eat it raw. _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - ; _id._, _relaciones_, p. . agriculture introduced in nopaltzin's reign. _id._, p. . but sahagun, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. , says some of the chichimecs 'hacian tambien alguna sementerilla de maíz.' [ ] 'sobre juncia y espadaña se echa tierra en tal forma, que no la deshaga el agua, y allí se siembra, y cultiua, y crece, y madura, y se lleua de vna parte á otra.' the products are maize, chile, wild amaranth, tomatoes, beans, chian, pumpkins, etc. _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . 'la lor figura regolare è quadrilunga: la lunghessa, e la larghezza son varie; ma per lo più hanno, secondo che mi pare, otto pertiche in circa di lunghezza, non più di tre di larghezza, e meno d'un piede d'elevazione sulla superficie dell'acqua.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . produce not only plants useful for food, dress, and medicine, but flowers and plants that serve only for decoration and luxury. _id._, tom. iv., p. . carbajal espinosa, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , translates clavigero's description. 'fairy islands of flowers, overshadowed occasionally by trees of considerable size.' 'that archipelago of wandering islands.' or feet long, or feet deep. _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., pp. , - . the black mud of the chinampas is impregnated with muriate of soda, which is gradually washed out as the surface is watered. _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., pp. - . mention by gayangos in _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _heredia y sarmiento_, _sermon_, pp. - . 'camellones, que ellos llaman chinampas.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _carli_, _cartas_, pt i., pp. - . [ ] 'es esta provincia (tlascala) de muchos valles llanos y hermosos, y todos labrados y sembrados.' in cholula 'ni un palmo de tierra hay que no esté labrado.' _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , . 'tout le monde, plus ou moins, s'adonnait à la culture, et se faisait honneur de travailler à la campagne.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . 'hasta los montes y sierras fragosas las tenian ocupadas con sembrados y otros aprovechamientos.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] a full list and description of the many edible mexican plants which were cultivated by the nahuas in the sixteenth and earlier centuries, as they have been ever since by their descendants, is given by the botanist, hernandez, in his _nova plantarum_; see also _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - ; repeated in _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. , et seq. maize, maguey, cacao, bananas, and vanilla. _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - . the totonacs raised fruits, but no cacao or _veinacaztli_. _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . the people of michoacan raised 'maíz, frisoles, pepitas y fruta, y las semillas de mantenimientos, llamados _oauhtli, y chian_.' _id._, p. . the matlaltzincas also raised the _hoauhtli_. _id._, p. . besides corn, the most important products were cotton, cacao, maguey (metl), frijoles, chia, and chile. _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . 'les mexicains cultivaient non-seulement toutes les fleurs et toutes les plantes que produit leur pays, mais encore une infinité d'autres qu'ils y avaient transplantées des contrées les plus éloignées.' _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . _id._, _crónica_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . 'hay frutas de muchas maneras, en que hay cerezas, y ciruelas que son semejables á las de españa.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . fruit was more abundant among the huastecs than elsewhere. _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . 'they haue also many kindes of pot herbes, as lettice, raddish, cresses, garlicke, onyons, and many other herbes besides.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iii. edible fruits. _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. . [ ] _molina_, _diccionario_. 'centli, o tlaulli, que otros dizen mayz.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, p. . [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . in tlascala 'no tienen otra riqueza ni granjeria, sino centli que es su pan.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] peter martyr and the anonymous conqueror say, however, that cacao-trees were planted under larger trees, which were cut down when the plant gained sufficient strength. dec. v., lib. iv.; _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] on the culture of maize and other points mentioned above see _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , , tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - , tom. iv., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. ii.; _gagern_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt ii., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] on hunting see _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. , tom. iii., lib. xi., pp. - , including a full list and description of mexican animals; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. , ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iii.; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , , ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . list of mexican animals in _id._, tom. i., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , - , with same list; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - , tom. ii., p. , with list and description of mexican fishes, of which over varieties fit for food are mentioned; repeated in _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. ii., iii.; _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . list of fishes in _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. xi., pp. - . [ ] 'crian muchas gallinas ... que son tan grandes como pavos.' 'conejos, liebres, venados y perros pequeños, que crian para comer castrados.' _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , , , . 'young whelpes flesh is vsuall there ... which they geld and fatte for foode.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iii. the same author, dec. v., lib. iii., gives some queer information respecting the turkeys. 'the femalles sometimes lay . or . egges, so that it is a multiplying company. the males, are alwayes in loue, and therefore they say, they are very light meate of digestion.' a certain priest reports that 'the male is troubled with certayne impedimentes in the legges, that he can scarse allure the henne to treade her, vnlesse some knowne person take her in his hand, and hold her.... as soone as hee perceiueth the henne which he loueth, is held, hee presently commeth vnto her, and performes his businesse in the hand of the holder,' see _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , tom. iv., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iii.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. v.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - , tom. iii., lib. x., p. ; _albornoz_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] on the preparation of food, and for mention more or less extensive of miscellaneous articles of food, see _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - , - , tom. ii., lib. vii., p. , tom. viii., pp. , - , tom. iii, lib. x., pp. - , , ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - , - , , - ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. - ; _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , , - ; _relacion de algunas cosas_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. ii., iii.; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. , ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , , , tom. ii., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. , - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. , , etc., tom. iv., p. ; _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , - , , , , - ; _spiegazione delle tavole del codice mexicano_ (vaticano), in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , - , - ; _diaz_, _itinerario_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - ; _zuazo_, _carta_, in _id._, pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. , tom. iii., pp. , - ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., pp. , - . [ ] 'oi dezir, que le (for montezuma) solian guisar carnes de muchachos de poca edad.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. , , . a slave 'elaborately dressed' was a prominent feature of the banquet. _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. . they ate the arms and legs of the spaniards captured. _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. . 'they draw so much blood, as in stead of luke warme water may suffice to temper the lumpe, which by the hellish butchers of that art, without any perturbation of the stomacke being sufficiently kneaded, while it is moyst, and soft euen as a potter of the clay, or a wax chandler of wax, so doth this image maker, admitted and chosen to be maister of this damned and cursed worke.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iv., i. 'cocian aquella carne con maíz, y daban á cada uno un pedazo de ella en una escudilla ó cajete con su caldo, y su maíz cocida, y llamaban aquella comida _tlacatlaolli_.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. , , , , . 'la tenian por cosa, como sagrada, y mas se movian à esto por religion, que por vicio.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . see also _albornoz_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _zuazo_, _carta_, in _id._, pp. , ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _id._, pp. - , ; _relacion de algunas cosas_, in _id._, p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _gand_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _bologne_, in _id._, p. ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., appendix, cap. iii.; _carbajal_, _discurso_, p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - , tom. iv., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. - . [ ] _texcalcevia_, _texcalcevilo_, and _mataluhtli_ are some of the names given to pulque according to its hue and condition. _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. , , . pulque from chilian language. _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . see _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - , tom. i., pp. - ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., cap. xxii.; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. . 'antes que á su vino lo cuezan con unas raices que le echan, es claro y dulce como aguamiel. despues de cocido, hácese algo espeso y tiene mal olor, y los que con él se embeodan, mucho peor.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - ; and _ritos antiguos_, pp. - , in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix. 'no hay perros muertos, ni bomba, que assi hiedan como el haliento del borracho deste vino.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] 'esta bebida es el mas sano y mas sustancioso alimento de cuantos se conocen en el mundo, pues el que bebe una taza de ella, aunque haga una jornada, puede pasarse todo el dia sin tomar otra cosa; y siendo frio por su naturaleza, es mejor en tiempo caliente que frio.' _relacion de algunas cosas_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . 'la mejor, mas delicada y cara beuida que tienen es de harina de cacao y agua. algunas vezes le mezclan miel, y harina de otras legumbres. esto no emborracha, antes refresca mucho.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'of certaine almondes ... they make wonderfull drinke.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. ii., iv. 'cierta bebida hecha del mismo cacao, que dezian era para tener acceso con mugeres.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . red, vermilion, orange, black, and white. _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - . see _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] _chicha_ and _sendechó_, fermented drinks. _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . sendechó, an otomí drink, for a full description see _mendoza_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. ii., pp. - . 'ale, and syder.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iv. 'panicap que es cierto brebaje que ellos beben.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . see besides references in note ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. , ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , - . [ ] _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - . 'comunmente comenzaban á beber despues de vísperas, y dábanse tanta prisa á beber de diez en diez, ó quince en quince, y los escanciadores que no cesaban, y la comida que no era mucha, á prima noche ya van perdiendo el sentido, ya cayendo ya asentado, cantando y dando voces llamando al demonio.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. , . 'beben con tanto exceso, que no paran hasta caer como muertos de puro ebrios, y tienen á grande honra beber mucho y embriagarse.' _relacion de algunas cosas_, in _id._, pp. , . drinkers and drunkards had several special divinities. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . drank less before the conquest. _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., cap. xxii.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'comen en el suelo, y suziamente ... parten los hueuos en vn cabello que se arrancan,' whatever that operation may be. _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'es gente que con muy poco mantenimiento vive, y la que menos come de cuantas hay en el mundo.' _relacion de algunas cosas_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - . 'molto sobrj nel mangiare.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . 'it is not lawfull for any that is vnmaried to sit at table with such as are maried, or to eate of the same dish, or drinke of the same cup, and make themselues equall with such as are married.' _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. iv. the nobles gave feasts at certain periods of the year for the relief of the poor. _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . see also _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . additional references for the whole subject of nahua food are:--_montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , , , ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, pp. , , - , ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - , - , , , - , , ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, pp. - ; _tylor's anahuac_, pp. , , - , - ; _fossey_, _mexique_, pp. , , - ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _monglave_, _résumé_, pp. - , ; _delaporte_ _reisen_, tom. x., pp. , - ; _dillon_, _hist. mex._, p. ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien y mod._, pp. - ; _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, p. ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pp. - ; _macgregor's progress of amer._, vol. i., p. ; _gibbs_, in _hist. mag._, vol. vii., p. ; _hazart_, _kirchen-geschichte_, tom. ii., p. ; _helps' span. conq._, tom. ii., p. ; _lafond_, _voyages_, tom. i., p. ; _baril_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - , , ; _lenoir_, _parallèle_, p. ; _long, porter, and tucker's america_, p. ; _soden_, _spanier in peru_, tom. ii., pp. - . chapter xi. dress of the nahua nations. progress in dress--dress of the pre-aztec nations--garments of the chichimecs and toltecs--introduction of cotton--the maxtli--the tilmatli--dress of the acolhuas--origin of the tarascan costume--dress of the zapotecs and tabascans--dress of women--the huipil and cueitl--sandals--manner of wearing the hair--painting and tattooing--ornaments used by the nahuas--gorgeous dress of the nobles--dress of the royal attendants--names of the various mantles--the royal diadem--the royal wardrobe--costly decorations. with but few exceptions the dress of all the civilized nations of mexico appears to have been the same. the earliest people, the historians inform us, went entirely naked or covered only the lower portion of the body with the skins of wild animals. afterwards, as by degrees civilization advanced, this scanty covering grew into a regular costume, though still, at first, made only of skins. from this we can note a farther advance to garments manufactured first out of tanned and prepared skins, later of maguey and palm-tree fibres, and lastly of cotton. from the latter no further progress was made, excepting in the various modes of ornamenting and enriching the garments with feather-work, painting, embroidery, gold-work, and jewelry. the common people were obliged to content themselves with plain clothing, but the dress of the richer classes, nobles, princes, and sovereigns, was of finer texture and richer ornamentation.[ ] the descriptions of the dresses of the nations which occupied the valley of mexico before the aztecs vary according to different authors. while some describe them as gorgeously decked out in painted and embroidered garments of cotton and nequen, others say, that they went either wholly naked or were only partially covered with skins. thus sahagun and brasseur de bourbourg describe the toltecs as dressed in undergarments and mantles on which blue scorpions were painted,[ ] while the latter author in another place says that they went entirely naked.[ ] veytia goes even farther than sahagun, affirming that they knew well how to manufacture clothing of cotton, that a great difference existed between the dress of the nobles and that of the plebeians, and that they even varied their clothing with the seasons. he describes them as wearing in summer a kind of breech-cloth or drawers and a square mantle tied across the breast and descending to the ankles, while in winter in addition to the above they clothed themselves in a kind of sack, which reached down as far as the thighs, without sleeves but with a hole for the head and two others for the arms.[ ] [sidenote: dress of the aztecs, tarascos, and huastecs.] the chichimecs, generally mentioned as the successors of the toltecs, are mostly described as going naked, or only partly dressed in skins.[ ] this appears, however, only to relate to the people spoken of as wild chichimecs; those who inhabited tezcuco and others in that neighborhood as civilized as the aztecs, dressed probably in a similar fashion to theirs; at least, as we shall presently see, this was the case with their sovereigns and nobles. all the nahuas, with the exception of the tarascos and huastecs, made use of the breech-cloth, or maxtli.[ ] this with the mexicans in very early times is said to have been a kind of mat, woven of the roots of a plant which grew in the lake of mexico, and was called _amoxtli_.[ ] later, the fibre of the palm-tree and the maguey furnished the material for their clothing, and it was only during the reign of king huitzilihuitl that cotton was introduced.[ ] the maxtli was about twenty-four feet long and nine inches wide, and was generally more or less ornamented at the ends with colored fringes and tassels, the latter sometimes nine inches long. the manner of wearing it was to pass the middle between the legs and to wind it about the hips, leaving the ends hanging one in front and the other at the back, as is done at this day by the malays and other east indian natives. it was at the ends usually that the greatest display of embroidery, fancy fringes, and tassels was made.[ ] [sidenote: garments of the tarascos.] as a further covering the men wore the _tilmatli_, or _ayatl_, a mantle, which was nothing more than a square piece of cloth about four feet long. if worn over both shoulders, the two upper ends were tied in a knot across the breast, but more frequently it was only thrown over one shoulder and knotted under one of the arms. sometimes two or three of these mantles were worn at one time. this, however, was only done by the better classes. the older spanish writers generally compare this mantle to the moorish albornoz. it was usually colored or painted, frequently richly embroidered or ornamented with feathers and furs. the edges were scalloped or fringed with tufts of cotton and sometimes with gold. rich people had, besides these, mantles made of rabbit or other skins, or of beautiful feathers, and others of fine cotton into which was woven rabbit-hair, which latter were used in cold weather.[ ] in only one instance garments with sleeves are mentioned. ixtlilxochitl, in describing the dress of the acolhuas, says that they wore a kind of long coat reaching to the heels with long sleeves.[ ] the dress of the tarascos differed considerably from that of the other nahua nations. this difference is said to have originated in ancient times, when they together with other tribes, as the legend relates, immigrated into mexico. while on their wanderings being obliged to cross a river, and having no ropes with which to construct rafts, they used for this purpose their maxtlis and mantles. not being able to procure other clothing immediately, they were under the necessity of putting on the _huipiles_, or chemises, of the women, leaving to the latter only their _naguas_, or petticoats. in commemoration of this event, they later adopted this as their national costume, discarding the maxtli and wearing the huipil and a mantle.[ ] the tilmatli, or ayatl, was by the tarascos called _tlanatzi_. it was worn over one shoulder and was knotted under the other arm. they frequently trimmed it with hare-skins and painted it gaudily. the young wore it considerably shorter than old people. the manufacture of feather garments seems to have been a specialty of the tarascos.[ ] the zapotecs chiefly dressed in skins, while others in oajaca are said to have worn small jackets, and cortés reports these people to have been better dressed than any he had previously seen.[ ] in tabasco but little covering was used, the greater part of the population going almost naked.[ ] [sidenote: dress of women.] there was no difference in the dress of the women throughout anáhuac. the huipil and _cueitl_ were the chief articles, and were universally used. besides these, mantles of various shapes and materials were worn. the huipil was a kind of chemise, with either no sleeves at all or very short ones; it covered the upper part of the body to a little below the thighs. the lower part of the body was covered by the cueitl, a petticoat, reaching to about half-way between the knees and ankles, and often nicely embroidered and ornamented. skins, _ixcotl_, or palm-fibre, nequen, and cotton were the materials used for these garments. out of doors they frequently put on another over-dress similar to the huipil, only longer and with more ornamental fringes and tassels. sometimes they wore two or three of these at the same time, one over the other, but in that case they were of different lengths, the longest one being worn underneath. a mantle similar in size and shape to that used by the men, white and painted in various designs on the outside, was also used by the females. to the upper edge of this, on that portion which was at the back of the neck, a capuchin, like that worn by the dominican and other monks, was fastened, with which they covered their head.[ ] to protect their feet they used sandals, by the aztecs called _cactli_, which were made of deer or other skins, and frequently also of nequen and cotton. the strings or straps used to fasten them were of the same material.[ ] i do not find any description of the manner in which they were fastened, but in an old mexican manuscript on maguey paper, in which some of the natives are painted in various colors, i find that the sandals were fastened in three places; first by a strap running across the foot immediately behind the toes, then another over the instep and running toward the heel, and lastly by a strap from the heel round the ankle. [sidenote: hair-dressing and painting.] as a general thing mexicans wore the hair long, and in many parts of the empire it was considered a disgrace to cut the hair of a free man or woman.[ ] unlike most of the american natives they wore moustaches, but in other parts of the body they eradicated all hair very carefully.[ ] there were public barber-shops and baths in all the principal cities.[ ] the aztecs had various ways of dressing the hair, differing according to rank and office. generally it was left hanging loose down the back. the women also frequently wore it in this way, but oftener had it done up or trimmed after various fashions; thus some wore it long on the temples and had the rest of the head shaved, others twisted it with dark cotton thread, others again had almost the whole head shaved. among them it was also fashionable to dye the hair with a species of black clay, or with an herb called _xiuhquilitl_, the latter giving it a violet shade. unmarried girls wore the hair always loose; they considered it as especially graceful to wear the hair low[ ] on the forehead. the virgins who served in the temples had their hair cut short.[ ] the otomís shaved the fore part of the heads of children, leaving only a tuft behind, which they called _piochtli_, while the men wore the hair cut short as far as the middle of the back of the head, but left it to grow long behind; and these long locks they called _piocheque_. girls did not have their hair cut until after marriage, when it was worn in the same style as by the men.[ ] the tarascos, or as they were also called quaochpanme, derived this last name from an old fashion of having their heads shaved, both men and women.[ ] later they wore the hair long, the common people simply letting it hang down the back, while the rich braided it with cotton threads of various colors.[ ] the miztecs wore the hair braided, and ornamented with many feathers.[ ] the nahua women used paint freely to beautify their person, and among some nations they also tattooed. among the aztecs they painted their faces with a red, yellow, or black color, made, as sahagun tells us, of burnt incense mixed with dye. they also dyed their feet black with the same mixture. their teeth they cleaned and painted with cochineal; hands, neck, and breast were also painted.[ ] among the tlascaltecs the men painted their faces with a dye made of the _xagua_ and _bixa_.[ ] the otomís tattooed their breasts and arms by making incisions with a knife and rubbing a blue powder therein. they also covered the body with a species of pitch called _teocahuitl_, and over this again they applied some other color. their teeth they dyed black.[ ] the nahuas, like all semi-barbarous people, had a passion for loading themselves with ornaments. those worn by the kings, nobles, and rich persons, were of gold or silver, set with precious stones; those of the poorer classes were of copper, stone, or bone, set with imitations in crystal of the rarer jewels. these ornaments took the shape of bracelets, armlets, anklets, and rings for the nose, ears, and fingers. the lower lip was also pierced, and precious stones, or crystals, inserted. the richer classes used principally for this purpose the chalchiuite, which is generally designated as an emerald. there existed very stringent laws regarding the class of ornaments which the different classes of people were allowed to wear, and it was prohibited, on pain of death, for a subject to use the same dress or ornaments as the king. duran relates that to certain very brave but low-born warriors permission was accorded to wear a cheap garland or crown on the head, but on no account might it be made of gold.[ ] gomara tells us that the claws and beaks of the eagle and also fish-bones were worn as ornaments in the ears, nose, and lips.[ ] the otomís used ear-ornaments made of burned clay, nicely browned, and others of cane.[ ] the tarascos chiefly relied on feathers for their personal adornment.[ ] of the natives encountered by cortés when he landed at vera cruz, peter martyr tells us that in the "hole of the lippes, they weare a broad plate within fastened to another on the outside of the lippe, and the iewell they hang thereat is as great as a siluer caroline doller and as thicke as a mans finger."[ ] in oajaca more ornaments were worn than in any other part of the country, owing, perhaps, as the abbé brasseur de bourbourg remarks, to the plentiful supply of precious metals in that state.[ ] [sidenote: dress of the nobles.] the dress of the nobles and members of the royal household differed from that of the lower classes only in fineness of material and profusion of ornaments. the kings appear to have worn garments of the same shape as those of their subjects, but, in other respects, a particular style of dress was reserved for royalty, and he who presumed to imitate it was put to death. on occasions, however, when the monarch wished to bestow a special mark of favor upon a brave soldier or distinguished statesman, he would graciously bestow upon him one of his garments, which, even though the recipient were a great noble, was received with joy, and the wearer respected as a man whom the king delighted to honor.[ ] in tlascala differences of rank among the nobles were easily recognized by the style of dress. the common people were strictly forbidden to wear cotton clothes with fringes or other trimmings, unless with special permission, granted in consideration of services rendered.[ ] the court laws of etiquette prescribed the dress to be worn by the royal attendants, who could only appear without sandals, barefooted, and in coarse mantles before the king, and even the apparel of the sovereign was in like manner fixed by custom, if not by law. the different kinds of tilmatlis, or mantles, had each its appropriate name, and varied in material as well as in ornament and color. the cotton mantles are described as being of exceeding fineness of texture, so much so that it required an expert to determine whether they were cotton or silk.[ ] the mantle worn as every-day dress in the palace was white and blue and called the _xiuhtilmatli_.[ ] there were many other kinds of mantles, of which the following are the principal: a yellowish, heavily fringed mantle, on which monstrous heads were painted, was called _coazayacaiotilmatli_; another, blue, ornamented with red shells, with three borders, one light, another dark blue, and a third of white feather-work, and fringed with the same kind of shells, was named _tecuciciotilmatli_; another, dark yellow, with alternate black and white circles painted on it, and a border representing eyes, was the _temalcacaiotilmatlitenisio_; a similar one, differing only in the figures and shape of the ornaments, was the _itzcayotilmatli_; a very gaudy one, worked in many colors, was the _umetechtecomaiotilmatli_; another, with a yellow ground, on which were butterflies made of feathers, and with scalloped edges, was called _papaloiotilmatlitenisio_; the _xaoalquauhiotilmatlitenisio_, was embroidered with designs representing the flower called _ecacazcatl_, and further ornamented with white feather-work and feather edges; the _ocelotentlapalliyiticycacocelotl_ was an imitation of a tiger-skin, also ornamented with an edge of white feathers; the _ixnextlacuilolli_ was worked in many colors, and had a sun painted on it.[ ] other mantles, differing mainly in their style of ornamentation, were the _coaxacayo_ and _tlacalhuaztilmatli_, the latter worn when the king went into his gardens or to the chase. in the same manner there are also various kinds of maxtlis mentioned, such as the _ynyaomaxaliuhqui_, _ytzahuazalmaxtlatl_ and _yacahualiuqui_.[ ] in fact there appears to have been a different dress for every occasion. we are told, for instance, that when going to the temple the king wore a white mantle, another when going to preside at the court of justice, and here he again changed his dress, according as the case before the court was a civil or criminal suit.[ ] the sandals of the kings were always richly ornamented with precious stones, and had golden soles.[ ] [sidenote: dress of the kings.] whenever the sovereign appeared in public he wore the royal crown, called _copilli_, which was of solid gold, and is described by most writers as having been shaped like a bishop's mitre; but in the hieroglyphical paintings, in which the mexican kings are represented, it is simply a golden band, wider in front than at the back, the front running up to a point; on some occasions it was ornamented with long feathers.[ ] the following description of ornaments, worn by the mexican kings and nobles, i extract from sahagun:-- [sidenote: aboriginal dress.] the _quetzalalpitoai_ consisted of two tassels of fine feathers garnished with gold, which they wore bound to the hair on the crown of the head, and hanging down to the temples. the _tlauhquecholtzontli_ was a handsome garment of feathers worn on the shoulders. on the arms they placed gold rings; on the wrists a thick black strap made soft with balsam, and upon it a large chalchiuite or other precious stone. they also had a _barbote_, or chin-piece, of chalchiuite or other precious stone, set in gold, inserted in the chin. these chin-ornaments were made long, of crystal, with some blue feathers in the centre, which made them look like sapphire. the lip had a hole bored in it, from which precious stones or gold crescents were suspended. the great lords likewise had holes in their nose, and placed therein very fine turquoises or other precious stones, one on each side of the nose. on their necks they wore strings of precious stones, or a medal suspended by a gold chain, with pearl pendants hanging from its edge, and a flat jewel in the centre of it. they used bracelets of mosaic work made with turquoises. on their legs they wore, from the knee down, greaves of very thin gold. they carried in the right hand a little golden flag with a tuft of gaudy feathers on the top. upon their heads they wore a bird made of rich feathers, with its head and beak resting on the forehead, its tail toward the back of the head, its wings falling over the temples.[ ] footnotes: [ ] 'la gente pobre vestia de nequen, que es la tela que se haze del maguey, y los ricos vestian de algodon, con orlas labradas de pluma, y pelo de conejos.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. ii. [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . 'maxtli enrichi de broderies, et ... tunique d'une grande finesse.' _id._, p. . 'en tiempo de calor con sus mantas y pañetes de algodon, y en tiempo de frio se ponian unos jaquetones sin mangas que los llevaban hasta las rodillas con sus mantas y pañetes.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] 'nu suivant la coutume des indigènes qui travaillaient aux champs.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'algodon, que sabian beneficiar y fabricar de él las ropas de que se vestian.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. ; _id._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'su vestuario eran las pieles ... que las ablandaban y curaban para el efecto, trayendo en tiempo de frios el pelo adentro, y en tiempo de calores ... el pelo por la parte afuera.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'por lo frio de su clima vestian todos pieles de animales adobadas y curtidas, sin que perdiesen el pelo, las que acomodaban á manera de un sayo, que por detras les llegaba hasta las corvas, y por delante á medio muslo.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. , tom. i., p. . 's'habillaient ... de peaux de bêtes fauves, le poil en dehors durant l'été, vieillard en hiver.... chez les classes aisées ... ces peaux étaient tannées ou maroquinées avec art; on y usait aussi des toiles de nequen, et quelquefois des cotonnades d'une grande finesse.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'maxtlatl, bragas, o cosa semejante.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. the tarascos 'n'adoptèrent jamais l'usage des caleçons.' _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . the maxtli is frequently spoken of as drawers or pantaloons. the huastecs 'no traen maxtles con que cubrir sus vergüenzas.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'cominciarono in questo tempo a vestirsi di cotone, del quale erano innanzi affatto privi per la loro miseria, nè d'altro vestivansi, se non delle tele grosse di filo di maguei, o di palma salvatica.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . 'les mexicains, les tecpanèques et les autres tribus qui restèrent en arrière, conservèrent l'usage des étoffes de coton, de fil de palmier, de maguey ixchele, de poil de lapin et de lièvre, ainsi que des peaux d'animaux.' _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . 'non aveano lana, nè seta comune, nè lino, nè canapa; ma supplivano alla lana col cotone, alla seta colla piuma, e col pelo del coniglio, e della lepre, ed al lino, ed alla canapa coll' _icxotl_, o palma montana, col _quetzalichtli_, col _pati_, e con altre spezie di maguei.... il modo, che avevano di preparar questi materiali, era quello stesso, che hanno gli europei nel lino, e nella canapa. maceravano in acqua le foglie, e poi le nettavano, le mettevano al sole, e le ammaccavano, finattantochè le mettevano in istato di poterle filare.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . ycçotl, palma montana. 'non videtur filendum, è folijs huius arboris fila parari, linteis, storisq. intexendis perquam accommoda, politiora, firmioraq. eis quæ ex metl passim fieri consueuere, madentibus in primis aqua, mox protritis, ac lotis, iterumq. et iterum maceratis, et insolatis, donec apta reddantur, vt neri possint, et in usus accommodari materies est leuis, aclenta.' _hernandez_, _nova plant._, p. . [ ] '_maxtles_, c'est ainsi qu'on nomme en langue mexicaine des espèces _d'almaysales_ qui sont longues de quatre brasses, larges d'une palme et demie et terminées par des broderies de diverses couleurs, qui ont plus d'une palme et demie de haut.' _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . 'cuoprono le loro parti vergogno se cosi di dietro come dinanzi, con certi sciugatoi molto galanti, che sono come gran fazzuoli che si legano il capo per viaggio, di diuersi colori, e orlati di varie foggie, e di colori similmente diuersi, con i suoi fiocchi, che nel cingersegli, viene l'un capo dauanti e l'altro di dietro.' _relatione fatta par vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . in meztitlan, 'les uns et les autres couvraient leur nudités d'une longue bande d'étoffe, semblable à un almaizar, qui leur faisait plusieurs fois le tour du corps et passait ensuite entre les jambes, les extrémités retombant par-devant jusqu'aux genoux.' _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. . 'los vestidos que traen (totonacs) es como de almaizales muy pintados, y los hombres traen tapadas sus verguenzas.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . in oajaca, 'maxtles conque se cubrian sus vergüenzas.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. , , . the miztecs 'por çaraguelles trahian matzles; que los castellanos dizen mastiles.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'il tilmatli era un mantello quadro, lungo quattro piedi in circa; due estremità d'esso annodavano sul petto, o sopra una spalla.... gli uomini solevano portar due, o tre mantelli.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , and plate, p. . 'i vestimenti loro son certi manti di bambagia come lenzuola, ma non cosi grande, lauoratori di gentili lauori di diuerse maniere, e con le lor franze e orletti, e di questi ciascun n 'ha duoi ò tre e se gli liga per dauanti al petto.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . 'todos traen albornoces encima de la otra ropa, aunque son diferenciados de los de africa, porque tienen maneras; pero en la hechura y tela y los rapacejos son muy semejables.' _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , . 'leur vêtement consistait anciennement dans deux ou trois manteaux d'une vare et demi en carré, noués, par en haut, le noeud se mettant pour les uns sur la poitrine, pour les autres à l'épaule gauche, et souvent par derrière.' _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., pp. - . 'ningun plebeyo vestia de algodon, con franja, ni guarnicion, ni ropa rozagante, sino senzilla, llana, corta, y sin ribete, y assi era conocido cada vno en el trage.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvii.; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. . 'otras hacian de pelo de conejo, entretexido de hilo de algodon ... con que se defendian del frio.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _diaz_, _itinerario_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . the totonacs; 'algunos con ropas de algodon, ricas a su costumbre. los otros casi desnudos.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. , ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . huastecs 'andan bien vestidos: y sus ropas y mantas son muy pulidas y curiosas con lindas labores, porque en su tierra hacen las mantas que llaman _centzontilmatli, cenzonquaehtli_, que quiere dezir, mantas _de mil colores_: de allá se traen las mantas que tienen unas cabezas de monstruos pintadas, y las de remolinos de agua engeridas unas con otras, en las cuales y en otras muchas, se esmeraban las tejedoras.' _id._, p. . 'una manta cuadrada anudada sobre el pecho, hácia el hombro siniestro, que descendia hasta los tobillos; pero en tiempo de invierno cubrian mas el cuerpo con un sayo cerrado sin mangas, y con una sola abertura en la sumida para entrar la cabeza, y dos á los lados para los brazos, y con él se cubrian hasta los muslos.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. ; _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'vestíanse, unas túnicas largas de pellejos curtidos hasta los carcañales, abiertas por delante y atadas con unas á manera de agugetas, y sus manos que llegaban hasta las muñecas, y las manos.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., pp. - ; _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. ix. [ ] 'el trage de ellos era de diversas maneras, unos traían mantas, otros como unas xaquetillas.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . 'era mas vestida que estotra que habemos visto.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . 'la mayor parte andauan en cueros.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiv. the miztecs 'vestian mantas blancas de algodon, texidas, pintadas, y matizadas con flores, rosas, y aves de diferentes colores: no trahian camisas.' _id._, cap. xii. [ ] 'andan casi desnudos.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] 'traen camisas de medias mangas.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . in jalisco they had 'vn huipilillo corto, que llaman ixquemitl, ò teapxoloton.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'una sopravvesta ... con maniche più lunghe.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. , tom. i., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . in michoacan 'no traían vipiles.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. , ; _spiegazione delle tavole del codice mexicano_ (vaticano), in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii. [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. , ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvii.; _id._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. ix., xii.; _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'aveano a disonore l'esser tosati.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . 'ni bien baruados, porque se arrancan y vntan los pelos para que no nazcan.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . the mistecs 'las barbas se arrancauan con tenazillas de oro.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii. [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'hazen lo negro con tierra por gentileza y porque les mate los piojos. las casadas se lo rodean a la cabeça con vn ñudo a la frente. las virgines y por casar, lo traen suelto, y echado atras y adelante. pelan se y vntan se todas para no tener pelo sino en la cabeça y cejas, y assi tienen por hermosura tener chica frente, y llena de cabello, y no tener colodrillo.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - , tom. iii., lib. x., pp. , , tom. xi., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. . the chichimecs wore it, 'largo hasta las espaldas, y por delante se lo cortan.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . [ ] 'llámase tambien quaochpanme, que quiere decir hombres de cabeza rapada ó raida, porque antiguamente estos tales no traían cabellos largos, antes se rapaban la cabeza así los hombres, como las mugeres.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiv. [ ] 'se raiaban las caras.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. . [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - . [ ] _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xxvi. [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii.; clavigero, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , describes the ornaments, but in his accompanying plate fails to show any of them. _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix. pp. - ; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., p. . [ ] 'de barro cocido bien bruñidas, ó de caña.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . [ ] _id._, p. . the totonacs 'traian vnos grandes agujeros en los beços de abaxo, y en ellos vnas rodajas de piedras pintadillas de azul, y otros con vnas hojas de oro delgadas, y en las orejas muy grandes agujeros, y en ellos puestas otras rodajas de oro, y piedras.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. vii. [ ] the miztecs 'traen imán, axorcas muy anchas de oro, y sartales de piedra á las muñecas, y joyeles de éstas y de oro al cuello.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'ninguna persona (aunque fuesen sus propios hijos) podia vestirlo, so pena de la vida.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xxvi. [ ] _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . [ ] 'tan delgadas y bien texidas que necesitaban del tacto para diferenciarse de la seda.' _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp - . [ ] _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] 'para salir de palacio los reies à visitar los templos, se vestian de blanco; pero para entrar en los consejos, y asistir en otros actos publicos, se vestian de diferentes colores, conforme la ocasion.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . 'les rois s'habillaient tantôt de blanc, tantôt d'étoffes d'un jaune obscur ornées de franges de mille couleurs.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. , tom. iv., pp. - . 'mantas de á dos haces, labradas de plumas de papos de aves, tan suaves, que trayendo la mano por encima á pelo y á pospelo, no era mas que una marta cebellina muy bien adobada: hice pesar una dellas, no pesó mas de seis onzas.' _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . 'vestidos de pelo de conejo y de algodon de mucha curiosidad, y estas eran vestiduras de caciques y de gente muy principal' in michoacan. _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., pp. - ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , , ; _id._, _relaciones_, in _id._, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . description of montezuma's dress when meeting cortés, in _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. iii., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. . representations of the dresses of the mexican kings and nobles are also in the _codex mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. i. [ ] 'traia calçados vnos como cotaras, que assi se dize lo que se calçan, las suelas de oro, y muy preciada pedreria encima en ellas.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . 'portoit une chaussure de peau de chevreuil.' _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xxiv., p. . 'Çapatos de oro, que ellos llaman zagles, y son a la manera antigua de los romanos, tenian gran pedreria de mucho valor, las suelas estauan prendidas con correas.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. v. 'cotaras de cuero de tigres.' _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., pp. - ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., pp. - , . [ ] 'la corona de rey, que tiene semejança a la corona de la señoria de venecia.' _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . 'unas tiaras de oro y pedrería.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . 'en la cabeça vnos plumajes ricos, que ataban tantos cabellos de la corona, quanto toma el espacio de la corona clerical: estos plumajes prendian y ataban con vna correa colorada, y de ella colgaban con sus pinjantes de oro, que pendian à manera de chias de mitra de obispo.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . 'era di varie materie giusta il piacere dei re, or di lame sottili d'oro or tessuta di filo d'oro, e figurata con vaghe penne.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , tom. iii., p. . 'before like a myter, and behinde it was cut, so as it was not round, for the forepart was higher, and did rise like a point.' _purchas his pilgrimes_, tom. iv., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. vii., lib. ii., pp. - ; _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _id._, p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. , tom. iii., p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcix., p. . further mention of ornaments in the enumeration of presents given by montezuma to cortés in _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. iii., pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. v., cap. v.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , , , , ; _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., pp. , - ; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., pp. - , ; _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., pp. , , , - ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. . among the modern authors who have written upon the subject of dress may be mentioned: _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , - , tom. ii., pp. , - , with numerous cuts; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, p. ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien et mod._, pp. - ; _dillon_, _hist. mex._, p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - , , , ; _monglave_, _résumé_, p. ; _brownell's ind. races_, pp. , ; _baril_, _mexique_, p. ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. . chapter xii. commerce of the nahua nations. the main features of nahua commerce--commerce in pre-aztec times--outrages committed by aztec merchants--privileges of the merchants of tlatelulco--jealousy between merchants and nobles--articles used as currency--the markets of anÁhuac--arrangement and regulations of the market-places--number of buyers and sellers--transportation of wares--traveling merchants--commercial routes--setting out on a journey--caravans of traders--the return--customs and feasts of the merchants--nahua boats and navigation. [sidenote: commerce in pre-aztec times.] traditional history tells us but little respecting american commerce previous to the formation of the great aztec alliance, or empire, but the faint light thrown on the subject would indicate little or no change in the system within the limits of nahua history. the main features of the commercial system in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, were: markets in one or more of the public squares of every town, where eatables and other articles of immediate necessity were daily sold--shops proper being unknown; frequently recurring fairs in each of the large towns, where the products of agriculture, manufacture, and art in the surrounding country were displayed before consumers and merchants from home and from abroad; similar fairs but on a grander scale in the great commercial centres, where home products were exchanged for foreign merchandise, or sold for export to merchants from distant nations who attended these fairs in large numbers; itinerant traders continually traversing the country in companies, or caravans; and the existence of a separate class exclusively devoted to commerce. from the earliest times the two southern anáhuacs of ayotlan and xicalanco, corresponding to what are now the southern coast of oajaca and the tierra caliente of tabasco and southern vera cruz, were inhabited by commercial peoples, and were noted for their fairs and the rich wares therein exposed for sale. these nations, the xicalancas, mijes, huaves, and zapotecs even engaged to some extent in a maritime coasting trade, mostly confined, however, as it would appear, to the coasts of their own territories and those immediately adjacent; and in this branch of commerce little or no advance had been made at the time when the spaniards came.[ ] the toltecs are reported to have excelled in commerce as in all other respects, and the markets of tollan and cholula are pictured in glowing colors; but all traditions on this subject are exceedingly vague.[ ] in the new era of prosperity that followed the toltec disasters cholula seems to have held the first place as a commercial centre, her fairs were the most famous, and her merchants controlled the trade of the southern coasts on either ocean. after the coming of the teo-chichimec hordes to the eastern plateau, tlascala became in her turn the commercial metropolis of the north, a position which she retained until forced to yield it to the merchants of the mexican valley, who were supported by the warlike hordes of the aztec confederacy. before the aztec supremacy, trade seems to have been conducted with some show of fairness, and commerce and politics were kept to a great extent separate. but the aztecs introduced a new order of things. their merchants, instead of peaceful, industrious, unassuming travelers, became insolent and overbearing, meddling without scruple in the public affairs of the nations through whose territory they had to pass, and trusting to the dread of the armies of mexico for their own safety; caravans became little less than armed bodies of robbers. the confederate kings were ever ready to extend by war the field of their commerce, and to avenge by the hands of their warriors any insult, real or imaginary, offered to their merchants. the traveling bands of traders were instructed to prepare maps of countries traversed, to observe carefully their condition for defence, and their resources. if any province was reported rich and desirable, its people were easily aggravated to commit some act of insolence which served as a pretext to lay waste their lands, and make them tributary to the kings of anáhuac. within the provinces that were permanently and submissively tributary to mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan, traffic may be supposed to have been as a rule fairly conducted. the merchants had in turn to pay into the royal treasury a large percentage of their gains, but this, under the circumstances, they could well afford. tlatelulco while an independent city was noted for her commerce, as was tenochtitlan for the prowess of her warriors, and when mercantile enterprise was forced to yield to the power of arms, tlatelulco, as a part of mexico, retained her former preëminence in trade, and became the commercial centre of anáhuac. her merchants, who were a separate class of the population, were highly honored, and, so far as the higher grades were concerned, the merchant princes, the _pochtecas_, dwellers in the aristocratic quarter of pochtlan, had privileges fully equal to those of the nobles. they had tribunals of their own, to which alone they were responsible, for the regulation of all matters of trade. they formed indeed, to all intents and purposes, a commercial corporation controlling the whole trade of the country, of which all the leading merchants of other cities were in a sense subordinate members. jealousy between this honored class of merchants and the nobility proper, brought about the many complications during the last years of the aztec empire, to which i have referred in a preceding chapter. throughout the nahua dominion commerce was in the hands of a distinct class, educated for their calling, and everywhere honored both by people and by kings; in many regions the highest nobles thought it no disgrace to engage in commercial pursuits. [sidenote: the tlatelulcan company.] besides the pochtecas, two other classes of merchants are mentioned in tlatelulco, the _nahualoztomecas_, those who made a specialty of visiting the lands of enemies in disguise, and the _teyaohualohuani_ or traders in slaves.[ ] the merchants were exempt from military and other public service, and had the right not only to make laws for the regulation of trade, but to punish even those who were not of their class for offenses against such laws. sahagun gives an account of the gradual development and history of the tlatelulcan company, stating the names of the leading merchants under the successive kings, with details respecting the various articles dealt in at different periods, all of which is not deemed of sufficient interest to be reproduced in these pages. nahua trade was as a rule carried on by means of barter, one article of merchandise being exchanged for another of equivalent value. still, regular purchase and sale were not uncommon, particularly in the business of retailing the various commodities to consumers. although no regular coined money was used, yet several more or less convenient substitutes furnished a medium of circulation. chief among these were nibs, or grains, of the cacao, of a species somewhat different from that employed in making the favorite drink, chocolate. this money, known as _patlachté_, passed current anywhere, and payments of it were made by count up to eight thousand, which constituted a _xiquipilli_. in large transactions sacks containing three xiquipilli were used to save labor in counting. _patolquachtli_ were small pieces of cotton cloth used as money in the purchase of articles of immediate necessity or of little value. another circulating medium was gold-dust kept in translucent quills, that the quantity might be readily seen. copper was also cut into small pieces shaped like a t, which constituted perhaps the nearest approach to coined money. cortés, in search of materials for the manufacture of artillery, found that in several provinces pieces of tin circulated as money, and that a mine of that metal was worked in taxco. sahagun says the mexican king gave to the merchant-soldiers, dispatched on one of their politico-commercial expeditions, sixteen hundred _quauhtli_, or eagles, to trade with. bustamante, sahagun's editor, supposes these to have been the copper pieces already mentioned, but brasseur believes, from the small value of the copper and the large amount of rich fabrics purchased with the eagles, that they were of gold. the same authority believes that the golden quoits with which montezuma paid his losses at gambling also served as money.[ ] [sidenote: the markets of anÁhuac.] the nahuas bought and sold their merchandise by count and by measures both of length and capacity, but not by weight; at least, such is the general opinion of the authorities. sahagun, however, says of the skillful merchant that he knows "the value of gold and silver, according to the weight and fineness, is diligent and solicitous in his duty, and defrauds not in weighing, but rather gives overweight," and this too in the "time of their infidelity." native words also appear in several vocabularies for weights and scales. brasseur de bourbourg regards this as ample proof that scales were used. clavigero thinks weights may have been employed and mention of the fact omitted in the narratives.[ ] the market, _tianquiztli_, of tlatelulco was the grandest in the country and may be taken as a representative of all. its grandeur consisted, however, in the abundance and variety of the merchandise offered for sale and in the crowd of buyers and sellers, not in the magnificence of the buildings connected with it; for the market-place was simply an open plaza, surrounded as all the authorities say with 'porticoes' where merchandise was exhibited. what these porticoes were we are left to conjecture. probably they were nothing more than simple booths arranged in streets and covering the whole plaza, where merchants and their wares were sheltered from the rays of a tropical sun. whatever may have been the nature and arrangement of these shelters, we know that the space was systematically apportioned among the different industries represented. fishermen, hunters, farmers, and artists, each had their allotted space for the transaction of business. hither, as torquemada tells us, came the potters and jewelers from cholula, the workers in gold from azcapuzalco, the painters from tezcuco, the shoe-makers from tenayocan, the huntsmen from xilotepec, the fishermen from cuitlahuac, the fruit-growers of the tierra caliente, the mat-makers of quauhtitlan, the flower-dealers of xochimilco, and yet so great was the market that to each of these was afforded an opportunity to display his wares. all kinds of food, animal and vegetable, cooked and uncooked, were arranged in the most attractive manner; eating-houses were also attached to the tianquiztli and much patronized by the poorer classes. here were to be found all the native cloths and fabrics, in the piece and made up into garments coarse and fine, plain and elaborately embroidered, to suit the taste and means of purchasers; precious stones, and ornaments of metal, feathers, or shells; implements and weapons of metal, stone, and wood; building material, lime, stone, wood, and brick; articles of household furniture; matting of various degrees of fineness; medicinal herbs and prepared medicines; wood and coal; incense and censers; cotton and cochineal; tanned skins; numerous beverages; and an infinite variety of pottery; but to enumerate all the articles noticed in the market-place by the conquerors would make a very long list, and would involve, beside, the repetition of many names which have been or will be mentioned elsewhere. cortés speaks of this market as being twice as large as that of salamanca, and all the conquistadores are enthusiastic in their expressions of wonder not only at the variety of products offered for sale, but at the perfect order and system which prevailed, notwithstanding the crowd of buyers and sellers. the judges of the commercial tribunal, twelve in number according to torquemada, four, according to zuazo, held their court in connection with the market buildings, where they regulated prices and measures, and settled disputes. watchmen acting under their authority, constantly patrolled the tianquiztli to prevent disorder. any attempt at extortionate charges, or at passing off injured or inferior goods, or any infringement on another's rights was immediately reported and severely punished. the judges had even the right to enforce the death penalty. other markets in the nahua regions were on a similar plan, those of tlascala and tezcuco coming next to that of tlatelulco in importance.[ ] [sidenote: buyers and sellers.] trade was carried on daily in the tianquiztli, chiefly for the convenience of the inhabitants of the city, but every fifth day was set apart as a special market-day, on which a fair was held, crowded not only by local customers, but by buyers and sellers from all the country round, and from foreign lands. in tlatelulco these special market-days were those that fell under the signs calli, tochtli, acatl, and tecpatl. in other large cities, days with other signs were chosen, in order that the fairs might not occur on the same day in neighboring towns. las casas says that each of the two market-places in the city of mexico would contain , persons, , being present each fifth day; and cortés tells us that more than , persons assembled daily in the tlatelulco market. according to the same authority , was the number of daily visitors to the market of tlascala. perhaps, however, he refers to the fair-days, on which occasion at tlatelulco, the anonymous conqueror puts the number at , , limiting the daily concourse to about , .[ ] considering the population of the cities and surrounding country, together with the limited facilities for transportation, these accounts of the daily attendance at the markets, as also of the abundance and variety of the merchandise, need not be regarded as exaggerations. on the lakes about the city of mexico merchandise of all kinds was transported to and from the markets by boats, , of which, as zuazo tells us, were employed daily in bringing provisions to the city.[ ] the heavier or more bulky articles of trade, such as building material, were often offered for sale in the boats to save the labor of repeated handling. boats were also used for transportation on the southern coasts, to some extent on navigable rivers, and also by traveling merchants in crossing such streams as could not conveniently be bridged. the only other means of transportation known in the country was that afforded by the carriers. large numbers of these carriers, or porters, were in attendance at the markets to move goods to and from the boats, or to carry parcels to the houses of consumers. for transportation from town to town, or to distant lands, merchandise was packed in bales, wrapped in skins and mats, or in bamboo cases covered with skin, known as _petlacalli_. cases, or cages, for the transportation of the more fragile wares were called _cacaxtli_. the _tlamama_, or regular carriers, were trained to their work of carrying burdens from childhood, seventy or eighty pounds was the usual burden carried, placed on the back and supported by the _mecapalli_, a strap passing round the forehead; twelve or fifteen miles was the ordinary day's journey. the tlamama, clad in a maxtli, carried on long trips, besides his bale of merchandise, a sort of palm-leaf umbrella, a bag of provisions, and a blanket. [sidenote: traveling merchants.] expeditions to distant provinces were undertaken by the company of tlatelulco for purposes of commercial gain; or by order of the king, when political gains were the object in view, and the traders in reality armed soldiers; or more rarely by individual merchants on their own private account. for protection large numbers usually traveled in company, choosing some one of the company to act as leader. previous to departure they gave a banquet to the old merchants of the town, who by reason of their age had ceased to travel; at this feast they made known their plans, and spoke of the places they intended to visit and roads by which they would travel. the old merchants applauded the spirit and enterprise of those who were going on the expedition, and, if they were young and inexperienced, encouraged them and spoke of the fame they would gain for having left their homes to undertake a dangerous journey and suffer privations and hardships. they reminded them of the wealth and honored name acquired by their fathers in similar expeditions, and gave them advice as to the best manner of conducting themselves on the road.[ ] on the route the carriers marched in single file, and at every camping-place the strictest watch was kept against enemies, and especially against robbers, who then as now infested the dangerous passes to lie in wait for the richly laden caravans. rulers of the different friendly provinces, mindful of the benefits resulting from such expeditions, constructed roads and kept them in repair; furnished bridges or boats for crossing unfordable streams; and at certain points, remote from towns, placed houses for the travelers' accommodation. expeditions in hostile provinces were undertaken by the nahualoztomecas, who disguised themselves in the dress of the province visited, and endeavored to imitate the manners and to speak the language of its people, with which it was a qualification of their profession to make themselves acquainted. extraordinary pains was taken to guard against robbers on the return to mexico, and it is also said to have been customary for the merchants on nearing the city, to dress in rags, affecting poverty, and an unsuccessful trip. the motive for this latter proceeding is not very apparent, nor for the invariable introduction of goods into the city by night; they had not even the hope of evading the payment of taxes which in later times prompts men to similar conduct, since merchandise could only be sold in the public market, where it could not be offered without paying the royal percentage of duties. the usual route of commercial expeditions was south-eastward to tochtepec near the banks of the rio alvarado, whence the caravans took separate roads according as their destination was the coast region of goazacoalco, the miztec and zapotec towns on the pacific, or the still more distant regions across the isthmus of tehuantepec. the southern limit reached by the traders of the aztec empire, it is impossible accurately to determine. the merchants of xicalanco furnished cortés, when about to undertake the conquest of honduras, tolerably correct maps of the whole region as far south as the isthmus of panamá;[ ] the raiders from anáhuac are known to have penetrated to chiapa, soconusco, and guatemala; it is by no means improbable that her merchants reached on more than one occasion the isthmus.[ ] the preceding pages contain all that has been preserved concerning nahua trade and traders except what may be termed the mythology of commerce, a branch of the subject not without importance, embracing the ceremonies, sacrifices, and superstitions connected with the setting-out, journey, and return of the tlatelulcan caravans. commerce, like every other feature of nahua civilization, was under the care of a special deity, and no merchant dared to set out on an expedition in quest of gain, without fully complying with all the requirements of the god as interpreted by the priesthood. the particular divinity of the traders was iyacatecutli, or iyacacoliuhqui, 'lord with the aquiline nose'--that nasal type being, as the abbé brasseur thinks, symbolic of mercantile cunning and skill. services in his honor were held regularly in the month of tlaxochimaco; but the ceremonies performed by traveling merchants, seem to have been mostly devoted to the god of fire and the god of the roads. [sidenote: setting-out of the merchants.] first a day was selected for the start whose sign was deemed favorable--ce cohuatl, 'one serpent,' was a favorite. the day before they departed the hair was cropped close, and the head soaped; during all their absence, even should it last for years, these operations must not be repeated, nor might they wash more than the neck, face, and hands, bathing the body being strictly prohibited. at midnight they cut flag-shaped papers for xiuhtecutli, the god of fire, fastened them to sticks painted with vermilion, and marked on them the face of the god with drops of melted _ulli_, or india-rubber. other papers also marked with ulli, were cut in honor of tlaltecutli, to be worn on the breast. others, for the god of the merchants, were used to cover a bamboo stick, which they worshiped and carried with them. the gods of the roads, zacatzontli and tlacotzontli, also had their papers ornamented with ulli-drops and painted butterflies; while the papers for cecoatlutlimelaoatl, one of the signs of the divining art, were decorated with snake-like figures. when all the papers were ready, those of the fire-god were placed before the fire in the house, the others being arranged in systematic order in the courtyard. then the merchants, standing before the fire, offered to it some quails which they first beheaded, and forthwith, drawing blood from their own ears and tongue, they repeated some mystic word and sprinkled the blood four times on the fire. blood was then sprinkled in turn on the papers in the house, towards the heavens and cardinal points, and finally on the papers in the courtyard. the fire-god's papers, after a few appropriate words to the deity, were burned in a brazier with pure white copal. if they burned with a clear flame, it was a good omen; otherwise ill fortune and disaster were betokened. the papers left outside were burned together--save those of the merchants' god--in a fire which was kindled in the court, and the ashes were carefully buried there. all this at midnight. at early dawn the principal merchants of the city or of the neighborhood, or simply friends and relatives of the party about to set out on the journey, according to the wealth of the party, with youths and old women, were invited to assemble and, after a washing of mouths and hands, to partake of food. after the repast, concluded by another washing and by smoking of pipes and drinking of chocolate, the host spoke a few words of welcome to the guests, and explained his plans. to this some one of the chief merchants briefly responded with wishes for the success of the expedition, advice respecting the route to be followed and behavior while abroad, applause for the spirit and enterprise shown, and words of encouragement to those about to undertake their first commercial journey, picturing to them in vivid colors both the hardships and the honors that were before them. then the merchandise and provisions for the trip were made ready in bales and placed in the canoes, if the start was to be made by water, under the direction of the leader who, after attending to this matter, made a farewell address of thanks for advice and good wishes, recommending to the care of those that remained behind their wives and children. the friends again replied briefly and all was ready for the departure. a fire was built in the courtyard and a vase of copal was placed near it. as a final parting ceremony each of the departing merchants took a portion of the copal and threw it on the fire, stepping at once toward his canoe. not another word of farewell must be spoken, nor a parting glance be directed backward to friends behind. to look back or speak would be a most unpropitious augury. [sidenote: caravans of traders.] thus they set out, generally at night, as sahagun implies. on the journey each merchant carried continually in his hand a smooth black stick representing his god iyacatecutli--probably the same sticks that have been mentioned as being covered with papers in honor of this god the night before the departure from home. when they halted for the night the sticks of the company were bound together in a bundle, forming a kind of combination divinity to whose protecting care the encampment was piously entrusted. to this god offerings of ulli and paper were made by the leaders, and to the gods of the roads as well. blood must also be drawn and mingled with the offering, else it were of no avail; and, a most inconvenient rule for poor weak humanity, the sacrificial offering had to be repeated twice again each night, so that one or another of the chiefs must be continually on the watch. the caravans, when their destination was a friendly province, usually bore some presents from the sovereigns of mexico as tokens of their good will, and they were received by the authorities of such provinces with some public ceremonies not definitely described. when the merchants returned home, after consultation with a _tonalpouhqui_, they awaited a favorable sign, such as ce calli, or chicome calli, 'one, or seven house,' and then entered the city under shade of night. they repaired immediately to the house of the leading merchant of the corporation, or to that of the merchant under whose direction their trip had been made, formally announcing their safe arrival, and also their intention to invite all the merchants on the following day to partake of "a little chocolate in their poor house," that is, to be present at a most sumptuous banquet. papers were then cut and at midnight offered with ulli, much after the manner already described, to the gods as a thank-offering for their protection. the feast that took place next day, when all the guests were assembled, was accompanied by additional offerings to the gods of fire and trade, and, of course, by speeches of the returned travelers and their guests, but presented no particularly noticeable contrasts with the many feasts that have been described. not only was the traveler obliged, according to the nahua superstition, to abstain from baths during his absence, but even his family during the same period, while allowed to bathe the body, must not wash the head or face oftener than once in eighty days; thus were the gods propitiated to watch kindly over their absent relative wandering in distant lands. if a merchant died while on a journey, his body, at least if he belonged to the highest rank, was neither buried nor burned, but, clad in fine apparel, and decorated with certain mystical papers and painted devices, it was put in a wooden cage, or cacaxtli, and secured to a tree on the top of a high mountain. advice of the death was forwarded to the old merchants, who in turn informed the family of the deceased, and regular funeral ceremonies were performed either immediately or on the return of the caravan. if the deceased met his death at the hands of an enemy, a wooden image was prepared, dressed in the clothing of the dead merchant, and made the subject of the usual funeral rites. [sidenote: feasts of the merchants.] besides the regular feasts attending the departure and return of caravans, many others took place under the auspices of the mercantile class. we have noticed the fondness of the nahua people for entertainments of this kind, and it is natural that the merchants, as the richest class in the community, should have been foremost in contributing to this popular taste. each merchant, when he had acquired great wealth by good fortune in his trading ventures, deemed it, as sahagun tells us, a most disgraceful thing "to die without having made some splendid expenditure" by entertaining his friends and fellow-merchants in a banquet, which should be remembered as _the_ event of his career. a long time was devoted to making ready for the feast, to the purchase of provisions and decorations, and to engaging dancers and singers, that no item might be neglected, nor any oversight be allowed to mar the perfect enjoyment of the invited guests. all being ready, a propitious sign was selected, and invitations issued. the object of the display of hospitality being not only the entertainment of friends, but a thanksgiving to the gods for favors shown to the host, the first ceremonies were naturally in honor of the deities. these began in the night preceding the feast-day, with offerings of flowers in the shrine of huitzilopochtli, in the chapels of other gods, and finally in the courtyard of the host, where were placed drums and two plates, on which perfumed canes were burning. those officiating whistled in a peculiar manner, and all, stooping, put some earth in their mouth, crying "our lord has sounded." then all burned perfumed copal, and a priest beheaded a quail before the drum, throwing it on the ground and watching in what direction it might flutter. if northward, it was a bad omen, foretelling sickness, or perhaps death. but the west and south were fortunate directions, indicating a peaceful and friendly disposition on the part of the gods. incense was burned toward the cardinal points, the burning coals were thrown from the censer into the fire, and then the performers engaged for the _areito_, including, it would seem, soldiers of several classes, led by the _tlacatecatl_, began to dance and sing. neither the host nor merchant guests joined in the dance, but remained in the house to receive the company and present them with bouquets of flowers. at midnight ulli-marked paper was offered to the gods, and its ashes buried to promote the prosperity of future generations. before the light of day chocolate was drunk and the _nanacatl_, or intoxicating mushroom, was eaten, which caused some to dance, others to sing, and yet others to sit pensive in their rooms dreaming dreams and seeing visions of horrid import, whose narration at a later hour, when the effects of the drug had passed away, formed a prominent feature of the entertainment. at the appearance of the morning star all the ashes of the sacrifices, the flowers, the burning canes, and all the implements used in the foregoing ceremonies, were buried, that they might not be seen by any visitor polluted by any kind of vice or uncleanness. the rising sun was greeted with songs, dancing, and beating of the teponaztli. the day was passed in feasting and music, and at the close of the day's banquet food was distributed to the common people. the banquet was often continued more than one day, and if after the first day's feast the provision of food was exhausted, it was regarded by the guests as a bad sign--a very sensible superstition truly. [sidenote: sacrifice of slaves.] there was another merchant's feast in the month of panquetzaliztli, in which a number of slaves were killed and eaten. the victims were purchased sometime beforehand at the slave mart in azcapuzalco, kept clean,--being therefore called _tlaaltilzin_, 'washed'--and fattened for the occasion. the male slaves meantime had no work but to dance daily on the housetop, but the women had to spin. the articles collected for this feast embraced large numbers of rich mantles, maxtlis, and huipiles, which were to be presented to guests. not only the residents of mexico were invited but members of the tlatelulcan company who lived in other towns. the giver of the feast went personally to many towns, especially to tochtepec, to issue invitations and distribute gifts. on his arrival he went first to the shrine of iyacatecutli, before whose image he performed certain ceremonies and left some offerings. then he went to the house of the tlatelulcan company, prepared a feast and summoned the rich traders, who came at midnight. washing of the hands and mouth preceded and followed the eating, presents were made, chocolate drunk, pipes smoked, quails offered in the courtyard, and incense burned. one of the best speakers then announced the purpose of their visitor to kill a few slaves in honor of huitzilopochtli, and in his name invited the company to be present at the pleasing spectacle, and partake of the human flesh and other choice viands. another speaker responded in a speech of acceptance, and the feast-giver directed his steps homeward to mexico. after resting awhile the merchant ceremonially invited those of his own city to be present at the feast, and the latter, after many precautions, including an inspection by the older merchants to satisfy themselves that food enough had been provided and that the affair could not be a failure, deigned to accept, although they warned the would-be host of the fearful responsibility he would incur should the feast be in any respect improperly managed, through his unwillingness to spend money enough. ce calli, ome xochitl, and ome ozomatli, were good signs for this feast. on the first day the male slaves, richly attired and decorated, were made to dance and perform the areito, carrying garlands of flowers and also pipes from which they were continually puffing smoke. the females, in equally rich attire were stationed with plenty of food in one of the rooms where all could readily see them. the eating, drinking, and distribution of gifts were kept up all night. the following day's feast was a repetition of the first, and was called _tlaixnexia_; that of the third day was called _tetevaltia_, and on this day they made many changes in the dress of the slaves, putting on wigs of many-colored feathers, painted ear-flaps, stone nose-ornaments like butterflies, jackets with fringed borders and death's heads for decoration, hawks' wings, _tlomaitl_, on the shoulders, rings, _matacaxtli_, on the arms, stained sandals, and girdles called _xiuhtlalpilli_. from this time forward strict guard was kept over them day and night until their death. on yet a fourth occasion, apparently some days, or perhaps weeks, later, the merchant assembled his guests, and then just before sunset the victims were made drunk with _teuvetli_, and carried to huitzilopochtli's temple, where they were made to dance and sing, and kept awake all night. at midnight they were placed on a mat before the fire, and the master of the banquet, dressed much like the slaves themselves, put out the fire, and in the darkness gave to each four mouthfuls of a dough moistened with honey, called _tzoalli_. then a man dancing before them played upon an instrument called _chichtli_, hairs were pulled out of the top of each slave's head and put in a plate, _quacaxitl_, held by the dancer, and the master threw incense toward the east, west, north, and south. the slaves were offered food, but could not be induced to eat, expecting each moment the messenger of death. they were first taken to the ward of coatlan, and in the courtyard of the temple of huitzcalco were forced to fight against certain persons, the most valiant of whom were called _tlaamaviques_. if by force of arms these persons captured any of the slaves, they were entitled to receive their full value from the owner, or in default of such payment to take the bodies after the sacrifice and eat the same. after the contest the victims were sacrificed on the shrine of huitzilopochtli, the complicated details of the ceremonies which followed differing only very slightly from those of similar sacrifices already several times described. the bodies were thrown down the steps as usual, carried home by the owner, cooked with maize, seasoned with salt without chile, and were finally eaten by the guests. with this horrible repast the great feast of the month of panquetzaliztli ended; but he who had given it carefully preserved the clothing, and other relics of the slaughtered slaves, guarding them in a basket as most precious and pleasant souvenirs all the days of his life; and after his death the basket and its contents were burned at his obsequies. acosta tells us that in cholula the merchants, especially those that dealt in slaves, furnished each year a slave of fine physique to represent their god quetzalcoatl, in whose honor he was sacrificed, with appropriate and complicated ceremonies, his flesh being afterwards eaten in a banquet.[ ] * * * * * [sidenote: boats and navigation.] the little to be said of nahua watercraft may be as appropriately inserted here as elsewhere. i have already referred to the important use made of canoes in the transportation of merchandise upon the lakes of anáhuac. in the art of navigation, however, no progress was made by the nahuas at all in proportion to their advancement in other respects. as navigators they were altogether inferior to their savage brethren of the columbian and hyperborean groups on the north-west coasts, whose skill in the manufacture and management of boats has been described in a preceding volume of this work. the reason is obvious: their progress in agriculture enabled them to obtain a food supply without risking their lives habitually on the sea; their sunny clime obviated the necessity of whale-blubber and seal-skins. in the earlier stages of civilization men make progress only when impelled by some actual necessity; consequently among the nahuas, when means were supplied of crossing streams, and of transporting goods on the lakes and for short distances along the coast at the mouth of large rivers, progress in this direction ceased. clavigero's investigations led him to believe that the use of sails was unknown, and although brasseur de bourbourg in one place speaks of such aids to navigation, yet he gives no authority for his statement.[ ] rafts and 'dug-out' canoes were the vessels employed; the former were used for the most part in crossing streams and were of various material and construction. those of the ruder kind were simply a number of poles tied together with strings.[ ] those called by the spaniards _balsas_ were of superior construction, made of _otlatl_ reeds, or _tules_, and rushes of different kinds in bundles. the best balsas were about five feet square, made of bamboos and supported by hollow gourds closed by a water and air tight covering. the rafts were propelled by swimmers, one in front and another behind.[ ] the canoes--_acalli_, 'water-houses' among the aztecs, called also _tahucup_ in tabasco--were hollowed out from the trunk of a single tree, were generally flat-bottomed and without keel, somewhat narrower at the bow than at the stern as las casas says, and would carry from two to sixty persons. as to the instruments employed in hollowing out and finishing the acalli we have no information, neither do we know whether fire was one of the agents made use of.[ ] [sidenote: boats used in war.] the use of boats was not altogether confined to traffic, but extended to war and the transportation of troops. fierce conflicts on the waters of the lakes are recorded in the ancient annals of anáhuac; canoe fleets of armed natives came out to meet the spaniards at various points along the coast; and we read of the vain efforts to defend the approaches to the aztec capital, by thousands of boats which could offer little resistance to the advance of cortés' brigantines.[ ] these fleets, so inefficient against spanish vessels and arms, must have been of great service to the aztecs in maintaining their domination over the many towns on the lake shores. to increase the efficiency of boats and boatmen, races and sham fights were established, which, besides affording useful training to paddlers and warriors, furnished an additional means of entertainment to the people who gathered in crowds to watch the struggles of the competitors, applaud the ducking of each vanquished boat's crew, and to reward the victors with honors and prizes.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt ii., fol. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. - ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] 'teyaoyaualoani, el que cerca a los enemigos.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. [ ] the toltecs 'usaban de una cierta moneda de cobre de largo de dos dedos y de ancho uno á manera de achitas pequeñas, y de grueso, como un real de á ocho. esta moneda no ha mucho tiempo que la han dejado los de tutupec del mar del sur.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . 'no saben que cosas es moneda batida de metal ninguno.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. , . the cacao nibs 'val ciascuno come vn mezzo marchetto (about three cents) fra noi.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . see _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. ix., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _id._, _quatre lettres_, p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . salt used as money. _chaves_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. . i omit a long list of references to authors who merely mention cacao and the other articles as used for money. [ ] 'no tenian peso (que yo sepa) los mexicanos, falta grandissima para la contratacion. quien dize que no lo vsauan por escusar los engaños, quien por que no lo auian menester, quien por ignorancia, que es lo cierto. por donde parece que no auian oido como hizo dios todos las cosas en cuento, peso, y medida.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] on the nahua markets and the articles offered for sale, see: _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , - ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - , tom. ix., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxx.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. , - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - , - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xv., xvi.; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iii., iv.; _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . 'es tanta la gente que concurre á vender y comprar, que no puede facilmente declararse.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxx. [ ] _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . 'sobre cincuenta mill canoas y cient mill segun se cree.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxx. 'the lake day and night is plyed with boates going and returning.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iii. [ ] for specimens of the exhortations of old merchants to young men see _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. iv., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. vi., cap. xii.; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] a very full account of the nahua commerce is given in _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , and the same is translated with slight changes, in _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , in _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - , and in _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. clix., pp. - . see also _helps' span. conq._, vol. ii., pp. - ; _gage's new survey_, pp. - ; _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _west-indische spieghel_, pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. - . see also note . [ ] on merchants' feasts, ceremonies, and superstitions, see _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. ix., pp. - , tom. i., lib. iv., pp. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . see also account of a feast of flower-dealers in this volume, p. , and account of the cholultec feast in honor of quetzalcoatl in vol. iii., pp. - of this work. [ ] clavigero's description of nahua boats and navigation is in his _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . 'leurs barques, dont les plus grandes mesuraient jusqu'à soixante pieds de longueur, couvertes et abritées contre le mauvais temps, marchaient à la voile et à la rame,' probably referring to a boat met by columbus some distance out at sea. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] invented, according to tradition, by the tarascos of michoacan during their early migrations. _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., pp. - . [ ] 'mettevansi a sedere in questa macchina quattro, o sei passaggieri alla volta.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . 'ces radeaux sont fort légers et très-solides; ils sont encore en usage dans l'amérique, et nous avons passé ainsi plus d'une rivière.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxx: 'en cada vna cabian sesenta hombres.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , and _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. viii., cap. iv. 'the canowes are litle barkes, made of one tree.' _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. iii. called _acates_. _id._, dec. v., lib. ii. 'estas acallis ó barcas cada una es de una sola pieza, de un arbol tan grande y tan grueso como lo demanda la longitud, y conforme al ancho que le pueden dar, que es de lo grueso del árbol de que se hacen, y para esto hay sus maestros como en vizcaya los hay de navíos.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'the sides of the indian boats were fortified with bulwarks.' _prescott's mex._, vol. iii., p. ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] 'spesso s'esercitavano in questo genere di combattimenti.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _west-indische spieghel_, p. . , canoes on the lake about mexico. _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . see also note of this chapter. additional notes on nahua boats. 'habia en méxico muchas acallis ó barcas para servicio de las casas, y otras muchas de tratantes que venian con bastimentos á la ciudad, y todos los pueblos de la redonda, que están llenos de barcas que nunca cesan de entrar y salir á la ciudad, las cuales eran innumerables.' 'con estas salen á la mar, y con las grandes de estas acallis navegan de una isla á otra, y se atreven á atravesar algun golfo pequeño.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. , . 'lo mas del trato, y camino de los indios, en aquella tierra, es por agua, en acales, ò canoas.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. viii., cap. iv.; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - . chapter xiii. war customs of the nahuas. importance of the military profession--indications of rank--education of warriors--rewards for valor--military orders and their dress--gorgeous war-dresses of montezuma and the aztec nobility--dress of the common soldiers--armor and defensive weapons--offensive weapons--standards--ambassadors and couriers--fortifications--the military council--articles of war--declaration of war--spies--order of march and battle--war customs of the tlascaltecs and tarascos--return of the conquering army--celebration of feats of arms. [sidenote: the military profession.] as might be expected from a people so warlike and ambitious as the nahuas, the profession of arms ranked high above all other callings, save that of the priests. this was especially the case in the later days, under the aztec kings, whose unscrupulous ambition and passion for conquest could only be gratified by their warriors. huitzilopochtli, god of war, protector of the empire, was glorified and honored above all other gods; his altars must be red with blood, for blood alone could extort his favor, and wars were frequently waged solely for his propitiation; valor was the loftiest virtue, the highest honors were paid to those who distinguished themselves in battle; no dignities, positions, or decorations, under the government, were given to any but approved soldiers. children were taught by parent and priest the chivalrous deeds of their ancestors, whom they were urged to emulate in daring; titles, rewards, and posts of honor were offered to stimulate the ambition of the young men. the king might not receive his crown until with his own hand he had taken captives to be sacrificed at the feast of his coronation. the priests were the foremost inciters to war and carnage. all wars were religious crusades. the highest earthly rewards were in store for the victor, while the soul of him that fell in battle took immediate flight to heaven. only defeat and cowardice were to be dreaded. the nahua warrior's services were rewarded only by promotion, since no paid troops were employed. but promotion was sure to follow brilliant exploits performed by even the humblest soldier, while without such daring deeds the sons of the highest nobles could hope for no advancement. dress and ornaments were the indications of rank, and were changed in some detail for every new achievement. to escape from the coarse nequen garments of the common soldier, and to put on successively the decorative mantles of the higher grades, was deemed a sufficient reward and incentive. the costume of each warrior indicated the exact number of prisoners captured by the wearer. especial care was taken, however, with the sons of lords intended for the profession of arms. at an early age their heads were shaved, except a tuft on the back of the head called _mocuexpaltia_, a designation changed to _cuexpatchicuepul_ when the boy was fifteen years old. at this age he was sent to war in charge of veteran warriors, and if with their aid he took a prisoner, the tuft was cut off and another given to be worn over the ear with feather plumes; on his return he was addressed after the following manner by his grandparents or uncles: "my child, the sun and the earth have washed and renewed thy face, because thou didst dare to attempt the capture of an enemy in company with others. lo, now it were better to abandon thee to the mercies of the enemy than that thou shouldst again take a prisoner with the aid of others, because, should it so happen, they will place another tuft over thine other ear and thou wilt appear like a girl; truly, it were better thou shouldst die than that this should happen to thee." if after a fair trial the youth failed to take a captive, he was disgraced, and ceased to be a warrior in the eyes of his comrades: but if, unaided, he was successful, he was called a warlike youth, _telpuchtlitaquitlamani_, and was presented to the king, whose stewards dyed his face red, his temples and body yellow, and bestowed upon him mantles and maxtlis of the colors and designs which his achievements gave him the right to wear. if he took two captives, the honors were of course greater; three entitled him to a command over others; four made him a captain who might wear long lip-ornaments, leathern ear-rings, and gaudy tassels. with five prisoners the young man became a _quauhiacatl_, 'eagle that guides,' with corresponding insignia, a head-plume with silver threads, the mantle called _cuechintli_, another called _chicoapalnacazminqui_ of two colors, and still another decorated with straps. the prisoners must, however, be from nations of acknowledged prowess, such as those of atlixco, the huexotzincas, or tlascaltecs; double or triple the number of cuextecas or tenimes must be captured, and no number of these could entitle a youth to the highest honors.[ ] in the mexican picture-writings are delineated the successive grades by which a graduate from the temple school advanced, with the costumes and defensive armor he was permitted to wear. first we see him leaving for the war, carrying the _impedimenta_ of the chief priest, who goes into the field to embolden the troops, enforce orders, and perform other duties. the pictures that follow portray the devices on the shields, manner of painting, armor, head-dresses, and ornaments they were allowed to assume, according to the number of captives each had taken. the warrior-priests were rewarded, in like manner, with accoutrements and insignia of peculiar designs, and with important commands in the army.[ ] [sidenote: three military orders.] three military orders were established by the aztec monarchs, the members of which were granted certain privileges, and entitled to wear badges of distinction; they also had apartments allotted to them in the royal palace and formed the royal guard. promotion to the order was open to all, but could only be won by some notable feat of arms. the members of the first of these three orders were called achcauhtin, or princes, of the second, quauhtin, or eagles, of the third, ocelome, or tigers. the distinctive mark of the princes was their manner of dressing the hair, which was tied on the crown of the head with a red thong, and worked into as many braids, each terminating in a cotton tassel, as were the deeds of valor performed by the wearer; the eagles wore a kind of casque, in the form of an eagle's head; the tigers wore a particular armor, spotted like the skin of the animal whose name they bore. these insignia were only used in war; at court all military officers wore the _tlachquauhyo_, a dress of many colors. the members of these three military orders had the privilege of wearing garments of much finer texture than the common people, as well as such feathers and jewels as they could afford to buy. an inferior order of knighthood appears also to have existed, the members of which had their hair cropped close about their ears, and wore skull-caps and split collars; these were only armed for defence from the girdle upwards, whereas their superiors fought in complete armor. all these privileged warriors were permitted to use painted and gilt vessels, but the common soldiers might use none but plain earthen ones.[ ] montezuma, who was a member of the order of princes, when he went in person against the enemy, wore upon his legs greaves of gold, and upon his arms thin plates of the same metal, as well as bracelets; about his neck were a collar and chains of gold and precious stones; from his ears and lower lip hung ornaments of gold set with precious chalchiuites; and from the back of his head to his waist was suspended the glittering decoration of royalty, only worn by kings, the _quachictli_. this was an ornament of exquisite workmanship, wrought with great labor of costly feathers and jewels, and shaped somewhat like a butterfly. in addition to this he was distinguished from his retinue by a shield upon which was displayed the royal coat of arms in feather-work; and he carried also a small drum, upon which he beat the signal for battle.[ ] [sidenote: military dress and ornaments.] on the occasion when the sovereigns and nobility of mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan came out to receive cortés, there was little, so far as dress was concerned, by which king might be distinguished from subject; the only difference was that the monarchs wore crowns of gold and precious stones, bejeweled sandals with golden soles, and tassels at the end of the ribbon with which their hair was bound.[ ] a prince of the blood-royal, on his début upon the battle-field, was clad in plain white; his behavior was closely watched, and after the action such insignia and colors as he had merited by his conduct were bestowed upon him. sahagun gives an extended description of the gorgeous war-costumes of the noble aztec warriors, with the native name for each fraction of the equipments. here are described head-dresses composed of rich feathers, prominent among which were the quetzal; corselets of red and green feathers, worked with gold thread; head-dresses of green feathers set in gold bands, or of tiger-skin; helmets of silver; a garment called _tocivitl_ reaching to the knees, made of yellow macaw-feathers, embroidered with gold, and worn with a golden casque plumed with quetzal-feathers; and other equally gorgeous attire. as a means of directing their men some officers bore small drums, painted and ornamented with feathers so as to correspond with their dress, in a net at their backs; others carried little flags made of feathers held together with bands of gold or silver. many noble warriors had their armorial bearings, devils, monsters, and what not, painted or embroidered upon their backs. truly such _spolia opima_ were worthy of a hero's toil.[ ] the rank and file of the aztec army wore no clothing but the maxtli in battle, but by painting their faces and bodies in grotesque patterns with brilliant colors, and covering their heads with raw cotton, they presented a sufficiently fierce and gaudy appearance.[ ] the tlascaltec leaders wore a quilted cotton tunic two fingers in thickness that fitted closely to the body and also protected the shoulders and thighs; the wealthier class wore over the tunic a cuirass of thin gold or silver plates, and over all they threw a rich mantle of feather-work elegantly embroidered; to protect their legs they put on leathern boots or wooden greaves ornamented with gold. on their heads they wore a morion made of hide or wood representing the head of some animal, bird, or serpent. from the crown waved a magnificent tuft of richly variegated plumes, a conspicuous mark, that served to denote the warrior's rank. [sidenote: armor and defensive weapons.] the armor and defensive weapons of the nahua knights, though of little service against the firearms and swordsmanship of the spaniards, yet were admirably suited for protection from the weapons in use among themselves. the _chimalli_, or mexican shield, was made of various materials and in divers forms; sometimes it was round, sometimes oval, sometimes rounded only on the lower side; it was commonly constructed of flexible bamboo canes, bound firmly together, and covered with hide. the face of the shield was ornamented according to the rank and taste of the bearer; that of a noble was generally covered with thin plates of gold, with a heavy boss in the centre. in tabasco, and along the coast, tortoise-shells, inlaid with gold, silver, or copper, were commonly used as shields. reed-grass, hides, or nequen-cloth, coated with india-rubber, served to protect an aztec common soldier. some shields were of an ordinary size, others were intended to cover the entire body, and were so constructed that when not in use they could be folded up and carried under the arm. the body-armor of the nobles and higher grades of warriors consisted of a breast-piece made of quilted cotton, one or two fingers in thickness, called _ichcahuepilli_; over this was a thick cotton coat, which covered part of the arms and thighs, made in one piece, fastened behind, and decorated with feathers of whatever colors the uniform of the company to which the wearer belonged might be. this cotton armor was completely arrow-proof, and was of great service to the spanish conquerors, who lost no time in adopting it in place of their heavy steel armor. arm and leg guards made of wood covered with leather or gold plates and trimmed with feathers, and morions of the same material shaped and painted to represent the head of a tiger, serpent, or monster, with mouth open and teeth bared, complete the defensive equipment. over a cuirass of gold and silver plates some lords wore a garment of feathers which is said to have been proof against arrows and javelins. nobles and officers also wore lofty plumes so as to present the appearance of increased stature.[ ] the shields used by the toltecs were made of skins ornamented with feathers of various colors; on their heads they wore helmets of gold, silver, or skins. the body-armor worn by the principal warriors was made of double cloth padded with cotton; it differed from that of the aztecs inasmuch as it reached down to the ankles and was worn over a thin white tunic. the private soldiers, like those of the aztec army, also painted the upper part of the body to represent armor, but from the waist to the thighs they wore short drawers and over them, fastened round the waist, a kind of kilt that reached to the knees and availed them somewhat for defence. across the body was a sash made of feathers that passed from the right shoulder to the left side of the waist. they wore sandals on their feet and had feather-ornaments upon their heads, more or less rich according to the quality of the warrior. when going to battle they adorned their necks, breasts, arms, and legs with their most valuable trinkets of gold or precious stones.[ ] tezozomoc mentions that the tarascos wore steel helmets, but, as i have already stated, none of these nations were acquainted with the use of iron in any shape.[ ] some of the armor in use among the tabascans must have been exceedingly rich, judging by that which was presented to juan de grijalva by the cacique of that province. it consisted of greaves for the knees and legs made of wood and covered with sheets of gold, head-pieces covered with gold plates and precious stones, among which was a visor, of which the upper half was of jewels linked together, and the lower half of gold plates; then there were cuirasses of solid gold, besides a quantity of armor-plates sufficient to cover the whole body.[ ] * * * * * [sidenote: offensive weapons.] the offensive weapons of the aztecs consisted of bows and arrows, slings, clubs, spears, light javelins, and swords; and in the use of all of these the soldiers were well skilled. the bows were made of tough, elastic wood, and were about five feet in length; for strings they used the sinews of animals or stags' hair twisted. the arrows were light canes, with about six inches of oak or other hard wood inserted in the end; at the extremity a piece of iztli was fastened with twisted nequen-fibre, and further secured by a paste of resin or other adhesive substance. sometimes instead of iztli they used the bones of animals or fish; the bone of a fish called _libisa_ is said to have caused by its venomous properties[ ] a wound very difficult to heal. it is well known that none of the nahua nations used poisoned arrows; such weapons would have defeated the object for which they often engaged in war, namely that of taking their enemies alive for the purpose of immolating them upon the altars of their gods. it is reasonable to believe that many of them attained to great accuracy in shooting with the bow, but there is room to doubt the assertion that some of them were able to shoot with three or four arrows at a time; or to throw an ear of corn into the air and pierce every kernel before it reached the ground; or to throw up a coin of the size of half a dollar, and keep it in the air as long as they pleased with their arrows.[ ] the sling was a braid of pita-thread or other fibre, broader in the middle than at the ends, with which stones were thrown with much force and accuracy; the missiles were carried in a pouch filled with stones and suspended from the waist in front. the _maza_ was a club similar to the roman _clava_, tapering from the handle towards the end and terminating in a knotty head, filled with points of iztli or tempered copper.[ ] the _macana_, or _macuahuitl_, called by the spaniards _espada_, a sword, was made of tough wood, about three and a half feet long, with a flat blade four fingers in width armed upon both sides with sharp pieces of iztli about three fingers long by three wide, which were inserted into the grooved edge at intervals, and cemented with some adhesive compound.[ ] this weapon, when not in immediate use, was carried slung to the arm with a cord. many of these swords were two-handed and very heavy, and it is asserted that with them the aztec warrior could at one blow cut a man in two or sever a horse's head. the one with which the famous tlascaltec commander tlahuicol fought was so weighty that a man of ordinary strength could hardly raise it from the ground.[ ] the mexican spears were very strong, and were pointed with iztli or copper. spears were the principal weapon used by the zapotecs and other tribes of oajaca. the _tlacochtli_, or mexican javelin, was like a long arrow made of otlatl or bamboo; the point was usually hardened in the fire or armed with iztli, copper, or bone; many had three points, thus inflicting a very severe wound; they were hurled with great force, and had a cord attached, so that when thrown they could be recovered for another cast. some writers mention a ballista as being used with which to launch the javelin, but i do not find any description of its form or of the manner of using it;[ ] certainly the javelin was projected with great velocity, if it be true, as asserted, that they would pass through a man's body; they were much dreaded by the spanish conquerors. [sidenote: the blow-pipe and standards.] when the chichimecs first settled in the valley of anáhuac the only weapons were the bow and arrow and blow-pipe, in the use of which they were very expert. the blow-pipe was a long hollow tube through which clay pellets were projected, and it is affirmed that with them the chichimecs could kill a man or wild beast at a moderate distance; afterwards this weapon came to be generally used by other nations, but was only employed for shooting small birds. among other things, cortés was presented by montezuma with a dozen blow-pipes beautifully ornamented and painted with figures of birds and animals; the mouth-piece of each was made of gold, five or six inches long; they were also ornamented in the centre with gold, and accompanying them were gold net-work pouches to carry the pellets.[ ] the matlaltzincas and tabascans used weapons similar to those of the nations of the anáhuac valley; the former were especially dexterous in their practice with the sling, which, when not in actual use, was carried wound about the head.[ ] the fighting men among the jaliscans were similarly armed, but the lords and captains carried only long staves with which to urge their men to fight and punish any who were disorderly or showed symptoms of cowardice.[ ] each nation had its own particular standard on which were painted or embroidered the armorial bearings of the state. that of the mexican empire, as we have seen, bore an eagle in the act of seizing a tiger, or jaguar. that of the republic of tlascala, a bird with its wings spread as in the act of flying, which some authors call an eagle, others a white bird or crane. each of the four lordships of the republic had also its appropriate ensign; tizatlan had a crane upon a rock, tepeticpac a wolf with a bunch of arrows in his paws, ocotelulco a green bird upon a rock, and quiahuiztlan a parasol made of green feathers.[ ] each company or command had also a distinct standard, the colors of which corresponded to that of the armor and plumes of the chief. the great standard of the tlascaltec army was carried by the general commanding, and the smaller banners of the companies by their respective captains; they were carried on the back and were so firmly tied there that they could not be detached without great difficulty.[ ] when upon a march and not in presence of the enemy the standard of the tlascaltecs was carried in the van, but in action it was always placed in the rear. the mexican standard was borne in the centre of the army. instruments of music, consisting of drums, horns, and large sea-shells, were sounded while fighting to encourage and animate the men. [sidenote: ambassadors and couriers.] the office of ambassador was one of much consequence, and persons of the highest rank, selected for their courteous manners and oratorical powers, were appointed to the position. their persons were held sacred and they were usually received by those to whom they were sent with honor and respect, perfumed with incense, presented with flowers, and well lodged and entertained; in case any insult or indignity was offered them, it constituted a sufficient cause of war. such an instance occurred when the tepanecs, during the reign of their king maxtlaton, invited the mexican monarch itzcoatl and his chiefs to visit their province and partake of their hospitality. itzcoatl declined at the advice of his chiefs, but the latter went, carrying presents. they were accepted by the tepanecs and the chiefs sent back in women's apparel, which they were compelled to wear; the indignity brought about a war between the two nations. the proper courtesy and protection due to their position was, however, only accorded them when on the high road that led to their destination; if they deviated from it they lost their rights and privileges as ambassadors. when on duty they wore a special garb that denoted their office; it consisted of a green habit resembling a scapulary, or small cloak; handsome feathers were twisted in the hair with tufts of divers colors; in the right hand they carried an arrow with the point towards the ground, and in the left a shield; a small net containing provisions hung from the left arm. a complete courier-system was established throughout the empire; these couriers were employed to carry messages in peace and war, and fresh provisions for the king's table; as we have seen in a former chapter, it is asserted that montezuma had fresh fish brought to his palace daily from the gulf coast. they were exceedingly swift runners, being exercised from childhood and encouraged by rewards to excel in speed. stations were fixed at distances of about six miles apart, where small towers were built, in which dwelt one or more couriers ready at all times to set out with dispatches. as soon as a courier arrived at one of these towers, one of those waiting received from him the message he bore, usually expressed in paintings, and at once started for the next stage, and thus the tidings were conveyed to the capital in an incredibly short time. when the dispatches were of an important nature, the courier wore some badge or was dressed in a manner indicative of the intelligence entrusted to him. for instance, if it related to a defeat in battle, he traveled with hair dishevelled, preserving a strict silence until the message was delivered to the person to whom it was directed; on the other hand, if he brought news of a victory, his hair was neatly tied with a colored string, about his body was wrapped a white cotton cloth, on his left arm he carried a shield and in his right hand a sword which he brandished as if in combat, singing at the same time the glorious deeds of the victors.[ ] [sidenote: nahua fortifications.] the mexicans and other nahua nations, favored by the general features of the country, adopted a system of fortifications and entrenchments admirably adapted to secure them from the attacks of internal enemies, though insufficient as a defense against the superior tactics and indomitable perseverance of cortés. the position of the city of tenochtitlan, or mexico, gave it all the advantages of a fortified town. there was no avenue of approach to it but the causeways, which were defended by towers and ditches spanned by draw-bridges; it was the untimely raising of one of these draw-bridges that caused such destruction to the spaniards and their allies on the 'noche triste.' besides this, the inhabitants prepared themselves to defend their city by means of boats, and were frequently exercised in sham naval engagements. the temples of mexico served all the purposes of citadels, especially the great temple built by the emperor tizoc. it occupied the centre of the city and was surrounded by a stone wall eight feet high and very thick, having turrets and stone figures upon it; the wall was pierced by four principal entrances, over each of which were fortified apartments, well stocked with weapons, offensive and defensive, ready for immediate service; here, in case of a revolt or sudden alarm, the garrison went and armed themselves.[ ] one of the royal palaces also contained a large armory where great quantities of arms were kept and armorers employed in their manufacture. the peculiar architecture of the temple rendered the ascent to its top very slow and difficult; during the battles of the mexicans with cortés' troops after montezuma's death, five hundred mexican nobles took possession of this summit, whence they hurled darts, arrows, and stones against the spaniards, many of whom lost their lives during the assault before the position was taken by cortés in person. in his dispatch to the emperor charles the fifth he says: "so arduous was the attempt to take this tower that if god had not broken their spirits, twenty of them would have been sufficient to resist the ascent of a thousand men, although they fought with the greatest valor even unto death."[ ] besides the arsenal and general rendezvous there were many turreted towers and strong buildings throughout the city, from the top of which men could shoot their arrows and hurl darts and stones with great effect. the lofty teocalli served as watch-towers, whence the movements of the enemy could be observed. naturally impregnable localities, such as the vicinity of impassable rivers or ravines were selected as sites for cities, which they further strengthened with forts or surrounded with stone walls. the city of guacachula, taken by cortés shortly after his retreat from mexico on the 'noche triste,' is thus described by him in his letter to charles the fifth: "this city of guacachula is situated upon a plain bounded upon one side by some very lofty and craggy hills; encircling the plain, on the other sides, about two cross-bow shots apart, are two rivers that run through large and deep ravines. there are but few means of entrance to the city, and those extremely difficult both in the ascent and descent so that they can hardly be passed on horseback. the whole city is surrounded by a very strong wall of stone and lime about twenty-two feet high on the outside and almost level with the ground upon the inside. around the whole wall runs a battlement, half the height of a man, as a protection when fighting; it has four entrances of sufficient width to admit a man on horseback, and in each entrance are three or four curves in the wall that lap one over the other and in the course of the curves, on the top of the wall are parapets for fighting. in the whole circuit of the wall is a large quantity of stones large and small and of different shapes for use in action." four leagues distant from guacachula was another city called izucan, also strongly fortified with breastworks, towers, and a deep river that encircled a great part of the city.[ ] one of the most celebrated structures built for defence was the stone wall erected by the tlascaltecs to secure themselves from the incursions of the mexicans. this wall was six miles long, extending across a valley from one mountain to another; it was nearly nine feet high and twenty feet thick, surmounted along its whole length by a breastwork that enabled its defenders to fight in comparative security from the top. there was only one entrance, about ten paces wide, where one part of the wall overlapped the other in curvilinear form in the manner of a ravelin for a distance of forty paces. bernal diaz and cortés differ as to the materials of which the wall was built. the former affirms that it was built of stones cemented together with lime and a bitumen so strongly that it was necessary to use pick-axes to separate them, while the latter says it was built of dry stone. cortés, describing the residence of the cacique of iztacmaxtitlan, a garrison of the mexicans, says it was situated on a lofty eminence, with a better fortress than there was in half spain, defended by a wall, barbican, and moats.[ ] in many other parts of the country were stone fortifications, wooden stockades and intrenchments. a short distance from the village of molcaxac stood a strong fortress built on the top of a mountain; it was surrounded by four walls, erected at certain intervals between the base of the mountain and the top. twenty-five miles from córdova was the fortress of quauhtochco, now guatusco, encircled by high stone walls in which were no entrance gates; the interior could only be gained by means of steep narrow steps, a method commonly adopted in the country.[ ] the nations of michoacan and jalisco employed heavy tree-trunks in fortifying their positions against the spanish invaders, or cut deep intrenchments in which they fixed sharpened stakes. previous to an attack led by pedro alvarado against the inhabitants of jalisco, the latter took up a strong position on a hill which they fortified by placing large stones in such a manner, that upon cutting the cords that held them they would be precipitated upon the assailants; in the assault many spaniards were killed and alvarado was thrown from his horse with such violence that he died two days afterwards.[ ] * * * * * under the tripartite treaty made by the kingdoms of mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan, a military council was established consisting of a president and twenty-one members. during the reign of the emperor nezahualcoyotl their deliberations were held in a hall of his palace in tezcuco. the president belonged to the highest rank of the nobility and commanders of the army, the other members were composed of six of the principal men of tezcuco, three nobles and three commoners, and fifteen selected from the other chief provinces. all were veteran officers of recognized courage and good conduct. to this court were referred all matters relating to war. the council assembled when required, to discuss and decide all affairs of the service, whether for the punishment of offenses subversive of military discipline, or to transact the business relative to a declaration of war against other powers. in the latter case the consultation always took place in presence of the sovereign, or of the three heads of the empire. all ambassadors and soldiers were subject to this tribunal, which meted out reward as well as punishment. the following were the articles of war: [sidenote: articles of war.] first: any general or other military officer who, accompanying the king on a campaign, should forsake him, or leave him in the power of the enemy, thereby failing in his duty, which was to bring back his sovereign dead or alive, suffered death by decapitation. second: any officer who formed the prince's guard and deserted his trust, suffered death by decapitation. third: any soldier who disobeyed his superior officer, or abandoned his post, or turned his back upon the enemy, or showed them favor, suffered death by decapitation. fourth: any officer or soldier who usurped the captive or spoil of another, or who ceded to another the prisoner he himself had taken, suffered death by hanging. fifth: any soldier who in war caused injury to the enemy without permission of his officer, or who attacked before the signal was given, or who abandoned the standard or headquarters, or broke or violated any order issued by his captain, suffered death by decapitation. sixth: the traitor who revealed to the enemy the secrets of the army or orders communicated for the success thereof, suffered death by being torn to pieces; his property was forfeited to the crown and all his children and relations were made slaves in perpetuity. seventh: any person who protected or concealed an enemy in time of war, whether noble or plebeian, suffered death by being torn to pieces in the middle of the public square, and his limbs were given to the populace to be treated as objects of derision and contempt. eighth: any noble or person of distinction who, in action, or at any dance or festival, exhibited the insignia or badges of the kings of mexico, tezcuco, or tlacopan, suffered death and forfeiture of property. ninth: any nobleman who, being captured by the enemy fled from prison and returned to his country suffered death by decapitation; but, if he fought and vanquished seven soldiers in gladiatorial combat previous to return, he was free and was rewarded as a brave man. the private soldier who fled from an enemy's prison and returned to his country was well received. tenth: any ambassador who failed to discharge his trust in accordance with the orders and instructions given to him or who returned without an answer, suffered death by decapitation.[ ] as i have already stated, the primary object of most wars was to procure victims for sacrifices to huitzilopochtli and other gods, and the mexicans were never at a loss for an excuse to pick a quarrel. the refusal of a neighboring power to receive in its temple one of the mexican gods, neglect to pay tribute demanded, insults offered to ambassadors or traveling merchants, or symptoms of rebellion in a city or a province, furnished sufficient pretext to take up arms. the rulers of mexico, however, always endeavored to justify their conduct before they made war, and never commenced hostilities without sending due notice of their intention to the adversary. before an actual challenge was sent or war declared against any nation, the council met in presence of the three heads of the empire, and gravely discussed the equity of the case. if the difficulty lay with a province subject to the empire, secret emissaries were sent to inquire whether the fault originated solely with the governor or if he was sustained by his subjects. if it appeared that the whole blame rested with the governor, a force was sent to arrest him, and he was publicly punished, together with all others implicated; but if the rising was with the consent of the people, they were summoned to submit and place themselves in obedience to the king whose vassals they were, and a fine, proportionate to the magnitude of the case, was imposed. it was customary for the rulers of mexico or tezcuco to send messengers to distant provinces with a demand that they should receive one or more of their gods and worship them in their temples. if the messenger was killed or the proposed god rejected, a war ensued. [sidenote: declaration of war.] as i have said, it was a breach of international etiquette to proceed to war without giving due notice to the enemy, and military law prescribed that three embassies should be despatched before commencing hostilities. the number of ambassadors varied according to the circumstances and rank of the princes against whom war was to be made, for the higher his rank the fewer in number were the envoys. if he was a great king only one was sent, and he was generally of the blood-royal or a famous general. sometimes the ambassadors were instructed to deliver their message directly to the hostile prince, at other times to the people of the province. in the first case upon entering into the prince's presence they paid their respects with reverence, and having seated themselves in the centre of the audience-hall, waited till permission was given them to speak. the signal made, the principal among them delivered his message in a low tone of voice and with a studied address, the audience preserving a decorous silence, and listening attentively. as a general thing, in all embassies an interchange of presents was made, and if the message was from one friendly power to another, a refusal of such gifts was a serious affront. if, however, it was to an enemy, the ambassador could not receive a present without express orders from his master. when the three powers of mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan acted in unison, in the event of a difficulty with another nation, the first ambassadors sent were of the mexican nation and were called _quaquauhnochtzin_. upon arriving at the capital of the kingdom or province they proceeded at once to the public square and summoned before them the ministers and aged men, to whom they made known the several circumstances of the case, warning them that, in case their lord refused to accede to their propositions, upon them and their families would fall the evils and hardships produced by war, and exhorting them to counsel and persuade their lord to maintain the good will and protection of the empire; for this purpose they granted twenty days, within which time they would expect an answer, and in order that there might be no complaint of being surprised and taken unprepared they left a supply of weapons and then retired outside the town to await the answer. if within the twenty days it was decided to accept the terms of the ambassadors, the ministers went to the place where they were in waiting and conducted them into the city, where they were received with every mark of respect, and in a short time were sent back to their own country, accompanied by other ambassadors, bearing costly presents in token of friendship and esteem. if, however, twenty days passed without a satisfactory adjustment of the difficulty, a second set of ambassadors, held in readiness for the occasion, who had to be of the kingdom of tezcuco and were called _achcacauhtzin_, were sent into the city. these carried with them a quantity of arms, some feathers of a bird called _tecpilotl_, and a small earthenware jar containing a certain balsamic and aromatic ointment, compounded of various herbs and gums. they went directly to the palace of the prince and in presence of the gentlemen of his court delivered their message. they then represented to him the miseries of war, and warned him, that if within the space of twenty days he did not agree to their terms, in the event of his being taken captive during the war which would ensue he would be put to death under the penalty of the law, which sentenced him to have his head smashed with a club, and that his vassals would be chastised in proportion to the offence each had committed. if the refractory prince or noble refused immediate compliance, the ambassadors anointed his right arm and his head with the ointment brought with them, telling him to be strong and of good courage and to fight bravely against the troops of the empire, whose valor in war they greatly extolled. they then tied the tecpilotl-plumes at the back of his head with red strings, handed him the weapons they had brought with them, and retired to the place where the first ambassadors were, to await the expiration of the twenty days. if he surrendered within the time, he was required to pay a stipulated annual tribute of small amount, but if he refused to surrender, there came a third set of ambassadors, who were of the kingdom of tlacopan; they appeared before the lord in the presence of his ministers and court, and delivered their message with stronger threats and warnings, to the effect that if he did not surrender at the expiration of a further twenty days, the army of the empire would march against his territory and punish the inhabitants regardless of age or sex, and that although they might implore its clemency they would not be heard; they then gave them a larger supply of arms than on the preceding occasions, telling them to avail themselves of them and not to say at a future time that they had been assailed unprepared. if the lord of the province surrendered within the last twenty days, he was punished according to the pleasure of the three powers, but not with death nor with the confiscation of his rank or property; he was usually condemned to pay an extraordinary tribute out of his own revenues; should he continue rebellious, war broke out, and the army of the empire, already prepared on the frontiers, commenced its operations.[ ] it was usual to send a formal challenge or declaration of war, accompanied by some presents, either of arms, clothing, or food, as it was held to be a discreditable act to attack any unarmed or defenseless people. a notable instance of this spirit was shown by the tlascaltecs when they confronted the army of cortés; their general is reported to have exclaimed: "who are these presumptuous men, so few in number that they attempt to enter our country in spite of us? lest they think we want to take them by hunger rather than by force of arms, let us send them food, that we may find them savory after the sacrifice, for they come starved and worn out." before the battle they sent three hundred turkeys and two hundred baskets of centli or tamales, each basket weighing about twenty-five pounds, a gift most acceptable to the castilians.[ ] when war against another nation was decided upon, the first care of the mexicans was to investigate the character and resources of the region they were about to invade. certain spies called _quimichtin_, who were selected for their knowledge of the language and customs of the enemy's country, were sent thither, dressed after the manner of the inhabitants. these spies were directed to prepare maps of the districts they passed through, showing the plains, rivers, mountains, and dangerous passes as well as the most practicable routes, and were to take notice of all means of defense possessed by the enemy. the sketches and information thus obtained were given to the chiefs of the army to guide them in their march and enable them to make the best disposition of their forces. such spies as brought valuable news were rewarded with the grant of a piece of land, and if one came over from the enemy's side and gave advice of their preparations and force, he was well paid and given presents of mantles.[ ] when a war was to be conducted jointly by the three allied powers, proclamation was made by heralds in the public thoroughfares of the capital cities. commissariat officers called _calpixques_ collected the necessary stores and provisions for the campaign, and distributed weapons and coarse mantles of nequen to the army. the troops then went to the temple and performed the ceremony of scarifying their bodies, while the customary sacrifices were offered by the priests to huitzilopochtli. [sidenote: order of march and battle.] if the expedition was an important one and the army large, it was composed of several divisions, called _xiquipilli_, each consisting of eight thousand men under their respective commanders. when all was in readiness the order of march was thus formed: the priests with their idols started one day's march in advance; next came the captains and flower of the army, followed by the soldiers of mexico; after them the tezcucans, and then those of tlacopan, the rear being closed by the troops of other provinces; one day's march separated each division. perfect order was maintained on the route, and when near the enemy's country the chiefs traced out the camping-ground each division should occupy, and directed all to entrench and fortify their positions.[ ] the battle was sometimes fought on a piece of neutral ground lying between the confines of two territories. such a place was known by the name _yauhtlalli_, and was especially reserved for the purpose, and always left uncultivated.[ ] before the action commenced each soldier received from the royal magazine a handful of pinole and a kind of cake called _tlaxcaltotopochtli_; afterwards the high-priest or chief addressed the troops, reminding them of the glory to be gained by victory, and the eternal bliss in store for those who fell, and concluded by counseling them to place their trust in huitzilopochtli and fight valiantly. if the king was present on the field the signal for attack was given by him. the mexican monarch issued his orders to commence the action by sounding on a large shell making a noise like a trumpet; the lords of tezcuco beat upon a small drum, and lords of other provinces struck two bones together. the signals for retreat were given upon similar instruments. when the battle commenced, the shrieking of musical instruments, the clashing of swords against bucklers, and shouting of the combatants made a noise so great as to strike terror into those unused to it. while fighting the warriors shouted the names of their respective towns or districts to enable them to recognize each other and prevent confusion.[ ] in fighting there appears to have been no special tactics; the commanders of divisions and the captains used every effort to keep their men together, and were very careful to protect the standard, as, if that was taken, the battle was considered lost and all fled. they observed the wise policy of keeping a number of men in reserve to replace any who were wearied or had exhausted their weapons. the archers, slingers, and javelin men commenced the action at a distance and gradually drew nearer, until they came to close quarters, when they took to their swords and spears. all movements, both in advance and retreat, were rapidly executed; sometimes a retreat was feigned in order to draw the enemy into an ambuscade which had been prepared beforehand. the chief object was to take prisoners and not to slay; when an enemy refused to surrender, they endeavored to wound them in the foot or leg so as to prevent escape, but they never accepted a ransom for a prisoner. certain men were attached to the army whose duty it was to remove the killed and wounded during the action, so that the enemy might not know the losses and take fresh heart.[ ] [sidenote: tlascaltecs and tarascos.] the tlascaltecs formed their army into battalions, each having its appointed chief, the whole being under the command of a general-in-chief, who was elected from among those of the four seigniories into which the republic was divided. their mode of fighting differed little from that of the mexicans, with the exception of a certain practice which they observed upon first coming in contact with the enemy. this consisted in carrying with them two darts which they believed would presage victory or defeat according to the result of their delivery into the hostile ranks. according to motolinia the tradition among them in regard to this belief was, that their ancestors came from the north-west, and that in order to reach the land they navigated eight or ten days; from the oldest among them they then received two darts which they guarded as precious relics, and regarded as an infallible augury by which to know whether they would gain a victory or ought to retreat in time.[ ] when a victory was won the great standard was brought to the front and placed upon a rising ground or in some conspicuous position, and all were obliged to assemble around it; he who neglected to do so was punished. the tarascos fought with great courage to the sound of numerous horns and sea-shells, and carried to battle banners made of feathers of many colors. their skill and valor is best proven by the fact that the mexicans were never able to subdue them. they showed especial strategy in luring the foe into ambush. like the mexicans their chief object in battle was to take prisoners to sacrifice to their gods.[ ] among the mexicans, when the battle was over, the first prisoners taken were given to the priests to be sacrificed before the idols they carried with them. an account was taken of the losses sustained and of the number of prisoners and other booty gained. rewards were distributed to all who had distinguished themselves and punishment inflicted on any who had misbehaved. all disputes relative to the capture of prisoners were inquired into and adjusted. if a case arose where neither of the disputants could prove their title, the prisoner was taken from them and given to the priests to be sacrificed. those inhabitants of the conquered province who could prove that they had taken no active part in the war were punished at the discretion of their conqueror; usually they were condemned to pay a certain annual tribute, or to construct public works; meantime, the vanquished province was supplied with a governor and officers, appointed from among the conquerors.[ ] when the king or a feudatory lord captured a prisoner for the first time, his success was made the occasion of much rejoicing. the captive, dressed in showy apparel and mounted on a litter, was borne to the town in great triumph, accompanied by a host of warriors shouting and singing; at the outskirts of the city the procession was met by the inhabitants, some playing on musical instruments, others dancing and singing songs composed for the occasion. the prisoner was saluted with mimic honors, and his captor greatly extolled and congratulated. numbers of people arrived from the adjoining towns and villages to assist in the general hilarity, bringing with them presents of gold, jewels, and rich dresses. upon the day appointed for the sacrifice a grand festival was held, previous to and after which the lord fasted and performed certain prescribed ceremonies. the victim was usually dressed for the occasion in the robes of the god of the sun, and sacrificed in the usual manner. with some of the blood that flowed, the priest sprinkled the four sides of the temple; the remainder was collected in a vessel and sent to the noble captor, who with it sprinkled all the gods in the court yard of the temple as a thank-offering for the victory he had gained. after the heart was taken out the body was rolled down the steps and received below; the head was then cut off and placed upon a high pole, afterwards the body was flayed, and the skin stuffed with cotton and hung up in the captor's house as a memento of his prowess.[ ] [sidenote: gladiatorial combat.] when a renowned captain or noble was made prisoner, the right of fighting for his liberty was granted him--an honor not permitted to warriors of an inferior rank. near the temple was an open space capable of containing a large multitude; in the middle was a circular mound built of stone and mortar, about eight feet high, with steps leading to the top, where was fixed a large round stone, three feet high, smooth, and adorned with figures. this stone was called the _temalacatl_; upon it the prisoner was placed, tied at the ankle with a cord, which passed through a hole in the centre of the stone. his weapons consisted of a shield and macana.[ ] he who had taken him prisoner then mounted the stone, better armed, to combat with him. both the combatants were animated with the strongest motives to fight desperately. the prisoner fought for his life and liberty, and his adversary to sustain his reputation. if the former was conquered, a priest, called _chalchiuhtepehua_, immediately seized him, hurried him dead or alive to the sacrificial stone and tore out his heart. the victor was then publicly congratulated and rewarded with military honors. if, however, the prisoner vanquished his first opponent and six others, by whom, in succession, he was attacked, he was granted his freedom, all spoil taken from him in battle was restored to him, and he returned to his country covered with glory. a notable violation of this law is recorded of the huexotzincas. in a battle between them and the cholultecs, the leader of the latter nation became separated from his own people during the heat of battle, and was, after a gallant resistance, made prisoner and conducted to the capital. being placed on the gladiatorial stone he conquered the seven adversaries that were brought against him, but the huexotzincas, dreading to liberate so famous a warrior, contrary to their universal law, put him to death, and thereby covered themselves with ignominy.[ ] [sidenote: prisoners of war.] if the prisoner was a person of very high rank, he was taken before the king, who ordered that he should be sumptuously fed and lodged for forty days. at the end of that time he was accorded the right of combat, and if conquered, after the usual sacrificial ceremonies the body was cut into small pieces; these were sent to the relations and friends of the deceased, who received them as relics of great value and acknowledged the favor by returning gold, jewels, and rich plumes.[ ] if we are to believe gomara and others, the number of victims, chiefly prisoners of war, sacrificed at some of the festivals, was enormous. the historians relate that in front of the principal gate of the temple there was a mound built of stone and lime with innumerable skulls of prisoners inserted between the stones. at the head and foot of the mound were two towers built entirely of skulls and lime; on the top of the mound were seventy or more upright poles, each with many other sticks fastened crossways to it, at intervals, from top to bottom; on the points of each cross stick were five skulls. they go on to say that two soldiers of cortés counted these skulls and found them to amount to one hundred and thirty-six thousand. those that composed the towers they could not count.[ ] the nations contiguous to the mexicans imitated to a great extent their manner of disposing of prisoners of war, and kept them to be sacrificed at their festivals. the first prisoner taken in battle by the tlascaltecs was flayed alive and he who captured him dressed himself in the horrid trophy, and so covered served the god of battles during a certain number of days. he paraded from one temple to another followed by a crowd that shrieked for joy; but had, however, to run from his pursuers, for if they caught him they beat him till he was nearly dead. this ceremony was called _exquinan_, and was sometimes observed by two or three at the same time.[ ] at one of their festivals they bound their prisoners to high crosses and shot them to death with arrows; at other times they killed them with the bastinado. they had also solemn banquets, at which they ate the flesh of their prisoners. at the taking of mexico, the tlascaltec soldiery feasted upon the bodies of the slain mexicans, and cortés, although shocked at the revolting practice, was unable to prevent it.[ ] the mexicans, tlascaltecs, and neighboring nations always made the return of a successful army the occasion of great festivity and rejoicing; the loud sound of drums and musical instruments greeted the entry of the victorious troops into the capital; triumphal arches were erected in the streets and the houses decorated with flowers; an abundance of copal was burned and sumptuous banquets were prepared; all were dressed in their gayest attire, and the warriors put on all the insignia of their rank; gifts were distributed to those who had performed any deed of gallantry, and minstrels sung or recited poems in their praise. many went to the temples to observe especial acts of devotion to the gods, and numbers of the prisoners were then sacrificed. all these ceremonies tended to inspire the youths with courage and make them ambitious to gain distinction in war.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - . [ ] _codex mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. i., pl. lxiv-lxvi. in explanation of plate lxv., no. , it is stated that the warrior was called quachic by reason of having taken five prisoners in war. 'haber cautivado en la guerra cinco, demas de que en otras guerras a cautivado otros muchos de sus enemigos.' explanation of _id._, vol. v., p. ; while purchas says such a one was 'called quagchil ... shewing that hee had taken fiue at the wars of guexo, besides that in other wars he tooke many of his enemies.' _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., p. - . [ ] torquemada and brasseur speak of a yet higher rank among the princes. 'vna de las maiores grandeças, à que llegaba, era atarse el cabello, que era demonstracion de gran capitan, y estos se llamaban quachictin, que era el mas honroso nombre, que à los capitanes se los daba, y pocos lo alcançaban.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . 'dont les membres se nommaient "quachictin," c'est-à-dire, couronnés. leurs insignes consistaient dans la courroie écarlate dont nous avons parlé plus haut, mais dont le bout, avec sa houppe de plumes, pendait alors jusqu'à la ceinture.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . herrera and acosta both mention a fourth order: 'auia otros como caualleros pardos, que no eran de tanta cuenta, como estos, los quales tenian vnas coletas cortadas por encima de la oreja en redondo.' _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xix.; _west und ost indischer lustgart_, pt i., p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] the greaves were called _cozehuatl_, the brachials _matemecatl_, the bracelets _matzopetztli_, the lip ornament _tentetl_, the ear-rings _nacochtli_, and the collar or necklace _cozcapetlatl_. _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxvi.; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . [ ] _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] _carli_, _cartas_, pt i., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. ii.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . for further reference to defensive weapons and armor, see: _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _west-indische spieghel_, p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _mexique_, _Études hist._, p. ; _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt ii., p. ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xi.; _gage's new survey_, pp. - . [ ] 'i tehuacanesi erano singolarmente rinomati per la lor destrezza nel tirar tre, o quatro frecce insieme.... la destrezza di quei popoli nel tirar le frecce non sarebbe credibile, se non fosse accertata per la deposizione di centinaja di testimonj oculati. radunatisi parecchj frecciatori gettano in sù una pannocchia di frumentone, e si mettono a saettarla con una tal prontezza, e con una tal desterità, che non la lasciano venite a terra, finattantochè non le hanno levati tutti i grani. gettano similmente una moneta d'argento non più grande d'un giulio, e saettandola la trattengono in aria, quanto voglioni.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] ixtlilxochitl mentions clubs studded with iron, but it is well known that the aztec nations had no knowledge of that mineral, although it is said they possessed the art of being able to temper copper to the hardness of steel, 'porras claveteadas de hierro, cobre y oro.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] according to gomara it was made of 'cierta rayz que llaman çacotl, y de teuxalli, que es vna arena rezia, y como de vena de diamantes, que mezclan y amassan con sangre de morcielagos, y no se que otras aues.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] in reference to the macana, which all assert to have been a most formidable weapon, i quote only a few authorities. 'sus espadas de palo largas, de un palo muy fuerte, engeridas de pedernales agudísimos, que de una cuchillada cortaban á cercen el pescuezo de un caballo.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . bernal diaz describing a battle with the tlascaltecs where pedro de moron was wounded and had his horse killed, says 'dieron vna cuchillada â la yegua, que le cortaron el pescueço redondo, y alli quedó muerta.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . 'taglia come vn rasoio di tolosa. io viddi che combattendosi vn di, diede vn indiano vna cortellata a vn cauallo sopra il qual era vn caualliero con chi combatteua, nel petto, che glielo aperse fin alle interiora, et cadde incontanente morto, & il medesimo giorno viddi che vn'altro cortellata a vn'altro cauallo su il collo che se lo gettò morto a i piedi.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . the anonymous conqueror does not say the head was cut off, but that one horse was killed with a cut on the breast that opened it to the entrails, and the other from a cut on the neck was laid dead at his feet. 'lo que podrán efectuar con aquella espada en el pescuezo del caballo sera de la herida cuanto entraren los filos en la carne, que no pasarán de un canto de real de plata, porque todo lo otro es grueso, por tener el lomo que arriba referimos las navajas.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxvi.; _hernandez_, _nova plant._, p. ; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., p. . [ ] it may be that this ballesta was a somewhat similar implement to that used by the aleuts and isthmians. see vol. i., pp. , . 'dardi che essi tirano con vn manga no fatto di vn'altro bastone.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] in regard to the armorial ensign of the tlascaltecs, authors differ. it is admitted that the general-in-chief carried the standard of the republic, and important authorities say that the one borne by xicotencatl in his battle with cortés had emblazoned upon it a white bird resembling an ostrich or heron, but clavigero and prescott incline to the opinion that the emblem was an eagle. in regard to this we have the following accounts. bernal diaz, an actor in the battle, says the tlascaltec army was ranged under the banner of xicotencatl, 'qua era vn aue blanca tendidas las alas, como que queria bolar, que parece como auestruz.' _hist. conq._, fol. . 'lleuaua el estandarte de la ciudad, que es vna grua de oro con las alas tendidas.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'esta bandera de tascaltecle es una grua que trae por divisa, ó armas al natural, de oro, é tendidas las alas.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . 'xicotencatl ... llevaba el estandarte de la republica, que era vn aguila de oro, con las alas estendidas.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, p. . [ ] 'ha ogni compagnia il suo alfiere con la sua insegna inhastata, & in tal modo ligata sopra le spalle, che non gli da alcun disturbo di poter combattere ne far ciò che vuole, & la porta cosi ligata bene al corpo, che se non fanno del suo corpo pezzi, non se gli puo sligare, ne torgliela mai.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . [ ] 'respetaban à los embaxadores de sus mortales enemigos, como à dioses, teniendo por mejor violar qualquier rito de su religion, que pecar contra la fee dada à los embaxadores.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . 'los correos, ò mensageros, que se despachaban de las guerras, tambien pasaban seguros, por todas partes.' _ib._; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] 'a cada parte y puerta de las cuatro del patio del templo grande ya dicho habia una gran sala con muy buenos aposentos altos y bajos en rededor. en estos tenian muchas armas, porque como los templos tengan por fortalezas de los pueblos tienen en ellos toda su municion.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. li. [ ] 'si dios no les quebrara las alas.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . see also _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , . [ ] 'una gran cerca de piedra seca.' _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. - . 'una fuerça bien fuerte hecha de cal y canto, y de otro betun tan rezio, que con picos de hierro era forçoso deshazerla.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. i.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . [ ] _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - , - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv.; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . [ ] las casas says that very old women were admitted to war councils. 'nunca movian guerra sin dar parte al pueblo, y sin mucho consejo de los mas ancianos y caballeros ejercitados en la guerra, al cual consejo se admitian las mujeres muy viejas como personas que habian visto y oido muchas cosas y asi esperimentadas de lo pasado.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxvi. according to the chevalier boturini the first ambassadors were accredited to the king or lord of the province, the second were dispatched to the nobility requiring them to persuade their lord, and the third convoked the people and advised them of the motives their monarch had for waging war against them. _boturini_, _idea_, pp. - . see also _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., pp. - ; _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _id._, pp. , ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , - . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. vi. [ ] 'a estas espias, que embiaban delante, llamaban ratones, que andan de noche, ò escondidos, y à hurtadillas.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] camargo says: 'l'armée était divisée par bataillons de cent hommes.' _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . 'quando l'esercito era numeroso, si contava per _xiquipilli_: ed ogni _xiquipilli_ si componeva d'otto mila uomini.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] also spelt _quiahtlale_, _jaotlalli_, meaning a place for war. _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , , , . [ ] for further account of their manner of conducting a war, see: _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxvii.; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., pp. - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - . [ ] _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvii.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _gage's new survey_, p. ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, p. . [ ] _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., pp. , - . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxvii. [ ] _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] camargo says the prisoner was given his choice of every kind of offensive and defensive weapons. _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., pp. - , but all other authors state that he was only given a short sword and shield. boturini says a servant who was under the stone drew the cord and so controlled the prisoner that he could not move. _idea_, p. . duran says: 'el modo que en celebrarlo tenian; que era atar á los presos con una soga al pie por un ahugero que aquella piedra tenia por medio, y desnudo en cueros le daban una rodela y una espada de solo palo emplumado en las manos, y unas pelotas de palo con que se defendian de los que salian á combatir con él, que eran cuatro muy bien armados.' _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. . [ ] _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xviii.; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. . [ ] _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcix., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . for further reference to treatment of prisoners, see: _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - ; _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _id._, p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, p. ; _fossey_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. viii. [ ] instances of how the mexicans received their victorious armies are given in _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , , - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . see further, _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcix., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvii.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - . chapter xiv. nahua laws and law courts. general remarks--the cihuacoatl, or supreme judge--the court of the tlacatecatl--jurisdiction of the tecuhtlis--the centectlapixques and topillis--law courts and judges of tezcuco--eighty-day council--tribunal of the king--court proceedings--lawyers--witnesses--remuneration of judges--justice of king nezahualpilli--he orders his son's execution--montezuma and the farmer--jails--laws against theft, murder, treason, kidnapping, drunkenness, witchcraft, adultery, incest, sodomy, fornication, and other crimes--story of nezahualcoyotl and the boy. it has already been stated that among the nahuas the supreme legislative power belonged to the king; the lawful share that he took in the administration of justice we shall see as we examine the system of jurisprudence adopted by them. when treating of the nahua judiciary the majority of historians have preferred to discuss almost exclusively the system in vogue at tezcuco, partly, perhaps, because it presents a nicer gradation of legal tribunals, and consequently a closer resemblance to european institutions than did the more simple routine of the mexicans, but mainly because the materials of information were more accessible and abundant. many writers, however, have not followed this rule, but throwing all the information they could obtain into a general fund, they have applied the whole indiscriminately to the 'mexicans,' by which term they mean all the inhabitants of the regions conquered by cortés. las casas, speaking of the allied kingdoms of mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan, says that "their government and laws scarcely differed, so that whatever may be said of those parts concerning which the most information can be obtained, may be understood, and perhaps it is best to say it, as applying to all."[ ] although the number and jurisdiction of the law-courts of mexico and tezcuco differed, there is reason to believe that the laws themselves and the penalties inflicted were the same, or nearly so. [sidenote: the cihuacoatl, supreme judge.] in mexico, and in each of the principal cities of the empire, there was a supreme judge, called _cihuacoatl_,[ ] who was considered second only to the king in rank and authority. he heard appeals in criminal cases from the court immediately below him, and from his decision no appeal was allowed, not even to the king.[ ] whether or not the cihuacoatl pronounced judgment in civil cases is uncertain. according to clavigero he did;[ ] prescott,[ ] brasseur de bourbourg,[ ] and carbajal espinosa[ ] agree with clavigero, and leon carbajal[ ] cites torquemada as an authority for this statement, but the fact is torquemada distinctly affirms the contrary,[ ] as does las casas,[ ] from whom torquemada takes his information. it appears, however, reasonable to suppose that in some exceptional cases, as, for instance, where the title to large possessions was involved, or when the litigants were powerful nobles, the supreme judge may have taken cognizance of civil affairs. whether the jurisdiction of the cihuacoatl was ever original, as well as final, as prescott[ ] asserts it to have been, i do not find stated by the earlier authorities, although this may have happened exceptionally, but in that case there could have been but one hearing, for the king, who was the only superior of the supreme judge, had no authority to reverse the decisions of the latter. the cihuacoatl was appointed by the king, and he in turn appointed the inferior judges. he held his office for life, and in addition to his regular judicial duties had charge of the most important affairs of government, and of the royal revenues. he was without a colleague, and must administer justice in person. such was the respect paid to this exalted personage, that whoever had the audacity to usurp his power or insignia suffered death, his property was confiscated and his family enslaved.[ ] the next court was supreme in civil matters and could only be appealed from to the cihuacoatl in cases of a criminal nature. it was presided over by three judges, the chief of whom was styled _tlacatecatl_, and from him the court took its name; his colleagues were called _quauhnochtli_ and _tlanotlac_.[ ] each of these had his deputies and assistants. affairs of importance were laid in the first instance before this tribunal, but appeals from the inferior courts were also heard. sentence was pronounced by a crier entitled _tecpoyotl_ in the name of the tlacatecatl, and was carried into execution by the quauhnochtli with his own hands. the office of tecpoyotl was considered one of high honor because he declared the will of the king as represented by his judges. [sidenote: the tecuhtli and centectlapixque.] in each ward of the city there was a magistrate called _tecuhtli_ who was annually elected by the inhabitants of his district; he judged minor cases in the first instance only, and probably the office somewhat resembled that of our police judge. appeal lay from him to the tlacatecatl.[ ] it was the duty of the tecuhtlis to give a daily report of affairs that had been submitted to them, and of the judgments they had rendered thereon, to the tlacatecatl, who reviewed their proceedings. whether the tlacatecatl could reverse the decision of a tecuhtli when no appeal had been made, is uncertain, but it appears improbable, inasmuch as a failure to exercise the right of appeal would imply recognition of justice in the judgment passed by the lower tribunal. in each ward, and elected in the same manner as the tecuhtlis, were officers whose title was _centectlapixque_, whose province it was to watch over the behavior and welfare of a certain number of families committed to their charge, and to acquaint the magistrates with everything that passed. although the centectlapixques could not exercise judicial authority, yet it is probable that petty disputes were often submitted to them for arbitration, and that their arbitrament was abided by. in case the parties could not be brought to any friendly settlement, however, the centectlapixque immediately reported the matter to the tecuhtli of his district, and a regular trial ensued. the tecuhtlis had their bailiffs, who carried their messages and served summonses. in addition to these there were constables styled _topilli_, who arrested prisoners and enforced order.[ ] [sidenote: the eighty-day council.] in tezcuco, although the kingdom was divided into many provinces,[ ] the higher courts of justice were placed in six of the principal cities only.[ ] each of these tribunals was presided over by two judges, who were very high magnates and usually relatives of the king, and from these an appeal lay to two supreme judges who resided at the capital.[ ] these twelve judges were assisted by twelve sheriffs,[ ] whose duty it was to arrest prisoners of exalted rank in their own district, or to go in search of offenders in other provinces. the peculiar badge of these officers was a certain ornamented mantle; wherever they went they were held in great awe and respect, as representatives of the king, and seldom encountered resistance in the exercise of their functions. there were also constables in attendance on the courts, who acted with great diligence in carrying messages or making arrests. every ten or twelve days all the judges met in council with the king,[ ] when cases of importance were discussed, and either finally settled, or laid over for decision at a grand council which convened every four mexican months, making in all eighty days. on these occasions all the judges, without exception, met together, the king presiding in person. all being seated according to their order of precedence, an orator opened the proceedings with a speech, in which he praised virtue and severely reprimanded vice; he reviewed all the events of the past eighty days, and commented very severely even upon the acts of the king himself. in this council all suits were terminated, the sentences being carried out on the spot,[ ] and affairs of state and policy were discussed and transacted; it generally sat during eight or ten days.[ ] in addition to these judges there were magistrates of a lower order in all the provinces, who took cognizance of cases of minor importance, and who also heard and considered those of greater consequence preparatory to laying them before the eighty-day council.[ ] the historian ixtlilxochitl gives a somewhat different account of the tezcucan tribunals, which, as it contains the only description given by the ancient writers of the halls in which the judges sat, i translate in full. in the palace were two principal courtyards, the larger of which served as the market-place. the second courtyard was smaller than the first, and was situated more in the interior of the palace; in the centre of it a fire was kept continually burning. here were the two most important tribunals in the kingdom. to the right of this courtyard, writes ixtlilxochitl, was the supreme tribunal, which was called _teohicpalpan_, meaning, tribunal of god. here was a throne of gold, set with turquoises and other precious stones; before the throne stood a stool, upon which were a shield, a macana, and a bow with its quiver of arrows; upon these was placed a skull, surmounted by an emerald of a pyramidal shape, in the apex of which was fixed a plume of feathers and precious stones; at the sides, serving as carpets, were the skins of tigers and lions (tigres y leones), and mats (mantas) made of the feathers of the royal eagle, where a quantity of bracelets and anklets (grevas) of gold were likewise placed in regular order.[ ] the walls were tapestried with cloth of all colors, made of rabbits' hair, adorned with figures of divers birds, animals, and flowers.[ ] attached to the throne was a canopy of rich plumage, in the centre of which was a glittering ornament of gold and precious stones. [sidenote: the tribunal of the king.] the other tribunal was called that of the king; it also had a throne, which was lower than that of the tribunal of god, and a canopy adorned with the royal coat of arms. here the kings transacted ordinary business and gave public audience; but when they rendered decisions upon grave and important cases, or pronounced sentence of death, they removed to the tribunal of god, placing the right hand upon the skull, and holding in the left the golden arrow which served as a sceptre, and on these occasions they put on the tiara (tiara) which they used, which resembled a half mitre. there were on the same stool three of these tiaras; one was of precious stones set in gold, another of feathers, and the third woven of cotton and rabbit-hair, of a blue color. this tribunal was composed of fourteen grandees of the kingdom, who sat in three divisions of the hall, according to their rank and seniority. in the first division was the king; in the second division were seated six grandees; the first of these six, on the right hand, was the lord of teotihuacan, the second the lord of acolman, the third the lord of tepetlaoztoc; on the left side sat, first, the lord of huexotla, second, the lord of coatlichan, third, he of chimalhuacan. in the third division of the hall, which was the exterior one, sat eight other lords, according to their rank and seniority; on the right side the first was the lord of otompan, the second was the lord of tollantzinco, the third the lord of quauhchinanco, the fourth the lord of xicotepec, and on the left side were, first, the lord of tepechpan, second, the lord of chiauhtla, third, the lord of chiuhnauhtla, and fourth, he of teiotocan. there followed, also, another hall, which adjoined this on the eastern side, and was divided into two parts; in the inner and principal division, were eight judges, who were nobles and gentlemen, and four others who were of the citizen class;[ ] these were followed by fifteen provincial judges, natives of all the cities and chief towns of tezcuco; the latter took cognizance of all suits, civil or criminal, which were embraced in the eighty laws that nezahualcoyotl established; the duration of the most important of these cases was never more than eighty days. in the other, or exterior, division of the hall, was a tribunal composed of four supreme judges, who were presidents of the councils; and there was a wicket, through which they entered and went out to communicate with the king.[ ] [sidenote: court proceedings.] besides these various tribunals for the general administration of justice, there were others that had jurisdiction in cases of a peculiar nature only. there was a court of divorce, and another which dealt only with military matters; by it military men were tried and punished, and it had also the power to confer rewards and honors upon the deserving; the especial jurisdiction of another tribunal extended over matters pertaining to art and science, while a fourth court had charge of the royal exchequer, of taxes and tributes, and of those employed in collecting them. of some of these institutions i have already had occasion to speak. the mode of procedure, or daily routine, in the law courts of mexico and tezcuco was strict and formal. at sunrise, or as some say, at daybreak, the judges took their places in court, squatting upon mats spread for the purpose, usually upon an elevated platform. here they administered justice until noon, when they partook of a meal supplied from the royal kitchen. when this was over and they had rested for a short space, business was resumed, and carried on during the greater part of the afternoon. punctuality on the part of the judges was strictly enforced, and he who absented himself from court without good cause, such as illness, or royal permission, was severely punished. this order was observed every day, except when the presence of the judges was required at the public sacrifices or solemn festivities, at which time the courts of justice remained closed.[ ] [sidenote: examination of witnesses.] minor cases were conducted verbally, the parties producing their witnesses, who testified under oath for the complaint or the defence. the testimony, under oath, of the principals was also admitted as evidence; and one writer even asserts that the defendant could clear himself by his oath;[ ] but it is plain that if such were the case conviction would be very rare. in cases of greater importance, especially in civil suits where the possession of real estate was involved, paintings, in which the property in dispute was represented, were produced as authentic documents, and the whole of the proceedings, such as the object of the claim, the evidence, the names of the parties and their respective witnesses, as well as the decision or sentence, were recorded in court by notaries, or clerks, appointed for that purpose.[ ] a witness in an aztec court of law occupied a serious position. in the first place the judges are by all writers said to have been particularly skillful in cross-examination. they seem to have made it an especial study to harass witnesses with pertinent questions and minute details; in the next place the punishment for perjury was death, and perjury among these people consisted in making a false statement when under oath, without the possibility of being saved by a legal quibble; in addition to this, superstition attached great weight to the oath which every witness was obliged to take, and which consisted in touching the forefinger to the earth and then to the tongue, as if to say, as las casas expresses it: by the goddess earth, who supports and affords me sustenance, i swear to speak truth. this oath was considered to be very sacred and binding, and is said to have been rarely violated. whether counsel or advocates were employed is a disputed point, some writers asserting distinctly that they were, and others that they were not.[ ] veytia states that the complainant and defendant were sometimes confronted with each other, and compelled to argue the case before the court, no other person being allowed to speak the while. the judges heard and passed sentence by a majority of votes,[ ] each giving his decision aloud. if the trial took place in an inferior court, a disagreement sent the matter on appeal to a higher court; if it took place in the first instance before a superior tribunal, it was appealed to the great council of the emperor. the same writer also says that where a serious public offense had been committed, the witnesses were examined, and sentence was immediately passed without giving the accused time to defend himself.[ ] we have already seen that the duration of suits was limited to eighty days, and generally they terminated much sooner than this, all possible expedition being always used. the better to avoid bribery and corruption, it was expressly forbidden for a judge to receive presents, no matter how trifling, and he who violated this rule was deposed from office, and otherwise punished with exceeding rigor. the way in which the judges were paid for their services was peculiar. a certain portion of land was set apart for their exclusive benefit, which was cultivated and harvested by tenants, who doubtless were allowed to retain a part of the produce in return for their labor. these lands were not inherited by the son on the death of the father, but passed to the judge appointed in the place of the latter.[ ] veytia does not mention these lands; he says that the judges had no fixed salary, but were paid according to the king's pleasure, more or less, in proportion to the size of their families, besides which the king made valuable presents when the eighty-day council met, to those who had performed their duty to his satisfaction.[ ] the allowance was in all cases made amply sufficient, that there might be no excuse on the ground of poverty for a judge receiving presents or bribes. they held their office for life, and were selected from the higher classes, especially the superior judges, who were generally relatives of the king, or even members of the royal family. none were eligible for the office who were not sober, upright men, brought up in the temples, and who were well acquainted with court life and manners. a judge who became drunk, or received a bribe, was three times severely reprimanded by his fellow-judges; if the offense was repeated, his head was shaved publicly, a great disgrace among the aztecs, and he was deprived of his office with ignominy. a judge making a false report to the king, or convicted of receiving a large bribe, or of rendering a manifestly unjust decision, was punished with death.[ ] all this machinery of the law was dispensed with in tlascala, where all disputes and difficulties were promptly settled by certain old men appointed for that purpose.[ ] [sidenote: anecdotes of nezahualpilli.] a love of impartial justice seems to have characterized all the aztec monarchs, and, as we have seen, the laws they enacted to ensure this to their subjects were severe in the extreme. no favoritism was allowed; all, from the highest to the lowest were held amenable to the law. a story, illustrating this, is repeated by nearly all the old writers. in the reign of nezahualpilli, the son of nezahualcoyotl, who were accounted the two wisest kings of tezcuco, a suit sprang up between a rich and powerful noble and a poor man of the people. the judge decided against the poor man, who thereby lost what little he had, and was in danger of having to sell himself as a slave to procure subsistence for his family. but suspicion of foul play having been aroused, the king ordered the matter to be thoroughly investigated, when it transpired that the judge had been guilty of collusion with the rich man; so the king commanded that the unjust judge should be hanged at once, and that the poor man's property should be restored to him. neither were the rulers themselves, nor their families, exempt from observance of the law, and instances are not wanting where fathers have, brutus-like, condemned their children to death, rather than allow the law to be violated, and the offender to go unpunished. nezahualcoyotl caused four of his own sons to be publicly executed because they had sinned with their step-mothers, the wives of their father.[ ] a very touching incident is narrated by torquemada, showing to what an extent this love of impartial justice was carried by a tezcucan sovereign. nezahualpilli, king of tezcuco, had married two sisters, whom he dearly loved, and especially did he dote upon the younger, whose name was xocotzincatzin. by her he had several children, the eldest being a son, named huexotzincatzin, who was beloved by all who knew him, on account of his amiable disposition and noble qualities, and who was besides a very valiant young man and a great warrior. no wonder that he was the king's pride, and beloved even more than his brothers and sisters, for his own and his mother's sake. so much had huexotzincatzin distinguished himself, that, although he was but a young man, his father determined to bestow upon him the office and title of tlacatecatl, which was a post of the highest honor and importance.[ ] for this purpose the king one day ordered that the prince be sent for and brought into his presence. with a light heart, and much elated, huexotzincatzin, accompanied by his suite, and the nobles who were his tutors, set out for the royal palace. as he was about to enter, the prince met one of his father's concubines, attended by her ladies. this concubine was a very beautiful and proud woman, yet withal of a free and easy carriage, that encouraged huexotzincatzin, who perhaps did not know who she was, to address her in a familiar and disrespectful manner. the woman, who, the historian remarks, could not have been possessed of much sense, either because she felt offended at his conduct towards her, or because she dreaded the consequence if the king should discover what had happened, turned from the prince without a word, and entered the palace. the king's concubines, as we have seen in a former chapter, were always accompanied by certain elderly women, whose duty it was to instruct them in discreet behavior and to watch continually over their actions. one of these women, who had been with the concubine at the time of her meeting with huexotzincatzin, and had overheard the prince's remarks, went straightway to the king, and informed him of all that had happened. the king immediately sent for his concubine, and inquired of her if the prince had spoken lewdly to her publicly and in the presence of the ladies and courtiers, or if he had intended his words to reach her ear alone; for nezahualpilli would fain have discovered some excuse for his son, the punishment for speaking lewdly in public to the king's concubines being, according to law, death; but the frightened woman replied that huexotzincatzin had spoken openly to her, before all that were present. then the king dismissed the concubine, and retired, mourning, into certain apartments which were called the 'rooms of sorrow.' [sidenote: punishment of the king's son.] when these things came to the ears of the friends and tutors of the prince, they were much troubled on his account, because the severity of the king, and his strict adherence to the law were as a proverb among the people, and their apprehensions increased when, upon arriving at the royal apartments, the prince was denied admission, although his attendants were ordered to appear at once before the king. there they were closely questioned by him, and although they would willingly have saved the prince from the consequences of his folly, yet they dared not speak anything but truth, for he who was convicted of wilfully deceiving the king, suffered death. all they could do was to make excuses for the prince, and ask pardon for his crime, and this they did with many prayers and entreaties, advancing, as extenuating circumstances, his youth, his previous good conduct, and his possible ignorance of the fact that the lady was his father's concubine. the king listened patiently to the end, answering nothing, and then he commanded that huexotzincatzin be forthwith arrested and placed in confinement. later in that same day he pronounced sentence of death against his son. when it became known that huexotzincatzin was to die, all the powerful nobles who were at court went in a body to the king and earnestly conjured him not to insist upon carrying out his sentence, telling him that it was barbarous and unnatural, and that future generations would hold in horror and hatred the memory of the man who had condemned his own son to death. their prayers and arguments seemed, however, to render the old king only the more implacable, and he dismissed them, saying that if the law forbade such things, and if that law was inviolably observed throughout the kingdom, how could he justify his conduct to his subjects, were he to allow the same to be infringed upon in his own palace, and the offender to remain unpunished merely because he was his son; that it should never be said of him that he made laws for his subjects which did not apply to his own family. when xocotzincatzin, the prince's mother, heard that he was condemned to death, she gathered the rest of her sons about her, and coming suddenly before her husband, she fell on her knees and besought him with many tears, to spare the life of her darling son, the first pledge of love that she, his favorite wife had given him. finding all her entreaties fruitless, she then implored him for the sake of the love he had once borne her, to slay her and her other sons with huexotzincatzin, since life without her first-born was unbearable. but the stern old king still sat to all appearance unmoved and immovable, and coldly directed the attendant ladies to convey the wretched mother to her apartments. the execution of the prince was delayed in every possible manner by those who had charge of it, in the hope that the king might even yet relent; but nezahualpilli having been informed of this, immediately ordered that the sentence should be carried out without further delay. so huexotzincatzin died. as soon as the news of his son's death was carried to the king, he shut himself up in certain apartments called the 'rooms of sorrow,' and there remained forty days, mourning for his first-born and seeing no one. the house of the late prince was then walled up, and none were allowed to enter it, and so all tokens of the unhappy young man were destroyed.[ ] [sidenote: montezuma and the farmer.] another anecdote, which is written in execrable spanish by the native historian, tezozomoc, may not be out of place here. it is told of the emperor montezuma of mexico, and the reader will at once recognize a resemblance between this and many other anecdotes with which he is familiar, where a bold and merited rebuke from a subject to his sovereign is received with respect and even favor. it happened one summer, that the king, being wearied with the cares of government, went for rest and recreation to his country palace at tacubaya. one day, when out shooting birds, he came to an orchard, and having told his attendants to remain outside, he entered alone. he succeeded in killing a bird, and as he was returning, bearing his game in his hand, he turned aside into a field where a remarkably fine crop of corn was growing. having plucked a few ears, he went towards the house of the owner of the field, which stood hard by, for the purpose of showing him the ears that he had plucked, and of praising his crop, but as by law it was death to look upon the king's face, the occupants of the house had fled, and there was no one therein. now the owner of the field had seen the king pluck the corn from afar off, and, notwithstanding it was against the law, he ventured to approach the monarch in such a way as to make the meeting appear accidental. making a deep obeisance, he thus addressed the king: "how is it, most high and mighty prince, that thou hast thus stolen my corn? didst thou not thyself establish a law that he who should steal one ear of corn, or its value, should suffer death?" and montezuma answered: "truly i did make such a law." then said the farmer: "how is it then, that thou breakest thine own law?" and the king replied: "here is thy corn, take back that which i have stolen from thee." but the owner of the field began to be alarmed at his own boldness, and tried to excuse himself, saying that he had spoken merely in jest, for, said he: "are not my fields, and myself, and my wife, and my children, all thine, to do with as thou wilt;" and he refused to take back the ears of corn. then the king took off his mantle of net-work and precious stones, which was called _xiuhayatl_ and was worth a whole city, and offered it to the farmer, who at first was afraid to accept so precious a gift, but montezuma insisted, so he took the mantle, promising to preserve it with great care as a remembrance of the king. when montezuma returned to his attendants, the precious mantle was at once missed, and they began to inquire what had become of it; which the king perceiving, he told them that he had been set upon by robbers, when alone, who had robbed him of his mantle, at the same time he ordered them, upon pain of death, to say nothing more about the matter. the next day, having arrived at his royal palace in mexico, when all his great nobles were about him, he ordered one of his captains to repair to tacubaya, and inquire for a certain xochitlacotzin, whom they should at once bring to his presence, but under penalty of death they should not injure or abuse him in any way. when the king's messengers told xochitlacotzin their errand, he was greatly alarmed, and tried to escape, but they caught him, and telling him to fear nothing, for that the king was kindly disposed towards him, they brought him before montezuma. the king, having bidden him welcome, asked him what had become of his mantle. at this the nobles who were present became much excited, but montezuma quieted them, saying: "this poor man has more courage and boldness than any of you who are here, for he dared to speak the truth and tell me that i had broken my laws. of such men have i greater need, than of those who speak only with honeyed words to me." then having inquired what principal offices were vacant, he ordered his attendant lords to shelter and take care of xochitlacotzin, who was henceforth his relative and one of the chief men of the realm. afterwards he who had so lately been a poor farmer was given a principal house of olac for his own, and it was long the boast of his descendants that they were relatives of montezuma.[ ] [sidenote: punishment of crimes.] the aztecs adopted numerous ways of punishing offenders against the law, as we shall see presently, but i do not think that imprisonment was largely resorted to. they had prisons, it is true, and very cruel ones, according to all accounts, but it appears that they were more for the purpose of confining prisoners previous to their trial, or between their condemnation and execution, than permanently, for punishment. these jails were of two classes, one called _teilpiloyan_ for those imprisoned on a civil charge, another called _quauhcalco_,[ ] for prisoners condemned to death. the cells were made like cages, and the prison was so constructed as to admit very little light or air;[ ] the food was scanty and of a bad quality, so that, as las casas expresses it, the prisoners soon became thin and yellow, and commenced at the prison to suffer the death that was afterwards adjudged them. clavigero, however, asserts that those condemned to the sacrificial stone were well fed in order that they might appear in good flesh at the sacrifice.[ ] a very close watch was kept upon the captives, so much so, indeed, that if through the negligence of the guard a prisoner of war escaped from the cage, the community of the district, whose duty it was to supply the prisoners with guards, was obliged to pay to the owner of the fugitive, a female slave, a load of cotton garments, and a shield.[ ] mendieta says that these prisons were only used for persons awaiting trial on very grave charges; for, he writes, in the case of one held to answer on an ordinary charge, "it was sufficient for the minister of justice to place the prisoner in a corner with a few light sticks before him; indeed, i believe that to have merely drawn a line and told him not to pass it would have sufficed, even though he might have reason to believe that there was a heavy punishment in store for him, because to flee from justice, and escape, was an impossibility. at all events, i with my own eyes have seen a prisoner standing entirely unguarded save for the before-mentioned sticks."[ ] like most semi-barbarous nations, the aztecs were more prone to punish crime than to recompense virtue, and even when merit was rewarded, it was of the coarser and more material kind, such as valor in war or successful statesmanship. the greater part of their code might, like dracon's, have been written in blood--so severe were the penalties inflicted for crimes that were comparatively slight, and so brutal and bloody were the ways of carrying those punishments into execution. in the strongest sense of the phrase the aztecs were ruled with a rod of iron; but that such severity was necessary i have no doubt, inasmuch as whatever form of government exists, be it good or bad, that form of government is the necessary one, or it could have no existence. all young states must adopt harsh laws to secure the peace and well-being of the community, while as yet the laws of habit and usage are unestablished; and as that community progresses and improves, it will of itself mold its system of government to fit itself. the code of dracon was superseded by that of solon when the improved state of the athenian community warranted a mitigation of the severity of the former, and in like manner the laws of montezuma and nezahualcoyotl would have given place to others less harsh had aztec civilization been allowed to progress. [sidenote: code of laws.] the laws of the several aztec kingdoms were essentially the same; some slight differences existed, however, and in these instances the code of tezcuco proves the most rigid and severe, while more of lenience is exhibited in that of mexico. i have before remarked that the majority of writers treat of the legislation of tezcuco, but, as in other matters, many authorities who should be reliable surmount the difficulty of distinguishing that which belongs to one system of jurisprudence from that which belongs to another, by speaking generally of the code that existed in nueva españa, or among 'these people.' most of the subjected provinces adopted the laws of the state to which they became subject. but this was by no means obligatory, because as conquered nations were not compelled to speak the language of their conquerors, neither were they forced to make use of their laws.[ ] let us now see what these laws were. [sidenote: punishment of theft.] theft was punished in various ways, and, it appears, not at all in proportion to the magnitude of the crime. thus he who stole a certain number of ears of corn,[ ] suffered death, while he who broke into the temples and stole therefrom, was enslaved for the first offence and hanged for the second, and it is distinctly stated[ ] that in order to merit either of these punishments the theft must be an extensive one. in cases not specially provided for, it appears that a petty thief became the slave of the person from whom he had stolen; according to ortega, however, the injured party had the privilege of refusing to accept the thief as a slave, in which case the latter was sold by the judges, and with the proceeds of the sale the complainant was reimbursed. the same writer states that in some cases a compromise could be effected by the offended party agreeing to be indemnified by the thief, in which case the latter paid into the treasury a sum equal to the amount stolen. this statement is somewhat obscure, inasmuch as it would be but poor satisfaction to the party robbed to see the equivalent of that robbery paid into the public treasury; but i understand the writer to mean that the loser had his loss made good, and that for the satisfaction of justice an equal amount was imposed as a fine upon the prisoner.[ ] theft of a large amount was almost invariably punished with death, which was inflicted in various ways. usually the culprit was dragged ignominiously through the streets and then hanged;[ ] sometimes he was stoned to death.[ ] he who robbed on the highway was killed by having his head smashed with a club;[ ] he who was caught in the act of pilfering in the market-place, no matter how trivial the theft, was beaten to death with sticks on the spot by the assembled multitude, for this was considered a most heinous sin; but notwithstanding the fearful risk incurred, it is asserted that many were so light-fingered that it was only necessary for a market woman to turn her head away, and her stall would be robbed in a trice. there was a regular judicial tribunal established for the settling of disputes in the general government of the market-place, of which i have had occasion to speak before; but this tribunal does not appear to have troubled itself much with persons who were caught in the act of stealing, as it seems to have been tacitly allowed to the people assembled in the market-place to exercise lynch law upon the culprit.[ ] besides these general laws for the prevention of theft, there were others which prescribed special penalties for those who stole certain particular articles. for instance, ortega tells us that the thief of silver or gold was skinned alive and sacrificed to xipe, the tutelary divinity of the workers in precious metals, such a theft being considered a direct insult to the god.[ ] in some of these cases fines were imposed. among a collection of laws given by las casas, for the authenticity of which he does not vouch, "because," he says, "they were taken out of a little indian book of no authority," we find the following relating to theft: if any one stole the plants, called maguey, from which they manufactured more than twenty articles, and which were used for making syrup, he was compelled to pay as a fine as many cotton cloths as the judges might decree, and if he was unable to pay the fine imposed, or if he had stolen more than twenty plants, he was enslaved. whoever stole a fishing-net or a canoe was punished in the same manner. whoever stole corn to the amount of twenty ears or upward, died for it, and if he took a less quantity, he paid that which he was sentenced to pay. he that plucked the corn before it had formed seed, suffered death. whoever stole a tecomatl, "which is a little gourd tied at the top with strips of red hide, and having feather tassels at the end, used by the lords for carrying a green powder, from which they take in smoke through the mouth, the powder being called in the island of española 'tabacos'--whoever stole one of these died for it." he that stole precious stones, and more especially the stone called chalchiuite, no matter from whence he took it, was stoned to death in the market-place, because no man of the lower orders was allowed to possess this stone.[ ] in mexico, a distinction seems to have been made between the thief who reaped the benefit of his crime and him who did not; in other words, if the stolen property was recovered intact from the thief he was only enslaved, but if he had already disposed of his plunder he suffered death.[ ] whether the ultimate recovery of the property after it had passed from the thief's hands, would answer the same end, we are not told, but if not, then it would appear that according to aztec jurisprudence the culprit was punished not so much in proportion to the actual injury he inflicted upon others, as in accordance with the actual extent of the crime he committed. in michoacan, the first theft was not severely punished, but for the second offence the thief was thrown down a precipice and his carcass left to the birds of prey.[ ] the murderer suffered death even though he should be a noble and his victim but a slave.[ ] in michoacan, we are told by herrera,[ ] that there was no punishment for murder, since, through fear, the crime was never committed. beaumont allows that for a time there were no murders, but says that afterwards they became frequent, and then the criminal was dragged along the ground until he died.[ ] he who administered poison to another, thereby causing death, died for it, and the same punishment was awarded to him who furnished the poison.[ ] [sidenote: the fate of traitors and conspirators.] traitors, conspirators, and those who stirred up sedition among the people or created ill feeling between nations, were broken to pieces at the joints, their houses razed to the ground, their property confiscated, and their children and relations made slaves to the fourth generation. the lord of vassals who rebelled, unless taken captive in battle, was killed by having his head smashed with a club; the common rebel was tied to an oaken spit and roasted alive.[ ] in tezcuco, he who kidnapped a child and sold it into slavery, was hanged; in mexico, the kidnapper was himself sold as a slave, and of the price he brought one half was given to the stolen child, or its parents, and the other half became the property of the purchaser; if several persons were implicated in the crime, they were all sold as slaves.[ ] [sidenote: laws against intoxication.] drunkenness was punished with excessive rigor; indeed, intoxicating liquor was not allowed to be drunk, except by express permission from the judges, and this license was only granted to invalids and persons over fifty years of age, who, it was considered, needed strong drink in order to warm their blood; and even they were only permitted to partake of a limited quantity, at each meal,[ ] though according to the explanation of mendoza's collection old men of seventy years were allowed to drink as much as they pleased.[ ] moderate conviviality at weddings and public feasts, was not forbidden, and upon these occasions the young people were allowed to partake of the wine-cup sparingly;[ ] the same license was granted to those whose daily occupation necessitated great bodily exertion, such as masons, carpenters, and the like.[ ] women in childbed were allowed to use strong drink as a stimulant, but only during the first days of their confinement. with these exceptions, the law against drinking was strictly enforced. the young man who became drunk was conveyed to the jail, and there beaten to death with clubs; the young woman was stoned to death. in some parts, if the drunkard was a plebeian, he was sold for a slave for the first offence, and suffered death for the second; at other times the offender's hair was cut off in the public market-place, he was then lashed through the principal streets, and finally his house was razed to the ground, because, they said, one who would give up his reason to the influence of strong drink, was unworthy to possess a house, and be numbered among respectable citizens. cutting off the hair was, as we shall see, a mode of punishment frequently resorted to by these people, and so deep was the degradation supposed to be attached to it, that it was dreaded almost equally with death itself. should a military man, who had gained distinction in the wars, become drunk, he was deprived of his rank and honors, and considered thenceforth as infamous. conviction of this crime rendered the culprit ineligible for all future emoluments, and especially was he debarred from holding any public office. a noble was invariably hanged for the first offence, his body being afterwards dragged without the limits of the town and cast into a stream used for that purpose only. but a mightier influence than mere fear of the penal law restrained the aztec nobility and gentry from drinking to excess; this influence was social law. it was considered degrading for a person of quality to touch wine at all, even in seasons of festivity when, as i have said, it was customary and lawful for the lower classes to indulge to a certain extent. wine-bibbing was looked upon as a coarse pleasure, peculiar exclusively to the common people, and a member of the higher orders, who was suspected of practicing the habit, would have forfeited his social position, even though the law had suffered him to remain unpunished.[ ] these heathens, however, seem to have recognized the natural incongruity existing between precept and practice, fully as much as the most advanced christian.[ ] he who employed witchcraft, charms, or incantations for the purpose of doing injury to the community or to individuals, was sacrificed to the gods, by having his breast opened and his heart torn out.[ ] [sidenote: miscellaneous laws.] whoever made use of the royal insignia or ensigns, suffered death, and his property was confiscated.[ ] the reader will recollect that the same penalty was inflicted upon him who should usurp the insignia or office of the mexican cihuacoatl, or supreme judge. whoever maltreated an ambassador, minister, or courier, belonging to the king, suffered death; but ambassadors and couriers were on their part forbidden to leave the high road, under pain of losing their privileges.[ ] he who by force took possession of land not belonging to him, suffered death.[ ] he who sold the land of another, or that which he held in trust, without judicial authority, or permission from such as had power to grant it to him, was enslaved.[ ] if a piece of land was fraudulently sold twice over, the first purchaser held it, and the vendor was punished.[ ] he who squandered his patrimony suffered death.[ ] the son that raised his hand against his father or mother, suffered death, and his children were prevented from inheriting the property of their grand-parents. in the same manner a father could disinherit a son who was cowardly or cruel.[ ] he who removed boundary-marks, died for it.[ ] those who disturbed the peace by engaging in petty fights and squabbles, without using weapons, were confined in jail for a few days, and obliged to make good whatever damage they had done; for, says las casas, they generally revenged themselves by breaking something. if any one was wounded in a brawl, he who made the assault had to defray all the expenses of curing the injured party. but those who fought in the market-place, were dealt with far more severely.[ ] slanderers were treated with great severity. in mexico, he who wilfully calumniated another, thereby seriously injuring his reputation, was condemned to have his lips cut off, and sometimes his ears also. in tezcuco, the slanderer suffered death. the false witness had the same penalty adjudged to him that would have been awarded to the accused, if convicted. so great a lover of truth was king nezahualcoyotl, that he is said to have made a law prescribing the death penalty to historians who should record fictitious events.[ ] whoever obtained goods on credit and did not pay for them, was enslaved, and the delinquent taxpayer met with the same punishment.[ ] [sidenote: penalty for adultery.] concerning the way in which adulterers were treated scarcely two of the ancient writers agree,[ ] and it is probable that the law on this point differed more or less in various parts of the aztec kingdoms; indeed, we have clavigero's testimony that in some parts of the mexican empire the crime of adultery was punished with greater severity than in others, and las casas and mendieta both speak of several penalties attaching to the offence in different localities. according to what can be gathered on this point, it appears that adulterers taken in flagrante delicto, or under circumstances which made their guilt a moral certainty, were stoned to death. a species of trial was granted to the culprits, but if, as some writers assert, confession of guilt was extorted by torture,[ ] this trial must have been as much a mockery of justice as were the proceedings of most european courts of law at that period. the amount of evidence necessary to convict is uncertain. veytia says that accusation by the husband was in itself sufficient proof.[ ] las casas and torquemada, however, who are both far older authorities, tell us that no man or woman was punished for adultery upon the unsupported testimony of the husband, but that other witnesses, and the confession of the defendants were necessary to procure their conviction.[ ] usually if the condemned adulterers were of the lower orders, they were taken out into a public place and there stoned to death by the assembled multitude, and few of the old writers omit to remark that this manner of death was almost painless, since no sooner was the first stone thrown than the poor wretch was immediately covered with a pile of missiles, so great was the number of his executioners, and so eager was each to take a hand in the killing. another common mode of execution consisted in placing the head of the condemned upon a stone, and smashing his skull by letting another stone fall upon it.[ ] the noble convicted of the same crime was not killed in this public manner, but was strangled in jail; and as a mark of respect to his rank, his head, after death, was adorned with plumes of green feathers, and the body was then burned. adulterers who were found guilty merely upon circumstantial evidence also suffered death by strangulation. it was strictly forbidden for a husband to take the law into his own hands, and he who should seek to avenge his honor by slaying his wife or her paramour, even though he took them in the act of adultery, suffered death; in the same manner should the criminal endeavor to save himself by killing the injured husband, his fate was to be roasted alive before a slow fire, his body being basted with salt and water that death might not come to his relief too soon.[ ] an adulterer could not escape the law on the plea of drunkenness,[ ] and, indeed, had such an excuse been held admissible, little would have been gained by exchanging the fate of the adulterer for that of the drunkard. the trespass of a married man with a free unmarried woman was not considered to constitute adultery, nor punished as such, so that the husband was not bound to so much fidelity as was exacted from the wife. i have before remarked that although the crime of adultery was punished in all parts of the aztec empire, yet the penalty inflicted differed in point of severity and in manner of execution. thus, in the province of ixcatlan, if we may believe clavigero, a woman accused of this crime was summoned before the judges, and if the proofs of her guilt were satisfactory, she was there and then torn to pieces, and her limbs were divided among the witnesses, while in itztepec the guilty woman's husband cut off her ears and nose, thus branding her as infamous for life.[ ] in some parts of the empire the husband who cohabited with his wife after it had been proved that she had violated her fidelity, was severely punished.[ ] [sidenote: unnatural crimes.] carnal connection with mother, sister, step-mother or step-sister, was punished by hanging; torquemada says the same penalty was incurred by him who had connection with his mother-in-law, because they considered it a sin for a man to have access to both mother and daughter. intercourse between brother-in-law and sister-in-law was, however, not criminal, and, indeed, it was customary for a man to raise up seed to his deceased brother by marrying his widow.[ ] he who attempted to ravish a maiden, whether in the field, or in her father's house, suffered death.[ ] in michoacan, the ravisher's mouth was split from ear to ear with a flint knife, and he was afterwards impaled.[ ] in mexico, those who committed sodomy were hanged; in tezcuco, the punishment for unnatural crime was characteristically brutal. the active agent was bound to a stake, completely covered with ashes and so left to die; the entrails of the passive agent were drawn out through his anus, he also was then covered with ashes, and, wood being added, the pile was ignited.[ ] in tlascala, the sodomite was not punished by law, but was scouted by society, and treated with scorn and contempt by all who knew him.[ ] from the extreme severity of the laws enacted by the later sovereigns for the suppression of this revolting vice, and from the fact that persons were especially appointed by the judicial authorities to search the provinces for offenders of this class, it is evident that unnatural love had attained a frightful popularity among the aztecs. father pierre de gand, or, as he is sometimes known, de mura, bears terrible testimony to this; he writes: "un certain nombre de prêtres n'avaient point de femmes, _sed eorum loco pueros quibus abutebantur_. ce péché était si commun dans ce pays, que, jeunes ou vieux, tous en étaient infectés; ils y étaient si adonnés, que mêmes des enfants de six ans s'y livraient."[ ] las casas relates that in several of the more remote provinces of mexico unnatural vice was tolerated, if not actually permitted,[ ] and it is not improbable that in earlier times this was the case in the entire empire. inexpressibly revolting as the sin must appear to a modern mind, yet we know that pederasty has obtained among peoples possessed of a more advanced civilization than the aztecs. in ancient greece this unnatural passion prevailed to such an extent that it was regarded as heroic to resist it. plutarch, in his _life of agesilaus_, cannot praise too highly the self-control manifested by that great man in refraining from gratifying a passion he had conceived for a boy named megabates, which maximus tyrius says deserves greater praise than the heroism of leonidas; diogenes laertius, in his _life of zeno_, the founder of stoicism, the most austere of all ancient sects, praises that philosopher for being but little addicted to this vice; sophocles, the tragic homer, and the attic bee, is said by athenæus to have been especially addicted to it. moralists were known to praise it as the bond of friendship, and it was spoken of as inspiring the enthusiasm of the heroic legion of epaminondas. the defeat of the romans by hannibal at cannæ was said to be caused by the jealousy of juno, because a beautiful boy had been introduced into the temple of jupiter. las casas tells us that pederasty was tolerated because they believed that their gods practiced it.[ ] in precisely the same manner did the ancient greeks make the popular religion bend to the new vice, and, by substituting ganymede for hebe as heavenly cup-bearer, make the head of all olympus set an example of unnatural love. [sidenote: laws respecting chastity.] the priest who violated his vow of chastity was banished; his house was demolished and his property confiscated.[ ] pimps were publicly disgraced in the market-place, by having their hair burnt off so close to the head that the drops of resin falling from the burning pitch-pine chips fell upon and seared the scalp; if the persons for whom the panderage was committed were of high rank, a greater penalty was inflicted upon the pander.[ ] this was the law in mexico; in tezcuco, according to the historian of the chichimecs, the pimp suffered death in all cases.[ ] simple fornication was not punished, unless it was committed by a noble lady, or with a maiden consecrated to the service of the gods, in which cases it was death. fornication with the concubine of another also went unpunished, unless they had been living a long time together, and were in consequence, according to custom, considered man and wife. if any one had connection with a slave, and the woman died during her pregnancy, or in giving birth to the child, then the offender became a slave; but if she was safely delivered, the child was free and was taken care of by the father.[ ] the woman who took any drug to procure an abortion, and she who furnished the drug, both suffered death.[ ] if one woman sinned carnally with another, both died for it.[ ] the man who went about the streets dressed as a woman, or the woman who dressed as a man, was slain.[ ] in this account are comprised nearly all the special laws of the aztecs which have been preserved, with the exception of those relating to military matters, marriage, divorce, and slavery, all of which i have already had occasion to consider. that the aztec code was a severe and brutal one there can be no denial, but that it was more severe and brutal than was necessary, is, as i have before remarked, doubtful. we have already seen that a horrible death was the inevitable fate of those detected stealing in the market-place, yet we are told that did the owner of a stall but turn away his head for a moment, his wares would be pilfered. a people accustomed almost daily to see human blood poured out like water in sacrifice to their gods, must of necessity have been hardened to the sight of suffering, and upon such none but an execution of the most revolting description could create an impression of awe or fear. it appears remarkable that punishments involving only disgrace should have been adopted by such a people, yet it is doubtful whether slavery was not considered a lighter punishment than having the hair burned off in the public market. some of the aztec monarchs evinced a desire to be as lenient as the stubborn nature of their subjects would allow, but the yoke upon the people, if it were in any degree to control them, must at best be a heavy one; in short, despotism of the harshest was necessary and indispensable to them in their stage of civilization. [sidenote: nezahualcoyotl and the boy.] nezahualcoyotl, king of tezcuco, was especially merciful and considerate towards his subjects. for instance, he ordered that corn should be planted, at the expense of government, by the roadside, in order that none who were guilty of stealing from the fields, might excuse themselves on the ground of hunger.[ ] it is related that this monarch went frequently among his people in disguise, for the purpose of discovering their grievances and general condition, and some of the adventures he met with on these occasions are as entertaining as any told by sheherezade of the good caliph. i select one, not because it is the best, but because it points more particularly to nezahualcoyotl's benevolence and love of justice. during the reign of this monarch, owing to the immense consumption of wood, the use of oil and tallow being then unknown, the forests began to grow thin, and the king foreseeing that unless some precautions were taken, there would soon be a scarcity of wood in the kingdom, ordered that within certain limits no wood should be touched. now it happened one day, when the king was abroad in disguise, and accompanied only by his brother quauhtlehuanitzin, that they passed by the skirts of a forest wherein it was prohibited to cut or gather wood. here they found a boy who was engaged in picking up the light chips and twigs that had been carried by the wind outside of the enclosure, because in this locality the inhabitants were very numerous, and had exhausted all the timber that was not reserved by law. nezahualcoyotl, seeing that under the trees of the forest there lay a great quantity of fallen wood, asked the boy why he contented himself with dry leaves and scattered twigs when so great an abundance of fuel lay close at hand. the boy answered that the king had forbidden the people to gather wood in the forest, and therefore he was obliged to take whatever he could get. the king told him to go, nevertheless, into the forest and help himself to fuel, and none would be the wiser, for that he and his companion would say nothing of the matter. but the boy rebuked them, saying that they must be traitors to the king who would persuade him to do this thing, or that they sought to avenge themselves upon his parents by bringing misfortune upon their son, and he refused to enter the forbidden ground. then was the king much pleased with the boy's loyalty, and seeing the distress to which the people were reduced by the severity of the forest laws, he afterwards had them altered.[ ] footnotes: [ ] 'el govierno y las leyes quasi no diferian, por manera que por lo que de unas partes dijeremos, y adonde tuvimos mayor noticia, se podra entender, y quiza sera mejor, decirlo en comun y generalmente.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxii. it is also stated that many mexican cases, presenting more than ordinary difficulty, were tried in the tezcucan law-courts; see _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxii.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . speaking of mexico, tezcuco, and tlacopan, zurita says: 'les lois et la procédure étaient les mêmes dans ces trois états, de sorte qu'en exposant les usages établis dans l'un d'eux, on fera connaître ce qui se passait dans les autres.' _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., pp. - . [ ] the title cihuacoatl, meaning 'serpent-woman,' appears incomprehensible as applied to a judge, but m. l'abbé brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - , sees reason to believe that the mexicans, when they succeeded to the rights of the toltec kings of culhuacan, adopted also the titles of the court, and that the name cihuacoatl had been given to the prime minister in memory of cihuacoatl, the sister of camaxtli, who cared for the infancy of quetzalcoatl. the learned abbé translates cihuacoatl, _serpent femelle_, which is literally a serpent of the female sex. molina, however, in his _vocabulario_, gives 'ciua' as a substantive, meaning 'women' (mugeres), and 'coatl' as another substantive, meaning 'serpent' (culebra), the two as a compound he does not give. i translate the word 'serpent-woman,' because the sister of camaxtli would more probably be thus distinguished among women, than among serpents as the 'woman-serpent.' [ ] although all other historians agree that the judgment of the cihuacoatl was final, the interpreter of mendoza's collection states that an appeal lay from the judges (he does not state which) to the king. _explicacion de la coleccion de mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. . _prescott_, _mex._, vol. i., p. , attributes this to the changes made during montezuma's reign, the period which the mendoza paintings represent, and leon carbajal, _discurso_, p. , totally denies the truth of the statement. [ ] 'dalle sentenze da lui pronunziate o nel civile, o nel criminale, non si poteva appellare ad un altro tribunale,' &c. _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _mex._, vol. i., p. . [ ] _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _discurso_, p. . [ ] 'oìa de causas, que se debolvian, y remitian à èl, por apelacion; _y estas eran solas las criminales, porque de las civiles no se apelaba de sus justicias ordinarias_.' _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . it is possible that señor carbajal may have read only a subsequent passage in the same chapter, where torquemada, speaking of the tribunal of the tlacatecatl, says: 'de este se apelaba, para el tribunal, y audiencia del cihuacohuatl, que era juez supremo, despues del rei.' from what has gone before, it is, however, evident that the author here refers only to the criminal cases that were appealed from the court of the tlacatecatl. [ ] _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxii. [ ] _mex._, vol. i., p. . _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , also affirms, indirectly, that cases were sometimes laid in the first instance before the supreme judge, inasmuch as he first says that the cihuacoatl took cognizance of both civil and criminal cases, and afterwards, when speaking of the court of the tlacatecatl, he writes: 'se la causa era puramente civile, non v'era appellazione.' the same applies to brasseur de bourbourg. _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] herein lies the only difference between las casas and torquemada on the subject of the cihuacoatl. the former writes: 'qualquiera que este oficio para si usurpara, ó lo concediera á otro, avia de morir por ello, _y sus padres y deudos eran desnaturados del pueblo donde acaeciese hasta lo quarta generación_. allende que todos los bienes avian de ser confiscados, y aplicados para la republica.' _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxii. torquemada says: 'era tan autoriçado este oficio, que el que lo vsurpara para si, ò lo comunicàra à otro en alguna parte del reino, muriera por ello, _y sus hijos, y muger fueran vendidos, por perpetuos esclavos_, y confiscados sus bienes por lei, que para esto havia.' _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . notwithstanding all other historians distinctly affirm that the cihuacoatl was, in the exercise of his functions perfectly independent of the king, brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , makes the following extraordinary statement: 'il jugeait en dernier ressort et donnait des ordres _en lieu et place du souverain, chaque fois que celui-ci ne le faisait pas directement et par lui-même_.' this must be from one of the original manuscripts in the possession of m. l'abbé. [ ] las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxii., spells these names tacatecatl, acoahunotl, and tlaylotlat; torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. , tlacateccatl, quauhnuchtli, and tlaylotlac; and clavigero, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , tlacatecatl, quauhnochtli, and tlanótlac, or tlaiíotlac, a defect in the impression makes it difficult to tell which. scarcely two of the old writers follow the same system of orthography, and in future i shall follow the style which appears simplest, endeavoring only to be consistent with myself. [ ] clavigero, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , writes 'egiornalmente si portava al cihuacoatl, od al tlacatecatl per avvertirlo di tutto ciò, che occorreva, e ricever gli ordini da lui;' but it would probably be only in cases of great importance that the reports of the tecuhtli would be carried to the cihuacoatl. [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxii.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. , says that there were fifteen provinces subject to the king of tezcuco. [ ] the english edition of clavigero reads: 'the judicial power was divided amongst _seven_ principal cities,' p. ; but the original agrees with the other authorities: 'nel regno d'acolhuacan era la giurisdizione compartita tra _sei_ città principali.' _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxii. torquemada, however, asserts that there were 'en la ciudad de tetzcuco (que era la corte) dentro de la casa real dos salas de consejo ... y en cada sala dos jueces. havia diferencia entre los dichos jueces; porque los de la vna sala eran de mas autoridad, que los de la otra; estos se llamaban jueces maiores, y esotros menores; los maiores oìan de causas graves, y que pertenecian à la determinacion del rei; los segundos, de otras, no tan graves, sino mas leves, y livianas.' _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . the lower of these two probably either formed one of the six superior courts above mentioned, or corresponded with them in jurisdiction. according to zurita, 'chacune des nombreuses provinces soumises à ces souverains entretenait à mexico, à tezcuco et à tlacopan, qui étaient les trois capitales, deux juges, personnes de sens choisies à cet effet, et qui quelquefois étaient parents des souverains,' and adds: 'les appels étaient portés devant _douze autres juges supérieurs_ qui prononçaient d'après l'avis du souverain.' _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., pp. , . [ ] torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. , writes: 'tenia cada sala de estas dichas otro ministro, que hacia oficio de alguacil maior,' &c., while other writers assign one to each judge, of whom there were two in each court. [ ] clavigero differs on this point from other writers, in making this meeting occur every mexican month of twenty days. zurita, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., p. , writes: 'tous les douze jours il y avait une assemblée générale des juges présidée par le prince;' to this the editor attaches the following note: 'il est évident, comme on le verra page , qu'il y a ici une erreur, et que ces assemblées, dont les sessions duraient douze jours, ne se tenaient que tous les quatre-vingts jours.' it is, however, the learned editor who is mistaken, because, as we have seen above, there were two distinct meetings of the judges; a lesser one every ten or twelve days, and a greater every eighty days, and it is of the latter that zurita speaks on p. . [ ] 'al que él sentenciava le arrojava una flecha de aquellas.' _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., p. . 'a capital sentence was indicated by a line traced with an arrow across the portrait of the accused.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. . [ ] it is probable that as matters of government, as well as legal affairs, were discussed at their eighty-day council, it was not exclusively composed of judges, but that nobles and statesmen were admitted to membership. torquemada is, however, the only writer who distinctly states this: 'tenian audiencia general, que la llamaban napualtlatolli, como decir, palabra ochentena, que era dia, en el qual se juntaban todos los de la ciudad, y los asistentes de todas las provincias, con todo el pueblo, asi nobles, como comunes, y plebeios,' &c. _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; ixtlilxochitl, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - , says that the king was accompanied by all his sons and relatives, with their tutors and suites. [ ] concerning this judicial system of tezcuco, see: _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxii.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. - ; _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., pp. , et seq.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] this sentence reads as follows in the original: 'Á los lados serbian de alfombras unas pieles de tigres y leones, y mantas hechas de plumas de águila real, en donde asimismo estaban por su orden cantidad de braceletes, y grevas de oro.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . it is difficult to imagine why 'braceletes, y grevas de oro' should be placed upon the floor, but certainly the historian gives us to understand as much. prescott, who affects to give ixtlilxochitl's description 'in his own words,' and who, furthermore, encloses the extract in quotation marks, gets over this difficulty by omitting the above-quoted sentence entirely. _mex._, vol. i., p, ; and veytia, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. , adopts the same convenient but somewhat unsatisfactory course. this latter author's version of the whole matter is, however, like much other of his work, inextricably confused, when compared with the original. [ ] 'las paredes estaban entapizadas y adornadas de unos paños hechos de pelo de conejo, de todos colores, con figuras de diversas aves, animales y flores.' this is rendered by prescott: 'the walls were hung with tapestry, made of the hair of different wild animals, of rich and various colors, _festooned by gold rings_, and embroidered with figures of birds and flowers.' a few lines above, 'la silla y espaldar era de oro,' is construed into 'a throne of pure gold.' it seems scarcely fair to style the ancient chichimec's description one 'of rather a poetical cast,' at the same time making such additions as these. [ ] ixtlilxochitl, _ubi supra_, writes: 'en los primeros puestos ocho jueces que eran nobles y caballeros, y los otros cuatro eran de los ciudadanos.' veytia says: 'los cuatro primeros eran caballeros de la nobleza de primer órden, los cuatro siguientes ciudadanos de tezcuco.' _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix. p. - . the whole of the above description is very difficult to translate literally, owing to the confused style in which it is written; and if in places it is somewhat unintelligible, the reader will recollect that i translate merely what ixtlilxochitl says, and not what he may, or may not, have _meant_ to say. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxii.; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] prescott, _mex._, vol. i., p. , says: 'the paintings were executed with so much accuracy, that, in all suits respecting real property, they were allowed to be produced as good authority in the spanish tribunals, very long after the conquest; and a chair for their study and interpretation was established at mexico in , which has long since shared the fate of most other provisions for learning in that unfortunate country.' boturini thus describes the paper used by the aztecs: 'el papel indiano se componìa de las pencas del _maguèy_, que en lengua nacional se llama _mètl_, y en castellano _pita_. las echaban à podrir, y lavaban el hilo de ellas, el que haviendose ablandado estendian, para componer su papel gruesso, ò delgado, que despues bruñian para pintar en èl. tambien hacian papel de las hojas de palma, y yo tengo algunos de estos delgados, y blandos tanto como la seda.' _catálogo_, in _id._, _idea_, pp. - . [ ] veytia writes very positively on this point: 'habia tambien abogados y procuradores; á los primeros llamaban tepantlatoani, que quiere decir _el que habla por otro_, y á los segundos _tlanemiliani_, que en lo sustancial ejercian sus ministerios casi del mismo modo que en nuestros tribunales.... daban términos á las partes para que sus abogados hablasen por ellas, y estos lo hacian del mismo modo que en nuestros tribunales.' _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - . sahagun relates the qualities which were supposed by the aztecs to constitute a good or bad _procurador_ or _solicitador_, and describes their duties: 'el procurador favorece à una banda de los pleyteantes, por quien en su negocio vuelve mucho y apela, teniendo poder, y llevando salario por ello. el buen procurador es vivo y solícito, osado, diligente, constante, y perseverante en los negocios, en los cuales no se deja vencer; sino que alega de su derecho, apela, tacha los testigos, ni se cansa hasta vencer á la parte contraria y triunfar de ella. el mal procurador es interesable, gran pedigüeño, y de malicia suele dilatar los negocios: hace alharacas, es muy negligente y descuidado en el pleito, y fraudulento de tal modo, que de entrambas partes lleva salario. el solicitador nunca para, anda siempre solícito y listo. el buen solicitador es muy cuidadoso, determinado, y solícito en todo, y por hacer bien su oficio, muchas veces deja de comer y de dormir, y anda de casa en casa solicitando los negocios, los cuales trata de buena tinta, y con temor ó recelo, de que por su descuido no tengan mal suceso los negocios. el mal solicitador es flojo y descuidado, lerdo, y encandilador para sacar dineros, y facilmente se deja cohechar, porque no hable mal el negocio ó que mienta, y así suele echar á perder los pleitos.' _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - . clavigero takes the opposite side of the question: 'nei giudizj dei messicani facevano la parti da per se stesse le loro allegazioni: almeno non sappiamo, che vi fossero avvocati.' _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . 'no counsel was employed; the parties stated their own case, and supported it by their witnesses.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. . 'l'office d'avocat était inconnu; les parties établissaient elles-mêmes leur cause, en se faisant accompagner de leurs témoins.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] the reader will have remarked in a previous note that veytia assigns more judges to each court than any other writer. [ ] _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv., ccxii.; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. , ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., pp. - . torquemada says the unjust judge was warned twice, and shaved at the third offense. _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . see also _id._, p. . [ ] _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcix., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] torquemada translates tlacatecatl, captain general, (capitan general). we have already seen that it was the title of the presiding judge of the second mexican court of justice, but it was probably in this case a military title, both because military promotion would be more likely to be conferred upon a renowned warrior than a judgeship, and because the prince is spoken of as a young man, while only men of mature years and great experience were entrusted with the higher judicial offices. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., p. . [ ] these names are spelled _tlelpiloia_ and _quahucalco_ by las casas, and _teïlpiloyan_ and _quauhcalli_, by brasseur de bourbourg. [ ] las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxii., says that the jails called quahucalco resembled the stocks; the other writers do not notice this difference. [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxii.; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . [ ] _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., p. ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _boturini_, _idea_, p. . the number of ears of corn varies according to the different writers from three or four to seven, except las casas, who makes the number twenty-one or over, stating, however, that this and some other laws that he gives are possibly not authentic. _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv. the anonymous conqueror writes: 'quando altri entrauano nelle possessioni altrui per rubbare frutti, ò il grano che essi hanno, che per entrar in vn campo, e rubbare tre ò quattro mazzocche ò spighe de quel loro grano, lo faceuano schiauo del patrone di quel campo rubbato.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . clavigero agrees with the anonymous conqueror, that the thief of corn became the slave of the owner of the field from which he had stolen, and adds in a foot-note: 'torquemada aggiunge, che avea pena di morte; ma ciò fu nel regno d'acolhuacan, non già in quello di messico.' _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii.; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . [ ] ortega's statement reads: 'casi siempre se castigaba con pena de muerte, á ménos de que la parte ofendida conviniese en ser indemnizada por el ladron, en cuyo caso pagaba este al fisco una cantidad igual á la robada.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _explicacion de la coleccion de mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., p. . [ ] _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii., says that he who stole in the market-place was hanged there and then by order of the judges of the place, and in cap. cxv., he writes: 'el que en el mercado algo hurtava, era ley que luego publicamente alli en el mismo mercado lo matasen á palos.' again in the same chapter he gives a law, for the authenticity of which he does not vouch, however, which reads as follows: 'el que en el mercado hurtava algo, los mismos del mercado tenian licencia para lo matar á pedradas.' [ ] _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv. [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. x.; _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., p. . [ ] 'l'omicida pagava colla propria vita il suo delitto, quantunque l'ucciso fosse uno schiavo.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . the manner of putting the murderer to death is differently stated: 'el homicidio, bien fuese ejecutado por noble ó plebeyo, bien por hombre ó muger, se castigaba con pena de muerte, depedazando al homicida.' _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . 'al que mataba à otro, hacian degollar.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'al matador lo degollaban.' _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. . other writers merely say that the murderer suffered death, without stating the manner of execution. see, _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii.; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . diego duran, in his inedited 'history of new spain,' asserts that the murderer did not suffer death, but became the slave for life of the wife or relatives of the deceased. _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. - . [ ] _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. x. [ ] _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., pp. - . [ ] _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii. in cap. ccxv., among his unauthenticated laws, we read that if the victim of poison was a slave, the person who caused his death was made a slave, in the place of suffering the extreme penalty, but the opposite to this is expressly stated by clavigero and implied by ortega. [ ] _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii.; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . ixtlilxochitl writes that the children and relations of the traitor were enslaved till the _fifth_ generation, and that salt was scattered upon his lands. _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., p. . 'il traditore del re, o dello stato, era sbranato, ed i suoi parenti, che consapevoli del tradimento non lo aveano per tempo scoperto, erano privati della libertà.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv., among the collection of unauthenticated laws so frequently mentioned heretofore, gives the following: 'si algunos vendieron algun niño por esclavo, y despues se sabe, todos los que entendieron en ello eran esclavos, y dellos davan uno al que lo compró, y los otros repartian entre la madre del niño y entre él que lo descubrió.' in the same chapter, among another list of laws which, says las casas, 'son tenidas todas por autenticas y verdaderas,' we read: 'era ley, y con rigor guardada, que si alguno vendia por esclavo algun niño perdido, que se hiciese esclavo al que lo vendia, y su hacienda se partiese en dos partes, la una era para el niño, y la otra al que lo havia comprado, y si quizas lo avian vendido y eran muchos, á todos hacian esclavos.' [ ] zurita writes: 'ils n'avaient droit d'en prendre que trois petites tasses à chaque repas.' _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. xvi. [ ] _codex mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. i., pl. ; _esplicacion_, in _id._, vol. v., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. xvi.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'dans les noces publiques et les fêtes, les hommes âgés de plus de trente ans étaient ordinairement autorisés à en boire deux tasses.' _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. xvi. [ ] ortega says that the privilege was also extended to private soldiers. _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . zurita, however, writes 'les guerriers regardaient comme un déshonneur d'en boire.' _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii., ccxv.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., p. ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii, p. ; _codex mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. i., pl. ; _esplicacion_, in _id._, vol. v., pp. - ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _id._, vol. ix., p. ; _id._, _relaciones_, p. ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _zurita_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. i., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. xvi. [ ] see this vol. pp. - . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv. [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv., gives two laws on this point. to the first, which is among the collection of unauthenticated laws, adds: 'y si era plebeyo ó de baja suerte hacian lo esclavo.' ixtlilxochitl also gives two laws: 'a los hijos de los señores si malbarataban sus riquezas, ó bien muebles que sus padres tenian, les daban garrote.' _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . 'si algun principal mayorazgo fuese desbaratado, ó travieso, ó si entre dos de estos tales hubiese alguna diferencia sobre tierras ú otras cosas, el que no quisiese estarse quedo con la averiguacion que entre ellos se hiciese por ser soberbio y mal mirado, le fuesen quitados sus bienes y mayorazgo, y fuese puesto en depósito en alguna persona que diese cuenta de ello para el tiempo que le fuese pedido, de cual mayorazgo estubiese desposeido todo el tiempo que la voluntad del señor fuese.' _relaciones_, in _id._, p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii. [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv. [ ] concerning adultery see: _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii., ccxv.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. , ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _relaciones_, in _id._, p. ; _codex mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. i., pl. ; _esplicacion_, in _id._, vol. v., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _bologne_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _zurita_, _rapport_, in _id._, série ii., tom. i., pp. - ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. ; _duran_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. viii., pp. - ; _valades_, _rhetorica christiana_, in _id._, p. , note. [ ] _las casas_ and _mendieta_, as in preceding note. [ ] 'para la justificacion fuese bastante la denuncia del marido.' _ibid._ [ ] las casas writes: 'a ninguna muger ni hombre castigavan por adulterio, si solo el marido della los acusaba, sino que havia de haver testigos y confesion dellos.' _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv. torquemada uses almost the same words. [ ] father francisco de bologne says that this mode of punishment was only resorted to in the case of the man, and that the female adulterer was impaled. _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. . [ ] this statement is made by ixtlilxochitl and veytia, _ubi sup._ [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii.; _mendieta_, _ubi sup._ [ ] _ibidem._ among the miztecs, when extenuating circumstances could be proved, the punishment of death was commuted to mutilation of ears, nose, and lips. _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _ubi sup._ [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii., ccxv.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii.; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. x.; _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv.; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _ortega_, in _id._, p. ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. . carbajal espinosa differs from these in saying: 'al pasivo le arrancaban las entrañas, se llenaba su vientre de ceniza y el cadáver era quemado.' _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . carli is therefore mistaken in saying this crime was punished with death. _cartas_, p. . [ ] _lettre_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. . [ ] _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii. clavigero writes: 'appresso tutte le nazioni di anahuac, fuorchè appresso i panuchesi, era in abbominazione sì fatto delitto, e da tutte si puniva con rigore.' this writer is very bitter against m. de pauw for stating that this pederasty was common among the mexicans, and adds: 'ma della falsità di tal calunnia, che con troppa, ed assai biasimevole facilità addottarono parecchj autori europei, ci consta per la testimonianza di molti altri autori imparziarli, e meglio informati.' clavigero does not, however, state who these 'more impartial and better informed writers' are. that the crime of sodomy was prevalent in tabasco, we have the testimony of oviedo, who writes that among the idols that the christians saw there 'dixeron que avian hallado entre aquellos çemís ó yolos, dos personas hechas de copey (que es un árbol assi llamado), el uno caballero ó cabalgando sobre el otro, en figura de aquel abominable y nefando pecado de sodomia, é otro de barro que tenia la natura asida con ambas manos, la qual tenia como çircunçiso ... y no es este pecado entre aquellas mal aventuradas gentes despresçiado, ni sumariamente averiguado: antes es mucha verdad quanto dellos se puede deçir é culpar en tal caso.' _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. . zuazo, speaking of the mexicans, says: 'estas gentes tienen la _tria peccatela_ que decia el italiano: no creen en dios; _son casi todos sodomitas_: comen carne humana.' _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii. [ ] las casas, among his unauthentic laws has one which prescribes death in this case, but in another list, which he says is composed of authentic laws, banishment and confiscation of property is given as the penalty. _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii.; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . ortega adds that their heads were rubbed with ashes; 'se les untaba con ceniza caliente.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _duran_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxv.; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxiii., ccxv.; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . [ ] _las casas_, _ibid._; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. - . [ ] _las casas_, _ibid._; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . in the following works more or less mention is made of the system of jurisprudence that existed among the nahua peoples. _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - , - , - , - , , ; _cortés_, _aven. y conq._, pref., p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., pp. - ; _incidents and sketches_, pp. - ; _simon's ten tribes_, pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _chambers' jour._, , vol. iv., p. ; _baril_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _soden_, _spanier in peru_, tom. ii., p. . chapter xv. nahua arts and manufactures. metals used and manner of obtaining them--working of gold and silver--wonderful skill in imitating--gilding and plating--working in stone--lapidary work--wood carving--manufacture of pottery--various kinds of cloth--manufacture of paper and leather--preparation of dyes and paints--the art of painting--feather mosaic work--leaf-mats--manner of kindling fire--torches--soap--council of arts in tezcuco--oratory and poetry--nezahualcoyotl's odes on the mutability of life and the tyrant tezozomoc--aztec arithmetical system. gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead were the metals known to and used by the nahuas. the latter, however, is merely mentioned, and nothing is known about where it was obtained or for what purposes it was employed. we have only very slight information respecting the processes by which any of the metals were obtained. gold came to the cities of anáhuac chiefly from the southern nahua provinces, through the agency of traders and tax-gatherers; silver and tin were taken from the mines of taxco and tzompanco; copper was obtained from the mountains of zacatollan, the province of the cohuixcas, and from michoacan. nuggets of gold and masses of native copper were found on the surface of the ground in certain regions; gold was chiefly obtained, however, from the sand in the bed of rivers by divers. it was kept, in the form of dust, in small tubes or quills, or was melted in small pots, by the aid of hollow bamboo blow-pipes used instead of bellows, and cast in small bars. prescott tells us that these metals were also mined from veins in the solid rock, extensive galleries being opened for the purpose. quicksilver, sulphur, alum, ochre, and other minerals were collected to a certain extent and employed by the natives in the preparation of colors and for other purposes.[ ] the use of iron, though that metal was abundant in the country, was unknown. such metals as they had they were most skillful in working, chiefly by melting and casting, and by carving, but also to some extent by the use of the hammer. we have no details of the means employed to melt the harder metals, besides the rude blow-pipe and furnace mentioned in connection with gold. for cutting implements copper was the only metal used, but it was hardened with an alloy of tin until it sufficed to cut the hardest substances nearly as well as steel.[ ] the pure and softer metal was used to make kettles and other vessels. copper tools were, however, rare compared with those of stone, and seem to have been used chiefly in working wood where a sharp and enduring edge was required. such tools usually took the form of axes and chisels. sticks for working the ground, the nearest nahua approach to the plow, were also often tipped with copper, as we have seen. metal was not much used in making weapons, not being found in swords or arrow-heads, but employed with obsidian in spearheads and on the _maza_, or club. both copper and tin dishes and plates are mentioned but were not in common use. in the manufacture of implements of copper and tin these metals were wrought by means of stone hammers and not cast.[ ] [sidenote: gold and silver smiths.] no branch of nahua art was carried to a higher degree of perfection than the ornamental working of gold and silver. the conquerors were struck with admiration on beholding the work of the native goldsmiths; they even in some cases frankly acknowledge that they admired the work more than the material, and saved the most beautiful specimens from the melting furnace, the greatest compliment these gold-greedy adventurers could pay to native art. many of the finer articles were sent as presents and curiosities to european princes, who added their testimony to that of the conquerors, pronouncing the jewelry in many instances superior to the work of old-world artists. azcapuzalco was the headquarters of the workers in gold and silver.[ ] the imitation of natural objects, particularly animals, birds, and fishes, was a favorite field for the display of this branch of nahua talent. the conqueror cortés tells us that montezuma had in his collection a counterfeit in gold, silver, stones, or feathers, of every object under heaven in his dominions, so skillfully made, so far as the work in metal was concerned, that no smith in the world could excel them. this statement is repeated by every writer on the subject. dr hernandez, the naturalist, in preparing a treatise on mexican zoology for philip ii., is said to have supplied his want of real specimens of certain rare species by a resort to these imitations.[ ] the native artists are said to have fashioned animals and birds with movable heads, legs, wings, and tongues, an ape with a spindle in its hands in the act of spinning and in certain comic attitudes; and what particularly interested and surprised the spaniards was the art--spoken of by them as a lost art--of casting the parts of an object of different metals each distinct from the rest but all forming a complete whole, and this, as the authorities say, without soldering. thus a fish was molded with alternate scales of gold and silver, plates were cast in sections of the same metal, and loose handles were attached to different vessels.[ ] [sidenote: gilding and plating.] after the spaniards came, the native artisans had a new and wide field for the display of their skill, in imitating the numerous products of european art. a slight examination, often obtained by stealthily looking into the shop windows, enabled them to reproduce and not unfrequently to improve upon the finest articles of jewelry and plate.[ ] clavigero says that vessels of copper or other inferior metal were gilded, by employing an unknown process in which certain herbs were used, and which would have made the fortune of a goldsmith in spain and italy. oviedo also tells us that various ornamental articles were covered with thin gold plate.[ ] to enumerate the articles manufactured by the nahua gold and silver smiths, and included in the long lists of presents made by montezuma and other chieftains to their conquerors is impracticable; they included finely modeled goblets, pitchers, and other vessels for the tables of the kings and nobility; frames for stone mirrors and rich settings for various precious stones; personal ornaments for the wealthy, and especially for warriors, including rings, bracelets, eardrops, beads, helmets and various other portions of armor; small figures in human form worn as charms or venerated as idols; and finally the most gorgeous and complicated decorations for the larger idols, and their temples and altars.[ ] little is known of the methods or implements by which the workers in gold accomplished such marvelous results. the authors tell us that they excelled particularly in working the precious metals by means of fire; and the furnaces already mentioned are pictured in several of the aztec picture-writings as simple vessels, perhaps of earthen ware, various in form, heaped with lumps of metal, and possibly with wood and coal, from which the tongues of flame protrude, as the workman sits by his furnace with his bamboo blow-pipe. how they cast or molded the molten gold into numerous graceful and ornamental forms is absolutely unknown. the process by which these patient workers carved or engraved ornamental figures on gold and silver vessels by means of their implements of stone and hardened copper, although not explained, may in a general way be easily imagined. they worked also to some extent with the hammer, but as gold-beaters they were regarded as inferior workmen, using only stone implements. the art of working in the precious metals was derived traditionally from the toltecs, and the gold and silversmiths formed in mexico a kind of corporation under the divine guidance of the god xipe.[ ] [sidenote: working in stone.] stone was the material of most nahua implements. for this purpose all the harder kinds found in the country were worked, flint, porphyry, basalt, but especially obsidian, the native _iztli_. of this hard material, extensively quarried some distance north of mexico, nearly all the sharp-edged tools were made. these tools, such as knives, razors, lancets, spear and arrow heads, were simply flakes from an obsidian block. the knives were double-edged and the best of them slightly curved at the point. the maker held a round block of iztli between his bare feet, pressed with his chest and hands on a long wooden instrument, one end of which was applied near the edge of the block, and thus split off knife after knife with great rapidity, which required only to be fitted to a wooden handle to be ready for use. the edge thus produced was at first as sharp as one of steel, but became blunted by slight use, when the instrument must be thrown away. thus las casas tells us that ten or fifteen obsidian razors were required to shave one man's beard. stone knives seem rarely if ever to have been sharpened by grinding.[ ] of obsidian were made the knives used in the sacrifice of human victims, and the lancets used in bleeding for medicinal purposes and in drawing blood in the service of the gods. for bleeding, similar knives are said to be still used in mexico.[ ] the use of stone in the manufacture of weapons has been mentioned in another chapter. masks and even rings and cups were sometimes worked from obsidian and other kinds of stone. axes were of flint, jade, or basalt, and were bound with cords to a handle of hard wood, the end of which was split to receive it.[ ] torquemada says that agricultural implements were made of stone.[ ] mirrors were of obsidian, or of _margajita_,--spoken of by some as a metal, by others as a stone,--often double-faced, and richly set in gold.[ ] the quarrying of stone for building and sculpture was done by means of wooden and stone implements, by methods unknown but adequate to the working of the hardest material. stone implements alone seem to have been used for the sculpture of idols, statues, and architectural decorations. a better idea of the excellence of the nahuas in the art of stone-carving may be formed from the consideration of antiquarian relics in another volume than from the remarks of the early chroniclers. most of the sculptured designs were executed in soft material, in working which flint instruments would be almost as effective as those of steel; but some of the preserved specimens are carved in the hardest stone, and must have taxed the sculptor's patience to the utmost even with hard copper chisels. the idols and hieroglyphics on which the native art was chiefly exercised, present purposely distorted figures and are a poor test of the artists' skill; according to traditional history portrait-statues of the kings were made, and although none of these are known to have survived, yet a few specimens in the various collections indicate that the human face and form in true proportions were not beyond the scope of american art; and the native sculptors were, moreover, extremely successful in the modeling of animals in stone.[ ] [sidenote: working of precious stones.] the nahuas were no less skillful in working precious stones than gold and silver. their toltec ancestors possessed the same skill and used to search for the stones at sunrise, being directed to the hidden treasure by the vapor which rose from the place that concealed it. all the stones found in the country were used for ornamental purposes, but emeralds, amethysts, and turquoises were most abundant. the jewels were cut with copper tools with the aid of a silicious sand. single stones were carved in various forms, often those of animals, and set in gold, or sometimes formed into small cups or boxes. pearls, mother of pearl, and bright-colored shells were used with the precious stones in the formation of necklaces, bracelets, ear-rings, and other decorations for the nobles or for the idols. various articles of dress or armor were completely studded with gems tastefully arranged, and a kind of mosaic, with which wooden masks for the idols were often covered, attracted much attention among the spaniards. mirrors of rock crystal, obsidian, and other stones, brightly polished and encased in rich frames, were said to reflect the human face as clearly as the best of european manufacture.[ ] trees were felled with copper hatchets, hewn with the same instruments into beams, and dragged by slaves over rollers to the place where they were needed for building. some of the chief idols, as for instance that of huitzilopochtli, according to acosta, were of wood, but wood-carving was not apparently carried to a high degree of perfection. some boxes, furnished with lids and hinges, also tables and chairs, were made of wood, which was the chief material of weapons and agricultural implements. the authorities devote but few words to the workers in wood, who, however, after the conquest seem to have become quite skillful under spanish instruction, and with the aid of european tools. fire-wood was sold in the markets; and las casas also tells us that charcoal was burned.[ ] [sidenote: manufacture of pottery.] at cholula the best pottery was made, but throughout the whole country nearly all the dishes used were of clay. pots, kettles, vases, plates for domestic use, as well as censers and other utensils for the temple service, also idols, beads, and various ornaments were modeled from this material. the early spaniards were enthusiastic in praising the native potters' skill, but beyond the statement that vessels of earthen ware were glazed and often tastefully decorated, they give no definite information respecting this branch of manufactures. many small earthen trumpets, or flageolets, capable of producing various sounds, and of imitating the cries of different birds, have been found in different parts of the mexican republic. fortunately relics of pottery in every form are of frequent occurrence in the museums, and from the description of such relics in another volume the excellence of aztec pottery may be estimated. besides the earthen dishes, and vessels of metal and carved wood, some baskets were made, and drinking-cups or bowls of different sizes and shapes were formed from the hollow shells of gourds. these were known as _xicalli_, later jicaras, and _tecomatl_.[ ] seashells were also used as dishes to some extent.[ ] the finer kinds of cloth were made of cotton, of rabbit-hair, of the two mixed, or of cotton mixed with feathers. the rabbit-hair fabrics were pronounced equal in finish and texture to silk, and cotton cloths were also fine and white. fabrics of this better class were used for articles of dress by the rich, nobles, and priests; they were both woven and dyed in variegated colors. the cloths in the manufacture of which feathers were employed often served for carpets, tapestry, and bed-coverings. maguey-fibre, and that of the palm-leaves _icxotl_ and _izhuatl_ were woven into coarse cloths, the maguey-cloth being known as _nequen_. this nequen and the coarser kinds of cotton were the materials with which the poorer classes clothed themselves. the palm and maguey fibres were prepared for use in the same manner as flax in other countries, being soaked in water, pounded, and dried. the same material served also for cords, ropes, and mats. a coarser kind of matting was, however, made of different varieties of reeds. all the work of spinning and weaving was performed by the women, forming indeed their chief employment. the spindle used in spinning, shown in many of the aztec manuscripts, was like a top, which was set whirling in a shallow dish, the fibre being applied to its pointed upper extremity until the impetus was exhausted. all we know of the native process of weaving is derived from the native paintings, a sample of which from the mendoza collection, showing a woman engaged in weaving, may be seen in chapter xvii. of this volume.[ ] [sidenote: making of cloth and paper.] paper, in aztec _amatl_, used chiefly as a material on which to paint the hieroglyphic records to be described in a future chapter, was made for the most part of maguey-fibre, although the other fibres used in the manufacture of cloth were occasionally mixed with those of this plant. the material must have been pressed together when wet, and the product was generally very thick, more like a soft paste-board than our paper. the surface was smooth and well adapted to the painting which it was to bear. certain gums are said to have been used for the more perfect coherence of the fibre, and the amatl was made in long narrow sheets suitable for rolling or folding. humboldt describes certain bags of oval form, the work of a species of caterpillars, on the trees in michoacan. they are white and may be separated into thin layers, which, as the author states, were used by the ancient inhabitants in the manufacture of a superior kind of paper.[ ] the skins of animals killed by the nahua hunters were tanned both with and without the hair, by a process of which the authorities say nothing, although universally praising its results. the leather was used in some cases as a sort of parchment for hieroglyphic writings, but oftener for articles of dress, ornament, or armor.[ ] [sidenote: dyeing and painting.] in the preparation of dyes and paints, both mineral, animal, and vegetable colors were employed, the latter extracted from woods, barks, leaves, flowers, and fruits. in the art of dyeing they probably excelled the europeans, and many of their dyes have since the conquest been introduced throughout the world. chief among these was the cochineal, _nochiztli_, an insect fed by the nahuas on the leaves of the nopal, from which they obtained beautiful and permanent red and purple colors for their cotton fabrics. the flower of the _matlalxihuitl_ supplied blue shades; indigo was the sediment of water in which branches of the _xiuhquilipitzahuac_ had been soaked; seeds of the _achiotl_ boiled in water yielded a red, the french _roucou_; ochre, or _tecozahuitl_, furnished yellow, as did also the plant _xochipalli_, the latter being changed to orange by the use of nitre; other shades were produced by the use of alum; the stones _chimaltizatl_ and _tizatlalli_ being calcined, produced something like spanish white; black was obtained from a stinking mineral, _tlaliac_, or from the soot of a pine called _ocotl_. in mixing paints they used chian-oil, or sometimes the glutinous juice of the _tzauhtli_. the numerous dye-woods of the tierra caliente, now the chief exports from that region, were all employed by the native dyers. it is probable that many of the secrets of this branch of nahua art were never learned by the spaniards.[ ] the nahua paintings showed no great artistic merit, being chiefly noticeable for the excellence of the colors. very few specimens have been preserved for modern examination, except the hieroglyphic paintings in which most of the figures are hideously and, as it is supposed, purposely distorted, and consequently no criterion of the artist's skill. it is not known that the nahuas ever attempted to paint natural scenery, except that they prepared maps of sections of their territory on which they rudely represented the mountains, rivers, and forests, indicating the lands of different owners or lords by the use of different colors. they sometimes made portraits of the kings and nobles, but the spanish chroniclers admit that they exhibited much less skill in picturing the human form and face than in drawing animals, birds, trees, and flowers. some modern critics of lively imagination have, however, detected indications of great artistic genius in the awkward figures of the picture-writings. native painters, when cortés arrived on the coast, painted his ships, men, horses, cannon, in fact everything new and strange in the white men's equipment, and hurried with the canvas to montezuma at the capital. very little is known of ornamental painting on the walls of private dwellings, but that on the temples naturally partook to a great extent of a hieroglyphic character. the durability of the paintings on cloth and paper, especially when rubbed occasionally with oil, was remarked by many observers, as was also the skill displayed by the natives later under spanish instruction.[ ] [sidenote: feather-mosaic.] the mixture of feathers with cotton and other fibres in the manufacture of clothing, tapestry, carpets, and bed-coverings has already been mentioned. for such fabrics plain colors from ducks and other aquatic birds were generally employed, brighter hues being occasionally introduced for ornamental purposes. feathers also played an important part in the decoration of warriors' armor, the tail-feathers of the bright-hued quetzal being the favorites. these were formed into brilliant plumes, often tipped with gold and set in precious stones. beautiful fans were made of the same material. but the art which of all those practiced by the nahuas most delighted and astonished the europeans, was the use of feathers in the making of what has been called feather-mosaic. the myriads of tropical birds in which the forests of the tierra caliente abounded, chief among which were the quetzal, many varieties of the parrot kind, and the _huitzilin_, or humming-bird, supplied feathers, fine and coarse, of every desired color and shade. it was for this use chiefly that the royal and other collections of birds, already described, were so carefully kept. these captive birds were plucked each year at the proper season, and their plumage sorted according to color and quality. some shades only to be obtained from the rarest birds, were for ordinary feather-work artificially produced by dyeing the white plumage of more common birds. to prepare for work the _amanteca_, or artist, arranged his colors in small earthen dishes within easy reach of his hand, stretched a piece of cloth on a board before him, and provided himself with a pot of glue--called by clavigero tzauhtli,--and a pair of very delicate pincers. the design he wished to execute was first sketched roughly on the cloth, and then with the aid of the pincers feather after feather was taken from its dish and glued to the canvas. the spanish writers marvel at the care with which this work was done; sometimes, they say, a whole day was consumed in properly choosing and adjusting one delicate feather, the artist patiently experimenting until the hue and position of the feather, viewed from different points and under different lights, became satisfactory to his eye. when a large piece was to be done, many workmen assembled, a part of the work was given to each, and so skillfully was the task performed that the parts rarely failed at the end to blend into an harmonious whole; but if the effect of any part was unsatisfactory it must be commenced anew. by this method a great variety of graceful patterns were wrought, either fanciful, or taken from natural objects, flowers, animals, and even the human face, which latter the native artists are said to have successfully portrayed. las casas tells us they made these feather-fabrics so skillfully that they appeared of different colors according to the direction from which they were viewed. the spaniards declare that the feather-pictures were fully equal to the best works of european painters, and are at a loss for words to express their admiration of this wonderful nahua invention; specimens of great beauty have also been preserved and are to be seen in the museums. besides mantles and other garments, tapestry, bed-coverings, and other ornamental fabrics for the use of the noble and wealthy classes, to which this art was applied, the feather-mosaic was a favorite covering for the shields and armor of noted warriors. by the same process masks were made representing in a manner true to nature the faces of fierce animals; and even the whole bodies of such animals were sometimes counterfeited, as zuazo says, so faithfully as to deceive the ignorant observer. the tarascos of michoacan were reputed to be the most skillful in feather-work.[ ] the feather-workers were called amantecas from amantla, the name of the ward of mexico in which they chiefly lived. this ward adjoined that of pochtlan, where lived the chief merchants called pochtecas, and the shrine of the amantecas' god ciotliahuatl, was also joined to that of the merchants' god iyacatecutli. the feather-workers and merchants were closely united, there was great similarity in all their idolatrous rites, and they often sat together at the same banquet.[ ] another art, similar in its nature to that of the feather-mosaics, was that of pasting leaves and flowers upon mats so as to form attractive designs for temporary use on the occasion of special festivals. the natives made great use of these flower-pictures after the conquest in the decoration of the churches for catholic holidays.[ ] the nahuas kindled a fire like their more savage brethren by friction between two pieces of wood, achiotl being the kind of wood preferred for this purpose. boturini, followed by later writers, states that the use of the flint was also known. once kindled, the flames were fanned by the use of a blow-pipe. for lights, torches of resinous wood were employed, especially the _ocotl_, which emitted a pleasing odor. the use of wicks with oil or wax was apparently unknown until after the coming of europeans. substitutes for soap were found in the fruit of the _copalxocotl_ and root of the _amolli_. [sidenote: the council of arts in tezcuco.] all the branches of art among the nahuas were placed under the control of a council or academy which was instituted to favor the development of poetry, oratory, history, painting, and also to some extent of sculpture and work in gold, precious stones, and feathers. tezcuco was the centre of all high art and refinement during the palmy days of the chichimec empire, and retained its preëminence to a great extent down to the coming of the spaniards; consequently its school of arts is better known than others that probably existed in other cities. it was called the council of music, although taking cognizance of other arts and sciences, chiefly by controlling the education of the young, since no teacher of arts could exercise his profession without a certificate of his qualifications from the council. before the same body all pupils must be brought for examination. the greatest care was taken that no defective work of lapidary, goldsmith, or worker in feathers should be exposed for sale in the markets, and that no imperfectly instructed artists should be allowed to vitiate the public taste. but it was above all with literary arts, poetry, oratory, and historical paintings, that this tribunal, composed of the best talent and culture of the kingdom, had to do, and every literary work was subject to its revision. the members, nominated by the emperor of tezcuco, held daily meetings, and seats of honor were reserved for the kings of the three allied kingdoms, although a presiding officer was elected from the nobility with reference to his literary acquirements. at certain sessions of the council, poems and historical essays were read by their authors, and new inventions were exhibited for inspection, rich prizes being awarded for excellence in any branch of learning.[ ] [sidenote: oratory and poesy.] speech-making is a prominent feature in the life of most aboriginal tribes, and in their fondness for oratory the nahuas were no exceptions to the rule. many and long addresses accompanied the installation of kings and all public officers; all diplomatic correspondence between different nations was carried on by orators; prayers to the gods were in aboriginal as in modern times elaborate elocutionary efforts; the departing and returning traveler was dismissed and welcomed with a speech; condolence for misfortune and congratulation for success were expressed in public and private by the friends most skillful in the art of speaking; social intercourse in feasts and banquets was but a succession of speeches; and parents even employed long discourses to impart to their children instruction and advice. consequently children were instructed at an early age in the art of public speaking; some were even specially educated as orators. they were obliged to commit to memory, and taught to repeat as declamations, the speeches of their most famous ancestors, handed down from father to son for many generations. specimens of the orations delivered by nahua speakers on different occasions are so numerous in this and the following volume, that the reader may judge for himself respecting their merit. it is impossible, however, to decide how far these compositions have been modified in passing through spanish hands, although it is probable, according to the judgment of the best critics, that they retain much of the original spirit of their reputed authors.[ ] poets, if somewhat less numerous, were no less honored than orators. their compositions were also recited, or sung, before the council of music in tezcuco, and the most talented bards were honored with prizes. the heroic deeds of warlike ancestors, national annals and traditions, praise of the gods, moral lessons drawn from actual events, allegorical productions with illustrations drawn from the beauties of nature, and even love and the charms of woman were the common themes. the emperor nezahualcoyotl, the protector and promoter of all the arts and sciences, was himself a poet of great renown. several of his compositions, or fragments of such, have been preserved; that is, the poems were written from memory in aztec with roman letters after the conquest, and translated into spanish by ixtlilxochitl, a lineal descendant of the royal poet. they have also been translated into other languages by various authors. the following will serve as specimens.[ ] [sidenote: nezahualcoyotl's odes.] song of nezahualcoyotl, king of tezcuco; on the mutability of life. now will i sing for a moment, since time and occasion offer, and i trust to be heard with favor if my effort proveth deserving; wherefore thus i begin my singing, or rather my lamentation. o thou, my friend, and beloved, enjoy the sweet flowers i bring thee; let us be joyful together and banish each care and each sorrow; for although life's pleasures are fleeting, life's bitterness also must leave us. i will strike, to help me in singing, the instrument deep and sonorous; dance thou, while enjoying these flowers, before the great lord who is mighty; let us grasp the sweet things of the present, for the life of a man is soon over. fair acolhuacán thou hast chosen as thy dwelling-place and thy palace; thou hast set up thy royal throne there, with thine own hand hast thou enriched it; wherefore it seems to be certain that thy kingdom shall prosper and flourish. and thou, o wise prince oyoyotzin, mighty monarch, and king without equal, rejoice in the beauty of spring-time, be happy while spring abides with thee, for the day creepeth nearer and nearer when thou shalt seek joy and not find it. a day when dark fate, the destroyer, shall tear from thine hand the proud sceptre, when the moon of thy glory shall lessen, thy pride and thy strength be diminished, the spoil from thy servants be taken, thy kingdom and honor go from thee. ah, then in this day of great sorrow the lords of thy line will be mournful, the princes of might will be downcast, the pride of high birth will avail not; when thou, their great head, hast been smitten the pains of grim want will assail them. then with bitterness will they remember the glory and fame of thy greatness, thy triumphs so worthy of envy, until, while comparing the present with years that are gone now forever, their tears shall be more than the ocean. the vassals that cluster about thee and are as a crown to thy kingdom, when thine arm doth no longer uphold them, will suffer the fate of the exile; in strange lands their pride will be humbled, their rank and their name be forgotten. the fame of the race that is mighty, and worthy a thousand fair kingdoms, will not in the future be heeded; the nations will only remember the justice with which they were governed in the years when the kingdom was threefold. in mexico, proudest of cities, reigned the mighty and brave montezuma, nezahualcoyotl, the just one of blest culhuacán was the monarch, to strong totoquíl fell the portion of acatlapán, the third kingdom. but yet thou shalt not be forgotten, nor the good thou hast ever accomplished; for, is not the throne that thou fillest the gift of the god without equal, the mighty creator of all things, the maker of kings and of princes! nezahualcoyotl, be happy with the pleasant things that thou knowest, rejoice in the beautiful garden, wreathe thy front with a garland of flowers, give heed to my song and my music, for i care but to pleasure thy fancy. the sweet things of life are but shadows; the triumphs, the honors, what are they but dreams that are idle and last not though clothed in a semblance of being? and so great is the truth that i utter, i pray thee to answer this question. cihuapán, the valiant, where is he, and quauhtzintecomtzin, the mighty, the great cohuahuatzin, where are they? they are dead, and have left us no token, save their names, and the fame of their valor; they are gone from this world to another. i would that those living in friendship, whom the thread of strong love doth encircle, could see the sharp sword of the death-god. for, verily, pleasure is fleeting, all sweetness must change in the future, the good things of life are inconstant. ode on the tyrant tezozomoc by nezahualcoyotl the king. give ear unto the lamentation which i, nezahualcoyotl the king, make within myself for the fate of the empire, and set forth for an example unto others. o king, unstable and restless, when thou art dead then shall thy people be overthrown and confounded; thy place shall be no more; the creator, the all-powerful shall reign. who could have thought, having seen the palaces and the court, the glory and the power of the old king tezozomoc, that these things could have an end? yet have they withered and perished. verily, life giveth naught but disappointment and vexation; all that is, weareth out and passeth away. who will not be sorrowful at the remembrance of the ancient splendor of this tyrant, this withered old man; who, like a thirsty willow, nourished by the moisture of his ambition and avarice, lorded it over the lowly meadows and flowery fields while spring-time lasted, but at length, dried up and decayed, the storms of winter tore him up by the roots and scattered him in pieces upon the ground. but now, with this mournful song, i bring to mind the things that flourish for an hour, and present, in the fate of tezozomoc, an example of the brevity of human greatness. who, that listens to me, can refrain from weeping? verily, the enjoyments and pleasures of life are as a bouquet of flowers, that is passed from hand to hand until it fades, withers, and is dead. hearken unto me, ye sons of kings and of princes, take good heed and ponder the theme of my mournful song, the things that flourish for an hour, and the end of the king tezozomoc. who is he, i say again, that can hear me and not weep? verily, the enjoyments and pleasures of life are as a handful of flowers, blooming for a space, but soon withered and dead. let the joyous birds sing on and rejoice in the beauty of spring, and the butterflies enjoy the honey and perfume of the flowers, for life is as a tender plant that is plucked and withereth away. granados tells us that nezahualcoyotl's poems were all in iambic verse, resembling in style the works of manilius, seneca, pomponius, euripides, and lilius. in one of his songs he compared the shortness of life and of its pleasures with the fleeting bloom of a flower, so pathetically as to draw tears from the audience, as clavigero relates. ixtlilxochitl narrates that a prisoner condemned to death obtained pardon by reciting a poem before the king. there is not much evidence that verses were ever written in rhyme, but the authors say that due attention was paid to cadence and metre, and that some unmeaning syllables were added to certain lines to accommodate the measure. by their system of combination a single word often sufficed for a line in the longest measure. many of their poetical compositions were intended for the dramatic representations which have been spoken of elsewhere.[ ] [sidenote: aztec arithmetical system.] the nahua system of numeration was very simple and comprehensive, there being no limit to the numbers that could be expressed by it. the following table will give a clear idea of the method as employed by the aztecs: one, _ce_, or _cen_. two, _ome_. three, _yey_, or _ei_. four, _nahui_. five, _macuilli_,--signifying the 'clenched hand,' one finger having been originally doubled, as is supposed, for each unit in counting from one to five. six, _chico a ce_. seven, _chic ome_. eight, _chico ey_. nine, _chico nahui_,--these names from six to nine are simply those from one to four, with a prefix whose meaning is not altogether clear, but which is said to be composed of _chico_, 'at one side,' and _ihuan_ or _huan_, meaning 'near another,' 'with,' or simply 'and.' these names may consequently be interpreted perhaps, 'one side (or hand) with one,' 'one hand with two,' etc., or one two, etc., 'with the other side.' ten, _matlactli_--that is the upper part of the body, or all the fingers of the hands. eleven, _matlactli oc ce_, ten and one. twelve, _matlactli om ome_, ten and two. thirteen, _matlactli om ey_, ten and three. fourteen, _matlactli o nahui_, ten and four. in these names _oc_, _om_, _o_, or _on_ as molina gives it, seems to be used as a connective particle, equivalent to 'and,' but i am not acquainted with its derivation. fifteen, _caxtolli_, a word to which the authorities give no derivative meaning. sixteen, _caxtolli oc ce_, fifteen and one, etc. twenty, _cem pohualli_, once twenty. the word _pohualli_ means 'a count,' the number twenty being in a sense the foundation of the whole numerical system. twenty-one, _cem pohualli oc ce_, once twenty and one, etc. thirty, _cem pohualli, ihuan_ (or _om_ as molina has it) _matlactli_, once twenty and ten. thirty-five, _cem pohualli ihuan_ (or _on_) _caxtolli_, once twenty and fifteen, etc. forty, _ome pohualli_, twice twenty, etc. one hundred, _macuil pohualli_, five times twenty. two hundred, _matlactli pohualli_, ten times twenty. four hundred, _cen tzontli_, once four hundred, 'the hair of the head.' eight hundred, _ome tzontli_, twice four hundred. one thousand, _ome tzontli ihuan matlactli pohualli_, twice four hundred and ten times twenty. eight thousand, _xiquipilli_, a purse or sack, already mentioned as containing eight thousand cacao-nibs. sixteen thousand, _ome xiquipilli_, twice eight thousand. it will be seen from the table that the only numbers having simple names are one, two, three, four, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, four hundred, and eight thousand; all the rest are compounds of these constructed on the principle that when the smaller number follows the larger the sum of the two is expressed, but when the smaller precedes the larger, their product is indicated. molina and leon y gama are the chief authorities on the nahua arithmetical system. all the writers agree perfectly respecting its details, but differ considerably in orthography. molina writes each compound name together as a single word, while gama often separates a word into its parts as i have done in every case, following his spelling. [sidenote: system of numeration.] the manner in which the numbers were written was as simple as the system itself. a point or small circle indicated a unit, and these points sufficed for the numbers from one to nineteen. twenty was indicated by a flag, four hundred by a feather, and eight thousand by a purse. one character placed above another indicated that the product was to be taken; for instance, , might be expressed either by twenty purses, or by a flag over a purse. to avoid the excessive use of the unit points in writing large and fractional numbers, each flag, feather, and purse was divided into four quarters, and only those quarters which were colored were to be counted. thus five might be expressed by five points or by a flag with but one quarter colored; three hundred and fifty-six would be indicated by a feather with three quarters colored, two complete flags, three quarters of another flag, and one point. we have seen that twenties were used, much as dozens are by us, as the foundation of all numeration, but strangely enough these twenties took different names in counting different classes of articles. the regular name, as given in the table, is _pohualli_; in counting sheets of paper, tortillas, small skins, and other thin objects capable of being packed one above another in small parcels, each twenty was called _pilli_; in counting cloths and other articles usually formed into large rolls, _quimilli_ was the name applied to twenty; and in counting persons, lines, walls, and other things ranged in order, the term _tecpantli_ was sometimes employed. in reckoning birds, eggs, fruits, seeds, and round or plump objects, generally _tetl_, 'a stone,' was affixed to each one of the numerals in the table; _pantli_ was in the same way added for objects arranged in regular order, and also for surface measurements; _tlamantli_ likewise was joined to the numerals for articles sold in pairs or sets, as shoes, dishes, etc.; while ears of corn, cacao in bunches, and other bulky articles required the termination _olotl_. among all the nahua nations, so far as known, the arithmetical system was practically the same, and was essentially decimal. nearly all gave great prominence to the number twenty; the huastec language had simple names for the numbers from one to ten, twenty, and one thousand; the otomí approached still nearer our modern system by making one hundred also one of its fundamental numbers with an uncompounded name as well as a compounded one.[ ] astrology, soothsaying, the interpretation of dreams, and of auguries such as the flight or song of birds, the sudden meeting of wild animals, or the occurrence of other unlooked-for events, were regarded by the nahuas as of the greatest importance, and the practice of such arts was entrusted to the _tonalpouhqui_, 'those who count by the sun,' a class of men held in high esteem, to whom was attributed a perfect knowledge of future events. we have seen that no undertaking, public or private, of any importance, could be engaged in except under a suitable and propitious sign, and to determine this sign the tonalpouhqui was appealed to. the science of astrology was written down in books kept with great secrecy and mystery, altogether unintelligible to the common crowd, whose good or bad fortune was therein supposed to be painted. the details of the methods employed in the mysterious rites of divination are nowhere recorded, and the continual mention of the seer's services throughout the chapters of this and the following volume render this paragraph on the subject sufficient here. [sidenote: authorities on nahua arts.] in addition to the miscellaneous arts described in the preceding pages, separate chapters will be devoted to the nahua calendar, hieroglyphics, architecture, and medicine.[ ] footnotes: [ ] 'tambien las minas de plata y oro, cobre, plomo, oropel natural, estaño y otros metales, que todos los sacaron, labraron, y dejaron señales y memoria.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - . to obtain gold 'se metian al fondo del agua y sacaban las manos llenas de arena, para buscar luego en ella los granos, los que se guardaban en la boca.' _diaz_, _itinerario_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . in michoacan 'trabajaban minas de cobre.' _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., p. . 'the traces of their labors furnished the best indications for the early spanish miners.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. et seq. [ ] 'whether a man desire the rude mettall, or to haue it molten, or beaten out, and cunningly made into any kinde of iewell, hee shall find them ready wrought.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iv. gomara and gama state that they mixed gold and silver, as well as tin, with copper, for the manufacture of gimlets, axes, and chisels. _conq. mex._, fol. ; _dos piedras_, pt ii., p. . clavigero states that in zacatollan two kinds of copper were found, hard and soft, so that there was no need of any hardening process. _storia ant. del messico_, tom. iv., pp. - . [ ] 'porras claveteadas de hierro, cobre y oro.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . 'nous avons eu entre les mains de beaux outils de cuivre rosette.' _viollet-le-duc_, in _charnay_, _ruines amér._, pp. - . 'hazen muchas cosas, como los mejores caldereros del mundo.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. ix. some had plates and other vessels of tin. _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . 'contuttociò si sa, che lavoravano bene il rame, e che piacquero assai agli spagnuoli lo loro scuri, e le loro picche.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . peter martyr speaks of large copper stands or candlesticks which supported pine torches to light the courts of the better houses. dec. v., tom. x. 'il existait de si grands vases d'argent qu'un homme pouvait à peine les entourer de ses bras.' _baril_, _mexique_, p. ; _brownell's ind. races_, p. ; _edinburgh review_, july . [ ] 'todo variadizo, que en nuestra españa los grandes plateros tienen que mirar en ello.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . 'los plateros de madrid, viendo algunas piezas, brazaletes de oro, con que se armaban en guerra los reyes, y capitanes indianos, confessaron que eran inimitables en europa.' _boturini_, _idea_, p. . 'non sarebbero verisimili le maraviglie di cotal arte, se oltre alla testimonianza di quanti le videro, non fossero state mandate in europa in gran copia sì fatte rarità.' 'finalmente erano tali sì fatte opere, che anche que' soldati spagnuoli, che si sentivano travagliati dalla sacra fame dell'oro, pregiavano in esse più l'arte, che la materia.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , - . in the collection of nezahualcoyotzin 'no faltava alli ave, pez ni animal de toda esta tierra, que no estuvìese vivo, ó hecho figura y talle, en piedras de oro y pedrería.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . 'there is no fourefooted beast, no foule, no fyshe, which their artificers have once seene, but they are able to drawe, and cutte in mettall the likenesse and proportion thereof, euen to the lyfe.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. x., iv. eight gold shrimps of much perfection. _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. . [ ] 'sacan un ave, como un papagayo que se le anda la lengua como si vivo la menease y tambien la cabeza y las alas. un rostro de aguila lo mismo, una rana, y un pescado, señalada muchas escamas una de plata y otra de oro, todo de vaciado, que espanta à todos nuestros oficiales.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxiii. 'funden vna mona, que juegue pies y cabeça, y tenga en las manos vn huso, que parezca que hila, o vna mançana, que come. esto tuuieron a mucho nuestros españoles, y los plateros de aca no alcançan el primor.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'y lo que mas es, que sacaban de la fundicion vna pieça, la mitad de oro, y la mitad de plata.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - . 'sacauan al mercado los oficiales deste arte, platos, ochauados de vn quarto de oro, y otro de plata, no soldados, sino fundidos, y en la fundicion pegado, cosa dificultosa de entender. sacauan vna caldereta de plata, con excelentes labores, y su assa de vna fundicion, y lo que era de marauillar que la asa estaua suelta.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xv. [ ] 'acaeciales á los principios estar un indio envuelto en una manta que no se le parecian si no los ojos, como ellos se ponen no muy cerca de una tienda de algun platero de los nuestros disimuladamente, como no pretendia mirar nada y el platero estar labrando de oro y de plata alguna joya ó pieza de mucho artificio y muy delicada, y de solo verle hacer alguna parte della irse á su casa y hacello tanto y mas perfecto y traello desde á poco en la mano para lo vender.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxiii. zuazo, however, pronounces some of the native work inferior to the european. 'yo vi algunas piezas y no me parecieron tan primamente labradas como las nuestras.' _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. iv., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'vna rueda de hechura de sol, tan grande como de vna carreta, con muchas labores, todo de oro muy fino, gran obra de mirar; ... otra mayor rueda de plata, figurada la luna, con muchos resplandores, y otras figuras en ella.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. - . 'espejos hechos de margajita, que es vn metal hermosissimo, como plata muy resplandeciente y estos grandes como vn puño redondos como vna bola, engastados en oro.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. v., cap. v. 'doze zebratanas de fusta y plata, con que solia el tirar. las unas pintadas y matizadas de aves, animales, rosas, flores, yarboles.... las otras eran variadas, y sinzeladas con mas primor y sotileza que la pintura.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - , ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxxii. [ ] 'vnas fundidas, otras labradas de piedra.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xv. 'y lo que mas las hace admirables, es que las obran y labran con solo fuego y con una piedra ó pedernal.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxiii. hammered work inferior to that of european artisans. _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . 'los oficiales que labran oro son de dos maneras, unos de ellos se llaman martilladores ó amajadores, porque estos labran oro de martillo majándolo con piedras ó con martillos, para hacerlo delgado como papel: otros se llaman _tlatlaliani_, que quiere decir, que asientan el oro ó alguna cosa en él, ó en la plata, estos son verdaderos oficiales ó por otro nombre se llaman _tulteca_; pero están divididos en dos partes, porque labran el oro cada uno de su manera.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. ix., p. , et seq. for pictures of furnaces and of some manufactured articles from the hieroglyphic mss., see _ewbank_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., p. , et seq. 'they cast, also, vessels of gold and silver, carving them with their metallic chisels in a very delicate manner.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - . [ ] 'siéntanse en el suelo y toman un pedazo de aquella piedra negra.... aquel pedazo que toman es de un palmo ó poco mas largo, y de grueso como la pierna ó poco menos, y rollizo. tienen un palo del grueso de una lanza y largo como tres codos ó poco mas, y al principio de este palo ponen pegado y bien atado un trozo de palo de un palmo, grueso como el molledo del brazo, y algo mas, y este tiene su frente llana y tajada, y sirve este trozo para que pese mas aquella parte. juntan ambos piés descalzos, y con ellos aprietan la piedra con el pecho, y con ambas las manos toman el palo que dije era como vara de lanza (que tambien es llano y tajado) y pónenlo á besar con el canto de la frente de la piedra (que tambien es llana y tajada), y entonces aprietan hácia el pecho, y luego salta de la piedra una navaja con su punta y sus filos de ambas partes.' _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; repeated in nearly the same words in _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxii., lxvi; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. . [ ] _tylor's researches_, p. . 'tienen lancetas de azabache negro, y vnas nauajas de axeme, hechas como puñal, mas gordas en medio que á los filos, con que se jassan y sangran de la lengua, braços, y piernas.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . [ ] _lenoir_, _parallèle_, pp. - . 'in the beginning of this so rare inuention, i gotte one of them, which christophorus colonus, admirall of the sea gaue mee. this stone was of a greene darkishe colour, fastened in most firme and harde woode, which was the handle or helue thereof. i stroke with all my force vpon iron barres and dented the iron with my strokes without spoyling or hurting of the stone in any part thereof. with these stones therefore they make their instruments, for hewing of stone, or cutting of timber, or any workemanship in gold or siluer.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iv. [ ] _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxii. see note of this chapter. [ ] 'sculptured images were so numerous, that the foundations of the cathedral in the _plaza mayor_, the great square of mexico, are said to be entirely composed of them.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - . two statues in likeness of montezuma and his brother cut in the cliff at chapultepec. _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. iii. the idols destroyed by cortés 'eran de manera de dragones espantables, tan grandes como becerros, y otras figuras de manera de medio hombre, y de perros grandes, y de malas semejanças.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . 'sapevano esprimere nelle loro statue tutti gli atteggiamenti, e positure, di cui è capace il corpo, osservavano esattamente le proporzioni, e facevano, dove si richiedeva, i più minuti, e dilicati intaglj.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . 'habia entre ellos grandes escultores de cantería, que labraban cuanto querian en piedra, con guijarros ó pedernales, tan prima y curiosamente como en nuestra castilla los muy buenos oficiales con escodas y picos de acero.' _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . portrait-statues of the tezcucan kings. _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _id._, _relaciones_, p. . statues of montezuma and brother. _bustamante_, in _cavo_, _tres siglos_, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'gli smeraldi erano tanto comuni, che non v'era signore, che non ne avesse.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . 'esmaltan assi mesmo, engastan y labran esmeraldas, turquesas, y otras piedras, y agujeran perlas pero no tambien como por aca.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'ambar, cristal, y las piedras llamadas _amatista_ perlas, y todo género de ellas, y demas que traían por joyas que ahora se usan.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - , - . 'un encalado muy pulido, que era de ver, y piedras de que estaban hechas, tambien labradas y pegadas, que parecia ser cosa de musaico.' _id._, p. . shields adorned with 'perlas menudas como aljofar, y no se puede dezir su artificio, lindeza, y hermosura.' sandals having 'por suelas vna piedra blanca y azul, cosa preciosa y muy delgada.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. v., cap. v. guariques of blue stones set in gold; a stone face surrounded with gold; a string of stone beads. 'dos mascaras de piedras menudas, como turquesas, sentadas sobre madera de otra musáyca.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. - , tom. iii., pp. , . idol covered with mosaic work of mother of pearl, turquoises, emeralds, and chalcedonies. _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxxii. 'excellent glasses may bee made thereof by smoothing and polishing them, so that we all confessed that none of ours did better shewe the naturall and liuely face of a manne.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. x. 'ils avaient des masques garnis de pierres précieuses, représentant des lions, des tigres, des ours, etc.' _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . emerald altar to the miztec god. _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt ii., fol. . 'y lo de las piedras, que no basta juicio á comprehender con qué instrumentos se hiciese tan perfecto.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] huitzilopochtli's idol 'era vna estatua de madera entretallada en semejança de vn hombre sentado en vn escaño azul.' _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . large chests 'hechas de madera con sus tapaderas que se abren y cierran con unos colgadizos.' _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - . 'i falegnami lavoravano bene parecchie spezie di legni co'loro strumenti di rame, d' quali se ne vedono alcuni anche oggidì.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. , - . 'los carpinteros y entalladores labraban la madera con instrumentos de cobre, pero no se daban á labrar cosas curiosas como los canteros.' _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . 'labravan lazos, y animales tan curiosos que causaron admiracion à los primeros españoles.' _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. . 'with their copper hatchets, and axes, cunnyngly tempered, they fell those trees, and hewe them smooth, taking away the chyppes, that they may more easily be drawne. they haue also certayne hearbes, with the which, in steed of broome, and hempe, they make ropes, cordes, and cables: and boaring a hole in one of the edges of the beame, they fasten the rope, then sette their slaues vnto it, like yoakes of oxen, and lastly insteede of wheels, putting round blocks vnder the timber, whether it be to be drawn steepe vp, or directly downe the hill, the matter is performed by the neckes of the slaues, the carpenters onely directing the carriage.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. x. 'hazen caxas, escritorios, mesas, escriuanias, y otras cosas de mucho primor.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. ix. 'they made cups and vases of a lackered or painted wood, impervious to wet and gaudily colored.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. . [ ] molina, _diccionario_, says, however that, the tecomatl was an earthen vase. see also p. of this volume. [ ] 'siete sartas de quentas menudas de barro, redondas y doradas muy bien.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. , . 'i pentolai facevano d'argilla non solo gli stoviglj necessarj per l'uso delle case, ma eziandío altri lavori di mera curiosità.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , tom. iv., pp. - . 'la loza tan hermosa, y delicada como la de faenza en italia.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. ii., vii. 'los incensarios con que incensaban eran de barro, à manera de cuchara, cuio remate era hueco, y dentro tenían metidas pelotillas del mismo barro, que sonaban como cascaveles, à los golpes del incienso, como suenan las cadenas de nuestros incensarios.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . the jicara was of gold, silver, gourd-shells, or fish-shells. 'aunque estèn cien años en el agua, nunca la pintura se les borra.' _id._, p. . 'para coger la sangre tienen escudillas de calabaça.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - . 'many sorts also of earthen vessels are sold there, as water pots, greate iuggs, chargers, gobblets, dishes, colenders, basens, frying pans, porringers, pitchers.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iv. 'vasos que llaman xicalli, y tecomatl, que son de vnos arboles, que se dan en tierras calientes.' 'À estas les dan vn barniz con flores, y animales de diversos colores, hermoseadas, que no se quita, ni se despinta aunque estè en el agua muchos días.' _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. . [ ] 'non aveano lana, nè seta comune, nè lino, nè canapa; ma supplivano alla lana col cotone, alla seta colla piuma, e col pelo del coniglio, e della lepre, ed al lino, ed alla canapa coll' _icxotl_, o palma montana, col _quetzalichtli_, col pati, e con altre spezie di maguei.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , . 'en todo el mundo no se podia hacer ni tejer otra tal, ni de tantas ni tan diversas y naturales colores ni labores.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . 'una vestidura del gran sacerdote _achcauhquitlinamacàni_ se embiò à roma en tiempo de la conquista, que dexò pasmada aquella corte.' _boturini_, _idea_, p. . the olmecs used the hair of dogs and other animals. _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. , - . 'incredible matters of cotton, housholde-stuffe, tapestry or arras hangings, garments, and couerlets.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. iii. humboldt states that silk made by a species of indigenous worms was an article of commerce among the miztecs, in the time of montezuma. _essai pol._, tom. ii., p. . 'hilan teniendo el copo en vna mano, y el huso en otra. tuercen al reues que aca, estando el huso en vna escudilla. no tiene hueca el huso, mas hilan a prissa y no mal.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. ii., pp. - . maguey-paper 'resembling somewhat the egyptian papyrus.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - . some paper of palm-leaf, as thin and soft as silk. _boturini_, _catálogo_, in _id._, _idea_, pp. - . native paper called _cauhamatl_. _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., p. . they made paper of a certain species of aloe, steeped together like hemp, and afterwards washed, stretched, and smoothed; also of the palm _icxotl_, and thin barks united and prepared with a certain gum. _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , tom. iv., p. . torquemada speaks of a sheet fathoms long, one wide, and as thick as the finger. _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'habia oficiales de curtir cueros y muchos de adovarlos maravillosamente.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxii. 'cueros de venado, tigres, y leones ... con pelo, y sin pelo, de todos colores.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . 'tan suaves que de ellos se vestian, y sacaban correas.' _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . cortés found the skins of some of his horses slain in battle 'tan bien adobados como en todo el mundo lo pudieran hacer.' _cartas_, p. . red skins resembling parchment. _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. . 'no se puede bien dezir su hermosura, y hechura.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. v., cap. v. 'los tarascos curtian perfectamente las pieles de los animales.' _payno_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. i., p. . 'des tapis de cuir maroquinés avec la dernière perfection.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - . method of raising cochineal. _id._, pp. - . 'en parcourant le palais de montézuma les castillans furent très-étonnés d'y voir des sacs de punaises dont on se servait à teindre et même à badigeonner les murs.' _rosny_, in _comité d'arch. amér._, - , pp. - . see p. of this volume. they possessed the art of dyeing a fabric without impairing its strength, an art unknown to europeans of the th century. _carli_, _cartas_, pt ii., pp. - . [ ] 'y pintores ha habido entre ellos tan señalados, que sobre muchos de los señalados donde quiera que se hallasen se podian señalar.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxii. the same author speaks of their skill in reducing or enlarging drawings. 'havia pintores buenos, que retrataban al natural, en especial aves, animales, arboles, flores, y verduras, y otras semejantes, que vsaban pintar, en los aposentos de los reies, y señores; pero formas humanas, asi como rostros, y cuerpos de hombres, y mugeres, no los pintaban al natural.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. , tom. i., p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . 'dans leur grotesque et leur raccourci, on trouve encore cependant une délicatesse de pinceau, fort remarquable, une pureté et une finesse dans les esquisses, qu'on ne saurait s'empêcher d'admirer; on voit, d'ailleurs, un grand nombre de portraits de rois et de princes, qui sont évidemment faits d'après nature.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . 'wee sawe a mappe of those countreyes . foote long, and little lesse in breadth, made of white cotton, wouen: wherein the whole playne was at large described.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. x., iii., v. [ ] 'la natura ad essi somministrava quanti colori fa adoperar l'arte, e alcuni ancora, que essa non è capace d'imitare.' the specimens made after the conquest were very inferior. _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . 'hazense las mejores ymagines de pluma en la prouincia de mechoacan en el pueblo de pascaro.' _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . 'vi ciertos follajes, pájaros, mariposas, abejones sobre unas varas temblantes, negras é tan delgadas, que apenas se veian, é de tal manera que realmente se hacian vivas á los que las miraban un poquito de lejos: todo lo demas que estaba cerca de las dichas mariposas, pájaros é abejones correspondia naturalmente á boscajes de yerbas, ramos é flores de diversas colores é formas.' _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . 'figuras, y imagenes de principes, y de sus idolos, tan vistosas, y tan acertadas, que hazian ventaja a las pinturas castellanas.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xv. 'muchas cosas de pluma, como aves, animales, hombres, y otras cosas mui delicadas, capas, y mantas para cubrirse, y vestiduras para los sacerdotes de sus templos, coronas, mitras, rodelas, y mosqueadores.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxii. 'acontece les no comer en todo vn dia, poniendo, quitando y assentando la pluma, y mirando à una parte, y à otra, al sol, a la sombra,' etc. _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - . mention of the birds which furnished bright-colored feathers. _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. - . 'ils en faisaient des rondaches et d'autres insignes, compris sous le nom d' "apanecayotl," dont rien n'approchait pour la richesse et le fini.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . mention of some specimens preserved in europe. _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. ix., pp. - . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. l. [ ] _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., p. . [ ] 'avvegnachè i lor più celebri aringatori non sieno da paragonarsi cogli oratori delle nazioni culte dell'europa, non può peraltro negarsi, che i loro ragionamenti non fossero gravi, sodi, ed eleganti, come si scorge dagli avanzi che ci restano della loro eloquenza.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . 'les raisonnements y sont graves, les arguments solides, et pleins d'élégance.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii, p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - . montezuma's speech to cortés, in _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - . 'the spaniards have given us many fine polished indian orations, but they were certainly fabricated at madrid.' _adair_, _amer. ind._, p. . [ ] four poems or fragments are given in spanish, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. - . no. has for its subject the tyrant tezozomoc; no. is an ode on the mutability of life; no. is an ode recited at a feast, comparing the great kings of anáhuac to precious stones; no. was composed for the dedication of the author's palace and treats of the unsatisfactory nature of earthly honors. nos. and are also found in _doc. hist. mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp. - . no. is given in _prescott's mex._, vol. iii., pp. - , in spanish and english verse. a french translation of no. is given by brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - , who also gives an additional specimen from carochi's grammar, in aztec and spanish. nos. , , and in french, in _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - . no. is to be found in _granados y galvez_, _tardes amer._, pp. - . nos. and , in german, in _müller_, _reisen_, tom. iii., pp. - , where are also two additional odes. no. is also given in german by klemm, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - . [ ] _boturini_, _idea_, pp. - . the language of their poetry was brilliant, pure, and agreeable, figurative, and embellished with frequent comparisons to the most pleasing objects in nature. _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . nezahualcoyotl left sixty hymns composed in honor of the creator of heaven. _id._, tom. i., pp. , - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. , - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - . 'cantauan lamentaciones, y endechas. tenian pronosticos, especialmente que se auia de acabar el mundo, y los cantauan lastimosamente: y tambien tenian memoria de sus grandezas, en cantares y pinturas.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvi.; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] _molina_, _vocabulario_; _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt ii., pp. - ; _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. iv., sept., ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - . [ ] my authorities for the matter in this chapter are: _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. ix., pp. - , - , tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - , - , , , ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. l., lxii-lxiii., lxv., cxxi., cxxxii., clxxii., ccxi.; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. - , , - , , , ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. , , ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., pp. - ; _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., pp. - ; _boturini_, _idea_, pp. - , - ; _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. iv., dec. v., tom. i.-v., x., dec. viii., lib. iv.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. , , - , , - , - , , - , - ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. iii.; _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt ii., pp. , - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. , - , tom. ii., pp. - , - , - , - , tom. iv., pp. - , , ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , , - , , - , tom. ii., pp. , - , - ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - , ; _id._, _relaciones_, pp. , , - , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. v., cap. iv., v., lib. vi., cap. xi., xvi., lib. vii., cap. ii., vii., ix., xv., dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. ix.; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , , , , , ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. - , - , , tom. iii., pp. , , - , - , , - , ; _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt ii., fol. , - ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. - , - ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. , , - , tom. iii., pp. - , ; _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - ; _diaz_, _itinerario_, in _id._, p. ; _relacion de algunas cosas_, in _id._, pp. - ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _id._, pp. , ; _hernandez_, _nova plant._, p. ; _granados y galvez_, _tardes amer._, pp. - ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - , - , - , - , vol. iii., pp. - ; _ewbank_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - ; _müller_, _reisen_, tom. iii., pp. - , ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , - , , - , , - , - , - , - , - , - , tom. ii., pp. , - , , - , , - ; _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. i., p. , tom. iv., sept. ; _rosny_, in _comité d'arch. amér._, - , pp. - ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. - ; _tylor's researches_, pp. , , , ; _id._, _anahuac_, pp. - , - ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. ii., pp. , ; _carli_, _cartas_, pt ii., pp. - ; _lenoir_, _parallèle_, pp. , , , - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. , - , - , , tom. iii., pp. - , - ; _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. clix., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - , - ; _cavo_, _tres siglos_, tom. iii., p. ; _viollet-le-duc_, in _charnay_, _ruines amér._, pp. - ; _brownell's ind. races_, p. ; _edinburgh review_, july, ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - , , - , - , - , ; _baril_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - , , , - ; _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. viii., pp. - ; _west-indische spieghel_, pp. , , - , - , , - , ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien et mod._, pp. , , - ; _mill's hist. mex._, p. ; _heredia y sarmiento_, _sermon_, pp. , ; _gage's new survey_, pp. - ; _lafond_, _voyages_, tom. i., pp. - ; _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. , ; _fransham's world in miniature_, vol. ii., p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, pp. - ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., pp. , ; _dupaix_, _rel., de expéd._, pp. , ; _soden_, _spanier in peru_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _wappäus_, _geog. u. stat._, p. ; _monglave_, _résumé_, pp. , , ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. ; _gordon_, _hist. and geog. mem._, p. ; _helps' span. conq._, vol. ii., pp. - , ; _alzate y ramirez_, _mem. sobre grana._, ms. chapter xvi. the aztec calendar. astronomical knowledge of the aztecs--contradictions of authors respecting the calendar--value of the researches of various writers--the first regular calendar--the mexican cycle--the civil year--the aztec months--names of the days and their signification--the commencement of the aztec year--the ritual calendar--gama's arrangement of the months--the calendar-stone--the four destructions of the world--the calendar of michoacan--reckoning of the zapotecs. perhaps the strongest proof of the advanced civilization of the nahuas was their method of computing time, which, for ingenuity and correctness, equaled, if it did not surpass, the systems adopted by contemporaneous european and asiatic nations. the nahuas were well acquainted with the movements of the sun and moon, and even of some of the planets, while celestial phenomena, such as eclipses, although attributed to unnatural causes, were nevertheless carefully observed and recorded. they had, moreover, an accurate system of dividing the day into fixed periods, corresponding somewhat to our hours; indeed, as the learned sr leon y gama has shown, the aztec calendar-stone which was found in the plaza of the city of mexico, was used not only as a durable register, but also as a sun-dial. [sidenote: the aztec calendar.] although the system of the aztec calendar as a whole is clear and easily understood, yet it is extremely difficult to describe with certainty many of its details, owing to the contradictory statements of nearly all the earlier writers, who visited mexico and there in different localities picked up scraps of what they afterwards described as being the 'calendar of the mexicans,' not taking into consideration that the many and distinct kingdoms surrounding the aztec territory, although using essentially the same system, differed on many important points, such as the names of years, months, days, the season of beginning the year, etc. this difficulty increases when we attempt to make mexican dates agree with our own. even boturini, who gathered his information in mexico, makes many mistakes; and veytia, although we must accord him the credit of having thoroughly studied the subject, and of having reduced it to a clear system, is at fault in many points. of the older writers, such as sahagun, las casas, duran, motolinia, and others, no one is explicit enough on all points to enable us to follow him; and such details as they unite in giving are mostly contradictory. torquemada, who draws a great portion of his material from motolinia, contradicts himself too frequently to be reliable. leon y gama, although he spent much labor in trying to clearly expound the system, has also fallen into some errors, attributable, perhaps, to his not having the valuable aid of sahagun's writings, and to his having placed too much trust in the writings of torquemada and the manuscript of the indian cristóbal del castillo, as is shown in the review of gama's work by sr josé antonio alzate in the _gacetas de literatura_. baron von humboldt's description, valuable as it is on account of the extended comparisons which he draws between the mexican, asiatic and egyptian calendars, is on that account too intricate to be easily understood. from all these descriptions gallatin, mcculloh, and müller, with perhaps a few others, have each given us a very good résumé, but without attempting to reconcile all the contradictions. the first notice we have of any regular calendar is given by ixtlilxochitl, who states that in the year from the creation of the world, an assembly of learned men met at the city of huehuetlapallan, and determined the reckoning of the years, days, and months, leap years and intercalary days, in the order in which they were found at the time of the conquest.[ ] previous to this time it is said that the only reckoning kept was regulated by the yearly growth of the fresh grass and herbs from which the name of the mexican year _xihuitl_, 'new grass,' is derived. it is also said that a rough computation of time was made by the moon, from its appearance to its disappearance, and that this period called _metztli_, 'the moon,' was divided into two equal parts, named respectively _mextozolitzli_, the time when the moon was awake or visible, and _mecochiliztli_, the sleep of the moon, or the time when it was invisible.[ ] of the larger divisions of time, accounts are very conflicting. two, three, four, and five ages are said by various writers to have existed, at the end of each of which the world was said to have been destroyed, and recreated at the beginning of the age next following. the common aboriginal belief was, however, that at the time of the conquest, the world had passed through three ages, and was then in the fourth. the first age, or 'sun,' as it is also called, was the sun of water, _atonatiuh_; the second, the sun of earth, _tlalchitonatiuh_; the third, the sun of air, _ehecatonatiuh_.[ ] this is about all we know of any division of time, before the assembly at huehuetlapallan which is said to have introduced the regular calendar. [illustration: the aztec cycle.] [sidenote: the mexican cycle.] the mexican calendar contains the following divisions of time: the 'age,' consisting of two periods of fifty-two years each, was called _huehuetiliztli_; the 'cycle,' consisting of four periods of thirteen years each, was named _xiuhmolpilli_, _xiuhmolpia_ or _xiuhtlalpilli_, meaning the 'binding up of the years.' each period of thirteen years or, as it was called by the spanish historians, 'indiccion,' was known as a _tlalpilli_, or 'knot,' and, as stated above, each single year was named _xihuitl_, or 'new grass,' the age was not used in the regular reckoning, and is only rarely mentioned to designate a long space of time. the numeral prefixed to the name of any year in the cycle, or xiuhmolpilli, never exceeded four, and to carry out this plan, four signs, respectively named _tochtli_, 'rabbit,' _calli_, 'house,' _tecpatl_, 'flint,' and _acatl_, 'cane,' were used. thus the aztecs commenced to count the first year of their first cycle with the name or hieroglyphic ce tochtli, meaning 'one (with the sign of) rabbit;' and the second year was ome acatl, 'two, cane;' the third, yey tecpatl, 'three, flint;' the fourth, nahui calli, 'four, house;' the fifth, macuilli tochtli, 'five, rabbit;' the sixth, chicoace acatl, 'six, cane;' the seventh, chicome tecpatl, 'seven, flint;' the eighth, chico ey calli, 'eight, house;' the ninth, chico nahui tochtli, 'nine, rabbit;' the tenth, matlactli acatl, 'ten, cane;' the eleventh, matlactli occe tecpatl, 'eleven, flint;' the twelfth, matlactli omome calli, 'twelve, house;' and the thirteenth, matlactli omey tochtli, 'thirteen, rabbit.' this numeration continued in the same manner, the second tlalpilli commencing again with 'one, cane,' the third tlalpilli with 'one, flint,' the fourth with 'one, house,' and so on to the end of the cycle of fifty-two years. it will easily be seen that during the fifty-two years none of these four signs could be accompanied by the same number twice, and therefore no confusion could arise. instead, therefore, of saying an event happened in the year , as we do in our reckoning, they spoke of it as happening, for instance, in the year of 'three, rabbit' in the twelfth cycle.[ ] still, some confusion has been caused among different writers by the fact that the different nations of anáhuac did not all commence their cycles with the same hieroglyphic sign. thus the toltecs commenced with the sign tecpatl, 'flint;' and the mexicans, or aztecs, with tochtli, 'rabbit;' while some again used acatl, 'cane;' and others calli, 'house,' as their first name.[ ] a cycle was represented in their paintings by the figures of tochtli, acatl, tecpatl, and calli, repeated each thirteen times and placed in a circle, round which was painted a snake holding its tail in its mouth, and making at each of the four cardinal points a kink with its own body, as shown in the plate on the opposite page, which served to divide the cycle into four tlalpillis.[ ] these four signs, rabbit, cane, flint, and house were also, according to boturini, used to designate the four seasons of the year, the four cardinal points, and lastly, the four elements. thus, for instance, tecpatl also signified south; calli, east; tochtli, north; and acatl, west. in the same manner tecpatl was used to designate fire; calli, earth; tochtli, air; and acatl, water.[ ] the civil year was again divided into eighteen months and five days. each month had its particular name, but the five extra days were only designated as _nemontemi_ or 'unlucky days,' and children born at this time, or enterprises undertaken, were considered unlucky. in hieroglyphical paintings these months were also placed in a circle, in the middle of which a face, representing either the sun or moon, was painted. this circle was called a _xiuhtlapohualli_, or 'count of the year.' concerning the order in which these months followed one another, and the name of the first month, hardly two authors agree; in the same manner we find three or four various names given to many of the months. it would appear reasonable to suppose that the month immediately following the nemontemi, which were always added at the end of the year, would be the first, and the only difficulty here is to know which way the aztecs wrote; whether from right to left or from left to right. on the circle of the month given by veytia, and supposed to have been copied from an original, these five days are inserted between the months panquetzaliztli and atemoztli, and counting from left to right, this would make atemoztli the first month, which would agree with veytia's statement. but gama and others decidedly dissent from this opinion, and name other months as the first. i reserve further consideration of this subject for another place in this chapter, where in connection with other matters it can be more clearly discussed, and content myself with simply inserting here a table of the names of the months as enumerated by the principal authors, in order to show at a glance the many variations. i also append to it the different dates given for the first day of the year, in which there are as many contradictions as in the names and position of the months. names of mexican months according to various authors. +==================================================================+ | | | | |authors. | . | . | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |sahagun. | atlacahualco, or | tlacaxipeoaliztli. | | | quavitleloa. | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |motolinia. | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |acosta. | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |gomara. | tlacaxipeualiztli. | tozçuztli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |martin de leon.[ ]| atlcahualo. | tlacaxipehualiztli. | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |duran. | xuchitzitzquilo, or | tlacaxipehualiztli. | | | quauitlehua, or | | | | atlmotzacuaga, | | | | or xilomaniztly. | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |codex vaticanus. | atlcaualo. | tlacaxipeualiztli. | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |torquemada. | atlacahualco, or | tlacaxipehualiztli. | | | quahuitlehua. | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |vetancvrt. | atlachualco, or | tlacaxipehualiztli. | | | quahuilchua. | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |vetancvrt | xilomatihuitztli. | coylhuitl. | |(tlascaltec names). | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |gemelli carreri. | tlacaxipehualitztli. | tozoztli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |laet. | tlacaxipenaliztli. | toxcactli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |veytia. | atemoztli. | tititl. | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |lorenzana. | atemoztli. | tititl. | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |clavigero. | atlacahualco. | tlacaxipehualiztli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |gama.[ ] | tititl, | itzcalli, or | | | or itzcalli. | xochilhuitl. | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |klemm. | acahualco. | tlacaxipehualitztli. | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |mueller. | tlacaxipehualiztli, | tozoztontli. | | | or cohuailhuitl. | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |brasseur | atlacahualco. | tlacaxipehualiztli. | | de bourbourg. | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |carbajal espinosa. | atlacahualco. | tlacaxipehualiztli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |codex telleriano- | | | | remensis. | | | +==================================================================+ +===============================================================+ | | | | |authors. | . | . | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |sahagun. | tozoztontli. | veytocoztli. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |motolinia. | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |acosta. | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |gomara. | hueitozçuztli. | toxcatl, or | | | | tepupochuiliztli. | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |martin de leon.[ ]|toçoztontli. | hueitoçoztontli. | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |duran. | tozoztontly. | ochpaniztly, or | | | | cueytozoztly. | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |codex vaticanus. | tocozintli. | veitozcoztli. | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |torquemada. | toçoztontli. | hueytoçoztli. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |vetancvrt. | tocoztontli. | hueytocoztli. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |vetancvrt | | | |(tlascaltec names). | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |gemelli carreri. | hueytozoztli. | toxcatl. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |laet. | hueitozcuztli. | toxcatl, or | | | | tepupochuiliztli. | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |veytia. | itzcalli. | xilomaniztli. | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |lorenzana. | yzcalli. | xilomanizte. | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |clavigero. | tozoztontli. | hueitozoztli. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |gama.[ ] | xilomanalixtli, or | tlacaxipehualiztli, | | | atlcahualco, or | or cohuailhuitl. | | | quahuitlehua, or | | | | cihuailhuitl. | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |klemm. | tozozontli. | hueitozoptli. | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |mueller. | huey tozoztli. | toxcatl, or | | | | tepopochuiliztli. | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |brasseur | tozoztontli. | huey-tozoztli. | | de bourbourg. | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |carbajal espinosa. | tozoztontli. | hueitozoztli. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+---------------------+ |codex telleriano- | | | | remensis. | | | +===============================================================+ +===============================================================+ | | | | |authors. | . | . | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |sahagun. | toxcatl. | etzacualiztli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |motolinia. | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |acosta. | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |gomara. | eçalcoaliztli. | tecuilhuicintli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |martin de leon.[ ]| tochcatl. | etzalcualiztli. | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |duran. | toxcatl. | etzalcualiztly. | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |codex vaticanus. | toxcatl. | hetzalqualiztl. | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |torquemada. | toxcatl. | etzalqualiztli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |vetancvrt. | teoxcalt. | etzaqualiztli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |vetancvrt | | | |(tlascaltec names). | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |gemelli carreri. | etzalcualiztli. | ticuyilhuitl. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |laet. | ezalioalixtli. | tecuilhuicintli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |veytia. | cohuailhuitl. | tozcotzintli. | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |lorenzana. | cohuailhuitl. | tozcotzintli. | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |clavigero. | toxcatl. | etzalcualiztli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |gama.[ ] | tozoztontli. | huey tozoztli. | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |klemm. | texcatl. | etzalqualitztli. | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |mueller. | etzalqualiztli. | tecuilhuitzintli. | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |brasseur | toxcatl. | etzacualiztli. | | de bourbourg. | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |carbajal espinosa. | toxcatl, or coxcatl. | etzalcualiztli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ |codex telleriano- | | | | remensis. | | | +===============================================================+ +=============================================================+ | | | | |authors. | . | . | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |sahagun. | tecuilhuitontli. | veytecuilhuitl. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |motolinia. | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |acosta. | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |gomara. | hueitecuilhuitl. | miccailhuicintli. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |martin de leon.[ ]| tecuilhuitontli. | hueiteucyilhuitl. | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |duran. | tecuiluitontly, or | hueytecuilhuitl. | | | tlaxochimaco. | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |codex vaticanus. | tecuilvitontl. | veitecuiluitl. | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |torquemada. | tecuhilhuitontli. | hueytecuhilhuitl. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |vetancvrt. | tecuylhuitontli. | hueytecuyilhuitl. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |vetancvrt | | | |(tlascaltec names). | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |gemelli carreri. | hueytecuilhuitl. | micaylhuitl. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |laet. | huehtecuilhuitl. | miccathuicintli. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |veytia. | hueytozcoztli. | toxcatl. | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |lorenzana. | huey tozcoztli. | toxcatl. | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |clavigero. | tecuilhuitontli. | hueitecuilhuitl. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |gama.[ ] | toxcatl, or | etzalqualiztli. | | | tepopochuiliztli. | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |klemm. | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |mueller. | hueytecuilhuitl. | miccailhuitzintly, | | | | or tlalxochimaco. | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |brasseur | tecuilhuitontli. | huey tecuilhuitl. | | de bourbourg. | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |carbajal espinosa. | teucuilhuitontli. | hueituecuilhuitl. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+ |codex telleriano- | tecuiluitontl. | veytecuiluitl. | | remensis. | | | +==============================================================+ +=============================================================+ | | | | |authors. | . | . | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |sahagun. | tlaxochimaco. | xocohuetzl. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |motolinia. | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |acosta. | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |gomara. | veymiccailhuitl. | vchpaniztli, or | | | | tenauatiliztli. | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |martin de leon.[ ]| tlaxochimanco. | xocotlhuetzi. | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |duran. | miccailhuitontly. | tocotluetz. | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |codex vaticanus. | miccailhuitl. | veymiccailhuitl. | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |torquemada. | tlaxuchimaco, or | xocotlhuetzi. | | | hueymiccaylhuitl. | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |vetancvrt. | tlaxochimaco. | xocotlhuetzi. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |vetancvrt | micaylhuitzintli. | hueymicaylhuitl. | |(tlascaltec names). | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |gemelli carreri. | hueymicailhuitl. | ochpaniztli. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |laet. | veimiccailhuitl. | vchpaniztli, or | | | | tenavatiliztli. | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |veytia. | exolqualiztli. | tecuilhuitzintli. | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |lorenzana. | ezalqualliztli. | tecuilhuitzintli. | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |clavigero. | tlaxochimaco. | xocohuetzi. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |gama.[ ] | tecuilhuitzintli. | hueytecuilhuitl. | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |klemm. | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |mueller. | hueymiccailhuitl, | ochpaniztli, or | | | or xolotlhuetzin. | tenahuatiliztli. | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |brasseur | tlaxochimaco. | xocohuetzi. | | de bourbourg. | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |carbajal espinosa. | tlaxochimaco. | xocotlhuetzi. | | | | | +--------------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |codex telleriano- | michaylhuitl. | hueymiccaylhuitl. | | remensis. | | | +=============================================================+ +==================================================================+ | | | | |authors. | . | . | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |sahagun. | ochpaniztli. | teotleco. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |motolinia. | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |acosta. | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |gomara. | pachtli, or | hueipachtli, or | | | heçoztli. | pachtli. | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |martin de leon.[ ]| ochpaniztli. | teotlèco. | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |duran. | ochpaniztly. | pachtontly. | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |codex vaticanus. | ochpaniztl. | pachtontl. | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |torquemada. | uchpaniztli. | teutleco. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |vetancvrt. | ochpaniztli. | teotleco. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |vetancvrt | | | |(tlascaltec names). | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |gemelli carreri. | pachtli. | hueypachtli. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |laet. | pachtli, or | hueipachtli. | | | hecoztli. | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |veytia. | hueytecuilhuitl. | micailhuitzintli. | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |lorenzana. | huey tecuilhuitl. | mictailhutlzintli. | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |clavigero. | ochpaniztli. | teotleco. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |gama.[ ] | miccailhuitzintli, | hueymiccailhuitl, | | | or tlaxochimaco. | or xocotlhuetzi. | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |klemm. | ochpanitztli. | pachtli. | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |mueller. | pachtli, or ezoztli, | hueypachtli, or | | | or teotleco. | pachtli, | | | | or tepeilhuitl. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |brasseur | ochpaniztli. | teotleco. | | de bourbourg. | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |carbajal espinosa. | tlachpanaliztli. | teotleco. | | | | | +--------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |codex telleriano- | ochpaniztli. | pactontly. | | remensis. | | | +==================================================================+ +==========================================================+ | | | | |authors. | . | . | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |sahagun. |tepeilhuitl. | quecholli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |motolinia. | | panquetzaliztli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |acosta. | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |gomara. |quecholli. | panqueçaliztli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |martin de leon.[ ]|tepeilhuitl. | quechulli. | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |duran. |veypachtly, or | quecholli. | | | coailhuitl. | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |codex vaticanus. |veipachtli. | quecholi. | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |torquemada. |tepeilhuitl. | quecholli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |vetancvrt. |tepeylhuitl. | quecholli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |vetancvrt |pachtzintli. | | |(tlascaltec names). | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |gemelli carreri. |checiogli. | panchetzaliztli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |laet. |quecholli. | panquecaliztli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |veytia. |hueymicailhuitl. | huepaniztli. | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |lorenzana. |hueymictailhuitl. | ochpaniztli. | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |clavigero. |tepeilhuitl. | quecholli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |gama.[ ] |ochpaniztli, or | pachtli, or | | | tenahuatiliztli. | ezoztli, or | | | | teotleco. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |klemm. | | tepeilhuitl. | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |mueller. |quecholli. | panquetzaliztli. | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |brasseur |tepeilhuitl. | quecholli. | | de bourbourg. | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |carbajal espinosa. |tepeilhuitl. | quecholli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+------------------+ |codex telleriano- |veypactli. | quecholi. | | remensis. | | | +==========================================================+ +=======================================================+ | | | | |authors. | . | . | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |sahagun. | panquetzaliztli. | atemoztli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |motolinia. | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |acosta. | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |gomara. | hatemuztli. | tititlh. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |martin de leon.[ ]| panquetzaliztli. | atemuztli. | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |duran. | panquetzaliztly. | atemoztli. | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |codex vaticanus. | panquetzaliztli. | atemoztli. | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |torquemada. | panquetzaliztli. | atemuztli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |vetancvrt. | panquetzaliztli. | atemoztlique. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |vetancvrt | | | |(tlascaltec names). | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |gemelli carreri. | atemoztli. | tititl. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |laet. | hatemuztli. | tititl. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |veytia. | pachtzintli. | hueypachtli. | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |lorenzana. | pachtlizintli. | hueypachtli. | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |clavigero. | panquetzaliztli. | atemoztli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |gama.[ ] | hueypachtli, or | quecholli. | | | pachtli, or | | | | tepeilhuitl. | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |klemm. | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |mueller. | atemoztli. | tititl, or | | | | itzcalli. | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |brasseur | panquetzaliztli. | atemoztli. | | de bourbourg. | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |carbajal espinosa. | panquetzaliztli. | atemoztli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+---------------+ |codex telleriano- | panquetzaliztli. | atemoztli. | | remensis. | | | +=======================================================+ +============================================================+ | | | | |authors. | . | . | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |sahagun. | tititl. | yzcalli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |motolinia. | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |acosta. | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |gomara. | izcalli. | coauitleuac, or | | | | ciuailhuilt. | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |martin de leon.[ ]| tititl. | ytzcali. | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |duran. | tititl. | yzcalli, or | | | | xilomaniztly, or | | | | queuitleua. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |codex vaticanus. | tititl. | yzcalli. | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |torquemada. | tititl. | izcalli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |vetancvrt. | titzotl. | izcalli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |vetancvrt | | | | (tlascaltec names).| | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |gemelli carreri. | izcagli. | atlacoalo. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |laet. | izcalli. | coavitlevac. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |veytia. | quecholli. | panquetzaliztli. | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |lorenzana. | quecholli. | panquetzalliztli. | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |clavigero. | tititl. | izcalli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |gama.[ ] | panquetzaliztli. | atemoztli. | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |klemm. | tititl. | izcalli. | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |mueller. | itzcalli, or | xilomanaliztli, or | | | xochilhuitl. | atlcahualco, or | | | | quahuitlehua, or | | | | cihuailhuitl. | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |brasseur | tititl. | izcalli. | | de bourbourg. | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |carbajal espinosa. | tititl. | izcalli. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------+--------------------+ |codex telleriano- | tititl. | yzcatli. | | remensis. | | | +============================================================+ +=============================================+ | | commencement of | |authors. | the mexican year, | | | according to our | | | reckoning. | +--------------------+------------------------+ |sahagun. | d february. | | | | +--------------------+------------------------+ |motolinia. | commencement | | | of march. | +--------------------+------------------------+ |acosta. | th february. | +--------------------+------------------------+ |gomara. | | | | | +--------------------+------------------------+ |martin de leon.[ ]| d february. | +--------------------+------------------------+ |duran. | st march. | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------------+ |codex vaticanus. | th february. | +--------------------+------------------------+ |torquemada. | st february. | | | | +--------------------+------------------------+ |vetancvrt. | february. | | | | +--------------------+------------------------+ |vetancvrt | | |(tlascaltec names). | | +--------------------+------------------------+ |gemelli carreri. | first year of century, | | | th april. | +--------------------+------------------------+ |laet. | march, or th | | | of february. | +--------------------+------------------------+ |veytia. | d february. | +--------------------+------------------------+ |lorenzana. | | +--------------------+------------------------+ |clavigero. | first year of century, | | | th february. | +--------------------+------------------------+ |gama.[ ] | th january. | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------------+ |klemm. | th february. | +--------------------+------------------------+ |mueller. | th march. | | | | | | | | | | +--------------------+------------------------+ |brasseur | | | de bourbourg. | | +--------------------+------------------------+ |carbajal espinosa. | first year of century, | | | th february. | +--------------------+------------------------+ |codex telleriano- | th february. | | remensis. | | +=============================================+ [sidenote: names of the aztec month.] each month, as before stated, was represented by its proper hieroglyph, having a certain meaning, and generally referring to some feast or natural event, such as the ripening of fruit, or falling of rain, happening during the month, although in this case also there are many differences between authors regarding the meaning of the names. [illustration: the aztec year.] tititl, which according to gama was the first month, is translated by boturini as 'our mother,' or 'mother of the gods,' while cabrera calls it 'fire.'[ ] itzcalli, according to boturini, means 'regeneration;' the codex vaticanus translates it 'skill;' and veytia, 'the sprouting of the grass.'[ ] atlcahualco means the 'abating of the waters.' the tlascaltec name of this month, xilomanaliztli, signifies the 'offering of green maize.' in other localities this month was also known by the name of quahuitlehua, the 'burning of the mountains,' or rather of the trees on the mountains, previous to sowing.[ ] tlacaxipehualiztli means the 'flaying of the people;' the other name of this month, cohuailhuitl, is the 'feast of the snake.' tozoztontli, tozcotzintli, and hueytozoztli are respectively the small and great fast or vigil; while some translate these words by 'pricking of veins,' 'shedding of blood,' or 'great and small penance.'[ ] toxcatl is a 'collar' or 'necklace.'[ ] etzalqualiztli is translated by boturini 'bean stew,' or 'the eating of beans,' while veytia calls it 'the eating of maize gruel.' tecuilhuitzintli and hueytecuilhuitl mean respectively the small and great 'feast of the lord.' miccailhuitzintli is explained both as 'the feast of dead children,' and 'the small feast of the dead;' another name for this month is tlaxochimaco, meaning 'distribution of flowers.' hueymiccailhuitl is either 'the feast of dead adults,' or 'the great feast of the dead.' xocotlhuetzin, another name for this month, means 'the ripening of the fruit.' ochpaniztli is 'the cleaning of streets.' teotleco, or 'the arrival of the gods,' was the next month, and was also named pachtli, or pachtontli, the latter being translated by 'humiliation,' and the former by 'moss hanging from trees.' hueypachtli was 'the great feast of humiliation,' also called tepeilhuitl, or 'feast of the mountains.' quecholli means 'peacock,' but the interpreter of the _codex telleriano-remensis_ calls it the 'serpent of the clouds.' panquetzaliztli is 'the raising of flags and banners.' atemoztli, the last month, means the 'drying up of the waters.'[ ] the plate on the preceding page shows the order of the months and the pictures by which they were represented. [illustration: the aztec month.] [sidenote: names of the aztec days.] each month contained twenty days, which were divided into four groups or weeks, as we may for convenience call them; and at the end of each group a public market or fair was held. there is no difference of opinion as to the names of the days or the order in which they follow one another, but it is very difficult, and in many cases impossible, to reconcile one with another the different hieroglyphic signs denoting these days given in the codices or in the various representations of the calendar. the names of the days are: cipactli, a name of which it is almost impossible to give the correct meaning, it being variously represented as an animal's head with open mouth armed with long tusks, as a fish with a number of flint knives on its back, as a kind of lizard with a very long tail curled up over its back, and in many other monstrous shapes. it is called the 'sea-animal,' the 'sword-fish,' the 'serpent armed with harpoons,' and other names. ehecatl is 'wind;' calli, 'house;' cuetzpalin, 'lizard;' coatl, 'snake;' miquiztli, 'death;' mazatl, 'deer;' tochtli, 'rabbit;' atl, 'water;' itzcuintli, 'dog;' ozomatli, 'monkey;' malinalli, 'brushwood,' or 'tangled grass;' acatl, 'cane;' ocelotl, 'tiger;' quauhtli, 'eagle;' cozcaquauhtli, a species of vulture, known in mexico as 'rey de los zopilotes;' ollin, 'movement;' tecpatl, 'flint;' quiahuitl, 'rain;' and xochitl, 'flower.' it will be seen that the days having the names or signs of the years,--namely: tochtli, calli, tecpatl, and acatl--stand first in each week. the five nemontemi had no particular name. the cut given above shows the method by which the aztecs represented their month, with the hieroglyphic names of each day.[ ] [sidenote: intercalary days.] as three hundred and sixty-five days do not make the year complete, the mexicans added the missing thirteen days at the end of the cycle of fifty-two years. but gama asserts that they came still nearer to our more correct calculations, and added only twelve days and a half.[ ] it has been frequently attempted to fix accurately the time when the mexican year commenced according to our dates, but there is no agreement on this point between the old historians, as will be seen from the table given, and although many elaborate calculations have been made for the purpose of verifying the one or the other statement, the result is in no two cases the same. gama calculated, and humboldt and gallatin confirmed his statement, that the first year of a mexican cycle commenced on the st day of december, old style, or on the th day of january, new style, with the month tititl and the day cipactli.[ ] [sidenote: the ritual calendar.] we come now to another mode of reckoning known as the ritual calendar, which, as its name implies, was used for adjusting all religious feasts and rites and everything pertaining thereto. the previously described reckoning was solar, while that of the ritual calendar was lunar. the periods into which it was divided were of thirteen days each, thus representing about half the time that the moon was visible. the year contained as many days as the solar calendar, but they were divided into entirely different periods. thus, in reality there were no months at all, but only twenty weeks of thirteen days each; and these not constituting a full year, the same kind of reckoning was continued for one hundred and five days more, and at the end of a tlalpilli thirteen days were intercalated to make up for the lost days. the names of the days were the same as in the solar calendar but they were counted as follows. to the first day the number one was prefixed, to the second, two, to the third, three, and so on to thirteen; when the fourteenth name was again called one, the fifteenth, two, and so on to thirteen again, after which the same count was continued to the end of the year. but as in this reckoning it naturally happens that one name has the same number twice, accompanying signs were added to the regular names, which were called _quecholli_, 'lords or rulers of the night.' of these there were nine, _xiuhtecutli_, _tletl_, 'lord of the year, fire;' _tecpatl_, 'flint;' _xochitl_, 'flower;' _centeotl_, 'goddess of maize;' _miquiztli_, 'death;' _atl_, 'water,' represented by the goddess chalchihuitlicue; _tlazolteotl_, 'goddess of love;' _tepeyollotli_, a deity supposed to inhabit the centre of the mountains; _quiahuitl_, 'rain,' represented by the god tlaloc.[ ] as stated above, one of these signs was understood to accompany the regular name of each day, commencing with the first day of the year; but they were never written or mentioned with the first two hundred and sixty days, but only with the last one hundred and five days, to distinguish them from the former.[ ] for the purpose of making this system more comprehensible, i insert a few months of the mexican calendar, showing the solar and lunar system together, as arranged by gama. +===========+===============+====================+===================+ | |months and days| | | |months and | of the mexican|days and weeks of |accompanying signs,| |days of | civil or solar|the mexican ritual, |or 'lords of the | |our era | calendar. |or lunar, calendar. |night.' | +-----------+---------------+--------------------+-------------------+ | january |tititl | cipactli |tletl | | | | ehecatl |tecpatl | | | | calli |xochitl | | | | cuetzpalin |centeotl | | | | coatl |miquiztli | | | | miquiztli |atl | | | | mazatl |tlazolteotl | | | | tochtli |tepeyollotli | | | | atl |quiahuitl | | | | | -- | | | | itzcuintli |tletl | | | | ozomatli |tecpatl | | | | malinalli |xochitl | | | | acatl |centeotl | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | | | ocelotl |miquiztli | | | | quauhtli |atl | | | | cozcaquauhtli |tlazolteotl | | | | ollin |tepeyollotli | | | | tecpatl |quiahuitl | | | | | | | | | quiahuitl |tletl | | | | xochitl |tecpatl | | |---------------| | | | |itzcalli | cipactli |xochitl | | | | ehecatl |centeotl | | | | calli |miquiztli | +===========+===============+====================+===================+ +===========+===============+====================+===================+ |months and |months and days|days and weeks of |accompanying signs,| |days of |of the mexican |the mexican ritual |or 'lords of | |our era |civil calendar.|calendar. |the night.' | +-----------+---------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |february | | cuetzpalin |atl | | | | coatl |tlazolteotl | | | | miquiztli |tepeyollotli | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | | | mazatl |quiahuitl | | | | | -- | | | | tochtli |tletl | | | | atl |tecpatl | | | | itzcuintli |xochitl | | | | ozomatli |centeotl | | | | malinalli |miquiztli | | | | acatl |atl | | | | ocelotl |tlazolteotl | | | | quauhtli |tepeyollotli | | | | cozcaquauhtli |quiahuitl | | | | | -- | | | | ollin |tletl | | | | tecpatl |tecpatl | | | | quiahuitl |xochitl | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | | | xochitl |centeotl | | |---------------| | | | |atlcahualco | cipactli |miquiztli | | | | ehecatl |atl | | | | calli |tlazolteotl | | | | cuetzpalin |tepeyollotli | | | | coatl |quiahuitl | | | | -- | | | | miquiztli |tletl | | | | mazatl |tecpatl | | | | tochtli |xochitl | | | | atl |centeotl | | | | itzcuintli |miquiztli | | | | ozomatli |atl | |-----------| | | | |march | | malinalli |tlazolteotl | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | | | acatl |tepeyollotli | | | | ocelotl |quiahuitl | | | | | -- | | | | quauhtli |tletl | | | | cozcaquauhtli |tecpatl | | | | ollin |xochitl | | | | tecpatl |centeotl | | | | quiahuitl |miquiztli | | | | xochitl |atl | | |---------------| | | | |tlacaxipe | cipactli |tlazolteotl | | | -hualiztli | ehecatl |tepeyollotli | | | | calli |quiahuitl | | | | | -- | | | | cuetzpalin |tletl | | | | coatl |tecpatl | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | | | miquiztli |xochitl | | | | mazatl |centeotl | | | | tochtli |miquiztli | | | | atl |atl | | | | itzcuintli |tlazolteotl | | | | ozomatli |tepeyollotli | | | | malinalli |quiahuitl | | | | | -- | | | | acatl |tletl | | | | ocelotl |tecpatl | | | | quauhtli |xochitl | | | | cozcaquauhtli |centeotl | | | | ollin |miquiztli | | | | tecpatl |atl | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | | | quiahuitl |tlazolteotl | | | | xochitl |tepeyollotli | | |---------------| | | | |tozoztontli | cipactli |quiahuitl | | | | | -- | | | | ehecatl |tletl | +===========+===============+====================+===================+ the five nemontemi were counted in this calendar as other days, that is, they received the names which came in the regular order, but, nevertheless, they were believed to be unlucky days and had no accompanying signs. [illustration: the calendar-stone.] [sidenote: the aztec calendar-stone.] besides the preceding cuts of the mexican calendar systems, as they were represented by gemelli careri, veytia, and others, the calendar-stone is the most reliable source by which the extent of the astronomical science of the aztecs can be shown. gama, and after him gallatin, give very accurate descriptions of this stone; i insert here a résumé from the latter author. on this stone there is engraved in high-relief a circle, in which are represented by certain hieroglyphics the sun and its several motions, the twenty days of the month, some principal fast-days, and other matters. the central figure represents the sun as it is usually painted by the mexicans. around it, outside of a small circle, are four parallelograms with the signs of the days, nahui ocelotl, nahui ehecatl, nahui quiahuitl, and nahui atl. between the two upper and lower parallelograms are two figures, which gama explains as being two claws, which are the hieroglyphics representing two eminent astrologers, man and wife. gama further explains these four signs of the days in this place, as having reference to the four epochs of nature, of which the aztec traditions speak. the first destruction of the sun is said to have taken place in the year ce acatl and on the day nahui ocelotl. the second sun was supposed to have died in the year ce tecpatl and on the day nahui ehecatl; the third destruction occurred also in the year ce tecpatl and on the day nahui quiahuitl; and lastly, the fourth destruction took place in the year ce calli, on the day nahui atl. but mr gallatin thinks that these four parallelograms had yet some other purpose; for on the twenty-second of may and on the twenty-sixth of july, which days are nahui ocelotl and nahui quiahuitl, if we accept the thirty-first of december as the first day of the mexican cycle, the sun passed the meridian of the city of mexico. but in this case the other two days, nahui ehecatl and nahui atl cannot be explained in connection with any other astronomical event. between the lower parallelograms are two small squares, in each of which are five oblong marks, signifiying the number ten; and as the central figure is the _ollin tonatiuh_, or sun, the number ten in these two squares is supposed to mean the day matlactli ollin. below this again are the hieroglyphics ce quiahuitl, and ome ozomatli. the day matlactli ollin in the first year of the cycle is the twenty-second of september; ce quiahuitl in the year matlactli omey acatl, which year is inscribed at the head of the stone, is our twenty-second of march; and ome ozomatli in the same year would be our twenty-second of june. here are therefore designated three of the principal phenomena as they happened in the first year of the cycle, viz: two transits of the sun by the zenith and the autumnal equinox. in the year designated on the stone matlactli omey acatl, there are given the spring equinox and summer solstice. in a circle surrounding these figures are represented the twenty days of the months. from the central figure of the sun there runs upward, as far as the circle of days, a triangle, the upper and smallest angle of which points between the days cipactli and xochitl, thus confirming the idea that cipactli was always the first day of the month. gama, gallatin, humboldt, dupaix, and others have given correct pictures of the stone as is proved by recent photographs; but in my cut the figures are reversed. it is a copy from charnay, whose photographs were in the best authority accessible; and i failed to notice that this, unlike charnay's other plates, was a photo-lithograph reversed in printing. not only did i fall into this error, but in my earlier editions charged other writers with having made a similar one. the cut does not otherwise mislead, but it must be noted that instead of running from left to right, the days really run from right to left. from the circle of days, four triangles, or rays, project, exactly dividing the stone into four quarters, each of which has ten visible squares, and, as the rays cover twelve more, there would be fifty-two in all. in each square are five oblong marks, which multiplied by fifty-two, give two hundred and sixty, or the first period of the mexican ritual year. outside of the circle of these squares the four quarters are each again divided by a smaller ray, and, as stated before, at the head of the stone, over the principal triangle is the sign of the year matlactli omey acatl. round the outer edge are a number of other figures and hieroglyphics, which have not yet been deciphered, or whose interpretations by different writers present so many contradictions that they would have no value here.[ ] [sidenote: calendar of the tarascos.] the only information we have of the calendar used in michoacan is furnished by veytia, and this is only fragmentary. enough is known, however, to show that their system was the same as that of the aztecs. instead of the four principal signs of the aztecs, tecpatl, calli, tochtli, and acatl, in mechoacan the names _inodon_, _inbani_, _inchon_, and _intihui_ were used. of the eighteen months only fourteen are mentioned by name. these are: intacaci, indehuni, intecamoni, interunihi, intamohui, inizcatolohui, imatatohui, itzbachaa, intoxihui, intaxihui, intechaqui, intechotahui, inteyabchitzin, intaxitohui. the five intercalary days were named _intasiabire_.[ ] the days of the month, divided into four equal parts by the above-mentioned four principal signs, were called: inodon, inicebi, inettuni, inbeari, inethaati, inbani, inxichari, inchini, inrini, inpari, inchon, inthahui, intzini, intzoniabi, intzimbi, inthihui, inixotzini, inichini, iniabi, intaniri.[ ] the zapotecs in oajaca, according to the description of burgoa, used the same calendar as the aztecs, with this difference, that the year always commenced on the twelfth day of march, and that the bissextile year was corrected every fourth year, by adding, instead of five, six intercalary days.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., p. . 'en un año que fué señalado con el geroglifico de un pedernal, que segun las tablas parece haber sido el de del mundo, se convocó una gran junta de astrólogos ... para hacer la correcion de su calendario y reformar sus cómputos, que conocian errados segun el sistema que hasta entónces habian seguido.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _id._, pp. - . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _id._, _relaciones_, in _id._, pp. - , ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcix., p. ; _ternaux-compans_, in _id._, , tom. lxxxvi., pp. - ; _boturini_, _idea_, p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _s'il existe des sources de l'hist. prim._, pp. - ; _spiegazione delle tavole del codice mexicano_ (vaticano), in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., pp. - ; _explicacion del codex telleriano-remensis_, in _id._, pp. - . 'cinco soles que son edades ... el primer sol se perdio por agua.... el segundo sol perecio cayendo el cielo sobre la tierra.... el sol tercero falto y se consumio por fuego.... el quarto sol fenecio con aire.... del quinto sol, que al presente tienen.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'le ciel et la terre s'étaient faits, quatre fois.' _codex chimalpopoca_, in _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . 'creyeron que el sol habia muerto cuatro veces, ó que hubo cuatro soles, que habian acabado en otros tantos tiempos ó edades; y que el quinto sol era el que actualmente les alumbraba.' _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt i., p. . 'hubo cinco soles en los tiempos pasados.' _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. , repeated literally by _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. ; _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, pp. - . [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt i., p. et seq.; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. et seq. [ ] 'no todos comenzaban á contar el ciclo por un mismo año: los tultecos lo empezaban desde _tecpatl_: los de teotihuacan desde _calli_; los mexicanos desde _tochtli_; y los tezcocanos desde _acatl_.' _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt i., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. . 'so begannen die aculhuas von texcoco ihre umläufe mit dem zeichen ce tecpatl, die mexicaner dagegen im ce tochtli.' _müller_, _reisen_, tom. iii., p. ; _boturini_, _idea_, p. . [ ] 'esto circulo redondo se dividia en cuatro partes.... la primera parte que pertenecia á oriente llamabanle los trece años de las cañas, y asi en cada casa de los trece tenian pintada una caña, y el número del año corriente.... la segunda parte aplicaban al septentrion, que era de otras trece casas, á las cuales llamaban las trece casas del pedernal; y asi tenian pintado en cada casa un pedernal.... a la tercera ... parte occidental, llamabanle las trece casas, y asi verémos en cada parte de las trece una casilla pintada.... a la cuarta y última parte que era de otros trece años, llamabanla las trece casas del conejo; y asi en cada casa de aquellas verémos pintada una cabeza de conejo.' _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., appendix, cap. i. [ ] gemelli careri gives these names in a different order, calling tochtli south, acatl east, tecpatl north, and calli west; further, tochtli earth, acatl water, tecpatl air, and calli fire. _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., pp. - ; _boturini_, _idea_, pp. - . the above are only figurative names, as the words for the cardinal points and also for the elements are entirely different in the mexican language. [ ] boturini repeats martin de leon and gemelli carreri. [ ] humboldt and gallatin repeat leon y gama. [ ] 'itetl, ititl, barriga o vientre.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. 'vientre, la madre, á excepcion del padre.' _salva_, _nuevo dicc._ 'titl ... significa fuego. tititl escrito en dos sílabas y seis letras nada significa en el idioma mexicano' _cabrera_, in _ilustracion mex._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] 'izcalia, abiuar, tornar en si, o resuscitar.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. [ ] 'quiahuitl-ehua ... significa _la lluvia levanta_.' _cabrera_, in _ilustracion mex._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] 'toçoliztli vela, el acto de velar o de no dormir.' _molina_, _vocabulario_. [ ] 'garganta totuzcatlan, tuzquitl.' _ib._ [ ] for the various etymologies of the names of months, see: _spiegazione delle tavole del codice mexicano_ (vaticano), in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., pp. - ; _explicacion del codex telleriano-remensis_, in _id._, pp. - ; _leon_, _camino del cielo_, fol. - ; _boturini_, _idea_, pp. - ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] this order is varied by a few authors. veytia gives the following entirely different system: 'si el año era del carácter tecpatl, con este se señalaba el primer dia de cada mes, y seguian anotándose los demas con los geroglificos siguientes en el órden en que los he puesto; de manera que el vigésimo dia de cada mes se hallaba ollin.... si el año era del segundo geroglifico calli, por este se comenzaba á contar, y á todos los dias primeros de cada mes se les daba este nombre.' the same method he contends is followed also in those years of each tlalpilli which commence with tochtli and acatl. for _cozcaquauhtli_ he uses the name _temeztlatl_, or metate. _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - . gemelli careri states that cipactli was not always the first day of the month. _churchill's col. voyages_, tom. iv., p. ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. iii., appendix, cap. ii.; _ritos antiguos_, p. , in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix.; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . boturini adds to ollin the word tonatiuh, and translates it 'movement of the sun.' _idea_, p. . gama places ollin between atl and itzcuintli. _dos piedras_, pt i., p. ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . see also hieroglyphics in _codex telleriano-remensis_, pl. ix., in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. i., and _codex borgian_, in _id._, vol. iii., pl. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . in nicaragua where the aztec language was spoken by a large portion of the population, the calendar and the names of the days were the same as aztec, with but some slight differences in spelling. oviedo gives the names of the days as follows: '_agat_, _oçelot_, _oate_, _coscagoate_, _olin_, _tapecat_, _quiaüit_, _sochit_, _çipat_, _acat_, _cali_, _quespal_, _coat_, _misiste_, _maçat_, _toste_, _at_, _izquindi_, _ocomate_, _malinal_, _acato_.... un año ... tiene diez çempuales, é cada çempual es veynte dias.' _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] sahagun, and after him several others, do not agree with this, but pretend that one day was added every fourth year, on which occasion a certain feast was celebrated, but gama has clearly demonstrated that this is a mistake. 'el año visiesto, que era de cuatro en cuatro años.' _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . 'otra fiesta hacian de cuatro en cuatro años á honra del fuego, en la que ahugeraban las orejas á todos los niños; y la llamaban _pillabanaliztli_, y en esta fiesta es verosimil, y hay congeturas que hacian su visiesto contando seis dias de _nemontemi_.' _id._, tom. iv., pp. - . boturini expresses the same opinion. 'determinaron cada quatro años añadir un dia mas, que recogiesse las horas, que se desperdiciaban, lo que supongo executaron contando dos veces uno de los symbolos de el ultimo mes de el año, á la manera de los romanos.' _idea_, p. . 'el año de visiesto que era de quatro à quatro años.' _leon_, _camino del cielo_, fol. . 'they order'd the bissextile, or leap-year, after this manner. the first year of the age began on the tenth of _april_, and so did the second and third, but the fourth or leap-year, on the ninth, the eighth on the eighth, the twelfth on the seventh, the sixteenth on the sixth, till the end of the age, which was on the twenty-eighth of _march_, when the thirteen days of the leap-years, till the tenth of _april_, were spent in rejoicing.' _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. . veytia following boturini adds one day every fourth year by repeating the last day. _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. - . 'la correccion no se hacia hasta el fin del ciclo, en que se intercalaban juntos los dias.' _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt i., p. . 'les mexicains ont évidemment suivi le système des perses: ils conservoient l'année vague jusqu'à ce que les heures excédantes formassent une demilunaison; ils intercaloient, par conséquent, treize jours toutes les _ligatures_ ou cycles de cinquante-deux ans ... à chaque année du signe _tochtli_, les mexicains perdoient un jour; et, par l'effet de cette _rétrogradation_, l'année _calli_ de la quatriéme indiction commençoit le décembre, et finissoit au solstice d'hiver, le décembre, en ne faisant pas entrer en ligne de compte les cinq jours inutiles ou complémentaires. il en résulte que ... treize jours intercalaires ramènent le commencement de l'année au janvier.' _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. ii., pp. - . 'non frammettevano un giorno ogni quattro anni, ma tredici giorni ... ogni cinquanta due anni.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . 'they waited till the expiration of fifty-two vague years, when they interposed thirteen days, or rather twelve and a half, this being the number which had fallen in arrear.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . in this connection i also give the remarkable statement of pedro de los rios in his interpretation of the codex vaticanus: '_item_, si ha da notare, che il loro bisesto andava solo in quattro lettere, anni, o segni che sono canna, pietra, casa, e coniglio, perchè come hanno bisesto delli giorni a fare di quattro in quattro anni un mese di quelli cinque giorni morti che avanzavano di ciascun anno, cosi avevano bisesto di anni perchè di cinquantadue in cinquantadue anni, che è una loro età, aggiungevano un anno, il quale sempre veniva in una di queste lettere o segni perchè come ogni lettera o segno di questi vinti habbia tredici del suo genere che le servano, _verbi gratiâ_.' _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., pp. - . in the explicacion del codex telleriano-remensis we read: 'Á de fevrero los cinco dias muertos que no avia sacrificios; estos eran los dias que sobravan de los de veynte en veynte del año: y siempre en cumpliendose los dias, dexavan pasar estos, y luego tornavan a tomar el año en la letra que entrava.' _id._, p. . to this lord kingsborough adds in a note: 'the mexicans reckoned days to their year; the last five of which had no sign or place appropriated to them in the calendar; since, if they had been admitted, the order of the signs would have been inverted, and the new year would not always have commenced with ce cipactli. these days, therefore, although included in the computation of the year, were rejected from the calendar, until at the expiration of four years an intercalation of twenty corresponding signs might be effected without producing any confusion in it. it would appear, however, that this intercalation did not actually take place till at the expiration of years; for it is impossible, except on this supposition, to understand the _intercalation of years_ mentioned in the vatican ms. as occurring at the expiration of every period of years, when an entire year was intercalated: but admitting the postponement of an intercalation of a month every four years during a period of years, such an intercalation would then become quite intelligible; since thirteen mexican months, of days each, exactly constitute a ritual year of the mexicans which contained days, and was shorter than the civil year by days; and this is the precise number of months of which the intercalation would have been postponed.' _mex. antiq._, vol. vi., pp. - . [ ] _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt i., pp. - ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. - . veytia's reason for commencing the year with atemoztli is, that on the calendar circle which he saw, and of which i insert a copy, this was the month following the five nemontemi. this appears very reasonable, but nevertheless gama and gallatin's calculations show it to be an error. see _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] boturini gives the rulers of the night as follows: xiuhteucyòhua, señor de el año; ytzteucyòhua, señor de el fuego; piltzinteucyòhua, señor de los niños; cinteucyòhua, señor de el maiz; mictlanteucyòhua, señor de el infierno; chalchihuitlicueyòhua, señor de el agua; tlazolyòhua, señor de el amor deshonesto; tepeyoloyòhua, señor de los entrañas de los montes; quiauhteucyòhua, señor de las lluvias. _idea_, p. . [ ] _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt i., pp. - , - ; _boturini_, _idea_, pp. - ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. . [ ] _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. - ; _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt i., pp. - . further description, and mention of the astronomical system will be found in _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., pp. - , and tom. ii., pp. - , - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxli.; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - , tom. iv., pp. - , - , tom. ii., lib. vii., pp. - , - ; _explanation of the codex vaticanus_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. vi., pp. , ; _boturini_, _idea_, pp. - , - , - , - , - ; _id._, _catálogo_, pp. - ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, tom. iv., pp. - ; _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. - ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, pp. - ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _nebel_, _viaje_, pl. l.; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xviii.; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., pp. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _müller_, _reisen_, tom. iii., pp. - ; _mcculloh's researches in amer._, pp. - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _tylor's researches_, pp. - ; _id._, _anahuac_, p. ; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., pp. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - ; _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. viii., pp. - ; _baril_, _mexique_, pp. - , - ; _morton's crania amer._, p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., pp. , ; _macgregor's progress of amer._, vol. i., p. ; _chambers' jour._, , vol. iv., p. ; _lafond_, _voyages_, tom. i., p. ; _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. - , - ; _poinsett's notes mex._, pp. , - ; _simon's ten tribes_, pp. - ; _kendall's nar._, vol. ii., p. ; _prichard's nat. hist. man_, tom. ii., p. ; _cabrera_, in _ilustracion mex._, tom. iv., pp. - ; _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, pp. - ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. ; _thompson's mex._, p. ; _falliés_, _Études hist. sur les civilisations_, paris, (n. d.) pp. - . [ ] 'los cuatro meses que faltan son los que corresponden á nuestro enero, febrero y marzo, porque al manuscrito le falta la primera hoja, y solo comienza desde el dia de marzo, y concluye en diciembre, confrontando sus meses con los nuestros.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. . 'il est dit que l'année commençait au mars avec le premier jour in thacari.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. , ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. - . [ ] 'dabanle diez y ocho meses de à . dias, y otro mas de cinco, y este al cabo de quatro años como nuestro bisiesto lo variaban à seis dias, pos las seis horas que sobran cada año.' _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt ii., fol. . chapter xvii. the aztec picture-writing. hieroglyphic records--the native books--authorities--destruction of the native archives by zumÁrraga and his confrÈres--picture-writings used after the conquest for confession and law-suits--value of the records--documents sent to spain in the sixteenth century--european collections--lord kingsborough's work--picture-writings retained in mexico--collections of ixtlilxochitl, siguËnza, gemelli careri, boturini, veytia, leon y gama, pichardo, aubin, and the national museum of mexico--process of hieroglyphic development--representative, symbolic, and phonetic picture-writing--origin of modern alphabets--the aztec system--specimen from the codex mendoza--specimen from gemelli careri--specimen from the boturini collection--probable future success of interpreters--the nepohualtzitzin. the nahua nations possessed an original hieroglyphic system by which they were able to record all that they deemed worthy of preservation. the art of picture-writing was one of those most highly prized and most zealously cultivated and protected, being entrusted to a class of men educated for the purpose and much honored. the written records included national, historic, and traditional annals, names and genealogical tables of kings and nobles, lists and tribute-rolls of provinces and cities, land-titles, law codes, court records, the calendar and succession of feasts, religious ceremonies of the temple service, names and attributes of the gods, the mysteries of augury and soothsaying, with some description of social customs, mechanical employments, and educational processes. the preparation and guardianship of records of the higher class, such as historical annals and ecclesiastical mysteries, were under the control of the highest ranks of the priesthood, and such records, comparatively few in number, were carefully guarded in the temple archives of a few of the larger cities. these writings were a sealed book to the masses, and even to the educated classes, who looked with superstitious reverence on the priestly writers and their magic scrolls. it is probable that the art as applied to names of persons and places or to ordinary records was understood by all educated persons, although by no means a popular art, and looked upon as a great mystery by the common people. the hieroglyphics were painted in bright colors on long strips of cotton cloth, prepared skins, or maguey-paper--generally the latter--rolled up or, preferably, folded fan-like into convenient books called _amatl_, and furnished often with thin wooden covers. the same characters were also carved on the stones of public buildings, and probably also in some cases on natural cliffs. the early authorities are unanimous in crediting these people with the possession of a hieroglyphic system sufficiently perfect to meet all their requirements.[ ] [sidenote: destruction of aboriginal records.] unfortunately the picture-writings, particularly those in the hands of priests--those most highly prized by the native scholar, those which would, if preserved, have been of priceless value to the students of later times--while in common with the products of other arts they excited the admiration of the foreign invaders, at the same time they aroused the pious fears of the european priesthood. the nature of the writings was little understood. their contents were deemed to be for the most part religious mysteries, painted devices of the devil, the strongest band that held the people to their aboriginal faith, and the most formidable obstacle in the way of their conversion to the true faith. the destruction of the pagan scrolls was deemed essential to the progress of the church, and was consequently ordered and most successfully carried out under the direction of the bishops and their subordinates, the most famous of these fanatical destroyers of a new world's literature being juan de zumárraga, who made a public bonfire of the native archives. the fact already noticed, that the national annals were preserved together in a few of the larger cities, made the task of zumárraga and his confrères comparatively an easy one, and all the more important records, with very few probable exceptions, were blotted from existence. the priests, however, sent some specimens, either originals or copies, home to europe, where they attracted momentary curiosity and were then lost and forgotten. many of the tribute-rolls and other paintings of the more ordinary class, with perhaps a few of the historical writings, were hidden by the natives and thus saved from destruction. of these i shall speak hereafter.[ ] after the zeal of the priests had somewhat abated, or rather when the harmless nature of the paintings was better understood, the natives were permitted to use their hieroglyphics again. among other things they wrote down in this way their sins when the priests were too busy to hear their verbal confessions. the native writing was also extensively employed in the many lawsuits between aztecs and spaniards during the sixteenth century, as it had been employed in the courts before the conquest. thus the early part of the century produced many hieroglyphic documents, not a few of which have been preserved, and several of which i have in my library. during the same period some fragments that had survived the general destruction were copied and supplied with explanations written with european letters in aztec, or dictated to the priests who wrote in spanish. the documents, copies, and explanations of this time are of course strongly tinctured with catholic ideas wherever any question of religion is involved, but otherwise there is no reason to doubt their authenticity.[ ] [sidenote: value of the native records.] to discuss the historical value of such aztec writings as have been preserved, or even of those that were destroyed by the spaniards, or the accuracy of the various interpretations that have been given to the former, forms no part of my purpose in this chapter. here i shall give a brief account of the preserved documents, with plates representing a few of them as specimens, and as clear an idea as possible of the system according to which they were painted. respecting the theory, supported by a few writers, that the aztecs had no system of writing except the habit common to all savage tribes of drawing rude pictures on the rocks and trees, that the statements of the conquerors on the subject are unfounded fabrications, the specimens handed down to us mere inventions of the priests, and their interpretations consequently purely imaginary, it is well to remark that all this is a manifest absurdity. on the use of hieroglyphics the authorities, as we have seen, all agree; on their destruction by the bishops they are no less unanimous; even the destroyers themselves mention the act in their correspondence, glorying in it as a most meritorious deed. the burning was moreover perfectly consistent with the policy of the church at that time, and its success does not seem extraordinary when we consider the success of the priests in destroying monuments of solid stone. the use of the aboriginal records in the spanish courts for a long period is undeniable. the priests had neither the motive nor the ability to invent and teach such a system. respecting the historical value of the destroyed documents, it is safe to believe that they contained all that the aztecs knew of their past. having once conceived the idea of recording their annals, and having a system of writing adequate to the purpose, it is inconceivable that they failed to record all they knew. the aztecs derived their system traditionally from the toltecs, whose written annals they also inherited; but none of the latter were ever seen by any european, and, according to tradition, they were destroyed by a warlike aztec king, who wished the glory of his own kingdom to overshadow that of all others, past, present, or future. if the hieroglyphics of the nahua nations beyond the limits of anáhuac differed in any respect from those of the aztecs, such differences have not been recorded.[ ] [sidenote: european collections.] i have said that many hieroglyphic manuscripts, saved from the fires kindled by zumárraga's bigotry, or copied by ecclesiastical permission before serving as food for their purifying flames, were sent to spain by the conquerors. after lying forgotten for a few centuries, attention was again directed to these relics of an extinct civilization, and their importance began to be appreciated; search was made throughout europe, and such scattered remnants as survived their long neglect were gathered and deposited in public and private libraries. eight or ten such collections were formed and their contents were for the most part published by lord kingsborough. the _codex mendoza_ was sent by the viceroy mendoza to charles v., and is now in the bodleian library at oxford. it is a copy on european paper, coarsely done with a pen, and rolled instead of folded. another manuscript in the escurial library is thought by prescott to be the original of this codex, but humboldt calls it also a copy. an explanation of the codex in aztec and spanish accompanies it, added by natives at the order of mendoza. it has been several times published, and is divided in three parts, the first being historical, the second composed of tribute-rolls, and the third illustrative of domestic life and manners.[ ] the _codex vaticanus_ (no. ) is preserved at rome in the vatican library, and nothing is known of its origin further than that it was copied by pedro de los rios, who was in mexico in . it is divided into two parts, mythological and historical, and has a partial explanation in italian. another manuscript, (no. ) preserved in the same library, is written on skin, has been interpreted to some extent by humboldt, and is supposed to pertain to religious rites. the _codex telleriano-remensis_, formerly in the possession of m. le tellier, and now in the royal library at paris, is nearly identical with the codex vaticanus (no. ), having only one figure not found in that codex, but itself lacking many. it has, however, an explanation in aztec and spanish.[ ] the _codex borgian_ was deposited in the college of the propaganda at rome by cardinal borgia, who found it used as a plaything by the children in the gustiniani family. it is written on skin, and appears to be a ritual and astrologic almanac very similar to the vatican manuscript (no. ). it is accompanied by an interpretation or commentary by fabrega. the _codex bologna_, preserved in the library of the scientific institute, was presented in to the marquis de caspi, by count valerio zani. it is written on badly prepared skin, and appears to treat of astrology. a copy exists in the museum of cardinal borgia at veletri. of the _codex vienna_ nothing is known except that it was given in to the emperor leopold by the duke of saxe-eisenach, and that its resemblance to the manuscripts at rome and veletri would indicate a common origin. four additional manuscripts from the bodleian library at oxford, and one belonging to m. de fejérvary in hungary, are published by kingsborough. nothing is known of the origin of these, nor has any interpretation been attempted, although the last-named seems to be historical or chronological in its nature.[ ] [sidenote: picture-writings preserved in mexico.] i have said that many manuscripts, mostly copies, but probably some originals, were preserved from destruction, and retained in mexico. material is not accessible for a complete detailed history of these documents, nor does it seem desirable to attempt here to disentangle the numerous contradictory statements on the subject. the surviving remnants of the tezcucan archives, with additions from various sources, were inherited by ixtlilxochitl, the lineal descendant of tezcuco's last king, who used them extensively if not always judiciously in his voluminous historical writings. the collection of which these documents formed a nucleus may be traced more or less clearly to the successive possession of sigüenza, the college of san pedro y san pablo, boturini benaduci, the vice-regal palace, veytia, ortega, leon y gama, pichardo, sanchez, and at last to the national museum of the university of mexico, its present and appropriate resting-place. frequent interventions of government and private law-suits interrupted this line of succession, and the collection by no means passed down the line intact. under the care of several of the owners large portions of the accumulation were scattered; but on the other hand, several by personal research greatly enlarged their store of aboriginal literature. while in sigüenza's possession the documents were examined by the italian traveler gemelli careri, through whose published work one of the most important of the pictured records was made known to the world. this latter has been often republished and will be given as a specimen in this chapter.[ ] clavigero studied the manuscripts in the jesuit college of san pedro y san pablo in .[ ] boturini was a most indefatigable collector, his accumulation in eight years amounting to over five hundred specimens, some of them probably antedating the spanish conquest. he published a catalogue of his treasures, which were for the most part confiscated by the government and deposited in the palace of the viceroy, where many of the documents are said to have been destroyed or damaged by dampness and want of care. those retained by the collector were even more unfortunate, since the vessel on which they were sent to europe was taken by an english pirate, and the papers have never since been heard of. only a few fragments from the boturini collection have ever been published, the most important of which, a history of the aztec migration, has been often reproduced, and will be given in this chapter. the original was seen by humboldt in the palace of the viceroy, and is now in the mexican museum.[ ] the confiscated documents passed by order of the spanish government into the hands of veytia, or at least he was permitted to use them in the preparation of his history,[ ] and after his death and the completion of his work by ortega, they passed, not without a lawsuit, into the possession of leon y gama, the astronomer.[ ] on the death of gama a part of his manuscripts were sold to humboldt to form the berlin collection published by kingsborough;[ ] the rest came into the hands of pichardo, gama's executor, who spent his private fortune in improving his collection, described by humboldt as the richest in mexico. many of pichardo's papers were scattered during the revolution, and the remainder descended through his executor sanchez to the museum.[ ] it is not unlikely either that the french intervention in later years was also the means of sending some picture-writings to europe. of the documents removed from the mexican collections on different occasions and under different pretexts, m. aubin claims to have secured the larger part, which are now in his collection in paris, with copies of such manuscripts as he has been unable to obtain in the original form.[ ] * * * * * [sidenote: hieroglyphic development.] in order to form a clear idea of the aztec system of picture-writing, it will be well to consider first the general principles of hieroglyphic development, which are remarkably uniform and simple, and which may best be illustrated by our own language, supposing it, for convenience, to be only a spoken tongue. it is evident that the first attempt at expressing ideas with the brush, pencil, or knife, would be the representation of visible objects by pictures as accurately drawn as possible; a house, man, bird, or flower are drawn true to the life in all their details. but very soon, if a frequent repetition of the pictures were needed, a desire to save labor would prompt the artist to simplify his drawing, making only the lines necessary to show that a house, man, etc., were meant,--a retrograde movement artistically considered, but intellectually the first step towards an alphabet. the representation of actions and conditions, such as a house on fire, a dead man, a flying bird, or a red flower would naturally follow. the three grades of development mentioned belong to what may be termed representative picture-writing. it is to be noted that this writing has no relation to language; that is, the signs represent only visible objects and actions without reference to the words by which the objects are named or the actions expressed in our language. the pictures would have the same meaning to a frenchman or german as to the painter. the next higher phase of the art is known as symbolic picture-writing. it springs from the need that would soon be experienced of some method by which to express abstract qualities or invisible objects. the symbolic system is closely analogous in its earlier stages to the representative, as when the act of swimming is symbolized by a fish, a journey by a succession of footprints, night by a black square, light by an eye, power by a hand, the connection between the picture and the idea to be expressed being more or less obvious. such a connection, real or imaginary, must always be supposed to have existed originally, since it is not likely that purely arbitrary symbols would be adopted, but nearly all the symbols would be practically arbitrary and meaningless to a would-be interpreter ignorant of the circumstances which originated their signification. we have seen that the symbolic and representative stages of development are in many respects very like one to the other, and there are many hieroglyphic methods between the two, which it is very difficult to assign altogether to either. for instance, when a large painted heart expresses the name of a chief 'big heart;' or when a peculiarly formed nose is painted to represent the man to whom it belongs; or when the outlines of the house, man, bird, or flower already mentioned are so very much simplified as to lose all their apparent resemblance to the objects represented. it is also to be noted that the symbolic writing, as well as the representative, is entirely independent of language. [sidenote: representative and symbolic writing.] picture-writing of the two classes described has been practiced more or less, probably, by every savage tribe. by its aid records of events, such as tribal migrations, and the warlike achievements of noted chiefs, may be and doubtless have been made intelligible to those for whose perusal they were intended. but the key to such hieroglyphics is the actual acquaintance of the nation with each character and symbol, and it cannot long survive the practice of the art. in only two ways can the meaning of such records be preserved,--the study of the art while actually in use by a people of superior culture, or its development into a hieroglyphic system of a higher grade. neither of these conditions were fulfilled in the case of our wild tribes, but both were so to some extent, as we shall see, in the case of the civilized nations. throughout the pacific states rock-carvings and painted devices will be noted in a subsequent volume of this work; most of them doubtless had a meaning to their authors, although many may be attributed to the characteristic common to savages and children of whiling away time by tracing unmeaning sketches from fancy. all are meaningless now and must ever remain so. full of meaning to the generation whose work they were, they served to keep alive in the following generation the memory of some distinguished warrior, or some element of aboriginal worship, but to the third generation they became nothing but objects of superstitious wonder. even after coming into contact with europeans the savage often indicates by an arrow and other figures carved on a forest-tree the number of an enemy and the direction they have taken, or leaves some other equally simple representative record. the next and most important step in hieroglyphic development is taken when a phonetic element is introduced; when the pictures come into a relation, not before attained, with sounds or spoken language; when a picture of the human form signifies _man_, not _homme_ or _hombre_; a painted house, _house_, not _casa_ or _maison_. of this phonetic picture-writing in its simplest form, the illustrated rebuses--children's hieroglyphics--present a familiar example; as when charity is written by drawing in succession a chair, an eye, and a chest of tea, 'chair-eye-tea.' in pronouncing the whole word thus written, the sounds of the words represented by the pictures are used without the slightest reference to their meaning. to the frenchman the same pictures 'chaise-oeil-thé' would have no meaning. in the example given the whole name of each word pictured is pronounced, but the number of words that could be produced by such combinations is limited, and the first improvement of the system would perhaps be to pronounce only the leading syllable or sound of the pictured word, and then charity might be painted 'cha (pel)-ri (ng)-tee (th).' by this system the same word might be written in a great many ways, and the next natural improvement would be the conventional adoption of certain easily pictured words to represent certain sounds, as 'hat,' 'hand,' or 'ham,' for the sound _ha_, or simply the aspirated _h_. the next development would be effected by simplifying the outlines of the numerous pictures employed, which have now become too complicated and bulky for rapid writing. for a time this process of simplification would still leave a rude resemblance to the original picture; but at last the resemblance would become very faint, or only imaginary, and perhaps some arbitrary signs would be added--in other words, a phonetic alphabet would be invented, the highest degree of perfection yet achieved in this direction. to recapitulate briefly: picture-writing may be divided, according to the successive stages of its development, into three classes, representative, symbolic, and phonetic, no one of which except the last in its highest or alphabetic, and the first in its rudest, state, would be used alone by any people, but rather all would be employed together. in the representative stage a [illustration: hand] might express a human hand, or as the system is perfected, a large, small, closed, black, or red hand; and finally 'big hand,' an indian chief; and all this would be equally intelligible to american or asiatic, savage or civilized, without respect to language. [sidenote: hieroglyphic writing.] symbolic picture-writing indicates invisible or abstract objects, actions, or conditions, by the use of pictures supposed to be suggestive of them; the symbols are originally in a manner representative, and rarely, if ever, arbitrarily adopted. as a symbol the [illustration: hand] might express power, a blow, murder, the number one or five. these symbols are also independent of language. phonetic picture-writing represents not objects, but sounds by the picture of objects in whose names the sound occurs; first words, then syllables, then elementary sounds, and last--by modification of the pictures or the substitution of simpler ones--letters and an alphabet. according to this system the [illustration: hand] signifies successively the word 'hand,' the syllable 'hand' in handsome, the sound 'ha' in happy, the aspiration 'h' in head, and finally, by simplifying its form or writing it rapidly, the [illustration: hand] becomes [illustration: stylized hand], and then the 'h' of the alphabet. the process of development which i have attempted to explain by imaginary examples and illustrations in our own language, is probably applicable to a greater or less extent to all hieroglyphic systems; yet such hieroglyphics as have been preserved are of a mixed class, uniting in one word, or sentence, or document, all the forms, representative, symbolic, and phonetic; the egyptians first spelled a word phonetically and then, to make the meaning clear, represented the word by a picture or symbol; the chinese characters were originally pictures of visible objects, though they would not now be recognized as such, if the originals were not in existence. what proportion of the letters in modern alphabets are simplified pictures, or representative characters, and what arbitrary, it is of course impossible to determine; many of them, however, are known to be of the former class.[ ] in the aztec picture-writings all the grades or classes of pictures are found, except the last and highest--the alphabet. a very large part of the characters employed were representative; many conventional symbols are known; and the aztecs undoubtedly employed phonetic paintings, though perhaps not very extensively in the higher grades of development. [sidenote: specimen from codex mendoza.] the plate on the opposite page is a reproduction of a part of the _codex mendoza_ from kingsborough's work. its four groups describe the education of the aztec child under the care of its parents. in the first group the father (fig. ) is punishing his son by holding him over the fumes of burning chile (fig. ); while the mother threatens her daughter with the same punishment. figures and represent, like , , , , and in the other groups, the child's allowance of tortillas at each meal. in the second group the son is punished by being stretched naked on the wet ground, having his hands tied, while the girl is forced to sweep, or, as she has no tear in her eye, perhaps is merely being taught to sweep instead of being punished. in the third group the father employs his boys in bringing wood (fig. ) or reeds either on the back or in a canoe; and the mother teaches her daughter to make tortillas (fig. ) and the use of the metate and other household utensils (figs. , , , ). in the last group the son learns the art of fishing, and the daughter that of weaving. [illustration: education of aztec children.] thus far all the pictures are purely representative; the remainder are more or less symbolic. the small circles (fig. , , , ) are numerals, as explained in a preceding chapter, and indicate the age of the children, eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen years respectively; the character issuing from the mouth of the parents is the symbol of speech, and indicates that the person to whom it is attached is speaking; the tears in the children's eyes, are symbols of the weeping naturally caused by the punishment inflicted; and figure is interpreted to be a symbol of night, indicating that the child was forced to sweep at night.[ ] many of the aztec symbols are of clearly representative origin, as foot-prints, symbols of traveling; tongues, of speech; a man sitting on the ground, of an earthquake; painted drops, of water; and other signs for day, night, air, movement, etc., which are more or less clear. but of others, as the serpent, symbol of time, the origin is not affirmed. to define the extent to which the symbolic writing prevailed is very difficult, because many of the characters which were, originally at least, representative, would appear to the uninitiated purely arbitrary; and it is not improbable that many signs may have had a double meaning according to the connection in which they were employed. the system is capable of indefinite expansion in the hands of the priesthood for purposes of religious mystification; and the fact that the religious and astrologic documents seem to contain but few of the representative and phonetic signs by which other paintings are interpreted, lends some probability to the theory that the priests had a partially distinct symbolic system of their own. the abbé brasseur goes so far as to say that all the historical documents had a double meaning, one for the initiated, another for the masses. the use of symbols doubtless accounts for the difficulty experienced in the interpretation of the picture-writings which have been preserved, and for the variety of extravagant theories that have been founded on them. the intermediate method already mentioned as coming between the purely representative and the symbolic, was very extensively employed by the aztecs in writing the names of places and persons, nearly all of which were derived from natural objects. examples of this method are: itzcoatl, 'stone (or obsidian) serpent;' chapultepec, 'hill of the grasshopper;' tzompanco, 'place of skulls;' chimalpopoca, 'smoking shield;' acamapitzin, 'hand holding reeds;' macuilxochitl, 'five flowers;' quauhtinchan, 'house of the eagle;' all written by the simple pictures of the objects named. the picture expressing a person's name was attached by a fine line to his head. [sidenote: aztec phonetic writing.] the use of the phonetic element by the aztecs was first noticed by the early missionaries in their efforts to teach church forms. the natives, eager or obliged to learn the words so essential to their salvation but so new to their ear, aided their memory by writing phonetically in a rude way the strange words. amen was expressed by the symbol of water, _atl_, joined to a maguey, _metl_, forming the sounds _atl-metl_ or _a-m[)e]_, sufficiently accurate for their purpose. pater noster was likewise written with a flag, _pantli_, and a prickly pear, _nochtli_; or sometimes a stone, _tetl_, was introduced before and after the prickly pear, the whole reading _pa(ntli)-te(tl)-noch(tli)-te(tl)_. here it will be observed that the sound only of the objects employed is considered, with no reference to their meaning. the name is an excellent specimen of the syllabic-phonetic writing. it is written in one of the manuscripts of the boturini collection by a pictured pair of lips, _tentli_, for the syllable _te_; footsteps, symbolic of a road, _otli_, for _o_; a house, _calli_, for _cal_; and teeth, _tlantli_, for _tlan_, _ti_ being a common connective syllable. the termination _coatl_ is a very frequent one in aztec words, and is often written phonetically by a 'pot,' _comitl_, surmounted by the symbol of water, _atl_, _co-atl_; but _coatl_ means 'serpent' and is also written representatively by a simple picture of that reptile. matlatlan 'net-place,' is written by pictured teeth, _tlantli_, phonetic, and a net, _matla_, representative. mixcoatl, 'cloudy serpent,' is expressed by the representative sign of a cloud, _mixtli_, and by the word _coatl_ phonetically written as before explained. these examples suffice to illustrate the system. there is no evidence that the aztecs ever reached the highest or alphabetic stage of hieroglyphics, and so far as is known they only used the syllabic method in writing names, and foreign words after the coming of the spaniards. still there is some reason to suspect that the phonetic element was much more in use than has been supposed, and that many characters which, hitherto considered by students as representative and symbolic signs, have yielded no meaning, may yet prove to be phonetic, and may throw much light on a complex and mysterious subject.[ ] [sidenote: record of an aztec migration.] on the two following pages is a copy of the painting already referred to as having been published by gemelli careri, humboldt, kingsborough, prescott, and others, and which i take from the work of ramirez as being probably the most reliable source.[ ] this painting, preserved in the national museum, is about twenty by twenty-seven inches, on maguey paper of the finest quality, now mounted on linen. i do not propose to attempt in this chapter any interpretation of the painting, to discuss the interpretations of others, or to investigate its historical importance. i simply present the document as an illustration of the aztec picture-writing, with interpretations of some of the figures as given by señor ramirez, leaving to another volume all consideration of the old absurd theory that a part of the painting (fig. - ) pictures the flood, the preservation of coxcox, the aztec noah, and the confusion of tongues. [illustration: the aztec migration.] [sidenote: picture-writing from gemelli careri.] the winding parallel lines, with frequent foot-prints, by which the different groups of figures are united, are symbols of a journey, and there is little doubt that the whole painting describes the migrations or wanderings of the aztec people. the square at the right represents the place from which they started. fig. , , perhaps express phonetically its name, but their interpretation is doubtful. it was evidently a watery region, probably a lake island in the valley of mexico. fig. is a _xiuhmolpilli_, 'bundle of grass,' symbol of the aztec cycle of fifty-two years; fig. is a 'curved mountain,' or the city of culhuacan, on the borders of the lake; fig. is a bird speaking to the people (fig. ), the tongues issuing from its mouth being, as i have said, the usual symbols of speech. it was a popular tradition among the aztecs that the voice of a bird started them on their wanderings. the fifteen human forms (fig. , ,) are the chiefs of the migrating tribes, whose names are hieroglyphically expressed by the figures connected with their heads. at their first stopping-place they completed another 'sheaf' of fifty-two years (fig. ), and perhaps built a temple (fig. ). the stay at cincotlan (fig. ) was ten years as indicated by the ten circles; fig. is interpreted by gemelli careri tocolco, 'humiliation,' and fig. , oztotlan, 'place of caves.' at the next stopping-place fig. represents a body wrapped in the mexican manner for burial; his name as shown by the character over his head is that of the central figure in the group shown in fig. . as this name does not appear again, the meaning is perhaps that one of the tribes here became extinct. fig. is tetzapotlan, 'place of the tree _tetzapotl_.' the generic name of the tree is _tzapotl_ (modern _zapote_), but a particular species is _tetzapotl_, and the prefix _te_ is phonetically expressed by the stone, _tetl_, at the base of the tree. fig. is tzompanco, 'place of skulls,' representing supposably a skull impaled on a stick; fig. is apazco, 'earthen vase;' fig. , quauhtitlan 'place of the eagle,' and here one of the chiefs of tribes, the right hand figure of group , separates from the rest to form a settlement at fig. . the time of stopping at each place and the completion of each fifty-two years are clearly indicated and need not be mentioned here. fig. is azcapuzalco, 'the anthill;' fig. is chalco, 'the chalchiuite-stone;' fig. , tlecohuatl, _tletl-cohuatl_, or 'fire-serpent;' fig. , chicomoztoc, _chicome-oztotl_, 'seven caves;' the lower part of fig. is the symbol of water; fig. , teozomaco, 'the monkey of stone.' fig. is chapultepec, 'hill of the locust or grasshopper.' after the arrival at chapultepec a great variety of events, most of which can be identified with traditional occurrences in the early history of the aztecs, are pictured. i shall not attempt to follow them. the route seems to continue towards fig. , tlatelolco; but five tribes (fig. ), all but one identical with those of the group in fig. , , return as fugitives or prisoners (fig. ) to culhuacan (fig. ), the original starting-point. fig. , and one of the characters of fig. , are the symbols of combat or war. fig. is inixiuhcan, 'birth-place,' the picture representing a woman who has just given birth to a child. fig. is tenochtitlan, 'place of _tenochtli_,' the tenochtli being a species of nopal represented in the figure, and being also the sign of the name of tenoch, one of the original chiefs of the group in fig. , and also seen in the group in fig. . six of the original tribes seem to have reached tenochtitlan, afterwards mexico, with the tribe that joined them at chapultepec; nine having perished or been scattered on the way, which agrees with the historical tradition. the preceding brief sketch will give an idea of a document whose full description and interpretation, even if possible, would require much space and would not be appropriately included here. [sidenote: chronologic record.] the picture-writing shown on the following pages is the one already mentioned as having formed part of the boturini collection, is equally important with the one already described, and is preserved like the former in the national museum. this painting, like the other, describes a migration, indicated by the line of foot-prints. starting from an island, a passage by boat is indicated to culhuacan, 'the curved mountain,' on the mainland. in this painting we have not only the number of years spent in the migration, and at each stopping-place, but the years are named according to the system described in the last chapter, and the migration began in the year ce tecpatl. the character within that of culhuacan is the name of huitzilopochtli, the great aztec god. next we have in a vertical line the names of the eight tribes, hieroglyphically written, who started on the migration, the chalcas, matlaltzincas, tepanecs, etc., agreeing with the tradition, except three which cannot be accurately interpreted. the first stopping-place after culhuacan was coatlicamac, the first figure in the lower column of the first page. here they remained twenty-eight years from ome calli to yey tecpatl as indicated by the squares connected by a line. the last but one of these years completed the cycle and is represented by a picture showing the process of kindling fire by friction, instead of the bundle of grass as before. between the groups of small squares are the hieroglyphic names of the stopping-places, which are in the following order, beginning with the second column of the first page, coatlicamac, tollan, atlicalaquiam, tlemaco, atotonilco, apazco, tzompanco, xaltocan, acolhuacan, ehecatepec, tolpetlac, coatitlan (where they first cultivated the maguey), huixachtitlan (where they made pulque from the maguey), tecpayocan, pantitlan, 'place of the flag,' amalinalpan, azcapuzalco, pantitlan, acolnahuac, popotla, ----, atlacuihuayan (tacubaya), chapultepec, acocolco, and culhuacan (as prisoners). the migration is not brought down to the arrival in tenochtitlan, but the chronology is perfectly recorded. several of the names of places are indicated by the same hieroglyphic signs as in the other painting. it will be observed that there is nothing to locate the starting-place in the north-west. it was probably either on the lakes of anáhuac, or in the south beyond what is now the isthmus of tehuantepec. both of these paintings will be noticed in the historical investigations to be given in volume v. of this work. [sidenote: the aztec migration.] [illustration: picture-record of the aztec migration. from the boturini collection.] the hieroglyphic paintings afford no test of the aztec painter's skill; in an artistic point of view the picture-writing had probably been nearly stationary for a long time before the conquest. the pictures were in most cases conventionally distorted; indeed, to permit different painters to exercise their skill and fancy in depicting the various objects required would have destroyed the value of the paintings as records. the first progressional steps had taught the native scribes to paint only so much of representative and symbolic objects as was necessary to their being understood; convenience and custom would naturally tend to fix the forms at an early period. bold outlines, and bright contrasted colors were the desiderata; elegance was not aimed at. hence no argument respecting the aztec civilization can be drawn from the rude mechanical execution of these painted characters. the american hieroglyphics contain no element to prove their foreign origin, and there is no reason to look upon them as other than the result of original native development. whether enough of the painted records have been preserved to throw much additional light on aboriginal history, may well be doubted; but it is certain that great progress will be made in the art of interpreting such as have been saved, when able men shall devote their lives to a faithful study of this indigenous american literature as they have to the study of old-world hieroglyphics.[ ] [sidenote: the nepohualtzitzin.] i will in conclusion call attention to boturini's statement that knotted cords, similar to the aboriginal peruvian _quipus_, but called in aztec _nepohualtzitzin_, were also employed to record events in early times, but had gone out of use probably before the aztec supremacy. this author even claims to have found one of these knotted records in a very dilapidated condition in tlascala. his statement is repeated by many writers; if any information on the subject is contained in the old authorities, it has escaped my notice.[ ] footnotes: [ ] 'todas las cosas que conferimos me las dieron por pinturas, que aquella era la escritura que ellos antiguamente usaban: los gramáticos las declararon en su lengua, escribiendo la declaracion al pie de la pintura. tengo aun ahora estos originales.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. iv. 'aunque no tenian escritura como nosotros tenian empero sus figuras y caracteres que todas las cosas qui querian, significaban; y destas sus libros grandes por tan agudo y sutil artificio, que podriamos decir que nuestras letras en aquello no les hicieron mucha ventaja.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxxxv. 'tenian sus figuras, y hieroglyficas con que pintauan las cosas en esta forma, que las cosas que tenian figuras, las ponian con sus proprias ymagines, y para las cosas que no auia ymagen propria, tenian otros caracteres significatiuos de aquello, y con este modo figurauan quanto querian.' _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . 'letras reales de cosas pintadas, como eran las pinturas, en que leiò eneas la destruicion de troya.' 'y esto que afirmo, es tomado de las mismas historias mexicanas, y tetzcucanas, que son las que sigo en este discurso, y las que tengo en mi poder.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , , also pp. - , , , tom. ii., pp. , - . 'i haue heeretofore sayde, that they haue books whereof they brought many: but this ribera saith, that they are not made for the vse of readinge.... what i should thinke in this variety i knowe not. i suppose them to bee bookes.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. x., dec. iii., lib. viii. 'y entre la barbaridad destas naciones (de oajaca) se hallaron muchos libros à su modo, en hojas, ò telas de especiales cortesas de arboles.... y destos mesmos instrumentos he tenido en mis manos, y oydolos explicar à algunos viejos con bastante admiracion.' _burgoa_, _palestra hist._, pt i., p. . 'pintaban en vnos papeles de la tierra que dan los arboles pegados vnos con otros con engrudos, que llamaban _texamaltl_ sus historias, y batallas.' _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. . 'lo dicho lo comprueban claramente las historias de las naciones tulteca y chichimeca, figuradas con pinturas, y geroglíficos, especialmente en aquel libro, que en tula hicieron de su origen, y le llamaron teomaxtli, esto es, libro divino.' _lorenzana_, in _cortés_, _hist. n. españa_, pp. , - . 'it is now proven beyond cavil, that both mexico and yucatan had for centuries before columbus a phonetic system of writing, which insured the perpetuation of their histories and legends.' _brinton's myths._ see also _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - , , ; _id._, _relaciones_, in _id._, p. ; _ritos antiguos_, p. , in _id._; _garcia_, in _id._, vol. viii., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. , ; _fuenleal_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. - , - ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., p. . [ ] 'aunque por haverse quemado estos libros, al principio de la conversion ... no ha quedado, para aora, mui averiguado todo lo que ellos hicieron.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. , tom. i., prólogo. some of them burned by order of the monks, in the fear that in the matter of religion these books might prove injurious. _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxxxv. royal archives of tezcuco burned inadvertently by the first priests. _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . 'principalmente habiendo perecido lo mejor de sus historias entre las llamas, por no tenerse conocimiento de lo que significaban sus pinturas.' _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt i., pp. , . 'por desgracia los misioneros confundieron con los objetos del culto idolátrico todos los geroglíficos cronológicos é históricos, y en una misma hoguera se consumia el ídolo ... y el manuscrito.' _alaman_, _disertaciones_, tom. ii., p. . see also _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _bustamante_, _mañanas_, tom. ii., prólogo; _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., p. ; _wilson's conq. mex._, p. . [ ] 'it is to this transition-period that we owe many, perhaps most, of the picture-documents still preserved.' _tylor's researches_, p. . 'there was ... until late in the last century, a professor in the university of mexico, especially devoted to the study of the national picture-writing. but, as this was with a view to legal proceedings, his information, probably, was limited to deciphering titles.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. . 'l'usage de ces peintures, servant de pièces de procès, c'est conservé dans les tribunaux espagnols long-temps après la conquête.' _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., pp. - . 'escriben toda la doctrina ellos por sus figuras y caracteres muy ingeniosamente, poniendo la figura que correspondia en la voz y sonido á nuestro vocablo. asi como si dijeremos amen, ponian pintada una como fuente y luego un maguey que en su lengua corresponde con amen, porque llamada _ametl_, y así de todo lo demas.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ccxxxv. see also _ritos antiguos_, p. , in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix.; _ramirez_, _proceso de resid._; _carbajal_, _discurso_, p. ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'au mexique, l'usage des peintures et celui du papier de maguey s'étendoient bien au delà des limites de l'empire de montezuma, jusqu'aux bords du lac de nicaragua.' 'on voit que les peuples de l'amèrique étoient bien éloignés de cette perfection qu'avoient atteinte les Égyptiens.' _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., pp. , - . 'clumsy as it was, however, the aztec picture-writing seems to have been adequate to the demands of the nation.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - , . 'the mexicans may have advanced, but, we believe, not a great way, beyond the village children, the landlady (with her ale-scores), or the bosjesmans.' _quarterly review_, , vol. xv., pp. , . 'the _picture writings_ copied into the monster volumes of lord kingsborough, we have denounced as spanish fabrications.' _wilson's conq. mex._, pp. - . 'until some evidence, or shadow of evidence, can be found that these quasi records are of aztec origin, it would be useless to examine the contradictions, absurdities and nonsense they present.... the whole story must be considered as one of zumárraga's pious frauds.' _id._, pp. - . 'las pinturas, que se quemaron en tiempo del señor de méxico, que se decia _itzcóatl_, en cuya época los señores, y los principales que habia entónces, acordaron y mandaron que se quemasen todas, para que no viniesen á manos del vulgo, y fuesen menospreciadas.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . see also _waldeck_, _voy. pitt._, pp. - ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; _mayer's mex. aztec_, etc., vol. i., p. . [ ] see _mexican mss._, in the list of authorities in vol. i. of this work, for the location of this and other codices in kingsborough's work. this codex was published also in _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv.; _thevenot_, _col. de voy._, , tom. ii.; and by _lorenzana_, in _cortés_, _hist. n. españa_. 'd'après les recherches que j'ai faites, il paroît qu'il n'existe aujourd'hui en europe que six collections de peintures mexicaines: celles de l'escurial, de bologne, de veletri, de rome, de vienne et de berlin.' _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., p. . see also on the codex mendoza: _id._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _robertson's hist. amer._, (lond., ), vol. ii., p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. , - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - , ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. - ; _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. vi., p. . [ ] _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., pp. , - ; _atlas_, pl. , , , - . , tom. ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. , , - ; _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. vi., pp. , ; _wilson's conq. mex._, p. . 'the fiction of some spanish monk.' _quarterly review_, , vol. xv., p. . [ ] _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., pp. - , - , with portions of the borgian codex in plates , , . some pages of the vienna codex were published in _robertson's hist. amer._, (lond., ), vol. ii., p. . [ ] _careri_, _giro del mondo_, (naples, - ), tom. vi.; _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. ii., pp. - , _atlas_, pl. xxxii.; _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. iv.; _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. i., p. ; _prescott's hist. conq. mex._, (mex. ), tom. iii.; _garcía y cubas_, _atlas_; _simon's ten tribes_, frontispiece; gallatin, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. , pronounces it an imitation and not a copy of a mexican painting, whose authenticity may be doubted. [ ] _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _boturini_, _catálogo_, in _id._, _idea_; _aubin_, in _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. xxxiii.; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - ; _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., pp. - , - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - , - ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. - ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. xxi., et seq., p. . that portion of the codex mendoza given in _cortés_, _hist. n. españa_, was from a copy in the boturini collection. the manuscript describing the aztec migration was published in kingsborough, schoolcraft, prescott, (mex. ), humboldt's _atlas_, delafield's _antiq. amer._, garcía y cubas' _atlas_, and i have in my library two copies on long strips of paper folded in the original form. [ ] ortega, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. xxii-xxiv., says they were not given to veytia as boturini's executor, but simply entrusted to him for use in his work, and afterwards returned to the archives. [ ] gondra, in _prescott_, _hist. conq. mex._ (mex., ), tom. iii., p. ii., says that gama was sigüenza's heir. [ ] _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., pp. , - . [ ] _bustamante_, in _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt i., pp. ii-iii. [ ] see list of part of m. aubin's manuscripts in _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. lxxvi-lxxviii.; also a very complete account of the different collections of aztec picture-writings in the introductory chapter of _domenech_, _manuscrit pictographique_. [ ] in the egyptian development, a pictured mouth first signified the word _ro_, then the syllable _ro_, and finally the letter or sound _r_, although it is doubtful if they made much use of the third stage, except in writing some foreign words. many of the chinese pictures are double, one being determinative of sound, the other of sense; as if in english we should express the sound _pear_ by a picture of the fruit of that name, the fruit _pear_ by the same picture accompanied by a tree, the word _pare_ by the same picture and a knife, the word _pair_ by the picture and two points, etc. _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., pp. - ; _tylor's researches_, pp. - . [ ] _codex mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. i., pl. lxi. explanation, vol. v., pp. - . see p. of this volume. [ ] 'on trouve même chez les mexicains des vestiges de ce genre d'hiéroglyphes que l'on appelle phonétiques, et qui annonce des rapports, non avec la chose, mais avec la langue parlée.' _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., p. , also pp. - . 'but, although the aztecs were instructed in all the varieties of hieroglyphical painting, they chiefly resorted to the clumsy method of direct representation.' _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. , also pp. - . 'it is to m. aubin, of paris, a most zealous student of mexican antiquities, that we owe our first clear knowledge of a phenomenon of great scientific interest in the history of writing. this is a well-defined system of phonetic characters, which clavigero and humboldt do not seem to have been aware of.' _tylor's researches_, p. , also pp. - . 'dans les compositions grossières, dont les auteurs se sont presque exclusivement occupés jusqu'ici, elle (l'écriture aztèque) est fort semblable aux rébus que l'enfance mêle à ses jeux. comme ces rébus elle est généralement phonétique, mais souvent aussi confusément idéographique et symbolique. tels sont les noms de villes et de rois, cités par clavigero, d'après purchas et lorenzana et d'après clavigero, par une foule d'auteurs.' _aubin_, in _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. xliv., xxx-lxxiv. see also on aztec hieroglyphics and their explanation: _buschmann_, _ortsnamen_, tom. i., pp. - ; _gondra_, in _prescott_, _hist. conq. mex._, (mex. ), tom. iii.; _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt ii., pp. - ; _ewbank_, in _schoolcraft's arch._, vol. iv., pp. - ; _mendoza_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. i., pp. - ; _ramirez_, in _id._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _boturini_, _idea_, pp. , - , , - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien. et mod._, pp. - , ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., pp. , ; _foster's pre-hist. races_, p. ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. , - ; _ramirez_, _proceso de resid._; _lenoir_, _parallèle_, pp. - ; _lubbock's pre-hist. times_, p. ; _n. amer. review_, , vol. xlviii., p. , , vol. xxxii., pp. - ; _amer. quart. review_, june , vol. i., p. . [ ] in _garcía y cubas_, _atlas_, with an interpretation. [ ] 'on distingue dans les peintures mexicaines des têtes d'une grandeur énorme, un corps excessivement court, et des pieds qui, par la longueur des doigts, ressemblent à des griffes d'oiseau.... tout ceci indique l'enfance de l'art, mais il ne faut pas oublier que des peuples qui expriment leurs idées par des peintures ... attachent aussi peu d'importance à peindre correctement que les savans d'europe à employer une belle écriture dans leurs manuscrits.' _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. i., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . valades in gave an american phonetic alphabet, representing each letter by an object of whose name it was the initial in some language not the aztec. nothing is known of it. _id._, tom. i., p. lxx. borunda gives a _clave general de geroglíficos americanos_, in _voz de la patria_, , tom. iv., no. iii.--an extract in _leon y gama_, _dos piedras_, pt ii., p. . sr eufemio mendoza, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. i., p. , attaches some importance to borunda's efforts. on the difficulty of interpretation see _boturini_, _idea_, p. ; _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. vi., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. . [ ] _boturini_, _idea_, pp. - ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . some additional references on hieroglyphics are: _id._, pp. , - , - , tom. ii., p. ; _norman's rambles in yuc._, pp. - ; _domenech's deserts_, vol. i., pp. - ; _soden_, _spanier in peru_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - ; _dapper_, _neue welt_, p. ; _delafield's antiq. amer._, p. ; _bonnycastle's span. amer._, vol. i., p. . chapter xviii. architecture and dwellings of the nahuas. architecture of the ancient nations--general features of nahua architecture--the arch--exterior and interior decorations--method of building--inclined planes--scaffolds--the use of the plummet--building-materials--position and fortification of towns--mexico tenochtitlan--the great causeways--quarters and wards of mexico--the market-place--fountains and aqueducts--light-houses and street-work--city of tezcuco--dwellings--aztec gardens--temple of huitzilopochtli--temple of mexico--other temples--teocalli at cholula and tezcuco. i shall describe in this chapter the cities, towns, temples, palaces, dwellings, roads, bridges, aqueducts, and other products of nahua architectural and constructive art, as they were found and described by the spaniards in the sixteenth century. monuments of this branch of nahua art chiefly in the form of ruined temples, or _teocallis_, are still standing and have been examined in detail by modern travelers. the results of these later observations will be given in volume iv. of this work, and i have therefore thought it best to omit them altogether here. in order to fully comprehend the subject the reader will find it advantageous to study and compare the two views taken from different standpoints. it is for a general and doubtless exaggerated account of the grandeur and extent of the nahua structures, rather than any details of their construction that we must look to the spanish chronicles; and it is also to be noted that the descriptions by the conquerors are confined almost entirely to the lake region of anáhuac, the buildings of other regions being dismissed with a mere mention. in this connection, therefore, the supplementary view in another volume will be of great value, since the grandest relics of nahua antiquity have been found outside of anáhuac proper, while the oft-mentioned magnificent temples and palaces of the lake cities have left no traces of their original splendor. the olmecs, totonacs, and others of the earlier nahua nations are credited by tradition with the erection of grand edifices, but the toltecs, in this as in all other arts, far surpassed their predecessors, and even the nations that succeeded them. i have in a preceding chapter sufficiently explained the process by which this ancient people has been credited with all that is wonderful in the past, and it will be readily understood how a magnifying veneration for past glories, handed down from father to son with ever accumulating exaggeration, has transformed the toltec buildings into the most exquisite fairy structures, incomparably superior to anything that met the spanish gaze. with architectural as with other traditions, however, i have little or nothing to do in this chapter, but pass on to a consideration of this branch of art in later times. respect for the gods made it necessary that the temples should be raised above the ordinary buildings, besides which their height made them more conspicuous to the immense multitudes which frequently gathered about them on feast-days, rendering them also more secure from desecration and easier of defence when used as citadels of refuge, as they often were. but as the primitive ideas of engineering possessed by the aztecs and their insufficient tools did not permit them to combine strength with slightness, the only way the required elevation could be attained was by placing the building proper upon a raised, solid, pyramidal substructure. the prevalence of earthquakes may also have had something to do with this solid form of construction. in the vicinity of the lake of mexico, the swampy nature of the soil called for a broad, secure foundation; here, then, the substructure was not confined to the temples, but was used in building public edifices, palaces, and private dwellings. [sidenote: nahua architecture.] another general feature of nahua architecture was the small elevation of the buildings proper, compared with their extent and solidity. these rarely exceeded one story in height, except some of the chapels, which had two or even three stories, but in these cases the upper floors were invariably of wood. whether the aztecs were acquainted with our arch, with a vertical key-stone, is a mooted point. clavigero gives plates of a semi-spherical _estufa_ constructed in this manner, and asserts, further, that an arch of this description was found among the tezcucan ruins, but i find no authority for either picture or assertion. the relics that have been examined in modern times, moreover, seem to show conclusively that key-stone arches were unknown in america before the advent of the europeans, though arches made of overlapping stones were often cut in such a manner as to resemble them. the chaplain diaz, who accompanied grijalva, mentions an 'arc antique' on the east coast, but gives no description of it. nevertheless, as the 'antique' would in this connection imply a peculiar, if not a primitive, construction, it is not probable that the arch he saw had a key-stone.[ ] as decorations, we find balconies and galleries supported by square or round pillars, which were often monoliths; but as they were adorned with neither capital nor base the effect must have been rather bare. battlements and turrets, doubtless first used as means of defense, became later incorporated with decorative art. the bareness of the walls was relieved by cornices and stucco-work of various designs, the favorite figures being coiled snakes, executed in low relief, which probably had a religious meaning. sometimes they were placed in groups, as upon the temple walls at mexico, at other times one serpent twined and twisted round every door and window of an apartment until head and tail met. carved lintels and door-posts were common, and statues frequently adorned the court and approaches. glossy surfaces seem to have had a special attraction for the nahuas, and they made floors, walls, and even streets, extremely smooth. the walls and floors were first coated with lime, gypsum, or ochre, and then polished. no clear accounts are given of the method of erecting houses. brasseur de bourbourg thinks that because the natives of vera paz were seen by him to use scaffolds like ours, that these were also employed in mexico in former times, and that stones were raised on inclined beams passing from scaffold to scaffold, which is not very satisfactory reasoning.[ ] however this may be, we are told by torquemada that the aztecs used derricks to hoist heavy timbers with.[ ] others, again, say that walls were erected by piling earth on both sides, which served both as scaffolds and as inclined planes up which heavy masses might be drawn or rolled,[ ] but although this was undoubtedly the method adopted by the miztecs, it was too laborious and primitive to have been general,[ ] and certainly could not have been employed in building the three-story chapels upon huitzilopochtli's pyramid. the perfectly straight walls built by the nahuas would seem to indicate the use of the plummet, and we are told that the line was used in making roads.[ ] trees were felled with copper and flint axes, and drawn upon rollers to their destination,[ ] a mode of transport used, no doubt, with other cumbrous material. the implements used to cut stone blocks seem to have been entirely of flint.[ ] [sidenote: building material.] the wood for roofs, turrets, and posts, was either white or yellow cedar, palm, pine, cypress, or oyametl, of which beams and fine boards were made. nails they had none; the smaller pieces must therefore have been secured by notches, lapping, or pressure.[ ] the different kinds of stone used in building were granite, alabaster, jasper, porphyry, certain 'black, shining stones,' and a red, light, porous, yet hard stone, of which rich quarries were discovered near mexico in ahuitzotl's reign.[ ] after the overflow of the lake, which happened at this time, the king gave orders that this should be used ever after for buildings in the city.[ ] _tecali_, a transparent stone resembling alabaster, was sometimes used in the temples for window-glass.[ ] adobes, or sun-dried bricks, were chiefly used in the dwellings of the poorer classes, but burnt bricks and tiles are mentioned as being sold in the markets.[ ] roofs were covered with clay, straw, and palm-leaves. lime was used for mortar, which was so skillfully used, say the old writers, that the joints were scarcely perceptible,[ ] but probably this was partly owing to the fact that the walls were almost always either whitewashed, or covered with ochre, gypsum, or other substances. frequent wars and the generally unsettled state of the country, made it desirable that the towns should be situated near enough each other to afford mutual protection, which accounts for the great number of towns scattered over the plateau. the same causes made a defensible position the primary object in the choice of a site. thus we find them situated on rocks accessible only by a difficult and narrow pathway, raised on piles over the water, or surrounded by strong walls, palisades, earth-works and ditches.[ ] although they fully understood the necessity of settling near lakes and rivers to facilitate intercourse, yet the towns on the sea-coast were usually a league or two from the shore, and, as they had no maritime trade, harbors were not sought for.[ ] the towns extended over a comparatively large surface, owing to the houses being low and detached, and each provided with a court and garden. the larger cities seem to have been layed out on a regular plan, especially in the centre, but the streets were narrow, indeed there was no need of wider ones as all transportation was done by carriers, and there were no vehicles. at intervals a market-place with a fountain in the centre, a square filled with temples, or a line of shady trees relieved the monotony of the long rows of low houses. [sidenote: mexico tenochtitlan.] the largest and most celebrated of the nahua cities was mexico tenochtitlan.[ ] it seems that about the year the aztecs, weary of their unsettled condition and hard pressed by the culhuas, sought the marshy western shore of the lake of mexico. here, on the swamp of tlalcocomocco, they came upon a stone, upon which it was said a mexican priest had forty years before sacrificed a certain prince copil. from this stone had sprung a nopal, upon which, at the time it was seen by the mexican advance guard, sat an eagle, holding in his beak a serpent. impelled by a divine power, a priest dived into a pool near the stone, and there had an interview with tlaloc, god of waters,[ ] who gave his permission to the people to settle on the spot.[ ] another legend relates that huitzilopochtli appeared to a priest in a dream, and told him to search for a nopal growing out of a stone in the lake with an eagle and serpent upon it, and there found a city.[ ] the temple, at first a mere hut, was the first building erected, and by trading fish and fowl for stone, they were soon enabled to form a considerable town about it. piles were driven into the soft bottom of the lake, and the intermediate spaces filled with stones, branches, and earth, to serve as a foundation for houses.[ ] each succeeding ruler took pains to extend and beautify the city. later on, tlatelulco,[ ] which had early separated from mexico tenochtitlan, was reunited to it by king axayacatl, which greatly increased the size of the latter city. tezcuco is said to have exceeded it in size and in the culture of its people, but from its important position, imposing architecture, and general renown, mexico tenochtitlan stood preëminent. a number of surrounding towns and villages formed the suburbs of the city, as aztacalco, acatlan, malcuitlapilco, atenco, iztacalco, zancopinco, huitznahuac, xocotitlan or xocotlan, coltonco, necatitlan, huitzitlan, etc.[ ] the circumference of the city has been estimated at about twelve miles, and the number of houses at sixty thousand, which would give a population of three hundred thousand.[ ] it was situated in the salty part of the lake of mexico, fifteen miles west of its celebrated rival tezcuco, about one mile from the eastern shore, and close to the channel through which the volumes of the sweet water lake pour into the briny waters of the lake of mexico, washing, in their outward flow, the southern and western parts of the city. the waters have, however, evaporated considerably since the time of the aztecs, and left the modern mexico some distance from the beach.[ ] [sidenote: cities of anÁhuac.] fifty other towns, many of them consisting of over three thousand dwellings, were scattered on and around the lake, the shallow waters of which were skimmed by two hundred thousand canoes.[ ] four grand avenues, paved with a smooth, hard crust of cement,[ ] ran east, west, north, and south, crosswise, forming the boundary lines of four quarters; at the meeting-point of these was the grand temple-court. three of these roads connected in a straight line with large causeways leading from the city to the lake shores; constructed by driving in piles, filling up the intervening spaces with earth, branches, and stones, and covering the surface with stone secured by mortar. they were broad enough to allow ten horsemen to ride abreast with ease, and were defended by drawbridges and breastworks.[ ] the southern road, two leagues in length, commenced half a league from iztapalapan, and was bordered on one side by mexicaltzinco, a town of about four thousand houses, and on the other, first by coyuhuacan with six thousand, and further on by huitzilopochco with five thousand dwellings. half a league before reaching the city this causeway was joined by the xoloc road, coming from xochimilco, the point of junction being defended by a fort named acachinanco, which consisted of two turrets surrounded by a battlemented wall, eleven or twelve feet high, and was provided with two gates, through which the road passed.[ ] the northern road led from tepeyacac, about a league off; the western, from tlacopan, half a league distant; this road was bordered with houses as far as the shore.[ ] a fourth causeway from chapultepec served to support the aqueduct which supplied the city with water.[ ] [sidenote: quarters and wards of mexico.] the names of the four quarters of the city, which were thus disposed according to divine command, were tlaquechiuhcan, cuecopan, or quepopan, now santa maría, lying between the northern and western avenues; atzacualco, now san sebastian, between the eastern and northern; teopan, now san pablo, between the eastern and southern; and moyotlan, or mayotla, now san juan, between the western and southern; these, again, were divided into a number of wards.[ ] owing to the position of the city in the midst of the lake, traffic was chiefly conducted by means of canals, which led into almost every ward, and had on one or both sides quays for the reception and landing of goods and passengers. many of these were provided with basins and locks to retain the water within them;[ ] while at the mouth were small buildings which served as offices for the custom-house officials. bridges, many of which were upwards of thirty feet wide, and could be drawn up so as to cut off communication between the different parts, connected the numerous cross-streets and lanes, some of which were mere dry and paved canals.[ ] the chief resort of the people was the levee which stretched in a semi-circle round the southern part of the city, forming a harbor from half to three quarters of a league in breadth. here during the day the merchants bustled about the cargoes and the custom-houses, while at night the promenaders resorted there to enjoy the fresh breezes from the lake. the construction of this embankment was owing to an inundation which did serious harm during the reign of montezuma i. this energetic monarch at once took steps to prevent a recurrence of the catastrophe, and called upon the neighboring towns to assist with people and material in the construction of an outer wall, to check and turn aside the waters of the fresh lake, which, after the heavy rains of winter, rushed in volumes upon the city as they sought the lower salt lake. the length of the levee was about three leagues, and its breadth thirty feet. in , fifty-two years after its construction, it was further strengthened and enlarged.[ ] although the spaniards met with no very imposing edifices as they passed along to the central part of the city where the temple stood, yet they must have found enough to admire in the fine smooth streets, the neat though low stone buildings surmounted by parapets which but half concealed the flowers behind them, the elegantly arranged gardens, gorgeous with the flora of the tropics, the broad squares, the lofty temples, and the canals teeming with canoes. among the public edifices, the markets are especially worthy of note. the largest, in mexico tenochtitlan, was twice as large as the square of salamanca, says cortés, and was surrounded by porticoes, in and about which from sixty thousand to one hundred thousand buyers and sellers found room.[ ] the market-place at tlatelulco was still larger, and in the midst of it was a square stone terrace, fifteen feet high and thirty feet long, which served as a theatre.[ ] [sidenote: fountains and aqueducts.] the numerous fountains which adorned the city were fed by the aqueduct which brought water from the hill of chapultepec, about two miles off, and was constructed upon a causeway of solid masonry five feet high and five feet broad, running parallel to the tlacopan road.[ ] this aqueduct consisted of two pipes of masonry, each carrying a volume of water equal in bulk to a man's body,[ ] which was conducted by branch pipes to different parts of the town to supply fountains, tanks, ponds, and baths. at the different canal-bridges there were reservoirs, into which the pipes emptied on their course, and here the boatmen who made it a business to supply the inhabitants with water received their cargoes on the payment of a fixed price. a vigilant police watched over the distribution of the water and the care of the pipes, only one of which was in use at a time, while the other was cleansed.[ ] the supply was obtained from a fine spring on the summit of mount chapultepec, which was guarded by two figures cut in the solid stone, representing montezuma and his father, armed with lances and shields.[ ] the present aqueduct was partly reconstructed by montezuma ii. on the old one erected by the first king of that name. its inauguration was attended by imposing ceremonies, offerings of quails, and burning of incense.[ ] during ahuitzotl's reign, an attempt was made to bring water into the city from an immense spring at coyuhuacan. the lord of that place consented, as became a loyal vassal, to let the water go, but predicted disastrous consequences to the city from the overflow which would be sure to follow if the water were taken there. this warning, however, so enraged the king that he ordered the execution of the noble, and immediately levied men and material from the neighboring towns to build the aqueduct. the masons and laborers swarmed like ants and soon finished the work. when everything was ready, a grand procession of priests, princes, nobles, and plebeians marched forth to open the gates of the aqueduct and receive the waters into the city. speeches were made, slaves and children were sacrificed, the wealthy cast precious articles into the rolling waters with words of thanks and welcome. but the hour of sorrow was at hand. the prediction of the dead lord was fulfilled; the waters, once loosed, could not be fettered again; a great part of the city was inundated and much damage was done. then the distracted king called once more upon the neighboring towns to furnish men, but this time to tear down instead of to build up.[ ] [sidenote: lighthouses and street-work.] among the arrangements for the convenience of the public may be mentioned lighthouses to guide the canoes which brought supplies to the great metropolis. these were erected at different points upon towers and heights; the principal one seems to have been on mount tocitlan, where a wooden turret was erected to hold the flaming beacon.[ ] the streets were also lighted by burning braziers placed at convenient intervals, which were tended by the night patrol. a force of over a thousand men kept the canals in order, swept the streets and sprinkled them several times a day.[ ] public closets were placed at distances along the canals.[ ] the care of buildings also received the attention of the government, and every eleventh month was devoted to repairing and cleaning the temples, public edifices, and roads generally.[ ] a number of towns on the lake were built on piles, in imitation of mexico, chiefly for the sake of security. thus, iztapalapan stood half on land, half over the water, and ayotzinco was founded entirely on piles, and had canals instead of streets.[ ] other towns had recourse to strong walls and deep ditches to secure their protection. tlascala especially was well defended from its ancient aztec enemy, by a wall of stone and mortar[ ] which stretched for six miles across a valley, from mountain to mountain, and formed the boundary line of the republic. this wall was nine feet high, twenty feet broad,[ ] and surmounted by a breastwork a foot and a half in thickness, behind which the defenders could stand while fighting. the only entrance was in the centre, where the walls did not meet, but described a semi-circle, one overlapping the other, with a space ten paces wide and forty long between them.[ ] the other side also was defended by breastworks and ditches.[ ] the city itself stood upon four hills, and was crossed by narrow streets,[ ] the houses being scattered in irregular groups. in size it was even larger than granada, says cortés, which is not unlikely, for the market had accommodation for thirty thousand people, and in one of the temples four hundred spaniards with their attendants found ample room.[ ] at huejutla there was a curious wall of masonry, the outside of which was faced with small blocks of tetzontli, each about nine inches in diameter on the face, which was rounded; the end of each block was pointed, and inserted in the wall.[ ] [sidenote: the city of tezcuco.] the city next in fame and rank to mexico tenochtitlan was tezcuco,[ ] which torquemada affirms contained one hundred and forty thousand houses within a circumference of from three to four leagues.[ ] it was divided into six divisions, and crossed by a series of fine straight streets lined with elegant buildings. the old palace stood on the border of the lake upon a triple terrace, guarding the town, as it were; the newer structure, in the construction of which two hundred thousand men had been employed, stood at the northern end; it was a magnificent building and contained three hundred rooms. this city was the seat of refinement and elegance, and occupied relatively the same position in mexico as paris does in europe.[ ] [sidenote: dwellings of the richer classes.] the style of architecture for houses did not exhibit much variety; the difference between one house and another being chiefly in extent and material.[ ] the dwellings of the nobles were situated upon terraces of various heights, which in swampy places like mexico, rested upon tiers of heavy piles.[ ] they were usually a group of buildings in the form of a parallelogram, built of stone or in mexico of tetzontli, joined with fine cement, and finely polished and whitewashed.[ ] every house stood by itself, separated from its neighbor by narrow lanes, and enclosed one or more courts which extended over a large space of ground.[ ] one story was the most common form, and there are no accounts of any palaces or private houses exceeding two stories.[ ] broad steps led up the terrace to two gates which gave entrance to the courts; one opening upon the main street, the other upon the back lane, or canal, that often lay beneath it. the terrace platform of the houses of chiefs often had a wide walk round it and was especially spacious in front, where there was occasionally a small oratorio facing the entrance. this style was particularly noticed on the east coast.[ ] the court was surrounded by numerous porticoes decorated with porphyry, jasper, and alabaster ornaments, which, again, led to various chambers, and halls, lighted by large windows. two great halls and several reception-rooms were situated in front; the sleeping-chambers, kitchen, baths, and store-rooms were in the rear, forming at times quite a complicated labyrinth.[ ] the court was paved with flags of stone, tessellated marble, or hard cement, polished with ochre or gypsum,[ ] and usually contained a sparkling fountain; occasionally there was a flower-garden, in which a pyramidal altar gave an air of sanctity to the place.[ ] the stairway which led to the second story or to the roof, was often on the outside of the house, and by its grand proportions and graceful form contributed not a little to the good appearance of the house.[ ] the roof was a flat terrace of beams, with a slight slope towards the back,[ ] covered with a coat of cement or clay,[ ] and surrounded by a battlemented parapet, surmounted at times by small turrets.[ ] there were generally flowers in pots upon the roofs, or even a small garden; and here the members of the household assembled in the cool of the evening to enjoy the fresh air and charming prospect.[ ] some houses had galleries, which, like most work added to the main structure, were of wood,[ ] though supported upon columns of marble, porphyry, or alabaster. these pillars were either round or square, and were generally monoliths; they were without base or capital, though ornamented with figures cut in low relief. buildings were further adorned with elegant cornices and stucco designs of flowers and animals, which were often painted with brilliant colors. prominent among these figures was the coiling serpent before mentioned. lintels and door-posts were also elaborately carved.[ ] the interior displayed the same rude magnificence. the floors were covered with hard, smooth cement like the courtyard and streets, rubbed with ochre or gypsum, and polished.[ ] the glossy walls were painted and hung with cotton or feather tapestry, to which las casas adds silver plating and jewels. the furniture was scanty. it consisted chiefly of soft mats and cushions of palm-leaves or fur, low tables, and small stools with palm-leaf backs. the beds were mats piled one upon another, with a block or a palm-leaf or cotton cushion for a pillow; occasionally they were furnished with coverlets and canopies of cotton or feather-work.[ ] vases filled with smoldering incense diffused their perfume through the chambers. the rooms which were used in winter were provided with hearths and fire-screens, and were lighted by torches.[ ] there were no doors, properly called such, to the houses, but where privacy was required, a bamboo or wicker-work screen was suspended across the entrance, and secured at night with a bar. to this was attached a string of shells, which the visitor rattled to call the host or his attendants to the entrance. the interior rooms were separated by hangings, which probably also served to cover the windows of ordinary dwellings,[ ] although the transparent _tecali_ stone, as before stated, answered the purpose of window-glass in certain parts of some of the temples.[ ] [sidenote: houses of the lower classes.] the houses of the poorer classes were built of adobe, wood, cane, or reeds and stones, mixed with mud, well plastered and polished,[ ] and, in mexico, raised on stone foundations, to prevent dampness,[ ] though the elevation was less than that of the houses of the richer people. they were generally of an oblong shape, were divided into several apartments, and occasionally had a gallery in front. they could not afford a central court, but had instead a flower or vegetable garden wherever space permitted. terrace roofs were not uncommon in the towns, but more generally the houses of the poorer people were thatched with a kind of long thick grass, or with overlapping maguey-leaves.[ ] besides the oratory and storehouse with which most houses were provided, a _temazcalli_, or bath, was generally added to the dwelling. this, according to clavigero, consisted of a hemisphere of adobe, having a slightly convex paved floor sunk a little below the level of the surrounding ground. the entrance was a small hole just large enough to admit a man. on the outside of the bath-house, and on the opposite side to the entrance, was a furnace made of stone or brick, separated from the interior by a thin slab of _tetzontli_, or other porous stone, through which the heat was communicated. on entering, the door was closed, and the suffocating vapors were allowed to escape slowly through a small opening in the top. the largest bath-houses were eight feet in diameter, and six feet in height. some were mere square chambers without a furnace, and were doubtless heated and the fire raked out before the bather entered.[ ] the storehouses and granaries which were attached to farms, temples, and palaces, were usually square buildings of oxametl-wood, with thatched roofs. the logs had notches near the ends to give them a secure hold. two windows, or doors, one above the other, gave access to the interior, which was often large enough to contain many thousand bushels of grain.[ ] [sidenote: aztec gardens.] love of flowers was a passion with the aztecs, and they bestowed great care upon the cultivation of gardens. the finest and largest of these were at iztapalapan and huastepec. the garden at iztapalapan was divided into four squares, each traversed by shaded walks, meandering among fruit-trees, blossoming hedges, and borders of sweet herbs.[ ] in the centre of the garden was an immense reservoir of hewn stone, four hundred paces square, and fed by navigable canals. a tiled pavement,[ ] wide enough for four persons walking abreast, surrounded the reservoir, and at intervals steps led down to the water, upon the surface of which innumerable water-fowl sported. a large pavilion, with halls and corridors, overlooked the grounds.[ ] the huastepec garden was two leagues in circuit, and was situated on a stream; it contained an immense variety of plants and trees, to which additions were continually made.[ ] the _chinampas_, or floating gardens, have been described elsewhere.[ ] the mexicans required no solid roads for heavy traffic, since goods were carried upon the shoulders of slaves, but a number of pathways crossed the country in various directions, which underwent repair every year on the cessation of the rains. here and there country roads crossed streams by means of suspension-bridges, or fixed structures mostly of wood, but sometimes of stone, with small spans. the suspension-bridges were made of ropes, twisted canes, or tough branches, attached to trees and connected by a netting. the spaniards were rather fearful of crossing them, on account of their swinging motion when stepped upon and the gaping rents in them.[ ] almost the only specimen of nahua architecture which has withstood the ravages of time until our day is the temple structure, _teocalli_, 'house of god,' or _teopan_, 'place of god,' of which torquemada asserts there were at least forty thousand in mexico. clavigero regards this as a good deal below the real number, and if we consider the extremely religious character of the people, and accept the statements of the early chroniclers, who say that at distances of from a quarter to half a league, in every town and village, were open places containing one or more temples,[ ] and on every isolated rock or hill, along the country roads, even in the fields, were substantial structures devoted to some idol, then clavigero's assertion may be correct.[ ] the larger temples were usually built upon pyramidal parallelograms, square, or oblong, and consisted of a series of superimposed terraces with perpendicular or sloping sides.[ ] the celebrated temple at mexico forms a fair type of the latter kind and its detailed description will give the best idea of this class of edifices. [sidenote: temple of huitzilopochtli.] [sidenote: the great temple of mexico.] [sidenote: the sacrificial stone.] when the aztecs halted on the site of mexico after their long wanderings, the first care was to erect an abode for their chief divinity huitzilopochtli. the spot chosen for the humble structure, which at first consisted of a mere hut, was over the stone whereon the sacred nochtli grew that had been pointed out by the oracle. a building more worthy of the god was soon erected, and, later on, ahuitzotl constructed the edifice from whose summit cortés looked down upon the scenes of his conquest. the labor bestowed upon it was immense, and notwithstanding that the material had to be brought from a distance of three or four leagues--a serious matter to a people who were supplied with no adequate means of transport--the temple was completed in two years.[ ] the inauguration took place in , in the presence of the chief princes and an immense concourse of people from all quarters, and , captives, arranged in two long files, were sacrificed during the four days of its duration.[ ] the site of the building was indeed worthy of its character, standing as it did in an immense square forming the centre of the town, from which radiated the four chief thoroughfares.[ ] the idea of thus keeping the god before the people at all times had, doubtless, as much to do with this arrangement as that of giving him the place of honor. a square wall[ ] about four thousand eight hundred feet in circumference, from eight to nine feet in height and of great thickness, with its sides facing the cardinal points, formed the courtyard of the temple.[ ] it was built of stone and lime, plastered and polished,[ ] crowned with battlements in the form of snails, and turreted and adorned with many stone serpents,--a very common ornament on edifices in egypt as well as anáhuac--for which reason it was called _coatepantli_, 'wall of snakes.'[ ] at the centre of each wall stood a large two-story building, divided into a number of rooms, in which the military stores and weapons were kept. these faced the four chief thoroughfares of the town, and their lower stories formed the portals of the gateways which gave entrance to the courtyard.[ ] this was partly paved with large smooth flag-stones, partly with cement, plastered and polished, and so slippery that the horses of the spaniards could scarcely keep their footing.[ ] in the centre stood the great temple, an oblong, parallelogramic pyramid, about three hundred and seventy-five feet long and three hundred feet broad at the base, three hundred and twenty-five by two hundred and fifty at the summit, and rising in five superimposed, perpendicular terraces to the height of eighty-six feet.[ ] the terraces were of equal height,[ ] the lowest, according to tezozomoc, having a foundation a fathom or more in depth, and each receded about six feet from the edge of the one beneath it, leaving a flat ledge round its base.[ ] at the north-west corner the ledges were graded to form a series of steps, one hundred and fourteen in all, and each about nine inches high, which led from terrace to terrace, so that it was necessary to walk completely round the edifice to gain the succeeding flight.[ ] this style of building was probably devised for show as well as for defence, for by this means the gorgeously dressed procession of priests was obliged to pass in sight of the entire multitude gathered on all sides of the temple, winding at a solemn pace round each terrace. the structure was composed of well-rammed earth, stones, and clay, covered with a layer of large square pieces of tetzontli, all of equal size, hewn smooth and joined with a fine cement, which scarcely left a mark to be seen; it was besides covered with a polished coating of lime, or gypsum.[ ] the steps were of solid stone and the platform of the same slippery character as the court.[ ] at its eastern end stood two three-story towers, fifty-six feet in height,[ ] separated from the edge by a walk barely wide enough for one person. the lower story was of masonry with the floor raised a few feet above the platform and an entrance on the west; the two upper stories were of wood, with windows, to which access was had by movable ladders.[ ] a wooden cupola well painted and adorned formed the roof.[ ] the sanctuaries were in the lower story, the one on the right hand dedicated to huitzilopochtli with his partner and lieutenant, the other to tezcatlipoca.[ ] the gigantic images of these gods rested upon large stone altars three to four feet high,[ ] their monstrous grandeur shielded from the vulgar gaze of the multitude by rich curtains hung with tassels and golden pellets like bells, which rattled as the hangings moved. before the altar stood the terrible stone of sacrifice, a green block about five feet in length, and three in breadth and height, rising in a ridge on the top so as to bend the body of the victim upwards and allow the easy extraction of the heart.[ ] the walls and ceilings were painted with monstrous figures, and ornamented with stucco and carved wood-work, and, according to las casas, the gold and jewel-decked interior exceeded even thebe's famed temple in beauty,[ ] but the venerable bishop was evidently led away by his well-known enthusiasm for whatever concerned the natives, for bernal diaz and others state that the floors and walls were steeped with blood, diffusing a fetid odor which made the visitors glad to escape to the fresh air.[ ] the upper stories were used as receptacles for the ashes of deceased kings and lords,[ ] and for the instruments connected with the service of the temple, but diaz also noticed idols, half human, half monstrous in form, and found the rooms blood-stained like the lower apartment.[ ] before each chapel stood a stone hearth of a man's height, and of the same shape as the piscina in catholic churches, upon which a fire was continually kept burning by the virgins and priests, and great misfortunes were apprehended if it became extinguished.[ ] here was also the large drum covered with snake-skins,[ ] whose sombre notes resounded over a distance of two miles on feast-days and other extraordinary occasions--many a death-knell it struck for the spaniards before they became masters of it. from this height the spaniards gazed down upon between seventy and eighty other edifices within the enclosure, with their six hundred braziers of stone, some round, some square, and from two to five feet high,[ ] whose bright fires flared in perpetual adoration of their idols, and turned the night into day. about forty of these were temples, each with its idols, scattered round the court and facing the great pyramid as if in adoration.[ ] they were considerably smaller than the central temple, and differed chiefly in the form of the roof which was round, square, or pyramidal, according to the character of the idol.[ ] the largest was that of tlaloc, which stood nearest the pyramid, and was ascended by fifty steps.[ ] quetzalcoatl's was the most singular in form, being circular and surmounted by a dome, symbolic of the abode of the god of air; a snake's jaws with exposed fangs formed the low entrance, and made the stranger shudder as he stooped to pass in.[ ] among other notable edifices were the _tezcacalli_, or 'house of mirrors,' so called from the mirrors which covered its walls, and the _teccizcalli_, 'house of shells,' to which the king retired at certain times to perform penance. the high-priest also had a house of retirement called _poiauhtla_, and there were several others for the use of certain other priests. among these was a splendid building, provided with baths, fountains, and every comfort, in which notable strangers who visited the temple or the court were entertained. the ilhuicatitlan temple, dedicated to the planet venus, contained a large column painted or sculptured with the image of the star, before which captives were sacrificed on the appearance of the planet. another temple took the form of a cage, in which the idols of conquered nations were confined, to prevent them from assisting their worshipers in regaining their liberty.[ ] the _quauhxicalco_ was used as a receptacle for the bones of victims sacrificed at various sanctuaries. the skulls of those killed at the great temple were deposited in the _tzompantli_,[ ] which stood just outside the court, near the western or main gate. this consisted of an oblong sloping parallelogram of earth and masonry, one hundred and fifty-four feet at the base, ascended by thirty steps, on each of which were skulls.[ ] round the summit were upwards of seventy raised poles about four feet apart, connected by numerous rows of cross-poles passed through holes in the masts, on each of which five skulls were filed, the sticks being passed through the temples.[ ] in the centre[ ] stood two towers, or columns, made of skulls and lime, the face of each skull being turned outwards, and giving a horrible appearance to the whole. this effect was heightened by leaving the heads of distinguished captives in their natural state, with hair and skin on. as the skulls decayed, or fell from the towers or poles, they were replaced by others, so that no vacant place was left. the spaniards are said to have counted one hundred and thirty-six thousand skulls on the steps and poles alone, but this number is, no doubt, greatly exaggerated.[ ] in the court was a large open space, which stretched to the foot of the stairway of the great temple. here the great dances were held in which thousands took part,[ ] and here, in full view of the multitude gathered to join in the festive ring, stood the gladiatorial stone, the _temalacatl_, upon which the captives were placed to fight with aztec warriors, for their liberty as it was termed, but rather for the delectation of the masses, for their chance of victory, as we have seen, was very small. it consisted of an immense flat circular stone, three feet in height, very smooth, with sculptured edge, placed upon a small pyramid eight feet in height.[ ] in another part of the court were three large halls with flat roofs and plastered walls, painted on the inside, which contained a number of low, dark chambers, each the abode of an idol; the walls were covered with blood, two fingers in thickness, and the floors to the depth of a foot almost.[ ] the court also contained a grove in which birds were raised for sacrifices, and whence the procession started on the day devoted to the great hunt in honor of mixcoatl; there were also a number of gardens, where flowers and herbs for offerings were grown. there were several bathing-places, one of which, the _tetzaapan_, 'cleansing water,'[ ] was set apart for those who had made vows of penance, and another, at mixcoatl's temple, filled with black water, for the priests. the _toxpalatl_ was a fine fountain, the waters of which were only drunk at solemn festivals. it was supposed to have been the identical spring in which the aztec priest had the interview with tlaloc and obtained permission for the nation to settle. the care of all the temple buildings devolved upon a perfect army of priests, monks, nuns, school children, and other people, estimated at from five to ten thousand, who all slept within the sacred precincts.[ ] the passing and repassing of such numbers must have made the place teem with life, yet everything was in such perfect order and kept so scrupulously clean, says diaz, that not a speck or a straw could he discover.[ ] besides this there were several other temples and public oratories in the city, situated either in groups within a square, or scattered throughout the wards, and attended to by their special priests and servants. torquemada thinks that their number equaled the days in the aztec year, namely, three hundred and sixty, and clavigero believes that there were two thousand chapels besides.[ ] the temples in other towns were pretty much like the foregoing, three being usually grouped around a central pyramid in a square, each with its idol and one or two braziers. others were mounds of earth cased with stone, with one broad stairway in the centre of the western side, or with steps on three sides, sometimes at each corner.[ ] the chapels on the platform were usually two or three stories in height, often provided with balconies, the whole edifice being plastered and polished.[ ] [sidenote: teocalli at cholula and tezcuco.] the pyramid at mexico, large as it was, did not equal that at cholula, which humboldt estimates at five thousand seven hundred and sixty feet in circumference and one hundred and seventy-seven feet in height. it consisted of four square terraces facing the cardinal points, which seem to have been composed of alternate layers of adobe and clay, and was surrounded by a double wall, according to diaz. on the top stood the semi-spherical chapel of quetzalcoatl, with its door made low so that all who entered should bend in humility.[ ] this city contained, besides, a great number of smaller temples, the total equaling the number of days in the mexican year.[ ] the temple at tezcuco was also several steps higher than the mexican pyramid.[ ] king nezahualcoyotl, who is said to have believed in one supreme god, erected in his honor a nine-story building, to indicate the nine heavens, the roof of which was studded with stars and surmounted by three pinnacles; the interior was decorated with gold and feather-work and precious stones. the upper floor was a receptacle for musical instruments, from one of which, the _chililitli_, the edifice was named.[ ] the traditional temples of early times, very fairy creations according to the accounts of the natives, were far superior to the later ones; but these relations are little more than supernatural fables.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. iv., p. ; _diaz_, _itinéraire_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . sahagun, in describing how the people raised a mast to the god of fire, says: 'atábanle diez maromas por la mitad de él ... y como le iban levantando, ponianle unos maderos atados de dos en dos, y unos puntales sobre que descanzase.' _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, (translation, lond. ), vol. iii., p. . [ ] _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'with their copper hatchets, and axes cunnyngly tempered, they fell those trees, and hewe them smooth ... and boaring a hole in one of the edges of the beame, they fasten the rope, then sette their slaues vnto it ... putting round blocks vnder the timber.' _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. x.; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] peter martyr, dec. v., lib. x., states that they bored holes in beams. they may therefore have known the use of wooden bolts, but this is doubtful. [ ] 'le _tetzontli_ (pierre de cheveux), espèce d'amygdaloïde poreuse, fort dure, est une lave refroidie. on la trouve en grande quantité auprès de la petite ville de san-agostin tlalpan, ou de las cuevas, à l. s. de mexico.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . cortés mentions a 'suelo ladrillado' at iztapalapan, _cartas_, p. , and herrera, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xii., both _adobes_ and _ladrillos_ in speaking of building-material. [ ] _dávila padilla_, _hist. fvnd. mex._, p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . 'l'ignorante ricercatore nega a' messicani la cognizione, e l'uso della calcina; ma consta per la testimonianza di tutti gli storici del messico, per la matricola de' tributi, e sopratutto per gli edifizj antichi finora sussistenti, che tutte quelle nacioni faceano della calcina il medecimo uso, che fanno gli europei.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , tom. iv., pp. - . both cortés, _cartas_, p. , and herrera, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. iv., mention walls of dry stone, which would show that mortar was sometimes dispensed with, in heavy structures; but bernal diaz, _hist. conq._, fol. , contradicts this instance. [ ] at sienchimalen. _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., pp. - . [ ] mexico is generally taken to be derived from mexitl, or mexi, the other name of huitzilopochtli, the favorite god and leader of the aztecs; many, however, think that it comes from _mexico_, springs, which were plentiful in the neighborhood. tenochtitlan comes from _teonochtli_, divine nochtli, the fruit of the nopal, a species of wild cactus, and _titlan_, composed of _tetl_, stone or rock, and _an_, an affix to denote a place, a derivation which is officially accepted, as may be seen from the arms of the city. others say that it is taken from _tenuch_, one of the leaders of the aztecs, who settled upon the small island of pantitlan, both of which names would together form the word. 'ce nom, qui veut dire _ville de la tuna_.... le fruit de cet arbre est appelé _nochtli_ en mexicain, car le nom de tuna ... est tiré de la langue des insulaires de l'île de cuba.... on a aussi prétendu que le véritable nom de mexico était quauhnochtitlan, ce qui veut dire _figuier de l'aigle_.... d'autres, enfin, prétendent que ce figuier d'inde n'était pas un _nochtli_ proprement dit, mais d'une espèce sauvage qu'on appelle _tenochtli_, ou de celle que les naturels nomment _teonochtli_ ou figure divine.' 'elle avait pris du dieu mexix celui de mexico.' _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcix., pp. - . 'los indios, dezian; y dizen oy mexico tenuchtitlan; y assi se pone en las prouisiones reales.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xiv. 'tenoxtitlàn, que significa, tunal en piedra.' _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . the natives 'ni llaman mexico, sino tenuchtitlan.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . 'tenuchtitlan, que significa fruta de piedra.' 'tambien dizen algunos, que tuuo esta ciudad nombre de su primer fundador, que fue tenuch, hijo segundo de iztacmixcoatl, cuyos hijos y decendientes poblaron ... esta tierra.... tampoco falta quien piense que se dixo de la grana, que llaman nuchiztli, la qual sale del mesmo cardon nopal y fruta nuchtli.... tambien afirman otros que se llama mexico de los primeros fundadores que se dixeron mexiti.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - . '_tenochtitlan_, c'est-à-dire, auprès des nopals du rocher.' 'ti-tlan est pris pour le lieu.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] he is also termed god of the earth in the fable. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - , - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - . see also _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - . nearly all the authors give the whole of the above meanings, without deciding upon any one. [ ] _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _heredia y sarmiento_, _sermon_, p. . [ ] it means islet, from _tlatelli_, island. _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xiv. veytia says it is a corruption of _xaltelolco_, sandy ground. _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] the anonymous conqueror says two and a half to three leagues in circumference, which is accepted by most authors. _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . but as the embankment which formed a semi-circle round the town was three leagues in length, the circumference of the city would not have been less. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. . cortés says that it was as large as seville or cordova. _cartas_, p. . aylon, in _id._, p. , places the number of houses as low as , . las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. l., who is usually so extravagant in his descriptions, confines himself to 'mas de cincuenta mil casas.' gomara, _conq. mex._, fol. , , , each of which contained two to ten occupants. torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , places the number as high as , , which may include outlying suburbs. the size and business of the markets, the remains of ruins to be seen round modern mexico, and its fame, sustain the idea of a very large population. [ ] see _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., pp. - , on former and present surroundings. _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xiv.; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] 'erano ... di terra come mattonata.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'fueron hechas à mano, de tierra, y cespedes, y mui quajadas de piedra; son anchas, que pueden pasar por cada vna de ellas, tres carretas juntas, ò diez hombres à caballo.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. l.; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., p. . 'tan ancha como dos lanzas jinetas.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . he mentions four causeways or entrances, but this must include either the branch which joins the southern road, or the aqueduct. 'pueden ir por toda ello ocho de caballo á la par.' _id._, p. . the view of mexico published in the luxemburg edition of _cortés_, _cartas_, points to four causeways besides the aqueduct, but little reliance can be placed on these fanciful cuts. helps thinks, however, that there must have been more causeways than are mentioned by the conquerors. _span. conq._, vol. ii., pp. , . 'entrano in essa per tre strade alte di pietra & di terra, ciascuna larga trenta passi.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. . 'las puentes que tenian hechas de trecho á trecho.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] 'dos puertas, una por do entran y otra por do salen.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. , which means, no doubt, that passengers had to pass through the fort. he calls the second town along the road niciaca, and the third huchilohuchico. brasseur de bourbourg states that within the fort was a teocalli dedicated to toci, on which a beacon blazed all night to guide travelers. _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., pp. - . but this is a mistake, for tezozomoc, _hist. mex._, pt ii., p. , his authority for this, says that the beacon was at a hill 'avant d'arriver à acuchinanco.' [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. l.; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . the anonymous conqueror calls them two leagues, one league and a half, and a quarter of a league long respectively. _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. , makes the shortest a league. [ ] 'habia otra algo mas estrecha para los dos acueductos.' _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] in tezcuco the wards were each occupied by a distinct class of tradespeople, and this was doubtless the case in mexico also, to a certain extent. 'cada oficio se vsase en barrios de por sì; de suerte, que los que eran plateros de oro, avian de estàr juntos, y todos los de aquel barrio, lo avian de ser, y no se avian de mezclar otros con ellos; y los de plata, en otro barrio,' etc. _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'al rededor de la ciudad habia muchos diques y esclusas para contener las aguas en caso necesario ... no pocas que tenian en medio una acequia entre dos terraplenes.' _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] 'hay sus puentes de muy anchas y muy grandes vigas juntas y recias y bien labradas; y tales, que por muchas dellas pueden pasar diez de caballo juntos á la par.' in case of necessity 'quitadas las puentes de las entradas y salidas.' with this facility for cutting off retreat, cortés found it best to construct brigantines. _cartas_, p. ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . 'otra calle avia ... mui angosta, y tanto, que apenas podian ir dos personas juntas, son finalmente vnos callejones mui estrechos.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xiii. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - . it is here said to be four fathoms broad. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., p. ; mühlenpfordt, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt ii., p. , says: 'reste des ... gegen , fuss langen and fuss breiten dammes aus steinen in lehm, zu beiden seiten mit pallisaden verbrämt.' [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'cosi grande come sarebbe tre volte la piazza di salamanca.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] the anonymous conqueror states that this road carried the aqueduct which was three quarters of a league in length. _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'los caños, que eran de madera y de cal y canto.' _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . other writers make the pipes larger. 'tan gordos como vn buey cada vno.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'tan anchas como tres hombres juntos y mas.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. l. [ ] cortés, _cartas_, p. , says 'echan la dulce por unas canales tan gruesas como un buey, que son de la longura de las dichas puentes.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. l.; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xiii. [ ] _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. ii., cap. xlviii., xlix. [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , tom. iv., pp. - ; _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. . 'en todos los caminos que tenian hechos de cañas, ò paja, ò yervas, porque no los viessen los que passasen por ellos, y alli se metian, si tenian gana de purgar los vientres, porque no se les perdiesse aquella suciedad.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . the authorities for the description of the city are: _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. , and in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. - , with plans; _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , - , - , ; _id._, _despatches_, p. , plan; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i. pp. - , , - , - , - , - , ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - , - ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - , - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. l.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - , , ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. ii., p. ; _ortega_, in _id._, tom. iii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xiii., xiv., dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xi.; _id._, (translation, lond. ), vol. ii., p. , vol. iii., p. , view and plan; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcix., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - ; _heredia y sarmiento_, _sermon_, pp. - ; _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. , - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - , tom. iii., pp. - , , tom. iv., pp. - , - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , , tom. ii., pp. - , with plan; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., pp. - , vol. ii., pp. , - ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. ii., pt ii., p. ; _alaman_, _disertaciones_, tom. i., p. - ; _helps' span. conq._, vol. ii., pp. - , , - , - , with plans; _carli_, _cartas_, pt i., pp. - ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. x. [ ] _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] cortés says 'piedra seca.' _cartas_, p. , but this is contradicted by bernal diaz, who found it to be of stone and mortar. _hist. conq._, fol. . 'sin mezcla de cal ni barro.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. iv. [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , gives the measurement at eight feet in height and eighteen in width. [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _west-indische spieghel_, pp. - . _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , with a cut. [ ] _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., p. . [ ] delaporte says that streets met on the hills. _reisen_, tom. x., p. . [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xii. [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . see _warden_, _recherches_, pp. - , on fortifications. in michoacan, some towns had walls of planks two fathoms high and one broad. _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. iii. [ ] meaning place of detention, because here the immigrating tribes used to halt, while deciding upon their settlement. _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xlix., says that it was nearly as large as mexico. _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . motolinia, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. , gives it a league in width and six in length. peter martyr, dec. viii., lib. iv., gives it , houses. carbajal espinosa, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , estimates it at , houses, and thinks that torquemada must have included the three outlying towns to attain his figure. _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., pp. - , - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - . for further references to mexican towns, forts, etc., see: _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , - , - , - , - , , , , ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., pp. , , - , ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xlix.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - , , - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. , , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. v., cap. viii., lib. vi., cap. iv., xii., xvi., lib. vii., cap. iv., dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. iii.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , with cut; _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. iv., vii., dec. viii., lib. iv.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _west-indische spieghel_, pp. , - ; _bologne_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , , , tom. ii., pp. , ; _warden_, _recherches_, pp. - ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. ; _helps' span. conq._, vol. ii., p. ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. , . [ ] las casas states that when a warrior distinguished himself abroad he was allowed to build his house in the style used by the enemy, a privilege allowed to none else. _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lxvi. [ ] 'i fondamenti delle case grandi della capitale si gettavano a cagione della poca sodezza di quel terreno sopra un piano di grosse stanghe di cedro ficcate in terra.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . 'porque la humedad no les causase enfermedad, alzaban los aposentos hasta un estado poco mas ó menos, y así quedaban como entresuelos.' _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . speaking of cempoalla, peter martyr says: 'vnto these houses or habitations they ascend by . or . steppes or stayres.' dec. iv., tom. vii. the floor of the palace at mitla consisted of slabs of stone three feet thick, which rested on ten feet piles. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . houses with elevated terraces were only allowed to chiefs. _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xlix. this mode of whitewashing the walls and polishing them with gypsum seems to have been very common in all parts of mexico, for we repeatedly meet with mentions of the dazzling white walls, like silver, which the spaniards noticed all through their march. _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] in cempoalla, says peter martyr, 'none may charge his neighbours wall with beames or rafters. all the houses are seperated the distance of . paces asunder.' dec. iv., lib. vii. cortés, _cartas_, p. , mentions as many as five courts. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. l.; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., pp. - ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien et mod._, p. . 'n'avaient guère qu'un étage, à cause de la fréquence des tremblement de terre.' _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, p. . [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. . the palace at tecpeque, says las casas, was a very labyrinth, in which visitors were liable to lose themselves without a guide. in the palace allotted to cortés at mexico he found comfortable quarters for of his own men, allies, and a number of attendants. _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lii., l. 'auia salas con sus camaras, que cabia cada vno en su cama, ciento y cincuenta castellanos.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. v. 'intorno d'una gran corti fossero prima grandissime sale & stantie, però v'era vna sala cosi grande che vi poteano star dentro senza dar l'un fastidio all'altro piu di tre mila persone.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. , ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] tezozomoc, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , says that chiefs were permitted to erect towers pierced with arrows in the courtyard. _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. . the houses were often quite surrounded with trees. _west-indische spieghel_, p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _tylor's anahuac_, pp. - . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. l., says: 'encalados por encima, que no se pueden llover.' 'couered with reede, thatch, or marish sedge: yet many of them are couered with slate, or shingle stone.' _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. vii., dec. v., lib. x. [ ] _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. iv., dec. v., lib. x.; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _helps' span. conq._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , . [ ] 'eran los patios, y suelos de ellos, de argamasa, y despues de encalados, cubrian la superficie, y haz, con almagre, y despues bruñianlos, con vnos guijarros, y piedras mui lisas, y quedaban con tan buena tèz, y tan hermosamente bruñidos, que no podia estarlo mas vn plato de plata; pues como fuese de mañana, y el sol començase à derramar, y esparcir la lumbre de sus raios, y començasen à reberverar en los suelos, encendianlos de manera, que à quien llevaba tan buen deseo, y ansia de haber oro, y plata, le pudo parecer, que era oro el suelo; y es mui cierto, que los suelos de las casas, y de los patios (en especial, de los templos, y de los señores, y personas principales) se hacian, y adereçaban, en aquellos tiempos, tales, que eran mui de vèr, y algunos de estos hemos visto tan lisos, y limpios, que sin asco se podia comer en ellos, sin manteles, qualquier manjar.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xlix. [ ] 'toldillos encima.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. l.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. v., vii.; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , - . klemm, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - , mentions stools of cane and reed; and firebugs which were used for lights. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . 'no ay puertas ni ventanas que cerrar, todo es abierto.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xii.; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. x.; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xlix-l.; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. x. [ ] _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , with cut; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , - , with cut. the poorer had doubtless resort to public baths; they certainly existed in tlascala. _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvi.; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . for description of houses, see: _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. - , , tom. ii., pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xii., xvi., lib. vii., cap. v.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. , - , - , with cut; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xlix.-lii.; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. , ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. iv., vii., dec. v., cap. x.; _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. ; _west-indische spieghel_, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. , , , - , iv., p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., pp. - , ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien et mod._, p. ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - , ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , - , with cut, tom. ii., p. ; _tylor's anahuac_, pp. - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - . [ ] 'el anden, hácia la pared de la huerta, va todo labrado de cañas con unas vergas.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] 'un anden de muy buen suelo ladrillado.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] see this vol., p. . [ ] 'hay sus puentes de muy anchas y muy grandes vigas juntas y recias y bien labradas; y tales, que por muchas dellas pueden pasar diez de caballo juntos á la par.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , says that stone bridges were most common, which is doubtless a mistake. speaking of swinging bridges, klemm says: 'manche waren so fest angespannt, dass sie gar keine schwankende bewegung hatten.' _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'en los mismos patios de los pueblos principales habia otros cada doce ó quince teocallis harto grandes, unos mayores que otros.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . 'entre quatro, ó cinco barrios tenian vn adoratorio, y sus idolos.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxiv.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. , , cuts; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, (translation, lond. ), vol. ii., pp. , , cuts. [ ] _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. . other authors give the number at , , and the attendance at , , . _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'recibia dentro de su hueco todo el suelo en que aora està edificada la iglesia maior, casas del marquès del valle, casas reales, y casas arçobispales, con mucha parte de lo que aora es plaça, que parece cosa increìble.' _sahagun_, quoted in _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . to-day the cathedral stands upon the plaza, and many houses occupy the spot; see _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., pp. - , - . opposite the south gate was the market and 'en face du grand temple se trouvait le palais.' _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'dos cercas al rededor de cal, y canto.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. - . [ ] 'mayores que la plaça que ay en salamanca.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . cortés, _cartas_, p. , states that a town of houses could be located within its compass. torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. , gomara, _conq. mex._, fol. , las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. li., and herrera, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xvii., agree upon a length to each side of one cross-bow or musket shot, and this, according to las casas, cap. cxxxii., is paces; in the same places he gives the length at four shots, or paces, an evident mistake, unless by this is meant the circumference. hernandez estimates it at about perches, or , feet. sahagun, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. , who seems to have investigated the matter more closely, places it at fathoms, which cannot be too high, when we consider that the court enclosed or more edifices, besides the great temple. carbajal espinosa, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., p. , gives a length of varas. [ ] 'era todo cercado de piedra de manposterìa mui bien labrado.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . 'estaban mui bien encaladas, blancas, y bruñidas.' _id._, p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., p. . 'era labrada de piedras grandes a manera de culebras asidas las vnas a las otras.' _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] acosta, _hist. de las ynd._, p. , says an idol stood over each gate, facing the road. it is not stated by any author that the arsenals formed the gateway, but as they rose over the entrance, and nearly all mention upper and lower rooms, and as buildings of this size could not have rested upon the walls alone, it follows that the lower story must have formed the sides of the entrance. 'a cada parte y puerta de las cuatro del patio del templo grande ya dicho habia una gran sala con muy buenos aposentos altos y bajos en rededor.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. li.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . tezozomoc, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , mentions three gates. 'À l'orient et à l'occident d'une petite porte et d'une grande vis-à-vis de l'escalier méridional.' [ ] 'y el mismo patio, y sitio todo empedrado de piedras grandes de losas blancas, y muy lisas: y adonde no auia de aquellas piedras, estaua encalado, y bruñido.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . the white stones had no doubt received that color from plaster. 'los patios y suelos eran teñidos de almagre bruñido, y incorporado con la misma cal.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xlix. the dimensions given by the different authors are extremely varied; the anonymous conqueror, as the only eye-witness who has given any measurements, certainly deserves credit for those that appear reasonable, namely the length and width; the height seems out of proportion. [ ] 'cento & cinquanta passi, ò poco piu di lunghezza, & cento quindici, ò cento & venti di larghezza.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . this would give the length and breadth of the base in the text, assuming two and a half feet to the pace. with a decrease of two good paces for each of the four ledges which surround the pyramid, the summit measurement is arrived at. the terraces are stated by the same author to be two men's stature in height, but this scarcely agrees with the height indicated by the or steps given. bernal diaz, _hist. conq._, fol. , counted steps, and as most authors estimate each of these at a span, or nine inches in height, this would give an altitude of feet. clavigero, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , gives about fathoms (perches, he calls them) by to the base, and, allowing a perch to the ledges, he places the summit dimensions at by fathoms. the height he estimates at fathoms, giving the height of each step as one foot. to prove that he has not over-estimated the summit dimensions, at least, he refers to the statements of cortés, who affirms that he fought mexicans on the top platform, and of diaz, who says that over , men garrisoned the temple. torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , who follows sahagun, states it to be feet square at the base, and over at the top; the steps he says are 'vna tercia, y mas' in height, which closely approaches a foot. las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. li., says: 'una torre triangular ó de tres esquinas de tierra y piedra maciza; y ancha de esquina á esquina de ciento y viente pasos ó cuasi ... con un llano ó plaza de obra de setenta pies.' in cap. cxxxii. he calls it men's stature in height. gomara, _conq. mex._, fol. , says fathoms square at the base and at the top. ixtlilxochitl, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. , describes a temple which seems to be that of mexico, and states it to be fathoms square, with a height of men's stature. herrera, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xvii., places the dimensions as low as varas square at the base and from to at the top. of modern authors brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , gives the dimensions at by feet for the base, and feet for the summit, after allowing from to feet for the ledges, a rather extraordinary computation; unless, indeed, we assume that the terraces were sloping, but there is no reliable cut or description to confirm such a supposition. humboldt, _essai pol._, tom. i., pp. - , has mètres for the square, and for the height. ortega, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - , is positive that the height was certainly no less than varas. prescott, _mex._, vol. ii., p. , remarks that there is no authority for describing the temple as oblong, except the _contemptible_ cut of the anonymous conqueror. this may be just enough as regards the cut, but if he had examined the description attached to it, he would have found the dimensions of an oblong structure given. we must consider that the anonymous conqueror is the only eye-witness who gives any measurement, and, further, that as two chapels were situated at one end of the platform the structure ought to have been oblong to give the space in front a fair outline. [ ] 'alto come due stature d'vn huomo.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . [ ] 'lasciano vna strada di larghezza di duo passi.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . see note ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] the anonymous conqueror, _relatione, etc._, ubi supra, las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxiv., gomara, _conq. mex._, fol. , and torquemada, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. , all say that there was no ledge on the west side, merely steps, but this is, doubtless, a careless expression, for steps allotted to each terrace would scarcely have extended over a length of about feet, the breadth of the pyramid. nearly all agree upon the number of the steps, namely . ixtlilxochitl, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. , however, gives steps; oviedo, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - , steps; and acosta, _hist. de las ynd._, p. , steps, fathoms wide, but the latter author has evidently mixed up the accounts of two different temples. tezozomoc, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , states that the temple had three stairways, with steps in all, one for every day in the mexican year. according to _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., p. , the steps are on the south corner, but there is no authority for this statement; in the cuts they appear on the north. [ ] 'de tierra y piedra, mezclada con cal muy macizada.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xvii. 'por la parte de fuera iba su pared de piedra: lo de dentro henchíanlo de piedra todo, ó de barro y adobe; otros de tierra bien tapiada.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - . 'hecha de manposteria.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . the pyramid of teotihuacan, which, according to some authors, has been a model for others, is built of clay mixed with small stones, covered by a heavy wall of tetzontli, which is coated with lime. _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. . 'todas las piedras estauan assentadas de tal suerte, que la mezcla casi no parecia, sino todas las piedras vna.' _dávila padilla_, _hist. fvnd. mex._, p. . the whitewash may, however, have given it this solid appearance. 'todos aquellos templos, y salas; y todas sus paredes que los cercaban, estaban mui bien encaladas, blancas, y bruñidas.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . the mortar was mixed with precious stones and gold-dust. _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , states that three sides of the platform were protected by a balustrade of sculptured stone, and this is not unlikely when we consider the slippery nature of the floor and the dizzy height. see _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xlix., cxxiv., and note on polished floors. carbajal espinosa, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , states that the summit was paved with marble. [ ] 'in alto dieci, ò dodici stature d'huomo.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . this is followed by clavigero, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , who says feet, or about perches. no other dimensions are mentioned by the old chroniclers; brasseur de bourbourg, however, gives them a base of feet square, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - , but this becomes absurd when we consider the height of the buildings, and the accommodation required for the gigantic idols they contained. this author hazards the opinion that the chapels were placed close to the edge, to enable the people to see the idols from below, but there is no mention of any doors on the east side, and it is stated that the chapels were placed at this end so that the people in praying might face the rising sun. _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. li. [ ] 'que se mandaban por la parte de adentro, por unas escaleras de madera movedizas.' _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . acosta states that the towers were ascended by steps. _hist. de las ynd._, p. . the towers were made of 'artesones.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . brasseur de bourbourg states that the outside of the walls was painted with various figures and monsters, but this seems to be a misinterpretation of gomara, who places the paintings on the inside. _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . bernal diaz says, besides, that the towers were 'todas blanqueando.' _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] the eaves or the domes of the temples were decorated with fine red and white pillars, set with jet black stones and holding two figures of stone with torches in their hands, which supported a battlement in form of spiral shells; the torches were adorned with yellow and green feathers and fringes. _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. . [ ] most of the old authors say that tlaloc occupied the second chapel, but as the next largest temple in the court is dedicated to this god, i am inclined to think, with clavigero, that tezcatlipoca shared the chief pyramid with huitzilopochtli. another reason for this belief is that tezcatlipoca was held to be the half-brother of huitzilopochtli, and their feasts were sometimes attended with similar ceremonies. tezcatlipoca was also one of the highest if not the highest god, and, accordingly, entitled to the place of honor by the side of the favorite god of the aztecs. tlaloc, on the other hand, had nothing in common with huitzilopochtli, and the only possible ground that can be found for his promotion to the chief pyramid is to be seen in the fable of the foundation of mexico, in which tlaloc, as the lord of the site, gives the aztecs permission to settle there. we have, besides, the testimony of bernal diaz, who saw tezcatlipoca, adorned with the _tezcatl_, or mirror ornament, seated in the left hand temple. _hist. conq._, fol. ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , thinks it possible that the second temple was occupied by different idols, in turn, according to the festival. [ ] 'no eran mas altos que cinco palmos.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] clavigero thinks that the stone was of jasper. _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , with cut. it is difficult to define the position of this stone; some place it before the idol within the chapel, others at the western extremity of the platform. referring to the idols in the chapel, sahagun says: 'delante de cada una de estas estaba una piedra redonda á manera de tajon que llaman _texcatl_, donde mataban los que sacrificaban á honra de aquel dios, y desde la piedra hasta abajo un _regaxal_ de sangre de los que mataban en él'--he describes the stone as round. _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . and this i am inclined to accept as correct, especially as several points indicate that the stones stood inside the chapel. their floor, we are told, were steeped in blood that must have flown from the victims; further, we know that the reeking heart was held up before or thrown at the feet of the idol, immediately after being torn out. the act of sacrifice was in itself a ceremony which could only have been performed before the idol. acosta, _hist. de las ynd._, p. , and solis, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., p. , place it in the middle of the platform. prescott, _mex._, vol. ii., p. , states that the stone (one only) stood near the head of the stairway, but this is most likely a hasty interpretation of diaz' vague account. there may, however, have been a large stone at this place, which was used for the great and general sacrifices. _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxiv. brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - , manages very dexterously to place the two stones before the chapel, and at the same time near the head of the steps. klemm, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., p. , mentions one stone with a hollow in the middle. [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxxii.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . it is also stated that certain chapels in the streets were used for burial places by the lords. 'inde straten waren veel cappellen, die meest diendeden tot begravinghe van de groote heeren.' _west-indische spieghel_, p. . [ ] 'dezian, que era el dios de las sementeras' (called centeotl). _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; on p. , he says, in contradiction: 'delante de los altares en estos templos avia vnos braseros hechos de piedra, y cal, de tres quartas en alto, de figura circular, ò redonda, y otros quadrados, donde de dia, y de noche ardia continuo fuego, tenian sus fogones, y braseros todas las salas de los dichos templos, donde encendian fuego, para calentarse los señores, quando iban à ellos, y para los sacerdotes.' 'tan altos como tres palmos y cuatro.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxiv. [ ] _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] see note ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . las casas, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. li., and motolinia, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. , say that they face in all directions, which tends to prove that they must have faced the temple of the supreme and patron gods. 'estando encontrados, y puestos vnos contra otros,' adds _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. , . gomara, _conq. mex._, fol. , states that they were turned against all points but the east, so as to differ from the chief temple. 'tenian la cara ácia el occidente.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. . acosta, _hist. de las ynd._, p. , states that the court held eight or nine temples facing all quarters. [ ] 'todos eran vnos; pero diferenciabanse en el asiento, y postura.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . 'la cubierta ... era de diversas, y varias formas, que aunque eran vnas de madera, y otras de paja, como de centeno, eran mui primamente labradas, vnas coberturas piramidales, y quadradas, y otras redondas, y de otras formas.' _ib._ _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] 'la menor dellas tiene çinqüenta escalones para subir al cuerpo de la torre.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; clavigero, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , calls it hueitzompan. [ ] 'en los escalones habia tambien un cráneo entre piedra y piedra.' _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . but this is unlikely. see also _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] 'estos palos hazian muchas aspas por las vigas, y cada tercio de aspa o palo, tenia cinco cabeças ensartadas por las sienes.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - . acosta, _hist. de las ynd._, p. , places the masts a fathom apart, and twenty skulls upon each cross-pole, which is, to say the least, very close packing. [ ] at each end of the platform. _warden_, _recherches_, p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xviii.; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - . the account of the latter author is so mixed up with that of the chief temple as to be of little value; montanus, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - , follows him. [ ] acosta, _hist. de las ynd._, p. , says that , to , persons could dance with joined hands in this place. [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. , with cut; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. li. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] 'residen en el a la contina cinco mil personas, y todas duermen dentro, y comen a su costa del.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'v'hauea vna guarnigione di dieci mila homini di guerra.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . [ ] the authorities on the temple of mexico are: _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. - ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. , , and in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - , - , with cuts; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xlix., li., cxxiv.; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - , tom. ii., pp. - , - , with cuts made up from the various descriptions of diaz and others; see his remarks, p. . _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; this author mixes up the descriptions of the chief temple and the tzompantli, and represents this account as that of huitzilopochtli's sanctuary; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xvii., xviii.; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - ; _ortega_, in _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _tezozomoc_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - , ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - , - ; _dávila padilla_, _hist. fvnd. mex._, p. ; _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _west-indische spieghel_, p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. - , with cuts; _warden_, _recherches_, p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . gomara, _conq. mex._, fol. , says that there were idols, each of which is supposed to have had a separate chapel. _cavo_, _tres siglos_, tom. i., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxxii.; in cap. cxxiv., he adds that of these were great temples. [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . some temple pyramids, says dávila padilla, formed a perfect cone, the casing being composed of large stones at the bottom; as the wall rose, the stones decreased in size; the summit was crowned with a precious stone. _hist. fvnd. mex._, p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'los grandes tenian tres sobrados encima de los altares, todos _de terrados y_ bien altos.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxiv.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxiv.; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . bernal diaz counted steps, which scarcely agrees with the height of the pyramid. _hist. conq._, fol. . acosta, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - , mentions steps only. 'alto bien mas de quarenta estados: fue hecho de adove, y piedra.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . montanus adds that on the summit stood a square structure, supported by pillars, within which were thousands of skulls; he mentions two chapels. _nieuwe weereld_, p. . it had steps; in the wall was a large diamond. _west-indische spieghel_, p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xlix. some of these had two chapels, which would make the number of towers about . _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. ii. [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . the description of the temple as given by this writer is almost identical with that of the great temple at mexico. _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - . further authorities on mexican buildings: _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. iv-v., viii-xi., xiii-xviii., dec. iii., lib. i., cap. viii., lib. ii., cap. xi., xv.; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. ii-iii., viii., x., dec. viii., lib. iv.; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. - , ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. ; _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. , ; _west-indische spieghel_, pp. - ; _munster_, _cosmographia_, p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - , - , - ; _cortés_, _aven. y conq._, pp. , - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - , - , - , - , ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - , , - , - , - ; _monglave_, _résumé_, pp. - , - , - ; _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _cooper's hist. n. amer._, pt ii., p. ; _lafond_, _voyage_, tom. i., pp. - ; _brownell's ind. races_, pp. - ; _ranking's hist. researches_, pp. - ; _domenech_, _mexique_, pp. - ; _foster's pre-hist. races_, p. ; _dilworth's conq. mex._, pp. , - ; _lenoir_, _parallèle_, pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien et mod._, pp. - ; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., pp. , - , . chapter xix. medicine and funeral rites among the nahuas. mexican contributions to medical science--the botanical gardens--longevity--prevalent diseases--introduction of small-pox and syphilis--medical treatment--the temazcalli--aboriginal physicians--the aztec faculty--standard remedies--surgery--superstitious ceremonies in healing--funeral rites of aztecs--cremation--royal obsequies--embalming--the funeral pyre--human sacrifice--disposal of the ashes and ornaments--mourners--funeral ceremonies of the people--certain classes buried--rites for the slain in battle--burial among the teo-chichimecs and tabascans--cremation ceremonies in michoacan--burial by the miztecs in oajaca. writers on mexico have paid but slight attention to aboriginal medical science, although the greatest benefit which europe derived from that part of the new world came doubtless in the form of medicinal substances. most of the additions to the world's stock of remedies since the sixteenth century were indigenous to tropical america, and in few instances, if any, were their curative properties unknown or unfamiliar to the native doctors. jalap, sarsaparilla, tobacco, with numerous gums and balsams, were among the simples of american origin. dr hernandez, physician to phillip ii., was sent to mexico by his king to investigate the natural history of the country. the results of his researches, in which he was assisted by native experts, were published in a large work, which contains long lists of plants with their medicinal properties, and which has been much used by later writers. i shall not, however, attempt in this chapter to give any catalogue of medicinal plants.[ ] the healing art was protected by royalty, and the numerous rare plants in the royal gardens, collected at great expense from all parts of the country, were placed at the disposal of the doctors in the large cities, who were ordered to experiment with each variety, that its curative or injurious properties might be utilized or shunned. thus the court physicians derived from these constantly increasing collections all the advantages of travel through distant provinces.[ ] the nahuas were a healthy race; naturally so with their fine climate, their hardy training, active habits, frequent bathing, and temperate diet. the extraordinary statements respecting the great age attained by their kings in the earlier periods of nahua history are of course absurdly exaggerated; but as centenarians are often met with among their descendants at the present day, there is no doubt that they were a long-lived race, and that those who did not attain a hundred years, succumbed for the most part to acute diseases.[ ] indigestion and its accompanying ills were unknown, and deformed people were so rare that montezuma kept a collection of them as a curiosity. the diseases most prevalent were acute fevers, colds, pleurisy, catarrh, diarrhea, and, in the coast districts, intermittent fever, spasms, and consumption, aggravated by exposure.[ ] [sidenote: epidemics and their ravages.] deadly epidemics swept the country at intervals, the traditional accounts of which are so intermingled with fable that we can form no idea of their nature. one of the most fatal and wide-spread recorded was that brought on by famine, war, and the anger of the gods at the breaking-up of the toltec empire.[ ] the _matlazahuatl_ was a pestilence said to be confined entirely in its ravages to the natives, and which made great havoc even after the spaniards came. it is thought by some to have attacked the people periodically in former times, and to have been similar in its nature to the yellow fever. while the aztecs were shut up in their island home, a curious malady, consisting of a swelling of the eyelids, followed by a violent dysentery ending in death, or, as others say, by a swelling of the throat and body, attacked the nations on the main land, especially the tepanecs. the popular tradition was that the fumes of roasted fish and insects wafted from the island to the shore, created a powerful longing for this new and, to them, unobtainable food, and that the pangs of an unsatisfied appetite originated the pestilence.[ ] ixtlilxochitl relates that a catarrhic scourge fell upon the people during the unusually severe winter of and carried off large numbers, especially of the aged.[ ] the vices introduced by the spaniards, their oppression of the natives, and the consequent disregard of the ancient regulations respecting cleanliness and the use of liquors, prepared the way for new maladies. with the spaniards came the small-pox, measles, and as some believe, the syphilis. small-pox is said to have been introduced by a negro from one of narvaez' ships and spread with frightful rapidity over the whole country, destroying whole households who died and found no other graves than their houses. measles were introduced some ten or eleven years later also from the spanish ships. the yellow fever has never prevailed to any great extent among the natives.[ ] respecting syphilitic diseases and their origin there has been much discussion. the first appearance of the malady has been attributed to the old world and the new, and to many localities in the former. but naturally neither continent, nor any nation has been willing to accept the so-regarded dishonor of inflicting on the world this loathsome plague. the discussion of the subject seems unprofitable and i shall not reopen it here. the testimony in the matter appears to me to prove that syphilis existed in europe long before the discovery of america; but there are also some indications in the traditional history of the nahua peoples that the disease in some of its forms was not unknown to the aboriginal americans before their intercourse with foreigners.[ ] [sidenote: attentions to the sick.] accustomed to look on death in its most terrible form in connection with their oft-recurring religious festivals, the people seem to have become somewhat callous to its dread presence, and to have met its approach with less fear of the dark and unknown hereafter than might have been expected from their superstitious nature. an attack of illness did not necessarily produce great anxiety, or an immediate recourse to the doctor's services; but the common people resorted for the most part to simple home cures, which were the more effective as the curative properties of herbs and their modes of application were generally well known.[ ] the unconcern with which they regarded sickness did not result from want of affection, for the aztecs are said to have been very attentive to their sick, and spent their wealth without stint to save the life of friends. yet the tlascaltecs, a hardier race, are reported by motolinia to have been less attentive, and some other teo-chichimec tribes did not hesitate to kill a patient whose malady did not soon yield to their treatment, under pretense of putting him out of his misery, but really to get him off their hands. this work of charity was performed by thrusting an arrow down the throat of the invalid, and old people were especially the recipients of such favors.[ ] the favorite remedy for almost every ill of the flesh was the vapor-bath, or _temazcalli_. no well-to-do citizen's house was complete without conveniences for indulging in these baths, and the poorer families of each community owned one or more temazcalli in common. the reader is already sufficiently familiar with the general features of these baths, a confined space with facilities for converting water into steam being all that was required. clavigero describes and pictures a very graceful structure for this purpose, for which, as it seems to involve the then-unknown principle of the arch, he probably drew somewhat upon his imagination. it is of adobes, semi-globular in form, about eight feet in diameter, six feet high, with a convex floor a little below the level of the ground. on one side was an opening sufficiently large to admit a man's body, on the opposite side a square furnace separated from the interior by a slab of tetzontli, and at the top an air-hole. most of the bath-houses, however, were simply square or oblong chambers with no furnace attached, in which case the fire had of course to be removed before the apartment was ready for use. when the apparatus was properly heated a mat was spread on the floor, and the patient entered, sometimes accompanied by an assistant, bearing a dish of water to be thrown on the floor and walls to produce steam, and a bunch of maize-leaves with which his body, and especially the part affected, was to be beaten. a plunge into cold water after a profuse perspiration was frequently but not always resorted to. as i have said, there were scarcely any maladies for which this treatment was not recommended, but it was regarded as particularly efficacious in the case of fevers brought on by costiveness, bites of venomous serpents and insects, bruises, and unstrung nerves, and to relieve the pains and purify the system of child-bearing women. the steam-baths were also much used to promote cleanliness and to refresh the weary bodies of those in good health.[ ] the beneficial effects of a change of climate upon invalids seem to have been appreciated, if we may credit herrera, who states that michoacan was much resorted to by the sick from all parts of the country.[ ] for severe cases, the expenses of treating which could not be borne except by the wealthy classes, hospitals were established by the government in all the larger cities, endowed with ample revenues, where patients from the surrounding country were cared for by experienced doctors, surgeons, and nurses well versed in all the native healing arts.[ ] medical practitioners were numerous, who attended patients for a small remuneration; the jealousy of spanish physicians, however, brought them into disrepute soon after the conquest, and the healing art, like others, greatly degenerated. it is related that a famous medicine-man of michoacan was summoned before the college of physicians in mexico on the charge of being a quack. in reply to the accusation he asked his judges to smell a certain herb, which produced a severe hemorrhage, and then invited them to check the flow of blood. seeing that they were unable to do this promptly, he administered a powder that immediately had the desired effect. "these are my attainments," he exclaimed, "and this the manner in which i cure the ailings of my patients."[ ] [sidenote: the nahua esculapius.] the esculapius of the nahuas was embodied in the persons of oxomococipactonatl and tlatecuinxochicaoaca, who were traditionally the inventors of medicine and the first herbalists among the toltecs. soon after its invention the healing profession became one of the most highly honored, and its followers constituted a regular faculty, handing down their knowledge and practice from generation to generation, according to the nahua caste-system, according to which the son almost invariably adopted the profession of his father, by whom he was educated. this system of education from early childhood under the father's guidance, the opportunities for practice in the public hospitals, free access to the botanical gardens, and the numerous subjects for anatomical dissection supplied by sacrificial rites, certainly offered to the nahua doctor abundant opportunities of acquiring great knowledge and skill. the profession was not altogether in the hands of the sterner sex; for female physicians were in high repute, especially on the eastern coast. in certain cases, as of childbirth, we find the patient attended by none but women, who administer medicines and baths and render other necessary assistance, even going so far as to cut out the infant in order to save the mother's life.[ ] medicines were given in all the usual forms of draught, powder, injection, ointment, plaster, etc.; the material for which was gathered from the three natural kingdoms in great variety. many of the herbs were doubtless obtained from the gardens, but large quantities were obtained in the forests of different provinces by wandering collectors who brought their herbs to the market-places for sale, or even peddled them, it is said, from house to house. each ailment had its particular corrective, the knowledge of which was not entrusted to the memory alone, but was also recorded in painted books.[ ] doubtless many of the vegetable and other medicines employed were mere nostrums administered to give an exalted opinion of the doctor's knowledge and skill rather than with any hope of effecting a cure. [sidenote: treatment of various diseases.] sahagun gives page after page of native recipes for every ailment of the human body, which cannot be reproduced here. many of the remedies and methods of application are as absurd as any of those which have been noticed among the wild tribes. for diseases of the scalp a wash of urine, an ointment of soot, and an application of black clay were prescribed, together with vegetable specifics too numerous to mention. the white of an egg was much used in mixing remedies for wounds and bruises; a certain animal _tapaiaxin_ was eaten for a swollen face; the broth of a boiled fowl was recommended for convalescents. cataracts on the eye were rasped and scraped with certain roots; for bloodshot eyes the membrane was cut, raised with a thorn, and anointed with woman's milk; clouded eyes were treated with lizard's dung. morning dew cured catarrh in newly born children. hoarseness was treated by drinking honey, and an external application of india-rubber. wounds in the lips must be sewn up with a hair; a certain insect pounded and hot pepper were among the remedies for toothache, and great care of the teeth was recommended. stammering in children was supposed to be caused by too long suckling. remedies for a cold were nearly as numerous as in our day. copper-filings were applied to bubos, which may or may not have been syphilitic sores. for looseness of the bowels in infants, the remedy was given not only to the child but to the nurse. for a severe blow on the chest, urine in which lizards had been boiled must be drunk. the necessity of regulating the bowels to sustain health was well understood, and the doctor usually effected his purpose by injecting a herbal decoction from his mouth through the leg-bone of a heron. purgatives in common use were jalap, pine-cones, _tacuache_, _amamaxtla_, and other roots; diuretics, _axixpatli_ and _axixtlacotl_; emetics, _mexochitl_ and _neixcotlapatli_. _izticpatli_, and _chatalhuic_, are mentioned among the remedies for fevers. balsams were obtained from the _huitziloxitl_ by distillation, from the _huaconex_ by soaking the bark in water, and from the _maripenda_, by boiling the fruit and tender stones. oils were made from _tlapatl_, _chile_, _chian_, _ocotl_ (a kind of pine), and the india-rubber tree. _octli_, or wine, was often prescribed to strengthen the system, and was also mixed with other medicines to render them more palatable, for which latter purpose cacao was also much used. several stones possessed medicinal properties: the _aztetl_, held in the hand or applied to the neck, stopped bleeding at the nose; the _xiuhtomoltetl_, taken in the form of a powder, cured heartburn and internal heat. this latter stone fell from the clouds in stormy weather, sunk into the earth, and grew continually larger and larger, a solitary tuft of grass alone indicating to the collector its whereabouts. the bones of giants dug up at the foot of the mountains, were collected by their dwarfish successors, ground to powder, mixed with cacao, and drunk as a cure for diarrhea and dysentery. persons suffering from fever, or wishing to allay carnal desires, ate jaguar's flesh; while the skin, bones, and excrement of the same animal, burnt, powdered, and mixed with resin, formed an antidote for insanity. certain horny-skinned worms, similarly powdered and mixed, were a specific for the gout, decayed teeth, and divers other ailments. [sidenote: superstitious curative rites.] surgery was no less advanced than other branches of the healing art, and cortés himself had occasion to acknowledge the skill and speed with which they cured wounds. snake-bites, common enough among a barefooted people, were cured by sucking and scarifying the wound, covering it with a thin transparent pellicle from the maguey-plant. rubbing with snuff, together with heat, was another treatment, and the _coanenepilli_ and _coapatli_ were also considered antidotes. fractures were treated with certain herbs and gums, different kinds for different limbs, and bound up with splints; if the healing did not progress satisfactorily the bone was scraped before the operation of resetting. for painful operations of this nature it is possible that narcotics were administered, for at certain of the sacrifices it is related that the victims were sprinkled with _yauhtli_ powder to render them less sensitive to pain. mendieta states that a stupefying drink was given on similar occasions; and acosta mentions that _oliliuhqui_ was taken by persons who desired to see visions. this latter was a seed, which was also an ingredient of the _teopatli_, or divine medicine, composed besides of india-rubber gum, ocotl-resin, tobacco, and sacred water. this medicine could only be obtained from the priests. blood-letting was much in vogue for various ills, the lancets used being iztli knives, porcupine-quills, or maguey-thorns. ulli-marked papers were burned by the recovered patient as a thank-offering to the gods. veterinary surgeons are mentioned by oviedo as having been employed in the zoölogical gardens of montezuma.[ ] the medicines, though prepared and applied by the doctors themselves, were not deemed sufficient for the patient; superstitious ceremonies were held to be indispensable to effect a cure, and to enhance the value of professional services. evil beings and things had to be exorcised, the gods must be invoked, especially the patron deity, known chiefly by the name of teteionan, who was esteemed the inventor of many valuable specifics, as the ocotl-oil and others, and confessions were extorted to ease the conscience and appease the offended deity. the affected parts were rubbed and pressed amid mutterings and strange gestures, and to work the more upon the simple-minded patient, they pretended to extract a piece of coal, bone, wood, or other object, the supposed cause of the ailment. a favorite treatment in certain prostrating cases was to form a figure of corn dough, which was laid upon a prickly maguey-leaf and placed in the road, with the view of letting the first passer-by carry away the disease--a charitable hope that seems to have afforded much relief to the afflicted. however absurd this jugglery may appear, it no doubt gave a powerful stimulus to the imagination, which must have aided the working of the medicine. in critical cases, chance was often consulted as to the fate of the sufferer. a handful of the largest grains or beans were thrown on the ground, and if any happened to fall upright it was regarded as a sure sign that the patient would die, and he received little or no attention after that; otherwise prescriptions and encouraging words were not spared. sometimes a number of cord rings were thrown in the same manner, and if they fell in a heap, death was expected to result; but if any fell apart, a change for the better was looked for. to encounter a snake or lizard was held to be a sign of death for the person himself or for his sick friend. although no curative process, probably, in the case of a serious illness was altogether free from superstitious rites, yet it is surprising that these played so unimportant a rôle. among a people so addicted on every occasion to complicated ceremonies, the most complicated might naturally be sought in their efforts to combat disease; but it is just here that the least reliance seems to have been placed in supernatural agencies.[ ] [sidenote: funeral rites of kings.] the aztecs were very particular about the disposal of their dead, and conducted funeral rites with the pomp that attended all their ceremonials. the obsequies of kings were especially imposing, and their description, embracing as it does nearly all the ceremonies used on such occasions by these nations, will present the most complete view of the proceedings. [sidenote: preparation for future existence.] when the serious condition of the monarch became apparent, a veil[ ] was thrown over the face of the patron god, to be removed on his death, and notice was sent to all the friendly princes, the grandees and nobles of the empire, to attend the obsequies; those who were unable to attend in person sent representatives to deliver their condolence and presents. as soon as the king had breathed his last, certain masters of ceremonies, generally old men whose business it was to attend on these occasions, and who were doubtless connected with the priesthood,[ ] were summoned to prepare the body for the funeral. the corpse was washed with aromatic water, extracted chiefly from trefoil,[ ] and occasionally a process of embalming was resorted to. the bowels were taken out and replaced by aromatic substances, but the method does not seem to have been very complete, and may only have been intended to serve while the body lay in state, for no remains of embalmed mummies have been found. the art was an ancient one, however, dating from the toltecs as usual, yet generally known and practiced throughout the whole country. a curious mode of preserving bodies was used by the lord of chalco who captured two tezcucan princes, and, in order that he might feast his eyes upon their hated forms, had them dried and placed as light-holders in his ball-room.[ ] when the invited guests had arrived the body was dressed in many mantles, often to the number of fifteen or twenty, such as the king had worn on the most solemn occasions, and consequently richly embroidered and glittering with jewels.[ ] while some were shrouding the body, others cut papers of different colors into strips of various forms, and adorned the corpse therewith. water was then poured upon its head with these words: "this is the water which thou usedst in this world;"[ ] and a jug of water was placed among the shrouds, the priest saying: "this is the water wherewith thou art to perform the journey." more papers were now delivered to the deceased in bunches, the priest explaining the import of each, as he placed it with the body. on delivering the first bunch he said: "with these thou art to pass between two mountains that confront each other." the second bunch, he was told, would pass him safely over a road guarded by a large snake; the third would conduct him by a place held by an alligator, _xochitonal_; the fourth would protect and aid him in traversing the 'eight deserts;' other papers would facilitate the passage of the 'eight hills,' and still others afford protection against the cutting winds termed _itzehecayan_, which were so strong as to tear out rocks and cut like very razors; here the wearing-apparel buried with him would also be of great service. a little red dog was thereupon slain by thrusting an arrow down its throat, and the body placed by the side of the deceased, with a cotton string about its neck. the dog was to perform the part of charon, and carry the king on his back across the deep stream called chicunahuapan, 'nine waters,'[ ] a name which points to the nine heavens of the mexicans. it will thus be seen that the dead had a difficult road to travel before reaching their future abode, which was on the fifth day after the burial, and that they needed the articles of comfort and necessity, as food, dresses, and slaves, which affectionate friends provided for their use. the ideas entertained by the nahuas respecting a future life belong to another department of my work, and will only be alluded to incidentally in this chapter. after the defunct had received his passports, he was covered with a mantle like that of the god which his condition and mode of death rendered appropriate, and decorated with its image. as most kings were warriors, he would be dressed in a mantle of huitzilopochtli, and would, in addition, wear the mantle of his favorite god.[ ] a lock of hair was cut off and placed, with one that had been cut at his birth, as well as small idols, in a casket painted inside and out with the images of the patron deity. the casket used for this purpose in the case of some of the chichimec kings is described to have been of emerald or other fine stone, three feet square, and covered by a gold lid set with precious stones. a mask either painted, or of gold, or of turquoise mosaic was placed over the face,[ ] and a chalchiuite, which was to serve for a heart, between the lips. according to tezozomoc and duran a statue was placed with the king, dressed in royal insignia by the hands of princes. the chiefs of the senate redressed it in other robes after painting it blue. it was then honored with addresses and presents, and again undressed, painted black, and arrayed in a robe of quetzalcoatl; a garland of heron-feathers was placed upon its head, bracelets and jewelry about its body, a small gilded shield by its side, and a stick in the hand. this figure shared the honors given to the body and was burned with it.[ ] [sidenote: royal obsequies.] the arrayed corpse was either laid upon a litter covered with rich cloths, or seated upon a throne, and watched over by a guard of honor, while princes and courtiers came to pay their last respects.[ ] they approached with great manifestations of grief, weeping, lamenting, clapping their hands, bending the body or exhibiting neglect of person, and addressed the defunct, referring to his present happiness, the loss his departure had caused, his goodness and bravery, and begged his acceptance of the presents they had brought. this performance was enacted by all, those of higher rank taking precedence and leaving offerings of ten slaves, a hundred robes, and other things, while others brought gifts of less value. then came the women, and while they were leaving their presents of food, the aged courtiers intoned the funeral chant, the _miccacuicatl_. addresses of condolence were also made to the royal family or the senate. the human sacrifices were inaugurated at this time by the immolation of the sacerdotal slave under whose charge the household idols stood.[ ] on the fifth day, before daybreak, a grand procession formed for the temple, preceded by an enormous paper banner, four fathoms in length, and richly adorned with feathers, on which the deeds of the defunct were doubtless inscribed, and attended by priests who wafted incense and chanted his glory, though in mournful strains, and without instrumental accompaniment.[ ] the corpse was borne upon the state litter by the most trusted of the noble servitors, while at the sides walked the chief lords and princes dressed in mourning, their attire consisting of long, square mantles of dark color, trailing on the ground, without any ornaments; some, however, were painted with figures of skulls, bones, and skeletons. behind them came the ambassadors of absent princes, the grandees and nobles from all parts of the country, each carrying some insignia, weapons, or jewels to be offered on the pyre.[ ] in the procession were also a large number of slaves, all newly attired in the royal livery,[ ] and carrying clothes, implements, and other articles, according to the duties assigned them. on reaching the courtyard of the temple, the priest who directed the burning came to receive the procession, and conducted it to the altar devoted to cremation, all chanting the while a moral song, in which they reminded the mourners that as they were now carrying a senseless body to its last resting-place, so would they be carried; they also reminded them that good deeds alone would remain to keep their remembrance green, and pictured the glories in store for the deserving. these priests were called _coacuiles_, and their office was held to be of such importance that they prepared for it by fasting and confession. they appeared in the same idol dress as the dead king, though with more elaborate ornaments. we find them on one occasion as demons with faces at different parts of their dress, set with eyes of mirrors and gaping mouths; and at another time with blackened or dyed bodies and paper maxtlis, swinging the yellow sticks used to stir the ashes. according to ixtlilxochitl, the high-priest of cihuacoatl, who was supposed to gather the dead, came out to receive the procession.[ ] [sidenote: cremation and interment.] the opinions as to the introduction of cremation are extremely varied, but it seems to have been practiced in very ancient times by the migrating tribes, who took this means to secure the remains of honored chiefs from desecration; their ashes could thus be carried along and serve as talismanic relics. ixtlilxochitl gives an instance of this in the case of a chichimec king who died in battle and whose body was burned, so that the ashes might be carried home with convenience and safety. brasseur de bourbourg also holds that cremation was an ancient toltec custom, but the first recorded case is that of the last toltec king, topiltzin.[ ] others assert that the toltecs who remained in the country after the destruction of their empire adhered to interment, as did the early chichimecs. veytia affirms that ixtlilxochitl or tezozomoc was the first to be deposited according to the forms instituted by topiltzin and used by the mexicans, namely, burning; torquemada distinctly states that the chichimecs used cremation, and clavigero agrees with him.[ ] veytia also thinks that the first aztec kings were buried, but this is contrary to all other reliable accounts. the custom may not have been very general, for sahagun states that during itzcoatl's reign it was resolved by the chiefs that all should be burned, indicating at the same time that cremation was then already in use. the later established usage was to burn all except those who died a violent death, or of incurable diseases, and those under seventeen years of age, who were all interred. the tlascaltecs and tarascos practiced burning like the aztecs.[ ] the altar devoted to the burning was doubtless one attached to the temple consecrated to the deity to whose abode the deceased was supposed to go. chaves describes it as three feet in height and the same in width,[ ] on which a heap of ocotl was piled. upon this pyre the body was laid in full array, together with the dog, and, as the fire flared up, the mourners added insignia, jewels, weapons, food, and other tributes. two of the demon-like coacuiles stirred the fire while others stood by chanting appropriate songs and sprinkling blessed water and incense upon the remains, as well as upon the mourners. now began the sacrifice of those doomed to follow the deceased to the other world and there administer to his wants and pleasure. these were at first but few in number, but during the bloody dominion of the aztecs they increased to several hundred, as at the funeral of nezahualpilli, when two hundred males and one hundred females were immolated; they consisted chiefly of slaves and deformed beings from the royal retinue, and such as had been presented. duran says that all slaves and deformed persons belonging to the household were killed, and acosta goes so far as to state that the whole royal household was dispatched, including the favorite brother of the king; but this must be taken with a grain of allowance, for, at this rate, the nobles, who crowded the service of the monarch, even in menial positions, would soon have been exterminated. some courtiers were, no doubt, expected to prove the sincerity of their life-long adulations by either offering themselves as victims, or submitting to a selection made from their number. sometimes a chief would signify his preference for those among his concubines whom he wished to have with him, a mark of favor often received with great joy, for they would thus be sure of entering into the supreme heaven, where the warlike lords usually went, while they might otherwise be doomed to dark mictlan. self-immolation of wives was, accordingly, not uncommon, although not prescribed by law as in india. brasseur says that captives were sacrificed, but duran states that they were not offered except to the gods. persons born during the last five days of the year--the unlucky days--were, however, reserved for royal obsequies.[ ] [sidenote: disposition of the remains.] this array of victims was harangued by a relative of the deceased, who dilated on the happiness before them in being allowed to join their master, and admonished them to serve him as faithfully in the next world as they had done here. they were then consigned to the priests, who laid them upon a teponaztli,[ ] cut open the breast and tore out the heart, which was thrown upon the pyre, while the bodies were cast upon another blazing hearth near by.[ ] gomara and others state that the bodies were interred, but as the dog and the property were burned, it is not likely that the more important and useful human servants were buried.[ ] when the body had been thoroughly burned, the fire was quenched, the blood collected from the victims being used for this purpose, according to duran, and the ashes, sprinkled with holy water, were placed with the charred bones, stones, and melted jewelry in the urn, or casket, which contained also the hair of the deceased. on the top of this was placed a statue of wood or stone, attired in the royal habiliments, and bearing the mask and insignia, and the casket was deposited at the feet of the patron deity, in the chapel.[ ] on the return of the procession a grand banquet was given to the guests, ending, as usual, with a presentation of gifts. for four days the mourners paid constant visits to the shrine to manifest their sorrow and to present the offerings of food, clothes, or jewels, termed _quitonaltia_, 'to give good luck.' these were either placed by the urn or upon the altar of the god, and removed by the priests, who ate the food and sent the valuables to the temple treasury. these ceremonies closed with the sacrifice of ten to fifteen slaves, and then the casket was deposited in that part of the temple appointed for its permanent reception.[ ] among the chichimecs the royal casket often remained forty days on view in the palace, whence it was carried in procession to its final resting-place.[ ] [sidenote: nahua sepulchres.] in cases of interment the deceased was deposited in the grave, seated on a throne in full array, facing the north,[ ] with his property and victims around him. in early times, when the practice of interment was more general, the victims were few, if not dispensed with entirely, and consisted usually of two favorite concubines, placed one on each side of their master, who, it is said, were entombed alive, though it is more probable that they were stupefied by narcotic drinks, or clubbed, as in michoacan. this practice of burying alive is ascribed to the toltecs.[ ] the graves were usually large subterranean vaults of stone and lime, situated in the temple court, palace, or some favorite spot near the city, as chapultepec. it is related that the temple pyramid in mexico was the superstructure of royal graves, the remains being deposited on the summit, and the successor to the crown erecting upon this another platform. on destroying the temple, the spaniards found several vaults, one beneath the other, with their valuable contents of jewelry.[ ] the toltecs also buried their dead in and near the temples, and, according to some authors, the mounds at teotihuacan, to the number of several hundred, which will be described in vol. iv. of this work, are the graves of toltec chiefs.[ ] the chichimec kings were usually buried in round holes, five to six feet deep, situated in caves beneath the palace or in the mountains; in later times, however, they chose the temples.[ ] twenty days after the burial further offerings were made, together with a sacrifice of from four to five slaves; on the fortieth day two or three more died; on the sixtieth, one or two; while the final immolation consisting of ten to twelve slaves took place at the end of eighty days, and put an end to the mourning. motolinia adds, however, that testimonials of sorrow accompanied by offerings continued to be made every eightieth day for the space of a year.[ ] [sidenote: plebeian funeral rites.] the obsequies of the subjects were, of course, on a scale of much less grandeur, though the rich and nobles ventured to exhibit a certain pomp. the common man, after having been washed in aromatic waters, was dressed in his best garments; a cheap stone called the _tentetl_, 'mouth-stone,' was inserted between the lips; the passport papers for the dark journey were handed to him with the usual address; and by his side were placed the water, the dog, the insignia of his trade, as arms, spade, or the like--spindle or broom in the case of a woman--with the dresses and other things required for comfort. lastly the mantle of the god which his condition in life and manner of death rendered appropriate, was placed upon him; thus, a warrior would wear the mantle of huitzilopochtli with the image of the war god upon it; a merchant the mantle of iyacatecutli; the artisan that of the patron deity of his trade. a drunkard would, in addition, be covered with the robe of the god of wine; a person who had died by drowning, with that of the water gods; the man executed for adultery, with that of the god of lasciviousness; and so on.[ ] according to zuazo, the corpse was further decorated with feathers of various colors, and seated in a chair to receive the expressions of sorrow and respect of friends, and their humble offerings of flowers, food, or dresses. after a couple of hours a second set of shrouders removed the garments, washed the body again, re-dressed it in red mantles, with feathers of the same color, and left it to be viewed for an hour or more, according to the number of the visitors. a third time the body was washed, by a fresh corps of attendants, and arrayed, this time, in black garments, with feathers of the same sombre color. these suits were either given to the temple or buried with the body.[ ] nobles had the large banner borne in their procession, and seem to have been allowed the use of sacrifices.[ ] according to chaves the common people were also burned in their own premises or in the forest, a statement which acosta and others indirectly confirm by saying that they had no regular burial-places, but their ashes were deposited in the yards of their houses, in the temple courts, in the mountains, or in the field. upon the graves were placed flags, ornaments, and various offerings of food during the four days of mourning. visits of condolence with attendant feasting extended over a period of several days, however.[ ] people who had died a violent death, by lightning or other natural causes or of incurable diseases, such as leprosy, tumors, itch, gout, or dropsy, were not burned but interred in special graves. branches or shoots of amaranth were placed upon their cheeks, the brow was rubbed with _texutli_, certain papers were laid over the brain, and in one hand was placed a wooden rod which was supposed to become green and throw out branches in the other world. the bodies of women who died in childbed were also buried; and the burial was attended by great difficulty, since warriors and sorcerers fought bravely to obtain possession of some part of her body, as has been stated in a preceding chapter.[ ] a trader of the rank of pochteca, who died on a journey, was dressed in the garb of his class, with eyes painted black, red circles round the mouth, and with strips of paper all over his person. the body was then deposited in a cacaxtli, or square basket, well secured by cords, and carried to the top of a mountain, where it was fixed to a tree, or pole driven into the ground, and left to wither. the spirit was supposed to have entered the abode of the sun.[ ] on the return of the caravan the death was reported to the guild, who broke the news to the family of the deceased. a puppet made of candlewood, and adorned with the usual paper ornaments, was left at the temple for a day, during which the friends mourned over it as if the body was actually before them. at midnight the puppet was burned in the quauhxicalco and the ashes buried in the usual manner. funeral ceremonies were held for four days, after which the relatives washed the faces, that had remained untouched by water during the absence of the trader, and put an end to the mourning. the practice of paying honors to the dead in effigy was especially in vogue among the warrior class.[ ] [sidenote: honors to the slain in battle.] besides funeral honors to individuals, ceremonies for all those who died in a battle or war were of frequent occurrence, as that ordered by the first montezuma in memory of the slain in the campaign against chalco. a procession of all the relatives and friends of the dead, headed by the fathers bearing decorated arms and armor, and terminated by the children, marched through the streets, dancing and chanting mournful songs in honor of those who had fallen fighting for their country and their gods, and for each other's mutual consolation. towards evening presents were distributed by the king's officials, clothing to the common people, ornaments to the chiefs, and food to all. an effigy was then prepared, the details of whose dress and decoration are minutely described, and before it, placed in the _cihuacalli_, war songs were chanted, instruments were played, women danced and cried for four days; then the image was burned before the temple, the ceremony being called _quitlepanquetzin_, 'burning the dead of the last war.' some of the ashes were scattered upon the relatives, who fasted for eighty days, the remaining ashes being in the meantime buried; but after the eighty days had passed they were dug up and carried to the hill of yahualiuhcan, on the boundaries of chalco, where they were left. five days later a feast took place, during which the garments of the dead warriors were burned, more offerings were made, and as a final honor to the memory of the departed all became intoxicated with pulque. very distinguished warriors were sometimes honored with the funeral rites of royalty.[ ] the ceremonies during the period of mourning were not the last honors paid to deceased friends. every year during the four years that the souls were supposed to live in a preparatory state in the heavens,[ ] offerings of choice viands, wine, flowers, and reeds of perfume were placed before the casket or upon the grave; songs extolling the merits of the departed were sung, accompanied by dances, the whole closing with feasting and drinking. after this the dead were left to oblivion.[ ] these commemorations took place in the months of tlaxochimaco and xocotlhuetzin. the former was termed 'the small festival of the dead,' and seems to have been devoted to the common people and children, but at the celebration in the latter month great demonstrations were observed by all; and certain royal personages and warriors who had died for their country were awarded divine honors, their statues being placed among those of the gods, to whose presence they had gone. while the priests were burning incense and making other offerings to the dead, the people stood with blackened bodies on the roofs of their houses, and, facing north, prayed to their dead relatives, calling on them to visit their former homes.[ ] in the month of quecholli another celebration took place, which seems to have been chiefly intended for warriors who had perished in battle. on the fifth day certain small arrows from five to nine inches in length, and torches, were tied in bundles of four each and placed upon the graves, together with a pair of sweet tamales. at sunset the bundles were set on fire, and the ashes interred with the dead. the shield of the dead, with arrow, mantle, and maxtli attached, was afterwards fastened to a stalk of maize of nine joints, mounted by two paper flags, one of which reached the length of the stalk. on the small flag was a cross, worked in red thread, and on the other an ornamentation of red and white thread, from the white part of which a dead humming-bird was suspended. bunches of white _aztatl_ feathers, tied in pairs, were also attached to the stalk by a thread covered with white hen-feathers. this was burned at the quauhxicalco.[ ] [sidenote: funeral rites of the tarascos.] among the peoples whose funeral ceremonies differ from those described, may be mentioned the teo-chichimecs, who interred their dead, and danced and sang for several days after.[ ] in tabasco interment seems also to have prevailed, for grijalva found a grave in the sand, containing a boy and a girl wrapped in cotton cloth and adorned with jewelry.[ ] in goazacoalco it was the custom to place the bones in a basket, as soon as the flesh was gone, and hang them up in a tree, so that the spirit of the defunct might have no trouble in finding them.[ ] [sidenote: cremation of the tarascan kings.] in michoacan the funeral rites were of a very exacting character. when the king lay on his death-bed it was incumbent on all vassals and courtiers to attend at the palace, and those who stayed away were severely punished. while awaiting the final breath they were royally entertained, but none could enter the death-chamber. when the corpse was ready for shrouding, the lords entered to dress it in festive robes, each attending to a particular part of the attire; the emerald brooch was put between the lips, and the body was laid upon a litter covered with cloths of different colors. on one side of the body were placed a bow and quiver, on the other was a doll made up of fine mantles and dressed exactly like the king.[ ] while the courtiers were giving vent to lamentations and tendering their respects, the new king proceeded to select those among the servitors, who, according to the inviolable law of the country, were doomed to follow the dead prince. seven of these were noble women, to whom various duties were assigned; one was appointed to carry the precious lip-ornament, another to keep the rest of the jewels, a third to be cup-bearer, and the others to attend at table and to cook. among the male victims, who seem to have been slaves for the most part, every trade and profession was represented,[ ] as valets, hair-dressers, perfumers, fan-holders, chair-bearers, wood-cutters, boatmen, sweepers, doorkeepers, and artisans; also clowns, and some of the physicians who had failed to save the life of the monarch. occasionally some enthusiast would offer to join his beloved master of his own accord, but this seems to have been prohibited; besides, the new king had, doubtless, selected all that were obnoxious to him, and could not afford to lose good servants. at midnight the litter was carried on the shoulders of the chief men to the temple, followed by vassals, warriors, and courtiers, some blowing trumpets, others chanting the glories of the dead. in the van of the procession were the victims, who had been bathed in aromatic waters and adorned with garlands stripped of their leaves and branches, and with yellow streaks over the face, who marched in files, sounding whistles, rattling bones, and beating tortoise-shell drums. torch-bearers attended the party, and ahead went a number of men who swept the road, singing at the same time: "lord, here thou hast to pass, see that thou dost not miss the road!"[ ] four turns were made round the pyre before depositing the corpse upon it. while the flames shot up, and the funeral chants fell from the lips of the mourners, the victims were stupefied with drinks and clubbed; the bodies were thrown into holes behind the temple, by threes or fours, together with the ornaments and other belongings of the deceased. the ashes and valuables were gathered from the smoking pyre, and made into a figure, which was dressed in royal habiliments, with a mask for its face, a golden shield on its back, bows and arrows by its side; this was set upon a throne facing the east, the whole being placed in a large urn, which was deposited upon a bed of golden shields and silver articles in a grave with stone walls, lined with mats, about twelve feet square, and equally deep, situated at the foot of the temple. the urn was covered with a number of valuable mantles, and around it were placed various implements, food, drink, and boxes filled with feather-work and ornaments; the grave was finally bridged with varnished beams and boards, and covered with a coating of earth and clay. after the funeral, all who had taken an active part in the ceremonies went to bathe, in order to prevent any injury to their health,[ ] and then assembled at the palace to partake of a sumptuous repast. at the close of the banquet a cotton cloth was given to each guest wherewith to wipe his face, but all remained seated for five days with lowered heads, without uttering a word, except the grandees, who went in turn by night to watch and mourn at the grave. during this period the mourning was general, no corn was ground, no fires lighted, no business transacted; the streets were deserted, and all remained at home, mourning and fasting. the obsequies of the people bore a general resemblance to the above, the ceremonies being regulated by the rank and means of the deceased. the graves were usually situated in the fields or on the slope of a hill.[ ] [sidenote: sepulchres in oajaca.] among the miztecs, in oajaca, where cremation does not seem to have obtained, compliments and addresses were presented to the corpse of a chief, just as if he were alive. a slave arrayed in the same splendid garments worn by his master, with mask, mitre, and other insignia, was placed before it; and while the funeral procession accompanied the body to burial, he represented the chief, and received the honors paid to royalty. at midnight four priests carried the body to the forest, where it was placed, in the presence of the mourners, in a cave, with the feet to the east, and surrounded with various weapons and implements. two male and three female slaves, who had in the meantime been made drunk and strangled, were also placed in the grave, together with idols to serve as guides. burgoa was told by the natives that devoted servants used to follow their lord alive into the grave. on the return of the funeral cortège, the slave who represented the deceased was sacrificed and deposited in a hole, which was left unclosed. the cave selected for the grave of the chief was supposed to be the gate to paradise. burgoa found two of these resting-places. one was situated in a hill and lighted by loopholes from above. along the sides were stone benches, like troughs, upon which lay the bejeweled skeletons, and here and there were niches occupied by idols. another was a stone vault, with plastered walls, arranged like the former; a stone block closed the entrance.[ ] some authors state that when the flesh was consumed, the bones were taken out and placed in graves in the houses or in the temples; this may, however, only have applied to certain chiefs, for burgoa found skeletons, as we have seen, in the caves which he explored. every year, on the anniversary of the birth of the last defunct lord, not on that of his death, great ceremonies were held in his honor.[ ] like the aztecs, they believed that the soul wandered about for a number of years before entering into perfect bliss, and visited its friends on earth once a year.[ ] on the eve of that day the house was prepared as if for a festive occasion, a quantity of choice food was spread upon the table, and the inmates went out with torches in their hands, bidding the spirits enter. they then returned and squatted down round the table with crossed hands and eyes lowered to the ground, for it was thought that the spirits would be offended if they were gazed upon. in this position they remained till morning, praying their unseen visitors to intercede with the gods in their favor, and then arose, rejoiced at having observed due respect for the departed. the food, which the spirits were supposed to have rendered sacred by inhaling its virtue, was distributed among the poor, or deposited in some out-of-the-way place. during the day further ceremonies, accompanied by offerings, were made at the temples, and a table was spread for the priests.[ ] [sidenote: physical peculiarities.] the nahuas were physically a fine race. they are described by all the old writers as being tall,[ ] well-formed, and of an olive or light copper color; as having thick, black, coarse, though soft and glossy hair, regular teeth, low, narrow, retreating foreheads,[ ] black eyes, scant beards,[ ] and very little hair on their bodies. their senses were very acute, especially that of sight, which they enjoyed unimpaired to the most advanced age.[ ] their bodies they kept in training by constant exercise. they were wonderful runners and leapers, and, as we have seen, some of their athletic and acrobatic feats were looked upon by the conquerors as nothing short of the work of the devil. it was no unusual thing to meet with people who from their color could scarcely be distinguished from europeans. the people of michoacan enjoy the reputation of having been the tallest and handsomest among the nahuas.[ ] the women of jalisco found great favor in the eyes of the reverend father torquemada. he was shown one there, he says, who might be considered a miracle of beauty; indeed, so fair was her skin, so well-proportioned her body, and so regular her features, that the most skillful portrait-painter would have been put to it to do her justice.[ ] deformed people were very uncommon; indeed, as we have seen, their rarity made them valuable as objects of curiosity, and kings and princes kept collections of them.[ ] [sidenote: character of the nahuas.] the character of the nahuas, although the statements of the best authors are nearly unanimous concerning it, is in itself strangely contradictory. we are told that they were extremely frugal in their habits, that wealth had no attractions for them, yet we find them trafficking in the most shrewd and careful manner, delighting in splendid pageants, gorgeous dresses, and rich armor, and wasting their substance in costly feasts; they were tender and kind to their children, and solicitous for their welfare, yet the punishments they inflicted upon their offspring were cruel in the extreme;[ ] they were mild with their slaves, and ferocious with their captives; they were a joyous race, fond of feasting, dancing, jesting, and innocent amusements, yet they delighted in human sacrifices, and were cannibals; they possessed a well-advanced civilization, yet every action of their lives was influenced by gross superstition, by a religion inconceivably dark and bloody, and utterly without one redeeming feature; they were brave warriors, and terrible in war, yet servile and submissive to their superiors; they had a strong imagination and, in some instances, good taste, yet they represented their gods as monsters, and their religious myths and historical legends are absurd, disgusting, and puerile. that the nahuas were a most ingenious people is abundantly proven by their work as well as by the statements of those who knew them. it has been said that they were not inventive, but this clavigero indignantly denies.[ ] it is certain that their power of imitation was very great,[ ] and that they were very quick to learn the new arts introduced among them by the spaniards.[ ] they were generous and remarkably free from avarice.[ ] they are said to have been very temperate in their habits,[ ] but judging from the vast number of dishes served up at the tables of the rich, and the stringent laws which were necessary to prevent drunkenness, this appears doubtful. although terrible to their enemies, and naturally warlike, they were peaceable among themselves, and seldom quarreled. las casas says that when a difficulty arose between two of them, the disputants did not come at once to blows, but contented themselves with such personal abuse as: "go to, thou hast bad eyes; thou art toothless;" or they threw handfuls of dirt in each other's faces and then separated and washed themselves. on rare occasions they pushed and elbowed each other, or even had a scuffle, in which hair was pulled out, clothes were torn, and bloody noses received, but deadly weapons were never used, nor even worn except by soldiers on duty. the same writer relates that two women were put to death by order of the king of tezcuco for fighting in the public market-place, a scandalous outrage upon public decency, the like of which had never been heard of before. he says, further, that when two young men became enamored of the same woman, or when one carried off the other's mistress, the rivals were allowed to fight a duel for the possession of the woman. the combat did not take place, however, until the army went forth to war, when upon the first engagement they sought out each other, and fought with their weapons until one was vanquished.[ ] they seem to have been very strict and jealous in all matters relating to their women.[ ] the tlascaltecs were great lovers of liberty, and were always ready to fight for it; they were, besides, quick to take offence, otherwise they are said to have been of a peaceable, domestic disposition, content to stay at home and listen to or tell stories in their own families, an amusement of which they were very fond. they are further described as truthful, just, frugal, and industrious.[ ] the cholultecs, so celebrated for their pottery, are reported to have been very peaceful, industrious, and shrewd traders, yet brave withal, and capable of defending their rights.[ ] the zapotecs were a fierce people, always at war with their neighbors.[ ] the miztecs are said by herrera to have been the bravest people in all new spain; the same writer asserts that they were lazy and improvident, while espinosa speaks of them as an industrious race.[ ] the natives of vera cruz are spoken of as affable and shrewd.[ ] the people of jalisco were witty and slothful, yet they willingly carried burdens for the spaniards, herrera tells us.[ ] the tarascos were exceedingly valorous, great liars, and industrious.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _hernandez_, _nova plantarum_, etc. the mss., comprising books of text and books of plates, were sent to the escurial in spain, and from them abridged editions were published in mexico, , and rome, . the latter edition is the one in my collection. sahagun also devotes considerable space to a description of herbs and their properties. _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., xi. [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xi.; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] 'É da maravigliare, che i messicani, e massimamente i poveri, non fossero a molte malattie sottoposti atteso la qualità de' loro alimenta.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'las principales enfermedades que corrian entre esta gente, eran de abundancia de colera, y flema, o otros malos humores, causados de mala comida, y falta de abrigo.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. x., cap. xxi. [ ] _tezozomoc_, _crón. mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'hacia malparir las mugeres, de antojo de comer de aquello que asaban ... daban camazas á los viejos de deseo de comer de aquello; y á las mugeres se los hinchaban los brazos, las manos, y las piernas, que adolecian mucho, y morian con aquel deseo.' _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. x. torquemada qualifies this by 'esto dicho, pase por cuento.' _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _tezozomoc_, _crón. mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - , . [ ] _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - , tom. iv., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. x., cap. xxi.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _pauw_, _rech. phil._, tom. i., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _prescott's mex._, vol. ii., pp. - ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., pp. - ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien et mod._, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. ; _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. clx., p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vii., p. . [ ] 'both men, women, and children, had great knowledge in herbs.... they did spend little among physicians.' _gage's new survey_, p. . 'casi todos sus males curan con yeruas.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'no se guardauan de males contagiosos, y enfermedades, y bestialmente se dexavan morir.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvi. [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . 'si algun médico entre ellos (tlascaltecs) fácilmente se puede haber, sin mucho ruido ni costa, van lo á ver, y si no, mas paciencia tienen que job.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , with cuts, copied in _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. xi., pp. - . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. ix. [ ] 'en las ciudades principales ... habia hospitales dotadas de rentas y vasallos donde se resabian y curaban los enfermos pobres.' _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxli. 'de cuando en cuando van por toda la provincia á buscar los enfermos.' _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, pp. - . [ ] _bustamante_, in _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. xi., p. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. ix., cap. vii.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , - ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'hay calle de herbolarios donde hay todas las raíces y yerbas medicinales que en la tierra se hallan. hay casas como de boticarios donde se venden las medicinas hechas, así potables como ungüentos emplastos.' _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . they 'possédaient des livres dans lesquels étaient consignées minutieusement toutes leurs observations relatives aux sciences naturelles.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . see also _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . 'tenian siete, o ocho maneras de rayzes de yeruas y flores: de yeruas y arboles, que eran las que mas comunmente vsauan para curarse.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. x., cap. xxi. [ ] acosta adds that the ashes of divers poisonous insects were mixed with the teopatli composition, which benumbed the part to which it was applied. 'aplicado por via de emplasto amortigua las carnes esto solo por si, quanto mas con tanto genero de ponçoñas, y como les amortiguaua el dolor, pareciales efecto de sanidad, y de virtud diuina.' _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - . for details of medical practice see _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - , , tom. xi., pp. , - , tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxli., ccxiii.; _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, pp. , ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. , , ; _oviedo_, _hist. ind._, tom. iii., p. ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., tom. ii-iii.; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. x., cap. xxi., dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xvii., dec. iv., lib. ix., cap. viii.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. , - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. , tom. iii., pp. - , tom. iv., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxli.; _id._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. . 'lanzábanlos (unos cordeles como llavero) en el suelo, y si quedaban revueltos, decian que era señal de muerte. y si alguno ó algunos salian extendidos, teníanlo por señal de vida, diciendo: que ya comenzaba el enfermo á extender los piés y las manos.' _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. ix., cap. vii.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . other authorities on medicine are: _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., p. ; _gage's new survey_, p. ; _west-indische spieghel_, p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. , vol. ii., pp. - , , - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _mühlenpfordt_, _mejico_, tom. i., pp. - ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _chevalier_, _mex., ancien et mod._, p. ; _baril_, _mexique_, p. ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. . i further have in my possession a very rare and curious medical work by dr monardes, treating of the various medicinal plants, etc., found in mexico and central america, printed in seville in . [ ] 'ponen mascaras a tezcatlipuca, o vitzilopuchtli, o a otro idolo.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . as the idols wore masks, it is more likely that a veil was thrown over the face, than that another mask should have been put on. 'suivant une coutume antique attribuée à topiltzin-acxitl, dernier roi de tollan, on mettait un masque au visage des principales idoles, et l'on couvrait les autres d'une voile.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . 'mettevan una maschera all' idolo di huitzilopochtli, ed un'altra aquello di tezcatlipoca.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'ciertas mujeres y hombres que están salariados de público.' _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . brasseur de bourbourg thinks that they were only employed by the common people. _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . tezozomoc states that princes dressed the body. _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] zuazo says that the corpse was held on the knees of one of the male or female shrouders, while others washed it. _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiv. [ ] the chapter on dress furnishes all the information respecting the royal wardrobe. it is not unlikely that princes assisted in robing the king, for such was the custom in michoacan, and that the mantles brought by them were used for shrouding, but authors are not very explicit on this point. [ ] brasseur de bourbourg uses the expression 'c'est cette eau que tu as reçue en venant au monde.' _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . gomara says the dog served as guide: 'vn perro que lo guiasse adonde auia de yr.' _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] 'le ponian los vestidos del dios, que tenia por mas principal en su pueblo, en cuia casa, ò templo, ò patio se havia de enterrar.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . duran mentions an instance where a king was dressed in the mantles of four different gods. _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xxxix.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] 'sobre la mortaja le ponian vna mascara pintada.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . perhaps he confounds the idol image on the robe with the mask, for it is unlikely that the mask should be placed upon the shroud. 'visage découvert.' _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . speaking of the obsequies of tezozomoc of azcapuzalco, ixtlilxochitl says that a turquoise mask was put over his face, 'conforme lo fisonomía de su rostro. esto no se usaba sino con los monarcas de esta tierra; á los demas reyes les ponian una máscara de oro.' _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . veytia states that it was a gold mask 'garnecida de turquezas.' _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . the hair, says gomara, 'quedaua la memoria de su anima.' _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , - ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xxxix. 'on plaçait sur le lit de parade la statue que l'on faisait toujours à l'image du roi.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . the only statue referred to by other authors is that made of the ashes after the cremation. [ ] some of the early chichimec kings lay five days in state, and tlaltecatzin, forty days, his body being buried on the eightieth day. _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , , . [ ] acosta, _hist. de las ynd._, p. , among others, calls this slave a priest. [ ] although acosta says, 'tañendo tristes flautas y atambores.' _hist. de las ynd._, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xviii. 'on faisait deux grandes bannières de papier blanc.' _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - . duran states that kings bore the corpse and that the mourners were dressed as water-goddesses. _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xxxix., xl., tom. ii., cap. li. acosta says that the arms and insignia were carried before the body by knights. _hist. de las ynd._, p. . [ ] tezozomoc, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , , states that they were dressed in royal insignia and jewels, which is not very likely; a number of them, however, were loaded with the royal wardrobe, which fact may have given rise to this statement. [ ] _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _spiegazione delle tavole del codice mexicano_ (vaticano), in _id._, vol. v., pp. - ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xl. 'salia el gran sacerdote, con los otros ministros, à recibirlo.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , , , . [ ] 'el (the mode) que estos chichimecas vsaron, fue quemarlos.' _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , , ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. ix., pp. , ; _id._, _hist. chich._, pp. , , - . veytia, who introduces some arguments on this point, thinks that tezozomoc introduced burning, yet he describes ceremonial cremations in the case of several kings before him. _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - , tom. ii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., pp. , . 'la gente menuda comunmente se enterraua.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _spiegazione delle tavole del codice mexicano_ (vaticano), in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . 'sabia por las pinturas, que se quemaron en tiempo del señor de méxico que se decia _itzcóatl_, en cuya época los señores, y los principales que habia entónces, acordaron y mandaron que se quemasen todas, para que no viniesen á manos del vulgo.' _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. - . [ ] _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xxxix., xl.; _bologne_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., pp. - ; _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xxxix., tom. ii., cap. li. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . camargo indicates that the bodies were thrown upon the same pyre together with the presents. _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . 'sacándoles los corazones, y la sangre de ellos en una batea ó gran xícara, con la cual rociavan á huitzilopochtli, á quien le presentaron los corazones de todos los muertos.' _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. . [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _tezozomoc_, ubi sup. [ ] 'la colocaron en el mismo lugar en que ardió la pira.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . this author says that the mouth-stone of the deceased together with the mask, robes, and ornaments were taken off before the body was placed upon the pyre; this could only have been for the purpose of dressing the wooden statue therein; the stone was, however, placed inside the urn. _ixtlilxochitl_, ubi sup. brasseur de bourbourg calls this bundle of bones _tlaquimilolli_, which he says was sacredly preserved, whether of kings or braves. _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. clx., p. . in the case of nauhyotl of culhuacan, the bones were exhumed and placed in a statue, which was made in his honor, and deposited in a temple consecrated to him. _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xxxix. [ ] 'al cuarto dia, al anochecer, cargaron los sacerdotes la arca de las cenizas y la estatua, y la colocaron en una especie de nicho, dentro del templo.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., p. . 'sous le pavé même du sanctuaire, devant la statue du dieu.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . duran mentions that the ashes of one king were deposited at the foot of the stone of sacrifice. _hist. indias_, ms., tom. ii., cap. li.; _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. li. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., pp. - . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vii., p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. , ; _bologne_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., pp. - ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., pp. , . [ ] 'la muerte se hacian enterrar en la más alta grada, é despues el subcessor subia otras dos gradas.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. . 'los príncipes necesitaban de gran sepultura, porque se llevaban tras sí la mayor parte de sus riquezas y familia.' _solis_, _hist. conq. mex._, tom. i., p. . 'io aiutai a cauar d'vna sepoltura tre mila castigliani poco piu ò meno.' _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _id._, _relaciones_, pp. , ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _ritos antiguos_, p. , in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix. ixtlilxochitl, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. , states that the sacrifices on the fourth day consisted of five to six slaves, on the tenth of one, on the eightieth of three. 'le cinquième on sacrifiait plusieurs esclaves, et cette immolation se répétait encore quatre fois, de dix en dix jours.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . duran, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xiv., xxxix., mentions a fast of eighty days, at the end of which a statue was made, like one which he states was burned with the corpse, and to this exactly the same ceremonies were paid as to the defunct, the statue being burned with an equally large number of slaves as before. the fullest descriptions of royal obsequies are given in _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xxxix., xl., tom. ii., cap. xlviii.; _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - , . [ ] after describing the robing of drunkards and others, gomara says: 'y finalmente a cada oficial dauan el traje del idolo de aquel oficio,' which certainly indicates that a drowned or besotted artisan would wear the mantle due to his position in life as well as that due to his manner of death. _conq. mex._, fol. . clavigero, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - , uses the following expression: 'vestivanlo d'un abito corrispondente alla sua condizione, alle sue facoltà, _ed_ alle circostanze della sua morte.' [ ] _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] camargo says, with reference to sacrifices and pompous ceremonies, 'tout cela avait lieu, plus ou moins, à toutes les funérailles, selon la richesse du défunt.' _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. ; _prescott's mex._, vol. i., p. . [ ] _zuazo_, _carta_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _chaves_, _rapport_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. ; 'durauan las exequias diez dias.' _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. . 'on passait vingt ou trente jours au milieu des fêtes et des festins.' _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., p. . _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xviii.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. - . see p. of this volume. [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. ii., lib. ix., p. . [ ] sahagun intimates that the puppet was for those who were slain by enemies, but adds, afterwards, that a puppet was burned with the same ceremonies in the court of the house, if they died at home. _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. iv., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . see this vol., p. . [ ] _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - , - , - ; _duran_, _hist. indias_, ms., tom. i., cap. xviii., tom. ii., cap. xlviii.; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - , - . [ ] _explicacion del codex telleriano-remensis_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. ; _spiegazione delle tavole del codice mexicano_ (vaticano), in _id._, p. . [ ] _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _spiegazione delle tavole del codice mexicano_ (vaticano), in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., pp. - . 'los tres dias ultimos de este mes ayunavan todos los vivos á los muertos.' _explicacion del codex telleriano-remensis_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. . see this vol., pp. , . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . brasseur de bourbourg says that this celebration was of a general character, and dilutes the meagre and doubtful information of his authority considerably. the arrows and food, 'après qu'elles y avaient demeuré un jour et une nuit, on les enlevait et on brûlait le tout ensemble en l'honneur de mixcohuatl et de ses compagnons d'armes.' _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. , tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. . [ ] _diaz_, _itinerario_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. ix., cap. vii. [ ] _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'esta figura se la ponian encima al difunto.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . it is not likely, however, that a life-size figure, as gomara calls it, or any figure, for that matter, should have been placed over the ornaments of the king and pressed upon the body. beaumont says: 'lo cubrian con una manta, en que estaba pintado ó realzado el cadaver con los mismos adornos.' _crón. mechoacan_, ms., p. . 'au-dessus on asseyait une poupée de la taille du défunt.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] 'matauan vno, y aun mas de cada oficio.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . the slaves, he says, 'los embadurnaban todo el cuerpo, con vna tinta amarilla.' 'yban las andas ó atahud en hombros de los tres principales.' _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., p. . [ ] 'todos los que habian tocado el caltzontzi y á los demas cuerpos se iban á bañar por preservarse de alguna enfermedad.' _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., p. . [ ] _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. - ; _gage's new survey_, pp. - , with a cut; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _payno_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _geog. descrip._, tom. i., pt ii., fol. - , tom. ii., pt ii., fol. . [ ] _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiii.; _explicacion del codex telleriano-remensis_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. ; _spiegazione delle tavole del codice mexicano_ (vaticano), in _id._, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] 'au douzième mois de l'année zapotèque.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _burgoa_, _geog. descrip._, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . additional references to funeral ceremonies are: _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. , - , ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, pt ii., pp. , , ; _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. - , - , - , - ; _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. iv., pp. - , - ; _gemelli careri_, in _churchill's col. voyages_, vol. iv., p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, pp. - ; _d'avity_, _l'amérique_, tom. ii., p. ; _adair_, _amer. ind._, p. ; _touron_, _hist. gén._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., pp. - ; _lenoir_, _parallèle_, pp. - , , ; _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xxiv., pp. - ; _fransham's world in miniature_, vol. ii., p. ; _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, p. ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , - , tom. ii., pp. , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - , tom. iii., pp. - , , - , - , - ; _carli_, _cartas_, pt i., p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _simon's ten tribes_, pp. - ; _monglave_, _résumé_, p. ; _cooper's hist. n. amer._, vol. ii., p. ; _baril_, _mexique_, p. ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, pp. - ; _ranking's hist. researches_, pp. - ; _brownell's ind. races_, p. ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. , - , , ; _carbajal_, _discurso_, p. . [ ] except the zapotecs, who, carbajal espinosa says, were of low stature and broad-shouldered. _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . [ ] gomara says they had wide foreheads. _conq. mex._, fol. . 'la forma, ò figura de las cabeças, comunmente las tienen proporcionadas à los cuerpos, y à los otros miembros de èl, y derechas; algunos las tienen empinadas, y las frentes quadradas, y llanas; otros (como son estos mexicanos, y algunos del pirù) las tenian, y tienen de mejor forma, algo de hechura de martillo, ò navio, que es la mejor forma de todas.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. - . 'the aztec skulls are described as being remarkable for the shortness of their axis, their large flattened occiput obliquely truncated behind, the height of the semicircular line of the temples, and the shortness and trapezoidal form of the parietal plane. they present an elevation or ridge along the sagittal suture; the base of the skull is very short, and the face slightly prognathic, as among the mongol-kalmucs. they bear a strong analogy to the skulls of a peruvian brachycephali delineated by morton.' _foster's pre-hist. races_, p. . 'the aboriginal mexicans of our own time are of good stature and well proportioned in all their limbs. they have narrow foreheads, black eyes, white, well-set, regular teeth, thick, coarse and glossy black hair, thin beards, and are in general without any hair on their legs, thighs, or arms. their skin is olive coloured, and many fine young women may be seen among them with extremely light complexions. their senses are very acute, more especially that of sight, which they enjoy unimpaired to the most advanced age.' _figuier's hum. race_, p. . for remarks on mexican crania, descriptions and measurements of skulls with cuts, see _morton's crania amer._, pp. - , - , - , , and plates xvi-xviii., lix.-lxi. [ ] according to herrera, _hist. gen._, (lond. ,) vol. iv., p. , and brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. , the miztecs had long beards. [ ] 'en los sentidos exteriores (como son los de el vèr, oìr, oler, y gustar) los alcançan admirables; porque vèn mui de lejos, y no vsan de antojos, si no son mui pocos, despues que los han visto, en nuestros españoles, y eso es en la vejez, y tienen comunmente los ojos buenos, y hermosos, oien mucho, huelen tambien qualquier cosa de mui lejos; lo mismo es el gusto; el sentido del tacto, comunmente es delicado, lo qual se verifica en ellos, porque qualquier cosa, que pueda lastimarlos, como es frio, calor, açotes, ù otra exterior afliccion, los aflige mui facilmente, y en mucho grado, y qualqueira enfermedad los adelgaça, mas presto los enflaquece, y mata, que à otra nacion, asi española, como otra alguna, como es notorio, à todos los que los conocemos, y son para sufrir mui poco trabajo.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , tom. iii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] he adds further: 'y esto (aunque no en tanto extremo) corre, mui en general, por todos estos reinos, y en especial en aquel de xalisco, en la nacion, que llaman coca, y tecuex, que son los tonaltecos, y por acà en la de tlaxcalla, y otras muchas, que por escusar enfado, callo.' _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; see also tom. i., p. . [ ] 'sonovi così rari i deformi, che tutti quegli spagnuoli, e creogli, che nel , vennero dal messico in italia, restarono allora, e sono anche oggidì maravigliati dall'osservare nelle città di questa coltissima penisola un sì gran numero di ciechi, di gobbi, di zoppi, d'attratti ec.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. iv., p. . see farther, concerning the physical peculiarities of the nahuas and earlier peoples: _ixtlilxochitl_, _relaciones_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., pp. , - , , - , ; _vetancvrt_, _teatro mex._, tom. ii., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. , , , ; _sahagun_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. , , ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., pp. , , , tom. ii., pp. - ; _cortés_, _cartas_, tom. i., p. ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. - , tom. ii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. x., cap. xix.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - , tom. iv., pp. - ; _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. , , tom. iii., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. , , tom. ii., pp. , ; _dupaix_, _rel., de expéd._, p. ; _gordon's hist. and geog. mem._, pp. - ; _dillon's hist. mex._, p. ; _macgregor's progress of amer._, vol. i., p. ; _cooper's hist. n. amer._, vol. ii., p. . [ ] see this volume, p. . [ ] 'vi sono molti, che accordano ai messicani una grande abilità per l'imitazione; ma lor contrastano quella dell' invenzione. error volgare, che trovasi smentito nella storia antica di questa nazione.' _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., p. . [ ] see this volume, pp. - . [ ] 'los niños de los indios no son molestos con obstinacion ni porfia à la fè catholica, como lo son los moros y indios; antes aprenden de tal manera las verdades de los christianos, que no solamente salen con ellas, sino que las agotan, y es tanta su facilidad que parece que se las beuen. aprenden mas presto que los niños españoles; y con mas contento los articulos de la fè por su orden, y las demas oraciones de la doctrina christiana, reteniendo en la memoria fielmente lo que se les enseña.' _dávila padilla_, _hist. fvnd. mex._, p. . 'il n'était rien que les indiens n'apprissent avec une rapidité surprenante, et s'il arrivait quelque nouveau métier dont ils n'eussent aucune connaissance, ils s'appliquaient à le voir faire avec tant d'intelligence, que, malgré les soins de l'ouvrier à leur cacher son secret, ils le lui enlevaient au bout de quelques jours.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] 'son muy ladrones, mentirosos, y holgazanes. la fertilidad de la tierra deue causar tanta pereza, o por no ser ellos codiciosos.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'la liberalità e lo staccamento da qualsiasi interesse sono dei principali attributi del loro carattere. l'oro non ha presso i messicani tutta quella stima, che gode presso altri. danno senza dispiacere quello, che si procacciano con somma fatica. questo loro staccamento dall'interesse, ed il poco amore, che portano a quei che gli governano, ii fa rifiutare quelle fatiche, a cui sono da essi costretti, e questa è appunto la tanto esagerata pigrizia degli americani.' _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - . 'estavan libres de la enfermedad de la codicia, y no pensauan en la vanidad del oro, y plata, ni hazian estimacion dello.' _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. . 'segun lo que aquella edad permite, son inclinadissimos à ser liberales. tanto monta que lo que se les da, se de à vno como à muchos: porque lo que vno recibe, se reparte luego entre todos.' _dávila padilla_, _hist. fvnd. mex._, p. . [ ] the most sober people known. _relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del signor fernando cortese_, in _ramusio_, _navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. . [ ] _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. - . [ ] 'son celosissimosmos, y assi las aporrean mucho.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . we have seen in a former chapter, that nezahualcoyotl put his dearest son to death for speaking lewdly to his father's concubine. see this volume, pp. , et seq.; see further concerning the character of the mexicans, about whom the above remarks, though doubtless applicable to many other of the nahua nations, are more particularly made: _esplicacion de la coleccion de mendoza_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. v., p. ; _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, pp. - ; _dávila padilla_, _hist. fvnd. mex._, pp. , ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. iii., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, pp. - ; _padilla_, _conq. n. galicia_, ms., p. ; _zorita_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _tezozomoc_, _crónica mex._, in _id._, vol. ix., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xliv., xlv., lxvii., cxl.; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. i., pp. - , tom. iv., pp. - ; _soden_, _spanier in peru_, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., pp. - , ; _edinburgh review_, ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., pp. - ; _gordon's hist. and geog. mem._, pp. - ; _chevalier_, _mexique_, pp. - . [ ] for the character of the tlascaltecs see: _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcviii., pp. - , tom. xcix., pp. , , ; _motolinia_, _hist. indios_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _alcedo_, _dicc._, tom. v., p. ; _heredia y sarmiento_, _sermon_, p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _peter martyr_, dec. v., lib. i.; _pradt_, _cartas_, pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. ii., pp. , , ; _klemm_, _cultur-geschichte_, tom. v., pp. - ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, p. ; _dillon_, _hist. mex._, p. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _pradt_, _cartas_, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iv., p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., pp. , . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiv.; _dávila padilla_, _hist. fvnd. mex._, p. ; _delaporte_, _reisen_, tom. x., p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiii.; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. ii. [ ] _beaumont_, _crón. mechoacan_, ms., pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , tom. iii., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _ixtlilxochitl_, _hist. chich._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. ix., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. x.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. . chapter xx. government, social classes, property, and laws of the maya nations. introductory remarks--votan's empire--zamnÁ's reign--the royal families of yucatan; cocomes, tutul xius, itzas, and cheles--titles and order of succession--classes of nobles--the quichÉ-cakchiquel empire in guatemala--the ahau ahpop and succession to the throne--privileged classes--government of the provinces--the royal council--the chiapanecs--the pipiles--nations of nicaragua--the maya priesthood--plebeian classes--slaves--tenure of lands--inheritance of property--taxation--debtors and creditors--laws and the administration of justice. my reasons for dividing the civilized nations of our territory into two groups, the nahuas and the mayas, whose institutions are separately described, have been stated in the general view, to which a preceding chapter has been devoted. in the same place was given an outline sketch of the nations composing each group, and their mutual relations,[ ] which may serve as an introduction to the remainder of this volume. without further preliminary remarks i may therefore enter at once upon the subject-matter of this second division of my topic, a description of maya institutions, or the manners and customs of the civilized nations whose home was south of the isthmus of tehuantepec. it will be evident to the reader from what has been said that this account must be not only much briefer, but also less complete and satisfactory than that of the nahua nations. concerning the aztecs and kindred peoples about the lakes of the mexican valley, as we have seen, a large amount of information has been preserved; i have consequently been able, in treating of the northern peoples, to take these nations of the valley as a nucleus, adding in their proper places such fragments of knowledge as are extant respecting tribes outside the limits of anáhuac. in the south, fragmentary information is all we have; there is no nucleus round which to group it; the matter of the following chapters will, therefore, be very similar in its nature to what that of the preceding would have been, had i undertaken to describe the tarascos, totonacs, zapotecs, etc., without the aztecs. in this branch of my subject i shall follow as nearly as possible the same order as in the preceding, bringing together into one chapter, however, the topics before treated in several. i shall also include the civilized nations of nicaragua in this division, although one at least of them was of nahua blood and language. in the days of ancient maya glory when votan and his successors reigned over mighty and perhaps confederated empires in chiapas, guatemala, and yucatan, the kings played rôles to a great extent mythical, being pictured by tradition as combining the character and powers of legislators, teachers, high-priests, and monarchs. details of the system by which they governed are altogether wanting,[ ] but after a long term of prosperity this government in guatemala and chiapas became weakened and at last practically destroyed; the country was divided among petty chiefs, concerning whose rule even less is known than of that of their predecessors, but who not improbably based their forms of authority on the ideas handed down from votan. from these governmental relics there sprung up in later years, under new and perhaps foreign leaders, the quiché and cakchiquel empires, of whose government some details are known, since these nations came into direct contact with the spaniards at the conquest. leaving these nations for the present, i will speak first of another branch of the primitive maya empire. [sidenote: votan's maya empire.] yucatan received its culture traditionally from zamná, who came from abroad, governed the mayas through a long life, and left the throne as an heritage to his successors. he was doubtless a companion or a descendant of votan, and founded institutions similar to those of the western kingdoms whence he came. the government and institutions established in yucatan met to a certain extent the same fate as those of chiapas; that is, the country was finally split up by civil wars into numerous petty independent sovereignties; but this division was at a much later date than that of votan's western empire,--not long preceding the spanish conquest--and the government of the independent chieftains was substantially that of their ancestors, many of whom claimed to be of the royal family founded by zamná. consequently some scraps of information are extant respecting the form of government, as well as other institutions, in yucatan; and from these we may form a faint idea of the earlier institutions of guatemala and chiapas. zamná, like votan, united in himself the qualities of ruler, law-giver, educator, and priest; he founded the city of mayapan, and divided the whole country among the chiefs of the leading families who came with him, making them vassals of the king whom he left on the throne at mayapan. the nobles of the royal family were of course the highest, a family which was perhaps that known later as the cocomes, and which lasted to the coming of the spaniards. each of the vassal princes had to live in the capital during a certain part of every year; and brasseur de bourbourg, following ordoñez, thinks that mayapan may have formed a confederacy with tulhá and palenque in chiapas.[ ] [sidenote: the royal families of yucatan.] another royal family, the tutul xius, sprung up later and became very powerful as allies and vassals of the king reigning in mayapan; and still another family, the itzas, built up a strong government of theocratic nature at chichen itza. then came cukulcan with some new religious teachings--a famous personage bearing a striking resemblance in his traditional career and in the etymology of his name to the quetzalcoatl of the nahuas. being finally called to the throne at mayapan, he formed a confederacy, making the princes of the tutul xius and itzas his associate monarchs, subordinate nominally in rank but practically independent except where mutual assistance was required. cukulcan left the throne to the cocomes, seven of whom ruled during a period of great prosperity, the succession being from father to son, down to about the eleventh century. afterward the cocomes, becoming tyrannical, were deposed from their high position, mayapan destroyed, and a new confederacy established with the tutul xius at the head, uxmal being at first their capital, the itzas second, and the cheles at izamal third. the tutul xiu rule was no less glorious than that of the cocomes. they rebuilt mayapan and made it once more the capital, but the unfortunate city was again sacked, this time by foreigners--perhaps the quichés--in the thirteenth century; and was finally destroyed in the middle of the fifteenth century by the vassal lords of the realm, who revolted, overthrew the tutul xiu dynasty, obtained their complete independence, and ruled each his petty province with sovereign power. this was their condition when the spaniards came, but before that time by civil war, and by famine and pestilence also, as tradition tells us, the power of the rulers and the population of the country had been greatly diminished and the ancient maya glory had departed forever. shortly before the final destruction of the monarchy a portion of the itzas had left chichen and migrated southward to found a small but powerful nation in what is now the province of peten, belonging politically to guatemala. it is from traditionary accounts of the kingdom under the tutul xius, and from the meagre observations of the spaniards in the sixteenth century that our slight knowledge of maya institutions in the peninsula is gained. the highest title of the king at mayapan was ahtepal, which signifies in the maya tongue 'majestic,' or 'august.' his power was absolute, but he rarely acted in matters of importance without consulting his lords, and, in accordance with their advice and that of the chief priests, he appointed all officials, secular and religious, in the kingdom, possessing moreover the right to organize all courts and to condemn to death any of his subjects. the succession to the throne was confined to the royal family, to the male line, and to the sons of noble wives; the eldest son seems to have been the acknowledged heir to the throne, and landa tells us that if the king died during the childhood of his heir, then his eldest or most capable brother ruled not only during the son's minority but during all his own life; and in case there were no brothers the priests and nobles chose a suitable person to reign.[ ] one author speaks of the king as having the right to appoint a council which should name his successor, and remesal mentions that in the province of campeche, a woman who came in the direct line of succession received high honors, but the most capable of her male relatives ruled the state.[ ] [sidenote: court etiquette in yucatan.] whenever the king appeared in public, he was always attended by a large company and wore a long white flowing robe decorated with ornaments of gold and precious stones, bracelets, a magnificent collar, and sandals of gold. his crown was a plain golden circle somewhat wider on the forehead than behind, and surmounted with a plume of quetzal-feathers. this bird was reserved for the king and highest nobles, death being the penalty, according to ordoñez, for one of lower rank who should capture the bird or wear its plumage. the monarch was borne on the shoulders of his nobles reclining in a palanquin, shaded by a feather canopy, and constantly fanned by attendants of high rank. any person who came into the presence of the king or other high official, was expected to bring some gift proportioned to his means, and herrera informs us that the highest mark of respect was to place the right hand, anointed with spittle, on the ground and then to rub it over the heart. villagutierre mentions without description a kind of small throne among the itzas, and states that the king of this southern realm bore the title of canek, the name of the leader of their migration. our only knowledge of the royal palaces of yucatan is derived from their examination, when more or less in ruins, by modern explorers; consequently i refer the reader to the chapter on maya buildings for a general description of these grand stone structures, and to another volume of this work for a detailed account with illustrative plates. the nobility of the highest class belonged to members of the royal families, the cocomes, tutul xius, cheles, and itzas, those of the reigning king's own blood taking naturally the highest rank. ahau was the ordinary title of the princes, and halach winikel, 'most majestic men,' was a high title among the tutul xius. from nobles of the royal families mentioned, governors of provinces, and all the highest officials were chosen. their positions were nominally at the king's disposal, but practically they descended hereditarily in the same manner as the royal power, the king interfering with new appointments only on extraordinary occasions. these rulers were almost absolute in matters concerning their own provinces, and exacted great honors, ceremonial attendance, and implicit obedience from all their subjects; but they were not exempt in matters of crime from the penalties of the law, and were obliged to reside during a part of each year in the capital, to render personal service to the monarch, and to take part in the supreme council by which he was guided in the administration of public affairs. they were, however, exempt from all tribute except that of personal service, and lived on the product of portions of the public domain assigned them. cogolludo tells us that the nobles of mayapan were also required to perform certain services in the temples, and to assist at the religious festivals. they not only had the exclusive right to the government of provinces, but also to the command of armies. nobles of a lower class, with the title batab, governed cities, villages, or other subdivisions of provinces. they were not of royal blood, or at least were only connected with the reigning family through the female branch. their position was also practically hereditary, although the heir could not assume his inherited rank without the royal sanction. no government officials received any salary, but they were obliged to maintain themselves and the poor and disabled of their respective communities from the products of their inherited estates.[ ] [sidenote: the quichÉ-cakchiquel empires.] the most powerful kingdoms in guatemala at the coming of the spaniards were, that of the quichés, whose capital was gumarcaah, or utatlan, near the site of the modern santa cruz del quiché; and that of the cakchiquels, capital iximché, or patinamit, near tecpan guatemala. these two nations were independent of and hostile to each other in the sixteenth century, but they had been united in one empire during the days of guatemala's greatest glory, their separation dated back only about a century, and their institutions were practically identical, although they were traditionally distinct tribes in the more remote past. the same remark may be made respecting the institutions of the other nations in guatemala which were wholly or partially independent of the powers mentioned above. all the aboriginal powers had greatly deteriorated by wars, one with another, and their mutual hatred made their defeat by foreigners possible, as had been the case in the conquest of the nahua nations farther north. there is little doubt that the quiché-cakchiquel peoples were direct descendants of votan's subjects, but the line of traditional history that unites the two empires is broken at many points and cannot be satisfactorily followed. there are evidences also of foreign, chiefly nahua, influences in the molding of quiché institutions, exerted before or after the toltec era in anáhuac, probably at both periods. the traditional history of the quiché empire for three or four centuries before the conquest, rests almost entirely on manuscripts written in the native languages with the roman alphabet, which have only been consulted by one modern writer. into the labyrinth of this complicated record of wars and political changes i shall not attempt to enter, especially since the general nature of quiché institutions does not seem to have been perceptibly modified by the events recorded. an aristocratic monarchy, similar in nearly every feature to that i have described in yucatan, seems to have been the basis of quiché government from the first. all high positions, judicial, military, or sacerdotal, were hereditary and restricted to noble families, who traced their genealogy far back into the mythic annals of the nations. between noble and plebeian blood the lines were sharply defined. the nobles were practically independent and superior in their own provinces, but owed tribute, allegiance, and military aid to the monarch. at the time of guatemala's highest prosperity and glory, when king qikab from his throne in utatlan ruled over all the country, the monarch, if we may credit the traditional account, made an effort to diminish the power of the nobles, by conferring military commands and other high positions on the ablest men of plebeian blood. thus a new class of nobles, called achihab was created. this newly conferred power became, acting with the alienation of the old hereditary nobility, too great to be restrained by the monarch who created it. the achihab became ambitious and insubordinate; they were at last put down, but the dissolution of the empire into several states was the indirect result of their machinations. [sidenote: succession to the quichÉ throne.] respecting the order of succession to the quiché throne torquemada and juarros state that the king's brother was the king elect, and the direct heir to the throne; the king's oldest son was the senior captain and the next heir; and the latter's first cousin, the nephew of the king, was junior captain and third heir. when the king died each heir was promoted one degree, and the vacant post of junior captain was filled by the nearest relative--_whose_ nearest relative the authors neglect to say. whoever may have been elevated to the vacant position the whole system as a regular order of succession would be a manifest absurdity. brasseur de bourbourg agrees with the authors cited and gives to the king, the elect, and the two captains the titles of ahau ahpop, ahau ahpop camha, nim chocoh cawek, and ahau ah tohil, respectively; but when the last position was left vacant by the death of the king, the abbé tells us that "it was conferred upon the eldest son of the new monarch,"--that is, upon the same man who held it before! padre ximenez implies perhaps that the crown descended from brother to brother, and from the youngest brother to a nephew who was a son of the oldest brother. i have no authorities by the aid of which to throw any light upon this confused subject; it is evident, however, that if the last-mentioned system, identical with that which obtained among some of the nahua nations, be not the correct one, nothing whatever is known of the matter in question.[ ] all the authorities state that this remarkable system of succession was established to prevent the power from coming into the hands of young and inexperienced men; and that an incompetent person in the regular line could not succeed to the throne, but retained throughout his life the rank to which he was born. it is not clearly explained how the heir's competency was decided upon, but it seems probable that the matter was settled by the reigning king with the advice of his council of princes. the king's children by his first wife were preferred above the rest, though all received high honors. at rabinal the ahau, or ruling prince, was regularly chosen by the nobles, from the royal family, but was not necessarily a son or brother of the last ruler. among the cakchiquels the succession alternated between two royal families. the king's title was ahpozotzil; the next heir from the other branch bore the title ahpoxahil; their eldest sons, the elder of which became ahpoxahil on the king's death, had the titles ahpop qamahay and galel xahil. inferior titles were galel qamahay, atzih winak, and ahuchan xahil, the bearers of which succeeded to the throne in default of nearer heirs. it will be noticed that this plan of succession is but little clearer than that attributed to the quichés.[ ] [sidenote: coronation in guatemala.] the ceremonies of coronation in the kingdom of rabinal, and, so far as can be known, in the other kingdoms of guatemala, consisted of an assemblage of all the nobles at the capital,--each being obliged to attend or send a representative--the presentation of gifts and compliments to the new king, a discourse of congratulation and advice addressed to him by one of the ancients, and finally a splendid feast which lasted several days and usually degenerated into a drunken orgy. the quichés and cakchiquels also bathed the new king and anointed his body with perfumes before seating him on the throne, which was a seat, not described, placed on a carpet or mat, and surmounted by four canopies of feather-work placed one above another, the largest at the top; the seats of the three lower princes already mentioned were also shaded by canopies, three, two, and one, respectively. whenever he appeared in public the monarch was borne in a palanquin on the shoulders of the nobles who composed his council.[ ] the machinery of government was carried on in the provinces by lieutenants of the king's appointment, and the monarch was advised in all matters of state by a council of nobles. juarros tells us that the supreme quiché council was composed of twenty-four grandees, who enjoyed great privileges and honors, personally attended the king, and managed the administration of justice and the collection of the royal revenue, but were liable to severe punishment if they committed crime. brasseur de bourbourg speaks of a supreme council, giving the names of the princes that composed it, and also of an ordinary council whose members were called _alchaoh_, or 'judges,' and were entrusted with the collection of tribute. the other authorities, torquemada and ximenez, state that the councils were not permanent, but were summoned by the king and selected for their peculiar fitness to give advice upon the subject under consideration. the lieutenants had also their provincial councils to advise them in matters of local importance, but all cases of national import, or affecting in any way the nobles of high rank, were referred to the royal council. so great was the power of the nobles assembled in council, that they might, under certain conditions, depose a tyrannical sovereign and seat the next heir on the throne. no person unless of noble blood could hold any office whatever, even that of doorkeeper to the council-chamber, if we may credit juarros; consequently the greatest pains was taken to insure a lineage free from any plebeian stain. a noble marrying a woman of the common people was degraded to her rank, took her name, and his estate was forfeited to the crown. ximenez states that traveling officials visited from time to time the different provinces, to observe the actions of the regular judges, and to correct abuses.[ ] [sidenote: the quichÉ nobility.] the following is the abbé brasseur's account of the grades of nobility taken from the quiché manuscript published under the title of popol vuh: "three principal families having a common origin constituted the high nobility of quiché, modeled on the ancient imperial family of the toltecs. the first and most illustrious was the house of cawek, the members of which composed the royal family proper; the second was that of nihaïb; and the third that of ahau quiché. each of these houses had its titles and charges perfectly distinct and fixed, which never left it, like the hereditary offices of the english court at the present time; and to each of these offices were attached fiefs, or particular domains, from which the titularies drew their revenue, their attendants, and their vassals, and a palace where they lived during their stay in the capital. the house of cawek, or royal house proper, included only princes of the blood, like the eldest branch of the bourbons in france. it was composed of nine _chinamital_, or great fiefs, whose names corresponded to those of the palaces occupied by these princes in the capital, and whose titles were as follows:--i. ahau ahpop, or 'lord of the princes,' title of the king, corresponding nearly to 'king of kings,' whose palace was called _cuha_; ii. ahau ahpop camha, or 'lord of the princes and seneschal' (_camha_, he who cares for the house, majordomo), whom the spaniards called the second king, and whose palace was called _tziquinaha_, or 'house of birds;' iii. nim chocoh cawek, or 'grand elect of cawek;' iv. ahau ah tohil, or 'lord of the servants of tohil,' priests of tohil, the principal quiché god; v. ahau ah gucumatz, or 'lord of the servants of gucumatz,' (priests of quetzalcoatl); vi. popol winak chituy, or president of the counsellors; vii. lolmet quehnay, the principal receiver of royal tributes, or minister of finance; viii. popol winak pahom tzalatz xcaxeba, or 'grand master of the hall of the council of the game of ball;' ix. tepeu yaqui, 'chief or lord of the yaquis' (toltecs, or mexicans). "the house of nihaïb, the second in rank, had also nine chinamital, with names corresponding to their palaces, and titles as follows: i. ahau galel, 'lord of the bracelets,' or of those who have the right to wear them, and chief of the house of nihaïb; ii. ahau ahtzic winak, 'lord of those who give,' or of those who made presents (especially to ambassadors, who were introduced by him); iii. ahau galel camha, 'lord of the bracelets, and seneschal;' iv. nimah camha, 'grand seneschal;' v. uchuch camha, 'mother of the seneschals;' vi. nima camha nihaïb, 'grand seneschal of nihaïb;' vii. nim chocoh nihaïb, 'grand elect of nihaïb;' viii. ahau awilix, 'lord of awilix' (one of the gods of the quiché trinity); ix. yacol atam, 'grand master of feasts.' "the third house, that of ahau quiché, had only four chinamital with the following titles: i. ahtzic winak ahau, 'great lord of givers;' ii. lolmet ahau, 'grand receiver;' iii. nim chocoh ahau, 'lord grand elect;' iv. ahau gagawitz, 'lord of gagawitz' (one of the gods of the quiché trinity)."[ ] [sidenote: pipiles and nicaraguans.] respecting the chiapanecs, who are not generally considered as the descendants of the peoples who inhabited the country in votan's time, we have no knowledge of their government save a probably unfounded statement by garcía that they were ruled by two chiefs, elected each year by the priests, and never had a king.[ ] the pipiles in salvador, although traditionally among the partially civilized nations, seem to have been governed in the sixteenth century by local chieftains only, like most of the wild tribes already described. these chiefs handed down their power, however, to their sons or nearest relatives. palacio tells us that to regulate marriages and the planting of crops was among the ruler's duties. squier concludes that all these petty chiefs were more or less allied politically, and acted together in matters affecting the common interests.[ ] nicaragua, when first visited by europeans, was divided into many provinces, inhabited by several nations linguistically distinct one from another, one of them, at least, speaking the aztec tongue; but in respect to their government and other institutions, the very meagre information preserved by oviedo enables us to make little or no distinction between the different tribes. in many of the provinces we are told the people lived in communities, or little republics, governed by certain _huehues_, or 'old men,' who were elected by the people. these elective rulers themselves elected a captain-general to direct their armies in time of war, which official they had no hesitation in putting to death when he exhibited any symptoms of insubordination or acquired a power over the army which seemed dangerous to the public good. in other and probably in most provinces a chieftain, or _teite_, ruled the people of his domain with much the same powers and privileges as we have noticed in yucatan and guatemala. these teites had their petty vassals and lords to execute their orders, and to accompany them in public displays, but it seems they could claim no strictly personal services in their palaces from any but members of their own household. peter martyr speaks of a 'throne adorned with rich and princely furniture.' these rulers affected great state, and insisted on a strict observance of court etiquette. they would receive no message, however pressing the occasion, except through the regularly appointed officials; and one of them, in an interview with the spaniards, would not condescend to open his royal mouth to the leader until a curtain was held between him and his foreign hearers. on several occasions they met the spaniards in a procession of men and women gaily decked in all their finery, marching to the sound of shell trumpets, and bearing in their hands presents for the invaders. but even in the provinces nominally ruled by the teites, all legislative power was in the hands of a council called _monexico_, composed of old men, who were elected every four moons. without the consent of the monexico the chief could take action in no public matter whatever, not even in war. the council could decide against the teite, but he had the right to assemble or dissolve it, and to be present at all its meetings. the decisions of the monexico were made known in the market-place by a crier, whose badge of office was a rattle. the lords also, in sending an ambassador or messenger on any public business, gave him a fan, bearing which credential he was implicitly trusted wherever he might go. two members of the council were chosen as executive officers, and one of them must be always present in the market-place to regulate all dealings of the buyers and sellers. squier says that the council-houses were called _grepons_, and its corridors or porticos _galpons_; oviedo in one place terms the buildings _galpones_, and in another applies the name to a class of vassal chiefs.[ ] [sidenote: the maya priesthood.] it is only of the priesthood as connected with the government, as an order of nobility, as a class of the community, that a mention is required here: in their quality of priests proper, religious teachers, oracles of the gods, leaders of ceremonious rites, confessors, and sacrificers, they will be treated of elsewhere. their temporal power, directly exercised, or indirectly through their influence upon kings and chieftains, was perhaps even greater than we have found it among the nahua nations. votan, zamná, cukulcan, and all the other semi-mythical founders of the maya civilization, united in their persons the qualities of high-priest and king, and from their time to the coming of the spaniards ecclesiastical and secular authority marched hand in hand. in yucatan, the itzas at chichen were ruled in the earlier times by a theocratic government, and later the high-priest of the empire, of the royal family of the cheles, became king of izamal, which became the sacred city and the headquarters of ecclesiastical dignitaries. the gigantic mounds still seen at izamal are traditionally the tombs of both kings and priests. the office of chief priest was hereditary, the succession being from father to son--since priests and even the vestal virgins were permitted to marry--but regulated apparently by the opinions of kings and nobles, as well as of ecclesiastical councils. the king constantly applied to the high-priest for counsel in matters of state, and in turn gave rich presents to the head of the church; the security of the temples was also confided to the highest officers of the state. the rank of ixnacan katun, or superior of the vestals, was founded by a princess of royal blood. in guatemala the high-priests who presided over the temples of the quiché trinity, tohil, awilix, and gucumatz, were all princes of the three royal families; their titles have been given in the lists of the quiché nobility; and one of the most powerful kings is said to have created two priestly titles for the family of zakik, to each of which he attached a province for its support. ximenez tells us that in vera paz the chief priest, next in power to the king, was elected from a certain lineage by the people. in the province of chiquimula, mictlan is described as a great religious centre, and a shrine much visited by pilgrims. here the power was in the hands of a sacerdotal hierarchy, hereditary in one family, whose chief bore the title teoti and was aided by an ecclesiastical council of five members, which controlled all the priesthood, and from whose number a successor to the teoti was appointed by the chief of the pipiles, or, as some authorities state, was chosen by lot. thus we see that while the priesthood had great power over even the highest secular rulers in all the maya nations, yet the system by which the high-priests were members of the royal families, rendered their power a support to that of royalty rather than a cause of fear. the fear which kings experienced towards the priests seems consequently to have been altogether superstitious on account of their supernatural powers, and not a jealous fear of any possible rivalry. ordinary priests were appointed by the higher authorities of the church, but whether the choice was confined to certain families, we are not informed. it is altogether probable, however, that such was the case in nations whose lowest secular officers must be of noble blood.[ ] [sidenote: plebeians and slaves.] in the south as in the north, the status of the lower classes, or plebeians, has received no attention at the hands of the spanish observers. we know that in yucatan the nobles were obliged to support from their revenues such of the lower classes as from sickness, old age, or other disabling cause were unable to gain a livelihood. it has been seen also that none of plebeian blood could hold any office, the only exception noted being the attempt of one of the quiché kings to humiliate the aristocracy by raising plebeian soldiers to the new rank of achihab, 'men' or 'heroes.' the lower classes of freemen were doubtless for the most part farmers, each tilling the portion of land allotted him in the domain of a noble; and beyond the obligation to pay a certain tax from the product of their labor, and to render military service in case of necessity, they were probably independent, and often wealthy.[ ] lowest in the scale among the mayas as elsewhere in america were the slaves. slavery was an institution of all the nations in the sixteenth century, and had been traditionally for some centuries. in yucatan, tradition speaks of a time when slavery was unknown; its introduction by a powerful cocome king was one of the acts of oppression which brought about a revolution and deposed him from the throne. during the power of the tutul xius which followed, slavery is said to have been abolished, but must--if indeed the tradition be not altogether unfounded--have been re-introduced at a still later period.[ ] in the annals of other maya nations no time seems to be noted when slaves were not held. this unfortunate class was composed chiefly of captives in war, or of those whose parents had been such; the condition was hereditary, but, in yucatan at least, the children had the right to redeem themselves by settling on unoccupied lands and becoming tribute-payers. foreign slaves were also brought into the country for sale; and cortés speaks of acalan, a city of guatemala, as a place where an extensive trade in human kind was carried on.[ ] in nicaragua a father might sell himself or his children into bondage, when hard pressed by necessity; but in such cases he seems to have had the right of redemption.[ ] in nicaragua and yucatan the thief was enslaved by the owner of stolen property, until such time as he paid its value; he could even be sold to other parties, but it is added that he could only be redeemed in nicaragua with the consent of the cacique. in yucatan, if a slave died or ran away soon after his sale the purchaser was entitled to receive back a portion of the price paid.[ ] [sidenote: treatment of slaves.] kidnapping, according to las casas, was common in guatemala, but the laws against the offence were very severe. he who sold a free native into slavery was clubbed to death, his own wife and children were sold, and a large part of the price received went to fill the public exchequer.[ ] pimentel concludes that slaves were more harshly treated in yucatan than in mexico; gomara and herrera state that no punishment was decreed to him who killed a slave in nicaragua; but in yucatan the killer of another's slave must pay the full value of the property destroyed, and was also amenable to punishment if the murdered slave was his own. in guatemala if a freeman had sexual intercourse with the female slave of another he had to pay the owner her full value or purchase for him another of equal value; but if the woman were a favorite of the owner, the penalty, though still pecuniary, was much increased. in the province of vera paz, as las casas states, if slaves committed fornication with women of their own condition, both parties were slain by having their heads broken between two stones, or by a stick driven down the throat, or by the garrote; the man, however, being sometimes sold for sacrifice. among the pipiles a freeman cohabiting with a slave was himself enslaved, unless pardoned by the high-priest for services rendered in war. in yucatan, as it is expressly stated, and elsewhere probably, the master was permitted to use his female slaves as concubines, but the offspring of such connection could not inherit. thomas gage tells us of a town in guatemala whose inhabitants in the olden time were all slaves and served the people of amatitlan as messengers. the only distinguishing marks of slaves that are mentioned were the shearing of the hair in yucatan, and marks of powdered pine charcoal, called _tile_, in nicaragua.[ ] respecting the tenure of landed property among the maya nations the little information extant applies chiefly to yucatan. the whole country, as we have seen, was divided into many domains, or fiefs, of varying extent, ruled over by nobles, or lords, of different rank. although each lord had, under the king, nearly absolute authority over his domain, yet he does not seem to have been regarded as in any sense the owner of the lands, or to have had a right to sell or in any way alienate them. a certain portion of these lands were set apart for the lord's support, and were worked by his people in common; the rest of the land seems to have been divided among the people, the first occupant being regarded in a certain sense as its owner, and handing it down as an inheritance from generation to generation, but having no right to sell it, and being also obliged to contribute a certain part of its products to the lord of the domain. cogolludo and landa speak of the land as being common property, yet by this they probably do not mean to imply that any man had a right to trespass on the cultivated fields of another, but simply that unoccupied lands might be appropriated by any one for purposes of cultivation. game, fish, and the salt marshes were likewise free to all, but the hunter, fisherman, or salt-maker must pay a tribute to the lords and to the king. in nicaragua land could not be sold, and if the owner wished to change his residence he had to leave all his property to his relatives, since nothing could be removed.[ ] [sidenote: inheritance and taxation.] at a man's death his property, in yucatan, was divided between his sons equally, except that a son who had assisted his father to gain the property might receive more than the rest. daughters inherited nothing, and only received what might be given from motives of kindness by the brothers. in default of sons, the inheritance went to the brothers or nearest male relatives. minor heirs were entrusted to tutors who managed the estate, and from it received a recompense for their services. according to oviedo, property in nicaragua was inherited by the children, but if there were no children, it went to the relatives of both father and mother. squier states that in the latter case all personal property was buried with the deceased.[ ] taxes and tribute paid by the people for the support of the kings and nobles consisted of the products of all the different industries. the merchant contributed from the wares in which he dealt; the farmer from the products of the soil, chiefly maize and cacao; the hunter and fisherman from the game taken in forest and stream. cotton garments, copal, feathers, skins, fowl, salt, honey, and gold-dust composed a large part of the tribute, and slaves are also mentioned in the lists. personal labor in working the lands of the lords, and in supplying his household with wood and water, was also an important element of taxation in the provinces. officials were appointed to assess and collect taxes from all subjects. in yucatan the tribute of the king and that of the local lords were kept separate and were attended to by different officials; but in guatemala it is implied that all taxes were collected together and then distributed to the king and several classes of nobles according to their rank. in the ancient times those who lived in mayapan were exempt from all taxation. in nicaragua, we are told that the teite received no tribute or taxes whatever from his subjects, but in the case of a war or other event involving extraordinary expense, the council decided upon the amount of revenue needed, and chose by lot one of their number to assess and collect it. taxation among the mayas does not seem to have been oppressive, and the attempt to extort excessive tribute contributed largely to the overthrow of the cocome power in the twelfth century.[ ] a sale of property or other contract was legalized in yucatan by the parties drinking before witnesses. a strict fulfillment of all contracts was required both by the law and by public sentiment. heirs and relatives were liable, or at least assumed the liability, for debts; and often paid, as did the lords of the province, the pecuniary penalty incurred by some poor man, especially if the crime had been committed involuntarily or without malice.[ ] [sidenote: administration of justice.] the administration of justice and the execution of the laws were among the mayas entrusted to the officials that have been mentioned in what has been said respecting government. serious crimes or other important matters affecting the interests of the king, of the state, or of the higher ranks of nobility, were referred directly to the royal council presided over by the monarch. the king's lieutenants, or lords of royal blood who ruled over provinces, took cognizance of the more important cases of provincial interest; while petty local questions were decided by subordinate judges, one of whom was appointed in each village or hamlet. but even in the case of the local judges the advice of a council was sought on every occasion, and persons were appointed to assist both judges and parties to the suit in the character of advocates. although these judges had the right to consult with the lord of their province, and the latter, probably, with the royal council, yet after a decision was rendered, there was apparently no right of appeal in any case whatever; but we are told that in yucatan at least a royal commissioner traveled through the provinces and reported regularly on the manner in which the judges performed their duties, and on other matters of public import. both judges and advocates might receive presents from all the parties to a suit, according to cogolludo, and no one thought of applying for justice without bringing some gift proportioned to his means. in guatemala, as las casas states, the judge received half the property of the convicted party; this is probably only to be understood as applying to serious crimes, which involved a confiscation of all property. in vera paz the tax-collectors served also as constables, being empowered to arrest accused parties and witnesses, and to bring them before the judges. very little is known of the order of procedure in the maya courts, but great pains was apparently taken to ascertain all the facts bearing on the case, and to render exact justice to all concerned. court proceedings, testimony, arguments, and decisions are said to have been altogether verbal, there being no evidence that written records were kept as they were by the nahuas, although the maya system of hieroglyphic writing cannot be supposed to have been in any respect inferior to that of the northern nations. nothing in the nature of an oath was exacted from a witness, but to guard against false testimony in yucatan a terrible curse was launched against the perjurer, and a superstitious fear of consequences was supposed to render falsehood impossible. in guatemala so much was the perjurer despised that a fine and a reprimand from the judge were deemed sufficient punishment. torture, if we may credit las casas, by tying the hands, beating with clubs, and the inhalation of smoke, was resorted to in vera paz to extort confession from a person suspected of adultery or other serious crimes. great weight seems to have been attached to material evidence; for instance, it was deemed important to take the thief while in actual possession of the stolen property; and a woman to convict a man of rape must seize and produce in court some portion of his wearing-apparel. the announcement of the judge's decision was, as i have said, delivered verbally, and sometimes, when the parties to the suit were numerous, cogolludo informs us that all were invited to a banquet, during which the verdict was made known. as there was no appeal to a higher tribunal, so there seems to have been no pardoning power, and the judge's final decision was always strictly enforced. except a mention by herrera that the nicaraguan ministers of justice bore fans and rods, i find no account of any distinguishing insignia in the maya tribunals. [sidenote: maya punishments.] punishments inflicted on maya criminals took the form of death, slavery, and pecuniary fines; imprisonment was of rare occurrence, and apparently never inflicted as a punishment, but only for the retention of prisoners until their final punishment was legally determined. cogolludo states that culprits were never beaten, but villagutierre affirms that, at least among the itzas, they were both beaten and put in shackles; and the same author speaks of imprisonment for non-payment of taxes at coban. the death penalty was inflicted by hanging, by beating with the garrote, or club, and by throwing the condemned over a precipice. ximenez mentions burning in guatemala; oviedo speaks of impalements in yucatan; those condemned to death in nicaragua seem to have been sacrificed to the gods by having their hearts cut out; and throwing the body from a wall or precipice is the only method attributed to the pipiles. at a town in yucatan called cachi, oviedo mentions a sharp mast standing in the centre of a square and used by the people for impaling criminals alive. the method of imprisonment, as described by cogolludo, consisted in binding the hands behind the back, placing about the neck a collar of wood and cords, and confining the culprit thus shackled in a wooden cage. at campeche a place of punishment is mentioned by peter martyr and torquemada as having been seen by the early voyagers. three beams or posts were fixed in the ground, to them were attached three cross-beams, and scattered about were blood-stained arrows and spears. this apparatus would indicate, if it was really a place of punishment, a method of inflicting the death-penalty not elsewhere mentioned; and a stone structure adjoining, covered with sculptured emblems of punishment is suggestive of ceremonial rites in connection with executions. the death sentence generally involved the confiscation of the criminal's property and the enslaving of his family. all but the most heinous offences could be expiated by the payment of a fine consisting of slaves or other property, and the whole or a large part of this fine went to the judges, the lords, or the king. murder was punished in all the nations by death, but in yucatan and nicaragua if there were extenuating circumstances, such as great provocation or absence of malice, the crime was atoned by the payment of a fine. in yucatan a minor who took human life became a slave; the killing of another's slave called for payment of the value destroyed; the killing of one's own slave involved a slight penalty or none at all. in nicaragua no penalty was decided upon for the murder of a chief, such a crime being deemed impossible. theft was atoned by a return of the stolen property and the payment of a fine to the public treasury. in case the criminal could not pay the full value he was sold as a slave until such time as he might be able to redeem his freedom. in some cases the amount seems to have been paid with the price he brought as a slave, and in others he served the injured party. fines, however, in most cases seem to have been paid by the relatives and friends of the guilty party, so that the number of persons actually enslaved was perhaps not very large. in guatemala stolen articles of trifling value went with the fine to the public treasury, since the owner would not receive them. the incorrigible thief, when his friends refused to pay his fine, was sometimes put to death; and death was also the penalty for stealing articles of value from the temple. in nicaragua the thief who delayed too long the payment of his fine was sacrificed to the gods; and in salvador, banishment was the punishment for trifling theft, death for stealing larger amounts. landa informs us that in yucatan a noble who so far forgot his position as to steal had his face scarified, a great disgrace. [sidenote: criminal code.] adultery was punished in yucatan and guatemala with death; in the latter if the parties were of the common people they were thrown from a precipice. fornication was atoned by a fine, or if the affronted relatives insisted, by death. a woman who was unchaste was at first reprimanded, and finally, if she persevered in her loose conduct, enslaved. rape in guatemala was punished by death; an unsuccessful attempt at the same, by slavery. marriage with a slave, as already stated, reduced the freeman to a slave's condition; sexual connection with one's own slave was not regarded as a crime. he who committed incest in yucatan was put to death. treason, rebellion, inciting to rebellion, desertion, interference with the payment of royal tribute, and similar offences endangering the well-being of the nations, were sufficient cause for death. in guatemala he who kidnapped a free person and sold him into slavery, lost his life. for an assault resulting in wounds a fine was imposed. he who killed the quetzal, a bird reserved for the kings, was put to death; and the same fate was that of him who took game or fish from another's premises, if the injured party was an enemy and insisted on so severe a penalty. the pipiles condemned a man to be beaten for lying; but the same offence in time of war demanded capital punishment, as did any disrespect shown for the sacred things of religion. ximenez states that in guatemala the _balam_, or sorcerer, was burned; the same offence in vera paz, according to torquemada, caused the guilty party to be beaten to death or hanged. a strict payment of all just debts was enforced, and in guatemala he who bought many things on credit and failed to pay for them was finally enslaved or even killed. both here and in nicaragua the borrower was obliged to return or pay for borrowed articles, and, if the articles were products of the soil, the lender might repay himself from the borrower's field. he who injured another's property, even servants in the lord's palace who broke dishes or furniture, must make good all damage. in yucatan, we are told that a man could not be taken for debt unaccompanied by crime. some additional laws and regulations of the maya nations will appear in their appropriate places in other chapters.[ ] footnotes: [ ] see pp. - of this volume, and especially pp. - , on the maya nations. [ ] although brasseur de bourbourg, on the authority of some of his original mss. perhaps, states that xibalba in the height of its glory was ruled by thirteen princes, two of whom were kings, the second being subordinate to the first; and also that there was a council of twelve, presided over by the king. he also mentions a succession of seventeen kings after votan. _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. , , - . [ ] _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. - ; _ordoñez_, _hist. del cielo y de la tierra_, ms.; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] 'si moria el señor, aunque le succediesse el hijo mayor, eran siempre los demas hijos muy acatados, y ayudados y tenidos por señores.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . 'si quando el señor moria no eran los hijos para regir y tenia hermanos, regia de los hermanos el mayor o el mas desenbuelto y al heredero mostravan sus costumbres y fiestas para quando fuesse hombre y estos hermanos, aunque el eredero fuesse para regir, mandavan toda su vida, y sino avia hermanos, elegian los sacerdotes y gente principal un hombre sufficiente para ello.' _id._, p. . brasseur de bourbourg, in his french translation of this passage, gives a different meaning from what i deem the correct one as given in my text. he understands that the brother succeeded in any case. 'ce n'étaient pas ses fils qui succédaient au gouvernement, mais bien l'aîné de ses frères,' and also that the person appointed by the priests if there was no brother, ruled only during the heir's minority, 'jusqu'à la majorité de l'héritier,' all of which may be very reasonable, but certainly is not found in the spanish text. [ ] 'organisait les conseils de la religion et de l'état qui devaient, après lui, nommer son successeur.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii, pp. - ; _remesal_, _hist. chyapa_, p. . [ ] 'todos los señores tenian cuenta con visitar, respetar, alegrar a cocom, acompañandole y festejandole y acudiendo a el con los negocios arduos.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . a kind of mayordomo called caluac, whose badge of office was a thick short stick, was the agent through whom the lord performed the routine duties of his position. _ib._ 'concertavan las cosas, y negocios principalmente de noche.' _id._, p. . 'fuè todo el reyno de yucatàn, y sus provincias, con el nombre de mayapàn, desde que los indios fueron à èl y le poblaron, sujeto à vn solo rey, y señor absoluto, con govierno monarquico. no durò esto poco tiempo, sino por muchos años.' _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, p. . among the itzas cortés was visited by 'el canek, con treinta y dos principales.' _id._, p. . 'despues llamó el canek à consejo à todos sus capitanes, y principales.' _id._, p. . 'vno, como à modo, ò forma de trono pequeño, en que èl solia estar.' _id._, p. . 'vna corona de plumas, de varios colores.' _id._, p. . yucatan 'regido de señores particulares, que es el estado de los reies: governavanse por leies, y costumbres buenas; vivian en paz, y en justicia, que es argumento de su buen govierno.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . brasseur refers to torquemada, tom. xi., cap. xix., on yucatan government, but that chapter relates wholly to guatemala. 'quando los señores de la ciudad de mayapàn dominaban, toda la tierra les tributaba.' in later times they attached much importance to their royal blood. _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . 'dizese, que vn señor de la ciudad de mayapàn, cabeça de el reyno, hizo matar afrentosamente à vn hermano suyo, porque corrompió vna doncella.' _id._, p. . see also on the system of government in yucatan: _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iv., cap. vii., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii-iv.; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - , , , - , ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., pp. - , ; _fancourt's hist. yuc._, pp. - , - . [ ] 'it was ordained that the eldest son of the king (that is, of the first king who founded the monarchy) should inherit the crown; upon the second son the title of _elect_ was conferred, as being the next heir to his elder brother; the sons of the eldest son received the title of captain senior, and those of the second captain junior. when the king died, his eldest son assumed the sceptre, and the elect became the immediate inheritor; the captain senior ascended to the rank of elect, the captain junior to that of captain senior, and the next nearest relative to that of captain junior.' _juarros_, _hist. guat._, pp. - . 'luego el capitan menor, entraba por maior, y metian otro en el que avia vacado del capitan menor, que ordinariamente era el pariente mas cercano.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - . 'restait alors la charge d'ahau-ah-tohil; elle était conférée au fils aîné du nouveau monarque.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. , , . 'luego que el primero subió al reino, mandó el padre (the first king) que el segundo fuese capitain, y mandó por ley, que si fuesen cuatro, que el primero reinase, el segundo fuese como principe, el tercero capitan general, y el cuarto capitan segundo, y que muerto el primero, reinasen todos por su órden, si se alcanzasen en vida.' note, 'bien clara está la descendencia de padres á hijos de todos tres hermanos.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, _escolios_, pp. - . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - , , with reference to _roman_, _repub. de los indios_, tom. ii., cap. viii. titles in atitlan. _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. . 'las prouincias de tazulatlan, gente belicosa y braua, si bien con pulicia, porque viuian en poblaciones formadas, y gouierno de republica.' _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. . tazulatlan, or tuzulutlan, was the province of rabinal. _remesal_, _hist. chyapa_, p. . [ ] 'aqui havia muy grandes, y sumptuosas comidas, y borracheras.' 'sentaban al nuevo electo en vna estera mui pintada.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. , - . 'in one of the saloons stood the throne, under four canopies of plumage, the ascent to it was by several steps.' _juarros_, _hist. guat._, p. . the twenty-four counsellors 'carried the emperor on their shoulders in his chair of state whenever he quitted his palace.' _id._, p. . 'no se diferenciaba el rey de guatemala ó de utatlán de los otros en el trage, sino en que él traia horadadas las orejas y narices, que se tenia por grandeza.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. , . [ ] 'tenia el rey ciertos varones de gran autoridad y opinion, que eran como oidores, y conocian de todos los pleitos y negocios que se ofrecian;' they collected the royal revenues and attended to the expenses of the royal family. 'tenia en cada pueblo grande sus cancillerias con sus oidores, que eran las cabezas de calpul; pero no era muy grande la comision que tenian.' 'poderosos señores, los quales esperaban su confirmacion de sus estados del dicho rey.' 'aun en las cosas pequeñas y de poca importancia entraban en consulta.' 'unos como alquaciles que servian de llamar y convocar al pueblo.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - , - . the king's lieutenants 'tenian su jurisdicion limitada, la qual no era mas, que la que el señor, ò rei les concedia, reservando para si, y su consejo las cosas graves.' these lieutenants held their positions for life if they were qualified and obedient, but to hold them they must have been promoted from lower offices. 'el consejo no era de qualesquiera personas, sino de aquellas, que mas cursadas estaban en la misma cosa, de que se trataba.' they sometimes called in the aid of foreign nations to depose a tyrant. _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , , . 'there was no instance of any person being appointed to a public office, high or low, who was not selected from the nobility.' _juarros_, _hist. guat._, pp. - . some members of the councils were priests when religious interests were at stake. _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec iv., tom. viii., cap. x. 'les personnes ou officiers qui servaient le souverain à la cour se nommaient lolmay, atzihunac, calel, ahuchan. c'étaient les facteurs, les contador, et trésoriers.' _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. . 'de l'assemblée des princes des maisons de cawek, d'ahau-quiché et de nihaïb, réunis avec le galel-zakik, et l'ahau-ah-tzutuha, se composait le conseil extraordinaire du monarque.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . the king 'constitua vingt-deux grandes dignités, auxquelles il éleva les membres de la haute aristocratie.' _id._, pp. - . [ ] lists of the nobility. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, pp. - ; _id._, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] 'nunca tuvieron rei, sino solo elegian los sacerdotes cada año dos capitanes, que eran como governadores, à quien todos obedecian, aunque era maior el respeto, i veneracion, que tenian à los sacerdotes.' _garcía_, _orígen de los ind._, p. ; a statement repeated in _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. ; and _heredia y sarmiento_, _sermon_, p. . garcía refers to _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. xi., where the only statement on the subject is that 'son muy respetados los principales.' [ ] 'no doubt there were individual chiefs who possessed a power superior to the others, exercising a great influence over them, and perhaps arrogating a qualified authority.' _squier's cent. amer._, pp. - ; _palacio_, _carta_, p. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. - , , , , , , tom. iii., p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _peter martyr_, dec. vi., lib. iii.; _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, p. . [ ] on the status of the priesthood see: _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , , , , , ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x., lib. x., cap. ii.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxxiii.; _palacio_, _carta_, pp. , ; _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. , , tom. ii., pp. , , , , , , , - . [ ] 'l'idée de la supériorité de caste est tellement évidente dans le _popol-vuh_, par example, que le _peuple_, c'est-à-dire la masse étrangère aux tribus quichées, n'est jamais désigné que sous des nommes d'animaux; ce sont les fourmis, les rats, les singes, les oiseaux, etc.' _viollet-le-duc._, in _charnay_, _ruines amér._, p. . 'acostumbravan buscar en los pueblos los mancos y ciegos y que les davan lo necesario.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . 'y los señores dauan gouernadores a los pueblos, a los quales encomendauan mucho la paz, y buen tratamiento de la genta menuda.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii. '_achih_ ... signifie régulièrement héros, guerrier; il semble toutefois s'appliquer à ceux qui n'appartenaient point à l'aristocratie, mais à une classe intermédiaire entre la noblesse et les serfs ou paysans.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, pp. - , - ; _id._, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . among the pipiles 'los que no eran para la guerra, cultivaban las tierras millpas del cazique i papa i sacerdotes, i de las propias suyas davan un tanto para la gente de guerra.' _palacio_, _carta_, p. . beggars mentioned in nicaragua. _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. , , . 'cocom fue primero el que hizo esclavos pero por deste mal se siguio usar las armas con que se defendieron para que no fuessen todos esclavos.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] 'en las guerras, que por su ambicion hazian vnos à otros, se cautiuaban, quedando hechos esclauos los vencidos, que cogian. en esto eran rigurosissimos, y los trataban con aspereza.' _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. - ; _carrillo_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. iii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. . in nicaragua, helps tells us that only the common captives were enslaved, the chiefs being killed and eaten. _span. conq._, vol. iii., p. . [ ] 'acaesçe que venden los padres á los hijos, é aun cada uno se puede vender á sí proprio, si quiere é por lo que quisiere.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. .) vol. ii., p. . bienvenida says that in yucatan as soon as the father dies the strongest of those who remain enslave the others. in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. ; _fancourt's hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. , ; _herrera_, _gomara_, and _pimentel_, ubi sup. [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _las casas_, ubi sup.; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x., lib. x., cap. iv.; _palacio_, _carta_, pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. , ; _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., pp. - ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _gage's new survey_, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'las tierras por aora es de comun, y assi el que primero las ocupa las possee.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . 'las tierras eran comunes, y assi entre los pueblos no auia terminos, ò mojones, que las dividiessen: aunque si entre vna provincia, y otra, por causa de las guerras.' _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . las casas, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. , speaks of boundary marks between the property of different owners. 'les habitations était pour la plupart dispersées sans former de village.' _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. . 'leur qualité de seigneurs héréditaires ne les rendait pas, pour cela, maîtres du sol ni propriétaires des habitants.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . 'property was much respected (in nicaragua); but ... no man could put up his land for sale. if he wished to leave the district, his property passed to the nearest blood relation, or, in default, to the municipality.' _boyle's ride_, vol. i., p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii. [ ] 'los indios no admittian las hijas a heredar con los hermanos sino era por via de piedad o voluntad.' _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . 'mejorauan al que mas notablemente auia ayudado al padre, a ganar el hazienda.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv., dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _carrillo_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. iii., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _squier_, in _palacio_, _carta_, p. . [ ] 'hanno abondanza di cottone, & ne fanno manti che sono come lenzuoli, e camisette senza maniche, e questo s'è il principal tributo che danno à suoi patroni.' _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. . 'el tributo era mantas pequeñas de algodon, gallinas de la tierra, algun cacao, donde se cogia, y vna resina, que seruia de incienso en los templos, y todo se dize era muy poco en cantidad.' _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . 'allende de la casa hazian todo el pueblo a los señores sus sementeras, y se las beneficiavan y cogian en cantidad que le bastava a el y a su casa.' _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - , - . 'sus mayordomos ... que recibian los tributos, y los dauan a los señores.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii. some authors speak of a tribute of virgins and of a coin called _cuzcas_. _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. . 'jamais l'impôt n'était réparti par tête, mais par ville, village ou hameau.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - , , . in guatemala, 'en lo tocante á las rentas del rey y señores, habia este órden, que todo venia á un montón, y de allí le daban al rey su parte, despues daban á los señores, segun cada uno era, y despues daban á los oficiales, y á quienes el rey hacia mercedes.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - . 'ils possédaient les esclaves mâles ou femelles que ces sujets leur payaient en tribut.' _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., pp. - ; _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. , ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. . [ ] _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. - ; _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _carrillo_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. iii., p. . [ ] on the maya laws see: _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - , - ; _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - , ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., pp. - , - ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. - ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. - ; _palacio_, _carta_, pp. - ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., pp. - , tom. iv., pp. - ; _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. ii.; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x., dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _juarros_, _hist. guat._, pp. - ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - , - ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _id._, _cent. amer._, p. ; _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., pp. - ; _id._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., pp. - ; _helps' span. conq._, vol. iii., pp. - ; _fancourt's hist. yuc._, pp. - ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, pp. - . chapter xxi. education and family matters among the mayas. education of youth--public schools of guatemala--branches of study in yucatan--marrying age--degrees of consanguinity allowed in marriage--preliminaries of marriage--marriage ceremonies--the custom of the droit du seigneur in nicaragua--widows--monogamy--concubinage--divorce--laws concerning adultery--fornication--rape--prostitution--unnatural crimes--desire for children--childbirth ceremonies--rite of circumcision--manner of naming children--baptismal ceremonies. the maya nations appear to have been quite as strict and careful in the education of youth as the nahuas. parents took great pains to instruct their children to respect old age, to reverence the gods, and to honor their father and mother.[ ] they were, besides, encouraged while mere infants to amuse themselves with warlike games, and to practice with the bow and arrow. as they grew older, the children of the poor people were taught to labor and assist their parents. the boys were in their childhood educated by the father, who usually taught them his own trade or calling; the girls were under the especial care of the mother, who, it is said, watched very closely over the conduct of her daughters, scarcely ever permitting them to be out of her sight. children of both sexes remained under the immediate control of their parents until they were of an age to be married, and any disobedience or contumacy was severely punished, sometimes even with death. the boys in guatemala slept under the portico of the house, as it was thought improper that they should observe the conduct and hear the conversation of married people.[ ] in yucatan, also, the young people were kept separate from their elders. in each village was an immense whitewashed shed, under the shelter of which the youths of the place amused themselves during the day, and slept at night.[ ] the various little events in a child's life which among all peoples, savage or civilized, are regarded as of so great importance by anxious mothers, such as its being weaned, its first step, or its first word, were celebrated with feasts and rejoicing; the anniversaries of its birthday were also occasions of much merry-making. the first article that a child made with its own hands was dedicated to the gods.[ ] in yucatan children went naked until they were four or five years old, when the boys were given a breech-clout to wear and a piece of cloth to sleep under; girls began at the same age to wear a petticoat reaching from the waist downward.[ ] in guatemala children were left naked till they were eight or ten years of age, at which time they were required to do light labor.[ ] as soon as a child reached the age of seven years, it was taken by its father to the priest, who foretold its future destiny and instructed it how to draw blood from its body, and perform other religious observances.[ ] [sidenote: education of children.] the mayas entrusted the more advanced education of youth entirely to the priesthood. in guatemala the youths assisted the priests in their duties, and received, in turn, an education suited to their position in life. there were schools in every principal town, at which youths were instructed in all necessary branches by competent teachers. the principal of these was a seminary in which were maintained seventy masters, and from five to six thousand children were educated and provided for at the expense of the royal treasury.[ ] girls were placed in convents, under the superintendence of matrons who were most strict in their guardianship. it is said that they entered when eight years old, and were not free until about to be married.[ ] in yucatan, social distinctions seem to have been more sharply defined than in guatemala. here, the schools of learning were only open to the children of the nobility; a poor man was content to teach his son his own trade or profession. the children of the privileged classes were, however, very highly educated. the boys were initiated, we are told, into the mysteries and strange rites of their religion; they studied law, morals, music, the art of war, astronomy, astrology, divination, prophecy, medicine, poetry, history, picture-writing, and every other branch of knowledge known to their people. the daughters of the nobles were kept in strict seclusion, and were carefully instructed in all the accomplishments required of a maya lady.[ ] in yucatan, the young men usually married at the age of twenty years.[ ] in guatemala, las casas tells us that the men never married until they were thirty, notwithstanding he has previously made the extraordinary assertion that the great prevalence of unnatural lusts made parents anxious to get their children wedded as early as possible.[ ] girls among the higher classes must have been married at a very early age in guatemala, since it is related that when a young noble espoused a maiden not yet arrived at the age of puberty, her father gave him a female slave, to lie with him until the wife reached maturity. the children of this slave could not inherit his property, however.[ ] the guatemalans recognized no relationship on the mother's side only, and did not hesitate to marry their own sister, provided she was by another father.[ ] thus, if a noble lady married an inferior in rank or even a slave, the children belonged to the order of the father, and not of the mother.[ ] torquemada adds that they sometimes married their sisters-in-law and step-mothers.[ ] [sidenote: degrees of kindred.] among the pipiles, of salvador, an ancestral tree, with seven main branches, denoting degrees of kindred, was painted upon cloth, and within these seven branches, or degrees, none were allowed to marry, except as a recompense for some great public or warlike service rendered. within four degrees of consanguinity none, under any pretext, might marry.[ ] in yucatan there was a peculiar prejudice against a man marrying a woman who bore the same name as his own, and so far was this fancy carried that he who did this was looked upon as a renegade and an outcast. here, also, a man could not marry the sister of his deceased wife, his step-mother, or his mother's sister, but with all other relatives on the maternal side, no matter how close, marriage was perfectly legitimate. a yucatec noble who wedded a woman of inferior degree, descended to her social level, and was dispossessed of a part of his property, and deprived of his rank.[ ] in nicaragua no one might marry within the first degree of relationship, but beyond that there was no restriction.[ ] the question of dowry was settled in guatemala by the relatives of the young couple.[ ] the yucatec son-in-law served his father-in-law for four or five years, and the omission of such service was considered scandalous;[ ] while in nicaragua the dower was usually paid in fruit or land.[ ] each of the maya nations seems to have had a method of arranging marriages peculiar to itself. in guatemala the whole affair was managed by the nearest relatives of the betrothed pair, who were kept in profound ignorance of the coming event, and did not even know each other until the day of the wedding. it seems incredible that the young men should have quietly submitted to having their wives picked out for them without being allowed any voice or choice in the matter. yet we are told that so great was their obedience and submission to their parents, that there never was any scandal in these things. if this be the case, what a strange phenomenon guatemalan society must have been, with no love affairs, no wooing permitted, and cupid a banished boy. but, for all that, many a guatemalan youth may have looked coldly upon his bride as he thought of another and, to him, fairer face, and many a loyal young wife may have been sometimes troubled with the vision of a comely form that she had admired before she saw her lord. [sidenote: preliminaries of marriage.] when a man of rank wished to marry his son, he sent a number of his friends with presents to the parents of the young girl upon whom his choice had fallen. if the presents were refused it was a sign that the offer of alliance was declined, and no farther steps were taken in the matter; but if they were accepted it showed that the match was thought a desirable one. in the latter case, a few days having elapsed, another embassy, bearing more costly gifts than before, was dispatched to the parents of the girl, who were again asked to give their consent to the marriage. finally, a third deputation was sent, and this generally succeeded in satisfactorily arranging the affair. the two families then commenced to treat each other as relations, and to visit each other for the purposes of determining the day of the wedding and making preparations for the event. among the lower classes the father usually demanded the bride of her parents in person.[ ] it was customary among the pipiles of salvador for the father of the boy, after having obtained the consent of the girl's parents to the match, to take her to his house when she was twelve years of age, and his son fourteen, and there educate and maintain her as if she were his own child. in return he was entitled to her services and those of his son, until they were able to sustain themselves, and of a suitable age to marry. the parents of the couple then jointly made them a present of a house and gave them the means to start in life. thereafter, if the young man met his father-in-law in the street, he crossed to the other side of the way, and the girl paid the same courtesy to her mother-in-law.[ ] in the greater part of nicaragua matches were arranged by the parents, but there were certain independent towns in which the girls chose their husbands from among the young men, while the latter were sitting at a feast.[ ] i have already alluded to the fact that if in guatemala or yucatan a young man married into a rank lower than his own he lost caste in consequence, hence his parents were the more careful to select for him a bride from among the maidens of his own standing in society. among the mayas of yucatan when the day appointed for a marriage ceremony arrived, the invited friends assembled at the house of the bride's father, where the betrothed couple with their parents and the officiating priest were already waiting. for the joyful occasion a great feast was prepared, as it was customary to incur a large expense in food and wine for the entertainment of invited guests. when all were present, the priest called the bride and bridegroom with their parents before him and delivered to them an address concerning the duties of the wedded state. he then offered incense and certain prayers to the gods, concluding the ceremony by asking a blessing from heaven for the newly wedded couple.[ ] no ceremonies took place when a widow or widower was married; in such case a simple repast or the giving of food and drink one to another was deemed sufficient to solemnize the nuptials.[ ] [sidenote: marriage ceremonies.] it was customary in guatemala, when all preliminaries of a marriage had been settled and the day fixed for the wedding, for the bridegroom's father to send a deputation of old women and principal men to conduct the bride to his house. one of those sent for this purpose carried her upon his shoulders, and when they arrived at a certain designated point near the bridegroom's home, she was met by other men also chosen by her father-in-law, who offered incense four or five times before her and sacrificed some quail or other birds to the gods, at the same time giving thanks for her safe arrival. as soon as she came to the house she was seated with much ceremony upon a couch covered with mats or rich carpets; immediately a number of singers began a song suited to the occasion; musicians played on their instruments; dancers came forth and danced before her.[ ] the consent of the cacique had to be obtained to all marriages that were celebrated in his territory; before the ceremony the priest desired the young man and his bride to confess to him all the sins of their past life. no person was allowed to marry in yucatan until the rite of baptism had been administered.[ ] in guatemala, if the betrothed belonged to the higher classes of society, the cacique joined their hands and then tied the end of the man's mantle to a corner of the woman's dress, at the same time advising them to be faithful and loving toward each other. the ceremony ended, all partook of the wedding feast and the bride and bridegroom were carried to the house intended for them, upon the shoulders of some of those who had assisted at the marriage; they were then conducted to the bridal chamber and, as ximenez tells us, received instructions from two of the most honored old women respecting certain marital duties.[ ] the marriage ceremonies of the pipiles were simple and unique; matches were made by the cacique and carried into effect under his direction. at the appointed time the kinsfolk of the bride proceeded to the house of the bridegroom, whence he was borne to the river and washed. the relatives of the bride performed the same act of cleansing upon the person of the bride. the two parties with their respective charges then repaired to the house of the bride. the couple were now tied together by the ends of the blankets, in which they were enfolded naked and laid away--married.[ ] after the ceremony an interchange of presents took place between the relatives of the newly married couple and they all feasted together. among the civilized nations of nicaragua, when a match was arranged to the satisfaction of the parents, some fowls were killed, cacao was prepared, and the neighbors were invited to be present. the father, mother, or whoever gave away the bride, was asked in presence of the assembled guests whether or not she came as a virgin; if the answer was in the affirmative, and the husband afterwards found that she had been already seduced, he had the right to return her to her parents and she was looked upon as a bad woman; but if the parents answered that she was not a virgin, and the man agreed to take her for a wife, the marriage was valid.[ ] when they were to be united the cacique took the parties with his right hand by the little fingers of their left hands and led them into the house set apart for marriages, leaving them, after some words of advice, in a small room, where there was a fire of candlewood. while the fire lasted they were expected to remain perfectly still, and not until it was burned out did they proceed to consummate the marriage. the following day if the husband made no objection in respect to the girl's virginity, the relations and friends assembled and expressed their gratification with loud cries of joy, and passed the day in feasting and pleasure.[ ] [sidenote: droit de seigneur.] notwithstanding the disgrace attached to a woman who had lost her virginity before marriage and concealed the fact, we are assured by andagoya that in nicaragua a custom similar to the european 'droit du seigneur' was practiced by a priest living in the temple, who slept with the bride during the night preceding her marriage.[ ] a widow was looked upon as the property of the family of her deceased husband, to whose brother she was invariably married, even though he might have a wife of his own at the time. if she had no brother-in-law, then she was united to the nearest living relative on her husband's side.[ ] in yucatan, the widow could not marry again until after a year from her husband's death.[ ] monogamy seems to have been the rule among the maya nations, and many authors assert positively that polygamy did not exist. it was only in the border state of chiapas that the custom is mentioned by remesal. to compensate for this, concubinage was largely indulged in by the wealthy. the punishment for bigamy was severe, and consisted, in nicaragua, of banishment and confiscation of the entire property for the benefit of the injured wife or husband, who was at liberty to marry again, a privilege which was not, however, accorded to women who had children. landa tells us that the chichen itza kings lived in a state of strict celibacy, and diaz relates that a tower was pointed out to him on the coast of yucatan, which was occupied by women who had dedicated themselves to a single life.[ ] with their loveless marriages it was fortunate that divorce could be obtained on very slight grounds. in yucatan, says landa, the father would, after a final separation, procure one wife after another to suit the tastes of his son. if the children were still of tender age at the time the parents separated, they were left with the mother; if grown up, the boys followed the father, while the girls remained with the mother. it was not unusual for the husband to return to the wife after a while, if she was free, regardless of the fact that she had belonged to another in the meantime.[ ] in guatemala the wife could leave her husband on the same slight grounds as the man, and if she refused to return to him after being requested to do so, he was allowed to marry again; she was then considered free, and held of no little consequence. in nicaragua the husband decided whether the children were to remain with him or the divorced wife.[ ] [sidenote: intercourse of the sexes.] the mayas seem to have dealt more leniently with adulterers than the nahuas. in guatemala, the married man who committed adultery with a maiden was, upon complaint of the girl's relations, compelled to pay as a fine from sixty to one hundred rare feathers. it generally happened, however, that the friends of the woman were careful to keep the matter secret, as such a scandal would cause great injury to her future prospects. if a married man was known to sin with a married woman or a widow, both were for the first or even the second offence merely warned, and condemned to pay a fine of feathers; but if they persevered in their crime, then their hands were bound behind their backs, and they were forced to inhale the smoke of a certain herb called _tabacoyay_, which, although very painful, was not a fatal punishment. the single man who committed adultery with a married woman was obliged to pay to the parents of the latter the amount which her husband had paid for her; doubtless this fine was handed over to the injured husband, who, in such a case, repudiated his wife. it sometimes happened, however, that the husband did not report the matter to the authorities, but gave his unfaithful wife a bird of the kind which was used in sacrifices, and told her to offer it to the gods, and, with her companion in crime, to confess and be forgiven. such a husband was regarded as a most virtuous and humane man.[ ] a noble lady taken in adultery was reprimanded the first time, and severely punished or repudiated for the second offence. in the latter case she was free to marry again.[ ] it was a capital crime to commit adultery with a lord's wife; if he who did so was a noble, they strangled him, but if he was a plebeian, they flung him down a precipice.[ ] cogolludo says that among the itzas the man and woman taken in adultery were put to death. the woman was taken beyond the limits of the town to a place where there were many loose stones. there she was bound to a post, and the priest who had judged her having cast the first stone, and the injured husband the second, the crowd that was never missing on such occasions joined so eagerly in the sport that the death of their target was a speedy one. the male adulterer, according to the same account, was also bound to a post, and shot to death in the same manner with arrows.[ ] [sidenote: adultery and fornication.] in vera paz, incorrigible adulterers were enslaved.[ ] in nicaragua, the faithless wife was repudiated by her husband, and not allowed to marry again, but she had the right of retaining her dowry and effects. the adulterer was severely beaten with sticks, by the relations of the woman he had led astray. the husband appears to have taken no part in the matter.[ ] in yucatan, adultery was punished with death. according to cogolludo, offenders of both sexes were shot to death with arrows; landa tells us that the man was killed with a stone by the husband of his paramour, but the woman was punished with disgrace only. it is said that in more ancient times adulterers were impaled or disemboweled. but so great was the horror in which the yucatecs held this crime, that they did not always wait for conviction, but sometimes punished a suspected person by binding him, stripping him naked, shaving off his hair, and thus leaving him for a time.[ ] among the pipiles of salvador he who made advances to a married woman, and did nothing worse, was banished, and his property was confiscated. the adulterer, if we may believe palacio,[ ] was put to death; squier says he became the slave of the dishonored husband.[ ] simple fornication was punished with a fine, to be paid in feathers of a certain rare bird, which, by the laws of vera paz at least, it was death to kill without express permission, as its plumage formed a most valuable article of trade with the neighboring provinces.[ ] but if any complaint was raised, such as by a father in behalf of his daughter, or by a brother for his sister, the seducer was put to death, or at least made a slave.[ ] in yucatan, death seems to have been the inevitable fate of the seducer.[ ] in guatemala and salvador, consummated rape was punished with death. he who merely attempted rape was enslaved.[ ] in nicaragua, the penalty for this crime was not so severe, since he who committed it was only obliged to compensate pecuniarily the parents of his victim; though if he could not do this he became their slave. he who ravished the daughter of his employer or lord was, however, always put to death.[ ] incest is said to have been an unknown crime.[ ] public prostitution was tolerated, if not encouraged, among all the maya nations. in every nicaraguan town there were establishments kept by public women, who sold their favors for ten cocoa-nibs, and maintained professional bullies to protect and accompany them at home and abroad. parents could prostitute their daughters without shame; and it is said, further, that during a certain annual festival, women, of whatever condition, could abandon themselves to the embrace of whomever they pleased, without incurring any disgrace.[ ] it was no unusual thing for parents of the lower orders to send their daughters on a tour through the land, that they might earn their marriage portion by prostitution.[ ] [sidenote: unnatural vices.] all the old writers appear anxious to clear the civilized aborigines from the charge of sodomy, yet the fact that no nation was without strict laws regarding this unnatural vice, combined with the admissions reluctantly made by the reverend fathers themselves, seems to show that pederasty certainly was not unknown. thus, las casas says that sodomy was looked upon as a great and abominable sin in vera paz, and was not known until a god,[ ] called by some chin, by others cavil, and again by others maran, instructed them by committing the act with another deity. hence it was held by many to be no sin, inasmuch as a god had introduced it among them. and thus it happened that some fathers gave their sons a boy to use as a woman; and if any other approached this boy he was treated as an adulterer. nevertheless, if a man committed a rape upon a boy, he was punished in the same manner as if he had ravished a woman. and, adds the same writer, there were always some who reprehended this abominable custom.[ ] in yucatan certain images were found by bernal diaz which would lead us to suppose that the natives were at least acquainted with sodomy,[ ] but here again the good father[ ] takes up the cudgels in behalf of his favorites. in nicaragua sodomites were stoned to death.[ ] the desire to possess children seems to have been very general, and many were the prayers and offerings made by disappointed parents to propitiate the god whose anger was supposed to have deferred their hopes. to further promote the efficacy of their prayers, the priest enjoined upon man and wife to separate for a month or two, to adhere to a simple diet, and abstain from salt.[ ] several superstitious observances were also regarded; thus, among the pipiles, a husband should avoid meeting his father-in-law, or a wife her mother-in-law, lest issue fail them.[ ] these observances tend the more to illustrate their longing to become parents, since the women are said to have been very prolific. the women were delivered with little difficulty or pain,[ ] yet a midwife was called in, who attended to the mother's wants, and facilitated parturition by placing a heated stone upon the abdomen. in yucatan an image of _ixchel_, the goddess of childbirth, was placed beneath the bed. among the pipiles and in guatemala, the woman was confessed when any difficulty arose, and it not unfrequently happened that an officer of justice took advantage of such opportunities to obtain criminating evidence. if the wife's confession alone did not have the desired effect, the husband was called upon to avow his sins; his maxtli was besides laid over the wife, and sometimes blood was drawn from his tongue and ears, to be scattered towards the four quarters with various invocations.[ ] after delivery a turkey hen was immolated, and thanks rendered to the deity for the happy issue. the midwife thereupon washed the child, placed a bow and arrow in its hands, if a boy, a spindle, if a girl, and drew a mark upon its right foot, so that it might become a good mountaineer. [sidenote: childbirth and circumcision.] the birth of a son was celebrated with especial rejoicings, and extensive invitations issued for the feasts that took place on or about the day when the umbilical cord was to be cut,[ ] a ceremony which seems to have borne the same festive character as baptism among the nahuas and other nations. the _ahgih_, astrologer, was asked to name a favorable day for the rite. the cord was then laid upon an ear of maize to be cut off with a new knife and burned. the grains were removed from the cob and sown at the proper season; one half of the yield to be made into gruel and form the first food of the child aside from the mother's milk, the other half to be sent to the ahgih, after reserving a few grains for the child to sow with his own hands when he grew up, and make an offering thereof to his god. at the same time a kind of circumcision may have been performed, a rite which could not, however, have been very general, if indeed it ever existed, for cogolludo positively asserts that it never was practiced in yucatan, and landa thinks that the custom of slitting the foreskin, which the devout performed before the idol, may have given rise to the report. palacio asserts that certain indians in salvador are known to have scarified themselves as well as some boys in the same manner.[ ] [sidenote: naming the children.] the naming of the child was the next important affair. among the pipiles it was taken to the temple on the twelfth day, over a road strewn with green branches,[ ] and here the priest gave it the name of its grandfather or grandmother, after which offerings of cacao and fowl were presented to the idol, and some gifts to the minister. in guatemala the child was named after the god to whom the day of its birth was dedicated, for it was not thought desirable to call it after the parents; other names were, however, applied afterwards, according to circumstances.[ ] las casas adds that the parents lost their name on the birth of the first son and daughter, the father being called 'father of ek,' or whatever might be the name of the son, and the mother receiving the cognomen of 'mother of can,' etc.[ ] the itzas gave their children a name formed of the combined names of the father and mother, that of the latter standing first; thus, in canek, _can_ is taken from the mother's name, _ek_ from the father's. in yucatan, the former home of this people, the custom was almost the same, except that _na_ was prefixed to the names of the parents; thus, na-chan-chel denoted son of chel and chan, but as the name of the father, according to landa, was perpetuated in the son only, not in the daughter, it follows that the girl could not have been named in the same order; it is possible that the mother's name was placed last, and served as surname in their case. in later years this name was not usually imposed until the time of baptism; but in earlier times a distinctive name was given by the priest at the time of taking the horoscope, shortly after birth. the name of the father was borne till the marriage day, the names of both parents being assumed after that event.[ ] on the conclusion of the above ceremonies, the guatemalan or pipile infant and mother were taken to a fountain or river, near a fall if possible, to be bathed, and during the bath incense, birds, or cacao were offered to the water, apparently with a view of gaining the good will of the god of that element. the utensils which had served at the birth, such as warming stone, cups, and knife, were thrown into the water at the same time.[ ] the mothers were good and patient nurses, suckling their infants for over three years, for the habit of taking warm morning drinks, the exercise of grinding maize, and the uncovered bosom, all tended to produce large breasts and an abundant supply of milk. otherwise the children received a hardy training, clothing being dispensed with, and the bare ground serving for a couch. when working, the mother carried them on her back; in yucatan, however, they were usually borne across the hip, and for this reason a large number became bow-legged. landa also mentions another deformity, that produced by head-flattening, which is to be noticed on the sculptures of the maya ruins.[ ] [sidenote: baptismal ceremonies.] it is related by all the old spanish historians, that when the spaniards first visited the kingdom of yucatan they found there traces of a baptismal rite; and, strangely enough, the name given to this rite in the language of the inhabitants, was _zihil_, signifying 'to be born again.' it was the duty of all to have their children baptized, for, by this ablution they believed that they received a purer nature, were protected against evil spirits and future misfortunes. i have already mentioned that no one could marry unless he had been baptised according to their customs; they held, moreover, that an unbaptised person, whether man or woman, could not lead a good life, nor do anything well. the rite was administered to children of both sexes at any time between the ages of three and twelve years. when parents desired to have a child baptised they notified the priest of their intentions. the latter then published a notice throughout the town of the day upon which the ceremony would take place, being first careful to fix upon a day of good omen. this done, the fathers of the children who were to be baptised, selected five of the most honored men of the town to assist the priest during the ceremony. these were called _chacs_.[ ] during the three days preceding the ceremony the fathers and assistants fasted and abstained from women. when the appointed day arrived, all assembled with the children who were to be baptised, in the house of the giver of the feast, who was usually one of the wealthiest of the parents. in the courtyard fresh leaves were strewn, and there the boys were ranged in a row in charge of their godfathers, while in another row were the girls with their godmothers. the priest now proceeded to purify the house with the object of casting out the devil. for this purpose four benches were placed one in each of the four corners of the courtyard, upon which were seated four of the assistants holding a long cord that passed from one to the other, thus enclosing part of the yard; within this enclosure were the children and those fathers and officials who had fasted. a bench was placed in the centre, upon which the priest was seated with a brazier, some ground corn, and incense. the children were directed to approach one by one, and the priest gave to each a little of the ground corn and incense, which, as they received it, they cast into the brazier. when this had been done by all, they took the cord and brazier, with a vessel of wine, and gave them to a man to carry outside the town, with injunctions not to drink any of the wine, and not to look behind him; with such ceremony the devil was expelled.[ ] the yard was then swept clean, and some leaves of a tree called _cihom_, and of another called _copo_, were scattered over it. the priest now clothed himself in long gaudy-looking robes, consisting, according to landa, of a jacket of red feathers with flowers of various colors embroidered thereon; hanging from the ends were other long feathers, and on his head a coronet of plumes. from beneath the jacket long bands of cotton hung down to the ground. in his hand he held some hyssop fastened to a short stick. the chacs then put white cloths upon the children's heads and asked the elder if they had committed any sins; such as confessed that they had, were then placed apart. the priest then ordered the people to sit down and be silent; he next blessed the boys, and offering up some prayers, purified them with the hyssop with much solemnity. the principal officer who had been elected by the fathers, now took a bone, and having dipped it in a certain water, moistened their foreheads, their features, and their fingers and toes.[ ] after they had been thus sprinkled with water the priest arose and removed the cloths from the heads of the children, and then cut off with a stone knife a certain bead that was attached to the head from childhood; they were then given by one of the assistants some flowers to smell, and a pipe through which they drew some smoke, after which they were each presented with a little food, and a vessel full of wine was brought as an offering to the gods, who were entreated to receive it as a thanksgiving from the boys; it was then handed to one of the officials, who had to drink it at one draught. a similar ceremony took place with the female children, at the conclusion of which their mothers divested them of a cord, which was worn during their childhood, fastened round the loins, having a small shell that hung in front. the removal of this signified that they could marry as soon as their parents permitted.[ ] the children were then dismissed, and their fathers distributed presents among those who had assisted at the ceremony. a grand banquet called _emku_, or 'the descent of god,' was then held, and during the nine succeeding days the fathers of the children fasted, and were not to approach their wives.[ ] [sidenote: domestic discipline.] the nicaraguan husbands are said to have been so much under the control of their wives that they were obliged to do the housework while the women attended to the trading. the latter were, moreover, great shrews, and would on the slightest provocation drive their offending husbands out of the house; we are told that it was no unusual occurrence for the neighbors to be suddenly called in to appease some unfortunate man's xanthippe.[ ] the women of yucatan were renowned for their modesty and conjugal faithfulness. landa, one of the first bishops of yucatan, relates an anecdote illustrating this trait. alonso lopez de avila, during the war against bacalar, took prisoner a very beautiful indian girl. struck by her beauty the captor endeavored by all means to induce her to gratify his desires, but in vain. she had promised her warrior-husband, who during those perilous times was constantly face to face with death, that none but he should ever call her wife; how then, while perhaps he yet lived, could she become another's mistress. but such arguments did not quench the spaniard's lust, and as she remained steadfast, he ordered her to be cast among the bloodhounds, who devoured her--a martyr at the hands of the men who pretended to preach jesus christ, and him crucified.[ ] footnotes: [ ] they were taught, says las casas, 'que honrasen á los padres y les fuesen obedientes; que no tuviesen codicia de muchos bienes; que no adulterasen con muger agena; que no fornicasen, ni llegasen á muger, sino á la que fuese suya; que no mirasen á las mugeres para codiciarlas, diciendo que no traspasasen umbral ageno; que si anduviesen de noche por el pueblo, que llevasen lumbre en la mano; que siguiesen su camino derecho, que no bajasen de camino, ni subiesen tampoco del; que á los ciegos no les pusiesen ofendiculo para que cayesen; á los lisiados no escarneciesen y de los locos no se riesen, porque todo aquello era malo; que trabajen y no estubiesen ociosos; y para esto desde niños les enseñavan como havian de hacer las sementeras y como beneficiallas y cogellas.' _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. . brasseur de bourbourg remarks that the respectful term of _you_ instead of _thou_, is frequently used by children when addressing their parents, in the popol vuh. _popol vuh_, p. . the old people 'eran tan estimados en esto que los moços no tratavan con viejos, sino era en cosas inevitables, y los moços por casar; con los casados sino muy poco.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] 'dormian en los portales no solo cuando hacian su ayuno, mas aun casi todo el año, porque no les era permitido tratar ni saber de los negocios de los casados, ni aun sabian cuando habian de casarse, hasta el tiempo que les presentaban las mugeres, porque eran muy sujetos y obedientes á sus padres. cuando aquestos mancebos iban á sus casas a ver á sus padres ... tenian su cuenta de que no hablasen los padres cosa que fuese menos honesta.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxix.; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. xiv.; _juarros_, _hist. guat._, p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _juarros_, _hist. guat._, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. ; _juarros_, _hist. guat._, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - ; _carrillo_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. iii., p. ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. ; herrera, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv., says that in later times they married at twelve or fourteen. [ ] _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. . [ ] _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. . this is the same passage that brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. , cites as _roman_, _rep. ind._, tom. ii., cap. x. [ ] 'los indios de la vera-paz muchas veces, segun el parentesco, que vsaban, era fuerça que casasen hermanos con hermanas, y era la raçon esta: acostumbraban no casar los de vn tribu, ò pueblo, con las mugeres del mismo pueblo, y las buscaban, que fuesen de otro; porque no contaban por de su familia, y parentesco los hijos que nacian en el tribu ò linage ageno, aunque la muger huviese procedido de su mismo linage; y era la raçon, porque aquel parentesco se atribuìa à solo los hombres. por manera, que si algun señor daba su hija à otro de otro pueblo, aunque no tuviese otro heredero este señor, sino solos los nietos, hijos de su hija, no los reconocia por nietos, ni parientes, en raçon de hacerlos herederos, por ser hijos del otro señor de otros pueblos y asi se le buscaba al tal señor, muger que fuese de otro pueblo, y no de el proprio. y asi sucedia, que los hijos de estas mugeres, no tenian por parientes à los deudos de su madre, por estàr en otro pueblo, y esto se entiende, en quanto à casarse con ellas, que lo tenian por licito, aunque en lo demàs se reconocian. y porque la cuenta de su parentesco era entre solos los hombres, y no por parte de las mugeres. y por esto no tenian impedimento, para casarse, con los tales parientes; y asi se casaban con todos los grados de consanguinidad, porque mas por hermana tenian qualquiera muger de su linage, aunque fuese remotisima, y no tuviese memoria del grado, en que le tocaba, que la hija de su propia madre, como fuese havida de otro marido, y por este error se casaban, con las hermanas de madre, y no de padre.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'en lo que tocava al parentesco, tenian un arbol pintado, i en el siete ramos que signifacava siete grados de parentesco. en estos grados no se podia casar nadie, i esto se entendia por linea recta si no fuese que alguno huviese fecho algun gran fecho en armas, i havia de ser del tercero grado fuera; i por linea traversa tenia otro arbol con quatro ramos que significaban el quarto grado, en estos no se podia casar nadie.... qualquiera que tenia quenta carnal con parienta en los grados susodichos morian por ello ambos.' _palacio_, _carta_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x.; _squier's cent. amer._, p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . 'los dotes eran de vestidos, y cosas de poca sustancia, lo mas se gastaua en los combites.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv. [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . [ ] _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _palacio_, _carta_, p. ; _squier's cent. amer._, p. . [ ] _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'haziase vna platica de como se auia tratado, y mirado aquel casamiento, y que quadraua: hecha la platica el sacerdote sahumaua la casa; y con oraciones bendezia a los nouios, y quedauan casados.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv. [ ] _ib._; _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] 'llegada á casa, luego la ponian y asentaban en un tálamo bien aderezado, y comenzaban grandes bailes y cantares y otros regocijos muchos, con que la fiesta era muy solemne.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] 'sin él ninguno se casaba.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _juarros_, _hist. guat._, p. . [ ] 'a la noche, dos mugeres honradas y viejas metíanlos en una pieza, y enseñàbanlos como habian de haberse en el matrimonio.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. . [ ] palacio says they were each wrapped in a new white mantle. 'ambos los enbolvian cada qual en su manta blanca nueva.' _carta_, p. . see also _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x.; _squier's cent. amer._, p. . [ ] 'si la tomo por virgen, y la halla corrompida, desecha la, mas no de otra manera.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] 'los novios se están quedos, mirando cómo aquella poca tea se quema; é acabada, quedan casados é ponen en efetto lo demás.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . 'en muriendose la lumbre, quedan casados.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., p. . [ ] 'la noche ántes habia de dormir con la novia uno que tenian por papa.' _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. v., cap. xii. oviedo perhaps alludes to this custom when he says: 'muchos hay que quieren más las corrompidas que no las vírgenes.' _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. . [ ] 'comunmente estas gentes compraban la muger, y aquellos dones que llevaban, era el precio, y así la muger jamas volvía á casa de sus padres aunque enviudase; porque luego el hermano del muerto la tomaba por muger _aunque él fuese casado_, y si el hermano no era para ello, un pariente tenia derecho á ella. los hijos de las tales mugeres no tenian por deudos á los tales abuelos, ni á los demas deudos de las madres, porque la cuenta de su parentesco venia por linea de varones, y así no tenian impedimentos para casarse con los parientes de sus madres, esto se entiende para contraer matrimonio; que en lo demas amábanse y queríanse unos à otros.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] 'no se casavan despues de viudos un año, por no conocer hombre a muger en aquel tiempo, y a los que esto no guardavan, tenian por poco templados y que les vendria por esso algun mal.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] _diaz_, _itinéraire_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. . 'todos toman muchas mugeres, empero vna es la legitima,' says gomara, _hist. ind._, fol. , in speaking of nicaragua. 'comunmente cada uno tiene una sola muger, é pocos son los que tienen más, exçepto los prinçipales ó el que puede dar de comer á más mugeres; é los caçiques quantas quieren.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . the word 'muger' evidently means women who lived with the man, the wife and concubines, for, on p. , it is stated that only one legitimate wife was allowed. the punishment for bigamy helps to bear this out. _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , . 'nunca los yucataneses tomaron mas de una.' _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , . this view is also taken by cogolludo, _hist. yuc._, p. , who adds, however: 'contradize aguilar en su informe lo de vna muger sola, diziendo, que tenian muchas;' but this may refer to concubines. brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. , says: 'la pluralité des femmes étant admises par la loi,' and gives _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv., as his authority; but this author merely refers to concubinage as being lawful. [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . 'tenian grandes pendencias, y muertes sobre ello,' says herrera, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv., referring to their married life. [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. - . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . 'acontecio quexarse vn indio contra vn alcalde de su nacion, que sin pedimento suyo hauia castigado a su muger por ocho adulterios, y hechole pagar a el la condenacion, de manera que aliende de su afrenta, le lleuaua su dinero.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. viii. 'cuando queria que la muger se huia y se iba con otro, ó por sencillas se volvia en casa de sus padres, requeríala el marido que volviese, y si no queria, él se podia casar luego con otra, porque en este caso las mugeres eran poderosas y libres. algunos sufrian un año aguardándolas; pero lo comun era casarse luego, porque no podian vivir sin mugeres, á causa de no tener quien les guisese de comer.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. . [ ] _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] 'quando las mugeres eran halladas en adulterio, la primera vez eran corregidas de palabra; y si no se enmendaban, repudiábanlas; y si era señor, hermano ó pariente del señor de la tierra, luego en dejándola, se podia casarse con quien quisiere. los vasallos hacian tambien esto muchas veces, pero tenian un poco de mas paciencia, porque las corregian dos y cinco veces, y llamaban á sus parientes para que las reprehendiesen. pero si eran incorregibles, denunciaban ellas delante del señor, el cual las mandaba comparecer ante sí y hacianlas esclavas, y la misma pena se daba á las que no querian hacer vida con sus maridos.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - . [ ] oviedo asserts that the husband avenged his own honor. the friar asks: '¿qué pena le dan al adúltero, que se echa con la muger de otro?' the indian answers: 'el marido della riñe con él é le da de palos; pero no lo mata.' _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . squier, _nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. , says that the woman was also severely flogged, but this does not seem to have been the case. see _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., p. . [ ] _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , ; _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii.; _fancourt's hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] _carta_, p. . [ ] _cent. amer._, p. . [ ] _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. , ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x.; _palacio_, _carta_, p. ; _squier's cent. amer._, p. . [ ] _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. , , tom. iv., pp. , ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _müller_, _amerikanische urreligionen_, p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., pp. - ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., p. . 'dado que e vido que en otras partes de las indias usavan del nefando peccado en estas tales casas, en esta tierra (yucatan) no e entendido que hiziessen tal, ni creo lo hazian, porque los llagados desta pestilencial miseria dizen que no son amigos de mugeres como eran estos, ca a estos lugares llevavan las malas mugeres publicas, y en ellos usavan dellas, y las pobres que entre esta gente acertava a tener este officio no obstante que recibian dellos gualardon, eran tantos los mocos que a ellas acudian que las traian acossadas y muertas.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viajes_, tom. iii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. v., cap. xii.; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., pp. - . [ ] a demon, las casas calls him, but these monks spoke of all the new world deities as 'demons.' [ ] _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. . before this he writes: 'y es aqui de saber, que tenian por grave pecado el de la sodomia como abajo dirémos, y comunmente los padres lo aborrecian y prohibian á los hijos. pero por causa de que fuesen instruidos en la religion, mandavanles dormir en los templos donde los mozos mayores en aquel vicio á los niños corrompian. y despues salidos de alli mal acostumbrados, dificil era librarlos de aquel vicio. por esta causa eran los padres muy solicitos de casarlos quan presto podian, por los apartar de aquella corrupcion vilissima aunque casallos muchachos contra su voluntad y forzados, y solamente por aquel respeto lo hacian.' _id._, pp. - . [ ] _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] 'otro acerrimo infamador de estas naciones, que dios nuestro señor haya, en cuya historia creo yo que tuvo dios harto poca parte, dixo ser indicio notorio de que aquellas gentes eran contaminadas del vicio nefando por haver hallado en cierta parte de aquella tierra, hechos de barro ciertos idolos uno encima de otro. como si entre nuestros pintores ó figulos no se finjan cada dia figuras feas y de diversos actos, que no hay sopecha por nadie obrarse, condenarlos todos por aquello, haciendolos reos de vicio tan indigno de se hablar, no carece de muy culpable temeridad, y asi lo que ariba dije tengo por la verdad, y lo demas por falsos testimonios dignos de divino castigo.' _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . [ ] 'que comiesen el pan seco ó solo maiz, ó que estuviesen tantos dias en el campo metidos en alguna cueva.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. . [ ] _palacio_, _carta_, p. . [ ] in vera paz 'las mugeres paren como cabras, muchas vezes a solas, tendidas en el suelo: otras por los caminos, y luego se van a lauar al rio.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. xiv.; _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] 'le hazian dezir sus pecados i si no paria, hazia que se confesase el marido, i si no podia con esto, si havia dicho i confesado que conofia alguno, ivan á casa de aquel i traian de su casa la manta é pañetes i ceiñola á la preñada paraque pariese.' _palacio_, _carta_, p. ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. . [ ] it would seem that the child remained with the navel-string attached to it until a favorable day was selected for performing the ceremony of cutting it. 'echaban suertes para ver que dia seria bueno para cortar el ombligo.' and further on: 'muchos tribus de indios de centro-america conservan hasta hoy al nacimiento de un niño el uso de quemarle el ombligo; costumbre barbara de que mueron muchos niños.' this would indicate that the cord was burned while attached to the infant. _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] in cezori 'ciertos indios idolatraron en un monte en sus terminos, i entre ellos que uno se harpó i hendió su miembro, i que circuncidaron quatro muchachos de doze años para arriba al uso judaico, i la sangre que salio dellos la sacrificaron á un idolo.' _palacio_, _carta_, p. . 'se harpavan el superfluo del miembro vergonçoso, dexandolo como las orejas, de lo qual se engaño el historiador general de las indias, diziendo que se circumcidian.' _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . 'ni aquellos religiosos dominicos, ni el obispo de chiapa, haziendo tan particular inquisicion, hazen memoria de auer hallado tal cosa ... los indios, ni estos tienen tradicion de que vsassen tal costumbre sus ascendientes.' _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . 'they are circumcised, but not all.' _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. i. circumcision was 'un usage général dans l'yucatan, observé de temps immémorial: elle était pratiquée sur les petits enfants dès les premiers jours de leur naissance.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . this positive and isolated assertion of the abbé must be founded upon some of his mss., as usual. [ ] 'cortarban ramos verdes en que pisase.' _palacio_, _carta_, p. . [ ] brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. , refers only to the first-born. 'dabanle el nombre del dia, en que havia nacido, ò segun lo que precediò en su nacimiento.' _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. . [ ] _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxix. [ ] 'a sus hijos y hijas siempre llamavan del nombre del padre y de la madre, el del padre como propio y de la madre apellativo.' the pre-baptismal name was abandoned when the father's name was assumed. _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , . only the few who were destined to receive the baptism obtained the distinctive name. _medel_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., pp. - ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. . palacio, _carta_, p. , states that this ceremony was performed after the twelfth day, and that the mother only was taken to be bathed. _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x., and _squier's cent. amer._, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'allanarles las frentes y cabeças.' 'comunmente todos estevados, porque ... van ahorcajados en los quadriles.' _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - , ; _juarros_, _hist. guat._, p. . [ ] _chác_ or _chaac_, was the title given to certain laymen who were elected to assist the priest in some of his religious duties. also the name of a divinity, protector of the water and harvests. see _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] who was selected to take the wine, brazier, and cord outside the town, or what he did with it afterwards, we are not told. cogolludo says: 'daban à vn indio vn vaso del vino que acostumbraban beber, y embiabanle fuera del pueblo con èl, mandandole, que ni lo bebiesse, ni mirasse atràs, con que creìan quedaba totalmente expulso el demonio.' _hist. yuc._, p. . 'en un vaso enviaban vino fuera del pueblo, con órden al indio que no lo bebiese ni mirase atras, y con esto pensaban que habian echado al demonio.' _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv. [ ] 'esta agua hazian de ciertas flores y de cacao mojado y desleido con agua virgen que ellos dezian traida de los concavos de los arboles o de los montes.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] 'los varoncillos usavanles siempre poner pegada a la cabeça en los cabellos de la coronilla una contezuela blanca, y a las muchachas traian ceñidas por las renes muy abaxo con un cordel delgado y en el una conchuela asida que les venia a dar encima de la parte honesta, y destas dos cosas era entre ellos peccado y cosa muy fea quitarla de las mochachas antes del baptismo.' _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , . [ ] brasseur de bourbourg says they feasted nine days: 'tous ensemble, prêtres et parents, festoyaient après cela, pendant neuf jours, les pères étant obligés, durant cet intervalle, de s'abstenir de leurs femmes.' _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . he appears to have misunderstood cogolludo, to whom he refers, since that author's words are, 'acabando la fiesta en banquetes, y en los nueve dias siguientes no auian de llegar à sus mugeres los padres de los niños.' _hist. yuc._, p. . 'allende de los tres dias que se avia, como por ayuno, abstenido, se avia de abstener nueve mas y lo hazian inviolablemente.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . see further: _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., pp. - ; _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., pp. - . [ ] _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viajes_, tom. iii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., lib. v., cap. xii.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. , , ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. . in guatemala 'il est à remarquer ici que quand il s'agit simultanément d'hommes et de femmes dans le discours, les femmes ont presque toujours la préséance sur les hommes.' 'c'est peut-être en mémoire de la mère de hun-ahpu que les femmes-chefs en bien des contrées devaient leurs prérogatives.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, pp. - . in yucatan the women 'son zelosas y algunas tanto que ponian las manos a las de quien tenian zelos, y tan colericas, enojadas, aunque harto mansas, que solian dar buelta de pelo algunas a los maridos con hazerlo ellos pocas vezes.' _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , . the women of yucatan had, however, their duties to perform. 'son grandes travajadoras y vividoras, porque dellas cuelgan los mayores y mas trabajos de la sustentacion de sus casas y educacion de sus hijos, y paga de sus tributos y con todo esso si es menester llevan algunas vezes mayor carga, labrando y sembrando sus mantenimientos. son a maravilla grangeras, velando de noche el rato que de servir sus casas les queda, yendo a los mercados a comprar y vender sus cosillas.'... the women joined and aided one another in the work, as weaving, etc. 'elles avaient leurs saillies et leurs bons mots pour railler et conter des aventures et par moment aussi pour murmurer de leurs maris.' _id._, p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. . chapter xxii. feasts and amusements of the mayas. special observances--fixed feasts--sacrifice of slaves--monthly feasts of the yucatecs--renewal of the idols--feast of the chacs--hunting festival--the tuppkak--feast of the cacao-planters--war feast--the maya new year's day--feasts of the hunters, fishers, and apiarists--ceremonies in honor of cukulcan--feast of the month of mol--feast of the years kan, muluc, ix, and cauac--yucatec sacrifices--the pit of chichen--sacrifices of the pipiles--feast of victory--feasts and sacrifices in nicaragua--banquets--dances--musical instruments--games. though the information concerning the feasts, religious and otherwise, of the maya nations, is not so full as that touching the nahuas, yet there is no doubt that the former people were quite as fond of such matters as the latter. the quichés had many festivals and special observances, in some of which the whole people took part, while others were performed by private persons through excess of piety. they always made a sacrifice before commencing any work of importance. there were four special things for which they besought the gods; namely, long life, health, progeny, and the necessaries of life. they had particular oratories where they went upon occasions of great distress, and drew blood from several parts of their body. when they desired to have sons they sacrificed at fountains. they had oratories in thick groves, and if they found a spot where a large tree grew over a spring, they held the place to be divine, because two divinities met in the tree and in the pool.[ ] [sidenote: sacrificial festivals.] the religious feasts in which all the people took part were held on certain fixed days of the calendar. one of their most notable and solemn festivals was more a time of penance and vigil than of feasting. when the season of its celebration approached, the lord of a province with the principal men held a council and sent for a diviner, and advised with him concerning the day upon which the sacrifice should take place. the wise man at once began his sorceries, and cast lots in order to ascertain what day would be the most propitious. when the day was fixed, all men had from that time to sleep in houses apart from their wives during a period of sixty or eighty days, or even longer, according to the severity demanded. upon each of these days every one had to offer sacrifice by drawing blood from his arms, thighs, tongue, and other parts of his body. this they did at certain hours of the day and night, and also burned incense. they could not bathe while the observances lasted. from the day when this lent began, the slaves who were to be sacrificed were allowed a certain freedom, and permitted to go about the town wheresoever they pleased. on the neck of each, however, was fastened a ring of gold, silver, or copper, through which a stick was passed, and as a further precaution against escape each was accompanied by a guard of three or four men. they were at liberty to enter any house, whether it was that of the supreme lord or of the poorest man, and wherever they applied for food or drink it was given them. the same liberty was accorded to the guard. when the day of sacrifice arrived, the high-priest attired himself in his finest vestments. these consisted of certain cloaks, with crowns of gold, silver, or other metal, adorned with precious stones. the idols were placed upon a frame ornamented with gold, silver, and gems, and decked with roses and other flowers. the slaves were then brought in procession to the temple yard amid songs, music, and dancing; and the idols were set upon altars, before which were the sacrificial stones. as the hour of sacrifice drew near, the supreme lord, and principal men with him, repaired to the room where the slaves were waiting; each then seized his slave by the hair and carried him before the god, crying with a loud voice: o god our lord, remember thy servants, grant them health, offspring, and prosperity, so that they may increase and serve thee. give us rain, o lord, and seasonable weather to support us, that we may live, hearken to our prayers, aid us against our enemies, give us comfort and rest. on reaching the altar the sacrificing priest stood ready, and the lord placed the victim in his hands. he then, with his ministers, opened the breast with the sacrificial knife, tore out the heart and offered it to the idol, at the same time anointing it with the blood. each idol had its holy table; the sun, the moon, the east, the west, the north, and the south had each one. the heads of the sacrificed were put on stakes. the flesh was seasoned, cooked, and partaken of as a holy thing. the high-priest and supreme lord were given the hands and feet, as the most delicate morsels, and the body was distributed among the other priests. all through the days of the sacrificing great liberty was permitted to the people, grand banquets were held, and drunken revels ensued.[ ] concerning the religious feasts and observances of the yucatecs, landa is the best and most complete authority, and i will therefore take from his work such scattered notices as he gives. in the month of chen they worked in fear and trembling, making new idols. and when these were finished, those for whom they were made gave presents of the best they had to those who had modeled and carved them. the idols were then carried from the building in which they had been made to a cabin made of leaves, where the priest blessed them with much solemnity and many fervent prayers, the artists having previously cleansed themselves from the grease with which they had been besmeared, as a sign of fasting, during the entire time that they remained at work. having then driven out the evil spirit, and burned the sacred incense, the newly made images were placed in a basket, enveloped in a linen cloth, and delivered to their owners, who received them with every mark of respect and devotion. the priest then addressed the idol-makers for a few moments on the excellence and importance of their profession, and on the danger they would incur by neglecting the rules of abstinence while doing such sacred work. finally, all partook of an abundant repast, and made amends for their long fast by indulging freely in wine. in one of the two months called chen and yax, on a day determined by the priest, they celebrated a feast called _ocna_, which means the renovation of the temple in honor of the chacs, whom they regarded as the gods of the fields. during this festival, they consulted the oracle of the bacabs.[ ] this feast was celebrated every year. besides this, the idols of baked clay and the braziers were renewed at this season, because it was customary for each idol to have its own little brazier, in which incense was burned before it; and, if it was necessary, they built the god a new dwelling, or renovated the old one, taking care to place on the walls an inscription commemorating these things, in the characters peculiar to them. [sidenote: festivals of zac and mac.] in the month of zac, on a day appointed by the priest, the hunters held a feast similar to that which, as we shall presently see, took place in the month of zip. this was for the purpose of averting the anger of the gods from them and the seed they had sown, because of the blood which had been shed in the chase; for they regarded as abominable all spilling of blood, except in sacrifice.[ ] they never went out to hunt without first invoking their gods and burning incense before them; and on their return from a successful hunt they always anointed the grim visages of the idols with the blood of the game. on another day of this month a great feast was held, which lasted for three days, attended with incense-burning, sacrifices, and general orgies. but as this was a movable feast, the priests took care to give notice of it in advance, in order that all might observe a becoming fast. during the month of mac, the old people celebrated a feast in honor of the chacs, gods of the cornfields, and of another deity named yzamna. some days before this the following ceremony, called in their language _tuppkak_,[ ] was observed. having brought together all the reptiles and beasts of the field that could be procured in the country, they assembled with them in the court of the temple, in the corners of which were the chacs and the priests, to drive away the evil spirit, each having by his side a jug filled with water. standing on end, in the centre, was an enormous bundle of dry and fine wood, which was set on fire after some incense had been burned. as the wood burned, the assembled crowd vied with each other in tearing out the hearts of the victims they had brought with them and casting them into the flames. if it had been impossible to procure such large game as jaguars, pumas, or alligators, they typified the hearts of these animals by incense, which they threw into the fire; but if they had them, they were immolated like the rest. as soon as all the hearts were consumed, the chacs[ ] put out the fire with the water contained in their pitchers. the object of this feast and of that which followed was to obtain an abundance of water for their cornfields during the year. this feast was celebrated in a different manner from others, because no one fasted before it, with the exception of the beadle (muñidor) of the occasion. on the day of the feast called tuppkak, the people and the priests met once more in the courtyard of the temple, where was erected a platform of stone, with steps leading up to it, the whole tastefully decorated with foliage. the priest gave some incense to the beadle, who burned in a brazier enough to exorcise the evil spirit. this done, the first step of the platform was with great solemnity smeared with mud taken from a well or cistern; the other steps were stained a blue color. as usual, they ended these ceremonies by eating and drinking and making merry, full of confidence in the efficacy of their rites and ceremonies for this year. in the month of muan the cacao-planters held a festival in honor of the gods ekchuah, chac, and hobnil, who were their patron deities.[ ] to solemnize it, they all went to the plantation of one of their number, where they sacrificed a dog having a spot on its skin of the color of cacao. they burned incense to their idols, and made offerings of blue iguanas, feathers of a particular kind of bird, and game. after this they gave to each of the officials[ ] a branch of the cacao-plant. the sacrifice being ended, they all sat down to a repast, at which, it is said, no one was allowed to drink more than three glasses of wine. all then went into the house of him who had given the feast, and passed the time pleasantly together. [sidenote: war-feast in the month of pax.] in the month of pax, a feast was held, called pacumchac, which was celebrated by the nobles and priests of the villages, together with those of the great towns. having assembled, they passed five nights in the temple of cit chac coh,[ ] praying and offering incense. at the beginning of these five days, they went all together to the house of the general of their armies, whose title was nacon, and carried him in state to the temple, where, having placed him on a seat, they burned incense before him as though he had been a god. but though they prayed during these five nights, they did not by any means fast in the day-time, but ate and drank plentifully, and executed a kind of grand war-dance, which they called _holkan okot_, which is to say, 'dance of the warriors.' the five days being passed, the real business of the feast began, which, as it concerned matters of war and victory, was a very solemn affair. it was commenced with ceremonies and sacrifices similar to those already described as taking place in the month of mac. then the evil spirit was expelled in the usual manner, after which were more prayers, offerings, and incensing. while all this was going on, the nobles once more took the nacon upon their shoulders, and carried him in procession round the temple. on their return a dog was sacrificed, its heart being torn out and presented to the idol between two dishes. every one present then shattered a large jug filled with some beverage, which completed this part of the festival. the usual banquet followed, after which the nacon was again placed upon the shoulders of the nobles and carried to his house. there, the nobles and priests partook of a grand banquet, at which all got drunk, except the nacon; the people, meanwhile, returning to their homes. on the morrow, having slept off the effects of the wine, the guests of the nacon received from him large presents of incense which had been previously blessed. he also took advantage of this opportunity to deliver a long discourse, in which he recommended his hearers to observe scrupulously in both town and country the feasts of the gods, in order to obtain a prosperous and abundant year. as soon as the nacon had finished speaking, there was a general and noisy leave-taking, and the guests separated, and set out for their respective homes. there they occupied themselves in celebrating the festivals proper to the season, keeping them up sometimes until the month of pop. these feasts were called zabacilthan, and were observed as follows. the people of each place or district sought among the richest of their number for some who were willing to defray the expenses of the celebration, and recommended them to take the matter into consideration, because it was customary to make merry during the three last months of the year. this having been settled, all met in the house of one of these prominent men, after having driven away the evil spirit as usual. copal was burned, offerings were made, and the wine-cup, which seems to have been the chief attraction on these occasions, was not neglected. and all through these three months, the excesses in which the people indulged were pitiful to see; cuts, bruises, and eyes inflamed with drink were plentiful amongst them; to gratify their passion for drink they cast themselves away. [sidenote: the maya new year's day.] during the last five days of the month of cumhu, which were the last days of the year, the people seldom went out of their houses, except to place offerings in the temples, with which the priests bought incense to be burned in honor of the gods. they neither combed their hair nor washed themselves during these five days; neither men nor women cleansed themselves; they did no work of any kind lest some misfortune should befall them. [sidenote: festivities in yucatan.] the first day of the month of pop, the maya new year's day, was a season of rejoicing, in which all the nation took part. to give more importance to the event, they renewed at this time all the articles which they used, such as plates, cups, baskets, clothes, and the dresses of the idols; they swept their houses and cast everything into the place where they put their rubbish; and no one dared to touch what was cast away, even though greatly in need of it. to prepare for this feast, princes, priests, and nobles, and all who wished to show their devotion, fasted and abstained from their wives for a longer or shorter period, some for three months preceding it, some for two, according to their ideas of propriety, but none for less than thirteen days. during this season of abstinence, they ate their meat unseasoned, which was considered severe discipline. at this time, also, they elected the officers who were to assist the priest at the ceremony. the priest prepared a number of little balls of fresh incense on small boards made for the purpose, for those who fasted to burn before the idols. great care was taken not to break the fast after it had been once commenced; for if this were done it was thought that misfortune must inevitably ensue. new year's day having arrived, all the men assembled in the courtyard of the temple. women could assist at no feast which was celebrated within the temple, except those who went to take part in particular dances; on other occasions, however, the women were allowed to be present. on the day in question the men came alone, adorned with paint, and cleansed from the grease with which they had been bedaubed during the days of penance. when all were assembled, with offerings of food and newly fermented wine, the priest purified the temple and seated himself in the centre of the court, clothed in his robes of office, and having by his side a brazier and the balls of incense before mentioned. after the evil spirit had been expelled, all present offered up prayers, while the assistants kindled the new fire for the year. the priest now cast one of the balls of incense into the brazier, and then distributed the remainder among the assembled worshipers. the nobles came first in the order of their rank, and as each received a ball from the priest, who gave it with great solemnity, he dropped it gently into the brazier and stood still until it was consumed. the inevitable banquet and orgies terminated the ceremonies. this was the manner in which they celebrated the birth of the new year. during the month, some of the most devout among them repeated the feast in their own homes, and this was particularly done by the nobles and priests, who were ever foremost in religious observances. during the month of uo the priests and sorcerers began to prepare for a festival called _pocam_, which was solemnized by the hunters and fishers on the seventh day of the next month, which was zip. having assembled, clothed in their ornaments, at the house of the prince, they expelled the evil spirit, and then uncovered their books and exposed them upon a carpet of green leaves and branches, which had been prepared for this purpose. they next invoked with reverence a deity named cinchau yzamna, who had been, they said, the first priest.[ ] to him they offered various gifts, and burned balls of incense in his honor. in the meantime others took a vessel and a little verdigris with some pure water, which had to be procured from a wood into whose recesses no woman had ever penetrated. they now cleaned the leaves of their books by moistening them; this done, the wisest among them opened a volume and examined the prospects of the coming year, which he declared aloud to all present. he concluded with a brief discourse, in which he advised them how to avoid coming evils. jollity now reigned and the wine flowed freely--a consummation which many of the old priest's hearers had doubtless been long looking forward to impatiently. the solemnities on this occasion were varied at times by performing a dance called _okot uil_. on the following day the doctors and sorcerers with their wives came together in the house of one of their number. the priests, having driven away the evil spirit, brought to view their medicine-bags, in which they kept a number of charms, some little images of ixchel, goddess of medicine, from whom the feast was named _ihcil ixchel_, and some small stones called _am_, which they used in their sorceries. then with great devotion the doctors and sorcerers invoked the gods of medicine, yzamna, citbolontum, and ahau chamahez, while the priests burned incense, and the assistants painted themselves blue, the color of the books used by the priests. bearing their medicine bags in their hands, they then joined in a dance called _chantunyab_, after which the men seated themselves in a row on one side, and the women on the other; a day was appointed for holding the feast during the ensuing year, and then the usual drunken orgies commenced. it is said that the priests abstained from wine on this occasion, perhaps because the women were present; but they took their share, nevertheless, and reserved it for a more private opportunity. on another occasion the hunters, with their wives, assembled in the house of one of their number, and performed there certain ceremonies. the first proceeding was, of course, to expel the evil influence; then the priests, who were never absent from these meetings, placed in the middle of the room some incense, a brazier, and some blue coloring material. next, the huntsmen prayed with great devotion to the gods of the chase, acanum, zuhuy zipi, tabai, and others, and cast incense into the brazier. while this was burning, each took an arrow and a deer's head, which the priest's assistants had painted blue; thus equipped, some danced, holding hands; others pierced their ears or their tongue, and passed through the holes which they made seven leaves of an herb called _ac_. then priests and their assistants made offerings to the gods and joined in the dance. finally, the festivities closed by all present becoming, to quote the words of bishop landa, 'as drunk as baskets.' the next day it was the turn of the fishermen to celebrate a feast, which they did in the same manner as the hunters, except that instead of a deer's head, they smeared their fishing implements with color; neither did they pierce their ears, but cut round about them, and after doing this they executed a dance called _chohom_. then they consecrated a large tree, which they left standing. after the feast had been duly celebrated in the towns, it was customary for the nobles and many of the people to go down to the coast on a grand fishing expedition. the patron divinities of the fishermen were ahkak nexoi, ahpua, ahcitz, and amalcum.[ ] [sidenote: feast of the apiarists.] in the month of tzoz, the apiarists prepared for a feast which was to take place in the next month, called tzec, by a fast, which was, however, optional with all except the priests who were to officiate, and their assistants. the day of celebration having arrived, the participants came together in the house of him who gave the feast, and performed nearly the same ceremonies as the hunters and fishermen, except that they drew no blood from their bodies. the apiarists had for their patron deities the bacabs, and particularly hobnil. they made many propitiatory offerings at this time, especially to the four gods of abundance, to whom they presented four dishes adorned with figures of honey. the usual drunken bout was not omitted. after the mysterious departure of cukulcan,[ ] the maya quetzalcoatl, from yucatan, the people, convinced that he had gone to the abode of the gods, deified him, and built temples and instituted feasts in his honor. these latter were scrupulously observed throughout the entire country up to the time of the destruction of mayapan; but after that event they were neglected by all the provinces but that of mani.[ ] in remembrance, however, of the respect shown of old to cukulcan, these provinces sent annually, by turn, to mani four or five magnificent feather banners, which were used in the ceremonies there. on the sixteenth day of the month of xul, all the nobles and priests of mani, being prepared by fast and penance for the occasion, came together, and with them came a considerable multitude of people. in the evening all set out in procession from the house of the lord, and, accompanied by a large number of professional actors, proceeded slowly towards the temple of cukulcan, which had already been decorated in a suitable manner. upon arriving they placed the banners on high in the temple, offered prayers, and going into the courtyard spread out their idols upon green leaves and branches; then they burned incense in many places, and made offerings of meat cooked without pepper or salt, bean-soup, and calabashes. after this, those who had observed the fast did not go home, but passed five days and five nights in the temple, praying, burning copal, and executing sacred dances. during this time the actors went from one house to another, representing their plays and receiving gifts from those whom they entertained. at the end of the five days they carried all their earnings to the temple and distributed them among the watchers there. afterwards all returned to the prince's palace, taking with them the banners and the idols. thence each betook himself to his home. they said, and confidently believed, that cukulcan descended from heaven on the last day of the feast and received personally the gifts which were presented to him. this festival was called _chic kaban_. during the month of yaxkin it was the custom to prepare for a general festival, called _olohzabkamyax_, held in the month of mol, in honor of all the gods. at this feast, after the usual preliminary rites, they smeared with blue coloring matter the instruments used in every profession, from the sacred implements of the priests to the distaffs of the women, and even the doors of their houses. children of both sexes were daubed in the same manner, but instead of coloring their hands they gave them each nine gentle raps on the knuckles. the little girls were brought to the feast by an old woman, who for that reason was called _ixmol_, conductress. the blows were given to the children in order that they might become skilled workmen in the profession of their fathers or mothers. the usual conclusion ensued. during the month of mol the apiarists had another festival similar to that of the month of tzec, in order to induce their patron gods to cause the flowers to grow, from which the bees gathered honey. [sidenote: festival to insure a crop.] the mayas depended so much upon the produce of the soil for their sustenance that a failure of the crops was one of the heaviest misfortunes that could fall upon them. to avoid this they made four idols, named chichac chob, ek balam chac, ahcan uolcab, and ahbuluc balam.[ ] having placed them in the temple, and, according to custom, burned incense before them, they presented them with two pellets of a kind of resin called _kik_, some iguanas, some bread, a mitre, a bouquet of flowers, and a stone upon which they set great value. besides this, they erected a great wooden arch in the court, which they filled with wood, taking care to leave openings through which to pass backwards and forwards. the greater part of the men then took each a long stick of dry wood, and while a musician mounted on the top of the pile sang and beat a drum, all danced reverently and in good order, as they did so passing in and out the wood-pile. this they kept up until evening, when, leaving their sticks behind them, they went home to eat and rest. during the night they returned, and each taking his faggot, lit it and applied it to the pile, which burned fiercely and rapidly.[ ] as soon as the heap was reduced to red-hot ashes, those who had danced gathered about it, and passed barefooted over the coals, some without injury, and some with; this they believed would avert misfortune and appease the anger of the gods.[ ] it was customary in all the towns of yucatan to erect at the limits of each of the four quarters, east, west, north, and south, two heaps of stones, facing each other, and intended to be used during the celebration of two solemn festivals, which were as follows. in the year of which the dominical letter was _kan_, the sign was _hobnil_, and, according to the yucatecs, these both ruled in the south. they made this year, of baked earth, an idol which they called kanu uayeyab, and having made it they carried it out to the heaps of stones which lay towards the south. they then selected a principal man of the place, and in his house they celebrated the feast. for this purpose they made another image, of the god bolon zacab,[ ] and placed it in the chosen house, in a prominent place, so that all who arrived might see it. this done, the nobles, priests, and people came together, and set out by a road swept clean, ornamented with arches, and strewed with foliage, to the southern heaps of stones, where they gathered about the idol kanu uayeyab. the priest then incensed the god with forty-nine grains of maize, ground up and mixed with copal; the nobles next placed incense in the brazier, and burned it before the idol. the incense burned by the priest was called _zacah_, that used by the nobles, _chahalté_. when these rites were completed the head of a fowl was cut off and offered to the idol, which was now placed on a litter called _kanté_,[ ] and upon its shoulders were placed other little images, as signs of abundance of water and a good year, and these images were frightful to behold. amid dances and general rejoicing the idol was carried towards the house where the statue of bolon zacab had been placed, and while the procession was on the road, the nobles and priests partook of a beverage made from four hundred and fifteen grains of roasted maize, which they called _picula kakla_. arrived at their destination, they placed the image that they carried opposite the idol which they found there, and made many offerings of food and drink, which were afterwards divided among the strangers who were present, the officiating priest receiving only the leg of a deer. some of the devotees drew blood from their bodies, scarified their ears, and anointed with the blood a stone idol named kanal acantun. they modeled a heart of dough of maize and of calabash-seeds, and offered it to the idol kanu uayeyab. and in this manner they honored both the idols during the entire time of the feast, burning before them incense of copal and ground maize, for they held it certain that misfortune would overwhelm them if they neglected these rites. finally, the statue of bolon zacab was carried to the temple, and the other image to the western entrance of the town, where it remained until the next celebration of the feast. [sidenote: maya festivals.] the ceremonies of the new year, under the sign of _muluc_, were very similar to those just described, though held in honor of other deities. a dance performed upon a high scaffolding, attended with sacrifices of turkeys; another executed by the old people, holding little baked-clay images of dogs in their hands; and the sacrifice of a peculiarly marked dog, were, however, additional features. the same may be said of the new year under the sign of _yx_, and of the new year under the sign of _cauac_, when the rites which were performed were sufficiently like those which have gone before to need no further description.[ ] the gods of the yucatecs required far fewer human lives at the hands of their worshipers than those of the nahuas. the pages of yucatec history are not marred by the constant blood-blots that obscure the nahua record. an event which in mexico would be the death-signal to a hecatomb of human victims, would in yucatan be celebrated by the death of a spotted dog. the office of sacrificer which in mexico was one of the highest honors to which a priest could attain, was in yucatan regarded as unclean and degrading.[ ] nevertheless, the yucatec religion was not free from human sacrifice, and although captives taken in war were used for this purpose, yet it is said that such was their devotion, that should a victim be wanting they would dedicate their children to the altar rather than let the gods be deprived of their due.[ ] but it seldom happened that more than one victim was sacrificed at a time, at least in earlier days, and even then he was not butchered as by the nahuas, but was shot through the heart with arrows before being laid upon the sacrificial stone.[ ] [sidenote: sacrifices at chichen itza.] at chichen itza human sacrifices were made in a peculiar manner. in the centre of the city was an immense pit, containing water, and surrounded on all sides by a dense grove, which served to render the spot silent and solitary, in spite of its position. a circular staircase, rudely cut in the rock, descended to the edge of the water from the foot of an altar which stood upon the very brink of the pit.[ ] at first, only animals and incense were offered here, as the teachings of cukulcan forbade the sacrifice of human victims, but after the departure of the great maya apostle the yucatecs returned to the evil of their ways,[ ] and the pit of chichen was once more polluted with human bodies. at first one victim sufficed, but the number gradually increased, until, during the later years of maya independence, hundreds were immolated at a time. if some calamity threatened the country, if the crops failed or the requisite supply of rain was wanting, the people hastened to the pit of horror, to offer prayers and to appease the wrath of the gods with gifts of human life. on the day of sacrifice, the victims, who were generally young virgins, were taken to the temple, clothed in the garments appropriate to the occasion, and conducted thence to the sacred pit, accompanied by a multitude of priests and priestesses of all ranks. there, while the incense burned on the altar and in the braziers, the officiating priest explained to them the things for which they were to implore the gods into whose presence they were about to be introduced. a long cord was then fastened round the body of each victim, and the moment the smoke ceased to rise from the altar, all were hurled into the gulf. the crowd, which had gathered from every part of the country to see the sacrifice, immediately drew back from the brink of the pit and continued to pray without cessation for some time. the bodies were then drawn up and buried in the neighboring grove.[ ] the pipiles had two idols, one in the figure of a man, called quetzalcoatl, the other in the shape of a woman, called itzqueye. certain days of their calendar were specially set apart for each of the deities, and on these the sacrifices were made. two very solemn sacrifices were held in each year, one at the commencement of summer, the other at the beginning of winter. at these, herrera says, only the lords were present.[ ] the sacrifice was made in the interior of the temple, and the victims were boys between the ages of six and twelve years, bastards, born among themselves. for a day and a night previous to the sacrifice, drums and trumpets were sounded and on the day following the people assembled. four priests then came out from the temple, each bearing a small brazier with burning incense; together they turned in the direction of the sun, and kneeling down offered up incense and prayers; they then did the same toward the four cardinal points.[ ] their prayers finished, they retired within four small chapels built at the four corners of the temple, and there rested. they next went to the house of the high-priest, and took thence the boy who was to be sacrificed and conducted him four times round the court of the temple, dancing and singing. when this ceremony was finished, the high-priest came out of his house, with the diviner and guardian of the sanctuary, and ascended the steps of the temple, with the cacique and principal men, who, however, remained at the door of the sanctuary. the four priests now seized the boy by the arms and legs, and the guardian of the temple coming out with little bells on his wrists and ankles, opened the left breast of the victim, tore out the heart, and handed it to the high-priest, who placed it in a small embroidered purse which he carried. the four priests received the blood of the victim in four jicaras, or bowls, made from the shell of a certain fruit, and descending one after the other to the courtyard, sprinkled the blood with their right hands in the direction of the cardinal points. if any blood remained over they returned it to the high-priest, who placed it with the purse containing the heart in the body of the victim through the wound that had been made, and the body was interred in the temple. this was the ceremony of sacrifice at the beginning of each of the two seasons. [sidenote: pipile feast of victory.] when information was received from their war chief that he had gained a victory, the diviner ascertained to which of the gods sacrifice was to be made. if to quetzalcoatl, the ceremony lasted fifteen days; if to itzqueye, five days; and upon each day they sacrificed a prisoner. these sacrifices were made as follows: all those who had been in the battle returned home in procession, singing and dancing, bringing with them the captives who were to be sacrificed, their wrists and ankles decorated with feathers and chalchiuites, and their necks with strings of cacao-nibs. the high-priests and other ministers went out at the head of the populace to meet them with music and dancing, and the caciques and captains delivered over those who were to be sacrificed to the high-priest. then they all went together to the courtyard of their _teupa_, or temple, where they continued dancing day and night during the time the sacrifices lasted. in the middle of the court was a stone bench on which the victim was stretched, four priests holding him by the feet and hands. the sacrificing priest then came forward, adorned with many feathers and loaded with little bells, holding in his hand a flint knife, with which he opened the breast of the victim, tore out the heart, brandished it toward the cardinal points, and finally threw it into the air with sufficient force to cause it to fall directly in the middle of the court, saying: "receive, oh god, this thank-offering for the victory."[ ] this sacrifice was public and beheld by all the people. the men drew blood from their private parts, and the women from their ears, tongue, and other parts of the body; as the blood flowed it was taken up with cotton and offered by the men to quetzalcoatl, by the women to itzqueye. when the pipiles were about to undertake any hunting or fishing expedition, they first made an offering to their gods. for this purpose they took a living deer,[ ] and leading it to the temple yard, they there strangled and afterwards flayed it, saving the blood in a vessel. the liver, lungs, and stomach were chopped in small pieces, which were afterwards laid aside with the heart, head, and feet. the remainder of the deer was cooked by itself, and the blood likewise, and while this was being done the people danced. the high-priest with his assistant next took the head by the ears, and each of the four priests one of the feet, while the guardian of the sanctuary put the heart into a brazier and burnt it with copal and ulli to the god who was the protector of hunting. after the dance, the head and feet were scorched in the fire before the idol and given to the high-priest to be eaten. the flesh and blood were eaten by the other ministers of the temple before the idol, and the same was done with other animals sacrificed. the entrails of fish were burned before the idol.[ ] [sidenote: sacrifices in nicaragua.] among the civilized nations of nicaragua, it would appear there were eighteen distinct festivals, corresponding with the eighteen months in their calendar.[ ] these were proclaimed by the priest, holding the instrument of sacrifice in his hand, from the steps leading to the sacrificial altar in the court of the temple. he made known who and how many were to be sacrificed, and whether they were to be prisoners taken in battle or individuals reared among themselves for the purpose.[ ] when the victim was stretched upon the stone, the officiating priest walked three times round him, singing in a doleful tone; he then opened the victim's breast, plucked out his heart, and daubed his face with the blood. he next dismembered the body and gave the heart to the high-priest, the feet and hands to the king, the thighs to him who had captured him, the entrails to the trumpeters, and the remainder to the people, that all might eat.[ ] the heads of those sacrificed were set as trophies on trees appointed for the purpose.[ ] if the person sacrificed had been bought, they buried the entrails, hands, and feet, in a gourd, and burned the heart and all the rest.[ ] as it was lawful for a father to sell his own children, and each person himself, they therefore did not eat the flesh of such sacrifices because they were their own countrymen and relations. when they ate the flesh of foreigners sacrificed, they held exciting dances, and passed the days in drunken revels and smoking, but had no sexual intercourse with their wives while the festival lasted.[ ] at certain feasts they offered blood drawn from their own bodies, with which they rubbed the beard and lips of the idol. the priests wore white cotton cloaks, some short and small, others hung from the shoulders to the heels, with bands having bags attached, in which they carried sharp stone knives, papers, ground charcoal, and certain herbs. the lay brothers bore in their hands little flags with the idol they held most in veneration painted thereon, and small purses containing powder and awls; the youths had bows and arrows, darts and shields. the idol, in form and appearance very frightful, was set upon a spear and carried by the eldest priest. the ascetics marched in file, singing, to the place of worship. they spread mantles and strewed roses and flowers, that the standards might not touch the ground. the procession halted; the singing ceased; they fell to prayer. the prelate clapped his hand; some drew blood from the tongue, others from the ears, from the privy member, or from whatever part their devotion led them. they took the blood on paper or on their fingers and smeared the idol's face. in the meantime the youths danced, leaped about, and shook their weapons. those who had gashed themselves, cured their wounds by an application of powdered charcoal and herbs that they carried for the purpose. in these observances they sprinkled maize with the blood from their privy parts, and it was distributed and eaten as blessed bread.[ ] [sidenote: banquets of the people.] like the mexicans the mayas had a great predilection for entertaining each other at banquets, and it is related of them that they often spent on one such occasion a sum that it had taken them many months to earn. seasons of betrothal and marriage were always enlivened by sumptuous feasts. whenever any contract had to be arranged, a feast was given and the act of eating and drinking together in public and before witnesses sufficed to make such contract valid.[ ] the lords and principal men gave feasts to each other, and as it was incumbent upon all the guests to return the compliment, there must have been a continual round of feasting. cogolludo states that meat was eaten at banquets only, and this may in some measure account for the frequency with which they occurred, and the etiquette that required the invitation to be returned. they observed a certain formality at their entertainments, seating themselves either in twos or fours. each of the guests received a roasted fowl, some bread, and an abundance of cacao. when the meal was finished, presents were distributed to the guests, each being presented with a mantle, a small stool, and a handsome cup. beautiful women acted as cup-bearers, and when one of these presented a cup of wine to a guest, she turned her back to him while he drank. the feast lasted until all were intoxicated, and then the wives led their drunken husbands home. when a marriage banquet, or one in commemoration of the deeds of their ancestors, was given, no return invitation was expected.[ ] their entertainments were usually enlivened by a company of dancers and musicians, who performed dramatic representations under the leadership of one who was called _holpop_, or master of the ceremonies; he gave instructions to the actors, directed the singers and musicians, and from him all had to take their cue. the actors were called _balzam_, a name corresponding to jester or mimic. as women were not permitted to take part in the mummeries, their places were supplied by men. their movements during the play were grave and monotonous, yet they were clever in mimicry and caricature, which they frequently made use of as a means of reproving their chief men.[ ] the plays were generally of a historical character, having for their subject the great deeds of their ancestors; their songs consisted of ballads founded upon local traditions and legendary tales.[ ] [sidenote: music and dances.] a favorite dance of the mayas was one called _colomche_; a large number of men took part in it, sometimes as many as eight hundred. these formed a ring, and were accompanied during their movements by a number of musicians. when the dancing began, two of the actors, still keeping step with the rest, came out from the ring, one holding in his hand a bunch of wands and dancing upright, while the other cowered down, still dancing. then he who had the wands threw them with all his force at his companion, who with great dexterity parried them with a short stick. when the two had finished, they returned to their former position in the circle, and two others took their place and went through the same performance, the rest following in their turn. they had also war dances, in which large numbers joined, the performers holding small flags in their hands.[ ] they had a variety of musical instruments, prominent among which was the _tunkul_, which was almost the same thing as the teponaztli of the mexicans.[ ] they had other drums made of a hollow trunk and covered at one end with deer-skin, tortoise shells that they struck with deer's horns, trumpets,--some of marine shells and others of hollow canes with a calabash at the end,--whistles and flutes made from bone and cane, besides various kinds of rattles.[ ] landa says that in every village there was a large house or rather shed, for it was open on all sides, in which the young men met for amusement.[ ] oviedo, who witnessed some dances and games among the nicaraguans, thus describes one he saw at tecoatega after the harvesting of the cacao. as many as sixty persons, all men, though a number of them represented women, took part in a dance. they were painted of various colors and patterns, and wore upon their heads beautiful tufts of feathers, and about their persons divers ornaments, while some wore masks like birds' heads. they performed the dance going in couples and keeping at a distance of three or four steps between pair and pair. in the centre of a square was a high pole of more than sixty feet in height driven firmly into the ground; on the top was seated a gaudily painted idol which they called the god of the _cacaguat_, or cacao; round the top were fixed four other poles in the form of a square, and rolled upon it was a thick grass rope at the ends of which were bound two boys of seven or eight years of age. one of them had in one hand a bow and in the other a bunch of arrows; the other boy carried a beautiful feather fan and a mirror. at a certain step of the dance the boys came out from the square and the rope began to unroll; they went round and round in the air, always going further out and counterbalancing one another, the rope still unrolling. while they were descending, the sixty men proceeded with their dance to the sound of singers beating drums and tabors. the boys passed through the air with much velocity, moving their arms and legs to present the appearance of flying. when they reached the ground the dancers and singers gave some loud cheers and the festival was concluded.[ ] another favorite amusement was a performance on a swinging bar. for this two tall forked posts were firmly planted in the ground; across them and resting in the forks a pole was strongly bound. this pole passed at right angles through a hole in the centre of a thick bar, made to revolve upon it and of very light wood; near the end of the bar were cross sticks for the performers to take hold of. a man placed himself at each end, and when the bar was set in motion they went tumbling round and round, to the delight of the spectators.[ ] footnotes: [ ] 'los universales sacrificios se ofrecian ordinariamente cuando venian las fiestas, las cuales habia en unas provincias cinco, y en otras seis, ó se ofrecian por necesidad particular, por uno de estos dos respectos.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxix. [ ] 'aquel dia era libertado para hacer grandes banquetes y borracheras, y así se mataban infinitas aves, mucha caza y vinos muy diferentes, hacian muchas danzas y bailes en presencia de los ídolos. duraban aquestas fiestas, tres, cinco y siete dias, segun lo que ordenaban los ministros, y lo decian cuando habian de comenzar. en estos dias, en cada tarde andaban en procesion con grandes cantos y músicas, llevando al ídolo por las calles y plazas, y donde habia lugar preeminente, hacian altares y ponian mesas, y allí paraban, y como nosotros representamos farsas, así ellos jugaban á la pelota delante de sus dioses.' _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxvii. [ ] the manner in which this was done will be described elsewhere in this chapter. [ ] 'ce qui, d'accord avec divers autres indices, annoncerait bien que l'effusion du sang, et surtout du sang humain, dans les sacrifices, était d'origine étrangère, nahuatl probablement.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] meaning 'quenching of fire.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, p. . yzamna is otherwise called zamná. [ ] this word _chacs_, which before was interpreted as the 'gods of the cornfields,' probably here means the priests of those deities. in a former chapter we have seen the word applied to those who assisted at the rite of baptism. [ ] '_ekchuah_, écrit ailleurs _echuah_, était le patron des marchands et naturellement des cacaos, marchandise et monnaie à la fois.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] 'officiales;' this may mean officiating priests, or overseers on the plantations, or almost anything else. [ ] '_cit_ paraît être une sorte de cochon sauvage; _chac_ est le nom générique des dieux de la pluie, des campagnes, des fruits de la terre, etc. _coh_ est le puma ou lion américain; suivant d'autres, _chac-coh_ est le léopard.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] '_cinchau-yzamná_ est une orthographe erroné, si l'on en juge après les leçons précédentes; c'est probablement une mauvaise abréviation de _kinich-ahau-ytzamná_, donné, d'ailleurs, comme l'inventeur des lettres et de l'écriture, l'auteur de tous les noms imposés au yucatan.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] 'c'étaient là sans doute les dieux de la pêche, à propos desquels cogolludo dit les paroles suivantes: "on dit aussi que bien après la conquête, les indiens de la province de titz imin, quand ils allaient pêcher le long de la côte de choáca, avant de se mettre à la pêche, commençaient par des sacrifices et des oblations à leurs faux dieux, leur offrant des chandelles, des réaux d'argent et des _cuzcas_, qui sont leurs émeraudes, et d'autres pierres précieuses, en certain endroits, au _ku_ et oratoires qui se voient encore dans les bras de mer (estuaires) et les lagunes salées qu'il y a sur cette côte vers le _rio de lagartos_."' (_hist. yuc._, tom. iv., cap. iv.); _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] '_cuculcan_, écrit quelquefois _kukulcan_, vient de _kuk_, oiseau qui paraît être le même que le quetzal; son déterminatif est _kukul_ qui uni à _can_, serpent, fait exactement le même mot que _quetzal cohuatl_, serpent aux plumes vertes, ou de quetzal.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] 'la province de mani avait été colonisée par les tutul-xius, dont l'origine était toltèque ou nahuatl; les fêtes de kukulcan se bornant à cette province après la destruction de mayapan, ne laissent point de doute sur l'origine de ce personnage, et donnent lieu de penser que le reste du yucatan, tout en vénérant jusqu'à un certain point ce mythe ou ce prophète, avait gardé au fond la religion qui avait précédé celle des toltèques. ce serait un point d'histoire d'une grande importance au point de vue philosophique. nous trouverons plus loin d'autres indices du culte primitif des mayas.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] '_ek-balam-chac_ signifie tigre noir dieu des champs: ce sont du reste des noms donnés au tigre encore aujourd'hui. _ahcan_ est le serpent mâle en général. _ahbuluc-balam_ signifie celui des onze tigres.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] 'ne croirait-on pas lire la description de cette fête des scythes, rapportée par hérodote, et que m. viollet-leduc a insérée dans ses _antiquités mexicaines_, formant l'introduction de l'ouvrage de m. désiré charnay: _cités et ruines américaines_, page .' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] '_bolon_ est l'adjectif numéral neuf, _zacab_, dont la racine est _zac_, blanc, est le nom d'une sorte de maïs moulu, dont on fait une espèce d'orgeat. cette statue était-elle une image allégorique de cet orgeat offert en cette occasion?' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] '_kanté_, bois jaune; c'est probablement le cèdre.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] 'la charge de _nacon_ était double; l'un était perpétuel et peu honorable, parce que c'était lui qui ouvrait la poitrine aux victimes humaines qu'on sacrifiait.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . 'el oficio de abrir el pecho a los sacrificados, que en mexico era estimado, aqui era poco honroso.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv. [ ] _ib._ [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _herrera_, ubi sup. [ ] the present appearance of the pit is thus described by stephens: 'setting out from the castillo, at some distance we ascended a wooded elevation, which seemed an artificial causeway leading to the senote. the senote was the largest and wildest we had seen; in the midst of a thick forest, an immense circular hole, with cragged, perpendicular sides, trees growing out of them and overhanging the brink, and still as if the genius of silence reigned within. a hawk was sailing around it, looking down into the water, but without once flapping its wings. the water was of a greenish hue. a mysterious influence seemed to pervade it, in unison with the historical account that the well of chichen was a place of pilgrimage, and that human victims were thrown into it in sacrifice. in one place, on the very brink, were the remains of a stone structure, probably connected with ancient superstitious rites; perhaps the place from which the victims were thrown into the dark well beneath.' _yucatan_, vol. ii., p. . [ ] we have seen that even the memory of cukulcan was neglected in all the provinces of yucatan but one. [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. i.; _medel_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x. [ ] 'ivanse derechos todos quatro juntos á do sale el sol, i se hincavan de rodillas ante el, i le zaumavan diciendo palabras é invocaciones, i esto fecho se dividian hacia quatro partes, lest, oest, norte, sur, i predicavan sus rictos i ceremonias.' _palacio_, _carta_, p. . [ ] 'yua el sacristan y sacauale con la nauaja el coraçon, y arrojauale al dios, o a la diosa, y dezia, toma el fruto desta vitoria.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x. [ ] brasseur de bourbourg says: 'cerf blanc.' _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'le sacrifice du cerf blanc, d'abord un des plus augustes, devint, plus tard, l'offrande commune et exclusive des chasseurs qui désiraient se rendre favorables les dieux protecteurs de la chasse et des forêts.' _id._, p. ; _palacio_, _carta_, pp. - . [ ] 'echauan las fiestas que eran diez y ocho, como los meses subidos en el gradario, o sacrificadero que tenian los patios de los templos.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii. in the evidence taken by fray françisco de bobadilla the number of festivals is given as twenty-one and eleven; i must therefore leave the reader to decide for himself which is correct. 'y.--en un año tenemos veynte é un dias de fiestas (é no juntos estos dias).... f.--en el tiempo de aquellas onçe fiestas, que deçis que teneys cada año.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. , . [ ] 'for there are two kindes of humane sacrifices with them: the one, of enemies taken in the warres, the other of such as are brought vp and maintained at home.' _peter martyr_, dec. vi., lib. vi. [ ] 'and whosoeuer should haue no parte nor portion of the sacrificed enemie, would thinke he shoulde bee ill accepted that yeere.' _ib._ [ ] 'euery king nourisheth his appointed trees in a fielde neere vnto him, obseruing the names of euery hostile country, where they hange the heads of their sacrificed enemies taken in the warres.' _ib._ [ ] herrera gives a similar account of the disposal of the body, but adds: 'saluo que ponian la cabeça en los arboles.' _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii. i think it improbable that the heads were treated in the same manner as those of their enemies. peter martyr says nothing distinctly of the disposal of the head, but, speaking of the sacrifice, says 'they reuerence all parts thereof, and partly bury them beefore the dores of their temples, as the feete, handes, and bowels, which they cast together into a gourde, the rest (together with the hartes, making a great fire within the view of those hostile trees, with shril hyms, and applauses of the priestes) they burne among the ashes of the former sacrifices, neuer thence remooued, lying in that fielde.' dec. vi., tom. vi. [ ] 'en aquellas fiestas no trabaxamos ni entendemos en más de emborracharnos; pero no dormimos con nuestras mugeres, é aquellos dias, por quitar la ocasion, duermen ellas dentro en casa é nosotros fuera della: é al que en tales dias se echa con su muger, nuestros dioses les dan dolençia luego, de que mueren; é por esso ninguno lo osa haçer, porque aquellos dias son dedicados á nuestros dioses.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _peter martyr_, dec. vi., lib. vi., vii.; _squier_, in _palacio_, _carta_, p. . [ ] 'en las ventas, y contratos, no auia escritos que obligassen, ni cartas de papago, que satisfaciessen, pero quedaba el contrato valido con que bebiessen publicamente delante de testigos.' _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. - . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] 'son graciosos en los motes, y chistes, que dizen à sus mayores, y iuezes: si son rigurosos, ambiciosos, auarientos, representando los sucessos que con ellos les passan, y aun lo que vèn à su ministro doctrinero, lo dizen delante dèl, y à vezes con vna sola palabra.' _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] see _carrillo_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. iii., pp. , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.; _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , . [ ] 'el timbal yucateco (_tankul ó tunkul_,) es el instrumento mas notable de la música yucateca, y en general de la música americana, que acompañaban las danzas ó bailes sagrados, y el nombre maya de ese notable instrumento, nos revela hasta hoy el carácter sagrado de aquellas fiestas, pues el nombre de _tunkul ó tankul_, significa ligeramente la hora de la adoracion.' _carrillo_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. iii., p. . i have one of these instruments in my possession. [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. , ; _carrillo_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. iii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] this is very similar to the nahua game, described on page , et seq., of this volume. [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. - , - , pl. v., fig. i., ii. chapter xxiii. food, dress, commerce, and war customs of the mayas. introduction of agriculture--quichÉ tradition of the discovery of maize--maize culture--superstitions of farmers--hunting and fishing--domestic animals, fowl, and bees--preservation and cooking of food--meals--drinks and drinking-habits--cannibalism--dress of the mayas--maxtlis, mantles, and sandals--dress of kings and priests--women's dress--hair and beard--personal decoration--head-flattening, perforation, tattooing, and painting--personal habits--commerce--currency--markets--superstitions of travelers--canoes and balsas--war--military leaders--insignia--armor--weapons--fortifications--battles-- treatment of captives. the tierra caliente and the low forest-clad foothills of the usumacinta region on the confines of yucatan, guatemala, chiapas, and tabasco, present claims as strong at least as those of any other locality to be considered the birth-place of american civilization. here apparently votan and gucumatz, demi-gods or civilizers, won their first triumphs over the powers of barbarism. in the most remote times to which we are carried by vague tradition and mythic fable, gods with strangely human attributes, or men of wonderful supernatural powers, newly arrived in this land, took counsel one with another how they might subject to their power and reclaim from barbarism the native bands of savages, or 'animals,' who roamed naked through the forests, and subsisted on roots and wild fruits. the discussion of the tradition with reference to its historic signification, is foreign to my present purpose, but as the story includes the traditional origin of agriculture and the discovery of maize under the form of a new creation, it is an appropriate introduction to the present chapter on the food, dress, and commerce of the maya nations. the story runs as follows in the aboriginal quiché annals:[ ] behold how they began to think of man, and to seek what must enter into the flesh of man. then spake he who begets, and he who gives being, tepeuh, gucumatz, the creator and the former, and said: "already the dawn is nigh; the work is finished; behold the support, the foster-father, is ennobled; the son of civilization, man, is honored, and humanity on the face of the earth." they came, and in great numbers they assembled; in the shadows of the night they joined their wise counsel. then sought they and consulted in sadness, meditating; and thus the wisdom of these men was manifest; they found and were made to see what must enter into the flesh of man; and the dawn was near. [sidenote: discovery of maize.] in paxil, or cayala ('land of divided and stagnant waters') as it is called, were the ears of yellow maize and of white. these are the names of the barbarians who went to seek food; the fox, the jackal, the paroquet, and the crow,--four barbarians who made known to them the ears of the white maize and of the yellow, who came to paxil and guided them thither. there it was they obtained at last the food that was to enter into the flesh of man, of man created and formed; this it was that was his blood, that became the blood of man--this maize that entered into him by the provision of him who creates, of him who gives being. and they rejoiced that they had at last arrived in this most excellent land, so full of good things, where the white and yellow maize did abound, also the cacao, where were sapotes and many fruits, and honey; all was overflowing with the best of food in this country of paxil, or cayala. there was food of every kind; there were large and small plants, to which the barbarians had guided them. then they began to grind the yellow and white maize, and of them did xmucané make nine drinks, which nourishment was the beginning of strength, giving unto man flesh and stature. such were the deeds of the begetter and giver of being, tepeuh, gucumatz. thereupon they began to speak of creating our first mother and our first father. only yellow maize and white maize entered into their flesh, and these alone formed the legs and arms of man; and these were our first fathers, the four men who were formed, into whose flesh this food entered. and from this time of its traditional discovery by gucumatz, or quetzalcoatl, down to the conquest by the spaniards and even down to the present time, the yellow and white maize, in their several varieties, have been the chief reliance of the maya as of the nahua nations for daily food. every year during the latter months of the dry season, from march to may, the farmer busied himself in preparing his _milpa_, or cornfield, which he did by simply cutting or uprooting the dense growth and burning it. the ashes thus produced were the only fertilizer ever employed, and even this was probably never needed in this land of tropical fertility. just before the first rain fell, equipped with a sack of seed-maize on his shoulder and a sharpened stick in his hand, he made holes at regular intervals among the ashes, and in each deposited five or six grains, covering it with the same instrument, aided perhaps by the foot. in yucatan the planters united in bands of twenty for mutual assistance, working together until the land of all the club was properly seeded. it was not customary to plant very large fields, but rather many in different localities, to guard against a possible partial failure of the crops from local causes. hedges, ditches, and fences were constructed to enclose the milpas, so effective in the lacandone country that the spaniards' horses were unable to leap them. the corn was carefully kept free from weeds while growing, and watched by boys after it had begun to ripen. in nicaragua, where, oviedo tells us, more attention was paid to agriculture than in any other region visited by him, the boys took their station in trees scattered over the field, or sometimes on raised covered scaffolds of wood and reeds, called _barbacoas_, where they kept up a continual shouting to drive away the birds. irrigation was practiced when the rains were backward, and if we may credit oviedo, by thus artificially forcing the crop in nicaragua, well-filled corn was plucked only forty days after planting the seed. villagutierre states that the itzas spent most of their time in worship, dancing, and getting drunk, trusting to uncultivated fruits and the fertility of their soil for a subsistence, and contenting themselves with very small milpas. [sidenote: cultivation of the soil.] after maize, cacao was perhaps the crop to which most attention was paid. it grew in hot and shady localities, and where there was no natural shade, trees were set out for the purpose. it was called _cacaguat_ in nicaragua, and was gathered from february to april. several varieties, of a somewhat inferior quality, grew wild, and were much used by the natives. the cultivation of beans, pepper, cotton, and of numerous native fruits, was carried on extensively, but we have no details respecting the methods employed.[ ] in connection with the planting and growth of the various cultivated plants, the mayas entertained some peculiar superstitions. far from understanding the simplest laws of nature, they recognized only supernatural agencies in the growth or blighting of their crops. in yucatan, cogolludo states that no meat was eaten while cotton was growing, from fear that it would fail to mature. the nicaraguans, according to dávila, ate no salt or pepper, nor did they drink any intoxicating beverage, or sleep with their women during the time of planting. oviedo also observed certain bundles of sticks placed at the corners of each field, as well as leaves, stones, and cotton rags, scattered over the surface by ugly and deformed old hags, for some unknown but doubtless superstitious purpose. palacio tells us that the pipiles before beginning to plant gathered in small bowls specimens of all the seeds, which, after performing certain rites with them before the idol, they buried in the ground, and burned copal and ulli over them. blood was drawn freely from different parts of the body, with which to anoint the idol; and, as ximenez states, the blood of slain fowls was sprinkled over the land to be sown. in the case of cacao the finest grains of seed were exposed to the moonlight during four nights; and whatever the seed to be planted, the tillers of the soil must sleep apart from their wives and concubines for several days, in order that on the night before planting they might indulge their passions to the fullest extent; certain persons are even said to have been appointed to perform the sexual act at the very moment when the first seeds were deposited in the ground. before beginning the operation of weeding, they burned incense at the four corners of the field, and uttered fervent prayers to the idols. when the corn was ripe they plucked the finest ears and offered them to the gods, to the priests, and sometimes also to the poor. at harvest time the corn was heaped up in the field, and was not moved until the grain itself gave the signal that it was ready; the signal was, as brasseur states it, the springing up of a fresh blade, or, according to ximenez, the falling of an ear from the heap.[ ] the home of the mayas in nearly every part abounded in many varieties of game, and the authors report the natives to have been expert hunters and fishermen, but respecting the particular methods employed in capturing food from forest, ocean, and river, little information has been preserved. the people of yucatan used the bow and arrow; were especially skillful at throwing a kind of arrow or dart by means of a piece of wood three fingers thick, pierced with a hole at one third its length; and, according to cogolludo, they bred hunting dogs which were trained to follow and seize deer, tigers, and boars, as well as badgers, rabbits, armadillos, and iguanas. the latter animal was, as it still is, a favorite food. tradition relates that the tutul xius when they first came to yucatan used no weapons, but were famous for their skill in taking game by means of snares, traps, and similar devices. in guatemala, a blow-pipe and earthen bullets were sometimes used to shoot birds. a portion of all game taken had to be given to the rulers of town and province, and also a large portion--half, las casas tells us, in guatemala--must be offered to the god of hunting, or, in other words, furnished for the priests' tables. fish and turtles were the chief articles of food in some coast regions, and the nicaraguans are described by oviedo as expert fishermen, who took fish from ocean and river by means of rods, lines, and flies, also in cotton nets, and by pens and embankments in the tide waters. they are said to have had a plant, the _baygua_, a decoction of which being put in the water brought the fish senseless to the surface. the itzas and probably others used the harpoon. young alligators just hatched were esteemed as delicacies in vera paz, and large fleets of canoes were sent at the proper season to take them. the tapir was also a favorite article of food. toads and other reptiles seem to have been eaten when other supplies were not at hand.[ ] [sidenote: use of meat as food.] as an article of daily food, meat was comparatively little used; cogolludo even goes so far as to say it was never eaten in yucatan except at feasts. besides the game-supply, dogs of a certain species were raised for food. they were of small size, without hair, could not bark, and when castrated became immensely fat. they were called _xulos_ in nicaragua, and _tzomes_ in yucatan, but were probably the same as the _techichis_ already mentioned in mexico. turkeys, ducks, geese, and other fowl were domesticated; and pigs, rabbits, and hares are mentioned as having been bred. multitudes of bees were kept for their honey and wax, and hives are spoken of by las casas without description. gomara says the bees were small and the honey somewhat bitter. the only methods of making salt that i find particularly mentioned were to bake tide-washed earth, boiling down the brine made of the product, and also to boil the lye produced by leeching the ashes of a palm called _xacxam_. the former method was practiced in guatemala, at great cost of labor and wealth, as herrera says; the second is referred to yucatan. many roots were of course utilized for food, and a peculiar herb, called _yaat_, was mixed with lime and carried constantly in the mouth by the nicaraguans on the march or journey, as a preventive of fatigue and thirst.[ ] respecting the preservation and cooking of food, as well as the habits of the people in taking their daily meals, there are no differences to be recorded from what has been said of the nahuas. the inevitable tortillas and tamales were the standard dish, made in the same way as at the north; meat was dried, salted, roasted, and stewed, with pepper for the favorite seasoning. fruits were perhaps a more prominent article of food, and were eaten for the most part raw.[ ] cogolludo informs us that the yucatecs eat regularly once a day, just before sunset; and we are also told that they took great pains to keep their bright-colored table-cloths and napkins in a state of perfect cleanliness. in nicaragua, they were accustomed to wash the hands and mouth after eating; and the chiefs, who sat in a circle on wooden benches and were served by the women, also washed at the commencement of the meal. the men and women eat always separately, the latter taking their food from the ground, or sometimes from a palm-leaf basket-work platter. very little food sufficed for the mayas and they could bear hunger for a long time, but like all the aboriginal inhabitants of america they eat plentifully when well supplied, taking no heed for a time in the future when food might be lacking.[ ] [sidenote: drinks prepared from maize.] we have seen that in the beginning, according to the tradition, xmucané invented nine drinks, which were prepared from maize. the exact composition of these famous beverages of antiquity is not given; but landa speaks of at least six, in the preparation of which maize was used, at least as an ingredient. to make the first, the corn was half-boiled in lime-water, coarsely ground, and preserved in small balls, which were simply mixed with water for use; this beverage was much used on journeys, and was often the only provision, serving for food as well. the second was made of the same hulled corn ground fine and mixed in water so as to form a gruel, which was heated and thickened over the fire, and was a favorite drink taken hot in the morning. the third was parched corn ground, mixed in water, and seasoned with pepper or cacao. the fourth was composed of ground maize and cacao, and was designed especially for public festivals. for the fifth a grease, much like butter, was extracted from cacao and mixed with maize. the sixth was prepared from raw maize ground. the fermented liquor, made of maize and cacao, which was drunk by the itzas, was called _zaca_. native wines were made of honey and water, of figs, and of a great variety of fruits; that made of the native fruit called _jacote_, and one of red cherries, were very popular in nicaragua. _chicha_ was a fermented drink made of pine-apple juice, honey or sugar, and water. pulque made from the maguey is mentioned, but this plant does not seem to have played so important a rôle in the south as in the north; at least there is very little said of it. a very strong and stinking wine is also mentioned as being prepared from a certain root. herrera tells us that the maize-wines resembled beer, and andagoya that their intoxicating properties were not very lasting. benzoni complains that the native wines failed to comfort the spirit, warm the stomach, and sooth to sleep like those of castile. chocolate and other drinks prepared from cacao were universal favorites, and were prepared both from wild and cultivated varieties. oviedo states that in nicaragua none but the rich and noble could afford to drink it, as it was literally drinking money. he describes the manner of preparing the cacao, _coco_, or _cacaguat_. it was picked from the trees from february to april, dried in the sun, roasted, ground in water, mixed with a quantity of _bixa_ until it was of a bright blood-color, and the dried paste was preserved in cakes. with this paste the natives delighted to bedaub their faces. to prepare the drink, they do not seem to have employed heat, at least in this part of the country, but simply dissolved the paste in water, and poured it from one dish into another to raise a froth. the mayas seem to have been a people greatly addicted to the vice of drunkenness, which was much less disgraceful and less severely punished by the laws than among the nahuas. it was quite essential to the thorough enjoyment of a feast or wedding to become intoxicated; the wife even handed the tempting beverages to her husband, modestly averted her head while he drank, kindly guided him home when the festivities were over, and even became intoxicated herself occasionally, if landa may be believed. the same authority represents the natives of yucatan as very brutal and indecent when drunk, and oviedo says that he who dropped down senseless from drink in a banquet was allowed to remain where he fell, and was regarded by his companions with feelings of envy.[ ] [sidenote: eating human flesh.] the custom of eating the flesh of human victims who were sacrificed to the gods, was probably practiced more or less in all the maya regions; but neither this cannibalism nor the sacrifices that gave rise to it were so extensively indulged in as by the mexicans. some authors, as gomara, deny that human flesh was ever eaten in yucatan, but others, as herrera, villagutierre, and peter martyr, contradict this, although admitting that cases of cannibalism were rare, and the victims confined to sacrificed enemies. las casas states that in guatemala the hands and feet were given to the king and high-priest, the rest to other priests, and that none was left for the people. in nicaragua the high-priest received the heart, the king the feet and hands, he who captured the victim took the thighs, the tripe was given to the trumpeters, and the rest was divided among the people. the head was not eaten. the edible portions were cut in small pieces, boiled in large pots, seasoned with salt and pepper, and eaten together with cakes of maize. at certain feasts also maize was sprinkled with blood from the genitals. according to herrera some spaniards were eaten in yucatan, but albornoz tells us that the natives of honduras found the foreigners too tough and bitter to be eaten.[ ] [sidenote: dress of the mayas.] by reason of the warmer climate in the southern lands, or of a difference in the popular taste, somewhat less attention seems to have been paid to dress and personal adornment by the mayas than by the nahuas, or rather the maya dress was much more simple and more uniform among the different classes of society; and, so far as can be determined from the very scanty information extant, there was only a very slight variation in the dress of the different nations--much less, indeed, than would naturally be expected between the tribes of the low yucatan plains and of the guatemalan highlands. very little of the information that has been preserved, however, relates to the people of guatemala. men wore almost universally the garment known in mexico as the maxtli, a long strip of cotton cloth, wound several times round the loins and passing between the legs. this strip was often twisted so as to resemble a cord, and the higher the class or the greater the wealth of the wearer, the greater the length of the cord and the number of turns about the body. among the itzas and other tribes of yucatan, instead of passing this garment between the legs, its ends were often allowed to hang, one in front and the other behind, being in such cases more or less embroidered or otherwise decorated.[ ] in more modern times the maxtli seems to have been, in some cases at least, replaced by cotton drawers, fastened with a string round the waist, and having the legs rolled up to the middle of the thigh.[ ] a large proportion of the mayas, especially of the poorer classes, wore commonly no other garment than the one mentioned; but very few were without a piece of cotton cloth about four or five feet square, which was used as a covering at night and was often worn in the daytime, by tying two corners on the same side over the shoulders and allowing the cloth to hang down the back. the spaniards uniformly apply the somewhat indefinite term 'mantle' to this garment. these mantles are still worn.[ ] the only other garment mentioned, and one not definitely stated to have been worn except in yucatan, was a kind of loose sleeveless shirt reaching to the knees. these shirts as well as the mantles were worn both white and dyed in brilliant and variegated colors.[ ] i find no mention of other material than cotton used for clothing, except in the case of the cakchiquels, who, according to brasseur, wore both bark and maguey-fibre.[ ] there is nothing to indicate that the dress of nobles, priests, or kings, differed essentially from that of the common people, except in fineness of material or richness and profusion of ornaments. it is probable, however, that the higher classes were always clad in the garments which have been described, while a majority of the plebeians wore only the maxtli, which was sometimes only a single strip of cloth passing once round the waist and between the legs. as rulers and priests are often spoken of as dressed in 'large white mantles' or 'flowing robes,' it is probable that the mantle worn by them was much larger, as well as of finer stuff, than that described. landa speaks of a priest in yucatan who wore an upper garment of colored feathers, with strips of cotton hanging from its border to the ground. palacio tells us of priestly robes in salvador of different colors, black, blue, green, red, and yellow. according to remesal the priests of guatemala were filthy, abominable, and ugly, in fact very hogs in dress. in nicaragua, herrera describes white cotton surplices, and other priestly vestments, some small, others hanging from the shoulders to the heels, with hanging pockets, in which were carried stone lancets, with various herbs and powders, indispensable in the practice of sacerdotal arts. ximenez represents the guatemalan king's dress as like that of the people, except that he had his ears and nose pierced, of which more anon.[ ] [sidenote: dress of women and children.] the women universally wore a skirt formed by winding a wide piece of cotton cloth round the body and fastening it at the waist. this garment reached from the waist to the knee, as worn by the plebeian women, but those of a higher class covered with it their legs as low as the ankles. in some parts of nicaragua, especially on the islands, herrera says that except this skirt, which was so scanty as hardly to merit a better name than breech-clout, the women were naked; but elsewhere they were always particular to cover their breasts from sight. this they accomplished in some cases by a piece of cloth round the neck, and fastened under the arms; but they also often wore a kind of chemise, or loose sack, with holes for the head and arms, and sometimes with short sleeves. the latter garment was always worn on feast-days by those who had it to wear. andagoya mentions a sort of cape worn in nicaragua, which had a hole for the head, and covered the breasts and half of the arms. herrera speaks of a sack open at both ends, and tightened at the waist, worn in nicaragua; and landa mentions the same garment in yucatan. the women, like the men, used a square mantle to sleep under, and carried it with them on journeys. children were allowed to remain naked in yucatan till they were four or five years old, and in guatemala to the age of eight or nine years; but in yucatan, landa tells us, that a boy at the age of three years, had a white ornament tied in his hair, and a girl at the same age had a shell fastened by a string in such a manner as to cover certain parts of her person.[ ] it is very difficult to form any definite idea of the maya methods of dressing the hair, save that all allowed it to grow long, and most persons separated it into tresses, winding some of them about the head and allowing others to hang down the back. landa informs us that the yucatecs burned the hair on the crown, allowing it to remain short there, but permitted the rest to grow as long as it would, binding it round the head except a queue behind. in nicaragua, the forehead was shaved, and sometimes the whole head except a tuft at the crown. the women everywhere and men generally took great pains with the hair; the former often mixed feathers with their raven locks, which were dressed differently according as the owners were married or single, and particular care was devoted to the coiffure of a bride. all the authorities agree that the priests in yucatan wore the hair long, uncombed, and often saturated with sacrificial blood. plumes of feathers seem to have been their usual head-dress. palacio and herrera mention a colored head-dress, mitre, or diadem with hanging plumes worn by a priest in salvador. over the hair a piece of cloth was usually worn by females, in which the abbé brasseur finds a resemblance to the egyptian _calantica_. a tuft of hair hanging over the face of children often made them cross-eyed; indeed, mothers are said to have arranged it with a view to this very effect, deemed by them a desirable thing, or to have attached to the forehead a small hanging plaster for the same purpose. the number of 'bizcos' treated by dr cabot, who accompanied mr stephens in his excursion through yucatan, shows that though squinting eyes are still common in the country, the defect has at least lost its charm to the maya mothers.[ ] no beard was worn, and the few hairs that made their appearance on the face were immediately extracted. according to landa, mothers are said to have burned the faces of young children with hot cloths to prevent the growth of a beard in later years. after the conquest many of the natives grew beards, which, though sometimes long, were always thin and coarse. something like a beard is also to be seen on some of the sculptured faces among the maya ruins. oviedo met in nicaragua a man about seventy years of age, who had a long flowing white beard.[ ] the mayas, when they covered the feet at all, wore a kind of sandal of coarse cloth, or more frequently of dry deer-skin. these sandals were simply pieces of skin, often double, covering and fitting somewhat the sole, and fastened by cotton strings from the ankle to the toes and perhaps also to the heel. i find no account of hand-coverings except in the popol vuh, where gloves are spoken of as being used in the game of ball.[ ] [sidenote: disfigurement of the physique.] having provided for their comfort by the use of the articles of dress already described, the mayas, like most other american aborigines, deemed it essential to modify and improve their physique by artificial means. this they accomplished by head-flattening, teeth-filing, perforation of the ears, nose, and lips, tattooing, and painting; yet it is not probable that all these methods of disfigurement were practiced by all the natives. in nicaragua, the heads of infants were flattened; the people believed that the custom had been originally introduced by the gods; that the compressed forehead was the sign of noble blood and the highest type of beauty; and besides that the head was thus better adapted to the carrying of burdens. in yucatan, according to landa, the same custom obtained. four or five days after birth the child was laid with the face down on a bed and the head was compressed between two pieces of wood, one on the forehead and the other on the back of the head, the boards being kept in place for several days until the desired cranial conformation was effected. so great was the pressure that the child's skull was sometimes broken. i find no account of forehead-flattening in guatemala and chiapas, though mr squier, following fuentes' unpublished history, says that among the quichés, cakchiquels, and zutugils the back of the head was flattened by the practice of carrying infants tied closely to a straight board. yet from the frequent occurrence of this cranial type in the sculptured profiles in chiapas, honduras, and yucatan, there can be no doubt that in the most ancient times a flattened forehead was the ideal of manly beauty, and i think we have sufficient reason to believe that the artificial shaping of the skull was even more universally practiced in ancient than in modern times. the origin of the custom is a most interesting topic for study and speculation.[ ] the practice of filing the teeth prevailed to a certain extent among the women of yucatan, whose ideal of dental charms rendered a saw-teeth arrangement desirable. the operation was performed by certain old women, professors of the art, by means of sharp gritty stones and water.[ ] the piercing of ears, nose, and lips was practiced among all the nations by both men and women apparently, except in guatemala, where, ximenez tells us, it was confined to the kings, who perforated the nose and ears as a mark of rank and power. we have no authority for supposing that persons of any class in yucatan and nicaragua were restrained from this mutilation of their faces, or from wearing in the perforated features any ornaments they could afford to purchase. such ornaments were small sticks, bones, shells, and rings of amber or gold. other ornaments besides those inserted in the ears, nose, and lips, were bracelets, rings, gold beads, and medals, shell necklaces, metallic and wooden wands, gilded masks, feathers and plumes, and pearls. besides this piercing for ornamental purposes, it should be noted that perforation of cheeks and tongues, and scarifyings of other parts of body and limbs, were common in connection with religious rites and duties.[ ] [sidenote: tattooing and painting.] tattooing was effected in yucatan and nicaragua by lacerating the body with stone lancets, and rubbing the wounds with powdered coal or black earths, which left indelible marks. stripes, serpents, and birds seem to have been favorite devices for this kind of decoration. the process was a slow and painful one, and to submit to it was deemed a sign of bravery. the tattooing was done by professors who made this art a specialty. cogolludo says the itzas had the whole body tattooed, but landa and herrera tell us that neither in yucatan nor in nicaragua were the breasts of the women subjected to this decorative mutilation.[ ] painting the face and body was universal, but little can be said respecting the details of the custom, save that red and black were apparently the favorite colors, and colored earths the most common material of the paints. bixa was, however, much used for red, and cacao tinted with bixa to a blood-red hue was daubed in great profusion on the faces of the nicaraguans. in yucatan young men generally restricted themselves to black until they were married, indulging afterwards in varied and bright-colored figures. black was also a favorite color for war-paint. odoriferous gums were often mixed with the paints, especially by the women, which rendered the decoration durable, sticky, and most disagreeable to foreign olfactories. it appears that in guatemala, and probably elsewhere, a coat of paint was employed, not only for ornamental purposes, but as a protection against heat and cold. at certain nicaraguan feasts and dances the naked bodies were painted in imitation of the ordinary garments, cotton-fibre being mixed with the paint.[ ] [sidenote: personal habits.] all were fond of perfumes, and besides the odoriferous substances mixed by the ladies in their paint, copal and other gums were burned on many occasions, not only in honor of the gods, but for the agreeable odor of the smoke; sweet-smelling barks, herbs, and flowers were also habitually carried on the person.[ ] all the mayas, especially females, were rather neat than otherwise in their personal habits, taking great pains with their dress and so-called decorations. they bathed frequently in cold water and sometimes indulged in hot baths, perhaps in steam-baths; but of the latter very little is said, although brasseur says it was used in guatemala under the name of _tuh_. the women were very modest and usually took much pains to prevent the exposure of their persons, but in bathing and on certain other occasions both sexes appear to have been somewhat careless in this respect. in both yucatan and nicaragua mirrors were employed by the men, but the women required or at least employed no such aids.[ ] although such disfigurements as have been described, painting, tattooing, and perforation, are reported by all the authors, and were all doubtless practiced, yet one can hardly avoid forming the idea in reading the narratives of the conquerors, that such hideous mutilations were confined to certain classes and certain occasions, and that the mass of the people in every-day life presented a much less repulsive aspect. * * * * * i have already spoken of the tenure of landed property and the laws of inheritance among the mayas. to the accumulation of wealth in the form of personal property they do not seem to have attached much importance. they were content for the most part with a supply of simple food for their tables, the necessary household utensils, and such articles of dress and ornament as were required by their social rank; with these and a sufficient surplus to entertain their friends in a fitting style, they took little care for the future. yet traders were a class much honored, and their profession was a lucrative one. an active trade was carried on in each town, as also between different towns, provinces, and nations, in order that the people of each locality might be supplied with the necessary commodities both of home and foreign production. few details have been preserved respecting the manner of conducting trade, but what is known on the subject indicates that the commercial system was identical with that of the nahuas, to which a preceding chapter has been devoted. commodities of every class, food, dress, ornaments, weapons, and implements, were offered for sale in the market-place, or plaza, of every village, where all transactions between buyers and sellers were regulated by an official who had full authority to correct abuses and punish offences against the laws of trade. fairs were held periodically in all the larger towns, which were crowded by buyers and sellers from abroad. traveling merchants traversed the country in every direction busied in the exchange and transport of varied local products. yucatan did a large foreign trade with tabasco and honduras, from both of which regions large quantities of cacao were imported. other international routes of commerce doubtless existed in different directions; we have seen that the nahua merchants crossed the isthmus of tehuantepec to traffic in maya lands, and the southern merchants were doubtless not unrepresented in the northern fairs. transportation was effected for the most part by carriers overland, and in many parts of the country, as in yucatan, magnificent paved roads offered every facility to the traveler; quite an extensive coasting-trade was also carried on by water. the ordinary mercantile transactions were effected by exchange, or barter, of one commodity for another; but where this was inconvenient cacao passed current as money among all the nations. thus a rabbit in nicaragua sold for ten cacao-nibs, and one hundred of these seeds would buy a tolerably good slave. notwithstanding the comparatively small value of this cacao-money, oviedo tells us that counterfeiting was sometimes attempted. according to cogolludo, copper bells and rattles of different sizes, red shells in strings, precious stones, and copper hatchets often served as money, especially in foreign trade. doubtless many other articles, valuable and of compact form were used in the same way. landa speaks of net-work purses in which the money of the natives was carried. [sidenote: market regulations.] we are informed that in yucatan articles of ordinary consumption, like food, were sold always at a fixed price, except maize, which varied slightly in price according to the yield. maize was sold by the carga, or load, which was about one half of the castilian fanega. in nicaragua the matter of price was left altogether to the contracting parties. the mayas of all nations were very strict in requiring the exact fulfilment of contracts, which, in yucatan, as has been said, and in guatemala also, according to brasseur de bourbourg, were legalized by the parties drinking together, the beverage being generally colored with certain leaves called _max_. in the nicaraguan markets some extraordinary regulations were enforced. men could not visit the market-place of their own towns, either to buy, sell, or for any other purpose; they even incurred the risk of receiving a sound beating, if they so much as peeped in to see what was going on. all the business was transacted by the women; but boys, into whose minds, by reason of their tender years, carnal thoughts were supposed not to have entered, might be present to assist the women, and even men from other towns or provinces, were welcome, provided they did not belong to a people of different language. no peculiar ceremonies are mentioned as accompanying the setting-out or return of trading caravans, but some customs observed by travelers, a large proportion of whom were probably merchants, are recorded. in yucatan all members of a household prayed often and earnestly for the safe return of the absent member; and the traveler himself, when he chanced to come in contact with a large stone which had been moved in opening the road, reverently laid upon it a green branch, brushing his knees with another at the same time as a preventive of fatigue. he also carried incense on his journey, and at each nightfall, wherever he might be, he stood on end three small stones, and on three other flat stones placed before the first he burned incense and uttered a prayer to ekchua, god of travelers, whose name signifies 'merchant.' when the traveler was belated, and thought himself likely to arrive after dark at his proposed stopping-place, he deposited a stone in a hollow tree, and pulled out some hairs from his eyebrows, which he proceeded to blow towards the setting sun, hoping thereby to induce that orb to retard somewhat its movements. in guatemala, small chapels were placed at short intervals on all the lines of travel, where each passer halted for a few moments at least, gathered a handful of herbs, rubbed with them his legs, spat reverently upon them, and placed them prayerfully upon the altar with a small stone and some trifling offering of pepper, salt, or cacao. the offering remained untouched, no one being bold enough to disturb the sacred token.[ ] [sidenote: maya boats and navigation.] oviedo states that in nicaragua, or at least in certain parts of that country, the people had no canoes, but resorted to balsas when it became necessary to cross the water. the balsa in this region was simply a raft of five or six logs tied together at the ends with grass, and covered with cross-sticks. the author referred to saw a fleet of these aboriginal vessels which bore fifteen hundred warriors. on the coast of yucatan and in the lakes of peten, the natives had many canoes for use in war and commerce, and were very skillful in their management. these canoes were 'dug-outs' made from single trunks, capable of carrying from two to fifty persons, and propelled by paddles. cogolludo tells us that canoes with sails were seen by córdova during his voyage up the coast, and some modern writers speak of the famous canoe met by columbus off the honduras coast as having been fitted with sails; but in the latter case there seems to be no authority for the statement, and that sails were ever employed may well be considered doubtful. the boat seen by columbus was eight feet wide, "as long as a galley," bore twenty-five men, and an awning of mats in the centre protected the women and children. all the information we have respecting boats in guatemala is the statement of peter martyr that the 'dug-outs' were also in use there, and of juarros that the lacandones had a large fleet of boats; guatemala was a country, however, whose physical conformation would rarely call for navigation on an extensive scale. villagutierre says that the chiapanecs used gourd balsas, or 'calabazas.'[ ] * * * * * wars among the maya nations were frequent,--more so probably during the century preceding the spanish conquest, when their history is partially known, than in the more glorious days of the distant past,--but they were also, as a rule, of short duration, partaking more of the character of raids than of regular wars. one campaign generally decided the tribal or national dispute, and the victors were content with the victory and the captives taken. landa and herrera report that the nations of yucatan learned the art of war from the mexicans, having been an altogether peaceful people before the nahua influence was brought to bear on them. the latter also suspects that the yucatec war-customs, as observed by the spaniards, may have been modified by the teaching of guerrero and aguilar, white men held for several years as prisoners before the invaders came; but neither theory seems to have much weight. the profession of arms was everywhere an honorable one, but military preferment and promotion seem to have been somewhat more exclusively confined to the nobility than among the nahuas. according to landa, a certain number of picked men were appointed in each town, who were called _holcanes_, must be ready to take up arms whenever called for, and received a small amount of money for their services while in actual war. this is the only instance of a paid soldiery noted in the limits of our territory.[ ] in nicaragua tapaligui was the most honorable title a man could win by bravery, and from the number of those who bore the title the war-captain was in most provinces appointed either by the monexico, or council, or by the cacique. this captain was for the most part independent of the civil ruler in time of war, but boyle speaks of certain cities where the cacique himself commanded the army. the civil chief, however, if he possessed the requisite bravery, often accompanied the troops to the field to take command at the captain's death, or appoint his successor.[ ] in yucatan they had two war-captains, one of whom held his position by inheritance, while the other was chosen for a term of three years. the title of the latter was nacon, and his office seems to have been attended with some inconveniences, since during the three years he could know no woman, eat no meat, indulge in no intoxication, and have but little to do with the public. fish and iguana-flesh were allowed him, but it must be served on dishes used by no one but himself, and must not be served by women. in vera paz the captains were chosen from among the most distinguished braves, and seem to have held their position for life.[ ] [sidenote: insignia of warriors.] in yucatan skins and feathers, worn according to fixed rules, not recorded, were among the most prominent insignia of warriors. the face was painted in various colors; and tattooing the hands was a privilege accorded to the brave. the itzas fought naked, but painted face, body, and limbs black, the brave tattooing the face in stripes. feather plumes are the only insignia mentioned in connection with guatemalan warriors; but the grade of a pipile's prowess was indicated by the number of holes he had in ears, nose, and other features. all officers in the nicaraguan armies had distinguishing marks, which they wore both in time of war and of peace; the tapaligui was allowed to shave his head except on the crown, where the hair was left a finger long, with a longer tuft projecting from the centre. the arrangement of the feathers on the shield also indicated to the soldiers an officer's rank.[ ] the universal maya armor was a thick quilted sack of cotton, which fitted closely over the body and arms, and reached generally to the middle of the thighs, although alvarado found the guatemalans clad in similar sacks reaching to the feet. in yucatan, according to landa, a layer of salt was placed between the thicknesses of cotton, making the garment very hard and impenetrable. as the guatemalan armor is described as being three fingers thick and so heavy that the soldiers could with difficulty run or rise after falling, we may suppose that salt or some similar material was also used by the quichés. squier mentions, apparently without sufficient authority, short breeches worn to protect the legs. the spaniards were not long in recognizing the advantages of the native cotton armor, and it was commonly adopted or added to their own armor of steel. the head-armor, when any was worn, seems to have been ordinarily a kind of cap, also of quilted cotton. landa says that in yucatan a few leaders wore wooden helmets; they are also mentioned by gomara and las casas. peter martyr speaks of golden helmets and breast-plates as worn in nicaragua. shields were made of split reeds, were round in form, and were covered generally with skins and decorated with feathers, though a cotton covering was also used in nicaragua.[ ] [sidenote: aboriginal weapons.] bows and arrows, lances, and darts were used as weapons of war by all the maya tribes, the projectiles being usually pointed with flint, but often also with fish-bone or copper. arrows were carried in quivers and were never poisoned. the yucatec bow, as landa informs us, was a little shorter than the man who carried it, and was made of a very strong native wood; the string was made of the fibres of certain plants. the arrows were light reeds with a piece of hard wood at the end. oviedo tells us of lances, or pikes, in nicaragua, which were thirty spans long, and others in yucatan fifteen spans long; herrera says they were over twenty feet long in guatemala, and that their heads were poisoned; though oviedo denies that poison was used. in nicaragua and yucatan heavy wooden swords, called by the mexicans _macuahuitl_, were used, but i find no special mention of these weapons in guatemala. a line of sharp flints were firmly set along the two edges, and, wielded with both hands they were a most formidable weapon. waldeck found in modern times the horn of a sawfish covered with skin and used as a weapon. he thinks the aboriginal weapon may have been fashioned after this natural model. slings were extensively used in yucatan, and also copper axes to some extent, but these are supposed to have been imported from mexico, as no metals are found in the peninsula.[ ] the quichés, cakchiquels, and other tribes inhabiting the high lands of guatemala, chose the location of their towns in places naturally well nigh inaccessible, strengthening them besides with artificial fortifications in the shape of massive stone walls and deep ditches. ruins of these fortified towns are very numerous and will be described elsewhere; a few words respecting utatlan, the quiché capital, and one of the most securely located and guarded cities, will suffice here. standing on a level plateau, the city was bounded on every side by a deep ravine, believed to have been at some points artificial, and which could only be crossed at one place. guarding this single approach a line of massive stone structures connected by ditches extends a long distance, and within this line of fortifications, at the entrance of the pass, is el resguardo, a square-based pyramidical structure, one hundred and twenty feet high, rising in three terraces, and having its summit platform inclosed by a stone wall, covered with hard cement. a tower also rises from the summit. the spaniards under alvarado found their approach obstructed at various points in guatemala by holes in which were pointed stakes fixed in the ground, and carefully concealed by a slight covering of turf; palisades, ditches, and walls of stone, logs, plants, or earth, were thrown across the road at every difficult pass; and large stones were kept ready to hurl or roll down upon the invaders. numerous short pointed sticks were found on at least one occasion fixed upright in the ground, apparently a slight defense, but really a most formidable one, since the points were poisoned. doubtless all these methods of defence had been practiced often before in their international wars against american foes. strong defensive works are also mentioned in chiapas, and andagoya tells us of a town in nicaragua fortified by a high and impenetrable hedge of cacti. in yucatan the spaniard's progress was frequently opposed, at points favorable for such a purpose, by temporary trenches, barricades of stone, logs, and earth, and protected stations for bowmen and slingers; but in the selection of sites for their towns, notwithstanding the generally level surface of their country, facilities for defence seem to have been little or not at all considered. one, only, of the many ruined cities which have been explored, tuloom, on the eastern coast, stands on an eminence overlooking the ocean, in a very strong natural position; but strangely enough it is just here, where artificial defenses were least needed, that we find a massive wall surrounding the chief structures,--the only city wall standing in modern times, though mayapan was traditionally a walled town, and a few slight traces of walls have been found about other cities.[ ] [sidenote: declaration of war.] the ambition of the native rulers to increase their dominions by encroachments upon their neighbors' territory was probably the cause of most wars among the maya nations; but raids were also undertaken occasionally, with no other object than that of obtaining victims for sacrifice. in the consultations preceding the declaration of war the priesthood had much to say, and played a prominent part in the accompanying ceremonies. in salvador the high-priest with four subordinates decided on the war by drawing of lots and by various other sorceries, and even gave directions how the campaign was to be carried on. the high-priest was generally on the ground, in charge of certain idols, when an important battle was to be fought. supplies were carried, in yucatan at least, on the backs of women, and the want of adequate means of transportation is given as one reason why the maya wars were usually of short duration. the nicaraguan soldier, as oviedo states, regarded a calabash of water and a supply of the herb _yaat_ already mentioned, as the most indispensable of his supplies. respecting their ceremonies before giving battle we only know that on one occasion in yucatan they brought a brazier of burning perfume which they placed before the spanish forces, with the intimation that an attack would be made as soon as the fire went out; and also that alvarado noticed in guatemala the sacrifice of a woman and a bitch as a preliminary of battle. all fought bravely, with no apparent fear of death, endeavoring to capture the enemy alive, rather than to kill them, and at the same time to avoid being captured themselves by the sacrifice of life if necessary. in most nations it was deemed important to terrify the enemy by shouting, clanging of drums, sticks, and shells, and blowing of whistles. the armies of yucatan are said to have exhibited somewhat better order in their military movements than those of other nations. they formed their forces into two wings, placing in the centre a squadron to guard the captain and high-priest. the nicaraguans fought desperately until their leader fell, but then they always ran away. he who from cowardice failed to do his duty on the battle-field was by the nicaraguan code disgraced, abused, insulted, stripped of his weapons, and discharged from the service, but was not often put to death. as has been stated in a preceding chapter treason and desertion were everywhere punished with death. all booty except captives belonged to the taker, and to return from a campaign without spoil was deemed a dishonor. [sidenote: pipile war festival.] captives, if of noble blood or high rank, were sacrificed to the gods, and were rarely ransomed. the captor of a noble prisoner received high honors, but was punished if he accepted a ransom, the penalty being death in nicaragua. the heads of the sacrificed captives were in yucatan suspended in the branches of the trees, as memorials of victory, a separate tree being set apart for each hostile province. the bones, as landa tells us, were kept by the captors, the jaw-bone being worn on the arm, as an ornament. we read of no actual torture of prisoners, but the cakchiquels danced about the victim to be sacrificed, and loaded him with insults. among the pipiles it was left to the priests to decide whether the sacrifice should be in honor of a god or goddess; if the former, the festival lasted, according to palacio, fifteen days; the captives were obliged to march in procession through the town, and one was sacrificed each day; if the feast was dedicated to a deity of the gentler sex, five days of festivities and blood sufficed. prisoners of plebeian blood were enslaved, or only sacrificed when victims of higher rank were lacking. they were probably the property of the captors. at the close of a campaign in which no captives were taken, the nicaraguan captains went together to the altar, and there wept ceremonial tears of sorrow for their want of success. the authorities record no details of the methods by which peace was ratified; the yucatecs, however, according to cogolludo, expressed to the spaniards a desire for a suspension of hostilities, by throwing away their weapons, and by kissing their fingers, after touching them to the ground.[ ] footnotes: [ ] this history, written with roman characters, but in the quiché language, in the early years of the conquest, was quoted by brasseur de bourbourg as the _ms. quiché de chichicastenango_, in his _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. - ; a translation into spanish by ximenez appeared in , _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - ; and a translation into french by brasseur de bourbourg in , _popol vuh_, pp. - . brasseur's rendering is followed for the most part in my text, but so far as this extract is concerned there are only slight verbal differences between the two translations. [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _id._, p. . on the coast of yucatan, 'des racines dont ils font le pain, et qu'ils nomment maïs.' _diaz_, _itinéraire_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. . the lacandones applied themselves 'al trabajo de sus milpas, y sementeras de maiz, chile, y frixoles, entre que sembravan piñas, platanos, batatas, xicamas, xacotes, zapotes, y otras frutas;' their milpas were large, and were cleared with stone hatchets. _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. - . the itzas had 'mucha grana, cera, algodòn, achiote, baynillas, y otras legumbres.' _id._, pp. , . many varieties of beans raised in nicaragua. _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. . 'vi muchos destos perales en la provinçia de nicaragua, puestos á mano en las heredades é plaças ó assientos de los indios, é por ellos cultivados. É son tan grandes árboles como nogales algunos dellos.' _id._, p. . planting of maize, _id._, pp. - ; tom. iv., pp. - . see also on agriculture: _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, pp. - ; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viajes_, tom. iii., pp. - ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _squier's cent. amer._, pp. , ; _viollet-le-duc_, in _charnay_, _ruines amér._, p. ; _humboldt_, _essai pol._, tom. i., p. ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _palacio_, _carta_, pp. - ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. ; _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] in the province of campeche the spaniards were feasted on 'peacockes and crammed foule both of the mountaynes, woods, and water, as patryches, quayles, turtles, duckes, geese, and fourefooted wilde beastes, as boores, hartes, and hares: besides wolfes, lyons, tygers, and foxes.' _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. ii. 'juntanse tambien para la caça de l en l, mas o menos, y la carne del venado assan en parillas, porque no se les gaste, y venidos al pueblo, hazen sus presentes al señor, y distribuyen como amigos y el mesmo hazen en la pesca.' _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - , . in vera paz 'tejones, que tienen buena carne, el bilab es mejor que carnero: venadillos vermejos, y otros bayos, y muchos otros que los indios flechan, y comen algunos desollados, otros ahumados, y assados, en barbocoa, y en charque, y todo malguisado.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. xiii., xiv., ii. at cozumel 'el pescado es su casi principal manjar.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . see also _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. , , , tom. iv., p. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. , - , ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. - , , , , tom. iii., p. ; _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. vi., ii., dec. vi., lib. iii.; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. v., cap. v., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. viii.; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _id._, _hist. ind._, fol. - ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _fancourt's hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] cortés, _cartas_, p. , tells us that no bread was made in yucatan, but that maize was eaten roasted. the best tortillas in nicaragua were called _tascalpachon_. _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. , , , , , , tom. iii., p. . see also _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. xiii. [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. ; _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , , ; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. v., cap. v., dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. ix., lib. x., cap. iv.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. , - , tom. iv., p. ; _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. - , ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxvii.; _waldeck_, _voy. pitt._, p. ; _cortés' despatches_, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - , . [ ] in yucatan: 'these barbarians eate onely their enemies, or such strangers as come vnto them, otherwise they abstaine from mans flesh.' _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. vi. in guatemala the heads and tripe were seasoned with wine. _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. clxxvii.; _id._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iv., cap. vii., dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vi., vii., lib. vii., cap. iii., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. , - , , ; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viajes_, tom. iii., p. ; _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. , ; _albornoz_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _helps' span. conq._, vol. iii., p. ; _pimentel_, _mem. sobre la raza indígena_, p. ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. . [ ] the itzas, men and women, wore 'faxas' varas long and / vara wide. _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , , . at campeche, a strip of cotton one hand wide, twisted and wound or times about the body. _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. - . this garment called _mastate_. _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . ends embroidered and decorated with feathers. _landa_, _relacion_, p. . _almayzares_, called in new spain _mastil_; otherwise naked. _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. v., cap. v., dec. ii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _cortés' despatches_, p. . the chiapanecs naked except this cloth about the loins. _remesal_, _hist. chyapa_, pp. , . [ ] plate showing the costume of an indian of the interior. _waldeck_, _voy. pitt._, pl. v. trowsers of cotton in salvador. _squier's cent. amer._, p. . [ ] called _tilmas_ or _hayates_, a yard and a half square. _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . mantles called _zuyen_. _id._, p. . 'mantas pintadas.' _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. . [ ] cotton robes of bright colors. _squier's cent. amer._, p. . 'tuniques.' _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. . 'sacks.' _fancourt's hist. yuc._, pp. - . 'camisetas de colores.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. . 'xaquetas de algodon.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . 'camisette senza maniche.' _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, pp. , . [ ] _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . mayas dress like the mexicans. _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii. [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - ; _palacio_, _carta_, pp. - ; _remesal_, _hist. chyapa_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x., dec. ii., lib. ii., cap. xvii.; _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] 'l'étoffe rayée d'une ou de plusieurs couleurs que les femmes se roulent encore autour du corps en la serrant à la ceinture comme un jupon, descendant plus ou moins bas au-dessous du genou, se trouve être exactement la même que l'on voit aux images d'isis et aux femmes égyptiennes des époques pharaoniques.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . skirt from the waist to feet, called _pic_. _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. - , . 'ropas de algodon, que llaman naguas.' _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viajes_, tom. iii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - , , - , . [ ] 'es lo mas dificultoso en los indios el reduzirlos à cortarles el pelo.' _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , . in guatemala somewhat less attention seems to have been paid to the hair. 'trayanlo encrespado, ò rebujado en la cabeça como estopas, à causa de que no se lo peynauan.' _remesal_, _hist. chyapa_, p. ; cogolludo, _hist. yuc._, p. , speaks of straw and palm-leaf hats, but he probably refers to his own time. hair of priests filled with blood. _id._, p. ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _squier's cent. amer._, pp. , . in nicaragua 'traen rapadas las cabeças de la mitad adelante é los aladares por debaxo, é déxanse una coleta de oreja á oreja por detrás desde la coronilla.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. , ; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iii., lib. viii., cap. x. aguilar wore a 'corona y trença de cabellos, como los naturales.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _id._, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _palacio_, _carta_, p. . [ ] _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, p. ; _charnay_, _ruines amér._, p. ; _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iii.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] 'traian sandalias de cañamo o cuero de venado por curtir seco.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . they generally went barefoot. _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . sandals in nicaragua called _gutaras_. _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. - ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, p. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iii.; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _id._, in _palacio_, _carta_, p. ; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , , . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] a war party: 'agujeradas narizes, y orejas con sus narigeras, y orejeras de cuzcas, y otras piedras de diuersos colores.' _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . the itzas wore in the nose 'una baynilla olorosa,' and in the ears, 'vn palo labrado.' _id._, p. . 'sartales de caracoles colorados,' much prized by the itzas. _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, p. . small sticks in the ears, and little reeds or amber rings, or grains of vanilla, in the nose. _id._, pp. , . a few silver and gold ear-ornaments. _id._, pp. - . on the peninsula of yucatan, 'trayan las orejas horadadas para çarcillos.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . the priest carried 'un isopo en la mano de un palo corto muy labrado, y por barbas o pelos del isopo ciertas colas de unas culebras que son como caxcaveles.' _id._, pp. - . women pierced nose and ears. _id._, p. . in nicaragua 'traen sajadas las lenguas por debaxo, é las orejas, é algunos los miembros viriles, é no las mugeres ninguna cosa destas, y ellos y ellas horadadas las orejas de grandes agujeros.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. - , tom. i., p. . king in yucatan wore 'des bracelets et des manchettes d'une élégance égale à la beauté de la matière.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . '_tecaüh_, qui est le bijou que les chefs indiens portaient fréquemment à la lèvre inférieure ou au cartilage du nez.' _id._, p. . see also _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _camargo_, _hist. tlax._, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcix., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iv., cap. vii., dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., lib. vii., cap. ix., dec. iv., lib. iii., cap. iii., lib. x., cap. iii., iv.; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. , ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _id._, _cent. amer._, p. ; _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. ; _diaz_, _itinéraire_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., pp. , , ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. . [ ] 'los oficiales dello labravan la parte que querian con tinta, y despues sejavanle delicadamente las pinturas, y assi con la sangre y tinta quedavan en el cuerpo las señales, y que se labran poco a poco por el tormento grande, y tambien se ponen despues malos, porque se les enconavan los labores, y haziase materia, y que con todo esso se mofavan de los que no se labravan.' _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. , ; _remesal_, _hist. chyapa_, p. ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. ; _fancourt's hist. yuc._, pp. , ; _bussierre_, _l'empire mex._, p. . [ ] _remesal_, _hist. chyapa_, p. ; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - , - , , ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. , ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , , , ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. , , , tom. iv., p. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, pp. - , . [ ] 'eran amigos de buenos olores y que por esto usan de ramilletes de flores y yervas olorosas, muy curiosos y labrados.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . 'des roseaux longs de deux palmes, et qui répandaient une excellente odeur quand on les brûlait.' _diaz_, _itinéraire_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iii.; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. ; _valois_, _mexique_, p. . [ ] 'se vañavan mucho, no curando de cubrirse de las mugeres, sino quando podia cubrir la mano.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . 'se lavan las manos y la boca despues de comer.' _id._, p. . the women stripped naked in the wells where they bathed; they took hot baths rather for health than cleanliness. _id._, p. . the women 'tienen poco secreto, y no son tan limpias en sus personas ni en sus cosas con quanto se lavan como los ermiños.' _id._, p. . 'los hombres haçen aguas puestos en cluquillas, é las mugeres estando derechas de piés á dó quiera que les viene la gana.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iii., iv.; _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _carbajal espinosa_, _hist. mex._, tom. i., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] the following are my authorities on the maya commerce, many references to simple mentions of articles bought and sold and to the use of cacao as money being omitted. _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec i., lib. v., cap. v., dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., lib. v., cap. xii., lib. vii., cap. ix., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iii., ix.; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , - , - ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. , ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. , tom. iii., p. , tom. iv., pp. - , , , ; _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. i.; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. , ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - , , ; _id._, _popol vuh_, p. ; _squier's nicaragua_ (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _id._, _cent. amer._, p. ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. ; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viajes_, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _diaz_, _itinéraire_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _id._, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , , , ; _peter martyr_, dec. viii., lib. v.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. ; _juarros' hist. guat._, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. i., lib. v., cap. v.; _folsom_, in _cortés' despatches_, pp. - ; _foster's pre-hist. races_, pp. - . see vol. i., p. , of this work. [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv., lib. iii., cap. iii. the chiapanecs were among the boldest warriors. _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. , ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iv., cap. viii., dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., lib. v., cap. x., lib. vii., cap. iii., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x.; _palacio_, _carta_, pp. - ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , - ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., p. . [ ] cotton armor called in some places _escaupiles_. _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. iii., cap. iii. both white and colored. _id._, dec. iii., lib. v., cap. x., lib. iv., cap. vi., dec. ii., lib. ii., cap. xvii., lib. iii., cap. i. called by the quichés _achcayupiles_. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. ; _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iii., p. , tom. iv., p. ; _alvarado_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . [ ] macanas used as weapons in nicaragua. _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. , , tom. i., pp. - , tom. iii., pp. , . crystal-pointed arrows used by the itzas, and chiefs had short flint knives, with feathers on the handles. _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , , . hardened rods, or pikes. _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. , . darts thrown from a 'tiradera.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. ii., cap, xvii., dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vi., lib. v., cap. x., lib. vii., cap. iii., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii. a bat was the sign of a cakchiquel armory. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _popol vuh_, p. . see also maya weapons. _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. , ; _peter martyr_, dec. vi., lib. v.; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., p. ; _scherzer_, _wanderungen_, p. ; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _waldeck_, _voy. pitt._, p. , with cut; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., pp. , ; _diaz_, _itinéraire_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _id._, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. ; _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. . [ ] see vol. iv., chap. iv., v., for a full description of maya ruins, with plates. see _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _alvarado_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., pp. , ; _godoi_, in _id._, p. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. - ; _juarros_, _hist. guat._, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. , tom. iii., pp. - ; _fuentes_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. iii., cap. iii., lib. x., cap. iii.; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, p. ; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viajes_, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. ii., p. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. , , , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., dec. iv., lib. iii., cap. iii., lib. viii., cap. x., lib. x., cap. iv.; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. - , , , ; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , , ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. , ; _palacio_, _carta_, pp. - ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. , - , , tom. iii., pp. , , tom. iv., pp. - ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. , ; _juarros' hist. guat._, p. , etc.; _peter martyr_, dec. viii., lib. v.; _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. , , - ; _alvarado_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., pp. , ; _diaz_, _itinéraire_, in _id._, pp. - ; _squier's cent. amer._, pp. , ; _id._, _nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. , - ; _ternaux-compans_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., p. ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. ; _boyle's ride_, vol. i., p. ; _fancourt's hist. yuc._, pp. , . chapter xxiv. maya arts, calendar, and hieroglyphics. scarcity of information--use of metals--gold and precious stones--implements of stone--sculpture--pottery--manufacture of cloth--dyeing--system of numeration--maya calendar in yucatan--days, weeks, months, and years--indictions and katunes--perez' system of ahau katunes--statements of landa and cogolludo--intercalary days and years--days and months in guatemala, chiapas, and soconusco--maya hieroglyphic system--testimony of early writers on the use of picture-writing--destruction of documents--specimens which have survived--the dresden codex--manuscript troano--tablets of palenque, copan, and yucatan--bishop landa's key--brasseur de bourbourg's interpretation. our knowledge of maya arts and manufactures, so far as it depends on the statements of the early spanish writers is very slight, and may be expressed in few words; especially as most of these arts seem to have been very nearly identical with those of the nahuas, although many of them, at the time of the conquest at least, were not carried to so high a grade of perfection as in the north. some branches of mechanical art have indeed left material relics, which, examined in modern times, have extended our knowledge on the subject very far beyond what may be gleaned from sixteenth-century observations. but a volume of this work is set apart for the consideration of material relics with numerous illustrative plates, and although the temptation to use both information and plates from modern sources is particularly strong in some of the topics of this chapter and the following, a regard for the symmetry of the work, and the necessity of avoiding all repetition, cause me to confine myself here almost exclusively to the old authors, as i have done in describing the nahua arts. [sidenote: knowledge of metals.] iron was not known to the mayas, and it is not quite certain that copper was mined or worked by them. the boat so often mentioned as having been met by columbus off the coast, and supposed to have come from yucatan, had on board crucibles for melting copper, and a large number of copper hatchets. similar hatchets together with bells, ornaments, and spear and arrow points of the same metal were seen at various points, and were doubtless used to a considerable extent throughout yucatan, chiapas, and guatemala. but there are no metallic deposits on the peninsula, and the copper instruments used there, or at least the material, must have been brought from the north, as it is indeed stated by several authors that they were. no metallic relics whatever have been found among the ruins of yucatan, and only very few in other maya regions. copper implements are not mentioned by the early visitors to nicaragua, and although that country abounds in ore of a variety easily worked, yet there is no evidence that it was used, and squier's statement that the nicaraguans were skillful workers in this metal, probably rests on no stronger basis than the reported discovery of a copper mask at ometepec. godoi speaks of copper in chiapas, and also of a metallic composition called _cacao_! small articles of gold, intended chiefly for ornamental purposes, were found everywhere in greater or less abundance by the spaniards, the gold being generally described as of a low grade. cortés speaks of the gold in yucatan as alloyed with copper, and the same alloy is mentioned in guatemala by herrera, and in nicaragua by benzoni. the latter author says that gold was abundant in nicaragua but was all brought from other provinces. he also states that there were no mines of any kind, but oviedo, on the contrary, speaks of 'good mines of gold.' articles of gold took the form of animals, fishes, birds, bells, small kettles and vases, beads, rings, bracelets, hatchets, small idols, bars, plates for covering armor, gilding or plating of wooden masks and clay beads, and settings for precious stones. peter martyr speaks of gold as formed in bars and stamped in nicaragua, and villagutierre of silver 'rosillas' in use among the itzas. we have but slight information respecting the use of precious stones. oviedo saw in nicaragua a sun-dial of pearl set on jasper, and also speaks of wooden masks covered with stone mosaic and gold plates in tabasco. martyr tells us that the natives of yucatan attached no value to spanish counterfeited jewels, because they could take from their mines better ones of genuine worth.[ ] [sidenote: stone carving.] the few implements in common use among the mayas, such as knives, chisels, hatchets, and metates, together with the spear and arrow heads already mentioned, were of flint, porphyry, or other hard stone. there is but little doubt that most of their elaborate sculpture on temples and idols was executed with stone implements, since the material employed was for the most part soft and easily worked. the carvings in the hard sapote-wood in yucatan must have presented great difficulties to workmen without iron tools; but the fact remains that stone implements, with a few probably of hardened copper, sufficed with native skill and patience for all purposes. villagutierre informs us that the lacandones cut wood with stone hatchets. cogolludo speaks of the remarkable facility which the natives displayed in learning the mechanical arts introduced by spaniards, in using new and strange tools or adapting the native implements to new uses. all implements whether of the temple or the household, seem to have been ceremonially consecrated to their respective uses. oviedo speaks of deer-bone combs used in guatemala, and of another kind of combs the teeth of which were made of black wood and set in a composition like baked clay but which became soft on exposure to heat. the early writers speak in general terms of idols of various human and animal forms, cut from all kinds of stone, and also from wood; martyr also mentions an immense serpent in what he supposed to be a place of punishment in yucatan, which was 'compacted of bitumen and small stones.' the itzas constructed of stone and mortar the image of a horse, modeled on an animal left among them by cortés. the spanish authors say little or nothing of the sculpture of either idols or architectural decorations, except that it was elaborate, and often demon-like; but their observations on the subject would have had but little value, even had they been more extended, and fortunately architectural remains are sufficiently numerous and complete, at least in yucatan, honduras, and chiapas, to supply information that, if not entirely satisfactory, is far more so than what we possess respecting other branches of maya art. brasseur de bourbourg speaks of vases exquisitely worked from alabaster and agate in yucatan; there is some authority for this in modern discoveries, but little or none, so far as i know, in the writings of the conquerors. earthenware, shells, and the rind of the gourd were the material of maya dishes. all speak of the native pottery as most excellent in workmanship, material, and painting, but give no details of its manufacture. herrera, however, mentions a province of guatemala, where very fine pottery was made by the women, and palacio tells us that this branch of manufactures was one of the chief industries of aguachapa, a town of the pipiles. all that is known of cloths and textile fabrics has been given in enumerating the various articles of dress; of any differences that may have existed between the nahua and maya methods of spinning and weaving cotton we know nothing. it is probable that the native methods have not been modified essentially in modern times among the same peoples. we are told that in yucatan the wife of a god invented weaving, and was worshiped under the name of ixazalvoh; while another who improved the invention by the use of colored threads was yxchebelyax, also a goddess. spinning and weaving was for the most part women's work, and they are spoken of as industrious and skillful in the avocation. bark and maguey-fibre were made into cloth by the cakchiquels, and oviedo mentions several plants whose fibre was worked into nets and ropes by the nicaraguans. the numerous dye-woods which are still among the richest productions of the country in many parts, furnished the means of imparting to woven fabrics the bright hues of which the natives were so fond. bright-colored feathers were highly prized and extensively used for decorative purposes. garments of feathers are spoken of, which were probably made as they were in mexico by pasting the plumage in various ornamental figures on cotton fabric.[ ] [sidenote: system of numeration.] the following table will give the reader a clear idea of the maya system of numeration as it existed in yucatan; the definitions of some of the names are taken from the maya dictionary, and may or may not have any application to the subject: hun, 'paper' ca, 'calabash' ox, 'shelled corn' can, 'serpent' or 'count' ho, 'entry' uac uuc uaxac, 'something standing erect' bolon, _bol_, 'to roll or turn' lahun, _lah_, 'a stone' buluc, 'drowned' lachá, (lahun-ca), + oxlahun, + canlahun, + holhun, (ho-lahun), + uaclahun, + , etc. hunkal, _kal_, 'neck,' or a measure, × huntukal, + catukal, + , etc. uaxactukal, or hunkal catac uaxac, + , or + _catac_, 'and' luhucakal, × - (?) buluctukal, + lahcatukal, + oxlahutukal, + , etc. cakal, × huntuyoxkal catuyoxkal lahuyoxkal buluctuyoxkal oxhal, × huntucankal lahucankal buluctucankal cankal, × hutuyokal catuyokal lahuyokal ho-kal, × huntu uackal catu uackal lahu uackal holhu uackal uackal, × lahu uuckal buluc tu uuckal uuckal, × huntu uaxackal uaxackal, × , etc. lahuncal, × holhukal, × hunbak, × hotubak lahutubak cabak, × hotu yoxbak , lahuyoxbak or hunpic (modern) , oxbak, × , oxbak catac lahuyoxkal, × + , capic (modern) , hunpic (ancient) , ca pic (ancient) , calab , , kinchil or huntzotzceh , , hunalau thus the mayas seem to have had uncompounded names for the numerals from to , , , and , , and to have formed all numbers by the addition or multiplication of these. the manner in which the combinations were made seems clear up to the number . thus we have and , and , etc., up to ; is _hun-kal_, is _hun-tu-kal_, etc., indicating that _tu_, which i do not find in any dictionary, is simply 'and' or a sign of addition. the composition of _lahu-ca-kal_ is clear only in the sense of _ten_ from _twice twenty_; is two twenties, is three twenties, and so on regularly by twenties up to , for which a new word _bak_ is introduced; after which the numbers proceed, twice , thrice , etc., to , , _pic_, corresponding to the nahua _xiquipilli_. but while the composition is intelligible so far as the multiples of and are concerned, it is far from clear in the case of the intermediate numbers. for instance, is _ca-kal_, and forming , , etc., as was formed from , we should have _hun-tu-ca-kal_, _ca-tu-ca-kal_, etc., instead of the names given, _hun-tu-yox-kal_, etc., or, interpreting this last name as the former were interpreted we should have instead of . the same observation may be made respecting every number, not a multiple of , up to ; that is, each number is less by than the composition of its name would seem to indicate. if we gave to _tu_ the meaning 'towards,' then _hun-tu-yox-kal_ might be interpreted ' (from ) towards ,' or ; but in such a case the word for , _hun-tu-kal_, must be supposed to be a contraction of _hun-tu-ca-kal_, ' (from ) towards .' other irregularities will be noticed by the reader in the numbers above . i have thought it best to call attention to what appears a strange inconsistency in this system of numeration, but which may present less difficulties to one better acquainted than i with the maya language.[ ] [sidenote: the maya calendar.] authorities on the maya calendar of yucatan, the only one of which any details are known, are bishop landa and don juan pio perez. the latter was a modern writer who devoted much study to the subject, was perfectly familiar with the maya language, and had in his possession or consulted elsewhere many ancient manuscripts. there are also a few scattered remarks on the subject in the works of other writers.[ ] the maya day was called _kin_, or 'sun'; _malik ocok kin_ was the time just preceding sunrise; _hatzcab_ was the time from sunrise to noon, which was called _chunkin_ or 'middle of the day'; _tzelep kin_ was the declining sun, or about three o'clock p. m.; _oc na kin_ was sunset. the night was _akab_, and midnight was _chumuc akab_. other hours were indicated by the position of the sun in the daytime, and by that of some star--the morning star, the pleiades, and the gemini as landa says--during the night. [illustration: days of the maya calendar.] the following table shows the names of the twenty days with the orthography of different writers, and the meaning of the names so far as known: kan 'henequen string,' 'yellow,' 'serpent.' chicchán _chichan_ would be 'small,' a thing that grows or increases slowly. cimi (quimi, cimij) preterite of _cimil_, 'to die.' manik possibly 'passing wind.' lamat possibly 'abyss of water,' found as _lambat_ in oajaca calendar. muluc possibly 'reunion,' also in chiapas calendar. oc 'what may be held in the palm of the hand,' 'foot,' 'leg.' chuen 'board,' or name of a tree, perhaps _chouen_ of quiché calendar. eb 'stairway' or 'ladder.' ben (been) perhaps been, an ancient prince, or 'to spend with economy.' ix (hix, gix) possibly 'roughness.' the quiché _itz_ is 'sorcerer.' men 'builder.' cib (quib) 'wax' or 'copal.' caban ezanab (ecnab, edznab) cauac ahau (ajau) 'king,' beginning of the period of (or ) years. ymix _imox_, in quiché calendar is the mexican cipactli. ik (yk) 'wind' or 'breath.' akbal in quiché, 'vase.' the hieroglyphics by which the names of the days were expressed are shown in the accompanying cut in their proper order of succession,--kan, chicchan, etc., to akbal; but it is to be noted that although this order was invariable, yet the month might begin with any one of the four days kan, muluc, ix, and cauac. the month, made up as i have said of twenty days, was called _u_, or 'moon,' indicating perhaps that time was originally computed by lunar calculations. it was also called _uinal_, a word whose signification is not satisfactorily given. the year contained eighteen months, whose names with the hieroglyphics by which they were written, are shown in the cut on the opposite page, in their order, pop, uo, zip, etc., to cumhu. not only did the months succeed each other always in the same order, but pop was always the first month of the year, which began on a date corresponding to july of our calendar, a date which varies only forty-eight hours from the time when the sun passes the zenith--an approximation as accurate as could be expected from observations made without instruments. [sidenote: months of the maya calendar.] [illustration: months of the maya calendar.] the following table shows the names of the months, their meaning, and the day on which each began, according to our calendar: pop (poop, popp) 'mat' july uo (woo, voo) 'frog' aug. zip (cijp) name of a tree, 'defect,' 'swollen' aug. tzoz (zoc, zotz) 'bat' sept. tzec (zeec) possibly 'discourse,' 'skull' oct. xul 'end' oct. yaxkin (dze-yaxkin, tze yaxkin) 'beginning of summer' nov. mol (mool) 'to reunite'. dec. chen (cheen) 'well' dec. yax (yaax) 'green' or 'blue' or 'first' jan. zac (zak) 'clear,' 'white' feb. ceh (qeh, quej, queh) 'deer' feb. mac, 'to close,' 'lid,' a measure mar. kankin, 'yellow sun' apr. muan (moan) 'showery day,' the bird called 'ara' apr. pax (paax) a musical instrument may kayab, 'singing' june cumhu (cumkú) noise of an explosion, as of thunder june [ ] [sidenote: intercalary days.] the year was called _haab_, and consisted of the eighteen months already named,--which would make days,--and of five supplementary, or intercalary days, to complete the full number of . these intercalary days were called _xma kaba kin_, or 'nameless days,' and also _uayab_ or _nayeb haab_, _u na haab_, _nayab chab_, _u yail kin_, _u yail haab_, _u tuz kin_, or _u lobol kin_, which may mean 'bed' or 'chamber' of the year, 'mother of the year,' 'bed of creation,' 'travail of the year,' 'lying days,' or 'bad days,' etc. they were added at the end of each year, after the last day of cumhu, and although they are called nameless, and were perhaps never spoken of by name, yet they were actually reckoned like the rest;--that is, if the last day of cumhu was akbal, the five intercalary days would be reckoned as kan, chicchan, cimi, manik, and lamat, so that the new year, or the month of pop, would begin with the day muluc. besides this division of time into years, months, and days, there was another division carried along simultaneously with the first, into twenty-eight periods of thirteen days each,[ ] which may for convenience be termed weeks, although the natives did not apply any name to the period of thirteen days, and perhaps did not regard it as a definite period at all, but used the number thirteen as a sacred number from some superstitious motives;[ ] yet its use produces some curious complications in the calendar, of which it is a most peculiar feature. the name of each day was preceded by a numeral showing its position in the week, and these numerals proceeded regularly from one to thirteen and then began again at one. thus kan meant 'kan, the first day of the week'; cauac, 'cauac, the twelfth day of the week,' etc. it is probable also that the days of the month were numbered regularly from to , as events are spoken of as occurring on the th of zip, etc., but the numeral relating to the week was the most prominent. the table shows the succession of days and weeks for several months: ========================================= | | | | | | a | pop. | b | a | uo. | b | ---+----------+----+----+----------+----+ | kan | | | kan | | | chicchán | | | chicchán | | | cimi | | | cimi | | | manik | | | manik | | | lamat | | | lamat | | | muluc | | | muluc | | | oc | | | oc | | | chuen | | | chuen | | | eb | | | eb | | | ben | | | ben | | | ix | | | ix | | | men | | | men | | | cib | | | cib | | | caban | | | caban | | | ezanab | | | ezanab | | | cauac | | | cauac | | | ahau | | | ahau | | | ymix | | | ymix | | | ik | | | ik | | | akbal | | | akbal | | ========================================= a: day of week. b: day of month. ========================================= | | | | | | a | zip. | b | a | tzoz. | b | ---+----------+----+----+----------+----+ | kan | | | kan | | | chicchán | | | chicchán | | | cimi | | | cimi | | | manik | | | manik | | | lamat | | | lamat | | | muluc | | | muluc | | | oc | | | oc | | | chuen | | | chuen | | | eb | | | eb | | | ben | | | ben | | | ix | | | ix | | | men | | | men | | | cib | | | cib | | | caban | | | caban | | | ezanab | | | ezanab | | | cauac | | | cauac | | | ahau | | | ahau | | | ymix | | | ymix | | | ik | | | ik | | | akbal | | | akbal | | ========================================= of the twenty days only four,--kan, muluc, ix, and cauac--could begin either a month or a year. whatever the name of the first day of the first month, every month in the year began with the same day, accompanied, however, by a different numeral. the numeral of the first day for the first month being , that of the second would be , and so on for the other months in the following order: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . to ascertain the numeral for any month must be added to that of the preceding month, and subtracted from the sum if it be more than . [sidenote: succession of the years.] by extending the table of days and months over a period of years,--an extension which my space does not permit me to make in these pages,--the reader will observe that by reason of the intercalary days, and of the fact that weeks of days each make only instead of days, if the first year began with the day kan, the second would begin with muluc, the third with ix, the fourth with cauac, the fifth with kan, and so on in regular order; therefore the years were named by the day on which they began, kan, muluc, ix, etc., since the year would begin with any one of these combinations only once in years. thus the four names of the days kan, muluc, ix, and cauac served as signs for the years, precisely as the signs _tochtli_, _calli_, _tecpatl_, and _acatl_ with their numerals served among the aztecs. in the circle in which the mayas are said to have inscribed their calendar, these four signs are located in the east, north, west, and south respectively, and are considered the 'carriers of the years.' it will be seen that, starting from kan, although every fifth year began with the day, or sign, kan, yet the numeral did not occur again in connection with any first day until thirteen years had passed away; so that kan or kan alone not only named the year which it began, but also a period of thirteen years, which is spoken of as a 'week of years' or an 'indiction.' the first indiction of thirteen years beginning with kan, the second began with muluc, the third with ix, and the fourth with cauac. after the indiction whose sign was cauac, the next would begin again with kan; that is years would have elapsed, and this period of years was called a katun, corresponding with the aztec cycle, as explained in a preceding chapter. thus we see that the four signs kan, muluc, ix, and cauac served to name certain days of the month; they also named the years of the indiction, since in connection with certain numerals they were the first days of these years; they further named the indictions of the katun, of which with the numeral they were also the first days; and finally they named, or may have named, the katun itself which they begun, also in connection with the numeral . how the katuns were actually named we are not informed. the completion of each katun was regarded by the mayas as a most critical and important epoch, and was celebrated with most imposing religious ceremonies. also a monument is said to have been raised, on which a large stone was placed crosswise, also called _katun_ as a memorial of the cycle that had passed. it is unfortunate that some of these monuments cannot be discovered and identified among the ruins. thus far the maya calendar is, after a certain amount of study, sufficiently intelligible; and is, except in its system of nomenclature, essentially identical with that of the nahuas. the calendars of the quichés, cakchiquels, chiapanecs, and the natives of soconusco, are also the same so far as their details are known. the names of months and days in some of these calendars will be given in this chapter. [sidenote: the ahau katunes.] another division of time not found in the nahua calendar, was that into the ahau katunes. the system according to which this division was made is clear enough if we may accept the statements of sr perez; several of which rest on authorities that are unknown to all but himself. according to this writer, the ahau katun was a period of years, divided into two parts; the first part of years was enclosed in the native writings by a square and called _amaytun_, _lamayte_, or _lamaytun_; and the second, of the other four years, was placed as a 'pedestal' to the others, and therefore called _chek oc katun_, or _lath oc katun_. these four years were considered as intercalary and unfortunate, like the five supplementary days of the year, and were sometimes called _a yail haab_, 'years of pain.' this katun of years was called ahau from its first day, and the natives began to reckon from ahau katun, because it began on the day ahau, on which day some great event probably took place in their history. the day ahau at which these periods began was the second day of such years as began with cauac; and ahau, the first day of the first period, was the second of the year cauac; ahau was the second day of the year cauac, etc. if we construct a table of the years from cauac in regular order, we shall find that if the first period was ahau katun because it began with ahau, the second, years later, was ahau katun, beginning with ahau; the third was ahau katun, etc. that is, the ahau katunes, instead of being numbered , , , etc., in regular order was preceded by the numerals , , , , , , , , , , , , and . of these ahau katunes, making years, constituted a great cycle, and we are told that it was by means of the ahau katunes and great cycles of years that historical events were generally recorded. sr perez states that the year of our era was the maya year cauac, 'according to all sources of information, confirmed by the testimony of don cosme de burgos, one of the conquerors, and a writer (but whose observations have been lost).' therefore the ahau katun began on the second day of that year; the ahau katun, years later, in ; the ahau in ; the , in ; the , in ; the , in ; the , in ; the , in ; the , in ; the , in , etc. as a test of the accuracy of his system of ahau katunes, the author says that he found in a certain manuscript the death of a distinguished individual, ahpulá, mentioned as having taken place in the th year of ahau katun, when the first day of the year was kan, on the day of ix, the th day of the month zip. now the ahau began in the year cauac, or ; the th year from was , or kan; if the month of pop began with kan, then the d month, zip, began with kan, and the th of that month fell on ix, or sept. . all this may be readily verified by filling out the table in regular order. on the other hand we have landa's statement that the ahau katun was a period of years; he gives however the same order of the numerals as perez,--that is , , , , , , , , , , , , . he also states that the year was the beginning of ahau; but if ahau was the second day of , that year must have been cauac, and , years later, would have been cauac, the second day of which would have been ahau; which does not agree at all with the order of numerals. in fact no other number of years than for each ahau katun will produce this order of numerals, which fact is perhaps the strongest argument in favor of sr perez' system. cogolludo also says that the mayas counted their time by periods of years called katunes, each divided into sub-periods of four years each. sr perez admits that other writers reckon the ahau katun as years, but claims that they have fallen into error through disregarding the _chek oc katun_, or unlucky years of the period. a maya manuscript furnished and translated by perez is published by stephens and in landa's work, and repeatedly speaks of the ahau katun as a period of years. again, this is the very manuscript in which the death of ahpulá was announced, and the date of that event is given as years _before the completion of ahau_, instead of the sixth year of that period as stated in the calculations of sr perez; and besides, the date is distinctly given as , instead of , which dates will in nowise agree with the system explained, or with the date of given as the beginning of ahau. moreover, as i have already said, several of the statements on which perez bases his computations are unsupported by any authority save manuscripts unknown to all but himself. such are the statements that the ahau katun began on the d day of a year cauac; that ahau was reckoned as the first; and that ahau began in . these facts, together with various other inaccuracies in the writings of sr perez are sufficient to weaken our faith in his system of the ahau katunes; and since the other writers give no explanations, this part of the maya calendar must remain shrouded in doubt until new sources of information shall be found.[ ] the following quotation made by sr perez from a manuscript, contains all that is known respecting what was possibly another method of reckoning time. "there was another number which they called _ua katun_, and which served them as a key to find the katunes, according to the order of its march, it falls on the days of the _uayeb haab_, and revolves to the end of certain years: katunes , , , , , , , , , , , , ." [sidenote: bissextile additions.] we have seen that the maya year by means of intercalary days added at the end of the month cumhu was made to include days. how the additional six hours necessary to make the length of the year agree with the solar movements were intercalated without disturbing the complicated order already described, is altogether a matter of conjecture. the most plausible theory is perhaps that a day was added at the end of every four years, this day being called by the same name and numeral as the one preceding it, or, in other words, no account being made of this day in the almanac, although it was perhaps indicated by some sign in the hieroglyphics of these days. the nicaraguan calendar was practically identical with that of the aztecs, even in nomenclature although there were naturally some slight variations in orthography. the following table shows the names of the months in several other maya calendars, whose system so far as known is the same as that in yucatan. chiapas quiché.[ ] cakchiquel.[ ] and soconusco.[ ] ------------------------+---------------------------+-------------- nabe tzih ' st word' | i bota 'rolls of mats' | tzun u cab tzih ' d word' | qatic 'common seed' | batzul rox tzih ' d word' | izcal 'sprouts' | sisac che 'tree' | pariche 'firewood' | muetasac tecoxepual | tocaxequal 'seeding time' | moc tzibe pop | nabey tumuzuz | olati 'painted mat' | ' st flying ants' | | rucab tumuzuz | ulol zak 'white' | ' d flying ants' | chab 'bow' | cibixic 'time of smoke' | oquinajual huno bix gih | uchum 'resowing time' | veh ' st song of sun' | | nabe mam | nabey mam ' st old man' | elech ' st old man' | | u cab mam | ru cab mam ' d old man' | nichqum ' d old man' | | nabe ligin ga | ligin ka 'soft hand' | sbanvinquil ' st soft hand' | | u cab ligin ga | nabey togic ' st harvest' | xchibalvinquil ' d soft hand' | | nabe pach | ru cab togic ' d harvest' | yoxibalvinquil ' st generation' | | u cab pach | nabey pach | xchanibalvinquil ' d generation' | ' st generation' | tziquin gih | ru cab pach | poin 'time of birds' | ' d generation' | tzizi lagan | tziquin gih | mux 'to sew the standard'| 'time of birds' | cakam 'time of | cakam | yaxquin red flowers' | 'time of red flowers' | [sidenote: days in guatemala and chiapas.] the names of the days in the same calendars are as follows: quiché and cakchiquel.[ ] chiapas (tzendal?) soconusco.[ ] ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ imox 'sword-fish' | imox or mox ig 'spirit' or 'breath' | igh or ygh akbal 'chaos' | votan qat 'lizard' | chanan or ghanan can 'snake' | abah or abagh camey 'death' | tox quieh 'deer' | moxic ganel 'rabbit' | lambat toh 'shower' | molo or mulu tzy 'dog' | elab or elah batz 'monkey' | batz ci or balam, 'broom,' 'tiger' | evob or enob ah 'cane' | been yiz or itz 'sorcerer' | hix tziquin 'bird' | tziquin ahmak 'fisher,' 'owl' | chabin or chahin noh 'temperature' | chic or chiue tihax 'obsidian' | chinax caok 'rain' | cahogh or cabogh hunahpu 'shooter of blowpipe' | aghual i shall treat of the maya hieroglyphics by giving first the testimony of the early writers respecting the existence of a system of writing in the sixteenth century; then an account of the very few manuscripts that have been preserved, together with illustrative plates from both manuscripts and sculptured stone tablets; to be followed by bishop landa's alphabet, a mention of brasseur de bourbourg's attempted interpretation of the native writings, and a few speculations of other modern writers on the subject. the statements of the early writers, although conclusive, are not numerous, and i will consequently translate them literally. landa says that "the sciences which they taught were--to read and write with their books and characters with which they wrote, and with the figures which signified (explained, or took the place of?) writings. they wrote their books on a large leaf, doubled in folds, and inclosed between two boards which they made very fine (decorated); and they wrote on both sides in columns, according to the folds; the paper they made of the roots of a tree, and gave it a white varnish on which one could write well; these sciences were known by certain men of high rank (only), who were therefore more esteemed although they did not use the art in public." "these people also used certain characters or letters with which they wrote in their books their antiquities and their sciences; and by means of these and of figures and of certain signs in their figures they understood their things, and made them understood, and taught them. we found among them a great number of books of these letters of theirs, and because they had nothing in which there were not superstitions and falsities of the devil, we burned them all, at which they were exceedingly sorrowful and troubled."[ ] according to cogolludo, "in the time of their infidelity the indians of yucatan had books, made of the bark of trees, with a white and durable varnish, ten or twelve yards long, which by folding were reduced to a span. in these they painted with colors the account of their years, wars, floods, hurricanes, famines, and other events." "the son of the only god, of whose existence, as i have said, they were aware, and whom they called ytzamná, was the man, as i believe, who first invented the characters which served the indians as letters, because they called the latter also ytzamná."[ ] the itzas, as villagutierre tells us, had "characters and figures painted on the bark of trees, each leaf, or tablet, being about a span long, as thick as a real de à ocho (a coin), folded both ways like a screen, which they called _analtees_."[ ] mendieta states that the mexicans had no letters, "although in the land of champoton it is said that such were found, and that they understood each other by means of them, as we do by means of ours."[ ] acosta says that in yucatan "there were books of leaves, bound or folded after their manner, in which the learned indians had their division of their time, knowledge of plants and animals and other natural objects, and their antiquities; a thing of great curiosity and diligence."[ ] the maya priests "were occupied in teaching their sciences and in writing books upon them."[ ] in guatemala, according to benzoni, "the thing of all others at which the indians have been most surprised has been our reading and writing.... nor could they imagine among themselves in what way white paper painted with black, could speak."[ ] peter martyr gives quite a long description of the native wood-bound books, which he does not refer particularly to yucatan, although brasseur, apparently with much reason, believes they were the maya _analtés_ rather than the regular aztec picture writings. the description is as follows in the quaint english of the translator. "they make not their books square leafe by leafe, but extend the matter and substance thereof into many cubites. they reduce them into square peeces, not loose, but with binding, and flexible bitumen so conioyned, that being compact of wooden table bookes, they may seeme to haue passed the hands of some curious workman that ioyned them together. which way soeuer the book bee opened, two written sides offer themselues to the view, two pages appeare and as many lye vnder, vnlesse you stretch them in length: for there are many leaues ioyned together vnder one leafe. the characters are very vnlike ours, written after our manner, lyne after lyne, with characters like small dice, fishookes, snares, files, starres, & other such like formes and shapes. wherein they immitate almost the egyptian manner of writing, and betweene the lines they paint the shapes of men, & beasts, especially of their kings & nobles.... they make the former wooden table bookes also with art to content and delight the beholder. being shut, they seeme to differ nothing from our bookes, in these they set downe in writing the rites, and the customes of their laws, sacrifices, ceremonies, their computations, etc."[ ] [sidenote: maya hieroglyphic system.] respecting hieroglyphic records in chiapas and guatemala, we have the statement of ordoñez that "votan wrote a work upon the origin of the indians," and that he, ordoñez, had a copy of the book in his possession; a complaint in the quiché annals known as the popol vuh, that the 'national book' containing the ancient records of their people had been lost; and finally the reported discovery and destruction in soconusco of archives on stone by nuñez de la vega in . all this amounts to little save as indicating the ancient use of hieroglyphics by the followers of votan, a fact sufficiently proven, as we shall see, by the engraved tablets of palenque and copan.[ ] the nicaraguans at the time of the conquest had records painted in colors upon skin and paper, undoubtedly identical in their figures with those of the nahuas, to whom the civilized people of nicaragua were nearly related in blood and language. no specimens of these southern hieroglyphics have, however, been preserved. oviedo and herrera slightly describe the paintings and later writers have followed them.[ ] [sidenote: maya manuscripts.] of the aboriginal maya manuscripts three specimens only, so far as i know, have been preserved. these are the _mexican manuscript, no. _, of the imperial library at paris; the _dresden codex_; and the _manuscript troano_. concerning the first we only know of its existence and the similarity of its characters to those of the other two and of the sculptured tablets. the document was photographed in by order of the french government, but i am not aware that the photographs have ever been given to the public. the _dresden codex_ is preserved in the royal library of dresden. a complete copy was published in lord kingsborough's collection of mexican antiquities, and fragments were also reproduced by humboldt. it was purchased in vienna by the librarian götz in , but beyond this nothing whatever is known of its history and origin. it was published by kingsborough as an aztec picture-writing, although its characters present little if any resemblance to those of its companion documents in the collection. its form was also different from all the rest, since it is written on both sides of five leaves of maguey-paper. at the time of its publication, however, the existence of any but aztec hieroglyphics in america was unknown. mr stephens in his antiquarian exploration of central america, at once noticed the similarity of its figures to those of the sculptured hieroglyphics found there, but he used this similarity to prove the identity of the northern and southern nations, since it did not occur to him that the aztec origin of the dresden document was a mere supposition. mr brantz mayer, fully aware of the differences between this and other reputed mexican picture-writings, went so far as to pronounce it the only genuine aztec document that he had seen. there can be no reasonable doubt, however, at this day, that the maya and nahua (or maya and aztec, since some authors will not agree with my use of the term nahua) hieroglyphic systems were practically distinct, although it would be hardly wise to decide that they are absolutely without affinities in some of their details. the accompanying cut from stephens' work shows a small fragment of the dresden codex.[ ] [illustration: fragment of the dresden codex.] [sidenote: the manuscript troano.] the _manuscript troano_ was found about the year in madrid by the abbé brasseur de bourbourg, and was reproduced in fac-simile by a chromo-lithographic process by the commission scientifique du mexique, under the auspices of the french government. its name comes from that of its possessor in madrid, sr tro y ortolano, and nothing whatever is known of its origin; two or three other old american manuscripts are reported to have been brought to light in spain since the publication of this. the original is written on a strip of maguey-paper about fourteen feet long and nine inches wide, the surface of which is covered with a whitish varnish, on which the figures are painted in black, red, blue, and brown. it is folded fan-like into thirty-five folds, presenting when shut much the appearance of a modern large octavo volume. the hieroglyphics cover both sides of the paper, and the writing is consequently divided into seventy pages, each about five by nine inches, having been apparently executed after the paper was folded, so that the folding does not interfere with the written matter. one of the pages as a specimen is shown in the following plate, an exact copy, save in size and color, of the original. the regular lines of written characters are uniformly in black, while the pictorial portions, or what may perhaps be considered representative signs, are in red and brown, chiefly the former, and the blue appears for the most part as a background in some of the pages. a few of the pages are slightly damaged, and all the imperfections are, as it is claimed, faithfully reproduced in the published copy, which with the editor's comments fills two quarto volumes in the series published by the commission mentioned.[ ] [sidenote: maya inscriptions in stone.] the plates on the following pages from the works of stephens and waldeck i present as specimens of the maya writing, as it is found carved in stone in yucatan, honduras, and chiapas. for particulars respecting the ruins in connection with which they were discovered, i refer the reader to volume iv. of this work. fig. represents the hieroglyphics sculptured on the top of an altar at copan, in honduras, the thirty-six groups cover a space nearly six feet square. fig. is a tablet set in the interior wall of a building in chichen, yucatan. the tablet is placed over the doorways and extends the whole length of the room, forty-three feet; only a part, however, is shown in the cut. fig. is a full-size representation of the carving on a green stone, or chalchiuite, found at ococingo, chiapas. i take it from the english translation of morelet's travels. many of the monoliths of copan have a line of hieroglyphics on their side. plates representing specimens of these monuments will be given in volume iv. fig. shows a portion of the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the famous 'tablet of the cross' at palenque.[ ] [illustration: page of manuscript troano.] [illustration: fig. .--altar inscription from copan.] [illustration: fig. .--tablet from chichen.] [illustration: fig. .--chalchiuite from ococingo.] [illustration: fig. .--tablet from palenque.] * * * * * [sidenote: bishop landa's alphabet.] i have given on a preceding page in this chapter, the signs by which the natives of yucatan expressed the names of their days and months, taken from the work of bishop landa. the same author has also preserved a maya alphabet. on account of landa's failure to appreciate the importance of the native hieroglyphics, or to comprehend the system, and also very likely on account of his copyist's carelessness--for the original manuscript of landa's work has not been found--the passage relating to the alphabet is very vague, unsatisfactory, and perhaps fragmentary; but it is of the very highest importance, since the alphabet here given in connection with the calendar signs already spoken of, furnish apparently the only ground for a hope that the veil of mystery which hangs over the maya inscriptions may one day be lifted. i therefore give landa's description as nearly as possible in his own words, copying also the original spanish in a note. "of their letters i give here (see alphabet on the next page) an a, b, c, since their heaviness (number and intricacy?) permits no more; because they use one character for all the aspirations of the letters, and another in the pointing of the parts (punctuation), and thus it goes on to infinity, as may be seen in the following example: _lé_ means 'a snare' or to hunt with it; to write it with their characters, we having given them to understand (although we gave, etc.) that they are two letters, they wrote it with three, placing after the aspiration _l_ the vowel _e_, which it has before it, and in this they do not err, although they make use, if they wish, of their curious method. example: [illustration: _e l e lé_] then at the end they attach the adjoined part. _ha_ which means 'water,' because the _haché_ (sound of the letter _h_) has _a_, _h_, before it, they put it at the beginning with _a_, at the end in this manner: [illustration: _ha_] they also write it in parts but in both ways. i would not put (all this) here, nor treat of it, except in order to give a complete account of the things of this people. _ma in kati_ means 'i will not'; they write it in parts after this manner."[ ] [illustation: _ma i n ka ti_] [illustration: a a a a b b c(q?) t È h h i ca(?) k l l m n o o p pp cu ku x x u(?) u (dj or dz?) z ha ma to sign of (me, mo?) aspiration.] respecting this alphabet landa adds: "this language lacks the letters that are missing here; and has others added from ours for other necessary things; and they already make no use of these characters, especially the young who have learned ours." it will be noticed that there are several varying characters for the same letter, and several syllabic signs. the characters of landa's alphabet, and the calendar signs can be identified more or less accurately and readily with some of those of the hieroglyphic inscriptions in stone, the manuscript troano, and the dresden codex. the resemblance in many cases is clear, in others very vague and perhaps imaginary, while very many others cannot apparently be identified. although landa's key must be regarded as fragmentary, i believe there is no reason to doubt its authenticity. but one attempt has been made to practically apply this key to the work of deciphering the maya documents, that of the abbé brasseur de bourbourg. this writer, after a profound study of the subject, devotes one hundred and thirty-six quarto pages to a consideration of the maya characters and their variations, and fifty-seven pages to the translation of a part of the manuscript troano. the translation must be pronounced a failure, especially after the confession of the author in a subsequent work that he had begun his reading at the wrong end of the document,[ ]--a trifling error perhaps in the opinion of the enthusiastic abbé, but a somewhat serious one as it appears to scientific men. his preliminary examinations doubtless contain much valuable information which will lighten the labors and facilitate the investigations of future students; but unfortunately, such is their nature that condensation is impracticable. a long chapter, if not a volume, would be required to do them anything like justice, and they must be omitted here. brasseur de bourbourg devoted his life to the study of american primitive history. in actual knowledge of matters pertaining to his chosen subject, no man ever equaled or approached him. besides being an indefatigable student he was an elegant writer. in the last decade of his life he conceived a new and complicated theory respecting the origin of the american people, or rather the origin of europeans and asiatics from america, made known to the world in his _quatre lettres_. his attempted translation of the manuscript troano was made in support of this theory. by reason of the extraordinary nature of the views expressed, and the author's well-known tendency to build magnificent structures on a slight foundation, his later writings were received for the most part by critics, utterly incompetent to understand them, with a sneer or, what seems to have grieved the writer more, in silence. now that the great _américaniste_ is dead, while it is not likely that his theories will ever be received, his zeal in the cause of antiquarian science and the many valuable works from his pen will be better appreciated. it will be long ere another shall undertake with equal devotion and ability the well nigh hopeless task. [sidenote: interpretation of maya records.] i close the chapter with a few quotations from modern writers respecting the maya hieroglyphics and their interpretation. tyler says "there is even evidence that the maya nation of yucatan, the ruins of whose temples and palaces are so well known from the travels of catherwood and stephens, not only had a system of phonetic writing, but used it for writing ordinary words and sentences."[ ] wuttke suggests that landa's alphabet originated after the conquest, a suggestion, as schepping observes, excluded by mendieta's statement, but "otherwise very probable in consideration of the phoneticism developed in mexico shortly after the conquest."[ ] and finally wilson says, "while the recurrence of the same signs, and the reconstruction of groups out of the detached members of others, clearly indicate a written language, and not a mere pictorial suggestion of associated ideas, like the mexican picture-writing." "in the most complicated tablets of african hieroglyphics, each object is distinct, and its representative significance is rarely difficult to trace. but the majority of the hieroglyphics of palenque or copan appear as if constructed on the same polysynthetic principle which gives the peculiar and distinctive character to the languages of the new world. this is still more apparent when we turn to the highly elaborate inscriptions on the colossal figures of copan. in these all ideas of simple phonetic signs utterly disappear. like the _bunch-words_, as they have been called, of the american languages, they seem each to be compounded of a number of parts of the primary symbols used in picture-writing, while the pictorial origin of the whole becomes clearly apparent. in comparing these minutely elaborated characters with those on the tables, it is obvious that a system of abbreviation is employed in the latter. an analogous process seems dimly discernible in the abbreviated compound characters of the palenque inscription. but if the inference be correct, this of itself would serve to indicate that the central american hieroglyphics are not used as phonetic, or pure alphabetic signs; and this idea receives confirmation from the rare recurrence of the same group.... the palenque inscriptions have all the characteristics of a written language in a state of development analogous to the chinese, with its word-writing; and like it they appear to have been read in columns from top to bottom. the groups of symbols begin with a large hieroglyphic on the left-hand corner; and the first column occupies a double space. it is also noticeable that in the frequent occurrence of human and animal heads among the sculptured characters they invariably look toward the left; an indication, as it appears to me, that they are the graven inscriptions of a lettered people, who were accustomed to write the same characters from left to right on paper or skins. indeed, the pictorial groups on the copan statues seem to be the true hieroglyphic characters; while the palenque inscriptions show the abbreviated hieratic writing. to the sculptor the direction of the characters was a matter of no moment; but if the scribe held his pen, or style, in his right hand, like the modern clerk, he would as naturally draw the left profile as we slope our current hand to the right. arbitrary signs are also introduced, like those of the phonetic alphabets of europe. among these the t repeatedly occurs: a character which, it will be remembered, was also stamped on the mexican metallic currency."[ ] footnotes: [ ] two spindles with golden tissue. _cortés_, _cartas_, pp. , . six golden idols, each one span long, in nicaragua. _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. v. golden hatchets, carats fine, weighing over lbs. _id._, lib. iv., cap. vi. houses of goldsmiths that molded marvellously. _id._, cap. vii. see also _id._, dec. i., lib. v., cap. v. little fishes and geese of low gold at catoche. _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . golden armor and ornaments at tabasco river. _id._, pp. - . idols of unknown metals among the itzas. _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , . gilded wooden mask, gold plates, little golden kettles. _diaz_, _itinéraire_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x. pp. , . vases of chiseled gold in yucatan. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. ; _id._, in _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. , , tom. i., p. ; _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. i., dec. vi., lib. ii., vi.; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. ; _godoi_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., p. . respecting a copper mask from nicaragua and two copper medals from guatemala, see vol. iv. of this work. [ ] for slight notices of the various mechanical arts of the mayas see the following authorities: _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. , , , tom. iv., pp. , , - ; _torquemada_, _monarq. ind._, tom. i., p. , tom. ii., p. ; _laet_, _novus orbis_, p. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. , , , ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. ii., cap. xvii., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. ix., lib. x., cap. ii., xiv.; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , , - ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , - , , - ; _remesal_, _hist. chyapa._, p. ; _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. ii., dec. vi., lib. iii.; _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. , - ; _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _cortés_, _cartas_, p. ; _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viajes_, tom. iii., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxiv.; _id._, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. - ; _palacio_, _carta_, p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., pp. , ; _foster's pre-hist. races_, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. , , . [ ] _beltran de santa rosa maría_, _arte_, pp. - ; _id._, in _brasseur de bourbourg_, ms. _troano_, tom. ii., pp. - . 'el modo de contar de los indios es de cinco en cinco, y de quatro cincos hazen veinte.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv. [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - ; _perez_, _cronologia antigua de yuc._, with french translation, in _id._, pp. - ; english translation of the same in _stephens' yucatan_, vol. i., pp. - ; original spanish also in the _registro yucateco_; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - , - ; _veytia_, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - ; _id._, ms. _troano_, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] cogolludo omits the month tzoz, and inserts a month vaycab, vtuz kin, or vlobol kin, between cumhu and pop. he also in one place puts cuchhaab in the place of kan. _hist. yuc._, p. - . see also _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - ; _waldeck_, _voy. pitt._, p. . the abbé brasseur de bourbourg, in his attempted interpretation of the manuscript troano, gives the following curious etymologies of the names of these months. 'le vocable _pop_, que beltran écrit long, _poop_, signifie la natte, "estera ò petate," dit pio perez, qui donne encore à _pop_ le sens d'un arbrisseau ou d'une plante qu'il ne décrit point, mais qui, fort probablement, doit être de la nature des joncs dont on fait les différentes espèces de nattes connues au yucatan. en prenant ce vocable avec l'orthographe de beltran, _poop_ se composerait de _po_, primitif inusité, exprimant l'enflure, la vapeur, l'expansion par la chaleur d'une matière dans une enveloppe, et de _op_, briser, rompre pour sortir, crevasser par la force du feu.... beltran ajoute que _uo_ désigne en outre le têtard, une sorte de petit crapaud et un fruit indigène, appelé _pitahaya_ aux antilles ... _uo_, au rapport du même auteur énonce l'idée des caractères de l'écriture, en particulier des voyelles.... cet hiéroglyphe paraît assez difficile à expliquer. sa section inférieure renferme un caractère qui semble, en raccourci, celui de la lettre _h_, et la section supérieure est identique avec le signe que je crois une variante du _ti_, localité, lieu. ce qu'on pourrait interpréter par "le possesseur enfermé du lieu," indice du têtard, de l'embryon dans son enveloppe. (?) l'ensemble de l'idée géologique, qui a présidé à la composition du calendrier maya, se poursuit dans les noms des mois, ainsi que dans ceux des jours. après le marécage, déjà crevassé par le chaleur, apparaît le têtard, l'embryon de la grenouille, laissé au fond de la bourbe, symbole de l'embryon du feu volcanique couvant sous la terre glacée et qui ne tardera pas à rompre son enveloppe, ainsi qu'on le verra dans les noms des mois suivants.... _zip_, analysé, donne _zi ip_, bois à brûler qui se gonfle outre mesure, sens intéressant qui rappelle le grand arbre du monde, gonflé outre mesure par les gaz et les feux volcaniques, avant d'éclater.... j'inclinerais à penser que landa a voulu exprimer par _tzoz_, non la chauve-souris _zos_, mais _tzotz_, la chevelure, vocable qui dans toutes les langues du groupe mexico-guatémalien indique symboliquement la chevelure de l'eau, la surface ondoyante, remuante de la mer, d'un lac ou d'une rivière: c'est à quoi semblent correspondre les signes de la glace qui se présentent dans l'image du mois _tzoz_. il s'agirait donc ici de la chevelure, de la surface des eaux gelées au-dessus de la terre et que la force du feu volcanique commence à rider, à faire grimacer, ainsi que l'énonce le nom du mois suivant.... tzec.... ce que l'auteur du calendrier a voulu exprimer, c'est bien probablement une tête de mort de singe, aux dents grimaçantes, image assez commune dans les fantaisies mythologiques de l'amérique centrale et qu'on retrouve sculptée fréquemment dans les belles ruines de copan.... une intention plus profonde encore se révèle dans ces têtes de singes. car si les danses et les mouvements de ces animaux symbolisent, dans le sens mystérieux du _popol vuh_, le soulèvement momentané des montagnes à la surface de la mer des caraìbes, leurs têtes, avec l'expression de la mort, ne sauraient faire allusion, probablement, qu'à la disparition de ces montagnes sous les eaux, où elles continuèrent à grimacer, dans les récifs et les _ronfleurs_, comme elles avaient fait grimacer la glace, en se soulevant.' as it would occupy too much space to give the abbé's explanations of all the months, the above will suffice for specimens. see _ms. troano_, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] landa says, however, 'vingt-sept trezaines et neuf jours, sans compter les supplémentaires.' _relacion_, p. . [ ] the number may come from the original reckoning by lunations, days being about the time the moon is seen above the horizon in each revolution, days of increase, and of decrease. _perez_, in _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . or it may have been a sacred number before the invention of the calendar, being the number of gods of high rank. _brasseur de bourbourg_, _ib._ [ ] 'contaban sus eras, y edades, que ponian en sus libros de veinte en veinte años, y por lustros de quatro en quatro.... llegando estos lustros a cinco, que ajustan veinte años, llamaban _katùn_, y ponian vna piedra labrada sobre otra labrada, fixada con cal, y arena en las paredes de sus templos, y casas de los sacerdotes, como se vè oy en los edificios.' _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . 'llaman a esta cuenta en su lengua uazlazon katun que quiere dezir la _gerra_ de los katunes.' _landa_, _relacion_, p. . 'para cuenta de veintenas de años en calendarios de los indios yucatecos, lo mismo que las indicciones nuestras; pero de mas años que estas, eran trece _ahaues_ que contenian años, que era para ellos un siglo.' _beltran de santa rosa maría_, _arte_, p. . brasseur de bourbourg is disposed to reject the system of sr perez, but he in his turn makes several errors in his notes on the subject. in _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - , . the maya ms. referred to in the text is found with its translation in _id._, pp. - , and _stephens' yucatan_, vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] the quiché year, according to basseta, began on december , of our calendar. following an anonymous ms. history of guatemala, the cakchiquel year began on january ; and the st of parichè in was on january . _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] 'algunos de estos nombres estan en lengua zotzil, y los demas se ignora en qué idioma se hallan.' _pineda_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, tom. iii., p. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, pp. - . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, ubi sup.; _boturini_, _idea_, p. ; _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. ii., pp. - ; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. ; _orozco y berra_, _geografía_, p. ; veytia, _hist. ant. mej._, tom. i., p. , makes votan the first month; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. ; _pineda_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, tom. iii., p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , . [ ] _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. , . the same author quotes fuensalida to the effect that the itza priests still kept in his time a record of past events in a book 'like a history which they call analte.' _id._, p. . [ ] _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. - . 'analtehes, ò historias, es vna misma cosa.' _id._, p. . [ ] _mendieta_, _hist. ecles._, p. . [ ] _acosta_, _hist. de las ynd._, p. ; _clavigero_, _storia ant. del messico_, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec, iv., lib. x., cap. ii. [ ] _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, fol. - . [ ] _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. viii., or latin edition of cologne, , p. ; also quoted in _brasseur de bourbourg_, ms. _troano_, tom. i., pp. - ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. . carli tells us that the inhabitants of amatitlan in guatemala were especially expert in making palm-leaf paper for writing. _cartas_, pt ii., p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. . references to modern authors who, except possibly medel, have no other sources of information than those i have quoted, are as follows: 'dans le yucathan, on m'a montré des espèces de lettres et de caractères dont se servent les habitants.... ils employaient au lieu de papier l'écorce de certaines arbres, dont ils enlevaient des morceaux qui avaient deux aunes de long et un quart d'aune de large. cette écorce était de l'épaisseur d'une peau de veau et se pliait comme un linge. l'usage de cette écriture n'était pas généralement répandu, et elle n'était connue que des prêtres et de quelques caciques.' _medel_, in _nouvelles annales des voy._, , tom. xcvii., pp. - ; _waldeck_, _voy. pitt._, p. ; _squier's cent. amer._, p. ; _morelet_, _voyage_, tom. i., p. ; _fancourt's hist. yuc._, p. ; _carrillo_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, da época, tom. iii., pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _ordoñez_, _hist. cielo, etc._, ms., and _nuñez de la vega_, _constit. diæces._, quoted by _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., pp. , ; _id._, _popol vuh_, p. ; _juarros_, _hist. guat._, p. ; _pineda_, in _soc. mex. geog., boletin_, tom. iii., pp. - . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _gallatin_, in _amer. ethno. soc., transact._, vol. i., p. ; _malte-brun_, _précis de la géog._, tom. vi., p. ; _squier's nicaragua_, (ed. ,) vol. ii., pp. - . [ ] _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. iii., no. ; _humboldt_, _vues_, tom. ii., pp. - , pl. xvi. mr prescott, _mex._, vol. i., pp. - , says that this document bears but little resemblance to other aztec mss., and that it indicates a much higher stage of civilization; but he also fails to detect any stronger likeness to the bas-reliefs of palenque, of which latter, however, he probably had a very imperfect idea. it cannot be interpreted, for 'even if a rosetta stone were discovered in mexico, there is no indian tongue to supply the key or interpreter.' _mayer_, _mex. as it was_, pp. - . 'le codex de dresde, et un autre de la bibliothèque nationale à paris, bien qu'offrant quelque rapport avec les rituels, échappent à toute interprétation. ils appartiennent, ainsi que les inscriptions de chiappa et du yucatan à une écriture plus élaborée, comme incrustée et calculiforme, dont on croit trouver des traces dans toutes les parties très-anciennement policées des deux amériques.' _aubin_, in _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. i., p. lxxi. see _stephens' cent. amer._, vol. ii., pp. , - ; _id._, _yucatan_, tom. ii., pp. , . [ ] _brasseur de bourbourg_, _ms. troano; Études sur le système graphique et la langue des mayas_, paris, - , º, vols., colored plates. [ ] _waldeck_, _palenqué_, pl. ; _stephen's cent. amer._, vol. i., pp. - , - ; _id._, _yucatan_, vol. ii., pp. - ; _morelet's trav._, p. ; vol. iv., pp. - , - , , and chap. vi., of this work. [ ] the spanish text is as follows: 'de sus letras porne aqui un _a_, _b_, _c_, que no permite su pesadumbre mas porque usan para todas las aspiraciones de las letras de un caracter, y despues, al puntar de las partes otro, y assi viene a hazer _in infinitum_, como se podra ver en el siguiente exemplo. _lé_, quiere dezir laço y caçar con el; para escrivirle con sus carateres, haviendoles nosotros hecho entender que son dos letras, lo escrivian ellos con tres, puniendo a la aspiracion de la _l_ la vocal _é_, que antes de si trae, y en esto no hierran, aunque usense, si quisieren ellos de su curiosidad. exemplo: _e l e lé_. despues al cabo le pegan la parte junta. _ha_ que quiere dezir agua, porque la _haché_ tiene _a_, _h_, antes de si la ponen ellos al principio con _a_, y al cabo desta manera: _ha_. tambien lo escriven a partes pero de la una y otra manera, yo no pusiera aqui ni tratara dello sino por dar cuenta entera de las cosas desta gente. _ma in kati_ quiere dezir no quiero, ellos lo escriven a partes desta manera: _ma i n ka ti_.' _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - ; also in _brasseur de bourbourg_, _ms. troano_, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] _bibliothèque mexico-guatémalienne_, paris, , p. xvii. [ ] _tylor's researches_, pp. - . [ ] _wuttke and schepping_, in _spencer's descriptive sociology_, no. ., div. ii., pt -b, p. . see note of this chapter. [ ] _wilson's pre-historic man_, p. , et seq. chapter xxv. buildings, medicine, burial, physical peculiarities, and character of the mayas. scanty information given by the early voyagers--private houses of the mayas--interior arrangement, decoration, and furniture--maya cities--description of utatlan--patinamit, the cakchiquel capital--cities of nicaragua--maya roads--temples at chichen itza and cozumel--temples of nicaragua and guatemala--diseases of the mayas--medicines used--treatment of the sick--propitiatory offerings and vows--superstitions--dreams--omens--witchcraft--snake-charmers --funeral rites and ceremonies--physical peculiarities--character. a full résumé of the principles of maya architecture, gathered from observations of ruins made by modern travelers, will be given in another part of this work.[ ] i shall, therefore, without regard to the inevitable scantiness and unsatisfactory nature of such information, confine myself in this chapter to the descriptions furnished by the old writers, who saw the houses and towns while they were occupied by those who built them and the temples before they became ruins, or at least were contemporaries of such observers. the accounts given of the dwellings of the mayas are very meagre. the early voyagers on the coast of yucatan, such as grijalva and córdova, saw well-built houses of stone and lime, with sloping roofs thatched with straw or reeds; or, in some instances, with slates of stone;[ ] but this is all they tell us, and, indeed, they had little opportunity for close examination; the natives of those parts were fierce and warlike, and little disposed to submit to invasion, so that the handful of adventurers had barely time to look hastily about them after effecting a landing before they were driven back wounded to their boats. here, as elsewhere, too, the temples and larger buildings naturally attracted their sole attention, both because of their strangeness and of the treasures which they were supposed to or did contain. these men were soldiers, gold-hunters; they did not travel leisurely; they had no time to examine the architecture of private dwellings; they risked and lost their lives for other purposes. bishop landa, however, has something to say on the subject of maya dwellings. the roof, he says, was covered with straw, which they had in great abundance, or with palm-leaves, which answered the purpose admirably. a considerable pitch was given to the roof, that the rain might run off easily. the house was divided in its length, that is, from side to side, by a wall, in which several doorways were left as a means of communication with the back room where they slept. the front room where guests were received was carefully whitewashed, or in the houses of nobles, painted in various colors or designs; it had no door but was open all the length of the front of the house, and was sheltered from sun and rain by the eaves which usually descended very low.[ ] there was always a doorway in the rear for the use of all the inmates. the fact of there being no doors made it a point of honor among them not to rob or injure each other's houses. the poor people built the houses of the rich.[ ] a new dwelling could not be occupied until it had been formally blessed and purged of the evil spirit.[ ] [sidenote: nicaraguan dwellings.] in nicaragua, the dwellings were mostly made of canes, and thatched with straw. in the large cities the houses of the nobles were built upon platforms several feet in height, but in the smaller towns the residences of all classes were of the same construction, except that those of the chiefs were larger and more commodious. some, however, appear to have been built of stone.[ ] of the dwellings in guatemala, still less is said. villagutierre mentions a lacandone village in which were one hundred and three houses with sloping thatched roofs, supported upon stout posts. the front of each house was open, but the back and sides were closed with a strong stockade. the interior was divided into several apartments. cogolludo says that their houses were covered with plaster, like those of yucatan.[ ] the house, or rather shed, near the gulf of dulce, in which cortés stayed, had no walls, the roof resting upon posts.[ ] in other parts of guatemala he saw 'large houses with thatched roofs.'[ ] gage does not give a glowing account of their dwellings. "their houses," he writes, "are but poor thatched cottages, without any upper rooms, but commonly one or two only rooms below, in the one they dress their meat in the middle of it, making a compass for fire, with two or three stones, without any other chimney to convey the smoak away, which spreading it self about the room, filleth the thatch and the rafters so with sut, that all the room seemeth to be a chimney. the next unto it, is not free from smoak and blackness, where sometimes are four or five beds according to the family. the poorer sort have but one room, where they eat, dress their meat and sleep."[ ] las casas tells us that when the guatemalans built a new house they were careful to dedicate an apartment to the worship of the household gods; there they burned incense and offered domestic sacrifices upon an altar erected for the purpose.[ ] [sidenote: household furniture.] little is said about the interior appointment and decoration of dwellings. landa mentions that in yucatan they used bedsteads made of cane,[ ] and the same is said of nicaragua by oviedo, who adds that they used a small four-legged bench of fine wood for a pillow.[ ] in guatemala, there was in each room a sort of bedstead large enough to accommodate four grown persons, and other small ones for the children.[ ] brasseur de bourbourg gives a description of gorgeous furniture used in the houses of the wealthy in yucatan, but unfortunately the learned abbé has for his only authority on this point the somewhat apocryphal ordoñez' ms. the stools, he writes, on which they seated themselves cross-legged after the oriental fashion, were of wood and precious metals, and were often made in the shape of some animal or bird; they were covered with deer-skins, tanned with great care, and embroidered with gold and precious stones. the interior-walls were sometimes hung with similar skins, though they were more frequently decorated with paintings on a red or blue ground. curtains of finest texture and most brilliant colors fell over the doorways, and the stucco floors were covered with mats made of exquisite workmanship. rich hued cloths covered the tables. the plate would have done honor to a persian satrap. graceful vases of chased gold, alabaster or agate, worked with exquisite art, delicate painted pottery, excelling that of etruria, candelabra for the great odorous pine torches, metal braziers diffusing sweet perfumes, a multitude of _petits riens_, such as little bells and grotesquely shaped whistles for summoning attendants, in fact all the luxuries which are the result of an advanced civilization, were, according to brasseur de bourbourg, to be found in the houses of the maya nobility.[ ] [sidenote: maya fortifications.] of the interior arrangement of the yucatec towns we are told nothing except that the temples, palaces, and houses of the nobility were in the centre, with the dwellings of the common people grouped about them, and that the streets were well kept.[ ] some of them must, however, have been very large and have contained fine buildings. during córdova's voyage on the coast of yucatan a city was seen which, says peter martyr, "for the hugenesse thereof they call cayrus, of cayrus the metropolis of Ægipt: where they find turreted houses, stately tenples, wel paued wayes & streets where marts and faires for trade of merchandise were kept."[ ] during grijalva's voyage a city, the same one perhaps, was seen, which diaz, the chaplain of the expedition, says was as 'large as the city of seville.'[ ] none of the yucatec cities appear to have been located with any view to defense, or to to have been provided with fortifications of any description.[ ] the towns of guatemala, on the other hand, were very strongly fortified, both artificially and by the site selected. juarros thus describes the city of utatlan in guatemala: "it was surrounded by a deep ravine that formed a natural fosse, leaving only two very narrow roads as entrances to the city, both of which were so well defended by the castle of _resguardo_, as to render it impregnable. the centre of the city was occupied by the royal palace, which was surrounded by the houses of the nobility; the extremities were inhabited by the plebeians. the streets were very narrow, but the place was so populous, as to enable the king to draw from it alone, no less than , combatants, to oppose the progress of the spaniards. it contained many very sumptuous edifices, the most superb of them was a seminary, where between and children were educated; they were all maintained and provided for at the charge of the royal treasury; their instruction was superintended by masters and professors. the castle of the atalaya was a remarkable structure, which being raised four stories high, was capable of furnishing quarters for a very strong garrison. the castle of resguardo was not inferior to the other; it extended paces in front, in depth, and was stories high. the grand alcazar, or palace of the kings of quiché, surpassed every other edifice, and in the opinion of torquemada, it could compete in opulence with that of montezuma in mexico, or that of the incas in cuzco. the front of this building extended from east to west geometrical paces, and in depth ; it was constructed of hewn stone of different colors; its form was elegant, and altogether most magnificent; there were principal divisions, the first contained lodgings for a numerous troop of lancers, archers, and other well disciplined troops, constituting the royal body guard; the second was destined to the accommodation of the princes, and relations of the king, who dwelt in it, and were served with regal splendour, as long as they remained unmarried; the third was appropriated to the use of the king, and contained distinct suits of apartments, for the mornings, evenings, and nights. in one of the saloons stood the throne, under four canopies of plumage, the ascent to it was by several steps; in this part of the palace were, the treasury, the tribunals of the judges, the armory, the gardens, aviaries, and menageries, with all the requisite offices appending to each department. the th and th divisions were occupied by the queens and royal concubines; they were necessarily of great extent, from the immense number of apartments requisite for the accommodation of so many females, who were all maintained in a style of sumptuous magnificence, gardens for their recreation, baths, and proper places for breeding geese, that were kept for the sole purpose of furnishing feathers, with which hangings, coverings, and other similar ornamental articles, were made. contiguous to this division was the sixth and last; this was the residence of the king's daughters and other females of the blood royal, where they were educated and attended in a manner suitable to their rank."[ ] patinamit, the cakchiquel capital, was nearly three leagues in circumference. it was situated upon a plateau surrounded by deep ravines which could be crossed at only one point by a narrow causeway which terminated in two gates of stone, one on the outside and the other on the inside of the thick wall of the city. the streets were broad and straight, and crossed each other at right angles. the town was divided from north to south into two parts by a ditch nine feet deep, with a wall of masonry about three feet high on each side. this ditch served to divide the nobles from the commoners, the former class living in the eastern section, and the latter in the western.[ ] peter martyr says of the cities of nicaragua: "large and great streetes guarde the frontes of the kinges courts, according to the disposition and greatnes of their village or towne. if the town consist of many houses, they haue also little ones, in which, the trading neighbours distant from the court may meete together. the chiefe noble mens houses compasse and inclose the kinges streete on euery side: in the middle site whereof one is erected which the goldesmithes inhabite."[ ] the mayas constructed excellent and desirable roads all over the face of the country. the most remarkable of these were the great highways used by the pilgrims visiting the sacred island of cozumel; these roads, four in number, traversed the peninsula in different directions, and finally met at a point upon the coast opposite the island.[ ] diego de godoi, in a letter to cortés, states that he and his party came to a place in the mountains of chiapas, where the smooth and slippery rock sloped down to the edge of a precipice, and which would have been quite impassable had not the indians made a road with branches and trunks of trees. on the side of the precipice they erected a strong wooden railing, and then made all level with earth.[ ] [sidenote: maya temples.] of the maya temples very little is said. there was one at chichen itza which had four great staircases, each being thirty-three feet wide and having ninety-one steps, very difficult of ascent. the steps were of the same height and width as ours. on both sides of each stairway was a low balustrade, two feet wide, made of good stone, like the rest of the building. the edifice was not sharp-cornered, because from the ground upward between the balustrades the cubic blocks were rounded, ascending by degrees and elegantly narrowing the building. there was at the foot of each balustrade a fierce serpent's head very strangely worked. on the top of the edifice there was a platform, on which stood a building forty-three feet by forty-nine feet, and about twenty feet high, having only a single doorway in the centre of each front. the doorways on the east, west and south, opened into a corridor six feet wide, which extended without partition walls round the three corresponding sides of the edifice; the northern doorway gave access to a corridor forty feet long and six and a third feet wide. through the centre of the rear wall of this corridor a doorway opened into a room twelve feet nine inches by nineteen feet eight inches, and seventeen feet high; its ceiling was formed by two transverse arches supported by immense carved beams of zapote-wood, stretched across the room and resting, each at its centre, on two square pillars.[ ] the island of cozumel was especially devoted to religious observances, and was annually visited by great numbers of pilgrims; there were therefore more religious edifices here than elsewhere. among them is mentioned a square tower, with four windows, and hollow at the top; at the back was a room in which the sacred implements were kept; it was surrounded by an enclosure, in the middle of which stood a cross nine feet high, representing the god of rain.[ ] other temples so closely resembled those of mexico as to need no further description here.[ ] [sidenote: nicaraguan temples.] the temples of nicaragua were built of wood and thatched; they contained many low, dark rooms, where the idols were kept and the religious rites performed. before each temple was a pyramidal mound, on the flat top of which the sacrifices were made in the presence of the whole people.[ ] in guatemala, cortés saw temples like those of mexico.[ ] the temple of tohil, at utatlan, was, according to brasseur de bourbourg, a conical edifice, having in front a very steep stairway; at the summit was a platform of considerable size upon which stood a very high chapel, built of hewn stone, and roofed with precious wood. the walls were covered within and without with a very fine and durable stucco. upon a throne of gold, enriched with precious stones, was seated the image of the god.[ ] * * * * * the particular diseases to which the mayas were most subject are not enumerated, but there is no reason to doubt that they suffered from the same maladies as their neighbors the nahuas. they seem to have been greatly afflicted with various forms of syphilis,[ ] and in winter, with catarrh and fever.[ ] they were much troubled, also, with epidemics, which not unfrequently swept the country with great destruction.[ ] [sidenote: treatment of the sick.] medicinal practitioners were numerous. their medicines, which were mostly furnished by the vegetable kingdom, were administered in the usual forms,[ ] and their treatment of patients involved the customary mummeries. clysters were much used.[ ] for syphilis they used a decoction of a wood called _guayacan_, which grew most plentifully in the province of nagrando in nicaragua.[ ] for rheumatism, coughs, colds, and other complaints of a kindred nature, they used various herbs, among them tobacco,[ ] and a kind of dough made of 'stinking poisonous worms.'[ ] sores arising from natural causes they washed in a decoction of an herb called _coygaraca_, or poulticed it with the mashed leaves of another named _mozot_.[ ] wounds taken in battle they always treated with external applications.[ ] cacao, after the oil had been extracted was considered to be a sure preventive against poison.[ ] when a rich man or a noble fell sick a messenger was dispatched with gifts to the doctor, who came at once and staid by his patient until he either got well or died. if the sickness was not serious the physician merely applied the usual remedies, but it was thought that a severe illness could only be brought on by some crime committed and unconfessed. in such cases, therefore, the doctor insisted upon the sick man making a clean breast of it, and confessing such sin even though it had been committed twenty years before. this done, the physician cast lots to see what sacrifices ought to be made, and whatever he determined upon was always given even though it amounted to the whole of the patient's fortune.[ ] in yucatan the practitioner sometimes drew blood from those parts of the patient's body in which the malady lay.[ ] lizana mentions a temple at izamal to which the sick were carried that they might be healed miraculously.[ ] in guatemala, as elsewhere, propitiatory offerings of birds and animals were made in ordinary cases of sickness, but if the patient was wealthy and dangerously ill he would sometimes strive to appease the anger of the gods and atone for the sins which he was supposed to have committed by sacrificing male or female slaves, or, in extraordinary cases, when the sick man was a prince or a great noble, he would even vow to sacrifice a son or a daughter in the event of his recovery; and although the scapegoat was generally chosen from among his children by female slaves, yet so fearful of death, so fond of life were they, that there were not wanting instances when legitimate children, and even only sons were sacrificed. and it is said, moreover, that they were inexorable as jephthah in the performance of such vows, for it was held to be a great sin to be false to a bargain made with the gods.[ ] [sidenote: practice of sorcery.] the mayas, like the nahuas, were grossly superstitious. they believed implicitly in the fulfillment of dreams, the influence of omens, and the power of witches and wizards. no important matter was undertaken until its success had been foretold and a lucky day determined by the flight of a bird or some similar omen. whether the non-fulfilment of the prediction was provided against by a _double entendre_, after the manner of the sibyls, we are not told. the cries or appearance of certain birds and animals were thought to presage harm to those who heard or saw them.[ ] they as firmly believed and were as well versed in the black art as their european brethren of a hundred years later, and they appear to have had the same enlightened horror of the arts of gramarye, for in guatemala, at least, they burned witches and wizards without mercy. they had among them, they said, sorcerers who could metamorphose themselves into dogs, pigs, and other animals, and whose glance was death to their victims. others there were who could by magic cause a rose to bloom at will, and could bring whomsoever they wished under their control by simply giving him the flower to smell. unfaithful wives, too, would often bewitch their husbands that their acts of infidelity might not be discovered.[ ] all these things are gravely recounted by the old chroniclers, not as matters unworthy of credence, but as deeds done at the instigation of the devil to the utter damnation of the benighted heathen. cogolludo, for instance, speaking of the performances of a snake-charmer, says that the magician took up the reptile in his bare hands, as he did so using certain mystic words, which he, cogolludo, wrote down at the time, but finding afterwards that they invoked the devil, he did not see fit to reproduce them in his work. the same writer further relates that upon another occasion a diviner cast lots, according to custom, with a number of grains of corn, to find out which direction a strayed child had taken. the child was eventually found upon the road indicated, and the narrator subsequently endeavored to discover whether the devil had been invoked or not, but the magician was a poor simple fool, and could not tell him.[ ] nor does there seem to have been any great difference between the credulity and superstition of conquerors and conquered in other respects. the spanish fathers, if we may judge from their writings, believed in the aztec deities as firmly as the natives; the only difference seems to have been that the former looked upon them as devils and the latter as gods. when the spaniards took notes in writing of what they saw, the costa ricans thought they were working out some magic spell; when the costa ricans cast incense towards the invaders telling them to leave the country or die,[ ] the spaniards swore that the devil was in it, and crossed themselves as a counter-spell. the yucatecs observed a curious custom during an eclipse of the moon. at such times they imagined that the moon was asleep, or that she was stung and wounded by ants. they therefore beat their dogs to make them howl, and made a great racket by striking with sticks upon doors and benches; what they hoped to accomplish by this, we are not told.[ ] * * * * * [sidenote: funeral rites.] the mayas disposed of the bodies of their dead by both burial and cremation. the former, however, appears to have been the most usual way. in vera paz, and probably in the whole of guatemala, the body was placed in the grave in a sitting posture, with the knees drawn up to the face. the greater part of the dead man's property was buried with him, and various kinds of food and drink were placed in the grave that the spirit might want for nothing on its way to shadow-land.[ ] just before death took place, the nearest relation, or the most intimate friend of the dying man, placed between his lips a valuable stone, which was supposed to receive the soul as soon as it passed from the body. as soon as he was dead, the same person removed the stone and gently rubbed the face of the deceased with it. this office was held to be a very important one, and the person who performed it preserved the stone with great reverence. when the lord of a province died, messengers were sent to the neighboring provinces to invite the other princes to be present at the funeral. while awaiting their arrival the body was placed in a sitting posture, in the manner in which it was afterwards to be interred,[ ] and clothed in a great quantity of rich clothing.[ ] on the day of the funeral the great lords who had come to attend the ceremony, brought precious gifts and ornaments, and placed them by the side of or on the person of the corpse. each provided also a male or female slave, or both, to be sacrificed over the grave of the deceased. the body was then placed in a large stone chest,[ ] and borne with great solemnity to its last resting-place, which was generally situated on the top of a hill. the coffin having been lowered into the grave with its ornaments, the doomed slaves were immolated, and also cast in along with the implements which they had used in life, that they might follow their accustomed pursuits in the service of their new master in the other world. finally, the grave was filled up, a mound raised over it, and a stone altar erected above all, upon which incense was burned and sacrifices were made in memory of the deceased. the common people did not use coffins, but placed the body in a sitting posture and wrapped up in many cloths, in an excavation made in the side of the grave, burying with it many jars, pans, and implements. they raised a mound over the grave of a height in proportion to the rank of the defunct.[ ] only the poorer classes of the yucatecs buried their dead. these placed corn in the mouth of the corpse, together with some money as ferriage for the maya charon. the body was interred either in the house or close to it. some idols were thrown into the grave before it was filled up. the house was then forsaken by its inmates, for they greatly feared the dead.[ ] the books of a priest were buried with him, as were likewise the charms of a sorcerer.[ ] the itzas buried their dead in the fields, in their every-day clothes. on the graves of the males they left such implements as men used, on those of the females they placed grinding-stones, pans, and other utensils used by the women.[ ] in nicaragua, property was buried with the possessor if he or she had no children; if the contrary was the case, it was divided among the heirs. nicaraguan parents shrouded their children in cloths, and buried them before the doors of their dwellings.[ ] among the pipiles the dead were interred in the house they had lived in, along with all their property. a deceased high-priest was buried, clad in the robes and ornaments appertaining to his office, in a sepulchre or vault in his own palace, and the people mourned and fasted fifteen days.[ ] cremation or partial cremation seems to have been reserved for the higher classes. in yucatan, an image of the dead person was made, of wood for a king, of clay for a noble. the back part of the head of this image was hollowed out, and a portion of the body having been burned, the ashes were placed in this hollow, which was covered with the skin of the occiput of the corpse. the image was then placed in the temple, among the idols, and was much reverenced, incense being burned before it, almost as though it had been a god. the remainder of the body was buried with great solemnity. when an ancient cocome king died, his head was cut off and boiled. the flesh was then stripped off, and the skull cut in two crosswise. on the front part of the skull, which included the lower jaw and teeth, an exact likeness of the dead man was molded in some plastic substance. this was placed among the statues of the gods, and each day edibles of various kinds were placed before it, that the spirit might want for nothing in the other life, which, by the way, must have been a poor one to need such terrestrial aliment.[ ] when a great lord died in nicaragua, the body was burned along with a great number of feathers and ornaments of different kinds, and the ashes were placed in an urn, which was buried in front of the palace of the deceased. as usual, the spirit must be supplied with food, which was tied to the body before cremation.[ ] [sidenote: mourning for the dead.] according to the information we have on the subject, the mourning customs of the mayas appear to have been pretty much the same everywhere. for the death of a chief or any of his family the pipiles lamented for four days, silently by day, and with loud cries by night. at dawn on the fifth day the high-priest publicly forbade the people to make any further demonstration of sorrow, saying that the soul of the departed was now with the gods. the guatemalan widower dyed his body yellow, for which reason he was called _malcam_. mothers who lost a sucking child, withheld their milk from all other infants for four days, lest the spirit of the dead babe should be offended.[ ] * * * * * the mayas, like the nahuas, were mostly well-made, tall, strong, and hardy. their complexion was tawny. the women were passably good-looking, some of them, it is said, quite pretty, and seem to have been somewhat fairer-skinned than the men. what the features of the mayas were like, can only be conjectured. their sculpture would indicate that a large hooked nose and a retreating forehead, if not usual, were at least regarded with favor, and we know that head-flattening was almost universal among them. beards were not worn, and the yucatec mothers burned the faces of their children with hot cloths to prevent the growth of hair. in landa's time some of the natives allowed their beard to grow, but, says the worthy bishop, it came out as rough as hog's bristles. in nicaragua it would seem that they did not even understand what a beard was; witness the following 'pretie policy' of Ægidius gonsalus: "all the barbarians of those nations are beardlesse, and are terribly afraide, and fearefull of bearded men: and therefore of . beardlesse youthes by reason of their tender yeres, Ægidius made bearded men with the powlinges of their heades, the haire being orderly composed, to the end, that the number of bearded men might appeare the more, to terrifie the[|m] if they should be assailed by warre, as afterwarde it fell out."[ ] squinting eyes were, as i have said before, thought beautiful in yucatan.[ ] [sidenote: character of the mayas.] of all the maya nations, the yucatecs bear the best character. the men were generous, polite, honest, truthful, peaceable, brave, ingenious, and particularly hospitable, though, on the other hand, they were great drunkards, and very loose in their morals. the women were modest, very industrious, excellent housewives, and careful mothers, but, though generally of a gentle disposition, they were excessively jealous of their marital rights; indeed, bishop landa tells us that upon the barest suspicion of infidelity on the part of their husbands they became perfect furies, and would even beat their unfaithful one.[ ] the guatemalans are spoken of as having been exceedingly warlike and valorous, but withal very simple in their tastes and manner of life.[ ] arricivita calls the lacandones thieves, assassins, cannibals, bloody-minded men, who received the missionaries with great violence.[ ] the fact that the lacandones strove to repel invasion, without intuitively knowing that the invaders were missionaries, may have helped the worthy padre to come to this decision, however. the nicaraguans were warlike and brave, but at the same time false, cunning, and deceitful. their resolute hatred of the whites was so great that it is said that for two years they abstained from their wives rather than beget slaves for their conquerors.[ ] * * * * * next after the collecting of facts in any one direction comes their comparison with other ascertained facts of the same category, by which means fragments of knowledge coalesce and unfold into science. this fascinating study, however, is no part of my plan. if in the foregoing pages i have succeeded in collecting and classifying materials in such a manner that others may, with comparative ease and certainty, place the multitudinous nations of these pacific states in all their shades of savagery and progress side by side with the savagisms and civilizations of other ages and nations, my work thus far is accomplished. but what a flood of thought, of speculation and imagery rushes in upon the mind at the bare mention of such a study! isolated, without the stimulus of a mediterranean commerce, hidden in umbrageous darkness, walled in by malarious borders, and surrounded by wild barbaric hordes, whatever its origin, indigenous or foreign, there was found on mexican and central american table-lands an unfolding humanity, unique and individual, yet strikingly similar to human unfoldings under like conditions elsewhere. europeans, regarding the culture of the conquered race first as diabolical and then contemptible, have not to this day derived that benefit from it that they might have done. it is not necessary that american civilization should be as far advanced as european, to make a perfect knowledge of the former as essential in the study of mankind as a knowledge of the latter; nor have i any disposition to advance a claim for the equality of american aboriginal culture with european, or to make of it other than what it is. as in a work of art, it is not a succession of sharply defined and decided colors, but a happy blending of light and shade, that makes the picture pleasing, so in the grand and gorgeous perspective of human progress the intermediate stages are as necessary to completeness as the dark spectrum of savagism or the brilliant glow of the most advanced culture. [sidenote: conclusion.] this, however, i may safely claim; if the preceding pages inform us aright, then were the nahuas, the mayas, and the subordinate and lesser civilizations surrounding these, but little lower than the contemporaneous civilizations of europe and asia, and not nearly so low as we have hitherto been led to suppose. whatever their exact status in the world of nations--and that this volume gives _in esse_ and not _in posse_--they are surely entitled to their place, and a clear and comprehensive delineation of their character and condition fills a gap in the history of humanity. as in every individual, so in every people, there is something different from what may be found in any other people; something better and something worse. one civilization teaches another; if the superior teaches most, the inferior nevertheless teaches. it is by the mutual action and reaction of mind upon mind and nation upon nation that the world of intellect is forced to develop. taking in at one view the vast range of humanity portrayed in this volume and the preceding, with all its infinite variety traced on a background of infinite unity, individuality not more clearly evidenced than a heart and mind and soul relationship to humanity everywhere, the wide differences in intelligence and culture shaded and toned down into a homogeneous whole, we can but arrive at our former conclusion, that civilization is an unexplained phenomenon whose study allures the thoughtful and yields results pregnant with the welfare of mankind. footnotes: [ ] see vol. iv., pp. , et. seq. [ ] 'a todo lo largo tenian los vecinos de aquel lugar muchas casas, hecho el cimiento de piedra y lodo hasta la mitad de las paredes, y luego cubiertas de paja. esta gente del dicho lugar, en los edificios y en las casas, parece ser gente de grande ingenio: y si no fuera porque parecia haber allí algunos edificios nuevos, se pudiera presumir que eran edificios hechos por españoles.' _diaz_, _itinerario_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. ; see also _id._, pp. , . 'las casas son de piedra, y ladrillo con la cubierta de paja, o rama. y aun alguna de lanchas de piedra.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . 'the houses were of stone or brick, and lyme, very artificially composed. to the square courts or first habitations of their houses they ascended by ten or twelue steps. the roofe was of reeds, or stalkes of herbs.' _purchas his pilgrimes_, vol. v., p. ; _bernal diaz_, _hist. conq._, fol. - ; _bienvenida_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. ii., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. , tom. iii., p. ; _montanus_, _nieuwe weereld_, p. ; _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. i. [ ] 'c'est encore aujourd'hui de cette manière que se construisent à la campagne les maisons non seulement des indigènes, mais encore de la plupart des autres habitants du pays, au yucatan et ailleurs.' _brasseur de bourbourg_, in _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] 'their houses of bricke or stone, are couered with reedes, where there is a scarcitie of stones, but where quarries are, they are couered with shindle or slate. many houses haue marble pillars, as they haue with vs.' _peter martyr_, dec. iv., lib. iii., dec. vi., lib. v.; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; _benzoni_, _hist. mondo nuovo_, p. . [ ] _hist. yuc._, p. . 'las casas eran ciento y tres, de gruessos, y fuertes maderos, en que se mantenian los techos, que eran de mucha paja, reziamente amarrada, y con su corriente, y descubiertos todos los frontispicios, y tapados los costados, y espaldas, de estacada, con sus aposentos, donde las indias cozinavan, y tenian sus menesteres.' _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. - . [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] _id._, pp. , . [ ] _new survey_, p. . [ ] _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. cxxiv. [ ] _relacion_, p. . [ ] 'Á la parte oriental, á siete ú ocho passos debaxo deste portal, está un echo de tres palmos alto de tierra, fecho de las cañas gruessas que dixe, y ençima llano é de diez ó doçe piés de luengo é de cinco ó seys de ancho, é una estera de palma gruessa ençima, é sobre aquella otras tres esteras delgadas é muy bien labradas, y ençima tendido el caçique desnudo é con una mantilla de algodon blanco é delgada revuelta sobre sí; é por almohada tenia un banquito pequeño de quatro piés, algo cóncavo, quellos llaman duho, é de muy linda é lisa madera muy bien labrado, por cabeçera.' _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] 'y en cada aposento vn tapesco, sobre maderos fuertes, que en cada vno cabian quatro personas; y otros tapesquillos aparte, en que ponian las criaturas.' _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, p. . gage writes: they have 'four or five beds according to the family.... few there are that set any locks upon their doors, for they fear no robbing nor stealing, neither have they in their houses much to lose, earthen pots, and pans, and dishes, and cups to drink their chocolatte, being the chief commodities in their house. there is scarce any house which hath not also in the yard a stew, wherein they bath themselves with hot water.' _new survey_, p. . [ ] _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. - . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii., iii. [ ] dec. iv., lib. i. [ ] _diaz_, _itinerario_, in _icazbalceta_, _col. de doc._, tom. i., p. . [ ] see vol. iv. of this work, pp. - . [ ] _juarros_, _hist. guat._, pp. - ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. lii.; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. ; _palacio_, _carta_, pp. - . [ ] _juarros_, _hist. guat._, pp. - ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] dec. vi., lib. vi.; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii. [ ] _lizana_, in _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., pp. , - . [ ] _godoi_, in _ternaux-compans_, _voy._, série i., tom. x., pp. - . at the lake of masaya in nicaragua, boyle noticed a 'cutting in the solid rock, a mile long, and gradually descending to depth of at least three hundred feet! this is claimed as the work of a people which was not acquainted with blasting or with iron tools. nature had evidently little hand in the matter, though a cleft in the rock may perhaps have helped the excavators. the mouth of this tunnel is about half a mile from the town.' _ride_, vol. ii., p. . herrera, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. vii., mentions the same thing in a very different manner: 'la subida y baxada, tan derecha como vna pared, que como es de peña viua, tiene en ella hechos agujeros, adonde ponen los dedos de las manos, y de los pies.' [ ] for description of ruins of this building as they now exist, and cuts of staircase, ground plan, and ornamentation, see vol. iv., pp. - . bishop landa thus describes it: 'este edificio tiene quatro escaleras que miran a las quatro partes del mundo: tienen de ancho a xxxiii pies y a noventa y un escalones cada una que es muerte subirlas. tienen en los escalones la mesma altura y anchura que nosotros damos a los nuestros. tiene cada escalera dos passamanos baxos a ygual de los escalones, de dos piez de ancho de buena canteria como lo es todo el edificio. no es este edificio esquinado, porque desde la salida del suelo se comiençan labrar desde los passemanos al contrario, como estan pintado unos cubos redondos que van subiendo a trechos y estrechando el edificio por muy galana orden. avia quando yo lo vi al pie de cada passamano una fiera boca de sierpe de una pieça bien curiosamente labrada. acabadas de esta manera las escaleras, queda en lo alto una plaçeta llana en la qual esta un edificio edificado de quatro quartos. los tres se andan a la redonda sin impedimento y tiene cada uno puerta en medio y estan cerrados de boveda. el quarto del norte se anda por si con un corredor de pilares gruessos. lo de en medio que avia de ser como el patinico que haze el orden de los paños del edificio tiene una puerta que sale al corredor del norte y esta por arriba cerrado de madera y servia de quemar los saumerios. ay en la entrada desta puerta o del corredor un modo de armas esculpidas en una piedra que no pude bien entender. tenia este edificio otros muchos, y tiene oy en dia a la redonda de si bien hechos y grandes, y todo en suelo del a ellos encalado que aun ay a partes memoria de los encalados tan fuerte es el argamasa de que alla los hazen. tenia delante la escalera del norte algo aparte dos teatros de canteria pequeños de a quatro escaleras, y enlosados por arriba en que dizen representavan las farsas y comedias para solaz del pueblo. va desde et patio en frente destos teatros una hermosa y ancha calçada hasta un poço como dos tiros de piedra. en este poço an tenido, y tenian entonces costumbre de echar hombres vivos en sacrificio a los dioses en tiempo de seca, y tenian no morian aunque no los veyan mas. hechavan tambien otros muchas cosas, de piedras de valor y cosas que tenían depciadas.... es poço que tiene largos vii estados de hondo hasta el agua, hancho mas de cien pies y redondo y de una peña tajada hasta el agua que es maravilla. parece que tiene al agua muy verde, y creo lo causan las arboledas de que esta cercado y es muy hondo. tiene en cima del junto a la boca un edificio pequeño donde halle yo idolos hechos a honra de todos los edificios principales de la tierra, casi como el pantheon de roma. no se si era esta invencion antigua o de los modernos para toparse con sus idolos quando fuessen con ofrendas a aquel poço. halle yo leones labrados de bulto y jarros y otras cosas que no se como nadie dira no tuvieron herramiento esta gente. tambien halle dos hombres de grandes estaturas labrados de piedra, cado uno de una pieça en carnes cubierta su honestidad como se cubrian los indios. tenian las cabeças por si, y con zarcillos en las orejas como lo usavan los indios, y hecha una espiga por detras en el pescueço que encaxava en un agujero hondo para ello hecho en el mesmo pescueço y encaxado quedava el bulto cumplido.' _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] 'vieron algunos adoratorios, y templos, y vno en particular, cuya forma era de vna torre quadrada, ancha del pie, y hueca en lo alto con quatro grandes ventanas, con sus corredores, y en lo hueco, que era la capilla, estauan idolos, y a las espaldas estaua vna sacristia, adonde se guardauan las cosas del seruicio del templo: y al pie deste estaua vn cercado de piedra, y cal, almenado y enluzido, y en medio vna cruz de cal, de tres varas en alto, a la qual tenian por el dios de la lluuia.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. i. 'junto à vn templo, como torre quadrada, donde tenian vn idolo muy celebrado, al pie de ella auia vn cercado de piedra, y cal muy bien luzido, y almenado, en medio del qual auia vna cruz de cal tan alta, como diez palmos,' to which they prayed for rain. _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . it is doubtless the same structure of which gomara writes: 'el templo es como torre quadrada, ancha del pie, y con gradas al derredor, derecha de medio arriba, y en lo alto hueca, y cubierta de paja, con quatro puertas o ventanas con sus antepechos, o corredores. en aquello hueco, que parece capilla, assientan o pintan sus dioses.' _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. . [ ] the pyramids are of different size: 'aunque todos de vna forma. son al modo de los que de la nueua españa refiere el padre torquemada en su monarquia indiana: leuantado del suelo vn terrapleno fundamento del edificio, y sobre èl vàn ascendiendo gradas en figuras piramidal, aunque no remata en ella, porque en lo superior haze vna placeta, en cuyo suelo estàn separada (aunque distantes poco) dos capillas pequeñas en que estaban los idolos (esto es en lo de vxumual) y alli se hazian los sacrificios, assi de hombres, mugeres, y niños, como de las demàs cosas. tienen algunos de ellos altura de mas de cien gradas de poco mas de medio pie de ancho cada vno.' _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . landa describes a pyramidal structure which differs from others: 'ay aqui en yzamal un edificio entre los otros de tanta altura que espanta, el qual se vera en esta figura y en esta razon della. tiene xx gradas de a mas de dos buenos palmos de alto y ancho cada un y terna, mas de cien pies de largo. son estas gradas de muy grandes piedras labradas aunque con el mucho tiempo, y estar al agua, estan ya feas y maltratadas. tiene despues labrado en torno como señala esta raya, redonda labrado de canteria una muy fuerte pared a la qual como estado y medio en alto sale una ceja de hermosas piedras todo a la redonda y desde ellas se torna despues a seguir la obra hasta ygualar con el altura de la plaça que se haze despues de la primera escalera. despues de la qual plaça se haze otra buena placeta, y en ella algo pegado a la pared esta hecho un cerro bien alto con su escalera al medio dia, donde caen las escaleras grandes y encima esta una hermosa capilla de canteria bien labrada. yo subi en lo alto desta capilla y como yucatan es tierra llana se vee desde ella tierra quanto puede la vista alcançar a maravilla y se vee la mar. estos edificios de yzamal eran por todos xi o xii, aunque es este el mayor y estan muy cerca unos de otros. no oy memoria de los fundadores, y parecen aver sido los primeros. estan viii leguas de la mar en muy hermoso sitio, y buena tierra y comarca de gente.' _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _peter martyr_, dec. vi., lib. v. [ ] _cortés_, _cartas_, p. . [ ] _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . see also _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, p. . [ ] 'y en estas partes é indias pocos chripstianos, é muy pocos digo, son los que han escapado deste trabajoso mat (buboes) que hayan tenido partiçipaçion carnal con las mugeres naturales desta generaçion de indias; porque á la verdad es propria plaga desta tierra, é tan usada á los indios é indias como en otras partes otras comunes enfermedades.' _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'comiença el inuierno de aquella tierra desde san francisco, quando entran los nortes, ayre frio, y que destiempla mucho a los naturales: y por estar hechos al calor, y traer poca ropa, les dan rezios catarros, y calenturas.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. iii., cap. iv. [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - . [ ] ay infinitos generos de cortezas, rayzes, y hojas de arboles, y gomas, para muchas enfermedades, con que los indios curauan en su gentilidad, con soplos, y otras inuenciones del demonio.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. xiv.; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., p. . [ ] 'curan viejas los enfermos ... y echan melezinas con vn cañuto, tomando la decoccion en la boca, y soplando. los nuestros les hazian mil burlas, desuenteando al tiempo, que querian ellas soplar, o riendo del artificio.' _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii. [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. . [ ] 'ay en esta terra mucha diuersidad de yeruas medicinales, con que se curan los naturales: y matan los gusanos, y con que restriñen la sangre, como es el piciete, por otro nombre tabaco, que quita dolores causados de frio, y tomado en humo es prouechoso para las reumas, asma, y tos; y lo traen en poluo en la boca los indios, y los negros, para adormecer, y no sentir el trabajo.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. vii., cap. iii. [ ] 'hazen en el (atiquizaya) vna massa de gusanos hediondos y ponçoñosos, que es marauillosa medicina para todo genero de frialdades, y otras indisposiciones.' _id._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x. [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., pp. - . [ ] 'curauan los heridos con poluos de yeruas, o carbon que lleuauan para esto.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii. [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. i., p. . [ ] _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. viii., p. ; _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] 'otro altar y templo sobre otro cuyo levantaron estos indios en su gentilidad á aquel su rey ó falso dios _ytzmat-ul_, donde pusieron la figura de la mano, que les servia de memoria, y dizen que alli le llevavan los muertos y enfermos, y que alli resucitavan y sanavan, tocandolos la mano; y este era el que está en la parte del puniente; y assi se llama y nombra kab-ul que quiere dezir mano obradora.' _lizana_, in _landa_, _relacion_, p. . [ ] _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - , - . [ ] _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. - . [ ] _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, tom. viii., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _gomara_, _hist. ind._, fol. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] _ib._ [ ] in campeche the priests 'lleuauan braserillos de barro en que echauan anime, que entre ellos dizen copal, y sahumauan a los castellanos, diziendoles que se fuessen de su tierra, porque los matarian.' _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. ii., lib. ii., cap. xvii. [ ] _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] cogolludo says that a calabash filled with _atole_, some large cakes, and some maize bran, were deposited in the grave. the first, for the soul to drink on its journey; the second, for the dogs which the deceased had eaten during his life, that they might not bite him in the other world; and the last to conciliate the other animals that he had eaten. _hist. yuc._, p. . [ ] brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. , says that the body was embalmed; but ximenez, from whom his account is evidently taken, is silent on this point. [ ] ximenez, _hist. ind. guat._, p. , et seq., affirms that wealthy people, when they began growing old, set about collecting a vast number of clothes and ornaments in which to be buried. [ ] brasseur de bourbourg, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. , says that the body was deposited in the grave seated upon a throne. [ ] _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, pp. - ; _palacio_, _carta_, p. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. - . [ ] unless a great number of people were living in it, when they seem to have gathered courage from each other's company, and to have remained. [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv. [ ] _villagutierre_, _hist. cong. itza_, p. . [ ] _palacio_, _carta_, p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . [ ] _palacio_, _carta_, p. ; _brasseur de bourbourg_, _hist. nat. civ._, tom. ii., p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv. [ ] _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., pp. - . in the island of ometepec the ancient graves are not surrounded by isolated stones like the calputs of the modern indians, but are found scattered irregularly over the plain at a depth of three feet. urns of burnt clay are found in these graves, filled with earth and displaced bones; and vases of the same material, covered with red paintings and hieroglyphics, stone points of arrows, small idols, and gold ornaments. _sivers_, _mittelamerika_, pp. - . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.; id. lib. viii., cap. x.; _ximenez_, _hist. ind. guat._, p. ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, p. ; _palacio_, _carta_, pp. - . [ ] _peter martyr_, dec. vi., lib. v. [ ] _andagoya_, in _navarrete_, _col. de viages_, tom. iii., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iii.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _gomara_, _conq. mex._, fol. ; _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. ; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, p. ; _landa_, _relacion_, pp. - ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, p. ; _de laet_, _novus orbis_, p. . [ ] _landa_, _relacion_, pp. , , - ; _villagutierre_, _hist. conq. itza_, pp. , ; _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. ; _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.; _cogolludo_, _hist. yuc._, pp. , - ; _gomara_, _hist. ynd._, fol. ; _las casas_, in _kingsborough's mex. antiq._, vol. viii., pp. - . [ ] _gomara_, _hist. ynd._, fol. ; _dávila_, _teatro ecles._, tom. i., p. ; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. ; _las casas_, _hist. apologética_, ms., cap. xlvi. [ ] _crónica seráfica_, pp. - . [ ] _herrera_, _hist. gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., dec. iv., lib. iii., cap. ii.; _oviedo_, _hist. gen._, tom. iv., p. . end of the second volume. the myths of mexico & peru by lewis spence author of "the mythologies of ancient mexico and peru" "the popol vuh" "the civilization of ancient mexico" "a dictionary of mythology" etc. etc. with sixty full-page illustrations mainly by gilbert james and william sewell and other drawings and maps new york thomas y. crowell company publishers printed by ballantyne and company ltd tavistock street covent garden london england preface in recent years a reawakening has taken place in the study of american archæology and antiquities, owing chiefly to the labours of a band of scholars in the united states and a few enthusiasts in the continent of europe. for the greater part of the nineteenth century it appeared as if the last word had been written upon mexican archæology. the lack of excavations and exploration had cramped the outlook of scholars, and there was nothing for them to work upon save what had been done in this respect before their own time. the writers on central america who lived in the third quarter of the last century relied on the travels of stephens and norman, and never appeared to consider it essential that the country or the antiquities in which they specialised should be examined anew, or that fresh expeditions should be equipped to discover whether still further monuments existed relating to the ancient peoples who raised the teocallis of mexico and the huacas of peru. true, the middle of the century was not altogether without its americanist explorers, but the researches of these were performed in a manner so perfunctory that but few additions to the science resulted from their labours. modern americanist archæology may be said to have been the creation of a brilliant band of scholars who, working far apart and without any attempt at co-operation, yet succeeded in accomplishing much. among these may be mentioned the frenchmen charnay and de rosny, and the americans brinton, h. h. bancroft, and squier. to these succeeded the german scholars seler, schellhas, and förstemann, the americans winsor, starr, savile, and cyrus thomas, and the englishmen payne and sir clements markham. these men, splendidly equipped for the work they had taken in hand, were yet hampered by the lack of reliable data--a want later supplied partly by their own excavations and partly by the painstaking labours of professor maudslay, now the principal of the international college of antiquities at mexico, who, with his wife, is responsible for the exact pictorial reproductions of many of the ancient edifices in central america and mexico. writers in the sphere of mexican and peruvian myth have been few. the first to attack the subject in the light of the modern science of comparative religion was daniel garrison brinton, professor of american languages and archæology in the university of philadelphia. he has been followed by payne, schellhas, seler, and förstemann, all of whom, however, have confined the publication of their researches to isolated articles in various geographical and scientific journals. the remarks of mythologists who are not also americanists upon the subject of american myth must be accepted with caution. the question of the alphabets of ancient america is perhaps the most acute in present-day pre-columbian archæology. but progress is being made in this branch of the subject, and several german scholars are working in whole-hearted co-operation to secure final results. what has great britain accomplished in this new and fascinating field of science? if the lifelong and valuable labours of the venerable sir clements markham be excepted, almost nothing. it is earnestly hoped that the publication of this volume may prove the means of leading many english students to the study and consideration of american archæology. there remains the romance of old america. the real interest of american mediæval history must ever circle around mexico and peru--her golden empires, her sole exemplars of civilisation; and it is to the books upon the character of these two nations that we must turn for a romantic interest as curious and as absorbing as that bound up in the history of egypt or assyria. if human interest is craved for by any man, let him turn to the narratives of garcilasso el inca de la vega and ixtlilxochitl, representatives and last descendants of the peruvian and tezcucan monarchies, and read there the frightful story of the path to fortune of red-heeled pizarro and cruel cortés, of the horrible cruelties committed upon the red man, whose colour was "that of the devil," of the awful pageant of gold-sated pirates laden with the treasures of palaces, of the stripping of temples whose very bricks were of gold, whose very drain-pipes were of silver, of rapine and the sacrilege of high places, of porphyry gods dashed down the pyramidal sides of lofty teocallis, of princesses torn from the very steps of the throne--ay, read these for the most wondrous tales ever writ by the hand of man, tales by the side of which the fables of araby seem dim--the story of a clash of worlds, the conquest of a new, of an isolated hemisphere. it is usual to speak of america as "a continent without a history." the folly of such a statement is extreme. for centuries prior to european occupation central america was the seat of civilisations boasting a history and a semi-historical mythology second to none in richness and interest. it is only because the sources of that history are unknown to the general reader that such assurance upon the lack of it exists. let us hope that this book may assist in attracting many to the head-fountain of a river whose affluents water many a plain of beauty not the less lovely because bizarre, not the less fascinating because somewhat remote from modern thought. in conclusion i have to acknowledge the courtesy of the bureau of american ethnology, which placed in my hands a valuable collection of illustrations and allowed me to select from these at my discretion. the pictures chosen include the drawings used as tailpieces to chapters; others, usually half-tones, are duly acknowledged where they occur. lewis spence edinburgh: july contents chapter page i. the civilisation of mexico ii. mexican mythology iii. myths and legends of the ancient mexicans iv. the maya race and mythology v. myths of the maya vi. the civilisation of old peru vii. the mythology of peru bibliography glossary and index list of illustrations page the princess is given a vision frontispiece the descent of quetzalcoatl xiv toveyo and the magic drum the altar of skulls the guardian of the sacred fire pyramid of the moon: pyramid of the sun ruins of the pyramid of xochicalco the spirit of the dead aztec is attacked by an evil spirit who scatters clouds of ashes the demon izpuzteque the aztec calendar stone a prisoner fighting for his life combat between mexican and bilimec warriors priest making an incantation over an aztec lady the princess sees a strange man before the palace tezcatlipoca, lord of the night winds the infant war-god drives his brethren into a lake and slays them statue of tlaloc, the rain-god the aged quetzalcoatl leaves mexico on a raft of serpents ritual masks of quetzalcoatl and tezcatlipoca; and sacrificial knife the so-called teoyaominqui statue of a male divinity xolotl the quauhxicalli, or solar altar of sacrifice macuilxochitl the penitent addressing the fire cloud serpent, the hunter-god mexican goddess tezcatlipoca "place where the heavens stood" a flood-myth of the nahua the prince who fled for his life the princess and the statues the king's sister is shown the valley of dry bones mexican deity the prince who went to found a city "the tablet of the cross" design on a vase from chamá representing maya deities the house of bats part of the palace and tower, palenque the king who loved a princess teocalli or pyramid of papantla: the nunnery, chichen-itza details of the nunnery at chichen-itza the old woman who took an egg home great palace of mitla: interior of an apartment in the palace of mitla hall of the columns, palace of mitla the twins make an imitation crab the princess and the gourds the princess who made friends of the owls in the house of bats how the sun appeared like the moon queen móo has her destiny foretold the rejected suitor piece of pottery representing a tapir doorway of tiahuanaco fortress at ollantay-tampu "mother and child are united" the inca fortress of pissac "making one of each nation out of the clay of the earth" painted and black terra-cotta vases conducting the white llama to the sacrifice "the birdlike beings were in reality women" "a beautiful youth appeared to thonapa" "he sang the song of chamayhuarisca" "the younger one flew away" "his wife at first indignantly denied the accusation" "he saw a very beautiful girl crying bitterly" maps the valley of mexico distribution of the races in ancient mexico distribution of the races under the empire of the incas chapter i: the civilisation of mexico the civilisations of the new world there is now no question as to the indigenous origin of the civilisations of mexico, central america, and peru. upon few subjects, however, has so much mistaken erudition been lavished. the beginnings of the races who inhabited these regions, and the cultures which they severally created, have been referred to nearly every civilised or semi-civilised nation of antiquity, and wild if fascinating theories have been advanced with the intention of showing that civilisation was initiated upon american soil by asiatic or european influence. these speculations were for the most part put forward by persons who possessed but a merely general acquaintance with the circumstances of american aboriginal civilisation, and who were struck by the superficial resemblances which undoubtedly exist between american and asiatic peoples, customs, and art-forms, but which cease to be apparent to the americanist, who perceives in them only such likenesses as inevitably occur in the work of men situated in similar environments and surrounded by similar social and religious conditions. the maya of yucatan may be regarded as the most highly civilised of the peoples who occupied the american continent before the advent of europeans, and it is usually their culture which we are asked to believe had its seat of origin in asia. it is unnecessary to refute this theory in detail, as that has already been ably accomplished. [ ] but it may be remarked that the surest proof of the purely native origin of american civilisation is to be found in the unique nature of american art, the undoubted result of countless centuries of isolation. american language, arithmetic, and methods of time-reckoning, too, bear no resemblance to other systems, european or asiatic, and we may be certain that had a civilising race entered america from asia it would have left its indelible impress upon things so intensely associated with the life of a people as well as upon the art and architecture of the country, for they are as much the product of culture as is the ability to raise temples. evidence of animal and plant life it is impossible in this connection to ignore the evidence in favour of native advancement which can be adduced from the artificial production of food in america. nearly all the domesticated animals and cultivated food-plants found on the continent at the period of the discovery were totally different from those known to the old world. maize, cocoa, tobacco, and the potato, with a host of useful plants, were new to the european conquerors, and the absence of such familiar animals as the horse, cow, and sheep, besides a score of lesser animals, is eloquent proof of the prolonged isolation which the american continent underwent subsequent to its original settlement by man. origin of american man an asiatic origin is, of course, admitted for the aborigines of america, but it undoubtedly stretched back into that dim tertiary era when man was little more than beast, and language as yet was not, or at the best was only half formed. later immigrants there certainly were, but these probably arrived by way of behring strait, and not by the land-bridge connecting asia and america by which the first-comers found entrance. at a later geological period the general level of the north american continent was higher than at present, and a broad isthmus connected it with asia. during this prolonged elevation vast littoral plains, now submerged, extended continuously from the american to the asiatic shore, affording an easy route of migration to a type of man from whom both the mongolian branches may have sprung. but this type, little removed from the animal as it undoubtedly was, carried with it none of the refinements of art or civilisation; and if any resemblances occur between the art-forms or polity of its equal descendants in asia and america, they are due to the influence of a remote common ancestry, and not to any later influx of asiatic civilisation to american shores. traditions of intercourse with asia the few traditions of asiatic intercourse with america are, alas! easily dissipated. it is a dismal business to be compelled to refute the dreams of others. how much more fascinating would american history have been had asia sowed the seeds of her own peculiar civilisation in the western continent, which would then have become a newer and further east, a more glowing and golden orient! but america possesses a fascination almost as intense when there falls to be considered the marvel of the evolution of her wondrous civilisations--the flowers of progress of a new, of an isolated world. the idea that the "fu-sang" of the chinese annals alluded to america was rendered illusory by klaproth, who showed its identity with a japanese island. it is not impossible that chinese and japanese vessels may have drifted on to the american coasts, but that they sailed thither of set purpose is highly improbable. gomara, the mexican historian, states that those who served with coronado's expedition in saw off the pacific coast certain ships having their prows decorated with gold and silver, and laden with merchandise, and these they supposed to be of cathay or china, "because they intimated by signs that they had been thirty days on their voyage." like most of these interesting stories, however, the tale has no foundation in fact, as the incident cannot be discovered in the original account of the expedition, published in in the travel-collection of ternaux-compans. legends of european intercourse we shall find the traditions, one might almost call them legends, of early european intercourse with america little more satisfactory than those which recount its ancient connection with asia. we may dismiss the sagas of the discovery of america by the norsemen, which are by no means mere tradition, and pass on to those in which the basis of fact is weaker and the legendary interest more strong. we are told that when the norsemen drove forth those irish monks who had settled in iceland, the fugitives voyaged to "great ireland," by which many antiquarians of the older school imagine the author of the myth to have meant america. the irish book of lismore recounts the voyage of st. brandan, abbot of cluainfert, in ireland, to an island in the ocean which providence had intended as the abode of saints. it gives a glowing account of his seven years' cruise in western waters, and tells of numerous discoveries, among them a hill of fire and an endless island, which he quitted after an unavailing journey of forty days, loading his ships with its fruits, and returning home. many norse legends exist regarding this "greater ireland," or "huitramanna land" (white man's land), among them one concerning a norseman who was cast away on its shores, and who found there a race of white men who went to worship their gods bearing banners, and "shouting with a loud voice." there is, of course, the bare possibility that the roving norsemen may have on occasions drifted or have been cast away as far south as mexico, and such an occurrence becomes the more easy of belief when we remember that they certainly reached the shores of north america. the legend of madoc a much more interesting because more probable story is that which tells of the discovery of distant lands across the western ocean by madoc, a princeling of north wales, in the year . it is recorded in hakluyt's english voyages and powel's history of wales. madoc, the son of owen gwyneth, disgusted by the strife of his brothers for the principality of their dead father, resolved to quit such an uncongenial atmosphere, and, fitting out ships with men and munition, sought adventure by sea, sailing west, and leaving the coast of ireland so far north that he came to a land unknown, where he saw many strange things. "this land," says hakluyt, "must needs be some part of that country of which the spaniards affirme themselves to be the first finders since hanno's time," and through this allusion we are enabled to see how these legends relating to mythical lands came to be associated with the american continent. concerning the land discovered by madoc many tales were current in wales in mediæval times. madoc on his return declared that it was pleasant and fruitful, but uninhabited. he succeeded in persuading a large number of people to accompany him to this delectable region, and, as he never returned, hakluyt concludes that the descendants of the folk he took with him composed the greater part of the population of the america of the seventeenth century, a conclusion in which he has been supported by more than one modern antiquarian. indeed, the wildest fancies have been based upon this legend, and stories of welsh-speaking indians who were able to converse with cymric immigrants to the american colonies have been received with complacency by the older school of american historians as the strongest confirmation of the saga. it is notable, however, that henry vii of england, the son of a welshman, may have been influenced in his patronage of the early american explorers by this legend of madoc, as it is known that he employed one guttyn owen, a welsh historiographer, to draw up his paternal pedigree, and that this same guttyn included the story in his works. such legends as those relating to atlantis and antilia scarcely fall within the scope of american myth, as they undoubtedly relate to early communication with the canaries and azores. american myths of the discovery but what were the speculations of the red men on the other side of the atlantic? were there no rumours there, no legends of an eastern world? immediately prior to the discovery there was in america a widely disseminated belief that at a relatively remote period strangers from the east had visited american soil, eventually returning to their own abodes in the land of sunrise. such, for example, was the mexican legend of quetzalcoatl, to which we shall revert later in its more essentially mythical connection. he landed with several companions at vera cruz, and speedily brought to bear the power of a civilising agency upon native opinion. in the ancient mexican pinturas, or paintings, he is represented as being habited in a long black gown, fringed with white crosses. after sojourning with the mexicans for a number of years, during which time he initiated them into the arts of life and civilisation, he departed from their land on a magic raft, promising, however, to return. his second advent was anxiously looked for, and when cortés and his companions arrived at vera cruz, the identical spot at which quetzalcoatl was supposed to have set out on his homeward journey, the mexicans fully believed him to be the returned hero. of course montezuma, their monarch, was not altogether taken by surprise at the coming of the white man, as he had been informed of the arrival of mysterious strangers in yucatan and elsewhere in central america; but in the eyes of the commonalty the spanish leader was a "hero-god" indeed. in this interesting figure several of the monkish chroniclers of new spain saw the apostle st. thomas, who had journeyed to the american continent to effect its conversion to christianity. a peruvian prophecy the mexicans were by no means singular in their presentiments. when hernando de soto, on landing in peru, first met the inca huascar, the latter related an ancient prophecy which his father, huaina ccapac, had repeated on his death-bed, that in the reign of the thirteenth inca white men of surpassing strength and valour would come from their father the sun, and subject the peruvians to their rule. "i command you," said the dying king, "to yield them homage and obedience, for they will be of a nature superior to ours." [ ] but the most interesting of american legends connected with the discovery is that in which the prophecy of the maya priest chilan balam is described. father lizana, a venerable spanish author, records the prophecy, which he states was very well known throughout yucatan, as does villagutierre, who quotes it. the prophecy of chilan balam part of this strange prophecy runs as follows: "at the end of the thirteenth age, when itza is at the height of its power, as also the city called tancah, the signal of god will appear on the heights, and the cross with which the world was enlightened will be manifested. there will be variance of men's will in future times, when this signal shall be brought.... receive your barbarous bearded guests from the east, who bring the signal of god, who comes to us in mercy and pity. the time of our life is coming...." it would seem from the perusal of this prophecy that a genuine substratum of native tradition has been over-laid and coloured by the influence of the early spanish missionaries. the terms of the announcement are much too exact, and the language employed is obviously scriptural. but the native books of chilan balam, whence the prophecy is taken, are much less explicit, and the genuineness of their character is evinced by the idiomatic use of the maya tongue, which, in the form they present it in, could have been written by none save those who had habitually employed it from infancy. as regards the prophetic nature of these deliverances it is known that the chilan, or priest, was wont to utter publicly at the end of certain prolonged periods a prophecy forecasting the character of the similar period to come, and there is reason to believe that some distant rumours of the coming of the white man had reached the ears of several of the seers. these vague intimations that the seas separated them from a great continent where dwelt beings like themselves seem to have been common to white and red men alike. and who shall say by what strange magic of telepathy they were inspired in the minds of the daring explorers and the ascetic priests who gave expression to them in act and utterance? the discovery of america was much more than a mere scientific process, and romance rather than the cold speculations of mediæval geography urged men to tempt the dim seas of the west in quest of golden islands seen in dreams. the type of mexican civilisation the first civilised american people with whom the discoverers came into contact were those of the nahua or ancient mexican race. we use the term "civilised" advisedly, for although several authorities of standing have refused to regard the mexicans as a people who had achieved such a state of culture as would entitle them to be classed among civilised communities, there is no doubt that they had advanced nearly as far as it was possible for them to proceed when their environment and the nature of the circumstances which handicapped them are taken into consideration. in architecture they had evolved a type of building, solid yet wonderfully graceful, which, if not so massive as the egyptian and assyrian, was yet more highly decorative. their artistic outlook as expressed in their painting and pottery was more versatile and less conventional than that of the ancient people of the orient, their social system was of a more advanced type, and a less rigorous attitude was evinced by the ruling caste toward the subject classes. yet, on the other hand, the picture is darkened by the terrible if picturesque rites which attended their religious ceremonies, and the dread shadow of human sacrifice which eternally overhung their teeming populations. nevertheless, the standard of morality was high, justice was even-handed, the forms of government were comparatively mild, and but for the fanaticism which demanded such troops of victims, we might justly compare the civilisation of ancient mexico with that of the peoples of old china or india, if the literary activity of the oriental states be discounted. the mexican race the race which was responsible for this varied and highly coloured civilisation was that known as the nahua (those who live by rule), a title adopted by them to distinguish them from those tribes who still roamed in an unsettled condition over the contiguous plains of new mexico and the more northerly tracts. this term was employed by them to designate the race as a whole, but it was composed of many diverse elements, the characteristics of which were rendered still more various by the adoption into one or other of the tribes which composed it of surrounding aboriginal peoples. much controversy has raged round the question regarding the original home of the nahua, but their migration legends consistently point to a northern origin; and when the close affinity between the art-forms and mythology of the present-day natives of british columbia and those of the nahua comes to be considered along with the very persistent legends of a prolonged pilgrimage from the north, where they dwelt in a place "by the water," the conclusion that the nahua emanated from the region indicated is well-nigh irresistible. [ ] in nahua tradition the name of the locality whence the race commenced its wanderings is called aztlan (the place of reeds), but this place-name is of little or no value as a guide to any given region, though probably every spot betwixt behring strait and mexico has been identified with it by zealous antiquarians. other names discovered in the migration legends are tlapallan (the country of bright colours) and chicomoztoc (the seven caves), and these may perhaps be identified with new mexico or arizona. legends of mexican migration all early writers on the history of mexico agree that the toltecs were the first of the several swarms of nahua who streamed upon the mexican plateau in ever-widening waves. concerning the reality of this people so little is known that many authorities of standing have regarded them as wholly mythical, while others profess to see in them a veritable race, the founders of mexican civilisation. the author has already elaborated his theory of this difficult question elsewhere, [ ] but will briefly refer to it when he comes to deal with the subject of the toltec civilisation and the legends concerning it. for the present we must regard the toltecs merely as a race alluded to in a migration myth as the first nahua immigrants to the region of mexico. ixtlilxochitl, a native chronicler who flourished shortly after the spanish conquest of mexico, gives two separate accounts of the early toltec migrations, the first of which goes back to the period of their arrival in the fabled land of tlapallan, alluded to above. in this account tlapallan is described as a region near the sea, which the toltecs reached by voyaging southward, skirting the coasts of california. this account must be received with the greatest caution. but we know that the natives of british columbia have been expert in the use of the canoe from an early period, and that the mexican god quetzalcoatl, who is probably originally derived from a common source with their deity yetl, is represented as being skilled in the management of the craft. it is, therefore, not outside the bounds of possibility that the early swarms of nahua immigrants made their way to mexico by sea, but it is much more probable that their migrations took place by land, following the level country at the base of the rocky mountains. the toltec upheaval like nearly all legendary immigrants, the toltecs did not set out to colonise distant countries from any impulse of their own, but were the victims of internecine dissension in the homeland, and were expelled from the community to seek their fortunes elsewhere. thus thrust forth, they set their faces southward, and reached tlapallan in the year tecpatl (a.d. ). passing the country of xalisco, they effected a landing at huatulco, and journeyed down the coast until they reached tochtepec, whence they pushed inland to tollantzinco. to enable them to make this journey they required no less than years. ixtlilxochitl furnishes another account of the toltec migration in his relaciones, a work dealing with the early history of the mexican races. in this he recounts how the chiefs of tlapallan, who had revolted against the royal power, were banished from that region in a.d. . lingering near their ancient territory for the space of eight years, they then journeyed to tlapallantzinco, where they halted for three years before setting out on a prolonged pilgrimage, which occupied the tribe for over a century, and in the course of which it halted at no less than thirteen different resting-places, six of which can be traced to stations on the pacific coast, and the remainder to localities in the north of mexico. artificial nature of the migration myths it is plain from internal evidence that these two legends of the toltec migrations present an artificial aspect. but if we cannot credit them in detail, that is not to say that they do not describe in part an actual pilgrimage. they are specimens of numerous migration myths which are related concerning the various branches of the mexican races. few features of interest are presented in them, and they are chiefly remarkable for wearisome repetition and divergence in essential details. myths of the toltecs but we enter a much more fascinating domain when we come to peruse the myths regarding the toltec kingdom and civilisation, for, before entering upon the origin or veritable history of the toltec race, it will be better to consider the native legends concerning them. these exhibit an almost oriental exuberance of imagination and colouring, and forcibly remind the reader of the gorgeous architectural and scenic descriptions in the arabian nights. the principal sources of these legends are the histories of zumarraga and ixtlilxochitl. the latter is by no means a satisfactory authority, but he has succeeded in investing the traditions of his native land with no inconsiderable degree of charm. the toltecs, he says, founded the magnificent city of tollan in the year of the incarnation. this city, the site of which is now occupied by the modern town of tula, was situated north-west of the mountains which bound the mexican valley. thither were the toltecs guided by the powerful necromancer hueymatzin (great hand), and under his direction they decided to build a city upon the site of what had been their place of bivouac. for six years they toiled at the building of tollan, and magnificent edifices, palaces, and temples arose, the whole forming a capital of a splendour unparalleled in the new world. the valley wherein it stood was known as the "place of fruits," in allusion to its great fertility. the surrounding rivers teemed with fish, and the hills which encircled this delectable site sheltered large herds of game. but as yet the toltecs were without a ruler, and in the seventh year of their occupation of the city the assembled chieftains took counsel together, and resolved to surrender their power into the hands of a monarch whom the people might elect. the choice fell upon chalchiuh tlatonac (shining precious stone), who reigned for fifty-two years. legends of toltec artistry happily settled in their new country, and ruled over by a king whom they could regard with reverence, the toltecs made rapid progress in the various arts, and their city began to be celebrated far and wide for the excellence of its craftsmen and the beauty of its architecture and pottery. the name of "toltec," in fact, came to be regarded by the surrounding peoples as synonymous with "artist," and as a kind of hall-mark which guaranteed the superiority of any article of toltec workmanship. everything in and about the city was eloquent of the taste and artistry of its founders. the very walls were encrusted with rare stones, and their masonry was so beautifully chiselled and laid as to resemble the choicest mosaic. one of the edifices of which the inhabitants of tollan were most justly proud was the temple wherein their high-priest officiated. this building was a very gem of architectural art and mural decoration. it contained four apartments. the walls of the first were inlaid with gold, the second with precious stones of every description, the third with beautiful sea-shells of all conceivable hues and of the most brilliant and tender shades encrusted in bricks of silver, which sparkled in the sun in such a manner as to dazzle the eyes of beholders. the fourth apartment was formed of a brilliant red stone, ornamented with shells. the house of feathers still more fantastic and weirdly beautiful was another edifice, "the house of feathers." this also possessed four apartments, one decorated with feathers of a brilliant yellow, another with the radiant and sparkling hues of the blue bird. these were woven into a kind of tapestry, and placed against the walls in graceful hangings and festoons. an apartment described as of entrancing beauty was that in which the decorative scheme consisted of plumage of the purest and most dazzling white. the remaining chamber was hung with feathers of a brilliant red, plucked from the most beautiful birds. huemac the wicked a succession of more or less able kings succeeded the founder of the toltec monarchy, until in a.d. huemac ii ascended the throne of tollan. he ruled first with wisdom, and paid great attention to the duties of the state and religion. but later he fell from the high place he had made for himself in the regard of the people by his faithless deception of them and his intemperate and licentious habits. the provinces rose in revolt, and many signs and gloomy omens foretold the downfall of the city. toveyo, a cunning sorcerer, collected a great concourse of people near tollan, and by dint of beating upon a magic drum until the darkest hours of the night, forced them to dance to its sound until, exhausted by their efforts, they fell headlong over a dizzy precipice into a deep ravine, where they were turned into stone. toveyo also maliciously destroyed a stone bridge, so that thousands of people fell into the river beneath and were drowned. the neighbouring volcanoes burst into eruption, presenting a frightful aspect, and grisly apparitions could be seen among the flames threatening the city with terrible gestures of menace. the rulers of tollan resolved to lose no time in placating the gods, whom they decided from the portents must have conceived the most violent wrath against their capital. they therefore ordained a great sacrifice of war-captives. but upon the first of the victims being placed upon the altar a still more terrible catastrophe occurred. in the method of sacrifice common to the nahua race the breast of a youth was opened for the purpose of extracting the heart, but no such organ could the officiating priest perceive. moreover the veins of the victim were bloodless. such a deadly odour was exhaled from the corpse that a terrible pestilence arose, which caused the death of thousands of toltecs. huemac, the unrighteous monarch who had brought all this suffering upon his folk, was confronted in the forest by the tlalocs, or gods of moisture, and humbly petitioned these deities to spare him, and not to take from him his wealth and rank. but the gods were disgusted at the callous selfishness displayed in his desires, and departed, threatening the toltec race with six years of plagues. the plagues of the toltecs in the next winter such a severe frost visited the land that all crops and plants were killed. a summer of torrid heat followed, so intense in its suffocating fierceness that the streams were dried up and the very rocks were melted. then heavy rain-storms descended, which flooded the streets and ways, and terrible tempests swept through the land. vast numbers of loathsome toads invaded the valley, consuming the refuse left by the destructive frost and heat, and entering the very houses of the people. in the following year a terrible drought caused the death of thousands from starvation, and the ensuing winter was again a marvel of severity. locusts descended in cloud-like swarms, and hail- and thunder-storms completed the wreck. during these visitations nine-tenths of the people perished, and all artistic endeavour ceased because of the awful struggle for food. king acxitl with the cessation of these inflictions the wicked huemac resolved upon a more upright course of life, and became most assiduous for the welfare and proper government of his people. but he had announced that acxitl, his illegitimate son, should succeed him, and had further resolved to abdicate at once in favour of this youth. with the toltecs, as with most primitive peoples, the early kings were regarded as divine, and the attempt to place on the throne one who was not of the royal blood was looked upon as a serious offence against the gods. a revolt ensued, but its two principal leaders were bought over by promises of preferment. acxitl ascended the throne, and for a time ruled wisely. but he soon, like his father, gave way to a life of dissipation, and succeeded in setting a bad example to the members of his court and to the priesthood, the vicious spirit communicating itself to all classes of his subjects and permeating every rank of society. the iniquities of the people of the capital and the enormities practised by the royal favourites caused such scandal in the outlying provinces that at length they broke into open revolt, and huehuetzin, chief of an eastern viceroyalty, joined to himself two other malcontent lords and marched upon the city of tollan at the head of a strong force. acxitl could not muster an army sufficiently powerful to repel the rebels, and was forced to resort to the expedient of buying them off with rich presents, thus patching up a truce. but the fate of tollan was in the balance. hordes of rude chichimec savages, profiting by the civil broils in the toltec state, invaded the lake region of anahuac, or mexico, and settled upon its fruitful soil. the end was in sight! a terrible visitation the wrath of the gods increased instead of diminishing, and in order to appease them a great convention of the wise men of the realm met at teotihuacan, the sacred city of the toltecs. but during their deliberations a giant of immense proportions rushed into their midst, and, seizing upon them by scores with his bony hands, hurled them to the ground, dashing their brains out. in this manner he slew great numbers, and when the panic-stricken folk imagined themselves delivered from him he returned in a different guise and slew many more. again the grisly monster appeared, this time taking the form of a beautiful child. the people, fascinated by its loveliness, ran to observe it more closely, only to discover that its head was a mass of corruption, the stench from which was so fatal that many were killed outright. the fiend who had thus plagued the toltecs at length deigned to inform them that the gods would listen no longer to their prayers, but had fully resolved to destroy them root and branch, and he further counselled them to seek safety in flight. fall of the toltec state by this time the principal families of tollan had deserted the country, taking refuge in neighbouring states. once more huehuetzin menaced tollan, and by dint of almost superhuman efforts old king huemac, who had left his retirement, raised a force sufficient to face the enemy. acxitl's mother enlisted the services of the women of the city, and formed them into a regiment of amazons. at the head of all was acxitl, who divided his forces, despatching one portion to the front under his commander-in-chief, and forming the other into a reserve under his own leadership. during three years the king defended tollan against the combined forces of the rebels and the semi-savage chichimecs. at length the toltecs, almost decimated, fled after a final desperate battle into the marshes of lake tezcuco and the fastnesses of the mountains. their other cities were given over to destruction, and the toltec empire was at an end. the chichimec exodus meanwhile the rude chichimecs of the north, who had for many years carried on a constant warfare with the toltecs, were surprised that their enemies sought their borders no more, a practice which they had engaged in principally for the purpose of obtaining captives for sacrifice. in order to discover the reason for this suspicious quiet they sent out spies into toltec territory, who returned with the amazing news that the toltec domain for a distance of six hundred miles from the chichimec frontier was a desert, the towns ruined and empty and their inhabitants scattered. xolotl, the chichimec king, summoned his chieftains to his capital, and, acquainting them with what the spies had said, proposed an expedition for the purpose of annexing the abandoned land. no less than , , people composed this migration, and only , , remained in the chichimec territory. the chichimecs occupied most of the ruined cities, many of which they rebuilt. those toltecs who remained became peaceful subjects, and through their knowledge of commerce and handicrafts amassed considerable wealth. a tribute was, however, demanded from them, which was peremptorily refused by nauhyotl, the toltec ruler of colhuacan; but he was defeated and slain, and the chichimec rule was at last supreme. the disappearance of the toltecs the transmitters of this legendary account give it as their belief, which is shared by some authorities of standing, that the toltecs, fleeing from the civil broils of their city and the inroads of the chichimecs, passed into central america, where they became the founders of the civilisation of that country, and the architects of the many wonderful cities the ruins of which now litter its plains and are encountered in its forests. but it is time that we examined the claims put forward on behalf of toltec civilisation and culture by the aid of more scientific methods. did the toltecs exist? some authorities have questioned the existence of the toltecs, and have professed to see in them a race which had merely a mythical significance. they base this theory upon the circumstance that the duration of the reigns of the several toltec monarchs is very frequently stated to have lasted for exactly fifty-two years, the duration of the great mexican cycle of years which had been adopted so that the ritual calendar might coincide with the solar year. the circumstance is certainly suspicious, as is the fact that many of the names of the toltec monarchs are also those of the principal nahua deities, and this renders the whole dynastic list of very doubtful value. dr. brinton recognised in the toltecs those children of the sun who, like their brethren in peruvian mythology, were sent from heaven to civilise the human race, and his theory is by no means weakened by the circumstance that quetzalcoatl, a deity of solar significance, is alluded to in nahua myth as king of the toltecs. recent considerations and discoveries, however, have virtually forced students of the subject to admit the existence of the toltecs as a race. the author has dealt with the question at some length elsewhere, [ ] and is not of those who are free to admit the definite existence of the toltecs from a historical point of view. the late mr. payne of oxford, an authority entitled to every respect, gave it as his opinion that "the accounts of toltec history current at the conquest contain a nucleus of substantial truth," and he writes convincingly: "to doubt that there once existed in tollan an advancement superior to that which prevailed among the nahuatlaca generally at the conquest, and that its people spread their advancement throughout anahuac, and into the districts eastward and southward, would be to reject a belief universally entertained, and confirmed rather than shaken by the efforts made in later times to construct for the pueblo something in the nature of a history." [ ] a persistent tradition the theory of the present author concerning toltec historical existence is rather more non-committal. he admits that a most persistent body of tradition as to their existence gained general credence among the nahua, and that the date ( ) of their alleged dispersal admits of the approximate exactness and probability of this body of tradition at the time of the conquest. he also admits that the site of tollan contains ruins which are undoubtedly of a date earlier than that of the architecture of the nahua as known at the conquest, and that numerous evidences of an older civilisation exist. he also believes that the early nahua having within their racial recollection existed as savages, the time which elapsed between their barbarian condition and the more advanced state which they achieved was too brief to admit of evolution from savagery to culture. hence they must have adopted an older civilisation, especially as through the veneer of civilisation possessed by them they exhibited every sign of gross barbarism. a nameless people if this be true it would go to show that a people of comparatively high culture existed at a not very remote period on the mexican tableland. but what their name was or their racial affinity the writer does not profess to know. many modern american scholars of note have conferred upon them the name of "toltecs," and speak freely of the "toltec period" and of "toltec art." it may appear pedantic to refuse to recognise that the cultured people who dwelt in mexico in pre-nahua times were "the toltecs." but in the face of the absence of genuine and authoritative native written records dealing with the question, the author finds himself compelled to remain unconvinced as to the exact designation of the mysterious older race which preceded the nahua. there are not wanting authorities who appear to regard the pictorial chronicles of the nahua as quite as worthy of credence as written records, but it must be clear that tradition or even history set down in pictorial form can never possess that degree of definiteness contained in a written account. toltec art as has been stated above, the toltecs of tradition were chiefly remarkable for their intense love of art and their productions in its various branches. ixtlilxochitl says that they worked in gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead, and as masons employed flint, porphyry, basalt, and obsidian. in the manufacture of jewellery and objets d'art they excelled, and the pottery of cholula, of which specimens are frequently recovered, was of a high standard. other aboriginal peoples mexico contained other aboriginal races besides the toltecs. of these many and diverse peoples the most remarkable were the otomi, who still occupy guanajuato and queretaro, and who, before the coming of the nahua, probably spread over the entire valley of mexico. in the south we find the huasteca, a people speaking the same language as the maya of central america, and on the mexican gulf the totonacs and chontals. on the pacific side of the country the mixteca and zapoteca were responsible for a flourishing civilisation which exhibited many original characteristics, and which in some degree was a link between the cultures of mexico and central america. traces of a still older population than any of these are still to be found in the more remote parts of mexico, and the mixe, zaque, kuicatec, and popolcan are probably the remnants of prehistoric races of vast antiquity. the cliff-dwellers it is probable that a race known as "the cliff-dwellers," occupying the plateau country of arizona, new mexico, colorado, and utah, and even extending in its ramifications to mexico itself, was related ethnologically to the nahua. the present-day pueblo indians dwelling to the north of mexico most probably possess a leaven of nahua blood. ere the tribes who communicated this leaven to the whole had intermingled with others of various origin, it would appear that they occupied with others those tracts of country now inhabited by the pueblo indians, and in the natural recesses and shallow caverns found in the faces of the cliffs erected dwellings and fortifications, displaying an architectural ability of no mean order. these communities extended as far south as the gila river, the most southern affluent of the colorado, and the remains they have left there appear to be of a later date architecturally than those situated farther north. these were found in ruins by the first spanish explorers, and it is thought that their builders were eventually driven back to rejoin their kindred in the north. farther to the south in the cañons of the piedras verdes river in chihuahua, mexico, are cliff-dwellings corresponding in many respects with those of the pueblo region, and dr. hrdlicka has examined others so far south as the state of jalisco, in central mexico. these may be the ruins of dwellings erected either by the early nahua or by some of the peoples relatively aboriginal to them, and may display the architectural features general among the nahua prior to their adoption of other alien forms. or else they may be the remains of dwellings similar to those of the tarahumare, a still existing tribe of mexico, who, according to lumholtz, [ ] inhabit similar structures at the present day. it is clear from the architectural development of the cliff-dwellers that their civilisation developed generally from south to north, that this race was cognate to the early nahua, and that it later withdrew to the north, or became fused with the general body of the nahua peoples. it must not be understood, however, that the race arrived in the mexican plateau before the nahua, and the ruins of jalisco and other mid-mexican districts may merely be the remains of comparatively modern cliff-dwellings, an adaptation by mid-mexican communities of the "cliff-dweller" architecture, or a local development of it owing to the exigencies of early life in the district. the nahua race the nahua peoples included all those tribes speaking the nahuatlatolli (nahua tongue), and occupied a sphere extending from the southern borders of new mexico to the isthmus of tehuantepec on the south, or very much within the limits of the modern republic of mexico. but this people must not be regarded as one race of homogeneous origin. a very brief account of their racial affinities must be sufficient here. the chichimecs were probably related to the otomi, whom we have alluded to as among the first-comers to the mexican valley. they were traditionally supposed to have entered it at a period subsequent to the toltec occupation. their chief towns were tezcuco and tenayucan, but they later allied themselves with the nahua in a great confederacy, and adopted the nahua language. there are circumstances which justify the assumption that on their entrance to the mexican valley they consisted of a number of tribes loosely united, presenting in their general organisation a close resemblance to some of the composite tribes of modern american indians. the aculhuaque next to them in point of order of tribal arrival were the aculhuaque, or acolhuans. the name means "tall" or "strong" men, literally "people of the broad shoulder," or "pushers," who made a way for themselves. gomara states in his conquista de mexico that they arrived in the valley from acolhuacan about a.d. , and founded the towns of tollan, colhuacan, and mexico itself. the acolhuans were pure nahua, and may well have been the much-disputed toltecs, for the nahua people always insisted on the fact that the toltecs were of the same stock as themselves, and spoke an older and purer form of the nahua tongue. from the acolhuans sprang the tlascalans, the inveterate enemies of the aztecs, who so heartily assisted cortés in his invasion of the aztec capital, tenochtitlan, or mexico. the tecpanecs the tecpanecs were a confederacy of purely nahua tribes dwelling in towns situated upon the lake of tezcuco, the principal of which were tlacopan and azcapozalco. the name tecpanec signifies that each settlement possessed its own chief's house, or tecpan. this tribe were almost certainly later nahua immigrants who arrived in mexico after the acolhuans, and were great rivals to the chichimec branch of the race. the aztecs the aztecâ, or aztecs, were a nomad tribe of doubtful origin, but probably of nahua blood. wandering over the mexican plateau for generations, they at length settled in the marshlands near the lake of tezcuco, hard by tlacopan. the name aztecâ means "crane people," and was bestowed upon the tribe by the tecpanecs, probably because of the fact that, like cranes, they dwelt in a marshy neighbourhood. they founded the town of tenochtitlan, or mexico, and for a while paid tribute to the tecpanecs. but later they became the most powerful allies of that people, whom they finally surpassed entirely in power and splendour. the aztec character the features of the aztecs as represented in the various mexican paintings are typically indian, and argue a northern origin. the race was, and is, of average height, and the skin is of a dark brown hue. the mexican is grave, taciturn, and melancholic, with a deeply rooted love of the mysterious, slow to anger, yet almost inhuman in the violence of his passions when aroused. he is usually gifted with a logical mind, quickness of apprehension, and an ability to regard the subtle side of things with great nicety. patient and imitative, the ancient mexican excelled in those arts which demanded such qualities in their execution. he had a real affection for the beautiful in nature and a passion for flowers, but the aztec music lacked gaiety, and the national amusements were too often of a gloomy and ferocious character. the women are more vivacious than the men, but were in the days before the conquest very subservient to the wills of their husbands. we have already very briefly outlined the trend of nahua civilisation, but it will be advisable to examine it a little more closely, for if the myths of this people are to be understood some knowledge of its life and general culture is essential. legends of the foundation of mexico at the period of the conquest of mexico by cortés the city presented an imposing appearance. led to its neighbourhood by huitzilopochtli, a traditional chief, afterwards deified as the god of war, there are several legends which account for the choice of its site by the mexicans. the most popular of these relates how the nomadic nahua beheld perched upon a cactus plant an eagle of great size and majesty, grasping in its talons a huge serpent, and spreading its wings to catch the rays of the rising sun. the soothsayers or medicine-men of the tribe, reading a good omen in the spectacle, advised the leaders of the people to settle on the spot, and, hearkening to the voice of what they considered divine authority, they proceeded to drive piles into the marshy ground, and thus laid the foundation of the great city of mexico. an elaboration of this legend tells how the aztecs had about the year sought refuge upon the western shore of the lake of tezcuco, in an island among the marshes on which they found a stone on which forty years before one of their priests had sacrificed a prince of the name of copal, whom they had made prisoner. a nopal plant had sprung from an earth-filled crevice in this rude altar, and upon this the royal eagle alluded to in the former account had alighted, grasping the serpent in his talons. beholding in this a good omen, and urged by a supernatural impulse which he could not explain, a priest of high rank dived into a pool close at hand, where he found himself face to face with tlaloc, the god of waters. after an interview with the deity the priest obtained permission from him to found a city on the site, from the humble beginnings of which arose the metropolis of mexico-tenochtitlan. mexico at the conquest at the period of the conquest the city of mexico had a circumference of no less than twelve miles, or nearly that of modern berlin without its suburbs. it contained , houses, and its inhabitants were computed to number , . many other towns, most of them nearly half as large, were grouped on the islands or on the margin of lake tezcuco, so that the population of what might almost be called "greater mexico" must have amounted to several millions. the city was intersected by four great roadways or avenues built at right angles to one another, and laid four-square with the cardinal points. situated as it was in the midst of a lake, it was traversed by numerous canals, which were used as thoroughfares for traffic. the four principal ways described above were extended across the lake as dykes or viaducts until they met its shores. the dwellings of the poorer classes were chiefly composed of adobes, but those of the nobility were built of a red porous stone quarried close by. they were usually of one story only, but occupied a goodly piece of ground and had flat roofs, many of which were covered with flowers. in general they were coated with a hard, white cement, which gave them an added resemblance to the oriental type of building. towering high among these, and a little apart from the vast squares and market-places, were the teocallis, or temples. these were in reality not temples or covered-in buildings, but "high places," great pyramids of stone, built platform on platform, around which a staircase led to the summit, on which was usually erected a small shrine containing the tutelar deity to whom the teocalli had been raised. the great temple of huitzilopochtli, the war-god, built by king ahuizotl, was, besides being typical of all, by far the greatest of these votive piles. the enclosing walls of the building were feet in circumference, and strikingly decorated by carvings representing festoons of intertwined reptiles, from which circumstance they were called coetpantli (walls of serpents). a kind of gate-house on each side gave access to the enclosure. the teocalli, or great temple, inside the court was in the shape of a parallelogram, measuring feet by feet, and was built in six platforms, growing smaller in area as they descended. the mass of this structure was composed of a mixture of rubble, clay, and earth, covered with carefully worked stone slabs, cemented together with infinite care, and coated with a hard gypsum. a flight of steps circled round the terraces and led to the upper platform, on which were raised two three-storied towers feet in height, in which stood the great statues of the tutelar deities and the jasper stones of sacrifice. these sanctuaries, say the old conquistadores who entered them, had the appearance and odour of shambles, and human blood was bespattered everywhere. in this weird chapel of horrors burned a fire, the extinction of which it was supposed would have brought about the end of the nahua power. it was tended with a care as scrupulous as that with which the roman vestals guarded their sacred flame. no less than of these sacred braziers were kept alight in the city of mexico alone. a pyramid of skulls the principal fane of huitzilopochtli was surrounded by upwards of forty inferior teocallis and shrines. in the tzompantli (pyramid of skulls) were collected the grisly relics of the countless victims to the implacable war-god of the aztecs, and in this horrid structure the spanish conquerors counted no less than , human skulls. in the court or teopan which surrounded the temple were the dwellings of thousands of priests, whose duties included the scrupulous care of the temple precincts, and whose labours were minutely apportioned. nahua architecture and ruins as we shall see later, mexico is by no means so rich in architectural antiquities as guatemala or yucatan, the reason being that the growth of tropical forests has to a great extent protected ancient stone edifices in the latter countries from destruction. the ruins discovered in the northern regions of the republic are of a ruder type than those which approach more nearly to the sphere of maya influence, as, for example, those of mitla, built by the zapotecs, which exhibit such unmistakable signs of maya influence that we prefer to describe them when dealing with the antiquities of that people. cyclopean remains in the mountains of chihuahua, one of the most northerly provinces, is a celebrated group called the casas grandes (large houses), the walls of which are still about feet in height. these approximate in general appearance to the buildings of more modern tribes in new mexico and arizona, and may be referred to such peoples rather than to the nahua. at quemada, in zacatecas, massive ruins of cyclopean appearance have been discovered. these consist of extensive terraces and broad stone causeways, teocallis which have weathered many centuries, and gigantic pillars, feet in height and feet in circumference. walls feet in thickness rise above the heaps of rubbish which litter the ground. these remains exhibit little connection with nahua architecture to the north or south of them. they are more massive than either, and must have been constructed by some race which had made considerable strides in the art of building. teotihuacan in the district of the totonacs, to the north of vera cruz, we find many architectural remains of a highly interesting character. here the teocalli or pyramidal type of building is occasionally crowned by a covered-in temple with the massive roof characteristic of maya architecture. the most striking examples found in this region are the remains of teotihuacan and xochicalco. the former was the religious mecca of the nahua races, and in its proximity are still to be seen the teocallis of the sun and moon, surrounded by extensive burying-grounds where the devout of anahuac were laid in the sure hope that if interred they would find entrance into the paradise of the sun. the teocalli of the moon has a base covering feet and a height of feet. that of the sun is of greater dimensions, with a base of feet and a height of feet. these pyramids were divided into four stories, three of which remain. on the summit of that of the sun stood a temple containing a great image of that luminary carved from a rough block of stone. in the breast was inlaid a star of the purest gold, seized afterwards as loot by the insatiable followers of cortés. from the teocalli of the moon a path runs to where a little rivulet flanks the "citadel." this path is known as "the path of the dead," from the circumstance that it is surrounded by some nine square miles of tombs and tumuli, and, indeed, forms a road through the great cemetery. the citadel, thinks charnay, was a vast tennis or tlachtli court, where thousands flocked to gaze at the national sport of the nahua with a zest equal to that of the modern devotees of football. teotihuacan was a flourishing centre contemporary with tollan. it was destroyed, but was rebuilt by the chichimec king xolotl, and preserved thenceforth its traditional sway as the focus of the nahua national religion. charnay identifies the architectural types discovered there with those of tollan. the result of his labours in the vicinity included the unearthing of richly decorated pottery, vases, masks, and terra-cotta figures. he also excavated several large houses or palaces, some with chambers more than feet in circumference, with walls over - / feet thick, into which were built rings and slabs to support torches and candles. the floors were tessellated in various rich designs, "like an aubusson carpet." charnay concluded that the monuments of teotihuacan were partly standing at the time of the conquest. the hill of flowers near tezcuco is xochicalco (the hill of flowers), a teocalli the sculpture of which is both beautiful and luxuriant in design. the porphyry quarries from which the great blocks, feet in length, were cut lie many miles away. as late as the structure towered to a height of five stories, but the vandal has done his work only too well, and a few fragmentary carvings of exquisite design are all that to-day remain of one of mexico's most magnificent pyramids. tollan we have already indicated that on the site of the "toltec" city of tollan ruins have been discovered which prove that it was the centre of a civilisation of a type distinctly advanced. charnay unearthed there gigantic fragments of caryatides, each some feet high. he also found columns of two pieces, which were fitted together by means of mortise and tenon, bas-reliefs of archaic figures of undoubted nahua type, and many fragments of great antiquity. on the hill of palpan, above tollan, he found the ground-plans of several houses with numerous apartments, frescoed, columned, and having benches and cisterns recalling the impluvium of a roman villa. water-pipes were also actually unearthed, and a wealth of pottery, many pieces of which were like old japanese china. the ground-plan or foundations of the houses unearthed at palpan showed that they had been designed by practical architects, and had not been built in any merely haphazard fashion. the cement which covered the walls and floors was of excellent quality, and recalled that discovered in ancient italian excavations. the roofs had been of wood, supported by pillars. picture-writing the aztecs, and indeed the entire nahua race, employed a system of writing of the type scientifically described as "pictographic," in which events, persons, and ideas were recorded by means of drawings and coloured sketches. these were executed on paper made from the agave plant, or were painted on the skins of animals. by these means not only history and the principles of the nahua mythology were communicated from generation to generation, but the transactions of daily life, the accountings of merchants, and the purchase and ownership of land were placed on record. that a phonetic system was rapidly being approached is manifest from the method by which the nahua scribes depicted the names of individuals or cities. these were represented by means of several objects, the names of which resembled that of the person for which they stood. the name of king ixcoatl, for example, is represented by the drawing of a serpent (coatl) pierced by flint knives (iztli), and that of motequauhzoma (montezuma) by a mouse-trap (montli), an eagle (quauhtli), a lancet (zo), and a hand (maitl). the phonetic values employed by the scribes varied exceedingly, so that at times an entire syllable would be expressed by the painting of an object the name of which commenced with it. at other times only a letter would be represented by the same drawing. but the general intention of the scribes was undoubtedly more ideographic than phonetic; that is, they desired to convey their thoughts more by sketch than by sound. interpretation of the hieroglyphs these pinturas, as the spanish conquerors designated them, offer no very great difficulty in their elucidation to modern experts, at least so far as the general trend of their contents is concerned. in this they are unlike the manuscripts of the maya of central america with which we shall make acquaintance further on. their interpretation was largely traditional, and was learned by rote, being passed on by one generation of amamatini (readers) to another, and was by no means capable of elucidation by all and sundry. native manuscripts the pinturas or native manuscripts which remain to us are but few in number. priestly fanaticism, which ordained their wholesale destruction, and the still more potent passage of time have so reduced them that each separate example is known to bibliophiles and americanists the world over. in such as still exist we can observe great fullness of detail, representing for the most part festivals, sacrifices, tributes, and natural phenomena, such as eclipses and floods, and the death and accession of monarchs. these events, and the supernatural beings who were supposed to control them, were depicted in brilliant colours, executed by means of a brush of feathers. the interpretative codices luckily for future students of mexican history, the blind zeal which destroyed the majority of the mexican manuscripts was frustrated by the enlightenment of certain european scholars, who regarded the wholesale destruction of the native records as little short of a calamity, and who took steps to seek out the few remaining native artists, from whom they procured copies of the more important paintings, the details of which were, of course, quite familiar to them. to those were added interpretations taken down from the lips of the native scribes themselves, so that no doubt might remain regarding the contents of the manuscripts. these are known as the "interpretative codices," and are of considerable assistance to the student of mexican history and customs. three only are in existence. the oxford codex, treasured in the bodleian library, is of a historical nature, and contains a full list of the lesser cities which were subservient to mexico in its palmy days. the paris or tellerio-remensis codex, so called from having once been the property of le tellier, archbishop of rheims, embodies many facts concerning the early settlement of the various nahua city-states. the vatican mss. deal chiefly with mythology and the intricacies of the mexican calendar system. such mexican paintings as were unassisted by an interpretation are naturally of less value to present-day students of the lore of the nahua. they are principally concerned with calendric matter, ritualistic data, and astrological computations or horoscopes. the mexican "book of the dead" perhaps the most remarkable and interesting manuscript in the vatican collection is one the last pages of which represent the journey of the soul after death through the gloomy dangers of the other-world. this has been called the mexican "book of the dead." the corpse is depicted dressed for burial, the soul escaping from its earthly tenement by way of the mouth. the spirit is ushered into the presence of tezcatlipoca, the jupiter of the aztec pantheon, by an attendant dressed in an ocelot skin, and stands naked with a wooden yoke round the neck before the deity, to receive sentence. the dead person is given over to the tests which precede entrance to the abode of the dead, the realm of mictlan, and so that he may not have to meet the perils of the journey in a defenceless condition a sheaf of javelins is bestowed upon him. he first passes between two lofty peaks, which may fall and crush him if he cannot skilfully escape them. a terrible serpent then intercepts his path, and, if he succeeds in defeating this monster, the fierce alligator xochitonal awaits him. eight deserts and a corresponding number of mountains have then to be negotiated by the hapless spirit, and a whirlwind sharp as a sword, which cuts even through solid rocks, must be withstood. accompanied by the shade of his favourite dog, the harassed ghost at length encounters the fierce izpuzteque, a demon with the backward-bent legs of a cock, the evil nextepehua, the fiend who scatters clouds of ashes, and many another grisly foe, until at last he wins to the gates of the lord of hell, before whom he does reverence, after which he is free to greet his friends who have gone before. the calendar system as has been said, the calendar system was the source of all mexican science, and regulated the recurrence of all religious rites and festivals. in fact, the entire mechanism of nahua life was resident in its provisions. the type of time-division and computation exemplified in the nahua calendar was also found among the maya peoples of yucatan and guatemala and the zapotec people of the boundary between the nahua and maya races. by which of these races it was first employed is unknown. but the zapotec calendar exhibits signs of both nahua and maya influence, and from this it has been inferred that the calendar systems of these races have been evolved from it. it might with equal probability be argued that both nahua and maya art were offshoots of zapotec art, because the characteristics of both are discovered in it, whereas the circumstance merely illustrates the very natural acceptance by a border people, who settled down to civilisation at a relatively later date, of the artistic tenets of the two greater peoples who environed them. the nahua and maya calendars were in all likelihood evolved from the calendar system of that civilised race which undoubtedly existed on the mexican plateau prior to the coming of the later nahua swarms, and which in general is loosely alluded to as the "toltec." the mexican year the mexican year was a cycle of days, without any intercalary addition or other correction. in course of time it almost lost its seasonal significance because of the omission of the extra hours included in the solar year, and furthermore many of its festivals and occasions were altered by high-priests and rulers to suit their convenience. the mexican nexiuhilpililztli (binding of years) contained fifty-two years, and ran in two separate cycles--one of fifty-two years of days each, and another of seventy-three groups of days each. the first was of course the solar year, and embraced eighteen periods of twenty days each, called "months" by the old spanish chroniclers, with five nemontemi (unlucky days) over and above. these days were not intercalated, but were included in the year, and merely overflowed the division of the year into periods of twenty days. the cycle of seventy-three groups of days, subdivided into groups of thirteen days, was called the "birth-cycle." lunar reckoning people in a barbarous condition almost invariably reckon time by the period between the waxing and waning of the moon as distinct from the entire passage of a lunar revolution, and this period of twenty days will be found to be the basis in the time-reckoning of the mexicans, who designated it cempohualli. each day included in it was denoted by a sign, as "house," "snake," "wind," and so forth. each cempohualli was subdivided into four periods of five days each, sometimes alluded to as "weeks" by the early spanish writers, and these were known by the sign of their middle or third day. these day-names ran on without reference to the length of the year. the year itself was designated by the name of the middle day of the week in which it began. out of twenty day-names in the mexican "month" it was inevitable that the four calli (house), tochtli (rabbit), acatl (reed), and tecpatl (flint) should always recur in sequence because of the incidence of these days in the mexican solar year. four years made up a year of the sun. during the nemontemi (unlucky days) no work was done, as they were regarded as ominous and unwholesome. we have seen that the civil year permitted the day-names to run on continuously from one year to another. the ecclesiastical authorities, however, had a reckoning of their own, and made the year begin always on the first day of their calendar, no matter what sign denominated that day in the civil system. groups of years as has been indicated, the years were formed into groups. thirteen years constituted a xiumalpilli (bundle), and four of these a nexiuhilpilitztli (complete binding of the years). each year had thus a double aspect, first as an individual period of time, and secondly as a portion of the "year of the sun," and these were so numbered and named that each year in the series of fifty-two possessed a different description. the dread of the last day with the conclusion of each period of fifty-two years a terrible dread came upon the mexicans that the world would come to an end. a stated period of time had expired, a period which was regarded as fixed by divine command, and it had been ordained that on the completion of one of those series of fifty-two years earthly time would cease and the universe be demolished. for some time before the ceremony of toxilmolpilia (the binding up of the years) the mexicans abandoned themselves to the utmost prostration, and the wicked went about in terrible fear. as the first day of the fifty-third year dawned the people narrowly observed the pleiades, for if they passed the zenith time would proceed and the world would be respited. the gods were placated or refreshed by the slaughter of the human victim, on whose still living breast a fire of wood was kindled by friction, the heart and body being consumed by the flames so lighted. as the planets of hope crossed the zenith loud acclamations resounded from the people, and the domestic hearths, which had been left cold and dead, were rekindled from the sacred fire which had consumed the sacrifice. mankind was safe for another period. the birth-cycle the birth-cycle, as we have said, consisted of days. it had originally been a lunar cycle of thirteen days, and once bore the names of thirteen moons. it formed part of the civil calendar, with which, however, it had nothing in common, as it was used for ecclesiastical purposes only. the lunar names were abandoned later, and the numbers one to thirteen adopted in their places. language of the nahua the nahua language represented a very low state of culture. speech is the general measure of the standard of thought of a people, and if we judged the civilisation of the nahua by theirs, we should be justified in concluding that they had not yet emerged from barbarism. but we must recollect that the nahua of the conquest period had speedily adopted the older civilisation which they had found awaiting them on their entrance to mexico, and had retained their own primitive tongue. the older and more cultured people who had preceded them probably spoke a more polished dialect of the same language, but its influence had evidently but little effect upon the rude chichimecs and aztecs. the mexican tongue, like most american languages, belongs to the "incorporative" type, the genius of which is to unite all the related words in a sentence into one conglomerate term or word, merging the separate words of which it is composed one into another by altering their forms, and so welding them together as to express the whole in one word. it will be at once apparent that such a system was clumsy in the extreme, and led to the creation of words and names of the most barbarous appearance and sound. in a narrative of the spanish discovery written by chimalpahin, the native chronicler of chalco, born in , we have, for example, such a passage as the following: oc chiucnauhxihuitl inic onen quilantimanca españa camo niman ic yuh ca omacoc ihuelitiliztli inic niman ye chiuhcnauhxiuhtica, in oncan ohualla. this passage is chosen quite at random, and is an average specimen of literary mexican of the sixteenth century. its purport is, freely translated: "for nine years he [columbus] remained in vain in spain. yea, for nine years there he waited for influence." the clumsy and cumbrous nature of the language could scarcely be better illustrated than by pointing out that chiucnauhxihuitl signifies "nine years"; quilantimanca, "he below remained"; and omacoc ihuelitiliztli, "he has got his powerfulness." it must be recollected that this specimen of mexican was composed by a person who had had the benefit of a spanish education, and is cast in literary form. what the spoken mexican of pre-conquest times was like can be contemplated with misgiving in the grammars of the old spanish missionaries, whose greatest glory is that they mastered such a language in the interests of their faith. aztec science the science of the aztecs was, perhaps, one of the most picturesque sides of their civilisation. as with all peoples in a semi-barbarous state, it consisted chiefly in astrology and divination. of the former the wonderful calendar system was the basis, and by its aid the priests, or those of them who were set apart for the study of the heavenly bodies, pretended to be able to tell the future of new-born infants and the progress of the dead in the other world. this they accomplished by weighing the influence of the planets and other luminaries one against another, and extracting the net result. their art of divination consisted in drawing omens from the song and flight of birds, the appearance of grains of seed, feathers, and the entrails of animals, by which means they confidently predicted both public and private events. nahua government the limits of the aztec empire may be defined, if its tributary states are included, as extending over the territory comprised in the modern states of mexico, southern vera cruz, and guerrero. among the civilised peoples of this extensive tract the prevailing form of government was an absolute monarchy, although several of the smaller communities were republics. the law of succession, as with the celts of scotland, prescribed that the eldest surviving brother of the deceased monarch should be elected to his throne, and, failing him, the eldest nephew. but incompetent persons were almost invariably ignored by the elective body, although the choice was limited to one family. the ruler was generally selected both because of his military prowess and his ecclesiastical and political knowledge. indeed, a mexican monarch was nearly always a man of the highest culture and artistic refinement, and the ill-fated montezuma was an example of the true type of nahua sovereign. the council of the monarch was composed of the electors and other personages of importance in the realm. it undertook the government of the provinces, the financial affairs of the country, and other matters of national import. the nobility held all the highest military, judicial, and ecclesiastical offices. to each city and province judges were delegated who exercised criminal and civil jurisdiction, and whose opinion superseded even that of the crown itself. petty cases were settled by lesser officials, and a still inferior grade of officers acted as a species of police in the supervision of families. domestic life the domestic life of the nahua was a peculiar admixture of simplicity and display. the mass of the people led a life of strenuous labour in the fields, and in the cities they wrought hard at many trades, among which may be specified building, metal-working, making robes and other articles of bright featherwork and quilted suits of armour, jewellery, and small wares. vendors of flowers, fruit, fish, and vegetables swarmed in the markets. the use of tobacco was general among the men of all classes. at banquets the women attended, although they were seated at separate tables. the entertainments of the upper class were marked by much magnificence, and the variety of dishes was considerable, including venison, turkey, many smaller birds, fish, a profusion of vegetables, and pastry, accompanied by sauces of delicate flavour. these were served in dishes of gold and silver. pulque, a fermented drink brewed from the agave, was the universal beverage. cannibalism was indulged in usually on ceremonial occasions, and was surrounded by such refinements of the table as served only to render it the more repulsive in the eyes of europeans. it has been stated that this revolting practice was engaged in owing solely to the tenets of the nahua religion, which enjoined the slaughter of slaves or captives in the name of a deity, and their consumption with the idea that the consumers attained unity with that deity in the flesh. but there is good reason to suspect that the nahua, deprived of the flesh of the larger domestic animals, practised deliberate cannibalism. it would appear that the older race which preceded them in the country were innocent of these horrible repasts. a mysterious toltec book a piece of nahua literature, the disappearance of which is surrounded by circumstances of the deepest mystery, is the teo-amoxtli (divine book), which is alleged by certain chroniclers to have been the work of the ancient toltecs. ixtlilxochitl, a native mexican author, states that it was written by a tezcucan wise man, one huematzin, about the end of the seventh century, and that it described the pilgrimage of the nahua from asia, their laws, manners, and customs, and their religious tenets, science, and arts. in the baron de waldeck stated in his voyage pittoresque that he had it in his possession, and the abbé brasseur de bourbourg identified it with the maya dresden codex and other native manuscripts. bustamante also states that the amamatini (chroniclers) of tezcuco had a copy in their possession at the time of the taking of their city. but these appear to be mere surmises, and if the teo-amoxtli ever existed, which on the whole is not unlikely, it has probably never been seen by a european. a native historian one of the most interesting of the mexican historians is don fernando de alva ixtlilxochitl, a half-breed of royal tezcucan descent. he was responsible for two notable works, entitled historia chichimeca (the history of the chichimecs) and the relaciones, a compilation of historical and semi-historical incidents. he was cursed, or blessed, however, by a strong leaning toward the marvellous, and has coloured his narratives so highly that he would have us regard the toltec or ancient nahua civilisations as by far the most splendid and magnificent that ever existed. his descriptions of tezcuco, if picturesque in the extreme, are manifestly the outpourings of a romantic and idealistic mind, which in its patriotic enthusiasm desired to vindicate the country of his birth from the stigma of savagery and to prove its equality with the great nations of antiquity. for this we have not the heart to quarrel with him. but we must be on our guard against accepting any of his statements unless we find strong corroboration of it in the pages of a more trustworthy and less biased author. nahua topography the geography of mexico is by no means as familiar to europeans as is that of the various countries of our own continent, and it is extremely easy for the reader who is unacquainted with mexico and the puzzling orthography of its place-names to flounder among them, and during the perusal of such a volume as this to find himself in a hopeless maze of surmise as to the exact locality of the more famous centres of mexican history. a few moments' study of this paragraph will enlighten him in this respect, and will save him much confusion further on. he will see from the map (p. ) that the city of mexico, or tenochtitlan, its native name, was situated upon an island in the lake of tezcuco. this lake has now partially dried up, and the modern city of mexico is situated at a considerable distance from it. tezcuco, the city second in importance, lies to the north-east of the lake, and is somewhat more isolated, the other pueblos (towns) clustering round the southern or western shores. to the north of tezcuco is teotihuacan, the sacred city of the gods. to the south-east of mexico is tlaxcallan, or tlascala, the city which assisted cortés against the mexicans, and the inhabitants of which were the deadliest foes of the central nahua power. to the north lie the sacred city of cholula and tula, or tollan. distribution of the nahua tribes having become acquainted with the relative position of the nahua cities, we may now consult for a moment the map which exhibits the geographical distribution of the various nahua tribes, and which is self-explanatory (p. ). nahua history a brief historical sketch or epitome of what is known of nahua history as apart from mere tradition will further assist the reader in the comprehension of mexican mythology. from the period of the settlement of the nahua on an agricultural basis a system of feudal government had evolved, and at various epochs in the history of the country certain cities or groups of cities held a paramount sway. subsequent to the "toltec" period, which we have already described and discussed, we find the acolhuans in supreme power, and ruling from their cities of tollantzinco and cholula a considerable tract of country. later cholula maintained an alliance with tlascala and huexotzinco. bloodless battles the maxim "other climes, other manners" is nowhere better exemplified than by the curious annual strife betwixt the warriors of mexico and tlascala. once a year they met on a prearranged battle-ground and engaged in combat, not with the intention of killing one another, but with the object of taking prisoners for sacrifice on the altars of their respective war-gods. the warrior seized his opponent and attempted to bear him off, the various groups pulling and tugging desperately at each other in the endeavour to seize the limbs of the unfortunate who had been first struck down, with the object of dragging him into durance or effecting his rescue. once secured, the tlascaltec warrior was brought to mexico in a cage, and first placed upon a stone slab, to which one of his feet was secured by a chain or thong. he was then given light weapons, more like playthings than warrior's gear, and confronted by one of the most celebrated mexican warriors. should he succeed in defeating six of these formidable antagonists, he was set free. but no sooner was he wounded than he was hurried to the altar of sacrifice, and his heart was torn out and offered to huitzilopochtli, the implacable god of war. the tlascaltecs, having finally secured their position by a defeat of the tecpanecs of huexotzinco about a.d. , sank into comparative obscurity save for their annual bout with the mexicans. the lake cities the communities grouped round the various lakes in the valley of mexico now command our attention. more than two score of these thriving communities flourished at the time of the conquest of mexico, the most notable being those which occupied the borders of the lake of tezcuco. these cities grouped themselves round two nuclei, azcapozalco and tezcuco, between whom a fierce rivalry sprang up, which finally ended in the entire discomfiture or azcapozalco. from this event the real history of mexico may be said to commence. those cities which had allied themselves to tezcuco finally overran the entire territory of mexico from the mexican gulf to the pacific. tezcuco if, as some authorities declare, tezcuco was originally otomi in affinity, it was in later years the most typically nahuan of all the lacustrine powers. but several other communities, the power of which was very nearly as great as that of tezcuco, had assisted that city to supremacy. among these was xaltocan, a city-state of unquestionable otomi origin, situated at the northern extremity of the lake. as we have seen from the statements of ixtlilxochitl, a tezcucan writer, his native city was in the forefront of nahua civilisation at the time of the coming of the spaniards, and if it was practically subservient to mexico (tenochtitlan) at that period it was by no means its inferior in the arts. the tecpanecs the tecpanecs, who dwelt in tlacopan, coyohuacan, and huitzilopocho, were also typical nahua. the name, as we have already explained, indicates that each settlement possessed its own tecpan (chief's house), and has no racial significance. their state was probably founded about the twelfth century, although a chronology of no less than fifteen hundred years was claimed for it. this people composed a sort of buffer-state betwixt the otomi on the north and other nahua on the south. the aztecs the menace of these northern otomi had become acute when the tecpanecs received reinforcements in the shape of the aztecâ, or aztecs, a people of nahua blood, who came, according to their own accounts, from aztlan (crane land). the name aztecâ signifies "crane people," and this has led to the assumption that they came from chihuahua, where cranes abound. doubts have been cast upon the nahua origin of the aztecâ. but these are by no means well founded, as the names of the early aztec chieftains and kings are unquestionably nahuan. this people on their arrival in mexico were in a very inferior state of culture, and were probably little better than savages. we have already outlined some of the legends concerning the coming of the aztecs to the land of anahuac, or the valley of mexico, but their true origin is uncertain, and it is likely that they wandered down from the north as other nahua immigrants did before them, and as the apache indians still do to this day. by their own showing they had sojourned at several points en route, and were reduced to slavery by the chiefs of colhuacan. they proved so truculent in their bondage, however, that they were released, and journeyed to chapoultepec, which they quitted because of their dissensions with the xaltocanecs. on their arrival in the district inhabited by the tecpanecs a tribute was levied upon them, but nevertheless they flourished so exceedingly that the swamp villages which the tecpanecs had permitted them to raise on the borders of the lake soon grew into thriving communities, and chiefs were provided for them from among the nobility of the tecpanecs. the aztecs as allies by the aid of the aztecs the tecpanecs greatly extended their territorial possessions. city after city was added to their empire, and the allies finally invaded the otomi country, which they speedily subdued. those cities which had been founded by the acolhuans on the fringes of tezcuco also allied themselves with the tecpanecs with the intention of freeing themselves from the yoke of the chichimecs, whose hand was heavy upon them. the chichimecs or tezcucans made a stern resistance, and for a time the sovereignty of the tecpanecs hung in the balance. but eventually they conquered, and tezcuco was overthrown and given as a spoil to the aztecs. new powers up to this time the aztecs had paid a tribute to azcapozalco, but now, strengthened by the successes of the late conflict, they withheld it, and requested permission to build an aqueduct from the shore for the purpose of carrying a supply of water into their city. this was refused by the tecpanecs, and a policy of isolation was brought to bear upon mexico, an embargo being placed upon its goods and intercourse with its people being forbidden. war followed, in which the tecpanecs were defeated with great slaughter. after this event, which may be placed about the year , the aztecs gained ground rapidly, and their march to the supremacy of the entire mexican valley was almost undisputed. allying themselves with tezcuco and tlacopan, the mexicans overran many states far beyond the confines of the valley, and by the time of montezuma i had extended their boundaries almost to the limits of the present republic. the mexican merchant followed in the footsteps of the mexican warrior, and the commercial expansion of the aztecs rivalled their military fame. clever traders, they were merciless in their exactions of tribute from the states they conquered, manufacturing the raw material paid to them by the subject cities into goods which they afterwards sold again to the tribes under their sway. mexico became the chief market of the empire, as well as its political nucleus. such was the condition of affairs when the spaniards arrived in anahuac. their coming has been deplored by certain historians as hastening the destruction of a western eden. but bad as was their rule, it was probably mild when compared with the cruel and insatiable sway of the aztecs over their unhappy dependents. the spaniards found a tyrannical despotism in the conquered provinces, and a faith the accessories of which were so fiendish that it cast a gloom over the entire national life. these they replaced by a milder vassalage and the earnest ministrations of a more enlightened priesthood. chapter ii: mexican mythology nahua religion the religion of the ancient mexicans was a polytheism or worship of a pantheon of deities, the general aspect of which presented similarities to the systems of greece and egypt. original influences, however, were strong, and they are especially discernible in the institutions of ritualistic cannibalism and human sacrifice. strange resemblances to christian practice were observed in the aztec mythology by the spanish conquistadores, who piously condemned the native customs of baptism, consubstantiation, and confession as frauds founded and perpetuated by diabolic agency. a superficial examination of the nahua religion might lead to the inference that within its scope and system no definite theological views were embraced and no ethical principles propounded, and that the entire mythology presents only the fantastic attitude of the barbarian mind toward the eternal verities. such a conclusion would be both erroneous and unjust to a human intelligence of a type by no means debased. as a matter of fact, the nahua displayed a theological advancement greatly superior to that of the greeks or romans, and quite on a level with that expressed by the egyptians and assyrians. toward the period of the spanish occupation the mexican priesthood was undoubtedly advancing to the contemplation of the exaltation of one god, whose worship was fast excluding that of similar deities, and if our data are too imperfect to allow us to speak very fully in regard to this phase of religious advancement, we know at least that much of the nahua ritual and many of the prayers preserved by the labours of the spanish fathers are unquestionably genuine, and display the attainment of a high religious level. cosmology aztec theology postulated an eternity which, however, was not without its epochs. it was thought to be broken up into a number of æons, each of which depended upon the period of duration of a separate "sun." no agreement is noticeable among authorities on mexican mythology as to the number of these "suns," but it would appear as probable that the favourite tradition stipulated for four "suns" or epochs, each of which concluded with a national disaster--flood, famine, tempest, or fire. the present æon, they feared, might conclude upon the completion of every "sheaf" of fifty-two years, the "sheaf" being a merely arbitrary portion of an æon. the period of time from the first creation to the current æon was variously computed as , , , or solar years, the discrepancy and doubt arising because of the equivocal nature of the numeral signs expressing the period in the pinturas or native paintings. as regards the sequence of "suns" there is no more agreement than there is regarding their number. the codex vaticanus states it to have been water, wind, fire, and famine. humboldt gives it as hunger, fire, wind, and water; boturini as water, famine, wind, and fire; and gama as hunger, wind, fire, and water. in all likelihood the adoption of four ages arose from the sacred nature of that number. the myth doubtless shaped itself upon the tonalamatl (mexican native calendar), the great repository of the wisdom of the nahua race, which the priestly class regarded as its vade mecum, and which was closely consulted by it on every occasion, civil or religious. the sources of mexican mythology our knowledge of the mythology of the mexicans is chiefly gained through the works of those spaniards, lay and cleric, who entered the country along with or immediately subsequent to the spanish conquistadores. from several of these we have what might be called first-hand accounts of the theogony and ritual of the nahua people. the most valuable compendium is that of father bernardino sahagun, entitled a general history of the affairs of new spain, which was published from manuscript only in the middle of last century, though written in the first half of the sixteenth century. sahagun arrived in mexico eight years after the country had been reduced by the spaniards to a condition of servitude. he obtained a thorough mastery of the nahuatl tongue, and conceived a warm admiration for the native mind and a deep interest in the antiquities of the conquered people. his method of collecting facts concerning their mythology and history was as effective as it was ingenious. he held daily conferences with reliable indians, and placed questions before them, to which they replied by symbolical paintings detailing the answers which he required. these he submitted to scholars who had been trained under his own supervision, and who, after consultation among themselves, rendered him a criticism in nahuatl of the hieroglyphical paintings he had placed at their disposal. not content with this process, he subjected these replies to the criticism of a third body, after which the matter was included in his work. but ecclesiastical intolerance was destined to keep the work from publication for a couple of centuries. afraid that such a volume would be successful in keeping alight the fires of paganism in mexico, sahagun's brethren refused him the assistance he required for its publication. but on his appealing to the council of the indies in spain he was met with encouragement, and was ordered to translate his great work into spanish, a task he undertook when over eighty years of age. he transmitted the work to spain, and for three hundred years nothing more was heard of it. the romance of the lost "sahagun" for generations antiquarians interested in the lore of ancient mexico bemoaned its loss, until at length one muñoz, more indefatigable than the rest, chanced to visit the crumbling library of the ancient convent of tolosi, in navarre. there, among time-worn manuscripts and tomes relating to the early fathers and the intricacies of canon law, he discovered the lost sahagun! it was printed separately by bustamante at mexico and by lord kingsborough in his collection in , and has been translated into french by m. jourdanet. thus the manuscript commenced in or after was given to the public after a lapse of no less than three hundred years! torquemada father torquemada arrived in the new world about the middle of the sixteenth century, at which period he was still enabled to take from the lips of such of the conquistadores as remained much curious information regarding the circumstances of their advent. his monarchia indiana was first published at seville in , and in it he made much use of the manuscript of sahagun, not then published. at the same time his observations upon matters pertaining to the native religion are often illuminating and exhaustive. in his storia antica del messico the abbé clavigero, who published his work in , did much to disperse the clouds of tradition which hung over mexican history and mythology. the clarity of his style and the exactness of his information render his work exceedingly useful. antonio gama, in his descripcion historica y cronologica de las dos piedras, poured a flood of light on mexican antiquities. his work was published in . with him may be said to have ceased the line of mexican archæologists of the older school. others worthy of being mentioned among the older writers on mexican mythology (we are not here concerned with history) are boturini, who, in his idea de una nueva historia general de la america septentrional, gives a vivid picture of native life and tradition, culled from first-hand communication with the people; ixtlilxochitl, a half-breed, whose mendacious works, the relaciones and historia chichimeca, are yet valuable repositories of tradition; josé de acosta, whose historia natural y moral de las yndias was published at seville in ; and gomara, who, in his historia general de las indias (madrid, ), rested upon the authority of the conquistadores. tezozomoc's chronica mexicana, reproduced in lord kingsborough's great work, is valuable as giving unique facts regarding the aztec mythology, as is the teatro mexicana of vetancurt, published at mexico in - . the worship of one god the ritual of this dead faith of another hemisphere abounds in expressions concerning the unity of the deity approaching very nearly to many of those we ourselves employ regarding god's attributes. the various classes of the priesthood were in the habit of addressing the several gods to whom they ministered as "omnipotent," "endless," "invisible," "the one god complete in perfection and unity," and "the maker and moulder of all." these appellations they applied not to one supreme being, but to the individual deities to whose service they were attached. it may be thought that such a practice would be fatal to the evolution of a single and universal god. but there is every reason to believe that tezcatlipoca, the great god of the air, like the hebrew jahveh, also an air-god, was fast gaining precedence of all other deities, when the coming of the white man put an end to his chances of sovereignty. tezcatlipoca tezcatlipoca (fiery mirror) was undoubtedly the jupiter of the nahua pantheon. he carried a mirror or shield, from which he took his name, and in which he was supposed to see reflected the actions and deeds of mankind. the evolution of this god from the status of a spirit of wind or air to that of the supreme deity of the aztec people presents many points of deep interest to students of mythology. originally the personification of the air, the source both of the breath of life and of the tempest, tezcatlipoca possessed all the attributes of a god who presided over these phenomena. as the tribal god of the tezcucans who had led them into the land of promise, and had been instrumental in the defeat of both the gods and men of the elder race they dispossessed, tezcatlipoca naturally advanced so speedily in popularity and public honour that it was little wonder that within a comparatively short space of time he came to be regarded as a god of fate and fortune, and as inseparably connected with the national destinies. thus, from being the peculiar deity of a small band of nahua immigrants, the prestige accruing from the rapid conquest made under his tutelary direction and the speedily disseminated tales of the prowess of those who worshipped him seemed to render him at once the most popular and the best feared god in anahuac, therefore the one whose cult quickly overshadowed that of other and similar gods. tezcatlipoca, overthrower of the toltecs we find tezcatlipoca intimately associated with the legends which recount the overthrow of tollan, the capital of the toltecs. his chief adversary on the toltec side is the god-king quetzalcoatl, whose nature and reign we will consider later, but whom we will now merely regard as the enemy of tezcatlipoca. the rivalry between these gods symbolises that which existed between the civilised toltecs and the barbarian nahua, and is well exemplified in the following myths. myths of quetzalcoatl and tezcatlipoca in the days of quetzalcoatl there was abundance of everything necessary for subsistence. the maize was plentiful, the calabashes were as thick as one's arm, and cotton grew in all colours without having to be dyed. a variety of birds of rich plumage filled the air with their songs, and gold, silver, and precious stones were abundant. in the reign of quetzalcoatl there was peace and plenty for all men. but this blissful state was too fortunate, too happy to endure. envious of the calm enjoyment of the god and his people the toltecs, three wicked "necromancers" plotted their downfall. the reference is of course to the gods of the invading nahua tribes, the deities huitzilopochtli, titlacahuan or tezcatlipoca, and tlacahuepan. these laid evil enchantments upon the city of tollan, and tezcatlipoca in particular took the lead in these envious conspiracies. disguised as an aged man with white hair, he presented himself at the palace of quetzalcoatl, where he said to the pages-in-waiting: "pray present me to your master the king. i desire to speak with him." the pages advised him to retire, as quetzalcoatl was indisposed and could see no one. he requested them, however, to tell the god that he was waiting outside. they did so, and procured his admittance. on entering the chamber of quetzalcoatl the wily tezcatlipoca simulated much sympathy with the suffering god-king. "how are you, my son?" he asked. "i have brought you a drug which you should drink, and which will put an end to the course of your malady." "you are welcome, old man," replied quetzalcoatl. "i have known for many days that you would come. i am exceedingly indisposed. the malady affects my entire system, and i can use neither my hands nor feet." tezcatlipoca assured him that if he partook of the medicine which he had brought him he would immediately experience a great improvement in health. quetzalcoatl drank the potion, and at once felt much revived. the cunning tezcatlipoca pressed another and still another cup of the potion upon him, and as it was nothing but pulque, the wine of the country, he speedily became intoxicated, and was as wax in the hands of his adversary. tezcatlipoca and the toltecs tezcatlipoca, in pursuance of his policy inimical to the toltec state, took the form of an indian of the name of toueyo (toveyo), and bent his steps to the palace of uemac, chief of the toltecs in temporal matters. this worthy had a daughter so fair that she was desired in marriage by many of the toltecs, but all to no purpose, as her father refused her hand to one and all. the princess, beholding the false toueyo passing her father's palace, fell deeply in love with him, and so tumultuous was her passion that she became seriously ill because of her longing for him. uemac, hearing of her indisposition, bent his steps to her apartments, and inquired of her women the cause of her illness. they told him that it was occasioned by the sudden passion which had seized her for the indian who had recently come that way. uemac at once gave orders for the arrest of toueyo, and he was haled before the temporal chief of tollan. "whence come you?" inquired uemac of his prisoner, who was very scantily attired. "lord, i am a stranger, and i have come to these parts to sell green paint," replied tezcatlipoca. "why are you dressed in this fashion? why do you not wear a cloak?" asked the chief. "my lord, i follow the custom of my country," replied tezcatlipoca. "you have inspired a passion in the breast of my daughter," said uemac. "what should be done to you for thus disgracing me?" "slay me; i care not," said the cunning tezcatlipoca. "nay," replied uemac, "for if i slay you my daughter will perish. go to her and say that she may wed you and be happy." now the marriage of toueyo to the daughter of uemac aroused much discontent among the toltecs; and they murmured among themselves, and said: "wherefore did uemac give his daughter to this toueyo?" uemac, having got wind of these murmurings, resolved to distract the attention of the toltecs by making war upon the neighbouring state of coatepec. the toltecs assembled armed for the fray, and having arrived at the country of the men of coatepec they placed toueyo in ambush with his body-servants, hoping that he would be slain by their adversaries. but toueyo and his men killed a large number of the enemy and put them to flight. his triumph was celebrated by uemac with much pomp. the knightly plumes were placed upon his head, and his body was painted with red and yellow--an honour reserved for those who distinguished themselves in battle. tezcatlipoca's next step was to announce a great feast in tollan, to which all the people for miles around were invited. great crowds assembled, and danced and sang in the city to the sound of the drum. tezcatlipoca sang to them and forced them to accompany the rhythm of his song with their feet. faster and faster the people danced, until the pace became so furious that they were driven to madness, lost their footing, and tumbled pell-mell down a deep ravine, where they were changed into rocks. others in attempting to cross a stone bridge precipitated themselves into the water below, and were changed into stones. on another occasion tezcatlipoca presented himself as a valiant warrior named tequiua, and invited all the inhabitants of tollan and its environs to come to the flower-garden called xochitla. when assembled there he attacked them with a hoe, and slew a great number, and others in panic crushed their comrades to death. tezcatlipoca and tlacahuepan on another occasion repaired to the market-place of tollan, the former displaying upon the palm of his hand a small infant whom he caused to dance and to cut the most amusing capers. this infant was in reality huitzilopochtli, the nahua god of war. at this sight the toltecs crowded upon one another for the purpose of getting a better view, and their eagerness resulted in many being crushed to death. so enraged were the toltecs at this that upon the advice of tlacahuepan they slew both tezcatlipoca and huitzilopochtli. when this had been done the bodies of the slain gods gave forth such a pernicious effluvia that thousands of the toltecs died of the pestilence. the god tlacahuepan then advised them to cast out the bodies lest worse befell them, but on their attempting to do so they discovered their weight to be so great that they could not move them. hundreds wound cords round the corpses, but the strands broke, and those who pulled upon them fell and died suddenly, tumbling one upon the other, and suffocating those upon whom they collapsed. the departure of quetzalcoatl the toltecs were so tormented by the enchantments of tezcatlipoca that it was soon apparent to them that their fortunes were on the wane and that the end of their empire was at hand. quetzalcoatl, chagrined at the turn things had taken, resolved to quit tollan and go to the country of tlapallan, whence he had come on his civilising mission to mexico. he burned all the houses which he had built, and buried his treasure of gold and precious stones in the deep valleys between the mountains. he changed the cacao-trees into mezquites, and he ordered all the birds of rich plumage and song to quit the valley of anahuac and to follow him to a distance of more than a hundred leagues. on the road from tollan he discovered a great tree at a point called quauhtitlan. there he rested, and requested his pages to hand him a mirror. regarding himself in the polished surface, he exclaimed, "i am old," and from that circumstance the spot was named huehuequauhtitlan (old quauhtitlan). proceeding on his way accompanied by musicians who played the flute, he walked until fatigue arrested his steps, and he seated himself upon a stone, on which he left the imprint of his hands. this place is called temacpalco (the impress of the hands). at coaapan he was met by the nahua gods, who were inimical to him and to the toltecs. "where do you go?" they asked him. "why do you leave your capital?" "i go to tlapallan," replied quetzalcoatl, "whence i came." "for what reason?" persisted the enchanters. "my father the sun has called me thence," replied quetzalcoatl. "go, then, happily," they said, "but leave us the secret of your art, the secret of founding in silver, of working in precious stones and woods, of painting, and of feather-working, and other matters." but quetzalcoatl refused, and cast all his treasures into the fountain of cozcaapa (water of precious stones). at cochtan he was met by another enchanter, who asked him whither he was bound, and on learning his destination proffered him a draught of wine. on tasting the vintage quetzalcoatl was overcome with sleep. continuing his journey in the morning, the god passed between a volcano and the sierra nevada (mountain of snow), where all the pages who accompanied him died of cold. he regretted this misfortune exceedingly, and wept, lamenting their fate with most bitter tears and mournful songs. on reaching the summit of mount poyauhtecatl he slid to the base. arriving at the sea-shore, he embarked upon a raft of serpents, and was wafted away toward the land of tlapallan. it is obvious that these legends bear some resemblance to those of ixtlilxochitl which recount the fall of the toltecs. they are taken from sahagun's work, historia general de nueva españa, and are included as well for the sake of comparison as for their own intrinsic value. tezcatlipoca as doomster tezcatlipoca was much more than a mere personification of wind, and if he was regarded as a life-giver he had also the power of destroying existence. in fact on occasion he appears as an inexorable death-dealer, and as such was styled nezahualpilli (the hungry chief) and yaotzin (the enemy). perhaps one of the names by which he was best known was telpochtli (the youthful warrior), from the fact that his reserve of strength, his vital force, never diminished, and that his youthful and boisterous vigour was apparent in the tempest. tezcatlipoca was usually depicted as holding in his right hand a dart placed in an atlatl (spear-thrower), and his mirror-shield with four spare darts in his left. this shield is the symbol of his power as judge of mankind and upholder of human justice. the aztecs pictured tezcatlipoca as rioting along the highways in search of persons on whom to wreak his vengeance, as the wind of night rushes along the deserted roads with more seeming violence than it does by day. indeed one of his names, yoalli ehecatl, signifies "night wind." benches of stone, shaped like those made for the dignitaries of the mexican towns, were distributed along the highways for his especial use, that on these he might rest after his boisterous journeyings. these seats were concealed by green boughs, beneath which the god was supposed to lurk in wait for his victims. but if one of the persons he seized overcame him in the struggle he might ask whatever boon he desired, secure in the promise of the deity that it should be granted forthwith. it was supposed that tezcatlipoca had guided the nahua, and especially the people of tezcuco, from a more northerly clime to the valley of mexico. but he was not a mere local deity of tezcuco, his worship being widely celebrated throughout the country. his exalted position in the mexican pantheon seems to have won for him especial reverence as a god of fate and fortune. the place he took as the head of the nahua pantheon brought him many attributes which were quite foreign to his original character. fear and a desire to exalt their tutelar deity will impel the devotees of a powerful god to credit him with any or every quality, so that there is nothing remarkable in the spectacle of the heaping of every possible attribute, human or divine, upon tezcatlipoca when we recall the supreme position he occupied in mexican mythology. his priestly caste far surpassed in power and in the breadth and activity of its propaganda the priesthoods of the other mexican deities. to it is credited the invention of many of the usages of civilisation, and that it all but succeeded in making his worship universal is pretty clear, as has been shown. the other gods were worshipped for some special purpose, but the worship of tezcatlipoca was regarded as compulsory, and to some extent as a safeguard against the destruction of the universe, a calamity the nahua had been led to believe might occur through his agency. he was known as moneneque (the claimer of prayer), and in some of the representations of him an ear of gold was shown suspended from his hair, toward which small tongues of gold strained upward in appeal of prayer. in times of national danger, plague, or famine universal prayer was made to tezcatlipoca. the heads of the community repaired to his teocalli (temple) accompanied by the people en masse, and all prayed earnestly together for his speedy intervention. the prayers to tezcatlipoca still extant prove that the ancient mexicans fully believed that he possessed the power of life and death, and many of them are couched in the most piteous terms. the teotleco festival the supreme position occupied by tezcatlipoca in the mexican religion is well exemplified in the festival of the teotleco (coming of the gods), which is fully described in sahagun's account of the mexican festivals. another peculiarity connected with his worship was that he was one of the few mexican deities who had any relation to the expiation of sin. sin was symbolised by the nahua as excrement, and in various manuscripts tezcatlipoca is represented as a turkey-cock to which ordure is being offered up. of the festival of the teotleco sahagun says: "in the twelfth month a festival was celebrated in honour of all the gods, who were said to have gone to some country i know not where. on the last day of the month a greater one was held, because the gods had returned. on the fifteenth day of this month the young boys and the servitors decked all the altars or oratories of the gods with boughs, as well as those which were in the houses, and the images which were set up by the wayside and at the cross-roads. this work was paid for in maize. some received a basketful, and others only a few ears. on the eighteenth day the ever-youthful god tlamatzincatl or titlacahuan arrived. it was said that he marched better and arrived the first because he was strong and young. food was offered him in his temple on that night. every one drank, ate, and made merry. the old people especially celebrated the arrival of the god by drinking wine, and it was alleged that his feet were washed by these rejoicings. the last day of the month was marked by a great festival, on account of the belief that the whole of the gods arrived at that time. on the preceding night a quantity of flour was kneaded on a carpet into the shape of a cheese, it being supposed that the gods would leave a footprint thereon as a sign of their return. the chief attendant watched all night, going to and fro to see if the impression appeared. when he at last saw it he called out, 'the master has arrived,' and at once the priests of the temple began to sound the horns, trumpets, and other musical instruments used by them. upon hearing this noise every one set forth to offer food in all the temples." the next day the aged gods were supposed to arrive, and young men disguised as monsters hurled victims into a huge sacrificial fire. the toxcatl festival the most remarkable festival in connection with tezcatlipoca was the toxcatl, held in the fifth month. on the day of this festival a youth was slain who for an entire year previously had been carefully instructed in the rôle of victim. he was selected from among the best war captives of the year, and must be without spot or blemish. he assumed the name, garb, and attributes of tezcatlipoca himself, and was regarded with awe by the entire populace, who imagined him to be the earthly representative of the deity. he rested during the day, and ventured forth at night only, armed with the dart and shield of the god, to scour the roads. this practice was, of course, symbolical of the wind-god's progress over the night-bound highways. he carried also the whistle symbolical of the deity, and made with it a noise such as the weird wind of night makes when it hurries through the streets. to his arms and legs small bells were attached. he was followed by a retinue of pages, and at intervals rested upon the stone seats which were placed upon the highways for the convenience of tezcatlipoca. later in the year he was mated to four beautiful maidens of high birth, with whom he passed the time in amusement of every description. he was entertained at the tables of the nobility as the earthly representative of tezcatlipoca, and his latter days were one constant round of feasting and excitement. at last the fatal day upon which he must be sacrificed arrived. he took a tearful farewell of the maidens whom he had espoused, and was carried to the teocalli of sacrifice, upon the sides of which he broke the musical instruments with which he had beguiled the time of his captivity. when he reached the summit he was received by the high-priest, who speedily made him one with the god whom he represented by tearing his heart out on the stone of sacrifice. huitzilopochtli, the war-god huitzilopochtli occupied in the aztec pantheon a place similar to that of mars in the roman. his origin is obscure, but the myth relating to it is distinctly original in character. it recounts how, under the shadow of the mountain of coatepec, near the toltec city of tollan, there dwelt a pious widow called coatlicue, the mother of a tribe of indians called centzonuitznaua, who had a daughter called coyolxauhqui, and who daily repaired to a small hill with the intention of offering up prayers to the gods in a penitent spirit of piety. whilst occupied in her devotions one day she was surprised by a small ball of brilliantly coloured feathers falling upon her from on high. she was pleased by the bright variety of its hues, and placed it in her bosom, intending to offer it up to the sun-god. some time afterwards she learnt that she was to become the mother of another child. her sons, hearing of this, rained abuse upon her, being incited to humiliate her in every possible way by their sister coyolxauhqui. coatlicue went about in fear and anxiety; but the spirit of her unborn infant came and spoke to her and gave her words of encouragement, soothing her troubled heart. her sons, however, were resolved to wipe out what they considered an insult to their race by the death of their mother, and took counsel with one another to slay her. they attired themselves in their war-gear, and arranged their hair after the manner of warriors going to battle. but one of their number, quauitlicac, relented, and confessed the perfidy of his brothers to the still unborn huitzilopochtli, who replied to him: "o brother, hearken attentively to what i have to say to you. i am fully informed of what is about to happen." with the intention of slaying their mother, the indians went in search of her. at their head marched their sister, coyolxauhqui. they were armed to the teeth, and carried bundles of darts with which they intended to kill the luckless coatlicue. quauitlicac climbed the mountain to acquaint huitzilopochtli with the news that his brothers were approaching to kill their mother. "mark well where they are at," replied the infant god. "to what place have they advanced?" "to tzompantitlan," responded quauitlicac. later on huitzilopochtli asked: "where may they be now?" "at coaxalco," was the reply. once more huitzilopochtli asked to what point his enemies had advanced. "they are now at petlac," quauitlicac replied. after a little while quauitlicac informed huitzilopochtli that the centzonuitznaua were at hand under the leadership of coyolxauhqui. at the moment of the enemy's arrival huitzilopochtli was born, flourishing a shield and spear of a blue colour. he was painted, his head was surmounted by a panache, and his left leg was covered with feathers. he shattered coyolxauhqui with a flash of serpentine lightning, and then gave chase to the centzonuitznaua, whom he pursued four times round the mountain. they did not attempt to defend themselves, but fled incontinently. many perished in the waters of the adjoining lake, to which they had rushed in their despair. all were slain save a few who escaped to a place called uitzlampa, where they surrendered to huitzilopochtli and gave up their arms. the name huitzilopochtli signifies "humming-bird to the left," from the circumstance that the god wore the feathers of the humming-bird, or colibri, on his left leg. from this it has been inferred that he was a humming-bird totem. the explanation of huitzilopochtli's origin is a little deeper than this, however. among the american tribes, especially those of the northern continent, the serpent is regarded with the deepest veneration as the symbol of wisdom and magic. from these sources come success in war. the serpent also typifies the lightning, the symbol of the divine spear, the apotheosis of warlike might. fragments of serpents are regarded as powerful war-physic among many tribes. atatarho, a mythical wizard-king of the iroquois, was clothed with living serpents as with a robe, and his myth throws light on one of the names of huitzilopochtli's mother, coatlantona (robe of serpents). huitzilopochtli's image was surrounded by serpents, and rested on serpent-shaped supporters. his sceptre was a single snake, and his great drum was of serpent-skin. in american mythology the serpent is closely associated with the bird. thus the name of the god quetzalcoatl is translatable as "feathered serpent," and many similar cases where the conception of bird and serpent have been unified could be adduced. huitzilopochtli is undoubtedly one of these. we may regard him as a god the primary conception of whom arose from the idea of the serpent, the symbol of warlike wisdom and might, the symbol of the warrior's dart or spear, and the humming-bird, the harbinger of summer, type of the season when the snake or lightning god has power over the crops. huitzilopochtli was usually represented as wearing on his head a waving panache or plume of humming-birds' feathers. his face and limbs were striped with bars of blue, and in his right hand he carried four spears. his left hand bore his shield, on the surface of which were displayed five tufts of down, arranged in the form of a quincunx. the shield was made with reeds, covered with eagle's down. the spear he brandished was also tipped with tufts of down instead of flint. these weapons were placed in the hands of those who as captives engaged in the sacrificial fight, for in the aztec mind huitzilopochtli symbolised the warrior's death on the gladiatorial stone of combat. as has been said, huitzilopochtli was war-god of the aztecs, and was supposed to have led them to the site of mexico from their original home in the north. the city of mexico took its name from one of its districts, which was designated by a title of huitzilopochtli's, mexitli (hare of the aloes). the war-god as fertiliser but huitzilopochtli was not a war-god alone. as the serpent-god of lightning he had a connection with summer, the season of lightning, and therefore had dominion to some extent over the crops and fruits of the earth. the algonquian indians of north america believed that the rattlesnake could raise ruinous storms or grant favourable breezes. they alluded to it also as the symbol of life, for the serpent has a phallic significance because of its similarity to the symbol of generation and fructification. with some american tribes also, notably the pueblo indians of arizona, the serpent has a solar significance, and with tail in mouth symbolises the annual round of the sun. the nahua believed that huitzilopochtli could grant them fair weather for the fructification of their crops, and they placed an image of tlaloc, the rain-god, near him, so that, if necessary, the war-god could compel the rain-maker to exert his pluvial powers or to abstain from the creation of floods. we must, in considering the nature of this deity, bear well in mind the connection in the nahua consciousness between the pantheon, war, and the food-supply. if war was not waged annually the gods must go without flesh food and perish, and if the gods succumbed the crops would fail, and famine would destroy the race. so it was small wonder that huitzilopochtli was one of the chief gods of mexico. huitzilopochtli's principal festival was the toxcatl, celebrated immediately after the toxcatl festival of tezcatlipoca, to which it bore a strong resemblance. festivals of the god were held in may and december, at the latter of which an image of him, moulded in dough kneaded with the blood of sacrificed children, was pierced by the presiding priest with an arrow--an act significant of the death of huitzilopochtli until his resurrection in the next year. strangely enough, when the absolute supremacy of tezcatlipoca is remembered, the high-priest of huitzilopochtli, the mexicatl teohuatzin, was considered to be the religious head of the mexican priesthood. the priests of huitzilopochtli held office by right of descent, and their primate exacted absolute obedience from the priesthoods of all the other deities, being regarded as next to the monarch himself in power and dominion. tlaloc, the rain-god tlaloc was the god of rain and moisture. in a country such as mexico, where the success or failure of the crops depends entirely upon the plentiful nature or otherwise of the rainfall, he was, it will be readily granted, a deity of high importance. it was believed that he made his home in the mountains which surround the valley of mexico, as these were the source of the local rainfall, and his popularity is vouched for by the fact that sculptured representations of him occur more often than those of any other of the mexican deities. he is generally represented in a semi-recumbent attitude, with the upper part of the body raised upon the elbows, and the knees half drawn up, probably to represent the mountainous character of the country whence comes the rain. he was espoused to chalchihuitlicue (emerald lady), who bore him a numerous progeny, the tlalocs (clouds). many of the figures which represented him were carved from the green stone called chalchiuitl (jadeite), to typify the colour of water, and in some of these he was shown holding a serpent of gold to typify the lightning, for water-gods are often closely identified with the thunder, which hangs over the hills and accompanies heavy rains. tlaloc, like his prototype, the kiche god hurakan, manifested himself in three forms, as the lightning-flash, the thunderbolt, and the thunder. although his image faced the east, where he was supposed to have originated, he was worshipped as inhabiting the four cardinal points and every mountain-top. the colours of the four points of the compass, yellow, green, red, and blue, whence came the rain-bearing winds, entered into the composition of his costume, which was further crossed with streaks of silver, typifying the mountain torrents. a vase containing every description of grain was usually placed before his idol, an offering of the growth which it was hoped he would fructify. he dwelt in a many-watered paradise called tlalocan (the country of tlaloc), a place of plenty and fruitfulness, where those who had been drowned or struck by lightning or had died from dropsical diseases enjoyed eternal bliss. those of the common people who did not die such deaths went to the dark abode of mictlan, the all-devouring and gloomy lord of death. in the native manuscripts tlaloc is usually portrayed as having a dark complexion, a large round eye, a row of tusks, and over the lips an angular blue stripe curved downward and rolled up at the ends. the latter character is supposed to have been evolved originally from the coils of two snakes, their mouths with long fangs in the upper jaw meeting in the middle of the upper lip. the snake, besides being symbolised by lightning in many american mythologies, is also symbolical of water, which is well typified in its sinuous movements. many maidens and children were annually sacrificed to tlaloc. if the children wept it was regarded as a happy omen for a rainy season. the etzalqualiztli (when they eat bean food) was his chief festival, and was held on a day approximating to may , about which date the rainy season usually commenced. another festival in his honour, the quauitleua, commenced the mexican year on february . at the former festival the priests of tlaloc plunged into a lake, imitating the sounds and movements of frogs, which, as denizens of water, were under the special protection of the god. chalchihuitlicue, his wife, was often symbolised by the small image of a frog. sacrifices to tlaloc human sacrifices also took place at certain points in the mountains where artificial ponds were consecrated to tlaloc. cemeteries were situated in their vicinity, and offerings to the god interred near the burial-place of the bodies of the victims slain in his service. his statue was placed on the highest mountain of tezcuco, and an old writer mentions that five or six young children were annually offered to the god at various points, their hearts torn out, and their remains interred. the mountains popocatepetl and teocuinani were regarded as his special high places, and on the heights of the latter was built his temple, in which stood his image carved in green stone. the nahua believed that the constant production of food and rain induced a condition of senility in those deities whose duty it was to provide them. this they attempted to stave off, fearing that if they failed in so doing the gods would perish. they afforded them, accordingly, a period of rest and recuperation, and once in eight years a festival called the atamalqualiztli (fast of porridge-balls and water) was held, during which every one in the nahua community returned for the time being to the conditions of savage life. dressed in costumes representing all forms of animal and bird life, and mimicking the sounds made by the various creatures they typified, the people danced round the teocalli of tlaloc for the purpose of diverting and entertaining him after his labours in producing the fertilising rains of the past eight years. a lake was filled with water-snakes and frogs, and into this the people plunged, catching the reptiles in their mouths and devouring them alive. the only grain food which might be partaken during this season of rest was thin water-porridge of maize. should one of the more prosperous peasants or yeomen deem a rainfall necessary to the growth of his crops, or should he fear a drought, he sought out one of the professional makers of dough or paste idols, whom he desired to mould one of tlaloc. to this image offerings of maize-porridge and pulque were made. throughout the night the farmer and his neighbours danced, shrieking and howling round the figure for the purpose of rousing tlaloc from his drought-bringing slumbers. next day was spent in quaffing huge libations of pulque, and in much-needed rest from the exertions of the previous night. in tlaloc it is easy to trace resemblances to a mythological conception widely prevalent among the indigenous american peoples. he is similar to such deities as the hurakan of the kiche of guatemala, the pillan of the aborigines of chile, and con, the thunder-god of the collao of peru. only his thunderous powers are not so apparent as his rain-making abilities, and in this he differs somewhat from the gods alluded to. quetzalcoatl it is highly probable that quetzalcoatl was a deity of the pre-nahua people of mexico. he was regarded by the aztec race as a god of somewhat alien character, and had but a limited following in mexico, the city of huitzilopochtli. in cholula, however, and others of the older towns his worship flourished exceedingly. he was regarded as "the father of the toltecs," and, legend says, was the seventh and youngest son of the toltec abraham, iztacmixcohuatl. quetzalcoatl (whose name means "feathered serpent" or "feathered staff") became, at a relatively early period, ruler of tollan, and by his enlightened sway and his encouragement of the liberal arts did much to further the advancement of his people. his reign had lasted for a period sufficient to permit of his placing the cultivated arts upon a satisfactory basis when the country was visited by the cunning magicians tezcatlipoca and coyotlinaual, god of the amantecas. disentangled from its terms of myth, this statement may be taken to imply that bands of invading nahua first began to appear within the toltec territories. tezcatlipoca, descending from the sky in the shape of a spider by way of a fine web, proffered him a draught of pulque, which so intoxicated him that the curse of lust descended upon him, and he forgot his chastity with quetzalpetlatl. the doom pronounced upon him was the hard one of banishment, and he was compelled to forsake anahuac. his exile wrought peculiar changes upon the face of the country. he secreted his treasures of gold and silver, burned his palaces, transformed the cacao-trees into mezquites, and banished all the birds from the neighbourhood of tollan. the magicians, nonplussed at these unexpected happenings, begged him to return, but he refused on the ground that the sun required his presence. he proceeded to tabasco, the fabled land of tlapallan, and, embarking upon a raft made of serpents, floated away to the east. a slightly different version of this myth has already been given. other accounts state that the king cast himself upon a funeral pyre and was consumed, and that the ashes arising from the conflagration flew upward, and were changed into birds of brilliant plumage. his heart also soared into the sky, and became the morning star. the mexicans averred that quetzalcoatl died when the star became visible, and thus they bestowed upon him the title "lord of the dawn." they further said that when he died he was invisible for four days, and that for eight days he wandered in the underworld, after which time the morning star appeared, when he achieved resurrection, and ascended his throne as a god. it is the contention of some authorities that the myth of quetzalcoatl points to his status as god of the sun. that luminary, they say, begins his diurnal journey in the east, whence quetzalcoatl returned as to his native home. it will be recalled that montezuma and his subjects imagined that cortés was no other than quetzalcoatl, returned to his dominions, as an old prophecy declared he would do. but that he stood for the sun itself is highly improbable, as will be shown. first of all, however, it will be well to pay some attention to other theories concerning his origin. perhaps the most important of these is that which regards quetzalcoatl as a god of the air. he is connected, say some, with the cardinal points, and wears the insignia of the cross, which symbolises them. dr. seler says of him: "he has a protruding, trumpet-like mouth, for the wind-god blows.... his figure suggests whirls and circles. hence his temples were built in circular form.... the head of the wind-god stands for the second of the twenty day signs, which was called ehecatl (wind)." the same authority, however, in his essay on mexican chronology, gives to quetzalcoatl a dual nature, "the dual nature which seems to belong to the wind-god quetzalcoatl, who now appears simply a wind-god, and again seems to show the true characters of the old god of fire and light." [ ] dr. brinton perceived in quetzalcoatl a similar dual nature. "he is both lord of the eastern light and of the winds," he writes (myths of the new world, p. ). "like all the dawn heroes, he too was represented as of white complexion, clothed in long, white robes, and, as many of the aztec gods, with a full and flowing beard.... he had been overcome by tezcatlipoca, the wind or spirit of night, who had descended from heaven by a spider's web, and presented his rival with a draught supposed to confer immortality, but in fact producing an intolerable longing for home. for the wind and the light both depart when the gloaming draws near, or when the clouds spread their dark and shadowy webs along the mountains, and pour the vivifying rain upon the fields." the theory which derives quetzalcoatl from a "culture-hero" who once actually existed is scarcely reconcilable with probability. it is more than likely that, as in the case of other mythical paladins, the legend of a mighty hero arose from the somewhat weakened idea of a great deity. some of the early spanish missionaries professed to see in quetzalcoatl the apostle st. thomas, who had journeyed to america to effect its conversion! the man of the sun a more probable explanation of the origin of quetzalcoatl and a more likely elucidation of his nature is that which would regard him as the man of the sun, who has quitted his abode for a season for the purpose of inculcating in mankind those arts which represent the first steps in civilisation, who fulfils his mission, and who, at a late period, is displaced by the deities of an invading race. quetzalcoatl was represented as a traveller with staff in hand, and this is proof of his solar character, as is the statement that under his rule the fruits of the earth flourished more abundantly than at any subsequent period. the abundance of gold said to have been accumulated in his reign assists the theory, the precious metal being invariably associated with the sun by most barbarous peoples. in the native pinturas it is noticeable that the solar disc and semi-disc are almost invariably found in connection with the feathered serpent as the symbolical attributes of quetzalcoatl. the hopi indians of mexico at the present day symbolise the sun as a serpent, tail in mouth, and the ancient mexicans introduced the solar disc in connection with small images of quetzalcoatl, which they attached to the head-dress. in still other examples quetzalcoatl is pictured as if emerging or stepping from the luminary, which is represented as his dwelling-place. several tribes tributary to the aztecs were in the habit of imploring quetzalcoatl in prayer to return and free them from the intolerable bondage of the conqueror. notable among them were the totonacs, who passionately believed that the sun, their father, would send a god who would free them from the aztec yoke. on the coming of the spaniards the european conquerors were hailed as the servants of quetzalcoatl, thus in the eyes of the natives fulfilling the tradition that he would return. various forms of quetzalcoatl various conceptions of quetzalcoatl are noticeable in the mythology of the territories which extended from the north of mexico to the marshes of nicaragua. in guatemala the kiches recognised him as gucumatz, and in yucatan proper he was worshipped as kukulcan, both of which names are but literal translations of his mexican title of "feathered serpent" into kiche and mayan. that the three deities are one and the same there can be no shadow of doubt. several authorities have seen in kukulcan a "serpent-and-rain god." he can only be such in so far as he is a solar god also. the cult of the feathered snake in yucatan was unquestionably a branch of sun-worship. in tropical latitudes the sun draws the clouds round him at noon. the rain falls from the clouds accompanied by thunder and lightning--the symbols of the divine serpent. therefore the manifestations of the heavenly serpent were directly associated with the sun, and no statement that kukulcan is a mere serpent-and-water god satisfactorily elucidates his characteristics. quetzalcoatl's northern origin it is by no means improbable that quetzalcoatl was of northern origin, and that on his adoption by southern peoples and tribes dwelling in tropical countries his characteristics were gradually and unconsciously altered in order to meet the exigencies of his environment. the mythology of the indians of british columbia, whence in all likelihood the nahua originally came, is possessed of a central figure bearing a strong resemblance to quetzalcoatl. thus the thlingit tribe worship yetl; the quaquiutl indians, kanikilak; the salish people of the coast, kumsnöotl, quäaqua, or släalekam. it is noticeable that these divine beings are worshipped as the man of the sun, and totally apart from the luminary himself, as was quetzalcoatl in mexico. the quaquiutl believe that before his settlement among them for the purpose of inculcating in the tribe the arts of life, the sun descended as a bird, and assumed a human shape. kanikilak is his son, who, as his emissary, spreads the arts of civilisation over the world. so the mexicans believed that quetzalcoatl descended first of all in the form of a bird, and was ensnared in the fowler's net of the toltec hero hueymatzin. the titles bestowed upon quetzalcoatl by the nahua show that in his solar significance he was god of the vault of the heavens, as well as merely son of the sun. he was alluded to as ehecatl (the air), yolcuat (the rattlesnake), tohil (the rumbler), nanihehecatl (lord of the four winds), tlauizcalpantecutli (lord of the light of the dawn). the whole heavenly vault was his, together with all its phenomena. this would seem to be in direct opposition to the theory that tezcatlipoca was the supreme god of the mexicans. but it must be borne in mind that tezcatlipoca was the god of a later age, and of a fresh body of nahua immigrants, and as such inimical to quetzalcoatl, who was probably in a similar state of opposition to itzamna, a maya deity of yucatan. the worship of quetzalcoatl the worship of quetzalcoatl was in some degree antipathetic to that of the other mexican deities, and his priests were a separate caste. although human sacrifice was by no means so prevalent among his devotees, it is a mistake to aver, as some authorities have done, that it did not exist in connection with his worship. a more acceptable sacrifice to quetzalcoatl appears to have been the blood of the celebrant or worshipper, shed by himself. when we come to consider the mythology of the zapotecs, a people whose customs and beliefs appear to have formed a species of link between the mexican and mayan civilisations, we shall find that their high-priests occasionally enacted the legend of quetzalcoatl in their own persons, and that their worship, which appears to have been based upon that of quetzalcoatl, had as one of its most pronounced characteristics the shedding of blood. the celebrant or devotee drew blood from the vessels lying under the tongue or behind the ear by drawing across those tender parts a cord made from the thorn-covered fibres of the agave. the blood was smeared over the mouths of the idols. in this practice we can perceive an act analogous to the sacrificial substitution of the part for the whole, as obtaining in early palestine and many other countries--a certain sign that tribal or racial opinion has contracted a disgust for human sacrifice, and has sought to evade the anger of the gods by yielding to them a portion of the blood of each worshipper, instead of sacrificing the life of one for the general weal. the maize-gods of mexico a special group of deities called centeotl presided over the agriculture of mexico, each of whom personified one or other of the various aspects of the maize-plant. the chief goddess of maize, however, was chicomecohuatl (seven-serpent), her name being an allusion to the fertilising power of water, which element the mexicans symbolised by the serpent. as xilonen she typified the xilote, or green ear of the maize. but it is probable that chicomecohuatl was the creation of an older race, and that the nahua new-comers adopted or brought with them another growth-spirit, the "earth-mother," teteoinnan (mother of the gods), or tocitzin (our grandmother). this goddess had a son, centeotl, a male maize-spirit. sometimes the mother was also known as centeotl, the generic name for the entire group, and this fact has led to some confusion in the minds of americanists. but this does not mean that chicomecohuatl was by any means neglected. her spring festival, held on april , was known as hueytozoztli (the great watch), and was accompanied by a general fast, when the dwellings of the mexicans were decorated with bulrushes which had been sprinkled with blood drawn from the extremities of the inmates. the statues of the little tepitoton (household gods) were also decorated. the worshippers then proceeded to the maize-fields, where they pulled the tender stalks of the growing maize, and, having decorated them with flowers, placed them in the calpulli (the common house of the village). a mock combat then took place before the altar of chicomecohuatl. the girls of the village presented the goddess with bundles of maize of the previous season's harvesting, later restoring them to the granaries in order that they might be utilised for seed for the coming year. chicomecohuatl was always represented among the household deities of the mexicans, and on the occasion of her festival the family placed before the image a basket of provisions surmounted by a cooked frog, bearing on its back a piece of cornstalk stuffed with pounded maize and vegetables. this frog was symbolic of chalchihuitlicue, wife of tlaloc, the rain-god, who assisted chicomecohuatl in providing a bountiful harvest. in order that the soil might further benefit, a frog, the symbol of water, was sacrificed, so that its vitality should recuperate that of the weary and much-burdened earth. the sacrifice of the dancer a more important festival of chicomecohuatl, however, was the xalaquia, which lasted from june to july , commencing when the maize plant had attained its full growth. the women of the pueblo (village) wore their hair unbound, and shook and tossed it so that by sympathetic magic the maize might take the hint and grow correspondingly long. chian pinolli was consumed in immense quantities, and maize-porridge was eaten. hilarious dances were nightly performed in the teopan (temple), the central figure in which was the xalaquia, a female captive or slave, with face painted red and yellow to represent the colours of the maize-plant. she had previously undergone a long course of training in the dancing-school, and now, all unaware of the horrible fate awaiting her, she danced and pirouetted gaily among the rest. throughout the duration of the festival she danced, and on its expiring night she was accompanied in the dance by the women of the community, who circled round her, chanting the deeds of chicomecohuatl. when daybreak appeared the company was joined by the chiefs and headmen, who, along with the exhausted and half-fainting victim, danced the solemn death-dance. the entire community then approached the teocalli (pyramid of sacrifice), and, its summit reached, the victim was stripped to a nude condition, the priest plunged a knife of flint into her bosom, and, tearing out the still palpitating heart, offered it up to chicomecohuatl. in this manner the venerable goddess, weary with the labours of inducing growth in the maize-plant, was supposed to be revivified and refreshed. hence the name xalaquia, which signifies "she who is clothed with the sand." until the death of the victim it was not lawful to partake of the new corn. the general appearance of chicomecohuatl was none too pleasing. her image rests in the national museum in mexico, and is girdled with snakes. on the underside the symbolic frog is carved. the americanists of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were unequal to the task of elucidating the origin of the figure, which they designated teoyaominqui. the first to point out the error was payne, in his history of the new world called america, vol. i. p. . the passage in which he announces his discovery is of such real interest that it is worth transcribing fully. an antiquarian mare's-nest "all the great idols of mexico were thought to have been destroyed until this was disinterred among other relics in the course of making new drains in the plaza mayor of mexico in august . the discovery produced an immense sensation. the idol was dragged to the court of the university, and there set up; the indians began to worship it and deck it with flowers; the antiquaries, with about the same degree of intelligence, to speculate about it. what most puzzled them was that the face and some other parts of the goddess are found in duplicate at the back of the figure; hence they concluded it to represent two gods in one, the principal of whom they further concluded to be a female, the other, indicated by the back, a male. the standard author on mexican antiquities at that time was the italian dilettante boturini, of whom it may be said that he is better, but not much better, than nothing at all. from page of his work the antiquaries learned that huitzilopochtli was accompanied by the goddess teoyaominqui, who was charged with collecting the souls of those slain in war and sacrifice. this was enough. the figure was at once named teoyaominqui or huitzilopochtli (the one plus the other), and has been so called ever since. the antiquaries next elevated this imaginary goddess to the rank of the war-god's wife. 'a soldier,' says bardolph, 'is better accommodated than with a wife': a fortiori, so is a war-god. besides, as torquemada (vol. ii. p. ) says with perfect truth, the mexicans did not think so grossly of the divinity as to have married gods or goddesses at all. the figure is undoubtedly a female. it has no vestige of any weapon about it, nor has it any limbs. it differs in every particular from the war-god huitzilopochtli, every detail of which is perfectly well known. there never was any goddess called teoyaominqui. this may be plausibly inferred from the fact that such a goddess is unknown not merely to sahagun, torquemada, acosta, tezozomoc, duran, and clavigero, but to all other writers except boturini. the blunder of the last-named writer is easily explained. antonio leon y gama, a mexican astronomer, wrote an account of the discoveries of , in which, evidently puzzled by the name of teoyaominqui, he quotes a manuscript in mexican, said to have been written by an indian of tezcuco, who was born in , to the effect that teoyaotlatohua and teoyaominqui were spirits who presided over the fifteenth of the twenty signs of the fortune-tellers' calendar, and that those born in this sign would be brave warriors, but would soon die. (as the fifteenth sign was quauhtli, this is likely enough.) when their hour had come the former spirit scented them out, the latter killed them. the rubbish printed about huitzilopochtli, teoyaominqui, and mictlantecutli in connection with this statue would fill a respectable volume. the reason why the features were duplicated is obvious. the figure was carried in the midst of a large crowd. probably it was considered to be an evil omen if the idol turned away its face from its worshippers; this the duplicate obviated. so when the dance was performed round the figure (cf. janus). this duplication of the features, a characteristic of the very oldest gods, appears to be indicated when the numeral ome (two) is prefixed to the title of the deity. thus the two ancestors and preservers of the race were called ometecuhtli and omecihuatl (two-chief, two-woman), ancient toltec gods, who at the conquest become less prominent in the theology of mexico, and who are best represented in that of the mexican colony of nicaragua." the offering to centeotl during her last hours the victim sacrificed at the xalaquia wore a ritual dress made from the fibres of the aloe, and with this garment the maize-god centeotl was clothed. robed in this he temporarily represented the earth-goddess, so that he might receive her sacrifice. the blood of victims was offered up to him in a vessel decorated with that brilliant and artistic feather-work which excited such admiration in the breasts of the connoisseurs and æsthetes of the europe of the sixteenth century. upon partaking of this blood-offering the deity emitted a groan so intense and terrifying that it has been left on record that such spaniards as were present became panic-stricken. this ceremony was followed by another, the nitiçapoloa (tasting of the soil), which consisted in raising a little earth on one finger to the mouth and eating it. as has been said, centeotl the son has been confounded with centeotl the mother, who is in reality the earth-mother teteoinnan. each of these deities had a teopan (temple) of his or her own, but they were closely allied as parent and child. but of the two, centeotl the son was the more important. on the death of the sacrificed victim her skin was conveyed to the temple of centeotl the son, and worn there in the succeeding ritual by the officiating priests. this gruesome dress is frequently depicted in the aztec pinturas, where the skin of the hands, and in some instances the feet, of the victims can be seen dangling from the wrists and ankles of the priest. importance of the food-gods to the mexicans the deities of most importance to the community as a whole were undoubtedly the food-gods. in their emergence from the hunting to the agricultural state of life, when they began to exist almost solely upon the fruits of the earth, the mexicans were quick to recognise that the old deities of the chase, such as mixcoatl, could not now avail them or succour them in the same manner as the guardians of the crops and fertilisers of the soil. gradually we see these gods, then, advance in power and influence until at the time of the spanish invasion we find them paramount. even the terrible war-god himself had an agricultural significance, as we have pointed out. a distinct bargain with the food-gods can be clearly traced, and is none the less obvious because it was never written or codified. the covenant was as binding to the native mind as any made betwixt god and man in ancient palestine, and included mutual assistance as well as provision for mere alimentary supply. in no mythology is the understanding between god and man so clearly defined as in the nahuan, and in none is its operation better exemplified. xipe xipe (the flayed) was widely worshipped throughout mexico, and is usually depicted in the pinturas as being attired in a flayed human skin. at his special festival, the "man-flaying," the skins were removed from the victims and worn by the devotees of the god for the succeeding twenty days. he is usually represented as of a red colour. in the later days of the aztec monarchy the kings and leaders of mexico assumed the dress or classical garments of xipe. this dress consisted of a crown made of feathers of the roseate spoonbill, the gilt timbrel, the jacket of spoonbill feathers, and an apron of green feathers lapping over one another in a tile-like pattern. in the cozcatzin codex we see a picture of king axayacatl dressed as xipe in a feather skirt, and having a tiger-skin scabbard to his sword. the hands of a flayed human skin also dangle over the monarch's wrists, and the feet fall over his feet like gaiters. xipe's shield is a round target covered with the rose-coloured feathers of the spoonbill, with concentric circles of a darker hue on the surface. there are examples of it divided into an upper and lower part, the former showing an emerald on a blue field, and the latter a tiger-skin design. xipe was imagined as possessing three forms, the first that of the roseate spoonbill, the second that of the blue cotinga, and the last that of a tiger, the three shapes perhaps corresponding to the regions of heaven, earth, and hell, or to the three elements, fire, earth, and water. the deities of many north american indian tribes show similar variations in form and colour, which are supposed to follow as the divinity changes his dwelling to north, south, east, or west. but xipe is seldom depicted in the pinturas in any other form but that of the red god, the form in which the mexicans adopted him from the yopi tribe of the pacific slope. he is the god of human sacrifice par excellence, and may be regarded as a yopi equivalent of tezcatlipoca. nanahuatl, or nanauatzin nanahuatl (poor leper) presided over skin diseases, such as leprosy. it was thought that persons afflicted with these complaints were set apart by the moon for his service. in the nahua tongue the words for "leprous" and "eczematous" also mean "divine." the myth of nanahuatl tells how before the sun was created humanity dwelt in sable and horrid gloom. only a human sacrifice could hasten the appearance of the luminary. metztli (the moon) led forth nanahuatl as a sacrifice, and he was cast upon a funeral pyre, in the flames of which he was consumed. metztli also cast herself upon the mass of flame, and with her death the sun rose above the horizon. there can be no doubt that the myth refers to the consuming of the starry or spotted night, and incidentally to the nightly death of the moon at the flaming hour of dawn. xolotl xolotl is of southern, possibly zapotec, origin. he represents either fire rushing down from the heavens or light flaming upward. it is noticeable that in the pinturas the picture of the setting sun being devoured by the earth is nearly always placed opposite his image. he is probably identical with nanahuatl, and appears as the representative of human sacrifice. he has also affinities with xipe. on the whole xolotl may be best described as a sun-god of the more southerly tribes. his head (quaxolotl) was one of the most famous devices for warriors' use, as sacrifice among the nahua was, as we have seen, closely associated with warfare. xolotl was a mythical figure quite foreign to the peoples of anahuac or mexico, who regarded him as something strange and monstrous. he is alluded to as the "god of monstrosities," and, thinks dr. seler, the word "monstrosity" may suitably translate his name. he is depicted with empty eye-sockets, which circumstance is explained by the myth that when the gods determined to sacrifice themselves in order to give life and strength to the newly created sun, xolotl withdrew, and wept so much that his eyes fell out of their sockets. this was the mexican explanation of a zapotec attribute. xolotl was originally the "lightning beast" of the maya or some other southern folk, and was represented by them as a dog, since that animal appeared to them to be the creature which he most resembled. but he was by no means a "natural" dog, hence their conception of him as unnatural. dr. seler is inclined to identify him with the tapir, and indeed sahagun speaks of a strange animal-being, tlaca-xolotl, which has "a large snout, large teeth, hoofs like an ox, a thick hide, and reddish hair"--not a bad description of the tapir of central america. of course to the mexicans the god xolotl was no longer an animal, although he had evolved from one, and was imagined by them to have the form shown in the accompanying illustration. the fire-god this deity was known in mexico under various names, notably tata (our father), huehueteotl (oldest of gods), and xiuhtecutli (lord of the year). he was represented as of the colour of fire, with a black face, a headdress of green feathers, and bearing on his back a yellow serpent, to typify the serpentine nature of fire. he also bore a mirror of gold to show his connection with the sun, from which all heat emanates. on rising in the morning all mexican families made xiuhtecutli an offering of a piece of bread and a drink. he was thus not only, like vulcan, the god of thunderbolts and conflagrations, but also the milder deity of the domestic hearth. once a year the fire in every mexican house was extinguished, and rekindled by friction before the idol of xiuhtecutli. when a mexican baby was born it passed through a baptism of fire on the fourth day, up to which time a fire, lighted at the time of its birth, was kept burning in order to nourish its existence. mictlan mictlantecutli (lord of hades) was god of the dead and of the grim and shadowy realm to which the souls of men repair after their mortal sojourn. he is represented in the pinturas as a grisly monster with capacious mouth, into which fall the spirits of the dead. his terrible abode was sometimes alluded to as tlalxicco (navel of the earth), but the mexicans in general seem to have thought that it was situated in the far north, which they regarded as a place of famine, desolation, and death. here those who by the circumstances of their demise were unfitted to enter the paradise of tlaloc--namely, those who had not been drowned or had not died a warrior's death, or, in the case of women, had not died in childbed--passed a dreary and meaningless existence. mictlan was surrounded by a species of demons called tzitzimimes, and had a spouse, mictecaciuatl. when we come to discuss the analogous deity of the maya we shall see that in all probability mictlan was represented by the bat, the animal typical of the underworld. in a preceding paragraph dealing with the funerary customs we have described the journey of the soul to the abode of mictlan, and the ordeals through which the spirit of the defunct had to pass ere entering his realm (see p. ). worship of the planet venus the mexicans designated the planet venus citlalpol (the great star) and tlauizcalpantecutli (lord of the dawn). it seems to have been the only star worshipped by them, and was regarded with considerable veneration. upon its rising they stopped up the chimneys of their houses, so that no harm of any kind might enter with its light. a column called ilhuicatlan, meaning "in the sky," stood in the court of the great temple of mexico, and upon this a symbol of the planet was painted. on its reappearance during its usual circuit, captives were taken before this representation and sacrificed to it. it will be remembered that the myth of quetzalcoatl states that the heart of that deity flew upward from the funeral pyre on which he was consumed and became the planet venus. it is not easy to say whether or not this myth is anterior to the adoption of the worship of the planet by the nahua, for it may be a tale of pre- or post-nahuan growth. in the tonalamatl tlauizcalpantecutli is represented as lord of the ninth division of thirteen days, beginning with ce coatl (the sign of "one serpent"). in several of the pinturas he is represented as having a white body with long red stripes, while round his eyes is a deep black painting like a domino mask, bordered with small white circles. his lips are a bright vermilion. the red stripes are probably introduced to accentuate the whiteness of his body, which is understood to symbolise the peculiar half-light which emanates from the planet. the black paint on the face, surrounding the eye, typifies the dark sky of night. in mexican and central american symbolism the eye often represents light, and here, surrounded by blackness as it is, it is perhaps almost hieroglyphic. as the star of evening, tlauizcalpantecutli is sometimes shown with the face of a skull, to signify his descent into the underworld, whither he follows the sun. that the mexicans and maya carefully and accurately observed his periods of revolution is witnessed by the pinturas. sun-worship the sun was regarded by the nahua, and indeed by all the mexican and central american peoples, as the supreme deity, or rather the principal source of subsistence and life. he was always alluded to as the teotl, the god, and his worship formed as it were a background to that of all the other gods. his mexican name, ipalnemohuani (he by whom men live) shows that the mexicans regarded him as the primal source of being, and the heart, the symbol of life, was looked upon as his special sacrifice. those who rose at sunrise to prepare food for the day held up to him on his appearance the hearts of animals they had slain for cooking, and even the hearts of the victims to tezcatlipoca and huitzilopochtli were first held up to the sun, as if he had a primary right to the sacrifice, before being cast into the bowl of copal which lay at the feet of the idol. it was supposed that the luminary rejoiced in offerings of blood, and that it constituted the only food which would render him sufficiently vigorous to undertake his daily journey through the heavens. he is often depicted in the pinturas as licking up the gore of the sacrificial victims with his long tongue-like rays. the sun must fare well if he was to continue to give life, light, and heat to mankind. the mexicans, as we have already seen, believed that the luminary they knew had been preceded by others, each of which had been quenched by some awful cataclysm of nature. eternity had, in fact, been broken up into epochs, marked by the destruction of successive suns. in the period preceding that in which they lived, a mighty deluge had deprived the sun of life, and some such catastrophe was apprehended at the end of every "sheaf" of fifty-two years. the old suns were dead, and the current sun was no more immortal than they. at the end of one of the "sheaves" he too would succumb. sustaining the sun it was therefore necessary to sustain the sun by the daily food of human sacrifice, for by a tithe of human life alone would he be satisfied. naturally a people holding such a belief would look elsewhere than within their own borders for the material wherewith to placate their deity. this could be most suitably found among the inhabitants of a neighbouring state. it thus became the business of the warrior class in the aztec state to furnish forth the altars of the gods with human victims. the most suitable district of supply was the pueblo of tlaxcallan, or tlascala, the people of which were of cognate origin to the aztecs. the communities had, although related, been separated for so many generations that they had begun to regard each other as traditional enemies, and on a given day in the year their forces met at an appointed spot for the purpose of engaging in a strife which should furnish one side or the other with a sufficiency of victims for the purpose of sacrifice. the warrior who captured the largest number of opponents alive was regarded as the champion of the day, and was awarded the chief honours of the combat. the sun was therefore the god of warriors, as he would give them victory in battle in order that they might supply him with food. the rites of this military worship of the luminary were held in the quauhquauhtinchan (house of the eagles), an armoury set apart for the regiment of that name. on march and december and , at the ceremonies known as nauhollin (the four motions--alluding to the quivering appearance of the sun's rays), the warriors gathered in this hall for the purpose of despatching a messenger to their lord the sun. high up on the wall of the principal court was a great symbolic representation of the orb, painted upon a brightly coloured cotton hanging. before this copal and other fragrant gums and spices were burned four times a day. the victim, a war-captive, was placed at the foot of a long staircase leading up to the quauhxicalli (cup of the eagles), the name of the stone on which he was to be sacrificed. he was clothed in red striped with white and wore white plumes in his hair--colours symbolical of the sun--while he bore a staff decorated with feathers and a shield covered with tufts of cotton. he also carried a bundle of eagle's feathers and some paint on his shoulders, to enable the sun, to whom he was the emissary, to paint his face. he was then addressed by the officiating priest in the following terms: "sir, we pray you go to our god the sun, and greet him on our behalf; tell him that his sons and warriors and chiefs and those who remain here beg of him to remember them and to favour them from that place where he is, and to receive this small offering which we send him. give him this staff to help him on his journey, and this shield for his defence, and all the rest that you have in this bundle." the victim, having undertaken to carry the message to the sun-god, was then despatched upon his long journey. a quauhxicalli is preserved in the national museum of mexico. it consists of a basaltic mass, circular in form, on which are shown in sculpture a series of groups representing mexican warriors receiving the submission of war-captives. the prisoner tenders a flower to his captor, symbolical of the life he is about to offer up, for lives were the "flowers" offered to the gods, and the campaign in which these "blossoms" were captured was called xochiyayotl (the war of flowers). the warriors who receive the submission of the captives are represented in the act of tearing the plumes from their heads. these bas-reliefs occupy the sides of the stone. the face of it is covered by a great solar disc having eight rays, and the surface is hollowed out in the middle to form a receptacle for blood--the "cup" alluded to in the name of the stone. the quauhxicalli must not be confounded with the temalacatl (spindle stone), to which the alien warrior who received a chance of life was secured. the gladiatorial combat gave the war-captive an opportunity to escape through superior address in arms. the temalacatl was somewhat higher than a man, and was provided with a platform at the top, in the middle of which was placed a great stone with a hole in it through which a rope was passed. to this the war-captive was secured, and if he could vanquish seven of his captors he was released. if he failed to do so he was at once sacrificed. a mexican valhalla the mexican warriors believed that they continued in the service of the sun after death, and, like the scandinavian heroes in valhalla, that they were admitted to the dwelling of the god, where they shared all the delights of his diurnal round. the mexican warrior dreaded to die in his bed, and craved an end on the field of battle. this explains the desperate nature of their resistance to the spaniards under cortés, whose officers stated that the mexicans seemed to desire to die fighting. after death they believed that they would partake of the cannibal feasts offered up to the sun and imbibe the juice of flowers. the feast of totec the chief of the festivals to the sun was that held in spring at the vernal equinox, before the representation of a deity known as totec (our great chief). although totec was a solar deity he had been adopted from the people of an alien state, the zapotecs of zalisco, and is therefore scarcely to be regarded as the principal sun-god. his festival was celebrated by the symbolical slaughter of all the other gods for the purpose of providing sustenance to the sun, each of the gods being figuratively slain in the person of a victim. totec was attired in the same manner as the warrior despatched twice a year to assure the sun of the loyalty of the mexicans. the festival appears to have been primarily a seasonal one, as bunches of dried maize were offered to totec. but its larger meaning is obvious. it was, indeed, a commemoration of the creation of the sun. this is proved by the description of the image of totec, which was robed and equipped as the solar traveller, by the solar disc and tables of the sun's progress carved on the altar employed in the ceremony, and by the robes of the victims, who were dressed to represent dwellers in the sun-god's halls. perhaps totec, although of alien origin, was the only deity possessed by the mexicans who directly represented the sun. as a borrowed god he would have but a minor position in the mexican pantheon, but again as the only sun-god whom it was necessary to bring into prominence during a strictly solar festival he would be for the time, of course, a very important deity indeed. tepeyollotl tepeyollotl means heart of the mountain, and evidently alludes to a deity whom the nahua connected with seismic disturbances and earthquakes. by the interpreter of the codex telleriano-remensis he is called tepeolotlec, an obvious distortion of his real name. the interpreter of the codex states that his name "refers to the condition of the earth after the flood. the sacrifices of these thirteen days were not good, and the literal translation of their name is 'dirt sacrifices.' they caused palsy and bad humours.... this tepeolotlec was lord of these thirteen days. in them were celebrated the feast to the jaguar, and the last four preceding days were days of fasting.... tepeolotlec means the 'lord of beasts.' the four feast days were in honour of the suchiquezal, who was the man that remained behind on the earth upon which we now live. this tepeolotlec was the same as the echo of the voice when it re-echoes in a valley from one mountain to another. this name 'jaguar' is given to the earth because the jaguar is the boldest animal, and the echo which the voice awakens in the mountains is a survival of the flood, it is said." from this we can see that tepeyollotl is a deity of the earth pure and simple, a god of desert places. it is certain that he was not a mexican god, or at least was not of nahua origin, as he is mentioned by none of those writers who deal with nahua traditions, and we must look for him among the mixtecs and zapotecs. macuilxochitl, or xochipilli this deity, whose names mean five-flower and source of flowers, was regarded as the patron of luck in gaming. he may have been adopted by the nahua from the zapotecs, but the converse may be equally true. the zapotecs represented him with a design resembling a butterfly about the mouth, and a many-coloured face which looks out of the open jaws of a bird with a tall and erect crest. the worship of this god appears to have been very widespread. sahagun says of him that a fête was held in his honour, which was preceded by a rigorous fast. the people covered themselves with ornaments and jewels symbolic of the deity, as if they desired to represent him, and dancing and singing proceeded gaily to the sound of the drum. offerings of the blood of various animals followed, and specially prepared cakes were submitted to the god. this simple fare, however, was later followed by human sacrifices, rendered by the notables, who brought certain of their slaves for immolation. this completed the festival. father and mother gods the nahua believed that ometecutli and omeciuatl were the father and mother of the human species. the names signify lords of duality or lords of the two sexes. they were also called tonacatecutli and tonacaciuatl (lord and lady of our flesh, or of subsistence). they were in fact regarded as the sexual essence of the creative deity, or perhaps more correctly of deity in general. they occupied the first place in the nahua calendar, to signify that they had existed from the beginning, and they are usually represented as being clothed in rich attire. ometecutli (a literal translation of his name is two-lord) is sometimes identified with the sky and the fire-god, the female deity representing the earth or water--conceptions similar to those respecting kronos and gæa. we refer again to these supreme divinities in the following chapter (see p. ). the pulque-gods when a man was intoxicated with the native mexican drink of pulque, a liquor made from the juice of the agave americana, he was believed to be under the influence of a god or spirit. the commonest form under which the drink-god was worshipped was the rabbit, that animal being considered to be utterly devoid of sense. this particular divinity was known as ometochtli. the scale of debauchery which it was desired to reach was indicated by the number of rabbits worshipped, the highest number, four hundred, representing the most extreme degree of intoxication. the chief pulque-gods apart from these were patecatl and tequechmecauiani. if the drunkard desired to escape the perils of accidental hanging during intoxication, it was necessary to sacrifice to the latter, but if death by drowning was apprehended teatlahuiani, the deity who harried drunkards to a watery grave, was placated. if the debauchee wished his punishment not to exceed a headache, quatlapanqui (the head-splitter) was sacrificed to, or else papaztac (the nerveless). each trade or profession had its own ometochtli, but for the aristocracy there was only one of these gods, cohuatzincatl, a name signifying "he who has grandparents." several of these drink-gods had names which connected them with various localities; for example, tepoxtecatl was the pulque-god of tepoztlan. the calendar day ometochtli, which means "two-rabbit," because of the symbol which accompanied it, was under the special protection of these gods, and the mexicans believed that any one born on that day was almost inevitably doomed to become a drunkard. all the pulque-gods were closely associated with the soil, and with the earth-goddess. they wore the golden huaxtec nose-ornament, the yaca-metztli, of crescent shape, which characterised the latter, and indeed this ornament was inscribed upon all articles sacred to the pulque-gods. their faces were painted red and black, as were objects consecrated to them, their blankets and shields. after the indians had harvested their maize they drank to intoxication, and invoked one or other of these gods. on the whole it is safe to infer that they were originally deities of local husbandry who imparted virtue to the soil as pulque imparted strength and courage to the warrior. the accompanying sketch of the god tepoxtecatl (see p. ) well illustrates the distinguishing characteristics of the pulque-god class. here we can observe the face painted in two colours, the crescent-shaped nose-ornament, the bicoloured shield, the long necklace made from the malinalli herb, and the ear-pendants. it is of course clear that the drink-gods were of the same class as the food-gods--patrons of the fruitful soil--but it is strange that they should be male whilst the food-gods are mostly female. the goddesses of mexico: metztli metztli, or yohualticitl (the lady of night), was the mexican goddess of the moon. she had in reality two phases, one that of a beneficent protectress of harvests and promoter of growth in general, and the other that of a bringer of dampness, cold, and miasmic airs, ghosts, mysterious shapes of the dim half-light of night and its oppressive silence. to a people in the agricultural stage of civilisation the moon appears as the great recorder of harvests. but she has also supremacy over water, which is always connected by primitive peoples with the moon. citatli (moon) and atl (water) are constantly confounded in nahua myth, and in many ways their characteristics were blended. it was metztli who led forth nanahuatl the leprous to the pyre whereon he perished--a reference to the dawn, in which the starry sky of night is consumed in the fires of the rising sun. tlazolteotl tlazolteotl (god of ordure), or tlaelquani (filth-eater), was called by the mexicans the earth-goddess because she was the eradicator of sins, to whose priests the people went to make confession so that they might be absolved from their misdeeds. sin was symbolised by the mexicans as excrement. confession covered only the sins of immorality. but if tlazolteotl was the goddess of confession, she was also the patroness of desire and luxury. it was, however, as a deity whose chief office was the eradication of human sin that she was pre-eminent. the process by which this was supposed to be effected is quaintly described by sahagun in the twelfth chapter of his first book. the penitent addressed the confessor as follows: "sir, i desire to approach that most powerful god, the protector of all, that is to say, tezcatlipoca. i desire to tell him my sins in secret." the confessor replied: "be happy, my son: that which thou wishest to do will be to thy good and advantage." the confessor then opened the divinatory book known as the tonalamatl (that is, the book of the calendar) and acquainted the applicant with the day which appeared the most suitable for his confession. the day having arrived, the penitent provided himself with a mat, copal gum to burn as incense, and wood whereon to burn it. if he was a person high in office the priest repaired to his house, but in the case of lesser people the confession took place in the dwelling of the priest. having lighted the fire and burned the incense, the penitent addressed the fire in the following terms: "thou, lord, who art the father and mother of the gods, and the most ancient of them all, thy servant, thy slave bows before thee. weeping, he approaches thee in great distress. he comes plunged in grief, because he has been buried in sin, having backslidden, and partaken of those vices and evil delights which merit death. o master most compassionate, who art the upholder and defence of all, receive the penitence and anguish of thy slave and vassal." this prayer having concluded, the confessor then turned to the penitent and thus addressed him: "my son, thou art come into the presence of that god who is the protector and upholder of all; thou art come to him to confess thy evil vices and thy hidden uncleannesses; thou art come to him to unbosom the secrets of thy heart. take care that thou omit nothing from the catalogue of thy sins in the presence of our lord who is called tezcatlipoca. it is certain that thou art before him who is invisible and impalpable, thou who art not worthy to be seen before him, or to speak with him...." the allusions to tezcatlipoca are, of course, to him in the shape of tlazolteotl. having listened to a sermon by the confessor, the penitent then confessed his misdeeds, after which the confessor said: "my son, thou hast before our lord god confessed in his presence thy evil actions. i wish to say in his name that thou hast an obligation to make. at the time when the goddesses called ciuapipiltin descend to earth during the celebration of the feast of the goddesses of carnal things, whom they name ixcuiname, thou shalt fast during four days, punishing thy stomach and thy mouth. when the day of the feast of the ixcuiname arrives thou shalt scarify thy tongue with the small thorns of the osier [called teocalcacatl or tlazotl], and if that is not sufficient thou shalt do likewise to thine ears, the whole for penitence, for the remission of thy sin, and as a meritorious act. thou wilt apply to thy tongue the middle of a spine of maguey, and thou wilt scarify thy shoulders.... that done, thy sins will be pardoned." if the sins of the penitent were not very grave the priest would enjoin upon him a fast of a more or less prolonged nature. only old men confessed crimes in veneribus, as the punishment for such was death, and younger men had no desire to risk the penalty involved, although the priests were enjoined to strict secrecy. father burgoa describes very fully a ceremony of this kind which came under his notice in in the zapotec village of san francisco de cajonos. he encountered on a tour of inspection an old native cacique, or chief, of great refinement of manners and of a stately presence, who dressed in costly garments after the spanish fashion, and who was regarded by the indians with much veneration. this man came to the priest for the purpose of reporting upon the progress in things spiritual and temporal in his village. burgoa recognised his urbanity and wonderful command of the spanish language, but perceived by certain signs that he had been taught to look for by long experience that the man was a pagan. he communicated his suspicions to the vicar of the village, but met with such assurances of the cacique's soundness of faith that he believed himself to be in error for once. shortly afterwards, however, a wandering spaniard perceived the chief in a retired place in the mountains performing idolatrous ceremonies, and aroused the monks, two of whom accompanied him to the spot where the cacique had been seen indulging in his heathenish practices. they found on the altar "feathers of many colours, sprinkled with blood which the indians had drawn from the veins under their tongues and behind their ears, incense spoons and remains of copal, and in the middle a horrible stone figure, which was the god to whom they had offered this sacrifice in expiation of their sins, while they made their confessions to the blasphemous priests, and cast off their sins in the following manner: they had woven a kind of dish out of a strong herb, specially gathered for this purpose, and casting this before the priest, said to him that they came to beg mercy of their god, and pardon for their sins that they had committed during that year, and that they brought them all carefully enumerated. they then drew out of a cloth pairs of thin threads made of dry maize husks, that they had tied two by two in the middle with a knot, by which they represented their sins. they laid these threads on the dishes of grass, and over them pierced their veins, and let the blood trickle upon them, and the priest took these offerings to the idol, and in a long speech he begged the god to forgive these, his sons, their sins which were brought to him, and to permit them to be joyful and hold feasts to him as their god and lord. then the priest came back to those who had confessed, delivered a long discourse on the ceremonies they had still to perform, and told them that the god had pardoned them and that they might be glad again and sin anew." chalchihuitlicue this goddess was the wife of tlaloc, the god of rain and moisture. the name means lady of the emerald robe, in allusion to the colour of the element over which the deity partly presided. she was specially worshipped by the water-carriers of mexico, and all those whose avocation brought them into contact with water. her costume was peculiar and interesting. round her neck she wore a wonderful collar of precious stones, from which hung a gold pendant. she was crowned with a coronet of blue paper, decorated with green feathers. her eyebrows were of turquoise, set in as mosaic, and her garment was a nebulous blue-green in hue, recalling the tint of sea-water in the tropics. the resemblance was heightened by a border of sea-flowers or water-plants, one of which she also carried in her left hand, whilst in her right she bore a vase surmounted by a cross, emblematic of the four points of the compass whence comes the rain. mixcoatl mixcoatl was the aztec god of the chase, and was probably a deity of the otomi aborigines of mexico. the name means cloud serpent, and this originated the idea that mixcoatl was a representation of the tropical whirlwind. this is scarcely correct, however, as the hunter-god is identified with the tempest and thunder-cloud, and the lightning is supposed to represent his arrows. like many other gods of the chase, he is figured as having the characteristics of a deer or rabbit. he is usually depicted as carrying a sheaf of arrows, to typify thunderbolts. it may be that mixcoatl was an air and thunder deity of the otomi, older in origin than either quetzalcoatl or tezcatlipoca, and that his inclusion in the nahua pantheon becoming necessary in order to quieten nahua susceptibilities, he received the status of god of the chase. but, on the other hand, the mexicans, unlike the peruvians, who adopted many foreign gods for political purposes, had little regard for the feelings of other races, and only accepted an alien deity into the native circle for some good reason, most probably because they noted the omission of the figure in their own divine system. or, again, dread of a certain foreign god might force them to adopt him as their own in the hope of placating him. their worship of quetzalcoatl is perhaps an instance of this. camaxtli this deity was the war-god of the tlascalans, who were constantly in opposition to the aztecs of mexico. he was to the warriors of tlascala practically what huitzilopochtli was to those of mexico. he was closely identified with mixcoatl, and with the god of the morning star, whose colours are depicted on his face and body. but in all probability camaxtli was a god of the chase, who in later times was adopted as a god of war because of his possession of the lightning dart, the symbol of divine warlike prowess. in the mythologies of north america we find similar hunter-gods, who sometimes evolve into gods of war for a like reason, and again gods of the chase who have all the appearance and attributes of the creatures hunted. iztlilton ixtlilton (the little black one) was the mexican god of medicine and healing, and therefore was often alluded to as the brother of macuilxochitl, the god of well-being or good luck. from the account of the general appearance of his temple--an edifice of painted boards--it would seem to have evolved from the primitive tent or lodge of the medicine-man, or shaman. it contained several water-jars called tlilatl (black water), the contents of which were administered to children in bad health. the parents of children who benefited from the treatment bestowed a feast on the deity, whose idol was carried to the residence of the grateful father, where ceremonial dances and oblations were made before it. it was then thought that ixtlilton descended to the courtyard to open fresh jars of pulque liquor provided for the feasters, and the entertainment concluded by an examination by the aztec Æsculapius of such of the pulque jars dedicated to his service as stood in the courtyard for everyday use. should these be found in an unclean condition, it was understood that the master of the house was a man of evil life, and he was presented by the priest with a mask to hide his face from his scoffing friends. omacatl omacatl was the mexican god of festivity and joy. the name signifies two reeds. he was worshipped chiefly by bon-vivants and the rich, who celebrated him in splendid feasts and orgies. the idol of the deity was invariably placed in the chamber where these functions were to take place, and the aztecs were known to regard it as a heinous offence if anything derogatory to the god were performed during the convivial ceremony, or if any omission were made from the prescribed form which these gatherings usually took. it was thought that if the host had been in any way remiss omacatl would appear to the startled guests, and in tones of great severity upbraid him who had given the feast, intimating that he would regard him no longer as a worshipper and would henceforth abandon him. a terrible malady, the symptoms of which were akin to those of falling-sickness, would shortly afterwards seize the guests; but as such symptoms are not unlike those connected with acute indigestion and other gastric troubles, it is probable that the gourmets who paid homage to the god of good cheer may have been suffering from a too strenuous instead of a lukewarm worship of him. but the idea of communion which underlay so many of the mexican rites undoubtedly entered into the worship of omacatl, for prior to a banquet in his honour those who took part in it formed a great bone out of maize paste, pretending that it was one of the bones of the deity whose merry rites they were about to engage in. this they devoured, washing it down with great draughts of pulque. the idol of omacatl was provided with a recess in the region of the stomach, and into this provisions were stuffed. he was represented as a squatting figure, painted black and white, crowned with a paper coronet, and hung with coloured paper. a flower-fringed cloak and sceptre were the other symbols of royalty worn by this mexican dionysus. opochtli opochtli (the left-handed) was the god sacred to fishers and bird-catchers. at one period of aztec history he must have been a deity of considerable consequence, since for generations the aztecs were marsh-dwellers and depended for their daily food on the fish netted in the lakes and the birds snared in the reeds. they credited the god with the invention of the harpoon or trident for spearing fish and the fishing-rod and bird-net. the fishermen and bird-catchers of mexico held on occasion a special feast in honour of opochtli, at which a certain liquor called octli was consumed. a procession was afterwards formed, in which marched old people who had dedicated themselves to the worship of the god, probably because they could obtain no other means of subsistence than that afforded by the vocation of which he was tutelar and patron. he was represented as a man painted black, his head decorated with the plumes of native wild birds, and crowned by a paper coronet in the shape of a rose. he was clad in green paper which fell to the knee, and was shod with white sandals. in his left hand he held a shield painted red, having in the centre a white flower with four petals placed crosswise, and in his right hand he held a sceptre in the form of a cup. yacatecutli yacatecutli was the patron of travellers of the merchant class, who worshipped him by piling their staves together and sprinkling on the heap blood from their noses and ears. the staff of the traveller was his symbol, to which prayer was made and offerings of flowers and incense tendered. the aztec priesthood the aztec priesthood was a hierarchy in whose hands resided a goodly portion of the power of the upper classes, especially that connected with education and endowment. the mere fact that its members possessed the power of selecting victims for sacrifice must have been sufficient to place them in an almost unassailable position, and their prophetic utterances, founded upon the art of divination--so great a feature in the life of the aztec people, who depended upon it from the cradle to the grave--probably assisted them in maintaining their hold upon the popular imagination. but withal the evidence of unbiased spanish ecclesiastics, such as sahagun, tends to show that they utilised their influence for good, and soundly instructed the people under their charge in the cardinal virtues; "in short," says the venerable friar, "to perform the duties plainly pointed out by natural religion." priestly revenues the establishment of the national religion was, as in the case of the mediæval church in europe, based upon a land tenure from which the priestly class derived a substantial though, considering their numbers, by no means inordinate revenue. the principal temples possessed lands which sufficed for the maintenance of the priests attached to them. there was, besides, a system of first-fruits fixed by law for the priesthood, the surplusage therefrom being distributed among the poor. education education was entirely conducted by the priesthood, which undertook the task in a manner highly creditable to it, when consideration is given to surrounding conditions. education was, indeed, highly organised. it was divided into primary and secondary grades. boys were instructed by priests, girls by holy women or "nuns." the secondary schools were called calmecac, and were devoted to the higher branches of education, the curriculum including the deciphering of the pinturas, or manuscripts, astrology and divination, with a wealth of religious instruction. orders of the priesthood at the head of the aztec priesthood stood the mexicatl teohuatzin (mexican lord of divine matters). he had a seat on the emperor's council, and possessed power which was second only to the royal authority. next in rank to him was the high-priest of quetzalcoatl, who dwelt in almost entire seclusion, and who had authority over his own caste only. this office was in all probability a relic from "toltec" times. the priests of quetzalcoatl were called by name after their tutelar deity. the lesser grades included the tlenamacac (ordinary priests), who were habited in black, and wore their hair long, covering it with a kind of mantilla. the lowest order was that of the lamacazton (little priests), youths who were graduating in the priestly office. an exacting ritual the priesthood enjoyed no easy existence, but led an austere life of fasting, penance, and prayer, with constant observance of an arduous and exacting ritual, which embraced sacrifice, the upkeep of perpetual fires, the chanting of holy songs to the gods, dances, and the superintendence of the ever-recurring festivals. they were required to rise during the night to render praise, and to maintain themselves in a condition of absolute cleanliness by means of constant ablutions. we have seen that blood-offering--the substitution of the part for the whole--was a common method of sacrifice, and in this the priests engaged personally on frequent occasions. if the caste did not spare the people it certainly did not spare itself, and its outlook was perhaps only a shade more gloomy and fanatical than that of the spanish hierarchy which succeeded it in the land. chapter iii: myths and legends of the ancient mexicans the mexican idea of the creation "in the year and in the day of the clouds," writes garcia in his origin de los indias, professing to furnish the reader with a translation of an original mixtec picture-manuscript, "before ever were years or days, the world lay in darkness. all things were orderless, and a water covered the slime and ooze that the earth then was." this picture is common to almost all american creation-stories. [ ] the red man in general believed the habitable globe to have been created from the slime which arose above the primeval waters, and there can be no doubt that the nahua shared this belief. we encounter in nahua myth two beings of a bisexual nature, known to the aztecs as ometecutli-omeciuatl (lords of duality), who were represented as the deities dominating the genesis of things, the beginning of the world. we have already become acquainted with them in chapter ii (see p. ), but we may recapitulate. these beings, whose individual names were tonacatecutli and tonacaciuatl (lord and lady of our flesh), occupy the first place in the calendar, a circumstance which makes it plain that they were regarded as responsible for the origin of all created things. they were invariably represented as being clothed in rich, variegated garments, symbolical of light. tonacatecutli, the male principle of creation or world-generation, is often identified with the sun- or fire-god, but there is no reason to consider him as symbolical of anything but the sky. the firmament is almost universally regarded by american aboriginal peoples as the male principle of the cosmos, in contradistinction to the earth, which they think of as possessing feminine attributes, and which is undoubtedly personified in this instance by tonacaciuatl. in north american indian myths we find the father sky brooding upon the mother earth, just as in early greek creation-story we see the elements uniting, the firmament impregnating the soil and rendering it fruitful. to the savage mind the growth of crops and vegetation proceeds as much from the sky as from the earth. untutored man beholds the fecundation of the soil by rain, and, seeing in everything the expression of an individual and personal impulse, regards the genesis of vegetable growth as analogous to human origin. to him, then, the sky is the life-giving male principle, the fertilising seed of which descends in rain. the earth is the receptive element which hatches that with which the sky has impregnated her. ixtlilxochitl's legend of the creation one of the most complete creation-stories in mexican mythology is that given by the half-blood indian author ixtlilxochitl, who, we cannot doubt, received it directly from native sources. he states that the toltecs credited a certain tloque nahuaque (lord of all existence) with the creation of the universe, the stars, mountains, and animals. at the same time he made the first man and woman, from whom all the inhabitants of the earth are descended. this "first earth" was destroyed by the "water-sun." at the commencement of the next epoch the toltecs appeared, and after many wanderings settled in huehue tlapallan (very old tlapallan). then followed the second catastrophe, that of the "wind-sun." the remainder of the legend recounts how mighty earthquakes shook the world and destroyed the earth-giants. these earth-giants (quinames) were analogous to the greek titans, and were a source of great uneasiness to the toltecs. in the opinion of the old historians they were descended from the races who inhabited the more northerly portion of mexico. creation-story of the mixtecs it will be well to return for a moment to the creation-story of the mixtecs, which, if emanating from a somewhat isolated people in the extreme south of the mexican empire, at least affords us a vivid picture of what a folk closely related to the nahua race regarded as a veritable account of the creative process. when the earth had arisen from the primeval waters, one day the deer-god, who bore the surname puma-snake, and the beautiful deer-goddess, or jaguar-snake, appeared. they had human form, and with their great knowledge (that is, with their magic) they raised a high cliff over the water, and built on it fine palaces for their dwelling. on the summit of this cliff they laid a copper axe with the edge upward, and on this edge the heavens rested. the palaces stood in upper mixteca, close to apoala, and the cliff was called place where the heavens stood. the gods lived happily together for many centuries, when it chanced that two little boys were born to them, beautiful of form and skilled and experienced in the arts. from the days of their birth they were named wind-nine-snake (viento de neuve culebras) and wind-nine-cave (viento de neuve cavernas). much care was given to their education, and they possessed the knowledge of how to change themselves into an eagle or a snake, to make themselves invisible, and even to pass through solid bodies. after a time these youthful gods decided to make an offering and a sacrifice to their ancestors. taking incense vessels made of clay, they filled them with tobacco, to which they set fire, allowing it to smoulder. the smoke rose heavenward, and that was the first offering (to the gods). then they made a garden with shrubs and flowers, trees and fruit-bearing plants, and sweet-scented herbs. adjoining this they made a grass-grown level place (un prado), and equipped it with everything necessary for sacrifice. the pious brothers lived contentedly on this piece of ground, tilled it, burned tobacco, and with prayers, vows, and promises they supplicated their ancestors to let the light appear, to let the water collect in certain places and the earth be freed from its covering (water), for they had no more than that little garden for their subsistence. in order to strengthen their prayer they pierced their ears and their tongues with pointed knives of flint, and sprinkled the blood on the trees and plants with a brush of willow twigs. the deer-gods had more sons and daughters, but there came a flood in which many of these perished. after the catastrophe was over the god who is called the creator of all things formed the heavens and the earth, and restored the human race. zapotec creation-myth among the zapotecs, a people related to the mixtecs, we find a similar conception of the creative process. cozaana is mentioned as the creator and maker of all beasts in the valuable zapotec dictionary of father juan de cordova, and huichaana as the creator of men and fishes. thus we have two separate creations for men and animals. cozaana would appear to apply to the sun as the creator of all beasts, but, strangely enough, is alluded to in cordova's dictionary as "procreatrix," whilst he is undoubtedly a male deity. huichaana, the creator of men and fishes, is, on the other hand, alluded to as "water," or "the element of water," and "goddess of generation." she is certainly the zapotec female part of the creative agency. in the mixtec creation-myth we can see the actual creator and the first pair of tribal gods, who were also considered the progenitors of animals--to the savage equal inhabitants of the world with himself. the names of the brothers nine-snake and nine-cave undoubtedly allude to light and darkness, day and night. it may be that these deities are the same as quetzalcoatl and xolotl (the latter a zapotec deity), who were regarded as twins. in some ways quetzalcoatl was looked upon as a creator, and in the mexican calendar followed the father and mother, or original sexual deities, being placed in the second section as the creator of the world and man. the mexican noah flood-myths, curiously enough, are of more common occurrence among the nahua and kindred peoples than creation-myths. the abbé brasseur de bourbourg has translated one from the codex chimalpopoca, a work in nahuatl dating from the latter part of the sixteenth century. it recounts the doings of the mexican noah and his wife as follows: "and this year was that of ce-calli, and on the first day all was lost. the mountain itself was submerged in the water, and the water remained tranquil for fifty-two springs. "now toward the close of the year titlacahuan had forewarned the man named nata and his wife nena, saying, 'make no more pulque, but straightway hollow out a large cypress, and enter it when in the month tozoztli the water shall approach the sky.' they entered it, and when titlacahuan had closed the door he said, 'thou shalt eat but a single ear of maize, and thy wife but one also.' "as soon as they had finished eating, they went forth, and the water was tranquil; for the log did not move any more; and opening it they saw many fish. "then they built a fire, rubbing together pieces of wood, and they roasted fish. the gods citallinicue and citallatonac, looking below, exclaimed, 'divine lord, what means that fire below? why do they thus smoke the heavens?' "straightway descended titlacahuan-tezcatlipoca, and commenced to scold, saying, 'what is this fire doing here?' and seizing the fishes he moulded their hinder parts and changed their heads, and they were at once transformed into dogs." the myth of the seven caverns but other legends apart from the creation-stories of the world pure and simple deal with the origin of mankind. the aztecs believed that the first men emerged from a place known as chicomoztoc (the seven caverns), located north of mexico. various writers have seen in these mythic recesses the fabulous "seven cities of cibola" and the casas grandes, ruins of extensive character in the valley of the river gila, and so forth. but the allusion to the magical number seven in the myth demonstrates that the entire story is purely imaginary and possesses no basis of fact. a similar story occurs among the myths of the kiche of guatemala and the peruvians. the sacrificed princess coming to semi-historical times, we find a variety of legends connected with the early story of the city of mexico. these for the most part are of a weird and gloomy character, and throw much light on the dark fanaticism of a people which could immolate its children on the altars of implacable gods. it is told how after the aztecs had built the city of mexico they raised an altar to their war-god huitzilopochtli. in general the lives rendered to this most sanguinary of deities were those of prisoners of war, but in times of public calamity he demanded the sacrifice of the noblest in the land. on one occasion his oracle required that a royal princess should be offered on the high altar. the aztec king, either possessing no daughters of his own or hesitating to sacrifice them, sent an embassy to the monarch of colhuacan to ask for one of his daughters to become the symbolical mother of huitzilopochtli. the king of colhuacan, suspecting nothing amiss, and highly flattered at the distinction, delivered up the girl, who was escorted to mexico, where she was sacrificed with much pomp, her skin being flayed off to clothe the priest who represented the deity in the festival. the unhappy father was invited to this hideous orgy, ostensibly to witness his daughter's deification. in the gloomy chambers of the war-god's temple he was at first unable to mark the trend of the horrid ritual. but, given a torch of copal-gum, he saw the officiating priest clothed in his daughter's skin, receiving the homage of the worshippers. recognising her features, and demented with grief and horror, he fled from the temple, a broken man, to spend the remainder of his days in mourning for his murdered child. the fugitive prince one turns with relief from such a sanguinary tale to the consideration of the pleasing semi-legendary accounts of ixtlilxochitl regarding the civilisation of tezcuco, mexico's neighbour and ally. we have seen in the sketch of nahua history which has been given how the tecpanecs overcame the acolhuans of tezcuco and slew their king about the year . nezahualcoyotl (fasting coyote), the heir to the tezcucan throne, beheld the butchery of his royal father from the shelter of a tree close by, and succeeded in making his escape from the invaders. his subsequent thrilling adventures have been compared with those of the young pretender after the collapse of the "forty-five" resistance. he had not enjoyed many days of freedom when he was captured by those who had set out in pursuit of him, and, being haled back to his native city, was cast into prison. he found a friend in the governor of the place, who owed his position to the prince's late father, and by means of his assistance he succeeded in once more escaping from the hostile tecpanecs. for aiding nezahualcoyotl, however, the governor promptly paid the penalty of death. the royal family of mexico interceded for the hunted youth, and he was permitted to find an asylum at the aztec court, whence he later proceeded to his own city of tezcuco, occupying apartments in the palace where his father had once dwelt. for eight years he remained there, existing unnoticed on the bounty of the tecpanec chief who had usurped the throne of his ancestors. maxtla the fierce in course of time the original tecpanec conqueror was gathered to his fathers, and was succeeded by his son maxtla, a ruler who could ill brook the studious prince, who had journeyed to the capital of the tecpanecs to do him homage. he refused nezahualcoyotl's advances of friendship, and the latter was warned by a favourably disposed courtier to take refuge in flight. this advice he adopted, and returned to tezcuco, where, however, maxtla set a snare for his life. a function which took place in the evening afforded the tyrant his chance. but the prince's preceptor frustrated the conspiracy, by means of substituting for his charge a youth who strikingly resembled him. this second failure exasperated maxtla so much that he sent a military force to tezcuco, with orders to despatch nezahualcoyotl without delay. but the same vigilant person who had guarded the prince so well before became apprised of his danger and advised him to fly. to this advice, however, nezahualcoyotl refused to listen, and resolved to await the approach of his enemies. a romantic escape when they arrived he was engaged in the mexican ball-game of tlachtli. with great politeness he requested them to enter and to partake of food. whilst they refreshed themselves he betook himself to another room, but his action excited no surprise, as he could be seen through the open doorway by which the apartments communicated with each other. a huge censer, however, stood in the vestibule, and the clouds of incense which arose from it hid his movements from those who had been sent to slay him. thus obscured, he succeeded in entering a subterranean passage which led to a large disused water-pipe, through which he crawled and made his escape. a thrilling pursuit for a season nezahualcoyotl evaded capture by hiding in the hut of a zealous adherent. the hut was searched, but the pursuers neglected to look below a heap of maguey fibre used for making cloth, under which he lay concealed. furious at his enemy's escape, maxtla now ordered a rigorous search, and a regular battue of the country round tezcuco was arranged. a large reward was offered for the capture of nezahualcoyotl dead or alive, along with a fair estate and the hand of a noble lady, and the unhappy prince was forced to seek safety in the mountainous country between tezcuco and tlascala. he became a wretched outcast, a pariah lurking in caves and woods, prowling about after nightfall in order to satisfy his hunger, and seldom having a whole night's rest, because of the vigilance of his enemies. hotly pursued by them, he was compelled to seek some curious places of concealment in order to save himself. on one occasion he was hidden by some friendly soldiers inside a large drum, and on another he was concealed beneath some chia stalks by a girl who was engaged in reaping them. the loyalty of the tezcucan peasantry to their hunted prince was extraordinary, and rather than betray his whereabouts to the creatures of maxtla they on many occasions suffered torture, and even death itself. at a time when his affairs appeared most gloomy, however, nezahualcoyotl experienced a change of fortune. the tyrannous maxtla had rendered himself highly unpopular by his many oppressions, and the people in the territories he had annexed were by no means contented under his rule. the defeat of maxtla these malcontents decided to band themselves together to defy the tyrant, and offered the command of the force thus raised to nezahualcoyotl. this he accepted, and the tecpanec usurper was totally defeated in a general engagement. restored to the throne of his fathers, nezahualcoyotl allied himself with mexico, and with the assistance of its monarch completely routed the remaining force of maxtla, who was seized in the baths of azcapozalco, haled forth and sacrificed, and his city destroyed. the solon of anahuac nezahualcoyotl profited by the hard experiences he had undergone, and proved a wise and just ruler. the code of laws framed by him was an exceedingly drastic one, but so wise and enlightened was his rule that on the whole he deserves the title which has been conferred upon him of "the solon of anahuac." he generously encouraged the arts, and established a council of music, the purpose of which was to supervise artistic endeavour of every description. in nezahualcoyotl mexico found, in all probability, her greatest native poet. an ode of his on the mutability of life displays much nobility of thought, and strikingly recalls the sentiments expressed in the verses of omar khayyám. nezahualcoyotl's theology nezahualcoyotl is said to have erected a temple to the unknown god, and to have shown a marked preference for the worship of one deity. in one of his poems he is credited with expressing the following exalted sentiments: "let us aspire to that heaven where all is eternal, and corruption cannot come. the horrors of the tomb are the cradle of the sun, and the dark shadows of death are brilliant lights for the stars." unfortunately these ideas cannot be verified as the undoubted sentiments of the royal bard of tezcuco, and we are regretfully forced to regard the attribution as spurious. we must come to such a conclusion with very real disappointment, as to discover an untutored and spontaneous belief in one god in the midst of surroundings so little congenial to its growth would have been exceedingly valuable from several points of view. the poet prince we find nezahualcoyotl's later days stained by an act which was unworthy of such a great monarch and wise man. his eldest son, the heir to the crown, entered into an intrigue with one of his father's wives, and dedicated many passionate poems to her, to which she replied with equal ardour. the poetical correspondence was brought before the king, who prized the lady highly because of her beauty. outraged in his most sacred feelings, nezahualcoyotl had the youth arraigned before the high court, which passed sentence of death upon him--a sentence which his father permitted to be carried out. after his son's execution he shut himself up in his palace for some months, and gave orders that the doors and windows of the unhappy young man's residence should be built up so that never again might its walls echo to the sound of a human voice. the queen with a hundred lovers in his history of the chichimeca ixtlilxochitl tells the following gruesome tale regarding the dreadful fate of a favourite wife of nezahualpilli, the son of nezahualcoyotl: when axaiacatzin, king of mexico, and other lords sent their daughters to king nezahualpilli, for him to choose one to be his queen and lawful wife, whose son might succeed to the inheritance, she who had the highest claims among them, for nobility of birth and rank, was chachiuhnenetzin, the young daughter of the mexican king. she had been brought up by the monarch in a separate palace, with great pomp, and with numerous attendants, as became the daughter of so great a monarch. the number of servants attached to her household exceeded two thousand. young as she was, she was exceedingly artful and vicious; so that, finding herself alone, and seeing that her people feared her on account of her rank and importance, she began to give way to an unlimited indulgence of her power. whenever she saw a young man who pleased her fancy she gave secret orders that he should be brought to her, and shortly afterwards he would be put to death. she would then order a statue or effigy of his person to be made, and, adorning it with rich clothing, gold, and jewellery, place it in the apartment in which she lived. the number of statues of those whom she thus sacrificed was so great as to almost fill the room. when the king came to visit her, and inquired respecting these statues, she answered that they were her gods; and he, knowing how strict the mexicans were in the worship of their false deities, believed her. but, as no iniquity can be long committed with entire secrecy, she was finally found out in this manner: three of the young men, for some reason or other, she had left alive. their names were chicuhcoatl, huitzilimitzin, and maxtla, one of whom was lord of tesoyucan and one of the grandees of the kingdom, and the other two nobles of high rank. it happened that one day the king recognised on the apparel of one of these a very precious jewel which he had given to the queen; and although he had no fear of treason on her part it gave him some uneasiness. proceeding to visit her that night, her attendants told him she was asleep, supposing that the king would then return, as he had done at other times. but the affair of the jewel made him insist on entering the chamber in which she slept; and, going to wake her, he found only a statue in the bed, adorned with her hair, and closely resembling her. seeing this, and noticing that the attendants around were in much trepidation and alarm, the king called his guards, and, assembling all the people of the house, made a general search for the queen, who was shortly found at an entertainment with the three young lords, who were arrested with her. the king referred the case to the judges of his court, in order that they might make an inquiry into the matter and examine the parties implicated. these discovered many individuals, servants of the queen, who had in some way or other been accessory to her crimes--workmen who had been engaged in making and adorning the statues, others who had aided in introducing the young men into the palace, and others, again, who had put them to death and concealed their bodies. the case having been sufficiently investigated, the king despatched ambassadors to the rulers of mexico and tlacopan, giving them information of the event, and signifying the day on which the punishment of the queen and her accomplices was to take place; and he likewise sent through the empire to summon all the lords to bring their wives and their daughters, however young they might be, to be witnesses of a punishment which he designed for a great example. he also made a truce with all the enemies of the empire, in order that they might come freely to see it. the time having arrived, the number of people gathered together was so great that, large as was the city of tezcuco, they could scarcely all find room in it. the execution took place publicly, in sight of the whole city. the queen was put to the garrotte (a method of strangling by means of a rope twisted round a stick), as well as her three gallants; and, from their being persons of high birth, their bodies were burned, together with the effigies before mentioned. the other parties who had been accessory to the crimes, who numbered more than two thousand persons, were also put to the garrotte, and burned in a pit made for the purpose in a ravine near a temple of the idol of adulterers. all applauded so severe and exemplary a punishment, except the mexican lords, the relatives of the queen, who were much incensed at so public an example, and, although for the time they concealed their resentment, meditated future revenge. it was not without reason, says the chronicler, that the king experienced this disgrace in his household, since he was thus punished for an unworthy subterfuge made use of by his father to obtain his mother as a wife! this nezahualpilli, the successor of nezahualcoyotl, was a monarch of scientific tastes, and, as torquemada states, had a primitive observatory erected in his palace. the golden age of tezcuco the period embraced by the life of this monarch and his predecessor may be regarded as the golden age of tezcuco, and as semi-mythical. the palace of nezahualcoyotl, according to the account of ixtlilxochitl, extended east and west for yards, and for yards from north to south. enclosed by a high wall, it contained two large courts, one used as the municipal market-place, whilst the other was surrounded by administrative offices. a great hall was set apart for the special use of poets and men of talent, who held symposiums under its classic roof, or engaged in controversy in the surrounding corridors. the chronicles of the kingdom were also kept in this portion of the palace. the private apartments of the monarch adjoined this college of bards. they were gorgeous in the extreme, and their description rivals that of the fabled toltec city of tollan. rare stones and beautifully coloured plaster mouldings alternated with wonderful tapestries of splendid feather-work to make an enchanting display of florid decoration, and the gardens which surrounded this marvellous edifice were delightful retreats, where the lofty cedar and cypress overhung sparkling fountains and luxurious baths. fish darted hither and thither in the ponds, and the aviaries echoed to the songs of birds of wonderful plumage. a fairy villa according to ixtlilxochitl, the king's villa of tezcotzinco was a residence which for sheer beauty had no equal in persian romance, or in those dream-tales of araby which in childhood we feel to be true, and in later life regretfully admit can only be known again by sailing the sea of poesy or penetrating the mist-locked continent of dream. the account of it which we have from the garrulous half-blood reminds us of the stately pleasure-dome decreed by kubla khan on the turbulent banks of the sacred alph. a conical eminence was laid out in hanging gardens reached by an airy flight of five hundred and twenty marble steps. gigantic walls contained an immense reservoir of water, in the midst of which was islanded a great rock carved with hieroglyphs describing the principal events in the reign of nezahualcoyotl. in each of three other reservoirs stood a marble statue of a woman, symbolical of one of the three provinces of tezcuco. these great basins supplied the gardens beneath with a perennial flow of water, so directed as to leap in cascades over artificial rockeries or meander among mossy retreats with refreshing whisper, watering the roots of odoriferous shrubs and flowers and winding in and out of the shadow of the cypress woods. here and there pavilions of marble arose over porphyry baths, the highly polished stone of which reflected the bodies of the bathers. the villa itself stood amidst a wilderness of stately cedars, which shielded it from the torrid heat of the mexican sun. the architectural design of this delightful edifice was light and airy in the extreme, and the perfume of the surrounding gardens filled the spacious apartments with the delicious incense of nature. in this paradise the tezcucan monarch sought in the company of his wives repose from the oppression of rule, and passed the lazy hours in gamesome sport and dance. the surrounding woods afforded him the pleasures of the chase, and art and nature combined to render his rural retreat a centre of pleasant recreation as well as of repose and refreshment. disillusionment that some such palace existed on the spot in question it would be absurd to deny, as its stupendous pillars and remains still litter the terraces of tezcotzinco. but, alas! we must not listen to the vapourings of the untrustworthy ixtlilxochitl, who claims to have seen the place. it will be better to turn to a more modern authority, who visited the site about seventy-five years ago, and who has given perhaps the best account of it. he says: "fragments of pottery, broken pieces of obsidian knives and arrows, pieces of stucco, shattered terraces, and old walls were thickly dispersed over its whole surface. we soon found further advance on horseback impracticable, and, attaching our patient steeds to the nopal bushes, we followed our indian guide on foot, scrambling upwards over rock and through tangled brushwood. on gaining the narrow ridge which connects the conical hill with one at the rear, we found the remains of a wall and causeway; and, a little higher, reached a recess, where, at the foot of a small precipice, overhung with indian fig and grass, the rock had been wrought by hand into a flat surface of large dimensions. in this perpendicular wall of rock a carved toltec calendar existed formerly; but the indians, finding the place visited occasionally by foreigners from the capital, took it into their heads that there must be a silver vein there, and straightway set to work to find it, obliterating the sculpture, and driving a level beyond it into the hard rock for several yards. from this recess a few minutes' climb brought us to the summit of the hill. the sun was on the point of setting over the mountains on the other side of the valley, and the view spread beneath our feet was most glorious. the whole of the lake of tezcuco, and the country and mountains on both sides, lay stretched before us. "but, however disposed, we dare not stop long to gaze and admire, but, descending a little obliquely, soon came to the so-called bath, two singular basins, of perhaps two feet and a half diameter, cut into a bastion-like solid rock, projecting from the general outline of the hill, and surrounded by smooth carved seats and grooves, as we supposed--for i own the whole appearance of the locality was perfectly inexplicable to me. i have a suspicion that many of these horizontal planes and grooves were contrivances to aid their astronomical observations, one like that i have mentioned having been discovered by de gama at chapultepec. "as to montezuma's bath, it might be his foot-bath if you will, but it would be a moral impossibility for any monarch of larger dimensions than oberon to take a duck in it. "the mountain bears the marks of human industry to its very apex, many of the blocks of porphyry of which it is composed being quarried into smooth horizontal planes. it is impossible to say at present what portion of the surface is artificial or not, such is the state of confusion observable in every part. "by what means nations unacquainted with the use of iron constructed works of such a smooth polish, in rocks of such hardness, it is extremely difficult to say. many think tools of mixed tin and copper were employed; others, that patient friction was one of the main means resorted to. whatever may have been the real appropriation of these inexplicable ruins, or the epoch of their construction, there can be no doubt but the whole of this hill, which i should suppose rises five or six hundred feet above the level of the plain, was covered with artificial works of one kind or another. they are doubtless rather of toltec than of aztec origin, and perhaps with still more probability attributable to a people of an age yet more remote." the noble tlascalan as may be imagined regarding a community where human sacrifice was rife, tales concerning those who were consigned to this dreadful fate were abundant. perhaps the most striking of these is that relating to the noble tlascalan warrior tlalhuicole, who was captured in combat by the troops of montezuma. less than a year before the spaniards arrived in mexico war broke out between the huexotzincans and the tlascalans, to the former of whom the aztecs acted as allies. on the battlefield there was captured by guile a very valiant tlascalan leader called tlalhuicole, so renowned for his prowess that the mere mention of his name was generally sufficient to deter any mexican hero from attempting his capture. he was brought to mexico in a cage, and presented to the emperor montezuma, who, on learning of his name and renown, gave him his liberty and overwhelmed him with honours. he further granted him permission to return to his own country, a boon he had never before extended to any captive. but tlalhuicole refused his freedom, and replied that he would prefer to be sacrificed to the gods, according to the usual custom. montezuma, who had the highest regard for him, and prized his life more than any sacrifice, would not consent to his immolation. at this juncture war broke out between mexico and the tarascans, and montezuma announced the appointment of tlalhuicole as chief of the expeditionary force. he accepted the command, marched against the tarascans, and, having totally defeated them, returned to mexico laden with an enormous booty and crowds of slaves. the city rang with his triumph. the emperor begged him to become a mexican citizen, but he replied that on no account would he prove a traitor to his country. montezuma then once more offered him his liberty, but he strenuously refused to return to tlascala, having undergone the disgrace of defeat and capture. he begged montezuma to terminate his unhappy existence by sacrificing him to the gods, thus ending the dishonour he felt in living on after having undergone defeat, and at the same time fulfilling the highest aspiration of his life--to die the death of a warrior on the stone of combat. montezuma, himself the noblest pattern of aztec chivalry, touched at his request, could not but agree with him that he had chosen the most fitting fate for a hero, and ordered him to be chained to the stone of combat, the blood-stained temalacatl. the most renowned of the aztec warriors were pitted against him, and the emperor himself graced the sanguinary tournament with his presence. tlalhuicole bore himself in the combat like a lion, slew eight warriors of renown, and wounded more than twenty. but at last he fell, covered with wounds, and was haled by the exulting priests to the altar of the terrible war-god huitzilopochtli, to whom his heart was offered up. the haunting mothers it is only occasionally that we encounter either the gods or supernatural beings of any description in mexican myth. but occasionally we catch sight of such beings as the ciuapipiltin (honoured women), the spirits of those women who had died in childbed, a death highly venerated by the mexicans, who regarded the woman who perished thus as the equal of a warrior who met his fate in battle. strangely enough, these spirits were actively malevolent, probably because the moon-goddess (who was also the deity of evil exhalations) was evil in her tendencies, and they were regarded as possessing an affinity to her. it was supposed that they afflicted infants with various diseases, and mexican parents took every precaution not to permit their offspring out of doors on the days when their influence was believed to be strong. they were said to haunt the cross-roads, and even to enter the bodies of weakly people, the better to work their evil will. the insane were supposed to be under their especial visitation. temples were raised at the cross-roads in order to placate them, and loaves of bread, shaped like butterflies, were dedicated to them. they were represented as having faces of a dead white, and as blanching their arms and hands with a white powder known as tisatl. their eyebrows were of a golden hue, and their raiment was that of mexican ladies of the ruling class. the return of papantzin [ ] one of the weirdest legends in mexican tradition recounts how papantzin, the sister of montezuma ii, returned from her tomb to prophesy to her royal brother concerning his doom and the fall of his empire at the hands of the spaniards. on taking up the reins of government montezuma had married this lady to one of his most illustrious servants, the governor of tlatelulco, and after his death it would appear that she continued to exercise his almost viceregal functions and to reside in his palace. in course of time she died, and her obsequies were attended by the emperor in person, accompanied by the greatest personages of his court and kingdom. the body was interred in a subterranean vault of his own palace, in close proximity to the royal baths, which stood in a sequestered part of the extensive grounds surrounding the royal residence. the entrance to the vault was secured by a stone slab of moderate weight, and when the numerous ceremonies prescribed for the interment of a royal personage had been completed the emperor and his suite retired. at daylight next morning one of the royal children, a little girl of some six years of age, having gone into the garden to seek her governess, espied the princess papan standing near the baths. the princess, who was her aunt, called to her, and requested her to bring her governess to her. the child did as she was bid, but her governess, thinking that imagination had played her a trick, paid little attention to what she said. as the child persisted in her statement, the governess at last followed her into the garden, where she saw papan sitting on one of the steps of the baths. the sight of the supposed dead princess filled the woman with such terror that she fell down in a swoon. the child then went to her mother's apartment, and detailed to her what had happened. she at once proceeded to the baths with two of her attendants, and at sight of papan was also seized with affright. but the princess reassured her, and asked to be allowed to accompany her to her apartments, and that the entire affair should for the present be kept absolutely secret. later in the day she sent for tiçotzicatzin, her major-domo, and requested him to inform the emperor that she desired to speak with him immediately on matters of the greatest importance. the man, terrified, begged to be excused from the mission, and papan then gave orders that her uncle nezahualpilli, king of tezcuco, should be communicated with. that monarch, on receiving her request that he should come to her, hastened to the palace. the princess begged him to see the emperor without loss of time and to entreat him to come to her at once. montezuma heard his story with surprise mingled with doubt. hastening to his sister, he cried as he approached her: "is it indeed you, my sister, or some evil demon who has taken your likeness?" "it is i indeed, your majesty," she replied. montezuma and the exalted personages who accompanied him then seated themselves, and a hush of expectation fell upon all as they were addressed by the princess in the following words: "listen attentively to what i am about to relate to you. you have seen me dead, buried, and now behold me alive again. by the authority of our ancestors, my brother, i am returned from the dwellings of the dead to prophesy to you certain things of prime importance. papantzin's story "at the moment after death i found myself in a spacious valley, which appeared to have neither commencement nor end, and was surrounded by lofty mountains. near the middle i came upon a road with many branching paths. by the side of the valley there flowed a river of considerable size, the waters of which ran with a loud noise. by the borders of this i saw a young man clothed in a long robe, fastened with a diamond, and shining like the sun, his visage bright as a star. on his forehead was a sign in the figure of a cross. he had wings, the feathers of which gave forth the most wonderful and glowing reflections and colours. his eyes were as emeralds, and his glance was modest. he was fair, of beautiful aspect and imposing presence. he took me by the hand and said: 'come hither. it is not yet time for you to cross the river. you possess the love of god, which is greater than you know or can comprehend.' he then conducted me through the valley, where i espied many heads and bones of dead men. i then beheld a number of black folk, horned, and with the feet of deer. they were engaged in building a house, which was nearly completed. turning toward the east for a space, i beheld on the waters of the river a vast number of ships manned by a great host of men dressed differently from ourselves. their eyes were of a clear grey, their complexions ruddy, they carried banners and ensigns in their hands and wore helmets on their heads. they called themselves 'sons of the sun.' the youth who conducted me and caused me to see all these things said that it was not yet the will of the gods that i should cross the river, but that i was to be reserved to behold the future with my own eyes, and to enjoy the benefits of the faith which these strangers brought with them; that the bones i beheld on the plain were those of my countrymen who had died in ignorance of that faith, and had consequently suffered great torments; that the house being builded by the black folk was an edifice prepared for those who would fall in battle with the seafaring strangers whom i had seen; and that i was destined to return to my compatriots to tell them of the true faith, and to announce to them what i had seen that they might profit thereby." montezuma hearkened to these matters in silence, and felt greatly troubled. he left his sister's presence without a word, and, regaining his own apartments, plunged into melancholy thoughts. papantzin's resurrection is one of the best authenticated incidents in mexican history, and it is a curious fact that on the arrival of the spanish conquistadores one of the first persons to embrace christianity and receive baptism at their hands was the princess papan. chapter iv: the maya race and mythology the maya it was to the maya--the people who occupied the territory between the isthmus of tehuantepec and nicaragua--that the civilisation of central america owed most. the language they spoke was quite distinct from the nahuatl spoken by the nahua of mexico, and in many respects their customs and habits were widely different from those of the people of anahuac. it will be remembered that the latter were the heirs of an older civilisation, that, indeed, they had entered the valley of mexico as savages, and that practically all they knew of the arts of culture was taught them by the remnants of the people whom they dispossessed. it was not thus with the maya. their arts and industries were of their own invention, and bore the stamp of an origin of considerable antiquity. they were, indeed, the supreme intellectual race of america, and on their coming into contact with the nahua that people assimilated sufficient of their culture to raise them several grades in the scale of civilisation. were the maya toltecs? it has already been stated that many antiquarians see in the maya those toltecs who because of the inroads of barbarous tribes quitted their native land of anahuac and journeyed southward to seek a new home in chiapas and yucatan. it would be idle to attempt to uphold or refute such a theory in the absolute dearth of positive evidence for or against it. the architectural remains of the older race of anahuac do not bear any striking likeness to maya forms, and if the mythologies of the two peoples are in some particulars alike, that may well be accounted for by their mutual adoption of deities and religious customs. on the other hand, it is distinctly noteworthy that the cult of the god quetzalcoatl, which was regarded in mexico as of alien origin, had a considerable vogue among the maya and their allied races. the maya kingdom on the arrival of the spaniards (after the celebrated march of cortés from mexico to central america) the maya were divided into a number of subsidiary states which remind us somewhat of the numerous little kingdoms of palestine. that these had hived off from an original and considerably greater state there is good evidence to show, but internal dissension had played havoc with the polity of the central government of this empire, the disintegration of which had occurred at a remote period. in the semi-historical legends of this people we catch glimpses of a great kingdom, occasionally alluded to as the "kingdom of the great snake," or the empire of xibalba, realms which have been identified with the ruined city-centres of palenque and mitla. these identifications must be regarded with caution, but the work of excavation will doubtless sooner or later assist theorists in coming to conclusions which will admit of no doubt. the sphere of maya civilisation and influence is pretty well marked, and embraces the peninsula of yucatan, chiapas, to the isthmus of tehuantepec on the north, and the whole of guatemala to the boundaries of the present republic of san salvador. the true nucleus of maya civilisation, however, must be looked for in that part of chiapas which skirts the banks of the usumacinta river and in the valleys of its tributaries. here maya art and architecture reached a height of splendour unknown elsewhere, and in this district, too, the strange maya system of writing had its most skilful exponents. although the arts and industries of the several districts inhabited by people of maya race exhibited many superficial differences, these are so small as to make us certain of the fact that the various areas inhabited by maya stock had all drawn their inspiration toward civilisation from one common nucleus, and had equally passed through a uniform civilisation and drawn sap from an original culture-centre. the maya dialects perhaps the most effectual method of distinguishing the various branches of the maya people from one another consists in dividing them into linguistic groups. the various dialects spoken by the folk of maya origin, although they exhibit some considerable difference, yet display strongly that affinity of construction and resemblance in root which go to prove that they all emanate from one common mother-tongue. in chiapas the maya tongue itself is the current dialect, whilst in guatemala no less than twenty-four dialects are in use, the principal of which are the quiche, or kiche, the kakchiquel, the zutugil, coxoh chol, and pipil. these dialects and the folk who speak them are sufficient to engage our attention, as in them are enshrined the most remarkable myths and legends of the race, and by the men who used them were the greatest acts in maya history achieved. whence came the maya? whence came these folk, then, who raised a civilisation by no means inferior to that of ancient egypt, which, if it had had scope, would have rivalled in its achievements the glory of old assyria? we cannot tell. the mystery of its entrance into the land is as deep as the mystery of the ancient forests which now bury the remnants of its mighty monuments and enclose its temples in impenetrable gloom. generations of antiquarians have attempted to trace the origin of this race to egypt, phoenicia, china, burma. but the manifest traces of indigenous american origin are present in all its works, and the writers who have beheld in these likenesses to the art of asiatic or african peoples have been grievously misled by superficial resemblances which could not have betrayed any one who had studied maya affinities deeply. civilisation of the maya at the risk of repetition it is essential to point out that civilisation, which was a newly acquired thing with the nahua peoples, was not so with the maya. they were indisputably an older race, possessing institutions which bore the marks of generations of use, whereas the nahua had only too obviously just entered into their heritage of law and order. when we first catch sight of the maya kingdoms they are in the process of disintegration. such strong young blood as the virile folk of anahuac possessed did not flow in the veins of the people of yucatan and guatemala. they were to the nahua much as the ancient assyrians were to the hosts of israel at the entrance of the latter into national existence. that there was a substratum of ethnical and cultural relationship, however, it would be impossible to deny. the institutions, architecture, habits, even the racial cast of thought of the two peoples, bore such a general resemblance as to show that many affinities of blood and cultural relationship existed between them. but it will not do to insist too strongly upon these. it may be argued with great probability that these relationships and likenesses exist because of the influence of maya civilisation upon mexican alone, or from the inheritance by both mexican and maya people of a still older culture of which we are ignorant, and the proofs of which lie buried below the forests of guatemala or the sands of yucatan. the zapotecs the influence of the maya upon the nahua was a process of exceeding slowness. the peoples who divided them one from another were themselves benefited by carrying maya culture into anahuac, or rather it might be said that they constituted a sort of filter through which the southern civilisation reached the northern. these peoples were the zapotecs, the mixtecs, and the kuikatecs, by far the most important of whom were the first-mentioned. they partook of the nature and civilisation of both races, and were in effect a border people who took from and gave to both maya and nahua, much as the jews absorbed and disseminated the cultures of egypt and assyria. they were, however, of nahua race, but their speech bears the strongest marks of having borrowed extensively from the maya vocabulary. for many generations these people wandered in a nomadic condition from maya to nahua territory, thus absorbing the customs, speech, and mythology of each. the huasteca but we should be wrong if we thought that the maya had never attempted to expand, and had never sought new homes for their surplus population. that they had is proved by an outlying tribe of maya, the huasteca, having settled at the mouth of the panuco river, on the north coast of mexico. the presence of this curious ethnological island has of course given rise to all sorts of queer theories concerning toltec relationship, whereas it simply intimates that before the era of nahua expansion the maya had attempted to colonise the country to the north of their territories, but that their efforts in this direction had been cut short by the influx of savage nahua, against whom they found themselves unable to contend. the type of maya civilisation did the civilisation of the maya differ, then, in type from that of the nahua, or was it merely a larger expression of that in vogue in anahuac? we may take it that the nahua civilisation characterised the culture of central america in its youth, whilst that of the maya displayed it in its bloom, and perhaps in its senility. the difference was neither essential nor radical, but may be said to have arisen for the most part from climatic and kindred causes. the climate of anahuac is dry and temperate, that of yucatan and guatemala is tropical, and we shall find even such religious conceptions of the two peoples as were drawn from a common source varying from this very cause, and coloured by differences in temperature and rainfall. maya history before entering upon a consideration of the art, architecture, or mythology of this strange and highly interesting people it will be necessary to provide the reader with a brief sketch of their history. such notices of this as exist in english are few, and their value doubtful. for the earlier history of the people of maya stock we depend almost wholly upon tradition and architectural remains. the net result of the evidence wrung from these is that the maya civilisation was one and homogeneous, and that all the separate states must have at one period passed through a uniform condition of culture, to which they were all equally debtors, and that this is sufficient ground for the belief that all were at one time beneath the sway of one central power. for the later history we possess the writings of the spanish fathers, but not in such profusion as in the case of mexico. in fact the trustworthy original authors who deal with maya history can almost be counted on the fingers of one hand. we are further confused in perusing these, and, indeed, throughout the study of maya history, by discovering that many of the sites of maya cities are designated by nahua names. this is due to the fact that the spanish conquerors were guided in their conquest of the maya territories by nahua, who naturally applied nahuatlac designations to those sites of which the spaniards asked the names. these appellations clung to the places in question; hence the confusion, and the blundering theories which would read in these place-names relics of aztec conquest. the nucleus of maya power as has been said, the nucleus of maya power and culture is probably to be found in that part of chiapas which slopes down from the steep cordilleras. here the ruined sites of palenque, piedras negras, and ocosingo are eloquent of that opulence of imagination and loftiness of conception which go hand in hand with an advanced culture. the temples and palaces of this region bear the stamp of a dignity and consciousness of metropolitan power which are scarcely to be mistaken, so broad, so free is their architectural conception, so full to overflowing the display of the desire to surpass. but upon the necessities of religion and central organisation alone was this architectural artistry lavished. its dignities were not profaned by its application to mere domestic uses, for, unless what were obviously palaces are excepted, not a single example of maya domestic building has survived. this is of course accounted for by the circumstance that the people were sharply divided into the aristocratic and labouring classes, the first of which was closely identified with religion or kingship, and was housed in the ecclesiastical or royal buildings, whilst those of less exalted rank were perforce content with the shelter afforded by a hut built of perishable materials, the traces of which have long since passed away. the temples were, in fact, the nuclei of the towns, the centres round which the maya communities were grouped, much in the same manner as the cities of europe in the middle ages clustered and grew around the shadow of some vast cathedral or sheltering stronghold. early race movements we shall leave the consideration of maya tradition until we come to speak of maya myth proper, and attempt to glean from the chaos of legend some veritable facts connected with maya history. according to a manuscript of kuikatec origin recently discovered, it is probable that a nahua invasion of the maya states of chiapas and tabasco took place about the ninth century of our era, and we must for the present regard that as the starting-point of maya history. the south-western portions of the maya territory were agitated about the same time by race movements, which turned northward toward tehuantepec, and, flowing through guatemala, came to rest in acalan, on the borders of yucatan, retarded, probably, by the inhospitable and waterless condition of that country. this nahua invasion probably had the effect of driving the more peaceful maya from their northerly settlements and forcing them farther south. indeed, evidence is not wanting to show that the warlike nahua pursued the pacific maya into their new retreats, and for a space left them but little peace. this struggle it was which finally resulted in the breaking up of the maya civilisation, which even at that relatively remote period had reached its apogee, its several races separating into numerous city-states, which bore a close political resemblance to those of italy on the downfall of rome. at this period, probably, began the cleavage between the maya of yucatan and those of guatemala, which finally resolved itself into such differences of speech, faith, and architecture as almost to constitute them different peoples. the settlement of yucatan as the celts of wales and scotland were driven into the less hospitable regions of their respective countries by the inroads of the saxons, so was one branch of the maya forced to seek shelter in the almost desert wastes of yucatan. there can be no doubt that the maya did not take to this barren and waterless land of their own accord. thrifty and possessed of high agricultural attainments, this people would view with concern a removal to a sphere so forbidding after the rich and easily developed country they had inhabited for generations. but the inexorable nahua were behind, and they were a peaceful folk, unused to the horrors of savage warfare. so, taking their courage in both hands, they wandered into the desert. everything points to a late occupation of yucatan by the maya, and architectural effort exhibits deterioration, evidenced in a high conventionality of design and excess of ornamentation. evidences of nahua influence also are not wanting, a fact which is eloquent of the later period of contact which is known to have occurred between the peoples, and which alone is almost sufficient to fix the date of the settlement of the maya in yucatan. it must not be thought that the maya in yucatan formed one homogeneous state recognising a central authority. on the contrary, as is often the case with colonists, the several maya bands of immigrants formed themselves into different states or kingdoms, each having its own separate traditions. it is thus a matter of the highest difficulty to so collate and criticise these traditions as to construct a history of the maya race in yucatan. as may be supposed, we find the various city-sites founded by divine beings who play a more or less important part in the maya pantheon. kukulcan, for example, is the first king of mayapan, whilst itzamna figures as the founder of the state of itzamal. the gods were the spiritual leaders of these bands of maya, just as jehovah was the spiritual leader and guide of the israelites in the desert. one is therefore not surprised to find in the popol vuh, the saga of the kiche-maya of guatemala, that the god tohil (the rumbler) guided them to the site of the first kiche city. some writers on the subject appear to think that the incidents in such migration myths, especially the tutelage and guidance of the tribes by gods and the descriptions of desert scenery which they contain, suffice to stamp them as mere native versions of the book of exodus, or at the best myths sophisticated by missionary influence. the truth is that the conditions of migration undergone by the maya were similar to those described in the scriptures, and by no means merely reflect the bible story, as short-sighted collators of both aver. the septs of yucatan the priest-kings of mayapan, who claimed descent from kukulcan or quetzalcoatl, soon raised their state into a position of prominence among the surrounding cities. those who had founded chichen-itza, and who were known as itzaes, were, on the other hand, a caste of warriors who do not appear to have cherished the priestly function with such assiduity. the rulers of the itzaes, who were known as the tutul xius, seem to have come, according to their traditions, from the western maya states, perhaps from nonohualco in tabasco. arriving from thence at the southern extremity of yucatan, they founded the city of ziyan caan, on lake bacalar, which had a period of prosperity for at least a couple of generations. at the expiry of that period for some unaccountable reason they migrated northward, perhaps because at that particular time the incidence of power was shifting toward northern yucatan, and took up their abode in chichen-itza, eventually the sacred city of the maya, which they founded. the cocomes but they were not destined to remain undisturbed in their new sphere. the cocomes of mayapan, when at the height of their power, viewed with disfavour the settlement of the tutul xius. after it had flourished for a period of about years it was overthrown by the cocomes, who resolved it into a dependency, permitting the governors and a certain number of the people to depart elsewhere. flight of the tutul xius thus expelled, the tutul xius fled southward, whence they had originally come, and settled in potonchan or champoton, where they reigned for nearly years. from this new centre, with the aid of nahua mercenaries, they commenced an extension of territory northward, and entered into diplomatic relations with the heads of the other maya states. it was at this time that they built uxmal, and their power became so extensive that they reconquered the territory they had lost to the cocomes. this on the whole appears to have been a period when the arts flourished under an enlightened policy, which knew how to make and keep friendly relations with surrounding states, and the splendid network of roads with which the country was covered and the many evidences of architectural excellence go to prove that the race had had leisure to achieve much in art and works of utility. thus the city of chichen-itza was linked up with the island of cozumel by a highway whereon thousands of pilgrims plodded to the temples of the gods of wind and moisture. from itzamal, too, roads branched in every direction, in order that the people should have every facility for reaching the chief shrine of the country situated there. but the hand of the cocomes was heavy upon the other maya states which were tributary to them. as in the yucatan of to-day, where the wretched henequen-picker leads the life of a veritable slave, a crushing system of helotage obtained. the cocomes made heavy demands upon the tutul xius, who in their turn sweated the hapless folk under their sway past the bounds of human endurance. as in all tottering civilisations, the feeling of responsibility among the upper classes became dormant, and they abandoned themselves to the pleasures of life without thought of the morrow. morality ceased to be regarded as a virtue, and rottenness was at the core of maya life. discontent quickly spread on every hand. the revolution in mayapan the sequel was, naturally, revolution. ground down by the tyranny of a dissolute oligarchy, the subject states rose in revolt. the cocomes surrounded themselves by nahua mercenaries, who succeeded in beating off the first wave of revolt, led by the king or regulus of uxmal, who was defeated, and whose people in their turn rose against him, a circumstance which ended in the abandonment of the city of uxmal. once more were the tutul xius forced to go on pilgrimage, and this time they founded the city of mani, a mere shadow of the splendour of uxmal and chichen. hunac eel if the aristocracy of the cocomes was composed of weaklings, its ruler was made of sterner stuff. hunac eel, who exercised royal sway over this people, and held in subjection the lesser principalities of yucatan, was not only a tyrant of harsh and vindictive temperament, but a statesman of judgment and experience, who courted the assistance of the neighbouring nahua, whom he employed in his campaign against the new assailant of his absolutism, the ruler of chichen-itza. mustering a mighty host of his vassals, hunac eel marched against the devoted city whose prince had dared to challenge his supremacy, and succeeded in inflicting a crushing defeat upon its inhabitants. but apparently the state was permitted to remain under the sovereignty of its native princes. the revolt, however, merely smouldered, and in the kingdom of mayapan itself, the territory of the cocomes, the fires of revolution began to blaze. this state of things continued for nearly a century. then the crash came. the enemies of the cocomes effected a junction. the people of chichen-itza joined hands with the tutul xius, who had sought refuge in the central highlands of yucatan and those city-states which clustered around the mother-city of mayapan. a fierce concerted attack was made, beneath which the power of the cocomes crumpled up completely. not one stone was left standing upon another by the exasperated allies, who thus avenged the helotage of nearly years. to this event the date is assigned, but, like most dates in maya history, considerable uncertainty must be attached to it. the last of the cocomes only a remnant of the cocomes survived. they had been absent in nahua territory, attempting to raise fresh troops for the defence of mayapan. these the victors spared, and they finally settled in zotuta, in the centre of yucatan, a region of almost impenetrable forest. it would not appear that the city of chichen-itza, the prince of which was ever the head and front of the rebellion against the cocomes, profited in any way from the fall of the suzerain power. on the contrary, tradition has it that the town was abandoned by its inhabitants, and left to crumble into the ruinous state in which the spaniards found it on their entrance into the country. the probability is that its people quitted it because of the repeated attacks made upon it by the cocomes, who saw in it the chief obstacle to their universal sway; and this is supported by tradition, which tells that a prince of chichen-itza, worn out with conflict and internecine strife, left it to seek the cradle of the maya race in the land of the setting sun. indeed, it is further stated that this prince founded the city of peten-itza, on the lake of peten, in guatemala. the maya peoples of guatemala when the maya peoples of guatemala, the kiches and the kakchiquels, first made their way into that territory, they probably found there a race of maya origin of a type more advanced and possessed of more ancient traditions than themselves. by their connection with this folk they greatly benefited in the direction of artistic achievement as well as in the industrial arts. concerning these people we have a large body of tradition in the popol vuh, a native chronicle, the contents of which will be fully dealt with in the chapter relating to the maya myths and legendary matter. we cannot deal with it as a veritable historical document, but there is little doubt that a basis of fact exists behind the tradition it contains. the difference between the language of these people and that of their brethren in yucatan was, as has been said, one of dialect only, and a like slight distinction is found in their mythology, caused, doubtless, by the incidence of local conditions, and resulting in part from the difference between a level and comparatively waterless land and one of a semi-mountainous character covered with thick forests. we shall note further differences when we come to examine the art and architecture of the maya race, and to compare those of its two most distinctive branches. the maya tulan it was to the city of tulan, probably in tabasco, that the maya of guatemala referred as being the starting-point of all their migrations. we must not confound this place with the tollan of the mexican traditions. it is possible that the name may in both cases be derived from a root meaning a place from which a tribe set forth, a starting-place, but geographical connection there is none. from here nima-kiche, the great kiche, started on his migration to the mountains, accompanied by his three brothers. tulan, says the popol vuh, had been a place of misfortune to man, for he had suffered much from cold and hunger, and, as at the building of babel, his speech was so confounded that the first four kiches and their wives were unable to comprehend one another. of course this is a native myth created to account for the difference in dialect between the various branches of the maya folk, and can scarcely have any foundation in fact, as the change in dialect would be a very gradual process. the brothers, we are told, divided the land so that one received the districts of mames and pocomams, another verapaz, and the third chiapas, while nima-kiche obtained the country of the kiches, kakchiquels, and tzutuhils. it would be extremely difficult to say whether or not this tradition rests on any veritable historical basis. if so, it refers to a period anterior to the nahua irruption, for the districts alluded to as occupied by these tribes were not so divided among them at the coming of the spaniards. doubtful dynasties as with the earlier dynasties of egypt, considerable doubt surrounds the history of the early kiche monarchs. indeed, a period of such uncertainty occurs that even the number of kings who reigned is lost in the hopeless confusion of varying estimates. from this chaos emerge the facts that the kiche monarchs held the supreme power among the peoples of guatemala, that they were the contemporaries of the rulers of mexico city, and that they were often elected from among the princes of the subject states. acxopil, the successor of nima-kiche, invested his second son with the government of the kakchiquels, and placed his youngest son over the tzutuhils, whilst to his eldest son he left the throne of the kiches. icutemal, his eldest son, on succeeding his father, gifted the kingdom of kakchiquel to his eldest son, displacing his own brother and thus mortally affronting him. the struggle which ensued lasted for generations, embittered the relations between these two branches of the maya in guatemala, and undermined their joint strength. nahua mercenaries were employed in the struggle on both sides, and these introduced many of the uglinesses of nahua life into maya existence. the coming of the spaniards this condition of things lasted up to the time of the coming of the spaniards. the kakchiquels dated the commencement of a new chronology from the episode of the defeat of cay hun-apu by them in . they may have saved themselves the trouble; for the time was at hand when the calendars of their race were to be closed, and its records written in another script by another people. one by one, and chiefly by reason of their insane policy of allying themselves with the invader against their own kin, the old kingdoms of guatemala fell as spoil to the daring conquistadores, and their people passed beneath the yoke of spain--bondsmen who were to beget countless generations of slaves. the riddle of ancient maya writing what may possibly be the most valuable sources of maya history are, alas! sealed to us at present. we allude to the native maya manuscripts and inscriptions, the writing of which cannot be deciphered by present-day scholars. some of the old spanish friars who lived in the times which directly succeeded the settlement of the country by the white man were able to read and even to write this script, but unfortunately they regarded it either as an invention of the father of evil or, as it was a native system, as a thing of no value. in a few generations all knowledge of how to decipher it was totally lost, and it remains to the modern world almost as a sealed book, although science has lavished all its wonderful machinery of logic and deduction upon it, and men of unquestioned ability have dedicated their lives to the problem of unravelling what must be regarded as one of the greatest and most mysterious riddles of which mankind ever attempted the solution. the romance of the discovery of the key to the egyptian hieroglyphic system of writing is well known. for centuries the symbols displayed upon the temples and monuments of the nile country were so many meaningless pictures and signs to the learned folk of europe, until the discovery of the rosetta stone a hundred years ago made their elucidation possible. this stone bore the same inscription in greek, demotic, and hieroglyphics, and so the discovery of the "alphabet" of the hidden script became a comparatively easy task. but central america has no rosetta stone, nor is it possible that such an aid to research can ever be found. indeed, such "keys" as have been discovered or brought forward by scientists have proved for the most part unavailing. the maya manuscripts the principal maya manuscripts which have escaped the ravages of time are the codices in the libraries of dresden, paris, and madrid. these are known as the codex perezianus, preserved in the bibliothèque nationale at paris, the dresden codex, long regarded as an aztec manuscript, and the troano codex, so called from one of its owners, señor tro y ortolano, found at madrid in . these manuscripts deal principally with maya mythology, but as they cannot be deciphered with any degree of accuracy they do not greatly assist our knowledge of the subject. the system of the writing the "tablet of the cross" gives a good idea of the general appearance of the writing system of the ancient peoples of central america. the style varies somewhat in most of the manuscripts and inscriptions, but it is generally admitted that all of the systems employed sprang originally from one common source. the square figures which appear as a tangle of faces and objects are said to be "calculiform," or pebble-shaped, a not inappropriate description, and it is known from ancient spanish manuscripts that they were read from top to bottom, and two columns at a time. the maya tongue, like all native american languages, was one which, in order to express an idea, gathered a whole phrase into a single word, and it has been thought that the several symbols or parts in each square or sketch go to make up such a compound expression. the first key (so called) to the hieroglyphs of central america was that of bishop landa, who about attempted to set down the maya alphabet from native sources. he was highly unpopular with the natives, whose literary treasures he had almost completely destroyed, and who in revenge deliberately misled him as to the true significance of the various symbols. the first real step toward reading the maya writing was made in by léon de rosny, a french student of american antiquities, who succeeded in interpreting the signs which denote the four cardinal points. as has been the case in so many discoveries of importance, the significance of these signs was simultaneously discovered by professor cyrus thomas in america. in two of these four signs was found the symbol which meant "sun," almost, as de rosny acknowledged, as a matter of course. however, the maya word for "sun" (kin) also denotes "day," and it was later proved that this sign was also used with the latter meaning. the discovery of the sign stimulated further research to a great degree, and from the material now at their disposal drs. förstemann and schellhas of berlin were successful in discovering the sign for the moon and that for the maya month of twenty days. clever elucidations in dr. seler discovered the sign for night (akbal), and in förstemann unriddled the symbols for "beginning" and "end." these are two heads, the first of which has the sign akbal, just mentioned, for an eye. now akbal means, as well as "night," "the beginning of the month," and below the face which contains it can be seen footsteps, or spots which resemble their outline, signifying a forward movement. the sign in the second head means "seventh," which in maya also signifies "the end." from the frequent contrast of these terms there can be little doubt that their meaning is as stated. "union" is denoted by the sting of a rattlesnake, the coils of that reptile signifying to the maya the idea of tying together. in contrast to this sign is the figure next to it, which represents a knife, and means "division" or "cutting." an important "letter" is the hand, which often occurs in both manuscripts and inscriptions. it is drawn sometimes in the act of grasping, with the thumb bent forward, and sometimes as pointing in a certain direction. the first seems to denote a tying together or joining, like the rattlesnake symbol, and the second förstemann believes to represent a lapse of time. that it may represent futurity occurs as a more likely conjecture to the present writer. the figure denoting the spring equinox was traced because of its obvious representation of a cloud from which three streams of water are falling upon the earth. the square at the top represents heaven. the obsidian knife underneath denotes a division or period of time cut off, as it were, from other periods of the year. that the sign means "spring" is verified by its position among the other signs of the seasons. the sign for "week" was discovered by reason of its almost constant accompaniment of the sign for the number thirteen, the number of days in the maya sacred week. the symbol of the bird's feather indicates the plural, and when affixed to certain signs signifies that the object indicated is multiplied. a bird's feather, when one thinks of it, is one of the most fitting symbols provided by nature to designate the plural, if the number of shoots on both sides of the stem are taken as meaning "many" or "two." water is depicted by the figure of a serpent, which reptile typifies the undulating nature of the element. the sign entitled "the sacrificial victim" is of deep human interest. the first portion of the symbol is the death-bird, and the second shows a crouching and beaten captive, ready to be immolated to one of the terrible maya deities whose sanguinary religion demanded human sacrifice. the drawing which means "the day of the new year," in the month ceh, was unriddled by the following means: the sign in the upper left-hand corner denotes the word "sun" or "day," that in the upper right-hand corner is the sign for "year." in the lower right-hand corner is the sign for "division," and in the lower left-hand the sign for the maya month ceh, already known from the native calendars. from its accompaniment of a figure known to be a deity of the four cardinal points, whence all american tribes believed the wind to come, the symbol entitled "wind" has been determined. methods of study the method employed by those engaged in the elucidation of these hieroglyphs is typical of modern science. the various signs and symbols are literally "worn out" by a process of indefatigable examination. for hours the student sits staring at a symbol, drinking in every detail, however infinitesimal, until the drawing and all its parts are wholly and separately photographed upon the tablets of his memory. he then compares the several portions of the symbol with similar portions in other signs the value of which is known. from these he may obtain a clue to the meaning of the whole. thus proceeding from the known to the unknown, he advances logically toward a complete elucidation of all the hieroglyphs depicted in the various manuscripts and inscriptions. the method by which dr. seler discovered the hieroglyphs or symbols relating to the various gods of the maya was both simple and ingenious. he says: "the way in which this was accomplished is strikingly simple. it amounts essentially to that which in ordinary life we call 'memory of persons,' and follows almost naturally from a careful study of the manuscripts. for, by frequently looking tentatively at the representations, one learns by degrees to recognise promptly similar and familiar figures of gods by the characteristic impression they make as a whole or by certain details, and the same is true of the accompanying hieroglyphs." the maya numeral system if bishop landa was badly hoaxed regarding the alphabet of the maya, he was successful in discovering and handing down their numeral system, which was on a very much higher basis than that of many civilised peoples, being, for example, more practical and more fully evolved than that of ancient rome. this system employed four signs altogether, the point for unity, a horizontal stroke for the number , and two signs for and . yet from these simple elements the maya produced a method of computation which is perhaps as ingenious as anything which has ever been accomplished in the history of mathematics. in the maya arithmetical system, as in ours, it is the position of the sign that gives it its value. the figures were placed in a vertical line, and one of them was employed as a decimal multiplier. the lowest figure of the column had the arithmetical value which it represented. the figures which appeared in the second, fourth, and each following place had twenty times the value of the preceding figures, while figures in the third place had eighteen times the value of those in the second place. this system admits of computation up to millions, and is one of the surest signs of maya culture. much controversy has raged round the exact nature of the maya hieroglyphs. were they understood by the indians themselves as representing ideas or merely pictures, or did they convey a given sound to the reader, as does our alphabet? to some extent controversy upon the point is futile, as those of the spanish clergy who were able to learn the writing from the native maya have confirmed its phonetic character, so that in reality each symbol must have conveyed a sound or sounds to the reader, not merely an idea or a picture. recent research has amply proved this, so that the full elucidation of the long and painful puzzle on which so much learning and patience have been lavished may perhaps be at hand. mythology of the maya the maya pantheon, although it bears a strong resemblance to that of the nahua, differs from it in so many respects that it is easy to observe that at one period it must have been absolutely free from all nahua influence. we may, then, provisionally accept the theory that at some relatively distant period the mythologies of the nahua and maya were influenced from one common centre, if they were not originally identical, but that later the inclusion in the cognate but divided systems of local deities and the superimposition of the deities and rites of immigrant peoples had caused such differentiation as to render somewhat vague the original likeness between them. in the mexican mythology we have as a key-note the custom of human sacrifice. it has often been stated as exhibiting the superior status in civilisation of the maya that their religion was free from the revolting practices which characterised the nahua faith. this, however, is totally erroneous. although the maya were not nearly so prone to the practice of human sacrifice as were the nahua, they frequently engaged in it, and the pictures which have been drawn of their bloodless offerings must not lead us to believe that they never indulged in this rite. it is known, for example, that they sacrificed maidens to the water-god at the period of the spring florescence, by casting them into a deep pool, where they were drowned. quetzalcoatl among the maya one of the most obvious of the mythological relationships between the maya and nahua is exhibited in the maya cult of the god quetzalcoatl. it seems to have been a general belief in mexico that quetzalcoatl was a god foreign to the soil; or at least relatively aboriginal to his rival tezcatlipoca, if not to the nahua themselves. it is amusing to see it stated by authorities of the highest standing that his worship was free from bloodshed. but it does not appear whether the sanguinary rites connected with the name of quetzalcoatl in mexico were undertaken by his priests of their own accord or at the instigation and pressure of the pontiff of huitzilopochtli, under whose jurisdiction they were. the designation by which quetzalcoatl was known to the maya was kukulcan, which signifies "feathered serpent," and is exactly translated by his mexican name. in guatemala he was called gucumatz, which word is also identical in kiche with his other native appellations. but the kukulcan of the maya appears to be dissimilar from quetzalcoatl in several of his attributes. the difference in climate would probably account for most of these. in mexico quetzalcoatl, as we have seen, was not only the man of the sun, but the original wind-god of the country. the kukulcan of the maya has more the attributes of a thunder-god. in the tropical climate of yucatan and guatemala the sun at midday appears to draw the clouds around it in serpentine shapes. from these emanate thunder and lightning and the fertilising rain, so that kukulcan would appear to have appealed to the maya more as a god of the sky who wielded the thunderbolts than a god of the atmosphere proper like quetzalcoatl, though several of the stelæ in yucatan represent kukulcan as he is portrayed in mexico, with wind issuing from his mouth. an alphabet of gods the principal sources of our knowledge of the maya deities are the dresden, madrid, and paris codices alluded to previously, all of which contain many pictorial representations of the various members of the maya pantheon. of the very names of some of these gods we are so ignorant, and so difficult is the process of affixing to them the traditional names which are left to us as those of the maya gods, that dr. paul schellhas, a german student of maya antiquities, has proposed that the figures of deities appearing in the maya codices or manuscripts should be provisionally indicated by the letters of the alphabet. the figures of gods which thus occur are fifteen in number, and therefore take the letters of the alphabet from a to p, the letter j being omitted. difficulties of comparison unluckily the accounts of spanish authors concerning maya mythology do not agree with the representations of the gods delineated in the codices. that the three codices have a mythology in common is certain. again, great difficulty is found in comparing the deities of the codices with those represented by the carved and stucco bas-reliefs of the maya region. it will thus be seen that very considerable difficulties beset the student in this mythological sphere. so few data have yet been collected regarding the maya mythology that to dogmatise upon any subject connected with it would indeed be rash. but much has been accomplished in the past few decades, and evidence is slowly but surely accumulating from which sound conclusions can be drawn. the conflict between light and darkness we witness in the maya mythology a dualism almost as complete as that of ancient persia--the conflict between light and darkness. opposing each other we behold on the one hand the deities of the sun, the gods of warmth and light, of civilisation and the joy of life, and on the other the deities of darksome death, of night, gloom, and fear. from these primal conceptions of light and darkness all the mythologic forms of the maya are evolved. when we catch the first recorded glimpses of maya belief we recognise that at the period when it came under the purview of europeans the gods of darkness were in the ascendant and a deep pessimism had spread over maya thought and theology. its joyful side was subordinated to the worship of gloomy beings, the deities of death and hell, and if the cult of light was attended with such touching fidelity it was because the benign agencies who were worshipped in connection with it had promised not to desert mankind altogether, but to return at some future indefinite period and resume their sway of radiance and peace. the calendar like that of the nahua, the maya mythology was based almost entirely upon the calendar, which in its astronomic significance and duration was identical with that of the mexicans. the ritual year of twenty "weeks" of thirteen days each was divided into four quarters, each of these being under the auspices of a different quarter of the heavens. each "week" was under the supervision of a particular deity, as will be seen when we come to deal separately with the various gods. traditional knowledge of the gods the heavenly bodies had important representation in the maya pantheon. in yucatan the sun-god was known as kinich-ahau (lord of the face of the sun). he was identified with the fire-bird, or arara, and was thus called kinich-kakmo (fire-bird; lit. sun-bird). he was also the presiding genius of the north. itzamna, one of the most important of the maya deities, was a moon-god, the father of gods and men. in him was typified the decay and recurrence of life in nature. his name was derived from the words he was supposed to have given to men regarding himself: "itz en caan, itz en muyal" ("i am the dew of the heaven, i am the dew of the clouds"). he was tutelar deity of the west. chac, the rain-god, is the possessor of an elongated nose, not unlike the proboscis of a tapir, which of course is the spout whence comes the rain which he blows over the earth. he is one of the best represented gods on both manuscripts and monuments, and presides over the east. the black god ekchuah was the god of merchants and cacao-planters. he is represented in the manuscripts several times. ix ch'el was the goddess of medicine, and ix chebel yax was identified by the priest hernandez with the virgin mary. there were also several deities, or rather genii, called bacabs, who were the upholders of the heavens in the four quarters of the sky. the names of these were kan, muluc, ix, and cauac, representing the east, north, west, and south. their symbolic colours were yellow, white, black, and red respectively. they corresponded in some degree to the four variants of the mexican rain-god tlaloc, for many of the american races believed that rain, the fertiliser of the soil, emanated from the four points of the compass. we shall find still other deities when we come to discuss the popol vuh, the saga-book of the kiche, but it is difficult to say how far these were connected with the deities of the maya of yucatan, concerning whom we have little traditional knowledge, and it is better to deal with them separately, pointing out resemblances where these appear to exist. maya polytheism on the whole the maya do not seem to have been burdened with an extensive pantheon, as were the nahua, and their polytheism appears to have been of a limited character. although they possessed a number of divinities, these were in a great measure only different forms of one and the same divine power--probably localised forms of it. the various maya tribes worshipped similar gods under different names. they recognised divine unity in the god hunabku, who was invisible and supreme, but he does not bulk largely in their mythology, any more than does the universal all-father in other early faiths. the sun is the great deity in maya religion, and the myths which tell of the origin of the maya people are purely solar. as the sun comes from the east, so the hero-gods who bring with them culture and enlightenment have an oriental origin. as votan, as kabil, the "red hand" who initiates the people into the arts of writing and architecture, these gods are civilising men of the sun as surely as is quetzalcoatl. the bat-god a sinister figure, the prince of the maya legions of darkness, is the bat-god, zotzilaha chimalman, who dwelt in the "house of bats," a gruesome cavern on the way to the abodes of darkness and death. he is undoubtedly a relic of cave-worship pure and simple. "the maya," says an old chronicler, "have an immoderate fear of death, and they seem to have given it a figure peculiarly repulsive." we shall find this deity alluded to in the popol vuh, under the name camazotz, in close proximity to the lords of death and hell, attempting to bar the journey of the hero-gods across these dreary realms. he is frequently met with on the copan reliefs, and a maya clan, the ah-zotzils, were called by his name. they were of kakchiquel origin, and he was probably their totem. modern research we must now turn to the question of what modern research has done to elucidate the character of the various maya deities. we have already seen that they have been provisionally named by the letters of the alphabet until such proof is forthcoming as will identify them with the traditional gods of the maya, and we will now briefly examine what is known concerning them under their temporary designations. god a in the dresden and other codices god a is represented as a figure with exposed vertebræ and skull-like countenance, with the marks of corruption on his body, and displaying every sign of mortality. on his head he wears a snail-symbol, the aztec sign of birth, perhaps to typify the connection between birth and death. he also wears a pair of cross-bones. the hieroglyph which accompanies his figure represents a corpse's head with closed eyes, a skull, and a sacrificial knife. his symbol is that for the calendar day cimi, which means death. he presides over the west, the home of the dead, the region toward which they invariably depart with the setting sun. that he is a death-god there can be no doubt, but of his name we are ignorant. he is probably identical with the aztec god of death and hell, mictlan, and is perhaps one of those lords of death and hell who invite the heroes to the celebrated game of ball in the kiche popol vuh, and hold them prisoners in their gloomy realm. god b is the deity who appears most frequently in the manuscripts. he has a long, truncated nose, like that of a tapir, and we find in him every sign of a god of the elements. he walks the waters, wields fiery torches, and seats himself on the cruciform tree of the four winds which appears so frequently in american myth. he is evidently a culture-god or hero, as he is seen planting maize, carrying tools, and going on a journey, a fact which establishes his solar connection. he is, in fact, kukulcan or quetzalcoatl, and on examining him we feel that at least there can be no doubt concerning his identity. concerning god c matter is lacking, but he is evidently a god of the pole-star, as in one of the codices he is surrounded by planetary signs and wears a nimbus of rays. god d is almost certainly a moon-god. he is represented as an aged man, with sunken cheeks and wrinkled forehead on which hangs the sign for night. his hieroglyph is surrounded by dots, to represent a starry sky, and is followed by the number , to show the duration of the moon. like most moon deities he is connected with birth, for occasionally he wears the snail, symbol of parturition, on his head. it is probable that he is itzamna, one of the greatest of maya gods, who was regarded as the universal life-giver, and was probably of very ancient origin. the maize-god god e is another deity whom we have no difficulty in identifying. he wears the leafed ear of maize as his head-dress. in fact, his head has been evolved out of the conventional drawings of the ear of maize, so we may say at once without any difficulty that he is a maize-god pure and simple, and a parallel with the aztec maize-god centeotl. brinton calls this god ghanan, and schellhas thinks he may be identical with a deity yum kaax, whose name means "lord of the harvest fields." a close resemblance can be noticed between gods f and a, and it is thought that the latter resembles the aztec xipe, the god of human sacrifice. he is adorned with the same black lines running over the face and body, typifying gaping death-wounds. the sun-god in g we may be sure that we have found a sun-god par excellence. his hieroglyph is the sun-sign, kin. but we must be careful not to confound him with deities like quetzalcoatl or kukulcan. he is, like the mexican totec, the sun itself, and not the man of the sun, the civilising agent, who leaves his bright abode to dwell with man and introduce him to the arts of cultured existence. he is the luminary himself, whose only acceptable food is human blood, and who must be fed full with this terrible fare or perish, dragging the world of men with him into a fathomless abyss of gloom. we need not be surprised, therefore, to see god g occasionally wearing the symbols of death. god h would seem to have some relationship to the serpent, but what it may be is obscure, and no certain identification can be made. i is a water-goddess, an old woman with wrinkled brown body and claw-like feet, wearing on her head a grisly snake twisted into a knot, to typify the serpent-like nature of water. she holds in her hands an earthenware pot from which water flows. we cannot say that she resembles the mexican water-goddess, chalchihuitlicue, wife of tlaloc, who was in most respects a deity of a beneficent character. i seems a personification of water in its more dreadful aspect of floods and water-spouts, as it must inevitably have appeared to the people of the more torrid regions of central america, and that she was regarded as an agent of death is shown from her occasionally wearing the cross-bones of the death-god. "the god with the ornamented nose" god k is scientifically known as "the god with the ornamented nose," and is probably closely related to god b. concerning him no two authorities are at one, some regarding him as a storm-god, whose proboscis, like that of kukulcan, is intended to represent the blast of the tempest. but we observe certain stellar signs in connection with k which would go to prove that he is, indeed, one of the quetzalcoatl group. his features are constantly to be met with on the gateways and corners of the ruined shrines of central america, and have led many "antiquarians" to believe in the existence of an elephant-headed god, whereas his trunk-like snout is merely a funnel through which he emitted the gales over which he had dominion, as a careful study of the pinturas shows, the wind being depicted issuing from the snout in question. at the same time, the snout may have been modelled on that of the tapir. "if the rain-god chac is distinguished in the maya manuscript by a peculiarly long nose curving over the mouth, and if in the other forms of the rain-god, to which, as it seems, the name of balon zacab belongs, the nose widens out and sends out shoots, i believe that the tapir which was employed identically with chac, the maya rain-god, furnished the model," says dr. seler. is k, then, the same as chac? chac bears every sign of affinity with the mexican rain-god tlaloc, whose face was evolved from the coils of two snakes, and also some resemblance to the snouted features of b and k. but, again, the mexican pictures of quetzalcoatl are not at all like those of tlaloc, so that there can be no affinity between tlaloc and k. therefore if the mexican tlaloc and the maya chac be identical, and tlaloc differs from quetzalcoatl, who in turn is identical with b and k, it is clear that chac has nothing to do with k. the old black god god l dr. schellhas has designated "the old black god," from the circumstance that he is depicted as an old man with sunken face and toothless gums, the upper, or sometimes the lower, part of his features being covered with black paint. he is represented in the dresden ms. only. professor cyrus thomas, of new york, thinks that he is the god ekchuah, who is traditionally described as black, but schellhas fits this designation to god m. the more probable theory is that of förstemann, who sees in l the god votan, who is identical with the aztec earth-god, tepeyollotl. both deities have similar face markings, and their dark hue is perhaps symbolical of the subterranean places where they were supposed to dwell. the travellers' god god m is a veritable black god, with reddish lips. on his head he bears a roped package resembling the loads carried by the maya porter class, and he is found in violent opposition with f, the enemy of all who wander into the unknown wastes. a god of this description has been handed down by tradition under the name of ekchuah, and his blackness is probably symbolical of the black or deeply bronzed skin of the porter class among the natives of central america, who are constantly exposed to the sun. he would appear to be a parallel to the aztec yacatecutli, god of travelling merchants or chapmen. the god of unlucky days god n is identified by schellhas with the demon uayayab, who presided over the five unlucky days which it will be recollected came at the end of the mexican and maya year. he was known to the maya as "he by whom the year is poisoned." after modelling his image in clay they carried it out of their villages, so that his baneful influence might not dwell therein. goddess o is represented as an old woman engaged in the avocation of spinning, and is probably a goddess of the domestic virtues, the tutelar of married females. the frog-god god p is shown with the body and fins of a frog on a blue background, evidently intended to represent water. like all other frog-gods he is, of course, a deity of water, probably in its agricultural significance. we find him sowing seed and making furrows, and when we remember the important part played by frog deities in the agriculture of anahuac we should have no difficulty in classing him with these. seler asserts his identity with kukulcan, but no reason except the circumstance of his being a rain-god can be advanced to establish the identity. he wears the year-sign on his head, probably with a seasonal reference. maya architecture it was in the wonderful architectural system which it developed without outside aid that the maya people most individually expressed itself. as has been said, those buildings which still remain, and which have excited the admiration of generations of archæologists, are principally confined to examples of ecclesiastical and governmental architecture, the dwellings of the common people consisting merely of the flimsiest of wattle-and-daub structures, which would fall to pieces shortly after they were abandoned. buried in dense forests or mouldering on the sun-exposed plains of yucatan, honduras, and guatemala, the cities which boasted these edifices are for the most part situated away from modern trade routes, and are not a little difficult to come at. it is in yucatan, the old home of the cocomes and tutul xius, that the most perfect specimens of maya architecture are to be found, especially as regards its later development, and here, too, it may be witnessed in its decadent phase. methods of building the maya buildings were almost always erected upon a mound or ku, either natural or artificial, generally the latter. in this we discover affinities with the mexican teocalli type. often these kus stood alone, without any superincumbent building save a small altar to prove their relation to the temple type of anahuac. the typical maya temple was built on a series of earth terraces arranged in exact parallel order, the buildings themselves forming the sides of a square. the mounds are generally concealed by plaster or faced with stone, the variety employed being usually a hard sandstone, of which the maya had a good supply in the quarries of chiapas and honduras. moderate in weight, the difficulty of transport was easily overcome, whilst large blocks could be readily quarried. it will thus be seen that the maya had no substantial difficulties to surmount in connection with building the large edifices and temples they raised, except, perhaps, the lack of metal tools to shape and carve and quarry the stone which they used. and although they exhibit considerable ingenuity in such architectural methods as they employed, they were still surprisingly ignorant of some of the first essentials and principles of the art. no knowledge of the arch for example, they were totally ignorant of the principles upon which the arch is constructed. this difficulty they overcame by making each course of masonry overhang the one beneath it, after the method employed by a boy with a box of bricks, who finds that he can only make "doorways" by this means, or by the simple expedient--also employed by the maya--of placing a slab horizontally upon two upright pillars. in consequence it will readily be seen that the superimposition of a second story upon such an insecure foundation was scarcely to be thought of, and that such support for the roof as towered above the doorway would necessarily require to be of the most substantial description. indeed, this portion of the building often appears to be more than half the size of the rest of the edifice. this space gave the maya builders a splendid chance for mural decoration, and it must be said they readily seized it and made the most of it, ornamental façades being perhaps the most typical features in the relics of maya architecture. pyramidal structures but the maya possessed another type of building which permitted of their raising more than one story. this was the pyramidal type, of which many examples remain. the first story was built in the usual manner, and the second was raised by increasing the height of the mound at the back of the building until it was upon a level with the roof--another device well known to the boy with the box of bricks. in the centre of the space thus made another story could be erected, which was entered by a staircase outside the building. hampered by their inability to build to any appreciable height, the maya architects made up for the deficiency by constructing edifices of considerable length and breadth, the squat appearance of which is counterbalanced by the beautiful mural decoration of the sides and façade. definiteness of design he would be a merely superficial observer who would form the conclusion that these specimens of an architecture spontaneously evolved were put together without survey, design, or previous calculation. that as much thought entered into their construction as is lavished upon his work by a modern architect is proved by the manner in which the carved stones fit into one another. it would be absurd to suppose that these tremendous façades bristling with scores of intricate designs could have been first placed in position and subsequently laden with the bas-reliefs they exhibit. it is plain that they were previously worked apart and separately from one entire design. thus we see that the highest capabilities of the architect were essential in a measure to the erection of these imposing structures. architectural districts although the mason-craft of the maya peoples was essentially similar in all the regions populated by its various tribes and offshoots, there existed in the several localities occupied by them certain differences in construction and ornamentation which would almost justify us in dividing them into separate architectural spheres. in chiapas, for example, we find the bas-relief predominant, whether in stone or stucco. in honduras we find a stiffness of design which implies an older type of architecture, along with caryatides and memorial pillars of human shape. in guatemala, again, we find traces of the employment of wood. as the civilisation of the maya cannot be well comprehended without some knowledge of their architecture, and as that art was unquestionably their national forte and the thing which most sharply distinguished them from the semi-savage peoples that surrounded them, it will be well to consider it for a space as regards its better-known individual examples. fascination of the subject he would indeed be dull of imagination and of spirit who could enter into the consideration of such a subject as this without experiencing some thrill from the mystery which surrounds it. although familiarised with the study of the maya antiquities by reason of many years of close acquaintance with it, the author cannot approach the theme without a feeling of the most intense awe. we are considering the memorials of a race isolated for countless thousands of years from the rest of humanity--a race which by itself evolved a civilisation in every respect capable of comparison with those of ancient egypt or assyria. in these impenetrable forests and sun-baked plains mighty works were raised which tell of a culture of a lofty type. we are aware that the people who reared them entered into religious and perhaps philosophical considerations their interpretations of which place them upon a level with the most enlightened races of antiquity; but we have only stepped upon the margin of maya history. what dread secrets, what scenes of orgic splendour have those carven walls witnessed? what solemn priestly conclave, what magnificence of rite, what marvels of initiation, have these forest temples known? these things we shall never learn. they are hidden from us in a gloom as palpable as that of the tree-encircled depths in which we find these shattered works of a once powerful hierarchy. mysterious palenque one of the most famous of these ancient centres of priestly domination is palenque, situated in the modern state of chiapas. this city was first brought into notice by don josé calderon in , when he discovered no less than eighteen palaces, twenty great buildings, and a hundred and sixty houses, which proves that in his day the primeval forest had not made such inroads upon the remaining buildings as it has during the past few generations. there is good evidence besides this that palenque was standing at the time of cortés' conquest of yucatan. and here it will be well at once to dispel any conception the reader may have formed concerning the vast antiquity of these cities and the structures they contain. the very oldest of them cannot be of a date anterior to the thirteenth century, and few americanists of repute would admit such an antiquity for them. there may be remains of a fragmentary nature here and there in central america which are relatively more ancient. but no temple or edifice which remains standing can claim a greater antiquity. palenque is built in the form of an amphitheatre, and nestles on the lowest slopes of the cordilleras. standing on the central pyramid, the eye is met by a ring of ruined palaces and temples raised upon artificial terraces. of these the principal and most imposing is the palace, a pile reared upon a single platform, forming an irregular quadrilateral, with a double gallery on the east, north, and west sides, surrounding an inner structure with a similar gallery and two courtyards. it is evident that there was little system or plan observed in the construction of this edifice, an unusual circumstance in maya architecture. the dwelling apartments were situated on the southern side of the structure, and here there is absolute confusion, for buildings of all sorts and sizes jostle each other, and are reared on different levels. our interest is perhaps at first excited by three subterraneous apartments down a flight of gloomy steps. here are to be found three great stone tables, the edges of which are fretted with sculptured symbols. that these were altars admits of little doubt, although some visitors have not hesitated to call them dining-tables! these constitute only one of the many puzzles in this building of feet frontage, with a depth of feet, which at the same time is only about feet high! on the north side of the palace pyramid the façade of the palace has crumbled into complete ruin, but some evidences of an entrance are still noticeable. there were probably fourteen doorways in all in the frontage, with a width of about feet each, the piers of which were covered with figures in bas-relief. the inside of the galleries is also covered at intervals with similar designs, or medallions, many of which are probably representations of priests or priestesses who once dwelt within the classic shades and practised strange rites in the worship of gods long since forgotten. one of these is of a woman with delicate features and high-bred countenance, and the frame or rim surrounding it is decorated in a manner recalling the louis xv style. the east gallery is feet long, the north feet, and the west feet, so that, as remarked above, a lack of symmetry is apparent. the great court is reached by a mayan arch which leads on to a staircase, on each side of which grotesque human figures of the maya type are sculptured. whom they are intended to portray or what rite they are engaged in it would indeed be difficult to say. that they are priests may be hazarded, for they appear to be dressed in the ecclesiastical maxtli (girdle), and one seems to be decorated with the beads seen in the pictures of the death-god. moreover, they are mitred. the courtyard is exceedingly irregular in shape. to the south side is a small building which has assisted our knowledge of maya mural decoration; especially valuable is the handsome frieze with which it is adorned, on which we observe the rather familiar feathered serpent (kukulcan or quetzalcoatl). everywhere we notice the flat maya head--a racial type, perhaps brought about by deformation of the cranium in youth. one of the most important parts of the palace from an architectural point of view is the east front of the inner wing, which is perhaps the best preserved, and exhibits the most luxurious ornamentation. two roofed galleries supported by six pillars covered with bas-reliefs are reached by a staircase on which hieroglyphic signs still remain. the reliefs in cement are still faintly to be discerned on the pillars, and must have been of great beauty. they represent mythological characters in various attitudes. above, seven enormous heads frown on the explorer in grim menace. the effect of the entire façade is rich in the extreme, even in ruin, and from it we can obtain a faint idea of the splendours of this wonderful civilisation. an architectural curiosity one of the few towers to be seen among the ruins of maya architecture stands at palenque. it is square in shape and three stories in height, with sloping roof, and is not unlike the belfry of some little english village church. the building we have been describing, although traditionally known as a "palace," was undoubtedly a great monastery or ecclesiastical habitation. indeed, the entire city of palenque was solely a priestly centre, a place of pilgrimage. the bas-reliefs with their representations of priests and acolytes prove this, as does the absence of warlike or monarchical subjects. the temple of inscriptions the temple of inscriptions, perched on an eminence some feet high, is the largest edifice in palenque. it has a façade feet long by feet deep, composed of a great gallery which runs along the entire front of the fane. the building has been named from the inscriptions with which certain flagstones in the central apartment are covered. three other temples occupy a piece of rising ground close by. these are the temple of the sun, closely akin in type to many japanese temple buildings; the temple of the cross, in which a wonderful altar-piece was discovered; and the temple of the cross no. ii. in the temple of the cross the inscribed altar gave its name to the building. in the central slab is a cross of the american pattern, its roots springing from the hideous head of the goddess chicomecohuatl, the earth-mother, or her maya equivalent. its branches stretch to where on the right and left stand two figures, evidently those of a priest and acolyte, performing some mysterious rite. on the apex of the tree is placed the sacred turkey, or "emerald fowl," to which offerings of maize paste are made. the whole is surrounded by inscriptions. (see illustration facing p. .) aké and itzamal thirty miles east of merida lies aké, the colossal and primeval ruins of which speak of early maya occupation. here are pyramids, tennis-courts, and gigantic pillars which once supported immense galleries, all in a state of advanced ruin. chief among these is the great pyramid and gallery, a mighty staircase rising toward lofty pillars, and somewhat reminiscent of stonehenge. for what purpose it was constructed is quite unknown. the house of darkness one ruin, tradition calls "the house of darkness." here no light enters save that which filters in by the open doorway. the vaulted roof is lost in a lofty gloom. so truly have the huge blocks of which the building is composed been laid that not even a needle could be inserted between them. the whole is coated with a hard plaster or cement. the palace of owls the knuc (palace of owls), where a beautiful frieze of diamond-shaped stones intermingling with spheres may be observed, is noteworthy. all here is undoubtedly of the first yucatec era, the time when the maya first overran the country. at itzamal the chief object of interest is the great pyramid of kinich-kakmo (the sun's face with fiery rays), the base of which covers an area of nearly square feet. to this shrine thousands were wont to come in times of panic or famine, and from the summit, where was housed the glittering idol, the smoke of sacrifice ascended to the cloudless sky, whilst a multitude of white-robed priests and augurs chanted and prophesied. to the south of this mighty pile stand the ruins of the ppapp-hol-chac (the house of heads and lightnings), the abode of the chief priest. itzamna's fane at itzamal, too, stood one of the chief temples of the great god itzamna, the legendary founder of the maya empire. standing on a lofty pyramid, four roads radiated from it, leading to tabasco, guatemala, and chiapas; and here they brought the halt, the maimed, and the blind, aye, even the dead, for succour and resurrection, such faith had they in the mighty power of kab-ul (the miraculous hand), as they designated the deity. the fourth road ran to the sacred isle of cozumel, where first the men of spain found the maya cross, and supposed it to prove that st. thomas had discovered the american continent in early times, and had converted the natives to a christianity which had become debased. bearded gods to the west arose another pyramid, on the summit of which was built the palace of hunpictok (the commander-in-chief of eight thousand flints), in allusion, probably, to the god of lightning, hurakan, whose gigantic face, once dominating the basement wall, has now disappeared. this face possessed huge mustachios, appendages unknown to the maya race; and, indeed, we are struck with the frequency with which mexican and mayan gods and heroes are adorned with beards and other hirsute ornaments both on the monuments and in the manuscripts. was the original governing class a bearded race? it is scarcely probable. whence, then, the ever-recurring beard and moustache? these may have been developed in the priestly class by constant ceremonial shaving, which often produces a thin beard in the mongolians--as witness the modern japanese, who in imitating a custom of the west often succeed in producing quite respectable beards. a colossal head not far away is to be found a gigantic head, probably that of the god itzamna. it is feet in height, and the features were formed by first roughly tracing them in rubble, and afterwards coating the whole with plaster. the figure is surrounded by spirals, symbols of wind or speech. on the opposite side of the pyramid alluded to above is found a wonderful bas-relief representing a tiger couchant, with a human head of the maya type, probably depicting one of the early ancestors of the maya, balam-quitze (tiger with the sweet smile), of whom we read in the popol vuh. chichen-itza at chichen-itza, in yucatan, the chief wonder is the gigantic pyramid-temple known as el castillo. it is reached by a steep flight of steps, and from it the vast ruins of chichen radiate in a circular manner. to the east is the market-place, to the north a mighty temple, and a tennis-court, perhaps the best example of its kind in yucatan, whilst to the west stand the nunnery and the chichan-chob, or prison. concerning chichen-itza cogolludo tells the following story: "a king of chichen called canek fell desperately in love with a young princess, who, whether she did not return his affection or whether she was compelled to obey a parental mandate, married a more powerful yucatec cacique. the discarded lover, unable to bear his loss, and moved by love and despair, armed his dependents and suddenly fell upon his successful rival. then the gaiety of the feast was exchanged for the din of war, and amidst the confusion the chichen prince disappeared, carrying off the beautiful bride. but conscious that his power was less than his rival's, and fearing his vengeance, he fled the country with most of his vassals." it is a historical fact that the inhabitants of chichen abandoned their city, but whether for the reason given in this story or not cannot be discovered. the nunnery the nunnery at chichen is a building of great beauty of outline and decoration, the frieze above the doorway and the fretted ornamentation of the upper story exciting the admiration of most writers on the subject. here dwelt the sacred women, the chief of whom, like their male prototypes, were dedicated to kukulcan and regarded with much reverence. the base of the building is occupied by eight large figures, and over the door is the representation of a priest with a panache, whilst a row of gigantic heads crowns the north façade. here, too, are figures of the wind-god, with projecting lips, which many generations of antiquarians took for heads of elephants with waving trunks! the entire building is one of the gems of central american architecture, and delights the eye of archæologist and artist alike. in el castillo are found wonderful bas-reliefs depicting bearded men, evidently the priests of quetzalcoatl, himself bearded, and to the practised eye one of these would appear to be wearing a false hirsute appendage, as kings were wont to do in ancient egypt. were these beards artificial and symbolical? the "writing in the dark" the akab-sib (writing in the dark) is a bas-relief found on the lintel of an inner door at the extremity of the building. it represents a figure seated before a vase, with outstretched forefinger, and whence it got its traditional appellation it would be hard to say, unless the person represented is supposed to be in the act of writing. the figure is surrounded by inscriptions. at chichen were found a statue of tlaloc, the god of rain or moisture, and immense torsos representing kukulcan. there also was a terrible well into which men were cast in time of drought as a propitiation to the rain-god. kabah at kabah there is a marvellous frontage which strikingly recalls that of a north american indian totem-house in its fantastic wealth of detail. the ruins are scattered over a large area, and must all have been at one time painted in brilliant colours. here two horses' heads in stone were unearthed, showing that the natives had copied faithfully the steeds of the conquering spaniards. nothing is known of the history of kabah, but its neighbour, uxmal, fifteen miles distant, is much more famous. uxmal the imposing pile of the casa del gobernador (governor's palace, so called) at uxmal is perhaps the best known and described of all the aboriginal buildings of central america. it occupies three successive colossal terraces, and its frieze runs in a line of feet, and is divided into panels, each of which frames a gigantic head of priest or deity. the striking thing concerning this edifice is that although it has been abandoned for over three hundred years it is still almost as fresh architecturally as when it left the builder's hands. here and there a lintel has fallen, or stones have been removed in a spirit of vandalism to assist in the erection of a neighbouring hacienda, but on the whole we possess in it the most unspoiled piece of yucatec building in existence. on the side of the palace where stands the main entrance, directly over the gateway, is the most wonderful fretwork and ornamentation, carried out in high relief, above which soar three eagles in hewn stone, surmounted by a plumed human head. in the plinth are three heads, which in type recall the roman, surrounded by inscriptions. a clear proof of the comparative lateness of the period in which uxmal was built is found in the circumstance that all the lintels over the doorways are of wood, of which much still exists in a good state of preservation. many of the joists of the roofs were also of timber, and were fitted into the stonework by means of specially carved ends. the dwarf's house there is also a nunnery which forcibly recalls that at chichen, and is quite as elaborate and flamboyant in its architectural design. but the real mystery at uxmal is the casa del adivino (the prophet's house), also locally known as "the dwarf's house." it consists of two portions, one of which is on the summit of an artificial pyramid, whilst the other, a small but beautifully finished chapel, is situated lower down facing the town. the loftier building is reached by an exceedingly steep staircase, and bears every evidence of having been used as a sanctuary, for here were discovered cacao and copal, recently burnt, by cogolludo as late as , which is good evidence that the yucatecs did not all at once abandon their ancient faith at the promptings of the spanish fathers. the legend of the dwarf in his travels in yucatan stephens has a legend relating to this house which may well be given in his own words: "an old woman," he says, "lived alone in her hut, rarely leaving her chimney-corner. she was much distressed at having no children, and in her grief one day took an egg, wrapped it up carefully in cotton cloth, and put it in a corner of her hut. she looked every day in great anxiety, but no change in the egg was observable. one morning, however, she found the shell broken, and a lovely tiny creature was stretching out its arms to her. the old woman was in raptures. she took it to her heart, gave it a nurse, and was so careful of it that at the end of a year the baby walked and talked as well as a grown-up man. but he stopped growing. the good old woman in her joy and delight exclaimed that the baby should be a great chief. one day she told him to go to the king's palace and engage him in a trial of strength. the dwarf begged hard not to be sent on such an enterprise. but the old woman insisted on his going, and he was obliged to obey. when ushered into the presence of the sovereign he threw down his gauntlet. the latter smiled, and asked him to lift a stone of three arobes ( lb.). the child returned crying to his mother, who sent him back, saying, 'if the king can lift the stone, you can lift it too.' the king did take it up, but so did the dwarf. his strength was tried in many other ways, but all the king did was as easily done by the dwarf. wroth at being outdone by so puny a creature, the prince told the dwarf that unless he built a palace loftier than any in the city he should die. the affrighted dwarf returned to the old woman, who bade him not to despair, and the next morning they both awoke in the palace which is still standing. the king saw the palace with amazement. he instantly sent for the dwarf, and desired him to collect two bundles of cogoiol (a kind of hard wood), with one of which he would strike the dwarf on the head, and consent to be struck in return by his tiny adversary. the latter again returned to his mother moaning and lamenting. but the old woman cheered him up, and, placing a tortilla on his head, sent him back to the king. the trial took place in the presence of all the state grandees. the king broke the whole of his bundle on the dwarf's head without hurting him in the least, seeing which he wished to save his own head from the impending ordeal; but his word had been passed before his assembled court, and he could not well refuse. the dwarf struck, and at the second blow the king's skull was broken to pieces. the spectators immediately proclaimed the victorious dwarf their sovereign. after this the old woman disappeared. but in the village of mani, fifty miles distant, is a deep well leading to a subterraneous passage which extends as far as merida. in this passage is an old woman sitting on the bank of a river shaded by a great tree, having a serpent by her side. she sells water in small quantities, accepting no money, for she must have human beings, innocent babies, which are devoured by the serpent. this old woman is the dwarf's mother." the interpretation of this myth is by no means difficult. the old woman is undoubtedly the rain-goddess, the dwarf the man of the sun who emerges from the cosmic egg. in yucatan dwarfs were sacred to the sun-god, and were occasionally sacrificed to him, for reasons which appear obscure. the mound of sacrifice another building at uxmal the associations of which render it of more than passing interest is the pyramid of sacrifice, an edifice built on the plan of the mexican teocalli. indeed, it is probably of aztec origin, and may even have been erected by the mercenaries who during the fifteenth century swarmed from mexico into yucatan and guatemala to take service with the rival chieftains who carried on civil war in those states. beside this is another mound which was crowned by a very beautiful temple, now in an advanced state of ruin. the "pigeon house" is an ornate pile with pinnacles pierced by large openings which probably served as dovecotes. the entire architecture of uxmal displays a type more primitive than that met elsewhere in yucatan. there is documentary evidence to prove that so late as the indians still worshipped in the ruins of uxmal, where they burnt copal, and performed "other detestable sacrifices." so that even a hundred and fifty years of spanish rule had not sufficed to wean the natives from the worship of the older gods to whom their fathers had for generations bowed down. this would also seem conclusive evidence that the ruins of uxmal at least were the work of the existing race. the phantom city in his travels in central america stephens recounts a fascinating story told him by a priest of santa cruz del quiche, to the effect that four days' journey from that place a great indian city was to be seen, densely populated, and preserving the ancient civilisation of the natives. he had, indeed, beheld it from the summit of a cliff, shining in glorious whiteness many leagues away. this was perhaps lorillard city, discovered by suarez, and afterwards by charnay. in general type lorillard closely resembles palenque. here was found a wonderfully executed stone idol, which charnay thought represented a different racial type from that seen in the other central american cities. the chief finds of interest in this ancient city were the intricate bas-reliefs, one over the central door of a temple, probably a symbolic representation of quetzalcoatl, who holds the rain-cross, in both hands, and is seen vis-à-vis with an acolyte, also holding the symbol, though it is possible that the individual represented may have been the high-priest of quetzalcoatl or kukulcan. another bas-relief represents a priest sacrificing to kukulcan by passing a rope of maguey fibre over his tongue for the purpose of drawing blood--an instance of the substitution in sacrifice of the part for the whole. the horse-god at peten-itza, cortés left his horse, which had fallen sick, to the care of the indians. the animal died under their mismanagement and because of the food offered it, and the terrified natives, fancying it a divine being, raised an image of it, and called it izimin chac (thunder and lightning), because they had seen its rider discharge a firearm, and they imagined that the flash and the report had proceeded from the creature. the sight of the idol aroused such wrath in the zealous bosom of a certain spanish monk that he broke it with a huge stone--and, but for the interference of the cacique, would have suffered death for his temerity. peten was a city "filled with idols," as was tayasal, close at hand, where in the seventeenth century no less than nine new temples were built, which goes to prove that the native religion was by no means extinct. one of these new temples, according to villagutierre, had a spanish balcony of hewn stone! in the temple of the sun at tikal, an adjoining city, is a wonderful altar panel, representing an unknown deity, and here also are many of those marvellously carved idols of which stephens gives such capital illustrations in his fascinating book. copan copan, one of the most interesting of these wondrous city-centres, the name of which has, indeed, become almost a household word, is in the same district as the towns just described, and abounds chiefly in monolithic images. it yielded after a desperate struggle to hernandez de chaves, one of alvarado's lieutenants, in . the monolithic images so abundantly represented here are evolved from the stelæ and the bas-relief, and are not statues in the proper sense of the term, as they are not completely cut away from the stone background out of which they were carved. an altar found at copan exhibits real skill in sculpture, the head-dresses, ornaments, and expressions of the eight figures carved on its sides being elaborate in the extreme and exceedingly lifelike. here again we notice a fresh racial type, which goes to prove that one race alone cannot have been responsible for these marvellous ruined cities and all that they contain and signify. we have to imagine a shifting of races and a fluctuation of peoples in central america such as we know took place in europe and asia before we can rightly understand the ethnological problems of the civilised sphere of the new world, and any theory which does not take due account of such conditions is doomed to failure. mitla we now come to the last of these stupendous remnants of a vanished civilisation--mitla, by no means the least of the works of civilised man in central america. at the period of the conquest the city occupied a wide area, but at the present time only six palaces and three ruined pyramids are left standing. the great palace is a vast edifice in the shape of the letter t, and measures feet in its greater dimension, with an apartment of a like size. six monolithic columns which supported the roof still stand in gigantic isolation, but the roof itself has long fallen in. a dark passage leads to the inner court, and the walls of this are covered with mosaic work in panels which recalls somewhat the pattern known as the "greek fret." the lintels over the doorways are of huge blocks of stone nearly eighteen feet long. of this building viollet-le-duc says: "the monuments of greece and rome in their best time can alone compare with the splendour of this great edifice." a place of sepulture the ruins at mitla bear no resemblance to those of mexico or yucatan, either as regards architecture or ornamentation, for whereas the yucatec buildings possess overlapping walls, the palaces of mitla consist of perpendicular walls intended to support flat roofs. of these structures the second and fourth palaces alone are in such a state of preservation as to permit of general description. the second palace shows by its sculptured lintel and two inner columns that the same arrangement was observed in its construction as in the great palace just described. the fourth palace has on its southern façade oblong panels and interesting caryatides or pillars in the shape of human figures. these palaces consisted of four upper apartments, finely sculptured, and a like number of rooms on the lower story, which was occupied by the high-priest, and to which the king came to mourn on the demise of a relative. here, too, the priests were entombed, and in an adjoining room the idols were kept. into a huge underground chamber the bodies of eminent warriors and sacrificial victims were cast. attempts have been made to identify mitla with mictlan, the mexican hades, and there is every reason to suppose that the identification is correct. it must be borne in mind that mictlan was as much a place of the dead as a place of punishment, as was the greek hades, and therefore might reasonably signify a place of sepulture, such as mitla undoubtedly was. the following passages from the old historians of mitla, torquemada and burgoa, throw much light on this aspect of the city, and besides are full of the most intense interest and curious information, so that they may be given in extenso. but before passing on to them we should for a moment glance at seler's suggestion that the american race imagined that their ancestors had originally issued from the underworld through certain caverns into the light of day, and that this was the reason why mitla was not only a burial-place but a sanctuary. an old description of mitla of mitla father torquemada writes: "when some monks of my order, the franciscan, passed, preaching and shriving, through the province of zapoteca, whose capital city is tehuantepec, they came to a village which was called mictlan, that is, underworld [hell]. besides mentioning the large number of people in the village they told of buildings which were prouder and more magnificent than any which they had hitherto seen in new spain. among them was a temple of the evil spirit and living-rooms for his demoniacal servants, and among other fine things there was a hall with ornamented panels, which were constructed of stone in a variety of arabesques and other very remarkable designs. there were doorways there, each one of which was built of but three stones, two upright at the sides and one across them, in such a manner that, although these doorways were very high and broad, the stones sufficed for their entire construction. they were so thick and broad that we were assured there were few like them. there was another hall in these buildings, or rectangular temples, which was erected entirely on round stone pillars, very high and very thick, so thick that two grown men could scarcely encircle them with their arms, nor could one of them reach the finger-tips of the other. these pillars were all in one piece, and, it was said, the whole shaft of a pillar measured ells from top to bottom, and they were very much like those of the church of santa maria maggiore in rome, very skilfully made and polished." father burgoa gives a more exact description. he says: "the palace of the living and of the dead was built for the use of this person [the high-priest of the zapotecs].... they built this magnificent house or pantheon in the shape of a rectangle, with portions rising above the earth and portions built down into the earth, the latter in the hole or cavity which was found below the surface of the earth, and ingeniously made the chambers of equal size by the manner of joining them, leaving a spacious court in the middle; and in order to secure four equal chambers they accomplished what barbarian heathen (as they were) could only achieve by the powers and skill of an architect. it is not known in what stone-pit they quarried the pillars, which are so thick that two men can scarcely encircle them with their arms. these are, to be sure, mere shafts without capital or pedestal, but they are wonderfully regular and smooth, and they are about ells high and in one piece. these served to support the roof, which consists of stone slabs instead of beams. the slabs are about ells long, ell broad, and half an ell thick, extending from pillar to pillar. the pillars stand in a row, one behind the other, in order to receive the weight. the stone slabs are so regular and so exactly fitted that, without any mortar or cement, at the joints they resemble mortised beams. the four rooms, which are very spacious, are arranged in exactly the same way and covered with the same kind of roofing. but in the construction of the walls the greatest architects of the earth have been surpassed, as i have not found this kind of architecture described either among the egyptians or among the greeks, for they begin at the base with a narrow outline and, as the structure rises in height, spread out in wide copings at the top, so that the upper part exceeds the base in breadth and looks as if it would fall over. the inner side of the walls consists of a mortar or stucco of such hardness that no one knows with what kind of liquid it could have been mixed. the outside is of such extraordinary workmanship that on a masonry wall about an ell in height there are placed stone slabs with a projecting edge, which form the support for an endless number of small white stones, the smallest of which are a sixth of an ell long, half as broad, and a quarter as thick, and which are as smooth and regular as if they had all come from one mould. they had so many of these stones that, setting them in, one beside the other, they formed with them a large number of different beautiful geometric designs, each an ell broad and running the whole length of the wall, each varying in pattern up to the crowning piece, which was the finest of all. and what has always seemed inexplicable to the greatest architects is the adjustment of these little stones without a single handful of mortar, and the fact that without tools, with nothing but hard stones and sand, they could achieve such solid work that, though the whole structure is very old and no one knows who made it, it has been preserved until the present day. human sacrifice at mitla "i carefully examined these monuments some thirty years ago in the chambers above ground, which are constructed of the same size and in the same way as those below ground, and, though single pieces were in ruins because some stones had become loosened, there was still much to admire. the doorways were very large, the sides of each being of single stones of the same thickness as the wall, and the lintel was made out of another stone which held the two lower ones together at the top. there were four chambers above ground and four below. the latter were arranged according to their purpose in such a way that one front chamber served as chapel and sanctuary for the idols, which were placed on a great stone which served as an altar. and for the more important feasts which they celebrated with sacrifices, or at the burial of a king or great lord, the high-priest instructed the lesser priests or the subordinate temple officials who served him to prepare the chapel and his vestments and a large quantity of the incense used by them. and then he descended with a great retinue, while none of the common people saw him or dared to look in his face, convinced that if they did so they would fall dead to the earth as a punishment for their boldness. and when he entered the chapel they put on him a long white cotton garment made like an alb, and over that a garment shaped like a dalmatic, which was embroidered with pictures of wild beasts and birds; and they put a cap on his head, and on his feet a kind of shoe woven of many coloured feathers. and when he had put on these garments he walked with solemn mien and measured step to the altar, bowed low before the idols, renewed the incense, and then in quite unintelligible murmurs he began to converse with these images, these depositories of infernal spirits, and continued in this sort of prayer with hideous grimaces and writhings, uttering inarticulate sounds, which filled all present with fear and terror, till he came out of that diabolical trance and told those standing around the lies and fabrications which the spirit had imparted to him or which he had invented himself. when human beings were sacrificed the ceremonies were multiplied, and the assistants of the high-priest stretched the victim out upon a large stone, baring his breast, which they tore open with a great stone knife, while the body writhed in fearful convulsions, and they laid the heart bare, ripping it out, and with it the soul, which the devil took, while they carried the heart to the high-priest that he might offer it to the idols by holding it to their mouths, among other ceremonies; and the body was thrown into the burial-place of their 'blessed,' as they called them. and if after the sacrifice he felt inclined to detain those who begged any favour he sent them word by the subordinate priests not to leave their houses till their gods were appeased, and he commanded them to do penance meanwhile, to fast and to speak with no woman, so that, until this father of sin had interceded for the absolution of the penitents and had declared the gods appeased, they did not dare to cross their thresholds. "the second (underground) chamber was the burial-place of these high-priests, the third that of the kings of theozapotlan, whom they brought hither richly dressed in their best attire, feathers, jewels, golden necklaces, and precious stones, placing a shield in the left hand and a javelin in the right, just as they used them in war. and at their burial rites great mourning prevailed; the instruments which were played made mournful sounds; and with loud wailing and continuous sobbing they chanted the life and exploits of their lord until they laid him on the structure which they had prepared for this purpose. living sacrifices "the last (underground) chamber had a second door at the rear, which led to a dark and gruesome room. this was closed with a stone slab, which occupied the whole entrance. through this door they threw the bodies of the victims and of the great lords and chieftains who had fallen in battle, and they brought them from the spot where they fell, even when it was very far off, to this burial-place; and so great was the barbarous infatuation of those indians that, in the belief of the happy life which awaited them, many who were oppressed by diseases or hardships begged this infamous priest to accept them as living sacrifices and allow them to enter through that portal and roam about in the dark interior of the mountain, to seek the feasting-places of their forefathers. and when any one obtained this favour the servants of the high-priest led him thither with special ceremonies, and after they allowed him to enter through the small door they rolled the stone before it again and took leave of him, and the unhappy man, wandering in that abyss of darkness, died of hunger and thirst, beginning already in life the pain of his damnation, and on account of this horrible abyss they called this village liyobaa. the cavern of death "when later there fell upon these people the light of the gospel, its servants took much trouble to instruct them, and to find out whether this error, common to all these nations, still prevailed; and they learned from the stories which had been handed down that all were convinced that this damp cavern extended more than thirty leagues underground, and that its roof was supported by pillars. and there were people, zealous prelates anxious for knowledge, who, in order to convince these ignorant people of their error, went into this cave accompanied by a large number of people bearing lighted torches and firebrands, and descended several large steps. and they soon came upon many great buttresses which formed a kind of street. they had prudently brought a quantity of rope with them to use as guiding-lines, that they might not lose themselves in this confusing labyrinth. and the putrefaction and the bad odour and the dampness of the earth were very great, and there was also a cold wind which blew out their torches. and after they had gone a short distance, fearing to be overpowered by the stench, or to step on poisonous reptiles, of which some had been seen, they resolved to go out again, and to completely wall up this back door of hell. the four buildings above ground were the only ones which still remained open, and they had a court and chambers like those underground; and the ruins of these have lasted even to the present day. palace of the high-priest "one of the rooms above ground was the palace of the high-priest, where he sat and slept, for the apartment offered room and opportunity for everything. the throne was like a high cushion, with a high back to lean against, all of tiger-skin, stuffed entirely with delicate feathers, or with fine grass which was used for this purpose. the other seats were smaller, even when the king came to visit him. the authority of this devilish priest was so great that there was no one who dared to cross the court, and to avoid this the other three chambers had doors in the rear, through which even the kings entered. for this purpose they had alleys and passage-ways on the outside above and below, by which people could enter and go out when they came to see the high-priest.... "the second chamber above ground was that of the priests and the assistants of the high-priest. the third was that of the king when he came. the fourth was that of the other chieftains and captains, and though the space was small for so great a number, and for so many different families, yet they accommodated themselves to each other out of respect for the place, and avoided dissensions and factions. furthermore, there was no other administration of justice in this place than that of the high-priest, to whose unlimited power all bowed. furniture of the temples "all the rooms were clean, and well furnished with mats. it was not the custom to sleep on bedsteads, however great a lord might be. they used very tastefully braided mats, which were spread on the floor, and soft skins of animals and delicate fabrics for coverings. their food consisted usually of animals killed in the hunt--deer, rabbits, armadillos, &c., and also birds, which they killed with snares or arrows. the bread, made of their maize, was white and well kneaded. their drinks were always cold, made of ground chocolate, which was mixed with water and pounded maize. other drinks were made of pulpy and of crushed fruits, which were then mixed with the intoxicating drink prepared from the agave; for since the common people were forbidden the use of intoxicating drinks, there was always an abundance of these on hand." chapter v: myths of the maya mythology of the maya our knowledge of the mythology of the maya is by no means so full and comprehensive as in the case of mexican mythology. traditions are few and obscure, and the hieroglyphic matter is closed to us. but one great mine of maya-kiche mythology exists which furnishes us with much information regarding kiche cosmogony and pseudo-history, with here and there an interesting allusion to the various deities of the kiche pantheon. this is the popol vuh, a volume in which a little real history is mingled with much mythology. it was composed in the form in which we now possess it by a christianised native of guatemala in the seventeenth century, and copied in kiche, in which it was originally written, by one francisco ximenes, a monk, who also added to it a spanish translation. the lost "popol vuh" for generations antiquarians interested in this wonderful compilation were aware that it existed somewhere in guatemala, and many were the regrets expressed regarding their inability to unearth it. a certain don felix cabrera had made use of it early in the nineteenth century, but the whereabouts of the copy he had seen could not be discovered. a dr. c. scherzer, of austria, resolved, if possible, to discover it, and paid a visit to guatemala in for that purpose. after a diligent search he succeeded in finding the lost manuscript in the university of san carlos in the city of guatemala. ximenes, the copyist, had placed it in the library of the convent of chichicastenango, whence it passed to the san carlos library in . genuine character of the work much doubt has been cast upon the genuine character of the popol vuh, principally by persons who were almost if not entirely ignorant of the problems of pre-columbian history in america. its genuine character, however, is by no means difficult to prove. it has been stated that it is a mere réchauffé of the known facts of maya history coloured by biblical knowledge, a native version of the christian bible. but such a theory will not stand when it is shown that the matter it contains squares with the accepted facts of mexican mythology, upon which the popol vuh throws considerable light. moreover, the entire work bears the stamp of being a purely native compilation, and has a flavour of great antiquity. our knowledge of the general principles of mythology, too, prepares us for the unqualified acceptance of the material of the popol vuh, for we find there the stories and tales, the conceptions and ideas connected with early religion which are the property of no one people, but of all peoples and races in an early social state. likeness to other pseudo-histories we find in this interesting book a likeness to many other works of early times. the popol vuh is, indeed, of the same genre and class as the heimskringla of snorre, the history of saxo grammaticus, the chinese history in the five books, the japanese nihongi, and many other similar compilations. but it surpasses all these in pure interest because it is the only native american work that has come down to us from pre-columbian times. the name "popol vuh" means "the collection of written leaves," which proves that the book must have contained traditional matter reduced to writing at a very early period. it is, indeed, a compilation of mythological character, interspersed with pseudo-history, which, as the account reaches modern times, shades off into pure history and tells the deeds of authentic personages. the language in which it was written, the kiche, was a dialect of the maya-kiche tongue spoken at the time of the conquest in guatemala, honduras, and san salvador, and still the tongue of the native populations in these districts. the creation-story the beginning of this interesting book is taken up with the kiche story of the creation, and what occurred directly subsequent to that event. we are told that the god hurakan, the mighty wind, a deity in whom we can discern a kiche equivalent to tezcatlipoca, passed over the universe, still wrapped in gloom. he called out "earth," and the solid land appeared. then the chief gods took counsel among themselves as to what should next be made. these were hurakan, gucumatz or quetzalcoatl, and xpiyacoc and xmucane, the mother and father gods. they agreed that animals should be created. this was accomplished, and they next turned their attention to the framing of man. they made a number of mannikins carved out of wood. but these were irreverent and angered the gods, who resolved to bring about their downfall. then hurakan (the heart of heaven) caused the waters to be swollen, and a mighty flood came upon the mannikins. also a thick resinous rain descended upon them. the bird xecotcovach tore out their eyes, the bird camulatz cut off their heads, the bird cotzbalam devoured their flesh, the bird tecumbalam broke their bones and sinews and ground them into powder. then all sorts of beings, great and small, abused the mannikins. the household utensils and domestic animals jeered at them, and made game of them in their plight. the dogs and hens said: "very badly have you treated us and you have bitten us. now we bite you in turn." the millstones said: "very much were we tormented by you, and daily, daily, night and day, it was squeak, screech, screech, holi, holi, huqi, huqi, [ ] for your sake. now you shall feel our strength, and we shall grind your flesh and make meal of your bodies." and the dogs growled at the unhappy images because they had not been fed, and tore them with their teeth. the cups and platters said: "pain and misery you gave us, smoking our tops and sides, cooking us over the fire, burning and hurting us as if we had no feeling. now it is your turn, and you shall burn." the unfortunate mannikins ran hither and thither in their despair. they mounted upon the roofs of the houses, but the houses crumbled beneath their feet; they tried to climb to the tops of the trees, but the trees hurled them down; they were even repulsed by the caves, which closed before them. thus this ill-starred race was finally destroyed and overthrown, and the only vestiges of them which remain are certain of their progeny, the little monkeys which dwell in the woods. vukub-cakix, the great macaw ere the earth was quite recovered from the wrathful flood which had descended upon it there lived a being orgulous and full of pride, called vukub-cakix (seven-times-the-colour-of-fire--the kiche name for the great macaw bird). his teeth were of emerald, and other parts of him shone with the brilliance of gold and silver. in short, it is evident that he was a sun-and-moon god of prehistoric times. he boasted dreadfully, and his conduct so irritated the other gods that they resolved upon his destruction. his two sons, zipacna and cabrakan (cockspur or earth-heaper, and earthquake), were earthquake-gods of the type of the jötuns of scandinavian myth or the titans of greek legend. these also were prideful and arrogant, and to cause their downfall the gods despatched the heavenly twins hun-apu and xbalanque to earth, with instructions to chastise the trio. vukub-cakix prided himself upon his possession of the wonderful nanze-tree, the tapal, bearing a fruit round, yellow, and aromatic, upon which he breakfasted every morning. one morning he mounted to its summit, whence he could best espy the choicest fruits, when he was surprised and infuriated to observe that two strangers had arrived there before him, and had almost denuded the tree of its produce. on seeing vukub, hun-apu raised a blow-pipe to his mouth and blew a dart at the giant. it struck him on the mouth, and he fell from the top of the tree to the ground. hun-apu leapt down upon vukub and grappled with him, but the giant in terrible anger seized the god by the arm and wrenched it from the body. he then returned to his house, where he was met by his wife, chimalmat, who inquired for what reason he roared with pain. in reply he pointed to his mouth, and so full of anger was he against hun-apu that he took the arm he had wrenched from him and hung it over a blazing fire. he then threw himself down to bemoan his injuries, consoling himself, however, with the idea that he had avenged himself upon the disturbers of his peace. whilst vukub-cakix moaned and howled with the dreadful pain which he felt in his jaw and teeth (for the dart which had pierced him was probably poisoned) the arm of hun-apu hung over the fire, and was turned round and round and basted by vukub's spouse, chimalmat. the sun-god rained bitter imprecations upon the interlopers who had penetrated to his paradise and had caused him such woe, and he gave vent to dire threats of what would happen if he succeeded in getting them into his power. but hun-apu and xbalanque were not minded that vukub-cakix should escape so easily, and the recovery of hun-apu's arm must be made at all hazards. so they went to consult two great and wise magicians, xpiyacoc and xmucane, in whom we see two of the original kiche creative deities, who advised them to proceed with them in disguise to the dwelling of vukub, if they wished to recover the lost arm. the old magicians resolved to disguise themselves as doctors, and dressed hun-apu and xbalanque in other garments to represent their sons. shortly they arrived at the mansion of vukub, and while still some way off they could hear his groans and cries. presenting themselves at the door, they accosted him. they told him that they had heard some one crying out in pain, and that as famous doctors they considered it their duty to ask who was suffering. vukub appeared quite satisfied, but closely questioned the old wizards concerning the two young men who accompanied them. "they are our sons," they replied. "good," said vukub. "do you think you will be able to cure me?" "we have no doubt whatever upon that head," answered xpiyacoc. "you have sustained very bad injuries to your mouth and eyes." "the demons who shot me with an arrow from their blow-pipe are the cause of my sufferings," said vukub. "if you are able to cure me i shall reward you richly." "your highness has many bad teeth, which must be removed," said the wily old magician. "also the balls of your eyes appear to me to be diseased." vukub appeared highly alarmed, but the magicians speedily reassured him. "it is necessary," said xpiyacoc, "that we remove your teeth, but we will take care to replace them with grains of maize, which you will find much more agreeable in every way." the unsuspicious giant agreed to the operation, and very quickly xpiyacoc, with the help of xmucane, removed his teeth of emerald, and replaced them by grains of white maize. a change quickly came over the titan. his brilliancy speedily vanished, and when they removed the balls of his eyes he sank into insensibility and died. all this time the wife of vukub was turning hun-apu's arm over the fire, but hun-apu snatched the limb from above the brazier, and with the help of the magicians replaced it upon his shoulder. the discomfiture of vukub was then complete. the party left his dwelling feeling that their mission had been accomplished. the earth-giants but in reality it was only partially accomplished, because vukub's two sons, zipacna and cabrakan, still remained to be dealt with. zipacna was daily employed in heaping up mountains, while cabrakan, his brother, shook them in earthquake. the vengeance of hun-apu and xbalanque was first directed against zipacna, and they conspired with a band of young men to bring about his death. the young men, four hundred in number, pretended to be engaged in building a house. they cut down a large tree, which they made believe was to be the roof-tree of their dwelling, and waited in a part of the forest through which they knew zipacna must pass. after a while they could hear the giant crashing through the trees. he came into sight, and when he saw them standing round the giant tree-trunk, which they could not lift, he seemed very much amused. "what have you there, o little ones?" he said laughing. "only a tree, your highness, which we have felled for the roof-tree of a new house we are building." "cannot you carry it?" asked the giant disdainfully. "no, your highness," they made answer; "it is much too heavy to be lifted even by our united efforts." with a good-natured laugh the titan stooped and lifted the great trunk upon his shoulder. then, bidding them lead the way, he trudged through the forest, evidently not disconcerted in the least by his great burden. now the young men, incited by hun-apu and xbalanque, had dug a great ditch, which they pretended was to serve for the foundation of their new house. into this they requested zipacna to descend, and, scenting no mischief, the giant readily complied. on his reaching the bottom his treacherous acquaintances cast huge trunks of trees upon him, but on hearing them coming down he quickly took refuge in a small side tunnel which the youths had constructed to serve as a cellar beneath their house. imagining the giant to be killed, they began at once to express their delight by singing and dancing, and to lend colour to his stratagem zipacna despatched several friendly ants to the surface with strands of hair, which the young men concluded had been taken from his dead body. assured by the seeming proof of his death, the youths proceeded to build their house upon the tree-trunks which they imagined covered zipacna's body, and, producing a quantity of pulque, they began to make merry over the end of their enemy. for some hours their new dwelling rang with revelry. all this time zipacna, quietly hidden below, was listening to the hubbub and waiting his chance to revenge himself upon those who had entrapped him. suddenly arising in his giant might, he cast the house and all its inmates high in the air. the dwelling was utterly demolished, and the band of youths were hurled with such force into the sky that they remained there, and in the stars we call the pleiades we can still discern them wearily waiting an opportunity to return to earth. the undoing of zipacna but hun-apu and xbalanque, grieved that their comrades had so perished, resolved that zipacna must not be permitted to escape so easily. he, carrying the mountains by night, sought his food by day on the shore of the river, where he wandered catching fish and crabs. the brothers made a large artificial crab, which they placed in a cavern at the bottom of a ravine. they then cunningly undermined a huge mountain, and awaited events. very soon they saw zipacna wandering along the side of the river, and asked him where he was going. "oh, i am only seeking my daily food," replied the giant. "and what may that consist of?" asked the brothers. "only of fish and crabs," replied zipacna. "oh, there is a crab down yonder," said the crafty brothers, pointing to the bottom of the ravine. "we espied it as we came along. truly, it is a great crab, and will furnish you with a capital breakfast." "splendid!" cried zipacna, with glistening eyes. "i must have it at once," and with one bound he leapt down to where the cunningly contrived crab lay in the cavern. no sooner had he reached it than hun-apu and xbalanque cast the mountain upon him; but so desperate were his efforts to get free that the brothers feared he might rid himself of the immense weight of earth under which he was buried, and to make sure of his fate they turned him into stone. thus at the foot of mount meahuan, near vera paz, perished the proud mountain-maker. the discomfiture of cabrakan now only the third of this family of boasters remained, and he was the most proud of any. "i am the overturner of mountains!" said he. but hun-apu and xbalanque had made up their minds that not one of the race of vukub should be left alive. at the moment when they were plotting the overthrow of cabrakan he was occupied in moving mountains. he seized the mountains by their bases and, exerting his mighty strength, cast them into the air; and of the smaller mountains he took no account at all. while he was so employed he met the brothers, who greeted him cordially. "good day, cabrakan," said they. "what may you be doing?" "bah! nothing at all," replied the giant. "cannot you see that i am throwing the mountains about, which is my usual occupation? and who may you be that ask such stupid questions? what are your names?" "we have no names," replied they. "we are only hunters, and here we have our blow-pipes, with which we shoot the birds that live in these mountains. so you see that we do not require names, as we meet no one." cabrakan looked at the brothers disdainfully, and was about to depart when they said to him: "stay; we should like to behold these mountain-throwing feats of yours." this aroused the pride of cabrakan. "well, since you wish it," said he, "i will show you how i can move a really great mountain. now, choose the one you would like to see me destroy, and before you are aware of it i shall have reduced it to dust." hun-apu looked around him, and espying a great peak pointed toward it. "do you think you could overthrow that mountain?" he asked. "without the least difficulty," replied cabrakan, with a great laugh. "let us go toward it." "but first you must eat," said hun-apu. "you have had no food since morning, and so great a feat can hardly be accomplished fasting." the giant smacked his lips. "you are right," he said, with a hungry look. cabrakan was one of those people who are always hungry. "but what have you to give me?" "we have nothing with us," said hun-apu. "umph!" growled cabrakan, "you are a pretty fellow. you ask me what i will have to eat, and then tell me you have nothing," and in his anger he seized one of the smaller mountains and threw it into the sea, so that the waves splashed up to the sky. "come," said hun-apu, "don't get angry. we have our blow-pipes with us, and will shoot a bird for your dinner." on hearing this cabrakan grew somewhat quieter. "why did you not say so at first?" he growled. "but be quick, because i am hungry." just at that moment a large bird passed overhead, and hun-apu and xbalanque raised their blow-pipes to their mouths. the darts sped swiftly upward, and both of them struck the bird, which came tumbling down through the air, falling at the feet of cabrakan. "wonderful, wonderful!" cried the giant. "you are clever fellows indeed," and, seizing the dead bird, he was going to eat it raw when hun-apu stopped him. "wait a moment," said he. "it will be much nicer when cooked," and, rubbing two sticks together, he ordered xbalanque to gather some dry wood, so that a fire was soon blazing. the bird was then suspended over the fire, and in a short time a savoury odour mounted to the nostrils of the giant, who stood watching the cooking with hungry eyes and watering lips. before placing the bird over the fire to cook, however, hun-apu had smeared its feathers with a thick coating of mud. the indians in some parts of central america still do this, so that when the mud dries with the heat of the fire the feathers will come off with it, leaving the flesh of the bird quite ready to eat. but hun-apu had done this with a purpose. the mud that he spread on the feathers was that of a poisoned earth, called tizate, the elements of which sank deeply into the flesh of the bird. when the savoury mess was cooked, he handed it to cabrakan, who speedily devoured it. "now," said hun-apu, "let us go toward that great mountain and see if you can lift it as you boast." but already cabrakan began to feel strange pangs. "what is this?" said he, passing his hand across his brow. "i do not seem to see the mountain you mean." "nonsense," said hun-apu. "yonder it is, see, to the east there." "my eyes seem dim this morning," replied the giant. "no, it is not that," said hun-apu. "you have boasted that you could lift this mountain, and now you are afraid to try." "i tell you," said cabrakan, "that i have difficulty in seeing. will you lead me to the mountain?" "certainly," said hun-apu, giving him his hand, and with several strides they were at the foot of the eminence. "now," said hun-apu, "see what you can do, boaster." cabrakan gazed stupidly at the great mass in front of him. his knees shook together so that the sound was like the beating of a war-drum, and the sweat poured from his forehead and ran in a little stream down the side of the mountain. "come," cried hun-apu derisively, "are you going to lift the mountain or not?" "he cannot," sneered xbalanque. "i knew he could not." cabrakan shook himself into a final effort to regain his senses, but all to no purpose. the poison rushed through his blood, and with a groan he fell dead before the brothers. thus perished the last of the earth-giants of guatemala, whom hun-apu and xbalanque had been sent to destroy. the second book the second book of the popol vuh outlines the history of the hero-gods hun-apu and xbalanque. we are told that xpiyacoc and xmucane, the father and mother gods, had two sons, hunhun-apu and vukub-hunapu, the first of whom had by his wife xbakiyalo two sons, hunbatz and hunchouen. the weakness of the whole family was the native game of ball, possibly the mexican-mayan game of tlachtli, a sort of hockey. to this pastime the natives of central america were greatly addicted, and numerous remains of tlachtli courts are to be found in the ruined cities of yucatan and guatemala. the object of the game was to "putt" the ball through a small hole in a circular stone or goal, and the player who succeeded in doing this might demand from the audience all their clothes and jewels. the game, as we have said, was exceedingly popular in ancient central america, and there is good reason to believe that inter-city matches took place between the various city-states, and were accompanied by a partisanship and rivalry as keen as that which finds expression among the crowd at our principal football matches to-day. a challenge from hades on one occasion hunhun-apu and vukub-hunapu played a game of ball which in its progress took them into the vicinity of the realm of xibalba (the kiche hades). the rulers of that drear abode, imagining that they had a chance of capturing the brothers, extended a challenge to them to play them at ball, and this challenge hun-came and vukub-came, the sovereigns of the kiche hell, despatched by four messengers in the shape of owls. the brothers accepted the challenge, and, bidding farewell to their mother xmucane and their respective sons and nephews, followed the feathered messengers down the long hill which led to the underworld. the fooling of the brethren the american indian is grave and taciturn. if there is one thing he fears and dislikes more than another it is ridicule. to his austere and haughty spirit it appears as something derogatory to his dignity, a slur upon his manhood. the hero-brothers had not been long in xibalba when they discovered that it was the intention of the lords of hades to fool them and subject them to every species of indignity. after crossing a river of blood, they came to the palace of the lords of xibalba, where they espied two seated figures in front of them. thinking that they recognised in them hun-came and vukub-came, they saluted them in a becoming manner, only to discover to their mortification that they were addressing figures of wood. this incident excited the ribald jeers of the xibalbans, who scoffed at the brothers. next they were invited to sit on the seat of honour, which they found to their dismay to be a red-hot stone, a circumstance which caused unbounded amusement to the inhabitants of the underworld. then they were imprisoned in the house of gloom, where they were sacrificed and buried. the head of hunhun-apu was, however, suspended from a tree, upon the branches of which grew a crop of gourds so like the dreadful trophy as to be indistinguishable from it. the fiat went forth that no one in xibalba must eat of the fruit of that tree. but the lords of xibalba had reckoned without feminine curiosity and its unconquerable love of the forbidden. the princess xquiq one day--if day ever penetrated to that gloomy and unwholesome place--a princess of xibalba called xquiq (blood), daughter of cuchumaquiq, a notability of xibalba, passed under the tree, and, observing the desirable fruit with which it was covered, stretched out her hand to pluck one of the gourds. into the outstretched palm the head of hunhun-apu spat, and told xquiq that she would become a mother. before she returned home, however, the hero-god assured her that no harm would come to her, and that she must not be afraid. in a few months' time the princess's father heard of her adventure, and she was doomed to be slain, the royal messengers of xibalba, the owls, receiving commands to despatch her and to bring back her heart in a vase. but on the way she overcame the scruples of the owls by splendid promises, and they substituted for her heart the coagulated sap of the bloodwort plant. the birth of hun-apu and xbalanque xmucane, left at home, looked after the welfare of the young hunbatz and hunchouen, and thither, at the instigation of the head of hunhun-apu, went xquiq for protection. at first xmucane would not credit her story, but upon xquiq appealing to the gods a miracle was performed on her behalf, and she was permitted to gather a basket of maize where no maize grew to prove the authenticity of her claim. as a princess of the underworld, it is not surprising that she should be connected with such a phenomenon, as it is from deities of that region that we usually expect the phenomena of growth to proceed. shortly afterwards, when she had won the good graces of the aged xmucane, her twin sons were born, the hun-apu and xbalanque whom we have already met as the central figures of the first book. the divine children but the divine children were both noisy and mischievous. they tormented their venerable grandmother with their shrill uproar and tricky behaviour. at last xmucane, unable to put up with their habits, turned them out of doors. they took to an outdoor life with surprising ease, and soon became expert hunters and skilful in the use of the serbatana (blow-pipe), with which they shot birds and small animals. they were badly treated by their half-brothers hunbatz and hunchouen, who, jealous of their fame as hunters, annoyed them in every possible manner. but the divine children retaliated by turning their tormentors into hideous apes. the sudden change in the appearance of her grandsons caused xmucane the most profound grief and dismay, and she begged that they who had brightened her home with their singing and flute-playing might not be condemned to such a dreadful fate. she was informed by the divine brothers that if she could behold their antics unmoved by mirth her wish would be granted. but the capers they cut and their grimaces caused her such merriment that on three separate occasions she was unable to restrain her laughter, and the men-monkeys took their leave. the magic tools the childhood of hun-apu and xbalanque was full of such episodes as might be expected from these beings. we find, for example, that on attempting to clear a milpa (maize plantation) they employed magic tools which could be trusted to undertake a good day's work whilst they were absent at the chase. returning at night, they smeared soil over their hands and faces, for the purpose of deluding xmucane into the belief that they had been toiling all day in the fields. but the wild beasts met in conclave during the night, and replaced all the roots and shrubs which the magic tools had cleared away. the twins recognised the work of the various animals, and placed a large net on the ground, so that if the creatures came to the spot on the following night they might be caught in its folds. they did come, but all made good their escape save the rat. the rabbit and deer lost their tails, however, and that is why these animals possess no caudal appendages! the rat, in gratitude for their sparing its life, told the brothers the history of their father and uncle, of their heroic efforts against the powers of xibalba, and of the existence of a set of clubs and balls with which they might play tlachtli on the ball-ground at ninxor-carchah, where hunhun-apu and vukub-hunapu had played before them. the second challenge but the watchful hun-came and vukub-came soon heard that the sons and nephews of their first victims had adopted the game which had led these last into the clutches of the cunning xibalbans, and they resolved to send a similar challenge to hun-apu and xbalanque, thinking that the twins were unaware of the fate of hunhun-apu and vukub-hunapu. they therefore despatched messengers to the home of xmucane with a challenge to play them at the ball-game, and xmucane, alarmed by the nature of the message, sent a louse to warn her grandsons. the louse, unable to proceed as quickly as he wished, permitted himself to be swallowed by a toad, the toad by a serpent, and the serpent by the bird voc, the messenger of hurakan. at the end of the journey the other animals duly liberated each other, but the toad could not rid himself of the louse, who had in reality hidden himself in the toad's gums, and had not been swallowed at all. at last the message was delivered, and the twins returned to the abode of xmucane, to bid farewell to their grandmother and mother. before leaving they each planted a cane in the midst of the hut, saying that it would wither if any fatal accident befell them. the tricksters tricked they then proceeded to xibalba, on the road trodden by hunhun-apu and vukub-hunapu, and passed the river of blood as the others had done. but they adopted the precaution of despatching ahead an animal called xan as a sort of spy or scout. they commanded this animal to prick all the xibalbans with a hair from hun-apu's leg, in order that they might discover which of them were made of wood, and incidentally learn the names of the others as they addressed one another when pricked by the hair. they were thus enabled to ignore the wooden images on their arrival at xibalba, and they carefully avoided the red-hot stone. nor did the ordeal of the house of gloom affright them, and they passed through it scatheless. the inhabitants of the underworld were both amazed and furious with disappointment. to add to their annoyance, they were badly beaten in the game of ball which followed. the lords of hell then requested the twins to bring them four bouquets of flowers from the royal garden of xibalba, at the same time commanding the gardeners to keep good watch over the flowers so that none of them might be removed. but the brothers called to their aid a swarm of ants, who succeeded in returning with the flowers. the anger of the xibalbans increased to a white fury, and they incarcerated hun-apu and xbalanque in the house of lances, a dread abode where demons armed with sharp spears thrust at them fiercely. but they bribed the lancers and escaped. the xibalbans slit the beaks of the owls who guarded the royal gardens, and howled in fury. the houses of the ordeals they were next thrust into the house of cold. here they escaped a dreadful death from freezing by warming themselves with burning pine-cones. into the house of tigers and the house of fire they were thrown for a night each, but escaped from both. but they were not so lucky in the house of bats. as they threaded this place of terror, camazotz, ruler of the bats, descended upon them with a whirring of leathern wings, and with one sweep of his sword-like claws cut off hun-apu's head. (see mictlan, pp. , .) but a tortoise which chanced to pass the severed neck of the hero's prostrate body and came into contact with it was immediately turned into a head, and hun-apu arose from his terrible experience not a whit the worse. these various houses in which the brothers were forced to pass a certain time forcibly recall to our minds the several circles of dante's hell. xibalba was to the kiche not a place of punishment, but a dark place of horror and myriad dangers. no wonder the maya had what landa calls "an immoderate fear of death" if they believed that after it they would be transported to such a dread abode! with the object of proving their immortal nature to their adversaries, hun-apu and xbalanque, first arranging for their resurrection with two sorcerers, xulu and pacaw, stretched themselves upon a bier and died. their bones were ground to powder and thrown into the river. they then went through a kind of evolutionary process, appearing on the fifth day after their deaths as men-fishes and on the sixth as old men, ragged and tatterdemalion in appearance, killing and restoring each other to life. at the request of the princes of xibalba, they burned the royal palace and restored it to its pristine splendour, killed and resuscitated the king's dog, and cut a man in pieces, bringing him to life again. the lords of hell were curious about the sensation of death, and asked to be killed and resuscitated. the first portion of their request the hero-brothers speedily granted, but did not deem it necessary to pay any regard to the second. throwing off all disguise, the brothers assembled the now thoroughly cowed princes of xibalba, and announced their intention of punishing them for their animosity against themselves, their father and uncle. they were forbidden to partake in the noble and classic game of ball--a great indignity in the eyes of maya of the higher caste--they were condemned to menial tasks, and they were to have sway over the beasts of the forest alone. after this their power rapidly waned. these princes of the underworld are described as being owl-like, with faces painted black and white, as symbolical of their duplicity and faithless disposition. as some reward for the dreadful indignities they had undergone, the souls of hunhun-apu and vukub-hunapu, the first adventurers into the darksome region of xibalba, were translated to the skies, and became the sun and moon, and with this apotheosis the second book ends. we can have no difficulty, in the light of comparative mythology, in seeing in the matter of this book a version of "the harrying of hell" common to many mythologies. in many primitive faiths a hero or heroes dares the countless dangers of hades in order to prove to the savage mind that the terrors of death can be overcome. in algonquian mythology blue-jay makes game of the dead folk whom his sister ioi has married, and balder passes through the scandinavian helheim. the god must first descend into the abyss and must emerge triumphant if humble folk are to possess assurance of immortality. the reality of myth it is from such matter as that found in the second book of the popol vuh that we are enabled to discern how real myth can be on occasion. it is obvious, as has been pointed out, that the dread of death in the savage mind may give rise to such a conception of its vanquishment as appears in the popol vuh. but there is reason to suspect that other elements have also entered into the composition of the myth. it is well known that an invading race, driving before them the remnants of a conquered people, are prone to regard these in the course of a few generations as almost supernatural and as denizens of a sphere more or less infernal. their reasons for this are not difficult of comprehension. to begin with, a difference in ceremonial ritual gives rise to the belief that the inimical race practises magic. the enemy is seldom seen, and, if perceived, quickly takes cover or "vanishes." the majority of aboriginal races were often earth- or cave-dwellers, like the picts of scotland, and such the originals of the xibalbans probably were. the invading maya-kiche, encountering such a folk in the cavernous recesses of the hill-slopes of guatemala, would naturally refer them to the underworld. the cliff-dwellings of mexico and colorado exhibit manifest signs of the existence of such a cave-dwelling race. in the latter state is the cliff palace cañon, a huge natural recess, within which a small city was actually built, which still remains in excellent preservation. in some such semi-subterranean recess, then, may the city of "xibalba" have stood. the xibalbans we can see, too, that the xibalbans were not merely a plutonic race. xibalba is not a hell, a place of punishment for sin, but a place of the dead, and its inhabitants were scarcely "devils," nor evil gods. the transcriber of the popol vuh says of them: "in the old times they did not have much power. they were but annoyers and opposers of men, and, in truth, they were not regarded as gods." the word xibalba is derived from a root meaning "to fear," from which comes the name for a ghost or phantom. xibalba was thus the "place of phantoms." the third book the opening of the third book finds the gods once more deliberating as to the creation of man. four men are evolved as the result of these deliberations. these beings were moulded from a paste of yellow and white maize, and were named balam-quitze (tiger with the sweet smile), balam-agab (tiger of the night), mahacutah (the distinguished name), and iqi-balam (tiger of the moon). but the god hurakan who had formed them was not overpleased with his handiwork, for these beings were too much like the gods themselves. the gods once more took counsel, and agreed that man must be less perfect and possess less knowledge than this new race. he must not become as a god. so hurakan breathed a cloud over their eyes in order that they might only see a portion of the earth, whereas before they had been able to see the whole round sphere of the world. after this the four men were plunged into a deep sleep, and four women were created, who were given them as wives. these were caha-paluma (falling water), choima (beautiful water), tzununiha (house of the water), and cakixa (water of parrots, or brilliant water), who were espoused to the men in the respective order given above. these eight persons were the ancestors of the kiche only, after which were created the forerunners of the other peoples. at this time there was no sun, and comparative darkness lay over the face of the earth. men knew not the art of worship, but blindly lifted their eyes to heaven and prayed the creator to send them quiet lives and the light of day. but no sun came, and dispeace entered their hearts. so they journeyed to a place called tulan-zuiva (the seven caves)--practically the same as chicomoztoc in the aztec myth--and there gods were vouchsafed to them. the names of these were tohil, whom balam-quitze received; avilix, whom balam-agab received; and hacavitz, granted to mahacutah. iqi-balam received a god, but as he had no family his worship and knowledge died out. the granting of fire grievously did the kiche feel the want of fire in the sunless world they inhabited, but this the god tohil (the rumbler, the fire-god) quickly provided them with. however, a mighty rain descended and extinguished all the fires in the land. these, however, were always supplied again by tohil, who had only to strike his feet together to produce fire. in this figure there is no difficulty in seeing a fully developed thunder-god. the kiche babel tulan-zuiva was a place of great misfortune to the kiche, for here the race suffered alienation in its different branches by reason of a confounding of their speech, which recalls the story of babel. owing to this the first four men were no longer able to comprehend each other, and determined to leave the place of their mischance and to seek the leadership of the god tohil into another and more fortunate sphere. in this journey they met with innumerable hardships. they had to cross many lofty mountains, and on one occasion had to make a long détour across the bed of the ocean, the waters of which were miraculously divided to permit of their passage. at last they arrived at a mountain which they called hacavitz, after one of their deities, and here they remained, for it had been foretold that here they should see the sun. at last the luminary appeared. men and beasts went wild with delight, although his beams were by no means strong, and he appeared more like a reflection in a mirror than the strong sun of later days whose fiery beams speedily sucked up the blood of victims on the altar. as he showed his face the three tribal gods of the kiche were turned into stone, as were the gods or totems connected with the wild animals. then arose the first kiche town, or permanent dwelling-place. the last days of the first men time passed, and the first men of the kiche race grew old. visions came to them, in which they were exhorted by the gods to render human sacrifices, and in order to obey the divine injunctions they raided the neighbouring lands, the folk of which made a spirited resistance. but in a great battle the kiche were miraculously assisted by a horde of wasps and hornets, which flew in the faces of their foes, stinging and blinding them, so that they could not wield weapon nor see to make any effective resistance. after this battle the surrounding races became tributary to them. death of the first men now the first men felt that their death-day was nigh, and they called their kin and dependents around them to hear their dying words. in the grief of their souls they chanted the song "kamucu," the song "we see," that they had sung so joyfully when they had first seen the light of day. then they parted from their wives and sons one by one. and of a sudden they were not, and in their place was a great bundle, which was never opened. it was called the "majesty enveloped." so died the first men of the kiche. in this book it is clear that we have to deal with the problem which the origin and creation of man presented to the maya-kiche mind. the several myths connected with it bear a close resemblance to those of other american peoples. in the mythology of the american indian it is rare to find an adam, a single figure set solitary in a world without companionship of some sort. man is almost invariably the child of mother earth, and emerges from some cavern or subterranean country fully grown and fully equipped for the upper earth-life. we find this type of myth in the mythologies of the aztecs, peruvians, choctaws, blackfeet indians, and those of many other american tribes. american migrations we also find in the story of the kiche migration a striking similarity to the migration myths of other american races. but in the kiche myth we can trace a definite racial movement from the cold north to the warm south. the sun is not at first born. there is darkness. when he does appear he is weak and his beams are dull and watery like those of the luminary in a northern clime. again, there are allusions to the crossing of rivers by means of "shining sand" which covered them, which might reasonably be held to imply the presence upon them of ice. in this connection we may quote from an aztec migration myth which appears almost a parallel to the kiche story. "this is the beginning of the record of the coming of the mexicans from the place called aztlan. it is by means of the water that they came this way, being four tribes, and in coming they rowed in boats. they built their huts on piles at the place called the grotto of quineveyan. it is there from which the eight tribes issued. the first tribe is that of the huexotzincos, the second the chalcas, the third the xochimilcos, the fourth the cuitlavacas, the fifth the mallinalcas, the sixth the chichimecas, the seventh the tepanecas, the eighth the matlatzincas. it is there where they were founded in colhuacan. they were the colonists of it since they landed there, coming from aztlan.... it is there that they soon afterwards went away from, carrying with them their god vitzillopochtli.... there the eight tribes opened up our road by water." the "wallum olum," or painted calendar records, of the leni-lenape indians contain a similar myth. "after the flood," says the story, "the lenape with the manly turtle beings dwelt close together at the cave house and dwelling of talli.... they saw that the snake-land was bright and wealthy. having all agreed, they went over the water of the frozen sea to possess the land. it was wonderful when they all went over the smooth deep water of the frozen sea at the gap of the snake sea in the great ocean." do these myths contain any essence of the truth? do they refer to an actual migration when the ancestors of certain american tribes crossed the frozen ocean of the kamchatka strait and descended from the sunless north and the boreal night of these sub-arctic regions to a more genial clime? can such a tradition have been preserved throughout the countless ages which must have passed between the arrival of proto-mongolian man in america and the writing or composition of the several legends cited? surely not. but may there not have been later migrations from the north? may not hordes of folk distantly akin to the first americans have swept across the frozen strait, and within a few generations have made their way into the warmer regions, as we know the nahua did? the scandinavian vikings who reached north-eastern america in the tenth century found there a race totally distinct from the red man, and more approaching the esquimaux, whom they designated skrellingr, or "chips," so small and misshapen were they. such a description could hardly have been applied to the north american indian as we know him. from the legends of the red race of north america we may infer that they remained for a number of generations in the far west of the north american continent before they migrated eastward. and a guess might be hazarded to the effect that, arriving in america somewhere about the dawn of the christian era, they spread slowly in a south-easterly direction, arriving in the eastern parts of north america about the end of the eleventh century, or even a little later. this would mean that such a legend as that which we have just perused would only require to have survived a thousand years, provided the popol vuh was first composed about the eleventh century, as appears probable. but such speculations are somewhat dangerous in the face of an almost complete lack of evidence, and must be met with the utmost caution and treated as surmises only. cosmogony of the "popol vuh" we have now completed our brief survey of the mythological portion of the popol vuh, and it will be well at this point to make some inquiries into the origin and nature of the various gods, heroes, and similar personages who fill its pages. before doing so, however, let us glance at the creation-myth which we find detailed in the first book. we can see by internal evidence that this must be the result of the fusion of more than one creation-story. we find in the myth that mention is made of a number of beings each of whom appears to exercise in some manner the functions of a creator or "moulder." these beings also appear to have similar attributes. there is evidently here the reconciliation of early rival faiths. we know that this occurred in peruvian cosmogony, which is notoriously composite, and many another mythology, european and asiatic, exhibits a like phenomenon. even in the creation-story as given in genesis we can discover the fusion of two separate accounts from the allusion to the creative power as both "jahveh" and "elohim," the plural ending of the second name proving the presence of polytheistic as well as monotheistic conceptions. antiquity of the "popol vuh" these considerations lead to the assumption that the popol vuh is a mythological collection of very considerable antiquity, as the fusion of religious beliefs is a comparatively slow process. it is, of course, in the absence of other data, impossible to fix the date of its origin, even approximately. we possess only the one version of this interesting work, so that we are compelled to confine ourselves to the consideration of that alone, and are without the assistance which philology would lend us by a comparison of two versions of different dates. the father-mother gods we discover a pair of dual beings concerned in the kiche creation. these are xpiyacoc and xmucane, the father-mother deities, and are obviously kiche equivalents to the mexican ometecutli-omeciuatl, whom we have already noticed (pp. - ). the former is the male fructifier, whilst the name of the latter signifies "female vigour." these deities were probably regarded as hermaphroditic, as numerous north american indian gods appear to be, and may be analogous to the "father sky" and "mother earth" of so many mythologies. gucumatz we also find gucumatz concerned in the kiche scheme of creation. he was a maya-kiche form of the mexican quetzalcoatl, or perhaps the converse was the case. the name signifies, like its nahua equivalent, "serpent with green feathers." hurakan hurakan, the wind-god, "he who hurls below," whose name perhaps signifies "the one-legged," is probably the same as the nahua tezcatlipoca. it has been suggested that the word "hurricane" has been evolved from the name of this god, but the derivation seems rather too fortuitous to be real. hurakan had the assistance of three sub-gods, cakulha-hurakan (lightning), chipi-cakulha (lightning-flash), and raxa-cakulha (track of the lightning). hun-apu and xbalanque hun-apu and xbalanque, the hero-gods, appear to have the attributes of demi-gods in general. the name hun-apu means "master" or "magician," and xbalanque "little tiger." we find many such figures in american myth, which is rich in hero-gods. vukub-cakix and his sons vukub-cakix and his progeny are, of course, earth-giants like the titans of greek mythology or the jötuns of scandinavian story. the removal of the emerald teeth of vukub-cakix and their replacement by grains of maize would seem to be a mythical interpretation or allegory of the removal of the virgin turf of the earth and its replacement by maize-seed. therefore it is possible that vukub-cakix is an earth-god, and not a prehistoric sun-and-moon god, as stated by dr. seler. [ ] metrical origin of the "popol vuh" there is reason to believe that the popol vuh was originally a metrical composition. this would assist the hypothesis of its antiquity, on the ground that it was for generations recited before being reduced to writing. passages here and there exhibit a decided metrical tendency, and one undoubtedly applies to a descriptive dance symbolical of sunrise. it is as follows: "'ama x-u ch'ux ri vuch?' 've,' x-cha ri mama. ta chi xaquinic. quate ta chi gecumarchic. cahmul xaquin ri mama. 'ca xaquin-vuch,' ca cha vinak vacamic." this may be rendered freely: "'is the dawn about to be?' 'yes,' answered the old man. then he spread apart his legs. again the darkness appeared. four times the old man spread his legs. 'now the opossum spreads his legs,' say the people." it is obvious that many of these lines possess the well-known quality of savage dance-poetry, which displays itself in a rhythm of one long foot followed by two short ones. we know that the kiche were very fond of ceremonial dances, and of repeating long chants which they called nugum tzih, or "garlands of words," and the popol vuh, along with other matter, probably contained many of these. pseudo-history of the kiche the fourth book of the popol vuh contains the pseudo-history of the kiche kings. it is obviously greatly confused, and it would be difficult to say how much of it originally belonged to the popol vuh and how much had been added or invented by its latest compiler. one cannot discriminate between saga and history, or between monarchs and gods, the real and the fabulous. interminable conflicts are the theme of most of the book, and many migrations are recounted. queen móo whilst dealing with maya pseudo-history it will be well to glance for a moment at the theories of the late augustus le plongeon, who lived and carried on excavations in yucatan for many years. dr. le plongeon was obsessed with the idea that the ancient maya spread their civilisation all over the habitable globe, and that they were the originators of the egyptian, palestinian, and hindu civilisations, besides many others. he furthermore believed himself to be the true elucidator of the maya system of hieroglyphs, which in his estimation were practically identical with the egyptian. we will not attempt to refute his theories, as they are based on ignorance of the laws which govern philology, anthropology, and mythology. but he possessed a thorough knowledge of the maya tongue, and his acquaintance with maya customs was extensive and peculiar. one of his ideas was that a certain hall among the ruins of chichen-itza had been built by a queen móo, a maya princess who after the tragic fate of her brother-husband and the catastrophe which ended in the sinking of the continent of atlantis fled to egypt, where she founded the ancient egyptian civilisation. it would be easy to refute this theory. but the tale as told by dr. le plongeon possesses a sufficiency of romantic interest to warrant its being rescued from the little-known volume in which he published it. [ ] we do not learn from dr. le plongeon's book by what course of reasoning he came to discover that the name of his heroine was the rather uneuphonious one of móo. probably he arrived at it by the same process as that by which he discovered that certain mayan architectural ornaments were in reality egyptian letters. but it will be better to let him tell his story in his own words. it is as follows: the funeral chamber "as we are about to enter the funeral chamber hallowed by the love of the sister-wife, queen móo, the beauty of the carvings on the zapote beam that forms the lintel of the doorway calls our attention. here is represented the antagonism of the brothers aac and coh, that led to the murder of the latter by the former. carved on the lintel are the names of these personages, represented by their totems--a leopard head for coh, and a boar head as well as a turtle for aac, this word meaning both boar and turtle in maya. aac is pictured within the disk of the sun, his protective deity which he worshipped, according to mural inscriptions at uxmal. full of anger he faces his brother. in his right hand there is a badge ornamented with feathers and flowers. the threatening way in which this is held suggests a concealed weapon.... the face of coh also expresses anger. with him is the feathered serpent, emblematic of royalty, thence of the country, more often represented as a winged serpent protecting coh. in his left hand he holds his weapon down, whilst his right hand clasps his badge of authority, with which he covers his breasts as for protection, and demanding the respect due to his rank.... "passing between the figures of armed chieftains sculptured on the jambs of the doorway, and seeming like sentinels guarding the entrance of the funeral chamber, we notice one wearing a headdress similar to the crown of lower egypt, which formed part of the pshent of the egyptian monarchs. the frescoes "the frescoes in the funeral chamber of prince coh's memorial hall, painted in water-colours taken from the vegetable kingdom, are divided into a series of tableaux separated by blue lines. the plinths, the angles of the room, and the edges of the ceiling, being likewise painted blue, indicate that this was intended for a funeral chamber.... the first scene represents queen móo while yet a child. she is seated on the back of a peccary, or american wild boar, under the royal umbrella of feathers, emblem of royalty in mayach, as it was in india, chaldea, and other places. she is consulting a h-men, or wise man; listening with profound attention to the decrees of fate as revealed by the cracking of the shell of an armadillo exposed to a slow fire on a brazier, the condensing on it of the vapour, and the various tints it assumes. this mode of divination is one of the customs of the mayas.... the soothsayers "in front of the young queen móo, and facing her, is seated the soothsayer, evidently a priest of high rank, judging from the colours, blue and yellow, of the feathers of his ceremonial mantle. he reads the decrees of fate on the shell of the armadillo, and the scroll issuing from his throat says what they are. by him stands the winged serpent, emblem and protective genius of the maya empire. his head is turned towards the royal banner, which he seems to caress. his satisfaction is reflected in the mild and pleased expression of his face. behind the priest, the position of whose hand is the same as that of catholic priests in blessing their congregation, and the significance of which is well known to occultists, are the ladies-in-waiting of the young queen. the royal bride "in another tableau we again see queen móo, no longer a child, but a comely young woman. she is not seated under the royal umbrella or banner, but she is once more in the presence of the h-men, whose face is concealed by a mask representing an owl's head. she, pretty and coquettish, has many admirers, who vie with each other for the honour of her hand. in company with one of her wooers she comes to consult the priest, accompanied by an old lady, her grandmother probably, and her female attendants. according to custom the old lady is the spokeswoman. she states to the priest that the young man, he who sits on a low stool between two female attendants, desires to marry the queen. the priest's attendant, seated also on a stool, back of all, acts as crier, and repeats in a loud voice the speech of the old lady. móo's refusal "the young queen refuses the offer. the refusal is indicated by the direction of the scroll issuing from her mouth. it is turned backward, instead of forward towards the priest, as would be the case if she assented to the marriage. the h-men explains that móo, being a daughter of the royal family, by law and custom must marry one of her brothers. the youth listens to the decision with due respect to the priest, as shown by his arm being placed across his breast, the left hand resting on the right shoulder. he does not accept the refusal in a meek spirit, however. his clenched fist, his foot raised as in the act of stamping, betoken anger and disappointment, while the attendant behind him expostulates, counselling patience and resignation, judging by the position and expression of her left-hand palm upward. the rejected suitor "in another tableau we see the same individual whose offer of marriage was rejected by the young queen in consultation with a nubchi, or prophet, a priest whose exalted rank is indicated by his headdress, and the triple breastplate he wears over his mantle of feathers. the consulter, evidently a person of importance, has come attended by his hachetail, or confidential friend, who sits behind him on a cushion. the expression on the face of the said consulter shows that he does not accept patiently the decrees of fate, although conveyed by the interpreter in as conciliatory a manner as possible. the adverse decision of the gods is manifested by the sharp projecting centre part of the scroll, but it is wrapped in words as persuasive and consoling, preceded by as smooth a preamble as the rich and beautiful maya language permits and makes easy. his friend is addressing the prophet's assistant. reflecting the thoughts of his lord, he declares that the nubchi's fine discourse and his pretended reading of the will of the gods are all nonsense, and exclaims 'pshaw!' which contemptuous exclamation is pictured by the yellow scroll, pointed at both ends, escaping from his nose like a sneeze. the answer of the priest's assistant, evidenced by the gravity of his features, the assertive position of his hand, and the bluntness of his speech, is evidently 'it is so!' aac's fierce wooing "her brother aac is madly in love with móo. he is portrayed approaching the interpreter of the will of the gods, divested of his garments in token of humility in presence of their majesty and of submission to their decrees. he comes full of arrogance, arrayed in gorgeous attire, and with regal pomp. he comes not as a suppliant to ask and accept counsel, but haughty, he makes bold to dictate. he is angered at the refusal of the priest to accede to his demand for his sister móo's hand, to whose totem, an armadillo on this occasion, he points imperiously. it was on an armadillo's shell that the fates wrote her destiny when consulted by the performance of the pou ceremony. the yellow flames of wrath darting from all over his person, the sharp yellow scroll issuing from his mouth, symbolise aac's feelings. the pontiff, however, is unmoved by them. in the name of the gods with serene mien he denies the request of the proud nobleman, as his speech indicates. the winged serpent, genius of the country, that stands erect and ireful by aac, is also wroth at his pretensions, and shows in its features and by sending its dart through aac's royal banner a decided opposition to them, expressed by the ends of his speech being turned backwards, some of them terminating abruptly, others in sharp points. prince coh "prince coh sits behind the priest as one of his attendants. he witnesses the scene, hears the calm negative answer, sees the anger of his brother and rival, smiles at his impotence, is happy at his discomfiture. behind him, however, sits a spy who will repeat his words, report his actions to his enemy. he listens, he watches. the high-priest himself, cay, their elder brother, sees the storm that is brewing behind the dissensions of coh and aac. he trembles at the thought of the misfortunes that will surely befall the dynasty of the cans, of the ruin and misery of the country that will certainly follow. divested of his priestly raiment, he comes nude and humble as it is proper for men in the presence of the gods, to ask their advice how best to avoid the impending calamities. the chief of the auspices is in the act of reading their decrees on the palpitating entrails of a fish. the sad expression on his face, that of humble resignation on that of the pontiff, of deferential astonishment on that of the assistant, speak of the inevitable misfortunes which are to come in the near future. "we pass over interesting battle scenes ... in which the defenders have been defeated by the mayas. coh will return to his queen loaded with spoils that he will lay at her feet with his glory, which is also hers. the murder of coh "we next see him in a terrible altercation with his brother aac. the figures in that scene are nearly life-size, but so much disfigured and broken as to make it impossible to obtain good tracings. coh is portrayed without weapons, his fists clenched, looking menacingly at his foe, who holds three spears, typical of the three wounds he inflicted in his brother's back when he killed him treacherously. coh is now laid out, being prepared for cremation. his body has been opened at the ribs to extract the viscera and heart, which, after being charred, are to be preserved in a stone urn with cinnabar, where the writer found them in . his sister-wife, queen móo, in sad contemplation of the remains of the beloved, ... kneels at his feet.... the winged serpent, protective genius of the country, is pictured without a head. the ruler of the country has been slain. he is dead. the people are without a chief." the widowhood of móo the widowhood of móo is then said to be portrayed in subsequent pictures. other suitors, among them aac, make their proposals to her, but she refuses them all. "aac's pride being humiliated, his love turned to hatred. his only wish henceforth was to usurp the supreme power, to wage war against the friend of his childhood. he made religious disagreement the pretext. he proclaimed that the worship of the sun was to be superior to that of the winged serpent, the genius of the country; also to that of the worship of ancestors, typified by the feathered serpent, with horns and a flame or halo on the head.... prompted by such evil passions, he put himself at the head of his own vassals, and attacked those who had remained faithful to queen móo and to prince coh's memory. at first móo's adherents successfully opposed her foes. the contending parties, forgetting in the strife that they were children of the same soil, blinded by their prejudices, let their passions have the better of their reason. at last queen móo fell a prisoner in the hands of her enemy." the manuscript troano dr. le plongeon here assumes that the story is taken up by the manuscript troano. as no one is able to decipher this manuscript completely, he is pretty safe in his assertion. here is what the pintura alluded to says regarding queen móo, according to our author: "the people of mayach having been whipped into submission and cowed, no longer opposing much resistance, the lord seized her by the hair, and, in common with others, caused her to suffer from blows. this happened on the ninth day of the tenth month of the year kan. being completely routed, she passed to the opposite sea-coast in the southern parts of the country, which had already suffered much injury." here we shall leave the queen, and those who have been sufficiently credulous to create and believe in her and her companions. we do not aver that the illustrations on the walls of the temple at chichen do not allude to some such incident, or series of incidents, as dr. le plongeon describes, but to bestow names upon the dramatis personæ in the face of almost complete inability to read the maya script and a total dearth of accompanying historical manuscripts is merely futile, and we must regard dr. le plongeon's narrative as a quite fanciful rendering of probability. at the same time, the light which he throws--if some obviously unscientific remarks be deducted--on the customs of the maya renders his account of considerable interest, and that must be our excuse for presenting it here at some length. chapter vi: the civilisation of old peru old peru if the civilisation of ancient peru did not achieve the standard of general culture reached by the mexicans and maya, it did not fall far short of the attainment of these peoples. but the degrading despotism under which the peasantry groaned in inca times, and the brutal and sanguinary tyranny of the apu-ccapac incas, make the rulers of mexico at their worst appear as enlightened when compared with the peruvian governing classes. the quichua-aymara race which inhabited peru was inferior to the mexican in general mental culture, if not in mental capacity, as is proved by its inability to invent any method of written communication or any adequate time-reckoning. in imitative art, too, the peruvians were weak, save in pottery and rude modelling, and their religion savoured much more of the materialistic, and was altogether of a lower cultus. the country the country in which the interesting civilisation of the inca race was evolved presents physical features which profoundly affected the history of the race. in fact, it is probable that in no country in the world has the configuration of the land so modified the events in the life of the people dwelling within its borders. the chain of the andes divides into two branches near the boundary between bolivia and chili, and, with the cordillera de la costa, encloses at a height of over feet the desaguadero, a vast tableland with an area equal to france. to the north of this is cuzco, the ancient capital of the incas, to the south potosi, the most elevated town in the world, whilst between them lies lake titicaca, the largest body of fresh water in south america. the whole country is dreary and desolate in the extreme. cereals cannot ripen, and animals are rare. yet it was in these desolate regions that the powerful and highly organised empire of peru arose--an empire extending over an area miles long by broad. the andeans the prehistoric natives of the andean region had evolved a civilisation long before the days of the inca dynasties, and the cyclopean ruins of their edifices are to be found at intervals scattered over a wide field on the slopes of the range under the shadow of which they dwelt. their most extraordinary achievement was probably the city of tiahuanaco, on the southern shore of lake titicaca, built at a level , feet above the sea, occupying nearly half an acre in extent, and constructed of enormous megalithic blocks of trachytic rock. the great doorway, carved out of a single block of rock, is feet in height by - / feet wide, and - / feet thick. the upper portion of this massive portal is carved with symbolic figures. in the centre is a figure in high relief, the head surrounded by solar rays, and in each hand a sceptre, the end of which terminates in the head of a condor. this figure is flanked on either side by three tiers of kneeling suppliants, each of whom is winged and bears a sceptre similar in design to the central ones. elsewhere are mighty blocks of stone, some feet long, remains of enormous walls, standing monoliths, and in earlier times colossal statues were seen on the site. when the spanish conquerors arrived no tradition remained regarding the founders of these structures, and their origin still remains a mystery; but that they represent the remains of the capital of some mighty prehistoric kingdom is practically admitted. a strange site the greatest mystery of all regarding the ruins at tiahuanaco is the selection of the site. for what reason did the prehistoric rulers of peru build here? the surroundings are totally unsuitable for the raising of such edifices, and the tableland upon which they are placed is at once desolate and difficult of access. the snow-line is contiguous, and breathing at such a height is no easy matter. there is no reason to suppose that climatic conditions in the day of these colossal builders were different from those which obtain at the present time. in face of these facts the position of tiahuanaco remains an insoluble riddle. sacsahuaman and ollantay other remains of these prehistoric people are found in various parts of peru. at sacsahuaman, perched on a hill above the city of cuzco, is an immense fortified work six hundred yards long, built in three lines of wall consisting of enormous stones, some of which are twenty-seven feet in length. pissac is also the site of wonderful ruined masonry and an ancient observatory. at ollantay-tampu, forty-five miles to the north of cuzco, is another of these gigantic fortresses, built to defend the valley of the yucay. this stronghold is constructed for the most part of red porphyry, and its walls average twenty-five feet in height. the great cliff on which ollantay is perched is covered from end to end with stupendous walls which zigzag from point to point of it like the salient angles of some modern fortalice. at intervals are placed round towers of stone provided with loopholes, from which doubtless arrows were discharged at the enemy. this outwork embraces a series of terraces, world-famous because of their gigantic outline and the problem of the use to which they were put. it is now practically agreed that these terraces were employed for the production of maize, in order that during a prolonged investment the beleaguered troops and country-folk might not want for a sufficiency of provender. the stone of which this fortress was built was quarried at a distance of seven miles, in a spot upwards of three thousand feet above the valley, and was dragged up the steep declivity of ollantay by sheer human strength. the nicety with which the stones were fitted is marvellous. the drama-legend of ollantay among the dramatic works with which the ancient incas were credited is that of apu-ollanta, which may recount the veritable story of a chieftain after whom the great stronghold was named. it was probably divided into scenes and supplied with stage directions at a later period, but the dialogue and songs are truly aboriginal. the period is that of the reign of the inca yupanqui pachacutic, one of the most celebrated of the peruvian monarchs. the central figure of the drama is a chieftain named ollanta, who conceived a violent passion for a daughter of the inca named curi-coyllur (joyful star). this passion was deemed unlawful, as no mere subject who was not of the blood-royal might aspire to the hand of a daughter of the inca. as the play opens we overhear a dialogue between ollanta and his man-servant piqui-chaqui (flea-footed), who supplies what modern stage-managers would designate the "comic relief." they are talking of ollanta's love for the princess, when they are confronted by the high-priest of the sun, who tries to dissuade the rash chieftain from the dangerous course he is taking by means of a miracle. in the next scene curi-coyllur is seen in company with her mother, sorrowing over the absence of her lover. a harvest song is here followed by a love ditty of undoubtedly ancient origin. the third scene represents ollanta's interview with the inca in which he pleads his suit and is slighted by the scornful monarch. ollanta defies the king in a resounding speech, with which the first act concludes. in the first scene of the second act we are informed that the disappointed chieftain has raised the standard of rebellion, and the second scene is taken up with the military preparations consequent upon the announcement of a general rising. in the third scene rumi-ñaui as general of the royal forces admits defeat by the rebels. the love-story of curi-coyllur curi-coyllur gives birth to a daughter, and is imprisoned in the darksome convent of virgins. her child, yma sumac (how beautiful), is brought up in the same building, but is ignorant of the near presence of her mother. the little girl tells her guardian of groans and lamentations which she has heard in the convent garden, and of the tumultuous emotions with which these sad sounds fill her heart. the inca pachacutic's death is announced, and the accession of his son, yupanqui. rebellion breaks out once more, and the suppression of the malcontents is again entrusted to rumi-ñaui. that leader, having tasted defeat already, resorts to cunning. he conceals his men in a valley close by, and presents himself covered with blood before ollanta, who is at the head of the rebels. he states that he has been barbarously used by the royal troops, and that he desires to join the rebels. he takes part with ollanta and his men in a drunken frolic, in which he incites them to drink heavily, and when they are overcome with liquor he brings up his troops and makes them prisoners. mother and child yma sumac, the beautiful little daughter of curi-coyllur, requests her guardian, pitu salla, so pitifully to be allowed to visit her mother in her dungeon that the woman consents, and mother and child are united. ollanta is brought as a prisoner before the new inca, who pardons him. at that juncture yma sumac enters hurriedly, and begs the monarch to free her mother, curi-coyllur. the inca proceeds to the prison, restores the princess to her lover, and the drama concludes with the inca bestowing his blessing upon the pair. the play was first put into written form in the seventeenth century, has often been printed, and is now recognised as a genuine aboriginal production. the races of peru many races went to make up the peruvian people as they existed when first discovered by the conquering spaniards. from the south came a civilising race which probably found a number of allied tribes, each existing separately in its own little valley, speaking a different dialect, or even language, from its neighbours, and in many instances employing different customs. although tradition alleged that these invaders came from the north by sea within historical times, the more probable theory of their origin is one which states that they had followed the course of the affluents of the amazon to the valleys where they dwelt when the more enlightened folk from the south came upon them. the remains of this aboriginal people--for, though they spoke diverse languages, the probability is that they were of one or not more than two stocks--are still found scattered over the coastal valleys in pyramidal mounds and adobe-built dwellings. the coming of the incas the arrival of the dominant race rudely broke in upon the peaceful existence of the aboriginal folk. this race, the quichua-aymara, probably had its place of origin in the altaplanicie highlands of bolivia, the eastern cordillera of the andes. this they designated tucuman (world's end), just as the kiche of guatemala were wont to describe the land of their origin as ki pixab (corner of the earth). the present republic of argentina was at a remote period covered by a vast, partially land-locked sea, and beside the shores of this the ancestors of the quichua-aymara race may have settled as fishers and fowlers. they found a more permanent settlement on the shores of lake titicaca, where their traditions state that they made considerable advances in the arts of civilisation. it was, indeed, from titicaca that the sun emerged from the sacred rock where he had erstwhile hidden himself. here, too, the llama and paco were domesticated and agricultural life initiated, or perfected. the arts of irrigation and terrace-building--so marked as features of peruvian civilisation--were also invented in this region, and the basis of a composite advancement laid. the quichua-aymara this people consisted of two groups, the quichua and aymara, so called from the two kindred tongues spoken by each respectively. these possess a common grammatical structure, and a great number of words are common to both. they are in reality varying forms of one speech. from the valley of titicaca the aymara spread from the source of the amazon river to the higher parts of the andes range, so that in course of time they exhibited those qualities which stamp the mountaineer in every age and clime. the quichua, on the other hand, occupied the warm valleys beyond the river apurimac, to the north-west of the aymara-speaking people--a tract equal to the central portion of the modern republic of peru. the name "quichua" implies a warm valley or sphere, in contradistinction to the "yunca," or tropical districts of the coast and lowlands. the four peoples the metropolitan folk of cuzco considered peru to be divided into four sections--that of the colla-suyu, with the valley of titicaca as its centre, and stretching from the bolivian highlands to cuzco; the conti-suyu, between the colla-suyu and the ocean; the quichua chinchay-suyu, of the north-west; and the anti-suyu, of the montaña region. the inca people, coming suddenly into these lands, annexed them with surprising rapidity, and, making the aboriginal tribes dependent upon their rule, spread themselves over the face of the country. thus the ancient chroniclers. but it is obvious that such rapid conquest was a practical impossibility, and it is now understood that the inca power was consolidated only some hundred years before the coming of pizarro. the coming of manco ccapac peruvian myth has its quetzalcoatl in manco ccapac, a veritable son of the sun. the life-giver, observing the deplorable condition of mankind, who seemed to exist for war and feasting alone, despatched his son, manco ccapac, and his sister-wife, mama oullo huaca, to earth for the purpose of instructing the degraded peoples in the arts of civilised life. the heavenly pair came to earth in the neighbourhood of lake titicaca, and were provided with a golden wedge which they were assured would sink into the earth at the precise spot on which they should commence their missionary labours. this phenomenon occurred at cuzco, where the wedge disappeared. the derivation of the name cuzco, which means "navel," or, in more modern terms, "hub of the universe," proves that it was regarded as a great culture-centre. on this spot the civilising agents pitched their camp, gathering the uncultured folk of the country around them. whilst manco taught the men the arts of agriculture, mama oullo instructed the women in those of weaving and spinning. great numbers gathered in the vicinity of cuzco, and the foundations of a city were laid. under the mild rule of the heavenly pair the land of peru abounded in every desirable thing, like the eden of genesis. the legend of manco ccapac as we have it from an old spanish source is worth giving. it is as follows: "there [in tiahuanaco] the creator began to raise up the people and nations that are in that region, making one of each nation in clay, and painting the dresses that each one was to wear; those that were to wear their hair, with hair, and those that were to be shorn, with hair cut. and to each nation was given the language that was to be spoken, and the songs to be sung, and the seeds and food that they were to sow. when the creator had finished painting and making the said nations and figures of clay, he gave life and soul to each one, as well man as woman, and ordered that they should pass under the earth. thence each nation came up in the places to which he ordered them to go. thus they say that some came out of caves, others issued from hills, others from fountains, others from the trunks of trees. from this cause and others, and owing to having come forth and multiplied from those places, and to having had the beginning of their lineage in them, they made huacas [ ] and places of worship of them, in memory of the origin of their lineage. thus each nation uses the dress with which they invest their huaca; and they say that the first that was born in that place was there turned into stone. others say that they were turned into falcons, condors, and other animals and birds. hence the huacas they use are in different shapes." the peruvian creation-story the incan peruvians believed that all things emanated from pachacamac, the all-pervading spirit, who provided the plants and animals (which they believed to be produced from the earth) with "souls." the earth itself they designated pachacamama (earth-mother). here we observe that pachacamac was more the maker and moulder than the originator of matter, a view common to many american mythologies. pachacamac it was who breathed the breath of life into man, but the peruvian conception of him was only evolved in later inca times, and by no means existed in the early days of inca rule, although he was probably worshipped before this under another and less exalted shape. the mere exercise of will or thought was sufficient, according to the peruvians, to accomplish the creative act. in the prayers to the creator, and in other portions of inca rite, we read such expressions as "let a man be," "let a woman be," and "the creative word," which go to prove that the peruvian consciousness had fully grasped the idea of a creator capable of evolving matter out of nothingness. occasionally we find the sun acting as a kind of demiurge or sub-creator. he it is who in later legend founds the city of cuzco, and sends thither three eggs composed of gold, silver, and copper, from which spring the three classes of peruvians, kings, priests, and slaves. the inevitable deluge occurs, after which we find the prehistoric town of tiahuanaco regarded as the theatre of a new creation of man. here the creator made man, and separated him into nations, making one of each nation out of the clay of the earth, painting the dresses that each was to wear, and endowing them with national songs, languages, seeds to sow suitable to the environment of each, and food such as they would require. then he gave the peoples life and soul, and commanded them to enter the bowels of the earth, whence they came upward in the places where he ordered them to go. perhaps this is one of the most complete ("wholesale" would be a better word) creation-myths in existence, and we can glean from its very completeness that it is by no means of simple origin, but of great complexity. it is obviously an attempt to harmonise several conflicting creation-stories, notably those in which the people are spoken of as emanating from caves, and the later one of the creation of men at tiahuanaco, probably suggested to the incas by the immense ruins at that place, for which they could not otherwise account. local creation-myths in some of the more isolated valleys of peru we discover local creation-myths. for example, in the coastal valley of irma pachacamac was not considered to be the creator of the sun, but to be himself a descendant of it. the first human beings created by him were speedily separated, as the man died of hunger, but the woman supported herself by living on roots. the sun took compassion upon her and gave her a son, whom pachacamac slew and buried. but from his teeth there grew maize, from his ribs the long white roots of the manioc plant, and from his flesh various esculent plants. the character of inca civilisation apart from the treatment which they meted out to the subject races under their sway, the rule of the inca monarchs was enlightened and contained the elements of high civilisation. it is scarcely clear whether the inca race arrived in the country at such a date as would have permitted them to profit by adopting the arts and sciences of the andean people who preceded them. but it may be affirmed that their arrival considerably post-dated the fall of the megalithic empire of the andeans, so that in reality their civilisation was of their own manufacture. as architects they were by no means the inferiors of the prehistoric race, if the examples of their art did not bulk so massively, and the engineering skill with which they pushed long, straight tunnels through vast mountains and bridged seemingly impassable gorges still excites the wonder of modern experts. they also made long, straight roads after the most improved macadamised model. their temples and palaces were adorned with gold and silver images and ornaments; sumptuous baths supplied with hot and cold water by means of pipes laid in the earth were to be found in the mansions of the nobility, and much luxury and real comfort prevailed. an absolute theocracy the empire of peru was the most absolute theocracy the world has ever seen. the inca was the direct representative of the sun upon earth, the head of a socio-religious edifice intricate and highly organised. this colossal bureaucracy had ramifications into the very homes of the people. the inca was represented in the provinces by governors of the blood-royal. officials were placed above ten thousand families, a thousand families, and even ten families, upon the principle that the rays of the sun enter everywhere, and that therefore the light of the inca must penetrate to every corner of the empire. there was no such thing as personal freedom. every man, woman, and child was numbered, branded, and under surveillance as much as were the llamas in the royal herds. individual effort or enterprise was unheard of. some writers have stated that a system of state socialism obtained in peru. if so, then state surveillance in central russia might also be branded as socialism. a man's life was planned for him by the authorities from the age of five years, and even the woman whom he was to marry was selected for him by the government officials. the age at which the people should marry was fixed at not earlier than twenty-four years for a man and eighteen for a woman. coloured ribbons worn round the head indicated the place of a person's birth or the province to which he belonged. a golden temple one of the most remarkable monuments of the peruvian civilisation was the coricancha (town of gold) at cuzco, the principal fane of the sun-god. its inner and outer walls were covered with plates of pure gold. situated upon an eminence eighty feet high, the temple looked down upon gardens filled, according to the conquering spaniards, with treasures of gold and silver. the animals, insects, the very trees, say the chroniclers, were of the precious metals, as were the spades, hoes, and other implements employed for keeping the ground in cultivation. through the pleasances rippled the river huatenay. such was the glittering intipampa (field of the sun). that the story is true, at least in part, is proved by the traveller squier, who speaks of having seen in several houses in cuzco sheets of gold preserved as relics which came from the temple of the sun. these, he says, were scarcely as thick as paper, and were stripped off the walls of the coricancha by the exultant spanish soldiery. the great altar but this house of gold had but a roof of thatch! the peruvians were ignorant of the principle of the arch, or else considered the feature unsuitable, for some reason best known to their architects. the doorways were formed of huge monoliths, and the entire aspect of the building was cyclopean. the interior displayed an ornate richness which impressed even the spaniards, who had seen the wealth of many lands and oriental kingdoms, and the gold-lust must have swelled within their hearts at sight of the great altar, behind which was a huge plate of the shining metal engraved with the features of the sun-god. the surface of this plate was enriched by a thousand gems, the scintillation of which was, according to eye-witnesses, almost insupportable. around this dazzling sphere were seated the mummified corpses of the inca kings, each on his throne, with sceptre in hand. planetary temples surrounding the coricancha several lesser temples clustered, all of them dedicated to one or other of the planetary bodies--to the moon, to cuycha, the rainbow, to chasca, the planet venus. in the temple of the moon, the mythic mother of the inca dynasty, a great plate of silver, like the golden one which represented the face of the sun-god, depicted the features of the moon-goddess, and around this the mummies of the inca queens sat in a semicircle, like their spouses in the greater neighbouring fane. in the rainbow temple of cuycha the seven-hued arch of heaven was depicted by a great arc of gold skilfully tempered or painted in suitable colours. all the utensils in these temples were of gold or silver. in the principal building twelve large jars of silver held the sacred grain, and even the pipes which conducted the water-supply through the earth to the sanctuary were of silver. pedro pizarro himself, besides other credible eye-witnesses, vouched for these facts. the colossal representation of the sun became the property of a certain mancio serra de leguicano, a reckless cavalier and noted gambler, who lost it on a single throw of the dice! such was the spirit of the adventurers who conquered this golden realm for the crown of spain. the walls of the coricancha are still standing, and this marvellous shrine of the chief luminary of heaven, the great god of the peruvians, is now a christian church. the mummies of peru the fact that the ancient peruvians had a method of mummification has tempted many "antiquarians" to infer therefrom that they had some connection with ancient egypt. these theories are so numerous as to give the unsophisticated reader the idea that a regular system of immigration was carried on between egypt and america. as a matter of fact the method of mummification in vogue in peru was entirely different from that employed by the ancient egyptians. peruvian mummies are met with at apparently all stages of the history of the native races. megalithic tombs and monuments contain them in the doubled-up posture so common among early peoples all over the world. these megalithic tombs, or chulpas, as they are termed, are composed of a mass of rough stones and clay, faced with huge blocks of trachyte or basalt, so put together as to form a cist, in which the mummy was placed. the door invariably faces the east, so that it may catch the gleams of the rising sun--a proof of the prevalence of sun-worship. squier alludes to one more than feet high. an opening inches square gave access to the sepulchral chamber, which was feet square by feet high. but the tomb had been entered before, and after getting in with much difficulty the explorer was forced to retreat empty-handed. many of these chulpas are circular, and painted in gay primary colours. they are very numerous in bolivia, an old peruvian province, and in the basin of lake titicaca they abound. the dead were wrapped in llama-skins, on which the outlines of the eyes and mouth were carefully marked. the corpse was then arrayed in other garments, and the door of the tomb walled up. in some parts of peru the dead were mummified and placed in the dwelling-houses beside the living. in the rarefied air of the plateaus the bodies rapidly became innocuous, and the custom was not the insanitary one we might imagine it to be. on the pacific coast the method of mummification was somewhat different. the body was reduced to a complete state of desiccation, and was deposited in a tomb constructed of stone or adobe. vases intended to hold maize or chicha liquor were placed beside the corpse, and copper hatchets, mirrors of polished stone, earrings, and bracelets have been discovered in these burial-places. some of the remains are wrapped in rich cloth, and vases of gold and silver were placed beside them. golden plaques are often discovered in the mouths, probably symbolic of the sun. the bodies exhibit no traces of embalming, and are usually in a sitting posture. some of them have evidently been dried before inhumation, whilst others are covered with a resinous substance. they are generally accompanied by the various articles used during life; the men have their weapons and ornaments, women their household implements, and children their toys. the dryness of the climate, as in egypt, keeps these relics in a wonderful state of preservation. in the grave of a woman were found not only vases of every shape, but also some cloth she had commenced to weave, which her death had perhaps prevented her from completing. her light brown hair was carefully combed and plaited, and the legs from the ankle to the knee were painted red, after the fashion in vogue among peruvian beauties, while little bladders of toilet-powder and gums were thoughtfully placed beside her for her use in the life to come. laws and customs the legal code of the incas was severe in the extreme. murderers and adulterers were punished by death, and the unpardonable sin appears to have been blasphemy against the sun, or his earthly representative, the inca. the virgin of the sun (or nun) who broke her vow was buried alive, and the village from whence she came was razed to the ground. flogging was administered for minor offences. a peculiar and very trying punishment must have been that of carrying a heavy stone for a certain time. on marriage a home was apportioned to each couple, and land assigned to them sufficient for their support. when a child was born a separate allowance was given it--one fanega for a boy, and half that amount for a girl, the fanega being equal to the area which could be sown with a hundred pounds of maize. there is something repulsive in the inca code, with its grandmotherly legislation; and if this tyranny was beneficent, it was devised merely to serve its own ends and hound on the unhappy people under its control like dumb, driven cattle. the outlook of the average native was limited in the extreme. the inca class of priests and warriors retained every vestige of authority; and that they employed their power unmercifully to grind down the millions beneath them was a sufficient excuse for the spanish conquistadores in dispossessing them of the empire they had so harshly administered. the public ground was divided afresh every year according to the number of the members of each family, and agrarian laws were strictly fixed. private property did not exist among the people of the lower classes, who merely farmed the lot which each year was placed at their disposal. besides this, the people had perforce to cultivate the lands sacred to the inca, and only the aged and the sick could evade this duty. the peruvian calendar the standard chronology known to the peru of the incas was a simple lunar reckoning. but the four principal points in the sun's course were denoted by means of the intihuatana, a device consisting of a large rock surmounted by a small cone, the shadow of which, falling on certain notches on the stone below, marked the date of the great sun-festivals. the peruvians, however, had no definite calendar. at cuzco, the capital, the solstices were gauged by pillars called pachacta unanchac, or indicators of time, which were placed in four groups (two pillars to a group) on promontories, two in the direction of sunrise and two in that of sunset, to mark the extreme points of the sun's rising and setting. by this means they were enabled to distinguish the arrival and departure of the solstices, during which the sun never went beyond the middle pair of pillars. the inca astronomer's approximation to the year was days, which were divided into twelve moons of thirty days each. these moons were not calendar months in the correct sense, but simply a succession of lunations, which commenced with the winter solstice. this method, which must ultimately have proved confusing, does not seem to have been altered to co-ordinate with the reckoning of the succession of years. the names of the twelve moons, which had some reference to the daily life of the peruvian, were as follows: huchuy pucuy quilla (small growing moon), approximately january. hatun pucuy quilla (great growing moon), approximately february. pancar pucuy quilla (flower-growing moon), approximately march. ayrihua quilla (twin ears moon), approximately april. aymuray quilla (harvest moon), approximately may. auray cusqui quilla (breaking soil), approximately june. chahua huarqui quilla (irrigation moon), approximately july. tarpuy quilla (sowing moon), approximately august. ccoya raymi quilla (moon of the moon feast), approximately september. uma raymi quilla (moon of the feast of the province of uma), approximately october. ayamarca raymi quilla (moon of the feast of the province of ayamarca), approximately november. ccapac raymi quilla (moon of the great feast of the sun), approximately december. the festivals that the peruvian standard of time, as with all american people, was taken from the natural course of the moon is known chiefly from the fact that the principal religious festivals began on the new moon following a solstice or equinox. the ceremonies connected with the greatest festival, the ccapac raymi, were made to date near the lunar phases, the two stages commencing with the ninth day of the december moon and twenty-first day, or last quarter. but while these lunar phases indicated certain festivals, it very often happened that the civil authorities followed a reckoning of their own, in preference to accepting ecclesiastical rule. considerable significance was attached to each month by the peruvians regarding the nature of their festivals. the solstices and equinoxes were the occasions of established ceremonies. the arrival of the winter solstice, which in peru occurs in june, was celebrated by the intip raymi (great feast of the sun). the principal peruvian feast, which took place at the summer solstice, when the new year was supposed to begin, was the national feast of the great god pachacamac, and was called ccapac raymi. molina, fernandez, and garcilasso, however, date the new year from the winter solstice. the third festival of the inca year, the ccapac situa, or ccoya raymi (moon feast), which is signalled by the beginning of the rainy season, occurred in september. in general character these festivals appear to have been simple, and even childlike. the sacrifice of animals taken from sacred herds of llamas was doubtless a principal feature of the ceremony, accompanied by the offering up of maguey, or maize spirit, and followed by the performance of symbolic dances. the llama the llama was the chief domestic animal of peru. all llamas were the property of the inca. like the camel, its distant relative, this creature can subsist for long periods upon little nourishment, and it is suitable for the carriage of moderate loads. each year a certain amount of llama wool was given to the peruvian family, according to the number of women it contained, and these wove it into garments, whatever was over being stored away in the public cloth-magazines for the general use. the large flocks of llamas and alpacas also afforded a supply of meat for the people such as the mexicans never possessed. naturally much attention was given to the breeding of these animals, and the alpaca was as carefully regarded by the peruvian as the sheep by the farmer of to-day. the guanacos and vicuñas, wild animals of the llama or auchenia family, were also sources of food- and wool-supply. architecture of the incas the art in which the incan peruvians displayed the greatest advance was that of architecture. the earlier style of inca building shows that it was closely modelled, as has already been pointed out, on that of the megalithic masons of the tiahuanaco district, but the later style shows stones laid in regular courses, varying in length. no cement or mortar of any kind was employed, the structure depending for stability upon the accuracy with which the stones were fitted to each other. an enormous amount of labour must have been expended upon this part of the work, for in the monuments of peruvian architecture which still exist it is impossible to insert even a needle between the stones of which they are composed. the palaces and temples were built around a courtyard, and most of the principal buildings had a hall of considerable dimensions attached to them, which, like the baronial halls of the england of the middle ages, served for feasting or ceremony. in this style is built the front of the palace on the colcampata, overlooking the city of cuzco, under the fortress which is supposed to have been the dwelling of manco ccapac, the first inca. palaces at yucay and chinchero are also of this type. unsurpassed workmanship in an illuminating passage upon inca architecture sir clements markham, the greatest living authority upon matters peruvian, says: "in cuzco the stone used is a dark trachyte, and the coarse grain secured greater adhesion between the blocks. the workmanship is unsurpassed, and the world has nothing to show in the way of stone-cutting and fitting to equal the skill and accuracy displayed in the ynca structures of cuzco. no cement is used, and the larger stones are in the lowest row, each ascending course being narrower, which presents a most pleasing effect. the edifices were built round a court, upon which the rooms opened, and some of the great halls were paces long by wide, the height being to feet, besides the spring of the roof. the roofs were thatch; and we are able to form an idea of their construction from one which is still preserved, after a lapse of three centuries. this is on a circular building called the sondor-huasi, at azangaro, and it shows that even thatch in the hands of tasteful builders will make a sightly roof for imposing edifices, and that the interior ornament of such a roof may be exceedingly beautiful." the temple of viracocha the temple of viracocha, at cacha, in the valley of the vilcamayu, is built on a plan different from that of any other sacred building in peru. its ruins consist of a wall of adobe or clay feet high and long, built on stone foundations feet in height. the roof was supported on twenty-five columns, and the width of the structure was feet. it was a place of pilgrimage, and the caravanserais where the faithful were wont to be housed still stand around the ruined fane. titicaca the most sacred of the peruvian shrines, however, was titicaca, an island on the lake of that name. the island of coati, hard by, enjoyed an equal reverence. terraced platforms on the former, reached by flights of steps, support two buildings provided for the use of pilgrims about to proceed to coati. on titicaca there are the ruins of an extensive palace which commands a splendid view of the surrounding barren country. a great bath or tank is situated half-way down a long range of terraces supported by cut stone masonry, and the pool, feet long by , and feet deep, has similar walls on three sides. below this tank the water is made to irrigate terrace after terrace until it falls into the lake. coati the island of coati is about six miles distant. the principal building is on one of the loftiest of seven terraces, once radiant with flowers and shrubs, and filled with rich loam transported from a more fertile region. it is placed on three sides of a square, feet long by , and is of stone laid in clay and coated with plaster. "it has," says markham, "thirty-five chambers, only one of which is faced with hewn stones. the ornament on the façade consists of elaborate niches, which agreeably break the monotony of the wall, and above them runs a projecting cornice. the walls were painted yellow, and the niches red; and there was a high-pitched roof, broken here and there by gables. the two largest chambers are long by , and loftier than the rest, each with a great niche in the wall facing the entrance. these were probably the holy places or shrines of the temple. the beautiful series of terraces falls off from the esplanade of the temple to the shores of the lake." mysterious chimu the coast folk, of a different race from the incas, had their centre of civilisation near the city of truxillo, on the plain of chimu. here the ruins of a great city litter the plain for many acres. arising from the mass of ruin, at intervals stand huacas, or artificial hills. the city was supplied with water by means of small canals, which also served to irrigate the gardens. the mounds alluded to were used for sepulture, and the largest, at moche, is feet long by feet in breadth, and feet in height. it is constructed of adobes. besides serving the purpose of a cemetery, this mound probably supported a large temple on its summit. the palace a vast palace occupied a commanding position. its great hall was feet long by broad, and its walls were covered with a highly ornate series of arabesques in relief done in stucco, like the fretwork on the walls of palenque. another hall close at hand is ornamented in coloured stucco, and from it branch off many small rooms, which were evidently dormitories. from the first hall a long corridor leads to secret storehouses, where many vessels of gold and silver have been discovered hidden away, as if to secure them either from marauding bands or the gaze of the vulgar. all of these structures are hollowed out of a vast mound covering several acres, so that the entire building may be said to be partially subterranean in character. "about a hundred yards to the westward of this palace there was a sepulchral mound where many relics were discovered. the bodies were wrapped in cloths, woven in ornamental figures and patterns of different colours. on some of the cloths were sewn plates of silver, and they were edged with borders of feathers, the silver being occasionally cut in the shape of fishes. among the ruins of the city there are great rectangular areas enclosed by massive walls, and containing courts, streets, dwellings, and reservoirs for water. the largest is about a mile south of the mound-palace, and is yards long by . the outer wall is about feet high, feet thick at the base, with sides inclining toward each other. some of the interior walls are highly ornamented in stuccoed patterns; and in one part there is an edifice containing forty-five chambers or cells, in five rows of nine each, which is supposed to have been a prison. the enclosure also contained a reservoir feet long by broad, and feet deep." the civilisation of chimu the ruins of chimu are undoubtedly the outcome of a superior standard of civilisation. the buildings are elaborate, as are their internal arrangements. the extent of the city is great, and the art displayed in the manufacture of the utensils discovered within it and the taste evinced in the numerous wall-patterns show that a people of advanced culture inhabited it. the jeweller's work is in high relief, and the pottery and plaques found exhibit much artistic excellence. pachacamac the famous ruins of the temple and city of pachacamac, near the valley of lurin, to the south of lima, overlook the pacific ocean from a height of feet. four vast terraces still bear mighty perpendicular walls, at one time painted red. here was found the only perfect peruvian arch, built of large adobe bricks--a proof that the peruvian mind did not stand still in matters architectural at least. irrigation works it was in works of irrigation, however, that the race exhibited its greatest engineering genius. in the valley of nasca the incas cut deep trenches to reinforce the irrigating power of a small river, and carried the system high up into the mountains, in order that the rainfall coming therefrom might be conducted into the needful channel. lower down the valley the main watercourse is deflected into many branches, which irrigate each estate by feeding the small surface streams. this system adequately serves the fifteen estates of nasca to-day! another high-level canal for the irrigation of pasture-lands was led for more than a hundred and fifty miles along the eastern slope of the central cordillera. a singular discovery in peru, as in mexico, it is probable that the cross was employed as a symbol of the four winds. an account of the expedition of fuentes to the valley of chichas recounts the discovery of a wooden cross as follows: [ ] "when the settlers who accompanied fuentes in his glorious expedition approached the valley they found a wooden cross, hidden, as if purposely, in the most intricate part of the mountains. as there is not anything more flattering to the vanity of a credulous man than to be enabled to bring forward his testimony in the relation of a prodigy, the devotion of these good conquerors was kindled to such a degree by the discovery of this sacred memorial that they instantly hailed it as miraculous and divine. they accordingly carried it in procession to the town, and placed it in the church belonging to the convent of san francisco, where it is still worshipped. it appears next to impossible that there should not, at that time, have been any individual among them sufficiently enlightened to combat such a persuasion, since, in reality, there was nothing miraculous in the finding of this cross, there having been other christian settlers, before the arrival of fuentes, in the same valley. the opinion, notwithstanding, that the discovery was altogether miraculous, instead of having been abandoned at the commencement, was confirmed still more and more with the progress of time. the jesuits antonio ruiz and pedro lozano, in their respective histories of the missions of paraguay, &c., undertook to demonstrate that the apostle st. thomas had been in america. this thesis, which was so novel, and so well calculated to draw the public attention, required, more than any other, the aid of the most powerful reasons, and of the most irrefragable documents, to be able to maintain itself, even in an hypothetical sense; but nothing of all this was brought forward. certain miserable conjectures, prepossession, and personal interest, supplied the place of truth and criticism. the form of a human foot, which they fancied they saw imprinted on the rock, and the different fables of this description invented by ignorance at every step, were the sole foundations on which all the relations on this subject were made to repose. the one touching the peregrinations of st. thomas from brazil to quito must be deemed apocryphal, when it is considered that the above reverend fathers describe the apostle with the staff in the hand, the black cassock girt about the waist, and all the other trappings which distinguish the missionaries of the society. the credit which these histories obtained at the commencement was equal to that bestowed on the cross of tarija, which remained in the predicament of being the one st. thomas had planted in person, in the continent of america." the chibchas a people called the chibchas dwelt at a very high point of the andes range. they were brave and industrious, and possessed a culture of their own. they defended themselves against much stronger native races, but after the spanish conquest their country was included in new granada, and is now part of the united states of colombia. less experienced than the peruvians or aztecs, they could, however, weave and dye, carve and engrave, make roads, build temples, and work in stone, wood, and metals. they also worked in pottery and jewellery, making silver pendants and collars of shells and collars of precious stones. they were a wealthy folk, and their spanish conquerors obtained much spoil. little is known concerning them or their language, and there is not much of interest in the traditions relating to them. their mythology was simple. they believed the moon was the wife of bochica, who represented the sun, and as she tried to destroy men bochica only allowed her to give light during the night. when the aborigines were in a condition of barbarism bochica taught them and civilised them. the legends about bochica resemble in many points those about quetzalcoatl or manco ccapac, as well as those relating to the founder of buddhism and the first inca of peru. the chibchas offered human sacrifices to their gods at certain intervals, and kept the wretched victim for some years in preparation for his doom. they venerated greatly the lake of quatavita, and are supposed to have flung their treasures into it when they were conquered. although many attempts have been made to recover these, little of value has been found. the chibchas appear to have given allegiance to two leaders, one the zippa, who lived at bogota, the other the zoque, who lived at hunsa, now tunja. these chiefs ruled supreme. like the incas, they could only have one lawful wife, and their sons did not succeed them--their power passed, as in some central african tribes, to the eldest son of the sister. when the zippa died, sweet-smelling resin took the place of his internal parts, and the body was put in a wooden coffin, with sheets of gold for ornamentation. the coffin was hidden in an unknown sepulchre, and these tombs have never been discovered--at least, so say the spaniards. their weapons, garments, objects of daily use, even jars of chicha, were buried with these chiefs. it is very likely that a cave where rows of mummies richly dressed were found, and many jewels, was the secret burying-place of the zippas and the zoques. to these folk death meant only a continuation of the life on earth. a severe legal code the laws of the chibchas were severe--death was meted out to the murderer, and bodily punishment for stealing. a coward was made to look like a woman and do her work, while to an unfaithful wife was administered a dose of red pepper, which, if swallowed, released the culprit from the penalty of death and entitled her to an apology from her husband. the chibchas made no use of cattle, and lived on honey. their houses were built of clay, and were set in the midst of an enclosure guarded by watch-towers. the roofs were of a conical shape, covered with reed mats, and skilfully interlaced rushes were used to close the openings. the chibchas were skilful in working bronze, lead, copper, tin, gold, and silver, but not iron. the saint-germain museum has many specimens of gold and silver articles made by these people. m. uricaechea has still more uncommon specimens in his collection, such as two golden masks of the human face larger than life, and a great number of statuettes of men, and images of monkeys and frogs. the chibchas traded with what they made, exporting the rock salt they found in their own country and receiving in exchange cereals with which to cultivate their own poor soil. they also made curious little ornaments which might have passed for money, but they are not supposed to have understood coinage. they had few stone columns--only large granite rocks covered with huge figures of tigers and crocodiles. humboldt mentions these, and two very high columns, covered with sculpture, at the junction of the carare and magdalena, greatly revered by the natives, were raised probably by the chibchas. a strange mnemonic system on the arrival of the spaniards the peruvians were unacquainted with any system of writing or numeration. the only means of recording events they possessed was that provided by quipos, knotted pieces of string or hide of varying length and colour. according to the length or colour of these cords the significance of the record varied; it was sometimes historical and sometimes mathematical. quipos relating to the history of the incas were carefully preserved by an officer called quipo camayol--literally, "the guardian of the quipos." the greater number were destroyed as monuments of idolatry by the fanatical spanish monks who came over with the conquistadores, but their loss is by no means important, as no study, however profound, could possibly unriddle the system upon which they were based. the peruvians, however, long continued to use them in secret. practical use of the quipos the marquis de nadaillac has placed on record a use to which the quipos were put in more modern times. he says: "a great revolt against the spaniards was organised in . as was found out later, the revolt had been organised by means of messengers carrying a piece of wood in which were enclosed threads the ends of which were formed of red, black, blue, or white fringes. the black thread had four knots, which signified that the messenger had started from vladura, the residence of the chief of the conspiracy, four days after full moon. the white thread had ten knots, which signified that the revolt would break out ten days after the arrival of the messenger. the person to whom the keeper was sent had in his turn to make a knot in the red thread if he agreed to join the confederates; in the red and blue threads, on the contrary, if he refused." it was by means of these quipos that the incas transmitted their instructions. on all the roads starting from the capital, at distances rarely exceeding five miles, rose tambos, or stations for the chasquis or couriers, who went from one post to another. the orders of the inca thus became disseminated with great rapidity. orders which emanated directly from the sovereign were marked with a red thread of the royal llantu (mantle), and nothing, as historians assure us, could equal the respect with which these messages were received. the incas as craftsmen the incan peruvians had made some progress in the metallurgic, ceramic, and textile arts. by washing the sands of the rivers of caravaya they obtained large quantities of gold, and they extracted silver from the ore by means of blast-furnaces. copper also was abundant, and was employed to manufacture bronze, of which most of their implements were made. although it is difficult to know at what period their mining operations were carried on, it is evident that they could only have learned the art through long experience. many proofs are to be found of their skill in jewellery, and amongst these are wonderful statuettes which they made from an amalgam of gold and mercury, afterwards exposed to great heat. a number of curious little ornaments made of various substances, with a little hole bored through them, were frequently found under the huacas--probably talismans. the finest handiwork of the incas was undoubtedly in jewellery; but unfortunately most of the examples of their work in this craft were melted down to assuage the insatiable avarice of the spanish conquerors, and are therefore for ever lost to us. the spade and chisel employed in olden times by the peruvians are much the same as the people use now, but some of their tools were clumsy. their javelins, tomahawks, and other military arms were very futile weapons. some found near the mines of pasco were made of stone. the spinning, weaving, and dyeing of the peruvians were unequalled in aboriginal america, their cloths and tapestries being both graceful in design and strong in texture. stamps of bark or earthenware were employed to fix designs upon their woollen stuffs, and feathers were added to the garments made from these, the combination producing a gay effect much admired by the spaniards. the british museum possesses some good specimens of these manufactures. pottery the peruvians excelled in the potter's art. the pottery was baked in a kiln, and was varied in colour, red, black, and grey being the favourite shades. it was varnished outside, and the vases were moulded in two pieces and joined before heating. much of the work is of great grace and elegance, and the shapes of animals were very skilfully imitated. many drinking-cups of elegant design have been discovered, and some vases are of considerable size, measuring over three feet in height. a simple geometric pattern is usually employed for decoration, but sometimes rows of birds and insects figure in the ceramics. the pottery of the coast people is more rich and varied than that of the inca race proper, and among its types we find vases moulded in the form of human faces, many of them exhibiting so much character that we are forced to conclude that they are veritable portraits. fine stone dishes are often found, as well as platters of wood, and these frequently bear as ornament tasteful carvings representing serpents. on several cups and vases are painted representations of battles between the inca forces and the savages of the eastern forests using bows and arrows; below wander the animals of the forest region, a brightly painted group. the archæological museum of madrid gives a representation of very varied kinds of peruvian pottery, including some specimens modelled upon a series of plants, interesting to botanists. the louvre collections have one or two interesting examples of earthenware, as well as the ethnographical museum of st. petersburg, and in all these collections there are types which are believed to be peculiar to the old world. the trocadero museum has a very curious specimen with two necks called the "salvador." a drawing on the vase represents a man with a tomahawk. the peruvians, like the mexicans, also made musical instruments out of earthenware, and heavy ornaments, principally for the ear. historical sketch of the incan peruvians the inca dominion, as the spaniards found it, was instituted only about a century before the coming of the white man. before that time inca sway held good over scattered portions of the country, but had not extended over the entire territory which in later times was connected with the inca name. that it was founded on the wreck of a more ancient power which once existed in the district of chinchay-suyu there can be little doubt. this power was wielded over a space bounded by the lake of chinchay-cocha on the north and abancay on the south, and extended to the pacific at the valley of chincha. it was constituted by an alliance of tribes under the leadership of the chief of pucara, in the huanca country. a branch of this confederacy, the chanca, pushing southward in a general movement, encountered the inca people of colla-suyu, who, under their leader, pachacutic, a young but determined chieftain, defeated the invaders in a decisive battle near cuzco. in consequence of this defeat the chanca deserted their former allies and made common cause with their victors. together the armies made a determined attack on the huanca alliance, which they broke up, and conquered the northern districts of the chinchay-suyu. thus central peru fell to the inca arms. the inca monarchs inca history, or rather tradition, as we must call it in the light of an unparalleled lack of original documentary evidence, spoke of a series of eleven monarchs from manco ccapac to huaina ccapac, who died shortly before the spanish conquest. these had reigned for a collective period of nearly years. the evidence that these chiefs had reigned was of the best, for their mummified bodies were preserved in the great temple of the sun at cuzco, already described. there they received the same daily service as when in the flesh. their private herds of llamas and slaves were still understood to belong to them, and food and drink were placed before them at stated intervals. clothes were made for them, and they were carried about in palanquins as if for daily exercise. the descendants of each at periodical intervals feasted on the produce of their ancestor's private estate, and his mummy was set in the centre of the diners and treated as the principal guest. the first incas after manco ccapac and his immediate successor, sinchi roca (wise chief), lloque yupanqui comes third in the series. he died while his son was still a child. concerning mayta ccapac, who commenced his reign while yet a minor, but little is known. he was followed by ccapac yupanqui, who defeated the conti-suyu, who had grown alarmed at the great power recently attained by cuzco. the inca and his men were attacked whilst about to offer sacrifice. a second attempt to sack cuzco and divide its spoil and the women attached to the great temple of the sun likewise ended in the total discomfiture of the jealous invaders. with inca roca, the next inca, a new dynasty commences, but it is well-nigh impossible to trace the connection between it and the preceding one. of the origin of inca roca nothing is related save that he claimed descent from manco ccapac. roca, instead of waiting to be attacked in his own dominions, boldly confronted the conti-suyu in their own territory, defeated them decisively at pumatampu, and compelled them to yield him tribute. his successor, yahuarhuaccac, initiated a similar campaign against the colla-suyu people, against whom he had the assistance of the conquered conti-suyu. but at a feast which he held in cuzco before setting out he was attacked by his allies, and fled to the coricancha, or golden temple of the sun, for refuge, along with his wives. resistance was unavailing, and the inca and many of his favourites were slaughtered. the allied tribes which had overrun central peru now threatened cuzco, and had they advanced with promptitude the inca dynasty would have been wiped out and the city reduced to ruins. a strong man was at hand, however, who was capable of dealing with the extremely dangerous situation which had arisen. this was viracocha, a chieftain chosen by the vote of the assembled warriors of cuzco. by a prudent conciliation of the conti-suyu and colla-suyu he established a confederation which not only put an end to all threats of invasion, but so menaced the invaders that they were glad to return to their own territory and place it in a suitable state of defence. viracocha the great with viracocha the great, or "godlike," the period of true inca ascendancy commences. he was the real founder of the enlarged inca dominion. he was elected inca on his personal merits, and during a vigorous reign succeeded in making the influence of cuzco felt in the contiguous southern regions. in his old age he retired to his country seats at yucay and xaquixahuana, and left the conduct of the realm to his son and successor, urco-inca, a weak-minded voluptuary, who neglected his royal duties, and was superseded by his younger brother, pachacutic, a famous character in inca history. the plain of blood the commencement of pachacutic's reign witnessed one of the most sanguinary battles in the history of peru. hastu-huaraca, chief of the antahuayllas, in the chanca country, invaded the inca territory, and encamped on the hills of carmenca, which overlooks cuzco. pachacutic held a parley with him, but all to no purpose, for the powerful invader was determined to humble the inca dynasty to the dust. battle was speedily joined. the first day's fight was indecisive, but on the succeeding day pachacutic won a great victory, the larger part of the invading force being left dead on the field of battle, and hastu-huaraca retreating with five hundred followers only. the battle of yahuar-pampa (plain of blood) was the turning-point in peruvian history. the young inca, formerly known as yupanqui, was now called pachacutic (he who changes the world). the warriors of the south made full submission to him, and came in crowds to offer him their services and seek his alliance and friendship, and he shortly found himself supreme in the territories over which his predecessors had exercised merely a nominal control. the conquest of middle peru hastu-huaraca, who had been commissioned by the allied tribesmen of chinchay-suyu to reduce the incas, now threw in his lot with them, and together conqueror and conquered proceeded to the liberation of the district of chinchay-suyu from the tyranny of the huanca alliance. the reduction of the southern portion of that territory was speedily accomplished. in the valley of xauxa the invaders came upon the army of the huanca, on which they inflicted a final defeat. the inca spared and liberated the prisoners of war, who were numerous. once more, at tarma, were the huanca beaten, after which all resistance appears to have been overcome. the city-state of cuzco was now the dominant power throughout the whole of central peru, a territory miles in length, whilst it exercised a kind of suzerainty over a district of equal extent toward the south-east, which it shortly converted into actual dominion. fusion of races this conquest of central peru led to the fusing of the quichua-speaking tribes on the left bank of the apurimac with the aymara-speaking folk on the right bank, with the result that the more numerous quichua speedily gained linguistic ascendancy over their brethren the aymara. subsequently to this the peoples of southern and central peru, led by inca headmen, swept in a great wave of migration over cerro de pasco, where they met with little or no resistance, and pachacutic lived to be lord over a dominion extending for a thousand miles to the northward, and founder of a great inca colony south of the equator almost identical in outline with the republic of ecuador. two branches of the incas these conquests, or rather race-movements, split up the inca people into two separate portions, the respective centres of which were well-nigh a thousand miles apart. the centre of the northern district was at tumipampa, riopampa, and quito at different periods. the political separation of these areas was only a question of time. geographical conditions almost totally divided the two portions of the empire, a sparsely populated stretch of country miles in extent lying between them (see map, p. .) the laws of pachacutic pachacutic united to his fame as a warrior the reputation of a wise and liberal ruler. he built the great temple of the sun at cuzco, probably on the site of a still older building, and established in its walls the convent in which five hundred maidens were set apart for the service of the god. he also, it is said, instituted the great rite of the ccapac-cocha, at which maize, cloth, llamas, and children were sacrificed in honour of the sun-god. he devised a kind of census, by which governors were compelled periodically to render an account of the population under their rule. this statement was made by means of quipos. agriculture was his peculiar care, and he was stringent in the enforcement of laws regarding the tilling of the soil, the foundation and upkeep of stores and granaries, and the regulation of labour in general. as an architect he took upon himself the task of personally designing the principal buildings of the city of cuzco, which were rebuilt under his instructions and in accordance with models moulded from clay by his own hands. he appears to have had a passion for order, and to him we may be justified in tracing the rigorous and almost grandmotherly system under which the peruvians were living at the time of the arrival of their spanish conquerors. to pachacutic, too, is assigned the raising of the immense fortress of sacsahuaman, already described. he further instituted the order of knighthood known as auqui, or "warrior," entrance to which was granted to suitable applicants at the great feast of ccapac raymi, or festival of the sun. he also named the succession of moons, and erected the pillars on the hill of carmenca by which the season of solstice was found. in short, all law and order which had a place in the peruvian social economy were attributed to him, and we may designate him the alfred of his race. tupac-yupanqui pachacutic's son, tupac-yupanqui, for some time before his father's death acted as his lieutenant. his name signifies "bright" or "shining." his activity extended to every portion of the inca dominion, the borders of which he enlarged, suppressing revolts, subjugating tribes not wholly brought within the pale of inca influence, and generally completing the work so ably begun by his father. "the gibbet" a spirit of cruelty and excess such as was unknown to pachacutic marked the military exploits of tupac. in the valley of huarco, near the pacific coast, for example, he was repulsed by the natives, who were well supplied with food and stores of all sorts, and whose town was well fortified and very strongly situated. tupac constructed an immense camp, or rather town, the outlines of which recalled those of his capital of cuzco, on a hill opposite the city, and here he calmly sat down to watch the gradual starvation of the enemy. this siege continued for three years, until the wretched defenders, driven to despair through want of food, capitulated, relying on the assurance of their conqueror that they should become a part of the inca nation and that their daughters should become the wives of inca youths. the submission of their chiefs having been made, tupac ordered a general massacre of the warriors and principal civilians. at the conquest the spaniards could still see the immense heaps of bones which littered the spot where this heartless holocaust took place, and the name huarco (the gibbet) became indissolubly associated with the district. huaina ccapac tupac died in , and was succeeded by his son huaina ccapac (the young chief). huaina was about twenty-two years of age at the time of his father's death, and although the late inca had named ccapac-huari, his son by another wife, as his successor, the claims of huaina were recognised. his reign was peaceful, and was marked by wise administrative improvements and engineering effort. at the same time he was busily employed in holding the savage peoples who surrounded his empire in check. he favoured the northern colony, and rebuilt tumipampa, but resided at quito. here he dwelt for some years with a favourite son by a wife of the lower class, named tupac-atau-huallpa (the sun makes good fortune). huaina was the victim of an epidemic raging in peru at the time. he was greatly feared by his subjects, and was the last inca who held undisputed sway over the entire dominion. like nezahualcoyotl in mexico, he attempted to set up the worship of one god in peru, to the detriment of all other huacas, or sacred beings. the inca civil war on the death of huaina his two sons, huascar and atauhuallpa, [ ] strove for the crown. before his demise huaina had divided his dominion between his two sons, but it was said that he had wrested quito from a certain chieftain whose daughter he had married, and by whom he had atauhuallpa, who was therefore rightful heir to that province. the other son, huascar, or tupac-cusi-huallpa (the sun makes joy), was born to his principal sister-wife--for, according to inca custom, the monarchs of peru, like those of certain egyptian dynasties, filled with pride of race, and unwilling to mingle their blood with that of plebeians, took spouses from among their sisters. this is the story as given by many spanish chroniclers, but it has no foundation in fact. atauhuallpa was in reality the son of a woman of the people, and huascar was not the son of huaina's sister-wife, but of a wife of less intimate relationship. therefore both sons were on an equality as regards descent. huascar, however, was nearer the throne by virtue of his mother's status, which was that of a royal princess, whereas the mother of atauhuallpa was not officially recognised. huascar by his excesses and his outrages on religion and public decency aroused the people to revolt against his power, and atauhuallpa, discerning his opportunity in this émeute, made a determined attack on the royal forces, and succeeded in driving them slowly back, until at last tumipampa was razed to the ground, and shortly afterwards the important southerly fortress of caxamarca fell into the hands of the rebels. a dramatic situation atauhuallpa remained at caxamarca, and despatched the bulk of his forces into the enemy's country. these drove the warriors of huascar back until the upper courses of the apurimac were reached. huascar fled from cuzco, but was captured, and carried a prisoner with his mother, wife, and children to atauhuallpa. not many days afterwards news of the landing of the spaniards was received by the rebel inca. the downfall of the peruvian empire was at hand. a worthless despotism if the blessings of a well-regulated government were dispensed by the incas, these benefits were assuredly counterbalanced by the degrading despotism which accompanied them. the political organisation of the peruvian empire was in every sense more complete than that of mexico. but in a state where individual effort and liberty are entirely crushed even such an effective organisation as the peruvian can avail the people little, and is merely a device for the support of a calculated tyranny. chapter vii: the mythology of peru the religion of ancient peru the religion of the ancient peruvians had obviously developed in a much shorter time than that of the mexicans. the more ancient character inherent in it was displayed in the presence of deities many of which were little better than mere totems, and although a definite monotheism or worship of one god appears to have been reached, it was not by the efforts of the priestly caste that this was achieved, but rather by the will of the inca pachacutic, who seems to have been a monarch gifted with rare insight and ability--a man much after the type of the mexican nezahualcoyotl. in inca times the religion of the people was solely directed by the state, and regulated in such a manner that independent theological thought was permitted no outlet. but it must not be inferred from this that no change had ever come over the spirit of peruvian religion. as a matter of fact sweeping changes had been effected, but these had been solely the work of the inca race, the leaders of which had amalgamated the various faiths of the peoples whom they had conquered into one official belief. totemism garcilasso el inca de la vega, an early spanish writer on matters peruvian, states that tradition ran that in ante-inca times every district, family, and village possessed its own god, each different from the others. these gods were usually such objects as trees, mountains, flowers, herbs, caves, large stones, pieces of jasper, and animals. the jaguar, puma, and bear were worshipped for their strength and fierceness, the monkey and fox for their cunning, the condor for its size and because several tribes believed themselves to be descended from it. the screech-owl was worshipped for its beauty, and the common owl for its power of seeing in the dark. serpents, particularly the larger and more dangerous varieties, were especially regarded with reverence. although payne classes all these gods together as totems, it is plain that those of the first class--the flowers, herbs, caves, and pieces of jasper--are merely fetishes. a fetish is an object in which the savage believes to be resident a spirit which, by its magic, will assist him in his undertakings. a totem is an object or an animal, usually the latter, with which the people of a tribe believe themselves to be connected by ties of blood and from which they are descended. it later becomes the type or symbol of the tribe. paccariscas lakes, springs, rocks, mountains, precipices, and caves were all regarded by the various peruvian tribes as paccariscas--places whence their ancestors had originally issued to the upper world. the paccarisca was usually saluted with the cry, "thou art my birthplace, thou art my life-spring. guard me from evil, o paccarisca!" in the holy spot a spirit was supposed to dwell which served the tribe as a kind of oracle. naturally the paccarisca was looked upon with extreme reverence. it became, indeed, a sort of life-centre for the tribe, from which they were very unwilling to be separated. worship of stones the worship of stones appears to have been almost as universal in ancient peru as it was in ancient palestine. man in his primitive state believes stones to be the framework of the earth, its bony structure. he considers himself to have emerged from some cave--in fact, from the entrails of the earth. nearly all american creation-myths regard man as thus emanating from the bowels of the great terrestrial mother. rocks which were thus chosen as paccariscas are found, among many other places, at callca, in the valley of the yucay, and at titicaca there is a great mass of red sandstone on the top of a high ridge with almost inaccessible slopes and dark, gloomy recesses where the sun was thought to have hidden himself at the time of the great deluge which covered all the earth. the rock of titicaca was, in fact, the great paccarisca of the sun itself. we are thus not surprised to find that many standing stones were worshipped in peru in aboriginal times. thus arriaga states that rocks of great size which bore some resemblance to the human figure were imagined to have been at one time gigantic men or spirits who, because they disobeyed the creative power, were turned into stone. according to another account they were said to have suffered this punishment for refusing to listen to the words of thonapa, the son of the creator, who, like quetzalcoatl or manco ccapac, had taken upon himself the guise of a wandering indian, so that he might have an opportunity of bringing the arts of civilisation to the aborigines. at tiahuanaco a certain group of stones was said to represent all that remained of the villagers of that place, who, instead of paying fitting attention to the wise counsel which thonapa the civiliser bestowed upon them, continued to dance and drink in scorn of the teachings he had brought to them. again, some stones were said to have become men, as in the old greek creation-legend of deucalion and pyrrha. in the legend of ccapac inca pachacutic, when cuzco was attacked in force by the chancas an indian erected stones to which he attached shields and weapons so that they should appear to represent so many warriors in hiding. pachacutic, in great need of assistance, cried to them with such vehemence to come to his help that they became men, and rendered him splendid service. huacas whatever was sacred, of sacred origin, or of the nature of a relic the peruvians designated a huaca, from the root huacan, to howl, native worship invariably taking the form of a kind of howl, or weird, dirge-like wailing. all objects of reverence were known as huacas, although those of a higher class were also alluded to as viracochas. the peruvians had, naturally, many forms of huaca, the most popular of which were those of the fetish class which could be carried about by the individual. these were usually stones or pebbles, many of which were carved and painted, and some made to represent human beings. the llama and the ear of maize were perhaps the most usual forms of these sacred objects. some of them had an agricultural significance. in order that irrigation might proceed favourably a huaca was placed at intervals in proximity to the acequias, or irrigation canals, which was supposed to prevent them leaking or otherwise failing to supply a sufficiency of moisture to the parched maize-fields. huacas of this sort were known as ccompas, and were regarded as deities of great importance, as the food-supply of the community was thought to be wholly dependent upon their assistance. other huacas of a similar kind were called chichics and huancas, and these presided over the fortunes of the maize, and ensured that a sufficient supply of rain should be forthcoming. great numbers of these agricultural fetishes were destroyed by the zealous commissary hernandez de avendaño. the mamas spirits which were supposed to be instrumental in forcing the growth of the maize or other plants were the mamas. we find a similar conception among many brazilian tribes to-day, so that the idea appears to have been a widely accepted one in south american countries. the peruvians called such agencies "mothers," adding to the generic name that of the plant or herb with which they were specially associated. thus acsumama was the potato-mother, quinuamama the quinua-mother, saramama the maize-mother, and cocamama the mother of the coca-shrub. of these the saramama was naturally the most important, governing as it did the principal source of the food-supply of the community. sometimes an image of the saramama was carved in stone, in the shape of an ear of maize. the saramama was also worshipped in the form of a doll, or huantaysara, made out of stalks of maize, renewed at each harvest, much as the idols of the great corn-mother of mexico were manufactured at each harvest-season. after having been made, the image was watched over for three nights, and then sacrifice was done to it. the priest or medicine-man of the tribe would then inquire of it whether or not it was capable of existing until that time in the next year. if its spirit replied in the affirmative it was permitted to remain where it was until the following harvest. if not it was removed, burnt, and another figure took its place, to which similar questions were put. the huamantantac connected with agriculture in some degree was the huamantantac (he who causes the cormorants to gather themselves together). this was the agency responsible for the gathering of sea-birds, resulting in the deposits of guano to be found along the peruvian coast which are so valuable in the cultivation of the maize-plant. he was regarded as a most beneficent spirit, and was sacrificed to with exceeding fervour. huaris the huaris, or "great ones," were the ancestors of the aristocrats of a tribe, and were regarded as specially favourable toward agricultural effort, possibly because the land had at one time belonged to them personally. they were sometimes alluded to as the "gods of strength," and were sacrificed to by libations of chicha. ancestors in general were deeply revered, and had an agricultural significance, in that considerable tracts of land were tilled in order that they might be supplied with suitable food and drink offerings. as the number of ancestors increased more and more land was brought into cultivation, and the hapless people had their toil added to immeasurably by these constant demands upon them. huillcas the huillcas were huacas which partook of the nature of oracles. many of these were serpents, trees, and rivers, the noises made by which appeared to the primitive peruvians--as, indeed, they do to primitive folk all over the world--to be of the quality of articulate speech. both the huillcamayu and the apurimac rivers at cuzco were huillca oracles of this kind, as their names, "huillca-river" and "great speaker," denote. these oracles often set the mandate of the inca himself at defiance, occasionally supporting popular opinion against his policy. the oracles of the andes the peruvian indians of the andes range within recent generations continued to adhere to the superstitions they had inherited from their fathers. a rare and interesting account of these says that they "admit an evil being, the inhabitant of the centre of the earth, whom they consider as the author of their misfortunes, and at the mention of whose name they tremble. the most shrewd among them take advantage of this belief to obtain respect, and represent themselves as his delegates. under the denomination of mohanes, or agoreros, they are consulted even on the most trivial occasions. they preside over the intrigues of love, the health of the community, and the taking of the field. whatever repeatedly occurs to defeat their prognostics, falls on themselves; and they are wont to pay for their deceptions very dearly. they chew a species of vegetable called piripiri, and throw it into the air, accompanying this act by certain recitals and incantations, to injure some, to benefit others, to procure rain and the inundation of the rivers, or, on the other hand, to occasion settled weather, and a plentiful store of agricultural productions. any such result, having been casually verified on a single occasion, suffices to confirm the indians in their faith, although they may have been cheated a thousand times. fully persuaded that they cannot resist the influence of the piripiri, as soon as they know that they have been solicited in love by its means, they fix their eyes on the impassioned object, and discover a thousand amiable traits, either real or fanciful, which indifference had before concealed from their view. but the principal power, efficacy, and it may be said misfortune of the mohanes consist in the cure of the sick. every malady is ascribed to their enchantments, and means are instantly taken to ascertain by whom the mischief may have been wrought. for this purpose, the nearest relative takes a quantity of the juice of floripondium, and suddenly falls intoxicated by the violence of the plant. he is placed in a fit posture to prevent suffocation, and on his coming to himself, at the end of three days, the mohane who has the greatest resemblance to the sorcerer he saw in his visions is to undertake the cure, or if, in the interim, the sick man has perished, it is customary to subject him to the same fate. when not any sorcerer occurs in the visions, the first mohane they encounter has the misfortune to represent his image." [ ] lake-worship in peru at lake titicaca the peruvians believed the inhabitants of the earth, animals as well as men, to have been fashioned by the creator, and the district was thus sacrosanct in their eyes. the people of the collao called it mamacota (mother-water), because it furnished them with supplies of food. two great idols were connected with this worship. one called copacahuana was made of a bluish-green stone shaped like a fish with a human head, and was placed in a commanding position on the shores of the lake. on the arrival of the spaniards so deeply rooted was the worship of this goddess that they could only suppress it by raising an image of the virgin in place of the idol. the christian emblem remains to this day. mamacota was venerated as the giver of fish, with which the lake abounded. the other image, copacati (serpent-stone), represented the element of water as embodied in the lake itself in the form of an image wreathed in serpents, which in america are nearly always symbolical of water. the lost island a strange legend is recounted of this lake-goddess. she was chiefly worshipped as the giver of rain, but huaina ccapac, who had modern ideas and journeyed through the country casting down huacas, had determined to raise on an island of lake titicaca a temple to yatiri (the ruler), the aymara name of the god pachacamac in his form of pachayachachic. he commenced by raising the new shrine on the island of titicaca itself. but the deity when called upon refused to vouchsafe any reply to his worshippers or priests. huaina then commanded that the shrine should be transferred to the island of apinguela. but the same thing happened there. he then inaugurated a temple on the island of paapiti, and lavished upon it many sacrifices of llamas, children, and precious metals. but the offended tutelary goddess of the lake, irritated beyond endurance by this invasion of her ancient domain, lashed the watery waste into such a frenzy of storm that the island and the shrine which covered it disappeared beneath the waves and were never thereafter beheld by mortal eye. the thunder-god of peru the rain-and-thunder god of peru was worshipped in various parts of the country under various names. among the collao he was known as con, and in that part of the inca dominions now known as bolivia he was called churoquella. near the cordilleras of the coast he was probably known as pariacaca, who expelled the huaca of the district by dreadful tempests, hurling rain and hail at him for three days and nights in such quantities as to form the great lake of pariacaca. burnt llamas were offered to him. but the incas, discontented with this local worship, which by no means suited their system of central government, determined to create one thunder-deity to whom all the tribes in the empire must bow as the only god of his class. we are not aware what his name was, but we know from mythological evidence that he was a mixture of all the other gods of thunder in the peruvian empire, first because he invariably occupied the third place in the triad of greater deities, the creator, sun, and thunder, all of whom were more or less amalgamations of provincial and metropolitan gods, and secondly because a great image of him was erected in the coricancha at cuzco, in which he was represented in human form, wearing a headdress which concealed his face, symbolic of the clouds, which ever veil the thunder-god's head. he had a special temple of his own, moreover, and was assigned a share in the sacred lands by the inca pachacutic. he was accompanied by a figure of his sister, who carried jars of water. an unknown quichuan poet composed on the myth the following graceful little poem, which was translated by the late daniel garrison brinton, an enthusiastic americanist and professor of american archæology in the university of pennsylvania: bounteous princess, lo, thy brother breaks thy vessel now in fragments. from the blow come thunder, lightning, strokes of lightning; and thou, princess, tak'st the water, with it rainest, and the hail or snow dispensest, viracocha, world-constructor. it will be observed that the translator here employs the name viracocha as if it were that of the deity. but it was merely a general expression in use for a more than usually sacred being. brinton, commenting upon the legend, says: "in this pretty waif that has floated down to us from the wreck of a literature now for ever lost there is more than one point to attract the notice of the antiquary. he may find in it a hint to decipher those names of divinities so common in peruvian legends, contici and illatici. both mean 'the thunder vase,' and both doubtless refer to the conception here displayed of the phenomena of the thunderstorm." alluding to peruvian thunder-myth elsewhere, he says in an illuminating passage: "throughout the realms of the incas the peruvians venerated as maker of all things and ruler of the firmament the god ataguju. the legend was that from him proceeded the first of mortals, the man guamansuri, who descended to the earth and there wedded the sister of certain guachimines, rayless ones or darklings, who then possessed it. they destroyed him, but their sister gave birth to twin sons, apocatequil and piguerao. the former was the more powerful. by touching the corpse of his mother he brought her to life, he drove off and slew the guachimines, and, directed by ataguju, released the race of indians from the soil by turning it up with a spade of gold. for this reason they adored him as their maker. he it was, they thought, who produced the thunder and the lightning by hurling stones with his sling. and the thunderbolts that fall, said they, are his children. few villages were willing to be without one or more of these. they were in appearance small, round stones, but had the admirable properties of securing fertility to the fields, protecting from lightning, and, by a transition easy to understand, were also adored as gods of fire as well material as of the passions, and were capable of kindling the dangerous flames of desire in the most frigid bosoms. therefore they were in great esteem as love-charms. apocatequil's statue was erected on the mountains, with that of his mother on one hand and his brother on the other. 'he was prince of evil, and the most respected god of the peruvians. from quito to cuzco not an indian but would give all he possessed to conciliate him. five priests, two stewards, and a crowd of slaves served his image. and his chief temple was surrounded by a very considerable village, whose inhabitants had no other occupation but to wait on him.'" in memory of these brothers twins in peru were always deemed sacred to the lightning. there is an instance on record of how the huillca could refuse on occasion to recognise even royalty itself. manco, the inca who had been given the kingly power by pizarro, offered a sacrifice to one of these oracular shrines. the oracle refused to recognise him, through the medium of its guardian priest, stating that manco was not the rightful inca. manco therefore caused the oracle, which was in the shape of a rock, to be thrown down, whereupon its guardian spirit emerged in the form of a parrot and flew away. it is probable that the bird thus liberated had been taught by the priests to answer to the questions of those who came to consult the shrine. but we learn that on manco commanding that the parrot should be pursued it sought another rock, which opened to receive it, and the spirit of the huillca was transferred to this new abode. the great god pachacamac later peruvian mythology recognised only three gods of the first rank, the earth, the thunder, and the creative agency. pachacamac, the great spirit of earth, derived his name from a word pacha, which may be best translated as "things." in its sense of visible things it is equivalent to "world," applied to things which happen in succession it denotes "time," and to things connected with persons "property," especially clothes. the world of visible things is thus mamapacha (earth-mother), under which name the ancient peruvians worshipped the earth. pachacamac, on the other hand, is not the earth itself, the soil, but the spirit which animates all things that emerge therefrom. from him proceed the spirits of the plants and animals which come from the earth. pachamama is the mother-spirit of the mountains, rocks, and plains, pachacamac the father-spirit of the grain-bearing plants, animals, birds, and man. in some localities pachacamac and pachamama were worshipped as divine mates. possibly this practice was universal in early times, gradually lapsing into desuetude in later days. pachamama was in another phase intended to denote the land immediately contiguous to a settlement, on which the inhabitants depended for their food-supply. peruvian creation-stories it is easy to see how such a conception as pachacamac, the spirit of animated nature, would become one with the idea of a universal or even a partial creator. that there was a pre-existing conception of a creative agency can be proved from the existence of the peruvian name conticsi-viracocha (he who gives origin, or beginning). this conception and that of pachacamac must at some comparatively early period have clashed, and been amalgamated probably with ease when it was seen how nearly akin were the two ideas. indeed, pachacamac was alternatively known as pacharurac, the "maker" of all things--sure proof of his amalgamation with the conception of the creative agency. as such he had his symbol in the great coricancha at cuzco, an oval plate of gold, suspended between those of the sun and the moon, and placed vertically, it may be hazarded with some probability, to represent in symbol that universal matrix from which emanated all things. elsewhere in cuzco the creator was represented by a stone statue in human form. pachayachachic in later inca days this idea of a creator assumed that of a direct ruler of the universe, known as pachayachachic. this change was probably due to the influence of the inca pachacutic, who is known to have made several other doctrinal innovations in peruvian theology. he commanded a great new temple to the creator-god to be built at the north angle of the city of cuzco, in which he placed a statue of pure gold, of the size of a boy of ten years of age. the small size was to facilitate its removal, as peruvian worship was nearly always carried out in the open air. in form it represented a man with his right arm elevated, the hand partially closed and the forefinger and thumb raised, as if in the act of uttering the creative word. to this god large possessions and revenues were assigned, for previously service rendered to him had been voluntary only. ideas of creation it is from aboriginal sources as preserved by the first spanish colonists that we glean our knowledge of what the incas believed the creative process to consist. by means of his word (ñisca) the creator, a spirit, powerful and opulent, made all things. we are provided with the formulæ of his very words by the peruvian prayers still extant: "let earth and heaven be," "let a man be; let a woman be," "let there be day," "let there be night," "let the light shine." the sun is here regarded as the creative agency, and the ruling caste as the objects of a special act of creation. pacari tampu pacari tampu (house of the dawn) was the place of origin, according to the later inca theology, of four brothers and sisters who initiated the four peruvian systems of worship. the eldest climbed a neighbouring mountain, and cast stones to the four points of the compass, thus indicating that he claimed all the land within sight. but his youngest brother succeeded in enticing him into a cave, which he sealed up with a great stone, thus imprisoning him for ever. he next persuaded his second brother to ascend a lofty mountain, from which he cast him, changing him into a stone in his descent. on beholding the fate of his brethren the third member of the quartette fled. it is obvious that we have here a legend concocted by the later inca priesthood to account for the evolution of peruvian religion in its different stages. the first brother would appear to represent the oldest religion in peru, that of the paccariscas, the second that of a fetishistic stone-worship, the third perhaps that of viracocha, and the last sun-worship pure and simple. there was, however, an "official" legend, which stated that the sun had three sons, viracocha, pachacamac, and manco ccapac. to the last the dominion of mankind was given, whilst the others were concerned with the workings of the universe. this politic arrangement placed all the power, temporal and spiritual, in the hands of the reputed descendants of manco ccapac--the incas. worship of the sea the ancient peruvians worshipped the sea as well as the earth, the folk inland regarding it as a menacing deity, whilst the people of the coast reverenced it as a god of benevolence, calling it mama-cocha, or mother-sea, as it yielded them subsistence in the form of fish, on which they chiefly lived. they worshipped the whale, fairly common on that coast, because of its enormous size, and various districts regarded with adoration the species of fish most abundant there. this worship can have partaken in no sense of the nature of totemism, as the system forbade that the totem animal should be eaten. it was imagined that the prototype of each variety of fish dwelt in the upper world, just as many tribes of north american indians believe that the eponymous ancestors of certain animals dwell at the four points of the compass or in the sky above them. this great fish-god engendered the others of his species, and sent them into the waters of the deep that they might exist there until taken for the use of man. birds, too, had their eponymous counterparts among the stars, as had animals. indeed, among many of the south american races, ancient and modern, the constellations were called after certain beasts and birds. viracocha the aymara-quichua race worshipped viracocha as a great culture hero. they did not offer him sacrifices or tribute, as they thought that he, being creator and possessor of all things, needed nothing from men, so they only gave him worship. after him they idolised the sun. they believed, indeed, that viracocha had made both sun and moon, after emerging from lake titicaca, and that then he made the earth and peopled it. on his travels westward from the lake he was sometimes assailed by men, but he revenged himself by sending terrible storms upon them and destroying their property, so they humbled themselves and acknowledged him as their lord. he forgave them and taught them everything, obtaining from them the name of pachayachachic. in the end he disappeared in the western ocean. he either created or there were born with him four beings who, according to mythical beliefs, civilised peru. to them he assigned the four quarters of the earth, and they are thus known as the four winds, north, south, east, and west. one legend avers they came from the cave pacari, the lodging of the dawn. sun-worship in peru the name "inca" means "people of the sun," which luminary the incas regarded as their creator. but they did not worship him totemically--that is, they did not claim him as a progenitor, although they regarded him as possessing the attributes of a man. and here we may observe a difference between mexican and peruvian sun-worship. for whereas the nahua primarily regarded the orb as the abode of the man of the sun, who came to earth in the shape of quetzalcoatl, the peruvians looked upon the sun itself as the deity. the inca race did not identify their ancestors as children of the sun until a comparatively late date. sun-worship was introduced by the inca pachacutic, who averred that the sun appeared to him in a dream and addressed him as his child. until that time the worship of the sun had always been strictly subordinated to that of the creator, and the deity appeared only as second in the trinity of creator, sun, and thunder. but permanent provision was made for sacrifices to the sun before the other deities were so recognised, and as the conquests of the incas grew wider and that provision extended to the new territories they came to be known as "the lands of the sun," the natives observing the dedication of a part of the country to the luminary, and concluding therefrom that it applied to the whole. the material reality of the sun would enormously assist his cult among a people who were too barbarous to appreciate an unseen god, and this colonial conception reacting upon the mother-land would undoubtedly inspire the military class with a resolve to strengthen a worship so popular in the conquered provinces, and of which they were in great measure the protagonists and missionaries. the sun's possessions in every peruvian village the sun had considerable possessions. his estates resembled those of a territorial chieftain, and consisted of a dwelling-house, a chacra, or portion of land, flocks of llamas and pacos, and a number of women dedicated to his service. the cultivation of the soil within the solar enclosure devolved upon the inhabitants of the neighbouring village, the produce of their toil being stored in the inti-huasi, or sun's house. the women of the sun prepared the daily food and drink of the luminary, which consisted of maize and chicha. they also spun wool and wove it into fine stuff, which was burned in order that it might ascend to the celestial regions, where the deity could make use of it. each village reserved a portion of its solar produce for the great festival at cuzco, and it was carried thither on the backs of llamas which were destined for sacrifice. inca occupation of titicaca the rock of titicaca, the renowned place of the sun's origin, naturally became an important centre of his worship. the date at which the worship of the sun originated at this famous rock is extremely remote, but we may safely assume that it was long before the conquest of the collao by the apu-ccapac-inca pachacutic, and that reverence for the luminary as a war-god by the colla chiefs was noticed by tupac, who in suppressing the revolt concluded that the local observance at the rock had some relationship to the disturbance. it is, however, certain that tupac proceeded after the reconquest to establish at this natural centre of sun-worship solar rites on a new basis, with the evident intention of securing on behalf of the incas of cuzco such exclusive benefit as might accrue from the complete possession of the sun's paccarisca. according to a native account, a venerable colla (or hermit), consecrated to the service of the sun, had proceeded on foot from titicaca to cuzco for the purpose of commending this ancient seat of sun-worship to the notice of tupac. the consequence was that apu-ccapac-inca, after visiting the island and inquiring into the ancient local customs, re-established them in a more regular form. his accounts can hardly be accepted in face of the facts which have been gathered. rather did it naturally follow that titicaca became subservient to tupac after the revolt of the collao had been quelled. henceforth the worship of the sun at the place of his origin was entrusted to incas resident in the place, and was celebrated with inca rites. the island was converted into a solar estate and the aboriginal inhabitants removed. the land was cultivated and the slopes of the hills levelled, maize was sown and the soil consecrated, the grain being regarded as the gift of the sun. this work produced considerable change in the island. where once was waste and idleness there was now fertility and industry. the harvests were skilfully apportioned, so much being reserved for sacrificial purposes, the remainder being sent to cuzco, partly to be sown in the chacras, or estates of the sun, throughout peru, partly to be preserved in the granary of the inca and the huacas as a symbol that there would be abundant crops in the future and that the grain already stored would be preserved. a building of the women of the sun was erected about a mile from the rock, so that the produce might be available for sacrifices. for their maintenance, tribute of potatoes, ocas, and quinua was levied upon the inhabitants of the villages on the shores of the lake, and of maize upon the people of the neighbouring valleys. pilgrimages to titicaca titicaca at the time of the conquest was probably more frequented than pachacamac itself. these two places were held to be the cardinal shrines of the two great huacas, the creator and the sun respectively. a special reason for pilgrimage to titicaca was to sacrifice to the sun, as the source of physical energy and the giver of long life; and he was especially worshipped by the aged, who believed he had preserved their lives, then followed the migration of pilgrims to titicaca, for whose shelter houses were built at capacahuana, and large stores of maize were provided for their use. the ceremonial connected with the sacred rites of the rock was rigorously observed. the pilgrim ere embarking on the raft which conveyed him to the island must first confess his sins to a huillac (a speaker to an object of worship); then further confessions were required at each of the three sculptured doors which had successively to be passed before reaching the sacred rock. the first door (puma-puncu) was surmounted by the figure of a puma; the others (quenti-puncu and pillco-puncu) were ornamented with feathers of the different species of birds commonly sacrificed to the sun. having passed the last portal, the traveller beheld at a distance of two hundred paces the sacred rock itself, the summit glittering with gold-leaf. he was permitted to proceed no further, for only the officials were allowed entry into it. the pilgrim on departing received a few grains of the sacred maize grown on the island. these he kept with care and placed with his own store, believing they would preserve his stock, the confidence the indian placed in the virtue of the titicaca maize may be judged from the prevalent belief that the possessor of a single grain would not suffer from starvation during the whole of his life. sacrifices to the new sun the intip-raymi, or great festival of the sun, was celebrated by the incas at cuzco at the winter solstice. in connection with it the tarpuntaita-cuma, or sacrificing incas, were charged with a remarkable duty, the worshippers journeying eastward to meet one of these functionaries on his way. on the principal hill-tops between cuzco and huillcanuta, on the road to the rock of titicaca, burnt offerings of llamas, coca, and maize were made at the feast to greet the arrival of the young sun from his ancient birthplace. molina has enumerated more than twenty of these places of sacrifice. the striking picture of the celebration of the solar sacrifice on these bleak mountains in the depth of the peruvian winter has, it seems, no parallel in the religious rites of the ancient americans. quitting their thatched houses at early dawn, the worshippers left the valley below, carrying the sacrificial knife and brazier, and conducting the white llama, heavily laden with fuel, maize, and coca leaves, wrapped in fine cloth, to the spot where the sacrifice was to be made. when sunrise appeared the pile was lighted. the victim was slain and thrown upon it. the scene then presented a striking contrast to the bleak surrounding wilderness. as the flames grew in strength and the smoke rose higher and thicker the clear atmosphere was gradually illuminated from the east. when the sun advanced above the horizon the sacrifice was at its height. but for the crackling of the flames and the murmur of a babbling stream on its way down the hill to join the river below, the silence had hitherto been unbroken. as the sun rose the incas marched slowly round the burning mass, plucking the wool from the scorched carcase, and chanting monotonously: "o creator, sun and thunder, be for ever young! multiply the people; let them ever be in peace!" the citoc raymi the most picturesque if not the most important solar festival was that of the citoc raymi (gradually increasing sun), held in june, when nine days were given up to the ceremonial. a rigorous fast was observed for three days previous to the event, during which no fire must be kindled. on the fourth day the inca, accompanied by the people en masse, proceeded to the great square of cuzco to hail the rising sun, which they awaited in silence. on its appearance they greeted it with a joyous tumult, and, joining in procession, marched to the golden temple of the sun, where llamas were sacrificed, and a new fire was kindled by means of an arched mirror, followed by sacrificial offerings of grain, flowers, animals, and aromatic gums. this festival may be taken as typical of all the seasonal celebrations. the inca calendar was purely agricultural in its basis, and marked in its great festivals the renewal or abandonment of the labours of the field. its astronomical observations were not more advanced than those of the calendars of many american races otherwise inferior in civilisation. human sacrifice in peru writers ignorant of their subject have often dwelt upon the absence of human sacrifice in ancient peru, and have not hesitated to draw comparisons between mexico and the empire of the incas in this respect, usually not complimentary to the former. such statements are contradicted by the clearest evidence. human sacrifice was certainly not nearly so prevalent in peru, but that it was regular and by no means rare is well authenticated. female victims to the sun were taken from the great class of acllacuna (selected ones), a general tribute of female children regularly levied throughout the inca empire. beautiful girls were taken from their parents at the age of eight by the inca officials, and were handed over to certain female trainers called mamacuna (mothers). these matrons systematically trained their protégées in housewifery and ritual. residences or convents called aclla-huasi (houses of the selected) were provided for them in the principal cities. methods of medicine-men a quaint account of the methods of the medicine-men of the indians of the peruvian andes probably illustrates the manner in which the superstitions of a barbarian people evolve into a more stately ritual. "it cannot be denied," it states, "that the mohanes [priests] have, by practice and tradition, acquired a knowledge of many plants and poisons, with which they effect surprising cures on the one hand, and do much mischief on the other, but the mania of ascribing the whole to a preternatural virtue occasions them to blend with their practice a thousand charms and superstitions. the most customary method of cure is to place two hammocks close to each other, either in the dwelling, or in the open air: in one of them the patient lies extended, and in the other the mohane, or agorero. the latter, in contact with the sick man, begins by rocking himself, and then proceeds, by a strain in falsetto, to call on the birds, quadrupeds, and fishes to give health to the patient. from time to time he rises on his seat, and makes a thousand extravagant gestures over the sick man, to whom he applies his powders and herbs, or sucks the wounded or diseased parts. if the malady augments, the agorero, having been joined by many of the people, chants a short hymn, addressed to the soul of the patient, with this burden: 'thou must not go, thou must not go.' in repeating this he is joined by the people, until at length a terrible clamour is raised, and augmented in proportion as the sick man becomes still fainter and fainter, to the end that it may reach his ears. when all the charms are unavailing, and death approaches, the mohane leaps from his hammock, and betakes himself to flight, amid the multitude of sticks, stones, and clods of earth which are showered on him. successively all those who belong to the nation assemble, and, dividing themselves into bands, each of them (if he who is in his last agonies is a warrior) approaches him, saying: 'whither goest thou? why dost thou leave us? with whom shall we proceed to the aucas [the enemies]?' they then relate to him the heroical deeds he has performed, the number of those he has slain, and the pleasures he leaves behind him. this is practised in different tones: while some raise the voice, it is lowered by others; and the poor sick man is obliged to support these importunities without a murmur, until the first symptoms of approaching dissolution manifest themselves. then it is that he is surrounded by a multitude of females, some of whom forcibly close the mouth and eyes, others envelop him in the hammock, oppressing him with the whole of their weight, and causing him to expire before his time, and others, lastly, run to extinguish the candle, and dissipate the smoke, that the soul, not being able to perceive the hole through which it may escape, may remain entangled in the structure of the roof. that this may be speedily effected, and to prevent its return to the interior of the dwelling, they surround the entrances with filth, by the stench of which it may be expelled. death by suffocation "as soon as the dying man is suffocated by the closing of the mouth, nostrils, &c., and wrapt up in the covering of his bed, the most circumspect indian, whether male or female, takes him in the arms in the best manner possible, and gives a gentle shriek, which echoes to the bitter lamentations of the immediate relatives, and to the cries of a thousand old women collected for the occasion. as long as this dismal howl subsists, the latter are subjected to a constant fatigue, raising the palm of the hand to wipe away the tears, and lowering it to dry it on the ground. the result of this alternate action is, that a circle of earth, which gives them a most hideous appearance, is collected about the eyelids and brows, and they do not wash themselves until the mourning is over. these first clamours conclude by several good pots of masato, to assuage the thirst of sorrow, and the company next proceed to make a great clatter among the utensils of the deceased: some break the kettles, and others the earthen pots, while others, again, burn the apparel, to the end that his memory may be the sooner forgotten. if the defunct has been a cacique, or powerful warrior, his exequies are performed after the manner of the romans: they last for many days, all the people weeping in concert for a considerable space of time, at daybreak, at noon, in the evening, and at midnight. when the appointed hour arrives, the mournful music begins in front of the house of the wife and relatives, the heroical deeds of the deceased being chanted to the sound of instruments. all the inhabitants of the vicinity unite in chorus from within their houses, some chirping like birds, others howling like tigers, and the greater part of them chattering like monkeys, or croaking like frogs. they constantly leave off by having recourse to the masato, and by the destruction of whatever the deceased may have left behind him, the burning of his dwelling being that which concludes the ceremonies. among some of the indians, the nearest relatives cut off their hair as a token of their grief, agreeably to the practice of the moabites, and other nations.... the obsequies of a chief "on the day of decease, they put the body, with its insignia, into a large earthen vessel, or painted jar, which they bury in one of the angles of the quarter, laying over it a covering of potter's clay, and throwing in earth until the grave is on a level with the surface of the ground. when the obsequies are over, they forbear to pay a visit to it, and lose every recollection of the name of the warrior. the roamaynas disenterre their dead, as soon as they think that the fleshy parts have been consumed, and having washed the bones from the skeleton, which they place in a coffin of potter's clay, adorned with various symbols of death, like the hieroglyphics on the wrappers of the egyptian mummies. in this state the skeleton is carried home, to the end that the survivors may bear the deceased in respectful memory, and not in imitation of those extraordinary voluptuaries of antiquity, who introduced into their most splendid festivals a spectacle of this nature, which, by reminding them of their dissolution, might stimulate them to taste, before it should overtake them, all the impure pleasures the human passions could afford them. a space of time of about a year being elapsed, the bones are once more inhumed, and the individual to whom they belonged forgotten for ever." [ ] peruvian myths peru is not so rich in myths as mexico, but the following legends well illustrate the mythological ideas of the inca race: the vision of yupanqui the inca yupanqui before he succeeded to the sovereignty is said to have gone to visit his father, viracocha inca. on his way he arrived at a fountain called susur-pugaio. there he saw a piece of crystal fall into the fountain, and in this crystal he saw the figure of an indian, with three bright rays as of the sun coming from the back of his head. he wore a hautu, or royal fringe, across the forehead like the inca. serpents wound round his arms and over his shoulders. he had ear-pieces in his ears like the incas, and was also dressed like them. there was the head of a lion between his legs, and another lion was about his shoulders. inca yupanqui took fright at this strange figure, and was running away when a voice called to him by name telling him not to be afraid, because it was his father, the sun, whom he beheld, and that he would conquer many nations, but he must remember his father in his sacrifices and raise revenues for him, and pay him great reverence. then the figure vanished, but the crystal remained, and the inca afterwards saw all he wished in it. when he became king he had a statue of the sun made, resembling the figure as closely as possible, and ordered all the tribes he had conquered to build splendid temples and worship the new deity instead of the creator. the bird bride the canaris indians are named from the province of canaribamba, in quito, and they have several myths regarding their origin. one recounts that at the deluge two brothers fled to a very high mountain called huacaquan, and as the waters rose the hill ascended simultaneously, so that they escaped drowning. when the flood was over they had to find food in the valleys, and they built a tiny house and lived on herbs and roots. they were surprised one day when they went home to find food already prepared for them and chicha to drink. this continued for ten days. then the elder brother decided to hide himself and discover who brought the food. very soon two birds, one aqua, the other torito (otherwise quacamayo birds), appeared dressed as canaris, and wearing their hair fastened in the same way. the larger bird removed the llicella, or mantle the indians wear, and the man saw that they had beautiful faces and discovered that the bird-like beings were in reality women. when he came out the bird-women were very angry and flew away. when the younger brother came home and found no food he was annoyed, and determined to hide until the bird-women returned. after ten days the quacamayos appeared again on their old mission, and while they were busy the watcher contrived to close the door, and so prevented the younger bird from escaping. she lived with the brothers for a long time, and became the mother of six sons and daughters, from whom all the canaris proceed. hence the tribe look upon the quacamayo birds with reverence, and use their feathers at their festivals. thonapa some myths tell of a divine personage called thonapa, who appears to have been a hero-god or civilising agent like quetzalcoatl. he seems to have devoted his life to preaching to the people in the various villages, beginning in the provinces of colla-suya. when he came to yamquisupa he was treated so badly that he would not remain there. he slept in the open air, clad only in a long shirt and a mantle, and carried a book. he cursed the village. it was soon immersed in water, and is now a lake. there was an idol in the form of a woman to which the people offered sacrifice at the top of a high hill, cachapucara. this idol thonapa detested, so he burnt it, and also destroyed the hill. on another occasion thonapa cursed a large assembly of people who were holding a great banquet to celebrate a wedding, because they refused to listen to his preaching. they were all changed into stones, which are visible to this day. wandering through peru, thonapa came to the mountain of caravaya, and after raising a very large cross he put it on his shoulders and took it to the hill carapucu, where he preached so fervently that he shed tears. a chief's daughter got some of the water on her head, and the indians, imagining that he was washing his head (a ritual offence), took him prisoner near the lake of carapucu. very early the next morning a beautiful youth appeared to thonapa, and told him not to fear, for he was sent from the divine guardian who watched over him. he released thonapa, who escaped, though he was well guarded. he went down into the lake, his mantle keeping him above the water as a boat would have done. after thonapa had escaped from the barbarians he remained on the rock of titicaca, afterwards going to the town of tiya-manacu, where again he cursed the people and turned them into stones. they were too bent upon amusement to listen to his preaching. he then followed the river chacamarca till it reached the sea, and, like quetzalcoatl, disappeared. this is good evidence that he was a solar deity, or "man of the sun," who, his civilising labours completed, betook himself to the house of his father. a myth of manco ccapac inca when manco ccapac inca was born a staff which had been given to his father turned into gold. he had seven brothers and sisters, and at his father's death he assembled all his people in order to see how much he could venture in making fresh conquests. he and his brothers supplied themselves with rich clothing, new arms, and the golden staff called tapac-yauri (royal sceptre). he had also two cups of gold from which thonapa had drunk, called tapacusi. they proceeded to the highest point in the country, a mountain where the sun rose, and manco ccapac saw several rainbows, which he interpreted as a sign of good fortune. delighted with the favouring symbols, he sang the song of chamayhuarisca (the song of joy). manco ccapac wondered why a brother who had accompanied him did not return, and sent one of his sisters in search of him, but she also did not come back, so he went himself, and found both nearly dead beside a huaca. they said they could not move, as the huaca, a stone, retarded them. in a great rage manco struck this stone with his tapac-yauri. it spoke, and said that had it not been for his wonderful golden staff he would have had no power over it. it added that his brother and sister had sinned, and therefore must remain with it (the huaca) in the lower regions, but that manco was to be "greatly honoured." the sad fate of his brother and sister troubled manco exceedingly, but on going back to the place where he first saw the rainbows he got comfort from them and strength to bear his grief. coniraya viracocha coniraya viracocha was a tricky nature spirit who declared he was the creator, but who frequently appeared attired as a poor ragged indian. he was an adept at deceiving people. a beautiful woman, cavillaca, who was greatly admired, was one day weaving a mantle at the foot of a lucma tree. coniraya, changing himself into a beautiful bird, climbed the tree, took some of his generative seed, made it into a ripe lucma, and dropped it near the beautiful virgin, who saw and ate the fruit. some time afterwards a son was born to cavillaca. when the child was older she wished that the huacas and gods should meet and declare who was the father of the boy. all dressed as finely as possible, hoping to be chosen as her husband. coniraya was there, dressed like a beggar, and cavillaca never even looked at him. the maiden addressed the assembly, but as no one immediately answered her speech she let the child go, saying he would be sure to crawl to his father. the infant went straight up to coniraya, sitting in his rags, and laughed up to him. cavillaca, extremely angry at the idea of being associated with such a poor, dirty creature, fled to the sea-shore. coniraya then put on magnificent attire and followed her to show her how handsome he was, but still thinking of him in his ragged condition she would not look back. she went into the sea at pachacamac and was changed into a rock. coniraya, still following her, met a condor, and asked if it had seen a woman. on the condor replying that it had seen her quite near, coniraya blessed it, and said whoever killed it would be killed himself. he then met a fox, who said he would never meet cavillaca, so coniraya told him he would always retain his disagreeable odour, and on account of it he would never be able to go abroad except at night, and that he would be hated by every one. next came a lion, who told coniraya he was very near cavillaca, so the lover said he should have the power of punishing wrongdoers, and that whoever killed him would wear the skin without cutting off the head, and by preserving the teeth and eyes would make him appear still alive; his skin would be worn at festivals, and thus he would be honoured after death. then another fox who gave bad news was cursed, and a falcon who said cavillaca was near was told he would be highly esteemed, and that whoever killed him would also wear his skin at festivals. the parrots, giving bad news, were to cry so loud that they would be heard far away, and their cries would betray them to enemies. thus coniraya blessed the animals which gave him news he liked, and cursed those which gave the opposite. when at last he came to the sea he found cavillaca and the child turned into stone, and there he encountered two beautiful young daughters of pachacamac, who guarded a great serpent. he made love to the elder sister, but the younger one flew away in the form of a wild pigeon. at that time there were no fishes in the sea, but a certain goddess had reared a few in a small pond, and coniraya emptied these into the ocean and thus peopled it. the angry deity tried to outwit coniraya and kill him, but he was too wise and escaped. he returned to huarochiri, and played tricks as before on the villagers. coniraya slightly approximates to the jurupari of the uapès indians of brazil, especially as regards his impish qualities. [ ] the llama's warning an old peruvian myth relates how the world was nearly left without an inhabitant. a man took his llama to a fine place for feeding, but the beast moaned and would not eat, and on its master questioning it, it said there was little wonder it was sad, because in five days the sea would rise and engulf the earth. the man, alarmed, asked if there was no way of escape, and the llama advised him to go to the top of a high mountain, villa-coto, taking food for five days. when they reached the summit of the hill all kinds of birds and animals were already there. when the sea rose the water came so near that it washed the tail of a fox, and that is why foxes' tails are black! after five days the water fell, leaving only this one man alive, and from him the peruvians believed the present human race to be descended. the myth of huathiacuri after the deluge the indians chose the bravest and richest man as leader. this period they called purunpacha (the time without a king). on a high mountain-top appeared five large eggs, from one of which paricaca, father of huathiacuri, later emerged. huathiacuri, who was so poor that he had not means to cook his food properly, learned much wisdom from his father, and the following story shows how this assisted him. a certain man had built a most curious house, the roof being made of yellow and red birds' feathers. he was very rich, possessing many llamas, and was greatly esteemed on account of his wealth. so proud did he become that he aspired to be the creator himself; but when he became very ill and could not cure himself his divinity seemed doubtful. just at this time huathiacuri was travelling about, and one day he saw two foxes meet and listened to their conversation. from this he heard about the rich man and learned the cause of his illness, and forthwith he determined to go on to find him. on arriving at the curious house he met a lovely young girl, one of the rich man's daughters. she told him about her father's illness, and huathiacuri, charmed with her, said he would cure her father if she would only give him her love. he looked so ragged and dirty that she refused, but she took him to her father and informed him that huathiacuri said he could cure him. her father consented to give him an opportunity to do so. huathiacuri began his cure by telling the sick man that his wife had been unfaithful, and that there were two serpents hovering above his house to devour it, and a toad with two heads under his grinding-stone. his wife at first indignantly denied the accusation, but on huathiacuri reminding her of some details, and the serpents and toad being discovered, she confessed her guilt. the reptiles were killed, the man recovered, and the daughter was married to huathiacuri. huathiacuri's poverty and raggedness displeased the girl's brother-in-law, who suggested to the bridegroom a contest in dancing and drinking. huathiacuri went to seek his father's advice, and the old man told him to accept the challenge and return to him. paricaca then sent him to a mountain, where he was changed into a dead llama. next morning a fox and its vixen carrying a jar of chicha came, the fox having a flute of many pipes. when they saw the dead llama they laid down their things and went toward it to have a feast, but huathiacuri then resumed his human form and gave a loud cry that frightened away the foxes, whereupon he took possession of the jar and flute. by the aid of these, which were magically endowed, he beat his brother-in-law in dancing and drinking. then the brother-in-law proposed a contest to prove who was the handsomer when dressed in festal attire. by the aid of paricaca huathiacuri found a red lion-skin, which gave him the appearance of having a rainbow round his head, and he again won. the next trial was to see who could build a house the quickest and best. the brother-in-law got all his men to help, and had his house nearly finished before the other had his foundation laid. but here again paricaca's wisdom proved of service, for huathiacuri got animals and birds of all kinds to help him during the night, and by morning the building was finished except the roof. his brother-in-law got many llamas to come with straw for his roof, but huathiacuri ordered an animal to stand where its loud screams frightened the llamas away, and the straw was lost. once more huathiacuri won the day. at last paricaca advised huathiacuri to end this conflict, and he asked his brother-in-law to see who could dance best in a blue shirt with white cotton round the loins. the rich man as usual appeared first, but when huathiacuri came in he made a very loud noise and frightened him, and he began to run away. as he ran huathiacuri turned him into a deer. his wife, who had followed him, was turned into a stone, with her head on the ground and her feet in the air, because she had given her husband such bad advice. the four remaining eggs on the mountain-top then opened, and four falcons issued, which turned into four great warriors. these warriors performed many miracles, one of which consisted in raising a storm which swept away the rich indian's house in a flood to the sea. paricaca having assisted in the performance of several miracles, paricaca set out determined to do great deeds. he went to find caruyuchu huayallo, to whom children were sacrificed. he came one day to a village where a festival was being celebrated, and as he was in very poor clothes no one took any notice of him or offered him anything, till a young girl, taking pity on him, brought him chicha to drink. in gratitude paricaca told her to seek a place of safety for herself, as the village would be destroyed after five days, but she was to tell no one of this. annoyed at the inhospitality of the people, paricaca then went to a hill-top and sent down a fearful storm and flood, and the whole village was destroyed. then he came to another village, now san lorenzo. he saw a very beautiful girl, choque suso, crying bitterly. asking her why she wept, she said the maize crop was dying for want of water. paricaca at once fell in love with this girl, and after first damming up the little water there was, and thus leaving none for the crop, he told her he would give her plenty of water if she would only return his love. she said he must get water not only for her own crop but for all the other farms before she could consent. he noticed a small rill, from which, by opening a dam, he thought he might get a sufficient supply of water for the farms. he then got the assistance of the birds in the hills, and animals such as snakes, lizards, and so on, in removing any obstacles in the way, and they widened the channel so that the water irrigated all the land. the fox with his usual cunning managed to obtain the post of engineer, and carried the canal to near the site of the church of san lorenzo. paricaca, having accomplished what he had promised, begged choque suso to keep her word, which she willingly did, but she proposed living at the summit of some rocks called yanacaca. there the lovers stayed very happily, at the head of the channel called cocochallo, the making of which had united them; and as choque suso wished to remain there always, paricaca eventually turned her into a stone. in all likelihood this myth was intended to account for the invention of irrigation among the early peruvians, and from being a local legend probably spread over the length and breadth of the country. conclusion the advance in civilisation attained by the peoples of america must be regarded as among the most striking phenomena in the history of mankind, especially if it be viewed as an example of what can be achieved by isolated races occupying a peculiar environment. it cannot be too strongly emphasised that the cultures and mythologies of old mexico and peru were evolved without foreign assistance or intervention, that, in fact, they were distinctively and solely the fruit of american aboriginal thought evolved upon american soil. an absorbing chapter in the story of human advancement is provided by these peoples, whose architecture, arts, graphic and plastic, laws and religions prove them to have been the equals of most of the asiatic nations of antiquity, and the superiors of the primitive races of europe, who entered into the heritage of civilisation through the gateway of the east. the aborigines of ancient america had evolved for themselves a system of writing which at the period of their discovery was approaching the alphabetic type, a mathematical system unique and by no means despicable, and an architectural science in some respects superior to any of which the old world could boast. their legal codes were reasonable and founded upon justice; and if their religions were tainted with cruelty, it was a cruelty which they regarded as inevitable, and as the doom placed upon them by sanguinary and insatiable deities and not by any human agency. in comparing the myths of the american races with the deathless stories of olympus or the scarcely less classic tales of india, frequent resemblances and analogies cannot fail to present themselves, and these are of value as illustrating the circumstance that in every quarter of the globe the mind of man has shaped for itself a system of faith based upon similar principles. but in the perusal of the myths and beliefs of mexico and peru we are also struck with the strangeness and remoteness alike of their subject-matter and the type of thought which they present. the result of centuries of isolation is evident in a profound contrast of "atmosphere." it seems almost as if we stood for a space upon the dim shores of another planet, spectators of the doings of a race of whose modes of thought and feeling we were entirely ignorant. for generations these stories have been hidden, along with the memory of the gods and folk of whom they tell, beneath a thick dust of neglect, displaced here and there only by the efforts of antiquarians working singly and unaided. nowadays many well-equipped students are striving to add to our knowledge of the civilisations of mexico and peru. to the mythical stories of these peoples, alas! we cannot add. the greater part of them perished in the flames of the spanish autos-de-fé. but for those which have survived we must be grateful, as affording so many casements through which we may catch the glitter and gleam of civilisations more remote and bizarre than those of the orient, shapes dim yet gigantic, misty yet many-coloured, the ghosts of peoples and beliefs not the least splendid and solemn in the roll of dead nations and vanished faiths. bibliography the following bibliography is not intended to be exhaustive, but merely to indicate to those who desire to follow up the matter provided in the preceding pages such works as will best repay their attention. mexico acosta, josé de: historia natural y moral de las yndias. seville, . alzate y ramirez: descripcion de las antiguedades de xochicalco. . bancroft, h. h.: native races of the pacific states of america. . a compilation of historical matter relating to aboriginal america, given almost without comment. useful to beginners. boturini benaduci, l.: idea de una nueva historia general de la america septentrional. madrid, . contains a number of valuable original manuscripts. bourbourg, abbé brasseur de: histoire des nations civilisées du mexique et de l'amérique centrale. paris, - . the abbé possessed much knowledge of the peoples of central america and their ancient history, but had a leaning toward the marvellous which renders his works of doubtful value. charnay, désiré: ancient cities of the new world. london, . this translation from the french is readable and interesting, and is of assistance to beginners. it is, however, of little avail as a serious work of reference, and has been superseded. chevalier, m.: le mexique ancien et moderne. paris, . clavigero, abbé: storia antica del messico. cesena, . english translation, london, . described in text. diaz, bernal: historia verdadera de la conquista de nueva españa. . an eye-witness's account of the conquest of mexico. enock, c. reginald: mexico, its ancient and modern civilisation, &c. london, . gomara, f. l. de: historia general de las yndias. madrid, . herrera, antonio de: historia general de los hechos de los castellanos en las islas y tierra firme del mar oceano. vols. madrid, . humboldt, alex. von: vues des cordillères. paris, . english translation by mrs. williams. ixtlilxochitl, f. de alva: historia chichimeca; relaciones. edited by a. chavero. mexico, - . kingsborough, lord: antiquities of mexico. london, . lumholtz, c.: unknown mexico. . macnutt, f. c.: letters of cortés to charles v. london, . nadaillac, marquis de: prehistoric america. translation. london, . noll, a. h.: a short history of mexico. chicago, . nuttall, zelia: the fundamental principles of old and new world civilisations. . payne, e. j.: history of the new world called america. london, - . by far the best and most exhaustive work in english upon the subject. it is, however, unfinished. peñafiel, f.: monumentos del arte mexicano antiguo. berlin, . prescott, w. h.: history of the conquest of mexico. of romantic interest only. prescott did not study mexican history for more than two years, and his work is now quite superseded from a historical point of view. its narrative charm, however, is unassailable. sahagun, bernardino de: historia general de las cosas de nueva españa. mexico, . seler, e.: mexico and guatemala. berlin, . serra, justo (editor): mexico, its social evolution, &c. vols. mexico, . spence, lewis: the civilization of ancient mexico. a digest of the strictly verifiable matter of mexican history and antiquities. all tradition is eliminated, the author's aim being to present the beginner and the serious student with a series of unembellished facts. starr, f.: the indians of southern mexico. . thomas, cyrus, and magee, w. j.: the history of north america. . torquemada, juan de: monarquia indiana. madrid, . bulletin of the bureau of american ethnology contains translations of valuable essays by the german scholars seler, schellhas, förstemann, &c. many of the above works deal with central america as well as with mexico proper. central america cogolludo, d. lopez: historia de yucathan. . very scarce. diego de landa: relacion de cosas de yucatan. paris, . translation by brasseur. dupaix, colonel: antiquités mexicaines. paris, - . maudslay, a. p.: biologia centrali-americana. publication proceeding. contains many excellent sketches of ruins, &c. spence, lewis: the popol vuh. london, . peru enock, c. r.: peru: its former and present civilisation, &c. london, . markham, sir clements r.: history of peru. chicago, . prescott, w. h.: history of the conquest of peru. vols. philadelphia, . squier, e. g.: peru: incidents of travel and exploration in the land of the incas. london, . tschudi, j. j. von: reisen durch südamerika. vols. leipsic, - . travels in peru. london, . vega, garcilasso el inca de la: royal commentaries of the incas, . hakluyt society's publications. in seeking the original sources of peruvian history we must refer to the early spanish historians who visited the country, either at the period of the conquest or immediately subsequent to it. from those spaniards who wrote at a time not far distant from that event we have gained much valuable knowledge concerning the contemporary condition of peru, and a description of the principal works of these pioneers will materially assist the reader who is bent on pursuing the study of peruvian antiquities. pedro de cieza de leon composed a geographical account of peru in , devoting the latter part of his chronicle to the subject of the inca civilisation. this work has been translated into english by sir clements r. markham, and published by the hakluyt society. juan josé de betanzos, who was well acquainted with the quichua language, and who married an inca princess, wrote an account of the incas in , which was edited and printed by señor jimenes de la espada in . polo de ondegardo, a lawyer and politician, wrote his two relaciones in and , making valuable reports on the laws and system of administration of the incas. one of these works has been translated by sir clements r. markham, and printed by the hakluyt society. augustin de zarate, accountant, who arrived in peru with blasco nuñez vela, the first viceroy, is the author of the provincia del peru, which was published at antwerp in . fernando de santillan, judge of the linia audience, contributed an interesting relacion in , edited and printed in by señor jimenes de la espada. juan de matienzo, a lawyer contemporary with ondegardo, was the author of the valuable work gobierno de el peru, not yet translated. christoval de molina, priest of cuzco, wrote an interesting story of inca ceremonial and religion between and , which has been published by the hakluyt society. the translator is sir c. r. markham. miguel cavello balboa, of quito, gives us the only particulars we possess of indian coast history, and the most valuable information on the war between huascar and atauhuallpa, in his splendid miscellanea austral, , translated into french in by ternaux-compans. a jesuit priest, josé de acosta, compiled a natural history of the indies, which was published for the first time in . an english translation of the work is provided by the hakluyt society. fernando montesinos in his memorias antiguas historiales del peru and anales memorias nuevas del peru quotes a long line of sovereigns who preceded the incas. these works were translated into french in . relacion de los costombras antiguas de los naturales del peru, written by an anonymous jesuit, records an account of inca civilisation. the work was published in spain in . another jesuit, francisco de avila, wrote on the superstitions of the indians of huarochiri and their gods. his work was translated into english and published by the hakluyt society. pablo josé de arriaga, a priest who policed the country, destroying the false gods, compiled in extirpacion de la idolatria del peru, describing the downfall of the ancient inca religion. antonio de la calancha compiled an interesting history of the incas in his work on the order of st. augustine in peru ( - ). in his historia de copacabana y de su milagrosa imagen ( ) alonzo ramos gavilan disclosed much information concerning the colonists during the time of the inca rule. a valuable history of the incas is provided by garcilasso el inca de la vega in his commentarios reales. the works of previous authors are reviewed, and extracts are given from the compilations of the jesuit blas valera, whose writings are lost. the english translation is published by the hakluyt society. relacion de antiguedades deste reyno del peru, by pachacuti yamqui salcamayhua, an indian of the collao, was translated into english by sir c. r. markham, and published by the hakluyt society. the historia del reino del quinto, compiled by juan de velasco, was translated into french by ternaux-compans in . antonio de herrera gives a brief account of the history and civilisation of the inca people in his general history of the indies. in his history of america robertson was the first to compile a thorough account of the incas. prescott, however, in eclipsed his work by his own fascinating account. sir arthur helps has also given a résumé of inca progress in his spanish conquest ( ). the peruvian sebastian lorente published in a history of ancient peru, which presents the subject more broadly than the narratives of the american and english authors, and as the result of many years of further research he contributed a series of essays to the revista peruana. one of the best works dealing with the antiquities of the inca period is antiguedades peruanas, by don mariano rivero (english translation by dr. hawkes, ). the compilation on peru by e. g. squier ( ), and a similar narrative by c. weiner (paris, ), both of which stand in accuracy above the others, are also worthy of mention. the work of reiss and stubel, narrating their excavations at ancon, is richly presented in three volumes, with plates. the works of sir clements markham are the best guide to english scholars on the subject. index and glossary note on the pronunciation of the mexican, mayan, and peruvian languages mexican as the spanish alphabet was that first employed to represent mexican or nahuatl phonology, so mexican words and names must be pronounced, for the most part, according to the castilian system. an exception is the letter x, which in spanish is sometimes written as j and pronounced as h aspirate; and in nahuatl sometimes as in english, at other times as sh or s. thus the word "mexico" is pronounced by the aboriginal mexican with the hard x, but by the spaniard as "may-hee-co." the name of the native author ixtlilxochitl is pronounced "ishtlilshotshitl," the ch being articulated as tsh, for euphony. xochicalco is "so-chi-cal-co." the vowel sounds are pronounced as in french or italian. the tl sound is pronounced with almost a click of the tongue. mayan the maya alphabet consists of twenty-two letters, of which c, ch, k, pp, th, tz are peculiar to the language, and cannot be properly pronounced by europeans. it is deficient in the letters d, f, g, j, q, r, s. the remaining letters are sounded as in spanish. the letter x occurring at the beginning of a word is pronounced ex. for example, xbalanque is pronounced "exbalanke." the frequent occurrence of elisions in spoken maya renders its pronunciation a matter of great difficulty, and the few grammars on the language agree as to the hopelessness of conveying any true idea of the exact articulation of the language by means of written directions. norman in his work entitled rambles in yucatan remarks: "this perhaps accounts for the disappearance of all grammars and vocabularies of the maya tongue from the peninsula of yucatan, the priests finding it much easier to learn the language directly from the indian than to acquire it from books." peruvian the two languages spoken in peru in ancient times were the quichua, or inca, and the aymara. these still survive. the former was the language of the inca rulers of the country, but both sprang from one common linguistic stock. as these languages were first reduced to writing by means of a european alphabet, their pronunciation presents but little difficulty, the words practically begin pronounced as they are written, having regard to the "continental" pronunciation of the vowels. in quichua the same sound is give to the intermediate c before a consonant and to the final c, as in "chacra" and "pachacamac." the general accent is most frequently on the penultimate syllable. index and glossary a aac, prince. in the story of queen móo, , - , acalan. district in guatemala; race-movements and, acllacuna (selected ones). body of maidens from whom victims for sacrifice were taken in peru, aclla-huasi. houses in which the acllacuna lived, acolhuacan. district in mexico, acolhuans (or acolhuaque) (people of the broad shoulder). mexican race, ; said to have founded mexico, ; a pure nahua race, perhaps the toltecs, ; their supremacy, acolhuaque. see acolhuans acosta, josé de. work on mexican lore, acsumama. guardian spirit of the potato plant in peru, acxitl. toltec king, son of huemac ii, , acxopil. ruler of the kiche, - agoreros (or mohanes). members of peruvian tribes who claimed power as oracles, - , ahuizotl. mexican king, ah-zotzils. a maya tribe, akab-sib (writing in the dark). a bas-relief at el castillo, chichen-itza, aké. maya ruins at, - america. superficial resemblance between peoples, customs, and art-forms of asia and, ; civilisation, native origin of, - , , ; animal and plant life peculiar to, ; man, origin of, in, ; geographical connection between asia and, ; traditions of intercourse between asia and, ; chinese fu-sang and, ; possible chinese and japanese visits to, - ; coronado's expedition to, ; legends of intercourse between europe and, ; "great ireland" probably the same as, ; st. brandan's voyage and, ; reached by early norsemen, ; the legend of madoc and, - ; early belief in, respecting incursions from the east, ; prophecy of chilan balam re coming of white men to, america, central. indigenous origin of civilisation of, ; legend of toltec migration to, anahuac (by the water). native name of the mexican plateau, . see mexico ancestor-worship in peru, andeans. the prehistoric civilisation of, - ; architectural remains of, antahuayllas. peruvian tribe, antilia. legends of, have no connection with american myth, anti-suyu. one of the four racial divisions of ancient peru, apinguela. island on lake titicaca; huaina ccapac and the lake-goddess and, apocatequil. peruvian thunder-god, the "prince of evil"; in a creation-myth, - apu-ccapac (sovereign chief). title of the inca rulers, "apu-ollanta." a drama-legend of the incas, - apurimac (great speaker). river in peru; regarded as an oracle, aqua. a bird-maiden; in the myth of origin of the canaris, arara (fire-bird). same as kinich-ahau, which see architecture. i. of the nahua, - . ii. of the maya, - , - ; the most individual expression of the people, ; yucatan exhibits the most perfect specimens, and the decadent phase, ; methods of building, - ; ignorance of some first principles, ; mural decoration, ; pyramidal buildings, ; definiteness of design, ; architectural districts, ; not of great antiquity, ; father burgoa on the palace at mitla, - . iii. of the incas, - ; the art in which the race showed greatest advance, ; sir clements markham on, arriaga, p. j. de. on stone-worship in peru, art. early american, superficial resemblance to that of asia, ; native origin and unique character of american, - ; toltec, ; peruvians weak in, asia. origin of early american culture erroneously attributed to, ; man originally came to america from, ; former land-connection between america and, ; traditions of intercourse between america and, ataguju. supreme divinity of the peruvians; in a creation-myth, atamalqualiztli (fast of porridge-balls and water). nahua festival, atatarho. mythical wizard-king of the iroquois, atauhuallpa. son of the inca huaina ccapac; strives for the crown with huascar, - atl (water). mexican deity; often confounded with the moon-goddess, atlantis. legends of, have no connection with american myth, auqui (warrior). peruvian order of knighthood; instituted by pachacutic, avendaño, hernandez de. and peruvian fetishes, avilix. the god assigned to balam-agab in the kiche story of the creation, ; turned into stone, axaiacatzin, king. father of chachiuhnenetzin, the vicious wife of nezahualpilli, axayacatl. mexican king, aymara. peruvian race, - ; fusion with quichua, - azangaro. the sondor-huasi at, azcapozalco. mexican town, ; rivalry with tezcuco, ; aztecs and, aztecs (or aztecâ) (crane people). a nomad mexican tribe, , - ; racial affinities, ; character, - ; tlascalans and, ; founders of tenochtitlan (mexico), ; their science, ; in bondage to colhuacan, ; allied with tecpanecs, ; war with tecpanecs, ; development of the empire, ; commercial expansion, ; their tyranny, - ; their conception of eternity, ; the priesthood, - ; idea of the origin of mankind, ; a migration myth of, aztlan (crane land). traditional place of origin of nahua, ; aztecs and, , b bacabs. genii in maya mythology, balam-agab (tiger of the night). one of the first men of the popol vuh myth, , balam-quitze (tiger with the sweet smile). an ancestor of the maya, ; one of the first men of the popol vuh myth, , balon zacab. form of the maya rain-god, bat. typical of the underworld, bat-god. maya deity, known also as camazotz, - birth-cycle. in mexican calendar, , bochica. sun-god of the chibchas, bogota. city at which the zippa of the chibchas lived, boturini benaduci, l. his work on mexican lore, bourbourg, the abbé brasseur de. version of nahua flood-myth, - brandan, st. probable voyage to america, brinton, d. g. theory as to the toltecs, ; on quetzalcoatl, ; translation of a poem on the peruvian thunder-god myth, and comments on the myth, - burgoa, father. account of a confession ceremony, - ; description of mitla, - c cabrakan (earthquake). son of vukub-cakix; in a kiche myth in the popol vuh, , , - cabrera, don felix. and the popol vuh, cachapucara. hill; thonapa and, - caha-paluma (falling water). one of the first women of the popol vuh myth, cakixa (water of parrots). one of the first women of the popol vuh myth, cakulha-hurakan (lightning). a sub-god of hurakan, calderon, don josé. and palenque, calendar. i. the mexican, - ; an essential feature in the national life, ; resemblance to maya and zapotec calendric systems, , ; possible toltec origin, ; the year, ; the "binding of years," , ; the solar year, ; the nemontemi, ; the "birth-cycle," , ; the cempohualli, or "months," - ; the ecclesiastical system, ; the xiumalpilli, ; the ceremony of toxilmolpilia, . ii. the maya; similarities to calendar of the nahua, , . iii. the peruvian, - , callca. place in peru; sacred rocks found at, camaxtli. war-god of the tlascalans, camazotz. the bat-god, called also zotzilaha chimalman, - , ; a totem of the ahzotzils, a maya tribe, camulatz. bird in the kiche story of the creation, canaris. indian tribe; the myth of their origin, - canek. king of chichen-itza; the story of, cannibalism. among the mexicans, capacahuana. houses for pilgrims to titicaca at, carapucu. i. hill; in myth of thonapa, . ii. lake; in myth of thonapa, caravaya. mountain; in myth of thonapa, carmenca. the hill of, at cuzco; pillars on, for determining the solstices, - , caruyuchu huayallo. peruvian deity to whom children were sacrificed; in a myth of paricaca, casa del adivino (the prophet's house). ruin at uxmal, called also "the dwarf's house," ; the legend relating to, - casa del gobernador (governor's palace). ruin at uxmal, casas grandes (large houses). mexican ruin, castillo, el. ruined pyramid-temple at chichen-itza, , cauac. a minor maya deity, cavillaca. a maiden; the myth of coniraya viracocha and, - caxamarca. inca fortress, cay hun-apu (royal hunter). the kakchiquels and the defeat of, ccapac-cocha. sacrificial rite, instituted by pachacutic, ccapac-huari. eleventh inca, , ccapac raymi. the chief peruvian festival, ; auqui, order of knighthood, conferred at, ccapac situa (or ccoya raymi) (moon feast). peruvian festival, ccapac yupanqui. fifth inca, ccompas. agricultural fetishes of the peruvians, cempohualli. the mexican month, centeotl. i. group of maize-gods, . ii. a male maize-spirit, , ; god e similar to, . iii. mother of ii, known also as teteoinnan and tocitzin, , centzonuitznaua. mythical indian tribe; in myth of huitzilopochtli's origin, - chac. maya rain-god, tutelar of the cast, ; has affinities with tlaloc, ; god k not identical with, chacamarca. river in peru; thonapa and, chachiuhnenetzin. wife of nezahualpilli, - chacras. estates dedicated to the sun by the peruvians, chalcas. aztec tribe, chalchihuitlicue (lady of the emerald robe). wife of tlaloc, , , ; assists the maize-goddess, chalchiuh tlatonac (shining precious stone). first king of the toltecs, "chamayhuarisca" (the song of joy). manco ccapac sings, chanca. a peruvian people; and the incas, charnay, d. excavations on the site of teotihuacan, ; excavations at tollan, ; and lorillard, chasca. the peruvian name for the planet venus; the temple of, at cuzco, chiapas. mexican province; the nucleus of maya civilisation lay in, , chibchas. a peruvian race, - chichan-chob. ruin at chichen-itza, chichen-itza. sacred city of the maya; founded by itzaes, ; overthrown by cocomes, , ; assists in conquering cocomes, ; abandoned, ; ruins at, - ; and the story of canek, chichicastenango. the convent of; and the popol vuh, chichics. agricultural fetishes of the peruvians, chichimecs. aztec tribe; invade toltec territory, ; the great migration, ; supreme in toltec country, ; probably related to otomi, ; allied with nahua and adopt nahua language, ; conquered by tecpanecs, chicomecohuatl (seven-serpent). chief maize-goddess of mexico, - ; image of, erroneously called teoyaominqui by early americanists, - chicomoztoc (the seven caverns). nahua said to have originated at, ; and aztec idea of origin of mankind, ; identified with "seven cities of cibola" and the casas grandes, ; parallel with the kiche tulan-zuiva, chicuhcoatl. in the story of the vicious princess, chihuahua. mexican province, chilan balam. maya priest; the prophecy of, chimalmat. wife of vukub-cakix; in a kiche myth, - chimalpahin. mexican chronicler, chimu. the plain of; ruined city on, ; the palace, - ; the ruins display an advanced civilisation, - chinchero. inca ruins at, chipi-cakulha (lightning-flash). a sub-god of hurakan, choima (beautiful water). one of the first women of the popol vuh myth, cholula. sacred city inhabited by acolhuans, , ; the pottery of, chontals. aboriginal mexican race, choque suso. maiden; the myth of paricaca and, chulpas. megalithic mummy tombs of peru, churoquella. a name of the peruvian thunder-god, "citadel," the, at teotihuacan, citallatonac. mexican deity; in a flood-myth, citallinicue. mexican deity; in a flood-myth, citatli (moon). a form of the mexican moon-goddess, citlalpol (the great star). mexican name of the planet venus, citoc raymi (gradually increasing sun). peruvian festival, - ciuapipiltin (honoured women). spirits of women who had died in childbed, , civilisation. i. of mexico, - ; indigenous origin of, ; type of, . ii. of peru, - ; indigenous origin of, , ; inferior to the mexican and mayan, . iii. of the andeans, clavigero, the abbé. his work on mexican lore, - "cliff-dwellers." mexican race related to the nahua, , cliff palace cañon, colorado, coaapan. place in mexico, coatepec. i. mexican province, , . ii. mountain, coati. an island on lake titicaca; ruined temple on, - coatlantona (robe of serpents). a name of coatlicue, huitzilopochtli's mother, coatlicue. mother of huitzilopochtli, - ; as coatlantona, cocamama. guardian spirit of the coca-shrub in peru, cochtan. place in mexico, cocochallo. an irrigation channel; in a myth of paricaca, cocomes. a tribe inhabiting mayapan; overthrow chichen-itza, ; their tyranny and sway, - ; conquered by allies, ; remnant found zotuta, codex perezianus. maya manuscript, cogolludo, d. lopez. and the story of canek, coh, prince. in the story of queen móo, , , cohuatzincatl (he who has grandparents). a pulque-god, colcampata, the, at cuzco. the palace on, colhuacan. i. mexican city, , , . ii. king of; father of the sacrificed princess, colla-suyu. one of the four racial divisions of ancient peru, con. thunder-god of collao of peru, , confession among the mexicans, , ; tlazolteotl the goddess of, ; accounts of the ceremony, - coniraya viracocha. a peruvian nature-spirit; the myth of cavillaca and, - contici (the thunder vase). peruvian deity representing the thunderstorm, conticsi-viracocha (he who gives origin). peruvian conception of the creative agency, conti-suyu. one of the four racial divisions of ancient peru, copacahuana. idol associated with the worship of lake titicaca, copacati. idol associated with the worship of lake titicaca, copal. prince; in legend of foundation of mexico, copan. maya city; sculptural remains at, ; evidence at, of a new racial type, - coricancha (town of gold). temple of the sun at cuzco, - ; built by pachacutic, ; image of the thunder-god in, cortés. lands at vera cruz, ; mistaken for quetzalcoatl, , ; the incident of the death of his horse at peten-itza, cotzbalam. bird in the kiche story of the creation, coxoh chol dialect, coyohuacan. mexican city, coyolxauhqui. daughter of coatlicue, - coyotl inaual. a god of the amantecas; and quetzalcoatl, cozaana. a zapotec deity; in creation-myth, cozcaapa (water of precious stones). a fountain; in a quetzalcoatl myth, cozcatzin codex, cozumel. the island of, creation. mexican conceptions of, - ; the legend given by ixtlilxochitl, - ; the mixtec legend of, - ; the zapotec legend of, - ; the kiche story of, in the popol vuh, ; of man, the popol vuh myth of, - ; of man, a peruvian myth of, ; the inca conception of, - , ; local peruvian myths, - cross, the. a symbol of the four winds in mexico and peru, ; account of the discovery of a wooden, - cuchumaquiq. father of xquiq; in popol vuh myth, cuitlavacas. aztec tribe, curi-coyllur (joyful star). daughter of yupanqui pachacutic; in the drama apu-ollanta, - cuycha. peruvian name for the rainbow; temple of, at cuzco, cuzco (navel of the universe). the ancient capital of the incas, ; and the racial division of peru, ; in the legend of manco ccapac, ; a great culture-centre, ; founded by the sun-god, ; the coricancha at, - ; power under pachacutic, d discovery. american myths relating to the, dresden codex. maya manuscript, drink-gods, mexican, - "dwarf's house, the." ruin at uxmal, ; legend relating to, - e earth-mother. see teteoinnan education. in mexico, - ehecatl (the air). form of quetzalcoatl, ekchuah. maya god of merchants and cacao-planters, , ; god l thought to be, ; probably parallel to yacatecutli, "emerald fowl," the, etzalqualiztli (when they eat bean food). festival of tlaloc, f father and mother gods, mexican, - fire-god, mexican, fish-gods, peruvian, flood-myths, - , - food-gods, mexican, förstemann, dr. and the maya writing, , ; on god l, fu sang and america, g gama, antonio. his work on mexican lore and antiquities, ghanan. name given to god e by brinton, god a of dr. schellhas' system; a death-god, - ; thought to resemble the aztec xipe, god b. doubtless quetzalcoatl, god c. a god of the pole-star, god d. a moon-god, probably itzamna, god e. a maize-god, similar to centeotl, god f. resembles god a, god g. a sun-god, god h. god k. probably a god of the quetzalcoatl group, - god l. probably an earth-god, god m. probably a god of travelling merchants, - god n. probably god of the "unlucky days," god p. a frog-god, goddess i. a water-goddess, goddess o. probably tutelar of married women, gods. connection of, with war and the food-supply, ; nahua conception of the limited productivity of food and rain deities, ; american myth rich in hero-gods, gomara, f. l. de. work on mexican lore, guachimines (darklings). inhabitants of the primeval earth in peruvian myth, guamansuri. the first of mortals in peruvian myth, guatemala. i. the state; the maya of, - . ii. the city; the lost popol vuh found in, gucumatz (serpent with green feathers). kiche form of quetzalcoatl, worshipped in guatemala, , , ; in the kiche story of the creation, gwyneth, owen, father of madoc, h hacavitz. i. the god assigned to mahacutah in the kiche story of the creation, ; turned into stone, . ii. mountain at which the kiche first saw the sun, hakluyt. his english voyages, cited, hastu-huaraca. chieftain of the antahuayllas; defeated by pachacutic, - ; joins with pachacutic, henry vii. his patronage of early american explorers, hernandez, father. and the goddess ix chebel yax, house of bats. abode of the bat-god, ; mentioned in popol vuh myth, house of cold. in the kiche hades, house of darkness. ruin at aké, house of feathers. toltec edifice, house of fire. in the kiche hades, house of gloom. in the kiche hades, , house of lances. in the kiche hades, house of tigers. in the kiche hades, hrdlicka, dr. and mexican cliff-dwellings, huacaquan. mountain; in the myth of origin of the canaris, huacas. sacred objects of the peruvians, huaina ccapac (the young chief). eleventh inca, , - ; and the lake-goddess of titicaca, huamantantac. peruvian deity responsible for the gathering of sea-birds, huanca. peruvian race; allied against the incas, , huancas. agricultural fetishes of the peruvians, huantay-sara. idol representing the tutelary spirit of the maize plant, huarcans. the inca tupac and, huarco (the gibbet). the valley of; the inca tupac and the natives of, huaris (great ones). ancestors of the aristocrats of a tribe in peru; reverence paid to, huarochiri. village; in coniraya myth, huascar, or tupac-cusi-huallpa (the sun makes joy). son of the inca huaina ccapac, ; strives for the crown with atauhuallpa, - huasteca. aboriginal mexican race of maya stock, , - ; probably represent early maya efforts at colonisation, huatenay. river in peru; runs through the intipampa at cuzco, huathiacuri. a hero, son of paricaca; a myth of, - huatulco. place in mexico; toltecs at, huehuequauhtitlan. place in mexico; quetzalcoatl at, huehueteotl (oldest of gods). a name of the mexican fire-god, huehue tlapallan (very old tlapallan). in toltec creation-myth, huehuetzin. toltec chieftain; rebels against acxitl, , huemac ii. toltec king, , ; abdicates, ; opposes huehuetzin, huexotzinco. mexican city, , huexotzincos. aztec tribe, hueymatzin (great hand). toltec necromancer and sage, ; reputed author of the teo-amoxtli, ; and quetzalcoatl, hueytozoztli (the great watch). festival of chicomecohuatl, huichaana. zapotec deity; in creation-myth, , huillcamayu (huillca-river). river in peru; regarded as an oracle, huillcanuta. place in peru, huillcas. sacred objects of the nature of oracles, in peru, huitzilimitzin. in the story of the vicious princess, huitzilopocho. mexican city, huitzilopochtli (humming-bird to the left). aztec god of war, originally a chieftain, , ; and the foundation of mexico, ; the great temple of, at mexico, , ; plots against the toltecs and quetzalcoatl, ; and the legend of the amusing infant and the pestilence, - ; myth of the origin of, - ; associated with the serpent and the humming-bird, - ; as usually represented, ; associated with the gladiatorial stone, ; as mexitli, ; as serpent-god of lightning, associated with the summer, ; in connection with tlaloc, ; the toxcatl festival of, ; the priesthood of, ; in connection with the legend of the sacrificed princess, hun-apu (master, or magician). a hero-god, twin with xbalanque; in a kiche myth, - ; in the myth in the second book of the popol vuh, , - ; mentioned, hun-came. one of the rulers of xibalba, the kiche hades, , , hunabku. god of the maya, representing divine unity, hunac eel. ruler of the cocomes, hunbatz. son of hunhun-apu, , , hunchouen. son of hunhun-apu, , , hunhun-apu. son of xpiyacoc and xmucane; in the myth in the second book of the popol vuh, - , , , hunpictok (commander-in-chief of eight thousand flints). the palace of, at itzamal, - hunsa. city at which the zoque of the chibchas lived, hurakan (the one-legged). maya god of lightning; prototype of tlaloc, , ; the mustachioed image of, at itzamal, ; = the mighty wind, in the kiche story of the creation, ; and the creation of man in the second book of the popol vuh, - ; probably same as nahua tezcatlipoca, ; his sub-gods, i icutemal. ruler of the kiche, ilhuicatlan (in the sky). column in temple at mexico, connected with the worship of the planet venus, illatici (the thunder vase). peruvian deity representing the thunderstorm, inca roca. sixth inca, incas (people of the sun). the peruvian ruling race; a composite people, ; place of origin, ; inferior to the mexicans in general culture, ; mythology of, - , - ; character of their civilisation, ; no personal freedom, ; age of marriage, ; their system of mummification, - ; severity of their legal code, ; social system, - ; calendar, - ; religious festivals, ; architecture, - ; architectural remains, - ; irrigation works, ; possessed no system of writing, ; the quipos, - ; as craftsmen, - ; the pottery of, - ; period and extent of their dominion, - ; fusion of the constituent peoples, - ; splitting of the race, ; their despotism, ; religion of, ; sun-worship of, - incas. the rulers of peru, - ; the inca the representative of the sun, ; unlimited power of, ; the moon the mythic mother of the dynasty, inti-huasi. building sacred to the sun in peruvian villages, intihuatana. inca device for marking the date of the sun-festivals, intip raymi (great feast of the sun). peruvian festival, , - intipampa (field of the sun). garden in which the coricancha of cuzco stood, - ipalnemohuani (he by whom men live). mexican name of the sun-god, iqi-balam (tiger of the moon). one of the first men of the popol vuh myth, , irma. district in peru; local creation-myth of, - itzaes. a warlike race, founders of chichen-itza, itzamal. maya city-state in yucatan, , , ; ruins at, - itzamna. maya moon-god, father of gods and men, tutelar of the west, ; founder of the state of itzamal, ; god d probably is, ; the temple of, at itzamal, ; called also kab-ul (the miraculous hand), ; the gigantic image of, at itzamal, ix. a minor maya deity, ix chebel yax. maya goddess; identified with virgin mary by hernandez, ix ch'el. maya goddess of medicine, ixcoatl. mexican king, ixcuiname. mexican goddesses of carnal things, ixtlilton (the little black one). mexican god of medicine and healing, ; called brother of macuilxochitl, ixtlilxochitl, don fernando de alva. mexican chronicler, , ; account of the early toltec migrations, , ; and myths of the toltecs, ; reference to the teo-amoxtli, ; his historia chichimeca and relaciones, , ; his value as historian, ; legend of the creation related by, - izimin chac. the image of cortés' horse, izpuzteque. demon in the mexican other-world, iztacmixcohuatl. father of quetzalcoatl, j jaguar-snake. mixtec deer-goddess; in creation-myth, jalisco. mexican province; cliff-dwellings in, , k kabah. maya city; ruins at, - kab-ul (the miraculous hand). name given to itzamna, kakchiquel dialect, kakchiquels. a maya people of guatemala, - ; and the episode of the defeat of cay hun-apu, "kamucu" (we see). the song of the kiche at the first appearance of the sun, and at death of the first men, kan. a minor maya deity, kanikilak. indian deity, , ki pixab (corner of the earth). name given by the kiche to their land of origin, kiche. a maya people of guatemala, - ; their rulers supreme in guatemala, ; their story of the creation as related in the popol vuh, ; origin of, as related in the popol vuh, - ; fond of ceremonial dances and chants, kiche (or quiche) dialect, , ; the popol vuh originally written in, , "kingdom of the great snake." semi-historical maya empire, kinich-ahau (lord of the face of the sun). same as arara and kinich-kakmo. sun-god of the maya of yucatan, tutelar of the north, kinich-kakmo (sun-bird). i. same as kinich-ahau, which see. ii. the pyramid of, ruin at itzamal, klaproth, h. j. von. and the fu sang fallacy, knuc (palace of owls). ruin at aké, kuicatecs. aboriginal mexican race, ; a medium through which maya civilisation filtered to the north, kukulcan. maya form of quetzalcoatl, , ; regarded as king of mayapan, kumsnöotl. god of the salish indians, l lamacazton (little priests). lowest order of the aztec priesthood, landa, bishop. and the maya alphabet, ; discovers the maya numeral system, "lands of the sun." name given to inca territories, language. mexican or nahuan, - , ; mayan, , ; peruvian, le plongeon, dr. augustus. his theories as to the maya, ; and the maya hieroglyphs, ; his story of queen móo, - leguicano, mancio serra de. and the golden plate from the coricancha, liyobaa. village near mitla; mentioned by father burgoa, lizana, father. and the prophecy of chilan balam, llama. importance of, among the incas, lloque yupanqui. the third inca, lorillard. maya city; architectural remains found at, m macuilxochitl (or xochipilli) (five-flower, source of flowers). god of luck in gaming, ; ixtlilton called brother of, madoc. the legend of, , mahacutah (the distinguished name). one of the first men of the popol vuh myth, , maize-gods. mexican, - ; peruvian, mallinalcas. aztec tribe, mama oullo huaca. wife of manco ccapac, mama-cocha (mother-sea). conception under which the peruvians worshipped the sea, mamacota. name given to lake titicaca by people of the collao, mamacuna. matrons who had charge of the acllacuna, in peru, mamapacha (or pachamama). the peruvian earth-goddess, mamas (mothers). tutelary spirits of the maize and other plants in peru, mames. district in guatemala, man of the sun. quetzalcoatl as, ; other conceptions of, manco. the inca appointed by pizarro; and an oracle, - manco ccapac. i. divine being, son of the life-giver; sent to instruct the primitive peruvians, - ; a legend in connection with, . ii. the first inca, identical with the foregoing, , ; regarded as son of the sun, ; a myth of, - mani. mexican city, founded by the tutul xius, mannikins. in the kiche story of the creation related in the popol vuh, - markham, sir clements. on inca architecture, matlatzincas. aztec tribe, maxtla. i. king of the tecpanecs; and nezahualcoyotl, - . ii. a noble; in the story of the vicious princess, maya. the most highly civilised of ancient american peoples, , ; their culture erroneously stated to be of asiatic origin, ; theory as to toltec relationship, ; sphere of the civilisation, ; the nucleus of the civilisation, - , ; the dialects, ; origin of the race, ; their civilisation self-developed, , ; blood and cultural relationships with nahua, - ; efforts at expansion, - ; climatic influence on the civilisation and religion, ; sources of their history, - ; division of the aristocratic and labouring classes, ; influence of the nahua invasions, ; cleavage between yucatan and guatemala peoples, ; the yucatec race, - ; incidents in migration myths represent genuine experience, ; the race in guatemala, ; the writing system, - ; the manuscripts, - ; the numeral system, ; the mythology, - , - ; the calendar, , , ; the pantheon, , - ; architecture, - ; relationship of the mythology to that of the nahua, ; dr. le plongeon's theories as to, mayapan. city-state in yucatan, ; rises into prominence, , ; overthrown by allies, mayta ccapac. the fourth inca, meahuan, mount. in the kiche myth of vukub-cakix, medicine-men. account of the methods of, among peruvians, - metztli (or yohualticitl) (the lady of night). mexican goddess of the moon, ; in myth of nanahuatl, , mexicatl teohuatzin (mexican lord of divine matters). head of the aztec priesthood, mexico. i. the city; capital of the aztecs, native name tenochtitlan, , ; origin of the name, ; said to have been founded by acolhuans, ; huitzilopochtli and, , ; legends of the foundation of, - ; at the period of the conquest, - ; the annual "bloodless battle" with tlascala, . ii. the state; the civilisation of, , ; possibly reached by early norsemen, mexico-tenochtitlan. native name of city of mexico, mexitli (hare of the aloes). a name of huitzilopochtli, mictecaciuatl. wife of mictlan, mictlan (or mictlantecutli) (lord of hades). i. mexican god of the dead and the underworld, , , - ; god a probably identical with, . ii. the abode of the god mictlan; mitla identified with, . iii. village mentioned by torquemada, migration myths. probably reflect actual migrations, - mitla. maya city, , ; ruins at, - ; identified with mictlan, the mexican hades, ; description of, by father torquemada, ; description of, by father burgoa, - mixcoatl (cloud serpent). aztec god of the chase, - ; camaxtli identified with, mixe. aboriginal mexican race, mixteca. aboriginal mexican race, ; creation-myth of, - ; a medium through which maya civilisation passed north, moche. place in peru; sepulchral mound at, mohanes (or agoreros). members of peruvian tribes who claimed power as oracles, - , moneneque (the claimer of prayer). a name of tezcatlipoca, montezuma ii. mexican emperor, native name motequauhzoma; mentioned, , ; and the coming of cortés, ; in the story of tlalhuicole, - ; in the story of princess papan, - móo, queen. the story of, - moon, the. mythic mother of the inca dynasty, ; temple of, at cuzco, - ; wife of the sun, in the mythology of the chibchas, muluc. a minor maya deity, mummification. among the peruvians, - n nadaillac, marquis de. account of the use of quipos, - nahua (those who live by rule). ancient mexican race, ; civilisation, features in, and character of, , , ; compared with oriental peoples, ; meaning of the name, ; place of origin, - ; route of migrations to mexico, ; theory of toltec influence upon, ; and cliff-dwellers, - ; territories occupied by, ; writing system of, - ; calendric system of, - ; language of, - ; science of, ; form of government, - ; domestic life of, - ; distribution of the component tribes, ; authentic history of the nation, - ; religion, ; tezcatlipoca and, ; influence of the maya civilisation upon, ; culture and religion influenced by climatic conditions, ; invade maya territory, - ; influence maya cleavage, ; in the maya conflict in guatemala, ; the relationship of the mythology of, to that of the maya, ; difference in sun-worship of, from peruvian, - nahuatlatolli. the nahua tongue, nanahuatl (poor leper) (or nanauatzin). mexican god of skin diseases, ; the myth of, ; xolotl probably identical with, nanauatzin. same as nanahuatl, which see nanihehecatl. form of quetzalcoatl, nata. the mexican noah, - nauhollin (the four motions). mexican sacrificial ceremonies, nauhyotl. toltec ruler of colhuacan, nemontemi (unlucky days). in mexican calendar, , nena. wife of nata, the mexican noah, - nexiuhilpilitztli (binding of years). in mexican calendar, , nextepehua. fiend in the mexican other-world, nezahualcoyotl (fasting coyote). king of tezcuco; the story of, - ; his enlightened rule, ; as a poet, ; his theology, ; and his son's offence, ; his palace, ; his villa of tezcotzinco, - nezahualpilli (the hungry chief). i. a manifestation of tezcatlipoca, . ii. son of nezahualcoyotl; story of his wife's crime, - ; in the story of princess papan, nima-kiche. the ancestor of the kiche race; the legend of, ninxor-carchah. place in guatemala; mentioned in popol vuh myth, nitiçapoloa. ceremony connected with worship of centeotl the son, nonohualco. place in mexico; tutul xius may have come from, norsemen. voyages of the, to america, nunnery. the ruin at chichen-itza, - o obsequies. in peru; a description of, - ocosingo. ruined maya city, ollanta. inca chieftain; in the drama apu-ollanta, - ollantay-tampu. prehistoric ruins at, - ; apu-ollanta, the drama legend of, - omacatl (two reeds). mexican god of festivity, - omeciuatl. mexican mother god of the human species, associated with ometecutli, - , ; xmucane the kiche equivalent of, ometecutli (two-lord). father god of the human species, associated with omeciuatl, - , ; xpiyacoc the kiche equivalent of, ometochtli. i. a pulque-god, . ii. a day in the mexican calendar, opochtli (the left-handed). mexican god of fishers and bird-catchers, - oracles in peru, - ; a legend connected with an oracle, - otomi. aboriginal mexican race, , , owen, guttyn. mentioned, oxford codex, p paapiti. island on lake titicaca; huaina ccapac and the lake-goddess and, pacari tampu (house of the dawn). place of origin of four brothers and sisters who initiated the systems of worship and civilised peru, , pacaw. a sorcerer mentioned in popol vuh myth, paccariscas. holy places of origin of the peruvian tribes, , , pachacamac. i. the supreme divinity of the incas, known also as pacharurac, , - ; not a primitive conception, ; in the local creation-myth of irma, - ; the ccapac raymi the national festival of, ; yatiri the aymara name for, ; symbol of, in the coricancha, ; regarded as son of the sun, ; daughters of, in the coniraya myth, . ii. sacred city of the incas, ; ruins of, ; in the coniraya myth, pachacamama (earth-mother). name given by the incas to their conception of the earth, pachacta unanchac. inca device for determining the solstices, - pachacutic (or yupanqui pachacutic) (he who changes the world). ninth inca; in the drama apu-ollanta, - ; defeats hastu-huaraca, , - ; formerly known as yupanqui, ; his extensive dominion, ; his achievements as ruler, - ; a man like the mexican nezahualcoyotl, ; and the legend of the stones that turned into warriors, ; and the thunder-god, ; and the conception of the creator, ; introduces sun-worship, ; the vision of, - pachamama (or mamapacha) (earth-mother). the peruvian earth-goddess, pacharurac. a name of pachacamac, which see pachayachachic. a form of pachacamac, regarded as direct ruler of the universe, , ; viracocha called, "palace of owls." ruin at aké, palace, the, at palenque, - palenque. maya city, , , - ; the palace at, - ; temple of inscriptions at, ; temple of the sun, ; temple of the cross, ; temple of the cross no. ii, ; "tablet of the cross" at, , - palpan. hill near tollan; excavations at, papantzin. sister of montezuma ii; the story of her return from the tomb, - papaztac (the nerveless). a pulque-god, pariacaca. i. a name of the peruvian thunder-god, - ; and the lake of pariacaca, . ii. the lake of, paricaca. a hero, father of huathiacuri; in the huathiacuri myth, - ; in a flood-myth, - ; and the choque suso myth, paris (or tellerio-remensis) codex, patecatl. a pulque-god, "path of the dead, the," at teotihuacan, payne, e. j. on the origin of the maya culture, ; on the origin of the nahua, ; on the toltecs, ; on the teoyaominqui fallacy, - peru. the civilisation of, , - ; the country, - ; the people, - ; the mythology, - , - ; government, - , ; laws and customs, - ; the calendar, - ; the festivals, ; architecture and architectural remains, , - ; irrigation works, ; no writing or numeral system, ; craftsmanship, , - ; history, - ; religion, - ; human sacrifice, peten-itza. maya city, founded by a prince of chichen-itza, ; the incident of cortés and his horse at, - ; a city "filled with idols," petlac. place mentioned in myth of huitzilopochtli's origin, piedras negras. ruined maya city, "pigeon house." ruin at uxmal, piguerao. peruvian deity, brother of apocatequil; in a creation-myth, pillan. thunder-god of aborigines of chile, analogous to tlaloc, pillco-puncu. door to be passed before reaching rock of titicaca, pinturas. mexican hieroglyphs, or picture-writing, , - pipil dialect, piqui-chaqui (flea-footed). servant of ollanta, pissac. ruined inca fortress at, pitu salla. guardian of yma sumac, pizarro, francisco. conqueror of peru, pizarro, pedro. cousin of francisco pizarro, "place of fruits." valley in which tollan stood, pleiades. kiche myth of the origin of, pocomams. district in guatemala, popocatepetl. the mountain; sacred to tlaloc, popolcan. aboriginal mexican race, "popol vuh" (the collection of written leaves). a volume of maya-kiche mythology and history, , , ; description, - ; genuine character, ; probable date of composition, ; antiquity, , ; the gods and others mentioned in, - ; probably a metrical composition originally, - . the first book: the creation, ; the downfall of man, - ; story of vukub-cakix, - ; the undoing of zipacna, - ; the overthrow of cabrakan, - ; the creation-story probably the result of the fusion of several myths, . the second book: hunhun-apu and vukub-hunapu descend to the underworld, - ; hunhun-apu and xquiq, ; birth and exploits of hun-apu and xbalanque, - ; the hero-brothers in xibalba, and the discomfiture of the lords of hell, - ; the conception in this book common to other mythologies, ; the savage dread of death probably responsible for the conception of its vanquishment, ; other sources of the myth, . the third book: man is created, ; woman is created, ; gods are vouchsafed to man, ; tohil provides fire, - ; the race is confounded in speech and migrates, ; the sun appears, ; death of the first men, ; resemblance of the myth to those of other american peoples, ; similarity of the migration-story to others, - ; probable origin of the migration-myth, - . the fourth book, - potosi. peruvian city, powel. history of wales, cited, poyauhtecatl, mount. in quetzalcoatl myth, ppapp-hol-chac (the house of heads and lightnings). ruin at itzamal, priesthood, mexican, - ; power of, ; beneficent ministrations of, ; revenues of, ; education conducted by, - ; orders of, ; rigorous existence of, - pucara. peruvian fortress-city; leader in the huanca alliance, pueblo indians. probably related to nahua, pulque. the universal mexican beverage, pulque-gods, - puma-puncu. door to be passed before reaching rock of titicaca, puma-snake. mixtec deer-god; in creation-myth, pumatampu. place in peru; inca roca defeats the conti-suyu at, purunpacha. the period after the deluge when there was no king, in peru, pyramid of sacrifice. ruin at uxmal, q quäaqua. sun-god of the salish indians, quacamayo birds. in a myth of the canaris indians, quaquiutl. indian tribe, quatlapanqui (the head-splitter). a pulque-god, quatavita, the lake of. the chibchas and, quauhquauhtinchan (house of the eagles). sacrifice to the sun in, quauhtitlan. place mentioned in legend of quetzalcoatl's journey from tollan, quauhxicalli (cup of the eagles). mexican sacrificial stone, , quauitleua. festival of tlaloc, quauitlicac. in myth of huitzilopochtli's origin, , quemada. place in mexico; cyclopean ruins at, quenti-puncu. door to be passed before reaching rock of titicaca, quetzalcoatl ("feathered serpent" or "feathered staff"). the kukulcan of the maya, god of the sun, the wind, and thunder, common to mexican and maya mythologies; mexican legend of, - ; probably cognate with yetl, ; king of the toltecs in nahua myth, ; tezcatlipoca and, , ; huitzilopochtli, tezcatlipoca, and tlacahuepan plot against, ; quits tollan and proceeds to tlapallan, - , ; probably a god of pre-nahua people, ; "father of the toltecs," ; enlightened sway as ruler of tollan, ; consequences of his exile, ; legend of, in connection with the morning star, , ; whether rightly considered god of the sun, ; conception of, as god of the air, ; as wind-god and god of fire and light, - ; whether originating from a "culture-hero," ; the "st. thomas" idea, ; as man of the sun, - ; as usually represented, ; regarded as a liberator, ; various conceptions of, - , ; probable northern origin, ; hueymatzin and, ; the worship of, - ; the priesthood of, ; place in the mexican calendar, ; vogue among maya, , ; regarded as foreign to the soil in mexico, ; differences in the maya and nahua conceptions of, ; called kukulcan by the maya, ; called gucumatz in guatemala, , ; god b probably is, quetzalpetlatl. female counterpart of quetzalcoatl, quiche. same as kiche, which see quichua. peruvian race, - ; fusion of, with aymara, - quichua-aymara. the inca race. see incas quichua chinchay-suyu. one of the four racial divisions of ancient peru, quinames. earth-giants; in toltec creation-myth, quineveyan. grotto, mentioned in aztec migration-myth, quinuamama. guardian spirit of the quinua plant, in peru, quipos. cords used by the incas for records and communications, - ; account of the use of, by the marquis de nadaillac, - quito. sometime centre of the northern district of peru, , r raxa-cakulha. a sub-god of hurakan, religion. i. of the nahua, - ; the worship of one god, - . ii. of the peruvians, ; inferior to the mexican, ; the legend relating to the evolution of, - riopampa. sometime centre of the northern district of peru, rosny, léon de. research on the maya writing by, - rumi-ñaui. inca general; in the drama apu-ollanta, - s sacrifice, human. in connection with teotleco festival, ; with toxcatl festival, - ; with tlaloc, - ; displaced by "substitution of part for whole," , ; in the xalaquia festival, ; in connection with xipe, ; xolotl the representative of, ; in worship of the planet venus, ; in sun-worship, - , ; the keynote of nahua mythology, ; among the maya, ; at mitla, described by father burgoa, - ; among the chibchas, ; in peru, sacrificed princess, the legend of the, - sacsahuaman. inca fortress; the ruins of, ; built by pachacutic, sahagun, father bernardino. his work on mexican lore, - ; account of the teotleco festival, - ; account of a confession ceremony, - salish indians, "salvador," the. a curious inca vase, san carlos. the university of, in guatemala; the lost popol vuh found in, san lorenzo. village; in a myth of paricaca, saramama. guardian spirit of the maize plant, in peru, schellhas, dr. and the maya writing, ; and names of the maya deities, scherzer, dr. c. finds the lost popol vuh, sea. worshipped by the peruvians as mama-cocha, seler, dr. on quetzalcoatl, - ; on xolotl, - ; and the maya writing, , ; on god k, - ; on god p, ; on mitla and the origin of the american race, serpent. varied significance of the, , , ; association of huitzilopochtli with, - ; associated with the bird, seven caverns. myth of the, sierra nevada (mountain of snow). in legend of quetzalcoatl's migration, sinchi roca (wise chief). the second inca, skinner, j. account of the discovery of a wooden cross, - ; on mohanes, - ; account of the methods of medicine men in peru, - ; account of obsequies among a peruvian tribe, - släalekam. sun-god of the salish indians, sondor-huasi. an inca building bearing a thatched roof, soto, hernando de. mentioned, squier, e. g. on the coricancha, stephens, j. l. legend of the dwarf related by, - ; story of the unknown city, stones, worship of, in peru, - suarez. lorillard city discovered by, sun. prophecy as to coming of white men from, ; symbolised as a serpent by hopi indians, ; pictured as abode of quetzalcoatl, ; "father" of totonacs, ; quaquiutl myth respecting, - ; worship of the, in mexico, - ; the supreme mexican deity, ; the heart his special sacrifice, ; blood his especial food, ; destruction of successive suns, ; human sacrifice to, in mexico, - ; as god of warriors, ; conception of the warrior's after-life with, ; the feast of totec, the chief mexican festival of, - ; the supreme maya deity, ; in inca creation-myth, , ; in the mythology of the chibchas, ; worship of, in peru, , - ; the possessions of, and service rendered to, - ; and the rock of titicaca, - ; especially worshipped by the aged, ; the intip-raymi festival of, - ; the citoc-raymi festival, - ; human sacrifice to, in peru, sunrise, land of. in early american belief, "suns," the four. in aztec theology, susur-pugaio. a fountain; and the vision of yupanqui, t tabasco. same as tlapallan, which see "tablet of the cross," , - tancah. maya city, tapac-yauri. the royal sceptre of the incas, tarahumare. mexican tribe; and cliff-dwellings, tarma. place in peru; huanca defeated at, tarpuntaita-cuma. incas who conducted sacrifice, tata (our father). a name of the mexican fire-god, tayasal. maya city, teatlahuiani. a pulque-god, tecpanecs. confederacy of nahua tribes, , ; significance of the name, , ; rivals of the chichimecs, ; of huexotzinco, defeated by tlascaltecs, ; aztecs allies of, ; growth of their empire, ; conquer tezcuco and chichimecs, tecumbalam. bird in the kiche story of the creation, telpochtli (the youthful warrior). a name of tezcatlipoca, temacpalco. place mentioned in the myth of quetzalcoatl's journey to tlapallan, temalacatl. the mexican gladiatorial stone of combat, temple of the cross no. i, the, at palenque, , ; no. ii, temple of inscriptions, the, at palenque, temple of the sun, the. i. at palenque, . ii. at tikal, tenayucan. chichimec city, tenochtitlan. same as mexico, which see teo-amoxtli (divine book). a nahua native chronicle, - teocalli. the mexican temple, teocuinani. mountain; sacred to tlaloc, teohuatzin. high-priest of huitzilopochtli, teotihuacan. sacred city of the toltecs, , ; the fiend at the convention at, ; the mecca of the nahua races, ; architectural remains at, , ; rebuilt by xolotl, chichimec king, ; charnay's excavations at, teotleco (coming of the gods). mexican festival, - teoyaominqui. name given to the image of chicomecohuatl by early investigators, ; payne on the error, - tepeolotlec. a distortion of the name of tepeyollotl, tepeyollotl (heart of the mountain). a god of desert places, - ; called tepeolotlec, tepoxtecatl. the pulque-god of tepoztlan, , tepoztlan. mexican city, tequechmecauiani. a pulque-god, tequiua. disguise of tezcatlipoca, ternaux-compans, h. cited, teteoinnan (mother of the gods). mexican maize-goddess, known also as tocitzin, and identical with centeotl the mother, , tezcatlipoca (fiery mirror). same as titlacahuan and tlamatzincatl. the mexican god of the air, the jupiter of the nahua pantheon, , , ; tribal god of the tezcucans, ; development of the conception, - ; in legends of the overthrow of tollan, ; adversary of quetzalcoatl, , ; plots against quetzalcoatl, and overcomes him, - ; as toueyo, and the daughter of uemac, - ; and the dance at the feast in tollan, ; as tequiua, and the garden of xochitla, ; and the legend of the amusing infant and the pestilence, - ; as nezahualpilli, ; as yaotzin, ; as telpochtli, ; as usually depicted, ; aztec conception of, as wind-god, ; as yoalli ehecatl, ; extent and development of the cult of, - ; as moneneque, ; and the teotleco festival, - ; the toxcatl festival of, - , ; in the character of tlazolteotl, , tezcotzinco. the villa of nezahualcoyotl, - tezcuco. i. chichimec city, , ; rivalry with azcapozalco, ; its hegemony, ; conquered by tecpanecs, ; allied with aztecs, ; tezcatlipoca the tribal god, ; the story of nezahualcoyotl, the prince of, - . ii. lake, ; in legend of the foundation of mexico, ; the cities upon, , - tezozomoc, f. de a. on mexican mythology, theozapotlan. mexican city, thlingit. indian tribe, thomas, professor c. research on maya writing, ; on god l, thomas, st. the apostle; cortés believed to be, ; associated with the maya cross, , ; and the wooden cross found in the valley of the chichas, thonapa. son of the creator in peruvian myth; in connection with stone-worship, ; myths of, - thunder-god, peruvian, - tiahuanaco. prehistoric city of the andeans, - ; the great doorway at, ; in a legend of manco ccapac, ; in inca creation-myth, ; and legend of thonapa the civiliser, tiçotzicatzin. in the story of princess papan, tikal. maya city; architectural remains at, titicaca. i. lake, ; settlements of the quichua-aymara on the shores of, ; manco ccapac and mama oullo huaca descend to earth near, ; regarded by peruvians as place where men and animals were created, ; called mamacota by people of the collao, ; idols connected with, - . ii. island on lake titicaca; the most sacred of the peruvian shrines, ; ruined palace on, ; sacred rock on, the paccarisca of the sun, , ; sun-worship and the rock of titicaca, - ; the inca tupac and the rock, - ; effect on the island of the inca worship of the rock, ; pilgrimage to, - ; thonapa on, titlacahuan. same as tezcatlipoca, which see titlacahuan-tezcatlipoca, tiya-manacu. town in peru; thonapa at, tlacahuepan. mexican deity; plots against quetzalcoatl, ; and the legend of the amusing infant and the pestilence, - tlachtli. national ball-game of the nahua and maya, , , , tlacopan. mexican city, , ; aztecs allied with, tlaelquani (filth-eater). a name of tlazolteotl, which see tlalhuicole. tlascalan warrior; the story of, - tlaloc. the mexican rain-god,or god of waters, , ; and the foundation of mexico, ; in association with huitzilopochtli, ; as usually represented, - ; espoused to chalchihuitlicue, ; tlalocs his offspring, ; kiche god hurakan his prototype, ; manifestations of, ; festivals of, ; human sacrifice in connection with, - ; and atamalqualiztli festival, - ; similarities to, in other mythologies, tlalocan (the country of tlaloc). abode of tlaloc, tlalocs. gods of moisture; and huemac ii, ; offspring of tlaloc, tlalxicco (navel of the earth). name of the abode of mictlan, tlamatzincatl. same as tezcatlipoca, which see tlapallan (the country of bright colours). legendary region, ; nahua said to have originated at, ; the toltecs and, ; quetzalcoatl proceeds to, from tollan, - , tlapallan, huehue (very old tlapallan). in toltec creation-myth, tlapallantzinco. place in mexico; toltecs at, tlascala (or tlaxcallan). mexican city, , ; and the "bloodless battle" with mexico, , , ; decline, tlascalans. mexican race, offshoot of the acolhuans, ; helped cortés against aztecs, , tlauizcalpantecutli (lord of the dawn). name of the planet venus; myth of quetzalcoatl and, , ; quetzalcoatl called, ; worship of, ; in the mexican calendar, tlaxcallan. same as tlascala, which see tlazolteotl (god of ordure) (or tlaelquani). mexican goddess of confession, - tlenamacac (ordinary priests). lesser order of the mexican priesthood, tloque nahuaque (lord of all existence). toltec deity, tobacco. use of, among the nahua, tochtepec. place in mexico; toltecs at, tocitzin (our grandmother). see teteoinnan tohil (the rumbler). form of quetzalcoatl, ; guides the kiche-maya to their first city, ; the god assigned to balam-quitze in the kiche myth of the creation, ; gives fire to the kiche, - ; turned into stone, tollan. toltec city, modern tula; founded, , ; its magnificence, ; afflicted by the gods, - ; huehuetzin's rebellions, , ; overthrown, ; charnay's excavations at, ; tezcatlipoca and the overthrow of, ; quetzalcoatl leaves, , tollantzinco. city of the acolhuans, ; toltecs at, toltecs. first nahua immigrants to mexico, ; whether a real or a mythical race, , - ; at tlapallan, , ; migration route, ; their migration a forced one, ; imaginative quality of their myths, ; elect a king, ; progress in arts and crafts, , ; under plagues, ; their empire destroyed, , ; and the civilisation of central america, ; dr. brinton's theory, ; quetzalcoatl king of, ; possible influence upon nahua civilisation, ; acolhuans may have been, ; tezcatlipoca opposes, and plots against, - ; and creation-myth recounted by ixtlilxochitl, ; theory that the maya were, tonacaciuatl (lady of our flesh). a name of omeciuatl, which see tonacatecutli (lord of our flesh). a name of ometecutli, which see tonalamatl (book of the calendar), torito. a bird-maiden; in the myth of origin of the canaris, torquemada, father. his work on mexican lore, ; on mitla, totec (our great chief). a sun-god, - ; his feast, the chief solar festival, - totemism. among the primitive peruvians, - totonacs. aboriginal mexican race, ; and the sun, toueyo. tezcatlipoca's disguise, - toveyo. toltec sorcerer; and the magic drum, toxcatl. festival; of tezcatlipoca, - ; of huitzilopochtli, toxilmolpilia. mexican calendar ceremony; and the native dread of the last day, troano codex. maya manuscript, ; dr. le plongeon and the reference to queen móo in, tucuman (world's end). name given by the quichua-aymara to their land of origin, tulan (or tulan-zuiva). city; the starting-point of the kiche migrations, - , ; the kiche arrive at, and receive their gods, ; parallel with the mexican chicomoztoc, ; the kiche confounded in their speech at, tumipampa. sometime centre of the northern district of peru, , , tupac-atau-huallpa (the sun makes good fortune). son of huaina ccapac, tupac-yupanqui (bright). tenth inca, son of pachacutic, - , - ; achievements as ruler, ; and the huarcans, ; and the rock of titicaca, - tutul xius. ruling caste among the itzaes; found ziyan caan and chichen-itza, ; expelled from chichen-itza by cocomes, ; settle in potonchan, build uxmal, and regain power, ; again overthrown, and found mani, ; finally assist in conquering the cocomes, tzitzimimes. demons attendant on mictlan, tzompantitlan. place mentioned in the myth of huitzilopochtli's origin, tzompantli (pyramid of skulls). minor temple of huitzilopochtli, tzununiha (house of the water). one of the first women of the popol vuh myth, tzutuhils. a maya people of guatemala, , u uayayab. demon who presided over the nemontemi (unlucky days), ; god n identified with, uemac. tezcatlipoca and the daughter of, - uitzlampa. place in mexico; in myth of huitzilopochtli's origin, urco-inca. inca superseded by pachacutic, uricaechea, m. his collection of chibcha antiquities, uxmal. mexican city, founded by tutul xius, ; abandoned, ; ruins at, - ; primitive type of its architecture, v vatican mss., ; description of the journey of the soul in, - vega, garcilasso el inca de la. hist. des incas, cited, ; on the gods of the early peruvians, venus. the planet; worship of, - ; the only star worshipped by mexicans, ; camaxtli identified with, ; temple of, at cuzco, vera cruz. quetzalcoatl lands at, verapaz. district in guatemala, vetancurt, a. de. on mexican mythology, villa-coto. mountain; in a peruvian flood-myth, - villagutierre, j. de soto-mayor. and the prophecy of chilan balam, viollet-le-duc, e. on the ruined palace at mitla, viracocha. i. eighth inca, , . ii. peruvian deity; temple of, at cacha, ; regarded as son of the sun, ; worshipped by quichua-aymara as a culture hero, and called pachayachachic, . iii. a higher class of sacred objects of the peruvians, . iv. name given to any more than usually sacred being, vitzillopochtli. same as huitzilopochtli; in an aztec migration-myth, voc. a bird, the messenger of hurakan; in popol vuh myth, votan. maya god, identical with tepeyollotl; god l probably is, vukub-cakix (seven-times-the-colour-of-fire). a sun-and-moon god (dr. seler); in a kiche myth recounted in the popol vuh, - ; possibly an earth-god, vukub-came. one of the rulers of xibalba, the kiche hades, , , vukub-hunapu. son of xpiyacoc and xmucane; in the myth in the second book of the popol vuh, - , , , w "wallum olum." records of the leni-lenape indians; a migration-myth in, resembles kiche and aztec myths, - wind-nine-cave. mixtec deity; in creation-myth, - , wind-nine-snake. mixtec deity; in creation-myth, - , women of the sun. women dedicated to the service of the sun in peru, writing. of the nahua, - ; of the maya, - ; dr. le plongeon and the maya hieroglyphs, x xalaquia. i. festival of chicomecohuatl, - . ii. the victim sacrificed at the xalaquia festival, , xalisco. district in mexico toltecs in, xaltocan. mexican city, xan. an animal mentioned in popol vuh myth, xaquixahuana. place in peru, xauxa. place in peru, xbakiyalo. wife of hunhun-apu, xbalanque (little tiger). a hero-god, twin with hun-apu; in a kiche myth, - ; in the myth in the second book of the popol vuh, , - ; mentioned, xecotcovach. bird in the kiche story of the creation, xibalba. i. a semi-legendary empire of the maya, . ii. the kiche hades, "place of phantoms"; in the myth in the second book of the popol vuh, - , - ; possible origin of the conception, ; properly a "place of the dead," ; origin of the name, xibalbans. in the myth in the second book of the popol vuh, , - ; the originals of, - ; nature of, xilonen. form of chicomecohuatl, ximenes, francisco. copied and translated the popol vuh, xipe (the flayed). mexican god, - ; his dress assumed by aztec monarchs and leaders, - ; xolotl has affinities with, ; god a thought to resemble, xiuhtecutli (lord of the year). a name of the mexican fire-god, xiumalpilli. in mexican calendar, xiyan caan. city in yucatan, xmucane (female vigour). the mother-god in the kiche story of the creation in the popol vuh, ; in the vukub-cakix myth, - ; in the myth in the second book of the popol vuh, - ; equivalent to the mexican omeciuatl, xochicalco (the hill of flowers). a teocalli near tezcuco, - xochimilcos. aztec tribe, xochipilli. a name of macuilxochitl, which see xochitla. a flower-garden near tollan; the legend of tezcatlipoca and, xochitonal. monster in the mexican other-world, xochiyayotl (the war of flowers). campaign for the capture of victims for sacrifice, - , xolotl. i. king of the chichimecs, ; teotihuacan rebuilt by, . ii. a sun-god, - ; of southern origin and foreign to mexico, ; probably identical with nanahuatl, ; representative of human sacrifice, ; has affinities with xipe, ; representations of, xpiyacoc. the father god in the popol vuh story of the creation, ; in the vukub-cakix myth, - ; in the myth in the second book of the popol vuh, ; equivalent to the mexican ometecutli, xquiq (blood). a princess of xibalba, daughter of cuchumaquiq; in popol vuh myth, xulu. a sorcerer mentioned in popol vuh myth, y yacatecutli. tutelar god of travellers of the merchant class in mexico, ; the maya ekchuah probably parallel with, yahuarhuaccac. seventh inca, yahuar-pampa (plain of blood). battle of, yamquisupa. village; thonapa and, yanacaca. rocks; in a myth of paricaca, yaotzin (the enemy). a manifestation of tezcatlipoca, yatiri (the ruler). aymara name of pachacamac in his form of pachayachachic; huaina ccapac and, year. the mexican, , yetl. god of natives of british columbia, ; probably cognate with quetzalcoatl, , yma sumac (how beautiful). daughter of curi-coyllur; in the drama apu-ollanta, - yoalli ehecatl (the night wind). a manifestation of tezcatlipoca, yohualticitl. a name of metztli, which see yolcuat. form of quetzalcoatl, yopi. indian tribe; xipe adopted from, yucatan. settlement of the maya in, - ; architectural remains in, yucay. inca ruins at, yum kaax (lord of the harvest fields). maya deity; god e probably identical with, yunca. name given to the tropical and lowland districts of peru, yupanqui pachacutic. ninth inca, known also as pachacutic. see pachacutic z zacatecas. mexican province, zapoteca. aboriginal mexican race, ; builders of mitla, ; their calendric system, ; and quetzalcoatl, - ; creation-myth of, - ; maya influences transmitted to the nahua through, ; in effect a border people, influenced by and influencing maya and nahua, ; of nahua stock, zaque. aboriginal mexican race, zipacna (cockspur or earth-heaper). son of vukub-cakix; in a kiche myth in the popol vuh, - , zippa. a chieftain of the chibchas, zoque. a chieftain of the chibchas, zotuta. region in yucatan inhabited by remnant of cocomes, zotzilaha chimalman. the maya bat-god, called also camazotz, - zumarraga. mexican chronicler, zutugil dialect, notes [ ] by payne in the new world called america, london, - . [ ] garcilasso el inca de la vega, hist. des incas, lib. ix. cap. . [ ] see payne, history of the new world called america, vol. ii. pp. et seq. [ ] see spence, civilisation of ancient mexico, chap. ii. [ ] see civilisation of ancient mexico, chap. ii. [ ] payne, hist. new world, vol. ii. p. . [ ] unknown mexico, vol. i., ; also see bulletin , bureau of american ethnology, p. . [ ] bulletin of the u.s. bureau of ethnology. [ ] see the author's article on "american creation-myths" in the encyclopædia of religion and ethics, vol. iv. [ ] the suffix tzin after a mexican name denotes either "lord" or "lady," according to the sex of the person alluded to. [ ] these words are obviously onomatopoetic, and are evidently intended to imitate the sound made by a millstone. [ ] see my remarks on this subject in the popol vuh, pp. , (london, ). [ ] queen móo and the egyptian sphinx (london, ). [ ] sacred things. [ ] skinner's state of peru, p. ( ). [ ] this is the name by which he is generally alluded to in peruvian history. [ ] skinner, state of peru, p. . [ ] skinner, state of peru, pp. et seq. [ ] see spence, article "brazil" in encyclopædia of religion and ethics, vol. ii.